Shattered glass ornaments littered the floor, ribbons and garland hanging limp from doorways and railings as colorful lights flickered from the broken tree leaning against the far corner. The house was silent but for the sound of the front door creaking in the wind, the hinges nearly ripped from their place in the entryway.

From upstairs comes a sudden noise, something heavy being slowly pushed along the wooden floorboards, before a steady thumping is heard. A few minutes later, Eli staggers down the stairs, blood dripping to the floor from the bullet wound in his side.

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"He lost a lot of blood. If he hadn't managed to make that call before collapsing, he would likely be dead right now."

The doctor looked into the room at the unconscious brunette before closing the door quietly behind himself, turning down the hall as he started making notes on the clipboard he carried.

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Elsewhere, a young man drove further up the winding road into a dark forest, his hand occasionally reaching out to almost touch the swell of the young woman's stomach.

"Should have been mine, not his. It should have been mine. She's mine... She's mine, so it's mine. It's mine. It's my child. It's my child!"

The sound of his broken laughter failed to awaken the pregnant female beside him.