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Chapter Sixteen
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Ari paced in front of the single men’s building while she waited for Felix to join her. She hadn’t seen him since he and Olga had gone to fetch Eugene almost two weeks ago. She wasn’t certain, but she guessed that Eugene had been sent off to the main Center Land with the other children since no children were kept in her village for any length of time. Surely, Olga knew this when she left Eugene in the care of the newborn nursery? It was just the way things were and there was nothing to be done to change it. It certainly wasn’t her fault. She didn’t run the village or make the rules. She simply followed them to the best of her ability.
So, why did she have a knot in her stomach the size of her fist at the prospect of having to face first Felix and then Olga?
“After two weeks, you finally come around?” Felix barked as he bounded out of the front door and down the steps to the sidewalk. “W
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After a steaming cup of some of the best tea Ari had ever tasted and twenty minutes of reviewing their plans, the three were ready to head out on their rescue mission.Felix was both impressed and a little intimidated by the men who greeted them at the stables. They reminded him too much of the ones who had assisted Ari’s brother, Baelil, with the butcher job that was done on him in the cave before they left him for dead. He had to force back the tremors and sweat that surfaced almost immediately after setting eyes on them.Seeing his reaction, Olga placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s the uniform, son. Those bastards are all dead and gone.”Felix swallowed hard. “Is it that obvious?”She gave a gentle smile as she tapped her temple. “Only to me.”He gave a weak chuckle. “When did you start using you psychic powers?”“It’s encouraged
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Life in the maternity ward was much easier than Kendra had anticipated. Josie paid a good deal of attention to her needs and comfort, which helped a great deal. She noticed that wasn’t the case with the petite woman and most of the other women in the ward which, of course, made her curious as to why the special treatment. One day, she broached the subject with her. Although hesitant to admit it at first, Josie eventually told her that she was trying to make amends as best as she could for the horrors that her brother had inflicted up on her and a few other women in the ward.Kendra was quick to point out that the special treatment given them didn’t endear her to the women who were excluded -which was most of them- but Josie simply shrugged. She was risking a good deal by providing Kendra and the other handful of women with the comforts that she did without taking on any more. There was also the fact that Kendra was kind of heart
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Olga shuddered from the morning chill as she forced her body to climb out of the sleeping bag that she’d snuggled in throughout the night. It seemed abnormally cold to her. Was it? Or was she simply getting soft after living in the compound that Rex led them to with his jacuzzi bath and soft mattresses, only to relocate to the village that offered those luxuries along with amenities such as modern medical equipment and motorized tools. It made her forget that the majority of the planet was doing without these things. Center Land made it easy to forget the total devastation that the world struggled to recover from.Felix’s mouth twisted in a wide yawn as he rose from his slumber and stood next to his aunt. “One night down. Two more to go.”“I’m feeling it in my bones, son,” Olga admitted. “The years are gaining on me.”A mischievous grin spread across his face as he said, “You’ll
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Ari looked out over the morning’s horizon. She enjoyed rising from her slumber in time to enjoy the sun waking up for the day. A feeling of euphoria always encompassed her when she saw its rim peeking over the mountain tops. Not only did she derive a special type of pleasure from witnessing the sunrise, but it gave her an idea of what to expect for the day’s weather conditions. On this particular morning, the sun glowed a pinkish red. This meant that the chances of a storm were great.She waited until the sun had climbed above the mountain’s edge before tending to her morning duties. After stoking the flames in the campfire that she’d thrown together the night before, she set a small pot of coffee close enough for the heat to brew it quickly.Pulling some day-old biscuits and a few pieces of jerky from her saddle bags, she dribbled a bit of water into a cast iron pan and set both the jerky and the biscuit in it. Setting the pan
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Felix heard the laughter and bantering of the three soldiers long before he spotted their horses slowly making their way down the steep slope. His ears burned and his body trembled with an overflow of adrenaline as he listened to their boasting and then their more serious conversation about what they’d done and how they were sure Ari would never tell.They were so busy bragging and reminiscing about giving her what she deserved that none of them exercised their soldier skills and his presence was completely missed.He battled over what to do. Should he confront these monsters? Should he let them pass and go to Ari? Should he go back to camp and tell of their heinous act or simply kill them on the spot?Memories of the torturous treatment from Baelil and soldiers dressed just like these fools flooded his mind and something snapped. The world and his actions seemed surreal as he pulled the rifle that he’d taken right beneath the soldier&rsq
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Josie wrung her hands while she paced the room in front of Kendra who was quietly nursing baby Rexford. The more she looked at the infants little face, the more she had herself convinced that he’d been sired by her husband. Josie had finally noted that her stomach wasn’t growing and had suggested that she run some tests to make sure that all was well, leaving Kendra no choice but to admit that she’d miscarried long ago. Now, as she cradled the innocent little boy in her arms while he greedily partook of her milk, she waited to see what fate awaited both her and the child. Would she be placed back into the breeding rotation? If so, who would feed little Rexford? Worse… would they punish her for lying to them like that and send them both to the food bin?It all rested on Josie. What was she going to do with the information that she’d just been given?After an easy ten nail biting minutes, Josie turned t
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It was a nauseatingly disgusting job that neither Ari or Felix found easy to do -or were quick to recover from-, but they eventually managed to remove the bullets from the three dead men and mutilate their bodies to look like they’d been attacked and eaten by zombies. If enough of the human’s flesh and most of its brain was consumed, the odds of it becoming a walking corpse were almost nil.When they were finished, the two stood side by side while they bent over and emptied the contents of their stomachs.Weak from the exertion of mutilating the bodies of three dead men in the most gruesome way possible -as well as vehemently vomiting up every spec of stomach contents- Felix sat on the ground and wiped at the moisture on his neck and brow.“I’ll have nightmares about this for the rest of my life,” he managed to say.Ari plopped her petite body down next to him. “Never in a million years did I think tha
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The afternoon sun was abnormally brilliant as Kendra followed Josie out into the yard. Once again, she noticed the nervousness in her new friend as they closed the door to the building behind them and walked across the courtyard toward the two bug men guarding the gate. She had no idea why she’d been asked to follow her. Then, there’d been little discussion about their upcoming plans to escape since Josie first spoke of them due to the risk of being overheard.When they were half-way between the gate and the building, Josie motioned Kendra to go to the wall. Once there, she spoke in a low voice. “I wanted to speak where I knew there would be no recording devices.”Kendra closed her eyes and nodded. “I hoped that it was something like that.”“Tonight. Be ready tonight,” the woman said with hushed urgency.“During the feeding?” Kendra asked with a calmness that d
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Waiting for the drunken soldiers to finish their plans of turning Rex in the following morning had to be one of the most grueling things she’d done in a long time. She longed to run inside and warn him, but knew better than to alert them. They may be drunk, but they were still highly trained men of combat. If they decided to capture Rex, they’d find a way to do it. Superhuman strength or not.She did her best not to show her relief when Felix popped his head out of the door to find out what was taking her so long to return. The soldiers pulled him out into their drunken circle and jovially bantered with him about his future as a married man until they finally tired and the call of alcohol pulled them back inside. He was about to escort her in behind them when she tugged hard enough on his arm to grab his attention.She was grateful that he hadn’t consumed enough alcohol to cause him to lose his faculties. One look at her eyes and at
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Felix noted the looks on the faces of the three people he loved with all of his heart as they joined in the reception celebration, but he and Ari were inundated with well-wishers and their toasts so he was unable to make his way to them to see what was up. Also, his beautiful bride was glowing with happiness and enjoying the adoration and complements that were flowing her way. After such a long time of being mistreated by her peers, it had to be like a dream for them to be surrounding her with laughter and marriage jokes as if they were the best of friends. He couldn’t spoil the moment for her. If whatever was bothering his family was truly serious, he was certain that they’d find a way to confer with him about it.As time progressed, he and his bride eventually managed to work their way to the table that his family sat around. They were in such deep and serious conversation that they didn’t notice the newlyweds standing next to them.
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Kendra slipped out of the great hall as quietly as she could. She’d just witnessed Felix’s wedding and was filled with mixed emotions. She was happy for him, of course. It was wonderful that, after all of the misery he’d seen in his short life, he’d managed to find love. Unfortunately, the blatant happiness of the newlyweds mirrored her own misery back at her.She and Rex were far from normal in their relationship since they’d escaped the aliens; let alone happy. It was weeks since their escape and they’d yet to come together as man and wife. Nor had they sat down to talk about what they’d been through. It was like it had never happened.They could use the excuse that their days were filled with searching for information about how they might get Eugene back. Olga had even stood before the village leaders on more than one occasion to plead for his return. Sadly, she was given the same response each
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They made it back to Center Land without mishap. True to his word, Jax spread the word that Trevor had been speaking garbage and that he and his men had witnessed, firsthand, the courage that the female soldier possessed. He proudly proclaimed that he’d accept a mission with her at any time and urged his men to give her the respect, consideration… and apologies… that she deserved. Although it felt good to finally be free of their taunting and ostracizing, Ari just couldn’t muster up a warm and fuzzy feeling for her comrades and she doubted if she ever could.“They love you now,” Felix said as he lay on the narrow bed and nestled his face into her bare breast.“I could care less,” she sighed. “It’s too late.”“You need to try to find the good in what we’ve been through before you become permanently embittered,” he murmured.“That’s one
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It was past midnight before the camp settled down for the night. Although Rex and Kendra lay together in the make-shift tent that they’d created with the tarp from the cart, they lay stiff and separate. Kendra wanted to feel the security and love of being wrapped in his powerful arms, but she feared that he might want more from her than she was presently comfortable with.The thought of being touched in an intimate way - even by Rex- after being manhandled for so long by the guards and being forced to climb atop strange men by the aliens made her hesitate. She just needed a little time without sex to put the past behind her.Understanding that everyone was different and, therefore, had different needs for healing, she decided that if he needed the intimacy of coupling with her to bring normalcy back into his own existence, she would ignore her own emotions. She loved him and wanted things to go back to the way they were as quic
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It took all three of the prepared shots before Rex was able to comfortably move about and speak coherently. At first, he remembered very little about what he’d endured, but what he did remember left his mood dark and sullen. As time moved forward, more bits and pieces of what occurred came forth, like a puzzle waiting to be put together.He quietly sat and listened to Jax and his men update him on the preparations that they were making and the precautions that they were taking in the event that the aliens sent a search party after Kendra and him.Doing his best to focus on their words, he battled memory flashes of strange naked women mounting him as he lay strapped to the bed. When his manhood began to react as erotic sensations accompanied one particular vision, he quickly forced it from his mind while doing his best to put his body in check. This type of reaction to a sexual thought had never occurred before. He assumed it was residue from the shots
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The location that Ari found for them was as close to perfect as Olga could have asked for. She quickly went about assigning tasks for everyone so that the camp was set up in record time. Kendra was amazed at the lack of resistance Jax gave Olga when she barked orders to his men. Most of them obediently obliged her right away. Of the one or two who looked to Jax for guidance over what to do, he simply nodded his approval of her request and they went about it without question.Felix took charge of the baby that Kendra had rescued. As he swaddled the infant in a clean shirt from his backpack, he noted how familiar the features of the little tyke were. Was he Kendra’s child? No. He had Rex’s bone structure and -although he was still too young to tell for sure- it looked like he had his nose as well.Olga took a brief moment to coo over the infant before she poured her attention towards Rex’s well-being. She accepted the littl
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Olga and Felix had just finished packing up their camp when Ari returned with Jax’s soldier. She quickly explained that the others were bringing Kendra, Rex, and a baby by pony cart but that he wanted them all together for strength in the event of a battle against the aliens as well as peace of mind in knowing where everyone was. She’d hardly finished her explanation before Felix and Olga were mounted and ready to leave.They were closer to each other than they’d imagined. Within an hour Kendra’s cart – surrounded by Jax and his soldiers- could be seen making its way down the road.Felix kicked his horse into action and raced toward them. Not as expert in the saddle and very aware of the hard macadam beneath her horse, Olga had to be content with urging her horse into a trot.The reunion was bittersweet as they embraced and cried while giving just enough information about what had been happening to each
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Kendra stroked the stubbled hint of a beard on Rex’s face as she debated whether or not to give him his first shot. She cursed herself for not having the presence of mind to have asked Josie to explain what type of reaction Rex might have. Would it be physical? Emotional? Was she capable of handling it on her own? Or, should she do her best to get back to her family where she’d have help.Taking the water jug, she carefully tipped it to his lips to make sure that he stayed hydrated during their long journey.After checking on the baby’s position to make sure that he’d stay secure during the travel, she loosely propped the tarp over them to protect them from the sun’s rays, but still allow a comfortable air flow for them, and then climbed back into the driver’s seat.By the position of the sun, she guessed that she had about four hours of sunlight left to her before she’d have to find a
