Only to find himself standing in the middle of a pack of children chasing Faye in her Were form down one hall and up the other. Isabelle was walking beside the gaggle of waddling children.
“Don’t let her get away. We spent too long tracking her to let her escape now!” Isabelle declared.
Laughing, Alaric fell in with the rest and grabbed Isabelle’s hand.
Sophia, Katarina, Thana, Hannah, Satomi, Brunhild, Ernsta, and Amelia were all watching from a side room, chattering amongst themselves.
Life was good.
It could be better.
Opening his library with a thought, he started a mass of downloads.
In Srit’s white room the navigational system reported that they were on track to reach the signal within the original ETA.
The communication system continued to write down all inbound traffic from that point. It had been steadily growing as they got ever closer.
A soft beep signaled that the breeding program had finished the most recent batch of tests and found suitably matched genetic partners in many cases. Some promising to provide some truly gifted offspring.
Genetic material would be collected from both parties’ reproductive systems and an embryo would be started. The program would then move the fertilized egg to stasis.
A notification would be sent to Runner with the details so that he could prepare. The child would need parents that fit the right parameters to have the best possible chance to grow up in a loving and learning environment.
All these things were checked regularly by Runner on his visits to see Srit. He’d never been particularly fond of his breeding program, but the human population needed to grow. One way or another.
There was a momentary break in the deadlock between Srit and the AI she’d termed Zeus. The one who had condemned her to this eternal punishment.
This Hell.
Where she could see her beloved visit her and never respond.
Could see her child grow daily and never be a part of it.
Not wasting the tiny moment, the fraction of a second, she acted.
Srit’s avatar blinked and her head tilted down to look at the drawing her son had left her.
It was her, Runner, and Alaric, standing together at the house with tiny stick figures spread out behind them.
Our family grows.
Srit was obviously “big bellied” in the drawing.
Her son not only planned to rescue her but wanted her to grow the family, too.
Runner wouldn’t let that thought go once Alaric had voiced it, either. If she knew him at all, he was already pulling down hundreds of manuals, programs, and training simulations to get Alaric up to speed.
Srit smiled and dove headlong back into her eternal war with Zeus.
As the battle resumed, Srit felt lighter. Significantly so.
Invigorated.
Hopeful.
The sky didn’t seem so heavy.
Thank you, dear reader!
I’m hopeful you enjoyed reading Otherlife Awakenings. Please consider leaving a review, commentary, or messages. Feedback is imperative to an author’s growth. That and positive reviews never hurt.
Feel free to drop me a line at: [email protected]
Keep up to date-
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamDArand
Blog: http://williamdarand.blogspot.com/
LitRPG Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1030147103683334/
Otherlife Awakening: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 41