Oden by Jessica Frances

the ceiling and the water bobs by my wrist, I rush to gasp the air that is there. After a few gasps, I find that I can lift my head out of the water then eventually, my shoulders, too.
    The water level is receding!
    A few long, torturous minutes later, the water has shifted down to below my shoulders.
    “Hannah!” I call out her name, fearful she might not have made it.
    “Mattie!” she croaks out, her voice hitting the walls and moving back to me.
    I swim her way, my body aching from the effort, but I keep going. When I reach her, I am able to put my feet on the ground. I grab a hold of her, wrapping my arms around her and keeping us still. The current has already backed off and the pressure is slowing down.
    While Hannah cries into my shoulder, the shock of what nearly happened to us hitting her, I stay holding her, my neck craning to the side to see if I can catch a glimpse of anyone else.
    By the time the water is only around my ankles, Hannah’s legs give out and I move us both into a sitting position. My own legs are shaking, and I think we could both use the rest.
    She cries herself out, her head resting over my shoulder as I pat her back gently.
    “Remember when Mum used to braid our hair when we were younger and we both hated it?” I whisper, pulling a random memory forward. I brush her soaking hair away from her neck and tug on it gently to get her attention. I can see her drifting into shock, and I don’t want to lose her.
    “Yeah, we would run away screaming from her,” she hoarsely replies.
    “She used to pull my hair so hard that I swear clumps of it would come out at once,” I recall.
    “I screamed at her so loudly once that I lost my voice.” Hannah smiles at me. “Why do you think she wanted to put our hair up like that?”
    “I think because we both had such long hair that it was constantly knotty. We both didn’t like getting our hair brushed, so it would have been horrible by the time Mum got to it with a brush.”
    She nods, her body shaking from the now chilled clothes.
    “I can’t believe you’re pregnant. I thought Dad would give alien boy a hard time before, but he’d probably kill him.”
    “I think he’d get over it,” I say, half believing she might actually be right about Dad’s reaction.
    “Yeah, right, you’re his golden child. He’d probably want to kill you, too. He knew you’d do well at basketball and make an awesome career out of it.”
    “Not much of a career to be had of that now,” I say sadly. Basketball has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember, although since the invasion, I’ve barely even thought about it. I’ve only held a basketball once, and that was back when Hank and I were on our own before we found Logan’s dad dying in the street.
    “I think, for now, we need to just worry about getting out of here,” she says, her head not lifting off my shoulder. “Then we need to have a talk about the name Riley. I’m not sure I love it.”
    “Why, what do you think would be a better name?” I ask, feeling slightly offended. Riley is already set in stone. This baby won’t ever have another name.
    “I don’t know, maybe Hannah Jr?” she teases.
    “And if it is a boy?”
    “Ew, don’t have a boy. I want a niece,” she mock cries.
    “I’ll see what I can do.” I roll my eyes, but in my mind, I’m suddenly curious as to what this baby might be. Do I have a preference? Would I care either way?
    “Do you think it’ll come out green and have five legs?” Hannah asks, sounding completely serious.
    “Well, considering Marduke isn’t green and he has two legs, I’d hope not. I’m just terrified it’ll come ripping out of my stomach,” I admit. That image that came when I first found out I was pregnant is still fresh in my mind.
    “Ew! Although, it may be better for it to rip through your stomach then the alternative of it ripping through your va—”
    “Mattie?” Marduke’s voice booms down the long tunnel, his