CHAPTER 27: THE INCUBATOR

The drum changed everything.

After Killian dragged it in and Damian sealed the three locks, Eva connected the fuel line herself. She is not just a voice on the speaker. She has arms in the walls. She plugged it in, checked the pressure, and the generator stopped coughing.

The yellow light got brighter. Not bright like before the world ended, but steady. No more flicker.

"Power stable at 68%," Eva said. "We can run the incubator now."

Bianca looked up from the mattress. Tiny Elena was in her arms, burning up. Her little body was hot, too hot. She had been crying in that small, tired way for hours, and her breathing was fast.

"We need to build it now," Bianca said.

Killian was already moving. He had been saving parts for this for weeks — a clear plastic box from the old clinic, a small heater, some wires, a soft blanket. Damian, even with his arm still sore from the Day 1 bite, helped him carry the box to the inner room. Today is Day 88, he is almost recovered, so he could lift with one good arm.

I watched from the mattress. I was holding my belly. The contractions had been coming and going all night. Not strong, but enough to make me breathe different. Twin boys at 20 weeks, you feel everything.

Eva guided them.

"Place heater on left side. Not too close. Blanket inside. Temperature 36.5."

Killian followed her voice. He wiped the box clean with the last clean cloth we had. Damian taped the wires so they wouldn't touch the plastic.

It wasn't a hospital incubator. It was made from scraps. But when Eva turned it on, warm air started moving inside, soft and steady.

Bianca unwrapped Tiny Elena slowly. She was so small in Bianca's hands. Her chain was still around her neck. Bianca didn't take it off. She laid her on the blanket inside the box, on her back, and tucked a tiny piece of cloth around her.

Tiny Elena stopped crying for a second. The warm air hit her face.

"She likes it," Leo whispered. He was sitting on the floor near us, watching everything. He hadn't left Bianca's side since he came in.

Bianca put her hand through the small opening. "She is still hot. Fever is high."

Eva spoke. "Monitor. Do not open for now. Let heat stabilize her."

So we waited.

Killian sat next to me. He was still dirty from the run. "You okay?" he asked.

I nodded, but another contraction came. It was small, but I had to breathe through it. "Still coming," I whispered.

He put his hand on my belly. "They are stubborn. Like their mother."

Bianca was watching the little screen Eva put on the side of the box. It showed Tiny Elena's temperature. It was going down slowly. 38.9. 38.5. 38.2.

Leo kept asking, "Is she okay? Is she okay?"

"She is fighting," Bianca said.

We stayed like that for a long time. Damian made tea from the last leaves. Not real tea, just hot water with something that smelled like leaves. Killian fed the generator a little more fuel so the light would not drop.

Then Eva's voice changed. Sharper.

"Warning. Time limit. Bring her out now. Too long inside will dry her skin."

Bianca moved fast. She opened the box and lifted Tiny Elena out, gentle like she was made of paper. Tiny Elena was sweaty, but her breathing was slower now. Better.

"Good," Eva said. "Now drugs. Then formula."

Bianca already had it ready. The small white pill, cut in half. She crushed it with a spoon and mixed it with a tiny bit of water. She put it on Tiny Elena's tongue, drop by drop. Tiny Elena swallowed.

Then the formula. Killian had brought eleven cans that time when Keon was on his way here. We still had some left. Bianca mixed one, warm, not hot. She tested it on her wrist.

Tiny Elena drank. Slowly at first, then she took more. Her little hands grabbed at Bianca's finger.

Leo smiled. "She is hungry."

After a few minutes, Bianca put her hand on Tiny Elena's forehead. "Fever is going down. Feel."

I touched it. It was warm, but not burning like before. Calm.

Eva checked again. "Temperature 37.4. Stable."

Bianca let out a long breath she had been holding. She sat down with Tiny Elena against her chest.

And then something strange happened to me.

I was waiting for the next contraction. I had been waiting all night for them to get stronger. But it didn't come.

I waited another minute. Nothing.

Another minute. Nothing.

Killian looked at me. "Elena?"

I put both hands on my belly. "They stopped. The contractions stopped."

Bianca looked up. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes. I don't feel it anymore. I feel... okay. Just heavy. But no pain like before."

Eva said, "Heart rate normal. No contraction pattern in last ten minutes."

I started to laugh, and then I started to cry a little, because I was so tired. "I'm okay. They are okay."

Killian hugged me carefully, so he wouldn't press my belly too much.

Damian sat down against the wall, his pipe next to him. He was smiling. "Good. We needed one good night."

Leo looked around the bunker. The light was steady now. The incubator was humming quietly in the corner, warm and empty, ready for next time. Tiny Elena was asleep on Bianca, her fever calm, her belly full of formula. I was sitting up, no more contractions, feeling the twin boys move, soft kicks.

It felt like the first time in a long time that we were not running.

We were just living in the bunker.

Eva dimmed the light a little for night. "Power saved. Rest mode."

Bianca whispered to Tiny Elena, "You did good, small one."

Killian whispered to me, "You did good too."

And for the first time since Day 1, Day 88 felt like home.