Nanowars: Rebirth - 1. Chapter 1: Birth

Chapter One: Birth

It was a busy day in Big Rock… it seemed every February was, the day the boys got out of school for winter break and the lake opened for the season. Twenty-four babies in five days, it was one for the record books. One father, nineteen-year-old Greg Winters, watched his little boy sleeping in the crowded nursery.

“A healthy boy.” Dr. Erik Walker declared. He was the young intern who had just moved to Big Rock and bought the large house out by the lake.

Greg, the boy’s father, looked through the glass and waved at his son. “Aye he looks healthy enough. When will his eyes open?”

“All in good time Mr. Winters. His eyes are green by the way. This is your second child?”

“No... I mean yes. There was another but he died soon after birth. Hopefully my half-brother Harry will stop nagging me about making him an uncle.”

“You should have him stop by.”

“You’ll get your chance soon enough Dr. Walker. Right now I just want to see my wife and tell her what a wonderful woman she is.” He gave his son a final wave before following after the doctor.

“She’s in room six being prepared to go home.”

“Send her home? She just gave birth!”

“We’ve got twelve more women coming in to deliver. I’m sorry but we’ve got to make room. Your father-in-law is on the town council, correct? Maybe you can talk to him about expanding the clinic.”

“Not if it means raising our taxes.” Mr. Winters laughed as he headed for room six. On reaching the room he saw his wife was putting on her snow boots. “Now what do you think you’re doing?”

When he reached for the boot she slapped his hand away. “I feel fine Greg.”

He went over and kissed her. “You’ve just given birth to a beautiful baby boy.” The boy was indeed beautiful, green eyes and the first few strands of auburn hair. He might not look like his father but most in town would see that as a plus in his favor. “He’ll be a heart breaker I tell you. Every girl in town will be after him.”

“I know. Too bad we can’t take him home with us.” She handed him her socks.

Going to his knees he helped his wife put on her shoes. “Why ever not? The doc didn’t say anything.”

“I don’t want you to panic but there’s a case of pneumonia going around. The babies are in quarantine.”

“Quarantine… you’re telling me because one baby is sick they all have to stay there.”

“Not one baby but our baby,” Em said calmly. “He needs to stay here for at least a week.” She knew the heat of her husband’s temper all too well. If she were to show the least sign of being upset he would go into a rampage

“We’ll see about that,” Gregory said as he stormed off to find the doctor. “Hey Doc! Why didn’t you tell me my boy’s sick?”

Dr. Walker crossed his arms and looked down at the shorter man. “I find in most cases that such news comes better from the mother.”

He grabbed the doctor by the lapel of his coat. “I want my boy to come home with us now.”

Erik shoved himself free. “Your boy is very sick and needs a doctor’s care.” No… the boy isn’t sick but is afflicted with something far worse. I cannot let him loose on the world if he proves a threat to our plans.

“Where’s Dr. Harris?” Harris had been the town main doctor for the last 50 years. Walker and the new staff had only started to arrive three years ago.

“Doctor Harris retired to Chicago last week. I’m the only doctor in the entire county. If you won't take my advice you can take your wife to Anchorage.” It was a four hour drive to the nearest airport and half as long to the state's largest city.

“Let me speak to Melinda.”

“Dr. Harris's nurse retired with him. You can talk to my nurse. Steve, can you come over here.”

“Steve… you got a male nurse working for you?” It was rumored that Greg's older brother was known to fool around with other men. Harry had also been Emily's fiancé. Though Emily rarely spoke on what happened between them, Greg rightly suspected that his brother and not he would always be the great love of her life.

“I can tell where this conversation is going, so may I suggest you leave before I call the police and have you dragged out. Your wife needs you Mr. Winters.”

“This isn’t the last of this.” Greg swore before going back to the delivery room. “Come on Emily, we’re going.”

“Why do you always have to make things worse?” She had heard the shouting from her room, and didn’t like it one bit.

They entered the snow-covered parking lot. “Burr, it’s freezing out here.”

“We’ll get you back home and all toasty warm in no time. You would think with all those hot flashes you had you would be burning up.” He joked as they got into his truck. As Union Rep for the loggers who were the backbone of Big Rock’s economy, Gregory was a well-known face around these parts. Yes, he had a temper but was never one to fail a neighbor in a time of need. As they crossed the bridge that went over the lake, he saw old man Patterson wheeling a shopping cart loaded with groceries down the road. Stopping the car but forgetting to put on the emergency brake, he went out and loaded the old man’s groceries into the back of his truck.

“Greg there’s something I must tell you. It’s about the baby.” She shouted from the e truck for him to get back in.

Her husband ignored her. “This is no kind of weather to be out doing this Mr. Patterson.”

“I got to have my eggs and bacon.” The old man insisted as the truck began to slide down the ice covered bridge.

[Ok, I’ve never been in this situation, but I can imagine there would be a fairly panicked reaction from most people. Emily has just given birth, there are bound to be a tamult of emotions running through her at the moment.]

“Greg the baby isn’t…” Her confession was cut off by the grinding of tires on ice. “Greg help! Somebody help me!” She struggled to get from the passenger side to the driver’s seat but the trauma of just giving birth and her still swollen belly made doing so impossible.

Hearing the grating sound of tires on frozen ice Greg dropped the grocery bags and raced towards the truck. “Aw shit. Hit the brakes Em!” Gregory swore. When he tried to open the door he found it locked. He had left the keys in the ignition to keep the heat running. “Fucking safety locks.” “Open the door Em!”

“I’m trying to! I’m trying!” Leaning to far forward she dove head first in among the foot pedals. Frantically she tried pushing each and every one but with the weight of her pregnancy pressing down on her all she achieved was pinning her arms down on the gas pedal. The truck charged forward, smashed through the bridge’s railing, over the side and crashing down through the ice and into the freezing water.

Greg was just about to dive in after the love of his life when Mr. Patterson tackled him to the ground.“Em! Em!” He tried kicking the man off him but the old fart was far stronger than one would assume.

“It’s already too late you fool. The water is a hundred feet deep in these parts. There’s no way she’ll make it. All you’d do is killing yourself.”

He reached out towards where the truck had smashed through the railing as if he could reach in and pull Em back to safety but it was no use. “Em!” Gregory screamed as ice-cold tears stung his face.

-A week after the funeral:

“What a healthy young boy you are, yes you are,” Dr. Walker said as he nuzzled his face against the baby’s tiny nose.

“What do you want done sir, about the boy that is?” Steve handed Erik the child's latest blood work.

Dr. Walker placed the baby back in his crib… one of twenty four that filled the nursery. “The treatment didn’t take, did it?” he asked his head nurse.

“No it didn’t sir. I don’t know why.”

“We need to find out but we can’t keep the child from his father much longer.” Erik Walker replied.

“Do you want the father brought in for treatment?”

“No, I’ll see to that myself.” Dr. Walker said as he placed the baby in the middle of a circular carpet. All around him were nearly two dozen other children. All had been born during the last two weeks. When the Winters’ boy came into view, all the other forty six eyes fell on him, silently staring.

“Now look at that,” Steve whispered. “They’re actually mesmerized by him.”

“They think he’s one of them.”

“But the Symbiote died.”

“But not the host, which is even rarer. I will have to keep a close eye on this one. This is no mere accident. Looked how fast they’re developing.” Dr. Walker said as the toddlers began to crawl to where the unnamed child sat in the center. The child looked about and laughed. When the largest of the two reached him he clapped his tiny hands together.

Entering the room, Thomas, the desk clerk had a worried look on his face. “It’s Mr. Winters. He’s here for his boy and he’s been drinking.”

“Send him to my office and pour him something from the blue bottle.” Dr. Walker replied.

“Are you sure you want to do that sir?” Steve asked after Thomas was gone “The women of this town will expect you to marry one of them.”

“And I will. Mr. Winters and I will just be friends. Just look at them Steve. To think we were on the verge of extinction.”

“That will still happen if the Primus finds out what we’ve done here.”

“But how will he find out. These children look perfectly human and so will their children. Each generation will until Ares reestablishes its place among the stars.”

“And you, your highness, will see it all.” Steve bowed.

“But I will not rule. One among these twenty-four will be the leader of our people. Well, enough of that for now. Soon the others will be coming back from the funeral and will want to take their children home. See that it is done and that Mr. Winters and I are not interrupted.

“It will be as you command sir.” Steve bowed as the ‘doctor’ left.

    *****************************************************************

“Mr. Winters you have my sincerest condolences.” Erik said as he entered his office. He could already see the opened blue bottle with half of its contents missing.

“You’ve got good stuff doc,” Greg said in a slurred voice.

“Thanks but I think you’ve had enough for now. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“I want to thank you doc. It didn’t hit me until the funeral that if little Avery had been in the car with my wife, I would have lost them both.”

“You shouldn’t thank me for such things,” Erik said as he loosened his tie. “It was luck, that’s all.”

“Emily’s father doesn’t think so. He's my manager at the lumberyard so you bet he’s going to make sure my life is a living hell from now on. Now I’ve lost a boy and a wife. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“You could let me help you. Let Avery stay here at the clinic until he can go to daycare.”

“I told you my boss is out to get my ass. He’s going to cook up some excuse to fire me. How am I going to pay for child care when I’ve got no job?”

“You let me worry about that.” Erik said as he folded his wire framed glasses and put them onto the table. He brushed the distraught father’s face with the tips of his right hand.

“Are you getting fresh with me?”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Erik replied as he slowly took off his white coat.

“Yeah, you are.” Greg said as he backed into the door. “You’re one of those fairies, men who dig men like my brother!”

“Let’s just say that I think you’re in a lot of pain right now Mr. Winters and I’m offering to help you with it. That is want doctors do… They help people.” Dr. Walker moved in. Each could feel the other’s hot bated breath.

Greg choked. “I’m no fairy!” He was also no coward however he was now trapped between the doctor and the locked door. There was also this all too familiar tingling in his groin.

“And I’m not calling you one. So why don’t you just relax a little and let me take care of you. He gently kissed each cheek. Pressing harder against him he could feel the swollen state of the lumber yard workers sex.

“You are the doc.” Greg nodded as he felt Erik’ hand gently guide his head against his shoulder while his other hand wrapped around the Greg’s waist. “I sure did love Em,” Greg cried. He didn’t know what was coming over him. He was not the sort to shed tears in front of others. Not even during the funeral did he let anyone see him cry.

“I’m sure you did but now you need someone else to love and provide a home for Avery. I can be that someone if you let me Greg.” Erik cooed softly into the man’s ear.

“You would do all that?”

“If you were to prove to be the right kind of guy.” Erik said as he ripped the buttons off Greg’s one and only good shirt.

He then pressed their bodies tightly together as six long tendrils extended from his back wrapping themselves around their joined waists.

Attached to Erik’ back was a black fleshed lamprey like monstrosity. With its sucker like mouth attacked at the base of the neck, its long segmented body extended down to the small of his back.

On the sides of each segment two pink nerve fiber tendrils. Burrowed under skin and bone of the spine the nerve fibers had grown into fibers of the doctor’s spinal. With these the parasite controlled both his body and most of his pain and pleasure senses.

The suckers attached to the neck feed the parasite the nutrients it needed to survive. These included blood, oxygen, hormones and the spinal fluid it needed for its own neural processes. It also took control of the base of the brain… the cerebellum. It is by controlling the most primitive parts of the human mind… pleasure and fear centers, that it can force its host to commit debases acts as murdering a pregnant mother, stealing her child, and raping the grieving father.

“What da?” Feeling the slimy embrace of the parasites nerve tendrils he attempted to jump away. Any fear he felt was drained away by the liquid in the blue bottle.

“Just let it happen,” Erik said calmly as the tendrils burrowed deeper inside the other man. When it was over Erik let Greg collapse unconscious on the floor. He was the first, the first of many he would take as he prepared the way for the children he had helped give life to. As he watched the lumberyard worker lie asleep, he could see the six round wounds quickly healing, leaving only tiny circular scars in their place. Now Gregory would do almost anything Erik asked of him. Erik himself was curious to see if he could turn this slouch of a man into someone greater. It would prove that his choice of this undeveloped world was the right one to serve as the new home for his people. Only time would tell.”

Erik watched as the Symbiant took hold. There was a knock on the door. “Yes.”

“Mr. Winter’s brother is here. So is his friend.”

“For their children I take it.”

“Shall I have them removed?” The sheriff asked.

“A boy belongs with his father.”

“But they’ll take them away from Big Rock.”

“Yes but it will keep the boys together. If things go wrong, their true fathers are best suited to deal with them. Tell them they can have them after Greg’s funeral.” Erik wasn't about to kill Greg. He would put him on ice and save him for a rainy day. You never know when a vengeful cuckold husband could be of use.