Conceived in Blood, A Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

her any attention.
    She plunged the metal cup into the pot, netting bits of the floating green herbs before pulling it out. Through the clear broth, she spied chunks of wild onion, potato and carrots. That should do, Nattie.  Belle looked toward the edge of camp.
    As if feeling her gaze, a grizzled woman rose from her pile of rags. Dirty fingers clutched a threadbare blanket around her shoulders. Her emaciated frame formed hard angles and bumps under the cloth as she walked. Pale blue eyes surveyed her under matted salt and pepper hair. Nattie paused ten feet away.
    Belle nodded and held the cup out to her.
    Nattie hunched lower in her covering but shuffled closer.
    "You're not supposed to feed her."
    Belle jumped before turning so the speaker stood in her peripheral vision.  About time Ann woke up, and did her fair share of the work. Slamming the lid on the pot, Belle straightened. Pain strapped her back and across her distended belly. She set her free hand on her spine as Nattie reached for the cup.
    "I could tell our husband."
    Ann always wanted to tell their 'Vider. The girl seemed enamored of the brute. Belle tightened her muscles to stop the shudder. Weakness should never be shown. Never. "Then do so."
    Nattie sipped the brew while her attention darted between the two of them. A spark appeared in her faded blue eyes before it flickered out.
    There but for the God's eternal grace. Belle scratched the stretched skin through her patched dress. The baby shifted at her touch. Then again, maybe her future was shivering in front her. 
    Ann stomped closer and held her palms to the fire. "You think I won't just because you're pregnant."
    Belle clamped her lips together. The girl needed to learn her place. Belle had only to answer to her 'Vider or the head Provider.
    "You're right." Ann sighed and raked her fingers through her tousled dark brown locks. "I won't because..." For a moment, fear blazed in the girl's eyes. She scanned the camp before shifting closer to Belle. "Because I think I'm pregnant too."
    Two of his tributes pregnant? Her 'Vider should be strutting like a cock through camp. Belle eyed their tent. And yet, the brute still slept. Turning slightly, she raked Ann from head to feet.
    At sixteen winters, the roundness of childhood hadn't left the girl's apple cheeks and her overlarge breasts didn't disguise her narrow hips. Ann set her hand over her rounded belly. The girl's stomach didn't appear any larger than when she'd arrived two months ago. 
    But then Belle hadn't shown for nearly four months after her bleeding time had stopped. Her 'Vider had finally stopped raping her at seven months, when Nattie had said she'd lose the baby. The brute had wanted his seed and had used other tributes to fulfill his needs.
    Nattie laughed, flashing black teeth in red gums. Bits of white potato clung to her tongue.  The neighbor woman behind her shuffled backward.
    Straightening, Ann fisted her cotton skirt. "What's so funny!"
    Belle shifted in front of the older woman. Only a handful of people in the village hit Nattie anymore, most feared her craziness was contagious. But Ann was new. Things tended to change when new blood mingled with the old. And it usually wasn't for the better. "How long has it been since your monthly blood-letting?"
    "Two weeks." Licking her lips, Ann glanced at their tent. "Our 'Vider took me at least ten times during my bleeding time. He says he wants a strong son and that's the only way to get it."
    Conceived in blood, bathed in blood, and sustained by blood that was the 'Vider way. Belle hated it with everything inside her, prayed daily to be delivered from this hell. "Have you told our 'Vider of your suspicions?"
    Nattie's cackling died when she raised the cup to her lips. Tapping on the bottom, she shuffled away to the thump of metal.
    "No. I don't want him to turn his attentions to you."
    The brute had never turned his attention off Belle. Despite having a girl willing and able to do anything