Free Web NovelChapter 134: Chapter 134 - The Tour
They moved again.
The iron maze guided them forward under heavy guard, and Iyisha felt watched at every turn as they passed through narrow corridors and controlled gates until finally they reached the last barrier and stepped beyond it.
She blinked through the eye holes of the mask.
She had expected concrete walls.
Towers.
Something that looked like a high security prison built for containment.
Instead, what opened in front of her looked like a contained but functioning community.
There were beds of shrubs arranged neatly under tall trees, and the soil looked freshly turned and well maintained. Benches were placed along walkways, and several small buildings stood in clean rows, their paint new and their structures solid, as if they had been built recently and with care.
It did not look abandoned.
It did not look desperate.
It looked organized.
They were led along a paved path toward a larger building that resembled an administrative center, its glass windows reflecting the afternoon light. The door opened before they reached it, and a woman stepped out to greet them.
She wore a doctor’s coat, and her short cropped blonde hair framed a bright and a practiced smile.
"You must be our new resident," she said warmly.
Lauren nodded, her answer muffled by the mask. "Yes."
"How far along?" the woman asked.
Waldo answered from behind his mask, his voice thick through the filter. "Any time soon."
Iyisha stepped forward slightly. "She’s due in three weeks," she clarified.
As she spoke, she felt saliva shift uncomfortably inside the mouth piece, and she swallowed carefully.
The woman stepped closer without hesitation and placed her hand lightly on Lauren’s belly.
The contact was quick.
Direct.
Lauren froze for a second, shoulders tightening.
The silence stretched just enough to be noticed.
Then the woman straightened. "I’m sorry," she said smoothly. "That was rude of me."
She smiled again. "My name is Margie. I’m assigned to show you Motherhold."
Waldo stepped forward and shook her hand. "I’m Waldo. I’m her partner. This is Lauren."
"Oooh," Margie interrupted lightly. "The parents."
She beamed. "Congratulations to both of you."
"Thank you," they answered together.
Waldo gestured slightly. "This is Iyisha. Malcolm. Marybeth. Our friends."
Margie’s eyes moved over them, taking in the size of the group. "Wow. That’s quite the escort."
Her smile did not fade.
"Welcome."
"Follow me," Margie said, and she turned with easy confidence as if this place had never been anything but stable.
They walked back out across the paved path, and toward a bungalow style building set slightly apart from the others. Two guards stood at the entrance, and the doors opened automatically as they approached.
"This is the maternity building," Margie said with a small smile.
Inside, the atmosphere shifted again.
Soft sofas were arranged in a waiting area, warm lighting replaced the harsh intake glare, and low music floated quietly through hidden speakers. It smelled clean, not sterile, but carefully maintained.
Behind a reception counter, a woman in nurse scrubs stood with folders neatly arranged in front of her.
"Morning, Shelly," Margie said. "Got anyone inside?"
Shelly looked up and smiled. "Yeah, in Room Two."
She gave a friendly wave toward the group. "Hi."
Iyisha lifted her hand awkwardly in response, unsure whether to smile behind the mask.
They moved deeper into the hall.
The rooms were lined with clear glass panels, allowing visibility inside without compromising separation. Through one of them, Margie pointed.
"She’s also due in three weeks," she said.
Inside the room, a woman lay on a bed while a doctor conducted an ultrasound. A nurse stood beside them, and both were smiling at something on the monitor. They were talking, but the glass kept the sound contained.
"Every pregnancy is monitored daily," Margie continued. "Complications are handled immediately, and we maintain surgical capability twenty four hours a day. Delivery happens here."
She led them farther in, into rooms equipped for labor, and Iyisha noticed the equipment was modern and well maintained. Clean trays. Monitors. Oxygen lines. Surgical lighting.
"We make sure the mother and the baby survive here," Margie said, and she gave a light chuckle. "We can’t let our population dwindle."
They stepped back outside after the maternity wing, and Lauren let out a long breath as if she had been holding it the entire time.
The path curved again, and after a few more turns the view opened into something that made Iyisha slow.
A playground.
Bright and active.
Mothers sat on benches holding infants while toddlers ran across the open area, their laughter carrying clearly across the grass. Some women stood in small groups chatting while keeping watch over their children. The space was alive with movement.
Waldo stared. "Wow. This feels like a whole town."
Lauren, frozen, taking in the surroundings.
The rest of them are dumb founded.
Margie smiled proudly. "We make sure mothers and babies have time to socialize, especially nursing mothers. They don’t work during that period, and they don’t have to leave their children."
She looked at Waldo. "This is more than a whole town."
Iyisha stood very still.
It was not chaos.
It was not staged.
It looked natural.
Too natural.
She had not expected to see something like this again.
Mothers talking casually.
Children running freely.
The sound of giggling that did not carry fear behind it.
"Let’s go," Margie said gently, already walking ahead.
Iyisha glanced back one more time as they passed, almost expecting something forced or artificial to reveal itself, but what unsettled her more was how normal it seemed.
They followed Margie into another building, and the moment the door opened Iyisha’s eyes widened at the sound drifting toward them.
Children were singing.
Nursery rhymes.
Soft, slightly off tune voices rising together in rhythm.
Margie slowed and gestured toward a room with a glass panel. Inside, a group of children around four or five years old sat cross legged on a clean floor, facing a large television where colorful nursery rhymes played. A teacher stood beside the screen, guiding them gently, clapping along.
"Of course we can’t neglect their education," Margie said. "Only from the best teachers. That’s Teacher Izzy."
They moved past another classroom.
This one held older children, heads bent over small desks, some working on math sheets, others reading aloud. In another room, a teacher pointed at a board filled with basic science diagrams. Further down, Iyisha caught sight of a history lesson in progress.
"Some would think teaching children like this is pointless in this world," Margie said with a small smile. "But Motherhold believes knowledge is power."
They stepped back outside, and Iyisha blinked when she saw the open ground ahead.
It was not just empty space.
It was structured.
Obstacle courses built from rope, beams, and climbing frames stretched across the yard. An eight year old girl swung confidently across hanging ropes and dropped cleanly to the other side. Nearby, small groups practiced sparring drills under supervision. Others ran timed courses.
Margie smiled again. "We prepare them for the outside. We can’t just hide behind walls forever."
Then she turned slightly. "Last part of the tour is our garden. It’s my favorite."
They followed her into a wide, plain building.
Marybeth muttered, "Damn," and Iyisha understood why.
The space opened into rows of vertical hydroponic towers stacked with leafy greens, and beyond them were sections of tomatoes, peppers, root crops, and even fruits. The lighting was controlled and bright, and irrigation lines ran cleanly along the structure.
"This is our agricultural center," Margie said proudly. "We maintain year round production."
She gestured toward a section. "You can pick strawberries."
Iyisha reached out and picked one, large and deep red, and she stared at it for a second before holding it in her palm. The others did the same, each carrying one small proof of abundance.
There were more buildings deeper inside the compound, identical and closed off, and Iyisha doubted they were only housing.
Eventually they returned to the administrative office.
Waldo and Lauren stood slightly apart in the corner, speaking quietly. Lauren’s shoulders shook as she leaned into him.
Iyisha, Malcolm, and Marybeth waited.
"This place is unbelievable," Marybeth said, her voice muffled behind the Batman mask.
"Unbelievable is an understatement," Iyisha replied quietly. "By the size of that agricultural building alone, this place is self sufficient."
Almost like heaven.
But at what cost.
Margie had explained earlier that when a child turned six, the mother could choose to stay or leave, and at thirteen the child would be allowed to go outside.
It sounded generous.
Too generous.
Too structured.
It felt almost perfect, and perfection unsettled her more than chaos ever had.
She looked at Lauren, who was sobbing quietly into Waldo’s shoulder.
"I just hope she gets treated well here," Iyisha murmured.
After today, Waldo would not even be allowed a glimpse of Lauren once they stepped out.
If everything Margie said was true, then this was the safest place for women.
Marybeth nodded slowly. "Everything has a price," she said.
Iyisha did not disagree.
