Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

back to hell on the far side of the forest.” Boricio looked solemn as he finished his story. “I’ve made war on maybe a hundred of them Demons since October, but I ain’t never seen ‘em run scared like that before. That’s how I knew I’d found my home. I’d be safe in the bosom of The Good Lord. I’m lucky to be here.”
    Mary squeezed Desmond’s hand. “It’s just so dangerous out there,” she said.
    Huh?  
    Desmond was confused, and trying not to get agitated. Mary had been in a hurry to leave The Sanctuary. And now she was hinting that she wanted to stay?
    Why?
    Boricio was full of shit. Desmond figured the stranger was simply using his smarts. The guy knew how to survive. From the outside, The Sanctuary looked plenty safe. If Boricio was smart enough to survive on the outside for half a year, he was smart enough to survive in here, too. Even if that meant acting like a religious nut.
    Desmond tuned out as John started telling Boricio that there was no luck. The Good Lord had led the way, and they were all better off for it. One new mouth to feed, but two hands to help build the church, blah blah blah . Desmond was crafting an exit to the conversation so he could get Mary alone, at least long enough to empty her mind of whatever was giving it weight, and pulling him down with it.  
    Boricio told Desmond and Mary how nice it was to meet them again, then turned his attention to John, asking him about work schedules, and seeing if maybe there was something he could do to help everyone out. He claimed he was a whiz in the kitchen, but Desmond was happy to hear John say that the kitchen staff was well taken care of. Desmond didn’t want the stranger touching his food.
    Desmond and Mary clearly weren’t needed, so they excused themselves from the conversation, then made it to the behind the barn without further interruption. Luca and Paola were now walking around the hangar, Paola talking animatedly, though Luca still looked sad.  
    Mary was softly crying before they got to the benches, though Desmond could tell she was trying her hardest not to. “What’s wrong, Sweetie?” he said.  
    Mary didn’t make him wait. Through a controlled sob, she said, “I’m pregnant.”
    Desmond couldn't find his tongue through the thick tangle of sudden shock. At first, all he could do was stare, then he pulled Mary close and started petting the back of her hair. Finally, he said, “Are you sure? How can you be certain? You haven’t actually taken a test have you? Maybe whatever happened in October has affected everyone’s cycles?”  
    Mary cried harder and Desmond regretted all four of his questions, especially the last one.  
    He repeated the first question anyway. “Are you sure?”
    Mary nodded. “I know my body, and trust my instincts. There’s a baby inside me, Desmond. Our baby. I’m sure of it.”  
    Desmond laughed, so he could feel alive instead of numb. “You’re sure of it? Now you’re starting to sound like Will!” He laughed.
    Desmond had no idea if Mary found it funny. He thought he could feel her smile, but her face was buried in his chest as she surrendered to a shuddering sob. He let her catch her breath as he continued to stroke her hair. “We have to stay,” she finally said. “It’s too dangerous out there, at least on our own. We don’t know what sort of dangers are waiting and I’m only going to get bigger and bigger. From what we’ve seen, there are no doctors or hospitals anymore, Desmond. This is it.”
    “There aren’t any doctors here,” he said.
    “But there are two midwives, at least. Plus heat and food and guns and a lot of other stuff a baby needs to stay safe. My big baby might be old enough to handle it out there,” Mary glanced toward the gates. “But my new baby doesn’t stand a chance.” She looked at Desmond and held his eyes. “ Our new baby doesn’t stand a chance out there.”  
    Desmond said, “I’ll do whatever you want, go wherever you want, do whatever you think is best. But this place creeps me out. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can find somewhere to settle down.”  
    “Where Desmond?” Mary had stopped crying, but she was skating along the razor’s edge. “Where else can we find someone to help us have our baby? We thought we found safety at the farm, and you saw what happened there. If John and the people here hadn’t come, we’d all be dead. All of us.”
    She was right. John and the nut-jobs had saved them.