Carla snoozed the afternoon away. Trucks started arriving from the Kiwi volunteers. Most went into the hospital tent, and a few evac’ed to the HMNZS Te Kaha. A large number of people were trucked to Yagoonya and the base away from the zone. I caught glimpses of Amanda, but she was frantically busy. The Americans and the Aussies were also in full ‘Enhancing’ mode. I started to wonder why they were going to destroy the anomaly. Politics, probably.

I knew the medical staff wanted as much help as they could, and I did for a bit, but then I went wandering off. I had a lot on my mind. Rich found me before I had gone too far into the bush. Then I remembered Ata saying we should not go off alone. Soph sent him to find me. Bloody hell, they are getting to know me too well.

We wandered a bit into the Anomaly zone. The boundary was not a straight cut-off. It was where the essence was strong enough for me to sense. There is minor essence in the camp already, which is why the staff are short-handed and a lot of people are being transported to Yagoonya.

Bloody hell. Pregnant. What the hell am I going to do about that? Not that there is anything I can do about that. Ata is keeping the kid. It sounds like she might stick around, too. She and Carla are getting on much too well for my liking.

Fuck.

Either I ditch all three of them, or I have to deal with this. I am no bloody father, that is for sure. I certainly didn’t have any sort of role model to go off.

Fuck.

I smiled a bit. It was fucking that got me into this situation. Ata said she was on the pill. I should have had that vasectomy I was considering. I should have used protection regardless. I know nothing is foolproof. Fool, being the operative word here.

Should have, should have, should have.

Fuck. Too late now.

Do I ditch them, or do I deal? I know the North Koreans will have me, no questions asked.

If I try to deal, I am going to fail. I guess the consolation prize is that I can’t fail as badly as my father. I guess if I do stick around, I need to try to be as less of a failure as I can. Wow, what a goal to aim for. I guess dear old dad is a role model. A role model of what not to do.

I could ditch them all. It leaves Carla high and dry, but I could. She could live semi-normally in skin. They could get away from all this and settle back into life in Auckland or any city, really. I don’t think Carla would ever be happy with the quiet life. She has had a taste of the danger and adventure and thrives on it. That is why she is willing to go through the pain of changing forms. Soph is Carla’s rock. She and Carla could still adventure without her changing forms. They could join the military. There are plenty of options for them.

What about me? Could I be happy with them? Or the question is, would I be happier with them than alone? I can survive alone fine. I have quite enjoyed working with Carla and Soph. They leave me alone when I need to be, like now. Soph sends Rich to look out for me - and check on me. She cares. She shows it in the little things like sending Rich and not hassling me.

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Carla, Soph and I have settled into a working relationship that suits us all. Now, there is Ata and a baby. Ata is a big, powerful Maori woman, and it is the baby I am scared of. Shit. I am scared of how my life will change. A kid needs looking after. They are bloody helpless. Shit, how can I wipe their ass with my sense of smell. What is the chance of their mutation making them fart rainbows? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Then, there is a mutation to consider on top of the normal baby issues. It could be cripple for life. It could mutate digestive problems like Eliza's. Yeah, right. It is Ata’s baby, not Soph. And my baby. If the mutations follow the parents, they will have a selection of our mutations, enhancements, or whatever they are called. Probably good eyes, as we both have that. Oh, hell no. It is going to shit poison, isn’t it?

Calm the fuck down, man. There are competent medical people around to help.

First question. Will Ata stick around? If she gets on well with Carla and Soph, then the answer is probably. In spite of me. Soph will definitely be interested in helping with the baby. Carla, not so much.

Can I live with them and a baby? I don’t know. That is the problem. I. Dont. Know. Ata, I can probably live with. A baby? I don’t know if I can live with a baby until it arrives. Seven months and counting down.

Do I want to try and see how badly I fail, or do I bail out now? Fuck. I had a nice quiet life on my own, and then Carla invited herself to Waiheke. Bloody mutations are messing with emotions, I am sure of it.

The fluorescent blue one definitely had an emotional component, but there is no sign the dark turquoise one does. What do the colours mean? The kid is fluorescent blue like Ata and me. If it was Soph’s kid, I would expect mental and emotional shit like her bonds. Ata is a very physical woman.

I don’t know. I don’t know shit.

Do I stick around? If I am going to leave, I need to do it well before the kid arrives. If I did it after, I would have Carla and Ata out to kill me, literally. That might happen anyway; not even the North Koreans might be enough to stop them.

I don’t have to decide now. The first thing is how Ata fits in and if she sticks around.

I head back to camp, but Rich stops growing at something. It is fully dark now, but I can boost my eyes to see better. I draw the machete I am carrying. Is it a person or an animal? I can’t smell human or hear human sounds like a heartbeat. Animal then.

The night has gone quiet. I can hear the base camp in the distance. There are several common scents on the wind: snakes, mice, and various small creatures. It could be any of the above or something different. It could be masking its presence by using essence. That might be why Rich can sense it, and I can’t. Fuck, the world has become a more dangerous place.

I direct Rich around where he thinks there is a danger to try to avoid a fight. He does respond to me, and we move away slowly. Anything mutated could be a danger. The smallest mouse might carry a new plague. I remember the termite mound spraying acid at Ngoi. Then, there are strange essence abilities like Eliza's. Yeah, it makes sense to try to destroy the anomaly and slow the mutations.

We do make it back to camp without a fight. Rich is his own form of intimidation. I open out the tent flap to enter. Three faces turn to look at me. Three female faces. Shit. This has turned into some weird as, harem apocalypse thing, hasn’t it? I almost turned around to go and find the thing Rich was growling at to end it, but then I got shoved into the tent. Rich wants in, and he trotted over to lie next to Soph’s cot.

Fuck. What the hell am I going to do?