Isaac seemed to be having the same thought. Without looking at her, he reached down and squeezed Alessa’s hand, his lips curling up at the corners in satisfaction. They made a good team.
Admiringly, Alessa reflected on how Regina truly valued everyone around her, and she made sure they knew it. Glancing across the room, she observed similar smiles adorning the faces of the myriad rebel officials in attendance, everyone basking together in Regina’s praise.
Everyone, that is, except Lizzie. She hunched in the far corner with a dejected scowl on her face, looking defeated. Not for first time, Alessa wondered what exactly was up with Lizzie.
But whatever it was, Alessa reasoned, it couldn’t possibly take away from all the rebels had accomplished. Things were finally looking up – and Alessa, for one, was eager for the next step.
4. CITIZENRY
“Seriously, Alex?”
Deion chuckled and shook his head at the sight of his best friend – shirtless, sweat gleaming off his abs – precisely positioned so that anyone passing by the construction site would get an eyeful of his chiseled physique.
“First of all, it’s only 50 degrees out –”
“58,” Alex argued, heaving another stone on top of the wall he was building for this set of Paragon’s latest drama. “That’s almost in the sixties.” He paused to swipe a dusty, rippling forearm across his brow, brushing the fringe of straight black hair from his striking, angular eyes, which were narrowed against the sun.
“– and you do realize that any woman that might come by here is too busy floating along on ‘happy pills’ to notice anything you’re doing, or wearing, or not wearing. Right?” Deion finished, raising a wry eyebrow. Alex had come a long way from the scrawny exchange student he befriended in the year leading up to the outbreak, but still.
Alex shrugged. “You never know. Besides, maybe this is just what the ladies need to wake ’em up.” He flexed his pecs in Deion’s direction with a smirk.
Deion just rolled his eyes and laughed. Pushing the jumpsuit sleeves up to expose his own smooth ebony forearms, he had to admit the sun did feel good on his skin. He was just grateful that because of he and Alex’s shared lactose intolerance – something they’d bonded over back in prep school, before it and everything else in their town was transformed into Paragon – they hadn’t been affected when sedatives started getting added to the heavier, dairy-laden foods served in the colony’s communal food halls. He was certain he wouldn’t care enough to appreciate the warmth of the sun’s rays – let alone notice anyone of the opposite sex – if he was on that stuff.
“Do you need a hand with that?” Deion offered. “I’ve got a few minutes left on lunch before I need to head back.”
Alex held up another large stone and eyed it carefully, turning it this way and that until finally he saw something that satisfied him, then fitted it perfectly into the gap between two other rocks. “Nah, you’ll just mess up my flow. Thanks, though.”
Studying the wall, Deion had to admit that Alex truly had a gift – every stone, no matter how irregular the shape, fit neatly and securely amongst its neighbors, and even the colors formed a pleasing, uniform pattern. Deion did not possess an artist’s eye; if he were in charge of this wall, it would probably just look like a pile of rocks. He supposed that was why Alex was assigned to set design, and Deion to serving on the buffet line or digging irrigation ditches or whatever other rudimentary task he found next to his name on the big display screen in the common room each morning.
Stepping back to scrutinize his work, Alex nodded contentedly, then untied the top half of his standard-issue jumpsuit from around his waist and shrugged it back over his shoulders. Zipping up the front, he turned to Deion. “I’m just about due for a break – I’ll walk back with you and grab a drink.”
They turned together down the mostly-deserted street heading back towards the nearest food hall, passing the neatly maintained but spartan buildings on either side. The old post office served now as a repository for clothing repair and replacement, the market as one of many sorting and storage facilities for the colony’s food supply. Normally there would be several other workers out and about, but everything was shut down as this block was being used temporarily for filming for the drama.
“So, what’d you think of last night’s premiere?” Alex asked.
Deion grinned – Alex was always fishing for compliments on his work. “The army headquarters looked very convincing.”
“How about those topographic maps on the walls? Hand-lettered, you know.”
“I would have guessed they were computer generated,” Deion granted.
Alex tried to temper his grin with a modicum of modesty, but Deion could see right through it. And anyway, he didn’t need to – he was glad his friend had found something meaningful to do with his time. He wished he could say the same.
“The best part, though, was that train, huh?”
“Did you design that, too?” Deion asked, impressed.
“Oh, no, no. I’m not sure where that was filmed. Actually, I’m wondering if it might have been simulated since all they showed was a few shots from a grainy security camera. Keep the costs down, you know?”
Deion nodded. “Makes sense.” But then he remembered something. “Wait, no, it must have been real – remember when we heard that train rumble through town a couple months ago? They’d said that was from the filming.”
“Oh, yeah – you’re right. Well, that was before I was involved, so I don’t know. I’d like to meet whoever came up with the idea to retrofit a steam engine with a nuclear power cell, though – not sure if that would work in real life, but certainly looked cool.”
“Yeah,” Deion agreed. “Wish we could have gotten a better view of it.”
“I think they do that on purpose – only show glimpses of the ‘resistance’ to punch up the suspense. From what I’ve heard, sounds like most of the filming will be done from the army characters’ point of view. The rebel side is just snippets: intercepted audio, security footage, that sort of thing. Though I haven’t seen any of those shoots, so I’m not positive.”
“Cool,” Deion replied, thoughtful. He liked to hear about the “behind the scenes” from Alex – he always enjoyed the dramas, but knowing a little of what went into creating them gave him a deeper appreciation. This new one in particular was a pretty unique concept – the first show that supposedly took place inside Paragon, pitting a misguided rebellion against a military trying to protect the colony’s citizens.
“I liked that it was so action-packed,” Deion reflected, “but I’m still a little skeptical of the premise. I mean, why would anyone want to leave here, knowing what’s out there?”
He motioned towards the city walls in the distance, far beyond the boxy silhouette of the onetime warehouse store where Deion and Alex were now housed with several hundred others. He was quite content with his assigned efficiency unit, which included a cozy bunk on one of the warehouse’s many high, spacious shelves. Even knowing what they knew about the “special sauce” being added to the food, he couldn’t imagine wanting to give up the security of the colony and venture out into the barren wasteland of the world just asking to be infected.
“For sure,” Alex nodded vigorously. “I hope they explain the rebels’ perspective a little better in future episodes – I just don’t really get it.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Also, I hope they introduce a little more eye candy.”
Deion laughed. “Yeah, like that sorority/ghost one a few seasons ago.”
Alex sighed dramatically. “I miss that show. That blonde – remember?”
“How about the friend, the one with the messy short hair.”
“It’s called a ‘bob.’ I think.”
“Whatever it was, I liked it. That girl was on fire.”
“They all were,” Alex reminisced. “Way too many guys on this new show.”
“Definitely,” Deion sniggered.
Alex smiled to himself, then
abruptly pursed his lips. “Shame what they did to my set, too.”
“You mean the ghost guy’s house?”
“Yeah – there was some kind of gas leak further down the set and it blew a good portion of the ‘farm’ to smithereens. Thankfully the house was untouched, but I put a lot of work into those fields, too.” He sighed.
“I can’t imagine they’re going to take much better care of this season’s location – they must be gearing up for an attack or a battle of some sort, no?” Deion wondered.
Alex turned up his empty palms. “Never seen a script – I just build what they tell me.”
Typical, Deion thought. If there was one thing he could change about Paragon, it’d be the communication – he and Alex didn’t even know who to ask about the tranquilizers in the food, so like everything else, they eventually just accepted it and moved on with their lives.
“Well, here’s hoping that masterpiece of a wall you’re working on at least makes it on film before they blow it up.”
“Cheers to that.”
5. RENDEZVOUS
Isaac reclined back on the shore absentmindedly digging his fingers through the grass, enjoying the scent of fresh pine needles, the unseasonably warm spring sun stroking his face, and – especially – the view.
Alessa stood with her back to him, her tall, curvaceous form poised on the edge of a large boulder, the afternoon sun reflecting off the water of the lake onto her long, bare limbs, her skin glowing luminous against the forest. Isaac groaned hungrily to himself, and she paused, her gaze dancing to him over her shoulder, before she leapt off and slipped into the water.
Surfacing with a yelp, she swam hastily towards the shore, visibly shivering under the gentle waves.
The spell broken, Isaac chuckled and called out, “I don’t know what else you were expecting in March.”
She waded in the neck-deep water, teeth chattering, until she could find her footing. “It’ll be April n-n-n-next week,” she argued, hissing through clenched lips.
“And April is swimming weather since when exactly?” Isaac laughed and shook his head. “Come here and let me warm you up.” He narrowed his sapphire eyes at her enticingly.
Alessa grinned. She worked her way towards him, the water slinking over her limbs as her smooth, porcelain skin broke the surface with each stroke. Isaac’s stomach clenched with desire.
Dipping her face under, she came up standing and tossed her dripping hair back. The lake now at her shoulders, she treaded slowly forward, Isaac’s heart rollicking in anticipation as the water inched down, down, down over her chest.
And then, just before it reached the promised land, she went rigid, her features twisted in concern.
Isaac shot up. “What is it?”
Alessa’s eyes darted across the shoreline, searching. “I’m not sure. I felt something.”
Isaac grimaced. “I told you there were snakes in there.”
“No, not snakes.” Alessa waved him off. “I think it might be… them.”
Understanding, alarm prickled down his back. “The creatures.”
Alessa nodded, her face still drawn tight. She stood frozen a moment longer.
And then, suddenly, she relaxed. “It’s gone. The feeling’s passed.”
Isaac exhaled in relief and picked up the nearby blanket, beckoning. “Let’s get you out of there before it comes back… or a snake.” He shivered in disgust.
Alessa giggled and strode forward out of the lake, shaking off the frigid water, her entire body taught from the cold and bedecked in tantalizing goosebumps.
The adrenaline lingering in Isaac’s limbs surged.
Hopping to his feet, he rushed forward to wrap the thin cloth around her wet skin. Running his hands over every inch of her body to warm her up, he leaned forward and parted her cold, trembling lips with his own, planting a long, slow, deep kiss. Alessa growled into his mouth as he wrapped his hands around her from behind with urgency, pulling the length of her against his body and laying her down on the shore in one swift motion.
Positioning his body between her knees, he kissed her neck and grazed his teeth against her bare shoulder. She gasped in pleasure and rolled her head back into the grass.
He couldn’t wait any longer.
Frantically unbuttoning his pants and sliding his hand up between her quivering legs with a groan of ecstasy, Isaac wordlessly searched her sparkling eyes for confirmation.
“Yes,” she moaned, her voice hoarse. And Isaac plunged, losing himself in the perfection of their union, the rest of the world falling away in the shared release of their bodies.
Nuzzled in the now-warm crook of Alessa’s neck, Isaac sighed contentedly, kissing her gently behind the ear and breathing in the fresh, earthy scent from her still-wet hair. He squeezed tighter around her waist from his position spooned behind her, and she snuggled deeper into the coziness of his embrace.
“Have you… felt anything?” he breathed, wondering if they had a few more moments of peace without having to worry about being attacked.
Alessa turned over and her lips curled up into a playful smile. “I felt a lot of things,” she beamed, giggling as he tickled his fingertips across her stomach and down her sides in response.
“You know what I mean.”
Still grinning, Alessa shook her head and sunk back into the shelter of his body.
Isaac pulled the blanket tighter around them and ran his lips over the gooseprickles adorning her shoulder.
“Good. Because I don’t feel like moving just yet.”
Alessa sighed. “We’re going to have to meet the team soon,” she reminded him. “We’re lucky we’ve been able to sneak away this long already.”
Isaac knew she was right, but he intended to prolong this moment as much as he could. Alessa was the most relaxed he’d seen her in weeks. He’d known she needed a break from the monotony of Raptor’s confines, but he hadn’t realized just how badly until he’d furtively grabbed her hand during their last weapons shift and whisked her away to enjoy a few moments in private on this gorgeous day.
“I’m not ready yet.” He had no intentions of heading to the rendezvous for their overnight mission before he absolutely had to.
“Me either,” she murmured, turning to brush her lips against the side of his mouth.
They huddled together in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
“I wish Joe were here,” Isaac finally said.
Alessa seemed to stiffen momentarily in response.
“You too?” Isaac pondered.
“Always,” Alessa admitted. “He’d know what to do about Lizzie and Regina,” she elaborated.
Isaac sighed. “After all they’ve done to her, I just don’t understand what Lizzie is thinking.” Isaac shuddered just thinking of the abuse Lizzie had suffered at the hands of the Ruling Class.
“I know. The rape alone is horrific – and to be forcibly sterilized on top of that?” Alessa shivered against him. “What they took from her… I just, can’t.”
“What could they possibly have said that would convince her to put that all behind her and take their side?”
“Maybe she’s just trying to focus on the future… That Developer guy said our genes were all chosen by the algorithm to continue our species, right?”
“But that’s not even in the cards for Lizzie, if she can’t have kids.”
“As things stand, it’s not in the cards for any of us,” Alessa reminded him gently.
Isaac sunk into the grass, the weight of the world – quite literally, the potential future of the human species – on his shoulders. “What am I supposed to do about Josephine?” he whispered, lost.
Alessa turned over and hugged him tight. “I know you’re just trying to protect her.”
Isaac thought for a moment. “I know it’s selfish. If all they needed was a vial of blood or something, of course none of us would object. But I’m just so afraid it won’t be that simple. What if they lock her up to ‘keep her safe?’ Wha
t if they start injecting her with the virus or something? What if we’re wrong – if she’s not immune, it could kill her.”
“I know,” Alessa soothed. “I know.”
Isaac took her face in his hands, his eyes imploring. “Tell me I’m not making a mistake.”
Alessa took a deep breath before replying. “I understand why you’re waiting. Something will have to be done eventually, but maybe let’s try to talk to Alicia or something first, find out what would happen if they knew.”
“Maybe,” Isaac nodded. “I’m not sure what we could say to Alicia without raising suspicions, but maybe. I don’t know.”
Alessa kissed him reassuringly. “We’ll figure it out.”
Just then the stillness of the forest was broken by the sound of twigs and leaves snapping as tramping steps approached their position.
Isaac shifted to shield Alessa as she quickly reached for her clothes. His muscles tensed in alarm, the footsteps looming closer with every second.
Alessa had only gotten halfway into her jumpsuit when Janie poked her head out from in between the trees.
She took one look at the two of them and shook her head in exasperation. Blushing, Isaac waited for it, but the wisecrack he was expecting never came.
He could see why Alessa had been worried about her lately.
“Are we all finished here?” she asked instead, just the hint of a smile on her lips.
Alessa completed shrugging the jumpsuit over her shoulders and met her sister’s question with one of her own. “How’d you know where we were?”
Janie just rolled her eyes. “You two are entirely predictable.”
She turned around and beckoned them to follow her back through the trees. “Come on – something’s happening at Raptor.”
6. RECOGNITION
Alessa, Janie, and Isaac emerged from their short jaunt through the woods and across the overgrown expanse of Raptor’s abandoned corporate campus to find a dozen or so people crowded in a ring. They were all gesturing towards whatever was in the center – Alessa couldn’t see what – and chattering excitedly.
Stuck Page 3