‘We found a Promethean Lab,’ Eoin said slowly, reluctantly turning his gaze from Ally’s face, to her father’s somber expression. The man had the same dark hair and violet eyes as Ally, common traits in hunters. But his lips were thin where Ally’s were full and his sharp cheekbones leant him an oriental look. Ally’s mother, whom Eoin fervently wished were there this moment, had the classic strong face of a woman born to the area but, quite remarkably given both her parents were blond, had dark hair to go with light blue eyes.
It was those little changes, the changes to eye and hair color which had their scientists excited, desperately hoping for a natural evolution of their created species. To escape the genetic shackles imposed on them by humans so they might truly be able to live. To reproduce at a rate that would sustain their population; which at the current rate meant the inevitable extinction of their species.
Eoin felt no guilt for his intentions with his created virus. The world needed this change. Change HAD to happen. But with his beautiful wife lying prone, limp with fever before him, the sense of devastation he’d unwittingly wrought on her made him furious at himself.
Why hadn’t he been quicker with the gun!
Cato cleared his throat. ‘How did you know it was a Promethean Lab? What made it different to the other labs discovered?’
Eoin blinked, mind freezing for a moment. ‘Oh! Uhh, well the microscope in the vehicle I brought back for you, that was from the lab. The equipment was capable of performing various medical procedures for a Promethean body. It understood our differences compared to humans.’ He found himself babbling away, avoiding any mention of Holi or the genetic printing machine.
Cato focused on Eoin’s first sentence, a pleased smile spreading. ‘That microscope is for me?’
‘It is,’ Eoin said with a sense of relief.
‘It looks far more advanced, we haven’t found anything like that before. And that vehicle!’
Eoin nodded in agreement, half wincing when his brain protested at the motion, dehydration creeping up on him. ‘A moment,’ he said to Cato and standing, he walked the few steps to the table between the beds, pouring himself a cup of water. Cato shook his head when Eoin inclined the jug toward him.
‘No. But what are your thoughts? Have the human labs we found been older?’
‘Actually,’ Eoin croaked, the water replenishing then almost parching his throat as his body greedily embraced it. ‘I suspect the human labs are younger. Created after the Epidemic. It would explain why they’ve never had provisions for Prometheans.’
‘Created at the time of the shift?’ Cato said thoughtfully, referring innocuously to that infamous time in their history when Prometheans realized they could sit at the top of the food chain. With humans an easy prey. Eoin suspected, even with as genteel and welcoming as Cato was toward humans who chose to coexist with them in their town, that he’d make no objections to a return to such ways. Cato was imminently pragmatic when it came to the fate of their opposing species. Survival of the fittest and all. Eoin however, wasn’t as short-sighted.
‘Yes,’ Eoin said. ‘At the time and after. It would also explain why certain pieces of equipment didn’t fit the others.’
‘What made you choose the microscope as the gift for me?’ Cato asked, eyes veiled as he leaned back in his seat. The tone made Eoin inwardly cringe. Always testing. Always wanting him to admit he wasn’t good enough for Ally; didn’t matter that it was her choice.
He couldn’t help the derisive exhalation and it caused Cato’s eyes to narrow.
Ally whimpered. Both men dropped the rising sense of contention and leaned toward the woman, Eoin gently picking her hand up.
‘Eo-in?’
Ally’s eyes fluttered and he leaned closer, switching hands so to stroke her face gently.
‘Love?’
She gave a shuddering inhalation then turned her head, beautiful eyes opening and peered at him.
‘We’re okay?’
He was on his feet, an arm beneath her upper body as he hugged her close, trying to be gentle but wanting to hold her so very tight in that moment.
‘You’re both fine,’ Cato said in a dry tone. Eoin pulled back from Ally, still propping her up, so she could see her father.
‘Papa!’
Face softening with a genuine smile, Cato came to kiss his daughter on the forehead. She gave a happy sigh and leaned against Eoin, eyes half closed in exhaustion.
‘Do we know what it was?’ she asked Eoin, her hand gently squeezing his.
Cato answered just as a doctor stepped through the door. The woman smiled at the three of them, showcasing a bright smile against deep mahogany skin complimented with a dense mass of black curls she’d wrapped back with a scarf.
‘Leesa!’ Ally said in delight and the men moved apart as Leesa dived at her with arms outstretched.
‘Holy heck woman!’ Leesa exclaimed in her casual bedside manner, causing Cato and Eoin to exchange an amused glance. The moment was brief, Cato’s expression sliding back to passive as he turned his attention pointedly to his daughter and her friend.
‘You scared the bejesus out of me! Do you know what your temperature’s been? You’ve been cooking yourself from the inside out.’ Leesa paused then, suddenly staring at Ally, then Eoin, then Cato with a frozen expression as her hands flew to her mouth.
‘Leesa!’ Ally said while reaching for her friend’s hands. ‘What is it? You’re scaring me.’
The shocked expression melted in an instant and the woman snorted before reaching behind Ally’s back to plump the cushions up for her.
‘Well! Serves you right then.’ She paused, looking at each of them again as the strangest smile tugged at her lips. She turned back to Ally.
‘Girl..’ she laughed and shook her head eyes instantly shiny with tears. ‘Girl you’re PREGNANT!’
Eoin blinked.
Blinked again.
There was a thump behind him as Cato sat heavily down in the seat.
Ally gaped at Leesa, mouth working before her gaze shifted, hunting him. They stared at each other in astonishment before a smile near split Ally’s face in two.
‘We’re having a BABY!’
21 Home
‘HOW?’ Burst out Eoin as he gaped at Ally, mouth working while his brain rushed through all the information. The astonished look as he realized the virus, to some extent at least had succeeded, was accepted by Leesa and Cato as genuine shock. The councilor nodded at Eoin, his own jaw low, just as his wife entered the room.
‘Mama!’ Ally cried out in excitement while Leesa laughed and Eoin pressed a hand hard to his temple, the overload of unexpected information bringing on an instant headache. It only took a few seconds for his nano-virus to balance it out but those few seconds were enough to make him feel a profound sympathy for the few humans in their town that suffered weekly from an extreme form of headache; migraines he remembered as the pounding pain stilled.
‘Darling,’ her mother cried in a voice that, while welcome when compared to Cato’s permanent tones of disapproval, always seemed to make the tiny bones in his ears twang in a way that set his teeth on edge. ‘I’m so happy to see you awake! We were so worried!’
‘Mama, I’m pregnant!’
Frances’ pale eyes widened till a full ring of white was visible around the iris. She stared at Ally then, ignoring the two men, turned to look at Leesa.
The woman gave an excited bounce making the curls that hung out the end of the scarf bounce too, her clasped hands to her mouth as she nodded at Frances.
‘It’s true, Fran! TRUE! I triple checked it myself.’
Cato stood swiftly, shunting the seat along for his wife to sit beside Ally. Eoin moved back, body humming with excitement. He wanted nothing more than to wrap Ally tight in his arms but he held back, letting Frances cry and embrace her. Ally laughed with her mother, tears slipping down her cheeks.
‘But how?’ Frances exclaimed when she pulled back from Ally.
Cato grunted. ‘The
usual way I presume.’
Frances rolled her eyes and swatted her husband. ‘Don’t be obnoxious.’ She looked to Leesa, ‘She shouldn’t be able for at least another five years?’
Leesa shrugged, a coy smile on her lips as she regarded Eoin and Ally. It made Eoin stiffen, suddenly alarmed she somehow knew. But the moment of panic passed as Leesa gave another beaming smile. ‘We knew it would start to change one day. It’s these little steps we need! The best, best sign.’
‘Oh god,’ Ally said in such a sudden tone of doom Eoin felt his heart seize in fear she was about to tell about the virus.
‘Where are we going to LIVE? We haven’t finished anything! Do we even have supplies? Did the sifters come back? Did they have any luck? Were Eoin’s suggestions any good? Oh heck there’s so much to do!’
The questions came faster and faster, Ally’s face flushing as she stared around at each person but didn’t seem to register their faces, too involved in her abrupt itemizing of everything they needed.
Breathing out in relief, Eoin smiled as Fran began to laugh, Leesa too.
‘Darling! Don’t worry! It’s all going to be fine.’
‘Mama, I need to know,’ Ally said voice pitching higher with urgency. ‘Your house isn’t big enough for us AND a baby, where will we live?’
‘Your house,’ Cato said dryly, causing his daughter’s eyes to snap to him.
‘What?!’ Eoin and Ally said in unison.
Leesa cleared her throat loudly while flapping her hands at Cato and Fran. ‘No! You promised. Let’s get them up and show them. I’ll gather everyone.’
Twenty minutes later, showered and dressed in clean clothing, Ally and Eoin made their way behind Cato and Fran, who kept glancing back with wide smiles at the two of them, walking to the town center only minutes from the hospital house.
Ally, her arm hooked through Eoin’s, gave it a gentle squeeze again and he looked down to her face, unable to stop his own face splitting with a smile.
‘Can you believe it?’ she whispered, eyes glimmering with tears, her expression earnest with excitement. ‘I mean, you were so worried. But look! You did it!’
Eoin bent to kiss her, the two of them pausing for the moment, arms around each other. When they pulled away, just as Cato made a grumbling sound with another swat from Fran, Eoin winked at Ally.
‘Well, one part is working. Only time will tell, love.’
She nodded, snuggling close as he put his arm around her back, hand settling on her hip. ‘Can’t wait to see if the rest works,’ she whispered. He smiled, squeezing her hip gently.
The town hall, the original Stadthaus from many millennia ago, was the only remaining pre-Epidemia building in the town. It stood out sharply amongst the domed earthship dwellings that occupied the rest of the space, apart from a log house that one family of humans had insisted on building. The Stadthaus had needed repairs over the years, but the town had made every effort to keep it looking as original as possible. The tall stone building with its domineering exterior, four dramatic pillars and double staircase, sat in a thicket of trees, the roads to and from it thick with gravel. The crunch of many footsteps as most the townspeople seemed to appear, all smiling and laughing, watching Ally and Eoin with excited but secretive expressions.
Other councilors stood waiting on the stairs, smiling down as the family and friends approached. Cato mounted the stairs while Fran motioned Eoin and Ally to stand to the side.
‘Friends,’ Cato declared in a voice that carried. ‘Scientist Eoin and Hunter Ally have returned! Join us shortly for the grand reveal we’ve all been waiting for. But first let me thank Eoin and Ally, and announce their own grand reveal, we’ve just discovered Ally is pregnant!’
Shouts and cries of delight filled the air. Beside him Ally squeezed his arm that little bit tighter. Eoin glanced down to see her smile had hardened somewhat. He patted her arm.
‘It was going to happen.’
‘Would it have killed him to wait a couple of days?’ Ally hissed without moving her lips, smile firm in place. Eoin snorted in amusement.
‘Quite possibly.’
That made Ally smile, she leaned against him as Cato continued.
‘Before they left, they left me in charge of purchasing some materials that Eoin had arranged for sifters to hopefully locate.’
Eoin exchanged a puzzled look with Ally while the crowd of people, still wearing those smug smiles all roared in approval at Cato’s statement.
‘Eoin, as is befitting his Scientist nature, had attempted to narrow down sites for the sifters, in the hopes of increasing their success.’
Another roar of excitement made Cato pause, waiting for the lull.
‘So it wasn’t surprising when, three weeks after the couple left, we had sifters arrive.’
The crowd began to laugh, the sound making Eoin and Ally stare at them all in bemusement.
‘What we didn’t expect was almost three TONNE of materials!’
Eoin’s jaw dropped, Ally’s too.
‘And while our couple had set aside some goods for exchange, they didn’t have that much!’
Raucous teasing cries broke through the laughter, causing more hilarity. Cato turned to face Eoin and Ally, still keeping the volume for all to hear.
‘We called a town meeting. Of the ten spots you’d suggested to the sifters, SIX turned out to be decent. Heck, beyond decent, finds! Thanks to you, half the town, more actually, were able to have access to materials we’ve been seeking for years!’
The laughter melted away as everyone began clapping with enthusiasm, whoops and whistles punctuating the ringing applause.
Motioning the crowd to silence again, Cato continued to address the couple. ‘In exchange for this momentous occasion, we decided it would be only fair to help you with your home, as you’ve helped so many with theirs. Now,’ Cato addressed the crowd, ‘let’s show them home!’
The crowd divided as Cato and Fran lead the way through, Eoin and Ally following, with the other councilors following behind them. Eoin found his head ringing from all the sound but the delighted energy was infectious. Ally thanked all the well-wishers while Eoin flushed, nodding and smiling to those who thanked him. It felt a little awkward with knowing all he’d done was provide suggestions as to where to dig, but no one saw it that way.
They walked the wide forest path that wound around the town, into the gentle hills. The rain came down again, brisk and strong then snapped off just like a tap but the humid air stopped it being cold. Passing the various, and all unique, earthships made Eoin anxious, Ally too if the grip on his arm was anything to go by. They rounded the enormous ancient sycamore tree that signaled the edge of the land they’d laid claim to and headed down the short skinny path. Before they’d left it had just been a dirt path, the grasses and shrubs trimmed low on either side. Now fresh gravel had been laid, with the occasional wide flat stone that someone, one of the artists in the town, had decorated with paint. Ally gave a tiny squeal, pointing at one stone that had a beautiful image of a wolf painted on it. Eoin smiled at it then her, staring down as they passed over it. The path widened. The couple stopped abruptly on the track.
Behind them the crowd fanned out, noise filling Eoin’s ears as everyone demanded.
‘Do you like it? Do you?’
Ally stared, heart feeling oddly large for her chest in the moment. Beside her Eoin stood stiff, eyes tracing the shape again and again as the tips of his ears began to turn pink.
‘Ally?’ her mama whispered to her as she squeezed in between her and Eoin, arms around their waists. ‘Do you like it?’
It looked just like the design she and Eoin had spent months working on. Ally’s throat swelled with emotion, stopping any words escaping. She nodded rapidly.
The crowd of friends, some close but most acquaintances, stayed put, watching as she and Eoin, with her mama and papa just behind, walked toward their new home.
The long front of the house was made up of full height wi
ndows, the glass angled back to catch the full sunlight streaming down. Behind the wall of windows, four domes rose, following the length and curve of the front windows. Walking to the right end of the windows, Ally stared at the beautiful framing woodwork before reaching out to stroke it.
‘Did Stefan do this?’ she asked, finally finding her voice.
Her mama smiled and nodded, inclining her head to those behind them. Turning to look at the crowd, Ally spotted the strawberry blond hair and pressed her hands to her mouth, blowing Stefan a kiss of thanks. The man instantly turned pink, much to the amusement of those around him.
Next to her Eoin smiled at the crowd then turned back to the house, his eyes tense with longing. Her papa spoke up.
‘We’ll let you explore it all. But we’ll be back. Dinner’s at Eoin and Ally’s,’ he called to the crowd who cheered. ‘Bring your favorite meal to share!’
He turned to Ally then hugged her close. ‘Really glad to have you back, sweetie. Enjoy looking. We’ll see you tonight.’
She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hands before he let go, reaching for her mama’s hands and led her reluctantly away, both looking back, waving and smiling.
Eoin kept waving as the crowd dispersed, impatience welling. When the last of them disappeared down the track he turned to Ally.
‘After you!’ And pushed the wooden framed glass door open.
They walked slowly into the greenhouse corridor, staring in awe. The thickened glass let the sun in and the misshapen slate paved floor captured the heat, letting it slowly disperse into the air. It felt as humid and warm as a proper summer’s day. A wide planter box ran the length of the windows, as high as his knees making it easy to lean in and pluck what you wanted. The number of mature plants growing in the space made him feel a rush of gratitude.
‘Everyone must have donated a plant,’ Ally said, her eyes glittering with tears, the occasional one slipping down. ‘Oh, they are so good to us!’
‘Look at the materials, Ally,’ Eoin said, staring around them. ‘Everything looks top quality. It must have been an amazing find.’
Prometheus, A New Dawn Page 15