The Last Humans (Age-Regression)

Chapter Eighty-Four: The Beginning Of The End

Grace (Mama) POV:

It started off as a fever, then the chills, until finally it progressed to pain. Clara was screaming as we rushed her to the emergency room. I knew deep down that something more was going on. It seemed like she wasn't the sweet little girl we've known for over a year.

Her eyes were less innocent and she even said her words differently. Instead of saying, 'owie' she said 'ow.'

Atticus was the one who put two and two together first. Clara's regression shot was finally failing. Like her mother and fathers did. My heart dropped and I knew that this could go one of two ways.

The hospital would find a way to revert her or Clara would face the same fate as her mother. I knew I could never force Clara to regress if she didn't want to. I wouldn't repeat the same mistakes as Arabella and Geoff.

The thought of Clara resenting us breaks my heart. If she wanted to be a grown up, I would let her. It would literally break me, but I refuse to force my Clara to be something she isn't.

Currently, we're sitting around Clara's hospital crib. There's a ventilator in her mouth, pumping oxygen into her body. Her whole body was shutting down. I don't know why the shot reverting was shutting down her body, but I know that Clarissa's didn't do that.

According to Arabella, Clarissa just slowly reverted back to how she was before the shot.

Honestly, the truth of the matter is I refused to let the hospital put another dose of the regression shot into Clara. I refuse to let anybody touch her without her consent again.

If her body's shutting down because I won't give her another dose, then that's it. As much as I love Clara, things have to change. It's been hundreds of years since the Great War between our kind and the humans.

The humans deserve a second chance. Even if it comes at a cost. Clara should be able to 'grow up' and start a family of her own. She shouldn't have to live the rest of eternity as a baby. As much as I would love to keep Clara as my little girl, it just isn't possible.

If Clara wakes up from this, she'll have her own choice. I promise her that. If she wants to live her life as a grown up, I'll support her. She'll still live with us because of the risk to her safety if she was to be moved out, but she won't be my baby anymore.

The thought forces a choked sob out of me and Calisto pulls me tighter into his arms. This isn't fair, but at the same time it is. I just hope Clara realizes how much we love her when she makes her choice.

"We can still give her the shot, Grace. She wouldn't know." Dechen whispers, his voice thick with grief.

Grief that we may be loosing our girl. I'm full of grief too, but I'm not changing my stance on this. Clara deserves more than being a baby forever. She deserves free will and so do the other humans.

Something has to change and Clara will be the start of that change. I don't care if it upsets Calisto. He has the power to change all of this. He could pass a law stating that all humans have their free will now. He could start the mass production of reversal shots.

All with his signature on some paper he could change the laws.

"No, Dechen. She deserves the right to choose." I snap, wiping the tears from my eyes.

He sobs and leans back into Atticus. They're holding each other and staring down at our baby girl. She's covered in wires like when she had pneumonia. The doctors don't know if she's going to wake up, but I'm hopeful that she will.

Hope is all we have now.

It's only a couple hours later when Clara slowly opens her eyes. I can tell right then and there, as I look into her green eyes, that my baby isn't there. I'm looking at the Clara before her regression shot.