6.

The particular hospital Greta Turner has come to be in has never dealt with the likes of what Greta unintentionally brings, safe to say in fact that many places have not dealt with cases anything like that relating to Miss Turner. She, not for the first time, had a bout of emanating high levels of electricity. To make her case all the more ... odd ... is the fact that the source of the energy build up within her so happens to be the child she is carrying.

To be on the safe side of things, for Greta's safety and the safety of everyone else within the building, guards in the form of orderlies are posted to the one patient bedroom Greta has to herself, to keep her there as much as help her and possibly as much too to protect the group who work to get to the bottom of her particular ... case.

Indeed, there is a lot riding on this, the care of a patient, the future of her unborn child and all that comes with being the first hospital to deal with such a case. For Greta Turner IS a most unusual case. The electrical energy which builds up within her does so to the point where it needs to vent every so often. Such a thing needs to be addressed.

Greta is nervous, she is afraid, something that had never really been her. Strong and confident is or was her default setting. The attack upon her shook her confidence though her strength remained. She has been through so much already and now is trapped or at least she feels trapped within a hospital room, imprisoned with orderlies on guard, imprisoned by a pregnancy forced upon her. She needs to be gone; she needs to be elsewhere, anywhere at all. She also needs to be here too even if she doesn't want to be. She gets out of bed and begins to get dressed.

'What are you doing?' asks Florence Reardon, a founding member of a ladies shelter who has come to Greta's aid and is still currently with her. She had stepped out of the hospital room and appears to have stepped back just at the right moment.

'I can't stay here. I need to be making money and I need to prepare for the future. I can't do that if I am stuck in here.'

'There won't be much of a future if you aren't looked after first. The shelter will aid with finances as much as possible. We have many organizations who aid us and those with whom the foundation helps so don't worry because that includes you. We need to get on top of things while we can. If they don't take the best of care of you here, then they will have me to deal with. Do you understand what I am saying?'

The hustle and bustle of Greta trying to get herself up and ready comes to a stop and Florence does all she can to ensure things become calm. The orderlies had no need to interfere in this moment though they do want to do their job. For the time being, Florence is staying put. She'll do her part to keep the calm. Potential answers are coming ... hopefully.

Five days pass and not so much a solution is coming as a temporary fix. It is far too difficult to determine why the fetus is generation so much electricity or as to why both baby and mother are able to survive it. Maybe once the child has been born, a way to determine cause and effect might come, and as it is ... determining anything is very much unlikely, quite impossible in fact if truth could be known.

For now, a serum has been developed to prevent a buildup of electricity. All going well it will regulate the body. Mum will regularly be injected, and the effects will pass on from mother to daughter, yeah Greta Turner is to have a daughter, obvious indeed if truth could be known. Mum will be closely monitored after she does become a mother.

The proper downside to this is that if it can't be determined or stopped as to why exactly this is occurring then the unborn child, when she does come, will have to regularly receive injections throughout her life.

Of course, there will be no medical way to determine that this child will be or already is a child of Satan, not that anyone could know of such a thing even with it being suspected in places, and with that being such there will be no possible way to regulate an injection all through her life especially when the devil himself will have a say on and in the life of the child. When he feels the timing is right, he surely will interfere.

Such a day of interference will be that of when the child turns ten years of age.

***

A milestone has come as mum sees it; this milestone has been made safely and much easier than anticipated, as such is, she is determined to celebrate the event. Early on a Saturday morning, it is time to get things started. Greta has been preparing all week, making a big deal out of the arrival of a tenth birthday.

Phone has been ringing non-stop and things are looking good. It is going to be a great day, and nothing is going to stop it from being so until, that is, Greta goes to her daughter Lonnie's room to get her up and to get the day properly underway.

Half past nine and Greta knocks upon Lonnie's bedroom door.

'Hey, you in there' she says with a smile. 'Get your bum up out of bed, c'mon let's go.' Mum begins to move away expecting to hear a reply of some sort but there isn't one. 'Lonnie, honey, are you alright in there?'

Greta opens the door this time expecting groans of 'it's my birthday ... I wanna sleep a while more' or something of the sorts. Instead, she gets an empty bedroom. Lonnie is not in her bed; she is not in her room at all. The room too is immaculate. Lonnie has generally always been tidy. When mum asks her to tidy up after herself, she usually does but the bedroom right now looks as if no one has spent the night within it.

Alright, a slight panic, nothing too serious, yet. There is always the bathroom. It too is unlocked and empty, now is time for worry and to allow some panic in. A quick search of the rest of the house and the immediate area outside confirms Lonnie is definitely not home. Where did Lonnie go the evening before if not to her bed to sleep? Greta begins to pace where it is she has come to be and as she does so she calls the first number on her speed dial. It rings out five times before it is answered.

'Florence, she's not here ...'

'Hold on, who is not where?'

'Lonnie ... my daughter ... she's not here ... she's not home.'

'Alright ... don't panic ... has she had her injection yet?'

'No ... and if she doesn't get it soon ...'

Whatever happened to Lonnie, whether she got herself somewhere or not, whether someone took her or not, there is not just the worry to get her back safe and sound but the worry too to get her injection in her before it really hits the fan. What has happened is something mum could not have anticipated.

The evening before, mother and daughter had a movie night with the works, popcorn, fizzy drinks and plenty of sweets. Lonnie even got to choose the movie. A few minutes after the movie came to an end Lonnie stated how tired she was and of how much she was looking forward to the following day. She kissed her mum 'goodnight' and said she'd see her the next day.

'Want me to tuck you in?'

'No mum, that's OK, I'm not a little kid anymore ...'

This had made Greta smile, if only she had have known that it would be the last time for quite some time that she would see Lonnie in any shape or form. The night Greta was attacked there was an unnatural shadow which appeared to have an agenda of its own, something Greta could not understand at all. After this night she never really paid much attention to the memory of that shadow. What Greta could not know was that during the week prior to a tenth birthday Lonnie had been visited by a shadow on more than one occasion.

Not only had Lonnie been visited by a shadow, but she also communicated with it too. It had been around before but not like it had in recent days. Before the shared movie night began, the shadow gave Lonnie instructions and this is why she did not want to be tucked in. Unbeknown to mum, Lonnie had a backpack packed. When the movie did come to an end and Lonnie was clear of mum, she moved to her room. Lonnie put socks and shoes on, and a jacket too, and as quietly as she could she went outside.

Mum, wanting Lonnie to feel like a big girl, did not check in with Lonnie before heading to bed herself and this is something with which she will have great difficulty in getting past.