Title: The Calling Of One
Genre: Adult Upmarket Apocalyptic
Word Count: 88K
Query:
Mikenna Lawson
wakes up every morning wishing she wasn’t the last human ever born. When the
human race makes the permanent decision to stop reproducing, Mikenna imagines
herself as the second Eve, and repopulating the Earth.
But Mikenna
doesn’t know she was born during a time when reproduction was illegal; that her
mother, Anna, had risked both their lives for a chance at life. So when she
learns from her Aunt Rebekah that she was sterilized at birth, her hopes come
crashing down. One day she’s Googling images of babies to see if they look like
the ones she sees in her dreams. The next day she’s contemplating suicide so
someone else can be the last. And despite
her wonderful husband, Mikenna abstains from sexual relations because of its
emotional connection to her sterilization.
As Mikenna nears
menopause, and the human race dwindles, she discovers what she should’ve known
years before: she was never sterilized. Rebekah had known all along that the
doctor who delivered Mikenna saved her from the sterilization.
The truth tears
at Mikenna’s heart as the dream of having a child, and continuing the human
race, becomes possible. But she’ll have to decide if fulfilling her own desire
is worth subjecting an innocent child to the burdens of an empty world.
Each leaden footstep Anna
took through her unlit home brought her closer to the garage; closer to victory;
and each painstaking step symbolized defiance against The Decision. At the end
of the hallway she measured the distance to her next supporting wall and shuffled
on. But a growing ache halted her at the dining room table. In desperation, she
grasped the closest chair, breathing quick, rapid breaths. Her back shuddered,
as if the Earth had just shifted across her spine, and it threatened to bring
her body down in a crumbling mess. Her contracting muscles pulsed, hastening
her daughter toward an undeserved life.
“Oh, my precious little
girl,” Anna whispered, “I’m sorry I got you into this. I’m sorry, Mikenna, but
one day you’ll know . . . my heart was selfless.”
At the point of collapse,
Anna grit her teeth, and with a huff of determination, heaved herself up. She
pushed off, and continued on with trembling knees through her hiding place, her
cage. Five steps more, and Anna turned toward the living room. David stood to
the side of the window, concealing himself in the darkness, holding the curtain
back slightly with his pointer finger. A shaft of light from the afternoon sun
snuck past and landed on the carpet, exposing a flurry of dust.
“I’m ready,” Anna beckoned. “David
. . . please?”
Anna waited. Her labored
breathing filled the silence.
“Where are They?” David mocked,
looking outside. “They have to know.”
“They can’t,” Anna pleaded.
“Please, God, They can’t.
