Chapter Five: A Reason To Fight

As days turned into weeks it grew difficult to deny Henry's words. The slight rounding of her stomach grew with each passing day. She chose to ignore it, not to think about it, but the little life refused to be ignored any longer. Small flutters, assumed kicks, filled her stomach and forced her thoughts. Was it a boy or a girl? Would it have green eyes like hers or...the blue-gray of its father? Would she love this child? Would this child love her? The thoughts ranged from hopeful to hopeless. How could she love a child that she was forced to have? He tricked her, he is forcing her to be a mother when all she wanted to be was free. Her resentment grew and it aimed itself at the little kicks coming from her abdomen.

The room she was held in changed along with her body. The wooden crib sat in the corner, a soft blue blanket hung over the edge. A shelf hung by the door, on it sat five stuffed bears of different colors. One bear for every month she had been pregnant. It was Henry's way of helping her keep track. After all, with every day looking the same they managed to easily blend together.

Her limbs remained bound to the bed, only released to use the bathroom and to take short walks on the farm. Henry didn't trust her enough to let her loose so she was chained by her ankle. The chain only extended approximately thirty feet. Enough to stretch her legs and feel the outdoors again. Her walks were the only time she felt at peace. She felt free, even though she was still chained up. Breaking the chain was near impossible, especially with his eyes never leaving her.

Everyday he'd come in and watch her, feed her, and try to comfort her. Ava made her hatred and repulsion for him evident. During the nights, while she was sleeping he would sneak into her room and caress the growing child, his hands rubbing gentle circles as he read stories to it or sang it lullabies. Eventually another bear adorned the shelf, then another, and another.

Eight bears, eight months, one month left. Time was running out, and Ava knew she'd do anything to ensure her child was kept away from Henry, that her child would grow up far away from here. It didn't matter how she felt towards it, this was still her child and she refused to let Henry harm it in any way. She devised a plan, one that would ensure their escape before her child breathed its first breath. The darkness of nightfall engulfed the house and its surroundings. Henry was in the next room. It was time.

"Henry!" She screamed through rapid, heavy breathing.

She heard a crash and then he came barreling into the room.

"Ava? Whats wrong, is it the baby?"

"Henry..... it's time."

"But you're not due for three more weeks..."

"Henry! I'm not in control of this, but our child has decided to make his way into the world and there's no going back now."

Henry smiled, both at the fact that she had referred to the baby as 'our child' and that she referred to the baby as a he. Henry wished for a boy, he always wanted a son.

"Ok....I'm here, just breathe."

She mumbled a few curse words in pain and then looked into his eyes, begging...

"Please.... let me out of the restraints, I can't deliver him like this. I can't let our baby see his mother for the first time tied up like an animal." She cried.

He nodded and released the restraints on her ankles, then moving up to her wrists. She lifted her right hand and cupped his cheek.

"Thank you Henry." She said

"You're welcome Ava." He replied.

"Please, this is going to be a few hours. I'm already dying of thirst, would you mind getting me some water?"

"Of course not, I'll be right back." He said.

As he got up and walked away, she leapt to her feet. Picking up a lamp off of the nightstand she hit him over the head as hard as she could and started running. She frantically looked around. The front door. She replayed the events of the first time she tried running outside, not a good idea. 'The kitchen, the living room, a phone...a phone, find a phone.' She told herself.

She ran to the kitchen, no luck. She heard him stumble about, he was waking up. Her time was almost up. The living room. In the corner, by the television stand was a large, black rotary phone. She ran to it, picking it up and attempting to dial 911 as quickly as she was able.

"Avaaaaa." He sang out.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." His words sent shivers down her spine and caused her hairs stand up on end.

"That wasn't very nice Ava, pretending to be in labor. I trusted you not to run, but now I see that you can't be trusted."

He was making his way to her, only a matter of time before she was found. Finally the operator answered.

"911 what's your emergency?" The woman asked.

"My name is Ava, Ava Montgomery and I've been held captive for over ten months. Please help me, I don't know where I am. I'm on some sort of farm, my kidnapper his name is Henry Grant. Please, you have to help me.....I'm running out of time."

"Alright ma'am just remain calm and......" The phone went silent.

"Hello?....Hello?" Nothing was on the other line.

"Ava, who said you could use the phone? Now look what you've done. Now we have to leave here and never come back after I worked so god damn hard to make this our home!" He shouted.

He said from behind her, swinging the phone cord in his hand. She never turned around, her eyes remained on the dimly lit hallway. Her mind, mapping where she could run.

"A home for our baby, a home for our family to grow and prosper, and now its ruined."

"This isn't a home, it's a cage. I'd rather die than go on living here for one more day."

"You don't mean that." He whispered.

"I do, you kept me here, tricked me, messed with my head. You locked me up and refused to let me out. I just don't understand why?"

"Because I love you Ava. You loved me once, you can do it again. You're the only person whose ever looked at me like that, I can't just let that go."

"You're right, I did love you, but that love turned to hate the minute you revealed the truth. You're a monster Henry."

"No." He cried.

"Yes, Henry. You're a monster who kept me locked away, who forced a life on me that I never wanted. I'm sorry, but I could never be a part of this. I will never stop trying to get away, to get our child away...from you."

"No!" He said wrapping the phone cord around her neck and pulling so hard she was no longer on her feet.

Gasping for air, she only thought of the child. So innocent, kicking her as a reminder of that. She remembered how she got away the first time. She lifted her elbow and crashed it into him. Then, without giving him time to recover, sent her foot quickly and powerfully in the direction of his groin.

Her next move, run. But where? Last time she ran and he caught up with her, and last time she wasn't over eight months pregnant. She needed to protect herself. She thought of Henry's story, the one he told her after she tried to kill herself.

"...Meantime I had grabbed the shotgun off the wall in the living room.....I had to. I don't regret doing what I did, I regret not doing it before anybody died...."

The shotgun, it had to be here somewhere. She panned the room and saw it, right outside the doorway, hanging on the wall proudly. She ran to it and checked it for rounds. Three, only three shots.

She had never fired a gun before, but knew how it worked. Looking back on her life, she remembered it was one of the few things she learned from one of her mothers shitty ex boyfriends. She heard him grunt and cough in the living room, and call her name in a raspy and strained voice.

"Ava" He croaked.

Straitening her spine, she conjured false courage and walked into the room with determination. He chuckled.

"Put that down, wouldn't wanna hurt yourself."

Internally, she sensed he may be right. Smaller guns are hard enough to aim, but large shot guns have an even larger kickback. She steadied her feet and stayed calm. The gun dug into her shoulder as it aimed at its intended target.

"Like you just were? You said you'd never hurt me, another lie I suppose. You were going to kill me. You were going to kill both of us." She said angrily.

"Please, I'd never hurt the baby. I was just going to wait until you passed out and put you back to bed. Now why don't you hand that gun over to me and we can settle this."

"There's nothing to settle. Either you give me the keys to the truck, or I shoot you and find them myself. Both options end with me leaving and you staying here."

"I'm calling your bluff. I don't even think you know how to use that thing."

The sound of her cocking the gun caused him to eat his words.

"There's no way I'm letting you take that child away from his father, you're gonna have to kill me first." He yelled.

She pulled the trigger, hitting the lamp directly next to him and shattering it.

"That was a warning shot." She lied, she was right this was a tough gun to shoot. Her aim was way off.

Only two rounds left.

"Ava, please." He begged, approaching her slowly with one hand extended toward her.

"Stay back! I swear I'll do it!" She screamed, with tears running down her cheeks.

Her stomach tightened. It's rippling caused her to lean forward slightly in pain. She tried to ignore it, but it refused to go away.

"Ava...your water...your water broke."

She looked down at her feet, now soaked in a puddle of clear fluid. The contraction stopped, and she could breathe easier once again. She almost wanted to laugh at the irony. Less than an hour ago she was pretending to go into labor, only to have it actually happen now.

"Come on, we need to get you back to bed and deliver the baby. I'll help you..."

He was cut off by the sound of the gun cocking in his face and the empty shell bouncing off the wooden floor.

"Ava please, the baby is coming. By the looks of things I don't think we have much time."

"Keys. Now!" She demanded, but her determined death glare was interrupted by another contraction, this one more powerful than the last. She doubled over in pain, and Henry took this as his opportunity to grab for the gun.

She held onto it fiercely and pulled the trigger incidentally. It shot straight up at the ceiling, creating a large black gap in the white painted wall. She fought ferociously, hitting and kicking him everywhere she could, and eventually she grabbed a hold of the gun once more. Without hesitation she cocked the gun for the last time.

One shot.

He was on the ground, easy target. She aimed for his head, but as she pulled the trigger he jumped to his feet and lunged at her. In the mist of the struggle she ended up shooting him in the left thigh. He bent over, screaming in agony. She did the same for an entirely different reason, but she couldn't give in to the pain, not yet. She had to keep going.

Sweat beading all over her body, dripping everywhere. She ran down the hall and out the front door. She did not waver, she did not look around, she just ran. Here she was again, running for her life through a field of corn. She stopped when she felt another contraction. She had run into the field, her body hidden from view. But she heard him coming. He whistled, just like he did before. A tantalizing, teasing, song.

"Ava, you can't hide from me forever. I'll hear your cries of pain, I'll find you."

He walked around slowly, limping. He dragged his left leg behind him as he continued to walk into the field, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

On her knees in pain, she gripped her hands into the dirt and silently sobbed. She wanted to scream in that moment, so bad she thought she might die. Then the pain stopped, she swallowed the air that was once again filling her lungs and got up quietly.

She thought back to the first time she ran. 'Go right' she thought, 'the road is right'. 'No, stay hidden, he knows you'll go for the road'. 'Stay hidden for as long as you can'. She told herself.

She kept going straight, avoiding him at all costs.

He was gaining on her, and fast. His complexion paled from blood-loss. He grew weaker, but remained hell-bent on finding her, like a predator seeking his prey.

She was keeping a good pace, until it happened again. This time she couldn't stifle the whimper that managed to escape her throat. The pain was too great.

"There you are.....I heard that Ava. Show yourself now and maybe I'll be more forgiving about all this." He said with a sickening grin.

'He's going to find you Ava.' she thought. 'You keep running, or you fight.'

She paused, stone faced, looking into the darkness. She stood quickly and opened her mouth, releasing a large scream.

Henry started running, out of excitement for knowing where she was and fear for what he might find.

He followed the scream and then lost the trail. Nothing but silence.

Out of nowhere, she leapt and hit his head with both fists as hard as she could. He fell to the ground, and she bent over in exhaustion. She walked over to where he lay and began to hit his face and hard as she could. He wasn't fighting back. With a broken nose and blood covering his face, he simply looked at her.

"Ava......I won't let you go. As long as I live, I will not stop." He said through ragged breath.

"I know." She said, hands reaching around his throat and squeezing. The gargling noises grew louder as she pressed harder into his throat. his limbs were flailing about, as her fingers clenched tighter and tighter.

He stared at her, his blue gray eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"Ava...pplease." he choked out.

"I love......" He stopped

She heard a crack. His limbs stilled, the gurgling ceased, and his eyes grew dim.

She released a breath and then a heart wrenching sob. Everything flooded her, the months spent being held prisoner, the fear, the anger, the pain. All of it rushed out of her as if a dam had broken and refused to be sealed. Her head fell and rested on his chest.

Eventually, regaining her composure, she rolled off of him. Looking up at the sky, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen stars, she'd forgotten  how beautiful they were.

She rubbed circles on her stomach, and whispered.

"We did it... we're free."

The pain returned, this time with a vengeance. She didn't stifle the screams of agony that followed.

"Ma'am?"

She heard an unfamiliar voice, but she knew it couldn't possibly be real.

"Ma'am are you there, I'm responding to the 911 call? ...Ma'am?"

"I'm here, over here!" She shrieked.

Then she saw the lights, red and blue. It shrouded her in its colors, provided her with calm.

"Got her!" Shouted the paramedic as he rushed to her side.

"Can you walk?" He asked

She shook her head. Every day for almost a year she had dreamed of being rescued, but never like this. Lying on her back, with the body of someone she just killed to her right, and about to become a mother. She didn't regret her actions, she did it for her child. She would do it again if she had to. She only wished there was another way, but she knew there wasn't. He would've never stopped.

The paramedic took a second to look at Henry, pressing his fingers to his neck to check for a pulse.

"It's no use, he's dead... I didn't have a choice." She muttered.

"Ok, it's ok. Hey, I need a stretcher.....and grab the maternity kit." He said as his partner shouted an affirmative and eventually found her way back to them with the requested items.

Ava was lifted onto a stretcher by the two paramedics, one man and one woman, and taken away in an ambulance. The second ambulance stayed behind with the police vehicles, awaiting the body bag it would carry to the local morgue.

"Hey honey, I know this is scary and it hurts, but I'm gonna need you to push now ok? We're close to the hospital, but this baby isn't going to wait any more. On the next contraction, bare down and push as hard as you can. You can hold on to his hand, and squeeze when it hurts." The woman said calmly.

"What's your name sweetie?" The man asked.

"A...Ava, Ava Montgomery."

"Ok Ava, my name is Andrew and this is Shiela. We're going to make sure that you and your baby turn out just fine. Now grab my hand and get ready to push." He told her gently.

She grasped his hand, but refused to squeeze with all her might out of fear that she'd break it. The contraction hit her like a ton of bricks and she brought her knees to her chest and pushed with all her force.

"Good Ava, good. I can see the head. A few more pushes and you have yourself a beautiful baby."

On the next push she felt it, her baby was almost out.

"One more Ava, make it a good one." She said.

Ava pushed with every last ounce of energy she had within her. She stopped grunting and let out a breath. The feeling of release washed over her, but she was quickly pulled back to reality by the wailing of a child. Her child.

"Congratulations Ava, you have a beautiful daughter."

"Daughter? It's a girl?" She cried for the countless time in the past few months, but this time they were tears of joy.

"Yes. Would you like to hold her?" She asked as she swaddled the baby in a protective blanket.

Ava couldn't properly form words, she was too busy staring at the small bundle, so she nodded.

The baby was handed to her and she gently peeled back the blanket to reveal the most beautiful child she had ever seen. In that moment nothing else mattered. The second her eyes fell on that innocent little girl, the months of resentment washed away. Looking at her wisps of blond hair, bright blue eyes, and soft pinkish skin, she knew love. The child hadn't cried since her emergence into the world, she just looked with curious eyes, and reached out touching her mother's face.

The pair worked around her as the chord was cut and placenta delivered. Then after there was no more to do, Andrew leaned in and asked.

"Does this beautiful little one have a name yet?"

Ever since she was a little girl, she wondered what to name a child if ever given the chance. All little girls in school would play dress up with their dolls named Ana or Lisa. She knew she wanted to name her child something different.

"Kennocha... it's Celtic for lovely." She said

"And lovely she is." Said Shiela with a smile.

The paramedics went back to work around her as they neared to hospital, but Ava's attention refused to divert from her daughter.

"Kennocha Hope Montgomery, My lovely girl......my lovely hope."