Flux

10

Inta laughed at her daughter's joke. She was growing so fast. It felt like just yesterday she had been struggling to come to terms with the fact she had a baby, mind you had been in a coma for almost a year.

Errend and Zirco were most likely dead. Her heart ached in her chest every time she thought of them.

Life was cruel, it seemed. Yet she had Sardini, who unbelievably was only a few days away from turning ten.

Anxiety coiled in Inta's guts. So far, the few signs of Sardini's abilities had been easy to hide from the doctors. But the closer Sardini got to puberty, the stronger she would get, and Inta was not a Holy Master. She had no clue how to help her daughter. If Errend had lived, at least he'd have been able to guide her through his own experiences.

Inta felt a tear trickle down her cheek, and she quickly turned her head, covertly wiping her cheek so Sardini wouldn't worry.

Inta had been crying a lot lately. It wasn't healthy for her daughter, who was oblivious to the danger of their current situation.

As long as the doctors felt they were making progress using the tissue samples, fluid from spinal taps, and eggs harvest from her womb. They would leave her daughter alone to be a child for now. 

Sardini thought they lived in this weird hospital because her mommy was sick and needed constant care and treatment. She didn't know it was continuous experiments instead.

Inta had made a deal to cooperate as long as her daughter was allowed to be happy, safe and as worry-free as possible.

In a way, it wasn't so bad. Inta's childhood had been half shrouded with constant terror of the Rakshasa and the other just trying to survive.

Here her daughter could play outside in the small garden they built on the side of the mountain, swim in the pool in the rec area and never have to know what it meant to go hungry.

Or to watch someone you love be devoured by a monster the size of your house.

Inta shut her eyes tight. She wasn't going there. Today was her and Sardini. Today was a recovery day. Yesterday they had tested her endurance levels for the zillionth time, pushing her past the point of exhaustion and puking.

Then they took their routine blood samples and urine samples to see what hormones and other things her body did when in an imitated flight mode. Inta had no clue what they were looking for or why they hadn't found something to satisfy them by now.

Unfortunately, everything hurt today. It was sore to move her head. She could barely stand, and every time she tried to walk, the room would spin. So Sardini told her stories of all her adventures yesterday with her friend and tutor, Etta, while she rested in the wicker swing in the garden.

Inta liked Etta. Of all the people here, her heart seemed the most genuine. Etta had explained that she was teaching Sardini things that children had learned at schools here on Earth before things had fallen apart—providing Sardini with a more or less standard education for a young girl.

Inta appreciated this. It not only kept Sardini busy for four to six hours a day, but it also kept her out of trouble and away from the doctors.

Inta was listening to how electricity could be made with lemons. Sardini was very proud of all she learned and how she had managed to make the lightbulb light up on her first try.

Inta smiled warmly at her daughter. Her heart filled with pride and something else she couldn't name. How could this amazing little person have come from her?

Sardini laughed her girlish carefree laugh, head tossed back, mouth open wide and rocked back and forth at something funny she had just said. Inta giggled back. Then she froze.

At that moment, with her carefree abandon and a full smile lighting her face, she was a direct reflection of her father. The only difference being her almost white-blonde hair that came from Inta's mother. Her smile, violet eyes, high cheekbones and dimples were all her father's. Even the laugh sounded like him.

Inta's heart ached seeing so much of the man she loved in their beautiful daughter. Her stomach did an involuntary flip leaving her queasy.

"Sardini, my love, I am afraid your old mother is officially drained of her energy. Would you be upset if I took a short nap?"

"It's ok, mommy. I will tell you about horses tomorrow. Etta and I watched a video yesterday about them. I hope one day I can ride one. Want me to sing you to sleep?"

Inta felt her chest tighten painfully. Her daughter was a beautiful soul with more love than Inta deserved.

"That would be lovely. Thank you."

Even though tinged with youth and not fully matured, Sardini had an incredible singing voice. Her music lessons had fine-tuned an already existing talent. Inta leaned back, sun on her face, as Sardini started to sing softly, tucking her into the wicker lounge swing with a warm blanket.

"Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue..."

-------------------

Nick looked at the monitor showing security footage from camera 18. He felt torn between pity and disgust. Monsters were raising the poor girl because her mother was too week to do the right thing.

He'd offered her more than once to take the girl to a safe place, away from the assholes here, so that she could grow up a normal kid. Each time she'd refused.

Nick felt his lips curl as he remembered how the last time the stupid bitch had actually had the guts to threaten him. Claiming she would rat him out to the white coats.

Fucking stupid bitch!

What gave her the right to be so self-righteous? She begged and coward from the morons using her as a test monkey and followed all their orders without even a hint of backbone. At least that freak they had bagged first found the balls to make a run for it. Even if he was going to be back soon.

Nick hoped the guy was smart and had a plan of escape or was coming with a truck loaded with C-4. Nick was only working here because he needed the food and the info he was able to gather here working the security cameras brought him some precious trade items.

Nick had debated telling Inta her friend was alive but had abandoned her here. However, he hadn't figured out yet how doing so could benefit him. He didn't want to waste good poison. Info like that would be valuable if used at the right time. So he held his tongue, waiting for his perfect moment.

He watched almost with curiosity as the girl tucked her mother in, the typical roles of mother and daughter being strangely in reverse.

The kid deserved better than this shit hole. But then again, since the world economy collapsed, most people lived through, and with, less than anyone deserved. Yet, they didn't have assholes with scalpels waiting for an excuse to take them to their lab for gawd knew what.

Not being able to take it anymore, he turned away. Something caught his eye on camera 4. Punching some commands into his controls, he brought camera fours feed up onto his central viewing screen.

What the fuck is that crazy old bastard doing now?

No!?

Oh, fuck no!

Staring open-mouthed at the screen in front of him, Nick watched as the crazy doctor removed a fully formed egg from the belly of a dead beast that he and Dr. Thompson had been dissecting piece by piece over the last couple of weeks.

Yet, that wasn't what had Nick's undivided attention. The egg, looking slimy, covered in a weird pinkish-white film, was pulsing.

Whatever was in it was alive.

Just no! Fucking no! This job just got way too expensive.

He would sell this info, letting those who had the means to trade know that there was a goddamn live baby monster about to hatch in this fucking mountain, take the profits, find a small town somewhere far north in the mountains where he could quietly keep trading for food and work a regular manual labour job for a roof overhead.

He was so done with this shit.