Monsters Among Us (Deception Series Book 1)

by Margaret Afseth

  All Scar needed to do, was figure out the how!

  Finally Scar's temper cooled. On a grated ledge over the recycling vats, he sat down to think.

  The one armed man intensely missed his brother; his dead twin had been the schemer; the brains of the partnership. Galar could be devious; dream up the most horrific punishments. Scar merely followed, but seldom did he not enjoy the results.

  Remembering his brother, caused a curious resentment to surface. The very fact that the twins had always been the outcasts of this society, reasonably, generated first, an overwhelming loneliness, but also, today, gave birth to an unexpected bitterness.

  What gave them the right to force us to work in the slaughter house? Just because we were unlike them?

  And then his thoughts went to his present situation. His companions were ostracized, too. Loni because he had no ears; Da, because he couldn't understand. And their females were different, also...not normal, at least...much like he was.

  Scar shivered at the realization. He was not alone, after all!

  But, Flaw/Loni had just cast him out of the group!

  Only for a little while. Galar always takes me back; Loni will do the same.

  Perhaps, he shouldn't have touched the small one?

  But...Loni's she gave it to me! Didn't she?

  It was so very puzzling.

  Maybe, she only meant me to hold it? She did ask for it back...

  ****

  For a long time Scar sat reasoning. His mad turned eventually away from his fellow workers, to their shared injustices.

  The others were forced to constantly work in the gardens; heavy, back breaking work, but...decidedly better than in the slaughter house or cattle pens, and easier than rendering and the kitchens. Scar had actually been enjoying crop planting and harvest; life with the gardeners had been most pleasant.

  To be vengeful toward them seemed wrong.

  The government; the ones who enslave us, are the real offenders...those taking advantage; using us...experimenting on us!

  But what could be done against THEM?

  He, Loni, and Da had built a new place outside. It wouldn't be wrong to use it...but, if he didn't do something to prevent them, the overseers would follow him out...and spoil that place, as they had done the one below.

  No! I have to prevent that!

  How?

  The next thought came, as if someone had written it in his mind.

  The recyclers!

  ****

  The huge vats were filled with chemicals; the pipes leading out gigantic, going in all directions...one blockage would cause a back up; would result in the explosion of the whole unit.

  But, Scar wouldn't stop at just one!

  He went to the tool shack first. Scar still had the fruit sack he'd taken to carry the baby; he also had his backpack at his back. Inside the storage room, he found much that would be useful: crowbar; pipe wrenches; timers, and...explosives.

  He filled the fruit sack with many things...

  ****

  It was now all over except the explosions. Scar had flattened or closed off more than one pipe leading away from the machines. Those were mostly the smaller pipes, but that was just to begin the sabotage. He had also placed numerous timers, attached to charges, on each machine.

  They were timed to detonate one after the other, to begin in approximately five hours; if one failed, the others would still follow at intervals. He hoped he had plenty of time to make it back up to the surface; then he would live in the upper world.

  But...he had one stop to make, first. Scar wanted meat in his new world.

  ****

  Scar first went to the rendering plants. Removing his backpack, he emptied it of his toiletries; his cup; bowl, etc. They had stored extras in the first storage dome in the village above; there was no need for him to take his.

  From around the processing area, he gathered sausage, cut roasts, and raw chicken parts. Surprisingly, while he filled his backpack with them, he avoided anything made of human meat. He had learned well from Loni.

  That man had told him, the reason the overseers were so dangerous, mad and aggressive. They were human meat eaters!

  After shouldering this burden, Scar moved to the breeding stalls. He came first to the pig pens. Quickly, from a sow with a litter a week old, he scooped, from among those to choose from, three tiny piglets; one of black, a male; and two, one spotted pink and black, another pure white, each female, stuffing them together down deep into the fruit sack. The lack of air inside, made the squealing piglets quiet, and grow still. He then went about the pens and stalls, setting all others free: goats; sheep, cows and pigs; even the dogs and cats. Some followed him; others were more hesitant, taking their time, even when they realized they were free. He stepped around the milling animals, heading for the bird coops.

  Here, Scar found the incubators of tiny chicks growing beneath the heat lamps. He stuffed in as many as the upper half of the sack would hold, hoping among them was both male and female. And so began the formation of his future farming endeavor.

  He then set all the other birds free: ducks; geese; turkeys and grouse, chickens of every kind, that had been gathered, and brought through the transportation portal over the years. Most were unable to fly; they scattered away, among the rest of the menagerie, none knowing which way to go.

  Fleetingly, Scar wondered where everybody was; why no one was around to stop him. His ulterior reasoning was to deprive the elite of their privileged meal fare, but he also had another, more devious, purpose in mind...

  ****

  Loaded near beyond his ability to carry; the food at his back; the baby animals at his front, the one armed thief headed down through the sewer, where he would eventually get out , and up the ladder to the world above. His hope was the animals and poultry, he had set free, would follow, and distract the deadly monster, whose lair he must pass, feeding it, giving it its fill, before he arrived...so Scar could safely pass by.

  Squealing little piglets moved on passed him, running hopelessly to their death, some stopping to gorge on tidbits in the running, fuming, rivulet beneath their feet, prolonging the inevitable. A large heifer ran by, the slope causing her to trip. she went down, then head over hoof, rolling like a giant miss-shaped package, eventually going over the shelf into the abyss beneath.

  And then appeared the Hydra, its many heads swaying, one huge, fanged jaw opening, to catch the unfortunate cow in mid fall. It then, disappeared from sight to enjoy such a large, unexpected repast.

  Scar breathed a sigh of relief; his distraction was effective. He took the shelf, moving over and across it, until he reached his destination: the ladder going upward. When he came to the rung-ladder he, and Loni, had so often traversed, he was shocked to find, he was not alone. Following, just behind him, determined, and more intelligent than most, also, fearless, was an obstinate nanny goat.

  Ignoring her, Scar began the climb; for him, each bar difficult, with only one arm. One rung at a time, the man went up, and behind him, imitating his action, the goat found it easier, as it had four legs.

  Let the dumb thing follow, then! It will give me milk.

  What Scar did not expect, when he, and his shadow, reached their destination, and gained the outside ledge, behind the she goat, five offspring followed, as determined to go after mother's milk, as their parent had wanted freedom. Each had negotiated the rungs with unfailing fortitude.

  And so, Scar truly had the makings of a future cattle farm.

  Chapter 36

  Loni sat on his mat deep in thought. They had to leave, beyond a doubt...and immediately.

  This would be the beginning of a new life...

  He would begin by getting out the two little ones he had, and of course, Gem, Da, and Lydia. Later, he might come back for other infants...or older boys...as they were prepared to handle them.

  That would be a twofold endeavor: the work crew, and...future partners. Loni would be very careful whom he chose...

>   The surface would be their responsibility; they would be charged with repopulating that new upper world. For that, they would need at least two younger males. His daughter, and Da's, would bring about a second generation.

  Dare I take more babies from this genetic gene pool? What if they tend toward violence, like the overseers?

  He couldn't discipline a much larger group; Scar proved difficult enough. But with Gem's help...maybe, they could guide a two parent family...

  For now, first things first, he would need to set up a barrier protected food supply; fruit trees needed planting; plots required preparation, and vegetables must be seeded. Until that produced, it was necessary to take a fresh food supply; they would need to steal it from in here. That meant, they would be going back and forth...

  But...they couldn't pilfer what they needed for long...someone would get wise.

  It's time for action; the rest will work itself out!

  "Da," he thought projected. "Come. Bring your backpack; empty it first."

  ****

  Gem had been following Loni's mental musings, agreeing with them fully, but she had some plans of her own. As soon as the men went to load up on fresh food, she rose from the mat, and started after them, intending to go above, not toward the fruit stands.

  The little ones have needs, also...

  "Lydia, stay here," she ordered verbally. "I'll be back shortly."

  Gem had her thoughts on the future, too, but, just not as far distant, as were Loni's plans. She knew the infants wouldn't stay small for long. Beyond six months, they would need different garments, and...they could not subsist on breast milk alone. They would need to be introduced gradually to ground meal, and pureed fruit, and vegetables, as their teeth came in.

  While visiting the Physician's offices, when they had given her the supplement, that Loni had immediately thrown away, she had seen the large pharmacy, and storage area, for the infants and mothers. It contained a huge store of baby food, and like paraphernalia.

  With her baby held close against her shoulder, Gem caught up her backpack, climbed the ladder heading up, then proceeded down the corridor leading to the area she sought.

  I definitely need a snuggly like Lydia has, to free up my hands...and boxes of dried pabulum...jars of puree. Lydia's baby is older by more than two months, so we'll need this fresh supply quick enough.

  She was aware, it had all come from her home planet; pilfered by those who worked on the wards there. That way, she was confident, it was all safe...even the pureed meats.

  But...are the medications? Baby cough syrup; salves; fever drugs...maybe?

  There was no telling what the climate outside on the surface would be like for a young child, nor what future infections might develop. It was safest to use conventional methods of repair, where ever possible...less drain on the healer's system, then doing it, out right mind regeneration every time. Their bodies needed to learn to heal themselves.

  In here the atmosphere is controlled...best be prepared for all eventualities.

  She stuffed her empty backpack with all she thought of use.

  Now for baby clothes...and diapers. Towels are just too harsh on their tender bottoms.

  As she planned, Gem was so intent on her appropriation, she did not realize, behind her, Lydia had disobeyed her suggestion.

  ****

  Lydia quickly slid her little one carefully down the front of her snuggly, then safely bound it to her breast.

  No way are you leaving me behind again, all by myself!

  Grabbing her backpack, Lydia slung it to her back, and hurried after Gem. But Gem had a head start, yet Lydia was certain she had headed up, not down. It wasn't long, and Lydia had lost sight of the other woman.

  At the top of the ladder, Lydia turned the opposite way, the wrong way. The hall was filled with smoke, and an odorous stench that took away your breath, but she felt this was the direction Gem had gone, so she doggedly continued on.

  Soon Lydia was coughing violently, gasping for air. With the edge of the baby's wrap, she attempted to protect her own mouth and nose, but her eyes were watering, as well. At least, deep inside the snuggly, her infant seemed protected.

  Where ever did Gem go? Why is she so determined to come up here, anyway?

  Lydia met no one; it appeared all personnel had vacated the premises.

  Need to get a mask to protect my lungs...

  ****

  Loni and Da had not been gone long. With their backpacks loaded down with fruit, beverages, and other edible necessities, Loni stepped from the ladder, Da following.

  The older man immediately realized the camp site was empty, and his mind reached out in panicked search for the thoughts of his mate. His first notion was that Galar had somehow survived, or that Scar had returned, and one, or the other, or both, had stolen Gem again.

  With relief, he found her mind; Gem was perusing the shelves of medications in the upper maternity levels.

  Why didn't I think of that? Of course, we'll need such things!

  "They are getting baby supplies, up above." Loni showed Da in his head. Of course, though he hadn't seen them both, Loni assumed the women were together. "You find Lydia, get her out, and meet us at the ledge on the outside...by the crossing to the new village."

  Da nodded understanding, and took off, ahead of Loni, up the ladder.

  For a moment, Loni lingered.

  Is there anything important we are leaving behind?

  No. Not really. No need to return.

  ****

  After filling her pack with expropriated contraband, Gem felt curious. She desired to see what the facility looked like; where the birthing women were kept, and...the other babies.

  Where are the younger males raised?

  For the first time, she noticed how the air was filled with a slight haze of smoke. From a nearby shelf, she grabbed up a surgical mask, and put it on, then stuffed a handful of the same masks into the front of the snuggly that now held her baby.

  It wasn't long, and she found a room filled with cribs. Each one contained a sleeping boy child, not more than a year old. Her heart went out to these young ones, but she knew she couldn't save all of them.

  Maybe...I could just take one of them...

  But, she could never carry everything...and the room was now so filled with smoke, she felt sudden fear for those left behind.

  Over in a corner, she spied a play area. Among the stacked, and scattered blocks, the dozens of stuffed animals, and squeaky toys, stood a small two-seater tin wagon. It was old, rusted, and dilapidated, but it would do.

  Gem made for it, but as she pulled it forward, and it complained violently, a fear struck her.

  What if the noise draws the attention of the attendants?

  Looking around, Gem frowned. She hadn't seen a single caregiver the whole time.

  Where are they all? There is obviously a fire in here some place...why doesn't the pump system clear away the smoke? And, where are the firefighters?

  It dawned on her, then, the fire and emergency men had been unavailable, ever since the flood in their lodgings, way before Galar had taken her.

  These babies will die of smoke inhalation...they haven't just left them to die? Surely not!

  All the more reason to take those she could...

  Tugging the squeaking wagon, she went along the rows.

  Whom to choose; who to let die?

  Gemma shivered with dread. It was a terrible task, playing god.

  A very small boy caught her eye. His skin was coal black; a fine feather of curl covered the top of his head. He was balled into a fetal position, as if trying to escape the inevitable. Gemma had never seen such a tiny year old.

  As she lifted him, placed him in the wagon, blanket and all, he hardly stirred. She covered his mouth, and nose, with one of the surgical masks. At least, he was still breathing.

  She couldn't save them all...but, maybe, just one more...

  In a far corner of the room, a single crib sto
od by itself. Gem stopped short, drawing in a breath in shock.

  ****

  Da discovered Lydia right where he had found their infant daughter. She was staring morosely into the little torture chamber, the incubator, where the Physicians had held captive their tiny belly-ball.

  Why has she come here? Does she want to see what was done? Would she rather put our baby back?

  But, purely by accident, Lydia had come upon the containment pod. She appeared mesmerized by the empty bed, with its tubes, and cord hanging loose, and as she gazed into the empty container, Lydia had suddenly realized its purpose. She drew her infant more closely against her, as if, now, she felt more qualified to protect her from any future damage.

  Da tugged at her arm; Lydia jerked as if struck. Finally realizing he was there, she went into his arms, and he embraced her in the firm hug she so desperately needed.

  By the time they pulled apart, they were both coughing uncontrollably. Da reached to a nearby shelf, pulled down a handful of surgical masks, put one on Lydia, another on himself, and stowed the rest in his pack. Then he led her away, out another door.

  Chapter 37

  Gem stared at the infant sitting in the crib; it was like looking at a miniature Loni, except that this two year old had delightful, tiny, shell-shaped ears. His skin was the same pale white-blue; the eyes were turquoise, hair a curly white-blond. The boy sat there, staring back at her, as if he could see right into her mind.

  Her immediate reaction was to close her thoughts from him.

  And suddenly, Loni stood right there beside them.

  "He looks just like me," Loni marveled, projecting both his thoughts, and his shock. "They've been experimenting with mother's genes; they must have grown him..."

  They both cringed in revulsion at the very thought.

  What an awful thing to do!

  But the little boy had followed their silent communiqué. His immediate reaction was to think, rejection. His soulful eyes filled with tears, and he inched away, to the back wall of the crib.