place, trying to bring her there with me .Then she made one final push, and we could hear the cries of the newborn baby.
Her skin grew pale and Elsa handed Tristan scissors to cut the cord before she wrapped the baby and looked it over and cleaned it. “You have a beautiful baby girl.” Elsa glanced back at Drezden, seeing her ghastly white. “Olivia, come here,” she instructed, showing me how to finish cleaning the baby as she rushed over to Chloe to offer assistance.
“She's beautiful,” I told Drezden. “You can hold her in a minute. Just hang in there.” I finished with the newborn as quickly as possible. She was covered in filth but was breathing and screaming on her own. That had to be good. I swaddled the baby in a blanket as I approached the bed. Drezden had turned gray, the color gone from her face. “What are you going to name her?” I asked with a smile as I brought their baby girl over and placed her into Drezden's arms. My fingers brushed against clammy skin and I could feel a strange sensation pass through me. Drezden's eyes were dull, her gaze struggling to reach her newborn.
Chloe and Elsa exchanged an unsatisfied glance. The nurse rushed to get another medication to inject into her IV, but every moment it took was one too many.
I wanted to help Drezden. I didn't know how. Was it possible to heal someone when they were bleeding to death? Her skin had now turned ashen gray and her eyes stared down at her daughter. “I love you,” she breathed, her last dying breath as I reached out, careful to make sure the baby was supported.
No. I couldn't let her die. I didn't care about the repercussions or what it meant, this child needed her mother. “Not today.” I stared down at her, my eyes welling with tears as I gripped her arm, my fingers digging into her cold flesh. “You will not die, Drezden,” I commanded, my voice trembling as my heart rate soared. I could feel my stomach lurch and I swallowed the bile. My eyes slipped closed, my focus entirely on this young mother, breathing every ounce of energy and life force, if possible, back into her.
Slowly, her eyes opened. She was pale and coated in sweat but alive. Glancing down, she smiled at her baby girl. “Lexia,” she whispered before turning her head towards Tristan. “What do you think?”
Tristan smiled, clearly relieved Drezden was all right. “I think it's a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.” He glanced at Chloe. “Thank you for saving my wife's life.”
Chloe's face was all smiles. “I'm glad it worked,” she confessed, glancing at Elsa. “That was amazing, a close call but unbelievable. We should contact the other pregnant women and start preparing their dosages.”
I felt Elsa's eyes on me. She didn't say a word. I took a step backwards and removed my scrubs and headed for the door. Had she known what I'd done?
“Olivia?” Chloe called. “Where are you going? We should celebrate, this is great news!”
I didn't answer her as I slipped out the maternity ward and past Kelvin. “Can you take me back to my room?”
Kelvin nodded. “Sure. How'd things go in there?”
“I don't want to talk about it.”
“Fair enough.” He led me outside. The sun was beginning to rise in the east, enveloping the city in a beautiful golden glow. “We'll have to take the monorail to get back to your room.”
“Monorail?” I asked, confused, following Kelvin across the cobblestone street and up the cement stairs towards the platform.
He motioned towards the approaching train and we waited for it to stop and the doors to open. Together we stepped inside. I grabbed an empty seat and sat down, Kelvin coming to sit beside me. “We'll have to walk a few blocks to get back to your place but the monorail is quicker than walking from the hospital.”
“That's fine,” I nodded, glancing out the window, watching as we sped by different parts of Torv. Graffiti coated the sides of buildings, some old and some newer as we slowed towards the next stop. “Now?” I asked standing up.
Kelvin shook his head no, gesturing for me to sit back down. “It'll be a few minutes. I'll let you know when it's time to get off.”
“Okay.” I sat back down in my seat. A few passengers came on the monorail but no one got off. After a minute, we took off again. I reached for the window, gripping the edge as best I could for leverage. I wasn't used to this type of transportation. The train rushed on for several minutes before we slowed to the next stop.
“This is the financial district,” Kelvin explained. “The wealthy move in to this area. Most of them work down here as well.”
“The wealthy from where?” I didn't understand what he was talking about.
“You don't know.” He laughed. “I shouldn't be surprised, I mean you're obviously not from around here.” He nodded twice and then relaxed in the seat beside me. “Don't you wonder where the population of Torv comes from?” I had been wondering but I hadn't known who I could trust to ask. “People travel from around the world to come here,” Kelvin explained. “They make a new life in Torv, settle down in hopes of starting a family.”
“A family?” I repeated.
“That's the hope everyone has, wanting children. They travel the world to come to Torv at the chance they may be able to start one.”
“Is it like in Genesis? Do you get selected by lottery?” Even with the odds stacked against most women, I wondered how many signed up. It explained the increase in population.
“Families volunteer. Both parties have to sign consent forms because the scientists still consider the treatment experimental. My sister signed up last year: the waiting list is long but if it works, it's worth it.”
I wasn't sure it was worth it, after what I'd witnessed and done today. “What if it doesn't?” I whispered, glancing out the window again. I was astounded people would risk their lives for children they may never have. Even more shocking was that they were disobeying Cabal's government by coming to Torv. It wasn't just risky, it was insane!
“There's no guarantee but it's the only chance they have. We have scientists and doctors from around the world who come here. The best and brightest, hoping to discover a cure,” Kelvin explained.
“Around the world? Where exactly?” I hadn't read what had happened in the history texts to the rest of the world while I was in Haven. The most I'd learned was about the Red Plague and the repercussions it had but nothing further.
“There are pockets of civilizations—those we have found the means to communicate with —that are struggling in much the same way. Society is dying out. The only reason our town of Torv has grown is because of our success rate with the fertility program: people flock here.”
I shifted in my seat, turning to face Kelvin. “What do the doctors and scientists ask for in return?” There had to be a catch, something making them want to be here. It wasn't that Torv was a horrible place, I just couldn't understand how someone could leave their home willingly.
“Food, housing, clothes—they're provided with necessities,” Kelvin explained. “I know, it sounds a lot like the promises Cabal has made, but they don't do it for a physical reward. If we ignore the situation, let it continue as it has been, the human population will cease to exist.”
“That's not entirely true,” I pointed out. “Cabal has found a way to assure a one hundred percent survival rate.” Kelvin paused for a long moment, contemplating his answer. “What?” I asked, waiting for him to respond. He stood up and gestured for me to do the same. I grabbed the pole to hold on as we shifted with the train until it stopped. Kelvin stepped off first and I followed, walking alongside him.
“You don't question how they can ensure a healthy pregnancy, each and every time?” Kelvin asked as we descended the cement stairs, walking back down to the ground floor.
I grimaced. “I do,” I acknowledged. “But why can't we demand they tell us?”
A deep throaty laugh emitted from his throat. “And you think they'd listen?” He shook his head. “That would be something else, the government listening to
“Not true,” I countered. “You said it yourself that children are being born, right here in Torv,” I reminded Kelvin.
A faint smile etched to his face. “Yes, but not enough children, and if we continue at the current rate where only thirty percent survive childbirth, in a few hundred years, Cabal will be all that's left. They'll easily be able to wipe us out.”
