[ WP ] You live in a dystopian world where for ever child you have , you can kill one person of the same gender .

“ Please be a boy. Please be a boy. Please be a boy. ” 
 
 I could hear him chanting under his breath as he knelt down in front of my legs. The pain, the familiar shocks of electricity that coursed through my body as if the sun were being forced through my womb, raked my insides till a fresh scream burst through my lips. 
 
 “ Deep breaths, baby. Deep breaths. ” He looked up at me, eyes wide, lips spread in a smile. Fucking asshole couldn ’ t imagine the cost of his ambition. I focused on the poster of the Governor, which hung on every wall in every ruin, but Dan couldn ’ t stand it the grin on the poster. Dan wanted to be Governor. So Dan picked me to have his child. 
 
 My child. My first. I took a deep breath; everything felt red. Dan ’ s place was home to raccoons and roaches and the occasional stray dog. He called them delicacies. 
 
 Another convulsion. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to shut out his prayers, as I pushed. Lights burst beneath my eyelids; my nails dug crescent moons into my palm. 
 
 “ You ’ re going to be my queen, baby. My queen. ” He spread my knees. “ I can see it, our ticket to the throne. ” His voice was high with excitement. I gritted my teeth, ready to smack him upside the head. 
 
 Another deep breath, another scream, and then silence. Shaking, shivering, and cold with sweat, I opened my eyes. Dan came into focus; he held a sticky blob in his hands, still connected to me through a wire. He stared down at it, his face fallen. The scar on his right cheek made it seem like he was crying. 
 
 “ Give me my baby, ” I gasped. As if on automatic, he swiveled his arms forward, and I took my child into my arms. A boy. A baby boy who wasn ’ t breathing. Tears, fresh tears, welled up in my eyes. My body could break and heal, but my heart? 
 
 Dan stood up and turned away. 
 
 I prayed. I prayed to every single god that had risen since the asteroid hit New York. I even prayed to the Governor. 
 
 “ Fucking bitch. ” Dan threw a brick through his window, the only window we had. The glass shattered with a scream. “ Fucking wench couldn ’ t even give me a kid. ” 
 
 “ Dan, please. ” I held back a sob; I held my child to my chest. 
 
 He slowly turned to me, his eyes on fire. “ Now I have to try again, ” he spat through gritted teeth. I could see an artery raging on his forehead. “ Fucking again. ” He took a step toward me. 
 
 
 I swallowed. I held the baby close, sticky, warm, and still. Dan bent down and picked up another brick. 
 
 I squeezed my child; Dan raised his hand high over his head. And then a wail filled the room. 
 
 Dan crumpled to the floor, landing in a puddle of blood and trash. 
 
 My baby boy was alive. 

