Woman of the Past

Chapter 12

To all the people out there reading this, thank you for opening your mind to Peyton's story. I love writing this one even more than the last and your comments and support always make me smile.

Chapter 12

The steady whoop, whoop, whoop of the air conditioning was slowly driving her mad. A shuffling sound came from down the hall before stopping in front of her door. Metal thwacked against metal as the men in charge of her checked to see that she was indeed still alive. Four white walls made up her accommodations. The metal bed she was strapped against was the only piece of furniture in the room, aside from the unused sink and toilet in the far corner.

Peyton didn’t know how long she’d been here. They drugged her every time she’d struggle for freedom, giving her small white pills and telling her to calm down. Minutes, days, hours they all blended in her drug-addled mind. She felt more lucid today than she normally did. Moving her legs, she tried to stretch her tired body when she felt a strange fluttering in her stomach. Her heart raced a little. Maybe she was just hungry. How long had she been here? The funny feeling of fluttering came again and her heart rate skyrocketed.

Something was wrong. She could feel it. She tried to sit up but the straps holding her to the bed did their job and kept her down. Horrible beeping sounds matched the racing thrum of her heartbeat. She heard the metal screech of the door to her room opening, and began to struggle harder. They weren’t going to drug her again.

“I wouldn’t do that. It’s bad for the baby.” A man’s southern voice barked at her from the door.

Peyton froze, her head turning slowly towards the gray haired man in uniform. She’d seen enough war movies to know that the three shiny stars on each of his shoulders marked him as a General. “What have you done?” She hardly recognized her voice. It came out sharp and guttural, as if she hadn’t used it in months.

The General smiled, giving Peyton the impression of a boa constrictor sizing up its next meal. “Oh I didn’t do this to you. You did it to yourself.” He came forward and she felt his hand on her lower abdomen, “I’m assuming by the vid you sent out to the entire population that this is Mason’s baby, unless you were promiscuous with any of the others.” He listed a questioning brow as he stood over her.

Peyton jerked against her restraints, wanting to punch him the way Law had taught her. She felt sick to her stomach with his hand on her. “Don’t touch me!” She hissed between clenched teeth.

“Unfortunately, for you that is, you no longer have that option of freedom.” He frowned making the lines in his skin deepen, showing that it was a well-formed habit of his, “You have caused me far too much trouble. Do you have any idea how much time and money went into creating these Safe Zones?” He leaned in closer to her face, “Billions. Therefore, we periodically auction off the chance to be with one of the women here. We give them this nice little drug called Imperium and it allows us a certain level of control over them. They get us more funding and we continue to keep them in the lap of luxury. Everyone wins.”

“You’re a sick bastard. How long have I been here?” Peyton’s scratchy voice growled out.

The General pretended to count on his fingers, “About five months or so. You should be feeling the baby move by now. Don’t worry; we’ve only had you on mild sedatives, nothing strong enough to hurt the baby. She’s healthy and strong.” He took his hand off her abdomen and she felt another flutter of movement.

Tears began to spill down her cheeks. They came unbidden and uncontrolled. A great sob escaped her lips and she hated that this man was watching her, “Who are you? Where is Mason?”

He straightened, “I am General Henry Bouffant. Right now Mason and Carter are both enjoying a long stay at one of our high security prisons. I’m sure they’re both making new friends even as we speak, pretty as they are.”