Sabin, A Seven Novel

by A. M. Hargrove

  It seems like hours pass as we move through space. How does this even work? My head starts to swim, and I get dizzy. Is this normal?

  Both men answer that it is. Now I’m glad they can hear my thoughts, because I’m feeling worse by the minute—sweaty, kind of nauseous, and the dizziness is increasing. Fuck!

  Sabin’s voice comes to me, telling me it’s okay. But I’m worried I’ll faint. He reminds me that if I do, my suit will take care of me. My body is programmed to go where they’re going. They also have my hands. It’s fine, he swears to me. Then he tells Edge to let go and he pulls me in front of him and wraps his arms around me.

  “I won’t let you go, I promise.” His words are clear and loud in my ear, so I know I heard them and didn’t imagine them. It becomes too much for me to hold up my head, and he says, “It’s okay, Serena, let your suit do the work. That’s what they’re designed for.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “Don’t be. I have you here with me. You’ll be fine.”

  My head bobbles but when I relax, I feel better, like Sabin said I would. I relax in his arms and I’m so lethargic, I feel sleepy.

  “Sleep, Serena.” My lids drop and the last thing I remember before the darkness claims me is that there are no stars in space.

  My arms and back are stiff when I stretch. I roll over and look over to see if Sabin’s still sleeping. He’s not in bed, but then I notice the bed is different. It’s downright decadent. Massive, wood-framed, and so comfortable I could stay here for days. Yards of silk hang over the wooden canopy and all around the bed, making me imagine I’m lying in a cocoon. The sheets are also made of the finest silk and they feel like satin gliding against my skin. The bed is covered in expensive linens and I’ve never experienced anything like this. It’s all so beautiful; it’s surreal.

  When I sit up, a dizzy spell hits me and then I remember the way I felt coming here. Did I really fall asleep in Sabin’s arms on the way? I wonder where he is. The urge to pee crashes into me, so I jump up and hunt the bathroom. Dizziness be damned. I sure don’t want to pee in the bed! The first door I open is a closet the size of the state of South Carolina. Jeez, it’s humongous! The next door I open leads out into a corridor. The third door opens into an office, the fourth a sitting room and finally, thank god, the bathroom. But this is no ordinary bathroom. Holy shit! This is like the best spa you can imagine. Whirlpool tub. Check. Super shower. Check. Private bathroom. Check. Huge vanity. Check. This place is big enough to house an entire family. What the hell does Sabin do that he can afford this kind of place?

  I hurry up and use the facilities and then notice all my things are in here. Maybe it’s time to shower. Only there’s a problem. The shower controls are weird and in that funky language. Why can’t they have knobs like we did back on Earth?

  As I stand here, staring at the panel, a long muscular arm reaches over my shoulder and taps a series of symbols. “That is for a regular shower. If you want anything extra, you have to tap these.” And Sabin proceeds to press his finger to several more symbols as the shower turns on. Water shoots out from everywhere.

  “You’ll have to show me again. I’ll never remember that.” I turn to look at him and notice his clothing is a bit different. Thin black leather straps attach to the base of his thumbs and crisscross over his wrists up to the middle of his forearms. Black leather covers him from head to toe and he looks good enough to lick.

  He grins, and then I ask, “Why is it you can speak English now?”

  He tells me, “The engineers adjusted my MSI to account for my emotional interference.”

  Okay, I’ll go with that, whatever that means. His eyes never leave me as I strip. I go to enter the shower and the door automatically slides open. Nice. I like this. “Oh my god, this is heaven in here.” And it is. It’s a water massage. I hear his laughter outside the shower.

  “Glad it pleases you. How did you sleep?”

  “Great. I was stiff, though, so this massage is just what I need. And I’m ravenous.”

  “You should be. You’ve been asleep for three days.”

  I touch the shower door, it opens, and I yell, “WHAT! Three days?” The door slides shut between us.

  And he answers through the shower door, “Yes, but that’s not unusual for first timers. I was wondering if you were going to sleep until tomorrow.”

  “We’ve been here for three days?”

  “Yes. Shower, Serena, and then I’ll take you to get some food.”

  “Yeah, food.” Three days. What the hell!

  The enormity of what I’ve just been through bulldozes me, and I stumble back against the wall. I’ve been out for three days! My brain can’t process what my body went through, how I traveled to this faraway place, what strange undertaking my body experienced for it all to take place.

  The door slides back open, in walks Sabin, fully clothed, and his arms wind around me. “It will take some adjusting to, but you will find many similarities to your world here. And there will be things you may like better.”

  I cling to him and hate the fact that I’m needy right now. Ever since I left my parents’ home, I’ve been the most independent person around. Most of the girls in my dorm suffered from homesickness. Not me. If I suffered from anything it was the liberation of being freed from my invisible iron bars. I reveled in this newfound freedom, and not one time did I regret it or look back. For the first time since then, I am the girl who is feeling homesick. And it’s as foreign to me as this new world I am standing in. Talk about freaking the hell out of me.

  “One thing at a time, Serena. You’re overloading. Deep breaths, sweetheart.” Next thing I realize, he’s washing my body, and his scent is stronger than usual. My mouth waters with a hunger of a different kind.

  “Serena, we can’t. You need food. Sustenance. You haven’t eaten and your body has been stressed. You’ve been given nourishment while you slept, but it’s not enough. You need to eat.”

  Now his large fingers massage shampoo into my hair. His clothes drip with water and I giggle.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You’re sopping wet.”

  “I was afraid you’d faint. It was foolish of me to allow you in here alone. It was also thoughtless to not have ordered food.”

  “Mmm.” His hands feel so good. “Is there a processor nearby?”

  “No, we don’t use those here. Only when we travel.”

  By now he’s finished. The water turns off and the door opens. He wraps me in a sheet of some type of soft fabric that isn’t the kind of towel I’m used to, and the water is sucked right off of my body. Next, he puts a smaller one around my hair and when he takes it off, my hair is nearly dry. Then he strips and dries himself off.

  “May I comb it?”

  “Yes, but I’m sure it’ll be tangled.”

  He only smiles and uses a weird looking comb. It has funny looking things on the end of each tooth. When he runs it through my hair, it doesn’t snag at all.

  “What is that thing?”

  He chuckles. “Magic.”

  “Let me see.” I grab it and look closely at it. On the end of each tooth appears to be a tiny ball. But that’s all I can gather.

  “Satisfied?”

  “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  He laughs again. “It has MSI technology.”

  “Ahh, the artificial intelligence thingies.”

  He smirks and shakes his head, while snatching back the comb. “In a manner of speaking.”

  “Come here.” He spreads his arms and I walk right into his embrace. “Have I ever told you that I could envelop myself in your hair, inhale it, bind my arms and hands in it, and spread its silkiness all over my flesh?” His hands sink into my slightly damp tresses.

  Whoa. And he’s trying to get me to dress so we can go eat somewhere. Really? Looking up at his face, I say, “No. But if you continue to say things like that, you’ll never take me to eat, because right now I want to taste you, Sabin.�
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  He practically growls when he says, “We need to get dressed.”

  It only takes me a couple of minutes to throw on jeans and a T-shirt, and he puts on full-body leather like he was wearing before, takes my hand and walks me out of the room. I am in shock at this house. No, not a house, it’s a mansion.

  “You live here?”

  “Hmm. It’s my home. I grew up in this house.”

  “Sabin, this is not a house. It’s a palace.”

  “Some would say that.”

  “Are you going to shed a little light here?”

  When he doesn’t answer, I know he’s not. Damn, is everyone here wealthy? And where is here?

  “We are on the planet Nyan’trua.” He sounds like a cat purring when he says it as he rolls the ‘r.’

  “Neentrua?”

  “Close enough.” He pulls me into his side. Sabin has become much more publicly affectionate here, I’ve noticed.

  “Your language, is it close to mine?”

  “Not even a bit.”

  “Can I learn it?”

  “Serena, we don’t learn languages on Nyan’trua. We use MSIs. There are simply too many languages out there to become proficient in. It doesn’t make sense for us to actually learn them.”

  “I see. So I’ll never be able to speak, er, Neruntrun.”

  “Nyan’truan.”

  “Whatever.”

  “No, as I’ll never be able to speak the thousands of languages and dialects spoken on Earth.”

  “Thousands?”

  “When you take into consideration slang, dialects, tribal languages, yes.”

  He has a point. But one?

  “Remember the markings on the food processor?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That is our language.”

  “I’m teachable, Sabin.”

  “It’s easier for me to speak in your tongue.”

  And that’s it. End of story. By now we’ve made so many turns, I’m lost. A woman approaches us.

  “Ah, Ms. Callahan. It’s lovely to meet you.” She bows her head.

  Sabin introduces me to her. Graylyn is her name and apparently she runs everything here.

  Sabin tells her he is going to give me the tour after lunch, but then The Seven have a meeting of some sort and he wants Graylyn to make sure I have everything at my disposal and know where everything is.

  “I will be sure to handle everything, L’han. Ms. Callahan, I will see you later.” She makes this odd little bow again and leaves.

  When she’s out of earshot, I ask, “What’s a lahan?”

  He gives me no response.

  “I see. So, Serena, are you enjoying yourself? Yes, I am, thank you very much. And where would you like to go? Well, I would like to go back to Earth, where people actually have the decency to answer questions when I ask them.” I storm off, which is pointless because I have no idea where we are headed.

  “Serena, stop.”

  Ignoring him, I keep walking. Why can’t he just say, “Listen Serena, I really can’t talk about it.” Or, “I’m embarrassed to tell you.” Or, “I don’t know what the fuck it is?” But noooooo. He completely shuts me out.

  One thick arm winds around my waist and stops any further progress on my part.

  “L’han is a term of great respect, more than sir. Maybe like master, but not to the degree of ownership. It’s complicated.”

  “While I may be fragile and my mind may be beneath your high intellect, I am not stupid and I can do complicated. You don’t have to treat me like a toddler that can’t comprehend a fucking thing.” My cheeks are cold and when I raise my hand to see why, I figure it out. I’m crying. You have got to be shitting me. I’m goddamn crying in front of him. Again. How many times now? I can’t even count. I never cry. I gave that up when I left my shitty parents’ house. Or so I thought. But here I am, letting the old tears drain out. I shove against him, trying to dislodge his hold on me, but he’s much too strong for my fragile attempt at escape. And then the truth slaps me in the face. Oh my god! Why didn’t I see this before? I turn in his arms so I can face him.

  “I’m a toy for you, aren’t I? Like a lab experiment. The weak and fragile species that you want to study. You’re putting me in a cage, so you can do exactly that, aren’t you? That’s why you never tell me anything or answer my questions!”

  His pupils expand momentarily and then retract. The tiny muscle in his jaw clenches and his outrage is palpable. He snarls the words, but they are distinct and the moment he speaks I realize my error. And it is grave. “You think I’ve brought you here as a lab experiment? You think I claimed you so that you could be my pet? And you call this,” he sweeps his arm through the air, “a cage?” He steps away from me and proceeds to put his hand through the wall. I am mortified. I’ve never witnessed anyone demonstrate such a blatant display of anger before. “Go. Leave before I do something I regret.” His words are chopped, as he spits them out through gritted teeth.

  Where the hell do I go? I don’t know where I am in this monstrosity of a house. I back away in fear as much as anything else. With hands covering my face, I veer down one hall and then the next until I spy a door. Its heavy appearance makes me believe it leads outside. Before I give it another thought, I step toward it and it automatically opens and then closes behind me. Brilliant sunshine and scenery that is akin to fantasyland greets me and I’ve never seen anything like it. Mountains in the distance and a sky so blue leave me stunned at the beauty of it all. Rolling hills of green grass that end in a gorgeous lake make me want to rip off my shoes and run until I hit the water. But my stomach lets out an enormous growl and I remember we were on our way to lunch. I’m not sure if I can swallow a bite after what happened, but I suppose I should perhaps try.

  I turn around to open the door, but find it locked. Nice. Great. Exactly what I need. I knock a few times and no one answers. Then I pound and get the same result. The walkway I’m on leads to some kind of parking lot maybe, but there are no cars and there is an enormous—and I mean enormous, like twenty foot high, wall—that surrounds it. That means I need to go the other way.

  This way leads to a row of hedges that I have to force my way through, and when I do, I discover that this place is larger than I originally thought. I think I’m in a maze. It’s confusing because I can’t tell where I am from looking at the mansion. There are huge windows in front of me, so I try to get a peek inside, but shutters block my view. Figuring that my best bet is to follow the house, I stay close to it and keep going, until I realize that it’s built into the side of a hill. And the drop off is too steep for me to follow.

  Turning back to the window, I fist my palms and bang on it, yelling in the hopes someone will hear me. But my fists make no sound when they make contact with the glass. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m in some sort of weird computer dream. How can I bang my hands against the glass and they produce no noise whatsoever? I need to refocus on a new plan now.

  I strain my neck, trying to see how far up the walls of this place go. Maybe I can climb up. But then what? It’s hot, sunny, and I’m damn thirsty. Using my shirt, I wipe the sweat off my face. There has to be a way inside this place.

  Backtracking, I follow the wall and jostle my way back through the hedge. By now, I’m sweating and all scratched up from the branches. The scratches are red and beginning to itch, too. What a great day this is turning out to be. Jesus, would someone just look out the fucking window already and see me? I finally get back to the door I exited from and yell and pound on it. Maybe someone will hear me. I even kick the damn thing. My throat really burns from yelling, and it’s itchy, too. My mouth is so dry I’m parched.

  “Will someone just let me in the damn house?”

  Exhaustion, hunger, and thirst are about to get the best of me. I brace my arms on the sides of the door and suddenly a voice says, “Identify subject.”

  “Oh, shit.” I jump back in fright.

  The monotone voice responds, “Oh shit no
t identifiable.”

  Moving back into the doorframe, I say, “No, not shit. I’m Serena.”

  “No not shit I’m Serena not identifiable.”

  I’m going to kill this fucking thing. “Serena Callahan.”

  A whoosh of air hits me from toe to head and back down again. Then the door slides open. Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been roaming around the whole time when all I had to do was lean on the damn doorframe? I walk inside and exactly thirty-two steps later I collapse.

  A lab experiment. A bloody lab experiment. I’m getting ready to stick my fucking neck in a noose and she thinks she’s my lab experiment. What the … why did I ever claim her? I should never have listened to Rafe. That cocksucker is going to pay for this. I’m going to …

  “Sabin, you need to get to the main level by the rear supply entrance.” Rafe’s voice comes to me.

  “What now?” I huff.

  “It’s Serena. Graylyn found her. She was lying on the floor, unconscious.”

  Part of me wants to tell him to handle my lab experiment, but the way my gut clenches when he says those words, I know I can’t stay here and do nothing. “On my way.”

  By the time I arrive, Serena is sitting up and sipping some water. Her arms are covered in deep, fire-red scratches. Her cheeks look like she’s been in the sun for hours.

  “What the hell happened?” I thunder.

  Serena jerks at my voice. Graylyn, who is used to me, says in a calm tone, “I found her unconscious, L’han.”

  “I already know that. Why are her arms so scratched and her face so red?”

  “I got locked out of the house and tried to find a way inside.” Serena’s voice is thready and tremulous. This is my fault.

  Practically shoving Graylyn out of the way to get to her, I bend down to scoop Serena up, but she slaps my hands away.

  “Get away from me you asshole. You …” and she loses steam.

  I don’t give her another chance to speak, but quickly carry her to my room, shouting to Graylyn to bring up some food.