Anomaly [Undergoing Editing]

Chapter 3

Clara watched in disbelief as she looked at the embryo in front of her. In her three years of working, she had never seen anything like it. She had seen some that weren't fit to live, but this one....

"Louis," she whispered to her friend. "Louis I need you to see something."

He glanced back and flashed her a smile. "Sorry Clara. I'm doing something. Can it wait?" She shook her head and asked again. "Clara I really can't. I have to find a match for this man and-"

"Lou." She said sternly. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. Using his nickname was something that she only did when they were alone together or in serious situations. And in this case, it was the latter. "You need to see it. Please?"

"What is it? And why are you whispering?" She guiltily looked at him, and he dropped the files of two potential parents. "What did you do?"

She walked him over to her work area and told him to look into the microscope where the embryo was sitting comfortably. She remembered the bright reddish tent to the embryo. She remembered how it already started moving by itself, how it divided so quickly. This one was different.

The others had either not grown at the pace that it was supposed to, or there were already deformities that were visible. But this one was the most perfect one she'd ever done. It was too perfect.

Louis gasped and looked up at her. She motioned for him to say or do something, but he just stared. "Lou," she whispered. "Please say something."

"I don't even know what to say." He looked back at the embryo and studied it closely. "It looks like it has some sort of...nuclear radiation. Who are the parents?"

She picked up the files from her table and glanced at them again. "An Israeli and Palestinian descendant. Very strange considering what their families have been through, but they both were great matches for each other."

"Both races were victims of those kind of bombs. You know which ones I'm saying, right?"

She nodded. "The nuclear bombs in The Great War. But why would that effect this one so many generations later?"

"What I'm thinking is that the radiation may have stayed in this bloodline until now. It's very strange but..."

"It could happen." Clara finished. He nodded, and she continued. "And it did. What do you think we should do?"

Louis shook his head and was looking intensely at the soon to be human being. "It would be great to study it more. It would be really great to see it grow. And-"

"But if we kept it then it would grow into a baby. A baby. Where would we put it? What woman would want to give up her child after-"

"Louis! Clara!" They jumped and spun around to see Mr. Richards standing tall and strong behind them. "What's going on? Is it something I need to know about?"

Louis glanced at her, telling her with those eyes not to say anything. Those eyes had an effect on her that she didn't quite understand. And she hated it. He was telling her to shut up, and she had no choice but to do so.

You weren't supposed to lie. It was one of the rules. Louis cleared his throat. "Clara just needed help with something. That's really all sir."

"Great job, you two." He chuckled and patted Louis' shoulder. "Though I must say, it seems you two have grown to like each other very much. Remember the ninth rule."

"No relations with your working comrades or sommat, right?" Louis said in the most disrespectful manner possible.  

"Yes Louis," Mr. Richards sighed. "Get back to work you two."