October Is Not Scary…

Except In the Dark of Night

The baby was born on October 31st at 9:00 p.m. She was born in the hospital birthing room. It had its own shower which Miranda used during a stretch where she had planned to give it all up and let them rip the baby out of her with a chainsaw if that’s what it took. But it didn’t end up happening that way.

It was as natural a birth as they get, but still, Miranda was fucking exhausted. She was annoyed at her friend Sunshine (yes, that’s really her name) who had told her that birth was orgasmic and amazing and who had pushed out her baby at home in a pool to the tunes of the Beatles.

Her husband had been in the water with her talking about how cool it all was in between chanting like a lunatic. At least that was how Miranda had pictured it.

Bart did not chant. He held her hand and massaged her back and did whatever she asked.

That one time he had walked away and looked at his phone she yelled and swore at him so loud he didn’t do it again until given permission long after the baby had slithered out in the last burst of agony she anticipated having for the rest of her life.

Who the fuck created humans to make more of themselves in this bizarre fashion? Probably a man. No way a female god of the universe would make other women go through this.

The hospital had said they could go home a few hours later but that was before the news about the possible baby snatchers was known.

They were lying around marvelling at the baby's rosebud mouth and miraculous toes and Miranda was considering whether she would ever have sex again when a nurse came in with a frightened look on her face.

“We’ve been told that a cult is looking for a newborn baby to sacrifice tonight. The hospital has tightened its security and the police are also going to be patrolling around but we wanted you to know.”

The idyllic and blissful adoration of their baby was harshly interrupted. Miranda glared at Bart with a look of horror.

“Do you think your mother has anything to do with this?”

Bart’s mother had joined numerous strange groups over the past few years, but nothing that sounded quite this insane.

Bart shook his head and hauled himself off the bed where he had been reposed next to Miranda gazing at the baby.

“Should I go home and get my gun?”

Miranda told him that no way in hell was he leaving her there now. They debated whether they should try to leave but the thought of getting to their car with nutjobs on the lookout for a baby sounded challenging.

The nurse left them to go on her merry way informing other mothers who were giving birth or had done so. Holy hell, Miranda thought. What if I was in the middle of labour when the nutters came in to snatch a baby?

While they were discussing what to do they dressed the baby in the tiny clothes they had brought to the hospital. Ironically they had a sleeper that looked like a creepy pumpkin which a well-intentioned relative had given them for a baby gift.

Still, it was cozy and they thought they might need it on her if they decided to leave.

Screams were what they heard next, and running feet. Bart was at the door in a flash looking into the hallway.

“Shit, there are people in black robes chasing the nurses!”

He grabbed the baby and told Miranda to get dressed.

She hauled her aching body out of the bed and started to put her clothes back on. This was not how she had envisioned the night passing. They grabbed the diaper bag they had packed and decided to leave everything else for tomorrow and get the hell out.

Bart held the baby with his other arm around Miranda as they crept into the hallway keeping an eye out for the freaks.

It was eerily quiet in the hall. Even the birthing mother who had been screaming in the next room was silent. Had she given birth or was she dead? Miranda was imagining the worst.

Suddenly they could hear muffled noises from behind a door they passed. They were not happy sounds. Bart tried to hurry them along but Miranda was not at her best. Then they heard the door behind them open and as they glanced back they saw the black frock folks coming.

Bart opened the next door he saw. It was a storage room and thank god it had a lock on the inside. He pulled them in and locked it just in time.

Miranda was terrified. And exhausted. Bart was holding the baby and looking at Miranda in a strange way.

“Miranda, I haven’t told you everything about me, or my mother.”

It was the look on his face that scared her the most. “Give me the baby,” she hissed.

Bart held the baby more tightly and looked at Miranda while opening the door to the hallway. Four black-cloaked people stood behind the open door gazing expectantly at them. Miranda began to scream. But no one came.

Bart handed the baby to the tallest person. It was then that Miranda recognized Bart’s mother. She cooed at the baby and said congratulations. She asked Bart where the placenta was.

And then she pulled out a knife.

Miranda’s cries echoed through the hallways. And still, no one came. The baby was taken down the hallway, part of their entourage, beginning to fuss now. Bart held Miranda back.

“Who are you?”

Her scream intensified with each step the black cloaks took away from her.

The next thing Miranda remembers is waking in her hospital room. it is November 1st. The baby is in a bassinet next to her. Bart is asleep in the chair.

Miranda got out of bed and picked up the baby, undressed her, and looked over her whole body. There was a tiny mark on her arm, a pinprick size. As if someone had taken blood. Otherwise, she was the same perfect baby she had been the night before.

Miranda set her down and got dressed. Somehow she was back in the hospital gown. Bart woke up while she was pulling on her jeans. She seized the baby and backed away. Bart looked puzzled.

“What’s the matter?”

Miranda walked down the hall to the nurse's station. It all looked the same as it had yesterday when they had first arrived. The nurse lifted her head from her computer screen. When Miranda asked her what had happened the night before the nurse looked puzzled.

“You went to sleep after your baby was born. Your husband did a lovely job holding her. So glad you had a good rest.”

Then Miranda noticed the black cloak on the back of her chair.

“What is that?”

The nurse looked back and chuckled. “Just part of my Halloween costume.”

Miranda turned and walked away.

The nurse called back to her: “I know you wanted to take home your placenta and bury it in your garden but unfortunately last night someone took it away by accident. Sorry about that.”

Bart’s mother was coming down the hallway towards her, smiling and with a gift wrapped in black paper. Miranda tried to hurry past but the nurse was right beside her now, shoving a wheelchair which she pushed her and the baby into.

Miranda felt a poke in her arm and a feeling of well-being spread through her body. Bart’s mother took the baby from her. She heard the nurse tell Bart that Miranda was all ready to leave the hospital.

The nurse was wearing the black cloak again. That was the last thing she remembered…