The Superiors

by Lena Hillbrand

  Draven left Estrella’s. He had asked the bouncer at one time if he could rent Cali, so of course the bouncer would assume Draven had such perversions. And a place with Sap in the name was certainly not a reputable one. The closest thing Draven had been to was 28 Flavors, and that looked good compared to the kind of joint that operated in South End.

  He sat in his Mert squinting to read the blurry address on the screen. He swung out onto the road and turned south. Minutes later he passed 28 Flavors and descended into the increasingly seedy part of town. South End had gained notoriety for its gangs, violence and crime, and no sapien chanced running away in that area. If one did, it never came back.

  Draven had lived in the city for a good part of his Superior life, but he’d never ventured so far into the South End. He turned down a street and spotted the blinking neon that spelled out the bar’s name. The next building looked like a gang hideout, crumbling brick walls emblazoned with gang signs spray-painted on the building long ago.

  Draven got out of his car, locked it, and glanced around before stepping into Sap Haven. He had thought Cali had it bad at Estrella’s, a nice restaurant. A place like this bought cast-offs from more reputable places—damaged or sickened sapiens, ones no longer useful to regular restaurants. Here, the saps wouldn’t have alcohol to clean their arms, or even a towel to wipe with. Every sap in a place usually had the same disease after a few months. An inspector could close down the place ten times, and another restaurant of the same type would replace it in a week every time, filling the same building and the same market.

  The stink of diseased saps hit Draven as he entered through the blacked-out door. The restaurants in South End had a reputation for overdrawing sapiens but keeping them alive at all cost. He looked around at the crowded tables. The people in this part of town could only afford cheap sap. Draven felt sorry for them, having to eat something that reeked of disease. Only his ability to hold a job separated him from the Superiors in South End.

  He made his way through the place, not wanting to inhale but knowing he could find Cali more easily by scent than anything else. He was relieved when he didn’t find her. He went to the door and found the lone hostess. One bouncer stood near the door, and none monitored the sap consumption.

  “I’m looking for a sap who I believe works at your establishment. She is called Cali Youngblood.”

  The hostess shrugged. “Never heard of her,” she said in a thick accent. “When we get her?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps…a month,” Draven guessed. “Thirty nights or so ago.”

  “Yeah, never heard of her. Check Sap Heaven. People always mixing us up with them.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Just down the street, a block on the left. Their saps is ug-ly. You wanna try ours before you go down there.”

  “I’ll come back if I don’t find her.”

  “You better. And if it’s not a sap you’re looking for, you can still come back. I’ll be here all night.”

  Draven slipped out and glanced around. He’d almost rather see a roving gang member than someone he knew. He slid into the Mert and drove down the block, checking the street again before entering Sap Heaven. The inside of the place looked identical to Sap Haven. He found Cali immediately. She sat in a booth with her head resting on the table in front of her. A woman sat on either side of her, each drawing from one arm.

  “You done here?” Draven asked.

  One of the women lifted her head, her mouth ringed with blood. “No we’re not done. It look like we’re done?”

  “It looks like she’s dead.”

  “Sap’s still running, I’m still sucking.”

  “Don’t kill her before I get some, or I’ll kill you,” Draven said. He hoped he sounded as menacing as he felt. He knew he didn’t exactly look threatening.

  The woman looked at him and snorted, but she left her seat and walked away when he didn’t. Draven picked up Cali, and the other woman swore at him and stalked off. He carried the sapien to the front. “I want this sap for the whole day.”

  “She isn’t for rent. We gots high-class customers that likes her too much. One pays for her protection.”

  “Then I see his money is being wasted. He’ll never know. What will it cost me?”

  “She come back dead, I’ll turn you in to the Enforcers. And you’ll have to pay her full purchase price.”

  “How much?”

  “Eight Hundred anyas.”

  “Fine. I’ll have her back before light tomorrow morning. Tell her high class customers she’s ill. How much for the night?”

  “Hey, Steph,” the hostess called to a skinny boy who looked about twelve. But of course he had to be at least fifteen, like all Thirds. “How much for classy Cali?”

  “She ain’t for rent.”

  “She is now,” Draven said. “How much?”

  “Eight anyas?” the boy said.

  “Ten,” the hostess corrected. Draven handed her the last of his money, well aware that most if not all of it would go right into her pocket. He scanned the street three times and listened well before going to the car. Carrying a sap around in South End was not the brightest thing he’d ever done. He tossed her in the car and slid in. Two shadowy figures faded back into the alleys on either side of Sap Heaven as he drove away.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Draven didn’t breathe easier until South End lay far behind. He glanced at Cali, who hadn’t moved. She slumped over at an odd angle, but he could hear the blood still running through her. For the second time, he headed towards his place with her beside him in the car illegally. He stopped at a store and locked the car and went inside. He didn’t know what to get her, so he threw a bottle of sapien vitamins and two cans of food on the counter before he realized he had no money. He paid on credit, one ration for the next night. That gave him more than he’d expected—three more cans of sapien food.

  Draven returned to the car to find Cali exactly as he’d left her. He drove to his apartment and draped Cali over his shoulder. Her arms dangled down his back. He glanced around, wondering what his neighbors would say if they saw him. They might call the Enforcers if they thought her dead, or if they thought her alive and misread his intentions. Human cruelty was a moral issue more than a legal one, but he could incur fines for having a sapien that he didn’t own in his apartment.

  He made it to his door without seeing anyone, but found Lira sitting in front of his apartment. She jumped up when she saw him.

  “Oh, wow,” she said. “Why do you have a sap?”

  “I found her. She’s been injured.”

  “So take her to the Confinement.”

  “I will feed her first.”

  “And then…” Lira eyed him. Just what he needed. His sometimes-companion thinking he favored a sap over her or that he planned to drain one and hide the evidence.

  “And then I’m taking her back. Come in and watch if you like. She’s hardly breathing. I have to put something in her.” He pushed past Lira and put his hand to the panel beside the door. The door slid open and he went inside, irritated by Lira’s presence. He laid Cali on the table and took a can out of the bag. He looked around, not sure how to open it. It seemed there had been an easy way…

  He looked at Lira, feeling foolish. She came in and gripped the lid with her fingernails and pried it off. It came open with a pop. “Thank you,” he said. He relaxed a bit and smiled at Lira before turning to his task. He had to concentrate on Cali. He couldn’t lose the best food he’d ever eaten so soon. He’d just found her.

  He rolled her over, held her head up and put the can to her mouth. She didn’t respond. He looked at Lira again, helpless.

  Lira shrugged and backed away. “I don’t know about this, Draven. If she dies here, you’ll get the blame. You’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

  “So will you. You should go.”

  “I’d like to help, I really would. Sorry.” She turned and left, and he heard the quiet sealing of the door and her shoes a
s she walked away. He didn’t imagine he’d be enjoying too many more mornings with Lira.

  When he turned back to Cali, he found her eyes open but glazed. “Cali. You’re awake.” He shook her gently, cradling her head in one hand. “Aspen. Cali. Awaken. Drink this.”

  She drank. She drank all the juice and let one of the pulpy orange blobs slide between her lips. Draven watched the process with a strange fascination. He hadn’t watched a sap eat in a very long time. He couldn’t even remember what they used their front teeth for. The teeth looked so short and flat when he noticed them.

  He got one can of food down her and filled it with water in the bathroom sink, and she drank that with a handful of the vitamins. Light filtered in through his window and made his head ache. He couldn’t think of what to do with the sapien girl. He didn’t imagine she could figure out how to get out the front door, and he didn’t know if she had enough strength to run. But he didn’t have anywhere near her buying price if he lost her, so he brought her into the bedroom with him. He put her on the rug next to the bed and undressed in darkness before climbing into bed.

  Later he awakened and sat up, tired but alert. Something moved in his room, and it took him a moment to remember he had a sapien there with him. Somehow he had missed eating in all the commotion, and the smell of her aroused his hunger. The smell of sap inside her mixed with the awful smell on her that he hadn’t noticed any more than his skipped meal. She smelled foul and dirty from the poor conditions at the restaurant, and she had another smell to her, too. He switched on the lamp and saw her feeling along the wall. She looked at him, her eyes wide with terror.

  “Are you going to kill me?” she asked. He could see her legs shaking from across the room.

  “No, but I’m sleeping.”

  “I need to—I have to go—I have to…go to the bathroom.”

  “For what?”

  “I have to—I need to go to the bathroom.”

  “Oh—Merde.” When he’d taken her home, he hadn’t thought about needing a place for her to void herself. “You need to relieve yourself, yes?”

  She looked around, avoiding Draven’s gaze. “Yeah.”

  “I don’t have facilities for a sapien. What do they have at the restaurant?”

  “There’s a toilet.”

  “Of course.” He picked up a pair of sunglasses and slipped them on and got out of bed. Cali’s hand went to her mouth and she dropped her gaze and turned away. Draven missed most of this, trying to figure out what to do with her instead of paying attention to her reaction. He opened the bedroom door and picked her up as easily as if she were weightless, which wasn’t far from the truth. He didn’t remember if all saps weighed so little or if her low level of fluids affected her weight. She struggled a bit but quickly wore herself out. When he got her into the bathroom, he set her down. “I have a sink, and a shower. Can you use one of these?”

  She looked with distaste at the sink. “If I have to.” She looked at him when he didn’t move. “Can I please have some privacy?”

  “If you need that,” he said. Did all saps act that way? Or perhaps she wanted to formulate a plan of escape. After a moment’s hesitation, he backed out of the bathroom. She couldn’t escape from that room, and he didn’t imagine she could make an effective weapon out of anything in there. A minute later he opened the bathroom door to check on her. She let out a cry of surprise and hit the door with one hand. She had perched on the sink. He closed the door. The situation kept getting stranger and stranger.

  He’d meant to save something valuable to him, and now what had he gotten himself into? Third Order housing didn’t offer quarters for sapiens, and Draven didn’t have the right things to take care of one. Another reason he didn’t have one, along with the expense of upkeep and purchase. Before doing crazy things like taking one in, he should have brushed up on his knowledge of homo-sapien care. He couldn’t even take care of her for a few hours, let alone a day.

  Cali emerged from the bathroom on shaky legs. He picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom and put her on the carpet. She smiled without opening her eyes.

  “Are you satisfied now?” Draven asked. He got back in bed and pulled the blanket over himself.

  “What’s that mean?”

  “Are you comfortable?”

  “The floor is hard, but it’s okay.”

  “I do not have a human bed,” Draven said, thinking of the slots the sapiens used in the Confinement. He didn’t know what she slept on in the restaurant, but he didn’t imagine it offered much more comfort than a rug on his floor. “You’re smiling. Are you pleased?”

  “Oh, no. I was just laughing at you.”

  He sat up in bed and looked down at her. “What?”

  “I didn’t mean any disrespect,” she said quickly. Her eyes opened wide, scared again.

  “You were laughing? How is this possible?”

  “I thought it was funny. Isn’t it a little bit funny?”

  “I didn’t know you could laugh.”

  “Of course I can laugh.”

  “I’ve never heard a sap laugh.” Not since he’d been one, anyway. All the emotion and intelligence had been bred out of them, or that’s what everyone said.

  “Maybe you’ve just never been around one with a sense of humor.”

  “A sense of humor? No. I didn’t know you were capable of humor anymore.”

  “You are funny. There’s not much to laugh about, I guess, but I do it when I can.”

  Draven lay back a bit, pondering this new information. Cali had never been much of a talker, but she seemed more open to conversation now that he wasn’t drawing from her. “And I amuse you?” he asked, turning on his side so he could see her while they talked.

  “Well, not you. But this. I don’t know how I got here, but I woke up and I was in a strange place, and when you turned on the light, I was in a room with a naked Superior wearing nothing but sunglasses. It’s pretty funny. Even if you are going to kill me.”

  “Why is this funny?”

  “Because. Because it just is. I guess you’re the one without a sense of humor.”

  He thought this over, and after a minute he smiled. “It is a bit amusing,” he admitted.

  Cali didn’t say anything for a bit and he was half asleep when she spoke from the floor. “How did I get here? Did you buy me?”

  “I rented you.”

  “You rented me? You’re going to…”

  “No. I don’t…” He stopped, trying to remember the correct term for what sapiens did. “I don’t breed with humans. I didn’t want you to die. I enjoy your taste too much.”

  “I’ve never been rented before.”

  “That’s because it’s not supposed to happen. The place you work, they said someone paid for your protection. Does this person use you in that way?”

  “No. He’s just like you. He likes to feed off me.”

  “Someone with money? Why doesn’t he buy you?”

  “Why don’t you?”

  Draven looked over the side of the bed at her. “I don’t have the money or time to keep livestock. I had a dog, but it died.”

  “You had a dog?” She opened her eyes at this news and looked back at him. The clearness of her pale brown eyes surprised him. She looked like she understood what he said, like she might be…intelligent.

  “Yes, some years ago.”

  “Now that’s funny.”

  “Why is that funny?”

  “I don’t know. It just is. Did you, you know, feed off it?”

  Draven grimaced. “Would you eat a dog?”

  Cali laughed, and it caught him so off guard that he laughed too. Hearing a sap laugh, even a small laugh like hers, disconcerted him. She stopped laughing abruptly when he laughed, and they looked at each other for a moment and then both of them turned away at the same time.

  “You’re quite weak,” Draven said, still not looking at her. “You should sleep.”

  “I’m awfully thirsty.”

 
“I will bring you water.” He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts before he went into the bathroom and brought her back the can of water. She drank it all and another, and when she finished, she lay curled on the rug next to his bed. He got back into bed, shorts still on. When he had heard her laugh, she seemed almost like a person. It seemed less like having his dog on the rug beside the bed and more like having a person there, a person who would notice his nakedness.

  He woke again in the evening. He rose and showered. By the time he got done, his teeth throbbed with hunger. The light had faded from the sky. Cali smiled when he came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He watched her watching him for a moment, but he couldn’t tell what she thought. Then he shook his head at the absurd idea. He didn’t care what a sap thought of him.

  Cali sat at the table eating peaches from one of the cans with her fingers. The peaches smelled nice. “I couldn’t find a spoon,” she said. Her smell drew him near, but the dirty restaurant smell that clung to her tainted the tempting aroma of her sap, and he didn’t want her as much as usual.