by Tony C. Skye
Lilith sits down in the sand where she is eye level to the now quite woman.
“Your world buys sex, sells sex, abuses sex, and perverts sex. Your world has no idea what sex is. Of course you do not understand me. How can you?”
Julianna remains silent.
“Do you believe there is such a thing as meaningless sex?”
“Like friends with benefits?”, Julianna answers with a question.
Lilith’s head retreats as she innocently attempts to define the strange usage of the young woman’s words. She smiles awkwardly. Julianna catches on and elaborates further.
“It’s when two people have sex, but still remain just friends. No love, attachments, or relationship. Just sex.”
“Oh,” Lilith responds, “Then yes. That is what your world teaches you.”
Lilith’s stare becomes stern once again.
“It is a lie, little anguisette. It is impossible to view someone the same way you did before this uh - friends with benefits. You will see them differently every single time. Now when you look upon them, you will see the reward of sexual pleasure. This was not present before, no?”
Julianna shakes her head and looks down at the sand between her legs, “Why are you telling me this?”
“I tell you you have beautiful skin, and you take my adoration and then twist it into a sexual perversion.”
Julianna looks up. Her eyes lock with Lilith’s gaze. The woman of many braids doesn’t seem angry so much as she seems to be concerned.
“I attempt to point out those things inside of you so you can understand yourself better,” Lilith continues, “But your first instinct is to mock my understanding with your perverted teachings. I do not want you like the way you see with your mind. Your understanding of it is pathetic.”
Julianna’s mouth opens slightly before she speaks.
“You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself. I’m just reaming with confidence right now.”
“And why should your confidence be dependent on what I say? Perhaps it is your world who has taught you this behavior?”
Lilith remains silent as the young woman contemplates her words.
“You know,” Julianna finally answers, “It would be nice if you weren’t right all of the time.”
A partial smile of appreciation crosses over Lilith’s lips. She nods respectively.
Julianna takes a deep breath and exhales – her cheeks reminds Lilith of a chipmunk gorging itself. She laughs.
“What?”, Julianna questions with embarrassment.
Lilith reaches out and pushes Julianna’s red-tinge side bang over her right ear.
“You willingness to admit new knowledge is beautiful.”
Julianna grins. Lilith’s occasional backslide of speech is enjoyable. When Lilith’s hand retreats, Julianna gently grabs hold of it. Lilith pauses and watches her curiously.
“Here,” Julianna instructs. She turns her left arm over and exposes her freshly closed wound. Taking Lilith’s hand, Julianna places it onto her arm. Lilith silently questions by lifting both of her brows. Julianna nods reassuringly. Lilith gently squeezes. Julianna’s head retreats – her upper left lip raises just enough to convey her disappointment.
“Really?”, Julianna complains.
Lilith’s gaze becomes full of purpose. She, slowly, places her fingers over the wound. Julianna’s heart begins racing. Lilith forcefully digs into the wound. Julianna closes her eyes and screams. When she begins begging, Lilith stops.
“Dammit!”, Julianna curses breathlessly.
Lilith – unsure of what to do – waits. Julianna opens her eyes. The young woman looks with devious eyes.
“My turn,” Julianna announces right before touching Lilith’s left knee with her right hand.
Lilith’s eyes widen. She smiles awkwardly. Signs of pleasure courses through her eyes as she loses herself to a loud gasp.
“Heh,” Julianna enjoys the sounds and visuals emitting from Lilith’s face.
After a few seconds pass by, Lilith begins calming. She watches Julianna, pointedly, move her stare towards her chest area. Lilith smiles and whips her long braids over her shoulders.
“Better?”
“Much,” Julianna agrees proudly.
“How about this?”, Lilith questions while dancing her fingers playfully over the young woman’s arm.
Julianna’s thighs twitch with anticipation.
Lilith notices the young woman is nibbling on her bottom lip. She adores the copycat action with the digging of her fingers.
Julianna cries out. Tears fill her eyes. She holds out as long as possible before begging for mercy. This time, however, Lilith doesn’t comply.
“Please stop!”, Julianna screams out.
Lilith releases and digs harder.
Julianna instinctively takes a swing at Lilith with her right hand. Lilith catches her wrist before contact can be made and squeezes tightly. Sharp pains shoot throughout her arm.
“Lilith stop!”, Julianna commands.
The woman answers with forceful fingers. Julianna screams out.
The next time Lilith relaxes her grip, the young woman collapses her body into the sand. When she does, Lilith lets go of both of her arms.
Whenever Julianna is able to stop crying, she looks up angrily at Lilith from the sand.
“You can be a real bitch, you know that?”
Lilith nods respectively.
Julianna sits up and looks at her arms. They should be bleeding, but they’re not.
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“I know, little anguisette,” Lilith winks, “It was provocation.”
Julianna attempts to scramble away, but is caught before she can get anywhere. Lilith yanks her forward and digs her fingers into her left arm. Julianna screams out again. But this time, her thighs begin quaking with uncontrollable spasms. She looks at Lilith with eyes of surprise.
Lilith smiles knowingly.
* * *
Frank quietly knocks on the door. A few seconds later, he is greeted by his wife. He enters the room and gently shuts the door behind him. Julianna is fast asleep on the bed.
“How’s she doing?”
Martha walks over to a chair positioned by Julianna’s right side and sits down. She watches her husband take the seat next to her.
“She’s been sleeping since you left,” Martha informs.
Frank takes hold of his wife’s right hand.
“And how is grandma doing?”, he whispers.
“Grandma’s tired.”
Frank nods.
“I brought you some clothes,” he explains, “They’re in the room next door. Why don’t you go get some sleep? I can watch over her.”
Julianna throws her head back and inhales a gasping breath. Martha quickly releases her husband’s hand and stands up. Julianna moans softly. Martha’s right brow lifts slightly.
“Frank,” Martha whispers, “I think you need to go.”
Frank stands up and looks at his granddaughter. She moans again. His head retreats.
“Uh…”
“Get out of here,” Martha orders through a whisper.
“Done,” Frank agrees. He walks towards the door and opens it. Julianna moans louder.
“Should I get the...”
“No,” Martha answers while glaring at her husband, “Now shoo.”
Julianna moans.
Frank’s eyes widen. He darts out of the room and shuts the door. Turning around, he smacks into Julianna’s doctor.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Frank apologizes.
The doctor steps back, “That’s quite alright. I am just here to check in on our patient.” The man attempts to step around Frank and enter the room, but Frank steps in front of him.
“Martha needs a few more minutes. Care for some coffee? I’m buying. I sure could use some myself. ”
The doctor glances towards the closed door before looking at Frank.
“Sure. I could go for some wake m
e up,” the doctor agrees. Down deep, he knows Frank is trying to keep him out of the room. But that is one of the things you must learn in order to be part of the Network. You must be intelligent enough to catch these subtle moments. And above all, you can never question the reasoning behind the bloodline’s decisions. You only do.
Frank places his right hand on the doctor’s shoulder, “How’s your family doing?”
“They’re doing great. Janice wanted me to thank you guys for the invitations. She had a lot of fun and she absolutely loves your granddaughter.”
Frank smiles.
“You’re very welcome. And you can tell your wife that her new baby has nothing to worry about whenever it comes to her education. We have all of that taken care of. Any school you two choose.”
“Thank you, sir,” the doctor answers while he begins walking with Frank towards the cafeteria, “Janice will be thrilled.”
“As are we.”
* * *
Martha’s cheeks flush with the matching color of her hair – red. She does not embarrass so easily, but Julianna’s increasing moans is making it impossible not to. If she were not here to see it, she wouldn’t believe it. Julianna is clearly sedated heavily. Yet, her body mocks the drugs workings.
“Lilith,” Julianna whispers within her delight.
Martha covers her mouth with her right hand. She glances at the door and then quickly directs her body towards the room’s exit. After entering the hallway, she closes the door and turns around. She can see the nurse’s station. With both hands now covering her mouth, she stares at the two nurses. Her eyes scan towards the lone security office guarding the elevator. She lowers her hands from her mouth and waves him over. As he approaches, Martha steps away from the door and points.
“I need you to guard this door. No one is allowed in or out until I come back. Understood?”
“Yes ma’am. I will need to bring in another officer for the elevator.”
“Very well. I trust you can handle this then?”
The security officer nods.
When Martha turns her back to him, the security guard speaks again.
“What about Mr. Dermott, ma’am?”
“Mr. Dermott went on a much needed break,” Martha answers while walking towards the nurse’s station, “I’ll be back before then.”
“Yes ma’am,” the large man answers with a deep tone.
The woman’s long red hair dances around her back as she picks up her pace. By the time she approaches the station, the two nurses behind the desk are standing at attention.
“Stop that,” Martha chastises, “This isn’t the military.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the two women answer in unison.
For a brief second, Martha reasons that this would be a great time for one of her eyes to break out into a fit of involuntary twitching. But it doesn’t. Instead, she turns and looks back at the man guarding Julianna’s door. He is on the phone talking to someone.
“While you’re ordering help,” Martha talks loudly, “Try to get someone down here to man this desk. I’m taking these two with me.”
The man glances at Martha and nods. Martha turns back around and examines the stiff-looking women. Her right brow lifts slightly.
“Are you medical or security?”
“Medical, ma’am,” the woman on Martha’s left answers.
“Then act like it.”
Both women nod while giving each other nervous glances.
“There’s no need to be afraid of me,” Martha informs, “I understand this is the first time you have met anyone from the family. But as far as I am concerned, if your heart’s in the right place and I can trust you, then you are part of this family. Understood?”
The two nurses nod again. This time, however, Martha sees a bit of relief on both of their faces. Martha nods towards a hallway that intersects crosswise from her granddaughter’s hallway. In fact, the nurse’s station acts as a depot of sorts between the two intersecting hallways.
“Is the laundry still down that hall?”, Martha questions.
“Yes, ma’am,” the woman on Martha’s left speaks again.
“Come with me,” Martha demands politely while walking around the nurse’s station. By the time she rounds the back side of the station, both nurses have exited their post and are waiting for her on the other side. Martha walks past them and continues down the hallway. About midway down the hall, she stops at a door to her left. The sign reads: Laundry – Authorized Personnel Only.
“Open it,” Martha orders politely.
The woman who has yet to speak removes her identification card from her shirt. She steps forward and swipes it through the door’s security lock.
Beep…Click-click.
Turning the handle downward, the woman pushes open the door and steps inside. Overhead lights automatically illuminate the large linen room. Martha follows with the other nurse close behind. When the nurse clears the doorway, Martha walks over and shuts the door. She turns back around.
“I don’t know if it’s nerves or if you two are just lacking in confidence altogether,” Martha speaks sternly, “But I am willing to give you both the opportunity to build your trust with me.”
The two women nod in silence.
“I need your help with something,” Martha continues, “And neither one of you can speak of it to anyone.”
Martha points her right index finger at each nurse respectively, “I don’t even want to find out you have discussed it with each other. Are we clear so far?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the two women answer together. But to Martha’s delight, they have not done so in unison.
“We’re going to need some clean sheets and hospital gown. And don’t get one of those plastic surgical ones. My granddaughter needs a warm cloth one.”
The two women nod and await further instruction.
“What are you waiting for?”, Martha snaps.
Both nurses, immediately, scramble to fill the small order. Unbeknownst to them, however, Martha isn’t angry in the least. She is amused by them. More importantly, she is giving these ladies an opportunity of a lifetime. But it will be a few days before they realize just how much their lives are about to change.
These women are at the very bottom of the Network. Their mannerisms are a tell-tale sign of this fact. Martha is near the top. The only event that can override her decisions pertains to her family’s welfare. The security side of Network has the power to do whatever needs to be done to ensure Lilith’s bloodline stays intact. But Martha can raise or lower rank as she sees fit – even the head of the Network if they are proven to be unfit for office. At the current moment, however, these clueless women are being tested – as is the security officer guarding her granddaughter’s room.
After both nurses inform Martha they are ready, she explains her granddaughter’s dilemma. Both of the women pretend to be professional about what their ears are hearing, but Martha can see the amusement on their faces. They seem somewhat relieved.
“Don’t worry ma’am,” one of the nurse’s informs, “Her secret is safe with us.”
“Yes ma’am,” the other nurse agrees.
Martha hesitates while contemplating a nagging question.
“If I may, ma’am?”, the nurse who has not spoken much decides to help out if she can.
Martha nods.
“Although it isn’t a common thing, it does happen for girls, too. It isn’t just a male thing. That is a misconception.”
Martha nods. She turns and opens the door. Stepping out into the hallway, she heads towards her granddaughter’s room. When she arrives, she questions the security officer. After he informs her that no one has tried to enter or leave, she instructs him to stand aside while she peaks into the room. With Julianna quite as can be, Martha invites the nurses in and then looks at the security officer.
“No one else is to come in,” Martha informs before shutting the door.
The security officer nods. When the door shuts, he turns h
is back to the door and crosses both arms. To anyone that knows him, this is a sign that now is not the time to test his resolve.
Martha turns and looks at her sleeping granddaughter.
“Okay ladies,” Martha whispers, “It’s time to get to work.”
* * *
“I have something for you.”
Julianna turns towards the smoky voice. Lilith is laying upon her belly on her favorite rock. Julianna smiles at her.
“I think I’ve had enough for one day.”
Lilith grins while viewing the beautiful young woman sitting in the sand.
“Is that your world speaking again?”
“No. It’s a joke,” Julianna answers. She follows up her explanation with an awkward smile. In fact, she can’t seem to stop smiling.
“Did you know that I’d do that if you…?”
“Yes anguisette,” Lilith interrupts Julianna, “This is what it means to be you.”
“You didn’t know,” Julianna teases, “You were guessing.”
Lilith decides not to correct the young woman. She maneuvers herself to a sitting position before standing in the sand. Julianna watches her with curious eyes as she leaves her rock and walks over to the backside of it. Reaching down, Lilith retrieves the young woman’s present. She walks back around her rock and smiles while heading over to her visitor.
“These are for you,” Lilith informs while offering her present to the woman wearing the strange paper dress.
The young woman stands up.
“Thank you,” Julianna accepts the unexpected gift into her hands.
“I thought you could use them whenever you cross the earth-line.”
Julianna holds out the black hoodie and brown pair of loose-fit pants. The material is surprisingly soft.
“These are great,” Julianna genuinely appreciates the gift, “They are so Assassin’s Creed.”
Whenever Julianna realizes Lilith is searching to understand the reference, she quickly explains.
