Two weeks later, Ray wanted Brooklyn to have an ultrasound to see if his project had succeeded.
Brooklyn had been eating and drinking like normal and nothing further had developed with his stomach so far when he downed something. He was perplexed when the men came in demanding that he come with them to the exam room.
He gave it his all to avoid being cuffed but the men won out. His hands were cuffed behind him as he was escorted to the dreadful room. Brooklyn's breathing sped up. What did they want?
Brooklyn tried his hardest to resist of not getting on the table at all. "NO! Let me go!" he yelled.
His arms, legs, and tail were strapped down in the end. He was on a different kind of table this time, one where he was more of sitting up rather than laying down. His hands were behind the table for safety reasons.
When Ray stepped forward, Brooklyn demanded, "What are you going to do? What do you want with me?"
"Just a little exam to see how a little something went." Ray replied. He came over to the trembling gargoyle and Brooklyn clenched his stomach when the man began undoing his belt. "Get off me!" he snarled, squirming.
Ray got his belt undone and he pulled the loincloth down just a tad, not revealing anything further. Brooklyn concluded that he wanted access to the lowest portion of his belly. But why?
Then another man wheeled over a large machine with a computer and keyboard. What was that?
"What are you going to do?" Brooklyn asked nervously.
"Your exam now." Ray said in reply. He picked up a tube and he began to put the gel onto Brooklyn's stomach. It made him flinch. The gel was warm, but the feel of it felt weird. His breathing was still fast.
"Don't, please." Brook pleaded.
"Oh, this isn't going to hurt but it may feel weird." Ray stated. He then picked up the wand and put it over the gel-covered belly.
Brooklyn instantly clenched his stomach at the feeling. "If it's the wound you're looking for inside me, it's gone." He snapped.
"No. That's not it at all." Ray replied. He was scanning carefully on the computer and not showing Brooklyn. He saw the AW (artificial womb). It was in place and looking inside it, was a small, teeny, little blob. There was a little dot inside it. Ray smiled. This was special indeed.
Ray then picked up a needle syringe. That was when Brooklyn really froze up. "What are you going to do?" he asked nervously.
"Get some fluid from inside you, of course."
Ray pinpointed where he was going to get it from and Brooklyn instantly tried to stop him from poking his belly. "NO! Don't!" Brook yelled.
The needle was eventually poked through the skin in Brooklyn's stomach and some fluid was withdrawn. Brook had winced in pain, feeling the needle going deep into his insides. But for what?
Ray now had a helpful bout of fluid. He knew that Brooklyn was pregnant, but just in the early stages. It would be a while yet before he would figure it out. He slowly withdrew the needle.
After that, his belly was cleaned off and he was taken back to his cell. Brooklyn rubbed his belly. First, it had been the surgery on his belly and now an ultrasound. He wasn't familiar with all that ultrasounds did. Lex might know, or the Xanatos'.
But why had Ray done that and what for? If he was going to be doing that on a regular basis, Brooklyn knew he needed to get out of here.
….
Over these past weeks, Melina had been kind enough to at least bring him books on motorcycles and other books to read to pass the time, but he even got bored just reading.
Ray wished the gargoyle wasn't being so stubborn on gargoyle secrets. He only wanted to help, but he also wanted to study him too. He was already doing something that hadn't been done before, creating an embryo without a female present. Brooklyn's own genetic code and dna had been created into the ovum and fertilized with his own sperm to make a viable embryo and hopefully, a baby gargoyle. Of course, Ray had no idea how gargoyle babies were really made and he didn't have the patience to hatch an egg that would take ten years to incubate. A few months might be one thing, but a decade? It would be too long for him. Ray was just taking the fastest route possible to get a baby gargoyle.
He was happy that Brooklyn was showing signs of earliest pregnancy, at least from that ultrasound.
…..
Brooklyn hadn't been able to take a glide in the few weeks he was here and his wings were aching to get some air under them. He really wanted and NEEDED to get out of this place.
The door to the room opened. It was Melina bringing him his breakfast.
"How are you tonight, Brooklyn?" she greeted.
"Melina, I really need to get out of here. I feel like I'm getting claustrophobic in here and I can't use my wings like this. Please, you have to help me." He pleaded desperately to her. "I really miss my clan. They need me and I need them. Being part of a clan is part of who we are. I can't go on living like this."
Melina wanted to help him badly, but with what he was now carrying inside him, he would need help with it as time went on. She gave him a forlorn look. "I wish I could," she replied.
"Why can't you? I thought you were my friend," he said.
Guilt worked on many people to release them. She knew that Brooklyn was trying anything to get free from here. She wanted to see him go through with the experiment too, but she didn't want him to be so unhappy. That would put a stressor on the embryo too.
Melina had some thinking to do. She walked up to Brook and whispered in his ear, "It's usually late at night before most of the men decide to go to bed. It might be as late as 3 am before I can try to get you out of here. Yes, I know a way out of the facility."
What she told him brought a smile to his beak. "Thank you. I'll be truly grateful." Brook declared softly.
"You might want to eat to keep up your strength." Melina said. "But would you know where to go from here? It's a desert out there."
"I'll survive. I don't want to spend one more night or day here. I feel like your boss is just using me for his own selfish gains. I don't need that. I went through that when I first came to New York and don't want it now. I have to go." Brooklyn explained. "I feel like I'm going to go crazy and lose my mind if I spend much more time here. Gliding is part of being a gargoyle with wings too, and I haven't done that since before your group kidnapped me."
His story was getting to her. "Have you ever done such a journey before?" she asked.
"Not quite a long one, but I'll find my way back to the city where my clan is. There's bound to be someone out there that can help me, or I'll just make my way there, one way or another." Brooklyn replied. "I don't care how long it takes."
Melina knew that he better care. He wasn't entirely alone. He wouldn't be able to have his baby by himself.
"I'll be back after 3 am to help you get out." She whispered before leaving the food for him.
Brooklyn was pleased to hear it and he was glad to eat the food.
…..
Brooklyn had no idea what time it was. His nerves were just acting on overload period. He was anxious and nervous about getting out of this infernal place. 'Where are you, Melina?' he thought to himself.
It seemed to take forever for the woman to finally show up. The door was opened up quietly. Brooklyn looked up. It was her. "Shh! Follow me, hurry!" Melina whispered.
Brooklyn gladly went to the door entrance and followed her out. He saw that she had a bag with her on her back. A backpack. "What took you so long?" he asked.
"I had to gather some supplies for you before I would consider letting you go out there alone like this into the desert. And I had to wait till Ray and the other men went to bed." Melina explained.
Melina quietly led Brooklyn through the facility. The cameras had been turned off by her as well. Brook had his wings caped over his shoulders. They were trying to make this as fast as possible. Melina knew she would be in for a world of trouble in the morning when her boss found out the gargoyle was gone.
There were many twists and turns through this underground facility. Brooklyn also got to see the window where he had been able to see the stars, but now was not the time to be gazing out the window. It had to be now if he was going to get out of here. He would have time for that later.
Eventually, Melina got him to the front of the facility. She used the keypad to let them outside.
Brooklyn was glad to finally take a deep breath and smell real outside air again, though it was rather hot out here. It was dry air compared to the moisture of the east. He was ready to take off on all fours when Melina stopped him.
"Here, take this bag with you. It has some food and water essentials for you to last for at least a week." Melina said.
Brooklyn took the bag from her. "Thanks for everything, Melina. You're a lifesaver." He smiled at her. "I won't forget this. I have to go before sunrise comes. It's getting closer all the time." He could sense it. It was already after 3:30 am.
"Goodbye." Melina said as she watched him take off.
Brooklyn took off as fast as his legs and arms could carry him across the sands and bushes. He had the bag strapped to his front. When he got far away from there, he saw that the facility was in a hill under the desert floor. But he wasn't going to stick around to find out. He was getting the heck out of here.
He had to find a high enough vantage point to where he could get to the air. He wanted to get further away before the humans had a chance to find him in daylight and bring him back there again. He also hoped he didn't have a tracker on or inside his body. He stopped to feel around his body briefly, including his loincloth and belt to make sure. There was nothing on him. Good. He also checked the bag for anything suspicious. Nothing. He continued to move on. He had to get to the air though so the humans wouldn't be able to track his footprints.
Melina was fascinated with how he had run off and she couldn't make out his form in the dark anymore. She typed in the keypad and let herself back inside. She knew she would have to come up with a reasonable story as to how Brooklyn escaped custody.
Brooklyn kept on looking and he could see some mountains in the distance but had to get to the air to get there faster. At one point, he saw some rock stands and he quickly got there and jumped. His wings were a little weak after not being used for a while, but he didn't care. He wished there was more time to get further away with more nighttime hours. He was grateful for the supply bag of food and water. Maybe by the time he ran out of these supplies, he would be in a place that had more stuff he would need on his trip home.
Brooklyn made it to the hills as the sky was beginning to get lighter in the sky. He often hated being confined to the limits of just the night. He could cover more ground if he could travel by day too, but it wasn't going to be that way. He had to find a place to rest and stay out of sight of humans. He was still out in the middle of nowhere, but humans could still come across him while he was stone.
He didn't know which way he was going and right now, getting away had been more important to him than direction, but then, as he thought about it, he had to get to Arizona. That might be the fastest way he could get home, finding Elisa's sister, Beth. She was going to school there. But he didn't know where she lived exactly. But he could always find a phone book and look her up. Surely, she was in the phone book. Then he could call home from her dorm. That was the plan anyway.
As the sky kept getting lighter and lighter, he was flying over the high mountains and he at last saw a cave he could hide in. He breathed a sigh of relief. His wings were tired and cramping some too after not being used for a while.
Brooklyn came to a landing on the ground just in front of the cave. He also had to make sure that there were no animals in it. He laid his bag on the ground first and went to investigate. He walked up slowly.
"Hello? Is anyone in there?" he asked anxiously. There was no response. He breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Nothing in there."
He picked up his bag and walked into the cave. He took a pose just as the sun poked over the horizon and he turned to stone. This was his first sleep in freedom. He had been there for about a month before tonight's escape. He hoped Melina would be alright.