
A short work of quasi-fiction At the first beep of the alarm, Olivia’s arm shot out from beneath the pile of scratchy dollar-store blankets and
Rebecca Fortnight, feeling redundant in her life, stood on her deck gazing at distant mountains. With her children in school and her mother-in-law, Maple, handling mornings, Bex’s days felt empty. She pondered her role in the family, feeling more like a spectator than a participant.
In the still of the night, where moments of crisis intersect with tales of the inexplicable, the maternity ward of the Royal Perth Hospital (as imagined in fiction) became an eerie tableau of unfolding horror. The odds-defying birth of girls only, a stumbling, exhausted father, and the sudden, harrowing cascade of emergencies set a scene as chilling as any thriller. Amidst the lockdown and the pulsing red alarm, Dr. Amelia Taylor stood, tablet in hand, decisions weighing heavily on her. Outside, the world had tipped into chaos, with the sanctuary of the ward morphing into a bastion against a crisis far greater than any could have anticipated. This narrative is a gripping reminder of the fragile veneer of calm in the face of unfathomable events.