by Crystal Dawn
“I want to help, I really do but it’s not me I’m afraid for. I’m going to have a baby. I wasn’t expecting it and I’m all alone now,” she said softly.
“Sweetheart, we’ll help you when we get there but right now, we need you to help us, okay?” he asked softly trying not to upset her.
Afrod looked up and saw Hades standing nearby listening. “What’s the guy’s name?”
“It’s different and I’ve never heard it before. Afay oh, hell I had it…,”
“Apis?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Afrod was excited since Apis was one of his dearest friends. “What’s your name Sweetheart?”
“Julie, my name’s Julie.”
“Julie, I have some questions and we’ll go through this slowly and carefully so we get everything down right. Once we get all the information from you, we’ll come up with a plan and someone will come protect you and help you figure things out. We won’t just leave you on your own, Julie. We will take care care of you.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
Afrod went through locations, people, and security. Julie didn’t know a lot, but it was a start. Hades stood listening closely and nodded his approval. They finally had all the information they needed and he reassured her once again that they would look out for her before they said goodbye.
“It sounds legitimate,” Afrod said.
“I think so too. Since we have to do surveillance we need to get out there fast. I think Eros and I will supervise this mission and send someone else on the call Adonis got. It sounded easier since Lucy got us a great deal of information while Julie didn’t seem to know more than the basics. Of course, you’re aware that you’ll be going,” Hades mentioned.
Afrod smiled, he just couldn’t help it. “I can’t wait to get a look at the outside world,” he admitted. He knew not all his fellow gods felt that way. Some of those who had been out there hated it. Hermes mentioned that if he never had to leave Olympus again, he’d be a happy male. He also said that he was glad Zeus had made him go that first time because he had found all he ever wanted in his mate, Cherish.
“Just be careful, it’s dangerous out there and the danger isn’t always evident,” Hades said and his experienced and knowing eyes held secrets Afrod wished he knew. “We’re going to have an emergency meeting and probably leave right afterward. Turn off your station and go pack.”
“What time is the meeting?”
“Thirty minutes in the room next to Zeus’ office.”
“I’ll be there,” Afrod confirmed before he rushed off to his room. He ransacked it in order to find what he needed and pushed everything back in place hurriedly. He’d straighten it out better when he got back. It wasn’t like anyone else would see the mess. Excitement coursed through him over the mission and curiosity about Julie filled him. He felt sympathy for her and a protectiveness that probably stemmed from his oath to her that she would be protected at all costs.
He strode into the meeting room like a god because he was a god. The room was almost full but some of those present wouldn’t be going. He saw an unhappy Ris sitting at the table. They were probably making him go and he liked to be home with his new family. He was seeing a lot of the gods his age and even some younger gathering for these types of trips. Maybe it was their intent to train his generation in missions, but he would feel more confident with a few older gods thrown in.
It looked like Hades would be in charge but his mate was nowhere to be seen. He would be an unhappy irritable god the whole time but he would keep them all safe or his mate would tear him up. She was one of the doctors here at Olympus and she wasn’t happy when they were overwhelmed with wounded. Hades tried very hard to keep his mate happy.
Hades called the meeting to order and went over the little information they had. Unlike Adonis’ female informer who had given them a wealth of information, his was a terrified young female who knew very little and kept her head down so she wouldn’t attract any attention. Afrod understood, she wasn’t strong enough to protect herself and she was too afraid to drag her family into it even though it sounded like her sister was more than capable of helping her. He’d gotten the impression of a tough battle ax who wore combat boots.
She had mentioned her sister was just a bit older than her but way more experienced and take charge. He secretly thought Julie should have called in her barracuda of a sister and let her help deal with the situation but if she had, the gods probably wouldn’t have been called in and they wanted to reclaim their own. That would include Julie who now carried one of their own, Afrod was certain of it.
When Julie spoke of her sister there was a kind of fearful awe. She loved and respected her but she found her difficult to approach because she was so overwhelming. She made her sound like a conquering general, approaching everything with a take no prisoners’ attitude. Poor Julie wasn’t strong or forceful and she was completely afraid of her sister or maybe just afraid of letting her down. She was clearly overshadowed by her and felt unable to confide in her. Afrod felt sorry for the girl. She had told him she was twenty one but she sounded and acted more like sixteen.
While Afrod had been thinking about Julie and her personal situation, the meeting ended. He wasn’t too concerned, he already knew all the information they had and they would have to gather most of it once they arrived nearby. Julie would be more of a problem than a solution and if her sister became involved, Afrod saw nothing but trouble ahead. He followed Hades, until he stopped in medical to say goodbye to his mate. Afrod moved over to the doors where everyone else gathered.
Eros joined them which surprised them all. Afrod vaguely remembered Hades mentioning that Eros was coming but he’d forgotten. Others were surprised because rumor had it that Lu was preparing to take most of the demons with him and take over a new facility, one in a tropical location and Eros was going to help them set up. There was a cache of explosives and disposing of them would be Eros’ job since he was an explosives expert. He wasn’t their only one but he was the best. They were all jealous of him getting to go to the tropical location, but the rumor also was that gods from here would be allowed to rotate there in small numbers for a quarter of the year at a time. They all liked Lu, volunteers for his location wouldn’t be hard to find.
There was also a rumor that three more facilities would be opened in what was previously Origin locations that the local governments had agreed to sign over to the gods. One was in Mexico, one in Iceland, and one in the States. Everyone was excited about the new locations and some were even prepared to go there. Rumor had it that Hades and Doc might be going to head the one in Mexico. Hercules or Eros were up for the one in the U.S., supposedly, and no one was speculating about the one in Iceland. It was too much like their Olympus, location wise, to lure anyone there. It seemed like since they had been freed, they had gone through one exciting situation after another.
They loaded on the plane not waiting for Hades. He would join them before they took off. There were nine of them and they were all just regular gods except for Pluto, Hades Roman version from the next generation of gods and Eros who was second level leadership. Pluto was around sixteen and very good with computers and communications. Jupiter had been sent with the other group so it was clear Zeus was drawing the young ones into the fold and putting them to work. Eros would be Hades second since he was also in leadership and had the needed skills.
“Afrod, come sit with me,” Hades directed from the front seat.
He moved up the aisle and slid into the indicated seat between Hades and Eros. Hades was pulling out information and it looked like more than they had discussed previously. He realized he was about to be briefed on everything they had.
“We’ll go over this until we have a solid plan to acquire more information and at least two possible plans to gather information for,” Hades explained.
They went over things so many times Afrod’s head felt numb and then they went over it one more time. Finally, they were done and he
wanted to get in a nap. One problem was he kept thinking about Julie’s call. She was so frightened, so worried about everything. He ran over their conversation in his mind.
“I hear your fear and I wonder, if you are so scared, why did you call us?” His voice was full of curiosity.
“It was for Apis. They’re killing him slowly and painfully, but I can’t help but think if they can subjugate such a strong god, how can there ever be any hope of getting him free?”
“That’s one god probably born and kept in captivity. We are many with weapons and tools as good, if not better than theirs. Tell me your story, Sweetheart, and we will take care of you.”
She cried as she spoke forcing him to listen carefully. “I worked as a janitor with this company and bad things just started to happen. When I was first hired, I loved my job and I worked cleaning company break rooms and bathrooms. I didn’t mind the work and I met a lot of nice people. But then they moved me to the clinic for some reason and everything bad started to happen to me.”
“It’s alright. We’re going to look out for you.”
She hiccupped a she tried to calm herself down. She sounded young, barely out of her teens and he had to remind himself she was older. “I had a boyfriend, but we were always so careful, but I got pregnant anyway.”
“What about this boyfriend?”
“He took off when I told him. He said it couldn’t be his. I told him no, there’s no way since you never had your god damn cock inside me, did you, you jerk,” she spat out. Afrod recognized her sister’s influence. He almost regretted that he would never meet her.
He must have drifted off because that was the last thing he remembered thinking. Now he was awake and he wondered about a human male that could abandon a baby that seemed to be his. He didn’t asked for a blood test. The reason was clear, he didn’t want to know the baby was his because he thought it was. Julie was too shy to sleep around. Afrod would bet the male had worked for weeks if not months to get her into his bed.
The male must have suspected the child was his and he wanted no responsibility for it. Afrod suspected the child was a god’s child so the human need not have fled. Had he asked for a simple test he would have been free. Afrod wanted children and had no understanding of the mind of some human males. He had abandoned his lover and what he thought was his own child to a world more often cruel than kind. What type of male does that?
Afrod would have considered it not only his responsibility, but his privilege to step up for a child and see to its care. All gods thought that way about children and females. They were weaker and required looking after. Maybe not all of them because Julie had told him her sister was a ball breaker. He liked his balls just fine the way they were. That was one woman he would stay away from or at least guard his balls around. He would admit to a certain curiosity, but it wasn’t worth being harmed to indulge it.
It seemed the two sister were very different and he wondered why. He guessed it was that the older sister had always looked out for Julie so she had never learned to look out for herself.
Chapter 2
Fear
Her hands shook as she hung up the phone. The baby kicked, aware of her emotions and concerned. She hoped she wouldn’t regret making the call and turning the gods loose on the facility. She remembered Apis and how rough he looked. Every rib showed and she could tell he was being starved. He was dirty, maybe filthy was a better description and she was sure he hadn’t been allowed to bathe in weeks if not months.
She knew deep down in her very being that Apis didn’t have much time left on this Earth if he wasn’t freed. He was covered with sores from the shots and samples they took that no longer healed properly. She wasn’t suppose to even know he was there but she had discovered him when she had snuck off alone to cry when they had told her she was pregnant.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a baby someday. It was that she knew it was too soon for her to even think of it. She had a minimum wage job, a dumpy room in a boarding house, no extra money for any baby stuff, and she’d be squatting in the floor alone trying to give birth if her work hadn’t extended her prenatal care and delivery because she didn’t have the money to pay for either. Now she was going to lose that too. There was no way around it, she’d have to go to her sister.
Nettie was her older sister and had raised her like a mother. Their mother had died when Julie had been born. They’d had a live in nanny for the first two years but their father had struggled to pay for it. By the time Julie was two and a half and Nettie eight, there’d been no one to see to them when their father was working. He’d put in long hours and often worked weekends. In order for Nettie to care for Julie, she had been homeschooled.
She was a smart girl and worked at her own pace moving through faster than the average child. She had graduated by fifteen and while Julie wasn’t as brilliant as her sister, she was slightly above average too. She had chosen to go to public school where she coasted through as a B student with little to no effort. She wasn’t the most popular girl in school but she had plenty of friends and was invited to all the big activities. Their father had died of a heart attack when she was fifteen and Nettie finished raising her. It was sad to say, but if they hadn’t known he’d died, they wouldn’t have noticed. He was their father and they loved him but he hadn’t been around enough to make an impression on either of them.
None of those things from the past really mattered now. She was pregnant and her baby was more important than her pride or the feeling that Nettie would be upset with her. She would call her before the gods arrived so she would know what was going on. She owed it to her to be open and honest. She would tell her about the baby and the gods. That would be tomorrow, for now she had to finish her shift and get things cleaned up here. She might manage to see Apis and whisper words of encouragement. He was barely hanging on.
She moved from the offices on the top floor to the bathrooms at the end of the hall. The little bathroom where the urine samples were taken was always hardest to clean because they seemed to hit everything but the cup. This floor was the fertility clinic. The bottom floor was a warehouse and a small portion was a prison. She thought they kept children there too at one time because once in a while she use to hear them cry. If their rooms had been like Apis’ cell, it was no wonder they had let out mournful cries. It was dark, dank, and dirty, the place where one abandoned all hope and sank into abject misery. It had the smell that made Julie think of a grave, only Apis lived, barely.
She cleaned the bathrooms and now all she had left was the bathrooms and break rooms downstairs. Sometime during the cleaning, which was night shift work, she would slip away to speak to Apis. Since it was night and only one guard was on duty inside, she went when he left to go to lunch. He met his girlfriend away from the facility and often stayed gone longer than he should. No one ever came at night so he got away with it and she got away with visiting Apis.
She finished up the bathrooms, the ones down here were easy since they only had a handful of men working down here. She took the cart that held all the cleaning supplies and took it to one of the offices she had already cleaned. She’d lock it up with her key so no one would know where she was and once that was done, she slipped down the hallway. Cameras were only on the outside doors since they used the security system that had already been installed to save money.
It was lucky for her and Apis that they had done that. She stopped in the break room where there was always food sitting out. She grabbed half a dozen stale donuts. Yes, they put out food for their employees, but they bought the day old ones. They didn’t like their people leaving during the shift. She had been cautioned against that and told to find something to clean but never leave early. She had found Apis a couple months ago and he was looking a little better since he had started eating the donuts she brought him. It helped, but it just wasn’t enough when they kept abusing him so much.
She headed down the hallway listening for any signs that the guard was still there or had
come back. For the last month, he had been regular as clockwork. She used her key to get in the restricted area. It was good that it was a metal key and not a card that would show access. She supposed that they were lax with security here. She was glad of it and she knew Apis was as well. She closed the door behind her and it locked automatically.
“You came. I told you it was too dangerous, Julie. Don’t come again,” Apis growled.
She knew he worried about her and she didn’t let it hurt her feelings. She handed him the donuts through the bars and he took them and hid them under his bed. If anyone found them, they would know she had brought them to him. It would cost her freedom at least, if not her life. She cared about Apis and she couldn’t imagine a world without him. She thought he considered them friends too. Since she was here she stood near the bars and let Apis rub her belly. The baby always kicked when he did and Apis always grinned.
“You know you’d miss me if I didn’t come visit you. Besides, no one else feeds you much.”
He looked at her, he was so intense that he made her feel like a misbehaving child. She knew coming to see him was the right thing to do and with his people coming tomorrow, she had to make sure he lived long enough to be saved. She saw the condition he was in and she wasn’t stupid. If she hadn’t fed him these last few weeks, he’d already be dead. Maybe she wasn’t brave like her sister, but she would do what had to be done even if she shivered in her shoes while she did it.
She stayed a little while talking to him about things they liked. Apis hadn’t been allowed to do much in a while. He said they had always limited what they were allowed to do and the things others took for granted were rewards he was rarely able to earn. These days food and a bath were a reward and he couldn’t get those either. To say she felt for him would be an understatement. He was like her best friend ever if you didn’t count her sister.
