Gentle Beast

by Margaret Afseth

  But when she saw who it was, her temper got the better of her.

  “Man! Are you guys ever loud!” came out of her mouth, without conscious thought.

  The fat mannish woman was from down at the end of the hall. She had a nickname, a man’s name, Althea couldn’t presently recall. Her tone held scorn and was dripping with sarcasm as she replied.

  “Well sor…ry! Are we bothering you?”

  “I can hear every word you say out here! My living room is right behind the elevators and the walls are not sound proof.”

  The woman leaned into a elderly woman on her left, whispered something indistinguishable and both chuckled. Ignoring Althea, she raised her obese form with effort and started for the elevator, pressed the button, waiting for the doors to open.

  And Althea just had to say something else. “You know, this space isn’t where you’re suppose to be visiting, that’s what the large common room downstairs is for.”

  As the doors opened and she stepped though, the plump woman gave Althea the finger. The portals slid shut, and the coward escaped downstairs.

  Althea went around the corner to whispers from the two remaining women. That angered her farther. Though she was visibly shaking, she unwisely turned back to go another round.

  Rounding the corner a second time, Althea lit into her neighbour. “You know, I could report you. This isn’t an extension of your own private quarters; that’s what the coffee room downstairs is for.”

  “I don’t like it down there. I won’t go there.”

  The woman’s elder companion rose, choosing to escape rather than take part. Althea waited the few minutes it took her to get out of earshot.

  “If you continue, I will report you. What you’ve been doing is disturbing to your neighbours and I’m pretty sure it’s not allowed. I’ve already talked to the caretaker. He says I can complain. Just keep this up. I will report you! Do you hear?”

  Althea trembled inwardly; her neighbour said nothing, sat there with a peaceful, condescending smirk on her face. Althea turned and went home.

  Later, when she had stopped shaking enough she could breathe properly, she grabbed her keys, and made for downstairs to get the mail.

  The woman also had gone to her suite, but in the downstairs coffee room the fat lady sat gossiping, leaned over and whispered into the ear of her companion, when Althea showed up on the ground floor.

  Althea started shaking again. All she wanted to do now was hide in her rooms and never come out.

  What have I done? It will be all over the building by morning that I've thrown a temper tantrum, and been unreasonable. No one will even ask my reasons, nor will they defend me.

  She’d run a fowl of these gossips before.

  ****

  Pan turned on her companion, as he sat complacently with his book in the armchair.

  “I earned my freedom!” she growled. “I’m not going to let that pissy woman wreck what we deserve!”

  She paced the floor, agitated, as she raged. “I gave them over thirty fetuses for their delight! And you fathered hundreds…to score this surface retirement! I won’t let her ruin it!”

  She strode the opposite direction, then back once again. “If we offered them a fresh edible heifer, they should jump at the opportunity.”

  Her male live-in looked up from his book, but said nothing.

  “I want you to set it up. They prefer to deal with a male. If you don’t, you can kiss your cushy retirement goodbye. Do you want to go back to the dungeons?”

  He finally put his book down. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Althea was beat.

  She had started her morning slinking down to the ground floor, hoping she would not encounter anyone who knew about her blunder.

  A few people were in the common room. Though they saw her through the glass wall, they paid her less attention than usual, even turning away, as if ignoring her. Her neighbour, Pan, was there big as life, having coffee with a group of other women, when she had blatantly stated she would never come down.

  Althea cringed, knowing she was the subject of animated conversation.

  Anyway, something was accomplished. She is now visiting down here, rather than in that small elevator lounge.

  That was a point in Althea’s favour.

  She slipped out into the street pulling behind her the handcart she always packed full to the limit with store produce. When empty it wasn’t that difficult to drag along, and she walked the many streets of the half-mile to the store in quick time.

  After, unsuccessfully browsing the clothing stores at the mall, stopping for a burger at the fast food counter around lunch time, and spending an hour and a half picking out her groceries, Althea felt she’d had enough down time to settle for working without complaint on the morrow.

  Another half hour awaiting the bus, then lifting her cumbersome cart-bag, which seemed to weigh more than she did, up the steps of the public transport. A fifteen-minute ride, and repeating the process in reverse, made her wonder:

  Do they deliberately put the buses with steps on this route to frustrate us less fortunate people, who have no vehicle and must lug their groceries home?

  Once off the bus, half a block, and across the busy roadway, another half block to home, tugging the uncooperative loaded cart, wore her to uttermost frazzle. But the icing on the cake was, though she gestured frantically at those on the other side of the glass entrance door, none would buzz it open for her. She had to unpack her purse, fish for the keys, before she could swipe her own fob across the sensor.

  Mercifully by then, everyone who had been sitting in the foyer had disappeared to parts unknown, or they might just have been exposed to a second tirade of tenant rage.

  Man! Am I fed up with this!

  Finally in her suite, exhausted but unwilling to sit down before all was in order, Althea went about her kitchen hiding her purchases: emptying cereal into her containers, slicing vegetables to store with less bulk, and packaging meat into one-person meals, placing the last in the freezer of her storage room.

  At long last, finished with all, save to discard the smelly meat wrappings, she escaped to the hall, heading to the garbage disposal chute, leaving her suite door unlocked.

  As exceedingly weary as she was, her vision was narrowly focused and her hearing on mute. Her back turned toward her apartment, Althea failed to hear the door to her neighbour’s unit stealthily open. A shadowy figure loped to her unlocked portal; pulled it open, and furtively slipped inside, unnoticed.

  Dumping her garbage, the fatigued woman turned back, just after her door quietly closed, and retraced her steps.

  With a sigh, Althea shut her outside door, and turned the deadbolt, effectively shutting the world out for the night, or so she thought. As she past the storage room folding door, she realized it stood slightly ajar, and pushed it firmly in place.

  Thought I closed that?

  So tired; so tired. I just want to go to bed. But it's still a little early. Only four o’clock.

  Althea ran a hot bath, got her pyjamas, undressed and stepped in.

  Awww! So wonderful! Relaxing.

  She wasn’t one to soak in the suds, and tonight was no exception. Her whole cleansing took a mere twenty minutes.

  When dried off, Althea took care of her medicinal needs, applying the hormone cream as per doctor’s prescription, then dressed in her loose-fitting pyjamas and cleaned the tub.

  Exiting the bathroom, Althea closed all the blinds, and stepped into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich.

  Slamming the fridge door, she dumped the makings on the counter top: sliced ham; mustard and mayo; an English cucumber; lettuce and tomato, and of course, the bag of whole wheat bread.

  She thought she heard the storage room door slide open with a thump. Althea listened. Silence.

  Must be mistaken.

  When the sandwich was completed, she opened the fridge, put back the fixings, held it open with her foot, as she
grabbed a glass from the cupboard, filled it with milk, and let the fridge door slide shut again.

  She turned toward the living room, and let out an involuntary gasp.

  Between her and that sitting area stood the biggest dog she had ever seen. Resembling a Rottweiler dressed in shorts, it towered six feet at least, standing upright on hind legs, its teeth bared, salivating.

  The full glass of milk hit the floor, shattered, the contents splattering across wall, fridge front, and bare feet. Althea hardly noticed; her last and only thoughts:

  How did it get in? I never leave the door open. Where did it come from?

  And then the formidable creature sprang toward her.

  She didn’t even think to scream, nor did she have time.

  CHAPTER 3

  Nyle entered the office shortly after ten pm. He had been told to report to the supervisor after shift, but when he arrived, he was surprised to see a stranger behind the desk.

  “Come in; shut the door.”

  As Nyle settled into the chair across from the man, all he wanted was to go to bed. He’d just finished a twelve-hour shift, and didn’t need this hassle, whatever the problem was.

  As far as he was concerned, if these people wanted to pour out money like water to keep the men working around the clock to build this place, it was no skin off his back. The reason he was here was because of the exceptional pay. A hundred dollars an hour for overtime would pay for his new condo much faster than any other job. He just hoped this wasn’t another lay off he’d not planned for. They were often shut down because the government regulators insisted the workers must have their time off. At least, that was what he’d been told.

  Never mind, when they open up the shifts again, if this is another layoff, I'll just turn around and apply for the next three-week stint. I'll be back in a week or two, just like I've done in the past. The heck with government bureaucracy!

  The eighth Irish in him sometimes raised its ugly head, especially when Nyle was tired. Tonight was no exception. The reputation associated with the reddish cast of his blond hair had been well earned.

  Right now, I just want this over with, so I can head to the showers and catch a bit of shuteye, whether I'm to carry on my workload tomorrow or fly back home.

  His name in the Irish tongue meant ‘Island’, and true to it, Nyle was a loner. In his thirty-four years he’d been provoked by many, especially, incessantly by his ex-wife, and the only one to ever irrevocably steal his heart was his young daughter, Kaudy.

  Not that my antagonistic ex-partner will often let me see my jovial youngster.

  Last time he had talked to Seline, she had said she was moving, and needed to leave Kaudy with him for a time. It was unusual that she would let the girl loose like that, and as he was at the whim of the woman because the courts had favoured the mother, he had been quick to agree.

  I'll be free as soon as this work period ends.

  Nyle wished fervently Kaudy could live with him always, but Seline considered the teen to be her meal ticket, and would never part the ways.

  I sure hope she doesn't change her mind.

  She was notorious for doing it in the past.

  Nyle scowled at the bent his thoughts had taken.

  Is this guy ever going to get to it?

  “I was expecting the super,” Nyle challenged, to break the unnatural silence.

  The man behind the desk ignored the implied question, shuffled the papers in front of him one last time.

  “You’ve been working for us more than a year, I see,” he stated, finally looking up. “Do you like this kind of work?”

  He was a hawkish looking man, with a thatch of black hair that fell to his chin hiding his ears, and a beak-like nose. Beady black eyes probed at Nyle, like the beacon on a lighthouse lamp at the edge of an ocean cliff.

  “The pay’s good…”

  The other nodded, didn’t seem to notice he’d evaded most of the query. “Your supervisor says you do excellent work.”

  “I try to do my best. You have to, so it passes inspection, needs to be up to codes.”

  The man cleared his throat in preparation to state his demand. “If you had a chance to advance in your trade, would you consider it?”

  Nyle frowned.

  I already have the highest of training; the only thing I have to do is take a test to go into business for myself.

  “You mean as an electrician?” he clarified. “Wasn’t aware you could go higher. I’m industrial grade.”

  “Yes…yes.” The man seemed somewhat preoccupied.

  What is this? Are they kicking me off?

  But the man went another direction. “Do you realize what is being built here?”

  “Not really, just follow blue prints, and obey Super’s direction.”

  “Never questioned what is forming under your hands?”

  Nyle shook his head. He had noticed the weird shape of the building: domed, as if it was some sort of spaceport, but he knew nobody on Earth would build a space centre up in the far north of Canada.

  Or would they?

  “What are you building?”

  “What does it look like to you?”

  Nyle chuckled good-naturedly. “Like some sort of futuristic movie set, a space station actually. I couldn’t begin to imagine what you are really constructing.”

  “It is a transport portal.”

  Nyle was suddenly very much awake; his eyes went wide in surprise. “A what?”

  Again the man sidestepped the question. “We are near finished on this side. As I asked before, would you consider advancing your learning? You are such an exemplary worker, we wondered if we might persuade you to come help complete the receiver on the opposite side.”

  From dealing with his ex, Nyle had learned to be a suspicious man.

  There is something fishy here.

  “Where is this other side?”

  The man cleared his throat again, as if the response required some thought.

  “First allow me to explain…as you have noted, I am not of this work detail. I am from off world…”

  Nyle almost laughed.

  Is this guy some escapee from a mental institution? Surely, he can’t be serious?

  “You mean, like…off the planet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Most serious…”

  This time Nyle did laugh.

  “You look…human to me.”

  “I am of human mix. That is why I was selected to approach you.”

  Now that Nyle looked closely, the man had a humanoid face, but the hair of his head, and facial beard shadow had a bluish tint. He had thought it a mere trick of light and shadow.

  “You mean, there really are intelligent beings in outer space?”

  “Contrary to human belief, those on other planets have a higher aptitude than many among you. And we are not all malevolent, nor do we wish to exploit you.”

  “Been watching our television a lot, have you?”

  “Were we to judge you with the same measure as you do us, I would never have approached you. No, we observe, and make our own conclusions.”

  “This is not some prank? You’re for real?”

  Never once had the man laughed. It was as if he had no sense of humour.

  “Shall we get to the matter at hand?”

  Nyle shrugged, nodded.

  “In the outer worlds, your planet is called the ‘Forbidden world’, so named because it is a prison facility, and in the sector appointed to the Roog. They resemble the dogs you have domesticated, but in reality are quite hostile and much larger.”

  “Giant dogs? Here? Haven’t seen any.”

  Once more, the sense of amusement was lacking. “Humans see very little of what actually takes place around them. But…that is beside the point.”

  For something to do with his hands, the man shuffled around in the paper of the desktop, then when he thought the pause was sufficient, looked up again.

  “Som
e time ago, it came to the attention of the universal council, that the surface of this planet Earth was peopled by intellectual beings other than the Roog, but as the territory was a substation under the devilish dog breed, we could only covertly approach you. After much secret deliberation, it was agreed, if we could build a transporter site, limited immigration of the surface kind would be permitted.”

  “You’re saying you want me to emigrate to another planet?”

  “Because of Roog patrols we operate in secret; they claim you as chattel. In their thought, you belong to them.”

  “Oh, like hell we do!”

  A small smile escaped the stoic countenance. “Our thoughts precisely! Now, back to my proposition. Would you be willing to come to the outer worlds, be trained higher in your field of expertise?”

  The idea sent shivers through Nyle.

  What an opportunity!

  “Would the pay rate be the same?”

  For the first time the being looked pained, as if to say:

  ‘Why is it humans always are so money oriented?’

  He sighed. “Our immediate responsibility will be to train you, to bring you up to our standards. Then your labour will go first toward the repayment of the cost for your transfer…”

  “How am I supposed to eat, to pay for a place to live?”

  “In many off worlds, at the completion of a four day five hour work week, these necessities are free.”

  Whoa! Is he kidding? The basic necessities are free?

  Nyle didn’t have to think twice about accepting this.

  “Would I have to go alone? Is this just for a limited stay?”

  “Actually, no to the latter. Once intergraded into universal life one cannot return… unless we develop a later treaty with your peoples.”

  “So, I have to leave my family behind? I have a fourteen year old daughter.”

  “The daughter may join you. What of her mother?”

  “She’s not in the picture,” Nyle quickly asserted.

  “You must understand, secrecy is of the utmost necessity. No one may be told of your going, or of your whereabouts.”