Free Web NovelChapter 268: Chapter 267 - Forced
Iyisha’s POV
Iyisha woke to wheels.
The bed moved beneath her, smooth at first, then rough as it crossed a seam in the floor. Metal rails pressed against both sides. A strap cut across her chest. Another held her hips down. Her wrists were locked near her thighs, fastened into cold restraints that clicked every time she pulled.
She opened her eyes.
White ceiling. Long lights. Cameras in every corner.
Two doctors walked beside the bed. One pushed from the back. One held a tablet close to his chest and kept glancing at her like she might break through the restraints. Two soldiers moved ahead with rifles up. Frankenstein walked near her right side, hands folded behind his back.
Iyisha turned her head and watched the hallway pass.
Glass rooms. Empty rooms. Figures behind some of them, standing too still or sitting with their heads turned toward her bed.
She’s starting to regret agreeing to that man.
But even if she wanted to back out she can’t better to be seen cooperative than have them restrain her everytime. She pulled on her hands it didn’t work. They still treated her like this.
If Malcolm was alive, he would come. If Marybeth, Lance, and Aljun were alive, they would still be moving.
Frankenstein looked down at her. "You are calmer than expected."
Iyisha’s fingers curled against the restraints. "You said you needed me."
"I do."
"Then stop dragging me like I’m meat."
One doctor looked at Frankenstein.
Frankenstein only watched her. "Your condition changed the procedure."
Iyisha’s stomach tightened.
The way he said it made her body go cold before she understood why.
"What condition?"
"We tested your blood."
Her eyes stayed on his face.
Frankenstein looked down at her stomach.
"You are pregnant."
The wheels kept moving.
For a second, the hallway went silent inside her head. The lights passed above her in white strips. Her breath stopped somewhere in her chest and refused to move.
She’s really pregnant.
Her gaze dropped to her own body.
Malcolm.
His hand on her waist. His mouth near her ear. The way he held her like he could keep the whole ruined world back with his arms if he stood close enough.
Then the next thought came, sharp and terrible.
The infection.
She had already been pregnant when she was bitten. When she changed. When the dead listened to her. When something inside her blood became something else. freёwebnovel.com
Her throat tightened.
Did the infection reach the baby? Did it change the baby? Did it make the baby sick? Stronger? Different? Is it still alive?
She did not ask.
If Frankenstein did not know that part, she would not give it to him. If he knew the baby might be different, he would not see a child. He would see another sample. Another subject. Another reason to cut her open and call it hope.
Iyisha swallowed hard and forced her face still.
Frankenstein’s eyes narrowed. "You understand the problem."
"I understand you’re about to say something disgusting."
His mouth tightened. "Pregnancy places stress on your body. Your system is already unstable after infection, horde command, and forced recovery."
"Don’t call it recovery."
"You were recovered."
"I was taken."
He ignored that. "Before we begin the next procedures, we have to remove anything that may interfere with your survival."
Iyisha stared at him.
The wheels rolled beneath her.
"What?"
Frankenstein looked ahead. "We are terminating the pregnancy."
The words hit her body before her mind caught up.
She bucked against the bed.
The restraints snapped tight. One doctor cursed and jumped back. The soldiers turned with their rifles raised. The bed jerked sideways as Iyisha threw her weight against the straps.
"No!"
The sound tore out of her.
One doctor grabbed for her shoulder. Iyisha twisted and snapped her teeth at his hand. He yanked back with a shout.
"Don’t touch me!"
Frankenstein stopped walking.
The bed stopped with him.
Iyisha pulled again. The wrist locks bit into her skin. Pain flashed up her arms, but she kept fighting. The strap across her chest cut into her ribs. She kicked under the restraint at her thighs, trying to find any loose space, any weak point, anything.
"Hold her," Frankenstein said.
The soldiers moved in.
Iyisha slammed her body sideways. The bed hit the wall. A tray crashed behind them. One doctor grabbed her jaw and she jerked her head away before he could get a grip.
"I said don’t touch me!"
Frankenstein stepped closer. "Iyisha."
She glared at him, breathing hard.
"You agreed to help us for your sister."
"For Cena," she said. "Not for this."
"This is part of it."
"No."
"You cannot survive the procedures while carrying it."
Her whole body locked.
"It?"
Frankenstein looked at her stomach again. "An early pregnancy is not a child yet. It is a cluster of dividing cells placing strain on your body."
Iyisha’s vision blurred red.
"Don’t call my baby that."
Frankenstein bent slightly over the rail. "Is Cena less important than what is inside you?"
Iyisha went still.
The question was meant to cut. She saw it in his face. He wanted the flinch. He wanted the guilt. He wanted to push Cena and the baby onto opposite sides and make her choose which one he could use against her.
Her hands shook against the restraints.
"I will not choose."
"You already chose when you agreed to cooperate."
"I agreed to help Cena."
"And this helps Cena."
"No."
"Choosing was lost with the world," Frankenstein said. "Survival is only deciding what gets sacrificed first."
Iyisha pulled against the cuffs again. "Then sacrifice yourself."
One soldier’s grip tightened on the rail.
Frankenstein did not move. "If the pregnancy compromises you, your sister loses her best chance."
"Don’t use her."
"I am stating the truth."
Iyisha’s throat worked. She wanted Malcolm so badly it felt like a wound. She wanted Marybeth’s angry voice. Lance’s stupid grin. Aljun pretending not to care while caring anyway.
Frankenstein straightened. "Secure her."
The doctors moved fast.
One pressed down on her shoulder. Another tightened the strap over her chest. A third locked another restraint over her thighs. The soldiers held the bed steady while she fought, but there were too many hands and too much metal.
Iyisha twisted until pain cut through both wrists.
"Stop fighting," one doctor said.
She turned her head and bit his sleeve.
He shouted and pulled back.
Frankenstein watched her with that awful calm. "You are wasting strength." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"If you touch my baby, I’ll kill you."
"You cannot even lift your hands."
She bared her teeth. "Then come closer."
For the first time, something in his face changed.
Not fear.
Interest.
"You see?" he said softly. "That response. That protective aggression. That is useful."
Iyisha froze.
He was studying her.
Even now.
Even this.
Her stomach turned.
Frankenstein nodded to the doctors. "Move her."
The bed started rolling again.
Iyisha fought in smaller bursts now, not because she gave up, but because her body was trapped too well. Her wrists burned. Her throat hurt. Her chest rose too fast under the strap.
They turned down another corridor.
The glass rooms gave way to heavier doors. More soldiers waited here. Their rifles rose as soon as they saw her. One doctor hurried ahead and opened a sealed room with a code.
Iyisha looked at the door.
Then the alarm cut through the hallway.
Red light flashed across the walls.
The soldiers stopped.
A voice broke through the speakers, sharp with panic.
"Control breach."
Frankenstein turned toward the sound.
Iyisha stopped fighting.
Her heart struck hard against her ribs.
The doctors looked at one another. The soldiers shifted their rifles toward the hall.
Another voice came through the speakers.
"Observation wards unstable. Lock all sections."
Frankenstein’s face tightened.
Iyisha stared at him.
She did not smile.
She did not say Malcolm’s name.
But inside her chest, something stood up.
He came.
