"Does he...he," stuttered Lydia. "Can...he...get rid of solid...waste?"
"Oh, yeah," Galar agreed, non pulsed. "They gave him a tube, and a hole in the backside, for that."
Scar seemed unconcerned that his private functions were being discussed; simply carried on eating.
Loni felt, for the sake of the girls, even Scar's benefit, he needed to turn the conversation away from this disgusting subject. It wasn't conducive to enjoyable digestion. Gem had barely touched her meal.
Strangely, uncouth Galar, who had finished with his own, noticed her lack of appetite.
"Don't you want that?" he asked, condescendingly. "I'll eat it for you."
But, Gem pulled it close to her, protectively, as if she thought, he might snatch it away, anyway, should she refuse.
Galar took the hint. "Alright, then. Think I'll go get some more. You coming, Scar?"
As if still junctioned, the two rose from either end of the table, and sauntered off with their trays, Galar hobbling on his crutch, his tray balanced expertly in the opposite hand; Scar following, doing the same with his, almost like a whole man, with two arms, and as many trays.
They were no sooner out of sight, then, as with one accord, and of like mind, the two couples rose, and quickly vacated the eating area. They couldn't leave quickly enough to suit any one of the four.
Neither of the two men, Loni or Da, ever was amazed, or puzzled, by the fact, ever after, their mates avoided the cafeteria, as if eating there would bring on the plague.
Chapter 22
Galar soon realized, if he was to accomplish his purpose, he had to get Loni, and his crew, out of their protected status lodgings, and in the open. He had the perfect means to do it, too.
When middle age had hit the twins, they were moved into maintenance, where Galar learned much about the workings of the dome; the waterworks, electrical control, and most of all, the computer controlled by-pass systems running the overall life support. It was here, he planned to strike at his adversary.
Today, he hung by one leg from repair girders, high above the lodging of the garden crews, sawing under the largest water pipeline passing through the area.
He had already programmed the environmental controls; it would take them months to find the glitch that continually messed everything up.
This was his last little detail. Then he was ready to watch his work produce fruit.
He was pleased; on the pipe he was working on, there was, now, not only a film of dampness, but also beads of actual moisture seeping through the cut.
It's enough!
Galar tucked his tool in his belt, inched along the line, until he was over his crutch leaning against the wall. His drop-down was easy, and obviously, of long time practice.
****
Lydia's strident scream woke them all. Gem and Loni sat bolt upright, both peering across at the other pair in the semi darkness of the night-sleep dimness. They assumed Da had pinched his partner to tease her. But...the sound of rushing water disproved that.
Gem looked at the far-wall rafters above. A cold sheet of impenetrable moisture was litterly rolling in and down, dropping in a shocking deluge, as thick as the main falls, right on Lydia's head.
No wonder, she screamed!
Loni was the quickest to come to his senses, sending out mental instructions.
"Grab your mats, and any belongings...this is something the administrators need to deal with. We'll go to the huge falls, until it's worked out."
They had only to refill their back packs, and shoulder them; then the men took off with the mats on their shoulders. They were away, out the door, quickly. But when the door was opened, they were shocked by the fact, the only water was crawling over the floor behind them. None was in the hall.
Then, they noticed the activity beyond: hurrying workmen, cursing...and the lights were out, sporadically, everywhere.
Rapidly, the four fled into the rafters, and girders leading above and away. An hour later, they had set up a permanent campsite above the huge falls.
Lydia was drenched to the bone, and shivering, and while Da set to comforting, and drying her off, Loni and Gem watch the beehive of activity in the valley below. It seemed, the whole dome system was involved, from basic worker lodging, right up to the infants in the upper rafters.
What could have caused such a disruption?
Loni wondered, if Galar and Scar were somehow involved? The deed had their markings all over it.
The strangest thing, also was, little of the water system was affected, save for Loni's quarters, and...life support, fire rescue, policing, and certain security, along with anything automated, and under computer control.
Loni and Gem easily listened in by mind, as the workmen talked back and forth.
They spent a pleasant night camping out, but the next day, work stations were back to normal; even the fruit stands were manned, and the showers and cafeteria, ran smoothly.
It was as if the four had not been displaced; as if nothing had happened to the installation. The only difference was they were no longer controlled by the machines, and...some services, such as supervision, was unavailable.
Yet, most carried on as if they were still being overseen; habits being hard to break.
Ever after, all over the dome, breakdowns and failures plagued future operations.
As for Loni, Da, and their companions...they were never appointed another sleep room; perhaps, no one realized, theirs had been damaged.
One man did, and he was very pleased with the situation...
Chapter 23
Gem let out a startled squeak, as Galar dropped suspended upside-down from the scaffolding above, into the pathway. She hadn't been paying full attention to her surroundings; thinking she was safe, so used to the free open spaces of their camp, she had forgotten, someone still might mean her harm.
Loni, too had become lax, figuring she could take care of herself; after all, Gem could defend herself against him. Why not another?
It was their practice to meet up at the falls after work; today Loni had offered to pick up the food; had suggested, the girls take their time with their showers.
They still had to be careful of the other men, but the two women stayed together, so Gem could protect Lydia. Da's woman had ran on ahead...
Apparently, Galar had waited until she had passed by.
The man reached down for her with determined aggression. Gem felt, he was of little threat, suspended like that; there would be no need to zap him.
She sidestepped, and ran past him, into a side path of the gardens. It was just a matter of getting to the other wall, and the ladder leading up. Galar should take considerable time to get operational with his crutch.
But when she reached her goal, the other brother, Scar, was there to meet her.
Bummer! They are working as a pair. Harder to avoid.
Gem didn't dare call out for help; that might bring attention of other workers to her, and when they realized she was alone, they would sooner help the twins then defend her.
She turned down another roadway, heading for the opposite wall-ladder up, but once again Scar had anticipated her. As they headed her off, she got further and further away from the upper campsite. It was as if the two men were guiding her, just where they wanted her to go.
****
"Hey!" shouted a man at the monitor over in the corner. "Come take a look at my screen. Isn't this Flaw's appointed she?"
"Yes. Why? Whoa!" the other added quickly, as he bent to peer at the second viewer. "He's about to lose her to another..."
"What's that?" asked a third, from over the way, standing up, and leaving his post. Soon every observer was craning from behind to see; none were at their posts.
Discipline had been slack ever since the day of the breakdown, seldom being enforced.
"Oh, darn!" They've gone under the trees. This is the pits! We've simply got to put up more cameras in the work areas."
"Yeah, there are none in the butchery, either, and th
at's probably where they are heading. That's where the twins will catch the little she devil, too. They know the area best."
"Where is Flaw? I don't see him anywhere."
"He's never been in the picture."
"Well, we can't see much more, unless they move back this way, best get back to work," suggested the supervisor. "Let Flaw fight his own battles."
As they returned to their stations, the men were laughing.
"Too, bad," said one. "They made such a good pair. Tough luck, Flaw.""
Howls of laughter, and crude remarks followed.
"Would have been nice to have watched it, though; like a fight match entertainment..."
The incident was soon forgotten, and rumor the next day, gave no inkling of whom had won out.
****
Gem had made it to an up-going ladder, but as she stepped up on the first rung, Scar caught her rapidly from behind. He grabbed her by the hair, and shook her angrily; clearly perturbed by her constant evasion.
The interval was just long enough for Galar to catch up. He came from behind, slugging her from the side, with a heavy branch.
Stunned, the girl went down.
Distantly, Gem could hear, as Galar said: "I'll take it from here; you stay away, now, so he doesn't find us."
The world receded. Gem felt herself dragged by her hair, along the metal hallway, heard the screaming of a door-hinge; then awareness faded away completely.
****
When she came to, her head pounded with a throbbing headache, one like she'd never experienced before. It was so overwhelming, she couldn't even transmit thoughts to Loni, to tell him where she was.
But, he will find me! He won't just leave me here with this brute!
She found, she was also bound in chains, inside a dark, hot room with aluminum walls, and a heavy, iron, padlocked door. Air from a vent, high above, could be felt. But oh, the odors coming through did not alleviate the situation.
Gemma gagged, and retched. To the stench of decaying, butchered meat, and defecation, the contents of her stomach was now added to the mix.
Gemma groaned in misery, wiping at her mouth.
Apparently, having heard her, Galar realized she was conscious, for a rattling at the door told her, he was undoing the lock.
The screech of the door hinge, and dim light entered the rectangular opening. Galar stepped into the room, and switched on a glaring overhead light, blinding her.
Gemma screamed angrily at him, and with her mind, willed him severe pain in his gut, but it was ineffective. Something was wrong. Somehow, the man had blanketed the room with an unknown EM frequency that made it impossible for her to use any mental weaponry.
She could feel the charge now that the door was open. It made her head buzz, and body vibrate, making it tingle.
He seemed as unaware of the effect of his block, as of her angry screams. Gemma went quiet.
"Here's how this is going to work," Galar's hollow voice echoed from behind the glaring light. "I captured you; you now belong to me."
That is quite obvious. But how the devil did you know about my abilities; Loni and I have never done anything when others are around? Did this EM frequency just freakishly happen? He's not that smart. Is he?
"You obey me, or..." he went on. "Or...you stay in here until you agree. You help me, are my mate...after I've let you out..."
He paused, as if waiting for an answer. Gem decided to wait him out, so remained silent.
"Just so you understand the full scope of things. I have reprogrammed the entire dome system differently. I have eliminated all supervision, and policing. They no longer have control. Outside my work station, I have created a static barrier. It keeps everyone out I don't want in here, until...you submit to my way of doing things...according to my satisfaction. And this is how I want it: you will serve me, help me with my work, eat what I give you; no complaints. If you fight me, the barrier stays up, until...I feel I can trust you...to stay with me, and only me!"
This guy is living nuts! There is no way he knows what he's done to me, how he's handicapped me, but I can't do anything about it, until I can get him to trust me. Maybe, Loni can do something from outside...Until then, guess I have to play along.
"And don't expect Flaw to rescue you. He's already tried a number of times. He can't get through my barrier. It repels him."
Great! That means it works against Loni, too. It must be similar to the shield I zapped him with when we first came together.
"And, in case that isn't incentive enough. If you don't say yes, now, you'll stay in here for days...It doesn't matter to me if you die. If I can't have you, he won't have you either. You keep up your rebellion, and I'll outright kill Flaw. Enough voltage will fry him good."
At that point, the buds of hope began to fade.
Galar let the thought ride the air.
Slowly, Gem was realizing who was responsible for the flood, and just how it had come about; how the many changes that developed over the past while had really impacted the group of four. And finally, the dire circumstances she was in sunk in...she was near blind and deaf without her extra mental faculties...and there would be no possibility of succor coming from Loni.
Tiny, unheeded tears slipped silently from beneath her half-closed eyelids.
There is really no choice here. My effectiveness is less than that of an average human being. I cannot get free...
"Do we have an agreement?"
"Yes."
I'll do anything to get free again. But when I am out of these chains...if I ever get my powers back again...you Galar...will be the first to pay!
"No funny stuff, now," he reminded her. "Or I'll hurt Flaw."
Not if I can stop you first...
"Okay," she agreed aloud.
I'll agree to anything, now. What happens in the future is still unknown; a different story.
"Well...I'm waiting for an answer."
"I said, okay! I agree."
But her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"Fine! Have it your way. You'll stay in here, without food or water, until it gets through that stubborn head of yours."
"But, I said, yes!" she declared emphatically.
He turned away. She rattled the chains; litterly screamed into his mind.
"I agree! I agree!"
He turned back.
"You got something to say?"
"Yes. I'll do whatever you want!"
But it appeared the man was as dull as the Neanderthal he resembled...or stone deaf.
"Well, I gave you your chance!"
He turned, pulled the light cord, relegating her to darkness. The door slammed. All the while Gemma screamed at him both mentally, and physically...until she was hoarse, and exhausted.
Still, he failed to understand.
The padlock was jammed home, and the tiny room filled with silence.
After a time, Gemma decided to see what she could still do. She tried to burn at the chains binding her. There was no small laser beam of red light shooting from her eyes, and no effect. Nor, when she touched the wall, could she will it to burn through...even a small hole. The accidental EM pulse frequency held her mind helplessly useless.
For three days, she languished. By the time Galar again opened the door, all Gemma wanted was water.
Yet, he would not give it to her, until she nodded vigorously, agreeing wholeheartedly to his plans.
There is no point in trying to communicate in any other way...
In her confinement, Gem had had much time to contemplate, and she had finally rationalized that Galar was deaf. It was the reason he did all the talking, and only because Scar was part of him, could he understand his own twin, and those talking to his brother.
Galar fed her dirty water, laced with blood, to drink, but...it was wet. What she gulped down, came back up again. He dragged her from her prison, left her chained, and lying in the gutter drain ditch, beneath where he was cutting up a dead woman. It was as if, he then forgot, she wa
s there at all.
Chapter 24
Loni was boiling mad! He was so angry that, as he passed along the corridor the light bulbs along the way popped, and blew out. Until...the man calmed, and realized, he was exposing his power for all to see. Fortunately for him, no workers, or cameras, were near at hand.
For his own safety, Loni quickly willed the broken light fixtures to repair.
He had tried everything to find Gem. He finally deducted, that the only place left for Galar to hide her, was where he worked.
The first place he had searched was the twins' sleep quarters, but only Scar was there, asleep. He had entered his mind only briefly, just long enough to determined that the man knew nothing of the present whereabouts of the two. It angered Loni to realize the pair had worked together to corner her. He also knew, how brutally Galar had handled her.
Loni then search the showers, and lastly, the cafeteria, and had at last come to the conclusion, the only place left was Galar's work station. He had tried that door, only to be zapped.
He had expected something of that nature to happen. Then he travelled along the outside perimeter, looking for another way in. But everywhere Loni touched the walls, around the meat packing plant, he received an excruciating shock that sent him flying.
Loni was so angry, he would like to fry Galar's brain; if ever he got at him, he would do just that, even though he, and Gem, had made a pact never to use their powers to kill...
But what of in self-defense? Isn't this a case of protection, safeguarding one's mate? Gem was given to me! First!
He was determined to keep trying to get in; to find his girl.
Loni knew, it was pointless to ask the overseers for help. They would only laugh, because he had lost the female given into his care. They'd say it was his own fault; he had been lax.
Besides, Loni would have to use telepathy to tell them; they wouldn't understand any other way.
It wasn't worth the risk. He was on his own to get Gem back.
****
Da was upset. He didn't know what to do, and he couldn't find Loni to tell him what was happening.
He and Lydia had done okay alone, for the first while, but Loni had been gone a long time. As the older man had taught Da, the couple lived comfortably, up by the waterfall. Da would bring home the food, fruit from the stands, water from the drip pool at the side of the huge plunging waterfall.
Monsters Among Us (Deception Series Book 1) Page 10