from The Quarantine Ceremony
Eric Beeny

Leaving the room, Aaron could see the doctor and the nurse shifting Kayla, her back to them as they prepped the needle.
Kayla looked at Aaron, and he tried seeing her as long as he could before another nurse escorted him out of the room.
He crouched in the hallway on the floor, staring opposite.
The doctor passed him, saying nothing.
The nurse came out, calling, "It's okay now."
In the room, Kayla was smiling, an ethereal glow.
She put her hand out, and Aaron held it gently.
"How’re you feeling?" he said.
She said, "I can’t feel."
"Don't you have to push soon?"
"I don't know," she said. "Maybe."
Aaron looked at the monitor, its beeping sound, each heartbeat a crop sprouting from the soil of Kayla’s flatline.

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