Birth of the Forbidden
Birth of the Forbidden
A Novella Prequel
Shadows Series
Birth of the Forbidden
Copyright 2016 RM Alexander
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Editing and proofreading by Cliffhanger Editing and Dragon Editing
Cover Design by Dereck Murphy
Other Books by RM Alexander
The Shadows Series
Veil of Secrecy
Dark Crossings
Revelations
Birth of the Forbidden
The Only You Series
The Real You
The Determined You
The Perfect You
The Dreams Series
Matter of Choice
The Right One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Afterword
Birth of the Forbidden
Chapter One
October 1999
A woman lay on the metal gurney, dressed in a white hospital gown, jet black hair
drowned in sweat and matted to her ashen face. Scientists surrounded the table, noting vitals and monitoring her progress while ignoring pleas for an epidural. The men and women scurried around the table, writing on their clipboards and checking her progress.
Her screams remained unheard.
Above the room, Sophia Collingsworth peered through the double paned glass at the
test subject below, arms crossed tight across her chest. After months of preparation and tests and failures—deaths—a success. Finally, a success.
The first success since the birth of a little girl fifteen years earlier. Fifteen years…
Sophia drew in a heavy, silent sigh. Time to reminisce over that child has long since passed, and Sophia was not a woman to trudge down memory lane. No time to think
about that right now. The agreement was never to think about it again, and if Sophia Collingsworth was anything, she was a woman of her word. Instead, the procedure below required her full attention. One hour into labor—the tip of the iceberg. Not that she’d know by experience but scientists knew those kinds of things and Sophia was the best.
The best in the state of Montana, the best in the country, among the best in the world. She possessed the certifications and recognitions, written the world-renowned publications to prove it.
This birth—as controversial and morally questionable as it was—proved it.
The test subject shrieked, so piercing Sophia considered the double pane glass with a studied glance. Shook her head. It wouldn’t break. A human scream didn’t carry the right decibel during normal, or even most abnormal, circumstances.
Another scream and blood soaked the bottom half of the table. The scientists scurried to the foot of the table, surrounded the woman from the waist down. As they worked on the child, Sophia’s eyes narrowed as she leaned forward, concentrating on the test subject’s chest. It didn’t appear to be moving.
She pushed the intercom button. "The baby?"
The crowd at the foot of the table dispersed, a thin sheet covering the woman to the waist. One man held the child high enough for Sophia to see from above. "Alive. A boy."
Good, good. "And the mother?"
He looked to a younger scientist, a woman who’d join the projects just weeks earlier.
The woman studied the monitor, glanced at the woman on the table and shook her head.
The lead scientist nodded. "She didn’t make it."
A loss, not a complete success with the test subject lost. But the death was a small price to pay for the child. "She knew the risks when she volunteered for the experiment.
Is the infant’s breathing regular, vitals steady?"
"All healthy."
Sophia nodded and watched as the baby reached for his dead mother. Impossible at seconds old. Crying for his mother, sure. Not reaching for her.
One little leg kicked the scientist, who grunted. "You can’t tell me that hurt, Snyder."
"He is strong." The child cried louder, both arms flailing, reaching. "He wants his mother."
Sophia let go of the button, watched the child for a moment. Babies weren’t violent and yet this small male’s temper surpassed those possibilities. What could account for such behavior? Her mind circled as she pressed the button once more. "Put him in with the other donor. The wolf."
The scientist stopped, looked from the child and to the window high above the room where Sophia stood. "Are you sure that’s what you want to do? She might hurt the baby."
"Do what you’re told."
"Yes. I’m sorry, Dr. Collingsworth."
"I’ll be down in a minute." Sophia let go of the button and turned her back to the glass to face the three colleagues at her side. Judgments meant little to her—these lowlifes didn’t believe in her project in the beginning, and if they did now, it was only because the proof was given right before their eyes. That wasn’t the kind of belief she needed. The kind of faith to keep this project funded and forward moving was the kind that didn’t require tangible proof.
Groundbreaking experimentation was rarely tangible.
"That was impressive, Dr. Collingsworth. It would have been more so had the test subject survived."
"It is unfortunate we lost her but she knew the risks prior to agreeing to carry the embryo. As you saw, we did everything within our power to save the woman’s life. We’ll do better next time."
The youngest man among the group—a twenty-nine-year-old Harvard grad, wet
behind the ears but with a passion found in the young—shook his head. "This pushes the boundaries of every moral compass … you can’t be planning a ‘next time.’"
She raised a brow, worked on concealing the disappointment inside. Among the
small group, Sophia expected the kid scientist to be on board with all the optimism of youth. Science couldn’t predict every outcome. "Oh, but I do, Mr. Anderson. The possibilities these experiments present far outweigh the ‘moral compass’ you speak of.
Surely, you must see that."
The man ran a palm down his face. "This isn’t a project I want to be a part of."
Sophia shrugged. "You are free to go."
"Just like that?"
"Sure. The door," she motioned to the only door leading out of the small observation room, knowing guards waited on the other side. If the young man chose to leave, he’d develop a sudden case of amnesia, courtesy of an injection developed by her husband, Conrad. A small price to pay
for what he witnessed, a project protected at all costs.
She hoped he’d choose a different path—Sophia hated using biological science in
ways that hurt people. Despite the garbage he spouted of moral compasses, the greater good was being served by this new series of experiments. A young man in his twenties should have greater vision.
Instead, he disappointed her. "It was nice to meet you, Dr. Collingsworth." He nodded at the other men and opened the door. He walked out, the thud from the butt of a gun hitting the back of the young man’s head audible as the door closed shut.
Sophia cleared her throat. "Gentlemen, would anyone else like to leave the project?
Now is the best time."
The remaining scientists, both much closer to her forty-one years shook their heads.
Either fear or captivation—either way, Dr. Collingsworth didn’t care. Regardless of what means built her team, additional heads and, more importantly, hands were needed.
The birth of this tiger-boy brought the promise of so much more.
Chapter Two
Sophia pinned graying strands into a tight bun, then straightened the lab coat’s lapel.
Conrad would be in later that morning. Her husband of more years than Sophia cared to count was her partner in every way—home, work, life. His devotion towards her never wavered, and Telov remained his life’s work. Yet, for reasons she never understood, he didn’t live and breathe the labs like she did. A passion for it, sure, but being at home relaxing brought a comfort to Conrad it never did for Sophia. She shook her head. She didn’t fault him for it. In her estimation, every relationship required one more devoted than the other. Conrad understood, loved her as she loved him, knew what made her come alive. Theirs was a good marriage, their life outside these lab walls a quiet one.
The people of Sullivan, Montana knew very little about the Collingsworths, rarely
saw them. Appearances were harder to keep when building friendships. Sooner or later, people began saw the real person and Sophia was certain they would not accept Telov.
Better for people not to know than to live a lie.
Sophia ran a hand down the length of the pristine lab coat. Until Conrad came in for the day, she’d make the rounds, check on the tiger man, decide what came next.
Colleagues would be in soon and she wanted to visit the tiger man cub without other eyes staring on.
Since his birth fifteen days earlier, the child had been growing at an alarming rate and already resembled a five-year-old. How the child grew and what it meant for his future remained a mystery. His abilities remained a mystery. Would he be able to read?
Write? She walked over to the table, opened the journal she hid from prying eyes. She trusted no one but Conrad. Everyone else warranted suspicion.
Fingers only just beginning to show the passage of time opened to the middle of the journal.
October 17, 1999
The child is growing quickly – unnaturally so. I have yet to understand the cause or effect of the accelerated growth. My concern is his life expectancy should he continue to grow in this manner.
There is so much to be learned from him.
I must admit, however, what interests me more than the rate of growth is the
tremoring I’ve witnessed. I suspect anxiety, as it does seem to be triggered in anticipation of blood draws and other tests. Each time, the child cowered to the back of his cage, shaking violently, unable to move. Seizures or convulsions seem a reasonable label, but my gut says that’s not an accurate assessment. It remains to be seen what is.
Sophia tightened her lips into a thin line and closed the journal. So many unanswered questions. Uncharted territories were riddled with them and she enjoyed the challenges the questions presented. Once again, her minded drifted, this time to the child created fifteen years earlier inside a test tube. A perfect little girl, fully human, without flaw. At
the time, questions and challenges surrounded that child like this cub man. But those challenges were easier to meet, the child not such a puzzle as the creature they just created.
She was still fully human.
Closing the journal, Sophia walked out of the office with head high. She would
understand this boy like she did that girl. And she’d create more because she was the best in the world.
Lab Room C was identical to every other lab in the building. Metal counters, a wall of cages, Bunsen burners, tubes, and colanders. Scales and needles and receptacles for hazardous materials. Sophia sat down on a stool and closed her eyes, drinking in the silence and reveling in the smells of bleach and lemon imitation. The best housekeeping money could buy worked at Telov, sworn to secrecy and contracted to ensure the smell of animal remained nonexistent. Those smells. The sounds. Sophia grinned. More at home here than in the mansion in the forest.
Sophia stood and circled the room to a large bottom cage in the far corner of the
room. She stooped and stared between the bars to the child set in the center of the enclosure. He knelt on all fours, glaring with big, blue eyes swimming with intensity. "Hi, big boy. You are growing so fast."
The child growled quietly.
Sophia shook her head. "You don’t frighten me, but you do captivate me. I’ll be learning a lot from you, so I can create more. That’s quite a gift."
The boy growled again, tremored, and then whimpered as though she had kicked
him. He crawled the darkest corner and curled into the shadows.
"I don’t know what just happened but I’ll find out, won’t I, child?" She rubbed her chin. "I can’t keep calling you boy or child, can I? What can we call you? We don’t want to give you a name—that would create challenges should you die." She glanced at the label on his cage and shrugged. "Green Seventeen is too long. We’ll call you Sventen. It’s not pretty, but it does the trick."
The boy grumbled and Sophia shook her head. He might be unhappy, but she
couldn’t concern herself with those details. Child or beast, he was still the property of Telov. An experiment.
The phone rang in Sophia’s office three hours later and she grumbled as she looked up from the paperwork. Interruptions. She hated interruptions. With jaw set, she picked up the receiver while the other hand unclipped an earring. "Yes?"
"Dr. Collinsworth, there’s some men from the Department of Defense in the lobby to see you."
"Government bureaucrats." She shook her head. "Chase them away."
"I tried, Dr. Collingsworth. They refuse. I’m just an intern, they’re from the government."
Sophia sighed. "I’ll be there in a minute. Keep them busy with anything. Offer them pop or water or your lunch. I don’t care what it takes, do not allow them beyond the lobby."
"I understand."
Sophia hung up the phone and glanced to the paperwork. The government poked their prying eyes into Telov in the past. They didn’t get very far. She stood, unconcerned.
Their return was expected. Not so soon, but expected all the same.
Sophia clipped the earring back in place, shuffled the paperwork together and locked it inside the false bottom of the bottom desk drawer.
She hurried out of her office, keys in hand. She rushed down the hall, opening the doors to labs, turning the lights off, locking them behind her. Government officials wouldn’t stop her now. Not when she’d come so far.
A couple of scientists stopped her in the hallway. "Dr. Collingsworth, we need to talk to you about Lab Orange, Cage Four."
"Not now. Government officials are in the lobby. Go to the cafeteria until I clear them out of the building. It won’t take me long."
They nodded and continued down the hall as she hurried to the lobby.
The two men stood, hands folded in front of them, in front of the reception desk.
Dressed in black suits, they resembled bankers or … Sophia narrowed her eyes. More like bank robbers, here to steal her money or her experiments.
"Gentlemen."
&nbs
p; The younger of the two, a six-foot-tall man with jet black hair and dull blue eyes stuck out a hand. She was sure he dazzled most every woman he came across, but his efforts would fall short with her. She was way beyond the stage of being dazzled. "Dr.
Collingsworth?"
"Of course. What can I do for you, gentlemen?"
"We are with the Department of National Security," the older man with silver streaks in his hair began. "May we speak to you in private?"
"This is as private as I can allow, I’m sure you understand." She gestured to the few nearby chairs. "We can sit here. I assure you, we won’t be disturbed."
They glanced at her receptionist in unison. Sophia rolled her eyes. "Jennifer is no concern to any matters we might discuss. She has neither a roaming tongue nor an itching ear."
The men moved to the chairs and sat on the edge as she sat across from them and
waited for them to make the next move.
"Dr. Collingsworth, let us first assure you we are not a threat. So many people have the wrong idea about government."
She smirked. "Do they now?"
"It’s come to our attention that you have performed some unique experimentations here."
A mole in the organization. Sophia folded her hands together. A mole who would be
discovered and exterminated. "I find that hard to believe. Our experimentations are, to put it bluntly, confidential. I have no employees who would betray their contract, or me."
The younger man slid to the edge of the chair, Sophia mused he might fall off. "We don’t want to shut the experimentation down, Dr. Collingsworth. We want to contract your services, and the lab. I don’t think I need to tell you how lucrative a contract with the United States Government can be."
"I have no need for money."
"Everyone has a need for money, Dr. Collingsworth. Rather you would like a bigger home, to travel more freely, or investment into your lab to keep it running for many years to come, we can provide those means."
"I do not wish to travel and my home is quite sufficient, I can assure you. As for the labs, we are doing quite nicely." She stood, hands still folded together. "Thank you for your time."
"Dr. Collingsworth. The creatures you are creating surely must be showing some promise but test subjects must be … limited. With this contract, you would have