Page 108 of Death is Familiar

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For the first time since I’d found myself in the possession of the bearded man—Warden White—my vision had cleared enough to take in my surroundings. The incessant buzzing of the flickering fluorescent light at the far side of the room. No windows. Lots of medical equipment. It looked like an operating room with white and teal tiled walls, and what I assumed was a cell running along the left side of the room. To my right, a heavy door with a slit of a viewing window.

“I’m sure you have questions.” Warden White pulled up a seat beside the table I was strapped to. “But you have a very important role to play, and I have some very important questions to ask. If you do as I say, I may be allowed to release you from this table, okay, love?”

My mind was churning. The Seal had me. I was in the Seal’s possession. Of that there was no doubt. The mentions of Mads, Wardens, my role as key, only solidified the nightmare of my situation.

With the beeping of the monitors mirroring my heartrate, I had to play this carefully. Very fucking carefully. No room for error.

“What kind of questions, Warden?”

He straightened his posture at my use of his title, then gave his beard a mindless thick-fingered stroke. “About your health.” He settled his hands back on either side of his knees. “For the purposes of ensuring your comfort and well-being. Let me assure you I am medically trained, and am⁠—"

“He’s a doctor!” Warden White gave another pointed look over his shoulder, as the young voice replied, “Alright, alright, shutting up.”

“Is it true?” Slowly, I wiggled the wrist out of White’s view, as he nodded. If my thumb was out of the way, I’d be able to slip my hand out of the restraint. “Why have you brought me here?”

“I answered that already, love, you’re the key, and it’s my turn to ask some questions. Once we get this out of the way, I assure you, you’ll get the answers you seek.”

I took a deep breath. I knew where this was going.

“So, now, I’ll ask again, how many days since you last bled?”

Warden White would get more than he was bargaining for with his question. I also never guaranteed a quick response.

“I’m afraid I’ll need an answer.”

So much for taking my time. I exhaled, no louder than a whisper, “A while.”

That got his attention. “What do you mean by a while?”

“Uh…” I kept my eyes on the ceiling. “I’m currently late.” Understatement of the year.

Planting his hands on the table next to me, Warden White got to his feet. “How late?”

“More than a couple days.”

“How late.”

“A few weeks.”

Warden White’s jaw dropped. Joy, tinged with disbelief, lit his face.

“Did she just?”

“Yes, Three.” Grazing two fingers over my arm, White’s gaze didn’t leave me, like he needed proof I existed.

“Do you think⁠—”

“Three, I need you to let us talk here otherwise we won’t get answers.”

“Fine.”

Words directed back at me, Warden White asked, “Do you have any reason to believe you might be…” Don’t say it. “…pregnant?” He said it.

If I could have covered my face with my hands I would have. But I had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, not even behind my own hands. Fuck, this is not how I thought things would go.

But I needed to be vulnerable. I needed to tell the truth, and if I was going to survive this, I needed a piece of hope, some small glimmer of positivity, to cling to.