“Sure thing, Doc,” she replied, somewhat shocked at the Doctor’s mild demeanor. She stood speechless as he closed out his hologram file and walked out of the room, followed by the other nurse. She watched them leave and stood silent for a few seconds, almost like waiting for something to happen. Then, appearing satisfied that it didn’t, she scooped up one of the blanket bundles and turned to look directly at the creature.
Moving toward her, rocking the bundle gently in her arms, Esther smiled a gentle smile and spoke to the vixen in a voice barely above a whisper.
“You did good, Momma,” she cooed to the bundle in her arms, as she moved the blanket back. “I know I probably shouldn’t be doing this, but it doesn’t seem right … you not getting to see. I’m a mom too, y’know. I know how I’d feel if someone took my babies from me, and I never even laid eyes on them.”
She finished unfolding the blanket and presented its contents to Amber, using the crook of her elbow to support it.
The creature felt her heart rip in two as she took in the baby boy. It was more human than vulpine, and she found herself happy for that. It had the pink, hairless skin of its father. His mother’s ears and tail were there, and the nose was definitely more animal than human. The eyes were the coolest shade of orange, somehow a blend of the parent’s eyes.
Even as she sobbed, she couldn’t help but smile. It was still, by far, a more human child. As such, it would’ve blended into the human world better. The ears, eyes, nose, and tail would’ve been issues to be dealt with, but they weren’t monumental. Not that it mattered now. If these cold-hearted bastards allowed them to live, it would only be for their sick purposes. To be experimented on, studied, treated like organisms in a Petri dish until they were through with them. Then, she had no doubt what fate awaited them. Probably the same fate that now awaited her.
She erupted violently against her bindings. With every fiber of her being, she fought to free herself. So desperate and fierce was her efforts her muscles strained to the point of tearing, tendons almost ripping from the bone. The straps cut into her skin and blood-smeared them. She growled and snapped her teeth in frustration. She knew if she got loose, she would rip the throat out of everyone in this accursed place if that’s what it was going to take to save her babies. She would tear them all from limb to limb and not think twice.
Esther was horrified at the thrashing. She looked all about, fearful that the commotion would attract attention, attention that would discover she had disobeyed orders.
“Please!” she pleaded, still holding the kit in her arm. Her other arm was outstretched, her hand waving frantically in a calming motion. “Stop! You just came out of childbirth! You’re gonna hemorrhage yourself if you’re not careful!” She glanced back fearfully at the exit. “Please! I need this job! There are not many good ones left around here anymore! You dunno what kind of people these are!” She felt her panic turning to terror. “They’re really not very nice!”
She hastily put the kit back on the cart, dumping it like a sack of potatoes. The creature howled in both rage and anguish and fought even harder. Her eyes were the eyes of a wild, desperate animal now. She could only watch in vain as Esther punched in the code for a sedative to the central pharmacy unit. The drug would be immediately on its way to her I.V.
“I’m sorry!” the nurse fretted, pushing the cart hurriedly toward the door. “I’m so sorry!” At the exit, she wheeled the cart around and put her back to it. She put her ass through the swinging metal doors and pulled Amber’s babies out of her life.
The creature would struggle in her frenzy and frustration until the drug arrived and overcame her, and she slipped away into soft, velvety blackness.
***
“Amber? Are you ok? Amber?”
The little girl’s persistent voice slowly drew her back to the present. The terrifying flashback slowly began to dissipate. Reality flooded back into her consciousness like ice-cold water poured over her head with Brittain’s worried querying.
“Amber? Talk to me, please!” The little girl had panic in her voice, and Amber sensed she was on the verge of tears. Slowly, she began to take stock of what was happening. She looked around, looked down at herself … and realized why the girl was so upset.
She had no clue how she’d gotten there, but she was crouched in the corner of the bedroom, drawn up in the fetal position, a defensive mechanism, no doubt. In her arms, clutched tightly to her chest, Pitty Patt squirmed to be free. Unable to comprehend this stranger’s behavior, it did what it was programmed to do. It was bawling at the top of its lungs.
Embarrassed and still shaken by the flashback, Amber sat the A.I. doll down on the floor, and it immediately sat up and bawled even louder. Britt reached down to pick her up, her familiar voice soothing it.
“There, there! Mommy’s here!” she cooed as the doll snuggled into the child’s neck. Britt patted its back as she studied Amber, concern still clouding her face. “You scared me, Amber.”
The sincerity of the child’s voice broke the vixen’s heart. What had she done? Why had she done it? What had triggered such a realistic flashback? What else about her sketchy past would be triggered by the simplest of things? And what would be the reactions? At best, would they simply send her scrambling to the nearest corner to cower in fear? But what if they triggered other, more aggressive emotions? She looked up to Brittain, and panic swept across her heart like a cold winter night’s wind. She uncoiled from the corner and reached out with open
