Baby Farm

In her mind echoed the words of Jose Cartegna, the owner of the Baby Farm, who had recently displayed for her and the other baby-makers what happened when a woman tried to escape. The pregnant woman had been stripped naked and put on display in the middle of the courtyard. "She will be taught the ultimate lesson. No one can defy Mr. Cartegna," he said. The woman was dragged into detention and punished.

The words fueled her efforts. She kept herself in motion, mile after dusty mile. After a while, she felt as if she was walking in cement, and she struggled to keep going. Looking back at the Farm, the memories of her confinement rushed through her veins and informed her body to once again move on.

After another hour of meandering through wild brush and palmetto swamps, she found herself at the edge of a town. She rested and regained her strength, then set out again. She stopped at a little store and took out what little savings she had to buy enough food to survive. She made her way into the center of town and found a small park and a bench to lie down on, her body filled with exhaustion. As she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of a life spent sharing time with her husband and her baby. She was as happy as she had ever been, and felt as if she was held in comforting hands as she relaxed.

Suddenly she awoke, startled by the two pair of hands which grabbed her. She looked up to see two dreadfully familiar faces, Cartegna’s assistants at the Farm. She kicked and struggled as the men carried her towards a nearby van. "Don’t take me back there! No, please!" As she was shoved into the van, Angie looked back to see a man with a ponytail rushing across the park towards her and the men. "Help me!" she creamed, but the man was too far away. The van door was slammed shut, and the men quickly hopped in and drove off.