The Supremacy

by White, Megan

  I let my fingers glide along the silken bedspread as I slowly made my way to the table that promised clean clothing; no doubt a commoner’s issued uniform, the same as we had all been forced to wear for years. Letting the silk robe slide off my body, caressing my skin with its fine threading, I reached into the bag.

  My breath hitched when I pulled out the first garment. A uniform was not awaiting me, but a knee length blue dress. To most, that would not have meant much, but to a commoner like myself, it represented freedom. None like me had seen an article of clothing unique unto itself in years, and wearing any such garment was a punishable offence.

  I emptied the bag onto the bed, scoffing when I saw the underwear and bra tumble out. Absentmindedly, I wondered how he could have possibly known my size but soon pushed the thought aside and dressed.

  Turning once I pulled the blue dress over my head, the image in the floor-length mirror caught my eye. The beauty in the mirror’s reflection was no one I recognized. She was clean, pampered, and dressed like a queen, but in her eyes was where the truth lay. You could scrub clean the skin of the tormented, but no amount of riches could clean the soul.

  The memories of those that had fallen, been murdered at the hands of the wicked, crushed me. Even though it hurt to remember, I never wanted to forget.

  I slowly padded down the hall, back to the living room. On the outside, I felt refreshed, a feeling I hadn’t known in a very long time. I no longer feared for my safety or waited with one eye open for a Keeper to take me away. And my Keeper stopped me dead in my tracks the moment I saw him for the first time, dressed in a white button up long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. His back was to me, but I knew he felt me staring. He stood silently in the middle of the great-room, still as a statue, allowing me to take him in for the first time. He did not look like the sinister man that had taken me away so many times, the ‘man’ that drugged me and stole from my body. He looked serene. His long black robe that labeled him as a Keeper was nowhere in sight. It was a single article of clothing, but it served its purpose, to strike fear into the masses. It was gone and Declan looked… human.

  Finally, he turned and faced me with a lopsided grin that soon turned into a gaping mouth as his eyes danced from my face to my toes, “You look,” He let out a shuttering breath and closed the distance between us, “beautiful.”

  “And you look,” I paused, still taking him in. His short black hair, piercing blue eyes, chiseled jaw line, if I were anyone else, and he wasn’t a Keeper, a monster, I might have said he was breathtaking, but he was who he was, rebel or not. He had killed, for the greater good or not. He was a Keeper. “Normal.” I finally choked out.

  “What removing a cloak can do for a person’s appearance,” He joked.

  And it made a world of difference. That black cloak did more than just identify one as a Keeper, but solidified a commoner’s fate, their place in the world. To see a Keeper meant you were ruled. It meant you had no free will. Nothing was available to you unless granted by the ruling power. A Keeper’s cloak was a reminder of the Dark Times that The Supremacy saved us from, reminding us that without their take-over, we all would have died.

  “You have another vial to take,” He smiled, then turned to point toward the table that sat in front of his large leather sofa.

  I crinkled my nose, remembering the awful taste, “How many more of those will I have to take?”

  “A few.” He chuckled, “But you’ll get use to the taste. Would you like something to eat?” He asked before he turned for the kitchen. “You must be starving.”

  “Surprisingly, not nearly as much as I should be.” I yelled to him as I reached for the tube that waited for me on the table. I downed it as quickly as possible. I tried plugging my nose to mask the taste but it didn’t work. Cutting out my taste buds would have done nothing to save the abysmal flavor.

  The sound of glass breaking thundered through the kitchen, causing my heart to lodge itself in my throat. The vision of a cloaked Keeper as he smashed his crystal baton across the stomach of a fighting Tester, raining down shards of gleaming glass around a bloody, limp, body, rushed through my mind.

  “Are you okay?” I yelled, rushing into the kitchen only to find Declan slumped against the stone floor.

  “Fine.” He panted as he tried and failed to pull himself up.

  “No,” I warned him, placing my hand on his shoulder, “sit down for a second. What happened?”

  I looked around the room, trying to find what could have possibly caused a stealthy Keeper to fall.

  He shook his head from side to side as if he were trying to clear it, “Nothing.”

  I knew he was lying. In all my years of watching the ‘Supreme’ walk around like gods, I never once saw them fall, or even falter in their step, “I’m not stupid, Declan, want to try that answer one more time?”

  “No.” He chuckled in exasperation, “You’re not, and my guess is that you will not give up until I tell you the truth.”

  “You’ve guessed right.” I smiled enigmatically at him and waited impatiently for his answer.

  “Fine,” He panted before throwing his head back against the side of the counter, “To heal you I have to keep creating more venom.”

  “And that is somehow draining you?” I asked skeptically. It did not make sense. If he were venomous then it should come naturally.

  “We no longer need to use our venom to feed. With the advancement of technology and our ability to create our own food, that aspect of our nature has slowly become irrelevant to our existence. If you don’t use something, you lose it.”

  “And you have to secrete more and more venom to create anti-venom for me?” I mumbled distractedly as I watched him lie on the floor, looking weak and vulnerable. A sight that was alien coming from a Keeper that just screamed ‘power’, “And that is what you were just doing, making more?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where do you keep your syringes?” I asked him, pulling myself to my feet, “I know there must be some around here seeing as how you just love using those damn things.”

  He raised his brow as he watched me fumbling around his kitchen, “Why?”

  “Because fuck you, that’s why. Where are they?”

  “I’m not telling you until you give me a reason.”

  I laughed looking over him, pale, sickly and slumped on the tile floor, “Doesn’t look like you’re in much of a position to demand anything.”

  He drew in a shaky breath, his teeth clinching together audibly, “Why, Erin?”

  “So that I can help you. It’s give and take, Declan. A symbiotic relationship.”

  “NO!” He yelled, causing me to jump. He tried to pull himself up again, only to fail like he had before.

  “Look at you! You can’t even stand. You need me. Just admit it.”

  He gritted his teeth as he stared furiously at me, “I won’t take from you.”

  “You’re not taking.” I clarified, kneeling so our eyes could meet, “For once, I am giving. Tell me where they are.”

  “You don’t know what you are offering. If I start feeding on you, I will always crave you. It’s just your flavor, “He panted while licking his dry lips, “It’s a lure, a delicacy”

  “I can’t do anything without you.” I pressed, “Stop Tarant or save anyone. I need you, and you need to be healthy. Give and take.” I repeated, looking into his clear blue eyes and waiting for some form of agreement, “You will be healing me while I’m healing you.”

  “Yes you are.” He whispered, his limp fingers tracing from my temple to my lips. I pulled away, rejecting his touch.

  “Inside the island,” He admitted as his hand fell limp at his side. “First drawer,” He pointed to the center counter that divided the kitchen.

  Opening the drawer, dozens of syringes rolled to me, “Wooah, How many of these things does one Keeper need?”

  “You’d be surprised.” He chuckled without humor.

  Without another thought to what he c
ould possibly mean, I grabbed one, popped the top off that concealed the needle and jabbed it into my side.

  “Easy” He warned when a pained shriek left my parted lips, “You don’t need to impale yourself with that thing.”

  Wincing, I shot him a side-glance, “Like you have ever been gentle with me.” I chided.

  “That’s not because I didn’t want to be.” He answered quietly, pain lacing his voice.

  “I know.” A smile played on my own when I noticed him salivating, watching intently as the tube filled, “How many of these will you need?” I asked once I finished filling the second.

  “One is too much.”

  Removing the syringe with a wince, I popped the cap in place and tossed it in the nearby trash. Sitting next to him, I grabbed his hand, placing the two vials in his palm and closing it tightly around them, “Give- take.” I whispered, watching him carefully.

  I tore my eyes away from his penetrating stare when I saw the raw emotion that shined through. Clearing my throat, I stood, giving me the much-needed distance, “Where’s my food. Didn’t your mom ever tell you that it’s rude to eat in front of others?”

  “In a white bag inside the fridge.” He answered kindly, his voice laced with an unnamed emotion I tried my best to ignore.

  I quickly grabbed the bag from the fridge and left him alone in the kitchen, not knowing if I could stomach watching him drink from those vials.

  Sitting at the dining table, I placed the bag in front of me. I would have been lying if I said that whatever was in the bag didn’t have my mouth watering just smelling it. Digging in, I pulled out three clear-wrapped trays, one held green looking wrap bread, the other a non-intimidating looking salad and some pasta. Without a care in the world, I dug in, and it tasted like a rainbow, dipped in honey, baked by leprechauns.

  “I see someone is hungry.” Declan laughed from beside me.

  “Just a little,” I spoke through a mouth full of food, “You look like you’re feeling better.”

  “Much. Thank you.”

  It was almost overwhelming seeing how much had changed in just a few short weeks. I was warm, clean, I was safe, and soon everyone else would be too. We had a plan. If we succeeded, there would no longer be a Supremacy. No murder, no forced poverty, we would be Free. But the most shocking was the realization that I was no longer afraid of the tall, blue-eyed Keeper that sat next to me, smiling as we talked over food.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After finishing my meal, I had never felt so full in my life. Almost sickly so, as I grabbed my stomach in a moan.

  “Stomach ache?” Declan smiled down at me, picking the trash from the table.

  “Is that what this is?” I wined, resting my head on the cool surface of the dining table, “I think I might be sick.”

  Laughing, he patted my shoulder, “I would be too if I ate three days worth of food in one sitting. It’s all about moderation”

  Moderation. What a strange word. Never had I had to watch what I ate or take it slow. By the time food was placed in front of me my stomach was empty. We were only given enough to sate the churning rumbles of our core, nothing more.

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  Curling my knees to my chest, I let out an uncomfortable chuckle, “At least I won’t be hungry for a while.”

  “Here,” He held his hand out to me, pulling me to my feet, “You would probably be more comfortable on the couch.”

  I sat, hoping for the ache in my stomach to lessen but needing something to take my mind off the pain for the time being, “How are you going to be able to poison certain Keepers, but not them all?”

  “That’s simple.” He smiled and took the open seat next to me, “The higher a Keeper, the better their food supply.”

  “Care to explain?”

  “Alright,” A sigh left his lips as he kicked his feet onto the table in front of him, “Let’s take me for example. I can pretty much eat anything I want. It will be pure, no chemical additives or filler ingredients, as are hidden inside the common meat supply, the same holds true for Tarant.” He smiled while looking me over, “He is the one that chose you after all.”

  “Funny,” I scoffed, “It kind of felt like you chose me.” Remembering him from the square where he first pinned me with those crystal-clear blue eyes, and then again on the bus where he refused to let me out of his sight.

  He shrugged, “All a part of the job. I was asked to find a specimen to his… liking.”

  A shiver ran through me the moment his words found their mark, “And that would be me.” To know that someone, some thing, craved me as a meal sent racking tremors through my body.

  “The lower on the totem pole,” He hedged, trying to get us back on track. “The less you get until you are basically eating the diet of a human”

  “You can eat human food, just not thrive on it.” I repeated his explanation from earlier.

  “Exactly.” He nodded, “We taint the higher-ups, while the specimens remain in their purest form. We can leave the rest for another time. As for now, our main concern is Tarant and anyone else that follows his orders.”

  “Is there anyone else that knows of your plans?”

  “A few.” I watched him smile into space, “I can’t do this all myself.”

  He was right. I couldn’t see how any one person could over-throw an entire regime solo. Declan had to be working with others. I wondered how many of his own kind disagreed with the way of life they had created. It is easy to hate the oppressor when you are the one with no liberties, but to hate who you were, what others of your kind did, took a special kind of entity.

  The Supremacy created a life for themselves where they could live like royalty as the rats did their work for them, serving them without chance of revolt.

  Others like Declan were willing to fight for a race that was not their own. They were willing to turn their backs on who they were to save a weaker species. No one could hate that.

  I watched him fidgeting beside me, the sight of such a tightly reigned Keeper having anything to be nervous about made me laugh, it just didn’t fit, “What’s wrong?”

  He let out a long breath before he turned to face me, draping his arm off the back of the couch, he spoke softly, “You are healthy enough and Tarant knows this. He is expecting…”

  “A meal.” I finished his sentence.

  “Yes.”

  I wasn’t surprised. I had my part to play and I was willing to do anything necessary to fulfill that role. At the end of it all, I didn’t want to be the one that screwed everything up because of selfish reasons. It would take my cells to poison Tarant, and it seemed the only one Tarant trusted with his ‘food’ was Declan. Funny…

  “Alright,” I stood on shaky limbs, “At least this time I will know who is near when I’m under.”

  “Hey,” He whispered and grabbed my hand tightly in his before pulling to his feet in front of me, “I never left you alone, not once. Nothing ever happened to you.” His fingers brushed down the side of my cheek, “I would have killed any that tried.”

  I could tell by the look in his eyes that what he spoke was the truth. He had proven to me on more than one occasion that he was protecting me while I was locked in that place, and even in his home. He needed me to start the avalanche. His entire plan rested on my shoulders. I couldn’t have died in the Farm. He needed me.

  “It will be quicker this time.” He smiled down at me, “I promise.”

  I followed closely behind him as he led the way down the hall.

  Inhaling deeply once we reached the door that led into his bedroom, he tensed beside me, “I want this time to be different. I want you to be comfortable.”

  “It won’t matter if I am comfortable or not, Declan.” A sarcastic laugh left my lips, “I won’t be conscious for any of it either way.”

  “Still,” He shrugged before pushing the door open, “It matters to me.”

  Titling my head to the side, I regarded him shrewdly, “Does it?�
�

  “Yes. It does. You only know me as the Keeper that has hurt you beyond forgiveness but I promise you that was all a mask. I don’t expect you to trust me or even forgive me but… maybe, in time you will be able to see me for who I really am.”

  His words tore into me like a knife, nestling right under my skin. My throat tightened as I watched him. Looking into his pained eyes, I saw all the hurt and torment of a tortured soul, not much different from my own. I didn’t want to feel sympathy for the ruthless Keeper that stood in front of me, to feel for a Keeper that had taken so much from me, who had killed so many. And I hated that I did.

  “Let’s just get this over with.”

  “Ok,” He nodded as he walked through the door, leading the way to the large four-poster bed, “I’m going to need you to take your dress off.”

  Nodding at him, I turned so he could unzip the back. Chills ran through me to moment his cool fingers skimmed my collarbone, tracing lightly from shoulder blade to shoulder blade, “You have such beautiful skin.” He whispered as he slowly pulled the zipper down.

  “Beautiful for an inferior species,” I laughed, trying to steady my nerves and the unwelcomed feelings he caused me to have.

  “Beautiful for any species.” He whispered before spinning me to face him, “May I see your arm?”

  Knowing what was coming next, my entire body shook as I raised my left arm to him. His lithe fingers traced the vein that ran from my wrist to the bend of my elbow. The touch was light, feather like in its caress, almost soothing, “Beautiful.” He breathed quietly.

  From his back pocket, he retrieved a syringe. Involuntarily, my entire body tensed when he brought it to my skin, “Close your eyes,” He prompted when he felt my tension, “Lay down on the bed, back to me.”

  No sooner than I lay down did I feel the small prick of the needle as it nestled into the crook of my arm, “It will be over soon.” Declan’s voice hung in the air as I drifted into the dark recesses of my subconscious, a place where all my nightmares and unrelenting guilt waited in the wings to engulf me.