Prologue

      "How much?" She asked hesitantly. She clung to her husband's arm as they waited for the figure that would make it all worth it. Secretly, she hoped that they would not offer much at all, so that she would not be drawn in by temptation and greed to commit this act of sin and betrayal. She would never admit this to her husband; she had to remain strong in his eyes, steady, not bogged down by the chains of the moral illusions. That was how he put it, anyway. But she knew, illusion or not, that she had a moral obligation to the unborn child who's life she held in her hands. She was well aware that if she sold the tiny form which now resided inside her -- a human life, a being of endless potential -- she would be making a deal with the devil. It's not just your child, you are auctioning off, it's your soul as well, that nagging voice -- what remained of her conscience -- told her.

     "Thirty million. Dollars." The white-haired man with the stained coat replied at last. His tone was proffessional, his face implacable.

     An audible gasp escaped Audrey's lips, and she felt the moral bindings slip away from her as the desire for the money, and the freedom it would bring with it, overtook her. Nelson remained silent, beside her, his face as stoical as the doctor's. Doctor. That was a laugh, thought Audrey. Doctors are supposed to help people, to fix them up and make them better. The only person this man was helping was himself. And yet, thought Audrey with a rush of shame, if I give up my child, am I not the same as him?

       The 'doctor' was eyeing both of them intently, with a sharp gaze that made Audrey shift uncomfortably.He had caught a hungry gleam in Nelson's eye as he had spoken the figure aloud. He was pleased -- greed was always a good sign in potential donors. Why else would they make such a bargain? The woman made him uneasy; she seemed to be struggling with a rather persistant conscience. But if he had the approval of the man, she could be easily overpowered. Things were seemed to be coming along quite nicely for him.

      "How old?" Audrey asked abruptly. "How old will she be when you take her? ...If we accept, I mean." She added hastily, too hastily. She hadn't meant to reveal that she was even seriously contemplating accepting, let alone that she was leaning in his favor.

     "Seventeen." He replied cooly. "Old enough that it will be fully developed, but young enough that it's blood will still not have reached it's most potent. Besides, there are legal factors to consider. Once it turns eighteen, things could become quite nasty."

       "She, you mean." Audrey corrected. "The child is to be a girl."

       "It. Once the operation is complete, it will no longer be human." The hateful man returned. "You must not treat it as a human being, but rather an experiment." He smiled, then, displaying a single, curved, white blade in place of what should have been a row of teeth.

        Nelson spoke at last. "And if the experiment were to go wrong?" He asked softly, but not meekly.

        "We'd do what every scientist does when an experiment fails -- throw it out and start over."

         The young mother's eyes were wide with horror as she place her arm protectively over her inflated stomach. A small kick was felt from within.

      "We accept your offer." Nelson concluded simply, with a business-like lack of emotion that made Audrey shiver and recoil from him.

      "No." She said firmly. "I. DON'T. ACCEPT." She had found the strength from somewhere deep with in her, a self-righteous outrage that filled her with furious energy. How could she have even thought for one second that she would give up her baby?!

        "She has a little trouble overcoming......moral factors." Nelson spoke these last two words with hateful condescension. "Once the operation is over, she'll be fine. Give her the dose of anaesthetics."

       Audrey did something then that she had never thought she'd have to do in her lifetime. She pulled her fist back, and released, SLAM, into Nelson's face. There was a sickening (or, in Audrey's opinion, rather satisfying) crunch as flesh connected with flesh, and the cartilige in his nose gave way.

       The last thing she saw as the doctor slipped the needle smoothly into her vein was Nelson, clutching his nose and screaming profanities. Under normal circumstances, she would have pitied him. Now, she did not.

       The world went black.

Author's Note

This is out of order, I know....sorry.

Reviews

[Tim H]

You did a great job hooking the reader. The story is as dark as it is compelling. Nice imagery and characterization. Great work.
Tim

[Bran the Broken]

Effing hell. great start!

[Pax Analog]

Baaad. One can't help but wonder what the hybridization process is, and where this pre-birth "it" is going to be for 17 years, and who wants to spend 30 million dollars (of course, in the future, that might not be so much).

Nonetheless, you have a visceral instinct for dark side explorations, and since all that plagues humanity is that which is swept under the rug, it is arguably more moral to unflinchingly probe taboos.

Good touch, the nose-crunching punch of the venal father.

Strong beginning, and I hope you develop this further.

[Ryan]

Ditto on Melvin! Love it so far, even though it was disturbing to me...but oh well, can't wait for more! :D

[Rainbow Rider]

Where were you hiding this? This is an awesome write. You painted a very lovely yet disturbing picture for my mind. I'm glad she at least punched him before she got drugged.