Da took Lydia to work each day; protected her in the showers, cuddled her at night.
He never fed Lydia the meat dishes anymore, and she hadn't gotten sick for many a morning. She had shown him how her belly had swollen, told him the little round thing inside was his baby. They had created it together while playing.
The little thing kicked at Lydia sometimes, and when he touched her belly, Da too felt the movement against his hand. It sent shivers of excitement through him, and many an hour, the two spent laughing, and giggling over the phenomenon; petting their baby.
Lydia said, when it was big enough, it would come out.
He knew that!
Da had witnessed a birth many times, peeking from above in the rafters of the hospital.
His baby was still too small to come out, yet.
The ball that was a baby continued to grow, and still Loni stayed gone. Da didn't know why; neither he nor Gem ever came back.
Perhaps, they have been given a place of their own?
But they didn't come to work, either.
One day, Lydia appeared weaker than usual. She kept doubling over, holding her belly, as if it hurt her.
Baby is being naughty. I will let Lydia rest a bit.
Da kept digging the plot they were preparing. It was time for a different round of vegetables at this place in the garden.
Out of nowhere, the overseers came, snatching Lydia away with them. Da dropped his shovel, and made to follow, but they prevented him.
He waited. Went back to work; waited some more.
When Lydia had not returned by sleep time, Da went to the showers alone. He ate his meal, then slept by the waterfall, as usual.
The days passed slowly. Da did as he had every day; went to work, labored alone all day, showered, obediently eat only from the fruit stand, slept alone, and repeated the process again the next day...and the next; and the next.
He was very lonely; no one to share a companionable meal; no one to play with; no baby to pet...no Lydia. He went searching for Loni.
He will know what to do.
But no Loni...or Gem either. And there was no one else who understood him...who could read his thoughts so well...only Loni. And he had gone away too far to be found.
Da went back to the job.
Now, weeks later, as he watered the new plants in his fresh plot, two overseers brought Lydia back to him. He was so glad to see her, at first he didn't notice the changes. He didn't think to try to challenge the men, before they were gone again.
He hugged his returned mate with enthusiasm, near crushing her against him, but she was so limp and lethargic she just sat there. She flinched when he touched her face, his gesture questioning. She did not want to play.
He realized, then, she was hurt. Her clothing was covered in dry, and wet, red blood. Da took her to the showers, where he stripped her, and let the hot water run over her naked body.
She always liked that before.
That was when he realized, something was different.
As he used a cloth to bathe her, he noticed the little ball-belly was soft and near flat. He growled with anger, understanding quickly what had happened.
They have stolen our baby!
And that meant only one thing. It had been one of the dreaded girl babies.
But, I like girls! They aren't bad! I want my baby!
The thought of the tiny thing dying, brought tears coursing down his whiskered cheeks.
And they have hurt Lydia bad, too!
As he sponged her, the water kept running away crimson with blood. No matter how often he let the liquid run between her legs, the stream came away red.
He finally pulled her out of the shower fall, got a large clean towel, and tied it, diaper like around her hips. He got a new laundered dress, and clothed her, wrapped her in a blanket, and carried her up to the waterfall campsite.
Lydia listlessly lay on their mat, quietly sobbing, inconsolable.
Da resolved, he wasn't going back to work until Lydia was well again. The whole thing angered him, hurt him near as much as his mother-woman.
How could they do this? I will get our baby back! Just as soon...as Loni comes.
Trouble was, he didn't dare leave Lydia alone, to go look for him.
Loni will take care of Lydia, while I go rescue the girl baby...
He knew they didn't kill the aborted infants right away. Some they kept in incubators; others even survived to grow bigger.
Da knew where they kept them, to study why they were different. And he had seen what some of the overseers did to girl babies...
They do bad things...they play grownup with them...
Da knew that was wrong!
I have to get the wee thing back. If only Loni would come home...fix Lydia, like he always fixes my hurts. Then...I can go rescue belly-ball.
****
Lydia just wanted to die; she wanted this nightmare all to end. Mother would say, she was being punished, for being promiscuous.
She would be wrong! I've died, and gone to hell!
She had known right from the first, the minute the water started rising around the plane; there was no ever going back to her husband and first baby.
When Da offered comfort, she couldn't resist, and what followed was only natural.
She and Da had been so happy; he was like a small child treasuring the gift they had been given. He waited expectantly the arrival of this new born.
And with one stroke of their knife, the heartless physicians had ended all that. They hadn't asked her if that was what she wanted. The monitor had shown a girl, and apparently, that was a death sentence for this her second child.
Even on the table, she had bled profusely, almost as if her body was weeping after what it had lost. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had been a miscarriage, but to have them deliberately cut away her second baby...the loss was beyond endurance.
Her first husband and baby were lost to her forever, and now...a second little one, as well.
There was no reason to live. Let the blood ebb her life away. She didn't care...and would not fight!
Chapter 25
As the days passed, Gem near forgot there had ever been a brighter, pleasanter side to life. Loni's memory receded, and Galar became her focus; her only source of provision.
When finally, he took the chains off, she simply lay at his feet, resigned, too weak to fight, any mental abilities useless.
As Galar worked above her, Gem had very little view of her world, and not much awareness, of sound either. To her, the constant drone of the buzz saw was the essence of her new world.
She learned to feel an almost empathic sympathy for the crippled worker, as he struggled, hobbling about, on his crutch and one leg, dividing the various cuts of meat.
It was seldom he was given a human carcass; most were goat, pig, and sometimes a whole cow. These last, he had to kill himself...she later learned, this meat was for the elite, the Physicians who worked away, and returned on leave. They were used to better fare than human.
Galar would confine his livestock between iron stanchions, the head stationary, and when it finally stopped its struggle, he slammed it between the eyes with a gun-like ramrod. The animal immediately dropped, like a sack of limp grain; then the man quickly slit its throat, raising the carcass with a winch, catching the blood, of which he himself partook, before he passed it on to be used to make a blood sausage at another department.
He offered Gem this warm drink, but she refused to indulge.
After the creature was drained, came the skinning, and quartering, which went slow, with only one man, as Galar's twin remained absent. Gem soon realized why he needed a helper. It was messy, and unwieldly, especially for one so handicapped.
At last, Gem softened toward him, and out of pity, began to help him. At first, Galar was impatient, and down right rough with her, but despite this, with slight memory of any other treatment, Gem began to form an attitude toward him, that was little short of attac
hment.
The work became much easier, and Galar began to change, also. He constantly prattled on to himself, not expecting her to answer; as she had realized, so did he, that they couldn't talk to each other.
He explained, how he wasn't allowed to eat this privileged food, nor was he fortunate, like those who worked the gardens. He was restricted, only allowed human meat, no vegetables or fruit, except on special occasions, when he was permitted to go to the cafeteria. Sometimes, he supplemented his diet by catching rodents that ran through the gutters.
Galar began to cheat some, tossing Gem chunks of raw meat from the grinder, as he made sausage from human parts. Because these beings were received long after death, they were the old; tough, and some of the parts were already decaying, not good for much more than, what he called, hamburger. The very thought of eating it, turned Gemma's stomach.
She refused all such morsels, but finally, one night, hunger got the better of her, and Galar, feeling benevolent, built a fire of straw and sticks, in the center of a metal aisle, between the butchering stalls. Over this, he allowed her to roast her piece of meat.
Half heartedly, she eat, then, but...it wasn't long after, it all came back up again. From that he deduced, she couldn't stomach his usual food fare.
Galar brought her a wheat type porridge, then. Even that, came back several times, before she finally tolerated it. It seemed like months before Gem kept even a small amount of food down. Her belly swelled, but her body was thin and emaciated.
When she was finally strong enough to hold down the pieces of meat for the grinder, he rewarded her by stealing portions of pork or goat for her. Roasted, these sections were savory and juicy; nothing in memory had ever tasted so good, and best of all...it stayed down.
They never went to bathe. Galar did not trust her outside the slaughter house walls. Also, he was rather an uncleanly fellow, and preferred she be like him. He had no awareness that females might be different.
Water was scarce in the butchery, mostly used to wash away blood from the carcasses. Sometimes, when Galar's back was turned, Gemma snuck a drink beneath the running tap; washed her face and hands quickly, before he saw.
The man's preferred beverage of choice was cow's milk, taken from the udder before he knocked the beast into oblivion. That suited Gemma just fine...as long as it hadn't stood for days until it soured, and grew a green slime.
At night, Galar lay on a filthy mat, covered with spatters of blood from nearby kills, crawling with lice and bed bugs; the air above it thick with straw dust and dirt. Until the allergy she developed spent itself, Gemma sneezed continually when lying beside him.
Only once, did Galar try to be intimate with her. His hand pushed tentatively at the matted, tangled curls about her face with an almost tender motion, his intention obvious, as his other hand was exploring down her leg. Gemma drew away in abject fear, her eyes pools of terror, he couldn't mistake. As she moved across the pad, to the very opposite side, and settled in the straw beside it, in a crouch, as if about to flee, he accepted the inevitable, decided to forestall for another time, and let her go.
Ever after, she made her bed in the straw beside his pad, and did not sleep with him.
****
One day Scar finally returned. The two men were arguing loudly when Gemma awoke. She knew, she dare not interrupt, so she crouched on her knees to the side of them, waiting.
"You have forgotten me," accused Scar. "Have I no place now?"
"He's still looking for a way through," Galar scolded. "You need to stay away until he forgets her. Why did you come here? You've shown him the way in!"
"No, I haven't; he was on the far side. He's given up on this side..."
"Stupid! It doesn't matter. Why did you come? Can't you take care of yourself?"
"I was lonely," moaned the other. "I'm all alone. No one will be my friend. I miss you... Why have you cast me out?"
"I didn't! It's only until he forgets..."
"I have nothing to do...I watch all the others work, but I have no job..."
"Fine! Come back, then. Stay!" Galar gave in angrily. "We will share her."
Gemma cringed, and slunk away. Galar turned suddenly, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her back. She knew, it was pointless to struggle.
After that, Galar was rough and impatient with her, again. But, the three soon learned to work as a unit. It was apparent, Scar was once more the preferred companion. Gemma was merely the side-line attraction.
She was given the duty of cooking the meat for them. Scar seemed to come and go freely. He often brought porridge back, and sometimes, stolen root vegetables, from which, Gem would make a soup.
Always, the two men kept her between them as they slept. Scar placed his mat on the other side of her straw strip. Neither man, ever, invited her onto his padded mattress. Which was fine with Gem; she hated the bugs that went with it.
****
Loni had given up. As he sat under a tree contemplating his failure, he suddenly remembered an incident from childhood:
When he had first been separated from his mother, at the age of twelve, work was unknown to him; his surroundings unfamiliar; Galar and Scar were appointed to teach him the ways of his new reality, to show him where things were, and what was required of him.
But, the pair considered him a burden, and so, much of the time, Loni was left on his own. He either tagged along behind the two older boys, or went exploring on his own, in his free time, always with the idea of finding, and reconnecting with his mother. It wasn't long, and Loni had learned well the lay of the entire Dome metropolis.
It consisted of two main systems: the inner core, which housed the cattle, and the butchery, where meat was cut, and meals prepared, for both the elite, and workers. The outer ring was all landscaped orchard, and gardens, including the gigantic waterfall, feeding the irrigation system. Out beyond the edges of this, were the guardian posts, observation screens, cafeteria, showers, and living quarters.
Above everything was a second floor; here were the exam rooms; operating and birthing areas, the Physicians' quarters, the nurseries and pregnancy holding rooms.
Hidden back of all that was a secret quarter where few were allowed: the science and experimental labs.
Here also, was the supercomputer that ran the establishment.
Traveling through every unit in the Dome's system were tunnels for sewer; with fat electric, and computer cables, strapped to the ceiling. Monstrous station rooms held gigantic boilers, and sent huge pipes, running both hot and cold water, through secondary tunnels.
As with all children, who tag along with their elders, Loni was considered a nuisance in the eyes of Galar. He sought, in any way possible, to rid himself of his pest.
One day, Loni found the entrance of a clean surface drainage tunnel. This led in from the world up top and outside, and the water was suppose to be filtered, and treated before it went into the overall system. Rumor had it that anything from out there was poisonous, contaminated, and deadly.
When it rained out there, the water came in freezing cold, pouring in dangerously swift, so an iron barred grate was used to close it off. But those maintaining it were lax, and only slid a bar across the outside, leaving the padlock hanging open. This way, they could easily access the tunnel to remove the debris that accumulated there.
Curious, Loni crawled into the tunnel, not realizing the grate should not have been left open, leaving the gate swinging. He also, was unaware Galar was following him.
When Loni returned after hours of exploration, he found Galar waiting on the other side of the padlocked grate. Chuckling with delight at his prank, Galar left his unfortunate victim crying, shouting after him to be released.
The next morning, after a freezing night jammed against the grate, while the water battered against his defenseless body, near drowned, the overseers found Loni, and set him free.
Thinking now of that uncomfortable time, Loni realized, that grate, and the drain tunnel could be the an
swer to his dilemma; his...and Gem's, ultimate salvation. From that upper system, led many a side tunnel, and one fed right out from the sewers of the butchery. And even better, this sewer drain was not controlled by the normal computer system, so maybe...Galar had not electrified it.
****
Enough with this!
Galar was through waiting.
Gem was submissive to his every whim; she never defied, anymore. She wasn't the problem.
It was Scar!
That big baby never leaves my side...never gives us long enough to be alone...to do anything.
He needed time to persuade this girl to fill his real needs. Galar wanted to be intimate with her, without Scar interfering or needing inclusion.
Besides, I need to seal the union, make her truly mine...if nothing else.
Scar is so stupid! He has no desires of his own, no arousal...he doesn't understand. He's like a small child...
In annoyance, Galar grabbed Gem's arm, turned angrily to Scar, and curtly ordered:
"You stay here! Don't follow us, you hear?"
Scar nodded, and returned to grinding the sausage meat, unperturbed.
Galar headed toward the sewer tunnel. He knew the perfect place to have privacy.
Chapter 26
Gem didn't even try to struggle, and after they had entered the reeking sewer passage, Galar allowed her to walk on her own; first beside him; then she followed behind.
Where is he going? What can he possibly want in here?
This sewer passage was different than the others. It did not have the electrical wires above, usually prevalent in most. It was darker, also noisier. Gem could hear rushing water in the distance.
She also felt different in here, more alert, and...she could see and hear better.
The blocking EM frequency does not extend this far!
For almost an hour, Galar led them down. They walked through fetid, stagnant puddles that splashed at their bare ankles, and up the legs of their coveralls. Many times, Galar's crutch slipped on the green slime that covered the floor, lined the walls, and dripped from the roof of the large man-height, round tunnel.
Monsters Among Us (Deception Series Book 1) Page 11