by Isobel Hart
“I don’t know. This is the first I knew of it.”
“So you haven’t seen any other blood on your trips to the bathroom?”
“No, nothing.”
“Any other discharge at all?”
“No. Just this blood, and I didn’t know that was there until Aiden saw it.”
“Had you had intercourse?” the doctor asked Aiden. Edward bristled, his fists clenching by his sides.
“No. I saw the blood and called for you.”
“What about you?” Dr Nicholls asked Edward, who replied with a terse shake of his head, as he continued to stare at Aiden.
The door opened again, bringing a halt to the accusatory exchange, as the machine was wheeled in. Dr Nichols grabbed it and quickly switched everything on, wheeling it over to the bedside. He pushed my robe aside, uncaring of my nakedness, as he doused my lower belly in the cool blue gel. Seconds after he had the probe pressed against me. The strong sound of my child’s racing heartbeat filled the room, and the men collectively sighed in relief. “Thank the powers,” Aiden murmured, surprising me when he pressed a kiss against my forehead.
Edward growled, “Haven’t you already done enough?” before moving protectively beside me. “You need to leave her alone if she’s bleeding,” he said, looking to the doctor for confirmation.
“Edward has a point. If the pregnancy is at all unstable, I would recommend avoiding intercourse, at least for a couple of weeks, until we can be confident the baby is secure. It is too important for us to risk. I prescribe at least a week of bedrest. We can review the situation in a week if there has been no further bleeding.”
“Can I move back to my own room if I have to go on bedrest?” I asked Aiden, pulling the robe tight around me again once Dr Nichols had wiped the excess gel from my stomach. “I’d be more comfortable there.” Aiden stared at me intently, making me worried he’d smelt a rat – that I’d suggested the return to my own room too quickly – terrified he’d caught wind of our ploy.
“For now,” he allowed finally. “Watch her,” he said, looking at both Richard and the doctor. “I want to be certain she is well looked after. I will still need her presence at any interviews I need to do.”
“We’ll make sure she has someone with her at all times,” Richard agreed quickly. He looked at me, his gaze unblinking as he said, “She’ll never be alone.” It sounded like a threat.
“I’ll take her back,” Edward said, moving closer to me and making as if to scoop me off the bed.
“No,” Richard said, “I’ll do it. You’re needed by Ella.” I stiffened at the girl’s name, as did Edward. “She was keen you should spend the night with her tonight. We need to ensure we keep our pregnant women happy if we’re going to breed successfully.”
“The chances of that being my child are slim to nothing. Or at least, how many men are there at this house? A couple hundred to one. You know as well as I do she has slept with every willing man here, which has been every man – yourself included. It is not my child. She’s jealous of Sam and trying to cause trouble.”
“Regardless, I think we need to keep her happy until the pregnancy is secure, so go and see her,” Richard said, moving to pick me up. I shuddered as his arms wrapped around me. Edward ground his teeth as Richard carried me out of the room.
“I don’t know how you did it,” Richard whispered, as he walked back towards my own room, a guard walking behind us, “but I know you made this happen. Don’t get any ideas, Sam. I’m watching you. Watching both of you.”
“Richard, you’re becoming paranoid,” I said with a laugh, praying my voice didn’t sound too high the way it normally did when I told lies. “Just because you’re always trying to get one over on people doesn’t mean we all are.”
The guard opened the door to my room and Richard swept us inside, depositing me on my bed. “You’ll stay here, Sam. Alone. Perhaps it will give you a chance to reflect on what side your bread is buttered. You have a chance to be something special in this new world, and you’re squandering that chance. You could learn a thing or two from Ella, you know.”
“The only thing I could learn from Ella would be how to treat sexually transmitted diseases. She has to be something of an expert.”
“Regardless, you’ll remain here. Alone.”
“Can I see Heidi?”
“Well, that all depends on how you behave, doesn’t it,” he said, storming out the room, leaving instructions with the guards as he passed that I was never to be left unguarded and to ensure I had no unapproved visitors.
***
The first day dragged with nothing and no one to distract me. My only visitor was Dr Nichols, who came by twice to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. Edward tried to visit, but the guards turned him away, his voice raised in aggravation. By the second day, despite being bored out of my mind, I became more concerned about what was happening to Heidi. When the doctor visited I tried to enquire, but either he knew nothing or he too had been sworn to a vow of silence. When my evening meal was delivered, I was grateful to see Peter’s familiar face.
“I wanted to thank you,” he whispered as he placed my tray down on the small table by the window. “Thanks to you I’ve been taken off servicing the herd. My wife is so much happier. Really, I can’t thank you enough for making the case to Aiden.”
“It was the right thing to do,” I assured him. “For your people and mine. If there is ever going to be a way we can live together, we need to understand one another better.”
“Yeah, well, there’s not much sign of it yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s been violence. Lots of it. Raids on the herd holding locations. Attacks on some of the government stations. The opposition are better prepared than the leadership imagined they would be.”
“Didn’t expect women to have it in them to resist, did you?”
“As I understand it, it’s not a common experience in these situations.”
“So women are really fighting back?”
“They are, with some of the men who have not been turned.”
I looked out the window at the tranquil grounds, finding it hard to believe. A kernel of hope lit within me, though, as I pondered what I could do to help them. “What about here? Has there been any trouble at the house?”
“Not yet, but we’re on high alert. Don’t worry yourself though, we’ll keep you safe.” I stared at him, wondering how he could imagine I would ever want to be kept a ‘safe’ prisoner here, rather than be free amongst my own kind. “Anyway, eat up,” he said, looking down at the cooling plate of food. “Richard said your friends could come and see you later.”
“Friends?”
“Heidi, is it?”
I nodded, relieved to hear she had been kept here and was seemingly well.
“And Ella and Tara.”
I refrained from correcting him for describing Ella as a friend. “When?”
“Tonight. They’re bringing a TV and DVD player. Apparently they have plans for a chick flick night or something. Sounds horrific if you ask me.”
“I agree,” I muttered. It sounded like something Heidi would enjoy, but was my idea of hell. I’d rather have gone to a kickboxing class.
***
By the time the girls rocked up with the TV I was so bored that even the idea of a girls’ movies night sounded good. Heidi hugged me tightly when she walked into the room. “Have you been okay?” I asked her. “Have they left you alone?”
“Yeah. Now they know they can’t get me pregnant, they don’t really bother with me. I can’t leave, but they don’t touch me.”
“How are you?” I asked Tara. She looked pale and a little withdrawn.
“Not so good,” she admitted. “I’ve had some cramping today. I think I’m going to lose the baby.”
“How do you feel about that?” I asked, remembering my own surprise at how bonded I had immediately felt to my own baby. Tara was a similar age to me.
“Oh, not so surpri
sed. This is my second pregnancy since I’ve lived here. Last time I got to about this stage, and then I lost it. I’m learning not to get my hopes up.”
“Second?” I said, surprised.
“Yeah. It might even be Ella’s third,” she whispered, looking over at where Ella had made herself comfortable on the bed, while Peter pottered about setting up the DVD player. Ella had ignored me since she walked in. “None of us go much beyond six weeks usually. Often earlier. You’re the only exception. How are you anyway? Any more bleeding?”
“No,” I said, feeling guilty for worrying them. “No, I’ve been fine and the baby is still fine.”
“Would you be sad if you lost it?” Heidi asked.
“Yeah, I would,” I admitted.
“It would solve a problem, though. Without your baby, they seem unable to reproduce. It throws a spanner in the works as far as their invasion is concerned.”
It was true. I represented a future I found as unpalatable as anyone. But it was still an innocent child. My child – to love and protect. It was still a life. I explained how I felt to Heidi. “I get it, I do,” she admitted. “If it were me, I know I would want to keep it too. I understand. I just don’t know if everyone else will feel the same way.”
We were prevented from talking further because Peter had finally got the film working. Ella huffed as Heidi and I piled onto the bed beside her, while Tara sat on the chair. “Enjoy, ladies,” Peter said with a smile, as he left us to it. We’d watched about half an hour when Tara excused herself to go to the toilet. When she emerged, I took one look at her face and could tell the news was bad.
“I’m bleeding heavily,” she said.
“Are you okay? Can we do anything?”
“No. I’ll go and find the doctor to confirm it.”
“I’ll come with you,” Heidi offered. “You shouldn’t be alone.”
“Thanks,” Tara said, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I appreciate it.” The pair left. I heard them explaining to Peter what was happening. Ever the gentleman, he offered to escort them. It left Ella and me alone for the first time.
I tried to focus on the film, but Ella’s eyes never left me. Eventually I couldn’t ignore it any longer. “Have you got a problem? What are you staring at?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It hasn’t got a label on it.”
“Oh, grow up, Ella, for God’s sake.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” She stood, and looked down at me, her face twisted with hatred. “You’ve got them eating out the palm of your hand, and you don’t even appreciate it! You don’t deserve to be the only one able to carry their child. It’s not fair,” she said, her voice rising. I found myself wishing Peter were still outside.
I stood, placing the bed between us, my anxiety ramping up a notch with the direction this conversation had started to take. “If none of us can carry a child, you shouldn’t either,” she said, walking slowly around the bed towards me. The film continued to play in the background, masking the sound of our conversation.
“What are you talking about, Ella? You’re pregnant too.”
“See, that’s the problem. I’m spotting. I’ve been here before. Next comes heavier bleeding, and then . . . no baby.”
“Ella, I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me? Tell anyone? Do you want me to call for the doctor?” As much as I hated her, hated what she’d done with Edward, the larger part of me was still sorry to see her going through yet another miscarriage, if what Tara had told me earlier was true.
“See, you’re glad. Because of Edward. Just so you know . . . he liked fucking me. Whatever he said to you, this was his child. He couldn’t get enough of me.”
“Okay, whatever. Look, I’m sorry you’re losing the baby, but there’s no need to be a bitch to me about it.”
“See, I think there is. Because it’s not fair. If I can’t have this child,” she said, moving in front of me, “then I don’t think you should have that one either.” Her fist shot out without any warning, punching me straight in the lower abdomen. Pain radiated through me.
“Fuck! No, stop!” I said, bending forward, trying to protect my baby. Further blows rained down on my head, legs and arms as she continued to punch, kick and slap me.
“It’s not fucking fair!” she screamed.
Something in me snapped. Fortunately, apart from the first hit, when I’d been unprepared and she’d landed the blow squarely on my lower belly, most of her hits were weak. She hit like a girl. But I knew that, before long, she would find something to hit me with. And if she got a hit to my head I could be in trouble, left unconscious and unable to defend myself or my bean. I needed to act. Calling on my kickboxing skills I got myself into a defensive stance, parrying her blows before landing my own uppercut followed by an elbow into her chin. She reeled, wobbling on her feet, as I finished her with a roundhouse kick straight into the side of her abdomen. For a second or two she stayed upright, before crashing to the floor, taking the small table with her. My immediate sense of relief halted at the sight of the growing pool of blood that seeped from between her legs. Worse was the sound of her scream accompanied by the wailing shriek of an alarm.
Chapter 31
Initially my only thought was ‘Oh God, what have I done?’. Then I rationalised my fear. It had been her or me. Self-defence. I wasn’t going to apologise for defending myself. Ella’s initial scream had reduced to a moan, as she clutched her stomach. “You killed it,” she wailed. “You killed it.”
“You were already miscarrying. You said so.”
“I’ll have you tried for manslaughter.”
“You attacked me.”
“Prove it,” she said, before taking a big breath and letting out the most ear-piercing scream I had ever had the misfortune to hear. The wailing alarm continued in discordant harmony in the background, while I held my hands over my ears and wished it would all shut the hell up for a moment so I could think.
To my surprise no one arrived in response to Ella’s piercing scream. Then, shots were fired outside. I ran to the window. Sure enough, shadowed figures dressed in black swarmed at the gates. They were carrying weapons. An explosion blew the vast metal gates inwards. Armoured vehicles poured through, tearing up the gravel drive, stopping at the entrance to the house. People fired at them from the building.
“What the fuck’s happening?” Ella said, when she stopped screaming to draw breath, the sound of gunfire unmissable now it was so close.
“The cavalry’s arrived,” I said. On cue the door to my room burst open and Edward appeared, looking wild.
“Sam, we need to leave, now,” he said, ignoring Ella on the ground.
“Edward, she killed our baby!” Ella sobbed.
Edward glanced down at her for a second and then back at me. “Now, Sam.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the safe rooms. We need to regroup and allow the men to clear the threat from the house and grounds.”
“Who is it?” I asked, looking back towards the window and the sound of increasing gunfire beyond.
“The resistance. They’ve been trying to take out all the big centres over the last day or so. Trying to take the leadership out where they can. They’ve struck gold this time with Aiden here. We need to get out of this room and down to the safe rooms. Richard and Aiden are overseeing the evacuation, and they sent me to get you and the other girls. Come on!”
“I don’t want to go with you.” He recoiled, looking hurt. “To the cellars,” I qualified, “with Richard and Aiden.”
“What do you mean? What do you want to do?”
“Stay with the resistance.”
“Don’t be stupid. They won’t want you.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“The baby, Sam. They won’t want to allow you to have this child. Our child. They’ll force you to terminate.”
“No . . . I mean . . . they can’t – I’m too far along, aren’t I? I mean, why?”
�
�God, for an intelligent woman, you are being really stupid. We don’t have time to talk about this right now. Anyway, Richard and Aiden are not about to leave you behind up here, and I’m not in a position to take them all on,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door.
“What about me?” Ella croaked from her foetal position on the floor.
“You can burn in hell for all I care,” Edward said.
I hated the girl, but it seemed a bit harsh. “Edward, she needs help. She’s miscarrying. You’ll have to carry her.”
“If she stays here someone else will find her. Either them or us. I need to get you into a safe place until the house is secured.” There was more gunfire, closer this time.
“We can’t leave her,” I said again, crouching down to put my arm under her arms and attempting to lift her off the ground.
“Oh!” she moaned, “you’re hurting me again.”
“Fuck, Samantha, you shouldn’t be lifting her in your condition. Fuck!” He pulled Ella from me and hoisted her easily into his arms. “Come on,” he said. This time I followed.
We exited the bedroom and bumped straight into Tara and Heidi, accompanied by Peter, hurrying back towards the room. They both exclaimed when they saw the state of Ella in Edward’s arms. “All of you, this way,” Edward said, nodding down the hallway. “We have to pass across the entrance hall to get to the stairway down to the cellars. Our men have it covered, but we can’t hang about. Security are waiting for us. Come on.”
When we reached the entrance hall, men with automatic weapons filled every doorway, panicked instructions flying between them. Shots fired immediately outside. As we assessed the distance to the cellar stairway, the carved oak doors blew to pieces in front of us, and the resistance broke through.
“Get down!” Edward shouted, and we all hit the deck.
I landed hard, air whooshing from my lungs, lifting my head in time to see people dressed in black start pouring through the gaping hole left where the doors had once been.
The security from the house started shooting. Three men and a woman were hit in the first volley of shots. They went down straightaway, unmoving. “Keep down,” Edward said, as the resistance returned fire.
