She tensed even farther, when his left hand went from beneath her left arm to between her tiny breasts, the fist rising to catch at her right shoulder. With no time, nor energy, to wonder, what he might be doing, his other hand bunched against her back, between her shoulder blades, pushing hard at the knotted muscles there, forcing them to release. It seemed as if his mind was also inside her, affecting the struggling organs within. As her twin hearts began to synchronize, and the pain subside, Gemma realized...Loni was healing her.
That feels sooo good!
Suddenly, their minds were one, and she was watching his every effort. He corrected the beat of the weaker organ, made it stronger, and waited for the other to come into step, then beating together, the pressure became nil.
She gasped with the pleasure of being pain free. But, she felt his exhaustion, from the mind-effort it had taken. As he released her, he cautioned her:
"Don't tell anyone, I can do this. They fear anyone with powers such as these. And if you can do such...it is best to hide the fact."
"But," objected Gem silently, as well. "They already know...they consider me blind and deaf, but I know, I see...in another way."
He agreed, slowly stroking her back to sooth her further.
"They cannot understand how you communicate, but they don't, as yet, realize you are telepathic...we must never let them know the full measure of our gifts. It must remain our secret. Just pretend, as I do, that you don't understand. Make no effort to communicate with them; their intelligence is too limited to comprehend..."
Again, even as he was drifting off into slumber himself, his hand moved gently, soothingly, across her back. The twin organs were beating now, like a great, two-cog, synchronized clock, moving comfortably, one beside the other.
And so, the two slept.
****
Waking in the night, Loni held her carefully against him, as if he thought she might break, were he not careful. Tears formed in his eyes; one travelled down the cheek, to the cotton sheet. He rested his face next to the silken skin of her face, and thought proudly:
My acquired female!
She is more than I have ever hoped for; my treasure! I will never let them take you from me!
His own double heartbeat quickened excitedly; his body tingled with a new found heat, and holding Gemma protectively against him, Loni finally relaxed again, and went back to sleep.
Chapter 20
The next day was a free day. Loni intended to use it to take Gem back above the waterfall.
Da wanted to bring Lydia, and come along, but Loni ordered him to stay in their room.
Of course, Da always obeyed him. But, he too, wanted to play with his mate.
Knowing what Da had in mind, Loni cautioned him to amuse himself under the garden trees, where the surveillance cameras could not see.
Freed up from responsibility, Loni led Gem over the climbing girders to the seat above the falls. He had come prepared, his pockets stuffed with fruit to share.
Gem, enjoying a luscious peach, was just savoring her second bite, when Loni slashed at his arm with a sharp knife. Blood spurted out from the cut.
"Oh, gosh! What are you doing?"
"I want you to heal me."
"Here? Now? Won't they see?"
"No cameras up here."
"Okay." The peach forgotten, for the moment, Gem quickly obeyed, easily closing the wound.
"Now, let me cut you, and...you heal yourself."
"No! The knife hurts. I'll do it another way."
"How?"
Surprised, Loni stared at her.
What other way is there?
An ugly gaping wound appeared on her arm, red blood oozing.
Shocked, Loni gasped. His eyes went wide in horror. He had never thought to reverse the process.
Why would you want to harm yourself...or another?
It dawned upon him then, just how deadly this power was.
Can Gemma be trusted?
"How about you do the healing?" she suggested, knowing his thoughts, but ignoring them. "Since you want to play like this."
He did as she bid, feeling foolish. When it was done, she scolded him.
"I can hurt others, but...I don't want to, Loni...okay? And, we don't have to practice. I've got it."
He nodded; quietly sat there, awaiting her next action. Never before had he dealt with a mind of equal intelligence.
Loni kept his deep thoughts to himself, and somehow, she, too, had learned to cloak her thoughts. So each sat there, private and distant.
So fast, she has caught on.
When, at last, she did project a thought, unexpectedly, it did not concern the subject in question.
"How do I stop this, Loni?" she demanded, vehemently. "How do I end this, so I can go home?"
It both shocked, and saddened him, that she disliked it here with him. His lot was a good one, compared with others; his work station one of the best. He had actually earned his way up to the privileged worker class.
Then, he realized just what she had said: 'go home.'
He remembered the visions of her home: family life non-existent; the hospital stays, and was amazed.
"Why would you want to go back to such a life, with its pain, indifference, and...loneliness?"
"It's familiar, and...I am...free, there!"
He thought on that, for a second.
Free? What does she even mean by that? I have never been as free as now...
While he pondered, and puzzled, she carried her original thought forward.
"And when I get away from here, back to where I belong," she declared, with forcefulness. "I am going to put a stop to all these experiments! I will expose those doing this...even if it costs me my life!"
He frowned; his lips pursed into a straight, hard line. He had never thought of this whole procedure from her side of it.
No wonder she is so angry! It isn't me, as a person, she rejects. Our whole society is offensive in her eyes. And, I don't much blame her...
What the intelligent...the leaders, the physicians, those over us...have done... They invaded, used, conducted tests, without even permission...and, all for our benefit, never theirs. Oh, how, offensive...insulting...degrading. She SHOULD hate us...me?
Beside him, she was reading his unguarded soliloquy with himself. Her attitude softened.
"Show me how to get home, Loni," she pleaded. "Please."
His heart filled with regret; he shook his head.
"I cannot. I don't know how. I couldn't even find the jump portal. No one in this sector has any knowledge of where it is located. I can't read about it from them..."
"And," he added. "Even if you could go through backwards...
"What do you mean?"
"I know this much about such things," Loni admitted. "Our jump portal is programmed to one destination. You can only go that one way, until it is changed by the other side..."
"I can't get home through the light doorway? What about another way?"
"I know of no other way out of here. I would have gone myself, if there was a way."
Her shoulders sagged in despair, the hopes deflating like a great punctured balloon.
"I don't want to stay here, Loni!" she moaned. "This is...a living hell!"
Those great, beautiful, blue eyes filled with moisture. No longer hidden, tears slipped unchecked down her pale cheeks.
At last, surrendering, even though she feared him, Gemma sought solace in the arms of her companion, one so strange in appearance, she viewed him as a creature, not a man.
Little did she realize, she looked exactly like him, now that her change was complete.
****
Carefully, Loni dared to place his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. And when the sparks flew...he held on for dear life.
Yes, litterly...sparks flew. She knew his ulterior motive, and she did not want that. Rebellion rose up, hot and static, within her. He not only felt it, but there was the physical evidence.
Whoa! I didn't know that was possible. Even mother couldn't do that...or, could she? Maybe, she hid the fact, because I was her son?
What a defense!
If I was any other man, her protection would have killed me.
Loni persisted, consolingly, running a hand up and down her arm, until the phenomenon ceased.
Submitting finally, Gem relaxed, slumped against him; the tears turned first to deep sobs of defeat, then admitted hopelessness...
And sometime, much later, he showed her his love...a comforting, gentle affair she would never forget.
****
In the weeks after, he didn't touch her often. He was not demanding, and she would not ask of him, but many times desires overcame them, and needed fulfillment. Gem preferred privacy; she loathed giving the watchful eyes at the monitors their thrill. Ever after, they made love beneath the trees by the waterfall, where no man could observe.
Chapter 21
The minute Gem stepped through, and the heavy doors fell shut behind them, she was assaulted by the mental noise from the dozens of minds all around her. She did her best to block away the barrage of senseless musing, and succeeded. When she became aware of what the place held, she quickly forgot, they were even there, at all.
There was food everywhere!
Up until this day, Loni and Da had always brought home fruit and beverages, from the stands along their route home, but, as a treat, like going to a restaurant back home, tonight, Loni had suggested going out. It would be Gem and Lydia's first time eating among the other workers.
Da had been whole heartedly enthusiastic, but the two girls had no idea what to expect.
Sometimes, at the fruit stands, other foods then fruit had been available: porridge, pressed roasted wheat cakes, or sweet leftover baked goods. And juice, squeezed from the various fruits, and vegetables, had been obtainable from taps, but...all this was in limited supply, and not often available.
It was common practice to keep their large mugs in their backpacks for the purpose of filling them at these taps; they also drank from the streams along the way on the worksite.
The girls each had been provided a kit upon arrival in the workstation, which included a pack, containing essentials, toiletries, etc; and was for storage of other treasures you might expect to gather in a lifetime. Of course, your most valued possessions were your eating utensils. It was wise to never leave your pack behind, or unattended; the loss of a cup was considered a great handicap, and was not easily replaced.
The room they entered was similar to a school cafeteria: an aisle between two rows of multi-tiered shelves, one on either side, each covered with multiple food choices.
Loni motioned his menagerie into the thick of it. It seemed you were to pass through to tables beyond, where you sat down to eat. Like at the fruit stands, there seemed to be no currency exchanged; you simply chose your favorites.
Da, in the lead, picked up an aluminum tray, and began loading it. The girls followed suit, with Loni taking up the rear.
There was the usual variety of fruits: pears; peaches; apples; oranges; plums; and many Gem had never seen previously. Next there were cakes: the pressed roasted wheat, a rice cake, and maybe...that was oat? Next came beverages: fruit and vegetable; apple, pineapple, grape; carrot, a green kind, and what appeared to be milk.
The new foodstuffs available were fascinating: boiled eggs and fried ham...at least, that was what she thought it was. Next came cut breads, of all shapes, shades, and sizes. They seemed baked in the most primitive manner, as if in an outdoor, sun-powered oven.
Again, there was porridge, but of three separate kinds: wheat, oats...and was that, rice?
Beyond were the heavier dishes: cooked vegetables: carrots and peas; beets; cauliflower and broccoli; and beans of all colors.
Next was some sort of stew.
And then came trays of meat. Gemma couldn't decide what kind it was. In one tray, she thought she saw a finger, another a toe was among a mushy hamburger dish...
Her stomach turned over.
What are we eating here?
Another tray appeared to hold chicken, with feet, beak, and eyes of the bird included.
There were other meats she could not identify, and fish. It seemed most preparations were more raw than cooked. Who knew for how long they had been on display?
****
As they waited behind Da, Loni projected instructions to the women between them:
"Most any vegetable should be okay, but be careful of the meat dishes; if you don't recognize it, don't take it."
"Why?" enquired Gemma. "What are they made of?"
"We recycle everything. When old ones die, they grind them into hamburger...the meat is tough. Oh, and...the milk may also be human..."
He didn't get to complete the thought; both girls were already gagging.
"Cannibals," went through Lydia's mind, and Da laughed outright. He had actually followed their thought conversation.
Loni read the thought that followed:
"The little people...the female babies that are destroyed, are tender."
Disgusted, Loni scolded.
"Don't eat the meat, Da!"
"Okay," he agreed, obediently.
Loni shook his head.
What am I going to do with these guys? And now, I have the two women to look after, too.
****
Having chosen what they wished to eat, the four moved to a corner, where there was a large horseshoe shaped table with a padded bench. Loni directed Gem to go in first. She slid all the way around until she was at the far exit; Da, as always, followed Loni in, with Lydia next to him. So they sat, all four against the wall facing out, in the middle, with a seat free at either end. It wasn't that they wanted company; it just happened...to their later regret.
Normally, such an action would have been safe. No one bothered Loni or Da when alone, but today, with the females with them, all eyes were on them, and curious. Most of the worker males were too shy to approach, but there were two that had no such compunction.
Suddenly, Galar slid in beside Gem, and his twin found a seat next to Lydia, effectively imprisoning everyone else into the bench with no way of escape.
Why did we leave the girls on the outside? How stupid of me!
****
Gemma cringed, and moved closer to Loni, at the sight and feel, of the ugly, smelly man sliding in beside her. He was much like most of the brown-skinned individuals, with his black hair and beard, and soul-less, impenetrable, dark eyes. He was over six feet, with the face of a Neanderthal; huge, unkempt, bushy eyebrows, stooped shoulders, and long, hairy arms; thick chest hair peeking over the top of his coveralls. One other thing was different; he was missing his right leg, and used a crutch, quite deftly, to navigate.
His brother, who moved in beside Lydia, was his spitting image, except he had only a right arm. For the slit second Gemma was connected to their minds, she knew they had once been conjoined twins, separated after birth.
Normally, that would have incited empathy for them in Gem, but they reeked so terrible, their stench took your breath away, and that made it hard to be sympathetic.
Have these guys never bathed?
And then she had the answer: they worked with the cattle.
****
Galar set his crutch under the table, and moved closer to Gem. She cringed in revulsion, and Loni had the great desire to put his arm protectively about her shoulders, but it would only give Galar an excuse to be his usual obnoxious self, and Loni could sense, the man was already perturbed about something.
"You are mine!" Galar declared bluntly, to Gem. "When we picked, I was first. Flaw stole you; tricked them...somehow. When I get the chance, I will steal you back from this moron. Why, he can't even talk to you."
Both Loni and Da knew it was best to disregard these two. The girls picked up on the action, and as Galar was used to such treatment, he soon cooled, and went about devouring the contents on his tray. Neither eating, or being ignored, ever had dampened his desire for conversation, before, and it was no different now; whether he was understood, he did not care; he could as easily talk to himself...or Scar.
"It doesn't matter that the physicians decided to give this woman to you, Flaw. I will win her...and take her, in the end. I doubt you even know what to do with her. Remember... possession is the law..."
Loni felt Gem shiver beside him, and he wanted to slug the crude Galar.
Silence reigned for a moment, while Galar tore roughly with his huge hands, and strong teeth, at the meat on his plate. He wolfed it down like an animal.
From the other end of the table, Lydia decided to get into the conversation, seeking to steer it from its present course; her stutter was extremely evident, attesting to her nervousness.
"How cu...come you only ha...have one arm?" she asked of Scar. "How did you lo...ose it?"
The second twin stopped with a piece of chicken half way to his mouth. "Didn't lose it; never had it."
Galar took up the narrative for his brother, noisily talking with his mouth full.
"We was born together. The physicians used us for an experiment; tried to make two of us. We had only three legs, so Scar got two, and I got one...I got two arms, though, and he got only one."
Galar swallowed a chunk of meat whole, choked and gagged. He went to coughing, and finally, catching his breath, went on again.
"Scar cannot reproduce. I got the goods to do that. They made him a hole, so he sits like a girl, but I got the hose. I am fully functional!" he added, proudly.
Loni was appalled. He had never realized the full scope of the torture inflicted upon the twins. His experience with them was limited to negative interaction; they had always been his bullies, so he'd been reluctant to enter their minds, therefore, he hadn't sought the reasoning behind their behavior.
Monsters Among Us (Deception Series Book 1) Page 9