Chapter 101 Chapter 101
Chapter One Hundred and One
Irina
Breakfast was torture.
I sat at the long wooden table with my baby in my arms. My hands were shaking as I tried to eat the porridge they served.
It tasted like ash in my mouth.
Andrei was sitting across from me. He was watching me with those kind brown eyes that now made my skin crawl.
How had I not seen it before? How had I not noticed the predator hiding behind that gentle smile?
"Irina," Andrei said softly. "Are you okay? You look pale."
I forced a smile. "I am fine. Just tired."
"New mothers are always tired," Vera said from the head of the table. She was watching me too. "It is normal." Her voice was calm but I knew better.
"Eat," Vera commanded. "You need your strength."
I picked up my spoon with trembling fingers and forced the food down even though every bite made me want to vomit.
Andrei kept staring at me.
"Are you sure you are okay?" He asked again. "You seem... nervous."
My heart stopped.
"I am not nervous," I lied quickly. Too quickly.
Andrei's eyes narrowed slightly. He was studying my face like a doctor examining a patient.
"Did you sleep well?" He asked.
"Yes," I said. "Very well."
"No strange dreams?" He pressed.
What was he asking? Did he know I had been in the corridor last night?
"No dreams," I said firmly. "I was too exhausted."
Andrei nodded slowly. But I could see he did not believe me.
The other women at the table were eating quietly. They seemed completely unaware of the tension.
Or maybe they were just used to it.
Finally, breakfast ended. Thank God.
"I should be leaving now," Andrei announced. He stood up and put on his coat. "I have patients waiting in Moscow."
Relief flooded through me like cold water.
He was actually leaving.
That meant no slaughtering tonight.
"Safe travels," Vera said warmly. She kissed his cheek.
Andrei looked at me one more time. "Take care of yourself, Irina. And your beautiful baby."
I nodded. I could not trust my voice.
Then he was gone. I watched him leave into the cold St. Petersburg morning.
I exhaled slowly.
One threat was down. But Vera was still here.
After breakfast, the women moved to what they called the gathering area.
It was a large room with benches and games and books.
Some women were knitting. Others were reading. A few were playing cards.
It looked so... normal.
But I knew the truth now. This place was anything but normal.
I sat on a bench near the window. My baby was clutched tightly in my arms.
I would never let him go.
"Would you like me to hold him?" Vera appeared beside me. "You must be tired."
"No!" I said too sharply.
I bit my tongue. I shouldn't have reacted this way, but I was too scared.
Vera's eyes flashed with anger. Her smile disappeared for just a second. But she quickly adjusted her expression.
"Of course," she said sweetly. "A mother always wants to hold her baby."
But I could see the rage in her eyes. I had embarrassed her in front of the other women.
She walked away stiffly.
I looked around the room at the other women. So many of them were pregnant.
How? How were they all pregnant when no men came here?
A young woman sat down beside me. Her name was Natasha. She was blonde.
"Hi," she said shyly. "How are you settling in?"
"Fine," I said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Natasha said.
"How did you end up here?" I asked gently.
Her face fell. "My husband... he was a cheater. And an abuser."
"I am sorry," I said.
"He got his mistress pregnant," Natasha continued. Her voice was breaking. "And he finally married her. He threw me out like garbage."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I was crying on the street that night," she whispered. "I had nowhere to go. No money. No family. And then I saw a man standing in front of me. It was Dr. Andrei. He asked if I was okay. I told him what happened."
My skin crawled.
"He offered to take me to a shelter for women," Katya continued. "He said it was safe."
"So you came here," I said.
"Yes," Natasha nodded. "And it has been wonderful. Everyone is so kind. I have food and a bed. My husband won't find me here."
I looked down at her pregnant belly.
"When did you get pregnant?" I asked carefully.
Natasha paused. Her brow furrowed.
"That is the strange thing," she said slowly. "I was not pregnant when I left my husband."
My heart stopped.
"What?" I whispered.
"I know it sounds crazy," Natasha said. "But I was not pregnant when I came here. It was only after a few weeks that I started having symptoms."
My mind was racing.
"I came here eight months ago. But I'm seven only seven months pregnant." Natasha explained.
The timeline did not match.
"Did you... did anyone..." I could not finish the question.
"No," Natasha said firmly. "No man has touched me. I would remember that."
"But you are pregnant," I said carefully.
"I know," Natasha replied. She looked confused. "I do not understand it either. But the doctor says everything is fine."
The doctor. Andrei.
Oh God!
"Natasha," I said quietly. "Have you ever seen anything... strange here?"
"Strange?" She repeated.
"Anything that made you uncomfortable."
Natasha thought for a moment. "Not really," she said. "Except… the smell sometimes." Natasha admitted. "Like blood and dead flesh."
My stomach turned. That's it.
"But Vera says it is just medical waste," Natasha added quickly. "From deliveries and things like that."
Medical waste. What a great lie.
I leaned closer to Natasha. I looked around to make sure nobody was listening.
"Natasha," I whispered. "This place is dangerous. We need to leave."
Natasha looked at me like I was crazy.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
"Last night," I whispered. "I saw something ia room down the hall."
"What did you see?" Natasha asked nervously.
"Andrei," I said. "He was... he was cutting up organs. Human organs."
Natasha's face went pale.
"That is impossible," she whispered.
"I saw it," I insisted. "There was blood everywhere."
Natasha was shaking her head.
"No," she said. "You must have been dreaming. You just had a baby. You were probably confused."
"I was not confused," I said firmly. "I know what I saw."
Natasha stood up abruptly. Her chair scraped loudly against the floor.
"You are crazy," her voice was getting louder. "Vera and Dr. Andrei saved us. They would never…"
"Natasha, please," I begged. "Just think about it. You were not pregnant when you came here. Now you are. How is that possible?"
"I do not know!" Natasha shouted. "But that does not mean…"
The door opened and Vera walked in.
Her expression was cold and angry. Her eyes were fixed on me.
"Is there a problem here?" Vera asked. Her voice was like ice.
"No," Natasha said quickly.
"Everything is fine."
But Vera was not looking at Natasha. She was looking at me.
"Irina," Vera said slowly. "Could I speak with you for a moment?"
My heart sank.
She had heard us.
"Of course," I said, trying to sound calm.
I stood up, still holding my baby tightly.
Vera walked towards me. Her smile was terrifying.
"I knew you would be trouble the moment you walked in." She said quietly.
"I do not know what you mean," I said.
"Yes, you do," Vera replied.
Then she raised her voice.
"Take her," she ordered.
My heart stopped.
The door burst open and suddenly, men appeared. Huge, ugly men.
Where did they come from? I had never seen them before.
They moved towards me with terrifying speed.
"No!" I screamed. "Get away from me!"
But they grabbed me. Their hands were like iron. Their grip was so strong I thought my
bones would crack.
I struggled and fought. But it was useless.
"My baby!" I screamed. "Do not touch my baby!"
But one of them ripped him rom my arms.
"NO!" I shrieked. The sound that came out of me was inhuman.
But they did not care.
As they dragged me away, I got a closer look at them.
Their eyes were wrong. They were too bright and tyoo focused. Their skin had a strange texture, like plastic. And when one of them spoke, his voice was robotic.
"Specimen secured," he said.
They were not human.
They were genetically modified creatures.
What the hell was Andrei planning?!