Inside

by Kyra Anderson

  I pull the dress off and set it on the bed, but as I walk past the mirror to grab the robe and towel I had abandoned, I decide against taking off the lingerie, feeling far too sexy to consider departing with the bra and panties.

  I pull the robe on over my little ensemble, leaving the shoes on as well, and walking to the table to attempt eating.

  It is much harder than I expect, and I find myself spending two hours angrily jabbing the food with my fork and forcing it into my mouth. I force it down, growing angrier with each bite.

  But, I finish everything, even the cold soup. I could not taste the food, so none of it brought any pleasure, and it sat like boulders in my stomach.

  For fifteen minutes after finishing the meal, I brush my teeth furiously, trying to get rid of the horrid taste and trying not to think of the disgusting deed.

  Satisfied that I have cleaned my mouth completely, I walk back into the room and look around at the paintings and files on the desk. There are a lot of notes on Eyna that I read, learning about his sister, and how they had yet to see one another.

  Rehan’s testing was going to be finished today.

  I feel myself start a little in surprise when I read the memo.

  It’s exciting.

  But my investigation into the current happenings with the Machine of Neutralization is interrupted by Dana returning.

  He smiled when he saw me holding the notes.

  “I see you have done some exploring,” he grinned.

  The smile spreads across my face, cat-like and slow, as I set the papers down and spread my legs in the chair, knowing that my position allowed him to see the bra and panties.

  “You have incredible taste, Mr. Christenson…” I purr.

  “I know,” he said. “Now,” he walked around the back of the chair, pulling his four thousand dollar suit away and moving to the bed, where the hangers were sitting from his other suit, “what did you find?”

  “Rehan’s going to be finished today,” I tell him directly.

  “She is,” Dana grinned, methodically hanging up his suit.

  “I want to see her.”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Why not today?” I pout.

  “Because she’s sleeping,” he said, still looking at his suit. “Final diagnostics will be run tomorrow.”

  I huff but say nothing in protest.

  “So,” Dana started, walking into the closet and putting the suit away, “I see you found everything I bought for you.”

  “I did.”

  “And that was the one that caught your attention first?” he asked, coming out of the closet and pointing at the dress on the bed. I nod.

  “Alright,” he nodded, walking into the bathroom, rummaging through some drawers and cabinets, “come to the table.”

  I obey the order, still in my stilettos, and sit down by the empty tray.

  “I ate everything,” I declare triumphantly.

  “Excellent,” he said, closing a drawer and walking out of the bathroom with a small bag and a larger bag. I blink at the two items, curious. “We’re going to have a little bit of fun,” he grinned, setting the things down on the table and pushing the tray out of the way before removing his jacket and flinging it onto the bed easily. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled his sleeves back.

  “There are some things that you need to understand,” he said, sitting in the other chair, grabbing the leg of my chair and pulling me closer. I let out a squeak before lifting my leg, setting my ankle on his shoulder.

  “Yes?” I whisper, canting my hips with a grin.

  He grabbed my ankle, pulling it off his shoulder and looking at my foot in the stiletto. I find myself biting my lip as I watch him stare at the curve of my instep.

  “Those look very good on you…” he breathed. He gently released my foot and I place it back on the ground. “Little Lily, ease of access is not the image you want,” he shook his head. “Your goal is not to fuck everyone.”

  “It’s not?” I tease.

  “No,” he grinned. “You want control. Remember what we talked about in the lab?” He grabbed the smaller bag, opening the zipper. “You make them come to you. With sleazy men, it’s easy to get them to bend to your will if you just show them a little cleavage and a flash of leg.”

  “Is that how you get the boys?” I chuckle.

  “No, I must work much harder to get the men to come to me,” Dana shook his head. “Just as you will have to put in some effort to getting the women to come to you. Most people today,” he continued, pulling out a pair of tweezers and leaning forward, putting one hand on my face and setting to work on taming my eyebrows, “have been taught to believe that they should never be attracted to the same sex. That it’s wrong, and punishable by imprisonment in the Commission. Your task is getting them to desire you so much that they fall into your trap and surrender to you, even though they are in the Commission itself.”

  “But you’ve already had everyone,” I point out. “They think that it’s okay to have sex with the Commission leaders.”

  “Oh, they never think it’s okay,” Dana corrected with a smile. “That’s the beauty of it.”

  “I want to know how to read people the way you do,” I whisper. “How do you do it? How do you find everyone’s weakness?”

  “It’s far simpler than you think,” he smiled. “Humans are very simple creatures, and when they’re uncomfortable, it shows so easily that it’s impossible not to exploit.”

  “But you would have to find when they’re uncomfortable,” I press.

  “Also not difficult.” He removed his hands from my face and looked at my eyebrows. “Do you remember how I used to get you uncomfortable?”

  I shake my head.

  “It starts with the eyes,” he breathed, running his fingers over my brow bone and causing me to lean into his touch. “See if they look you in the eyes, if they look away shyly, if they stare at you in fascination…and as soon as you have that feeling from them…” he returned to his work, “push it until they back away completely.”

  “But I’ll frighten them away…”

  “Fear is your greatest ally,” he told me. “It’s how we’re going to get what we want.”

  “And what do we want? In the grand scheme of things?”

  I see Dana’s smile as he continues working.

  “I think…we want to be challenged.” He pulled away from my face again. “We’re hunters, Little Lily. It’s in our nature. Our bright colors and elegant speech are the tools we use to attract our prey. Always leave them wanting more.”

  I sigh, waiting for him to finish his work. I know the real thing I have to work on is not wanting more myself.

  He sat back and put the tweezers down, carefully smoothing over my eyebrows with his thumbs.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll learn control,” he assured. He opened the larger case, showing me the various types of makeup. “Let experiment, shall we?”

  He tells me that appearance is our most powerful asset. He explained that it did not matter what we were thinking, we always had to keep a mask of power. Even if we are thrown off by what the people do—and he assures me that there will be times I will be surprised—we need to keep up our appearance.

  Apparently, Dana put much care into his general appearance, but it did not take him much effort to look as stunningly handsome as he did. Similarly, it does not take me much to match him. A little accent to the eyes, a little accent to the lips, and that’s all it takes.

  Dana trims my nails for me, but tells me never to paint them, saying it’s unnecessary. And then he brushed through my hair as though I was his doll, moving it around my face in a certain fashion before motioning me to try on the dress.

  Excited, I quickly pull the garment on, making a show of it for Dana, which I see he appreciates.

  Then, I saunter to the mirror to look myself over.

  I look unreal.

  I look like a fashion model right out of a magazine—admittedly witho
ut much cleavage. My hair is perfect, and my smooth skin acts as its own foundation for the little makeup I had on. The dress, still a little loose, is beautifully made and the quality is apparent.

  Dana walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking at the two of us with a smile.

  “Perfect…”

  We are perfect.

  * *** *

  Eating is my least favorite part of the day. However, Dana forces the three meals down my throat and threatens that if I do not eat, he won’t let me see Rehan.

  I don’t know how I managed the horrible practice of mastication before. I make this an inappropriate joke for Dana. He rolled his eyes, but still laughed.

  Walking down the halls of the Commission at Dana’s side, my heels clicking on the floor and my hips hugged by the skirt, showing just a little bit of cleavage accented by a large pendant, my hair falling in a naturally perfect way and the makeup empowering me, I feel like the most powerful creature alive.

  Particularly as I use my own card to open the doors leading into the back of the Commission.

  “You’ve settled well,” Dana noted, removing his hand from his jacket where he was reaching for his own card.

  I place the corner of the card between my teeth as I turn away from him and breeze past the security desk. I can feel eyes fall on me immediately from the guards and I stop myself from smiling. I am powerful, and everyone’s attention is drawn to me.

  The experiments look confused as I walk past them. I glance into each cell, seeing fascinating creatures I was sure I had never seen before. Everything appears different from yesterday. I smile and feel a tightening in my abdomen as I think about the incredible fun of the previous day.

  I look down at my extremely expensive Rolex and smile, realizing I now knew that it was, indeed, yesterday that I claimed my prize of the two green eyes that Dana had placed in a jar to preserve.

  Dana and I walk side by side as we move to Lab One. I can’t stop the smile on my face as we walk in and cause everyone to jump, surprised.

  “Mr. Christenson,” one of the scientists gasped. His eyes fall on me and I smile. “Is…is that—”

  “This is my assistant,” Dana said. “You may address her as Miss Sandover.”

  I hide my pout that I don’t get to change my name like Dana did.

  “Yes, sir,” the scientist murmured. “Miss Sandover.” He bows his head and motions me closer.

  I step up to the table and look over the beautiful creature strapped there. It feels like looking at a doll perfectly preserved in a box, still tied to the position of packaging. She looks like Eyna, her light hazel eyes half-closed from the drugs, and her long, sandy hair falling to the side of the table. Her breasts are full and perky, despite her thin frame. From the smoothness of her skin, I can tell that she barely has that downy, light hair that generally covers the human body. Her legs and arms are smooth, even her pubic area is devoid of hair.

  “What do you think?” Dana asked, coming to my side and wrapping an arm around my waist.

  “She’s stunning…” I whisper.

  “Sir, all final tests have cleared,” the scientist said with a nod. “Her charts match her brother’s exactly.”

  “Excellent.”

  I turn to them.

  “She and her brother are infused with lion DNA?”

  “Yes, miss.”

  “What is the progress on other animals?”

  “W-well…we’re still running test on those in the holding—”

  “Surely many of the prisoners already have been tested and have shown the same genetic anomaly as displayed in Rehan and Eyna,” I interrupt. “Yes?”

  “…yes, miss.”

  “Then why have you not tested other animal DNA?” I press.

  “We have been focused on Rehan, and we will be artificially inseminating her—”

  “I am fully aware of what you will be doing, I read the file,” I stop him again. I feel how proud Dana is next to me. “But as soon as the fetus begins to grow, there is very little you need to do, and we must be sure that you are kept busy.”

  “Yes, o-of course…”

  “Kyle, is it?” I ask, discreetly moving my eyes to the plastic tag on the jacket.

  “Yes, miss.”

  “You’re the head scientist on the Machine of Neutralization project, and yet you seem extremely disinterested in its development.”

  “I do not think it is wise to rush ahead,” he said slowly, lowering his eyes. He was feeling emasculated. While Dana did not seem concerned with it, I wanted to test how quickly I could change his mood.

  “Well…” I say, shifting my weight and tilting my abdomen, softening my outline, “of course, I trust your judgment on the speed of the program, but I do hope to expand our range. After all, this is the most profound project of the Enterprise Labs. I want to make sure that you reach your full potential with it.”

  He was taken aback, but not in a bad way. I could see his eyes widen and heard his heart skip a beat. I slowly blink, smiling gently.

  Dana’s thumb, still at my hip, is lightly stroking my back. He’s applauding my work.

  “Thank you, Miss Sandover,” Kyle whispered.

  “Do you think that you could let me know when you have another subject ready to go forward with some new DNA?” I ask. “I would love to be part of the process…”

  “I will, Miss Sandover,” Kyle bowed his head.

  He had relaxed in many ways, but was still tense, curious about who I was and how much power I had over him.

  “Miss Sandover,” another scientist with the name of Michael addressed me. I turn to him slowly, keeping my expression soft once I see that all seven of the scientists in the room are focused on me. “Later tonight, we are going to fertilize some of Rehan’s eggs. In a few days, we should know if any will develop. If-if Mr. Christenson agrees, perhaps you could be the one to choose the first embryo we will implant.”

  “Oh,” I smile gently, pretending to be flattered. As if I wouldn’t be a part of it… “I suppose, if Mr. Christenson agrees…” I turn to the leader of the Commission, who had a slight smile on his face, but the greater smile was showing in his eyes, like a proud parent.

  “I think that would be wise,” Dana said. “After all, women have an intuition that men do not.”

  I turn back to Rehan, who is looking at me with her tired, brilliant eyes. As with Dana, I feel a certain clash of our respective powers. I vaguely recall Eyna’s amazing ability to see right through me, to see wounds that I thought were there. Perhaps Rehan could see the person I had let go of…the person I used to be…

  Her power is great. I can feel it in the way it makes my body shiver with anticipation and excitement.

  “She’s exceptional,” I murmur, turning to the scientists. “Well done, gentlemen.”

  “Thank you, Miss Sandover,” they murmured back, their heads bowed.

  “Go ahead and take her back to her cell,” Dana nodded, taking control of the situation. “Let her rest until we pick the embryos to implant. The most important thing now is to keep her healthy and not cause undue stress.”

  “Absolutely, Mr. Christenson,” Kyle nodded.

  “Keep her out of the Dome and, as usual, keep her away from Eyna. We will reunite them after we understand the fertility of these creations. And, as Little Lily is eager to see, we can start to observe social interactions as we expand the project.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  “Wonderful job, gentlemen. You can expect a bonus in your next checks.”

  “Thank you very much, sir,” they said quickly, their eyes lighting up from the mention of bonuses. I realize that I must ask Dana about the living situation for those who work in the Commission of the People. There is still much I need to learn.

  “We will leave you to her,” Dana smiled. He leaned over to Rehan and ran a hand over her head briefly before leading me out with a gentle hand on my lower back. When we are away from the labs, walking through Wa
rd Six, I turn to him.

  “How do you have the money to pay them?”

  “Central pays them,” Dana shrugged. “And we own Central.”

  “Ooh, that’s nice to know,” I grin. “And why do they need money if we provide their food and lodgings? I could have sworn I heard some of the scientists talk about having families…”

  “Some do,” Dana nodded. “Just as the members of the Commission of the People are allowed to go out and interact in society—within restrictions of the NDA—so can the scientists. The guards are the ones who are always permanent residents.”

  “Let me guess,” I breathe with a dark smile, “most of the scientists eventually end up living down here anyway.”

  “Of course,” Dana returned the smile. “It’s hard to do what the scientists do, and sometimes they simply cannot interact with their family anymore. Husbands and wives must keep it secret what they do. Secrecy like that can destroy a relationship.”

  “Are there any secrets in our relationship?”

  “A few,” Dana admitted.

  “Such as?”

  “I can assure you, Little Lily, within a month or so, there will be no secrets,” Dana whispered, his fingers tightening around my waist.

  “Well…that will be boring,” I realize.

  “That’s why we’ll just have to continue to try and undermine each other,” he teased.

  “I was not undermining you,” I protest through my smile. “I was establishing my own power among the scientists. I would never think to compete with you…”

  “That will change,” Dana chuckled.

  We walk through the door leading into the Termination Cells and I start at a familiar face walking toward us, his black uniform contrasting sharply with the white walls.

  “Frank,” Dana greeted. I smile as I approach, remembering the ambitious young guard who was seriously lacking in natural assets from a few months previous. Or was it years? Maybe it was only last week…