2.54

With a large inhale of burning air I sat up and bent over sideways to vomit the bile in my stomach.

The sudden movement tugged at the cannula attached to my right arm, almost pulling it out.

Under me, I could feel the sensation of the ground moving, though I wasn't in the RV we'd been in before.

"Lex?" I called out with great difficulty. Pitifully, I tried to wet my lips with saliva, to find my tongue feeling like sandpaper across the painfully cracked lips.

"System?" I asked internally, whilst disconnecting the IV drip from the cannula like I'd seen the nurses do in the hospital many times as Zhiyue.

There was no answer from Lex or System.

Though my legs were painful and weak I still managed to disconnect the cuff on my arm and the thing clipped onto my finger and stagger to the door in the corner, assuming was the bathroom, and awkwardly disconnected the catheter. I did not need to know which of the men had set that up.

Stripping off I let the warm water from the shower wash away the foul smell I had. Just how long had I been asleep this time? My hand rested on the bump, wondering if it had grown much bigger or if I had just lost weight.

"Luna bug, are you trying to kill me?" A breathless Ty staggered through the door, seeing my, wet, naked, and dishevelled state he instantly handed me a bathrobe from nowhere. It was much too large for me, but still, I fastened it tightly just above the belly button.

"Do you know how long it took me to convince that bastard I wouldn't let you die?"

I hadn't even realised he was still rambling.

"How long have I been asleep?" Izzy moved in my stomach, it was such a bizarre feeling compared to the weak flutters from before.

Unable to contain my excitement I burst into giggles, pulling the bathrobe back to press my hand straight onto the skin. Ty stepped forward, doing the same.

"She's getting stronger," Ty smiled, "you were only asleep just over a month this time."

"A month?" My heart skipped a beat as I felt Izzy press against Ty's large palm.

"What have I missed?" I asked once I was able to stop giggling. It was like being tickled from the inside.

"We've cleared four meteorites since you started snoozing," Ty herded me through the large luxurious motor home, "now we're heading back to the base."

"Four? What did you two do with them?" I asked, curious how they managed to stay conscious.

"Not absorb them, that's for sure," Ty chuckled at me and placed me firmly on the long sofa, then handed me a premade bowl of miso soup, "drink up, get comfy, I have to get us moving again."

By the time Ty stopped the RV again I'd scoffed down a tub of ice cream from my space, then puked up most of it, brushed my teeth, and gotten dressed in comfy cotton maternity sportswear.

Despite going a whole dress size down, my skin going a few shades paler, looking flawless compared to the freckled scar-riddled usual, I looked and felt myself again, or at least, like Hannah.

"You look too pretty and clean," Ty complained as we left the RV for him to put it away and bring out a battered-looking jeep.

I had a feeling this time System had earnestly poured most of the meteorite's strength into this body.

I climbed back into the jeep, ignoring him, still angry he had even suggested smearing dirt on my face.

When we reached the base entrance, the soldier's gaze at the gates when they let us through made me wish I'd let him. I made a point to stick out my stomach further as I climbed out of the jeep again, noticing after seeing my stomach, that a lot less were still watching.

"It's you," it was the same doctor who had examined me when I first arrived, "you should be glad to know you're not the only crazy idiot to have a baby in the apocalypse, Mel over at the clinic said she had enough to start a creche next year."

This was all part of that scumbag's plan to increase numbers at the base. His breeding super soldiers programme. I shuddered thinking of the file Hannah had read in his office.

"Deep breaths, he'll be dead in a few years, the kids will all be fine," I reassured myself internally.

"Your boyfriend just got back not so long ago," I shivered, she meant Alex right? I'd intentionally avoided all thoughts of the man since the morning I chose to leave.

"Was he okay?" I asked, recalling the disgust on his face when he left me gasping for breath on the ground.

"Yeah, he and three civvy friends, they been out a while, came back looking like shit, but not a wound on them."

I nodded, not sure if I felt relieved or not at the news.

The doctor continued prattling on the entire examination, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to pay attention.

That was until I heard the sound of a thump, thump, thump, and realised she'd attached a feotal monitor around my stomach after measuring it. My Izzy made such a strong and glorious sound.

Once she had updated my notes on her system I was sent to the waiting area to meet Ty again.

"What's put that smile on your face?" He asked, guiding me through the fence gates, they kept all the vehicles in a carport, and only certain officials were allowed to use vehicles after the entry point, the idea was to save on fuel.

That left the rest of the base to use pedal-powered transport, which considering my condition and the fact I'd never personally ridden a bike before, meant I had to walk for an hour just to reach the 'civvy side' of the base.

We'd been gone at most five weeks, yet the whole place was teaming with life. Where did all the people come from?

When we reached the apartment doors I realised the room I had here was one shared with Alex. I turned to tug on Ty's arm.

"Don't worry, wait here, I'm only here to pick someone up," he smiled widely, then with a bounce in his step, walked ahead and climbed the stairs.

I turned to wait back outside in the fresh air.

Outside, I noticed that both the elderly and the young were walking around, some even young enough for pushchairs.

Though it was my first time seeing these people, quite a few faces were familiar, future Hannah had already met most of these people at least once.

Some of those relationships had been pleasant, but unfortunately, the majority were not. Hannah was not a well-liked person even in an apocalyptic society.

The door opened behind me, and before I could turn to greet them. A hand firmly pressed at the back of my head forcing me to accept a sudden kiss by familiar lips.