by Merita King
“I once watched my sister give birth,” Cap said. “She went into labour early and we couldn’t get her to the medical facility in time, so her son ended up being born at home. It all seemed to happen naturally and she just yelled her head off and pushed.” He shrugged. “Sorry, I’m not much help but that’s how it was.”
The hairy guy laid his mate down at the far corner of the room and was whimpering as she cried out and kept looking over at us. The way he looked at me told me that he wasn’t just an anxious father. Something was wrong and he wanted us to help. What the hell I was supposed to do was beyond me so I leapt up and headed to the nearest digital console and tapped in ‘problems giving birth - humanoids’ and waited. A screen came up with a whole list of things that could cause problems, many of which I was able to dismiss right away. How long she’d been in labour was a mystery to me so I took a stab in the dark and opted for ‘baby stuck in birth canal - possible causes.’ I read a bit and then ran over to the female. This could be very awkward as I needed to see her most private parts and wasn’t quite sure how the big guy would react. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I looked at him and smiled and nodded slowly. He whimpered at me pleadingly so I took another deep breath and reached out to the female. As gently as I could, I spread her knees and looked at her crotch area. As she moaned in obvious agony, I could instantly see something trying to force its way out so I reached out and gingerly felt around with my fingers until I realised I was feeling a tiny bottom.
“Oh shit,” I cried.
“What’s up Sam?” Dex asked.
“It’s coming out bottom first. What the fuck do I do?”
“That’s gonna tear her apart,” Baz replied.
“You’ll have to push it back up,” Luggs said. We all looked at him accusingly but he raised both hands. “I’m not joking Sam. Wait until she’s between pains and then push it back a tiny bit and you’ll free up the legs so they can drop down and come out first. Just a tiny bit mind, don’t be forceful about it or you could do more damage. Then use your fingers to gently free up the legs so they can drop down.”
“Aww hell I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I groaned and took another breath. When the pain seemed to finish I inserted my fingers again and gave a tiny push. Nothing happened so I pushed a little harder and felt my fingers go inside her a little further. “It’s working I think,” I cried. “I felt it move back up.” This was encouraging so I gave another push and it moved some more.
“Get your other hand in if you can and feel around for the legs,” someone called from behind me. Leaning forwards, I reached up with my free hand and was able to insert two fingers. For agonising seconds I rooted around and was just about to despair when I felt a thigh wriggle between my fingers. It felt wet and slippery as I scrabbled my fingers down over a tiny kneecap and then clasped the lower leg and wriggled it free. The guys gave a cheer as they saw the leg dangle from the female’s crotch and I sighed and grinned.
“Now the other one Sam,” Dex called. “Go on, you can do it buddy.” The female’s breath came in short gasps and I had to wait as another pain ravaged her and threatened to push the baby back down again. Once the pain dissipated I reached back in and easily found the other leg now that the first was out of the way. It was a much easier task to wriggle it down and both legs dangled free at last. The guys gave another cheer as I retrieved my other hand and sighed with relief. Suddenly the female gave another almighty push and a tiny hairy gal shot out into my lap. She was lifeless and I went cold. Suddenly Luggs was beside me and grabbed the little one and rubbed her back vigorously. Within a few seconds she began to cough and splutter and give a weird mewling noise. The guys all cried out in relief and I grinned from ear to ear. Sighing heavily and now sweating profusely, I gently laid her on the ground by the female’s belly and we stepped away.
“Well done Sam,” Dex said and clapped me on the back. “That was fantastic work buddy. Good work Luggs, how did you know what to do?”
“My grandfather had a farm and I used to help him when his animals gave birth. He always did that if any of them were lifeless at birth and it often brings them back. It encourages their breathing reflex or something.”
“Awesome job you two,” Baz grinned as all the guys congratulated us and I felt proud.
“Did that really happen?” I asked with a grin and began to laugh. Pretty soon the lab was once again filled with the sound of twelve guys laughing their heads off and in the far corner, a new life began amidst the violence and turmoil on Floxham Island.
*****
CHAPTER EIGHT
To say that was a weird experience would be totally underestimating how it felt. I mean c’mon, how often does a guy get to deliver a baby to a huge, hairy humanoid throwback huh? It’s not exactly on my job description and not something I would ever have expected to be doing but I think I handled it well considering the circumstances we were in. The guys and I got ourselves a drink from the nutri vend to wet the little gal’s head and Luggs even came up with a name for her.
“You’ve found your new vocation Sam,” Dex remarked.
“I don’t want to be doing that again too soon,” I laughed.
“Hey is it a boy or a girl?” Luggs asked.
“It’s a girl.”
“Then,” Luggs began as he raised his right hand dramatically and placed his left on his chest, “by the power vested in me I hereby name this child Floxy.” We all thought that was a great name so we drank a toast to welcome Floxy to the family. Hearing my name called, I turned and saw Baz sitting at a desk at the other end of the lab so I strolled over and saw he was reading something on a digital console.
“Found something interesting Baz?” I asked and he looked up at me and nodded.
“Yes actually I have. This is a journal kept by one of the scientists who worked here. A Doctor Sulleman his name is, I mean was. He talks about the hairy guys a lot.”
“He does?”
“Yeah. Here, take a seat and listen to this.”
It seemed that when Floxham Island prison was being built, they noticed the hairy guys hanging around nearby. They didn’t seem scared by the invaders, nor did they show aggression and in fact there was a report of one of them saving the life of a workman who was attacked by one of the hunchbacked creatures. After that incident, the workmen started cultivating their friendship and pretty soon, they were acting as bodyguards for the men who were building the island. Once the building was finished and the workforce took up residence, they were allowed the run of the island in return for doing some basic manual labour from time to time.
After a couple of years the hairy guys started to die off rapidly and the island’s scientists were baffled as to why. Not until there was just a handful left did they discover that the immigrant workforce had passed on their own pathogens to them, against which they had no immunity. The scientists immunised the remaining handful to save them from extinction and encouraged them onto the island as much as they could so they could be monitored more closely.
Over the years it became apparent that the hairy guy’s gene pool was far too small and the offspring that survived birth were often deformed and died pretty soon after. Doctor Sulleman added fresh DNA to the hairy guy’s gene pool by replacing some sections of their genetic code with fresh humanoid DNA. It should’ve worked but with the hairy guy’s numbers already being so low, there wasn’t enough time to perfect the process and raise the numbers. The last entry Doctor Sulleman made before the island crashed stated that in his opinion, the ones he had named Adam and Eve were the last mated pair of their kind along with another single male he had named Omega. The doctor built up quite a close relationship with them and tried his best to keep them healthy by administering to any of their medical needs and they came to trust him by coming to him when they felt they need his expertise. He delivered two offspring for Adam and Eve which were both stillborn and he feared they were never to become parents.
“Well Doc,” I said aloud, “
you have a new grand daughter now named Floxy and she’s healthy and beautiful.” Suddenly our attention was drawn to a noise in the far corner and we all turned and watched as the big hairy guy who I now knew was named Adam, held his newborn in his arms and crooned to her softly in eerily undulating tones that made the hairs on my arms stand up. We were transfixed and watched and listened in silence for many minutes, no one wishing to break the spell.
After several minutes I tiptoed back over to the guys and told them what Baz and I read from Doctor Sulleman’s log entries. By the time I’d finished, Luggs was in tears and Dex teased him mercilessly.
“You’re an old woman Luggs, you know that buddy?”
“You unfeeling bastard Dex,” he countered and we all laughed till our sides ached.
It was morning so we decided it wouldn’t hurt to go and see if it would be possible to get the laser net up and running again. We got ourselves ready and began shifting the barricade from the lab door. As we were about to leave I heard a noise behind me and turned to see the hairy guy Adam standing at the far corner with his newborn in his arms. He grunted at me softly, before looking down at the baby with what I can only describe as love. He then looked back up at me and grunted softly again. I was moved and struggled to contain my emotions.
“You’re welcome big guy,” I smiled. “She’s beautiful. We’ll be back in a little while okay? Just sit tight.” All was silent as I turned back to find eleven faces staring at me with raised eyebrows and although I tried hard not to, I blushed to the roots of my hair. “What?” I demanded, trying to sound off hand but these guys weren’t fooled and they all started to laugh.
We moved the barricade just enough to allow us to slip out so that the hairy guy could replace it if he needed to. We stole through to the reception area and checked the offices but found nothing sinister. We readied our laser rifles and I reached out and removed the brooms which were still firmly wedged against the main entrance door. There was no backing out now so I shot a look at Luggs and raised my eyebrows as I made a dramatic show of showing him each of the brooms and he was almost pissing his pants laughing.
“Everyone ready? I asked. Grunts and nods replied immediately so I opened the door a crack and peered outside into the bright sunlight. Two hunchbacks were sitting down a hundred yards away and resembled two elderly men passing the time of day.
“There are two hunchbacks a hundred yards away at two o clock,” I said and Luggs, Dex and Baz stepped forward and nodded. We readied our rifles and I yanked open the door. The two hunchbacks were dead quickly and we formed a tight bunch while we checked all around three hundred and sixty degrees. All seemed quiet and I was just about to sigh with relief when Grelly called from the back of our circle.
“Okay we got company back here guys.” We all turned to see a group of four of the bald bloated things eyeing us up and down. Just as one tensed to leap, we opened fire and the first two died in mid flight. The third’s head exploded where it stood and the fourth turned and ran.
“Keep tight guys,” Flark yelled and I felt bodies hunch up to my sides as we reformed the circle. We remained there for a couple of minutes just looking and listening for any sounds but none came.
“Okay, let’s get going shall we?” I suggested. “Keep your eyes and ears open though. Which way do we go? Anyone remember the way from the map?”
“It’s a couple of hundred yards that way,” Cap replied and pointed to my left. We all looked across the open area of ground. The recreation centre was to our right and the smell of rotting flesh was strong in the rapidly increasing sun.
“Okay, no problem at all,” I hissed as I took a deep breath and shouldered my laser rifle. We all felt very vulnerable out here in the open and we were all scared but I wasn’t about to admit it to the guys just yet and would happily stay behind and carry on delivering babies to the hairy guys any day, rather than face the creatures out there. We set off briskly in the direction of the Antenna controls; the occasional roars and howls chilling me to the marrow.
Half way there Stitch called out. “Oh my god guys, look.” We stopped dead and turned to look at him. He was looking to our left, towards the edge of the area of ground upon which the Island is built. At first I couldn’t see anything untoward but then I heard a couple of the guys gasp and Luggs swore.
“What?” My heartbeat quickened as the adrenaline coursed through my veins and panic rose in my chest. “What the fuck is it?”
“Look Sam,” Stitch said, his voice now an octave higher than it was a minute ago. “Right down on the ground at the edge of the trench, over there.” He pointed and I looked and at first saw nothing but shadows. Then all at once I realised what those shadows were and I almost lost control of my bowels.
“Holy shit on a stick,” Luggs whispered and I realised that for the first time since I met him, he was scared and couldn’t hide it.
“Oh my good god,” Dex said as he wiped a hand across his face and hoisted the Incendipulse gun he was carrying.
“What the fuck is that?” Bud asked as he took a step forward to try to get a better look. Cap pulled him back quickly and yelled for the other two incendipulse guns. Grelly and Luggs hoisted the big flame guns and stepped forward. The black roiling tide of insects poured over the edge of the trench and flowed towards us like an oily river and we stood there, rooted to the spot and unable to look away. This was the stuff nightmares are made of and all those silly vidicoms of folks being eaten alive by millions of insects came swarming back into my mind uninvited.
“Now,” Dex yelled and all three opened fire with the Incendipulse guns. A ball of energy shot out of each one and hit the ground right in amongst the black roiling tide. The smell of these weapons is very distinctive and it filled our lungs and made us all gag and cough. As the energy bolts hit, they exploded with the heat of a volcano and everything for several metres around was instantly vapourised. The black tide continued to pour over the edge towards us in a seemingly unending tsunami and time and again the three guys opened fire and incinerated them by the tens of millions. I was just beginning to wonder if we would ever see the end of this tide of insects when the flow pouring up over the edge of the trench rapidly diminished and with two more shots from the Incendipulse guns and it was all over.
We stood, shaking with the adrenaline still coursing through our bodies. After what seemed like several minutes but was probably just a few seconds, I became aware of what sounded like a cough behind me and I turned to see Boy, crying. His hands were grasping at his crotch and I noticed the fresh wet stain down the front of his pants that told us all he’d pissed himself in fright.
“Hey man it’s okay now,” Baz said as he went to him and put a hand on his shoulder, “they’re gone.”
“I’ve never been so shit scared in all my life,” Dex admitted as much for Boy’s benefit as anything else and we all made sure to heartily agree.
“I’m sorry guys,” Boy sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “I’ve always been terrified of bugs since I found a huge Tagnoran Beetle in my bed when I was a kid.”
“Hey don’t apologise,” I said. “Back home on Sigma Prime we have this enormous bug called a Catmalone Mantis. They’re about a foot long with long pincers that can slice through to your bone without a care in the world and they give me the heeby jeebies and I’m happy to admit it to anyone.”
“I got bit by one of those once,” Cap said with a grin. “I went to Sigma once for a holiday and saw one crawling across the verandah to our house. Bugs have never bothered me so I went to have a closer look and picked it up.”
“What?” I hissed with disbelief. “You picked the thing up? You’re an idiot, man.”
“Well yeah I know that now Sam,” he laughed. “Man did that hurt. It bit right through the bone on my finger, look.” He grinned and held up his finger to show us the inch long scar.
I went cold as the image of what must’ve happened went through my mind. “Yikes,” I said as I visibly shivered.
We raced the last hundred yards or so and found the small hut that contained the hatchway that led down to the antenna control box. The antenna itself was intact but bent at an awkward angle. We all stood looking up at it and I motioned for Hank to come and take a closer look.
“Hank, look. What do you think? Is it repairable?”
He gazed up and scratched his head and then nodded. “Yeah, I would say so.”
“Okay buddy, you’re in charge. Tell us what to do.”
“Right ahh, well we ahh.”
“C’mon Hank,” Dex hissed, “don’t flake on us now okay?” Silently I gestured to Dex to calm down. The last thing we needed was to intimidate Hank into forgetting what needed to be done.
“Take your time Hank,” I soothed. “We’re all here for ya buddy. You tell us what you need and we’ll do exactly as you say. This is what you do. It’s your bag, you can do this.” He nodded and paced up and down scratching his chin and muttering to himself. Finally he looked back up at the antenna and then back at me.
“Okay. We need something to brace the antenna with. It’s just like splinting a broken leg in theory. Get it straight again and then I can get the mag receiver and generator nipple realigned. Then it should automatically begin working again.”
“Okay guys,” I ordered, “we need something to splint the antenna with. Something stiff and strong. Let’s take a look around and see what we can find huh? Necessity is the mother of invention so use your initiative. Oh, and three guys stay here with Hank and keep guard okay and yell if anything comes this way.” We set off and scouted the area and returned after twenty minutes or so empty handed. “It’s no use Hank,” I said. “There’s nothing around that’s strong enough or stiff enough to hold it so it won’t move. We need to move to plan B.”
