Artificial Insemination

Chapter One

There were set laws in life.

The laws of gravity.

The laws of physics.

And the laws that said all shifters needed to be under strict supervision because of their dangerous nature.

Everybody who was born, would die.

Everybody who jumped up, would eventually come down.

And every shifter who lived in the country, from the moment they were old enough to think for themselves, would be subject to discrimination from most authorities.

It was just how life went, and in the grand scheme of things, Layla Martis thought it was probably for the best. Going to mixed shifter and human schools all of her life had practically cemented that idea in her head.

Shifters were usually taller, stronger and faster than their human counterparts. They were loud and boisterous and often aggressive in the way that they talked among each other.

Layla had seen all too many fights.

They didn't know when to stop, often fighting to the point of unconsciousness or until blood was running down the hallways. The blood could be washed away, but the stain on her mind would be there forever. The sounds of their bones breaking and shifting and transforming were horrifying. The stuff of nightmares.

She didn't feel comfortable around them, not when they had that much power at their disposal. The restrictions placed on them, at best helped them to act a bit more carefully when around humans. For one, it meant that they weren't allowed to place an unwanted hand on her, otherwise they could legally be prosecuted. So while she wasn't exactly comfortable, at least she knew she was safe.

Despite all her reservations on the other dynamic, she felt herself feeling a bit sorry for them. 

She had just turned eighteen and was enjoying the newfound freedom, now that she was an adult. Her parents had become a bit laxer on her over the years, and she was finally feeling like she'd broken free of the yolk of childhood. Finally finishing college would be the icing on the cake. 

On the other hand, the shifters in her age group were still constrained to a government instilled curfew, and they would be until they turned twenty one. By nine o'clock in the evening, they had to be in their houses or face arrest. 

Layla lived in a moderately sized, country town called Rayners Creek. One where plenty of the establishments were still human-only and her privilege was even more amplified than it would be in the city. 

She thought that was probably why she was going down to the hospital at five in the morning, a couple hours before she was due to get ready for another day at college.

A couple of doctors had come down to the college the other week, giving a talk about the great scientific discoveries made through gene splicing and isolating shifter genes. She had found herself looking at her classmates during the assembly, wondering how they felt while the doctors talked about finding the gene where their super strength was located. 

It put a weird feeling in her stomach. 

Of course, then she had heard the mention of five hundred pounds. 

Her mum had agreed to drive her even though she didn't agree with Layla's decision to subject herself to testing.

"You've read the leaflet, mum." She sighed, flapping the flimsy paper in front of her as they walked towards the hospital entrance. "All they want to do is inject me with something and see if my sense of sight or smell increases. What's the worst that can happen?"