you want it darker | michael langdon

chapter four; afterbirth

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"I cannot believe we are doing this." Julien grumbled, looking down at his borrowed blue uniform; with Etu's help, they were attempting to blend in with the other doctors on the maternity ward of level two.

"I understand how difficult and debasing it must be for you to have to pretend to be a normal human being for once, but just know that I value your effort." Primrose playfully replied, her voice slightly muffled through the surgical mask.

"I-i will b-be in s-so much trouble i-if we get c-caught." Etu stuttered as he trailed behind them down the corridor, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching them.

Primrose approached the whiteboard marked with the names of all staff on shift and scanned the names for the person she needed.

"Aha!" She exclaimed, tapping her forefinger on the third name down. "Julien, stay here and keep a lookout while Etu and I go check in here." Primrose grabbed the shaking servant boy by the hand and pulled him into a nearby hospital room.

The room was cold and quiet, an elderly woman was tiredly arranging the sheets on the hospital bed.

"A-are you Nurse Goldman?" Primrose asked, nervously.

"Who's asking?" The old woman shot back with narrowed eyes.

"It is you, isn't it?" Primrose's eyes gazed upon her weary and elderly form. "I can't believe you're still here."

"You stop working, you stop being useful, and when you stop being useful, they stop you breathing." The nurse cynically replied.

Prim gulped at the woman's terse words.

"Now, what is it you want? I'm a very busy woman." She said, aggressively fluffing the pillows on the bed.

Primrose took a tentative step forward and handed the nurse her birth certificate. "Is it true that you delivered me as a baby?"

Nurse Goldman hesitated before snatching the piece of paper from the young girl's grip, eyes scanning over the document briefly. "Yes, that is true."

"Then... do you know what happened to my parents?"

Nurse Goldman sighed. "No one does, dear. I assisted your mother in bringing you into this world, placed you as a babe into her arms, and then attended to other duties on the ward. When I returned, you and your parents were gone. All I was told was your parents had been 'terminated', and that you were to become the ward of the leader."

Primrose felt the bile rising in her throat; she knew her parents were dead, but the idea that they had been murdered mere moments after her birth was quite difficult to stomach.

Primrose grabbed a shaking Etu by the arm and pulled him out of the room and back onto the ward where Julien stood waiting.

"Terminated, what the fuck does terminated mean? And terminated for what? Do you think the leader murdered my parents?"

Etu merely shrugged.

"Julien, your father works in robotics, correct?"

Julien nodded in confirmation.

"I have a favor to ask."

-

After Etu had returned to level one to prepare for his shift, Julien had asked if she would like to join him for dinner on level eight, an invitation she politely declined; still reeling from her discovery, she couldn't summon the strength to eat just yet. She had left for level nine as soon as Julien was out of sight, going straight for her bedroom and slamming the door shut.

Emotionally exhausted, she had undressed right away and put on a short nightgown and thin robe. As she changed into her nightwear, she absent-mindedly noticed that the large grandfather clock at the far end of her room had failed to chime as the small hand reached the number twelve.

Nevertheless, it was only a small distraction from the pain that Primrose was experiencing.

Prim had always assumed that some terrible accident must've befallen her birth parents, and that's why the leader took her in. Now it seemed that there could be more insidious motives involved...

She sat huddled in the corner of her room, crying silently to herself when she heard a tentative knock at the door.

"Ms. Mead, can it wait? I'm a little busy." Primrose sighed. She was perturbed when Ms. Mead did not answer; instead, the visitor knocked the door again, twice; the knock louder and more persistent this time.

Primrose approached the door, and cautiously turned the handle, pulling the door towards her until it was open, revealing to her the caller on the other side.

"Hello, Prim."