Something to Fight For

Chapter 3

    The next morning, The agents were permitted outside, and the SHIELD women were still undercover.

    The biggest difference Melinda noticed was how her center of gravity had changed. Most women had already had six or seven months to ease into the change, but Melinda had one day.

    She, along with Bobbi and Daisy were learning how to do everything around here in this village, with a strange mixture of modern and old. Every woman had a 'guild' as Shareta called them, which were basically groups of women that focused on one task. Some were hunters, some were in charge of clothing, some were farmers, all working together. If it weren't for the man-slaughter, Melinda would have been impressed with the society these women had created.

   Shareta explained that they would soon be assigned a guild depending on their skills, and that would be their contribution. Shareta herself was part of the mother and child guild, which Melinda basically understood as another name for their version of a midwife, Explaining why Shareta was their assistant.

   "So how do we Amazons get more women?" Daisy kept her cover.

   "Many times we rescue the wives of men that we've killed on raids, and bring them here, where the Queen uses her magic to force them to conceive, and speed up the pregnancy a few moons so that the women stay." Shareta explained.

    "And is the rest of the pregnancy also fast?" Daisy jumped forward to ask.

    "Of course not. Just the first six moons. Then the pregnancy progresses normally for the final three moons." Shareta answered, and pointed out the head house where the Queen lived, and where they had been taken earlier.

    "But what of those who were born here?" Bobbi inquired. "And are still virgins?"

    "We, uh, well, sometimes we rely only on converts who have slept with a man recently." Shareta answered. "Which is why you and your companions are so welcome."

    "Oh." Daisy nodded. Melinda frowned. How.... Oh.

    OH.

    So the 0-8-4 somehow was able to force whatever was left behind after sex to join with an ova... what the hell? Melinda thought. How is this possible? This was beyond anything she understood.

   "Aren't we breaking national laws by killing and stealing?" Daisy pointed out, interrupting Melinda's train of thought..

    "The government doesn't care about what happens this far out in the empty lands. And there are enough farms and small villages far enough apart that when we raid, we leave no male survivors to pass on news."

    "Ingenious." Bobbi commented.

    Shareta looked confused, "What?"

    "'Ingenious' means smart." Bobbi explained.

    "Interesting." Shareta said, And turned to lead the three women around the corner of the house. "Would you like to learn our language?"

    "Oh yes please." Daisy nodded.

    "Alright, lets get started."

-:x:-

    "That was literally the most confusing thing I've ever learned." Daisy sank down on her assigned bed, and looked up to May.

    Melinda was also sitting, rubbing her hand up and down the bump. "I feel like a balloon." May said. "Like when you're full after a really big meal, and you know you need to loosen your belt, but everything's ten times bigger."

    Daisy cracked up. "Yeah, that's pretty much it!"

    "And the baby is moving a lot." May said, her face flashing expressions as she felt the sensations. Daisy wiggled over. "May I?"

     "Sure." Melinda sighed, and daisy Pressed her hand down on May's stomach. "Oh that feels wild," daisy observed, and then removed her hand.

   Melinda looked down again, and folded her legs under her. The decent sized baby bump rested nicely on her thighs, a pleasure she had never expected to ever have. And now she was here, undercover in a cult, suddenly seven months pregnant with a surprise baby of which she didn't even know if it had a real father or not. Well, if Shareta's cryptic explanation was somewhat correct... Melinda knew full and well who's baby she carried.

    But she couldn't fight the same as before. Sure, she had once had a package strapped to her, but this was entirely different.

    And she wasn't alone.

    May had four other women, plus their own unborn children, to think about.

    "Hey, May, don't cry." Daisy came over, hugging the older woman. Melinda let the tears fall. How was she supposed to do this? Even if they got out of here with the babies, what were they to do? Melinda couldn't just drop her job to take care of a baby she had only birthed, and yet . . . Giving them up for adoption broke her heart. The Zephyr nor the base was no place for a baby.

    "Are we having a cry fest in here?" Bobbi came in.

    "It's to be expected. The hormones must be kicking in." Shareta appeared at the door.

    "My boobs hurt." Daisy complained.

    "That's simply your milk glands-" Shareta's smirk was cut off by Daisy's glare. "Well, I'm going to go find your friends, Elena and Jemma." Shareta disappeared out the door.

    "I wanna go home." Daisy said. "Can we please get over this?"

   "Soon, once we find a time to get that spear out of Termica's hands." Bobbi nodded, easing herself down onto her bed. "Hunter's gonna be so surprised." She laughed, and Melinda smirked. That was something she wanted to witness.

   Shareta knocked on the door a few minutes later, Jemma and Yo-Yo in tow. The young amazon left, with promises of Lunch later.

    Yo-yo rushed to toward the others. "If found out that there will be a party followed by a raid in two day time." She said. "With most of the amazons gone, this is our chance."