by L. S. O'Dea
That’d be great. It wouldn’t take long before they talked the kid into letting them out of the cage.
“I doubt it.” Charlie sounded kind of sad about that.
“Why? Don’t you like us?” Prin sat down and leaned against the wall so she could watch Charlie but not look like she was watching him.
“No. I mean, yeah. It’s just that Scottsmoor was busy with another experi...work. Other work.”
Lee’s eyes darted to his. Other work had not been what the kid had been going to say.
“And?” prodded Prin. “The Almighty won’t let you clean in here?”
“No. I mean, most of the scientists have certain Guards they work with on a regular basis. I’m new and younger than the others so I get shifted around a lot. Some of the more experienced Guards do too.”
“That sounds hard.” Prin smiled sadly at him. She knew how to keep a male talking.
“It is, but it’s okay. Some of the exp...It’s fine. It’s just that I doubt I’ll be able to come back here too often. Scottsmoor will want Stink and Topper to clean his ex...labs...rooms.”
He looked at Lee again. The kid was too frightened to say what he really wanted to say.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Prin lowered her eyes. “The other Guards...They’re not nice.”
“They’re not that bad.”
“They barely look at us, let alone talk to us,” she said. “They treat us like we’re not even here.”
“Oh...uhm...We’re not supposed to talk to you guys. That’s all.”
“Why? Is this a fighting ring of some sort?” He’d heard about those places and had even seen a few fights. This didn’t seem like one of them, but maybe they made the Guards healthy and strong and then fought them. If that were the case, they needed to leave now because they would take Prin’s baby and then they’d impregnate her again and again.
“No. Nothing like that.” Charlie walked to the sink and began to wash the beakers and other lab equipment.
“What are they doing here?” asked Prin.
“I can’t talk about that.” Charlie’s hands trembled and he almost dropped a beaker. “I shouldn’t be talking to you at all.”
“But...”
Rufus coughed and shook his head at his sister. The kid was really scared. If they pushed too much, Charlie was liable to stop talking to them all together.
“Okay. I understand,” she said. “I don’t want to do anything that’ll get you in trouble.”
Charlie glanced at her over his shoulder. “Thanks.” He smiled shyly.
Prin had another admirer and that was perfect. They’d have to move slowly. Charlie was their best hope for information and escape.
“Can you tell me why they won’t let us out of the cage? We asked nice and promised not to run away. Is there something else we should say? Promise to do? Or not to do?” she asked.
“No. They won’t let you out. No matter what.” Charlie washed the last beaker and dried his hands.
“Why?” she said.
Charlie glanced at the door and then walked to his cart. “From what I heard, they did that once and the Guard escaped.”
Perfect. So, others had escaped.
“We wouldn’t. I swear. We’d never break a promise. Would we?” She looked at them.
“No.” They most certainly would. He’d break any promise except keeping his brother and sister safe.
“I like it here.” Lee stretched out on the mat on the floor. “It’s inside. We get food and a bed and we don’t have to work.”
“Yeah. I guess.” Charlie pushed the cart to the door. “I gotta go.”
“Come back and see me sometime.” Prin smiled at him. “I enjoyed talking to you.”
“I can’t.” Charlie stopped.
“Please. It’s nice having someone else to talk to besides these two.” She gave them a disgusted look.
“I can’t. I really can’t. If I get in trouble...my brother...I can’t.”
“Your brother’s here too?” It wasn’t normal for Guards to stay in contact with siblings. Him and his brother and sister were one of the few exceptions.
“Yeah...and...he’s all I got and if I get in trouble...they’ll...” Charlie’s face was pale and his hands shook. “I’ve gotta go.” He fled the room.
“That kid was terrified,” said Lee.
“Yeah.” He stared at the door. “Whatever they do to those who disobey is bad., very bad.”
“We need to leave as soon as possible,” said Lee.
“Yeah,” said Prin. “There’s something going on around here that’s weird and weird is never good.”
CHAPTER 7: SCOTTSMOOR
Scottsmoor turned on the computer and located the analysis of the bloodwork on the Rattus hosts. It’d been several days since he’d started the Guards on the shots and he was behind in updating the change logs. He hated this part of the job, especially early in the project. There was never much to document. Still, it had to be done. Conguise would want to see it.
He opened the files on the oldest male. He’d start with the most recent blood draw and work his way backward. That way, if there was anything that required his attention, he could stop this tedious task.
He began typing, filling in the data. It was mindless work. Too bad Servants knew how to read or he’d order one of them to input the information. Guards didn’t have the patience for detailed work like this.
He finished the male’s reports and pulled up the next file. It was for the female. His fingers froze. She couldn’t be pregnant already. He was never that lucky. He looked again but it was true. This should solidify his promotion.
He hummed as his fingers zipped over the keyboard. All he had to do was to make sure they didn’t fully transform. His future wrapped around him like a warm blanket on a cold night.
He clicked the screen, bringing up the report on the blood he’d drawn the day the Guards had arrived. This wasn’t possible. He checked the name on the report. He checked the blood. This was a mistake. He never would’ve bought her if she were pregnant.
He reviewed the analysis of the blood he’d received from Satcha, the House Servant who worked at the shelter. It showed no pregnancy. He flipped back to the report from the first blood draw he’d done. She was definitely pregnant. “Gruntshit.” He slapped his hand on the table.
“Everything okay?” asked Rufus.
He glanced at the three Guards in the cage. The younger male was pacing and the older one was sitting on the floor, flipping cards into a can. They were getting restless, except her. She was sleeping more and more which wasn’t uncommon for a pregnant female.
“Is there any way we can go outside? Just for an hour or so?” asked Lee.
“No.” He wasn’t making the same mistake Ableson had made—not the escape or the attack.
“Please. I’m going crazy in here.” Lee grasped the bars. “You can tie me up. Put a chain on me. Anything.”
“No.” Perhaps, he didn’t need to mention the pregnancy. It was highly unlikely that the young would survive the enhancements, but if it did, the serum could account for any rapid growth of the offspring. Of course, if he lied he’d have to modify his records before showing them to the professor.
What if that wasn’t the only problem with their blood? What if they were sick? He had to run the full analysis on the blood he’d drawn when the Guards’ had arrived. He hadn’t bothered because he’d run those tests on the sample he’d received from Satcha.
“Please.” Lee yanked on the bars.
Temper was a symptom of the transformation but the Guard could also be bored. Too bad. There was no way any of them were getting out even for a moment. He put the blood in the chemistry analyzer and headed for the door. “Stink, get their dinner dishes.”
The Guard was hovering in the doorway, waiting on his command.
“But we’re not done,” said Lee.
“You should’ve eaten instead of wasting time begging to be taken outside.” He wa
lked from the room.
“Come on. Please,” screamed the Guard. “Let me out. Just for a minute.”
That Guard was never getting out of a cage. If he survived, he’d be transferred to another room, another cage, but he’d never be free again.
CHAPTER 8: RUFUS
“Hand me your dishes.” Stink walked to the enclosure.
“We’re not done.” Rufus stood. It was time to antagonize the Guard. Maybe, they’d get lucky and Stink would open the cage to punish them.
“Scottsmoor ordered me to take them.”
“Let us out. For one minute,” pleaded Lee.
“I’m sorry.” Stink glanced away. “I really am, but I can’t.”
“We won’t leave. I swear.” Lee grabbed the bars.
They wouldn’t. Not tonight. It was too early. They’d never make it out of the building if they ran now.
“I...I can’t.” Stink looked over his shoulder.
“Why?” Rufus moved closer. That Guard was as scared as the kid had been. “We heard they let someone out before. He ran but we won’t.” He met Stink’s brown gaze. “We’d never do that to a fellow Guard.”
“How’d you hear about that?”
“Whispers in the hallway.” He tapped the side of his head. “No one understands how well a Guard can hear.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Stink laughed, losing some of his nervousness.
“What happened the other time?” He was curious but more than that, he needed to keep the Guard talking.
“It was bad.” Stink glanced behind him again. “The Guard escaped but they found him and brought him back.”
“Why’d they go after him? Most Almightys would just get another Guard from the shelter.”
“They had to.” Stink’s eyes were wide. “You still don’t understand what they’re doing here...to you. It’s why I can’t let you out, no matter what.” His eyes darted to Prin. “I’m sorry this happened to you but I need the dishes.”
“What are they doing to us?” He glanced at his brother and sister.
“It’s the shots. Isn’t it?” asked Prin.
Stink’s head bobbed furiously. “Yeah. They’re bad. You have to feel it by now.”
“I’m sick,” she said. “But I thought that was because...I thought it was for another reason.”
“It’s the shots,” whispered Stink. “I’ve seen them chan—”
“Stink, what are you doing?” Topper stepped into the room. “You’re not supposed to talk to them.” He glanced at Prin. “I don’t care how pretty she is. She isn’t for you. She isn’t for any of us.”
Prin stood and strolled over to them. “I could be though.” She glanced at Lee and Rufus. “I could be with you. Either of you or both.” She put her hand through the bars, reaching for Stink.
Both Guards backed away as if she held a knife.
“I just want to touch you.” She lowered her voice.
“No.” Stink continued to back away. “Stay away.”
She glanced at her brothers. No male had ever acted like this to her.
“Give us the dishes, or you don’t eat tomorrow.” Topper moved toward the cage but not close enough to be in Prin’s reach.
She walked to the bed and picked up her tray. “I don’t want to be hungry tomorrow.” She slid it through the slot.
Topper grabbed it and handed it to Stink.
“What’s in the shots?” His muscles and joints ached and he’d noticed thicker hair growing on his body. Plus, his molars were getting loose. If the shots were poison, he’d need to know what type. It was their only chance to offset it once they escaped.
“We can’t tell you even if we knew,” said Topper. “The trays. Now.”
“Araldo, curse you.” Lee snarled at them but grabbed his tray and shoved it through the slot.
“You need to stop acting up. Scottsmoor don’t like it,” said Topper.
“What’s he going to do to us?” Rufus moved closer to Topper. “We’re caged and being poisoned. He can’t do worse than that.”
Stink’s face paled even more. “Oh, there are things a lot worse than that.” His gaze went to Prin. “Just obey and...everything will be...okay. Kind of.”
“The dishes.” Topper’s eyes met his.
There was false bravado in the other Guard’s gaze. Rufus would’ve challenged that, but it was the terror in Topper’s eyes that made him bend and grab his tray. He had no desire to discover what else Scottsmoor could do to them.
CHAPTER 9: RUFUS
After the Guards left, Rufus and his siblings curled up on the mat on the floor.
“Did you get it?” he asked.
“Yep.” Prin handed him a fork. “They never even looked.”
The Guards always counted the dishes and silverware, but tonight they’d been in too big of a hurry. Their plan had gone perfectly except for the lingering fear of what was in those shots.
“Great job.” He began bending the tines of the fork.
“You too.” She stared up at him. “Do you really think they’re poisoning us?”
Lee wrapped his arms around his sister, but his eyes were on Rufus.
“Yeah. Don’t you feel it?” He hated scaring her, but he had to be honest.
“I’ve been sick, but I thought that was the baby.”
“I hurt,” said Lee. “All over and my hair...I’m getting more hair.”
“Me too.” He worked harder, bending the metal back and forth. “Teeth?”
“Lost a molar yesterday,” said Lee.
“Holy Araldo.” Prin rolled over to look at her twin. “My teeth hurt all the time.”
He snapped the tine off the fork and then bent the others, mangling them. When he was done he stuffed the utensil in a corner as if it’d gotten kicked by accident—after getting run over by a carriage.
“We have to go,” said Lee.
“Tomorrow night.” He stared at the tiny piece of metal in his hand. He’d have one chance to pick that lock and get them out of this building because his every movement would be recorded. Even if Charlie were right and the Almightys didn’t always watch the footage, he wasn’t risking their one chance of escape on the word of a kid and the habits of Almightys.
CHAPTER 10: SCOTTSMOOR
The next morning, Scottsmoor hurried to the Rattus lab to see the blood analysis. The female was awake, standing in the corner, her large, brown eyes deceptively innocent.
He walked to the cage. “You.” He pointed at the female. “Come here.”
Prin glanced at the two males as she moved to the front of their cell.
“You’re pregnant.”
“What?” Her face paled. “I mean, I don’t know—”
“Don’t lie to me.” They had no idea what danger this put all of them in, including himself. “I have your blood.”
“It shows in my blood?”
“Of course, it shows in your blood,” he said. Guards were so stupid.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t know.” She blinked and a tear rolled down her cheek.
“That’s what you wanted, right?” The large male walked to the female’s side.
“I wanted her to get pregnant in here.” Scottsmoor’s eyes went back to hers. “Not arrive pregnant.” He wished he could report Satcha to the authorities. Unfortunately, that’d draw attention to him and he was involved in endeavors much more serious than selling Guards and not reporting the income.
“That’s not her fault.” Rufus took her hand, giving it a squeeze.
Scottsmoor took a deep breath. The Guard was right. It was Satcha’s fault. “Which one of you is the father?”
Rufus looked at the other male.
“Answer me. I need to know who her mate is.”
“We...we don’t know,” Lee stammered.
The female blushed.
“Figures.” He strode to his desk. He needed to inform the professor, but he was still unsure if he should tell Conguise the truth or just that she was pregnant.
“Please, please, don’t let her...” He opened the file on the female. He was literally going to kill Satcha and telling Conguise the truth was no longer an option. The three were siblings. He stared at the Guards who were sitting next to each other on the mat. How had this happened? Guards never stayed with their siblings and yet—his gaze dropped back to the computer—there it was. Proof.
This was not good. A pregnancy, even one started before the shots, would give them results and further the project—Would the fetus survive the enhancement protocol? If it did, what would it be?—but mating brother with sister wasn’t allowed. Ever.
He’d have to either get a new female or new males and that would take time. Time, Conguise wouldn’t be happy about losing. He’d have to explain how this had happened in the first place and telling the professor that he hadn’t drawn the blood himself would not go over well. Conguise expected perfection but there weren’t enough hours in the day.
He had to do something. His eyes drifted back to the enclosure. The female was a proven breeder. She was too important to lose. That meant the two males had to die from the process.
CHAPTER 11: RUFUS
Rufus waited for Scottsmoor’s footsteps to disappear down the hallway before turning to his brother and sister who were lying on the floor next to him. “Grab anything you think will be helpful and that will fit in your pockets.” He glanced at the door. “As soon as the Guards take our trays and the place falls quiet, we’re out of here.” He fingered the piece of metal in his palm. He was good at picking locks but tonight he’d have to be perfect.
“What’s that noise?” Lee tipped his head.
