Tales That Must Be Re-told

Adelaide was walking down a dirt road next to a forest, a bundle of blankets in her arms. The baby was making happy noises, and Adelaide cooed at her - yes, the baby was definitely a girl.

Adelaide had no idea why she was walking or where her destination was, but she just knew that she had to keep walking. All of a sudden, the setting changed; the sky grew dark, the branches of the trees which surrounded her grew bare, and it began to thunder.

The baby began to cry; Adelaide tried to soothe her, quickening her pace as she walked. After walking a short distance, it began to rain. "Fucking a," Adelaide mumbled; she had always hated the rain, and quite obviously she had no umbrella.

Her quick walking pace turned into a jog, and she began to hear movement from inside the trees. She whipped her head to the site of the noise and saw shadows. Still running, Adelaide tried not to think about whatever it was lurking in the trees. She had such a long way ahead of her - she strained her eyes, but all she could see for miles in front of her was the same stretch of road.

Something jumped out of the trees in front of Adelaide, startling her. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that it was a person. She skidded to a halt, and more people joined the man who had originally appeared. Instinctively, she held her daughter tighter to her body.

"Give us the baby, Adelaide," the man growled.

"Wh-what?" she asked, stunned.

"Give. Us. The. Baby," the man repeated slowly. "Or we'll have to hurt you."

"No!" Adelaide shouted. "Why?! Do anything you want to me! Anything! Kill me, I don't care, just don't harm my daughter!"

The men all looked at each other, smirking. They turned to her and the same man spoke. "You give us no choice then, Adelaide. We didn't want to do this."

Without a chance to reply, the men began to come forward, a fierce look in their eyes.

Adelaide woke up and realized she was screaming, tears coming out of her eyes. Her body was covered in a cold sweat.

She then heard running footsteps coming closer and closer to her room. Alex and Jack raced in, looking alarmed.

"Addy! Oh my God! Where does it hurt?!" asked Alex, panicked. Jack, who was staring at Adelaide with eyes the size of plates, looked like he was about to have an accident.

"It doesn't," she said, blinking rapidly and trying to shake herself of the dream. "I just had a bad nightmare, I'm fine."

Though they still looked concerned, this calmed them down a lot. "Oh, okay," he said. "You sure you're alright?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I brought you something!" Jack said cheerfuly. He skipped over to the bed and held out a clear plastic bag.

"Subway!" Adelaide exclaimed happily. At the thought of food, her stomach growled - she hadn't realized how hungry she was. She grinned. "Thanks, sweetie."

"Any time."

Alex sat down in the chair while Jack flopped onto the end of Adelaide's bed.

"So, we probably shouldn't be in here for too long," Alex said as Adelaide took a bite into her sub, which was made exactly the way she liked it. Countless times of eating at Subway had drilled Adelaide's strange sub order into Jack's head.

"Why not?" she asked, pouting.

"Because everyone else is here, too," Jack chirped.

"As in everyone?"

"Yep. Rian, Zack, Matt and crew, mom and dad, Jack's parents, and Hannah came out here a couple days ago once she heard what happened," replied Alex.

Adelaide smiled. "Okay, after I finish stuffing my face, send them in." She took another bite. "Oh, and can't you do more than two people at a time? I'm the only patient in here."

"Sure, we'll try."

After visiting with everyone, Adelaide was left with Alex and Jack in the room with her. She yawned. "You guys don't have to stay," she said. "I think I'm going to fall asleep soon." There was no longer sunlight coming through the blinds, meaning it must have been getting late.

"I don't mind watching you sleep," said Jack.

Alex chuckled. "Well, I can't really say that without sounding like a creep, but I'll stay for a bit."

Adelaide was happy to see that her brother didn't seem bothered by the fact that her and Jack were snuggled together on her bed. He seemed to be growing more and more accepting of their relationship, which was a relief.

After chatting for a little while longer, Adelaide felt herself becoming drowsy and eventually fell asleep.

. . . "Give us the baby, Adelaide," the man growled.

"Wh-what?" she asked, stunned.

"Give. Us. The. Baby," the man repeated slowly. "Or we'll have to hurt you."

"No!" Adelaide shouted. "Why?! Do anything you want to me! Anything! Kill me, I don't care, just don't harm my daughter!"

Before the dream could continue any further, Adelaide was being shaken lightly.

"Addy?" Jack whispered frantically. "Addy, wake up!"

She sniffed and buried her head in Jack's chest. Alex was gone, leaving the two of them alone. "Shh, it's okay."

"Babe, what's going on?" he asked after a moment, rubbing her back as she tried to calm herself down. "Was that the same dream?"

He felt Adelaide nod. "Will you tell me about it?"

She took a quivering breath and explained her nightmare to Jack, in detail. He seemed to be at a slight loss of words - all he could do was keep rubbing her back and tell her that it was okay, that those men didn't exist and even if they did, he would never in a million years let them near her.

"You know what I think?" asked Adelaide.

"What?"

"I think I might have wanted this baby more than I realized."

Jack sighed. "Adds, I think I might have, too."