by Quil Carter
Perish turned around holding a plastic container full of different objects. He sat beside me and picked up a syringe. When he saw the look of fear on my face he smiled reassuringly.
“Do you know what a tetanus shot is?”
I nodded. Tetanus was a dangerous reality in the greywastes and Skyfall. Vaccines for it and other diseases were available, though they were rarer to come by than working cars. Even in Skyfall only the top elites of Silas got vaccines.
“This will do you for ten years,” Perish said, taking a glass vial from the container, he snapped the cap off and poked a finger into the vial.
I opened my mouth to ask if Reaver could have one, but then clamped it shut. Bad move. Instead my eyes moved to the still open cupboards. In one of those boxes were the vials. I could get Reaver one, Greyson, Leo, Doc, and Reno and we could sell the rest. We could make a load of money from them. With this in mind I was able to remain silent. Perish very gently poked the needle into my arm and withdrew it.
He cleaned my wounds off with a towel and disinfected them, before threading the hook and going to work. He was still gentle, though it did hurt. Once the stitches started to bleed he started wiping the blood away with his fingers rather than the towel. I realized why when he started absentmindedly sucking on his fingers. That was a bit creepy but, well, he was creepy. As he stitched he talked happily about all of the things we would do together.
Perish was cheerful and unfazed from beating Reaver. His moods came and went on a whim, but as Reaver and I had seen, he was dangerous. I would have to be careful with him.
He put on a movie after I was bandaged, and sat beside me. I took a breath and put my arm around him; he rested his head on my shoulder and drew a blanket over us.
He wasn’t Reaver, and as much as I tried not to cringe when I felt his warm arm against mine, I did. All I could do was pretend, but… it was too different. He was warm, Reaver was cold, he smelled like peppermint and antiseptic, Reaver smelt like… well he did smell like soap for a few days but now he kind of smelt like dirt and sweat.
And Perish was… touchy. I hated it. Reaver hated touch, he would be the one recoiling unless he was in a really good mood. Perish loved my arm around his. It was unnerving, and even though Reaver knew, I felt like I was being unfaithful. I hoped he would still look at me the same. No matter what, I wouldn’t sleep with Perish. I’d rather strangle him and take my chances blowing up the door with dynamite than sleep with him.
I suppose that’s what the panic attacks were for. Funny enough I don’t think I would need to pretend to have a panic attack if he tried to have sex with me. The thought of sleeping with my real boyfriend scared the shit out of me.
I looked towards the closed metal door. The TV was lighting up the dark room with flashes of blues and whites. I hoped Reaver would sleep, I hoped Reaver would be okay. It must have been driving him absolutely crazy, allowing me to do this. He was my control freak, used to handling everything on his own and not trusting anyone. He was powerless, with me as the bargaining chip.
I hoped he liked his ice cream…
Oh what a stupid thing to think.
Perish kept talking about his science stuff throughout the movie. It was annoying at first, but I was amazed to see how engrossed he was in the movie. It was Jurassic Park. He talked the entire time, most of the words I didn’t understand. Funny, Perish was always saying things wrong yet he tossed around words like ‘senescence’ and ‘zygote’ like they were everyday words.
The more he talked the more I could see he was a genius; he was literally a mad scientist. I found myself rather impressed with his knowledge of things. He completely de-bunked the entire movie, pointing out every single thing that wouldn’t work and why. He even pointed out movie error after movie error. It was neat and everything, but it did take the magic away from the movie. It’s hard to get into a movie when he’s telling you how it would have been impossible for the T-Rex to sever the goat leg so neatly before it got thrown onto the car full of kids.
He seemed to have watched this movie a lot. I’d realized that the stuffed lizard was in fact an orange dinosaur. Yeah, he had watched the movie a lot.
After the movie was over, he turned on the lights and looked at me. When I looked back he smiled. “No one has ever watched that with me before. Thank you, Killian,” he said, wringing his hands together.
I got up and picked up his lizard for him. “I had a fun time,” I said, then deliberately yawned. “I’m sleepy, is there a place I can sleep tonight?” I wanted to sleep with Reaver in the surveillance room… but I knew it was a pipe dream.
Perish put his hands behind his back. I saw his ears turn red as he stared at the ground. “With me?”
My heart dropped to my knees at the thought, but I was braver than that. I pushed through and smiled. “Okay, sure.”
With a lump sticking in my throat, I followed him to his bedroom, down the hallway from Reaver and through two doors. There was a clean double bed in the middle of a green painted room with pictures of mythical monsters hanging up. Two night tables were on either side of the bed stacked with books, with lamps and a wooden dresser and credenza were pushed up against the wall.
Everything was clean and tidy, the books on the credenza lined up in alphabetical order. I would be taking these with me when we escaped too.
A movement drew my eyes to Perish. He was pulling his own cloth pants down. His trimmed pubic hair around a good size member was there in full view as he stepped out of his pants. I turned to walk to the door before I could convince myself not too. I couldn’t do this.
“No, I’m sorry… I usually sleep naked, I forgot,” Perish said hurriedly.
My heart hurt. I felt stupid, one glance at his penis and my bravery was gone. Or maybe it was being reminded again that I was alone with him, and Reaver was chained and far away. I was alone in this bedroom with an insane scientist.
Fuck, did Reaver have a feed to here too?
I just stared at the wall. I felt Perish behind me. “I got clothes on now, see?”
“Can Reaver see us?” I asked, slowly turning around.
Perish shook his head, he looked up at the ceiling. “No cameras here.”
I nodded and lay down stiffly on the soft springy bed.
The moment he put a supportive hand on my shoulder, I just lost it. Without even needing to act I had a panic attack.
My chest clenched, making it hard to breathe. As I gasped and gasped my body shook so hard it was like I was having a seizure. I could feel Perish holding me but that just made it worse. When I pushed him away he sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his hands together, distraught.
“I need my Xanax,” I managed to gasp. “In the bag I dropped.”
“I… I don’t know where that is at night!” Perish cried. He got up and started pacing. The tears were flowing freely from me now. I wanted to go home, I wanted to go to Aras. I wasn’t brave. Why the hell was Reaver letting me do this? I wasn’t strong. I wanted to go home. Where I was safe. Fuck, why did Reaver have to bring me to this town? Good job, Scourge of the Greywastes!
Minutes later I felt a needle go into my neck, and a firm hand on my face. A sour liquid shot into my system and my body went rigid. I fell back on the bed unable to move – then I lost consciousness.
All I cared about the next morning was that I was still fully clothed. I looked down and tried to move my legs. They were still sore.
“I made lunch.” I jumped and looked over to the doorway.
Perish was dressed in a white lab coat, with his name stitched into the side. His hair was cleaned and combed, and his face was giving me a shy smile.
Lunch? Shit how long had I been –
“You drugged me?” I rubbed my head, and stood up.
“You were in a state, we don’t have blue pills so…”
“Okay.” I sighed. “How’s Reaver?”
“I fed him, he asks about you too every time. I want to show you my garden, come with me.”
Garden or food? Whatever… I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and tried to gather myself. I rose and stifled a yawn.
“Alright, just let me go to the bathroom first, I’m still half-asleep.” I yawned again and ducked into the bathroom to wash my face and pee. When I re-emerged Perish took my hand with a cheery smile and led me towards his garden.
Now that woke me up. The garden was amazing.
It was a large sweltering room that Perish had set up specifically to grow hydroponic plants. The ceiling was covered in bowing and hanging of wires, vents, and bright lamps hanging from black cords. The pale lights were like mini artificial suns shining onto rows and rows of green growing vegetables, bigger and more lush than I had ever seen. They sat nestled in little plastic raised boxes, full of the blackest dirt imaginable.
The whole room had an aroma of fresh rain and soil. It smelled like the first rain after summer, falling onto the green parks they had in Skyfall. It took me back to my first home; I could almost taste Skyfall in this room.
I couldn’t contain it, though I tried. I ran to the first raised box and gently ran my hand along the green leaves of a carrot plant. So soft and fragile in my hands. All around it I could see little sunrises of orange as the flesh poked through the dirt.
Perish had to talk loudly over the machines in the room. “Anytime you want something, just ask, okay? I have books with everything I have grown and want to grow so I can make anything for you. Or if you want to try something special sooner, I can ask Joel to ship them from Skyfall.”
“Who’s Joel?” I asked. I brushed the dirt away from the carrot. The damp dirt clung to my finger. I rubbed my fingers together and smelled them. It smelled so fresh I wanted to eat it.
“Joel is who gives me my supplies, he’s my helper. I called him this morning for a surprise for you and he said it would be easy but don’t make me tell. It might be soon after Nero.”
I hoped it was some more food for me and Reaver to try; I hoped even more it involved us going to the surface. Reaver would have time to look for a key to the collar and maybe a keycard.
“Reaver could be our helper here, wouldn’t that be nice?” I said and went to examine a vine that held little peas on them. I turned to Perish and smiled.
His lips were a thin line as he frowned at me. “He was nice to me this morning, but Reaver is very dangerous.”
I shrugged trying to look as relaxed and nonchalant as possible. “People have to be dangerous on the surface… Perry.” He looked surprised but not offended by this new moniker. “But he’s very obedient, he’ll do what I say. I’ll tell him to behave and you have the detonator too, right?”
“No… no I don’t think so, sweety,” Perish said politely back. He walked past me, and I could see a blanket laid out in front of one of the plants.
“Please?” I begged. “He helps my panic attacks, he saved me from the legionaries.”
Perish looked at me, his eyes widened. “He wants to date you.”
“Don’t be silly, Perry. He’s straight, he likes women.” Oh god, don’t kill me Reaver…
“Ohhh…” The scientist nodded. He sat down and opened up a basket full of food. “Oh that makes sense. I didn’t know why he wouldn’t want you like I do. Still though he’s dang-”
I kneeled down beside him and kissed his lips. “But he makes me feel safe in my head, even though I know nothing will hurt me here.”
I got him… he looked at me shocked and went in to kiss me. I pulled away. “Reaver comes out?”
Perish looked at me. “For tonight, okay.” Then he put his arms around me. He pulled me down on top of him and started just… kissing me. It was either his first time doing it, or he was very bad at it. Not soft, gentle and well… arousing like Reaver. This was just forced, and as manic as he was. Like he was trying to take in as much of me as he could in the short period of time I would allow it.
I pulled away and climbed off him. I could feel his hardness through the cloth pants. He looked at me longingly, but he didn’t make an attempt to take it further. I felt disgusted and used, but I pushed it away and helped him bring out the food.
I was a god to him after that. We ate together in the muggy, brightly-lit room, my first ‘picnic’. He talked my ear off about science things again, though I still didn’t understand. It was nice to see him so excited to have someone to talk to.
I started to get more interested in what he was saying when he started talking about his brothers and sister and his ‘Master’.
“He didn’t like me…” Perish said, eating the last few grapes from a bowl he had packed. “I was different from my brothers and he disliked me because of that. I was locked away a lot and sick all the time. I think he made me sick on purpose. Elish took me away, for a long time and it was okay with him, but when Silas came and got me again he was angry. So he just tormented me. He loved to have sex with me, especially when I screamed and struggled.”
“That’s rape…” I said slowly.
Perish shook his head. “No, it’s not rape if you belong to them. It’s your duty. I gave him so many creatures. My whipwolf, ocilles, centipods, boras, gnashers, carracats… I gave them all to him, everything he asked. But he… he never said thank you. Garrett did but Silas never did. Silas just–” Perish shrugged, his brow furrowed and I saw his light eyes fill with emotion. “He fucked me in front of all of them, and they laughed and threw things at me. Nero pissed on me.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I said flatly. “What sort of fucking family do you belong to?”
“I deserved it; Nero just always has to escalate it. It’s his engineering, my fault too.”
“Who’s Nero?” I couldn’t help it. This guy was holding us hostage, had beaten Reaver and electrocuted me, but I found myself deeply disturbed with the life this sad, lonely scientist had lived. I felt bad for him. How much of his actions could really be blamed on him?
“Nero is my brother, he’s very strong and very mean. He was my master’s bodyguard when I left. Maybe he still is? I’m not sure. Nero… he keeps me in line. Nero visits for half a day, every three months. He’ll be coming soon. When he comes I’ll hide you and Reaver, don’t worry.”
“When?” I said, alarmed. Nero sounded terrifying.
“Nero is coming August fifteenth,” Perish said automatically. “I’ll hide you, don’t worry.” A pit formed in my stomach as a flash of fear fell across Perish’s face. I knew his brother would object to his two new prisoners, but the thought of ratting him out didn’t occur to me. I would hide and I would be quiet when he was here. Nero sounded sociopathic and dangerous.
All the chimeras did. King Silas’s influence was heavy in them, even in Perish. Though the horrible treatment had had a very different effect on the lonely scientist.
“What day is today, Perish?” I asked nonchalantly.
“August twelves.”
Oh fuck… my mouth went dry. I busied myself eating a piece of ham. I would need to tell Reaver this. If I got the password and the detonator before Nero came, he would find his brother either tied up and beaten or… if Reaver got a hold of him… dead. If Nero only visited every three months, our safest thing would be to escape after. Fuck, Reaver wasn’t going to like this.
“Thank you, I don’t want to meet Nero,” I said, making myself say something. Inside my chest was clenched. “Do you have a nice brother at all? One that treats you like you deserve.”
Perish pursed his lips and shook his head. “Garrett is nice to me but I barely see him. Elish does not hurt me but he isn’t nice. Drake is nice but he’s our cicaro so he has to be. I have been gone a lot doing science though. They forget about me. I miss them though. I love my brothers.”
“That must’ve been nice to have so many siblings, I always wanted a brother,” I said patting his leg. “Maybe you can splice me one.”
“I really could if I had my right lab.” Perish laughed, but suddenly he clapped his hands together. “Want to see my splices?”<
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“Sure,” I said and we both got up. I didn’t know what exactly to expect, but I was curious. What sort of creatures could a manic genius invent?
The world was full of abominations, some happened naturally under the radiation, others were released or escaped out of the labs. They mostly used the abandoned towns as their homes when they escaped, but quite a few had migrated away and managed to breed and survive. Perish was probably responsible for some of those abominations. I had only seen one that the mercenary had told us had come from a lab – a giant insect, a centipede with hundreds and hundreds of legs. It had come into our camp looking for food. I could still smell the stink it gave off when the mercenary shot it. It was absolutely disgusting, I was scrubbing myself raw for a week.
Perish led me down a flight of pocked metal stairs. At the bottom was another white door but unlike the others, this wasn’t covered in wire mesh and plastic. It had thick steel bars on it.
He swiped with his card and opened it up for me.
In front of us was a long hallway with a double door at the end. The hall was the same sterile white with only a single additional door on the right-hand side about halfway down.
“Red means locked,” Perish said. He grabbed my hand and held it as we started walking. Once again I wondered if Reaver was watching us. I hope he believed in my love for him enough to know this hand holding didn’t mean anything to me. I knew he knew. We had been through enough together by now.
Perish stopped in front of the single, windowless door. “Never go in there without me.” And without another word we continued walking. Well, that sparked my curiosity but it wasn’t like I had my own keycard. I couldn’t go in there and check myself.
There was another beep and another door which he held open for me. I walked inside and immediately was greeted by rabid barking and screaming.
Perish jumped in front of me and in spite of myself I ducked behind him. He held up his hands and started shouting at the creatures.
I peeked from behind him. In front of us to the left was a switchboard, metal tables, and equipment tucked into corners. To my right on the same wall as the door we had walked through was a giant mirror that took up almost the entire wall.
