The War Gate Read Online Free Page B

over her chest. “Where is the pain, dear?”
    Avalon spoke through clenched teeth. “Oh, God. Down low in my stomach.”
    The doctor put his hand to her abdomen while he slid the scope down. He gasped, looked at the monitor across the room, then whipped his hand down hard in chopping motions, the signal to drop the blinds. A guard released a cord, letting them fall with a clatter.
    “What’s the problem, Doc?” The warden stepped over his own feet, trying to get closer.
    “Quiet, please,” the doctor ordered. He moved the stethoscope pad across Avalon’s lower abdomen again. He collared the stethoscope, then glared at the warden. “You better get the attorney general and the governor on the line. Tell them we’ll need a stay of execution.”
    “What’s going on, Doc?” asked the warden, now more agitated than ever.
    Doctor King’s jaw tensed. “We can’t execute two people. I have a strong fetal heartbeat. She also has a nasty case of morning sickness. This woman is now a patient until further notice.”
    The warden stiffened. “She’s pregnant? How is that even possible?” He ran a hand through his oily hair, and turned on Chubby, pegging him with a hardened stare. The other staff members joined in, leveling accusing eyes at the portly guard.
    Chubby froze, wide-eyed. Avalon assumed by the look on his face that any words he might have were jammed in his throat.
    The doctor threw his hands up in the air. “None of this makes sense. I examined her two days ago. There was no evidence of a pregnancy.” He closed his eyes. “In all my years of practice I have never had anything like this happen.” He turned on the others, making eye contact with each. “This information will not leave these prison walls. Is that understood? I don’t have to tell you that the media would grind us into ground-round if this ever got out.”
    The warden stepped up close to the gurney, massaging his temples. He looked on the verge of passing out at any moment. How ironic it all seemed.
    Chubby stepped forward, his mouth cracking into a wide smile. “That’s one for the record books, Avalon. Happy New Year, honey. Way to go, babe! Yeah, way to go!”
    The digital wall clock cycled. It read a minute after midnight. The New Year had arrived.
    The sun dawned bright and beautiful the following day, chasing the storm clouds across the horizon.
     
     
    Chapter 3
     
    Avalon was now full term, expecting delivery. The amniocentesis had been performed immediately upon discovery. The result had come back in seven days. Avalon had to sign a release form in triplicate, clearing the prison hospital staff of all culpability prior to the test. Although the procedure held some risk to the fetus, it was still forced. Avalon suspected that her rights had been violated, but had agreed under duress, rather than face persecution and the removal of her most basic privileges.
    The North Carolina prison system had capped such a heavy lid on the incident that for a while, both the news and Avalon had been kept in solitary confinement. After the postponement of the execution, the male staff of the Women’s Correctional Facility were rounded up for DNA tests, accompanied by lengthy interrogations. The staff scrutinized her visitor roster for any potential “donors,” even though such contact would have been impossible in the first place. The warden felt convinced that one of their oversexed male staff members had slipped through the cracks to perform the deed. Yet, with the conclusion of the blood type analysis, no one, including the general workforce staff, matched the profile. Raymond Hammersmith had been eliminated from the donor list.
    The news had leaked within the walls of the prison in spite of the security blanket. The inmates found out through a slip-of-the-tongue. Wild rumors of a “ghost lover” were awash in the Women’s Correctional Facility. At least a dozen females claimed contact with a strange night visitor who came in their