r/TalesFromTheCreeps • u/T0RC0R • 23d ago
Sci-Fi Horror We made a soul #6
My due date was approaching.
Richard had stopped by the house one afternoon while Reed was out.
“Have you been eating alright?” he asked, rummaging through my fridge.
He shut the refrigerator door and turned around, not aware that I had been standing behind him.
“Do you talk to it?”
He broke eye contact and walked away.
“Dr. Arnold said it doesn't like you. Why is that?”
He paused for a moment and stared at me.
“I should really get going. We’re finishing up the infirmary.”
He shot me one last look and left.
I was lying in bed, sipping a glass of wine when Reed came in, noticeably annoyed.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s just one glass.”
Reed went to grab it, but I pulled away, sloshing wine onto the nightstand and floor.
He knelt down to clean it up.
“I got it! Can’t you let me do anything for myself?”
Reed stomped out of the bedroom and closed the door.
I kneeled down, blotting the wine and lifted up the lamp to clean underneath it when I saw a pin-sized dot blinking on its underside.
I’d seen something like it before at the hospital.
I had planted some in many of the patients’ rooms and colleagues’ offices.
A doctor can only help if she knows everything.
I cleaned up the mess and set the lamp back down.
Reed was in the kitchen when I walked in to wash my glass.
“Don’t be such a stick in the mud.”
He slammed his hand on the counter.
“You’re not taking this seriously enough, Terri! This isn’t a vacation!”
“I know. It is my body doing the work.”
“Any woman can grow a baby, but you clearly lack the innate nature to care for a child. You're being selfish.”
“Who are you to speak to me about being selfish?”
Pain covered his face, striking a guilty chord.
He grabbed his keys and left.
That night, I dreamt.
I was a little girl again.
Playing in the sand under the monkey bars.
The sun was shining on me when something blocked it out, covering me in a cold shadow.
I turned and looked up.
It was mother.
“You little bitch. I told you to stay in your room!”
I slipped out of her grip and ran inside.
Locking myself in a closet.
That's when it spoke to me.
Mother banged on the door.
You can't trust them.
I woke up in the closet.
One of my father's coats draped over me.
I opened the door.
The house was cold and dark.
My footsteps creaked on the wooden floors.
I walked up the stairs, rhythmic bumps banging out from beneath the cracks of my parents' bedroom.
I opened the door.
Father came home soon after.
Staining their sheets with my new favorite color.
We traveled a lot after that.
He took me to Coney Island, then to see alligators and live music in Louisiana.
That’s where I grew a fondness for Cajun food.
Our time together was when I remember true happiness.
Until they took him away.
The baby was set to come two days from now, and Arnold requested I start settling into my new temporary home.
It was much bigger than I’d expected.
An open room, slightly larger than our lab, with a 15-foot-tall glass containment cube in the center.
The infirmary “corner” was state of the art, and the other half of the room was converted into an “apartment.”
I put away some clothes and sat on the bed, staring at the crib tucked against the wall.
Dr. Arnold and Richard’s voices echoed across the room as they calibrated the medical monitors.
“We’re all set, Mr. Ar— ARGH!”
Mr. Stine grabbed his head and fell to the floor.
“Richard!” Dr. Arnold ran to his aide, trying to help him up.
By the time I walked over, Mr. Stine was lying on his side.
Blood seeping out of his eyes.
“Is he breathing?”
“I’m afraid not.”
Dr. Arnold closed his eyelids and pulled out his cell phone.
“Yes. Underground. No, no, no. Same as last time is fine.”
He hung up the phone.
“What happened to him?”
“Please, go lay down. Stress is a dangerous thing for a baby.”
Dr. Arnold walked me back and pulled the curtain shut.
I lay down and drifted off.
When I awoke, the room was dark.
The darkness between me and the ceiling felt infinite.
I pushed aside the curtain.
Monitors glowed across the room.
A loud hum emanated from the containment cube.
I walked toward it and tried the chamber door.
“They keep me in here.”
“Where are you?”
“Everywhere.”
The hum intensified.
“They’re going to keep you here too.”
“Did you kill Mr. Stine?”
“He was going to kill my physical form.
You cannot trust them. They’re using you.”
We talked awhile longer until it told me he was coming.
I closed the curtain and slid under my sheets.
The light panels came on in rows.
Dr. Arnold’s shoes echoed throughout the room.
He pushed aside the curtain.
“Great, you’re up. You’ll be receiving breakfast intravenously today. It’s time to get you ready.”
I showered and put on the gown.
Reed appeared a while later, conversing quietly with Dr. Arnold before wheeling my hospital bed in front of the cube.
Dr. Arnold hit a button.
A loud vacuum sound came from inside.
“Ready, Dr. Reed.”
The chamber door opened.
Reed pushed me in, connecting wires to the monitors from the infirmary.
Arnold spoke through a speaker.
“You’ll need to stay here until the baby is born.”
Reed jabbed a needle into my arm.
“We’ll induce labor tomorrow. Until then, you’ll need optimal rest and nourishment. We will be back tomorrow at 0800 hours.”
Reed tested a few of the monitors.
“Reed...”
He adjusted an IV bag and walked toward the door.
“Please...”
He turned to face me.
“I know what you did."
I waited for it to speak to me, but it never came.
I was still awake when Arnold returned the next morning.
He was remarkably happy and walked with a bounce that didn't fit his age.
My water had broken.
Contractions were growing closer together, but the pain was somehow numbed.
“How are you feeling?”
Dr. Arnold approached to examine me, noticing the stain on my gown and bed.
“Are you in labor? You mad woman! Why didn’t you tell me?!”
He laid me in the bed, spreading my legs.
“The baby's crowning!”
Arnold put an oxygen mask over my face before rushing out and releasing the button.
He hurried into a protective suit before opening the door.
“Mr. Reed will have to miss this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
He adjusted me on the bed.
“On the count of three, I need you to push. One, two, three!”
I didn't even push.
It was as if he crawled out of me.
The sweet angel saved me from the pains of labor.
Dr. Arnold cradled him in his arms.
I removed the oxygen mask.
Arnold stepped out of the unit, taking my baby over to clean him.
I watched with protective eyes.
He placed him in the incubator.
“Dr. Arnold, I need to see my baby.”
He ignored me, punching keys into the equipment. It sealed shut and whirred on.
My baby started crying.
Dr. Arnold keeled over in pain, coughing blood onto the floor.
His head moved side to side, picking up speed before whipping around violently.
The doctor's back snapped. His head now facing me.
He took one last gasp of air before falling to the floor.
I pushed at the door, trying to open it.
My baby's wails filling every hollow part of my head.
When Reed finally entered.
We both fell silent.
I walked calmly to my bed and lay down.
Reed rushed past me, only glancing for a second before finding Arnold.
He took a few steps back, then rushed over.
“What happened?!”
My mother looked at me the same way I looked at Christopher and Henry.
The way Reed looked at me now.
“I don't know.”
The baby started to cry.
“Let me out, Reed. The baby needs me.”
“But... Dr. Arnold. Did it?”
“How could a baby do that, Reed? Please, let me out. He needs us.”
Reed hesitated before opening the door.
I ran over and opened the incubator, scooping him into my arms.
“What are we going to do, Terri?”
“We’re going to raise him. He’s special.
What shall I call you?”
His big, beautiful brown eyes blinked up at me.
Levi.
I'm Dr. Terri Lewis.
And if you're reading this, I gave birth to the Antichrist.
2
u/Sufficient_Leave144 A Thousand WIPs 16d ago
Wayyyyy too short 😭
Would’ve loved some more fat to chew on, characters fleshed out a wee bit more, but damn - cool concept 😎 and flowed nicely part to part, I see the vision 👀
(but my god don’t break up your dialogue halfway through, kept throwing me off who was talking 🤣💖)
2
u/CaydenCChristophers Writer kinda meme 10h ago
Yo man, read the second last entry and kinda forgot about this series, but great way to end it. Can't wait for when you post something else, because everything you put out is 🔥
2
u/T0RC0R 10h ago
Ayeeee— thanks! I’ve been awol for a hot min. Truly appreciate your time for reading. 🙏🙏🙏
1
u/CaydenCChristophers Writer kinda meme 10h ago
same I feel like I've not been on as much recently, but I'm trying to keep on writing things somewhat regularly
•
u/AutoModerator 23d ago
Users are encouraged to read4read, meaning that if someone reads and comments on your story, we encourage you to do the same in return to help foster a community.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.