As I awoke, I realised without opening my eyes that I was on some sort of sofa. I felt strange, disorientated and surrounded by lots of people.

‘She’s awake,’ I heard faintly and then it all rushed back. I was away from danger and my parents were here!

My eyes snapped open and there she was–Mummy...

The Chosen
By


Susan Brown

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Chapter 12

Previously…

We followed the man and woman to a door. It was an old fashioned type with real door handle which the man turned and then opened the door. We walked into a rather posh looking office that was also a library. Banks of vidi screens lined one wall while the other walls were covered in old fashioned, real paper type books. The old and modern sort of clashed a bit, but it wasn’t the room that took my attention more than a nanosecond.

There was a man sitting in a chair facing the window he was on a phone. There was something about him–

Then I sensed someone approaching me from behind. I jumped slightly as I was hugged from behind and suddenly smelled a familiar perfume––

The man turned round in his seat––

Sitting at the desk, with a wide smile on his handsome face was–my Dada!

‘Hello, honey–oh, how we’ve missed you,’ Mummy whispered in my ear as everything went blank––

And now the story continues…

As I awoke, I realised without opening my eyes that I was on some sort of sofa. I felt strange, disorientated and surrounded by lots of people.

‘She’s awake,’ I heard faintly and then it all rushed back. I was away from danger and my parents were here!

My eyes snapped open and there she was–Mummy.

‘Well, you gave us a fright darling. How do you feel?’

‘Weird–I don’t understand, I thought you were–somewhere else. Auntie said that she didn’t know where you were.’

‘She didn’t know. We’ve only been here about five hours. We were smuggled in on a hover from the Indo-China border, late last night.’

I looked around, suddenly we were alone.

‘Where’s Dada, Mummy?’

She smiled.

‘You haven’t called your father that in years or me, Mummy either. It’s nice–so are you. I didn’t realise how beautiful you have become. Those vids never did you justice.’

‘I don’t look–like I did.’

‘No, but you are still the same cuddly, sweet, affectionate child inside–they couldn’t change that.’

‘Where’s Dada?’

‘He had things to do, and will see you later. He wants to have a long chat and a cuddle. Things are a bit hot at the moment and somewhat fluid. There are things going on that you don’t know about. I’m fully aware that you’ve been force fed misleading information by the school and that you will need to be told about the true state of affairs as soon as possible.’

‘Am I safe here?’

‘As safe as anywhere. We are just outside the jurisdiction of Alysia Wellgood, her corrupt government and in a place that is a rarity; an independent state, although until recently, tied somewhat to the United Kingdom, physically and historically…

‘We’re on the Isle Of Man?’

‘You guessed? Clever girl; but how did you know?’

‘Easy-peasy. There are three legs running round in a circle on the wall behind you.’

She turned round and laughed when she saw the Isle of Man’s three legged Triskele symbol on the wall.

‘So much for security! Yes, that’s where we are. Look, how do you feel? Are you up for a walk?’

I felt the back of my head under my shoulder-length hair and winced. Mummy noticed my expression.

‘Still hurts? You had to have that tracker removed, they had no choice. Maybe we should leave things for a bit.’

‘No, it’s all right; I could do with stretching my legs.’

She helped me up and I felt a bit wobbly for a moment but very quickly was okay.

~ §~

We passed several people on the way out of the French window that led into the manicured gardens. Everyone greeted us and were very friendly. I held Mummy’s arm as we walked along the gravel path that surrounded the house.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but held myself in check because I knew Mummy had something on her mind and I would wait until she had spoken before I asked my questions.

‘So, sweetie, how do you like being a girl?’

‘I felt very peculiar at first and then I sort of got used to it. I don’t know if I could possibly go back to being a boy now. I did wonder if it was part of my indoctrination or assimilation that helped make me accept girlhood so readily. Even now, I don’t know if the feelings I have now are true or just part of some elaborate brainwashing that makes me feel like I do.’

‘We don’t know, honey. We’ve got doctors here who will find out what’s been done to you and correct things if need be. Look, let’s go and sit on that bench by the lake and I’ll try to tell you what’s going on.’

We strolled to the wooden bench and sat down. I was glad to sit because I was still feeling rather tired from all that had happened to me. As I sat holding my mother’s hand, in the beautiful surroundings of the gardens with the house behind, I wondered if I was dreaming all this and whether I might soon wake up in my room at the school with Helena saying ‘Hello, dear, I am glad that you are back with us.’

I shivered slightly at that thought.

‘Are you cold, honey?’

‘No, just a bad thought. Tell me, Mummy, what has been going on?’

‘You have a right to know what had been happening. Where do I start?’

She gazed at me, her expression serious and yet full of the compassion and love that she felt for me.

‘I’ll tell you how we escaped from Indo-China at some other time. It’s much more important for you to know what’s happening on the larger stage. I’ll go back a bit first: not everything that you’ll have heard over the past few days, months and years was incorrect. The world does have a crisis in that female babies are not being born. This has caused great hardship in many countries including our own. Indo-China, The Middle East and many African countries have suffered with revolution, regime change, bloodshed and economic turmoil. The boundaries of Europe have been re written several times and France is now the dominant country within their somewhat reduced union with the remainder of what used to be called Europe.

‘Russia re-invaded the countries which they once ruled with an iron fist under Stalin including Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and many of the Baltic states such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. South America as a whole is a closed continent and no information of any consequence is coming out of there. There was nearly a war, though, when Mexico was overrun by the South-Am army.’

I sat closer to Mummy and she gave me a hug while she continued to speak. All this talk of turmoil around the world made me shiver slightly.

‘The world has totally changed from when I was a child, in just a few short turbulent years. The United Kingdom was not immune to these problems and a succession of governments failed to stop an economic crisis that swept the world. Online voting was introduced 15 years ago and we now know that these votes were rigged. The present party in power–The Progressive Unionists–gained power by hacking the ’puter programs and massaging the figures. How they were not found out is a matter of speculation, but it is more than likely that key personnel were either bought or threatened.

‘What are you telling me Mummy? That our leaders are criminals?’

‘Yes they are. But they are, or have been untouchable. It’s all about money and the pursuit of power. Remember, history is written by the winners of wars and bloodless coupes like that which has occurred in our country. Kids like you and thousands of others have been drip fed a version of history and current state of affairs that bears little relation to truth.

‘So you, Dada and the others are against all this?’

‘Of course. It’s strange, we consider ourselves as freedom fighters and the state think that we are terrorists. Here in this house, there are many people who are experts in their fields, who could not live under the totalitarian regime that the UK now has. They have brought their children and we have also managed to free some transformed girls from a school in Reading. That is why you have seen such a wide range of ages here. We hope in time, to increase the numbers and are working on various plans to achieve this.’

‘Why doesn’t the government attack this place?’

‘Good question. The first reason is that the Manx government–on advice from us–contacted the U.S of A & C and then, after some lengthy and protracted negotiations managed to obtain an agreement and treaty that the Isle of Man is a protectorate of that country. The Tynwald–that’s the Manx parliament–agreed overwhelmingly that they did not wish to be part of the UK any longer. The United Kingdom has protested the legality of this, of course, making out a case that the island is already part of the UK, but because of the orbit defences, controlled by U.S of A & C above us, they have little power to do anything about it. Do you understand, sweetheart? You look puzzled.’

‘Heck, Mummy, I’m only 12. All I should be concerned about is what clothes to wear and whether my breasts will stop growing before they get out of control. Now you say that I have been living a lie and all this was part of some desperate power thing. I’m beginning to think that I’m a pawn in some big power game.’

‘It’s no game, love. Many people have died including your friend Davina and others who have ‘failed’ in the experiments that the authorities have carried out over the last several years. We have to stop it and this place and the people within it are willing to do whatever is necessary to rid the UK of Alysia Wellgood’s government and return our country to sanity. Yes, it’s essential that we find an answer to the gender problem, but not at the cost that they were willing to take.’

I gazed across the lake and watched as a swan tried to land on the water gracefully but made a rather splashy hash of it.

‘So what’s my part in this?’ I asked quietly.

She pulled on my arm so I was facing her. I could see the compassion on her face as she struggled to put into words what she had to tell me.

‘Oh, Becky, you’re so pretty; you make a gorgeous girl. I so wanted you to grow up without all this turmoil and hostility hanging over you. Your father and I struggled with our consciences. India was–and still is–a hotbed of conflict. You have no idea of the sleepless nights we had trying to decide whether you should stay in the UK or come with us. In the end we decided that it would be safer to stay at school and be with your friends.

‘All right, we knew there would be a strong chance that you would be chosen, but we hoped that we would be back from India by then. Suddenly, everything went wrong and we couldn’t be with you. Your Aunt Connie told us that Bethany would be at the school and she had been told in a limited way that you were being targeted. Bethany’s a special girl. She always knew that she was a girl in the wrong body. She was given certain drugs to combat the brainwashing. She was told to look out for you. Now your Aunt Connie has always appeared to the authorities that she was a true blue Wellgood supporter. She went out of the way to show that she believed all the crap that she and her party were spouting. Hence, the combination of Connie’s almost religious fervour and fanatical support of the government and Bethany’s over the top girliness, made sure that they were below the radar of any possible suspicion.

‘You still haven’t answered my question, Mummy. What is my part in this?’ I had a knot in my tummy that was getting tighter and tighter and I was becoming more and more upset. So much of this was new to me and I was feeling frustrated, upset and out of my depth.

‘Your part, honey? You didn’t have a part. There was no way that I or your father would ever want you used like this. We just reacted to the situation. We had to protect you and get you out of there as soon as possible. Others were rescued at the same time as you and are coming here by various routes. As far as you are concerned personally; you were impregnated far sooner than expected. The government was under increasing pressure to get results. The country is almost bankrupt and the farming–a strong term, but true–of girls to produce baby girls was strong and increasingly desperate measures––Darling what’s wrong?’

I had begun to cry. I could feel myself drowning. At the back of my mind, the thing that I dreaded was coming out. I wanted to know, I had to know. I looked at Mummy. She didn’t realise what I was going through; how could she? I was promptly sick all over my skirt. I felt faint and didn’t–no couldn’t–articulate what I wanted to say. A few moments later, I was picked up by some strong arms and carried somewhere. I was so upset, that I didn’t know or care where I was taken; but what seemed moments later, I felt myself being gently put down on something soft. I didn’t open my eyes. I couldn’t open my eyes. If I did that, I would have to face my demons and the awful truth.

~ §~

I must have slept because when I woke up it was quite dark. I was in bed and I could feel smooth satin against my skin. I didn’t feel sick anymore but relaxed and contented. I knew where I was; in a safe place and I wasn’t much concerned about anything, and then I remembered. It all came back with a rush.

‘Oh God!’ I cried, shutting my eyes as tears started streaming down my face…someone was wiping my brow with a damp cloth. I opened my eyes and there was Mummy. She looked concerned and had obviously been crying herself.

‘I am so sorry, Becky. I didn’t realise. I was stupid telling you all those things without thinking of the consequences. You’ve been through hell; I should have waited––’

‘–Mummy, i—it wasn’t that. I needed to know. It–it was–just that I was so scared.’

‘I know love, we’re all scared–’

‘You don’t understand!’ I sat up, angrily brushing the hair out of my eyes, ‘I know that things were bad. I know that I have been lied to. I know that my friend had been murdered. What I don’t know is–have I been raped to get this baby inside me?’

I slumped back on the bed, exhausted by the effort of trying to get through to the one woman that I loved more than any other in the world.

I felt her hand on my cheek and opened my eyes. She was leaning over me, looking as beautiful as I had ever seen her. Everyone had said that she was a beauty and I had received the occasional backhanded compliment–even as a boy–that I looked very like her in many ways…

‘Rebecca,’ she said softly, ‘I promise you that you have not been raped. Our doctors examined you when you were under anaesthetic to have the implant removed and there was no sign of any sexual activity except that there were indications that you had been artificially inseminated. We also know from contacts that the methods used to impregnate girls were done using strict guidelines which explicitly made sure that sexual intercourse was not used under any circumstances. It was only due to this that the medical teams agreed to be part of the programme.’

I gazed at her and felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. I knew I was pregnant and eventually would–if all went well–have a baby. I could deal with that as I would have to, but if the baby was as a result of forced sex or rape, I would have had major problems with the child, even though he or more probably she, was not at fault.

‘Feeling better?’

I nodded weakly.

‘Look you have had a hard time of it and the doctor has given you something to calm you down. Get some sleep and we’ll talk in the morning.’

‘All right.’ I said feeling very tired and drained of emotion.

‘Goodnight, dear.’

‘Mummy?’

‘Yes, honey?’

‘Please never call me “dear”. Helena used to do that and I want to forget.’

‘Who is Helena?’

‘The ’puter in our rooms at school.’

‘All right, honey, I’ll remember and tell your father not to too!’

‘When can I see Dada?’ I yawned.

‘Before breakfast tomorrow. He can’t wait to see you but has pressing matters to attend to and so have I come to that. Now be a good girl, turn over, go to sleep and hopefully you’ll feel a lot better in the morning.’

‘’Night, Mummy.’ I said closing my eyes.

‘Goodnight, Becky darling, sleep tight.’

~ §~

I awoke gradually and realised that I wasn’t alone. I was being cuddled by someone who was spooned behind me. That fact that that someone’s arm was encased in a rather shocking pink concoction, kind of made me realise that the person was probably a she–although in these changing times it wasn’t impossible that it could have been a he––

I turned over carefully and was surprised to find Bethany, fast asleep with her mouth open; she was snoring gently and I must admit I felt like a giggling. For some reason, I wasn’t shocked to see her there and just for the fun of it, I tickled her nose with my finger. A few seconds later her nose wrinkled and then she sneezed and opened one eye.

‘Whaa’–what the–Rebecca, stop it!’

I giggled and sat up. There was something missing and I wasn’t sure what it was. Then I realised, I wasn’t feeling nauseous.

‘Wow,’ I squealed, ‘I don’t want to be sick; how cool is that?’

‘Thanks for sharing your thoughts,’ said Bethany yawning, stretching and sitting up too.

‘Erm, Beth?’

‘Mmm?’

‘Not that I mind or anything, but why are you in my bed?’

She looked at me quizzically.

‘You don’t remember?’

‘No.’

‘Well, my room’s next door and I heard this scream last night. It gave me goose pimples, but being all brave and everything; I took my life in my hands and got up. It was soon obvious that the noise was coming from behind your door and as I knew that you were in the room, I came in and saw you tossing and turning, moaning about something or other–it didn’t make any sense–so I thought, rather than get the old’s to sort you out, I’d hop into bed with you and see if I could stop you making all that appalling racket. It worked ’cos you stopped yelling, put your thumb in your mouth and went to sleep again.’

‘I don’t suck my thumb!’

She grabbed my hand and looked closely at my thumb.

‘No? Well, here’s the evidence.’

Looking at my thumb, it did look a bit prune like–

‘Well anyway,’ I said changing the subject, ‘It’s great that I haven’t got morning sickness…or is that wrong, should I have it? Maybe there’s something wrong–?’

I had become all upset again. I just hated the way my moods swung one way and then the other.

‘Becky, now stop that. I have been reading the books–I thought that they may do the impregnate thing with me, and wanted to know all I could but I obviously wasn’t cooked enough or whatever they call it. Anyway, the books say that you don’t always have morning sickness and sometimes it just goes away by itself. Anyway, I wouldn’t mind betting that the doc’s gave you something to stop the yuckie stuff. Do you know that this place is stiff with doctors? You can’t go two clicks without bumping into one–

Just then the door opened and in walked–

‘–Dada!’

He came to me, smiling broadly and gave me a big hug.

‘Don’t I get one too, Unc?’

Dada looked affectionately at Bethany and, smiling, gave her one too.

‘Right, girls, you have twenty minutes to get–’

‘Unc–’

‘Yes, Bethany, and I do wish you’d call me something other than Unc–’

‘Yeah, right, Unc. Look we girls need at least an hour to make ourselves look beautiful.’

‘An hour! You are only going to have breakfast before the meeting.’

I pricked up my ears. ‘Meeting, Dada?’

‘Yes, we have one every morning evidently. It helps people keep up to speed with any events.’

‘Never mind that,’ said Bethany getting up, trying to sound serious but looking rather silly staring up at my Dada in her shocking pink nightie, ‘we need time to meet our public.’

He smiled down at her and patted her head. I thought that she would blow her top, but she didn’t have time.

‘That’s all right, Bethany, you have an hour and twenty minutes, I must have misread my finger watch.’ He smiled, then winked at me and left.

‘I hate you Uncle,’ Bethany told his retreating back and stamping her foot petulantly. I could hear him laugh as he closed the door.

I just giggled. My Dada was funny sometimes!

~ §~

I dressed casually in a white cotton top and pale pink skirt. Bethany being Bethany wore a frilly peach dress that wouldn’t have looked out of place at a Buckingham Palace garden party. I had to physically restrain her from putting on too much makeup.

We had breakfast in a big hall. There were lots of tables and everyone seemed to muck in. Adults and kids just found a space and sat down. Someone came up to me while I was eating my cereal. I glanced up and saw a lady in a white coat. She had a name badge that said “Doctor Eccles” on her lapel.

‘Rebecca? Hi, we haven’t met but I’m your designated doctor. Can you come and see me for a quick chat after the meeting?’

‘Erm yes, okay?’

‘Here are the details, ask anyone where I am and I‘ll see you later.’

‘See you then,’ she said, smiling. She went to another table and sat down.

~ §~

After breakfast, I followed everyone out with Beth by my side. She had struck up a conversation with a slightly older girl and was giving her tips on makeup. I wasn’t too sure if the advice was being taken or appreciated. I was being a bit shy. I still had a few problems talking ‘girlie’ and would have to brush up my feminine skills, otherwise I might find myself feeling out of place among other females.

We found ourselves in some sort of theatre and found seats about half way back from the stage. On the stage there were several seats and a lectern in the front. The seats on the stage were mostly occupied and I noted that Mummy and Dada were there. I gave them a little wave and they waved back.

The seats in the theatre soon filled up and the lights dimmed. An oldish lady came on to the stage whom I recognised vaguely–then I recalled where I had seen her before, she was Mariah Hepstone, the leader of the Democratic Alliance Party before she disappeared mysteriously a few years back.

She looked around at her audience and smiled.

‘Good morning everyone, especially to those who have just arrived. I will keep this brief as I know that you are all busy. Our agents on the ground have reported that there is a certain amount of panic and disquiet at some of the schools that are being used for The Chosen. This is being monitored and as soon as we know what is behind this, I will report back to you. The UK has once again protested to the US of A & C regarding the situation here on the Isle of Man. They are still arguing that this island is part of the UK. I think the main reason for this is that they are aware that we are here and they want to eliminate us. I have had assurances that far from acquiescing to their demands, our allies are warning the UK that any infringement will result in swift and immediate retaliatory action.

‘I am pleased to be able to announce that one of our agents has returned safely to us from one of the target schools and has kindly agreed to give us some useful inside information concerning the current state of affairs. Please welcome, Sophia Thompson.’

A girl came out of the shadow and advanced to the podium. She was smiling widely and everyone was clapping loudly except me and Bethany. She went to Mariah Hepstone and shook her hand. Bethany held my arm in a vice-like grip and I turned to her, appalled to catch sight of the person standing in the spotlight and beaming at everyone–Mariette––!

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To be continued…

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My thanks go to the brilliant and lovely Gabi for editing, help with the plot-lines and pulling the story into shape.