Borealis 2015-2016

ered a picture. Her child. A frail jellied image flashed in front of them, but Athena focused on the pang of discomfort in her stomach. She glanced at Dirk, his face muddled and solidified in an inde- cipherable expression. His movements of the scan slowed; hence, the pain in her body dragged out even further. His chapped lips sucked inward when his stare weakened at the sight of the screen. “Wh-What? Why aren’t you saying anything, Dirk? You always have something to say even when you know I don’t want to hear it,” Athena murmured toward him, eyes softened in curiosity. “There’s nothing to say!” he growled out in a faltering lilt. Her voice directed toward the screen, dying in her throat at the sight. “Why are the baby’s legs that weird shade of red? Is it bad news?” “It’s not going to be bad news,” Dirk replied. “We’ve created something for it.” Athena wriggled upward, watching Dirk dig around in a cabinet cramped with bottles of colored tablets and liquid numbness. “What did you create for it?” His hands stopped rustling, but his voice bounced around in the confined space as he con- tinued to search. “I wouldn’t call it a cure, or antibiotic… It’s more of a vaccine, to make childbirth a little easier.” “I’m not having the baby now, am I?” Sarcasm ripped through the air, but Dirk ambled right through it, needle weaved in his fingers. “I know you aren’t, but I need you to trust me,” he gained closer to her retreating figure. The point pricked through her tanned skin, wedging straight into a lower rib. It felt like a filling, as the fluid forced its way along the marrow tracks. “What is it?” “Just a calcium supplement. It’ll strengthen your ribs over time,” he mumbled, focusing on maintaining a steady hand. The large dosage spilled into her body like tidal waves; the horrid sound of its swooshing in her bones sent shudders down her spine. . *** “Excuse me? Miss?!” the girl waddling over to the front desk with a hand clamped on her swollen belly whined. An apathetic eye rolled up to her, feigning little interest within the brown iris. “I’m sorry, young lady, but the doctor is swamped. Please check in and wait for your doctor to page for you,” honked out of the women behind the counter. Her ugly chipped nails shuffled through papers, milling around an empty search for the nameless women. “Name?” “Athena Monty! Dirk knows I’m coming; if you would just let him know-” “Miss Monty, as I’ve said before, please wait for the doctor to call for you,” she diluted Athe- na’s hurry with her monotone. “Nancy,” a male voice bounced across the room. “What did we discuss about Athena?” Nancy’s eyes constricted while deadpanning Dr. Kane , boring daggers at the admired, preg- nant women. “Let her in no matter what.” “Good,” he snips toward her, bringing a soft expression to Athena. “Follow me, Ena.” Behind the plaited door of ROOM 93 opened a perfectly primped room, bleached whiter than ever before. No faded remnants of red hid on the walls, no congealing bleach stenches choked the air, and the usual ecstasy on Dirk’s face watered down to a hollowed out look of exhaustion. Athena joked in a shadow of a laugh. “Too bad this’ll all be ruined once the blood starts-” “Athena,” Dirk mustered up a breath. “Don’t talk like that. You’re gonna be fine, trust me.” “What’s changed? Has the process altered since my sister was born?” “The procedure has been altered, yes. Once you’re strapped up and settled in, all I do is make sure that the baby’s cranial region is angled down the vaginal canal. Crowning gives the baby too

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