When they sent scouts to travel abroad so they could add to the mapping and cataloging of their surrounding area, they soon came to understand they had the choicest land. To keep it, they would need to defend it. And indeed, they had done that well. Only the most desperate of all the wild beasts would attempt to enter the valley now. Those that did ended up becoming prey themselves. Even the rock wolf found other victims more easily preyed upon than descending into the valley.
More fearsome than the creatures inhabiting the lands above were the electrical storms. They often came up without warning, and were the cause of many deaths. When it was possible, they held close to rock formations, cliffs, and trees to seek shelter in the event of a storm. There were no recognizable signs as a prelude to these storms, and they only occasionally produced rain with their abundance of lightning and thunder. They were beautiful in appearance, if you were far enough away, in that they turned the sky into a color of mixed purple, blue, and silver. It was another matter altogether when you found yourself in one. The experience was quite terrifying.
When it was determined that their exploration of the outer lands had shown no other hospitable areas, they resigned themselves to the valley. They had only those resources from which to draw on for uncontaminated food. Whatever other food, or water sources, were being utilized by the wild beasts outside of the valley, were yet to be discovered. Of the original village leaders who entered the valley, only Weston, Sasha, Emil, Dr. Ramirez, and Mr. Bayek remained.
There was excitement inside the mountain complex this day. For the past several days, their broadcast network had said that an important announcement would be made this morning, generating a buzz of rumor and speculation. When the time came, activity ceased and all eyes were glued to the monitors.
It began with the normal daily reports before the director, Mr. Frank Bishop, appeared on the screen. “First of all I would like to express my appreciation for all of the hard work that has been accomplished to get us to where we are today. We are living in momentous times, and I feel confident in saying that the best is yet ahead of us. The reason I say that is because we will determine what our future is to be through our collective efforts. With that in mind, the future has to begin now. We will soon begin plans to establish a staging area for outside operations. With the unanimous agreement of the board of directors, we feel it is time to increase our numbers. We now have the resources to accommodate a larger population so we are hereby lifting the restriction on pregnancies. The only requirement we are instituting is that any couple wishing to have children needs to come by the dispensary for a complete physical involving both parties….”
The remainder of the broadcast went unheard by many as the buzz of emotion enveloped those listening, especially the women. There was to be a new maternity ward built next to the existing dispensary. Its completion date was in time for the first expected deliveries. Rations would be increased accordingly with special supplements provided to the children. For those who were single, this was still good news. It meant they were one step closer to walking, once again, on the surface of their planet. It would also add an element of normalcy having young children around. The couples started calling in appointment times to schedule their physicals immediately.
The ninth wedding anniversary for the middle-aged computer programmer, and his wife, who happened to be ten years his junior, was in three weeks. They had taken their physical examinations required to start their family. When filling out his questionnaire, one question asked if he had any previous children, and another if he had ever tried to father them. He answered no to the first, and yes to the second. When it came time for the physical itself, he was asked to provide a sperm sample. He learned five days later that it was impossible for him to have children. They said that his sperm count was such that he was for all ‘intents and purposes,’ sterile. He was upset and did not want to break the news to his wife just yet. He decided he would wait until sometime after their anniversary.
It was another six weeks following their anniversary when his wife broke the news that she was pregnant. He had not yet told her about his test results, and shared in her excitement. His excitement was not quite as enthusiastic as his wife’s, as he was torn between doubt and speculation. Maybe they were wrong, he said to himself. He wanted to believe that. He had to believe that. However, there was still suspicion in the back of his mind.
One morning when he was heading off to one of his classes, prior to work, he decided to delay in hopes of quieting his fears. He kissed his wife goodbye, and said he would see her at dinner. They both finished their day’s work at the same time. He walked out of their small apartment, and down the same sterile looking corridor he did every day. He continued for another minute then he turned to retrace his steps. When he was sure nobody else was in the area, he stepped into a supply room and closed the door until he was just able to see the door to his apartment.
After a few minutes, which seemed much longer being alone in the dark room, he was beginning to feel foolish. “Maybe I should visit the doc again and see if there may have been a mistake,” he said to himself in a low voice.
Then he saw, and heard, someone coming. It was from the opposite direction. He closed the door as far as he could while maintaining a view of his apartment door. It was a coworker of his wife’s. He was a young handsome man about her same age. He stopped and knocked on their apartment door. A moment later, the door was opened and he went inside. A stream of thoughts passed through his mind while not one of them registered in any meaningful way. He was standing in the hallway now not even realizing he had left the security of the storage room. He set down his briefcase, and walked to his door. As he swiped his card to gain entrance, he did not know what to think or what to say. Maybe it wasn’t what he thought. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
The apartment only had two rooms with a small bathroom. They were not in the kitchen-living room. He heard them in the bedroom and the sounds were unmistakable. Without a conscious thought in doing so, he picked up one of the glass and metal lamps off an end table, unplugging it as he did. He walked into the room quietly noticing the young man on top of his wife with his back to him. When he was directly behind him, still unnoticed, he swung the lamp, using both hands, connecting with the back of his skull. The man rolled over onto the bed alongside his wife, stunned by the blow. Before his wife could react in any way, he moved alongside the bed and continued to assault the semi-conscious man until he stopped moving. He was still alive so he grabbed the base of the lamp and stabbed the broken glass end directly into his neck. Blood was all over the bed now as it was obvious he had cut through the man’s carotid artery.
His wife had been screaming for him to stop, reaching for his arms in the process, but he did not take notice until he was finished. When he did, and for reasons he could not at the time explain, this infuriated him even more. He grabbed her by the neck and forced her down into the bed. At first, she was fighting him; kicking and grabbing for his arms to break free from his grip until she eventually lay motionless. He still did not relinquish his hold on her. “Why did you do this to me….why….why?” he said to her repeatedly, shaking her each time he said it.