by Allison West
The woman nodded. "Yes, of course." She stood and took the bowl of dirty water and hair to the sink drain. "Don't put your clothes on yet."
"Why not?" Aria asked, hating to remain naked in front of a stranger's eyes.
"Bring your clothes, but come with me." She led Aria through another door at the far-left corner of the room. The last to come in and the first to finish, Aria walked by the other girls, trying not to stare. She felt pity for them.
Walking into the next room, she found it bare except for the same mirrored window and a closet. "Master will want to see you in his preferred attire." She removed a short plaid skirt and white blouse, handing the items to Aria. "Put these on. Then I'll fix that mess of hair."
"What about panties and a bra?" Aria asked.
"You don't need them today."
There was no sense in fighting with this woman. She had probably seen and heard it all before. "Okay." Aria felt grateful to at least put something on right now. She placed her clothes with the gun hidden inside on the floor at her feet. With the weapon beside her, she felt safer. Aria slipped into the skirt first and then put on the white blouse. It was short, barely covering her midriff as she attempted to button the blouse.
"Leave it open," she insisted. The woman grabbed a hairbrush and two ties, slipping them onto her wrist. She brushed through Aria's tangled knots. "I can't believe how wet your hair is."
She didn't ask why, thankfully.
"Master prefers it styled into pigtails. We're doing that for today." She brushed and separated Aria's hair into two sections. She tied each side up with a plastic hair bow. "He'll be pleased." She sounded quite proud of her work.
Someone tapped on the mirrored glass from the other side. Aria didn't know what that meant, but she had been right, someone watched her. Was she done? Did she get rejected?
"Good news." She smiled at Aria. "Get your clothes back on. Master will be settling your debt shortly."
Fuck. There was no way she was going home with some pervert. She was quick to disrobe. That was the easy part. Getting the gun back under her clothes without being seen, that wasn't so easy.
"I'll be right back. I'm going to take him to process the full payment. Get dressed, and by the time I come back, we'll be done."
She left Aria alone, or at least she felt alone. Was anyone staring at her through the glass? She didn't have time to worry about it. She slipped on her panties first and then the pants. Grabbing the scrubs, she went for her shirt first. Aria tried to maneuver the shirt, though awkward, with the gun hidden inside. She stumbled, the gun peeking out as she shoved it back under her clothes and slipped the shirt on. No one came in. Aria guessed no one saw. She got lucky!
Aria slipped the hair bows out and tossed them in the corner of the room. The guard or nurse, whatever the hell that woman was, could clean up after her. The clothes landed in the same corner.
A moment later, the woman returned. "He'll be a few more minutes. Why don't I take you back out into the foyer with the girls? You'll be more comfortable waiting there."
"Thank you." At least among multiple women, Aria could blend in.
She escorted Aria back the way she came, before retreating through the doors.
A moment later, the alarm sounded through the building, forcing her to cover her ears. It was high-pitched and shrill, as the lights died out and a red repeated flood light flashed with the tempo of the alarm.
From across the room, Aria spotted Betsy. She dropped down onto the ground along with the other prisoners of quarantine. She mouthed something to Aria, but she couldn't hear her. Aria lowered herself closer to the ground but inched toward the hallway. On the other side of the glass, in the hall, there were men rushing out of their wing through the door at the far end of the hallway. Was that where the men were being kept? She wouldn't be able to blend in nearly as easily there if it was only men. What other choice did she have?
"Peach, wait!" Betsy said, probably trying to stop her.
The darkness helped hide Aria as she skirted the hall and slipped through the doors before they closed. The alarm blared just as loudly. The corridor appeared empty as she stretched and stood. The room remained dark, except for the flashing red that accompanied the siren. Though annoying, Aria ignored it as she sauntered down the hall. There were glass windows to her left and right. They led to small confined spaces, like prison cells, with metal doors.
Aria wandered down the hall, toward another door with a security panel. Did she have to wait for someone to leave through that door too? It wasn't as though she could hide anywhere.
"Aria."
Aria spun around in the darkened room.
"James?" She was certain she heard his voice, but from where?
"Over here," he said, and she glanced into the cubicles, finding the second one on the left housing him. He stood up, walking to the window, his hand finding the glass.
"I have to get you out." Aria headed for the door but found it locked. Why did she expect anything less?
"No." James shook his head, his eyes narrowed. His voice sounded distant through the glass, so far away. "I may have been infected."
"How?" Had being around other sapphires been enough to contract the disease?
"Another guy in this place threw up on me. It was disgusting. Turns out, he's definitely infected, and now they're concerned I might be too. There's a cure, but they want the money for it upfront. I don't have diamonds, let alone anything else I can trade for it."
"Maybe he just has the flu?" Aria said. Perhaps they were being overzealous in putting James into a cell alone. Or they were trying some weird scheme to extort money from the wealthy or cater to the angels. "You can't infect me. I'm immune."
"How do you know you're immune? How'd you find me?" James asked, leaning his forehead against the glass.
Aria stepped closer, resting her hand against the cool pane, the outline of their fingers touching, though her hand was much smaller.
"I met a girl, Hailey; she led me to you."
"How?" he asked, raspy and filled with a hint of anger. "There was no one when we roamed the city." His skin glistened, and his face turned red. Aria suspected he might already be running a fever.
Aria sighed, trying to consider not only their escape, but also how to cure James if he had the virus inside of him. "We'll figure something out." Aria did her best to reassure him that they'd make it through this together, just as they had everything else.
James shook his head. "You should go, while you still can."
"I'm not leaving without you. The only reason I broke into this facility was to rescue you."
"I don't need rescuing," he said, sneering at Aria. James turned and walked away from the glass barrier. He paced the small space.
The alarm that had been deafening silenced, and the lights flickered back on.
"Leave, Aria." His voice stern and filled with warning. He didn't sound like himself.
She wouldn't listen to him. She couldn't. Did he not realize how much he meant to her?
"I have a gun," Aria whispered, staring at James. It was her last shred of hope.
James stopped pacing and walked straight up to the glass, staring at her with dark blue eyes. "Shoot me."
Aria's eyes widened. "No! I won't do it."
"Do it. I'm growing delirious. You have blue eyes, Aria. Shoot me!"
Aria froze, momentarily startled by his outburst. "No," she said and took a tentative breath, trying to erase the knot in her stomach and the ache in her heart. She could never hurt James. "My eyes are blue, but it's only temporary. It's how I can blend in here," she said, reminding him that she wasn't detained with him.
"The guards carry stun guns. How many bullets are in your weapon?"
As Aria removed the gun from her panties, she smiled at James. "You didn't even ask me where I got a loaded pistol." She checked the cylinder. "Not nearly enough. Three shots."
"You can bluff the fourth one," he said. "Use it and get out of here."
"I'm infected!" he said, and his voice raised an octave. James balled his fists at his side. "I can't leave, Aria. Even if I don't infect you, I won't risk killing more people."
"Are you serious?" She couldn't believe James, trying to be the hero and sacrificing himself. "After all we've been through, I think we can survive out there, without destroying the rest of the world."
A strand of hair fell in front of his eyes. She wanted to reach through the glass, push the hair back and graze her fingers over his sweaty skin. "Do you remember who locked you in here?" Aria asked. "Maybe they still have the key on them?" If she could threaten just one guard, and pull him away from the others, perhaps her plan to get them out would work.
"He was taller than I am, with short red hair."
Red hair? He shouldn't be too hard to find. "I'll be back," she said, making a promise she hoped she wouldn't break. With the gun in hand, she headed for the locked door. "Any chance you know the code to get me inside?"
"Thirty-eight, sixty-four, twenty-three," James said. "I figured I'd need it if I could get out of this jail cell." He slammed his fist against the glass. It was evident he was frustrated, and she didn't blame him.
"I'll get you out of there," Aria tried to reassure him the best she possibly could. She typed the code into the keypad beside the door. The panel turned green and unlocked the door.
Aria turned the metal handle. The door squeaked on its hinges as she pulled it open. She glanced back once more at James and gave him a farewell nod before sneaking down the hall, the door closed behind her.
The hallway looked eerily familiar, with the glass windows and two large rooms, one on either side of her, and at the end of the hall, a tiled wall. To her left, the room consisted of both men and women. She glanced to her right and saw the same scenario. Why were the women in the other corridor kept separate? Were they considered more valuable?
Aria had one chance to make this right. Though she had three bullets, there were more guards than she could stop. Her best chance was to corner the redhead James had mentioned, secure the key, and find a way out of the facility. It wouldn't be easy; nothing ever was.
At the back corner, near the painted window on white tile, Aria sauntered into the room. She was just another sapphire to them. No one paid her any attention. Would the guards realize they didn't recognize her, or were there too many for them to keep track of? Did she need to worry about the angel who had settled her debt? Surely, he would be looking for her soon too.
The city had been asleep, quiet while they roamed the streets. No wonder. Who would want to chance being dragged into this place? If she had known, they'd have stayed hidden as well. What had happened to the men on the ship they'd arrived with? Were they prisoners here too? Aria hadn't seen any of them yet, but the facility was large and she'd been here no time at all.
With her attention on the redhaired guard, she brushed her way through the crowd of sapphires. They were a sea of ages swimming amongst her as she pushed through and came face-to-face with Roger. Or so his name tag said. He didn't seem surprised to see Aria, which was good news.
No one had noticed the gun in her right hand. Perhaps they were too busy arguing amongst one another and chatting animatedly to see what was right in front of them. The conversations were loud and plentiful, filling the room with obnoxious chatter. It was much louder than the first room she'd found herself in, but there were fewer sapphires too.
The room smelled old, of musk and mildew. The stench permeated the walls and her skin. She was in dire need of a bath.
Aria shoved the muzzle of the gun into the man's stomach. He was tall, but his belly pushed past his belt.
He scrunched his nose and opened his mouth. Was he going to turn her in? Would she have the strength to shoot him if necessary?
"I need the keys to the glass cells," Aria said.
His emerald beady eyes stared into hers. "I can't do that." He didn't so much as perspire or show a hint of anxiety. His breathing remained calm, his tone relaxed. Had this happened before? "Why would you want them, anyhow?" he asked.
"You can, and you will help me." Aria pushed the muzzle harder into his stomach.
He glanced down at the barrel, studying the gun.
"Let James and me go. Give me the key that will release him from the prison behind those doors." Aria gestured behind her, toward the glass windows and the hall.
The guard's eyes narrowed. Aria felt uncertain if he was attempting to alert another guard to the situation or just toying with her. "You won't shoot me. That gun isn't loaded." He was confident in his answer, a little too cocky.
Aria felt tempted to pull the trigger, but she knew the chaos it would invoke. Besides, she wouldn't kill a man in cold blood. She wasn't a murderer.
"Roger," Aria said, keeping the gun trained on him while removing his keys from the loop on his pants. It took her a few seconds to unclasp the metal, pulling it free from his grasp. "Are you sure you want to test that theory?"
With careful precision, to make sure she didn't draw more attention to herself, she backed away, the gun no longer pressed against Roger's body. It took less than a minute before the siren was back on, and the lights went out. Was this another drill, or had the alarm sounded because of what she had done? Did Roger find a way to silently alert the compound that she was armed? Had there been a panic button stored in his pants pocket?
Aria didn't waste time thinking about what it meant. Instead, she acted on it. As the sapphires lowered themselves onto the ground, Aria dashed for the door, punching in the code.
Her hands shook, and she threw open the door and rushed up to the locked cage that held James inside. With a dozen keys and only one lock, it took time to find the right one. Every few seconds, she glanced back at the door, knowing those men were coming to stop her. They would do everything in their power to keep them from escaping. Did it have to do with the virus or something else?
Aria kept trying keys, finally landing on one that turned. "James, come on!" She opened the door, letting him out of the cell. They were far from safe, but at least they were together.
Sweat trickled down his forehead. She couldn't worry about the illness he was plagued with right now. If it targeted sapphires, then she'd be safe with him. They'd find a cure.
"Need," James rasped, stalking toward Aria.
"What do you need?" Her voice hitched. James didn't appear himself, and she'd let him out to infect everyone. Had she made a mistake? No. She would keep him away from the population; that wasn't a difficult task in the near-empty city.
"You," he said, tackling her to the ground. His lips were on hers, his tongue inside her mouth.
James caught her off-guard, and though she longed to kiss his lips and throw her arms around him, knowing that he was all right, they were not out of this mess yet. It was no time to celebrate.
James moaned against her lips, his breath hot as he kissed down her neck and dragged his tongue against her sweaty skin.
She reached for his hair, tangling her fingers in the dark masses, pulling him away and up for air. "What has gotten into you?" Maybe she should have been enjoying the attention, and she was, but now wasn't the time or place for it. They needed to escape.
"You smell like cinnamon," James said, kissing her neck as his fingers dove lower around her hips. "And taste like honey." His hands eagerly pushed at her scrubs, forcing them down over her hips, his palm grazing her ass and coming around to her front, slipping in past her panties, finding her folds and noticing she was freshly shaven. "When did that happen?"
"Don't ask. We both need to get out of here, or I'm about to be sold to some rich pervert." Aria dropped the gun, her hands falling against his to stop him. "We can't do that here." She reached her hand to his forehead. He was burning up; no wonder he was
acting carnal with his desires. He probably had no idea where they were or what was going on. She felt bad for leading him on, even in the slightest sense. "James, remember where we are," Aria said, hoping to jog his memory. "We need to get out of this quarantine facility." The alarm continued to blare over the intercom.
"I want you," he said, taking a giant whiff of air. It had to be the fever. Aria felt no different, except uncomfortable on the floor. She gently pushed James away, lifted her panties and scrubs, then grabbed the gun.
"You can have me, after we get out of here." It was a promise she could make to him, after they treated his exposure to the virus. Trying to reason with him was pointless; he was not in his right mind.
With the gun in her hand, she punched the same code into the keypad across the hall that led to the guard gate. Nothing happened. The code didn't work. Did she type it out of sequence? "Shit," she said under her breath.
James came up behind her. His hands grasped her hips, pushing himself tight against her rear. His breath tickled her ear and lingered as he kissed her neck. "I know you want me too."
Aria did want him, but now wasn't the time to be caving into desires. This wasn't like James, not when there was an urgency and need to escape. He was usually so focused and attentive to what needed to be done.
"What's the code again?" Aria asked, her voice faltering as his fingers snaked around her waist, finding the front of her scrubs. His fingers worked their way into the material, discovering her panties, again.
"Screw the code."
"James," she said, trying to catch her breath, but he was making it difficult for her. Had the virus made him horny? Ordinarily, she wouldn't mind it, but they were running out of time. At any moment, guards could pour into the corridor, guns drawn, ending any chance they had of getting out of there alive.
He whispered the code against her collarbone, his lips sucking the skin as his fingers grazed her pussy.
Her fingers stumbled over the keypad, and she struggled to keep her eyes open, making sure she typed it again in the proper order. It still didn't work. Maybe it was because the facility had an alarm blaring and was on lockdown. If they were lucky enough to sit and wait it out, perhaps when they tried again, the code would work. Assuming they didn't get caught first. No one seemed anxious to enter the halls of the prison. Aria was grateful to be alone with James, even if he was infected.
