Aelburn (WATTY'S 2020)

.before. (NEW CHAPTER)

December 1st, 2178

Crimson hair clung to sweat-drenched cheeks as the cry of a newborn echoed through the fluorescent lit room and bounced from the walls to strike the new mother in her heart. The woman weakly raised her head, the leather cuffs around her wrist clinking against the rail of her hospital bed as the nurses whisked away the child to clean her, standardized test after test. The monitor beside her combined with the erratic words escaping everyone around her growing to the point of being unbearable and she turned her head to her left, a tall man with graying blond hair standing uninterested beside her.

“Viable?” He asked.

"Yes, Mr. President.” The nurses voice was timid and soft as the man’s face contoured into one of disgust, the woman lifting her eyes to look at him.

The man walked to the nurse to gaze at the child. “Summon Commander Holmes.” He said under baited breath. “Tell him we have another package for him to get rid of.”

 “Yes, Mr. President.”

“Can I hold her?”

The room went deathly quiet at the soft voice emerging from the bed, the President turning to look at the woman who now clung to the bed frame with fire like hair hanging in sweat soaked tendrils around her pale face. Eyes narrowing, he turned without an answer and the woman's fingers tightened around the metal frame, anger rising in her chest.

“Just once, before you kill her. I'll never have the chance to have another child. Please.” The nurse's eyes dared a glance at the President as the woman pleaded with him, the newborn squirming in the nurse's skeletal arms. He froze, heart jumping to his chest when he found the President's eyes on him, a sense of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Darting his eyes to the ground, the President jerked his thumb to the woman which sent the poor man staggering to her side, placing the baby into her outstretched arms that tugged against their restraints. The baby let out a soft cry, her face scrunching up while the woman smiled lovingly at her child, tears almost immediately welling up in her sky blue eyes. 

“Oh, my darling.” Her voice was light, barely audible and the President turned to the nurses who quietly stood by, awaiting their next command. 

“Has Commander Holmes arrived?” 

“He's about ten minutes out, Mr. President.”         

The President turned to the woman, his nose turned up as her fingers danced across the child's small features. The two bore striking resemblance to each other even now, only moments after the child's birth. From the way the infant's nose turned up slightly at the end to the small, out of control curls sticking all which way from her head, identical to her mother's. 

“You have ten minutes with the child. No more. I hear another question, I'll kill her myself.” The President said, the woman's eyes raising to his back as he closed the door on his way out. Her breathing was heavy, shock written over her features while the nurses all visibly relaxed. The woman lowered her eyes to her child, smiling sadly when the babies eyes fluttered slightly, squinting at the bright light with an obvious face of annoyance. Green eyes gazed up at her mother and the woman lifted her child to her lips, pressing them against her forehead. Ten minutes flew by and, soon enough, the President stepped inside. 

"Times up.” 

“No…” The woman almost immediately burst into tears, tightening her grip on the baby and pressing her nose into the fine curls on her head. A nurse approached her, softly pulling the baby from the woman as she began to sob, his face sad and sympathetic. The woman collapsed into tears when the man approached the President, keeping his eyes down as the President opened the door and ushered him out. Beyond the door, a man stood with his arms tucked behind his back, shaggy brown hair hanging in brown eyes rising to the nurse.