The air was colder that morning. A strange silence lingered around the camp. Elena could feel it in her bones—something was off.
She walked toward the firepit where a few survivors murmured among themselves, casting glances her way. She caught fragments of sentences.
"…he met with them…"
"…cut a deal, that's what I heard…"
"…the hunters…"
Her heart skipped.
"Elena," whispered Marla, one of the older survivors, gently grabbing her arm. "You didn't hear this from me… but Ethan made some sort of arrangement with the hunters. Supplies, safe routes, something like that. That's how they gave you back…"
The words hit her like a punch to the chest.
"No… that's not possible," she whispered.
She stormed off, heart racing, hands shaking. She found Ethan near the edge of camp, checking his gear.
"Tell me it's not true."
Ethan turned, startled. "Elena—"
"Tell me you didn't make a deal with the same monsters that kidnapped me and almost killed my baby!"
Ethan froze.
That was all the answer she needed.
Her voice cracked with disbelief. "How could you?"
"I did it to get you back!" he yelled. "I didn't know what else to do. They were going to move you to another outpost. We would've lost you forever."
"Then you should've fought!" she snapped. "You don't bargain with people like them!"
Alex appeared behind them. The tension in his face shifted to confusion, then fury.
"You made a deal with them?" he asked Ethan. "Are you insane?"
"I got her back," Ethan said firmly. "That's what matters."
But Elena shook her head. "No. You traded trust for fear. You didn't save me—you delivered me back with their mark on my skin."
Her words hung in the air like a curse.
And then, suddenly, pain ripped through her body.
She gasped, grabbing her stomach. A wet warmth spilled down her legs.
"Elena?" Alex rushed to her side. "She's going into labor!"
"Get help!" Ethan shouted, panic flooding his voice.
Chaos erupted as survivors scrambled. Hours later, in a makeshift shelter, Elena screamed through the final push, sweat soaking her brow, pain overwhelming her body.
And then… silence.
Followed by the most fragile, beautiful sound: the cry of new life.
A baby girl.
Alex held her close, eyes wide with a strange mix of fear and awe. Elena was exhausted but couldn't stop staring at her.
Despite the deals, the betrayal, the pain—this child was hope.
Hope born in the ashes of war.