2141, public square.

   The grey city’s streets were soaking in the rain; thick clouds poured them continuously in big drops that landed on the ground like bullets in a warzone. It was certainly painful if someone got struck by those droplets, but it was also midnight, so who would’ve dared to sneak out in weather like this, when the city lights were already off, and not even the aurora lit up the dark paths between the humongous buildings? It was deep dark and dangerous outside. 

   There was one tiny, shaking person, who still tried to rebel against the pain, coldness and wetness of this heavy rain.

   On the side of the public square, which was grounded with three huge buildings – the Supply Depot, the City Affair’s Office headquarters and the free market’s ominous shadows – a young girl, named Doussay stood beside one of the alarm towers. She covered her body with multiple scarves, but they were all soaking as well, her shoes felt like sinking boats filled with water, and as the droplets hit the ground so fast, they rose up to her knees, not leaving a single dry spot on her skin.

   She would’ve covered herself like this even if it wasn’t raining, for she was not supposed to be seen by anyone – and the “by anyone” meant “by soldiers or Judges”. The teenage girl was firmly staring into the darkness, and though she had learned all the corners and pathways of this place by now, at this moment, she couldn’t even tell, if she was really looking at the corner or something else on the square, there were no lights whatsoever. She couldn’t rely on her hearing, since the rain was making so much and so loud noises that she couldn’t even hear her own heavy breaths.

   She was waiting for someone, and that someone was late. In this rain, she didn’t dare to use her communicator, because she was certain if she got her communicator destroyed by the water, and she needed to apply for a new one, the city would investigate how she broke it.

   Finally, after at least five minutes of waiting, a briefly moving shadow appeared not far from her, and she heard the splashing, heavy footsteps.

 “You were late!” She greeted the man shouting when he reached her. The scientist was wearing a hood too and started to push her backwards, towards the market’s building.

 “I was almost caught.” She heard the hurried, annoyed answer from the man. “You really dare to blame me for being late… you are too bossy nowadays, Little D.”

 “I pay for you, you obey.” She answered, and then they both reached one of the entrances – it was still open, for no one discovered it, thankfully.

   The darkness inside was just as deep as outside, but at least, it didn’t rain and wasn’t noisy anymore. They both stopped for a second, and they both heard each other’s fast breathing. Tiny needles were stinging her lungs, cold and sharp, as she gasped for air, and the scientist didn’t seem to be in a better shape either.

   If there were someone following them, they would be able to hear as well – but they didn’t have much time to spend listening to that. As soon as they caught their breath, they started running towards the deeper parts of the dark and currently empty hall. 

   They went straight to the third underground floor, and when they reached the bottom of the stairs, they finally saw some light but also heard the sound of suffering: one of the girls’ rooms was opened; the light came from that place, flowing through the zigzagged corridor like dim morning sunlight on a valley.

They picked up their pace even more, and almost fell into the room, one after another.

   Then, Doussay immediately shut the door and started to cover it with blankets, which had already been prepared near the door, waiting for their moment to muffle every single noise in this room.

As she did that, she took off the wet scarves and turned to the bed.

   A single oil lamp was painting the small room with dim golden light, but the main event of the scene was clear and bright. The scientist she brought here was already working, ordering around the two other girls beside the bed, and a young woman, who was lying on the quilts and pillows. Her groans were dull and tired, but the piece of cloth she held in her mouth didn’t seem to restrain those sounds, the excess pain slipped through all the obstacles. Sweat poured down the pale face in fat drops like the rain outside.

   Doussay looked down. The woman had her legs spread out, and her knees drawn up; she was gripping her hams so strongly, that her fingers went completely white too. And… blood. Blood was everywhere. Her belly got extremely swollen, and as she pulled up her night dress, visible movements were showing under her outstretched, marked skin. The baby was almost here.

   Doussay went closer to the scientist and bent over him – trying not to grimace at the strong smell of iron.

 “How is she? Can she deliver?”

   The man Doussay brought here was their doctor. He was working at the Outer City, however, he wasn’t supposed to come here to help out anyone – if he weren’t Doussay’s client once, when she was younger, and she wouldn’t have some compromising information about him, which he told her stupidly between their intercourses, he probably would’ve refused to be a midwife for Doussay’s pregnant girls.

   But he was paid well – probably this was the reason the man didn’t answer right away. If Doussay were just one of his patients, he would’ve told her the bad news with a flat voice.

His face was very telling, however.

   Doussay felt sick, but she had to hide it, as she looked up at Mary, the young woman, who was about to give birth to her child. She was currently Doussay’s oldest, twice as old as her, in her thirties. She had a good life until a few months before this moment… she was a mercenary’s wife, who bought her from this floor a few years ago. But when they found out, she was pregnant, he tried to give her up to the Judges – so Doussay’s floor was the only place, she could’ve come back.

But… her condition…

Pregnancy in this era was a curse. At least here, in the Outer City.

   Dr Ye, the scientist, did everything, he could. The two other girls were helping Mary, and Doussay towered above them, waiting for anything to happen, when her help was needed. She also had to pay attention to the noises from outside. If anyone would enter this floor now, regardless of the blankets on the door, they would probably discover, what is happening here…

   Time seemed to be very slow in these minutes. Mary’s muffled screams, the vivid red blood, the smell of iron and sweat… Everything burned into Doussay’s mind. If she ever knew… that on her own sixteenth birthday this would happen… her “welcome party” into adulthood was just as cruel as her previous introduction to life outside the Eden.

   A baby’s head appeared. It was unbelievably big. Doussay felt dizzy watching it, she had a lot of experience with her body by now, but she was certain, nothing in that size would fit in her down there. No wonder why it was so bloody, it was a miracle, that the skin and flesh were able to stretch that far. Dr Ye told Mary to push harder, and she did while gripping the two other girls’ hands, as if she wanted to break them. Doussay’s heart pounded very fast, and she couldn’t look away from this moment, her eyes widened, and beside her worry, some sort of excitement filled her chest.

   This was not the third floor’s first baby, but before, she’d never witnessed this moment. She realised, her whole body was shaking, as she hugged herself.

   The head was dark by some hair and the skin a bit purplish and reddish from the blood and ragged flesh or something – Doussay couldn’t even tell what it was. The head was followed by the shoulders, but then, everything sped up, and a last push and scream ended the delivery. The baby has arrived.

   Dr Ye immediately took care of it, before Doussay could even see it closely, but only when the baby started to make some cracking, high noises, she felt the relief washing over her soul.

 “It’s a boy.”

   Mary lost all of her power, and couldn’t look up. Her body seemed limp, even when the two girls tried to pull her up to see her child. The boy’s umbilical cord was already separated and his tiny body was covered with a towel by Dr Ye, but he couldn’t give him to the mother just yet – Dr Ye just shoved the baby into Doussay’s arms and started helping the new mom.

   Doussay was beautified, as she was looking at the baby in her arms. A wrinkly, red face, with quite long, dark hair, that was still somewhat wet. Long eyelashes and a tiny nose. He was adorable. Doussay only at this moment started to lose the coldness, that was eating her up from inside, since she went to the streets and was soaked by the rain; her chest, her icy fingers, her knees and toes in her shoes, everything warmed up slowly, and she held the baby very carefully, and instinctively started to rock him.

But the night wasn’t over yet.

   Mary was given some medicine with a syringe, but she didn’t seem to catch her breath, in the other hand, her chest was moving weaker and weaker. She lost a lot of blood; it covered her whole bed, making the room smell very strongly, and it was certain, they could not clean these sets of sheets anymore. Doussay went closer and waved one of the girls away from Mary’s side. Doussay stood as close as she could, her thighs were pressing against the mattress, and she leaned over Mary to make eye contact with her.

   Mary was staring at the ceiling, her hair was sticking to her face and eyes, but she didn’t care. When she noticed Doussay, the woman looked at her and became more focused. Her pale face showed a tiny, unhappy smile.

 “Little D… s… sorry… I only caused you… debts” she said weakly with a hoarse voice. “And I don’t think… I can repay you…”

   Doussay told her this when Mary came back to the third floor. Indeed, it cost a lot to hide a pregnant woman and her baby, but Doussay didn’t really ask for repayment from any of the girls ever. She was just mocking them with it, but in the end, she never went through with her warnings.

 “Don’t say that. I need the money.” Doussay tried to lighten up the mood, but in fact… her own voice seemed to crack as well. She realised this might not be the time for sarcasm or jokes. “But… you know what? I will let that go. Just be better soon, okay?”

   Dr Ye tried to watch her pulse and blood pressure, but without any equipment and infusions, he couldn’t do more for the young woman. As Doussay glanced at him, and he caught her eyes, he pressed his lips into a line, and almost unnoticeably shook his head.

Doussay’s heart sank. She looked at Mary again.

 “Mary… you have to name your son.” She said, and as she did, she pulled the baby closer to Mary’s view. This was the first moment Mary noticed her child, and finally, her tears started to flow from her reddened eyes.

   She couldn’t look at him for long, for her pain – both physical and emotional perhaps – was too unbearable. Her gaze swept through the ceiling again, then her head turned slightly backwards. At first, Doussay thought that maybe the pain caused the movement, but then she noticed that her woman was looking at the wall behind the bed. Above Mary’s head, there was a cross hanging on a nail, with a well-detailed Jesus Christ figure.

 “John…” she murmured. “He was his…”

   Doussay was waiting for the continuation; her old days in the Garden of Eden were already too long ago, she couldn’t remember about religions, since she needed to care for dozens of physical matters day by day – she forgot who John was exactly. She thought Mary was just gathering her power to explain, but then she saw how the woman’s lips were still moving, while her eyes started to lose focus again, and slowly become glassy.

Mary stopped breathing. 

   The two girls immediately started crying silently, while Dr Ye was checking on Mary one last time before he called the time of death. It was one minute after midnight. With the boy in her arms, Doussay just watched, as the scientist ordered the two girls to get some towels and clean her body up.

 “You have to make it look like she got into an accident… her belly is still very swollen… let’s try to wrap it up. Little D… hey, do you hear me?”

   Doussay looked up, and she felt like she just come up from the depths of the ocean. A bubble popped around her, and a cold wave rushed through her body.

   A lioness. The word was echoing in her mind. A lioness… Yes, she needs to calm down and get into her position.

 “Yes… I… I think it’s the best if we use the stairs again, like last time.” She decided quickly, scraping herself together. “We can blame her death on the slippery steps… I also often trip on them. But you have to push her down in a way…”

 “… to mess up her lower body.” Dr Ye finished her sentence. “Why me? My job is done here. You can do it yourself.”

 “You’re the man.” She said more coldly before she lifted the little boy’s warm body, and then she nodded towards the two crying girls, who were still shaking heavily and tried to wash the blood off of Mary’s body. “And look around. Do I look like I have time for that? Do they look like, they can do it?” After some hesitance, she reluctantly added: “I will double your payment next time.”

   She had no choice. She learned on her own skin, that every piece of information can lose its worth with time. Now, she is holding power over Dr Ye, by threatening him with reporting his embezzlements, but how long those threats will work, and when will they become outdated – she couldn’t rely on them for too long. She will need something else soon, and what could have been more fitting, than using this person’s greediness? The only thing that’s more powerful than fear. Money could give a much stronger hold on a person like Dr Ye.

   Dr Ye was thinking for a few seconds, seemingly not happy with the outcome – probably would’ve asked for double payment right away, but Doussay didn’t even have that much money on her anymore.

   At last, Dr Ye accepted his role. Once the girls were done with the bathing, they put a clean night dress and panty on her, and then he lifted Mary to go to the stairs with her. Before he left the room, he turned to Doussay again.

 “When you “find” her in the morning, ask for me, and I’ll give the fake examination paper of her case for you, but if the Judges find her… don’t even dare to mention my name. I’ve never been here.”

 “I know… Dr Ye. Please, her ID number…”

   Dr Ye was making a face again – he knew, what she was asking, without the rest of the sentence. He sighed, as if he was already tired of Doussay, then nodded, and disappeared on the dark corridor.

   Doussay was left in the room with the two other girls. They were not crying anymore, but both looked very exhausted. Doussay felt the same; however, those distant words were appearing in her ears again. She heard her own mother: “Be that lioness that leads the pack, Theresa”. Suddenly, strength swept through her body from an unknown source, and she calmly looked around. She knew they needed that guidance; they needed to get some of their calmness back as well. They needed to be kept in focus, even though they just lost one of their sisters.

 “Take a five-minute break.” She said after a longer silence. “Then clean up this room. It should be spotless for tomorrow morning, in case someone else finds Mary, and if they start to investigate. You know, what would happen, if they find out about the baby.”   This made the girls wake up a bit, and after they wiped their teary, reddish-pale faces, they started to undo the bedsheet as well and pick up all the bloody clothes from the ground.

   For a few moments, Doussay watched them before she left the room and returned to her own. She looked down to see the sleeping little boy.

 “To whom should I give you?” She asked herself, of course, not the boy. All the previous babies were taken care of by someone else, either if it was their own mother if they survived the delivery, or other older women. Doussay was elected as their leader at this place – she couldn’t take more responsibilities than she already took, and it was way more than all the girls together had ever taken. Now, they had a newborn again… well, she can be a nurturer for a few days, until things calm down.

   The possibility of failure was insignificant. The base didn’t care a lot for the black market. Their laws were not protecting anyone here, but at the same time, for they hadn’t watched this place that closely, actually the market protected the people from the base’s laws in a way. However… the Trial Court was still no joke. Especially, since they always had a different leader, Doussay couldn’t be more cautious towards their habits. Their Arbiter was switched so frequently, that the girls couldn’t really figure out, which one will think, it’s necessary to check the free market’s underground floors randomly. If something seemed suspicious, the Judges would probably start to investigate this case as well: a dead person is a dead person, regardless of who she was.

   And because bearing children was prohibited in the Outer City, this could turn out very badly for Doussay or the other women. They would all suffer the consequences, and the Judges would kill the babies right away – for they “had to prevent disfigured or mutated residents within the base”. Sometimes even the mothers were killed.

   Doussay closed her door and leaned against the wall next to the entrance. She looked at John again. He was unusually calm but seemed healthy, nibbling on his tiny finger. Is he already hungry?

   Both of them were startled when they heard a loud, but dull sound of something heavy falling down the distant stairs. Doussay started shaking, and buried her face into the baby in her arms, as she slowly slid down to the floor. Her tears were hidden in this embrace.

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