New Breed

New Breed
by
Bobby Derie

Priya did not like the maternity wing. Not anymore. The new babies didn't cry. Not once. It was unnerving, when she made her rounds, to see their calm blue eyes follow her, strangely knowing. Yet it was still better than attending at the births. All the excitement and trauma was still there, but now there was an underlying unease. Would the baby be normal or would it come out...perfect? Priya hated that word. She hated the slight green tint that had come to the amniotic fluid that presaged the birth of the next species. Even now, as she made her rounds, she could smell the babies in their cribs, waiting quietly for their parents to take them home. Smelling faintly of mint.