Page 26 of Secret Twins for the Alien Dad

“No, but we spoke to the station desk. Described her. They said she bought a ticket to Gilroy but could’ve stopped anywhere between here and there.”

“So she’s…?”

“She’s alive, bro. And it doesn’t look like you were what she was running from.” Fin’s voice sounds sincere. “I'm sorry we doubted.”

“It’s nothing. Just keep an ear out.” I hang up the comm feeling hardly different from before.

“Relax, dude, you’ll find her.” Skalt’s arm rests on my shoulders. My mind turns back to Myra, to Brev and the trouble he’s got her in. She’s no thief, and there’s no way he cares about her life more than that comm.

“You know what you need to do after you find her, right?” Skalt asks.

“I’ll need to find that comm.”

“Yeah.”

“She’ll be hunted until I do.”

13

MYRA

Ilook at myself in the mirror. Even to myself, I look washed out. The lack of sleep and worry are draining me of my resolve, and the sickness is taking the rest. How the fuck am I meant to deal with a baby? I can barely keep myself alive right now.

I can hear Eva crashing around in the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, I pull myself up straight. I’ve survived a warzone, and I’ve pretty much been an indentured slave and escaped. I can face this, too.

I draw on all my reserves of strength and head into the kitchen to see Eva.

“Morning,” she says with concern in her eyes.

“Morning, Eva,” I reply. Eva loves traditional cooking. She doesn’t even possess a food synthesizer. Having spent most of my life living on synth food, I was dubious at first. But already I don’t know how I lived without ‘real’ food. “What are you cooking?” I ask her. Breakfast has become a real treat for me.

“Pancakes this morning,” she says. “I know how you like them.”

My mouth is watering already. But then a wave of nausea hits me. I put my hand over my mouth and run for the bathroom.

When I return Eva hands me a glass of water. “Thanks,” I say.

“You should get yourself to the clinic,” she tells me. “It’s pretty obvious to me you’re pregnant, but you need to get tested. They will probably give you something for the sickness, too.”

“Just getting something to stop all the puking would be worth the trip,” I say. “Where is it?”

“I’m going that way. I can take you nearly there, and then point you in the right direction.”

Eva tentatively offers me a pancake. I really want to take it, but just the thought of putting it in my mouth has my stomach rolling. “No, I’m good.”

We head out through the half-deserted streets, passing the derelict storefronts and into an area that has been recently modernized. “I work down here,” Eva says, indicating the school at the end of a side street. “But if you carry on along this road and take the second left, you won’t miss it. It’s a massive building, built to support the old mining community. Good luck,” she adds.

I try to make my smile bright, but I’m pretty sure it comes off as a grimace. “Thanks, Eva. See you soon.”

How the fuck did I get myself into this mess?My steps are slow. I feel like I’m walking toward my doom.

At least I’m away from the casino. Pregnant girls don’t have great prospects there. They have a tendency to disappear if they’re no longer of use to Brev. Turned out on the street to fend for themselves, or worse. He’ll wait until they start showing, though, until they’re at the stage where fending for themselves would be the hardest.

I stare at the building on the other side of the street. It has an ergonomic design, all curving lines and glass frontage, contrasted with sudden angles and fractal patterns. I have to admit, I’m impressed. It is the best-designed building I’ve seen here. A throwback to the boomtown, a symbol of lost hope and prosperity.

I explain to the automaton what the problem is, and I’m told to go and wait in the blue booth. There are already a couple of women waiting with harrowed looks on their faces.

The older Kaleidian woman has two barely controlled young kids with her. Both look like they have different fathers. The boy is the eldest. He is obviously Kaleidian like his mother. But his little sister clearly has Odex blood. Her blue fur is matted and unkempt. I wonder what their story is.

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