Cali almost felt sorry for Man with Soft Hair. He seemed sad to her, lonely. She’d seen firsthand that he wasn’t lonely physically. He had Lady Who Visits. Cali wondered for a second if Superiors did it different or the same way as humans. She shook the thought away. As long as they didn’t try it with her, she didn’t care how Superiors mated. And she’d lived long enough to know that mating didn’t make people any less lonely, at least not humans. A lot of times, it made them more lonely.
But something about Man with Soft Hair, an air of restlessness, seemed almost human, and if he had to hang around talking to humans, he must not have many friends. If it weren’t for his insistence on sucking her blood every time he saw her, she might have had a little more sympathy.
He wasn’t too bad, though. The bites didn’t hurt that much. No more than her nightly donation, and not as much as when she’d gone to the blood bank. She pushed that memory away like she always did when it popped up.
A few other people had joined her in tending the garden before the sun came into the sky. Best to get started early, while the morning coolness still hung in the air. In a few weeks they’d start harvesting, putting in new crops, putting up food for later, stocking the shelves in the warehouse to last until next year, for all these people. It seemed impossible, but of course it could be done. They did it every year, and every year most of them survived.
Now that she’d come back, she only wanted to find whatever splintered parts of her family she could, avoid getting bit, and make it through the wet season. Instead of dreading the Superior who would overdraw or molest her, she went about her business, pitching in, helping out. She liked the peacefulness of the garden, of not having to worry about Superiors coming out to get her while she worked. By the end of every day, sweat stiffened her reeking shift and every muscle in her body ached from the unaccustomed labor. Even so, she liked the simple, repetitive tasks of the garden, the way her chores were laid out for her each day, only changing with the season. In the Confinement, she didn’t have to dread more than a nightly feeding or two.
Though some people longed to be bought and thought it would bring them instant happiness, Cali was happy to stay in the Confinement forever. She knew Superiors didn’t provide the happiness people dreamed of. In the restaurant, she’d had more experience with Superiors than anyone had in the Confinement. Just like humans, Superiors came in all different sorts.
Some seemed relatively harmless but snarky and patronizing, like Man with Soft Hair. Some were indifferent to human suffering, like Man Who Hurried. He seemed to like her so much, even more than Man with Soft Hair, but he didn’t seem to care too much if he hurt her or left a bite open. Maybe he didn’t know she could die from it, if his bite got infected. She rubbed the inside of her thigh where he’d bitten the night before. The dull ache stabbed with a sharper pain when she put pressure on it.
The Man Who Hurried came every night. At least he only fed once a night, and he didn’t take too much and leave her weak, and he only took from one spot each time. But she’d feel better if he only showed up three or four times a month like the Man with Soft Hair.
Cali could remember all the regulars from her restaurant years. She’d had worse than Man Who Hurried. Sure, he didn’t mind if he hurt her. He didn’t seem to notice. He came, sucked her arm for a minute, jumped up and left. He was all business.
She had disliked Man Who Bites a Lot much more. One of her first regulars, he’d come in during her first month at the restaurant, and he’d kept coming back for a whole year. She’d dreaded his return for months after the last time he’d fed on her. Even her little happiness at his departure had been darkened by her fear that he’d come back. He had liked to bite four or five times when he took a ration. He’d said he couldn’t find a good vein. Either he tried to be mean on purpose, or he was just an awfully brainless bloodsucker.
23
Byron had already stood to leave for the night when his desk screen began blinking. He wanted to get home to Marisol, but he stopped when he saw that the phone call he’d been waiting for had come through. It had been slow in coming—several weeks had passed since he’d checked up on Draven’s activities regarding the missing sap.
“It’s nice to hear back from you,” he said to the face that appeared in his desk screen. “I was beginning to think you hadn’t done as I asked.”
“Yes, sir, we did. Very sorry it took so long to get back to you, sir. We have so many sapiens coming through here that my report must have gotten pushed aside. Sorry for not calling sooner, Enforcer, sir.”
“And did the doctor examine the sapien I indicated? What was the result of his tests?”
“I am the doctor, sir. I examined her thoroughly, as your request indicated.”
“How would you say her health was, doctor?”
“Not ideal, sir, but she was in much better shape than the rest of the saps from that batch, the ones brought in from that restaurant. Her blood tests came back clean, but she was depleted. She had a slight infection in a bite on one leg, but we gave her a batch of antibiotics, and it’s all cleared up now. Otherwise, just what you’d expect. Underfed and overdrawn.”
“Is there a way to know if she’d been fed in the two days prior to being brought in?”
“Yes, sir. She was. Her fluids had been replenished, too, so she wasn’t as bad off as the others. Too bad your friend didn’t take all of them. One of them died.”
“A sapien died?”
“Yes, sir. He was so overdrawn he didn’t respond to our treatments. He died in the clinic.”
“And the one that my friend took away, she was better?”
“Yes. The poor creature’s lucky he took pity on her when he did. She might have died, too, otherwise.”
“Uh huh. And what about the female’s sex organs? Were they examined?”
The doctor made a face before answering. “Yes. Everything was as it should be.”
“She hadn’t been molested or violated by a Superior?”
“There’s no way to tell without extensive testing who a human has mated with, Superior or otherwise. But lucky for us, this one was easy to tell. She hasn’t mated yet. Sealed up tight as a drum.”
“So everything was intact? Are you sure? Is there any way you could have made a mistake?”
“No, sir. Far as I can tell, she’s never been bred. No foul play, sir.”
“Thank you, doctor. That’s a relief to hear.”
“Yes, sir. I’d imagine. No one wants to find out his friend has that kind of...illness.”
“That’s true, doctor. Certainly true. In my opinion, repeat offenders should face the death penalty. It’s not just a perversion, it’s plain wrong and despicable to even think that way. People with people, animals with animals. We stick with our own kind.”
“That’s what I always say, Enforcer. People who look at the animals that way, it’s a sickness for sure. If you ever run for office, you have my vote.”
“Thanks, doctor. You’ve put my mind at ease.”
“You know, it’s nice to have a sap come in and the test come back negative. Most of the ones who are suspected victims turn out to be just that. I’m glad once in a while I get to be the bearer of good news.”
Byron shut off the desk screen in a considerably better mood than he’d been before the call. Now when he had drinks and billiards with Draven, he could relax and trust his friend again. He still thought it odd that Draven hadn’t brought the sapien to the Confinement the first night, but at least he knew the motive for keeping her hadn’t been a revolting one.
Byron smiled as he left the office. Draven held much promise for a Third. He didn’t have the strictest interpretation of the law, and he didn’t seem to think things through too well, but at least he had some kind of ambition. He might not know it, but Byron could see it in Draven’s discontent. He wanted things he could never have, bigger things. Byron had no doubt that if another war broke out, Draven would rise through the ranks quickly. He acted with b
ravery, without concern for his own safety, which came in handy during a war.
And he had come closest to catching Ander that night. Byron would talk to Draven about that soon.
24
“It smells like sapien in here,” Hyoki said, wrinkling her nose.
Draven removed his shoes and slid the door closed. He turned to Hyoki. “I had to bring an injured sap here recently. I can’t get her scent out.” He didn’t mention that he didn’t want it gone. In fact, he didn’t want Hyoki to lie in his bed, and dilute Cali’s scent.
“Can I open your window?”
“Of course,” Draven said, moving to open the window himself. “So, mysterious Hyoki, what is in your bag?”
She had been carrying a black bag all night, oddly shaped and large. She’d left it in the car when they went to the vid, but when they got to his apartment, she’d wanted to bring it up. Now she smiled. “Don’t worry, I will show you,” she said, her accent clipping her words short.
“When will you show me?”
“When you get me a drink of water.”
“I can do that,” Draven said, smiling as he brought it to her. He folded himself down onto the carpet next to Hyoki, who had chosen the floor instead of the sofa.
“You sit over there,” Hyoki said, motioning for Draven to move away from her. He did so, following her movements with his eyes. She unzipped the case and pulled out a small guitar. Draven laughed in surprise.
“You play music. How delightful.”
“You flatter me. You don’t know it’s delightful yet. I haven’t played for you.”
“Don’t make me beg.” The memory of Cali having him ask permission to draw came back to him in all its absurdity.
Hyoki began to play while Draven watched. He liked music. Everyone liked music. It had been too long since he’d gone to a club or a concert, and no one had ever given him a private concert.
Hyoki played with great concentration, and when she’d gotten into her rhythm, she looked up and smiled with those impossibly long teeth, and began to sing. Another wonderful surprise. Her speaking voice was high and almost childish, but her singing voice came out much richer. When she had finished, she put her instrument aside and turned back to Draven.
“Now can I say it’s delightful?” he asked.
“Thank you. I am glad you think so.” She moved like a cat, her slanted eyes also giving her a feline aspect as she crawled across the floor to him. He leaned forward to meet her, resting on his knuckles and smiling at her advance. Their lips met, then their teeth, and he felt the familiar hum into his roots. A thrill traveled through him when her long teeth scraped his lip.
He had never been bitten, not since he’d evolved. He wondered for a moment what it would be like. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. The pair ignored it, smiling and teasing with their kisses, until the insistence of the knock made it impossible to block out.
“Merde,” Draven swore, rising to his feet. He slid the door open to find Lira standing outside, hand raised to knock again.
“Hola,” she said. She waited for him to invite her in, but when he didn’t, she did. “Can I come in?”
“I have company.”
“Is that sapien still here?”
“No.”
“No illegal livestock today then?”
“No, Lira. Can you come back some other time?”
“Who’s your guest?”
Draven sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “A guest, all right? Just someone.”
“A female someone?”
“Yes, a woman.”
“Does she know about us?”
“She does now.” He glanced at Hyoki, who sat watching without much interest.
“Can we maybe talk for a minute?” Lira asked.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re being rude.”
“You’re being rude.”
Hyoki stood, returned her instrument to its case and zipped it. “I should go. I am tired, anyway.”
“Oh? You don’t want to stay, then?” Draven asked.
She looked back and forth between him and Lira. “I guess no. You seem to have your hands full here.”
“It’s not like that. She’s just leaving.”
“It’s not like what?” Lira asked.
“Like you’re making it seem. Hyoki, really. Stay a bit.”
“That’s okay. I see you at work.”
He leaned in to brush her cheek when she paused to say goodbye. When she had gone, he turned to Lira, ice in his veins.
“What the hell was that?”
“You’re asking me? I should be the one asking you that. How long has this been going on?”
“Lira, you’re mad.”
“I am? How long have you been keeping company with this Hyroki?”
“It’s Hyoki. And it’s not your concern, Lira. I am not your partner.”
“You’re not? But we’ve been together now for a while. And you shared the sapien with me…”
“Because you came by. You already know, I have told you before. I am not looking for a partner.”
“You told me that a long time ago. And then you came back to me, more than once. And you’re doing the same thing with someone else?”
“What do you want from me, Lira?”
“I want to know what’s going on with you and this other woman.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” As Draven looked at her, he began fading. In his mind, he could see Lira turning into a snake, her jaws dislocating to fit him inside her mouth. That’s what she wanted, to devour him and put him at her mercy. He despised women like her, who didn’t want a man at all but a child who depended on them completely. He didn’t see that as any kind of man at all.
“Well? How long?” she asked.
“I’ve taken her out, perhaps four or five times. We have a nice time. I haven’t lain with her yet,” he said. He smirked at Lira. “And that’s all I’ve done with you. Do you imagine that makes us partners?”
Lira glared.
What did she expect? He’d told her from the start what he wanted, every now and then. Nothing permanent or lasting would develop. He’d thought she knew that. He’d spelled it out for her. She could not blame him for her failure to pay attention.
“I should have turned you in while I had the chance,” Lira said, spinning on her heel. She opened the door and then turned back to Draven. “You’re nothing but a dirty sapsucker. You probably get a bigger rise for that brainless little sapien than me. I should have known you were a freak when you had her in your bedroom. I could have you arrested for animal cruelty.”
“Don’t get all human rights activist on me, Lira. I meant no offense. I was simply being honest.”
“As if you could hurt my feelings. You’re no one, nothing. Less than nothing.” Lira spit the words at him. “The next time I see your little Asia Minor around here, I’ll let her know what kind of sicko you are. And if I see you dragging another sapien up here, I’ll call the Enforcers.”
“Go ahead, Lira. Now get home, I’m tired and you’re tiring.”
“Oh, go suck a sapien.” She stomped out, and Draven slid the door closed. He abhorred fighting a woman’s will. He’d crushed himself so far down inside to escape Lira that it seemed he’d never emerge, like sap trapped behind the bitter clog of an unhealed bite. Lira was the worst kind of neighbor. He should have known better than to court something so convenient. It only led to trouble. And now he had to go to sleep unsatisfied and alone.
25
One evening Draven awakened with the tint of Cali’s taste already on his tongue. Bouncers never received out-of-town assignments, so when he had one of his cravings, he had opportunity to indulge it.
The sun still shone on the brick building beside his when he went in the kitchen to get a sip of water. After feeling around a minute, half blinded by the light, he found his shades. He stood a moment, wondering if he’d sunburn at that time of day. In a few more hours he had to work, b
ut he had a bit of time to stay in and read until the sun disappeared behind the building. When it had, he put on a hat just in case, and kept his shades on, and went to pay a visit to his favorite little sap.
The sun fell behind the horizon just as he reached the Confinement. He dropped his hat into the seat beside him and shook out his loose curls. Inside, he just managed to slip past Big Bonnie and into the compound without her seeing him. The guards hadn’t come on duty yet. The saps took care of themselves during the day. They escaped then, too.
The day’s warmth still clung to the evening, and Draven lifted his face to the slight breeze and slowed his pace. He had an hour until work, and he liked the evening hours more than most of his people. He lingered to enjoy the evening before entering the barracks where Cali bunked. Upon entering the building, he could tell with one breath that no sapiens had come in yet. He walked down the long center aisle looking at the hundreds of numbered bunks. When he reached the far end, he pushed through the doors and exited the same way he had with Cali the last time he’d come.
Sapiens scurried about, in and out of the garden and another cinderblock building with chipped white paint clinging to the walls. He glanced around, realizing for the first time how much difficulty he’d have finding one sapien in the chaos of the Confinement. He had never come when they weren’t sleeping except when he’d worked as a Catcher, and he hadn’t looked for saps inside the Confinement then.
He followed the general flow of traffic into the cinderblock building buzzing with activity. A dreadful scent permeated the air within—strange and yet somehow familiar, the scents of food and water, mildew and mold, sweat and sapiens and their waste intermingling in a confined space. Directly before him, a set of double doors stood open, and the scents emanating the cavernous room met him like an invading army. He expelled the air from his lungs and plunged into the wave of fragrance.
Long plastic tables filled the room, stretching from wall to wall, crowded with masticating sapiens. He ignored his general disgust for animals’ uncivilized ingestion process and scanned the crowd. Finding Cali among the tightly-packed saps proved impossible. He could not distinguish her scent among all those crowding his senses, so he held his breath, even though a panicked sensation accompanied prolonged suppression of this habit. Of course he could hold his breath forever if he chose, but he abhorred the sensation. It made him want to claw at his throat as if he could still suffocate as easily as a sap.
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