The Hunt - Megan Shepherd Page 0,20
are not born, but raised in communal grow houses from infancy through first-decade aging. As chief genetics officer, I have been working to engineer a similar system with humans. Soon, natural reproduction will be as obsolete for your kind as it is for ours. Your child might very well be the last born of natural means.”
She almost looked pleased with herself, but then she blinked, as though she had forgotten something important, and cocked her head. “Though after observing you in your previous enclosure, I realized I might be missing a valuable opportunity to study authentic prenatal care in its natural habitat. Our knowledge of your child-rearing culture has heretofore been collected by studying artifacts: instructional books, videos, and recordings. I’ve learned that your kind has traditions that are never written down. It is my intention to observe these informal practices here.”
Nok stumbled through her words. “So . . . we can keep the baby?”
Serassi’s dark eyes swiveled to Nok’s belly. “As long as you prove yourselves useful to our research purposes.”
“And if we don’t?” Rolf asked tensely. “You cut the baby out of her belly and kill us?”
“The moral code prevents us from killing you,” Serassi answered, though from the way her voice lingered, whatever the alternative would be didn’t seem much better.
A pain shot through Nok’s belly. Was it true? Would they really take Sparrow away before she was even born and raise her in some alien incubator somewhere, watched and documented just like Nok had been for all those photographers back home? “You’re monsters!” She lunged toward Serassi, but Rolf held her back. His muscles had grown from all the sledding and gardening in the cage, and he stopped her from clawing at Serassi.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “She’s stronger than us. Think of Sparrow.”
Nok let out a frustrated cry and spun away, breath coming fast. She pressed a hand to the base of her neck. The Kindred had fixed her asthma when they’d abducted her, but she still felt the ghost of tightness in her lungs.
She stormed into the nursery. Rolf followed her, glancing back at the open door.
“At least we’re safe for the time being,” Rolf said.
“Until when?” she asked. “Until we can’t teach them anything they haven’t already learned from books? Rolf, I don’t know anything about raising a baby. It won’t take them long to figure that out. A month, maybe two, and they’ll take her away as soon as she’s developed enough.”
She glanced over at the crib and felt sick all over again.
“I won’t let it come to that.” Rolf rested his hands on her shoulders.
They went back into the hallway, but Serassi had vanished. They found her downstairs, inspecting a microwave oven that kept dinging despite the fact that nothing was cooking. If she was upset that Nok had nearly tried to claw her face off, she didn’t show it.
“Do this for Sparrow,” Rolf whispered.
It gave Nok something to hold on to, and she took a deep breath and turned to Serassi. “What about the others?”
Serassi straightened. “None of the others are expecting a child, so there is no reason for them to be here.” She nodded toward the staircase. “You will find suitable clothing in the bedroom upstairs. Try to ignore the observers and act as naturally as you would if you were in your former lives. This habitat has been left open so the observers can ask you any questions they might have about what you are doing and why. Answer their questions promptly. Otherwise, you are free to live as you choose.”
The tight walls of the living room pressed in toward Nok.
“Where is Cassian? Can we talk to him?”
Serassi returned to inspecting the microwave. “If you believe that Cassian will take you away from this place, you are mistaken. He needed to hide Cora’s escape attempt and his own role in it from the Council. Tessela and Fian are two of his supporters, and thus they agreed to lie. But I care nothing for his mission. And so he offered to give me the two of you and your baby for my own research purposes, in exchange for my silence.” Serassi closed the microwave door. “I am the one you answer to now.”
Nok closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her throat.
“We have simulated day and night for you,” Serassi continued. “I will return tomorrow to perform the first round of tests, along with my fellow reproductive scientists. We expect you to comply with the mission of this facility and