Pain did not arrive all at once.It crept in waves, dull at first, then sharp enough to steal Ruby’s breath. The ceiling lights above the stretcher blurred as she was rushed through corridors that smelled of antiseptic and panic. Voices overlapped, urgent and clipped, but none of them made sense. Her body felt like it no longer belonged to her, as if it were a battleground everyone else was fighting over.Her hand clutched her stomach.No. No, no, no.Kelvin ran beside her, his face pale, eyes wild. “Stay with me,” he kept saying, like repetition alone could anchor her to the world. “Ruby, look at me. Please.”She tried. She really did. But the pain surged again, white-hot, and a sob tore out of her chest.“I can feel it,” she cried. “Something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong.”“We’re almost there,” Lina said, her voice tight as she held Ruby’s other hand. “Just a little longer.”The doors to the medical wing burst open.Doctors swarmed immediately. Orders were barked. Monitors were
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