by L. S. O'Dea
Rufus followed his gaze. “Yeah. We do.”
“Don’t worry. I’m happy that you share her.” Two males mating with one female almost guaranteed she’d conceive, unless she was barren. Then, she’d have to go, but no need to worry about that now. She was young and healthy. She should get pregnant soon.
“Share her?” asked Lee, a slight look of confusion on his face.
“Yeah. We do. Share her,” said Rufus.
“Excellent.” Scottsmoor looked up and smiled before grabbing Rufus’ wrist and inserting the needle.
Rufus flinched but it was just a slight tightening of his muscles. This Guard was strong. Good, because he’d need to be to live through the enhancement.
“I’m glad you’re happy about that but a little surprised.” Rufus glanced behind him. “Our last master was not.”
“The entire process here is for procreation.” Scottsmoor tossed the empty syringe in the trash.
“What?” squeaked Prin.
“Sorry.” He smiled. Guards weren’t educated. Large words like that only confused them. “Making offspring.”
“Why?” asked Lee. “Aren’t there enough unwanted Guards?”
“We’re making you stronger and faster and we’d like to see if those traits get passed on to your young.” He pulled out another empty syringe. “Now, come here.”
“It doesn’t hurt that bad,” said Rufus as he passed the female.
Her eyes were grave as Rufus nodded. He was definitely their leader. All Scottsmoor had to do was control him and the others would follow.
“Come on. I’ll bring you something special for lunch,” offered Scottsmoor.
Rufus glanced at him and his eyes held a thank you. He’d been correct. The way to control the large male was to be kind to the female.
“Go on, Prin. You know Lee wants something special for lunch,” said Rufus.
“Yeah, I do,” said Lee.
“Okay, but you both owe me.” She smiled at Scottsmoor and bent her head in subservience as she walked toward him.
This was perfect. She was easily swayed and the large male would do whatever he was told in order to protect her.
CHAPTER 4: RUFUS
Rufus sat on a pile of blankets on the floor, his stomach full for the first time he could remember.
“Can’t complain about the food.” Lee licked his fingers.
“That’s true.” He made a slight motion at the camera on the wall across from them. “But, I don’t like living in a cage,” he whispered.
“So far, they leave us pretty much alone.” Lee moved closer to lie down near him.
“So far, but what about those shots. I’ve never heard of vitamins hurting,” he said.
“You’ve never taken a vitamin in your life.” Prin crawled between them.
“No, but I don’t trust that Almighty.”
“You don’t trust any Almightys after Serkle,” said Lee.
“For good reason.”
Serkle had been their first master and he’d been okay, until he’d tried to mate with Prin. She’d been ten. They’d run away and hadn’t stopped.
“I’m tired of being on our own.” Prin rolled over and took his hand.
“Me too, but I think we need to go.” He tangled his fingers with hers.
“Just a few days ago, you wanted to stay here,” said Prin.
“I changed my mind.” He hadn’t liked the place earlier but he’d been willing to give it a try. They were safe and together. Now, he was no longer sure about the former.
“I like it here. It’s warm, quiet and there’s food.” Lee yawned.
“A few good dinners and you’re ready to forget everything—the smells, the shots. The fact that we’re in a cage.” He almost growled. “They can remove any of us at any time and we won’t be able to do a thing about it.” He couldn’t lose them. They were all he had.
“But they won’t.” Lee rolled over. “You heard the Almighty. He wants offspring. They’ll leave us together.” He flicked Prin on the nose. “For once you didn’t screw up.”
“Hey.” She swatted his hand.
“What’s going to happen when she doesn’t get pregnant again?”
“We can worry about that later.” Lee took a deep breath and sighed in pleasure. “Right now, we’re safe, warm and fed. What more could we want?”
“I agree,” said Prin. “Let’s stay until the baby is born. Then we can leave.”
“No.” They couldn’t stay here. He didn’t know exactly why, but he knew this wasn’t a good place.
“She’s going to need more food and rest,” said Lee. “We won’t be able to get that for her on the streets.”
“I know it won’t be easy, but your plan isn’t going to work.”
“Why?” Lee sat up.
“You don’t think they’re going to find it odd that she’s pregnant and they never saw us mating?” He tipped his head at the camera again.
Lee frowned and then smiled. “We’ll sleep close to one another under the blankets. In the dark, they won’t know for sure what we’re doing.”
“Please. Guards aren’t known for their unenergetic mating,” he said.
“We’re the exception.” Lee grinned. “That Almighty is so eager for offspring he won’t care.”
“Okay. Let’s say you’re right, although I don’t think you are.” He added that part just to annoy his brother. “How are we going to escape after she has her baby?”
“Same way we’d do it now.” Lee’s eyes darted around the room. “That camera points directly at the cage. We find its blind spot and we leave at night when no one is around.”
“We’re in a bloody cage.”
“We pick the lock.” Lee thought he had answers for everything.
“With what? I don’t have my lock picks. Do you have yours?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “No. They took them when we were caught in the sweep.”
“We’ll figure it out. We have time.” Lee dropped back onto the blankets.
“Please.” Prin squeezed his hand. “I want to stay. Just until my offspring is born.”
“What if the Almighty takes the baby? Gives the baby one of those shots.”
Prin’s eyes widened. It was like a knuckle to the heart, but he had to make her think, to realize how much danger they were in by staying.
“They wouldn’t do that? Would they?” She glanced at Lee who was frowning again.
“They want the offspring awfully bad, just like Lee said.” He shot his brother a look of triumph before continuing, “If they take the baby, not only do we have to figure out how to get out of here but we also have to find your offspring.”
“Her. We’ll have to find her.” She touched her belly. “It’s a female.”
“You have no way of knowing that,” grumbled Lee.
“A mother knows.” She looked down her nose at her twin.
“Please. Mothers only know when the offspring is born just like everyone else,” said Lee.
“Stop it. The sex of the baby isn’t important.” Those two would bicker about this all night. “We need to figure out how to escape and do it before the offspring is born. It’s the only way we’ll stay together.” He was going to add and stay safe but the streets weren’t safe for healthy adults let alone a pregnant female or a newborn.
“You really think they’d take the baby?” asked Lee.
“I don’t like this place. Those smells. They’re not natural.”
“Yeah. They make me want to run or to hide in a corner,” said Lee.
“Me too.” Prin snuggled closer.
“Then, it’s agreed,” he said. “We figure out how to escape and we start tomorrow.”
“Okay.” They both said.
Rufus climbed over Prin and settled between the two, wrapping his sister in his arms. Lee thought he was too old for that or he’d pull his brother close too. They needed to escape and the sooner the better. He felt it in his bones. He may not be pretty like Prin and Lee, but his in
stincts had never failed him. They’d warned him about Serkle and he’d stayed close to his sister, which had saved her from rape. Now, he needed to save her and Lee from whatever was going on at this place.
CHAPTER 5: RUFUS
Rufus watched Prin as she slept. She looked too young to be pregnant. She had her hands tucked under her cheek just like she used to sleep when she was a baby.
“I don’t think the camera is motion activated.” Lee whispered in passing as he paced back and forth at the front of the cage.
“That’s good and bad.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“Are you familiar with that brand?” His brother was the expert in gadgets.
“No. Looks old but there’s no way I can tell how wide the angle is from here. I’d need to at least get a good look at it but it’d be better if I could see the recording.”
“Then we’ll have to figure out how to do that.”
Prin rolled over, moaning slightly as she sat up.
“You okay?” He moved to her side.
“Yeah, just hungry.” She clutched at her rounded abdomen.
“I’m sure they’ll be here soon with something for us to eat.” He brushed some hair from her cheek. She was pale. “You should have some water.” He filled a cup that sat next to the almost empty water dish and handed it to her.
“Thanks.” She took a small sip and then gulped it down.
“Let me get you some more.”
“No. You or Lee might need some.”
“We’re fine.” He glanced over his shoulder at his brother. “Aren’t we?”
Lee opened his mouth to argue but closed it when his eyes landed on his twin. “Yeah. I’m good.”
He took the cup and gave her the remainder of the water. “Drink and then rest.”
“I’m fine. Really.” She finished the water like she’d never get enough.
“I know but—”
“I want to help you guys figure out...”
He shook his head slightly before glancing at the camera.
“What we should do next.” She recovered nicely. “It’s boring in here.”
“Rest and while you’re doing that you can look around the place and tell us how you’ll make it homier.” Like any of them knew anything about a home. All he knew was, if they were together he was home.
“Great. I’d love to do that.” She rolled her eyes.
“I knew you would.” He smirked as he stood. “Remember. I love metal things so if you find anything like that, make sure to let me know.”
“I definitely will.” Her brown eyes sparkled a little. She must be feeling better.
He leaned against the wall and went back to casually searching the room. He needed something to use as a lock pick and he had a lot of questions about this place, but the most important question was who could he ask?
CHAPTER 6: RUFUS
Rufus nudged Prin who was sitting on the floor playing cards with Lee. He nodded his head in the direction of the door. Someone was coming.
Three Guards walked into the lab. Stink and Topper, he’d seen on numerous occasions. They were big and strong but not very bright. The other was a kid, probably only around fourteen or so.
“This is the room, Charlie. Get to work.” Topper pushed the cleaning cart at the kid.
“Okay.” Charlie grabbed the broom and began sweeping.
Topper leaned against the desk while Stink dropped onto a chair.
“Aren’t you guys going to help?” The broom paused in Charlie’s hand.
“Nope. We want to see how well you do.” Stink leaned back, tipping the chair.
“Oh.” The kid frowned but started working again.
“You know,” said Topper. “There’s no reason for us to watch everything he does.”
“There isn’t?” Stink straightened, the chair dropping to the floor. “If it’s not cleaned good, Scottsmoor will have—”
“Oh, Charlie will do a good job. He’ll make this room shine and then he’ll clean Scottsmoor’s lab like his life depended on it.” Topper walked over to the kid until his chest almost brushed against the younger Guard’s. “Won’t you?”
Charlie nodded, staring up at the larger, stronger male.
“Good. Stink and I are going to leave for a bit, but we’ll be back. If you didn’t do a good job in both rooms”—Topper shoved Charlie, making him stumble back a step—“we’ll take you to the Brush-Man lab.” He leaned down until he was nose-to-nose with the kid. “And you don’t want us to do that. Do you?”
“No. Please. I’ll do a good job. I swear.”
“Good boy.” Topper patted Charlie’s shoulder, causing the kid to stumble again. He turned and headed for the door. “Come on, Stink. We got some time to kill.”
As soon as the two, older Guards left, Charlie made a face at the door and began cleaning again.
Rufus started to nudge Prin, but she was already on her feet. This was their chance. Usually, the Guards worked in pairs and that made it hard to get information.
Prin made her way to the front of the cage. Rufus picked up her cards, pretending to pay no attention to his sister.
“Hey,” she said, her voice sweet and light.
“Hi.” The young Guard glanced at her but quickly looked down at his feet as he moved across the room.
“Those other Guards are jerks.” She rested her shoulder against the bars of the cage. “Sorry they stuck you with cleaning. That’s a Servant’s job.” She smiled to take the sting from her words.
“I don’t mind.” Charlie put away the broom and pulled out a rag and a spray bottle.
“Really? You’re the first Guard I know who feels that way, especially strong, attractive males.”
His face flushed as he sprayed the counter and began wiping it down. Prin was going to have to work a little harder. The kid might be too young to fall for a pretty female.
“These two hate cleaning.” She pointed at him and Lee. “They leave that to me.”
“It’s a female’s job to clean. Just like it’s her job to take care of the offspring.” He drew a card from the deck. “A male’s job is to protect and play cards.” If she were trying to get this young kid to feel for her, he’d do his part. She knew more than he did about attracting males. Too bad she always picked the wrong ones.
The young Guard was frowning at him, as his hand scrubbed one spot on the desk. Yep, Prin was right. He’d have to play it up more.
“You’re such a dumb Grunt,” she said. “It’s a female’s job to carry the young, but you males could help take care of it.”
“Nope. You get pregnant. You take care of the young.” He smiled. “And me. You get to take care of me too.”
Prin’s eyes narrowed, but there was a sparkle in them which she banked before she turned to look at Charlie. “See what I have to put up with.”
“Don’t listen to her.” He stood and walked to the front of the cage. “You’re young. Let me give you some advice. Pretty faces don’t make pretty hearts.”
At this point the kid was just staring at them. He wasn’t even pretending to clean.
“Not all females are like Pepper.” She shot him a look, that clearly said she’d won a point, before glancing at Charlie. “Pepper was his previous mate.”
“This has nothing to do with her.” He hated talking about Pepper and Prin knew it.
She’d been his first love. They’d met not long after the three of them had run from Serkle’s house. Pepper had been fun, outgoing, and adventurous. He’d fallen hard and fast but she hadn’t had the time or the constitution to deal with kids and he’d had to take care of two younger siblings.
“Charlie.” He turned toward the kid. “That’s your name, right?”
The young Guard glanced at the door. “I’m not supposed to talk to you.”
“Why? We’re all Guards here.” He leaned against the bars. “And I’m a lot nicer than those two Grunt asses.”
“I’m sure, but...”
“Is it the cameras?” Prin tipped her head toward the ceiling. “Are they listening?” She lowered her voice as she took Rufus’ hand. “Come on. We don’t want to get him in trouble.”
“No. They don’t listen. Those cameras don’t collect sound,” said Charlie.
“They don’t.” His eyes darted to his brother. That would help Lee narrow down the brand.
“Nah. They only take pictures.”
“Then shouldn’t you be cleaning?” he asked.
“Ah...yeah.” Charlie grabbed the towel and began wiping the counter again. He kept his head down. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned around, leaning against the cage. “If they’re watching now, they won’t even know we’re talking.” He nudged Prin and she turned around too.
“Thanks,” repeated Charlie.
“Will someone be coming to yell at you because we were talking? she asked.
“Tonight? Hardly. The Almightys leave in the evenings. It’s just us Guards here.”
“Yeah, but Guards might come and yell if they saw you talking to us.” This kid was a bucket full of information, waiting to spill.
“What? No, we don’t watch these cameras. There are Guards who monitor the outside but not inside the lab, especially Level Five.” The kid moved closer, mopping the floor now. “The Almightys are the only ones who watch these films, if they watch them at all.”
His eyebrows shot up and Lee stiffened, his ears picking up every word the kid said.
“They don’t always watch?” Prin bent to scratch her foot, sending Charlie a shy look. “I’m only asking because I’d like to wash up but I don’t want to strip in front of a camera.”
“The Guards will watch that for sure,” he added—half to pry information from the kid and half serious.
“No. We can’t. I mean we don’t have access,” said Charlie. “I swear. I’d tell you if we...I mean the other Guards could watch you when you...It wouldn’t be right.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him and he flushed, mopping more vigorously.
“Will you be cleaning in here every night?” she asked.
