I had spent a loving six weeks with my baby boy Jasper before I received the letter in the mail. It came in a fancy light blue sealed envelope, with the simple words “new mom”. It didn’t display my address nor a return address. “Huh, weird?” I thought to myself, “must be from one of my neighbours”. I opened the letter to reveal an invitation to a free trip for new mom and baby. The letter described that a research company, FetaTech, has been interested in studying the effects of time zone changes, on maternal/baby sleep cycles. In order to make volunteers more enticed, a free vacation to an ‘island getaway’ was offered. The letter continued to state that during this vacation is when the research would be conducted. A phone number was provided to call to receive more information.

My initial reaction was to throw away the letter. It wasn’t uncommon to receive spam mail that ended up being a scam or something along those lines of: “come on this free trip, once purchasing this overpriced/unnecessary item!!!”. However, something intrigued me to look into it further. A quick google search yielded no results. I decided to call my girlfriend who had had a baby a few months prior to myself, to see if she had received something similar. “Yeah, I got the same letter! Weird there was no address, but I called the number and it sounds legit” Jen said, “Little Luke and I plan to attend, because if you’re as tired as I am, getting away somewhere sounds amazing. Even if it’s with the baby!”. I told her I would think about it and get back to her, she was right though, travelling away from home for a bit would be nice. Although I love Jasper, getting out of this house would be a good change of scenery.

When my husband returned home from work, I showed him the letter. He looked over it with skepticism, but seeing how tired I was from taking care of Jasper, he softened a little. “I know you’re tired hun, but this letter is just a little sketchy” Oliver stated, “I can take you on a trip with the baby in a few months! Just give me time to save”. Oliver wasn’t wrong that the letter came at random, but I pushed harder, “Jen called the number and she said it sounds legit! Please Oliver, I’ve thought this over all day and I’d really like to attend. It would be nice to be in a place where people understand the great, yet overwhelming experience of becoming a new mom” I pleaded. Oliver looked hard over the letter again, and with a sigh told me to call the number.

The next day I called, and Jen was right, it did sound legitimate. No purchase necessary. I provided my address and they would send the plane tickets in the mail in two weeks time, and we would fly out two days after. A private island off the coast of Mexico owned by the company, would be our destination; I could hardly wait and began packing that night.

Two weeks dragged on before I received the plane tickets. Jen and I had gone shopping to purchase some new outfits for ourselves and babe. “Mexico, I am SO excited” exclaimed Jen. I agreed with her, I had never been to Mexico before and felt this was a much deserved reward for carrying my little munchkin for nine months. Jen and I carpooled to the airport two days later; a sea of moms and babies met us with a deafening roar. “Wow, they really wanted to fill this plane,” I thought. While Jen and I waited for the flight, we met a few other mom’s and began to socialize.

Once we boarded our flight, a woman in a light blue pant suit greeted us at the front of the plane, “Welcome new moms, and thank you for the sacrifices you have made to become a Mother. I am Denaida, and will be hosting this trip on behalf of FetaTech. Please, if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to come talk to me”. The plane took off, while Jen and I chatted away about what we would do on our trip. “When I phoned, they said they had a daycare so we could spend some time away” Jen said “We are definitely having drinks if that’s the case”. I laughed, it had been so long since I had had any alcohol.

The flight went by quicker than anticipated and we finally arrived at our destination. We were greeted right off the plane with a line of staff all dressed in light blue. Each member helped us to unload our babies and without hesitation began wheeling them towards the resort before I even had a chance to grab my luggage. “Uhm, what are you doing?” I said rather panicked to one of the staff rolling Jasper away. “We take the babies to your room, so you can grab your luggage” they exclaimed. “Oh” is all I managed to get out, tucking the mama bear instinct away.

The resort sat right on the beach, with a view of the ocean that seemed to expand on forever. The rooms were quaint but perfect and once we were settled, Jen and I put the babies down for a nap and finally sat down. As we were taking a moment to enjoy the beauty of the island, a knock on the door snapped us out of our trance, Jen answered. “Two drinks for two lovely ladies” as a staff member held two champagne glasses filled with a blue liquid, “an island special. Dinner will be served promptly at 7pm”. Jen grabbed the two glasses and brought one over to me. “Here’s to us!” As we clinked glasses; the drink had a fruity flavour, that went down a little too easy.

Dinner time came, as Jen and I prepared our boys to join us. A staff member, Phoebe, saw us carrying Jasper and Luke, “oh ladies, tonight is your night off. We have a nursery to put the babies in while you two enjoy your evening. It’s right this way!”. Phoebe led us to a room filled with bassinets, toys, and all the necessities. A group of women in light blue outfits greeted us. All of them appeared tired, with dark bags under their eyes. “These ladies will take excellent care of your children while you enjoy dinner! Here is the childcare itinerary for your viewing” stated phoebe, which included story time, sensory play and finally an evening beach walk for the children. “Excuse me a moment, I see some other ladies looking for the nursery” as Phoebe walked back to the dinner hall to greet them.

One of the nursery employees approached us, “Bella” she introduced herself. She looked worried, her eyes darting back and forth to the door and back to us. She looked at both Jen and I, and stated one simple word “run”. Confused by this, I asked her “what do you mean?”. Bella began whispering fast in Spanish, before Phoebe entered the room again. “Oh Bella, she’s our newest employee here. English isn’t her first language! She tries out new words and phrases with all our guests to better her English. Right, Bella?” Bella looked down at her shoes, and wouldn’t meet Phoebes gaze. Bella carried both Luke and Jasper away. “Come along ladies, dinner is about to begin!”. I began feeling unsure about leaving, but Jen quickly reassured me that we are not far away if we need to see our little ones. This put my mind at ease, and we walked back to the dining hall.

Dinner was served in a twelve course style; each plate was decorated beautifully and absolutely delicious. The same island drink was served to us, until the last course. A spectacular orange drink, decorated with flowers and fruit was apart of our last plate. While reaching for her own, Jen knocked my drink all over my lap. “I am so sorry!” Jen said, as I excused myself back to our room to change. I was stopped at the door by two employees, “sorry ma’am, you cannot leave until you have finished dinner.” I explained my predicament, and both employees looked at each other, “did you at least get to enjoy the last drink?” One employee exclaimed. “Oh yes, it was wonderful” I lied, not wanting to offend them. “Okay, well be quick, we have a special show after dinner for all our guests!”.

After cleaning up, I stopped by the nursery to check in on Jasper. Upon entering the room, I noticed it was empty. “Huh, they must have already started the walk” I thought. I quickly changed and returned to the dining room. I sat back down beside Jen, “Hope I didn’t miss anything” I said, but Jen just stared forward, appearing miles away. Too much to drink I guess, “Jen? You okay?” As I placed my hand on her arm. Her skin was cold and clammy to the touch. Jen slowly turned to me “Sorry, the person you have spoken to is unavailable” she said in a monotone voice. “Wow Jen, you really can’t handle your alcohol” I exclaimed with a slight chuckle. But as I began to peer around the room, I noticed each mom had the same expressionless face.

“Thank you ladies, for your wonderful sacrifice” a booming voice said. My head snapped to the center stage, Denaida had begun to address the group. “You don’t know how special our project is, and because of you and your babies, we will finally be able to conduct our research”. “You’re welcome, Denaida” each mom chimed in unison. “Just wait and see what we have for all of you, today we begin to rewrite history” Denaida exclaimed. The pit in my stomach grew and grew until I couldn’t sit still anymore, I felt sick. A cold sweat broke out over my entire body and my brain began to scream “leave while you can”.

While Denaida rambled on, I planned my escape. I looked around the room for an empty exit, but each door was guarded by an employee in light blue. I continued to scan the room until I saw an open window behind one of the tables of women. I slowly slunk down my chair unnoticed and began to crawl towards it. As I was about to climb out I looked up and noticed the entire table was looking at me, their faces stretched into a horrific expression. Each woman began to point at me and scream. This drew attention from the employees who began to charge in my direction. I quickly slipped through the window and landed in the sand. I looked behind me and watched as the other employees began to follow me through the window. Alarms all around the resort began blaring. I ran as fast as I could, the only thing on my mind was finding little Jasper.

I managed to give the employees following me the slip by hiding in a large patch of seaweed I found along the beach. My heart pounded as their flashlights scoured the beach. Once they passed and I felt confident they would not see me, I snuck around the resort building to find a way back in. “Where could Jasper be?” As panic began to truly set in. As I was exploring, I saw a large white building separate from the resort we were staying in. I could hear the screams of several babies coming from it, and began to run towards it. What if that was Jaspers cry?

As I walked around the building looking for the entrance, I peered through the building window. Every baby that was brought to the island lay in this large building. Rows upon rows of bassinets separated the infants. People in white lab coats went from baby to baby, injecting them with a similar looking orange liquid that we were served with dinner. I frantically scanned the babies and noticed Jasper near the back. It appeared as though the people in white lab coats had not made it to him yet.

Desperate to get into the building, I looked around for anything that could get me inside. I settled on a rock to smash the window, it was a risky chance but fear and adrenaline began to cloud my mind. I was about to smack the window when I noticed Bella, the original employee who had told me to run. As she walked by the window I lightly tapped on it hoping to get her attention. Her solemn gaze met mine and suddenly she lit up. She pointed to a door near the back of the building and swiftly walked there to meet me. As I approached the door, she opened it a crack. “Please, Bella, please I don’t know what’s going on with this island. I just want my baby back” hot tears began to roll down my cheeks. “Baby name?” she stated, “Jasper” I sobbed. Bella calmly walked over to where Jasper was laying and began to pick him up. “What are you doing?” another employee in blue demanded. “Change, baby needs to be changed” I heard her say. The other employee watched her sternly before walking off to the other babies.

Once the other employee was distracted, Bella brought over Jasper and handed me him, “Boat” is all she managed to say to me. She pointed over to the pier, “Thank you” I said, “you have no idea what you have done for me”. Bella smiled a sad smile before gently closing the door.

I did my best to sneak over to the pier, unseen by the other employees. Large search lights lit up the island in a sterile white glow. Jasper was nuzzled into my chest fast asleep as I searched the pier for a boat. I found a small row boat hidden under a black tarp. As I lowered myself into the boat, I stepped on something that crinkled beneath my foot. I realized it was a set of instructions, a flare and a small compass, it read as follows:

1. Row boat to nearest buoy, about half a kilometre north.
2. Once at the buoy, light the flare provided and help will come.

I did as instructed and began rowing, Jasper remained asleep the duration of the trip to the buoy. Once there I lit the flare and waited. It felt like an eternity before another boat appeared in the distance, I prepared myself for the worst as I wiped my clammy hands on my pants. A young man pulled up beside me, he had a striking resemblance of Bella. I realized quickly this must be her son, as he helped Jasper and I onto the boat and tied off the row boat to the buoy. He introduced himself as Sam, and as I had thought, he was Bella’s youngest son.

As we made it back to the mainland of Mexico I learned that Bella had been helping people escape the island for the last couple of months with help from her son. “Even if she can save just one, that’s why she stays there. To try to warn and help” Sam explained. I also learned about FetaTech and their actual intentions with us and our children. FetaTech was never interested in learning how our sleep cycles were affected by the time change, but rather how to override maternal/infant instinct and control the hosts conscious state. The orange drinks provided had the FetaTech virus-based serum and once ingested, began to act upon its host almost immediately. As the company realized that their product had worked, the next step was to test it out on the mother’s offspring which happened to still be in their infancy. Through this, they wanted to learn if they could alter the attachment between both mom and baby. “What do they gain from this?” I asked Sam, still confused. “Mind control, if you will. They want people who are unattached to the things that mean the most to them. Less attachment equals easier to control. In this case, the bond between mother and child is so strong, that if they were able to alter that, it meant controlling and weaponizing the primitive nature of humans”.

I sat there stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened. It was nearing dawn, and we had almost made it to the mainland. I watched as Jaspers chest rose and fell as he slept. I had saved my baby and escaped that dreadful place. My heart became heavy as I imagined Jen and Luke still there. Once I was home, I would contact the proper authorities. Sam helped me acquire a plane ticket home, and I thanked him again. I told him to thank Bella as well, she truly saved my family.

Once we landed back home, I decided to take a taxi home in order to prevent Oliver from having a panic attack. He had already had reservations about my trip, and would worry as to why I was home after only 2 days spent away. I wanted time to prepare what I had to tell him, and to compose myself after such an experience.

As the taxi pulled into our driveway, I breathed a sigh of relief. With my hands still shaking, I fumbled to knock on our front door. The door pushed open, appearing to never be locked in the first place. Oliver made no reaction to the sound of the door opening and sat on the couch watching TV as I approached him. He often listened to it so loud, I wasn’t surprised when we didn’t hear me. “Oliver we are home, and we need to discuss something” I said. Oliver gave me no reaction, “Oliver?” I said again. He slowly turned his head towards me with that same look in his eyes as Jen had at dinner “Sorry, the person you have spoken to is unavailable” he said in a dull tone. I began backing away in horror as he stared into nothing.

I grabbed Jasper and ran, fumbling with the car keys and dropping them in the process. Oliver began to get up from the couch, as I stared in horror. Jaspers wails brought me out of my frozen state. I grabbed the car keys, and put Jasper in his car seat, buckling him up faster than I ever have before.

I drove and drove until I was too exhausted to see, finding a motel off the main drag. I’m currently typing this on my cell phone in our motel room; if I don’t provide an update, please know I didn’t make it. Please spread this story to prevent other moms from making my mistakes.

I’m so sorry Oliver, I love you.