laughed so hard he started to cough up phlegm, but Anna knew it wasn’t really him that was laughing. To stop the laughing, he slapped himself across the face and composed himself. He returned his bloodied tools to the cabinet where they came from and grabbed several more from around the room. When he returned to his position between Anna’s legs, he began to extract her eggs.
The collar prevented her from moving, but she felt every incision and movement through her body. She could say it was the second worst pain she had felt in her entire life; the first was having her baby murdered and discarded like trash. She decided to not focus on the pain she was feeling but on the baby boy now in the Upper World, waiting for his mother to take care of him.
His lovely dirty-blond hair combed nice and neat. Those striking hazel eyes. His gentle yet firm touch when he speaks. The fair and unblemished skin. The perfectly formed white teeth. And an intelligence that would make him the greatest scholar in history.
These thoughts she latched on to as she tried to close her eyes, not wanting to see her dead child. Finally, though the pain was excruciating and she craved death, she felt at peace.
The extraction took him deep into the early morning. Every egg was placed into a containment vessel and was ready to be stored in a cryogenic freezer in one of the adjacent rooms. When he extracted the final egg, he restored Anna to the form she had before the operation, with the addition of several surgical scars.
The sadistic portion of his mind, the personality of Izac, had listened to her cries as Adrian carved into her. To Izac’s disappointment, Anna had passed out soon after he was one-fifth completed. This only troubled him when he thought of the limited time he could spend before she blacked out each time he wanted to play.
Chapter 2
Treatment
1
Adrian stepped out of the operating room and into the hall that led to the washroom where he had a clean set of clothes laid out. Walking through the hallway with a candle in his hand to illuminate his path, he felt the hair he had on tickle the back of his neck.
“Oh yes,” he said, removing the wig. “He prefers the lighter colors.”
He paused a moment and felt the twinge of pain in his chest and sighed, looking into his shirt at the freshly finished tattoo Izac had made on their body.
I must admit, he does great work, he thought as he began to walk again. But he forgets we must share. Perhaps I will have a talk with him soon about this.
He walked through the doorway to the washroom and removed his clothes. There were already buckets of cold water sitting inside. He rinsed all the blood off his skin and cleaned himself to his satisfaction, which took the better part of three-quarters of an hour because of the lack of running water and, thus, the need to conserve. When everything was finished, the sun had fully risen, which meant he would have to hurry to get to the appointment he had today before facing a suspicious inquiry.
He dried himself quickly and put on his clothes and the wig he had been wearing when he had first met Anna. Now fully dressed and almost ready to tackle the nagging chores of the day, he exited the building. The entrance was in an alleyway that people didn’t want to look at, so no one noticed that he came out of it.
But that will attract too much attention, he thought. And besides, those are his thoughts. Now to get my little pick-me-up before my appointment.
With an unnoticed spring in his step, he walked along the street for three blocks before turning right. Then a left five blocks after that. And finally, another left at the street corner of Full Moon Road and Half Moon Drive. At this corner was the popular Night Sky Café. It was famous for its energy restoration and enhancement formulas.
“Well, hello, Doctor,” a female server called as he entered. “Did you pull another all-nighter?”
“I’m afraid I did,” he replied and sat down at the counter. “I have a few new patients that are coming in in a few days, and I need to finish examining the files from their former helpers before they arrive.”
“Is that all?” the server asked. “Or is it something with your health again?”
“Alice, please.” He sighed. “As I have told you before, my health is mine to worry about and mine alone. So please, just fix me a triple pump energy restoration shot, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Yes, sir,” Alice replied in a dissatisfied but accepting tone.
She turned her back to him and mixed him a small drink. It totaled three ounces, and he quickly drank it like the way alcoholics downed shots of liquor. He grimaced at the bitter taste.
“It tastes worse every day,” he said as he set the glass down. “But I do understand I normally come in when you are finishing your batch.”
“You really should come here when we first open,” Alice proposed.
“At sunset?” Adrian said in fake exasperation. “We both know I don’t need any help staying awake at night, thanks to my condition.”
“Well, I suppose I’ll see you again tomorrow morning then,” Alice responded, putting her hand out.
Adrian shook his head and reached into his pocket. He brought out his coin pouch and gave Alice one silver and three copper pieces.
“I pulled an all-nighter to complete the paperwork, so I have no reason to stay awake all night for quite some time now,” he lied.
Without giving Alice another chance to speak, he turned and walked out the door. Once outside, he took notice of the sun and decided to look at his watch. He looked to see that there was no one around and then rolled his shirt sleeves up and glove down. When he looked at it, he realized he had taken too long during his leisurely walk to the café. It was almost half past eight.
I’m going to be late! he shouted in his head.
He wasted no time and rushed back up Mirrored Avenue and then through Wallace Park. After going through the park, he met with others that were not quite as early risers as him but still had appointments or work to do and needed to ride the monorail to get to another nonadjacent district.
2
He walked with the other foot traffic, still in a slight panic, until he heard the announcement from the soldiers.
“Any and all suspicious items will be confiscated, and those carrying them shall be arrested,” the announcement informed.
He got in line and waited until it was his turn to be searched, and when it was, he was greeted with slightly open arms.
“Hello again, Doctor,” the soldier searching him said. “I see you are trying a new hairstyle today.”
Adrian smiled and touched his wig, making the comment, “I have a collection so my bald head doesn’t get cold.” The soldier laughed and finished the search. When he was allowed to pass, he wasted no time in getting on the monorail and taking a seat. When he had sat down, he heard the announcement ring out.
“Attention, passengers of the Blue Monorail. We will be traveling from the East Residential Districts to the Southern Medical District. This trip shall take approximately one hour, and we ask that you remain stationary
