Under
By Elizabeth Los
Published By
Under
Copyright © 2013 by Elizabeth Los
This short story is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
Adult Reading Material
Under
Our world was desolate, the surface having long been destroyed in the Final War. Burned beyond recognition it would no longer be able to sustain life. We had been forced to flee underground. Most did not make it and perished in the heat. But select groups managed to survive. Some of us laughed at the idea of a war to end all wars until it actually came to fruition. Look who’s laughing now.
I’m curious to see how others across the globe are managing. I assume there are others and that they are alive and well, but who knows? With our world spinning and its orbit having the potential to decay at any moment, does it really matter that any of us survived?
The first time I entered the cave, I was frantic to escape the surface. People were being herded and separated like goats and sheep. The only thing I managed to learn was those that were pulled away were really sick. The leaders of our group took the infected and placed them into quarantine, or so I thought. Later, I found out those people were forced to return to the surface. No doubt they all died. A harsh punishment, but it did keep the sickness out.
Still, the work done to our cave is amazing. When my initial panic subsided, I was able to appreciate my new surroundings. It looked exactly like the suburbs that had existed at one point on the surface. Cookie-cutter houses and sidewalks lined the paved street. We had no cars, it would have been ridiculous to think we needed any mode of transportation other than our feet. The place just wasn’t that big. Yet, it gave the feeling it was outside, like the old days. Lights installed and cleverly hidden overhead simulated the sun’s movement and mimicked the passage of time. Columns of ‘trees’ that stretched to the sky were actually rock columns supporting the upper portion of the cave. They took such great care to carve texture to look like bark, and even colored both the wood and the leaves above. Mini fans strategically placed throughout the neighborhood simulated a light breeze. All of this had the positive effect intended. Though the nightmare above had scarred us, the ambiance below helped us cope and move on.
I never thought, after seeing the horrible destruction that I would be happy again, but I was. Children were laughing and playing in the streets. The adults took pride in maintaining their homes though there was little to be done. We needed this, our old habits and rituals, to see us through.
I strolled down the street and waved occasionally as I passed by a fellow resident picking up a newspaper in the yard or mail from the box. All of this I knew wasn’t real, but I didn’t care and neither did they. Somehow these people that created this oasis, though not scientists, were smart enough to think of nearly everything, even the minor details.
My morning ritual consisted of a stroll around the neighborhood, a few twists and turns, but ultimately a large circle. I would always end up at the same place: Vanessa’s. She was the only doctor in our group. Well, to be perfectly honest, she was a veterinarian, but when that was the only choice we had, we gladly accepted her as chief of medicine. She was also one of a few single females in our makeshift society. Admittedly, I was attracted to her. I knew she returned similar feelings, but she was the type that didn’t have a physical relationship until after marriage. I would have to wait.
“Morning, Vanessa!” I called out. The front room of her home, which also doubled as a clinic, was empty. Odd, I thought. Usually there were a few people waiting and at least one was a child holding a pet.
Vanessa dashed in, her brown hair pulled back loosely, a few curls having escaped to rest against her cheeks. Her large brown eyes appeared raw and had dark circles around them, telltale signs of a late night without sleep.
“In here,” she whispered. She grabbed my hand and yanked me into the back room.
I did my best to act casual, but a thrill always shot through me to see her. I couldn’t help but grin at the thought of what was to come. I reddened. But my thoughts were interrupted by noises from some animal that she must have been caring for overnight. I noticed a blanket over a box, the wire grid pattern peeking from one corner where a paw with extended claws scratched.
“What’s up?” I asked as casually as I could, despite the growing excitement within.
“Come take a look at this,” she said, her grip on my hand tightening. I could hear a slight tremor in her voice.
She yanked me over to the exposed and dissected belly of what I guessed was a small cat. I withheld my urge to sigh and roll my eyes. She liked science. I got that. I hated it and could care less. Still, I humored her for obvious reasons.
She pulled me closer to her. At first, I was taken aback until I realized why she drew me near. She was pointing to something inside the dead animal.
It occurred to me my attention was being spent too long dwelling on her features. Thankfully, the scuffling and growling of the caged animal startled me. Before Vanessa noticed, I had a chance to recover and look down. She was showing what appeared to be a baby animal.
“Okay,” I said, a little confused by all the fuss. “So the cat, or whatever, was pregnant.”
“Exactly!” she said, giving me that look, as if I should understand what mystery she had uncovered. My clueless look answered her assumptions. “Simon, the cat was pregnant, but that isn’t possible! The cats we have now are all female. I check them myself.”
I started to laugh it off, but caught it in my throat before I looked the fool. “I, uh, I don’t understand. Are you absolutely sure there aren’t any male cats? I mean, wouldn't it be possible one is running around loose and we just don’t know?”
She frowned. “Simon, consider what we had to go through to get here. Very few animals were brought down with us. Anything else couldn’t possibly have survived or found its way down.”
I nodded. “What does this mean then? I mean, so the cat is pregnant. Frogs do that, right?”
She shook her head. “Simon, only certain species have that capability. Cats are not among them. This pregnancy isn’t, well, it isn’t normal. I’ve been running tests on other blood and tissue for a few weeks. I didn’t want to say anything until I was absolutely certain.”
“Wait. Other blood? You mean there’s another one?” I asked, unable to contain my surprise.
Vanessa led me to a scratched up microscope. There were other medical devices and equipment, most of which had a purpose I didn’t know. She finally let go of my hand and stepped aside to allow me a glance in the eye piece. When I finished a few seconds later, all I could offer was a shrug.
“What am I looking at?”
She took a deep breath before explaining, “It’s a virus. Whatever that thing is inside the cat, though it looks like a feline fetus, it’s more than that. This virus has somehow merged its genetic material into this animal. This is the third I’ve found pregnant that shouldn't have been pregnant.”
“And you think the virus has something to do with that?” I asked, at a loss on where she was going with that train of thought.
“The virus is tricking the body into parthenogenesis, creating the pregnancy and inserting itself into the growing fetus. Like a parasite to a host, it incubates inside. And the period of gestation is, at most, three days. At first I was dumbfounded. Can a virus actually do that, I mean, make the female body reproduce? It just doesn’t seem likely, yet here we are. No
t only that, but what is produced is physically stronger than the original host.”
I scoffed. “Oh, come on. How could you even know that?”
She jogged over to the front room, sticking her head around to find it empty. Returning to me, she said in a low voice, “You must promise me that you won’t say anything about what I’ve shown you. Any of it. At least, not until I’m certain.”
I nodded. I would’ve promised a new world if she had asked me. I watched as she approached the covered cage with caution. With great care, she picked up one blanket corner and slowly pulled it up. The creature inside immediately crashed into the cage. Its foot extended out, swinging frantically at her. Vanessa was initially startled and jumped back, but she regained her composure quickly.
“What the hell is that!” I said a little louder than I had intended.
“Shh!” she said in a hissed whisper. “Don’t get too close. I believe the virus is blood-borne. At least three have this virus so far. I fear it can transmit from animal to human. One scratch or bite could possibly infect.”
“Uh, right. Staying away then,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off of what looked like a wild cat. It had the pointed ears, the whiskers and body structure of the cave cats. But the eyes, they were white.
They reminded me of my Nana’s eyes when she got cataracts. The amazing thing was, despite what I thought was blindness, the cat could still see me when I moved from left to right. And the inside of her mouth was dark and slimy. The smell alone was repulsive, but every aspect combined gave me chills.
“This was from another cat that had been brought in three days ago. Stacy Lewis had brought her in, the little blonde girl from the second house? She said her cat Sasha wasn’t eating and was getting fat. When I examined Sasha, I knew she was pregnant. I offered to care for her here until the babies were born. That’s when I went house to house asking about the pets we have. They’re all female. We have no male cats. Dogs, yeah, we have maybe one or two males, but not with the cats. So I went back to check on Sasha again. She looked terrible, worse than what I’ve witnessed in a cat ready to give birth. I would’ve loved to have done an ultrasound, but the best I could do was palpate. I was surprised to find only one fetus. That’s highly unusual.”
The caged animal growled and hissed. Then quieting down, retreated to the shadows in the back of the cage. I leaned in to get a better look.
“When it was time, I couldn’t do anything but watch. I don’t think Sasha was ready for it, the poor thing. Whatever this thing is, it forced its way out of the birth canal. It was up and attacking Sasha in a matter of seconds. It was awful.” She covered her mouth and turned away from me. I could see her trembling slightly. I stood behind and rested a hand on her shoulder in comfort. I couldn’t find the right words to say, so I remained silent.
Crash! The cat beat into the cage. It backed up. In a run, it smashed into the metal grid. Vanessa and I stepped back. The creature howled. It pushed against the frame. It clawed at the door lock. It reached through the bars at us. Moving back, it rushed again. Hitting the side hard, the cage toppled off of the table and onto the floor. The metal split in parts, wide enough for the cat to escape. It ran directly toward me. My hand swept over the nearby counter. I grabbed and threw a jar. The glass shattered and cut the animal, knocking it back. It scrambled to its feet.
I grabbed Vanessa and pushed her out to the front room. Taking the microscope, I chucked it at the beast, hitting it square on the head. It fell flat, still. I gave a sigh of relief. But the cat stood back up.
“Get out, Vanessa. Get out!” I yelled, throwing any objects I could get my hands on as we rushed out the door. In the front room, we piled every piece of furniture against the door. We could hear the howls, the scratching, but it seemed secured inside. “Vanessa, we’ve gotta tell someone. Whatever that is, it isn’t normal. It’s like a zombie or something.” I laughed off the idea of a brain-eating feline until I saw Vanessa.
She was leaning over, her hands on her knees. She was hyperventilating and could only offer a quick nod. Vanessa’s shoulders were hunched and for a moment I thought she was still having trouble breathing. Then I noticed the telltale tremble. She was crying silently.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and escorted her out to the street. “Come on. Let’s talk to Greg. He’ll be able to take care of this. After all, that’s why he took the leadership role for this group, right? To make all the tough decisions. Let this be his responsibility. This virus, whatever it is, we can beat it, fix it. Just get rid of the infected cats, right? Simple as that.”
She shook her head. More sobs came and she doubled over from the grief. I did my best to offer support. “Really. Vanessa, let’s go take care of this and then you can come hang out at my place.”
Again, she shook her head. Looking up at me, her eyes were raw, tears flowing down her cheeks. I was surprised by her reaction to all of this. I knew she was upset, but she seemed to be taking it personally. I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when she said, “It’s not okay.” She tightened her eyes shut, forcing more tears to fall.
“I don’t understand. Why not?”
She opened them to look straight at me. Though the sadness was still in her eyes, her face grew serious. “It’s not okay Simon. I’m pregnant.”
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