No reply.
She swallowed, pacing like a caged animal.Where is Atlas?
Anna quickly scanned the room. For privacy, this was one of the few rooms that didn’t have cameras. How could she let them know? Anyone?
She kicked everything in the room, pushing all the equipment on the desk around, looking for anything sharp. All the surgical tools had already been cleaned and taken away. The only things left now were related to baby care. Diapers, blankets. Everything, except her baby.
She swallowed and scanned the room again. The direct communicator to Atlas had been left at home, on their new kitchen table. But maybe there was another way to connect? There was a speaker on the wall, right? She ran to it.
She pushed the buttons frantically on the small intercom. “Hello? Help? Someone? I’ve been locked in!”
No answer.
“Hello?” Smashing the buttons, she tried again. “Help? Anyone?” Then she pounded on it with her whole fist. “They took my baby! Help me!”
Anna stood back, nausea rolling in her gut and sweat rolling down her back. Through the walls, her baby cried. She could hear through the wails, faintly.
She screamed back, “Let me out! You fucking machines! I hate you!”
Finally, the intercom buzzed and crackled. Relief poured over her, making her limbs shake. She ran over, smashing up against the intercom. “Hi. Who is it? I’m trapped . . .”
“Hate is such a strong, scary word. Don’t worry, Anna.” Stella’s clipped tone rang out. “Everything is being taken care of.”
Anna’s heart stopped for a minute. She pressed against the wall, palms sweaty, face smashed against the tiny speaker. “. . . Stella?”
“You’ll have your baby back, after.”
“After? What are you doing? Are you doing something with that chip?”
“Yes. You see, you didn’t honor the deal.”
“I did though,” Anna cried. “You saw. I had to take it out! It was hurting me.”
Stella’s voice dripped acid. “All I saw was a human who, after the chip was removed, threw rocks at our drone. You were, frankly, unhinged. Rage-filled.”
“Unhinged?” Anna shouted back, “Stella! Did you make the drone follow me that close? Did you make me fall?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That was an accident.”
“But after. Did you make the drone hover and watch me struggle?”
“You struggled because of your rage. We all saw it.”
“Wait!” She swallowed and said with forced calm, “Look we can make another deal.”
“Too late.”
“Please Stella.” Anna yanked on her hair, her voice pleading. “Atlas said you didn’t have any authority to touch my baby.”
Static. The line had gone blank. She pounded the intercom frantically. The scrape on her hand broke back open, leaving bloody spots where she smashed.
Then the speaker crackled to life one last time. “The thing is, Atlas never had authority to take off the chip either.”
Then the intercom turned off. Anna smacked the call button. “Stella. Stella!”
No reply.
Pushing off the wall, Anna paced frantically, ignoring the pain from the stitches after childbirth and the blood that had begunto run down her leg. Panic flooded her.I need to get out.She kicked and rammed the door, feeling the sting reverberate in her foot.Caged in.She pushed her hair out of her face, twisting her body side to side.The bed. It’s on wheels.She dripped blood, filling the maternity pad she was wearing and leaking through the light hospital gown. On the floor some had fallen, bright red on the pristine white tile.
