It was probably only natural that I was just as nervous as the men. I was nervous for them and excited for them too.
We walked into the massive white room, and the men took in the sight of the rows and rows of sleeping women. The highly intelligent machines were all humming in unison, and the soft beeping of the women’s heartbeats were actually quite soothing.
The men excitedly led the way down the first row of women, looking at their sleeping faces. They all looked like sleeping beauties, and all of them had a healthy glow emanating from them. The women were all different shapes, sizes and colors. They all had growing pregnancy bumps at different stages, hiding beneath the thin, silvery sheets and white gowns.
Derek probably said what all the others were probably thinking.
“Are all these lasses pregnant with the same kind of animal?” he asked no one in particular, not taking his eyes away from the sleeping women.
“They are all carrying different animals,” Zanika replied. “If you look at their left hands, it will show you what creature they are pregnant with,” she stated. “The silver mark disappears once the baby animal is removed.”
I hadn’t noticed any mark on my left hand when I’d woken up, but I suppose I was too stunned to notice. This was understandable after waking up in a strange room with the other women and not knowing what was going on.
Sure enough, when I looked at the left hand of the nearest woman, there was a silvery white mark on her hand, and it was a deer. I could only just see the antlers on its head. ‘Thank goodness the women only carry for a short time,’ I thought to myself.
It was as if Harrik read my mind. It was quite spooky how these angels sensed what you were thinking and feeling.
“Your women are only pregnant for a matter of weeks, depending on what animal they are pregnant with,” he explained. “We did try to simulate the whole animal pregnancy process. Unfortunately, we cannot simulate the amniotic sac or the placenta. Your Mother Nature is very complicated and not easily copied,” he added.
“That is why we had to do this,” Zanika said, as she pointed to the nearest sleeping women.
“We felt we had no choice or other options open to us,” she explained.
Abruptly, one of the men came to a halt at one of the beds. We all stopped and watched him as he stared at the sleeping woman.
“Julia,” he whispered so softly I barely heard him.
He seemed to be taking in the whole scene before him, his eyes looking over her lovely face, her body and the machines next to her bed. Julia was sleeping peacefully with her soft, light blonde hair framing her pale skin.
She was a beautiful curvy woman who was around 5’5 tall I guessed. There, on her left hand, was the silvery white marking of a gorilla. I could just about make out the muscular shape of its body on her pale hand.
Her breathing was soft and regular, as her full-breasted chest rose and fell. Her pregnant belly was roughly the size of a small soccer ball. He turned to face Christik who was next to him,
“Can you wake her please?” he asked quietly.
She smiled at him warmly.
“Yes, we can, but remember, she may not remember you or what has happened to your planet. She has been sleeping for a long time, Barrie.”
I assumed the men and the angels had introduced themselves while they had waited for James, Zanika and I to arrive at the meeting room. Which I took as a good sign. At least they were trying to get to know each other; it was a step in the right direction.
I made a mental note of his name. I assumed that from now on we would all be working closely together. Well, I hoped we would be. The men gave me the impression that they wanted to be involved in saving our planet, which pleased me greatly. I was sure they didn’t want to be stuck back in the holding structure anymore, and I couldn’t blame them.
Zanika and Harrik moved to the side of Julia’s bed where the machines were.
They didn’t turn the machines off, but they did adjust some lit buttons which changed color from white to silver. Then both angels hovered their hands over the top of her still body. Their glowing hands were scanning her from the top of her head right down to her toes.
When they’d finished, they moved away from Julia, and Barrie slid past them and slipped her hand in his. We all stood there avidly, watching for any sign of her waking up. Even the angels were studying her lovely face for signs of her stirring.
James, who was still stood right next to me holding my hand, let go and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I looked into his eyes and kissed him gently on his soft, full lips. He smiled his sexy smile and lowered his head, so his lips were brushing against my ear.
“I really wish I’d been here for you when you woke up baby,” he whispered.
He raised his head and looked deeply into my eyes; they were so full of emotion.
“Me too!” I whispered back, and I really meant it.
We both turned back to Julia’s still form on the bed. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things, but I thought I saw her eyes move. As if confirming what I thought I’d seen, Barrie gasped as Julia’s eyes started to flutter open.
No one breathed a word as she tried to focus her eyes. I guessed she was trying to not only focus her eyes but also focus her thoughts, as her brain took in the surrounding noises of the machines. Just like I did when I woke up.
“Julia,” Barrie said again, in a soft loving voice.
She turned her face towards him, “I know you, don’t I?” she whispered gruffly.
“Yes darlin, I’m your husband Barrie,” he told her, worry written all over his face.
She smiled at him so sweetly it was heartwarming. I think we all felt the love that was flowing between them.
“Yes, my husband,” she whispered to him.
Barrie’s resounding smile was glorious to see. He was obviously thrilled that she appeared to be gradually recognizing him. She slowly lifted her head to look around, and that’s when she saw the rest of the men, myself and the angels. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the sight at the end of her bed.
Zanika approached the bed, smiling warmly at Julia and showing her palms emphasizing that she wasn’t a threat.
“Welcome Julia, please do not be afraid. We are angels, here to save your race and your planet,” she told her.
As Julia registered Zanika’s words, she started trying to sit herself up, and Barrie moved forward to help her. Slipping his arm under her shoulders, he gently lifted her upper body while Harrik quickly moved to the other side.
Harrik held out his hand towards the top end of the bed, and his hand began to glow white. Slowly, the top end of the bed began to rise, and as it rose, Barrie slipped out his arm, allowing Julia to lay back against it.
Julia was so busy taking in her surroundings and the angels that she hadn’t even noticed her pregnant belly. Barrie took Julia’s hand in his again and asked her gently.
“What do you remember darlin?” he asked her softly.
She looked into his kind face.
“I think the last thing I remember was you and me driving to my parents’ house because they still had some water and a bit of food left,” she said, a little less hoarsely.
“Things were very bad, and the last news bulletin I saw said that we were in the last stages,” she added.
Barrie had tears running down his face. He gently lifted his hand to stroke her lovely face.
“Yes darlin, that’s exactly what happened,” he told her.
“That was the last thing I remember,” she said.
Julia looked so confused as she spoke.
“Angels? Are they really angels Barrie?” she asked, as her gaze went from him to the angels.
“Yeah darlin, they really are what we believed to be angels,” he told her. “They’ve been coming to our planet since before humans were around,” he explained. “But I need to tell you something honey. Do you remember all the animals dying?” he asked.
She looked thoug
htful for a moment as she tried to remember, and then she looked into Barrie’s eyes,
“Yes, I do remember that,” she said.
Her brows furrowed, and her eyes darted as she tried to recollect her memories. “I remember seeing the cow carcasses lying in the dead grass in the fields we drove past.”
Barrie nodded his head as she spoke.
“That’s right darlin, we did see that,” he told her, “Well, when the angels came to save our planet, they started to clean the water and grow plants. The other thing they had to do, honey, was to repopulate our planet with animals so we could all survive, but they couldn’t do it on their own darlin. They had to impregnate you women with the animal babies,” he said.
I think we all held our breath while we waited for the information to sink in for her. She seemed to take in what Barrie had told her because she looked downwards to look at her stomach. As her eyes took in the sight of her pregnant belly, her hand smoothed over her bump.
“I’m pregnant with a baby animal?” she asked Barrie, in a voice that showed her shock and mirrored her face.
She looked from her bump back to Barrie, her face the picture of utter surprise.
“Yeah darlin you are,” he said as he took her hand with the mark in it and showed her the image of a gorilla.
“See,” he said, using his thumb to stroke the gorilla marking. “You have a baby gorilla in your belly, but it’s only small. You’re not too far along, and you don’t have to deliver it like you would a human baby,” He added.
Barrie then looked at me, so I took that as his cue for me to explain what happened to me with the tiger cub.
“Hi, Julia, my name is Mel, but the angels call me Elita; you can call me either,” I said smiling. “Please don’t worry about being pregnant with the baby gorilla,” I told her. “I just recently gave birth to a tiger cub. I was only pregnant for a matter of weeks, and when the Tiger cub was far enough along, Zanika and Harrik removed it and put it into a containment capsule,” I explained.
She appeared to be listening without freaking out which was promising, even though her eyes were as big as saucers, so I carried on explaining.
“The angels have powers, and when they removed the Tiger cub, they used their power. It passed through my stomach without me feeling anything or having to be cut,” I assured her. “I promise you; it’s an amazing experience.”
Luckily, Julia seemed to believe every word I said, and I could see her whole demeanor gradually relax. I was very relieved.
“So, what happens now?” she asked as her gaze went to Christik. “I don’t want to be stuck in this bed until the gorilla baby is ready to come out!” she declared. “I want to be with my Barrie.”
Christik smiled reassuringly at her.
“We can put a mobile monitoring device on your stomach Julia,” she told her. “It is very small, and it will cling to your skin. You will not even feel it, I assure you,” she added.
Christik looked to Harrik and Zanika who were patiently waiting next to Julia’s bed.
“Can you do that now for Julia and then take her and her husband to their room, so that they may reacquaint themselves?” she asked.
Harrik nodded to Christik then walked away, I assumed, to get the monitoring device. Zanika approached the bed and looked at Julia.
“You will be unsteady when you try and walk for a little while,” she told her. “Take your time getting out of the bed; I will get you a drink. When you are ready and steady enough, we will go to your room,” she explained.
“Come,” Christik said to the rest of us. “We will see if any of the other women can be found, woken and reunited with their men.”
She led the way slowly, so the rest of the men could look at the women to see if any of them were theirs. The men’s spirits and banter were a lot more lighthearted, and they were seemingly happier after witnessing Barrie and Julia being reunited.
Within two hours, Harrik and Zanika were back with us after settling Barrie and Julia into their new room. A total of five women were recognized and woken from their peaceful sleep.
Rebecca was the second woman found by her Scottish husband Derek. She was a lovely older lady in her early fifties. Her gorgeous, brunette, curly hair was thick and hung in ringlets around her sweet, round face. Within minutes of her waking, she threw her arms around Derek's neck; she didn’t even notice the IV in her right arm, attached to the monitors next to her bed.
Rebecca or Beccy as Derek called her was pregnant with a jaguar cub. She took the news really well and, like Julia, she was happy to have the mobile monitor stuck on her stomach until the Jaguar cub was ready to be birthed.
Trudy was a very petite shorter lady with short, brown wavy hair, thirty-ish in age and was amazing. Even though she couldn’t remember her husband Phil, she took the news of her pregnancy brilliantly. In fact, she seemed absolutely thrilled to be pregnant and to be helping to save the animal kingdom; it was amazing to her. She was full of questions too.
“What animal am I carrying? How many animals have I carried before? What animals were they?” The questions were endless.
I liked her a lot instantly, and as she asked her questions, with each answer, she would say “Whoa!” in total awe. We were all smiling and giggling at her enthusiasm; it was contagious.
What was really funny was her husband Phil’s face. Trudy seemed to be more excited about the baby animals than getting to know her own husband again. Poor Phil looked very disheartened at first; however, she had him laughing too within minutes.
I think Trudy’s reaction actually helped the other women who were already awake to look at it from another perspective. I think we were all impressed with how resilient the women were. All but two of them took the news of what was happening quite well, considering they were all pregnant with baby animals.
The two that freaked out badly were Michelle and Mimi, and my heart hurt at their distress. Their reactions mirrored each other’s the moment they saw their small, pregnant abdomens. They both tried to pull out their IVs from their arms while screaming things such as, “Get it out! Get that thing out!”
Both times, Zanika had to use her power to calm them, so we could at least have a chance to talk to them somewhat calmly.
Michelle was so freaked out by the pregnancy and the fact she had no memories that her boyfriend Jessie begged Harrik to put her back to sleep. Michelle’s whole body was shaking with panic and shock. Her eyes were darting in all directions as if she was looking for a way to escape the madness she’d found herself in.
Harrik glided forward quickly as Jessie tried to comfort Michelle, and Harrik changed the silver buttons back to white on the machines next to her bed. Slowly, Michelle went limp in Jessie’s arms. Her very long, dark brown hair was flowing over Jessie’s arm, and her deep brown wet eyes were closed once again.
With tears in his own eyes, he laid her slight frame back onto the bed where she looked peaceful once again. Jessie turned to Harrik with concern marring his fair complexion.
“What’s going to happen now?” he asked, his voice shaky with emotion.
Harrik looked just as upset as Jessie when he answered,
“I am afraid the panda fetus inside Michelle isn’t far enough along to birth yet Jessie,” he said with regret in his voice, “It will need another three weeks at least before we can remove it,” he added.
Jessie was too emotional to say another word; he just nodded his head in understanding. He sat down on the bed next to Michelle, stroking her luscious long hair in complete adoration.
“You know where your room is Jessie,” Harrik said, “you may come and go as you please, and spend as much time with your Michelle as you would like, while she is sleeping,” he added.
Jessie didn’t take his eyes off his girlfriend as we slowly moved away.
Mimi, who luckily had her memories, didn’t react quite as badly as Michelle, but it was still bad.
“Now you know why our women have to have the choice to
do this,” James told the angels softly after they had just had to calm down Mimi.
“Not all our women want babies, and some don’t even like the thought of being pregnant,” He explained.
Andrew, Mimi’s husband, nodded his head then turned to Zanika,
“James is right. She’s never wanted children,” He told her. “When her sisters tried to show her their baby bumps, it made her feel sick,” he explained.
“We are very sorry Andrew,” Zanika replied. “We wrongly assumed that all your women would want to help. We will not let this happen again.”
Mimi looked up at Andrew with tears streaming down her face.
“I want it out now!” she told him in a sob.
Andrew turned to Zanika again,
“Can you get it out now? Would it survive?” he asked desperately.
Zanika moved right next to Mimi’s bed; raised her arm and held her palm over Mimi’s pregnant belly. Her hand glowed bright silvery white for a moment, as did the silvery mark on Mimi’s left hand, and then it faded back to normal.
“It is a little early, but yes I believe it will survive,” Zanika told him.
Christik stepped forward and looked at Mimi with love and compassion.
“We do not want you emotionally suffering Mimi,” she told her reassuringly, “so we will take you now to birth the baby goat. I would like everyone to see how we remove the baby animal. Would you agree to that?” she asked.
“Yes.” Mimi whispered, “Just get it out please.” she said with another sob.
I think we all felt sad for her as it was such a shame she was so distraught. However, we were all different, and I had the feeling that maybe Mimi had a different role to play in helping save our planet.
Zanika and Harrik moved quickly and efficiently around Mimi, getting her ready to move to the birthing room.
“Would you like to stay awake for the birthing process Mimi, or would you prefer to go back to sleep until it is over?” Harrik asked her kindly.
“Please put me back to sleep,” she answered still very tearful.
Earth's Angels: The Earth's Angels Trilogy Page 8