Chapter 21

After wetting my hair to convince the guard that I’d indeed had a shower, Keanu led me back to my cell. Coming into my room with me, Keanu leaned over and gave me a tender kiss on my swollen cheek.

An awkward silence enveloped us as we stood before one another.

As soon-to-be parents, we should have been nervously, or even excitedly, discussing the logistics of our situation. Baby names, cribs and night-feedings should have been our main concern.

In a normal world anyways.

Mine was not that of a normal world. Trapped and condemned a prisoner, uncertain of my fate, I had few options. My ‘foreign’ DNA had labeled me an instant threat to a paranoid society.

DNA.

Something so small and insignificant. Untraceable, yet the tainted material in which had marked me as the outsider.

Caressing my belly, a soft smile twitched at my lips as I thought of the tiny heartbeat existing deep within my womb. This little person needed me. My body cradled this new soul, feeding it the nutrients it needed to live. I was giving someone life.

For the first time in months, I was happy. I envisioned myself holding this new little bundle of warmth in pink blankets. I saw myself holding a little girl. Rocking her to sleep, singing a soft lullaby and running my hand through the soft downy hairs upon her head, I vowed to keep her safe. I would hold her tight and kiss away any tears that may fall upon her angelic face.

Keanu watched my face with interest. He wore the same goofy grin that I suspected was on my face.

“I’ll stop by later, okay?” Squeezing my hand lightly, he turned and knocked on the door for the guard to let him out. Watching him leave, I felt a warm sensation wash over me. I wasn’t sure I loved him, but I cared very much for him…especially if he was the father.

A pain tore at my chest as I thought about the fact that this beautiful creature may not be his. I didn’t care. Even if it was Meyers’ child, I wasn’t going to let that notion destroy my vision, she was also mine.

My baby. My blood.

Blood!

It hadn’t occurred to me up until this point that this baby would inherit my blood, my DNA! Sitting down on my cot, I put my face into my hands. I had doomed this tiny being to my own fate! My marred DNA was coursing through her veins, leaving her with the same hazardous genetic material! They would take her from me and use her as a new experimental test subject!

Ironically, this little person had given me the one thing I desired most in the world since entering this nightmare—I was not alone. I was no longer the only one.

That’s what Agent Evans meant!

Before this, I was resigned to die here, in this unmarked grave of existence, but everything had changed. It wasn’t just my life anymore. She had to live.

That was the defining moment. That’s when I knew for a fact that I had to get out of here.

No matter what it took.

***

A plan.

That’s all I needed to figure out was a plan of escape. The last time had been too random, too spontaneous. I had to think of something concrete and foolproof—if that was possible.

Think Cassia think!

Wracking my brain, I realized that the only time that I could even make an attempt was during my daily trip to the shower. Now I just had to figure out how to get past the guard. He never watched me shower, that was the only few moments a day when I wasn’t supervised.

How do I slip away from him?

A diversion.

I needed a distraction when I was in the shower to make him leave, even for just a moment. Lying down on the uncomfortable cot, I closed my eyes and searched my mind for an answer.

I’m sure a light bulb popped up over my head when the idea struck me. Giggling, I was excited to put my plan into action.

Glancing over at the mirror with a grin and one eyebrow raised, I couldn’t wait until tomorrow.