Chapter 30

Gary's POV

The coldness of the metal strokes in a circular motion around my navel. Suddenly things start to get darker again feeling my vision become weaker until i feel a sharp ripping pain in my stomach. My eyes widen with the pain seeing the knife begin to slash at my bare flesh. Trying to scream out my voice is muffled by a hand which is pushing against my mouth and jaw. Continuing their actions the blade starts to create some sort of pattern into my skin almost like they've carving some meat. Tears stream down my face feeling my eye lids atomically close and numbness fills my body, as i fall into a deep painless sleep.

Gary's dream. 

"Chloe? Babe come on... we've got to leave already." I call gripping to the banister whilst my other hand rests in my pocket. Tonight me and Chloe are going out to celebrate our anniversary. I can't believe it's been exactly a year today since we went on our first date... i can still remember it like it was just yesterday. Who would of thought one year on things would of progressed so much? We're now engaged with a baby on the way. All of a sudden a loud thud sounds upstairs pulling me from my daydream. "Chloe?! Chloe are you ok?" Quickly i run upstairs knocking onto the locked bathroom door. There's no answer only the sound of heavy breathing. "Open this door Chloe?!" Not wanting to wait around any longer i decide to shoulder the door to get it open. After a hard shoulder and a few kicks the door's lock finally breaks giving me entry to the bathroom. As soon as i take a look inside i'm greeted by a puddle of blood. Almost instant my heart stops beating by the scenery set in front of me. A figure clawing against the sink catches my attention. "Chloe! Oh babe..." Coiling an arm around her she weakly presses her face to my chest sobbing quietly. 
"T...t...the...b...b...baby..." She cries falling in and out of consciousness. Immediately i pull away from the hug to look towards the visible bump under her blood stained dress. 

A lump forms in my throat. Surly not... she can't... she can't lose the baby... we've only got a week to go! "Chloe... listen to me... did your waters break at all?" Trying to focus her eyes on mine she fails, as her pupils roll to the back of her head. "Chloe? This is important! Come on baby... i'm here... i'm not going anywhere i promise you." I try to calm her down by kissing her knuckles whilst taking a tight grip to her hand. 
"Y....y...y...es..." Chloe mutters still with her eye lids weakly closed. "Aaarhhh....p....p..pain..." 
"Right...babe listen to me... listen to me?" I hold her face within my palms trying to act calm myself for the sake of our baby. "You're going into labour... we need to get you to the hospital as fast as we possibly can, but we can go unless you keep talking to me... can you do that?" A nod is all i receive in response to my question. "Keep doing deep breathes babe... in..." I demonstrate the deep breathes to her which she soon begins to copy. "...and out." Carefully i lift Chloe into my arms whilst she continues to practise the breathing technique. 
"AAaahhhh Gary!!! It hurts...." Digging her nails into my back she cries out from the pain. 
"I know babe... but it's going to be ok... just keep breathing..." 

After we've collected the hospital bag which has been left sat in the hallway for the past two weeks we head to the hospital speeding over the limit. Chloe's eyes begin to slowly close again and the tight grip on my hand weakens. "Babe? Come on stay with me... tell me about what you've bought our little one." Panic strikes through my body seeing her like this. Many times have i witness women giving birth and going into labour, but having someone so special to you go through it changes things. It brings fear and worry pushing away the excitement. 
"B...baby...gro...grows...one...one...with...i....i...love...D..D...AARRRHHH! Oooooh...." Squeezing my hand harder i can't tell whether it's now my hand bleeding or if it's Chloe's blood. I park the car outside the hospital's entrance yelling for some help. Within a few seconds Doctors in white coats come rushing over to our car. 
"We're here babe... we're going to do this together..." Nervously i standby watching the doctors carefully help her into a nearby wheelchair. The colour's drained from her face into a more ghost like look. Taking a few deep breathes myself seeing Chloe like this makes me feel faint. As soon as Chloe's secured in the wheel chair they begin to quickly push her inside with me shortly following them. 

One doctor sits me down inside the small white room onto the single chair which is placed beside the bed which Chloe is helped onto. "Mr Barlow?" Looking over his shoulder my eyes are glued on Chloe who takes deep breathes on the gas and air. "Mr Barlow are you listening?!" 
"Huh? What?" Shaking my head a little unable to fully hear the doctor over Chloe's screams. 
"Miss Matthew's has lost a huge amount of blood through this labour..." He sighs deeply pinching the bridge of his nose whilst pushing up his glasses. "W...We're...sorry..." 
"Sorry? What for?" I frown my eyebrows at him still being deafened by the screams and cries which are still going on inches from me. I shouldn't be sat here talking i should be over there holding her hand.
"Miss Matthew's...she gave birth... to a girl... weighing 7lbs 8oz... healthy little girl... but unfortunately... Miss Matthew's...she...she didn't survive the birth." Confusion fills my face, and the cries come to a sudden stop. Chloe's no longer on the bed. 
"B...but... she... she hasn't even given birth yet?! How could she..." I stare at the now empty bed even the blood has vanished. "Where is she? Which room have you moved her to?!" 
"Mr Barlow... we're sorry for your loss... a nurse will bring your daughter to you shortly... you can take all the time you need." 
"N...N....No... you're lying. She was just there! She was laid on that bed a few seconds ago in labour! Where is she?!" Tears flood down my cheeks feeling heartbroken yet confused about what just happened within a blink of an eye. 
"Mr Barlow...Dr Barlow...Dr Barlow.." The room fills with darkness followed by a distant cry of a baby. "Dr Barlow... wake up... are you ok?" My breathing increases followed by a huge amount of pain in my stomach. 

"ARRRGHH!" Loudly i call out now able to scream my eyes swing open to find myself staring up at the blackened sky. "FUCK!" I bite my lip whilst looking down the lower part of my body which is dripping with blood. It was a dream. All a dream. The two men who had done this to me seemed to have vanished leaving me alone bleeding to death.
"Dr Barlow... are you ok?" A woman kneels beside me with a baby cradled under her arm. Feeling afraid i try to shuffle away from her contact when a hand is placed on my wound. "It's ok... i'm not going to hurt you... i'm here to help you... i can get you home... just trust me?" The middle aged woman smiles down at my terrified face. Is this just another trick?

Chapter 29

Chloe's POV

"CHLOE!!" A voice calls in the distant. Carefully i lift myself up again resting my elbows onto the tops of my knees. I must of dozed off for a little while whilst sitting on the beach. The tide has also come in which means my dress is pretty much soaked to my skin. "Chloe! Fucking hell don't you ever do that again!" Mark appears beside me coiling an arm tightly around my shoulder. Seeing the pale white look on his face it almost glows in the darkness.
"S...sorry...i...i only came for a walk... and i guess i fell asleep... what time is it? Is there any news yet?" Shivering slightly from the wetness of my dress and the cool air i pull away from Mark's embrace. He doesn't reply at first instead he helps me to my feet- sort of. "Mark? What is it?" Refusing to stand i study his face which clearly shows there's something not right. "Have they found him?!"
"...No..." Quietly Mark speaks still trying his best to get me off the sand.
"What is it then? Tell me what's going on."
"Chloe... please just stand up... we've got to go."
"No we don't! We don't need to go anywhere! Tell me what the hell is going on with you? What have you done?!" Raising my voice now my stomach starts to do flips with nerves and i'm pretty sure even the baby has started to sense it.
"We've got to leave..."
"No. No chance. Even if i want to sit on the beach all night i can do. If you're tired you can go back to the apartment, but i'm not moving. Not yet anyway."
Softly Mark sighs bowing his head at me. "I...I can't... I can't go back to the apartment... the taxi's waiting... we've got to go Chloe..."
"W...what? Taxi? Why?" Is he saying what i think he's saying? Surly not. Please.
"The apartment... the amount of days Gary booked it for has expired...i've go no cash on me, so we can't stay another few nights... and we can't use Gary's cards because they're his...and seeing as he's...not...erm..."

Tears build in my eyes and my body weakens. I can't leave... what about Gary? He's still out here somewhere. "Pl...please... we can't... we can't please Mark..." Unable to hold it back any longer, tears begin to roll down my cheeks whilst looking like a lost little girl.
"I'm sorry Chloe... we have no choice, but the police have our numbers when they find him... Knowing Gary he's probably staying in a five star hotel by now..." Gently he strokes my cheek brushing away my tears whilst giving me a soft friendly smile. Just thinking about Gary makes my heart ache. I need him. Me and our baby need him.
"Or lying in a street...unconscious..."
"Chl-" The sound of a car horn interrupts us making me feel worse. "Erm..."
"I...i know... i know..."
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Staring out of the taxi window i watch the waves continue to crash against the rocks with the moonlight reflecting onto it. Mark reaches for my hand giving it a slight squeeze. I can't even look at him, making no noise at all i silently cry to myself. The only thing i have of Gary's now other than his belongings back at home is our baby. Softly i stroke my stomach allowing my tears to drip onto my all ready wet dress, as hard as this is going to be i've got to think about this baby. Being the way i am now isn't going to help health wise to him or her. I can't lose it as well as Gary. That would destroy the last part of my life i have left. Mark wraps a fragile arm around my shoulder. Rising my head gradually pain strikes in his eyes too. I'm not the only one who's grieving, after everything which has happened between Mark and Gary they still care about one another almost like brothers. "Everything going to be ok... i'm going to make sure of that..." Feeling exhausted my head nuzzles against Mark's chest feeling calmer, and safe which i haven't felt in a while. Right now i just need the comfort and support from close friends and family. "We're going to find him... he has a beautiful family to take care of... nothing's going to stop that..." Quietly Mark whispers pressing his nose against my hair. "Nothing..."

Trailing my eyes up to his, then down to my stomach which his hand is softly resting against. I carefully place my hand over his just how i imagined me and Gary would do. We're going to make the best parents to our child. There's a small gap between mine and Mark's faces to be honest after all the years of knowing him, we've never been this close before. It just feels so right...so relaxing and so...perfect. Mark moves his lips closer to mine hovering over them. With a blink of an eye i close them firmly, as i feel our lips make contact for the very first time.
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Gary's POV

Using a leaf i clean the palm of my hand from my moment of pleasure. It was so wrong yet so right... just what i needed to release all of my stress since ending up on here. All of a sudden the bush opposite me starts to violently shake almost like someones inside it. Oh shit... did they just watch what i did? Again it starts to shake this time harder and voices appear. "Where is he?! Where's the little white man gone?!" Angrily a voice shouts. Backing my head down a little i see a few heads peer around the bushes using the sharp end of their sticks to poke the bushes. This doesn't look good. Taking the only chance i have i climb to my feet, as i decide to dart towards the entrance of where i got in causing the bushes to rustle behind me. "THERE! THERE HE IS!" Running faster now not even bothering about losing the front of my leaves i run through the bushes whilst jumping over the broken down branches partly naked. That's when it hits me, as soon as i escape the green area of the island i end up coming to the surface which is surrounded by the sea. There's no where else i can go and if i risk swimming in the sea i could possible get eaten by sharks or other sea life animals. A sharp pain hits into my right leg breaking through the skin.
"AAAH FUCK!" Loudly i call gripping tightly to my leg feeling it become numb. One of them fired a dart into the back of my leg. God knows what's on it, poison for all i know.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The same men who chased me just minutes ago appear out from behind the palm trees. "You try and espace? You lazy boy! Lazy boys need to be taught to live life like a worker..." Flickering my eyes from the numbness working up my body i notice a sharp metal blade placed in between the smaller males fingers.
"I...I wasn't slacking....h...honest..." My heart rate increases and my breathing becomes heavier yet slower. What's happening to me?! Closing my eyes for a brief second hands begin to claw at my skin- animal like. "Get off! Get off me!" Panting heavier my eyes open in frustration to find the two men above me. Both of my wrists are clenched tightly together by one of the men. Carefully the smaller man strokes the blade against my bare stomach causing my eyes to almost fall out of my head. "N...n...no please...please don't... i...i've got to...to get back...to...to my girlfriend...we...we..we're having a baby...please?!" Nerves take over me which causes my words to come out in short stutters. What are they going to do?