“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’ve always been a bleeding heart.”
“I call it having empathy, but okay.”
Jaelle blinked slowly, staring at the ceiling as she listened to two of her guards talk. They most likely thought she was asleep, seeing as she hadn’t moved in several hours, otherwise they most likely wouldn’t have had a full-blown conversation.
She had noticed that, after she had awoken from her little scuffle with Mr. Bruised Balls, none of them would speak in front of her. It made her loneliness that much more maddening. She had never been much for crowds or attention, obviously, but she found herself desperately craving some sort of companionship.
Was this part of their plan? A way to punish her for her transgressions?
If so, it was pretty shitty. Aberrants weren’t supposed to suffer before their execution. It was considered a necessary but noble sacrifice whenever one such killing had to be performed. She was supposed to be getting a hot bath and shower, her hair cut, a last meal, the works really.
Instead, she was getting some real upstate treatment with a side of mold.
More time passed and the changing of the guards came and went, without her BFF coming to visit for his own shift. Who knows, maybe she had lucked out and they had taken him off the rotation entirely.
Or maybe it was just the weekend and he had some time off. She didn’t know, and nobody told her, leaving her to come up with her own theories.
Finally, she heard keys clinking by the lock and she slowly rolled over, her body protesting quite strongly. There was a tall, sinewy woman standing in the doorway.
“Unchain her,” she ordered sternly.
“But—” Oh, it was Mr. Bruised ball. Since when had he been back? She hadn’t noticed. Then again, she hadn’t moved from where she had awoken the entire day.
“I know that you’re about to voice an objection that you think is relevant to the situation,” the woman said. “But let me assure you, it is not. Get her unchained and on her feet. And if she cannot walk, you’ll find yourself in an equally uncomfortable situation.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you, Aberrant.” She took another step forward and bent down so that the two of them were closer to face level. “You understand that if you are to try anything, our men will tear you apart limb from limb and riddle you with bullets before you could even take another form. I would much rather you end your days comfortable and with a smile. What about you?”
Jaelle nodded slowly, her head aching as she did so.
“Good, I’m glad. Now, we’ll take this as slow as you want. No need to rush, okay?”
Another nod.
“Very good. I hope you’re ready to have the best couple of days of your life.” She stepped back and let the guards surround Jaelle, unlocking the manacles and gently pulling her to her feet. “This way.”
And then they were walking forward.
Well… the guards were walking forward. She was being more dragged/carried, her own legs being too stiff to move very effectively.
Why was she so sore? She hadn’t done much of anything in the past few days. Just a lot of laying on the cold stone and willing herself into faraway lands.
She didn’t know, and her befuddled mind couldn’t come up with an answer. It could hardly even keep track of where she was. As she was moved along, she got rare flash of a stairwell, or the turning of a building corner, or passing through a doorway, but nothing that quite made sense.
Suddenly, she was being set down into a comfortable chair in a well-lit room. She blinked several times, before a cold bottle was placed in her hands.
Shakily, she brought the bottle to her lips and gulped. It was beautiful and refreshing, clearing her mind of a lot of the fog that had invaded it.
She blinked again, trying to focus, and finally she was able to get an accurate reading of where she was.
The room was high-end, packed with furniture and other goodies that her mother had always wanted, but never could afford with their roving lifestyle. Sun was streaming in from a window, diffused by the lilac curtain.
“Where am I?” Jaelle asked, craning her head this way and that.
“My home,” the woman answered. “My name is Elizabeth, you may call me Beth, and I’ll be handling your last of days.”
She reached over to a desk and pulled a notebook and pen from it. “Now, you don’t have to make any hard decisions now, but do you have any ideas of the most amazing meal you could ever want?”
“Really?” Jaelle asked, narrowing her eyes. “There’s a whole drawn out process for this? You guys just don’t ask me and then give the closest thing you have?”
“No, definitely not,” the woman, uh, Beth sat back, giving Jaelle a frank expression. “Look, you have to die, we all know that. But it’s an unpleasant reality that none of us like. Least of all you. I respect that you are sacrificing yourself for the sake of our community, and I want to honor that sacrifice as best I can.”
“Or you could just not kill me at all and honor my life.”
She smiled. “That’s not quite how it works. You know that, I know that. Now, you can absolutely fight me if you want, and make this difficult, but that will only detract from the amazing experience I hope to give you.”
“You realize how wholly bizarre this is, right? I mean, I knew you guys took last rights seriously, but I didn’t know it was a whole interview.”
“It wasn’t.” Nothing seemed to ruffle this woman. She was as cool and collected as they came, with a mild smile on her face. Jaelle couldn’t tell if that was comforting or upsetting. “Before I became the Master of Last Rights, it was probably much as you imagined. A new outfit, a warm meal. But that’s not enough for me. If I’m going to be chaperoning young men and women to their deaths – teenagers, really – I was going to make it as unterrifying as possible. I wanted them to be happy and content. As content as one can be knowing the situation.”
“Whatever helps you cope with it.”
“Yes, sometimes I wonder if I do this as much for myself as the young ones.” She took a slow breath before looking to Jaelle once more. “So, as I said, just spitball me with some things you might consider the best meal on earth. Obviously, within reason. No matter how much you want unicorn meat, that’s not something I can provide.”
“Has someone asked for that before?”
“Yes. A wolverine Shifter who was eleven. I didn’t have the heart to explain to them that unicorns didn’t exist, so I told them that all of the horned beasts had a symbiotic relationship with a parasite that made their meat unfit for consumption.”
“An eleven-year-old thought unicorns were real but still knew what a symbiotic relationship was?”
She shrugged. “Wolverines are weird.”
“Right. Well I’ve always wanted some of that five star, Kobe beef steaks.”
“Good, very good. Tell me more. Sides, entrees, appetizers, dessert, everything.”
With no undue feeling of surrealism, Jaelle listed out all the things that might be nice to eat. After they had a considerable list, ranked from ‘would be nice’ to ‘that sounds completely amazing’, they moved on to whether she liked long soaks in bathtubs with candles or was more of a hot tub girl. Whether she liked Epsom salts or bubble bath or hair masks, the works. Then it was if she wanted a party, or if she was more a massage and quiet reflection kind of girl.
Honestly, it was exhausting. At least a couple of hours passed before Beth finally closed her notebook and looked to Jaelle with satisfaction.
“This is all very good to get me started. You’re scheduled for your end in four days. I’ll spend the next one to two preparing things for you, but I will still meet with you tomorrow morning to finalize some of these details. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Yeah. How about not killing me?” She raised her eyebrow and Jaelle just shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”
“I suppose, yes. You are the oldest Aberrant I have ever chap
eroned, so that presents new obligations. Obligations that I intend to fulfil to my best ability.”
“Lucky me, I guess.”
“I would hardly consider anything about this situation lucky, but I am glad you’ve chosen to work with me. We will speak tomorrow. For now, I think you’ll find your accommodations much improved.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You will see.”
“Add to my list that I hate anyone who’s unnecessarily cryptic around me.”
She actually laughed at that, albeit quietly, then stood. Guards came in almost instantly, flanking either side of Jaelle and helping her to her feet. “I will try my best to avoid that. Have a good night.”
The dark-haired woman didn’t say anything, letting the guards escort her out. Now that she was much more coherent and less cell-blind, she could make out her surroundings.
She was obviously in a bit of a village almost indistinguishable from the dozens of other cow-towns she had passed through in her journeys across the continent. Tall trees surrounded them on all sides, and she only made out one paved road going right through the center of town.
The houses themselves were somewhere between cute and quaint, with a single building dominating the scape.
And it was a church. Of course.
If there was one thing Shifters loved more than a rare steak, it was religious architecture. She didn’t know why that was a thing, but it very much was a thing, and one her mother had drilled into her from a young age.
Had that been where her cell was? That seemed the most likely answer. She couldn’t imagine that dark, dripping space being under any of the quintessential ranch houses dotting the small town.
Sure enough, they lead her through the double doors of the building that had been painted a near blinding white. She thought she might recognize the stairs from her earlier exit, but honestly what memories she could call up from just hours previously were fuzzy at best. It wasn’t until they were leading her through another door and down a different, winding staircase that she knew they were right back where she had started.
Except… her cell was certainly not how she had left it. She noticed it as soon as they rounded the corner, the hall lights shining at least twice as brightly as they had when she had left.
First thing that stood out to her was the fact that they had set up a little toilet with a modesty curtain around it. That was nice.
Also, there was a fluffy looking cot where her floor-spot had been, complete with thick comforters and plenty of pillows.
Finishing it off were some bottles of water set at the floor of her bed and a sandwich sitting on a plate as well.
“Looks like I got an upgrade,” she murmured.
The guards said nothing, pushing her into the cell and then slamming the door behind her. But she didn’t mind the abrupt exit, as it gave her a little bit of peace and quiet to sit on her new mattress and eat some food.
She attacked the sandwich with vigor, wolfing it down like she was one of the pack animals themselves. But as she ate, her mind couldn’t help but drift to everything that was coming.
She was going to die.
She didn’t want to, but that was the boat she was in.
But maybe… just maybe, she could enjoy these next few days of pampering as she marched toward her death.
After all, after so many years, it wasn’t like she really had anything to live for.
Chapter Three: Antithesis of Rescue
It turned out that Beth was completely as serious about her duties as she had made herself out to be. When Jaelle had awoken the next morning, she was whisked right back to the woman’s house and served a proper, steaming, diner breakfast complete with grits and bacon. From there it was sipping on sweet tea as she watched the latest movies on a massive screen that had come out while she was on the run.
Then it was a full day at the spa. At first, Jaelle had been confused why there was a spa in such a Ma n’ Pa town, but she realized that this particular village seemed particularly equipped to deal with Aberrants. Perhaps that was the entire purpose of the village.
It explained why she saw so few families. Almost everyone she crossed was a full-grown adult going about their duties like nothing was amiss. They didn’t gawk, they didn’t scurry in fear, and that definitely reinforced the idea in Jaelle’s head that she was not the first Aberrant they had seen.
Initially, the thought had disturbed her. If what she was hypothesizing was true, then she was treading the same steps that dozens, if not hundreds of Aberrants had walked before. The whole village was basically a death camp for her kind.
But then, after her mud mask, facial and full body massage, she began to appreciate it a bit more. Historically speaking, Aberrants had always been burned at the stake with their ashes scattered to the great waters.
This seemed like a much better solution.
Maybe she was a coward for not fighting harder, or for not trying to spend every second looking for a way to escape. But she was just so tired, and for once in her life, she didn’t have to be afraid of people suddenly finding out what she was. Everyone around her already knew. And yeah, they wanted to kill her for it, but they were sending her off with far more lavish and end than she would get when she was eventually cornered by Hunters.
And she would get cornered again, one day. It was impossible to run forever. She would either get sick, or injured, or old, or mad. Any number of things really.
So, she made her peace with her ending, and when the day came to walk her last path, she wasn’t afraid.
The guards came for her right after nightfall, escorting her to her last meal. It didn’t take long for them to cross the town and sit her down in the only restaurant they had.
Her meal came out in waves. Delicious, delicious waves. First were the appetizers of mozzarella sticks, wings, beer and sushi. Next came the steak, lobster, a double cheeseburger with bacon and sashimi. Then it was baklava, hot fudge sundaes, cheesecake and flan.
If anyone was disturbed by how much she ate, none of them said anything. She guessed, given her theorized purpose of this town, they were used to seeing the always voracious appetite that came along with the Aberrant mutation.
By the time she finished, she was feeling both fat and sassy, which was the best feeling. Once she was done with her last bite, they wheeled in the projector and screen again then began playing her favorite movie.
It was an old musical, one that her mother had watched with her when they were young. She hadn’t seen it in ages and she couldn’t think of a better note that would make her feel so close to home.
It was several hours long, and when it finished she had digested most of her meal. Beth quietly entered from the back kitchen and sat across from Jaelle.
“Are you ready?” she asked, voice quiet and gentle.
Jaelle could fight her. She had gone through all the nice things and if she made a break for it, she could go down in a blaze of glory. Maybe even take a couple of guards with her.
But… she didn’t want to.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. Shall we walk together?” The woman stood and offered her arm, so Jaelle took it.
“Let’s,” she said with a nod.
The night was quiet as they headed out, and no one was walking the streets. However, there were little stands with candles lining the path to the doctor’s office across the main circle of town, twinkling like miniature stars to her final path.
Then, they were there and Beth was opening the milquetoast door, leading her through a milquetoast lobby and to the back. Past the scale, past the examinations rooms, all the way through until they reached an inpatient procedure room.
The chair was set up in the center, reclined like this was just a simple teeth cleaning or other standard procedure. But this was anything but.
“Do you want me to stay with you, or move on?” she asked, helping Jaelle down into the chair and strapping her arms down.
“I… I t
hink I’m good.”
“Very well. I thank you for your honorable sacrifice, Miss Jaelle, and I wish you the best in your next life.”
“Thanks. I’ve had pretty shit luck so far.”
The woman nodded, making sure the last of the straps was tied down, before exiting quietly.
Jaelle didn’t know where the doctor was, but she didn’t particularly care. She lay there, and tried to pull up her best memories of her mom.
There had been that one time on her ninth birthday. They didn’t have any ingredients that she needed for cake, so her mother had improvised. After hunting down several dear, she boiled their antlers to make gelatin. Then she had used the beets, carrots and other veggies in the cellar to color the jiggly semi-solid, until she had enough to make what she dubbed a ‘rainbow cake’.
At the time, Jaelle had thought it was the most amazing thing she had ever eaten. It was hard to forget just how magical it had been to go to sleep believing that the next day was going to be just as dreary as the last, but then wake up to something so pretty, so fun.
Then there was the time that she had gotten stuck in a shift after a bad nightmare. Her mother had brushed her fur and washed her human parts, trying to sooth her so she could find her human form again.
Then there had been that day, out in the cold and the snow, running for a fishing boat. Her mother might have made it. She could have tried. But she wasn’t willing to risk both of them getting caught, so she had stayed in a last fight to give Jaelle enough time to get away.
The thought of that made a bitter thought rise in the Aberrant’s mind. Was she dishonoring her mother by giving up now? Or had she survived long enough to have made her mother’s sacrifice worth it? Was there ever anything she could do to make the death of her mother ‘worth it’? She doubted it.
The minutes passed and there was still no doctor. In fact, there wasn’t anyone. Although Jaelle had made no move to escape, it didn’t quite make sense to have no one on her.
“Hello?” she called out, craning her neck as far as her binds would allow her. “Is anybody going to come do this before I get the jitters?”
The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 13
