by T. J. Quinn
His words warmed her heart so much she almost melted in his arms. “It won’t happen, you’ll never lose me, I’ll always be there for you,” she assured him.
He nodded, but she could tell he was still afraid. They returned to the shelter and tried to get some rest, but it was impossible.
Life on the small island changed completely. Rafaroy didn’t let Elena do much, and he used to spend hours looking for the best vegetables and fruits for her, along with the fish and meat he could get.
In two months, her belly was so big she looked seven months pregnant. Rafaroy explained to her cyborg babies developed a lot faster than a human baby.
“I guess that’s because of the nanocybots on his DNA, they work faster to develop the babies’ organs. The fact is a cyborg fetus develops in just four months,” he explained.
“We need to scan my body again, Rafaroy,” she asked him, looking at her huge belly. “If I still have one month to go, then it will be impossible for me to deliver this baby. There’s no way it will go through the birth canal.”
He paled. “I told you this was a bad idea. We have no means to perform a safe C-section here. You’ll bleed to death,” he grumbled, seeing his worst nightmares coming to life.
“Please, let’s not jump to conclusions,” she begged him, cupping his face. They were sitting on the beach watching the sunset.
“You know I’m right,” he protested.
“Where’s the nearest town? Do we have fuel to get there and come back?” she asked, ignoring his words.
“Yes, we do… the nearest town is on a nearby island.”
“I’m sure they have hospitals there. When the time comes, you’ll take me there, and I’ll go to the hospital,” she suggested.
“They would realize the baby is a cyborg and they wouldn’t allow you to leave. They have been trying to breed cyborgs ever since they developed this technology. You’re the answer to their prayers. I can’t let you near them. We have to find another way,” he explained, sounding stressed.
She stayed in silence for a few moments, trying to find a solution to their predicament. “What do we need to make the transmitter work?” she asked.
“A few small pieces we could get in any hardware store.”
“But we don’t have means to buy it.”
“No, but there’s bauxite in this island. Anyone would trade what we need for it,” he explained.
“Why would anyone want bauxite?”
“With the war, aluminum is scarce.”
“Oh, of course… they’ll want to know where I found it…” she said, considering the possibilities.
“You? You’re not going anywhere,” he rejected the idea, sharply.
“It’s our only chance of getting out of here in time for me to have this baby, Rafaroy,” she pointed out in a firm tone. “I’m the only person able to go into a town without raising any suspicions. The code bar from my neck is long gone, and I’m pregnant. People will be sympathetic towards me, especially when I tell them I live on a remote area and that I need the pieces to fix our transmitter,” she added, with a naughty smile, “you know, to call the ambulance when the time comes. It’s the perfect story.”
“It’s too dangerous,” he insisted.
“It’s the only way. I thought you wanted me to be alright.”
“Of course, I do, but…”
“This is the only way. We need to get to Arcadia before it’s time or I won’t be able to keep my word with you…” she said, in a stern tone. “There’s no way I can deliver this baby now… much less in a month,” she added, her worry evident in her tone.
He gasped and turned to look at her. “It’s too dangerous…” he insisted.
“I know, but it’s the only way.”
He stayed in silence for a few moments before he finally nodded, accepting her suggestion. “We’ll go find the rocks as soon as the sun comes up. We’ll go to the nearest town, and you’ll trade the bauxite for the pieces we need, and you’ll get out of there as fast as possible.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
She cupped his face and kissed him. “Yes, I’ll go so fast you won’t even notice I was gone,” she assured him.
He pulled her into his lap and kissed her back.
They were alone on what Elena called their private piece of beach. Zandar and Alanna had learned not to bother them when they were there, and they normally used their time there to give wings to their passion.
Elena’s huge belly wasn’t an obstacle, and sometimes she even felt, their passion was stronger and deeper than ever.
That night was no different. If any, the bond between them felt deeper.
Rafaroy cradled her face and claimed her lips in a hungry kiss, his tongue assailing her mouth and leaving no inch untouched, making sure she knew who she belonged to.
She returned the kiss with the same fiery passion, pulling his clothes off his body, eager to feel his warm skin under her touch, while he did the same with her clothes as well. In just a few seconds, they were both naked, exploring each other’s bodies and relishing the pleasure each caress gave them.
When the fire was too powerful to control, Rafaroy helped her get on all fours as he leaned over her back and caressed her earlobes, with the tip of his tongue. “Are you ready for me, Elena?” he murmured, with his voice hoarser than ever, sending chills down her spine.
“I'm always ready for you…” she moaned, moving her hips to get closer to him.
He grunted his pleasure, but he wanted more. He wanted to take her to paradise before traveling there himself.
Crouching between her legs, he covered her lower back and buttocks with kisses and nibbles, right before he reached for her wet pussy.
She let out a loud moan when she felt his wet tongue playing with her folds, the tickling sensation immediately spreading through her whole pussy, increasing her pleasure.
Her body convulsed, out of control when his tongue reached her aching clit, licking and teasing it before his lips joined the game and sucked and pulled the engorged bud. Her legs trembled so much she was having trouble to stay on her four, but she totally lost the battle when his teeth captured her clit.
Jolts of pleasure and pain rushed through her body in an inebriant cocktail, and she lost herself on the wild waves of a powerful orgasm.
But Rafaroy was there, to hold her in place. While her body still swirled on the waves of bliss, he made her his. His hard cock slid inside her with a swift motion, going all the way in, before he started to push in and out of her.
Despite the orgasm he had conjured for her, feeling him inside her was enough to make her get on the path to paradise once more. And when he came, after a few thrusts, she was ready to ride the new waves with him, especially when he poured his essence deep inside her.
This time, he allowed her to fall on the warm sand of the beach, too exhausted to do anything else. He lay next to her and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t lose you…” he whispered in her ear.
“You won’t… I promise…” she assured him. “Everything will be alright, and we’ll get what we need to fly out of this planet. You’ll see.”
He nuzzled her neck but didn’t say anything else, loving to have her there in his arms and realizing he was holding his whole world. Life would lose any meaning if he lost her.
Elena sighed, cuddling against him. Yes, she was nervous. She was still wearing the Taucets’ trackers on her nipples, and a lot of things could go wrong on their trip to the nearest town, but she knew it was the only way they would be able to get what they needed to contact the cyborgs on Arcadia.
She needed their help if she wanted to deliver her baby safely. She wasn’t ready to leave Rafaroy. She had never been so happy in her life, and she wanted more. Yes, maybe she was greedy, but she couldn’t care less. She deserved to be happy, and she was going to fight for that happiness with all of her beings.
The following morning, when she woke up, Rafaroy had already left with Zandar to get the bauxite
she would need to trade for the pieces for the transmitter. Alanna wasn’t very pleased with the idea of her sister going to the nearest island all alone.
“I want to go with you.”
“It’s not a good idea, sweetie. I’ll be out for just a few hours, you won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Of course I will… I’ll be here worried sick until you come back safe and sound,” she grumbled.
“This will take us off of this planet sooner than planned. I’m sure you’re looking forward that moment as much as I am.”
“I know… but I’ll still worry.”
The men returned at mid-morning, and Elena left immediately with Rafaroy. Zandar stayed behind to watch over Alanna. Elena refused to leave the girl alone, in case the worse happened and they weren’t able to return. This way, she knew her sister would be taken care of.
After scanning the nearest island, Rafaroy chose a small clearing in the tropical woods to land the vessel. Elena would have to walk a bit to get to town, but they had improvised a trolley for her to carry the rocks.
He hugged her tight before he allowed her to walk away. “Please, be careful. If they start asking too many questions, just get the hell out of there and run back here. If this fails, we’ll find another way.”
She nodded, but she knew there was no other way. With the list of the pieces they needed in one hand, she left towards the city.
There weren’t many people on the streets, but fortunately, it wasn’t hard to find the hardware store. Of course, her huge belly seemed to attract all the people’s look. It was very rare to see a pregnant woman, ever since the war had started.
She entered the store and headed to the man behind an old-fashioned counter. She had no idea people still used this kind of counters.
The man looked at her with suspicion. “What can I do for you, ma’am?” he asked in a cold tone.
“Good afternoon, sir,” she greeted him, putting on her best smile. “I was wondering if you would be interested in acquiring this.” She uncovered the bauxite and showed it to him.
The man’s eyes almost popped out of its orbits. “Where did you find that?” he asked, even more suspicious.
“There’s some of it up on the mountain where I live with my husband,” she explained. “We had been saving it for a special occasion.” She rubbed her prominent belly, saying with no words what the special occasion was.
“What do you want for that?” the man asked, with a deep frown.
Not very pleased with the man’s expression, she handed him the list. “We need this. Our transmitter is broken and living so far from other people, we can’t be without it, especially now, that we’ll soon need to call the ambulance.”
He took a look at the list and another look at the rocks she had on her trolley. “I guess I can give you this for all of those rocks…” he said, trying to make her feel as if he was doing her a huge favor.
But she had noticed the greedy look in his eyes when he had seen the bauxite.
Either way, she smiled, pretending to ignore the truth. “That would be perfect, sir.”
He turned around to look for the pieces she had on her list, and a few minutes later he was putting what she needed on the counter.
She checked the pieces and nodded. “That’s exactly what we need.”
“How the hell did you get yourself in that position? Don’t you know there’s a war going on?” he asked, with obvious disdain.
“Even the best plans often fail, sir,” she replied, doing her best to keep smiling.
He snorted. “I guess. Well, if you ever have some more of that, you can bring it to me,” he told her, walking around the counter to get the bauxite.
“Of course, sir,” she grabbed the pieces from the counter and put them on her small purse. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, sir.”
She left the store and headed to the nearest corner. She had a bad feeling about the man, and though she was trying to convince herself she was overreacting, she couldn’t shake off the feeling. She hid in the nearest alley, behind a garbage container and waited.
She didn’t have to wait long to see the man running past her. He was following her, probably to find out where she had taken the bauxite from so that he could get more for himself.
Cursing her luck, she waited a few more minutes, until she was sure he was long gone before she walked out of the alley. Walking as fast as possible and using other streets than the main one, she reached the town’s limit. She was about to head out to the woods when she saw the store’s owner, accompanied by a soldier.
She quickly hid away from them, behind an ornamental tree in a house’s doorway and waited for them to walk by her, praying all gods in the universe to go unnoticed.
They were about to reach her when the door behind her opened up, and she was pulled inside, and out of sight.
“Good afternoon Jerkins, how rare to see you out of the hardware store at this hour.” A woman’s voice greeted the man.
Elena closed her eyes and waited for the worse.
“Margaret, it’s nice seeing you too. I had a small business to take care of, that’s all,” the man replied, in a cold tone, not even stopping to talk with her.
“Well, it was nice seeing you again,” the woman shouted, before she closed the door behind her back, turning to look at Elena. “They’re gone.”
Elena slowly opened her eyes and looked at the old woman staring at her. “Thank you, you probably saved my life,” she said in a low tone.
The woman chuckled, crossing the hallway towards the kitchen. “I doubt it, but it’s always a pleasure to frustrate Jerkins’ plans. You look as if you need a good cup of tea. Why don’t you join me?”
Elena looked at the door and thought of Rafaroy waiting for her, but she finally decided he could wait for a few more minutes. “That would be great, thank you.” She followed the woman into the kitchen and took a seat on the table as she told her to.
“How long until you have your baby?” Margaret asked, putting a cup of tea in front of her.
“One more month, at least, according to my calculations. It’s hard to know went my birth control implant stopped working,” she explained, relishing on the sweet taste of her tea.
“That’s a very big baby,” she said, looking at Elena’s huge belly.
“My husband is a very big man,” Elena assured her, finishing her drink. “I really appreciate your help, ma’am, but I have to go now. My husband is waiting for me, and I’m sure he’s already worried about my delay,” she added, getting up.
“I’m sure he is. Do you have clothes for that baby? I’m sure it won’t be easy to find some these days?” the woman asked, getting up as well.
“No, not yet, but we’ll manage,” or so she hoped so. If there were no babies in Arcadia, finding babies’ products wouldn’t be that easy.
“I have a bag full of baby clothes that belonged to my son. You can have them if you want to,” the woman offered, with a faint smile. “He was a very big baby too.”
For a moment, Elena was too surprised to answer the woman’s offer. “Are you sure? I can’t pay you for them…”
“I’m not selling the clothes, girl, I’m offering them. If you think you can use them, then, it would be a pleasure knowing a new baby was using them,” she let out a deep sigh, “I had lost hope of ever seeing a pregnant woman again. Seeing you has made this old woman very happy. It gave me hope this world won’t end just yet.”
Elena felt a bit guilty for the woman’s feelings since she wasn’t staying on this world, but then again, she was right. Her baby meant hope for the future, probably, not for the humans’ future, but certainly for the cyborgs’ future.
“Ma’am, I would be honored to use your son’s clothes,” she finally accepted.
With a wide smile, the woman guided her to a room down the hall and handed her a big bag. It wasn’t that heavy, but Elena wished she hadn't left the trolley back on the store.
“I packed this t
o give it away, but then I realized there was no one to give it to, so I left it there,” the woman explained, with a sad smile.
“It was waiting for me,” Elena said, with a smile.
Margaret laughed and handed her the bag. “It has wheels, so you’ll be able to carry it easily,” she said, pushing a button and making the wheels come out at the bottom of the bag.
“Thank you, very much, Margaret. This will be of great help.” Acting on an impulse, Elena hugged the older woman.
“It was a pleasure knowing you, girl. Now, you better leave, before your husband feels the need to come looking for you.”
Elena chuckled but nodded.
Margaret opened the door, and after making sure the street was clear, she helped Elena come out. “Take care of yourself and that little baby.”
“Thank you, take care of yourself too.”
Quickly, Elena walked down the street, towards the woods and soon she was out of sight.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
When she reached the vessel, Rafaroy was about to have a heart attack. She had been away a bit longer than he expected, so when he saw her walk towards him, he let out a deep sigh of relief.
“What took you so long?” he grumbled.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way home.”
Nodding he helped her hop in the vessel along with her bag and soon they were flying away towards their island.
She told him all that had happened, and she could see his frustration that he had not been able to protect her.
“All that matters is that we have what we need and even more,” she said, putting her hand over his. “There was no other way.”
Back on the island, Zandar and Alanna welcomed them with a real feast. They wanted to celebrate the success of their mission.
After they had eaten, both men went to the vessel to work on the transmitter.
Repairs didn’t go quite as they expected. It took them two more weeks to make the device work properly. With each day that went by, Rafaroy got more and more worried about Elena’s wellbeing. The baby was very big now, and he was afraid he would tear her from the inside, on his way out.
