“Trayem?” Harper said.
Her voice was agonizingly weak and she struggled to get to her feet. She stumbled over to the wall. She was glowing and gorgeous. I couldn’t keep myself from smiling.
I tucked my hand containing the pill behind my back.
“Don’t touch the wall,” I said. “It could be dangerous.”
“I know that. I’ve been beating on it for days.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I couldn’t get here before today.”
An awkward pause passed between us.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” I said. “Even if you escaped from here, there was nowhere else you could escape to.”
“I was coming to run to you. I guess you saved me a trip.”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
“How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better.”
“I… have something for you,” I said, bringing my fist around. “It’s a pill. It will… fix everything.”
“That’s it?” Harper said, her face curling into an ugly mask. “Is that your best shot? You thought you could come here dressed as him and get me to take that black pill? Humans might be lower lifeforms but we aren’t stupid.”
“What?” I said, surprised at her outburst. “I thought you might want to take it.”
“I wouldn’t take anything from you,” Harper spat. “Now, why don’t you turn into your real self and we can talk like adults.”
She stepped back, folded her arms, and rested them on her bulging stomach. She appeared to be waiting for me to do something. It took me a moment to realize what.
“I’m not Annas,” I said.
“Sure, you’re not.”
“No, really. I’m the real Trayem.”
She looked me over and then pursed her lips.
“Prove it.”
“How?”
“What was the thing you gave me the first time we met in your room? If you’re the real Trayem, you should be able to answer that.”
“Chocolate. I got it out of the trunk under my bed and offered it to you.”
The superior smile faded from Harper’s face but did not disappear. She scanned my face, her disbelief shaken but not broken.
“Trayem could have told his buddies about that night,” she said, sounding a little unsure.
I pressed my hand against the wall and sparks hissed from it. I didn’t care.
“I rescued you from four gang members in the champion’s room when we first met. You took me to see a beautiful view out of a window on the other side of the prison the last time we met and one of your previous… clients came up to us. We escaped to my room. We made love and there were multiple copies of me and every single one fell madly in love with you the first moment we met.”
Her smile had vanished and she looked up at me with incredulity. Tears sparkled in her eyes.
“How could you do this to me?” she said.
The smile of success now sank from my face and I lowered my hand from the forcefield. It’d given me minor burns having rested my palm on it for so long but it was nothing to the pain tearing my heart apart at that moment.
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” I said. “You were never meant to get pregnant. I wanted to keep you safe, away from the other fighters so they wouldn’t impregnate you.”
“But you didn’t save me. You’re the reason I’m here.”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s my fault.”
Her voice turned so soft a breeze might have blown it away.
“Was any of it real?” she said. “Did you ever feel anything for me?”
“Of course, I did. None of it was fake. None.”
“It’s hard to tell.”
I pressed myself so close to the wall I almost touched it.
“No, it’s not. Look inside yourself and tell me it wasn’t real. What do your emotions tell you? Did I ever do anything but love you? Was there ever any malicious intent in what I did with you?”
Tears made a slalom run down her face and she shook her head, her knotted curls dancing about her cheeks.
“Did you get me pregnant on purpose?” she said.
“No. This was never supposed to happen. I was sent here as a spy to watch what happened inside the prison and encourage a riot. I was tasked with getting the previous supervisor fired so Krial could take over. That was what I came here to do.
“I’m not a criminal. At least, I never did the thing they sent me here for. Sometimes Krial… needs things done and we do it. So, in a way, I guess I belong in here more than a lot of the prisoners do. But you… ever since you came in here, it’s been like I finally get to see the sun rise every day.”
The tears were streaming down her face freely now.
“My love for you is the only real thing about this whole place,” I said. “You, me, and that baby in your belly. We can fix this situation. It’s not too late.”
I hesitated but opened my hand and showed her the black pill. I wasn’t sure I wanted her to take it but it was her body and her decision. I would leave it in her hands and support her with whatever she chose to do.
“This pill can… remove the problem,” I said. “It sends the baby into a deep sleep… a sleep which it will never wake up from. The baby’s body breaks down and flows through your system until he’s gone completely. There are no side effects and it’s completely painless.”
She took in every word and didn’t say anything for a long time. She never looked at the pill.
“You want me to get rid of it?”
“I want you to do what’s right for you.”
I checked over my shoulders. The scientists continued to scurry around and busy themselves with their activities.
“You have no idea what Krial is like,” I said. “You
