The Saffron Malformation

by Walker, Bryan

  “Unbelievable,” Rain said. “Did she really do this?”

  “Far as I know,” Quey answered.

  “Where is she?” Amber asked.

  “Maybe she’s not fully charged yet,” Reggie answered with a chuckle. Quey shot him a look. “It was just a joke,” the big man insisted.

  “Right and it’s the sort that’ll get us in a heap of cross feelings.”

  “So,” Natalie began hesitantly, “It’ll act like us?”

  Quey sighed. “No. But she has feelings and they seem sensitive. Just treat her like you would anyone else taking you in.”

  “And try not to call her it,” Rain added before stepping to Botler. “Excuse me… Robot?” she asked, uncertainly.

  “Botler’s the name, and to serve is my function,” he replied happily.

  Quey chuckled as Rain continued. “Right, sorry. Where is Ryla?”

  Botler thought for a split and replied, “Irrelevant, this information does not assist your primary function.”

  Rain peered at him queerly and asked, “And what is my primary function?”

  “Guest!” Botler informed her and began to roll away again. “Quey your room is right where you left it and may I say how glad I am you’re back. Since you left things have been so boring.” The bot rolled to face the rest of them and said, “Others, you may find a place down this corridor and there is one room across from Quey down that corridor,” he finished, gesturing like a flight attendant. “Fresh clothing and towels are available. Pleeease, make yourselves at home,” he told them then rolled away down the hall Quey knew led to Ryla’s room.

  “This place sort of gives me the creeps,” Amber said softly.

  Reggie agreed.

  Natalie was rubbing her arms as she asked, “And why is it so cold?”

  “You sure this was a good idea?” Arnie asked Quey quietly.

  Truth was, he wasn’t but it was too late for that now so he just assured them. “It’s fine. Look, I told you as much about her as I could to prepare you. Yes, she is a little exocentric but also remember she’s harmless. I was here for days and nothin’ happened to me.”

  “I like it,” Leone said with a shrug. Eyes went to him as he looked up and around at the paintings on the walls and ceiling. “Anyone who can do all this,” he said, “Can’t be bad.”

  Rain threw an arm around his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. “He’s right, besides we haven’t even met the girl.”

  “Must admit that’s a bit of what I find unsettling,” Reggie said in his deep voice, keeping it as low as he could manage. “You want us to treat her like anyone else taking us in but who brings people into their home and doesn’t even bother to meet them first?”

  “I don’t know about the rest of you,” Rachel announced, “But I’m just glad to be off the road and I do recall hearing something about a hot shower and fresh clothes and beyond that, Jimmy cracked corn because I don’t care.” Rachel started toward the hallway the robot had said Quey’s room was down and added, “If this Ryla gets it in her head to kill us all, I intend to be clean when she does it.”

  A dull chuckle of agreement passed between them and they went off to find their rooms. Quey went to the room he’d been in last time and Rachel took up residence across from him. “Line to the bathroom on this side’s going to be shorter,” she said as she claimed the room. No one argued. Being pregnant had its perks.

  There were four rooms in the corridor opposite Quey and Rachel’s that were easily divided. Rain and Arnie took a room, Reggie had another, one went to Natalie and Amber and the last to Leone.

  “It’s not fair he gets his own room and I have to share with my stinky mom,” Amber protested playfully, though there was a hint of truth in it. She just wanted to close a door and be alone for a while.

  “You know Natalie, you could share my room if you like,” Reggie offered with a teasing smile that she returned.

  “Oh, could I?” she asked. “And I suppose you’d be a complete gentleman.”

  “Well, I’d be gentle,” he replied.

  Everyone laughed except for Amber who groaned and said, “Nevermind, you guys are gross.”

  “Why don’t you have your shower first,” Rain offered, giving the girls grimy hair a ruffle.

  “And I’ll find you something fresh to put on after,” Natalie added.

  The girl wanted to stay upset but the prospect of being clean, not just sponged off on the side of the road but actually clean, was too appealing. She smiled and agreed, “Alright,” then hurried off to the bathroom.

  The water was hot and sprayed with enough force to knock the grime from her pores. The shower had been stocked with fine soaps and body scrubs and shampoos scented with all sorts of fragrance. Amber took her time with a salt scrub that stripped the filth from her and sent it swirling down the drain by her feet. Her mother brought her fresh clothes and a towel and as she dried herself she grinned. Nothing in her life had felt as good against her skin as that towel or the clothes she slipped into afterword. It was a simple long sleeve shirt and some jeans, slightly too big for her but they were clean, not just the least filthy thing in her bag. She stood in the bathroom for a spell just feeling fresh and unsoiled.

  She took so long that Leone finally used the bathroom across the way, going after Natalie but before Quey. Quey’d spent years with the grime of the road on his skin and a few more minutes wouldn’t kill him.

  After Amber finally emerged, so clean she almost glistened, Reggie, who promised to be quick and was, took his turn. After him Rain and Arnie allowed Natalie to go because they promised to take a long time and they did. They cleaned each other with soap first and then Arnie began to clean her again, this time with his lips and tongue. He spent a long time on the flesh between her strong thighs and she enjoyed it but she wasn’t the sort to be brought across the finish line by such means. Some, probably most women could, but she liked the feel of a man inside her. When she took Arnie's cock in her hand she felt him throbbing so she dropped before him and took him in her mouth. Usually after a bit of that he’d be ready to go and they’d have sex but it had been a while and so she continued until she heard him groan, “Please don’t stop.”

  If he was going to be of any use to her in bed he’d have need of a bit of release now, she decided, so she closed her eyes and massaged his cock with her tongue, suckling until he was solid and then finally popped. It was his first orgasm in weeks and it filled her mouth quickly. She wasn’t fond of that part, but it was brief and at least they were in the shower where she could easily spit it down the drain.

  She stood under the spray of the shower with her head tilted up and her mouth open. She swilled water and spat. Arnie’s hands were on her, caressing her newly cleaned skin. He pressed against her back, gripping her small breasts and kissing her neck just behind and below her ear, just how she liked. She could feel him against her, his freshly discharged prick already working itself up again as his fingers found their way between her legs. She let him arouse her in the shower but for the rest they had to move to the bedroom because she was too short for them to do anything standing up. They passed from the bath to their room, a swift blur of wrapped towels and damp flesh, and closed the door.

  He was looking at her in that way she liked, an animal stalking its prey, as he closed on her and tore the towel from her body. He traced the lines of her, the curve of her hips, the flat of her belly—flatter now after weeks on the road—and the gentle swell of her breasts. He pounced her onto the bed, tossing his own towel aside and wasted no time, she was more than ready and accepted him with ease. Kissing feverishly, they tore about the sheets like kids, fingers, lips and tongues exploring familiar flesh as if it was the first time. Finally she was atop him where she danced, her hips moving to a rhythm only they could hear, maneuvering him inside her just how she liked, just how she needed to…

  Her eyes drifted. Her body fluttered. She sighed soft and satisfied.

  A moment after Arnie sat up agai
nst her and kissed her nipples then tossed her onto her back where she found her second pleasure, watching the animalistic ferocity take hold of him. It was an energy that rushed through her as she looked up at him, so intense and yet so gentle. Her hands ran across his back and gripped him until he pushed deep and groaned and when she felt him burst this time she liked it just fine. When his spasm subsided she pulled him down and let him settle on top of her. He nuzzled her neck and slowly went limp inside her.

  “I love you,” she told him.

  He rolled off of her and looked into her eyes. “I’m glad I crashed your van,” he replied and she laughed then kissed him.

  “Me too,” she said. They found their way beneath the blankets and slept on a bed that might have been a cloud in a past life. When they awoke hours later they found they had refreshed vitality. This time they paced themselves, ramping slowly toward a nearly simultaneous finish she directed from under him through whispering into his ear. It was a series of not yets, then almost, then now.

  Afterward they lay together talking, joking mostly. Arnie was good at making her laugh and she fancied herself quite amusing as well. It was night before anyone saw them again, and that was just long enough to get some food and water in their bellies. They were like teenagers again, and so they quickly managed to retire back to their room for yet another romp.

  Quey took a moment to revel in being clean as he stepped from his room freshly dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans. The soreness the road inflicted on him seemed to lessen, as if the old sweat and layer of grime had mixed and mingled into a toxin weighing him down. Now that it was gone his joints seemed to move with a bit more ease.

  He found Reggie in the kitchen, making some burgers.

  “You know, Reg,” Quey said with a hint of sarcasm. “I think you might be the only man I know who actually gets darker when he’s clean.”

  Reggie laughed as he flipped the burgers. “Yeah, I was gettin’ a bit ashy there wasn’t I? Hey, you don’t think she’ll mind I made some burgers do you?” he asked as he flipped the last patty. “I mean the robot said to make ourselves at home.”

  Quey shook his head, “I don’t think she’ll mind.” He remembered the last time he was here. Three days he didn’t recall seeing her eat a thing.

  “Good,” Reggie continued, “Because I took a peek in the fridge and you wouldn’t believe how fresh this shit is. I think these are going to be some grade A tasty motherfuckers right here.”

  Quey looked and saw the big man had four in a pan and a half dozen or so on a plate beside the stove.

  “Would have liked to grill ‘em,” he added with a shrug, “But I wasn’t about to go wanderin around looking for one.”

  Quey chuckled, “Good call.”

  The others joined them one by one (all save Rain and Arnie, of course) freshly washed and dressed. They laughed easily at jokes as they shared Reggie’s burgers. It was the first good time they’d had in a while, what with the brood coming at them relentlessly, forcing them to roll hard and stop only when it was necessary.

  Having things as simple as a shower and a bed and a meal to share at a table seemed to bring everyone’s spirits up again. They were laughing when Ryla stepped into the room, her long brown hair pulled into a tight tail at the back of her head. She wore only a simple cotton slip and made no noise as she walked gracefully on her bare feet.

  The conversation stopped when they noticed her.

  “Ryla,” Quey announced. “Everyone, this is Ryla. Ryla, Reggie, Leone, Rachel, Natalie and Amber,” he said going around the table. “Rain and Arnie are… indisposed,” he concluded.

  Reggie stood and moved toward her, meaning to shake hands, and she backed away, eyes wide. “Did you tell them about the defense gate parameters?” she asked Quey.

  The big man looked to him and Quey admitted, “I thought it best to wait on that.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Natalie asked.

  “Nothing to big. But it’s not a good idea to touch her.”

  “Whats that mean?” Reggie asked perplexed.

  “Physical contact violates one of the defense gates,” she said simply.

  Reggie looked to her and said, “Wanna try that again.”

  She thought for a moment then realized, “You don’t understand,” and seemed rather pleased she’d drawn that conclusion on her own. “The building will kill you,” she added then turned her attention to the table full of people.

  The big man looked at her and swallowed hard, nodding. “Right. Hands to yourself,” he said. “Important safety tip.”

  “That’s what Quey said,” she noted.

  Rachel looked nervous and saw the others, save Quey, were in a similar state so she asked, “Anything else the building might kill us for?”

  Ryla shifted her attention to Rachel and answered simply, “Aiming a gun. Accessing a bots control panel. There’s a list on any terminal, you’re welcome to review.”

  Natalie looked over at Quey, “This is the safe place you brought us to? A building that’ll try to kill us if we step wrong.”

  “You can step anywhere you like,” Ryla said optimistically. The look she got in return made her feel small.

  Quey raised his hands, “Now listen, there’s no reason any of us should go around aiming guns or messing about in her robots. We’re not going to accidentally set off any of the defenses, are we?” he asked, looking to Ryla.

  “Defense gate protocol’s,” Ryla corrected, looking back at him. Then she said, “It’s impossible to violate them if you’re not hostel.”

  “Right,” Quey agreed. “And I don’t fathom a way to be accidentally hostel, do you?” he asked the group. The adults mulled this circumstance over in their minds during a silent moment.

  Amber was staring at the woman, tall and slender and still as a statue in her thin slip of cotton. She was under a long sleeve shirt and jeans and she still felt trembly in the cold of this place. “Why don’t you want to be touched?” Amber asked.

  Ryla looked at her. “I don’t want to be attacked.”

  Leone, sitting across from her, added with a chuckle, “We’re not going to attack you.”

  “Yeah, why would you think such a thing,” Amber chimed in.

  Ryla looked at them. “Your intent isn’t certain.”

  “You mean you don’t trust us,” Rachel chimed in.

  “You lack protocol. Your actions can’t be predicted, therefore the outcome of any one of them is unknown.”

  “That’s weird,” Amber said softly and without thinking. Ryla looked away for a moment.

  Leone looked from Ryla to Amber and said, “Maybe not. I mean we are a bunch of strangers in her home.”

  Ryla looked at the boy. The others were wary of her but this one seemed to try to understand her. He hadn’t decided, as Quey and probably the others had, that she didn’t want to be touched because she was a robot, but that she was in fear of her safety.

  “We promise not to attack you,” Amber said with a smile.

  “Amber,” Natalie said in her ‘drop it,’ tone.

  “What?” she continued. “I just think we should all be friends, not just us at the table and her off by herself.”

  “And maybe we will,” Quey said. He looked up to Ryla and added, “In time.”

  “Well,” Reggie interjected, “If you’d like I made some burgers. Even set one aside for you.”

  She looked at the big man’s smile and found it genuine enough. “Thank you,” she said. “But I came for the data you collected. I’d like to get started on the analysis of it.”

  Quey nodded, “I’ll get it for you.”

  “You’re all welcome to go to the first floor,” Ryla said and they looked to her. “The second floor… just try not to touch anything.”

  “If we do will some machine come to kill us?” Natalie asked a little sour.

  “No,” Ryla answered simply.

  “What’s on the second floor?” Leone asked as he chewed some burge
r.

  She looked at the boy. “My workshop... part of it.”

  “Oh, hey,” he added with a snap of his finger as he remembered what he’d wanted to ask. “So we we’re wondering if you painted all this?”

  For a moment the boy thought she almost smiled and said, “Yes.”

  “It’s really good,” he told her.

  “There’s a holoscreen on that wall,” Ryla said indicating the one opposite the couch. “Botler can show you how to use it and I have full renderings of every Nintendo game ever made. Even the Earth ones,” she added.

  Leone was impressed and a bit excited. “I can play?” he asked and she nodded.

  “You have to use a controller for some of the older ones, the digit scanning’s don’t always translate properly.”

  Quey returned with the sheet they’d downloaded the tower’s database onto and the memory pin from Geo. He set them on the table and returned to his seat. Ryla seemed to glide as she stepped forward and collected the objects.

  “Thank you,” she said calmly then turned and walked away.

  “That is one interesting… whatever,” Reggie said as she stepped around the corner.

  Ryla stood down the hall before the opened elevator doors and listened to the girl, Amber, say, “She looks so real.”

  “She is real,” Leone protested.

  “No I know,” Amber explained, “I just mean… I thought they quit doing that centuries’ ago. I didn’t even know they could anymore.”

  “Do we know she’s a robot?” Rachel asked Quey.

  “Thank you, no, we don’t,” he replied. “As I said before I don’t know.”

  “Either way there’s something off about her,” Reggie said.

  “Agreed,” Natalie added. Quey gave her a look so she added, defensively, “look if she’s not going to trust us not to attack her without threat of execution why should we not question her motives?”

  “That does seem a bit extreme,” Rachel sympathized.

  “Who cares?” the boy asked with a shrug. “So she’s a bit skittish when it comes to hugs. She’s cool. If she’s a robot then she’s cooler.”