Sex or Suffer [Dark Colony 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

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Sex or Suffer [Dark Colony 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2

by Lara Santiago


  “Nothing is absolute. I’m trying to formulate my own hypothesis, but I need for you to tell me everything you know. Everything you remember.”

  “Like what?”

  Penelope pulled the only chair in the room closer to Alice’s bed. She pocketed the cure momentarily and pulled out her digital note pad. “Have your symptoms changed since the initial encounter?”

  “Yes. They’ve gotten worse over time. The pain comes faster now. It always came faster for me than for Cora.”

  Penelope read a few notes from Alice’s admittance form. “You’re from the Cordryte Mining Colony, correct?”

  Alice nodded and crossed her arms.

  “You and Cora lived close to each other in the outlands away from the city?”

  Alice nodded again. “I could see her place from my front porch, but it was a ten minute walk to get over there.”

  Penelope made some notes with her stylus on the back-lit flat panel of her digital pad. “Did you experience the same symptoms and pain as Cora?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Explain. Exactly.”

  Alice pushed out a long sigh and pulled her robe over her thin shoulders covering herself before she answered. “Cora’s symptoms were milder at first and got worse later on. She acted different and more forward with men, but I just thought she was lonely.”

  “What symptoms were milder?”

  “Cora was a flirt. Everyone knew it. Unlike me, she was very animated when in the presence of men. She was comfortable touching men casually on the arm or the back to get attention or to make a point as she talked, but once she contracted the virus, it was like she ramped up her efforts.”

  “Were there lots of men living near by?”

  “No. All the men lived in the small town. But we always went in to town every week to get supplies. We went together for company and also for protection. Two heads are better than one, you know.”

  Penelope smiled and Alice continued. “Cora always flirted, but she rarely dated or chased after men.”

  “When did you notice a change?”

  “Thinking back, I guess I noticed she was slightly different after Collier visited. But I didn’t say anything. I wrote it off as her being upset.”

  “Collier?”

  She nodded. “Ross Collier. He was her ex-boyfriend. They hadn’t seen each other in years, but he showed up one day out of the blue and wanted to start up again. He was bad news and Cora didn’t want to get back together. They had a knock down drag out fight including lots of broken glass shattering against walls loud enough for me to hear from my porch. I went over to help her as she threw him out.”

  Penelope made a note to contact Ross Collier. His name sounded familiar.

  “Later that afternoon we drove my vehicle into town for supplies as usual. We were supposed to meet before dusk, but Cora sent one of the saloon girls to tell me she was staying overnight with a man. She’d never abandoned me before.

  “I had to go back home alone. The next day Cora came back and told me she felt funny. She’d spent the night with a stranger after blatantly seducing him, but the virus didn’t become painful for her right away. She told me she’d been ‘compelled’ to have sex with that man. That was the word she used. She didn’t worry much afterward. She seemed to blow it off so I did too.”

  Penelope flipped back and read a few notes from Cora’s admittance form but didn’t find anything relevant.

  “So it was how long before you two went back to town again?”

  “It was more than two weeks.”

  “Could you have contracted the disease at the same time as Cora?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know when I contracted it.”

  “Did you see any men in town the day Cora stayed over night?”

  Alice thought for a moment. “I only saw one or maybe two, but maybe I wasn’t attracted to them.”

  A tear slipped over her lower eyelid and she sniffed. “What if I did get it at the same time as her? The cure won’t work on me either. I was alone for a month before I came into contact with the first man I jumped into bed with. What if it’s been too long? Not knowing is better. If you give me the cure and it doesn’t work…I don’t want to continue.”

  Penelope bowed her head and caught Alice’s eye. “Don’t talk like that. Please let me try it. Your symptoms were different than Cora’s. What if the cure works for you?”

  “What if it doesn’t?” Another fat tear slid down her cheek. Alice pushed it from her face with the heel of one hand. “And most of all, I hate fucking crying at the drop of a hat. I never used to cry until I got this intolerable disease. Cora had the right idea. I don’t want to live like this.”

  Penelope stood. “Don’t say that, Alice. Even if this cure doesn’t work I plan to develop a new one. A better one. I can have you put in isolation away from any and all men. You’ll be safe from the virus being triggered and I vow to you that I won’t sleep until I find a cure for you.”

  Alice stared at her for so long, Penelope got a little uncomfortable. All of a sudden, she slid to the edge of the bed, her breasts sagged against her body beneath the robe. She lowered her legs until her feet touched the floor and leaned forward. “Fine. You can try your cure.” Alice pierced her with a heated stare. “But if it doesn’t work,” her lips trembled, “I want you to bring poison next time you walk through the door.”

  “I can’t do it, Alice. I won’t. I’ll simply put you in quarantine.”

  “I can’t live like this any longer, Dr. Drake.” Her tired eyes leaked water in a steady stream down her hollowed cheeks. “I don’t want to live the rest of my life tucked away in a small room boxed in. It’s like living in a fucking coffin. I hate being indoors as it is all the time. It’s torture for me. I miss the sun on my face and working in my garden. I didn’t have much on that desolate planet, but I liked my life.”

  Penelope, hands in her jacket pocket as she fingered the vial of cure, squatted down next to the bed. “I won’t rest until I find a cure, Alice. I promise. I’ll only leave you tucked away in quarantine temporarily so no man will trigger your pain.”

  “I know you mean well, Dr. Drake, but this virus is worse than anything you can imagine. I ended up having sex with ten different men just to get transportation to this facility. Today’s little experimental fuck party was more painful than any I’ve gone through since this started. Promise me you’ll help me die, if your cure doesn’t work.”

  While Penelope understood her desire to end her life, she wouldn’t help her do it. “I’ll think about it.”

  “No. Either promise or I won’t let you test me.”

  Penelope had no intention of killing her, but she leaned forward and stared in her eyes. “I promise I won’t let you suffer if my cure doesn’t work.”

  “Swear it.”

  Penelope pulled her hand from her pocked and lifted it as if in solemn reverence. With a silent promise to induce a temporary coma if the cure didn’t work, Penelope crossed her fingers behind her back and placed her other hand across her heart. “I swear it.”

  Alice’s entire body slumped on the bed. “Okay.”

  “I’ll give you the cure. It’s supposed to work in less than an hour. However, we’ll wait for four hours to make sure it’s taken effect and then I’ll bring back Karl to test you. Will that be okay?”

  “Fine. But make sure you bring the poison along when you bring Karl. I’m not having sex with him again to stop the pain if your cure doesn’t work on me.”

  Penelope nodded, said a silent prayer. She retrieved vial attached to the hypo jet shot filled with the last cure from her pocket. Surreptitiously, she blocked the camera and put the pressure device against Alice’s upper arm. She released the final dose to cure the dreaded and horrifying SOS Virus.

  Seconds after the cure released in her system, Alice smiled. Penelope smiled in return.

  Alice giggled. “Well, that didn’t hurt at all. I feel good.”

  “That’s great. Wh
y don’t you try to rest? I’ll be back later.”

  “Okay, but don’t forget your promise.”

  Penelope forced a smile onto her lips. “I won’t. Now get some sleep.”

  “I mean it Dr. Drake.” Alice cackled with glee making Penelope wonder if there was a mood enhancing drug mixed with the SOS cure.

  She turned to go but Alice grabbed her arm. With a huge smile plastered on her face, she added, “If you don’t bring poison when you come later, I’ll find another way to kill myself. Please make my death more humane.”

  Penelope nodded and patted her arm. “Let’s hope for the best, okay? Perhaps when I bring Karl back you’ll be completely immune to him.”

  Alice exhaled a deep breath. “I hope so.”

  Little was known about this virus. It had been dubbed the Sex or Suffer virus by the barbarians who’d developed it more than three hundred years ago. Initially, they’d wanted to find a way to get an opposing force to pay attention. They decided if the women on a conflicting army writhed in agony and begged for sex, it would be a means to not only demean a populace in the worst possible way, but strongly distract the male forces of opposition during planet conquests.

  When Dr. Ledreder had assigned her this case only two days ago, he brought her the only information available in the form of an old marketing slide show video of limited and dubious validity created to promote this horrible disease. He also assigned two patients, Cora and Alice, for her to study. He tasked her with finding another cure as the only one available wasn’t one hundred percent effective.

  Penelope had accidentally discovered the two doses of SOS cure on her own last night after sneaking into the Bravura Science Lab’s pharmaceutical vault.

  Once the virus had been in the victim’s system for longer than sixty days and acclimated to the body’s cellular structure, it became permanent. At least it’s what the barbarian’s archaic digital video slide show reported as truth.

  Penelope hadn’t been able to confirm this information on her own. She barely understood the rudimentary process of how the virus worked. Once she got the information on Alice’s results after the shot of cure, whatever they were, Penelope planned to bury herself in her lab and work non-stop until she found a cure. She made it a goal to keep Alice from suicide.

  * * * *

  Penelope didn’t linger in Alice’s room. Damon buzzed her I-link communicator from the observation room, so she went back to see what he wanted. She suspected she knew exactly what he wanted and put a stranglehold on her anger.

  Picking a fight with Damon wasn’t a good idea, his powerful family lived in the most prestigious circles on Bravura and associated with the richest of the rich. Besides, it might be a career ending move. She only sought positive progress for her livelihood.

  Once she stepped her foot inside the room, he started asking questions.

  “Did you give it to her?” he asked. “The last dose?”

  Penelope wished she hadn’t confided in him. “Yes. It’s supposed to work in less than an hour. I’ll give her at least four hours and then we’ll test her with Karl again.”

  Damon zipped around the room like a wildcat doped up on speed and pinging off the walls. Suddenly very fatigued, Penelope sat down at the only table in the space. Seeing a small water spot on the desk, she wiped it away with the palm of her hand before putting her file down. Damon shook his head and an amused expression crossed his face. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Dr. Penny.”

  “We’ll know in a few hours.”

  He picked up an I-link box from the table. “This message came for you while you talked with Alice.” He handed her the small silver container. “It’s from the Interplanetary Alliance Coalition.” From the awestruck tone of his voice, the return address apparently impressed Damon.

  He handed her the shoebox-sized container as if it were the sacred jewel encrusted scepter of the Chantilly, the ruling party on the planet, Bravura, where they resided. The return address listed her older brother, Philip’s name. He held a lofty position as a very junior assistant to the political manager of the Alliance Coalition’s top man, Governor Brawley. Philip’s position wasn’t the top spot, or even near it, but with respect to the lowly origins of her and her brother’s humble birth place, any nebulous link to Governor Brawley was considered an impressive accomplishment.

  She grabbed one end of the box, but Damon held tight, not giving it up. In a tight low whisper, he caught her eye and said, “You may regret giving Alice the last dose, but just remember, I’m here to help out if you need me.” His eyes glittered and a smug grin formed.

  Jerking the message box from his tight grasp, she didn’t respond, not believing for a second he gave a shit about helping her unless it was into bed. She’d rather slit her wrists than to lower herself by sleeping with Damon.

  Penelope retreated to her private office for peace to get a few hours to work on a plan for either the success of the cure or the failure for Alice and any repercussions. The message from her brother was perfunctory like all his previous mail. She loved that Philip sent her a note each week, but he never really said much. His job was fine. His apartment was fine. His life was fine. He was fine. They both lived fine lives.

  She placed the box on her desk and made a mental note to return it with the same message “she” always sent. She loved her job. She loved her apartment. She loved her life. It reassured her brother and kept him from worrying.

  For the most part what she said was true. Oftentimes the only negative fact in her life was that she got lonely. The opportunity to meet men hadn’t materialized with her crushing workload. And that was okay too, because she did love her job. She watched for possible contenders in the very limited time she enjoyed away from her job. So far no one had inspired her to take a further look, but she was hopeful.

  When enough hours had passed for the cure to have taken effect, Penelope gathered her things and headed back to Alice’s room. Peeking into the observation room, she noted Alice slept. Penelope exhaled in realization of the first nebulous hope the cure had worked.

  From her limited study of the original test victims on the digital video from the barbarians’ own test studies, Alice’s slumber was a good sign. Many SOS victims weren’t able to sleep longer than a couple hours at a time. Others slept endlessly, the virus impacted diverse women in a variety of different ways.

  Alice endured nightmares on both nights of her stay from all of the different men she’d had sex with before arriving at Bravura. Her painful symptoms had accelerated quickly, but her friend Cora had manifested slower and less obvious symptoms before the virus gave her pain. The virus was troubling in that it impacted different women at different paces and with varying degrees of pain. But in the end the emotional factor had a hand in each female’s ultimate fate.

  No woman wanted to be sexually dependent on a man for this most personal of acts. Not forever.

  The timepiece on the wall made a sudden sound which signaled the hour. Glancing up, Penelope realized if she wanted something to eat, she’d have to hurry. The café, Nikki’s Place, across the street to the science facility closed in less than an hour. Since Alice slept peacefully, she decided to grab something to quench her growing hunger before she brought Karl back for testing.

  She didn’t want to watch the impact of the virus again on an empty stomach if the cure hadn’t worked. Penelope put a plan into her brain for that eventuality. If the virus cure she had didn’t work, she’d put Alice into a medically assisted coma until she could figure out what to do about her condition.

  Penelope left a note for Damon and hurried to the exit on the first floor of the science building where she’d worked for the past three years. Up to now she enjoyed her job, this case notwithstanding. Her studious upbringing had paid off and her family enjoyed the benefits of a child earning good pay as a scientist. Her brother also had done well for himself. She made a mental note to write a message in response to his communication when she got back with her din
ner.

  The street before the Science building was eerily quiet as she pushed through the glass doors to the sultry night air. The buzz of her communications device startled her as she released the door and stepped outside.

  Penelope took a deep breath of evening air before answering her I-link. “Dr. Drake,” she responded, hoping this call wouldn’t keep her from a good meal tonight.

  “It’s Damon. Where are you? I thought you were coming back to check on the cure you gave Alice.”

  Penelope rolled her eyes and held her tone in check before answering. “Alice is sleeping. I didn’t want to disturb her. I’m on my way to get a bite to eat before we do another test.”

  “Where are you going? I’ll meet you. We can have dinner together or whatever else appeals to us.” Damon’s persistent requests to further their relationship made Penelope a little annoyed. She could only rebuff his advances and laugh them off, reiterating that his family would never approve of her as a spouse.

  “Who says I’m looking for a mate,” he’d always say and laugh uproariously, insisting in the next breath he was only kidding. His father, an Alliance Coalition High Committee member and former military hero, enjoyed respect and authority in his position.

  While being a scientist was considered a generous step up for Penelope as a career path, she suspected it was a huge step down for Damon and his illustrious family.

  Damon had mentioned a loathing of all things military even though it was one of the most prestigious professions on Bravura. Either way, she wasn’t remotely interested in him romantically.

  “No. I won’t be out long. Stay there and watch over Alice. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

  “Fine. I still can’t believe you used the last dose of cure on her. What if someone else comes in with the SOS virus? What if it’s someone important?”

  Penelope didn’t want to rehash this argument. “Drop it, Damon. It’s done. I can’t change it, and I wouldn’t even if I could.”

  “Okay, Dr. Penny don’t get your panties in a wad. Call me and I’ll meet you in the observation room when you get back from your lonely dinner.”

 

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