Inhuman

down from a cloudless blue sky.

Trudging past a large, fleshy cactus, a speckled salamander skittered from the base, startled from his meager shade.

Water.

I would’ve sold my soul for even one drop. Even the most important things in life become second when faced with a scorching ocean of sand.

She needs water.

Caressing my swollen belly, I felt the tiny life inside of me cry for rehydration.

Thankfully, in dreams, time moves more swiftly than in reality.

Swallowed by a mountainous cliff in the distance, the sun released its tyrannical hold on the Sedona desert for the day. Oranges, yellows and reds settled into the horizon like a fiery rainbow.

My white nightgown, drenched with sweat from the heat of the day, betrayed me as it absorbed the cool night air. Shivering, I scanned the darkening landscape for shelter. As with every dream, I see a shimmer of light in the distance. Beckoning me with its seductive warmth, I am captive to the call like a moth to a flame.

Entering the mouth of the cave, I’m immediately drawn to the symbols adorning the walls.

II. Roman numeral two.

Come, rest by the fire.

A familiar voice urges me. My eyes dart around the secluded cave, searching for the owner.

She is coming. It whispers like a distant prayer driven by the wind.

“Who?” My voice sounds hollow as it reverberates within the large cavern.

Instantaneously, as though my word was a trigger, a sharp pain tears through my belly. Lying down on the cave floor, I pant as I feel my child moving out of my womb.

Screaming, the dream ends, as it always has, in a blinding flash of white light.

Sitting straight up on the white cot, my breath came in short, uncontrolled spurts.

Coughing, I fought to regain rhythm. Pulling the thin, white sheet off of the cot and wrapping it around myself, I realized my teeth were chattering. My bones and muscles ached like I’d run ten miles the day before and my stomach churned with irritation. Nausea overwhelmed me, forcing me to run for the toilet a couple of feet away. Clinging to the sides of the bowl, I wretched violently.

Shaking and sweating, I waited to see if I was done. Since it was the first time in my life I’d ever thrown up, I was overwhelmed with the sensations of illness. My head spun and my body quaked with shivers as I crawled back to the cot.

Curling up on the tiny bed, I closed my eyes and sighed. My plan of escape was going to have to wait.

* * *

“I’m not sure, but it looks like she has an internal infection.” The medic stood over me, holding his stethoscope in his hand. “She’ll need an aggressive round of antibiotics.”

“Will it hurt the baby?” Agent Evans was gruff as he asked, his arms folded across his chest.

“No, it shouldn’t.” The medic sounded nonchalant as he packed up his stethoscope and other instruments into a silver suitcase. Lying on the cot, I felt myself nod off as the two men discussed my condition.

“Shouldn’t! We need to know for sure!” Agent Evans’ voice startled me from my brief nap. Opening my eyes to a mere sliver, I looked at his face and it was wrought with concern. I would have preferred he be worried for me, but instinct told me that his sights were set elsewhere.

“Sir.” The medic began, obviously shaken from the verbal outburst. “Even though she has human anatomy, we can’t know for certain what reactions she or the baby might have.”

Agent Evans paused for a moment, then replied. “Do it, do whatever you have to save the baby.”

Chapter 10

I was in and out of consciousness for at least two days. The only way I could tell time anymore was the kind of food being delivered to my cell. I had counted two breakfasts so far—both left uneaten.

The second day, I’d tried a bit of the chicken noodle soup they’d shoved through the little flap at the bottom of the door, but it came right back up. After that, I decided to test the old wives tale about ‘starving a fever’.

Even drinking water elicited heavy vomiting sessions but for the baby I forced myself to have at least two handfuls a day.

Three times a day the medic would come in to administer needles which I presumed contained antibiotics.

By the fourth day, I began to feel a little better. I could keep food down and that was the most important thing.

The little person inside me needed sustenance. Maybe it was the illness, but I was sure that I could feel her, sense her. It was like we had a connection, not only by blood, but with our minds as well.

I’d never been close to anyone who’d been pregnant before, so I wasn’t sure if this was a common occurrence. Some magazine articles I’d read alluded to the fact that mothers had a natural and deep bond with their unborn babies, but this felt like more than the average connection.

I knew her. I felt her being, her life force.

On the fifth day, Keanu came to visit.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was gentle as he sat beside me on the cot and rubbed my leg just above the knee.

“Better.” My voice had an obvious harsh tone as I glared at him. Why was this first time he’d come to see me since I’d been sick? Sighing, he sensed my disappointment in him. Leaning toward me, he whispered softly. “I wasn’t allowed to come before.”

Guilt immediately rippled through me and I felt my expression soften as I looked into his eyes and touched his hand. I guessed by his last statement that they had found out about our little discussion in the closet.

We sat in comfortable silence for several minutes, caressing one another’s hands. I examined his handsome face.

If all this hadn’t happened, we’d be planning a life together.

No sooner had I thought the words, I felt a gentle prodding from within my womb. She agreed with me.

“Keanu! The baby just kicked!” Pulling his hand and placing it on my stomach, I smiled as I waited for her to move again. Keanu’s eyes were bright and he wore a silly grin as he too, waited. After a few seconds, we both felt a soft tapping.

Elated, we laughed as we threw our arms around one another and hugged. Tears welled in my eyes as I bathed in the sensation of loving human contact. His large arms wrapped around me were so soothing, so warm. Nuzzling my cheek into his shoulder, I forgot for a moment where I was and how I’d gotten here. The memory of his kiss haunted me as I closed my eyes and inhaled the delicious scent that lingered in his shirt.

His body tensed suddenly and he glanced at the corner of my cell where the surveillance bug lie embedded. My instincts of mistrust took over and I tried to pull away. He continued to hold me even though I attempted to move.

I turned to look at him, still struggling to get away. Holding me tight with his right arm, he raised his left hand to my face. Caressing my cheek with the back of his fingers, his hand then trailed to the nape of my neck. The warmth of his skin on mine almost made me cry with happiness.

Gently pulling my face to his, he wet his lips as he brought my mouth to his. Running my hands through his black wavy curls, months of fear, anxiety and loneliness suddenly released from my body.

As a moan escaped me, Keanu quickly raised his pointer finger to his lips. Grinning, he laid me back onto the cot and reached for the zipper of my white jumpsuit. Beginning at the soft indent below my neck, he slowly pulled the cold metal zipper down the center of my body. Ending just below my navel, he held the material open and leaned in to kiss my body.

Pausing as though showing homage to the baby inside me, he placed a single tender kiss on the swelling contour of my lower abdomen.

Focusing his attention on me, he carefully pulled the jumpsuit down the length of my body, and then off