Radioactive - Book 1: Birth 🪼

Thirty-Five

Nalak
I see Waverly grab her stool and begin dialing a number. As she waits, I lean against the wall a little. She talks to Dr. Heckler in TMT and then hangs up the phone, kneading her forehead. She finally sees me and looks at me angrily.
"What?"
"No-nothing..."
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Did... Dr. Heckler tell you anything? Is she coming over?"
"She can't because of the Lithos."
"You mentioned that before. What does that mean?"
"A Litho? It's short for Lithopedian, which is a calcified child that comes to life again after over-radiation has been stopped."
"Um..."
"It's a weird thing that happens when our radiation hits it. The problem is that Lithos are not only illegal, they are considered abominations and are usually immediately sent to Tramistor. If they find out that I have someone who is carrying a Lithopedian, they will find out everything else about me and I will be sent to Tramistor with them."
"But aren't they normal when they are born?"
Waverly scoffed. "If you want to call what will most likely happen 'being born'. More like fireworked out of a mound of flesh. 'Surprise, I'm your baby!'."
"What... do you mean?"
"Most likely, Ansel will pop and I mean that literally. The kid is six years old and it's trying to catch up with all the time that's been lost. If we don't halt the first child's growth and at least let the other kid get to term, we've got a piñata on our hands and we don't even get the fun part of hitting it to make it pop. Seriously, Ansel's stomach won't be able to contain the child and it will get out in whatever way it can."
I put my hand to my stomach and gulp a little. Waverly slides to the ground and pulls her legs to her chest, putting her head on her knees.
"What am I going to do? I'm really not skilled for all of this..."
I walk over and slide to the ground with her, realizing as soon as I'm down here that this was a bad idea.
"I think you're plenty skilled. You're definitely a doctor." She looks up at me. "I mean, you're quick on your feet, you know 90% of the time what you're doing and can find a solution easily almost every time. For someone you're age, you're brilliant. I know you can do it."
Wavery smiles at me and leans over onto me.
"You're like a big brother... or maybe something more. I haven't quite figured out what I want to see you as. I know we just met but... I kind of like you." She pulls back quickly. "I mean... I'm so sorry! My mind is all frazzled and..."
I smile at her. "I kind of like you too. In that way... maybe when I have my kid and all this running around has settled (and we're a little older) we can see if the feeling is still the same. I know I'd really like to come and visit you. This is a nifty little place and I think I'd like to learn a few things from you."
Waverly smiles bright and stands up, turning back to me and holding out her hands.
"Here, let me try to get you up."
I take her hands and if it weren't for the fact that she was an albino too, I don't think she would have succeeded. We laugh a little when we hear this noise from the back of the house. Waverly looks at me as the smell of blood hits our noses and faint crying hits my ears.
"Oh shit..." she says and runs away, me running after her.

When we get to the room, R is backed up against the wall with eyes wide completely drenched in blood. I go over to him as Waverly goes over to that Ansel guy... or... what's left of him.
"R? Ramey, look at me." His grey eyes slowly turn to me and I can tell he's scared. "What happened?"
He points to Ansel with a shaky finger. "He... He was talking and I was pumping that stuff in him when I ran out and I was trying to replace the bag... it... the baby just seemed to take off and I couldn't... he... he exploded on me..."
I dare to look over and see Waverly digging through what was left of Ansel's stomach cavity and finally grabbing a blob of some sort. She looks up at me.
"I know this is going to sound harsh and heartless but we have to cut this baby out of this sack and it needs someone to keep it warm. We're too cold and I don't have an incubator. I could use the oven but I cook in there..." She darts her eyes to R. "We need him to keep this baby warm."
I look at R, who is still in shock.
"R... R! Hey, look at me for a second." He looks at me. "Waverly needs your help. A baby is going to die if you don't help us okay?"
R seems to fade out of his shock for a second enough to look over fully to me.
"What do I need to do?"
"Waverly says the baby needs someone warm to keep it warm. We're too cold since our blood pumps so slow. It needs you."
I hear Waverly cut through the sack and suddenly a baby cries out with lungs full of air. The sound seems to make R come even more out of his shock and Waverly walks up to us, baby in her arms. It's got a blue tint to it.
"From one blue baby to another." She says, holding it out. "It's a boy... don't name it."
"Why?"
"You'll get attached. Where's the other kid?"
R looks around for a second and motions to the blood trail.
"It ran away."
Waverly and I look at it.
"Shit! We need to find it. Come on!" she grabs my hand and we follow the blood trail.