by Dan Glover
"Have a drink with me, my sweet Lance?"
He knew Lily liked her vodka. It was one of the only pleasures she was allowed and he noticed that she drank copiously. He supposed he would too under the same circumstances.
As a rule Lance declined her polite offers to share but tonight was different. Why not, he thought, as he went to her door accepting the proffered drink through the slot made to deliver her meals. He felt the inrush of air into her isolation chamber—the room was negatively pressured—a safeguard to keep her supposed contagion at bay.
Over the years of working the graveyard shift Lance had become friendly with Lily, perhaps overly so. She seemed a lot like those girls he often saw on a beach or across the bar at one of the watering holes he frequented but never had the nerve to approach. He had during the course of his life raised the fear of rejection to an art form. Now, here she was, an ideal woman in every respect, offering up her body to him.
Lily stood two meters tall, her long naturally blonde hair cascaded down to her waist, and her doe-sized eyes were colored a jade green. Her nose was slender and slightly upturned with a perfect chin which taken all together drew the image of a high-end model.
Though there were normally two guards on duty, Harry, his long-time partner, called off at the last minute tonight leaving him alone for the first time he could remember.
They toasted once, twice, thrice. The vodka flowed freely. Lily reached a timid hand out of her cell to touch Lance. He jumped back, startled, until he saw the look in her eyes. Electricity permeated the air causing the hairs on his arm to stand at attention.
"Help me, sweet Lance."
"Help you do what?"
Lily never asked him for anything so he was a bit stunned by her request for help. He wondered if it was the vodka talking.
"Help me get out of here. I'm dying, my lovely Lance. Please help me."
"You know I can't do that, Lily. It's my job to make sure you don’t get out."
The key ring jingled on his hip. He was allowed the key to Lily's cell in case fire broke out or another emergency erupted but he'd been cautioned never to open the door otherwise.
"You like me, though, don't you, my darling Lance?"
"You know I do, Lily. Hell, I dream about you nearly every single night."
"Let me out, my lovely Lance, and we can do things you never dream of doing."
"Don't tempt me like that, Lily."
"How about like this?"
When Lily stepped back dropping her robe to the floor there was a look in her eyes that Lance had yet to see on any woman's face—feral and wanting—and he was then and there compelled to quiet the alarm, open the door, and go to her before he realized what he was doing.
She melted into him. Though Lance was a big and tall man, Lily's eyes were level with his. They kissed a kiss like Lance had never known... her tongue found his, hungry, seeking for something. He discovered the tenderness of her skin with his trembling hands, caressing her body, feeling it soft and wanting beneath his touch. He heard a whisper from both inside his head and outside.
"Come away with me, my precious Lance. We'll live in paradise."
"I can't do that, Lily. I'm needed here. I have a family... my mother depends on me now that my father is dead."
Waking, he discovered he was naked though he couldn't remember undressing or being undressed. He felt as if his hair was in flames and he was exhausted, wringing with sweat. He sank back to close his eyes for but a moment.
When he blinked, finding once again that he was awake, Lily was gone. Her ankle monitor lay inert on the floor. His mind was still so muddled by the vodka and Lily's kisses that time had no meaning. He didn’t know if she'd been gone a minute or an hour. His uniform was missing as well as his wallet. Of course he had very little money in it so that wasn't a concern. Going to the locker room he put on a fresh uniform while constructing a story as to why the most important specimen in the history of the CDC was missing this morning.
Dressed, he checked the doors. They were all open. In the last exit Lily had left his keys still in the lock. He pocketed them while locking the doors behind him. He went into the security camera booth to erase the night's files, copying the previous night onto the discs instead. When his shift was over he left without a word to anyone.
If anyone suspected what happened they didn't say so. He knew Lily was normally a late sleeper and how she was allowed a private sleeping quarters so no one discovered her absence until Lance had gone home and tried to lay down to sleep.
When the phone call arrived, as he knew it would, he feigned surprise and indignation that Lily was missing. He couldn't believe it. How on earth did she escape? She was there earlier. He was sure of it. Dr. Ramirez must have been satisfied with his answers as he wasn't asked to come back down to the compound that morning.
Now, it was early afternoon and sleep wouldn't come. His bones ached and the itching was driving him insane. It seemed to be on the inside of his skin. When he lay very still he swore he felt something worming its way through his body.
Jumping from bed he rushed to the bathroom mirror examining his crotch and his neck, the regions most afflicted. What the hell was that? Not only did it feel like something was moving under his skin, it looked like it too.
The itching increased.
His manic scratching wore away the upper layers of skin but instead of blood a cluster of white crystalline slivers burst forth wriggling and writhing in the sudden light of day.
Lance opened his mouth but no sound came forth. Staggering back from the mirror he tripped over a throw rug striking the back of his head upon the hard tile floor. Tightness grew in his chest with iron fingers clutching at his heart. His breath wouldn't come. Just before the world faded away all together the door opened. As darkness overtook him he saw his father walking into the room.
Chapter 3—Paris
Lily was under the open sky for the first time in seven years.
She knew from experience that her friend Lance was already dead though of course she had no way of verifying that for a fact. It saddened her yet she told herself how she gave him same the chance she offered all human beings with whom she came into contact: follow her and live, or leave her and die.
She never asked to be locked up. She did nothing to deserve such treatment other than in being who and what she was. The people who kidnapped her, locked her away, and performed experiments upon her called themselves doctors but they were the worst sort of humans she ever met.
Even though she offered up her secrets willingly they desired to take them from her by force. They endlessly poked and prodded her as if they could discover something inside of her that made her so different from them.
Of late she dreamt of Lake Baikal nearly every night, the crystal blue waters heaped over top of her like a living blanket. The place called out to her until she could no longer resist. Once out of the prison that was her hell for seven years she followed her instincts, making her way home to renew her being as she had always done.
"How much money is the train ride to France?"
She had a few pound notes from Lance's wallet but she feared it would be insufficient to buy her a ticket all the way home. She knew her captors would be searching for her as soon as they discovered her missing. They would no doubt set up surveillances at all the airports so she chose to take a chance at the train depot.
"Fifty five quid, love. That's the lowest rate."
The man behind the counter didn’t look in her eyes. Instead he peered at her chest so she stared back at his too. The man was nicely dressed and seemed well-scrubbed for the night. He wore a nametag on his shirt that read 'Harry.'
"So much..."
"The Chunnel route is expensive, love... perhaps I might be able to offer you a discount."
"A discount?"
From her years of associating with human beings she realized they were drawn to her, especially now, when she was in her homing mode. She knew what the man desired...
it was the same thing all men desire, women too.
He was a handsome man as human beings went. Lily liked how his white teeth gleamed in the green fluorescent lighting of the depot. His eyes were a silky gray with wisps of a deeper color she couldn't quite see without coming closer to him. He opened the door to his cubicle indicating with a movement of those eyes to enter at her own risk.
The stubble on his chin told her he hadn't shaved today. It helped to hide a weak chin and too, gave Harry the look of intrigue, as if he was capable of keeping secrets. His nose looked as if it had been broken repeatedly, as if he had once been a boxer or perhaps simply a street fighter who lost one too many matches.
His body was svelte as if he still worked out, agreeable to the touch, and more inviting than she would have liked. Suddenly he was dangerously close. She chided herself for not warning the man, knowing his life was in peril.
"If you come too close to me, you may get sick, darling Harry."
"Come on, love... give us a kiss... I don’t care about a little old cold."
She closed her eyes as his face approached hers.
"What was that, love?"
He put a hand to his mouth as if he might undo what had been done.
"A kiss, just like you wanted. Now... ticket please."
She realized she had infected the man with a deadly disease the effects of which were already beginning to manifest. She warned him. She always asked them to come away with her.
"I'm going to France, sweet Harry. Come with me. You'll get very sick if you stay here. Go away with me."
"What? I can't just up and leave. I have a job. I have a life here."
"Have it your way. Thanks for the ticket."
The night air was cold and damp but she went outdoors to wait for the train's arrival rather than remain beside the doomed Harry for another minute. She took a deep breath inhaling the misty odor of diesel and lilacs in bloom. She had been trapped inside for so long that she often wondered if she would ever feel the rain on her face again.
As she sat on the hard wooden bench under a streetlamp she leafed through the Trans Siberian Railroad brochure she picked up inside the depot. She could catch a train to Russia from Paris and once in Moscow it was a straight shot to Lake Baikal. She should be home in a week or less.
The prices were not cheap. She considered going back inside to complete the sale of herself to Harry but the thought disgusted her. She knew he would pay her everything he had to sleep with her; they all would. The thought of his soft flesh pressing into hers made her want to vomit, however. Freedom came with a price but that was too much.
A soot-covered train grumbled to a stop in front of where she sat. She saw the faded number painted on the side of its engine matched the number on her ticket. She might actually get away from this horrid place after all.
Half-expecting armed guards to be waiting as she boarded the train, instead, a tired old man asked for her ticket, punched it, and handed it back to her. He looked back and forth before giving her a quizzical look. Uh, oh, she thought.
"No luggage, miss?"
"Oh no, not tonight, thank you for asking."
She sighed in relief as he stepped aside for her to enter the passenger compartment. It was well past midnight; she saw the seats were all empty save for a couple, a man and a woman dangerously close to one another, pulling at clothing and pawing at flesh unrevealed.
She missed that. She hadn’t made love with anyone in a very long time, not really. The thing with Lance was not making love... it was a way out. All the males of her race vanished eons ago. There were never many to begin with. Females outnumbered males by at least a hundred to one.
It had been her legacy. Once, or perhaps she had only dreamed it, she had given birth to dozens of babies all happy and healthy and cavorting about the Lake.
Something had changed, though. She couldn’t pinpoint when it happened, or where, but her babies were all mostly girls and the few boys were surly and secretive like their father.
Maybe it was the pollution pouring into the waters or it might have been simply a quirk of evolution but none of her girls had the ability to bear more than one child.
When the Others appeared, Lily believed at first that they too had been sent back... but that was only a fantasy... wasn’t it? Certainly she never could have lived in a far-flung future and been catapulted back into the dim recesses of time. It was impossible.
Still, she had fading memories of being someone else who went by a different name. When she tried communicating with the Others, however, they rebuffed her attempts with gestures as terrifying as their visage.
They were all males. They took the women for their own whether they complied or not. The Lake became a domain of ever-present danger whereas in days gone by it was a place of pleasure, a paradise under the waters.
A man walking down the aisle startled her out of her reverie. He was staring at her with eyes on fire as he came closer. For just a moment she was ready to jump up and flee but then she recognized the look on his face. It was one of lust, not of knowing.
"Do you mind if I sit with you?"
"Yes, I do mind. Move on."
She said it with ice in her voice. She knew the longer he lingered the more her willpower would weaken. Now was not the time to take a lover. Once she made it to Paris, perhaps she might consider that as an option.
The man pulled his chin back and pursed his lips the way humans did when rebuffed and walked farther down the aisle to choose a seat at the end of the coach. He continued staring at her, however. She would rather that he did not remember her so well but she supposed there was nothing she could do about that now.
They would come after her, of that she was certain. She made a silent vow that she would not go back without a fight, however... a fight to the death.
Chapter 4—Goddesses
Karen's relationship with Lily was tenuous at best.
Though the Lady never said so outright Karen sensed Lily was still haunted by her years in captivity. During the time they lived together at Orchardton Hall Karen was never invited into the private circle of the Ladies. In fact, the Ladies virtually ignored her and Marilyn, rarely even acknowledging they were alive... until now.
"I remember hearing you say that you're a doctor of fertility, are you not, my lovely Karen?"
She wondered at first why Lady Lily approached her but it soon became clear that Karen was expected to make good on her promise to help save the elder race of Lily's species.
"Yes, Lady Lily, that among other things... my specialty is the field of invitro-fertilization."
"What does this mean exactly, sweet Karen?"
"Basically we extract a female egg, inject it with male sperm, and insert the fertilized egg back into the female."
"What if there is no male? The two men here are not suitable. Their intelligence is lacking. Any child they produce is bound to mirror them. Even if they could produce a male do we desire the future of the human race to be based on such a creature?"
"I tend to agree with you, Lady Lily. We'll have to obtain the sperm from other sources... a sperm bank, for example, or a cadaver that has been frozen."
"I have read how it is possible by such a procedure to inoculate the female egg with chromosomes of a second female. Is this true, darling Karen?"
"Why yes, in fact I participated in such techniques many years ago."
"There are no males of my kind, precious Karen. You once assured me you could help in procuring a suitable donor so our species can continue beyond the two of us who remain. Are you willing to keep that promise?"
"I'll do all I can, yes. What do you have in mind, Lady Lily?"
"Natalia is able to carry a child to term. I have yet to ask if she is willing but we will assume she is. Is it possible that this child, a male child, might be, let us say, engineered to be compatible with a female of my species?"
"I'd have to have access to a proper laboratory and plenty of time, but yes, it is possible,
at least in my opinion. We will need the mitochondrial nucleus of an egg from either you or Lady Lauren. It was a process only one doctor in Japan perfected. I believe I can duplicate the results but I could be wrong, however. I don’t want to get your hopes up."
"We are blessed with time, wondrous Karen. I will speak to Lady Lauren about your requirement. For reasons of my own I cannot provide the egg. As for your laboratory, can you obtain equipment nearby and set it up here in the castle?"
"Why, yes... Lady Lily. The Centers for Disease Control headquarters is only two hours from here. With help I can go there, gather what will be required, and bring it back here."
"It's settled then, my darling Karen. I'll accompany you, Marilyn, and Natalia to the place you mention, if that is permissible. Will we need others?"
"No, the four of us can handle everything."
"Thank you for this, sweet Karen. I had a morning dream that this male child will not only help to ensure the survival of my race but yours as well. Morning dreams often come true."
"I hope you're right, Lady Lily. It's been twenty years since the Great Dying and not one male child has been born. From what I've deduced the two men who survive are incapable of producing any child other than females. Their chromosomes have mutated for some reason."
"Perhaps this is a good thing, darling Karen."
"It means the human race will eventually become extinct, Lady Lily. How is that a good thing?"
"By combining the traits of our species we may create that which carries the best features of both. If those two men are producing male offspring they will only serve to contaminate the evolutionary process."
"That's one way of looking at it, I suppose."
"What other way is there?"
The Lady was right, of course. One of Karen's worst fears was waking to a world full of Kirks and Drummonds, like the men who had ruled her life before the Great Dying had put an end to them all.
"Once I procure the proper equipment, Lady Lily, I may be able to help human females give birth to male offspring again. Still, if there is a child born with the characteristics of both races our species may have a better chance to survive."
