A Name
A Name
My roommate was a blonde girl named Skyler. She couldn't have been more than eighteen and she was already pregnant with her second Unnatural baby. "How far along are you?" I asked, watching her rub her swollen belly affectionately. "Seven months." She answered in a gentle voice. "My first is two now." She got a far away look in her eyes as she thought of here eldest child. "He must be so big now. They haven't let me see him since I got pregnant." I pulled my knees tighter against my chest. "How exactly…does this work?" I asked, hoping and praying that they didn't just lock in a room with the guy. "They use a type of artificial insemination. First they mix the vampire virus with the Father's genetic material, then they inject it into a few of your eggs and re-implant them. It's painful but nowhere near what he has to go through." I cocked an eyebrow at her. "How is it painful for him?" She laughed lightly, "They go for the more direct approach to gather his DNA, in order to avoid contamination." I gritted my teeth at the thought.
At noon, everyone was called to the mess hall for lunch. All the mothers sat on one side of the cafeteria while the adult Unnaturals sat on the other. The children were fed earlier. I picked at my high protein meal, watching with a turning stomach, as the Unnaturals slurped up their bloody slabs of meat. Then I saw him. #66 walked over to the table across from mine and sat down with his tray. A blonde Unnatural with the number 170 written on the front of his shirt sat on the other side of him. They were talking and laughing, there was nothing strange about them besides their insanely beautiful eyes. My own eyes focused solely on #66's face. They studied every move he made: the way his lips pulled away from his sharp canine teeth when he laughed, the way he scratched absently at his shorn black hair, and of course the way he looked in that uniform. He looked towards me and I hastily turned my head away and returned my attention to Skyler who was talking to another Mother with short copper hair and green eyes.
"Is this seat taken?" asked a sultry deep voice. Skyler was staring at the source of the voice with her mouth wide open. I hesitantly turned my head and instantly regretted it. #66 was standing there with a big grin on his handsome face. "I…don't think you're aloud over here." I stuttered; my cheeks were on fire. He sat down anyway, "I get special treatment." He said, leaning forward. "I saw you staring at me." He whispered. I swallowed hard, he had the kind of voice women only heard in their dreams. I looked away from him, setting my gaze on the leftovers of my meat loaf.
"It wasn't what you think." I muttered. He chuckled and my bones melted into putty. "And what am I thinking, do tell?" he asked, grinning as he crossed his arms. "You think, I think that you're good looking." He closed his eyes and laughed, "Actually, I thought you were staring at me because I'm going to be your baby's daddy, thanks though." All of a sudden, he stilled. He sat with his back as straight as a board and his eyes enlarged in horror. "Are you enjoying yourself, #66?" asked Dr. Fuji, holding a taser to the back of his neck. "Get back to your assigned table." She hissed. "Yes, ma'am," he said jumping to his feet. He hastily went back to his original seat and pretended to eat.
Dr Fuji then turned her deadly black eyes on me, "#66 is extremely headstrong. I would appreciate it if you didn't encourage him. Are we clear?" I lowered my eyes and clasped my hands in my lap so she wouldn't see that they were trembling, "Yes ma'am." She strutted off without another word.
"Well lunch was…eventful." Said Skyler with a scowl. She was gripping onto her belly, as if she were trying to clutch onto her unborn child. "Is something wrong?" I asked. She whirled around, tears were welled up in her eyes but she didn't let them fall. She was much stronger than she looked. I guess she had to be. "#170 hasn't spoken a word to me, ever!" Unable to hide the pain, she began to cry. I touched her shoulder and smiled apologetically, "That's a good thing, Skyler. #66 is putting us both in danger by speaking to me. Be glad that #170 isn't a complete moron like him."
"Who's a moron?" asked #66 from behind me. I froze at the sound of his voice. His arm wrapped around my shoulder and I thought I was going to die. "May I borrow your friend please?" He said in an extremely low and sexy voice before dragging me away from Skyler. He took me to the recreation room, near the center of the base. The room was made to look like a park, with trees, grass, benches, swings and jungle gyms for the children to play on. We sat down on a bench and I waited patiently for him to explain himself.
He ran his hand over his hair and took a deep breath before he began. "I needed to ask you something very important." He said. Sweat dripped down his face. He was obviously nervous about what he was doing and so was I. "Shoot." I said, faking a smirk, my insides were doing flips. If the scientists caught me with him, we were dead. "I…know that you may not survive but if you do, will…will you…name him?" I stared back at him with narrowed eyes, "Who?" His unearthly eyes focused on my midsection, "Our son." I crossed my arms and looked away, "No, the scientists said that was against the rules." He slunk down in the bench and pressed his lips together in unspoken anger, "so is being here with me but you're doing that," he retorted his voice so low, it was almost inaudible.
"Your name is Rose, right?" he asked. "Yes" I confirmed. "My name's Marcus." He took my hand and shook it. I was in disbelief. "Marcus?" He nodded, his eyes seemed to dim a bit. "My mother gave me that name because she didn't want me to be just another number." His jaw muscles tightened as hurtful memories flooded his mind, "She was killed for that small act of kindness. The scientists snatched me away from her then shot her in the head. I understand that you're scared and you don't want to get into trouble but please, think about it." He got up and walked away, his steps were slow and agonizing.
I sat and thought for a long time after he left. In my mind's eye I saw visions of a young mother holding her tiny son. The baby's eyes opened revealing big blue eyes of the most beautiful shade. The woman smiled and kissed the baby's cheek. "My sweet little Marcus" she whispered against his soft skin. Suddenly the baby was ripped away. The woman screamed, her own voice was drowned out by the screams of her son. There was a loud bang and the mother's cries went silent.