Ex Machina

By J. Rock

A scifi short story.

Something is seriously wrong with Parvati's baby.
When she'd dreamt about the moment she'd meet her daughter, as she had so many times over the past nine months, the last thing she imagined was that it would be half machine...

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Rock
• Release date: Jul 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476183091

J. Rock

J. Rock lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and works inthe Parks & Recreation department. Other than writing andreading, J. enjoys camping, fishing, mountain biking, andplays bass guitar in a local alternative band. He is currently atwork on a new scifi story, In Other Worlds.Contact J. Rock: [e-mail] on the web: http://dinosaurianovels.webs.com/eBooks by J. Rock, available at all major online retailers:Everwinter: The Forerunner ArchivesDinosauria Volume IPart I: A Memory of TimePart II: GardenPart III: Twin City CrossroadsPart IV: NuevogatoDinosauria Volume IIPart V: This Is WarPart VI: PurplePart VII: Supermassive Black HolePart VIII: The HarrowingDinosauria Volume IIIPart IX: The Hunt for the NuevogatoPart X: The Twisted CombinationPart XI: A Brief History of DinosauriaPart XII: Worthy AdversaryDinosauria: The Complete Volumes I, II, & IIIThe Dinosauria Cycle (Volumes I-III)The Death Clock - a short storyEx Machina - a short storyUpcoming Works (working titles):Untitled Forerunner Archives Sequel (2015)In Other Worlds (2015)Contact J. Rock: [e-mail]

Book preview

Ex Machina

a short story by

J. Rock

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Copyright 2012 by J. Rock

All art/graphics by J. Rock

Contact the author: [e-mail]

Discover other titles by J. Rock:

http://www.amazon.com/J.-Rock

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Ex Machina

Parvati screamed.

She felt like the skin between her legs was being ratcheted open, the tissue widening and tearing, fiber by fiber, as her baby came into the world. Her heart not so much pounded in her chest as it tried to burst out–she expected to feel it smash through her ribcage at any moment. Her breath was hurried and the nurse kept telling her to regulate it, lest she hyperventilate and pass out. Parvati brushed a chunk of sweaty black hair out of her face, revealing the intensity within her violet-blue eyes.

You’re doing fine, Miss Kane, Dr. Greyson told her soothingly, peeking his masked face from between her legs. The baby’s crowning, it’s almost over. You’re going to have to give it one more push, hard as you can.

Parvati nodded, trying to ignore the acid eating away at her lower body. Just get it out, she said between haggard breaths.

Greyson chuckled, Okay, here we go. Ready? One...

Parvati gripped the nurse’s hand in an iron vice, sucked in deeply, and arched her back, focusing on the run-of-the-mill hospital room around her rather than the pain.

Two... Greyson counted. She closed her eyes, preparing herself to finally meet the life that had been growing inside her for the past nine months.

Three…push! Greyson cried.

Parvati opened her eyes.

When she did, a man was standing at the end of her bed…and it wasn’t Dr. Greyson. His face was a tan color, and completely misshapen; it looked like a crumpled paper grocery bag, like burlap. His mouth was sewn shut with big, exaggerated cross stitches. His eyes were just holes, rough and torn at the edges. He wore a ripped and filthy straw hat, obscuring much of his terrible face, but she could still feel his eyes–and they held her. He was dressed in ancient denim overalls and a paisley shirt, like a farmer.

He was a scarecrow.

Andie, the scarecrow said, and reached for her.

Parvati screamed, but Dr. Greyson took it as a matter of course–she’d been screaming regularly for the past six hours, after all. Parvati took her eyes off the intruder momentarily and looked up at the nurse, but the nurse was focused entirely on the delivery, and did not notice the bizarre figure. Parvati still held the nurse’s hand, and so she squeezed it harder, willing her to take notice, but the nurse’s cold, hard hand barely yielded beneath her grip. Exasperated, Parvati forced her gaze back on the intruder...

But he was gone.

She gasped then smiled foolishly. It had been nothing but a hallucination, brought on by extreme stress and exhaustion, she decided. Without another thought, Parvati tensed her groin muscles, squeezing her child out of her womb. She felt a massive pressure build, then begin to slowly slide out. This was it! It was almost over!

Have I ever seen a scarecrow before? Like, in real life?

Parvati suddenly