Pregnant With Alpha’s Genius Twins

#Chapter 213 – Into the Woods

We walk for hours that day, until night starts to creep in on us. We’re lucky, actually, that it’s a mild February and that we’re not racked with cold. Still, despite the nip in the air, I feel the sweat pouring off me beneath my jacket.

This worries me for two reasons. One, because I’m almost sure that my sweat is a fever, rather than the reaction to the exercise. And two, because I’m sure that this will increase my dehydration, and our water levels are limited until we can find a fresh source.

“This will do,” Victor says, eyeing the darkening sky as we enter a clearing. I’m grateful, again, for his experience that knows what to look for in a good campsite instead of a bad one. To me, this looks just like the hundred other miniature little clearings that we’ve passed in the past few hours.

I nod to Victor, nearly exhausted, and start to unpack our bags to set up camp.

The boys, luckily, have none of our exhaustion. Instead, they’ve been flitting through the woods like songbirds, shouting their discoveries to each other and picking up fistfuls of interesting rocks and leaves that they want to add to their “collection.”

It was nearly an argument, an hour ago, when Ian found an “amazing” stick that he absolutely had to take with us but which he could barely carry. Luckily, Victor put his foot down on that one.

“How are you,” Victor asks, me, starting to stack sticks for a fire while I start to work on the tent.

“I am okay,” I say, giving him a smile. “And you?”

He shrugs, looking back at his work, and I know that he probably feels much the same as I do. One life force, after all. We’re probably sharing many of the same symptoms. I wonder, passingly, anxiously, what we’re going to feel like in the morning. Every day it seems like we wake up worse.

I take a moment to remind myself that even this is obviously better than watching Victor struggle to breathe in his hospital bed. I settle that memory in my mind and focus on gratitude instead of fear.

“Mama,” Ian says, running over to me a I finish popping up the tent. He holds out a handful of acorns. “I found these for dinner, do you think we can eat them?”

I laugh a little and nod towards his father. “Ask your dad – survival is his duty.” With that, I snap open one of the flat little bed rolls, working to get some fresh air into it. “I’m just here to make the beds.”

at him. “They’re edible in a pinch but,” he holds up a tin of food that he’s warming

the acorns back into the woods. Alvin appears at my side, then, wordlessly helping

us, and I’m grateful Victor decided to make camp when he did. Our little family huddles around the fire, the boys and I looking anxiously around

I think, that crawls its way up my spine then, telling me to

Something else pricking its little fingers

his times in the Navy when he had to camp out with his buddies, as part of training or missions. Their talk fades from my mind as I stare into the darkness over the

out in the darkness – like a

gone. And I realize that I’m looking into the smoke

right?” Ian asks, looking

and realize that they’re

say, smiling around and shrugging. “I have an overactive imagination,

leaning forward eagerly. “Did you see

any ghost

“Well sure,” he says, “normally there’s no such thing as ghosts, but they’re all over this forest

Alvin’s eyes flash to Ian’s as he realizes his mistake. Alvin quickly shovels food into his mouth, filling it so he can’t say

sit up straight, looking between my two boys at this interaction. What on earth

that he is likewise looking between the

you mean by that, Alvin?” Victor asks quietly. I can feel my heart start to pound

saying anything. Just slowly chewing his food, pretending