Wings of Blood and Cruelty
A Hemlock Grove fanfic by Glamoured By-Eric
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.-Friedrich Nietzsche
Chapter 12 - Labor Intensive
After Roman exited the building, Olivia pulled her black veil down to her chin to hide the red mark on her cheek, straightened her spine and walked slowly back into the parlor with as much dignity as she could muster, especially considering the heated discussion she had just had with Roman. She didn't want anyone to see how much her fight with Roman had affected her, but it had, more than she would even admit to herself. Roman was everything to her. For the moment, she had lost him. Her beautiful boy.
Ana crossed the room to Olivia but Marie cut her off, getting there first. "You are not welcome here, Olivia."
"Lovely. Why ever not?" Olivia replied.
"You know very well why not. You've been fucking my husband! For years. Behind my back! You also had Roman talk Letha into giving birth at the Institute instead of in the hospital where they might have saved her life. I loath you."
"Well, that is your right. Excuse me, but my sister and I have paid our respects and are leaving."
Marie grabbed Olivia's arm and said, "You are not going anywhere until I've said my piece."
Ana interceded by taking Marie's hand, removing it as she positioned herself between them, and saying, "We really must be going, Mrs. Godfrey. She really looked lovely. We are so sorry for your loss."
Marie fumed, but she let them leave, looking around the room at all the people she knew and realizing what she had been airing in public.
Outside in the parking lot, Olivia commented, "Well she certainly made a cake of herself, didn't she?"
Ana looked at her sister and commented from the driver's side of the rental car before getting in, "You think, darling? That was her right as you said. She's been wronged by you in her opinion." Ana slid into the car.
"I'm the one who was wronged. She had to get pregnant with Letha to keep Norman by her side or he would have left her seventeen years ago. I've waited long enough for him," she replied as she got into the passenger seat of the rental car next to Ana.
"So where is your home?" asked Ana. "Where do I drop you off?"
Olivia, with her arm resting on the door window frame, bit her left index finger and said, "It appears that I'm staying with you again tonight."
Amanda Eaton woke up as she felt a rush of warmth between her legs as her water broke. Panicked, she sat up in the bed and looked frantically around her cell. The last thing she wanted was to give birth in this hell hole. She tried to cover the lower half of her body with a blanket so that the camera mounted on the ceiling, and her captors watching, wouldn't see the evidence.
Her first ever labor pain rippled through her abdomen, and she grabbed her belly and moaned. Too late now, they would know.
She heard the sound of footsteps outside her door and moved to the corner of her bed against the wall. Keys in the door and her captors were inside the room and coming toward her. She knew where they were going to take her as she had been there many times since she was kidnaped. This time they were not just after blood or tissue samples.
"N-no," she said, cowering in the corner of her bed. "Leave me alone."
The two men grabbed her arms and pulled her from the bed, ignoring her plea. She struggled against them to the point that they had to drag her down the corridor, kicking and screaming.
"Let me go!" she cried.
They were silent as a third man opened the door to the surgery room, and they drug her into the room, across the floor, and to the medical bed with the stirrups. Amanda bucked and kicked at them but was ineffective against the three of them. They managed to place her onto the bed and used restraints across her body just above her belly and under her breasts. They also restrained her wrists.
When one of the men approached her and reached for the waistband of her scrubs, Amanda screamed, "NO!"
As the other two moved in to assist, Amanda kicked one of them viciously in the jaw before they restrained her legs manually. A contraction hit her, and she gasped. The man who she had kicked used her distraction to get scissors to cut off her soaked pants and underwear, leaving her lower half exposed when they finished their task. When the contraction ended, she was mortified at wearing only the tope half of surgical scrubs with three men in the room.
"Bastards! Cover me up."
They leered at her, and one of them had the audacity to cup her sex.
"Joseph!" said a voice from the other side of the room, in the direction of the doorway. "Enough! This is not the way we treat our guests. Kindly cover her up."
Joseph frowned, removed his hand and frowned at the man. He had hoped for some payback for the kick, but he reluctantly covered her lower half with a sheet.
"That's better," he said, walking into the room. "You can leave now," he said to his underlings.
When they left, he said, "I apologize for their rough handling of you, Amanda. That was unfortunate. Especially on such an auspicious day. New life. Always a time to celebrate life through birth."
"How would you know? You don't have the equipment for it," spat Amanda.
He chuckled, running his hand through his white hair, "True enough. Though I have been present at many christenings. As I mentioned, it is always a time to celebrate."
Amanda glared at him noting that he was again dressed all in black, wearing a priest's collar at his neck. He had a large, silver cross hanging around his neck which was nestled below his pecks on his shirt. Each time she saw him she noted the hypocrisy of him being a religious icon with a soft-spoken voice yet that same man could hold her captive and order others to experiment on her without remorse, pretending concern for her modesty. Beneath that cool exterior hid a ruthless, unremorseful man who didn't care anything for her despite his words.
She changed tactics, in a last ditch effort to scratch through the surface to some recessed feeling in the man. She pleaded, "Let me go, Father. You've kept me here long enough. I need to go to a hospital. I can't have my baby here. Please."
He looked at her and replied, "I'm sorry, Amanda. I'm afraid that won't be possible. We have plans for you and your child. We need you right here where you are. There is too much about your kind that we don't understand yet. There is no need for a hospital. We can safely deliver your child right here."
Amanda strained against her restraints and said, "You can't just keep me here like this forever. Someone is going to miss me eventually."
"Who? Your co-workers? You don't have any family as far as we could establish. You rarely went out except to work or to shop. The baby's father is out of the picture. Who could possibly be looking for you?"
She didn't reply.
"No. You are right where you belong so that we can study you."
Another pain tore through her, leaving her breathless. "Get out!" she managed to order through her clenched teeth.
"Very well, my child. I'll send the staff in to attend to you. It appears that we are going to have a new addition to our family today." He turned and left the room.
A new pain ripped through her.
Amanda woke up in her bedroom at the Godrey mansion to the sound of the baby crying. Coming to a sitting position, she wiped her eyes, then crossed the room to pick up the baby, trying to wipe the dream of her captivity from her head.
Michelle's diaper was wet so Amanda changed her, then sat in the padded rocking chair and began rocking her. When that didn't sooth her wailing, she opened her shirt and placed the baby at her breast. Michelle latched onto her nipple and began to drink finally quieting. She whimpered a little every now and then, making deep breatjs. but was finally contented.
Amanda was far from contented. It was comforting to have her full breasts get slowly emptied on a regular basis now, but unfortunately this child was not hers and made her long for her own child that was taken from her. She was so glad that Mr. Mason, the lawyer, had told her about this job opening. It was perfect for her, and now she had some security around to keep her safe from her former captors.
Michelle had fallen back to sleep, after she had burped her, when Amanda heard someone in the hallway, and Roman poked his head in the door.
"How's my girl?" he asked, smiling at her.
Amanda answered, "See for yourself."
Roman crossed the room and took Michelle from Amanda and held the baby gently. He sat down on the bed.
"It always amazes me how tiny she is," said Roman, playing with her tiny fingers.
"I'm surprised she isn't longer than she is," remarked Amanda. "You're quite tall."
Roman looked across the room at Amanda. "She takes after her mother. Letha wasn't nearly as tall as I am." Thoughtful for a moment, he said, "Her mother looked lovely in the blue dress her mother picked out for her. They made her look as beautiful as she was."
"I'm glad they did a good job. It is certainly hard enough to lose someone you are close to." She paused then said, "Would you mind watching her while I take a little break downstairs. I won't be long. I thought I'd grab some yogurt."
Roman smiled. "Sure. Take as long as you need. We're fine here. Aren't we, Michelle?" he asked the sleeping infant. "We have a bodyguard downstairs to keep you safe, don't we?"
Amanda smiled and left the room.
Norman pulled up in front of the Godfrey mansion in his SUV and parked behind Roman's red car. He went inside. They'd had to sedate Tom Sworn earlier because he couldn't be reasoned with. He was still convinced he was guilty. They were also alternating his intravenous antibiotics with Rocephin and Vancomycin to try to get a handle on his leg infection. When he was calmer, they irrigated his wound and re-bandaged it. They'd also given him something to reduce his fever.
When they were finished, Norman sat with him for awhile and then left and thought about the call to the acting sheriff that he had made earlier. The details of the crime scene were a match to the scene that Tom had described to him earlier. He was at a loss as to how to explain it.
Exiting the vehicle and entering the house, he greeted the bodyguard sitting in the foyer, and went upstairs, pulling on his tie as he went. He stopped by the nursery suite on his way to his and Olivia's room.
Norman found Roman lying prone on the bed with his feet hanging over the end and Michelle lying on his stomach with her head turned toward the door. Amanda was asleep in the rocking chair across the room. He left quietly not wanting to disturb them.
A/N:
The music for the closing credits would be Moby: Wait For Me.
I thought it was time to reveal a little more about Amanda and her experience with the Order. More will be revealed in future chapters.