by Jill Cooper
She was his and Victor was going to make sure everyone knew it. “You’re turning into a beautiful woman, Elizabeth.”
Her skin shivered as he called her that. “Thank you,” her voice faint as Victor stood from the bed. He was so close to her, Victor could smell her perfume as he poured two glasses of wine, handing one to Liz.
“To the future?” Victor asked.
Liz nodded. “To the future.” She clinked her glass against his and then downed her wine, much too fast. Liz coughed and covered her mouth, but all Victor could do was smile.
“Nervous? It’s all right; you have every right to be nervous. It’s your first time, isn’t it?”
He waited for her answer with patient breath. Liz’s confirmation that she was a virgin brought him great joy.
“I was nervous my first time too.” Victor stroked the back of her cheek with his hand. There was no harm in pretending to soothe her fears. “But I will make tonight memorable, Elizabeth. I will teach you pleasure in ways you never would have dreamed of before. It’ll make your life so much more—worthwhile.”
Victor took Liz’s hand and he helped her turn around. Then slowly, sensually, Victor unzipped her dress from her neck all the way down to the base of her lower back. His hands stroked down to the small of her back. Aware that she quivered, Victor closed his eyes as he moaned. She was so soft and to know he was the first man to ever touch her . . . He could take her right then if he wasn’t pretending to be a gentleman.
He let the dress fall and his lips pressed against the base of her neck as his hands caressed her front and found her modest breasts. Soft but supple, they pleasured him. “Tonight,” Victor growled against her neck, “you become a woman.”
Tonight, Victor owned her. Liz was his.
Her mouth parted and Liz let out a deep breath. The look on her face was hard to read, but Victor thought it might be pleasure. His hands explored parts of her that no man had ever touched and her skin rose with goose bumps. She was nervous. Victor was pleasuring her, he just knew it from how she tilted her head, and her eyes squeezed shut. Liz never felt anything like the pleasure he was about to give her.
“I knew tonight was the night. I wasn’t sure about you, Liz. Not until today and how well you handled what you saw. You weren’t as horrified as I thought you would be. I found myself thinking t must be because you believe in the cause, because you believe in me?”
With a smile, she turned around and took Victor’s hands, placing them on her maturing hips. “I believe in you, Victor. And I need you, just as much as you need me.”
It’s like she knew exactly what Victor wanted—needed to hear. Victor closed his eyes, bringing his mouth down to hers. Liz’s tongue entered his mouth, while exploring him with her hands. His hands tightened on her like she was property and nothing would change that.
Victor led her over to the bed. Liz lay down on the soft pillows and gazed up at Victor. She feared him, that much was obvious, but a little fear wasn’t a bad thing. No, Victor thought a little fear would keep her in line—keep her from refusing his advances. Fear could be his closest ally in a marriage to a young woman like Liz.
He moved between her legs and Liz gripped his shoulder. Victor listened to her gasp for breath with amusement as he pushed inside of her. The tips of her fingers gripped his skin hard. Victor felt the pleasure of not only the tightness of being inside someone so new, but he felt the pleasure of her discomfort.
Her mouth had fallen open, her lip quivering from the mix of pleasure and pain—well, that pleased him the most.
****
Liz stayed in Victor’s personal quarters that night. He saw to it and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Asleep naked beneath the sheet, Victor watched her breathe. The simple rise and fall of her shoulders as she drifted into a deep, restful sleep. With her lips parted and one arm thrown over her head, Liz was a vision of youth and beauty.
He rose from the bed and pulled his pants back on. As he slipped his shirt over his head, he stepped from his quarters. His guards turned their heads toward him. “Paul, you stay here and make sure no one disturbs Liz while she sleeps.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Guard her as you would me. Soon we’ll be one in the same.” Victor patted Paul on the back as he turned to Robert, one of his nearest and dearest. Not the largest of glistenings, but he was quick and had a bright mind. Bright enough that he rarely bothered Victor with his ‘opinions’ or objections on how things were going. Robert knew enough to stay quiet unless Victor was looking for input and that put Victor at ease.
More than anything, Victor hated to be second-guessed.
“Escort me, would you?”
Robert nodded and led the way. They navigated the halls until they rounded the corner and headed toward the elevator. It would lead them down into the White House Bunker, a failsafe to protect the president of the United States; it now protected Victor’s most valuable resource. The elevator was guarded by a glistening—in dragon form, with large, expansive wings. Once, Victor had seen the dragon break a steel beam with its very jaws.
He huffed as Victor approached and then bowed his head. Victor stroked the dragon like a valued pet. “I must check on the progress, dear brother.”
The dragon nodded and shifted his weight away, flapping his wings once to draw them back in. It made way for Victor to open the elevator and start his descent into the bunker. A sprawling space with offices and conference rooms, Victor moved through the humans turned glistenings, toward the glass surrounded office where she worked day and night.
It was to function as an oval office and now it had been turned into a lab. Jane Morgan, mother of Jenna, was seated at the desk, pouring over small machines and devices. She held the coveted harness prototype in her hand.
Victor knocked on the doorframe and Jane’s head snapped up as far as the collar of chains around her neck would allow. Her red curls, once short, were now long and unkempt. Her cheeks were sunken and her lips chapped. Her eyes tired, but there would be no rest, Victor demanded, until she was successful.
“Jane, how’s it going?”
She put the harness down on the tabletop. “It would go better if I could get something to eat. Drink.”
“Thirsty?”
Jane didn’t answer with words, but the way she closed her eyes and swallowed. was answer enough.
“I can arrange that you get something soon. Small. Once we make more progress . . .”
Jane threw her screwdriver down. It rolled across the desk and bounced on the floor. “I can’t do anything when I can’t think! I don’t even know if this is going to work!”
Victor waved his finger side to side. “Temper, Jane.”
She sighed and then Jane blinked back fresh tears in her eyes as she avoided his gaze.
Smugly, Victor smiled. “I wouldn’t waste hydration on simple tears.”
Jane stared off, stone faced, at the wall. “I’m going to die if you don’t take better care of me soon. And if I’m dead—.”
“Like your husband?” Victor reminded her, a joyful laugh escaping his lips.
“If I’m dead,” Jane said, only with louder resolve, “I can’t get this to work over a longer distance.”
“But you’ve gotten it to work here? On the prototype we stole from New Haven 56?” Victor held his breath as he waited for an answer. When Jane nodded, Victor’s eyes widened, his heart pounded with happiness. “Marvelous, Jane! Why didn’t you say so? Grab half a sandwich and a glass of water, on me.”
She didn’t thank him like Victor thought she should. Instead, she just squeezed her jaw together. “You don’t even know if New Haven 57 is on this frequency. You don’t know that the harnesses will stop working and go offline.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. I’ll get you some food and then you can show my men how it works. We’ll take it from there.”
“Wait,” Jane’s voice cracked. “How’s Travis? Can I see my grandson?”
Victor just laughe
d. “He’s not your grandson any more than I am. I know whose son he is, but don’t worry, that secret is safe with me.”
“Please . . .”
“Perhaps I would’ve said yes if it hadn’t been for all your struggles, your attempts at escape.”
“I learned my lesson.” Jane stared at her hands and her voice was listless. “You killed my husband. After all of my sacrifices for the glistening cause—.”
Victor sneered. “You mean run? Hide that your daughter, wherever she is, is a half-glistening instead of storming the gates? Excuse me Momma Morgan, if I’m not sympathetic to how we are treating you. A traitor, just like any other human.”
“A blending of glistening and human isn’t without its problems. She was sick, a long time. I just wanted to keep my daughter safe.”
But Victor wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t care how much Jane had done at one time for glistenings. She was free while men like him were kept behind bars. As far as Victor was concerned, glistenings could feast on Jane for their next meal.
As long as the device worked, he could free the last of his kind from their harnesses.
Chapter Nine Jenna
New Haven 57
Jameson Residence
In the morning, Jenna sat at her bedroom vanity. Her makeup was flawless and her red curls still cascaded around her shoulders. In her hand was a hairbrush, but Jenna couldn’t bring herself to finish getting ready. She was even still in her silk nightgown; her belly stretched the fabric taught.
Jenna gazed at her reflection, but it felt phony. More so than ever before and she didn’t know why. She wasn’t acting or playing a part. This was her life, but ever since she witnessed her dear friend commit suicide, things were different. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours yet, Jenna needed to give herself more time, but time was the one thing she didn’t have.
Anxiety crept into her chest and there, it netted and drew tight, constricting every breath, she took.
Rick walked into the room, dressed in his trousers and a nice, green polo shirt. It was Jenna’s favorite color, like her eyes. She watched him cautiously as he took the hairbrush from her and without a word began to brush her hair. He was always there, kind and sweet, helping her with basic chores.
With the baby getting closer, Jenna knew she was going to need all the help she could get. Gazing down at her belly, Jenna put a hand on it when she felt a heavy thump. Having a baby was a happy occasion, of course it always was.
So why was Jenna’s heart so weighted with despair?
Jenna opened her mouth to speak when her harness triggered. The glow on the front lit up the mirror and the sound of air escaping sounded almost like her very own. Jenna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mind was calmed but in the darkest corners of her brain, a face flashed. A handsome, concerned face with dark hair and a pair of the bluest eyes she had ever seen.
She should know that face. Jenna knew without a doubt he was friendly. It almost felt like he was hers, so who was he? Where was he?
“Feeling better?” Rick placed his hands on her shoulders in a gentle massage.
Jenna closed her eyes and gave a gentle nod. “Think I’m ready to face the day. I’m sorry that breakfast isn’t ready.”
“I’ll take you out for breakfast. You deserve to be treated well.” Rick kissed her cheek. “Now, if you want I can do a bun for you, but it might look more like a bird’s nest if you don’t do it yourself.”
Jenna laughed and covered her mouth as she pivoted in her seat to look at him. “Oh, Rick, you’re delightful when you’re trying to cheer me up.”
“I’ll pick the dress and shoes if you can handle the rest. Deal?”
Jenna turned back to the table and picked up a handful of bobby pins. “Deal.” Her chest puffed with air and she tackled her mission with resolve. When she was done, her hair was done up in an elegant French twist that would put most woman’s to shame. Rick had picked out a green dress with a high, white collar and matching shoes.
She slipped on a pair of earrings and white gloves, ready to tackle the day. It was a big one at that. She had another doctor’s test for her and her baby. One more appointment to check off the list and that just meant his arrival was just nearing.
First, breakfast, because Jenna was starving. Rick waited at the bottom step as she descended the stairs, her gaze fixated on Rick’s smile. “Well, aren’t you a sight? You look like you don’t have a care in the world,” he said.
Jenna wished that was true, but for the most part in that moment, she felt like it was true. She took Rick’s offered hand as she stepped down off the steps. Her heels ached from the shoes she wore and downstairs it smelled like Pine-sol. “It’s because you take such good care of me.”
He gave her chin a squeeze. “You’re chariot awaits, dear lady. I promise to buy you the biggest stack of pancakes that you’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, Rick,” Jenna giggled. “I’ll gain more than baby weight if you keep treating me so well.”
Rick led her by the arm out to their waiting 1957 Chevy, sparkling blue in the gleaming sunlight that stroked its chrome trim with gentle hand. “And I wouldn’t care, even if that was true.” He popped the door open and helped her slip inside.
Jenna was happy, content, as she snapped her seatbelt into place. The ride to the diner was pleasant and she enjoyed it most when they drove by the elementary school where the children gathered by the front doors. The girls wore simple skirts and the boys in black trousers, but their faces were beaming with happiness and pride. One day that would be her daughter.
“A daughter? I had a daughter?”
“Dirk . . .”
Dirk—that name again—a memory that couldn’t be hers. Jenna had never known a Dirk, or done any of the things she dreamt about at night. Jenna folded the hem of her dress up and stared down at her feet. She wanted to stay calm so the harness wouldn’t trigger, but that was easier said than done.
Still, she tried. Jenna counted to ten and took a stream of long breaths to relax herself.
“You okay?” Rick asked; his wrist relaxed on the steering wheel as they slowed into a parking spot right in front of the diner.
She had done it. Jenna had managed to avoid triggering the harness even after having one of her ‘episodes’ as she liked to call them. That was the first time it had been successful and Jenna smiled wide. “Peachy keen!”
Keep it a secret. Keep it hidden.
Jenna didn’t know why she felt that way about the harness or the memories, but she knew if New Haven found out she was slowly finding a way to beat the harness, they would strengthen their efforts. For some reason, even though the harness brought serenity, Jenna didn’t want it.
She wanted to remember, if there was anything to remember.
Jenna needed to know what the truth was and what wasn’t. She didn’t know why. All she knew; was that she did.
And for the time being, that was enough.
****
Whenever Jenna stepped into the New Haven 57 Community Healthcare facility, her stomach tightened. She didn’t know why, but as the nurse ushered her and Rick into a private exam room, her heart pounded to the extreme. To bring her back to a docile state, her harness activated twice in quick succession. That only happened when she was under clear distress and she nearly lost her footing.
Jenna moaned as Rick caught her arm and stopped her rapid decent to the floor. “Jameson?” she whispered.
Rick got her over to the exam table and helped her lay down. “Easy, Jenna.” He pressed the back of his hand to her face.
Jenna’s eyes were lidded and sleepy. “Why are you doing this to me?”
His face drew together, serious. “I love you, that’s why.” Rick lifted her hand to his lips and gingerly kissed her fingers.
“Don’t say it if it’s not true.” Jenna’s head rolled to the side and her cheek rested against her shoulder. She fell dead asleep.
Rick huffed as he delicately folded both of her hands on he
r high belly. He even adjusted the hem of her dress so it came right above her knees. Didn’t know why he did it, but it was important to him that when the doctor came in, Jenna not be on display for everyone to see.
Shadows moved along the wall and three nurses, each with a different syringe, approached. “Be quick about it,” he barked the order and watched as one of the nurses less than gently moved Jenna’s head over for a good view of the back of her neck. Jenna’s mouth parted and Jameson thought she might wake up.
But as the nurse slid the needle between the gaps of the harness and into the base of her skull, Jenna didn’t stir; didn’t even flinch.
“She’s remembering more and more. Whatever that stuff is, you better double it.”
“We’re already giving her the max dosage for a full-fledged glistening, Mr. Jameson.” The nurse was patient with him even if it was something she had said to him a dozen times. “You’ll just have to bring her more often.”
More often? “I’m running out of excuses on how frequent our trips are. Maybe it’s time we end this before we all end up dead, huh?” Rick sneered. “Induce her, C-section, I don’t care. We need to get that baby out and end this charade.”
“We’ll end it when it’s safe to do so.”
Rick turned around with his hands on his hips. The ‘doctor’ was there along with Gerard, the man who freed him from prison and set this entire thing in motion. He should be grateful; Rick knew that. Without Gerard, he’d be rotting in prison while glistenings dive-bombed the country, eating humans and worse—enslaving the others.
“Safe for me? Or safe for her?”
“The baby,” Gerard said. “When its lungs are fully developed and it can exist on the outside, we’ll take it from her. Until then, you’ll do your job like you’ve been doing for the last six months, unless a return to prison suits you.”
Rick smirked. Gerard must have taken him for an idiot—there were no more prisons, at least not ones run by humans. Now humans were the lab rats and the glistenings were the ones in charge.
