AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The silence hangs heavy in the air until it becomes unbearable, and I slowly sit up on the side of my bed. At the very end of the room, I can just barely make out Rose seated on the floor, still pale and obviously rattled by something. She has one arm wrapped around Zoe who, surprisingly, has drifted off to sleep with her head in Rose’s lap. The poor girl must be exhausted after the day’s events. It’s obvious something upsetting happened to Rose in the medic bay that really shocked her.
What she says next, her usually confident voice quiet and trembling, takes me and everyone else completely by surprise.
“I’m pregnant.”
A moment of stunned silence descends on us as we all process her announcement, then it’s broken by a flurry of voices bombarding her with questions.
Everywhere I go someone’s pregnant. I huff out a laugh of disbelief.
There’s a tiny part of me that is envious of Rose right now, even if the circumstances are less than ideal. I’ve tried to tell myself that I’ve accepted I’ll never have a child, but the truth is. . . No, no I can’t think about that right now. I have accepted it. I did. Right now, I need to do something to distract myself from my own problems, and what’s better than talking about someone else’s problems.
As strange as it may seem considering we’re locked up on a spaceship, I’ve become friends with these women. Rose is my friend and she deserves my support, nothing less.
I let out a shrill whistle that silences the rising noise level in an instant. Hey, I didn’t work at a summer camp during college for nothing – I can quiet down a cabin full of tweens in two seconds flat.
“I know we all have a lot of questions, but one at a time.” I make eye contact with Rose. Her face is tight and she looks like she’s barely holding it together. “If you don’t want to tell us anything, that’s okay. It’s your business, not ours.” She gives me a small nod.
“Me, first.” Jayden bounces up and down on her toes and raises her hand high in the air like we’re in class. “Did one of the grays knock you up? Was it some weird experiment?”
“Jayden!” Mara admonishes the teen.
“What? They do that. I saw it on a show my cousin used to watch. They abduct humans, impregnate them, then force them to give birth to little alien kids so they can repopulate Earth with them. I’m shocked it took this long for it to happen to one of us.” At the groans, Jayden insists. “It’s true.”
Crystal rolls her eyes and interrupts before Jayden can go on. “You need to quit watching trashy TV before it rots your brain, kid.”
But now that Jayden has said it, we all look at each other and exchange glances. What if?
“That’s not what happened, right?” Maddie asks, her voice hushed with trepidation. I can feel the expectation in the air as everyone waits for Rose’s answer. As crazy as what Jayden said sounds, I don’t know what to expect anymore. Anything could happen.
Rose’s eyes are misty with unshed tears as she shakes her head. “I was already pregnant before the abduction. I had just found out the day I was taken. I was so happy, and I wanted to be a mom so bad, but. . .” Her voice cracks and the tears overflow to run down her cheeks. She breathes in deeply through her nose and slowly releases it, and even from this far away I can see her hands trembling. Her voice is barely a whisper when she continues. “But the Zyfeliks said that as soon as the baby is born, it will be taken from me and sold.”
The room is quiet, and I don’t think any of us knows what to say. Rose is facing a devastating situation and my stomach twists in sorrow for her. I couldn’t imagine having to face the possibility of my child being ripped away and sold by aliens, never to see them again.
“It’ll be okay, Rose. We’ll figure something out.” Aria calls out. She’s the ray of positivity in our group. At this point, I don’t think anything could dim her glass half full, cheery disposition. “We’re smart, capable women. If we put our heads together, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
“How exactly are we going to escape from a ship in outer space?” Crystal drawls sarcastically. “It’s not like we can just break out and flag down help.”
A few of the others chime in with comments until they’re talking over each other and the volume in the room begins to rise again. At the far end of the cells, Rose has stopped crying and is sitting still with Zoe cuddled against her side. She’s gazing off into space with a defeated look on her face that breaks my heart. There must be something that we can do.
I speak up, raising my voice to be heard over the others, “Aria is right. We need to keep our eyes and ears open. Remember, Zaez said it’s illegal for the Zyfeliks to even have contact with Earth, let alone abduct humans to sell. So, if it’s illegal for them to have humans maybe one of us can escape and find a space cop or something to help us.” I don’t know if there is such a thing, but it sounds logical to me.
“Space cop?” Crystal asks incredulously. She’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, but it makes sense.
“Yeah. If there are laws, then someone has to enforce them. So, there’s probably some type of space law enforcement.” I explain, meeting their gazes.
“So, we just keep an eye out for, what, aliens in uniforms with badges? Okay, easy as pie.” Crystal’s voice is mocking.
“I thought we agreed not to mention pie or any food.” Isabella glares at Crystal and she glares back.
I can hear Jayden’s mournful sigh all the way from my cell. “Yeah, especially, apple pie or cherry pie or my favorite, pizza pie.” My stomach growls in frustration as she rattles off a list of food. Just the thought of food from Earth makes my mouth water.
“Pizza’s not a pie.” Maddie interjects.
Jayden shoots her a scowl. “It is, too! Sort of. And I really miss it.”
Isabella rolls her eyes at their antics, and then, as if just remembering something, she gasps and turns to point at me. “Wait, you were upset, too, when you came back.” Her jaw drops and she gasps. “Oh my God, are you pregnant, too?”
Damn. And I almost got away with not having to tell them, but I guess I have to come clean, now. If Rose could admit what’s going on with her, then I can own up to my own problems.
