The Colony

Beth

Hamilton is pacing up and down the tiny room in a state of agitation I've not seen on him since before my mom died.

"He should be here by now!"

He stops and stands still for a moment, tapping his foot anxiously on the floor.

"Give him a moment, he probably got caught up with a patient," I say. His constant pacing was making me nervous and I twitch my fingers in a knot. 

He shakes his head. "The man was always keen for his allocated Beth shift."

"Beth shift?" I ask, disgust finding its way onto my face.

"Gotta keep you safe."

"Yeah, but you don't have to call it that."

His cool eyes slide over to where I'm perched on the couch, cradling my stomach.

"What should I call it then?"

"Anything but that," I say. 

He huffs. "If that man doesn't hurry up, I swear-"

"Pacing won't hurry him up, you know!" I snap, cutting him off.

Hamilton glances over at the clock again. "We're bordering on half an hour. If he's not here in five minutes we need enact our emergency plan."

"Relax. He will be."

Another ten minutes roll by and still there's no sign of Tom.

"Right that's it! Get up, Beth!" Hamilton barks, trudging over to me. 

"Why?" I pout, crossing my arms over my chest. I'm not in the mood for his antics.

"Because if Tom's compromised we need to break loose the cannon."

He extends his hand for me to grab.

I roll my eyes and ignore him, rolling myself up into a sitting position and sliding off the couch.

"Whatever," I mutter as I waddle to the bathroom to pee for the millionth time.

I scowl as I emerge from the bathroom to Hamilton's unfriendly face. 

"Took you long enough," he mutters, uncrossing himself from the door frame which he's leaned himself against. 

"Took you long enough,"  I mock. "Shut up, honestly. If you waited five more minutes I'm sure he'd arrive."

"I'm not taking that chance," Hamilton snaps, walking out of the unit.

I sigh and follow him. We twist through the corridors and make our way to a flight of stairs that descends onto the third level. 

There is a musky smell down here and I wrinkle my nose. It's gloomy and half the lights flicker as we walk past them. Dust layers most of level three except for the path to the grow labs and generators that keep the entire Colony functioning. 

Before I realise it, Hamilton has stopped by a door. He looks over his shoulder and checks that the corridor is clear. Carefully, he pushes open a door labelled 743. It creaks as it swings open.  

He walks in, expecting me to follow him. Cautiously, I enter in after him and suddenly, I'm staring at a room full of people I barely know. They all stare back at me strangely.

"Beth!" Ham whispers from the corner of his mouth, nudging my elbow.

Still I don't move from where I've planted myself. I'm not prepared for this. Hamilton turns around to face me and grabs my shoulders. His dark brown hair flops into his eyes. His cool blue eyes search mine.

He forces me to look into his soul. 

"Beth, it's time to show them."

"I don't want to," I whisper.

He wipes a single tear that's fallen like a rogue soldier down my cheek.

"Think of it as protecting the little one." Without thinking twice, he gently places his hand against my belly. He cups it briefly and the baby kicks in response.

I look past him at the crowd of people who look like they're about to fight me to the death. If the baby responded to Hamilton's comment, then maybe it was a good omen and I could trust these people.

I look back into his eyes. "Do you trust them?"

He nods. "I do."

I nod in return and take a step to the side letting his hands fall by his side.

I look between the crowd unsure of what to do with myself. 

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath I hear him whisper, "I'm right here."

It was all the courage I need. Opening my eyes, I look at the group and slowly, my fingers curl around the rim of Tom's green sweater. I pull it up over my rounding belly, holding the excess fabric in place with one hand and emphasizing the roundness of my stomach with the other.

There was a correspondence of gasps that echo around the tiny room.

"Is it real!?" one woman towards the back of the room asks.

"Yes," Hamilton replies.

The lady stood up from where she was sitting on a cardboard box. My eyes track her as she walks around the group and makes her way over to me. When she's in front of me, she stops. She doesn't make eye contact with me, instead letting her gaze rest on my stomach. Her dark brown eyes search my stomach as though she has x-ray vision. She kneels in front of me, still staring at my stomach.

"Can I?" she asks, pointing at my stomach.

Wide-eyed and afraid, all I could muster was a nod. What was this woman planning on doing?

She smiles. Grabbing my belly with both hands, she places her ear to my stomach. 

I gasp at her cool touch, pulling back slightly. 

Hamilton doesn't miss a beat and he's there within seconds, placing his hands on my shoulder like a proud man showing off his child's latest piece of art. 

"It's okay," he whispers into my ear.

I want to believe him, but having a room full of strangers gawk at me like I'm some foreign agent was incredibly uncomfortable.

I feel the baby kick.

The lady gasps. "Oh my..."

She doesn't dare to breathe as the baby moves a limb across my stomach, making it stick out and transform into a lopsided alien before returning back to the smooth roundness.

"It's real! She really is going to have a baby!"

The group began to whisper among themselves as the lady stood up and away from my stomach.

"Come and see! Come and feel!"

Within seconds, the entire room was crowding around. Dozens of hands placed themselves on my bare stomach waiting for the parasite inside me to move. 

It's like the baby knew it had to make a statement. It begins doing backflips across my stomach, making everyone gasp with excitement. 

A murmur builds up but I can't make out what they're saying. 

What I do hear through the fog is one brave statement from the man standing behind me. It makes me stop dead in my tracks. 

"My child needs your help," he says to the group.