Outside the hospital room it was sunny, birds perched on the window sill with a small nests full of tiny eggs. Keri didn’t recognize the breed, but she admired their grey and white feathers and short beaks. Their tail feathers were dark blue or hues of grey. The nests were tucked into the corners of the windowsill, protected by the rain and winds. They didn’t seem afraid of humans at all as they looked straight at her with daring eyes through the glass. Late at night they would sometimes tap against the glass or fly into it by accident. Waking up in the middle of the night to their thuds was beyond aggravating. 

      With the TV to her room disabled, the birds were her only distraction. Three days of abstinence was utterly agonizing, it was driving Keri to the brink of madness. For three days she let the doctors do their work, cleaning out her system and nursing her back to health. Sleep was bliss, she often had dreams of sexual conquests. Wakefulness was frustratingly boring. It felt good to breathe clean air, to soak in warm water, and to eat real food. But deep down she missed that extra salty taste and manly musk that once came with her meals. 

      Every morning she woke up in the Nova Nash hospital, she felt like she was going backwards in time. A little over a year ago she was hear after the Skitter attack, back then her father was there to comfort her but now…her room felt terribly alone. This was out of pure necessity, every student recovered from the dungeons was housed in their own separate recovery rooms. Otherwise they would all be fucking the shit out of each other. 

      Keri was given a brief rundown of everything that had happened by the hospital staff. Tidbits of information was given by random nurses and orderlies, but nothing detailed or fully elaborated. Everything she learned had been pieced together through sheer boredom.

      From what she grasped the horror at the university was just the start, apparently the entire city of Nova Nash had suffered from the epidemic. For four days the city battled with a sudden spur of sexually charged malcontents. Hordes of desperate men and women overran the streets to attack every adult within reach. Once fluids were exchanged so too was the infection, and the masses grew each night. On the fifth day the Novan Primary Guard and Wall Defenders had to be deployed. 

      It was a bad move…

      Just as the Guardians on the wall surrounding their city left their post, the true nightmare began. The city state of Nova Nash existed among the fertile fields and hills that once was at the center of the former United States. Outside of its walls were endless lands to explore, all of which were left to things that continued to lurk since the days of the ‘Long Night’. Those things attacked the walls just as the epidemic was contained.

      The sudden attack from without following the sickness from within wasn’t seen as a coincidence. Keri learned her own father had taken up a weapon to aid the defense as the growing battle grew dire. For three days the Skitters, the soulless, tested the walls. Its likely several managed to slip through untended cracks and broken gates. Hundreds of brave men and women fell, their bodies skinned and their bones left as cruel offerings. 

      The walls held, the defenders endured by the skin of their teeth. 

      As the ninth day dawned the malaise of madness seemed to evaporate, the thousands consumed by blinding sexual urges recoiled in fright and were quickly quarantined. All that was left to secure was the campus university. Ground zero for the epidemic and the first to fall from the madness, it was finally the target for liberation. It didn’t take long to secure and safeguard the surface and its many buildings, but fighting their way down into the bowels of the campus’s underground was difficult. 

      Keri and Sena were both found that night, treated with a mild sedative, and carried out among thousands of other students. Most were almost certainly pregnant, in fact the entire city was likely to experience a population boom. While not something to strictly worry about today, how the city would expand to take care of the new rising population looming in the future would become a concern. Nova Nash was about to experience a baby boom, with barely the space to manage its current population.

      Baby boom…

      A million thoughts caressed Keri’s taxed mind, her hand drifted toward her stomach. The doctors were completely fascinated by how she somehow didn’t get pregnant from nine days of constant unprotected sex. Roughly a fourth of the other women also avoided impregnation. The rest weren’t so lucky, or were blessed depending on who you asked.

      Last year, when she got pregnant, Keri was thankful the father purchased the services of a ‘synthetic womb’. The invention allowed the transfer of a fertilized egg from the mother to a safe environment for it to grow and eventually be birthed. It was only an option before the fertilized egg implanted itself on the wall of the womb itself, and thus had to be transferred within the first few days, or hours. While this option was available for many of the women on campus and the city, there simply weren’t enough of them available. 

      Keri sighed, she had her hand laid on her lower stomach wishing there was a kernel of life growing within. Why she wished for such a thing confused her, but Keri couldn’t deny the feeling. Somehow she felt unsatisfied by her bodies unwillingness to conceive. Thoughts drifted to her first child, the one that should be born any day now. She also wondered about the future of her education. It would be months before the university would even consider reopening, until then Keri wondered if she even wanted to go back. 

      Her skin crawled, clothing now irritated her skin. Her veins no longer glowed an eerie purple hue, but her breasts still throbbed. Sharpened nipples poked against the hospital gown she wore, they desperately wanted to break the fabric and touch cool fresh air. How anyone could tolerate days without sex was beyond her. 

      Her thoughts were disturbed. The door to her room opened, three people strolled in. One was the handsome doctor with a growing stubble and lines under his eyes, the other two were nurses she had never met. Keri knew why they were there, the last time he entered to check up on her she tried to overpower and fuck him. His assistants were there this time to make sure that didn’t happen again. Keri let her head sink into the stiff pillow and groaned as they ran a series of tests. She hated needles but didn’t squirm when they drew blood or tested her reflexes. 

      “From one to ten how aroused are you feeling?” The doctors voice was clear yet cold. His expression was one of judgement. The two orderlies were both female, and each looked down on her in pity. 

      Keri rolled her eyes, cleared her throat, and tried her best to ignore the empty feeling in her gut. “Eleven, maybe twelve…” her hands twitched upon looking at the mans groan. There was no girth to be seen and that disappointed her. 

      The doctor checked another chart and wrote a few notes down before continuing, “Is you’re skin still suffering from irritation?” 

      Keri sighed, “Can I please take this thing off. It’s itchy.” She knew there was nothing wrong with the gown, her body simply rejected the fabric wholesale. 

      “No,” the doctor marked another checkmark on the form, “I’m going to prescribe you another sedative, the good news is that your dopamine levels are going down. Serotonin levels are also stabilizing. So your sexual cravings should return to normal within another day, two at the most.” 

      Keri wasn’t sure if she welcomed that. She liked the thrusting pleasure stirring her thoughts. It wasn’t a high or a drunken feeling, she just felt more alive and desirable than ever before in her entire life. She liked the way the doctor tried so hard not to focus on her, and the tiny glances one of the nurses continued to share with her. Keri bit her lip thinking about Sena, she wished she could help alleviate the tension in her loins with her.

      “What about Sena Fullbright? Is she ok?” Keri tried to relax the throbbing tension between her legs, but the precious pearl in her lips itched. 

      The doctor nodded, “She’s fine, her bodies recovering faster than yours.” 

      “Is she pregnant?” Keri couldn’t help but ask.

      The doctor tilted his head back in thought, Keri could tell he had to think back on all his other patients. “No…she was lucky. She was on her menstruation cycle during the time of the black out. But the trauma she endured will take time to heal. She’s asked a lot about you, and once both of you have stabilized I’m sure we can arrange a room for you both.” 

      This was good news, “What about my father? Have you heard anything from him?”

      “Mr. Pryde is still stationed on wall section Demonbraun, It’s an active combat zone. As soon as the current situation there is resolved he will be informed of your condition.”

      “You mean he doesn’t know?” Keri stuttered.

      “Its better for moral to keep our defenders focused on the task in front of them.” The doctor spoke while filling a syringe, “Don’t worry I’m sure he’s ok.”

      Keri didn’t want the euphoria to fade away completely, but she was too sore to try to stop him. The doctor seemed glad he didn’t have to restrain her as he injected the medicine into the bag of nutrients feeding her IV. 

      “Oh I almost forgot,” The doctor finished the injection, already Keri could feel the kiss of temperance relaxing her muscles. “Someone high-up has taken notice of you, they were eager to deliver a message.” 

      The pillow felt a little lighter, the irritation of her skin dulled a little more. Keri’s haggard breathing relaxed and she noticed the parcel the doctor was handing to her. Her hand suddenly felt heavy as she reached forward to accept it. One of the nurses took a step forward just in case she tried to touch the doctor provocatively. The letter was a very fine thick paper with gold etching. 

      Keri waited until the doctor finished giving her a rundown of her health and finished checking her vitals before studying the letter more closely. Only when the doctor and his little entourage had left did she finally peel away the seal and open the parcel. It was from the colonel, the father of her unborn child.

      How long has it been? Keri wondered. The last time she received any news was before she was taken by the stranger. The sex dungeon would be a grueling chapter of her life, she knew everything was going to change because of it. At least the shadow is gone…for now

      Her eyes took a quick glance at the corner of the room to confirm this thought. The shadow that had been stalking her, haunting her, wasn’t there. But just thinking about it unnerved her. When she closed her eyes she could almost feel its eyes glaring at the back of her skull, almost feel its fingers scratching the nape of her neck. 

      She shoved the thought deep down. Her hands spread open the letter so she could pull out its contents. A thick note was embroidered with gold letters saying ‘its a boy! Coming soon’. There was also a gold etching of a crib and stork flying overhead. Keri’s cheeks burned, her heart did a flip as she read it over and over again. The note also came with a picture, the synthetic womb that housed her child was swollen in its plastic casing. Heart monitors and health readouts were linked to the womb showing vibrant life signs. 

      “Oh my god,” Keri spoke to the quiet of the room. The sedative was starting to sink in, yet she couldn’t stop looking at the photo. Within minutes her fingers were too heavy to hold onto the image, her eyelids fluttered shut and then sealed tight. Keri Pryde fell back to sleep with her baby’s picture laid safely on her stomach, a smile formed on her lips.