When It's Over It's Over
Audrey woke in a dark cold room. She tried to look around, but she was strapped down to the table with an IV sticking into her arm. Everything below the waist was numb, and she knew what would be happening all too soon, but what would become of her once they were done?
Above Audrey a bright light snapped on, momentarily blinding her. A nurse walked into the pool of light placing a pair of disks on Audrey's extended belly. She flipped a switch and immediately the room was filled with the sounds of her babies' heartbeats.
"Please you have to tell me what's going on?" Audrey demanded from the nurse, but the woman refused to meet her eye disappearing into the darkness without saying a word. "Judy Hansen, I know who you are. I've seen you stitching up Nathan in the hospital.."
Audrey tried to move but the straps held her down too tightly, and she could see nothing outside the light. There could have been hundreds of people standing in the dark but there was no way to see them.
"Nathan, are you there?" There was silence. "I'm being held against my will. Can someone help me please? They are going to take my children and kill me. I know you are out there, please help me!"
Audrey continued to fight, but the straps didn't budge, and she only had control over her upper body. Turning her head she tried to pull out the IV with her teeth, but she didn't have that range of motion. Defeated, she lay down and waited hoping someone would find her.
Finally she heard a door open and Dr. Baldwin walked into the circle of light. "Ah, Audrey, I'm so sorry it had to end this way, but I'm not surprised. The last time you were here, you almost figured it all out, you know. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't let you stop us. Now your children that help us continue our work. Mother will be very happy to finally have a new body. She's been waiting many years for this."
"Someone will come for me. There are people who know Nathan and I are missing. They will find us."
Dr. Baldwin reached out and brushed Audrey's hair back from her face. "You are so strong, and I can only hope your children will be as strong as you are." He touched her abdomen. "Can you feel this?" He applied a bit of pressure, Audrey felt nothing but didn't respond.
The doctor smiled. "Good." He spoke into the darkness. "Judy,bring the bassinet for the children. You will be able to take them upstairs right away and check them into the nursery. Also, tell the others that it's time. I will need the vessel and the receptacle."
The nurse made a call, but she was too far away for Audrey to hear anyone, and her attention was moved from the women to Doctor Baldwin as the doctor chose a scalpel.
His hand was steady as it moved toward Audrey's abdomen and began to cut. Blood welled up around the cut and Audrey forced herself to look away. A few minutes later the room was filled with the sound of a baby's cry. Audrey saw one of her children being lifted from her body. The doctor handed the baby to the nurse and the doctor lifted the other child. Audrey's arms ached to hold her children.
She hated the pleading in her voice. "Please, let me hold them for just a moment."
The man shook his head. "No, my dear. They are no longer your children. They belong to the Guardians, and your strength will feed us for a long time. We are grateful for your sacrifice, but the Hansen family must live on. We, after all, are the founders of Haven. It is our town to govern. Most of all, mother needs a new body, her current one is dying and she's slipping away from me. You see baby girls are so rare. In a few years, your little girl will provide her with a new body. I only hope the old girl can last until the child is old enough-" The doctor began sewing Audrey up.
"Why bother doing that?" Audrey nodded to his hands. "If you're just going to kill me? I don't believe for a minute you'll let me go."
"I truly bear you no ill will. It has been this way since Haven began and I have gotten away with it because I make sure there will not be questions after you're found dead. An autopsy will show your heart gave out."
On the other side of the room the warmer where the nurse was checking over the two infants began to peep. Panicked the nurse turned to Dr. Baldwin. "The boy has stopped breathing.!"
The doctor turned from Audrey and hurried over to the baby. Audrey couldn't see what was happening from where she lay, and this made it all worse. The she heard it the long single tone telling her that her son was dead. Audrey closed her eyes, she had to get out of here there was no way she was going to accept that this was the end.
She renewed her struggling trying to find a weakness in the straps that bound her. "What's happening? Is he alright? Please tell me!" But her urgent calls went unanswered as the hushed voices and frantic movements continued.
As she strained to see, her hand touched something cold and metal. As she moved her fingers over it she became convinced it was a forgotten scalpel left on her gurney. It was cold against her skin and she cut herself when she tried to pick it up. Moving her fingers slowly she found the hilt and picked it up.
Worried she glanced across the room, the tone had been shut off but the doctor was no longer shouting orders. Then he stepped back and patted Judy on the back. "The boy's fine, his airway was just blocked, you should have cleaned it out better, especially if you want to be chosen to have the next female body. If mother doesn't survive the little girl will be yours."
"Yes, James, you know how much I would like to be with you." Her hands trailed across Baldwin's shoulders but he slapped them away.
"Stop it you foolish girl. This is not the time or place, now finish the exam and take the children away. Make sure to take them up to NICU, that way no one will be able to see them until the transfer is complete."
The nurse dropped her hand and they both turned their attention back to the children but Audrey knew her time was running out. Ignoring the blood running over her hand Audrey took the knife and began to saw through the straps.
She heard the doctor say, "Your boy gave us a scare, the girl on the other hand is very strong."
The door opened and two old men walked into the light dragging Nathan.
When he saw Audrey he managed to get an arm free and almost made it to her side. "What have they done to you? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine for now. Judy is taking the children up to the NICU. Nathan. I wasn't allowed to hold them, but they are beautiful." She jerked her head in the direction of the corner where the babies were.
Nathan looked across the room to where the nurse was standing by the warmer. The two infants were crying and their little chubby arms were flailing. "What are you doing to us? Why take the children? They can't harm you."
The doctor laughed. "No harm will come to your children-yet. They will live their lives under our care until they reach the age of maturity, then they become host to the members of my family. My mother and I came to this place hundreds years ago as, the founding family with my wife and children. One day while working in the fields I was able to save the life of a young native girl, Doe Walker. She had been pursued by a rival tribe."
He paused and played with the chain around his neck. "Over time, she fell in love with me and then one night she told me her father's secret. He was the tribe's shaman and he was hundreds of years old. He prolonged his life by changing bodies every few decades. When the time came, he chose the strongest warrior of the tribe. I used this information to take my rightful place in the world and to build a fortune. As time went on, I had children but only those worthy were brought into the secret. Those who refused my gift- sadly there were a few over the centuries - became expendable."
Audrey's stomach churned and now she and Nathan would suffer the same fate. "Why am I here then? I suppose that Nathan's body will be host to one of you. The Mayor was one of your "children", wasn't he?"
Baldwin touched the earthenware jar one of the men had brought in and placed close to Audrey."Yes, my dear. This is my eldest son, Edward, as I named him all those years ago. He has been with me the longest, other than Mother. Doe Walker taught me many things during our time together and one of the most important was how to store a soul until the vessel was ready because after all accidents happen. Edward's has been inside this jar since his death, waiting." He motioned to an earthenware jar on the table beside the bed and now it is time for him to accept his new body. I had to wait until your children were born because we are running out of hosts. There are many of us who are getting very old and we will soon need new bodies. Originally,we avoided the Troubled," Baldwin raised his eyebrow at Nathan, "but now we have no choice but to accept inferior bodies."
"What happened to the girl and her father? I assume they became expendable?"
"Yes, they did, in fact the whole tribe died out, but I was able to learn much before they perished. Doe Walker loved me until the end, she thought I would save her from her father.. I made her many promises." He reminisced. "She stole this for me." He pulled on the chain to reveal an ancient looking medallion. "She thought I would spare her, and take her away from the squalor in which she lived. She thought I would make her my wife. Once I knew more how the process worked, I found a body for my mother as well. We have not looked back." He turned back to Audrey, "Now my dear, your time is at an end. I thank you for your sacrifice, but my family is much more important than you or this boy."
Audrey's mind raced. She needed more time to find a way out of this. She had to keep him talking. "But the babies, why that? Surely you can choose anyone?"
"Over the years, I discovered that when one of the transferred souls dies, somehow the release of power allows a woman to conceive. Many had to die before we were able to repeat the pregnancy, but it was important. The women who have given birth are much more potent, it makes the transfer was much less jarring for the transplanted soul. Lastly, a child who is a product of these pregnancies is much more receptive to the new soul and they live much longer."
He stepped closer to Nathan, and Audrey became much more desperate. If she didn't figure out a way to get them out of this both she and Nathan would die. "What about the Troubles, if you are so old surely you have seen something, know where they came from? You must have noticed the changes."
Baldwin laughed. "Ah the Troubles. Everyone is so worried about them, but they mean nothing. They started about the time I brought my child in on the secret. I had seven of them - all boys - from my first union. One of my philosophical children thought what we were doing might have upset the balance of nature and the Troubles were her way of trying to reset that balance. He thought we should stop ourselves." He drew a breath. "Enough talk, now it's time to begin, my son has waited long enough for his new body." From under his shirt he removed a very old looking native medallion. He lifted it from his neck and studied it for a moment before motioning to the men who held Nathan. "Bring him here."
Reaching out he ripped the front of Nathan's t-shirt and pressed the medallion to his chest and at the same time he placed his hand on Audrey's head.
She screamed as pain rocketed through her body, and her life began slipping away.
Duke and Garland made their way through the basement of the hospital. Stockpiles of supplies cluttered storage rooms made the place a maze. As they delved deeper into the place, they heard someone coming down the hallway.
Hiding behind a section of shelves, the two men watched a nurse pass by with two squalling infants in a bassinet.
When the women disappeared, Duke asked, "How much do you want to bet those are Audrey's and Nathan's kids. Do you want to follow or should I?"
"Can I trust you to get them to safety? Those are my grandkids."
Duke nodded. "I will guard them with my life. I know one of the nurses upstairs. I'll get her to check them over. Now. you go get Audrey and Nathan before something happens to them and we have to raise those kids ourselves."
Garland didn't wait to see what Duke had planned before he headed off down the hall the way the nurse had come. He focused on reaching Nathan and Audrey in time.
Garland took off running Audrey and Nathan meant too much to this town, too much to him.
Nathan braced himself as another wave of pain shot through his body. After so long being numb it was almost a welcome feeling again but he'd rather the sudden resurgence of feeling hadn't been so drastic.
Audrey gave a whimper and he looked over to meet her gaze. He could tell she was trying hard to fight whatever was happening to her, but how long could she fight this something this strong. He could tell by the set of her shoulders that she was getting weaker, and he could see her hand moving as she cut the straps. Soon it would be time to fight and he needed to be ready . A wispy substance emanated from jar. It crept toward him until it almost touched him.
The strap snapped It was now or never.
Suddenly Audrey sat up, stabbing the scalpel into the doctor's hand at the same time Nathan knocked the jar off the table. It shattered and the smoky substance disappeared. Baldwin knelt on the floor picking up the shattered remnants.
"My son, you've killed my son."
Audrey tried to slide off the bed, but the residual effect of the anesthesia caused her to collapse instead.
The distraction gave Nathan the opening he needed to take the other two out.. He rammed the first one in the stomach with his head and then took the feet of the second man out from under him before he could react. Then he grabbed his gun from the prone man and by the time his father burst through the door the room was secured.
Nathan turned to his father. "You got them?"
"I do. You see to Audrey. I'm glad to see that neither of you are dead."
"Well that was the plan." Bending down, Nathan knelt at her side, brushing the hair back from her face. "You alright?"
"I will be fine; you have to go after the children. Find them and make sure they are safe, Nathan."
Garland grasped Nathan's shoulder as he spoke, "Take Audrey upstairs, son, and have a real doctor look at her. Duke has gone after the children and now that I know you're safe I'll join the hunt. I'll make sure you get your kids back."
Covering his father's hand he nodded."Find them, Dad. Please." Bending down Nathan picked up Audrey, and he used his heel to crush the medallion where it lay on the floor next to her. Under the pressure of his foot, it turned to dust.
Immediately a wave emanated from the dust, spreading through the room and pulsing outward, eventually traveling over the whole town.
Nathan staggered under the impact and fell to his knees as a rush of sensations flooded him. The air was warm, the floor was cold, and it was all overwhelming. He struggled briefly to adjust, and then gathered Audrey in his arms carrying her from the room and toward the elevator.
This story is complete on my site if you want to skip ahead to the end, there are two more chapters. I also have started posting an Arrow story called Strength As Strong As Steel that has a pairing of Oliver/Felicity. There are four chapters of this one up on this site as well as my own. Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you.