Prisoner III
Story by Khendarian on SoFurry
Short update to this. Now that I have some free time I hope I can do some more writing. No promises however.
TRIGGER WARNING: Contains non consensual impregnation, talk of a abortion, unwanted pregnancy and is generally dark. If this would bother you then go read something else like my story about Dracius or Ryan. They're nicer and far more cheerful. Mostly.
Ellen tries to come to grips with what's going on...
Ellen sat in a recliner in her room, rocking it a little, saying nothing, staring at the wall with unseeing eyes. Paul watched her with a worried expression, uncertain of what to do, of what to say to her. They sat in that uncomfortable tableau for some time, both waiting for some sound or some event to break the silence.
Ellen finally turned her head to look at Paul. “Why did they do this?” she asked in a soft voice.
Paul swallowed. “I don’t know.”
“You were part of this project with my father.”
“And we talked about the possibility of creating artificial life, of creating new creatures, but we put all that away when we really started thinking about the ethics of it and what would be needed to make it happen. It was clear there was no way we would be able to create life from scratch and so we started with animal DNA.
“It became apparent that that was going to be a dead end as well. We…well we looked at modifying humans and it worked surprisingly well, at least in the test tube. The problem was actually fertilizing and egg and bringing a child to term. That was just a step too far to us. An artificial womb wouldn’t have worked and so we would have needed a carrier.
“That’s why we stopped. That’s why we put the project aside. I wanted the information destroyed but your father wouldn’t hear of it. I…wish he would have now. Using your DNA as the basis for modifying things was a foolish idea and we warned him of that as well.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ellen. I wish I’d have been more forceful with him in convincing him to not use you and to destroy the material. When the company was bought they went right for it and started the research over again. Your father wrote me a few times about it, what was going on, and how terrified he was.
“They tried on other women and the results…weren’t good. They rapidly came to the conclusion that you would be the only suitable carrier. I didn’t think they would go so far as to kidnap you. Your father was going to bail out and report them.”
Paul shook his head again, looking at his hands. “Ellen I suspect they were killed to avoid being exposed and to get to you. I’m sorry.”
She sat there, staring at him, then laid back in the recliner, absently putting a hand on her belly. “And so now I’m this things…carrier.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“And you can’t abort it.”
Paul shook his head. “No. It’s far too risky for several reasons. It would kill you.”
“Better dead than this!”
“Ellen, stop that at once!” Paul barked. “That’s stupid, foolish talk and I won’t have it! You’re going to make it through this, Ellen.”
“You have no idea what this is like!”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I do know that you’re alive and that killing yourself isn’t the answer.”
“So I’m just going to have this…this thing?”
Paul sighed. “It’s not likely it will come to term.”
“And then what? You can’t take it now, why can you take it then? Or am I just going to die because of it?”
Paul hesitated. “I’m not sure, Ellen. If it dies then the removal won’t cause quite the shock to your system. But I can’t promise you that we could.”
“And if it lives? If you even want to call it alive now!”
“If it lives then we will have to do a c-section most likely though the doctor does not put a vaginal birth out of the question. I cannot promise you will survive that, either, but again with the load off your system the chances are greater.”
She sank down further, saying nothing for some time. “And what do you do with it if it lives?” she said quietly.
“I don’t know.”
Ellen closed her eyes. “I want to be alone.”
“Alright,” Paul said. He hesitated. “Ellen…we have cameras on you. I don’t want you doing something foolish.”
“Like trying to regain control of my life the only way I see how?” she nearly snarled.
He closed his eyes. “You have control, Ellen. Just not the way you want it.”
“Just get the fuck out.”
Paul sighed and left her to brood.