Bear My Babies

Chapter 13

Pain shot through Melissa’s head. She moaned as she tried to rub the aching knot. Her arms wouldn’t move and Melissa started to freak out. She cracked her eyes open but shut them quickly the harsh light hit her hard, making her head hurt even worse.

She rolled her head back and forth as she tried to remember where she was. Her memory slowly started to come back to her.

She remembered Nathaniel trying to pull her into her room by her hair. But then a big man came to her rescue, or so she thought, because he pushed her into a car. She realized she was tied to a chair of some sort when she tried to move. Slowly she opened her eyes again and realized she was in some sort of cave. The lights that had been so blinding were hundreds of candles surrounding her. There was a lady who knelt at her feet, looking up at her. Her face was covered in strange makeup with bands under her eyes. Her hair was long and matted, and she wore a strange dress that appeared to be made of burlap. In one hand, she held a rattle of some sort she was shaking at her and the other held a bowl of a steaming liquid.

“The witch will now determine if the human has indeed conceived a child due to her encounter with one of our kind,” a deep voice said before the woman at her feet stood and started walking around her in circles.

Looking around she realized the room was full of people watching and Thomas was tied up across from her. He was unconscious with his head down against his chest. Melissa felt a spike of fear. What could these people possibly want with her?

“What are you doing?” she asked the woman who was now shaking the weird rattle over her stomach.

There was no answer as she started chanting something low in her throat Melissa couldn’t understand. After a few minutes, she walked around her one more time and nodded to the man who’d been talking. He was reading from what looked like a scroll.

“The witch has determined the human is with child.”

Melissa couldn’t believe it. She was pregnant! How could they already know? There was a mix of joy and terror she couldn’t tell apart.

The man continued, “Now the witch will remove the child in question.”

The woman moved back over her stomach and poured the liquid from the bowl on her stomach as she continued to chant. The momentary joy turned to all pure terror. Why would anyone hurt a baby?

“No!” Melissa screamed. “Please, why would you take the baby?”

There was nothing she could do as she fought to free her hands. The liquid was warm and she wondered if it was going to sink into her body. There was a small pain that shot through her as the witch started to shake her rattle over her again chanting louder now.

“Why are you doing this?!” Melissa screamed and was once again met by silence. Another pain went through her abdomen and she struggled to get free.

“Thomas wake up! They’re taking our baby!”

She saw his hand flinch and thought maybe he would wake up. She wasn’t sure what he could do, seeing as how he was tied up as well, but she was becoming desperate.

***

Thomas felt his head pounding and realized he’d fallen asleep in a chair of some sort. He opened his eyes to the bright lights of dozens of candles.

“What the hell?” he asked out loud as he tried to stand and found he was unable to move as he was tied down.

Taking in the sights around him, he started to remember what had happened. There was someone who hit him hard and Hilary had been there. She was a were-bear! She was warning him of something, what was it?

He looked over and saw a woman crouched down in front of Melissa who was also tied to a chair. She looked terrified and the woman was shaking something over her stomach. Everything came back to him; the men who tried to warn him, her place being trashed, and Hilary’s warning about the baby. They were trying to take the baby.

“Stop,” his voice barely came out when he tried to yell. “Don’t take the baby!”

Melissa looked up, realizing he was finally awake and she yelled at him. “It worked. They want to take it from us.”

She was crying so hard the words were choked out, but he understood. His chest tightened as he realized they were trying to get rid of the baby. Someone leaned down to him.

“Don’t worry, Thomas, it doesn’t hurt them. It will be like the baby was never there, wiped from existence. It’s nothing sinister and it’s to protect her and you.”

“That’s bullsh*t,” he yelled at whoever was talking to him. He was restrained too much to turn and see.

Thomas was panicking, and something was keeping him from shifting. If he could shift, then he could break the restraints and be free.

“You’ve drugged me,” Thomas said, still trying to free himself from the chair.

“It was necessary, Thomas, please just calm down and let this happen.” He recognized the voice this time. It was Blair. The shock he felt hit him in the chest. His best friend and the person he’d trusted to help him figure out who was coming after him was the enemy.

“Blair, how could you do this?” he asked.

Melissa screamed and he yelled in frustration.

“Listen, I didn’t know this was against the rules. Had I known, I wouldn’t have let you do it. Now that I know, you have to do this or they will kill you.” Blair was speaking quietly. Thomas couldn’t wrap his head around anything that was going on.

“Then let them kill me!” Thomas yelled suddenly. “If they won’t take my baby, then let them kill me.”

“Thomas, you need to rethink what you’re saying. You don’t understand, they’ll just kill you and then take the baby,” Blair said. “I’ve found out a lot about our culture this past week. I didn’t even know there were this many of us in New York, and now that I know what they’re capable of, I know you don’t want to cross them.”