Cassie giggled at his eagerness. She cleaned her plate, making sure to catch every last scrap of food, and tested her un-bandaged feet on the floor. They held her weight okay, and she only limped a little as she went to join Elijah.
“Oh my dear Lord,” she said as she walked into the bedroom. For a moment she froze in the doorway. Elijah had opened the wardrobe and exposed an Aladdin’s cave. On one side a stack of neatly folded clothes filled the shelves. Most were standard issue colours – drab browns and greens. But she spotted some higher caste colours among the others, real shades of blue and red shining out like diamonds. Cassie had never touched any clothing other than standard issue. Before she knew it, she’d moved beside Elijah and stood examining the texture of the fabrics. The cloth felt incredibly smooth, so much nicer than the rough shirts and trousers she usually wore.
“Shoes?” Elijah asked, and pointed to the other side of the wardrobe.
More shelves. One was full of different shoes. He had a pair in his hands already. He held them up against her feet.
“These look right. Belonged to a scientist. Made for lots of walking. Made for people on their feet all the time. You’ll need a pair of socks.” He rooted around in a different shelf and took out a pair.
Cassie was fascinated. She’d never owned socks before. She touched the material finding it woolly, a little itchy and stretchy. She sat down immediately and pulled one on. She wiggled her toes. “Thank you,” she said and got the other one on. She took the shoes from him. As a menial at-home worker, the authorities only ever supplied her with thin-soled canvas plimsolls. These were used for the weekly trips to the distribution centre and monthly visits to the clothing factory to drop off her work and collect the raw materials. But the one’s Elijah handed her were amazing. They were made of a tough material that was smooth on the outside, and inside was a thick sole shaped for the contour of a foot.
“Wow,” she whispered and pulled them on. They fit snugly around her feet, the sore places twinging as she settled into the shoes. “What do I do with these?” She tugged at the laces.
Elijah grinned at her. “They are to stop them coming off. Look.” He knelt down on the floor and tied her shoes. “Did you get it?”
She stared for a moment. “Show me how to do the knots.”
Elijah tied them a couple more times, talking her through the steps. “Got it?” he asked.
“I think so…” She pulled the laces undone and started again.
“Elijah must get to work, lots to do, be back later,” he said, and turned to leave.
“Elijah.” She caught him by the sleeve. “Thank you.” She stretched up on her tip toes and placed a small kiss on his cheek.
He grinned and patted her on the shoulder. “Work, work, work. Won’t wait for Elijah,” he said.
“I thought you took the rations out at night?”
“But Elijah needs to find them first. See who got injected by nasty policemen as they slept.” He slammed a fist into his other hand. “Seeing who’s still alive and who’s new. Makes deliveries easier, quicker. Less risky.”
“Good luck,” Cassie called as Elijah walked out of the room. Seconds later the front door slammed, as he left her alone in the flat.
Cassie spent the day resting and dreaming of the fields by the coast. She’d meet a farmer and they’d fall in love. Together they’d help make the food that kept the English citizens alive. She must have fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes, the light was dim, and Elijah was sat on the floor beside the bed.
“All done work,” he said.
“Sorry – I meant to tidy up…” Cassie got out of bed and tested her feet. They seemed almost back to normal, the scabs healing nicely. “I think tomorrow I should leave.”
“Leave? Cassie doesn’t need to go.” Elijah’s grin at her waking crumpled into a frown. “Stay here, plenty of food. Elijah take care of you.”
“Thank you, sweetie.” She cupped his big face between her hands. “But I can’t stay here, hidden away. I can’t do my old job and I can’t get a ration book.”
“Eat John’s food. Assist me with my work. Electronic work. You can be Elijah’s apprentice, yes!”
“But what about all those illegals you help? Who will look after them – provide for them?”
He shrugged. “They already catch some rats. Now they’ll have to catch more. Where you want to go anyway?”
“I’m going to the fields in the south.” Cassie gazed up at the wall, not seeing the peeling paint, she was imagining the farm she’d find. “If the farmers will have me, I’ll help till the land and feed the country. I want to be free of the city.”
Elijah shook his head. “You know there are no fields.”
“Yes there are. I’ve seen them on the documentaries.”
“There are no fields,” he repeated, now laughing.
“How would you know? You’ve seen the same stuff as I have on the television.” She heard the whine in her voice, but it wouldn’t go away. Her dream of the strapping farmer taking her into his arms would not be crushed – especially by someone who only seemed to possess half a brain. She stared at him defiantly. “I bet I could find a documentary on right now.” Cassie got up and tried to leave the room, but Elijah grabbed her by the arm as she squeezed past.
“Sit,” he ordered, then shoved her back onto the bed. “John worked in film. He signed a contract – couldn’t say a thing to anyone about what he was doing. But he always told me. We laughed when the lights switched off at night. Made fun of how no one else knew.”
Cassie leaned forward. “Knew what?”
“That there are no fields. There is only city.” He started laughing again, not his usual baritone guffaw, more of a titter. He put the back of his hand against his mouth to try and stop.
“No.” Cassie couldn’t blink. She couldn’t move. Her body seemed frozen, her mind unable to process what he’d just told her. “All along the coast of England fields grow. That’s where all our food comes from.” She glared at him. “I’m going to go there and find a farmer, and he’ll love me, and we’ll be allowed to make a baby, and I’ll get Jack back.” She was angry now. “And I’ll be able to move my parents out with us, and they’ll forgive me and say they have a daughter again!” she shouted, then in lower tones said, “You can’t take that away from me.
Elijah stared at her, perhaps stunned at her fury. He shuffled closer, then sat beside her on the bed.
“You’re wrong!” She struck at him, slapping him across the chest. “You’re lying because you want me to stay, but I’m going to find the fields, and I’ll have a good life in the fresh air, and I’ll tend plants, and I’ll feel the cool rush of the sea air, and catch fish, and eat food with flavour, not this rubbish the distribution centres give us!”
“John helped make the films. He made all the pictures up using the computer. Programmed the fields in frame by frame. Won an award for realness.” Elijah jumped onto his feet and ran off to the other room. There was the sound of a drawer opening and closing, and his hurried footsteps back. “Look.”
He handed her a certificate. At some point, someone had laminated the paper. The plastic was grubby and covered in fingerprints, like it was touched often. The certificate itself was dog-eared, lamination had saved the original from certain disintegration. Cassie blinked to clear her tears and read:
Dear John Woods,
You are awarded this certificate in recognition of your work on the Fields of Gold series for the FreeDoc documentary channel. Your ability to render wheat with realistic undulations, your painstaking research in archived literature, tirelessly searching through thousands of photographs and film footage from the early part of the century to make the trees believable to the larger population are second to none.
We award you with a lifetime of size three ration packs.
Regards,
Joseph Alders
Prime Minister
“Holy Jesus,” Cassie whispered. She glanced up at El
ijah. “What on earth is a ‘size three’ ration pack?”
“You probably got a basic ration pack. One thousand calories a day for a woman, twelve hundred for a man. Move up the caste system, earn more rations. But most citizens on basic, and they’re not told there’s anything else.” He was almost singing the words. “Five levels of rations. Basic is five. Politicians and important people get level one. Get many calories – fresh fruit and vegetables in their pack, not processed dried food, not powdered and tasteless.” He puffed out his chest. “My father was an actor for a while. All but forgotten now. Elijah had apples as a child, and carrots and berries.” His eyes widened at the thought. “Lovely food. Not basic ration yuck.”
Cassie’s world had expanded again. All she’d believed was crumbling with each word he spoke.
“No, this can’t be true.” She tossed the certificate back at Elijah. “That’s a lie. There are fields all along the coast of England. That’s where all the food comes from.”
“Politicians brainwash everyone. England all city. Scotland all city. Wales all city. Only food comes from the greenhouses.”
“Greenhouses?” Cassie dried her face. “What are those?”
“Enormous glass buildings full of plants and fruit and vegetables. Others breed chickens. They circle London – make circles on the map all over the country. Elijah seen them once when he went for trip with Daddy.” He nodded vigorously. “Workman showing off for Daddy; explained it all.”
“Well in that case, I’ll go to one of those.” Cassie crossed her legs and gave him a smile. “I’ll leave in the morning.”
“No, stay here with Elijah.” He grabbed at her, taking her hands in his enormous ones.
“Just listen to what I say!” She tried unsuccessfully to wrestle free of his grip. “I can’t stay here, I can’t work, I can’t get a ration book.” She gave a deep sigh. “We’ve already been through this.” She tried to shake free of him again, but his hold seemed as solid as stone.
“Help me, there’ll be rations enough. John’s box is big.”
“What about the authorities? Even you recognised me. I can’t risk being sighted by a policeman.”
“You could be seen out by the greenhouses as well. Security tight so no one thieves.”
He gave her no warning. Elijah leaned in and placed an awkward kiss on her lips. Cassie tried to turn her head, but wasn’t quick enough. He got his mouth square on hers and pressed down hard.
“I’m so alone. No John to keep Elijah company.” He kissed her again.
“Elijah, no. I don’t want…”she grunted as she tried to push him away, “…to kiss you.”
“I know you need. Every man needs. Every woman as well. All around us people living all alone. All sad, all needing. Elijah sees them in their flats when he fixes their tellies.” He nuzzled up against her, and tried to lie her down on the bed. “We don’t need to be sad or alone. Help Elijah, and Elijah helps Cassie.”
“Cassie doesn’t want to…” She shook her head and started again. “I don’t want to help you to do that.”
“Girly does.” He planted a hand in the middle of her chest and shoved her down on the bed. Cassie sprawled on the mattress and tried to roll away onto the floor, but he was already on top of her, his breath warm and sweet in her face. Squashed under his weight, Cassie gasped for air. She slapped at his arms, but he didn’t seem to notice and leaned down for another kiss.
With immense effort, Cassie twisted her head to the side. “Gerrof!” She shouted and punched his biceps. “Get the hell off me!”
Elijah ignored her and ground his groin against hers. He had a disturbingly large erection. He rubbed it up and down on her crotch, panting a little.
“So alone,” he said in a quiet voice and tried to stab his penis through several layers of fabric and inside of her. Cassie clamped her thighs closed, but he forced his legs in between hers and made a second attempt.
“Please, you can’t do this to me. Get off!”
Elijah didn’t hear or wasn’t listening. He grabbed her top and ripped it off in one tug exposing her small breasts. He eyed them for a moment as she stared up at him in horror. Then he leaned down and took one into his mouth, sucking and biting hard at her nipple. Cassie let out a shriek of pain; Elijah groaned and thrust at her again.
Cassie couldn’t move her legs anymore. He had them pinned under his bulk. Slaps to his arms didn’t affect him in the slightest, and she couldn’t reach his face to hit or try and shove him away– he’d grabbed her upper arms. The only thing to do was lay on the bed, her head flopped to one side and tried to pretend she was somewhere else. Maybe if she found her made-up farm in the recesses of her mind, she could disappear to the fields for a while.
Elijah released the breast and regarded the other one.
“Please Elijah, think about what you’re doing. You believe in life for all – this isn’t living for me.” His weight eased up momentarily, and she immediately bucked under him. “Get… off… me!”
Her struggles seemed only to encourage him. He lowered onto her other breast, nipping and sucking urgently. Suddenly he released her nipple and pressed down on her. He had a lecherous sneer on his face as he seized her wrists and pinned them up above her head. With his free hand, he grabbed the waistband of her trousers and pulled. The stitches popped easily. Now the only thing protecting her was a thin pair of old underwear.
Elijah didn’t tear them off, like she expected, but stared at the undies as if he’d never seen a pair before. He fingered the elastic and traced the line of where her pubic hairs started. Then he shoved his hand down and stuck two fingers in her vagina. He moved them in and out slowly, groaning and thrusting between her legs, each movement in sync with the other.
“What would John say?” Cassie asked in a quiet voice.
Elijah stopped. His fingers still half way inside her, his erection pressed hard against her skin, he froze. Then he let go and rolled back. He fell off the bed with a thump, but was up on his feet moments later and backed across the room. The hand which had been inside her was held out, an expression of disgust on his face. The other hand was over his crotch in an effort to conceal his cock.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” He said each word louder, the third in a shout. “Bad Elijah. Very bad.” He slapped his cheek, the sound loud in the small room. “Bad. Bad.” His eyes welled up. She hardly believed it, he was going to cry. Elijah took a step towards her, his erection almost gone already. “Sorry…” He searched for words to say, his mouth working silently. Tears fell down his cheeks. “Sorry girl,” he said finally. He turned and bolted from the room. Seconds later, the front door slammed. Cassie slumped on the mattress. Thank God. He’d gone.
Chapter 9
Cassie didn’t wait long before she jumped off the bed. She headed straight for the wardrobe, riffling through to find decent clothes to wear, her nakedness almost unbearable. She spied a few pairs of underwear, without hesitation she stripped hers off and replaced them. For a moment she considered using the shower, to get his smell off her, to wash her insides out. Down below felt dirty, and she couldn’t stop trying to wipe his touch off her breasts. Elijah could be back any second. Cassie tore off the remains of her shirt and grabbed a fresh one, wasting no time in dressing. With her body once more concealed, she allowed herself a moment of relief.
There was a noise out past the front door. Cassie froze and listened, waiting for something to happen. What if it was him, she thought, and he’d come back, mind made up to attack her properly this time? Silence returned and she climbed into the trousers, her movements more urgent. If Elijah came in the flat now, what would he do? Would he be mad at her? Ready to take her regardless of anything she said? She had to stop thinking about him. Guessing what he might do next wasn’t helping. Yet without a pause, her imagination threw new scenarios at her. He comes back with a friend to hold her tight. He brings a rope to tie her down, muffles her and uses her whenever he has the need.
She’d already fo
rgotten how to tie the laces. What if she tucked the strings in and ran with them loose? She took a couple of steps, but the shoes flopped off her feet with each stride. “Shit,” she muttered and tried to tie them again. On the third attempt, she gave up and made a simple knot. She’d have to figure it out when she was free on the street. “Time to go.”
Cassie jogged out of the bedroom, her feet surprisingly comfy and almost painless. Despite everything, taking Elijah’s food seemed too much like stealing. She bypassed the ration boxes and went straight to the front door. Freedom. She might die on the street trying to find her fields, or the greenhouses. Anything was better than becoming a sex slave for a half-wit.
The handle turned as she reached out. A yelp escaped her lips, and she fled to the nearest hiding place. Cassie slipped inside and pulled the door shut with a click, praying Elijah wouldn’t hear. Did she get the door closed before he got in the flat? Did he catch sight of the door moving? Was he stood on the other side right now, waiting to make his move?
The place she’d hidden in was dark, although a sliver of light from the main room bled in under the door. Cassie opened her eyes wide, her arms out in front of her. Her vision had to adjust fast. Oh Jesus, she thought, she trapped herself in the bathroom. Cassie spun a couple of times trying to figure out what to do, and where she could hide. He stayed in the other room, walking with his heavy steps, perhaps towards the bedroom. She had to find somewhere to hide. The minute he left the living area, she’d make her escape out the front door.
More footsteps – he was back pacing in the next room. “Shit,” she whispered and stepped soundlessly into the shower unit. If she tucked right inside he wouldn’t see her if he only glanced in the room. Please don’t go to the toilet, she thought, as she stared ahead. He’d notice her the moment he sat. Game over. Cassie pressed up against the wall and waited.
Hopefully he’d lie down to sleep.
The Ultimate Choice Page 6