New Aeterna 2020
+++
I keep my eyes on the sky.
At the way the Aerial Helion soldiers hover above our beautiful country like sentries. Wings displayed like a patriotic song.
+1+
I had seen Thea before during meal times. At least I think I did . . . it was hard to tell sometimes. I’d seen glimpses of her anyway from the men’s line on the other side of the cafeteria. It was heavily frowned upon to look at the single women, but after hours of monotony and ugly gray humans it was hard to ignore the unnatural beauty just a few feet away.
I followed Jorgen to our section at the perimeter of the dining hall. Jorgen and I still couldn’t talk or look at each other after what happened that morning on patrol. Instead we entertained ourselves by watching the swarm of baby Angels, now mobile, as they crawled and toddled around being chased by well-behaved elder siblings and mothers.
Eos, our former roommate, always caught my attention. His son had just turned seven and was at the head of his class of eldest boys. Father and son had the same steely gaze and disciplined manner. The woman Eos was paired with sat very still next to him. She was very pregnant and staring at the napkin in her hand. After several second she started crying. Eos’ son stared at his mother but a firm grunt from Eos had him looking away.
The woman started sobbing and holding her belly. Eos began whispering to her and everyone looked away
Thea, I think, was the one who walked across the divided sections and put an arm around her Sister. Eos yelled at her. Eos’ son yelled at her. A group of smarter women pulled Thea back to the single women’s side. The bell sounded and dinner ended early. I hadn’t even had a chance to eat.
On the way back to the dorms, Jorgen and I found Eos’ sons on the steps of the dining hall with his little sisters. He watches them pick blades of grass.
“Curfew is in 10 minutes”, Jorgen tells the children.
“Sir”, the boys says obediently, bowing his head to simple foot soldiers like ourselves.
Eos comes out from around back the building, dragging the woman behind him. She was still crying and doubled over. We bowed our heads to Eos. He’d been promoted to an officer position. The positions and rankings changed daily and titles changed every week, yet somehow you always knew who was on top
+++
New Aeterna is our country
Helion City is our domain
The Citadel is our private paradise, an Angelic paradise safely behind a 20 story gate where we are fortunate enough to live among Helios.
Everything an Angel could even want or need was within the gates. Sometimes I wished I never had to leave the gates, but New Aeterna was beyond the gates. We Helion soldiers were meant to protect New Aeterna and the humans. To help the humans transition and prosper in a true Helion way.
That Monday I was summoned to Helios’ mansion. It was like a castle, I mean it was Helion Castle. Helios had outfitted it with dozens of new wings and floors. A weaving maze of reeducation and detainment facilities ran underneath it.
I’d hope to get outside the gates and start my patrol in time to see the Arial Helion Solider change shifts. Two human guards scanned me in. This part of the mansion was busy with human servants, human dignitaries and women moving from place to place. It looked like a fancy human hotel and every human eyed me with . . . fascination.
A human servant. A pretty girl. A hostess . . . escorted me to Helios’ office. She had auburn hair and a nice smile. She was the kind of girl Helion’s snuck out to visit behind building and in alleys.
It had been years since I’d been fortunate enough to get an audience with Helios. Helios’ office was expansive, outfitted with sleek leather recliners like the ones in the dorm’s community room. His bank of computers was a curiosity to me.
“Adonis”, Helios said. He was in his Helion uniform, his coat filled with medals. Each medal symbolized a great feat. I’d memorized each one because I wasn’t one for a cane.
“Sir”, I said.
“You’ve been an ideal foot solider. You’ve held the PT record for seven years, you meet your quotas, and you have a clean record . . . no occurrences. Your fellow soldiers speak highly of you. Except for your little disfigurement—“
“Please, sir”, I said not wanting to hear him say the words
“You’ve been an outstanding Helion foot solider.”
“Thank you, Sir”, I said.
“I’ve decided to arrange you with a marriage”
“It’s an honor, Sir”, I said automatically because anything Helios bestows on you is an honor.
It was an honor to be paired.
I had just hoped my disfigurement would hold me off for a few more years. Creating the future required one to be strong and able bodied. And I’d come to like living in the single dorms and rooming with Jorgen. Jorgen bargained with humans and had access to illegal websites on a phone, he could find anyone a willing woman, and he somehow managed to sneak in outside food, booze and books. I knew who I could start a game of cards with or count on for a tall tale. I looked forward to those hours of frivolity. Where I could forget the things I’d done during the da
But I was a Helion Solider. I had duties and expectations.
“To whom, sir?” I ask.
“Don’t worry. I picked you a good one.”
He flipped a screen over and I could see why he’d chosen her.
She had a full round cheekbones, small mouth and dark blue eyes, her hair was a light brown that went down her back. She was pretty, but more so our features complimented. Helios motioned for me to . . . bow to him.
“Thank you, sir.” I said and bowed my head.
+++
Marriage ceremonies where the first Saturday of the month in the solarium. High ranking Helion officers were made to sit and watch. I spotted Hercules in the front row. He was an Enforcer now. Responsible for keeping the Helion community in balance. He had his own suite of rooms in Helios’ mansion and there was a rumor he had a computer.Foreigners filled some of the seats as well. Helios (perched on his throne) kept telling the foreigners that they were witnessing our customs.
Customs
Did we have those? What did I do if someone asked me about them?
The girl and I held hands in front of the New Aeterna flag and pledged our allegiance to New Aeterna and our gracious leader General Helios Thantos. I vowed to protect New Aeterna and foster its future. She promised to nurture the country and uphold its values . . . except she was mouthing the words.
After the ceremony we were allowed to have dinner in the apartment we’d been assigned to in the paired dorms. A quickly constructed building with large three bedroom suites. We were on the fifth floor. Pathos and Aurora were next to us. I knew this because their names were stamped on the door.
Like ours
Adonis and Thea
I opened the door and the apartment was stark. All gray walls and furniture. A thick packet of pamphlets lay on the kitchen counter. The kitchen seemed strangest of all to me, we always ate our meals in the dining hall and outside food was strictly contraband. Humans had begun putting chemicals in it to make Angels sick.
Thea ran her hand along the kitchen counter top.
I said
“It’s Adonis but you can call me Adam.”
She nodded
We eat in silence.
The meal that’s delivered is the same food from the dining hall. It’s lukewarm and neatly labeled with our names. We eat at the small round dining table. She picks at her kale salad and Portobello cap. I can barely taste my grilled steak and potatoes. We read over all the pamphlets in silence. There is a list of banned items and guidelines about what to expect during inspection checks and our altered schedules.
I still have PT in the morning
I still have weekly patrols from 7:30am -7:00pm
I still have breakfast (at 7am), lunch (at noon, preferably in the dining hall or a remote dinning hall) and dinner (7:15), except we are now assigned to a family table in the center. Where everyone can see us.
The only real difference is at the end of the day I come back here. Instead of starting a game of blackjack or finding comrade with my unit… I’ll be here. Fostering progeny. There was a pamphlet on that too.
Our clothes have been hung by human servants. She has eight white ankle length dresses, I have eight sets of PT gear. Helion uniforms had to be locked in a vault after a handful went missing last year.
The suggested guidelines for how to fill our time makes everything easier. I’m grateful Thea follows them, she washes the dishes and sets them out to be taken away. I get to shower first and watch the daily report on TV.
There was a glaring imperfection in the apartment due to its quick construction. The bathroom had a small window. You couldn’t see much except the where the gates keeping us safe met the outside world. A blinking black box indicates the window was sealed and protected. No one could get in.
“Do you want to play cards”, I ask pulling out the contraband deck of cards I’d snuck in by sewing them into my sneakers.
“Women aren’t allowed to play” She said.
“No one will know. Do you know Go Fish?”
“No” she said.
I turned to hide my disappointment. I’d hoped she’d be just a bit of a rebel.
I choose a provided and sanctioned New Aeterna themed trivia game from one of the shelves. I’d wondered how in seven short years we’d accrued so many facts. I read the questions and then we guessed the answers. We were both terrible at the game.
“What is New Aeterna's largest export? (B. Intelligence)
“Name the four countries in the New Aeterna Trade Federation” (D. China, North Kore, Russia and Iran)
“What is the name of Our Supreme General’s current dogs?” (A. Kronos)
I knew that one. I also knew there was a rumor that Kronos had been outfitted with white gold canines and he had a taste for blood. Angel blood.
While she’s in the bathroom I undress and climb into the bed. The sheets are cool and soft, I want to let a little bit of fresh air in but they are no windows in the bedroom
Thea emerges from the bathroom and sits low on my chest, she unzips her white dress and lets it’s gather around her waist. I look at her breast and . . . she’s written on herself in a light blue marker. The words are on her bared and very nice breast and finish on her smooth belly.
HE’S WATCHING US
HE’S ALWAYS WATCHING
I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE
I WANT TO DISAPPEAR
I shake my head but she stops me.
Angels disappeared all the time. A soldier’s work was draining and sometimes accidents happened. A quick call to the medics and they would get everything taken care of.
“I can’t”, I blurted out. Then I turned the light out and curled into my side of the bed, for a second wiling myself to be back in the dorms with Jorgen and my unit.
+2+
Thea was perfect on the outside.
In the dining hall she was well mannered to our table mates (Aurora and Pathos) and said all the patriotic and sweet things Angels always said. After a while I realized she had a handful of canned phrases she used over and over again. I thought maybe she was like a mechanical doll.
“The weather is lovely”
“I can’t wait for the fall yarn colors to come in”
“We are so lucky to live in this Golden Helion Era”
I received reports that she followed her schedule diligently. She’d been assigned mornings knitting blankets and assisting in the childcare. After lunch she was assigned to sewing and gardening. Helios had ensured they lived a life of leisure and were well kept. They were lucky and I should be lucky I get to have one.
+2+
“Adonis”, Hercules, in his sleeveless Enforcer uniform, stopped me as Jorgen and I headed out to patrol, “You’re being reassigned to prisoner intake.”
“But Jorgen and I are partners and—“
“Adonis, you score high on PT every morning. Means you can run fast enough to catch the unstable humans that try to escape. It’s an order from Helios. It’s an honor.”
“Yes, sir”, I said.
It was dark and filthy in the underground prisons. Whenever Helios expanded the prisons they were always nice and pristine until the humans filled them up with their filth. Hercules didn’t mention that the prisoners bit and cursed at soldiers, even though it was them who had committed a crime. On my first day I’d had to chase down 26 prisoners who’d tried to escape. I kept getting lost in the twisted maze of the prison.
I was late to the dining hall that evening and an enforcer gave me an Occurrence for not following my schedule. When I got inside dinner service was over and I was given an empty tray. I sat at the table with Thea (Aurora and Pathos, our tablemates) staring at the empty tray. Pathos looked like he wanted to offer me something from his tray, but he knew better than that.
I walked with them back to the paired dorms. Once inside the unit with Thea I stood by the door and listened for the satisfying click of the security lock. The doors wouldn’t open until the morning. We were safe and could rest.
After PT and patrols I was always to tired (hungry) and too drained to have sex with Thea, but I did every night per the guidelines. For some reason she would sleep in the dress she’d worn that day and just lift her long skirt a little and lay there. It was embarrassing having to get myself hard, I already knew that touching her the way I would a human woman would be to upsetting and prevent fertilization , so I did the best I could to get it over with.
Laying in bed I start to more clearly remember what I did at the prison that day. It all strangely came into focus and just before I start to feel . . . I finally fall asleep. . .
+++
After six months of being paired Thea had said a total of 78 words to me in that time. At first I liked that she was quiet. I usually spent the evenings memorizing those New Aeterna trivia games. They were the closest things to books we had. Most of the time Thea would sit and stare at the wall, sometimes Thea read a few cards quietly to herself.
“There is just one thing about her”, I said as Jorgen and I began the last mile in our morning PT.
“What?” Jorgen said keeping even with me.
“She’s a cutter.”
“Huh?”
“Thea cuts herself”, I said, “I read about it once. Humans do it to relive tension when they have mental problems.”
“We shouldn’t be talking about this”, Jorgen said
“But—“
“I need to focus.” Jorgen said and he picked up his pace.
“But—“
Jorgen got a second wind and sprinted past me, I was off my game today anyway. I was exhausted after a bought of bad insomnia. Thea had stopped sleeping in her dresses, for some reason she’d sewn hard paneling into all her dresses. Instead she now slept in her provided sleepwear, that was sexy white silk and lace that barley covered her ass. It was how I noticed the little cuts on her body. Last night while she showered I opened the door and found her in the steam filled bathroom, on the floor and cutting herself with a contraband earring.
I could have punished her for so many things; wasting water resources, hoarding contraband, body modification or unwarranted hysteria. Instead I just left her too it. I didn’t care that much.
A shout went up around me and I looked up to see Jorgen had beaten me to the finish line.
He’d just stolen my seven year PT record.
Stolen it.
“Second place, Adonis”, Hercules said double checking his stopwatch.
“I had a long night, Hercules”
“Adonis, how long have you had the PT records?”
“Seven years?”
“You didn’t get second place, Adonis. You lost. This is not a country of men who lose. Do you want New Aeterna to lose? Do you want Helios to fail?”
“No, sir”
“Let’s make sure you remember that.”
He blew his whistle and two other soldiers grabbed me by my arms and dragged me over to a tree. I knew it was cowardly to fight but it was a reflex. They tied me face up against the tree before I could plead my case. They pulled down my jogging pants and I felt the hard smack of the thick cane against the back of my knee and thighs.
I gritted my teeth and took my 30 lashes. My legs felt numb and burned. I would never come in second place again. The other men stared at me as I pulled up my pants and limped to change into my uniform. I couldn’t bring myself to eat breakfast and when I started my shift at the prison, I had no mercy.
+++
The first surprise inspection came in the middle of the night. In the single dorms, inspections were handled loosely but Helios was strict with his women. He couldn’t risk them being corrupted.
The Enforcers burst in just past midnight. I was awake thinking about my shift in the prison when I heard the security locks hiss open. Thea was asleep when they stormed in and ordered us to the living room with our hands raised to our heads. One Enforcer I recognized as Hercules. Hercules and his partner checked the kitchen first and then lifted up the couches and tables, checking underneath anything and everything.
I’d hidden a contraband water bottle under the bed. The tap water in the paired dorms was oddly sour. I’d smuggled in the water since food and drink wasn’t allowed in the dorms. One of the men saw the water bottle but ignored it. They found Thea’s earring and a hair tie she wasn’t supposed to have. They didn’t notice the playing cards under my pillow.
“Secure her”, Hercules said pushing Thea toward me.
Thea tried to run. She saw the open door and lunged for it, but I grabbed her before she could leave. Where was she going to go anyway? I held her arms back with one hand and her forehead forward with the other. Thea fought against the grasp and Hercules slapped her.
Hercules grabbed Thea from me and yanked off her nightgown and undergarments. She was too shocked and embarrassed to say anything. Not that she had anything to be embarrassed about, but she was turning red and it was sad watching he try to cover herself.
“Is this really—“, I started but the other Enforcer kicked me in the back of my leg where I was still sore from the caning I’d gotten for throwing up after witnessing a gruesome scene at the prison.
Hercules forced Thea down on her hands and knees, then put his fingers in her vagina. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. He slid his fingers out and he was holding something that looked like a clear ring.
“What is it? “, I asked.
Hercules pulled her up and slapped her.
“Thea what’s going”, I asked.
“Tell him”, Hercules said. Slapping her again. An ugly bruise on the side of her face. I didn’t think he was allowed to do that. Enforcers enforced rules, but he wasn’t allowed to hit what wasn’t his or was he?
“It’s . . . birth control.” Thea finally said.
“That’s . . . how. . . I. . . ”, I said, “How did you even get something from the outside? Why would you do this? That’s not something Helions-”
“Shut up”, Thea snapped, “We are not Helions we’re Angels. We are not his people you are all the devils playthings—”
Hercules pulled out a chair, then twisted her arm and brings her down over his knee.
“Hercules. Leave her alone”, I said even though knew I wasn’t supposed to talk back to an Enforcer like that. Or was it just Senior Enforcers? Thea was quiet when he was finished spanking her. He watched her dress then he and his comrade dragged her out of the apartment. To my surprise she didn’t protest.
“Where are you taking her?” I asked.
“Hospital. Mental check.”
They slammed the door and the security locks clicked on. Everything had happened so fast and I felt . . . strange. Even though it wasn’t one of my tasks I cleaned the place up. I found the earring and quickly realized she’d been cutting herself to fake menstruating. Which seemed excessive, did she really think I paid that much attention?
She was gone for two weeks. When she came back she refused to let me touch her even though I. . . I was supposed to. Instead I slept on the small couch. When I woke in the morning she’d set my contraband water bottle on the table, out in the open right next to my playing cards with unauthorized novel I’d stolen from a prisoner who’d stolen it from a human guard.
I said nothing and hid the items again. The next morning she’d find them and set them out again. It was silly and petty. But it broke up the monotony of not speaking.
One evening I found a picture of some flowers cut from an advertisement sewn in her bra. It was small but still contraband. I set it out to let her know I knew her secrets to. I’m not sure if she ever knew I found it because she went missing for three days. When she returned . . . she smelled a lot like the prisons.
+++
“Disrespect to your uniform, is disrespect for Helios”
Hercules raised his arm and the paddle sang across my thighs. My punishment was going on much longer than normal and I could see the women walking to breakfast. Thea would see me like this, it’d probably make her day. Hercules finally let me go andI rushed to shower and change. Jorgen was waiting for me in the locker room
“Hurry”, Jorgen said “You’ll be late for breakfast.”
I got down on my knees, cursing myself for putting my shirt on inside out this morning. What the hell had I been thinking? Thea must have noticed and she hadn’t said a word.
“I’m not going.” I told Jorgen
“Adonis”
“Fuck it . . . and I’ve told you. Call me Adam.”
“What’s going on with you?” Jorgen asks.
“Nothing”
“Fuck it”, Jorgen said.
“It’s Thea”, I said, “She’s crazy. She keeps trying to get me into trouble. That’s why they are doing this. I mean she has more contraband than you. I think she likes getting punished by the Enforcers. I don’t know what to do. I can’t take this anymore”
“Get her in line. I mean I heard they have makeup for that kind of thing”, Jorgen said.
“Huh?”
“If you need to get her to listen. Helios doesn’t mind as long as they cover up their faces.”
I looked down at my hands that were rough, ripped and torn from chasing prisoners and fending off prison attacks. When Jorgen left I crawled over to the utility closet in the locker room and hid asThe Enforcers came to clear everyone out. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence.
+++
The human doctor didn’t speak a language I knew, which was fine.
There was something wrong with me
I was sure of it
Everyday I’d been ordered to medical for intense physicals.
The doctors didn’t seem concerned about the welts from where I’d been caned or
where Thea had scratched the hell out of me when I tried to just get into bed
because the living room was so damn cold.
The strange doctor jabbed me with a needle and drew my blood, he took cheek
swabs and skin tissue. Then he gave me a cup and pointed to my balls. When I
was alone in that room I noticed the large wall mounted cabinet filled with
brightly colored pills. They were probably for the human servants or Enforcers
or Senior Officers. Still . . .
I set to work picking the lock on the cabinet, taking just a few pills that I recognized . Just some pain medication for myself and a few extras I could use for bartering.
I immediately began trading the pills with prisoners for information, I bargained with the leaders in the prison to get everyone to behave. I’d even managed to trade with some Helions for contraband and bribe a few Enforcers to look the other way. I had doctor’s appointment every day, and every day I’d refill.
When I was transferred to the night shift at the prison, I was certain I’d been caught. I was given a 9pm to 9am shift usually reserved for the lowest grade single Helions, who didn’t have progeny duties to attend to. It was a welcome break from having to see Thea but the nights were hell. More escapes happened and the humans got restless and so did I.
+++
I started to think about how I could make Thea go away. There were all sorts of medicines in that cabinet and if I could slip some in her food, she’d go peacefully. No one would know. She might like it. Then I could go back to the single dorms with Jorgen.
I had a rare weekend off where I was to report to all day physical training, where I would no doubt be out of shape. For the first time in weeks I ate breakfast in the dining hall with Thea. Our tablemates, Aurora and Pathos were talking . . . to each other. Aurora was wearing a cheap gold necklace I’d seen Pathos get from a human vendor in return for Pathos looking the other way on his illegal internet hookup.
They took turns holding their new baby during meals and I’d seen them holding hands a few times when they thought no one was looking. The women’s breakfast was always plain yogurt and grapefruit and I couldn’t a hide pill in that, or the warm lemon water
Thea suddenly stood up and threw up all over my hash browns and ham. I immediately lost my appetite. Aurora went to touch her shoulder but Thea hurried to the bathroom.
“She’s been like that all week”, Aurora said, “She’s pregnant.”
“No.”, I said realizing I was illegally talking to a woman so I turned my gaze to Pathos, “. . . if it’s a bastard Helios will kill it and her—“
Pathos cleared his throat and leaned forward, “You’ve been getting daily physicals, right?”
“Yeah”
“What do you think happens with all the sperm samples they take?"
I feel nauseous and like I’ve been tricked, but this wasn’t a trick. It was help. Helios was trying to help me be a better Helion and start a family. But I still felt. . .odd.
“That’s not. I need to . . .”
I stood up and followed Thea into the women’s bathroom. She’d thrown up again and was rinsing her mouth out with water. I could her two Angels having sex in one of the stalls.
“Thea”, I said.
“Don’t talk to me.”, she said.
“This isn’t my fault. You did this to yourself we could have done it normally--”
“This whole place is a nightmare. It’s disgusting.”
“Just, fall in line Thea—“
“How do you think they knew?” she asked, “About the ... birth control. I put in
in the bathroom.”
“Probably Rumors.” I said
“No”, she said, “He’s watching. They are always watching. I had to fill the bathroom with steam to block the lenses so they wouldn’t see.”
“You’re crazy and wasting hot water by doing that. No one is watching you. Helios doesn’t care about the day to day travel of some woman.”
“He is always watching us. I saw it in his rooms—“
“When?” I ask
She sets her mouth.
“Please. Everyone knows Helios taste all of his women before giving them to his men. He was exhausted that day and I did some exploring.”
“You don’t know what you saw”, I said.
“Helios is always enforcing his rules. Most paired women who don’t produce within a year . . . disappear did you ever notice that?”
“If that’s so then why are you speaking so freely now?”
“The cameras in here have been broken for years”, she said turning to acknowledge the women in the stall.
“You are making my life hell, Thea. I already have a lot to prove. This baby will put us both in good graces. You will see.”
“You have a lot to prove? Because you were born with one wing? “
“Shut the fuck up”, I said. She flinched and I wasn’t sure why I had tensed my hand
She stood up straighter and turned to the mirror
“Were getting out.”
“I’m not leaving my country.”
“No you. Me and the baby.”
+++
I came in dead last at PT and I wasn’t caned.
My breakfast came with fresh coffee and I found a new medal
on my uniform. A bright star given to fathers
I was put back on patrol duty with Jorgen and we fell back in step like nothing had happened between us. Jorgen and I started our shift just outside the gates watching the Arial Soldiers take their perch. Just like the old days
Jorgen and I walked this glorious (what would be more glorious if the humans took better care of it) country righting wrongs. At least I think we were. I’m not sure anymore. At dinner I ate a full warm meal and at night I closed my eyes and dreamed of the sky.
I had to ignore Thea to keep living, which was harder the bigger she got. She refused to talk inside the apartment and she still repeated herself in public on a loop. Aurora and Pathos pretended not to notice that we had the same exact conversation every day.
Thea had gotten herself lost a lot too. She was found wandering into the Helion laundry facility, then she got lost again and somehow end up by the East Gate where some human terrorist had himself blown up. Hercules said pregnancy made women stupid, but after the third time she got lost, she came to bed with fresh lashes on her legs.
+++
Thea woke me in the middle of the night and prompted me to follow her into the
bathroom where the room is filled with steam.
She pointed to the small window by the sink. The small imperfection in the apartment due to the quick construction of the building. There was a flashing security lock on the window. It had a sad view of the gates. Why did she want to open it?
She left and came back with one of my sneakers, ripping the lining to show where I’d kept the stolen painkillers. She pointed to the lock again.
I opened my mouth and she covered it. When I picked the locks to steal the medicine I’d used the doctor’s instruments. But that was an old fashion lock, I couldn’t pick an electronic lock. I needed an access card. Like ones the Enforcers had. I pointed to the flashing light on the lock to show her it was electronically sealed.
She pulled at the window, but it wouldn’t budge. She put her arms around me and leaned in,I could feel her enlarged belly rubbing against my thin t-shirt.
“Please?” she whispered into my ear, “If I can get the baby out the window. Someone will take it someplace safe.”
“You are safe here”, I whispered into her ear
“No. There is someone who will help me get the baby outside of the gates.”
“We’re all safer here.” I said, “You can’t trust outsiders.”
“Just try your access card”, she whispered, “Just try it and. . . You can fuck me.”
I decided to take up the offer and went to get my security badge. I usually only used it to get into the locker rooms or inside the prison. I swiped it over the lock and the blinking light turned green. Hurriedly Thea went for the window. It didn’t budge.
All the lights in the suite came on and the hot shower water shut off. The front door security locks opened and I heard footstep. I tugged off my clothes and jumped into the shower. Hercules stormed into the bathroom with his gun.
On instinct we put our hands on our heads, ready for an inspection.
“Alarm was set off”, Hercules said and he zeroed in on Thea, and “What are you up to now.”
“Nothing”, she said
“Nothing what?” Hercules said
“Nothing, sir” she said and Hercules got closer to her.
“You’re big as a fucking cow,” he said, “I don’t know why Helios has to pair up the pretty ones.”
“I set the alarm off”, I said, “I wanted some air, she threw up on me and I was showering. I just wanted some air—“
“Really, Adonis? You know fucking better. Turn the shower off it fogs up the—“
“The what?” I said cutting him off.
“. . . Nothing.”
“Can’t you open the window a little?” I asked, “I can give you something for your trouble.”
“No. You know better than that Adonis. Don’t let this fat bitch influence you. You are a good solider.”
He holstered his weapon and lingered a bit before exiting the bathroom. I heard the front door lock behind him. I put my hands on her hips and she backs away from me.
“You owe me”, I said, “We had a deal, plus I covered for you”
“I owe you nothing”, she spat
“Hey”, I said getting dressed, “Hercules is going to crucify me in PT for that”
“Don’t you want more?” she asked
“Like what.”
“Like to wear whatever you want? To eat when you want to eat? To leave this . . . cage.”
“It’s not a cage. That gate is keeping you safe. The world is vicious out there. I’ve seen it. You are lucky you get to stay here all safe and cared for. Never have to work a grueling job.”
“You’ve seen nothing.” she said and walked out.
+3+
.
I woke up to screaming. At first I thought all the screaming I heard was just from a dream about what happened at work.
I clicked the lights on and saw a trail of blood that went from the bedroom and out toward the front door. I thought maybe an accident had happened. Was happening. That someone had finally taken care of her for me.
I followed blood to the front door. Thea was on her knees and pounding her fist on the locked door.
“Let me out . . . let me out—“, her words became intelligible earsplitting screams, “Let me out!”
She screamed and scratched at the door
“Thea. It’s curfew. What’s going on? What the hell did you do?”
She was curled on the floor screeching like a madwoman. Her fingernails were bloody and broken. I’d seen prisoners with the same hands. She was trying to claw herself out? She’d fucking lost it.
I picked up the emergency satellite phone and called medical.
“We are experiencing high that normal call volumes. Please hold.”
I hung up and tried again.
Thea screamed and I took a good look at the trail of gore and blood. Realizing were it was coming from.
“Are you . . . uh, in labor?”
“No”, she started screaming again and I called medical again.
“We are experiencing high that normal call volumes. Please hold.
“Fuck”
She was on her back screaming, her bloody fingers in her mouth. I swallowed and got on my knees in front of her and checked to see if she was dilated, I didn’t look and had only a very generally idea of what I was doing and she was in so much pain she didn’t even think to stop me. This couldn’t happen here. She must have been in labor all day and said shit.
“You need to get to the tub”, I said
“The window”, she said through gritted teeth, “The baby—“
I tried to haul her up, but she couldn’t walk. She just lay on her side and screamed for Aurora next door.
“OPEN THE DOORS”, I yelled to the celling or to whoever was watching. I banged on the front door but the locks wouldn’t give
Thea screamed again, she was crying and hyperventilating so violently I thought she migtt choke and put herself out of her misery. Fuck. I got her breathing normally then half walked half dragged her to the bathroom and set her in the tub. . She was cold and soaked so thoroughly in sweat her gown was see through. I let a little bit of warm water into the tub, thinking it might help. I tried to call medical again
“We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes. Please hold.”
“You’re hurting me. Stop STOP”, she screamed, “STOP.”
I wasn’t even touching her, but I doubted she wanted to hear that.
I draped a towel around her and started pacing. I needed to think, which was hard with her cursing me out with words I didn’t think she knew.
Fuck
I washed my hands and mentally prepared myself the way the way I did for the other things I’d come to regret in my life. I’d been a solider a thousand times over. I’d been an elite warrior. I’d been SGI. I was Helion. I put some pillows behind her back, but she just kept screaming.
“Stop screaming”, I said, “I need to think.—“
She spat at me.
I tried to call the medics again, this time I got the busy signal. I had to be careful. If something happened to an Angel child, I’d get more than a lashing. I’d get hanged.
I took off my shirt and rolled it into a ball and gagged her with it. In the silence I could focus on the task at hand. I looked and felt around down there some more. Something was happening. I think I saw. Oh, fuck.
“Jesus fucking Christ”, I said orienting myself, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
She was forcing herself to push, her screams muffled by the gag. I focused on figuring out how to do this. Thea looked so pale and spent I wondered (again) if she was dying. She pushed one last time and I was able to maneuver the baby out. When the baby was out Thea started crying. I pulled the gag out of her mouth and her whole body started shaking.
I cut the cord with a contraband knife I kept sewn in my boxers and inspected the baby. It was a girl. Damn it. I cleaned the girl and wrapped her in my last clean shirt. I pulled out a dresser drawer for the girl to sleep in. I kept the drawer by the door while I washed up in the sink and tried calling medical again
“We are experiencing high that normal call volumes. Please hold.”
The bathroom looked like a fucking crime scene, I hadn’t expected so much gore afterwards. I bent over and vomited in the toilet. Thea was quiet and passed out in the tub. I picked her up and she started whining. I put her in the bed, dressing her in a clean nightgown. Her belly was still swollen and her skin was clammy and cold, but she also felt warm.
Thea grabbed my arm
“Water”, Thea said her voice was hoarse from all the screaming
“What?”
“Water.”
“Oh”
I gave her some of the bitter tap water from the sink and she spit it out on me. She tried to drink it again but spit it out again.
“Water”, she said.
“It’s still curfew. Just wait a few hours.”
“He’s a bastard”, she croaked
“Thea it’s a girl—“
“He’s bastard”, she said looking up at the ceilings, “You’re a bastard. Helios Thantos...”
Her eyes rolled back into her head and she was knocked out cold.
I went back to the bathroom and began cleaning it up the best I could. I stayed up for three hours to make sure the baby stayed alive. It was easier to feel the girl’s pulse if I held her to my chest, so I did. When lights clicked on and the security locks clicked open, I expected Aurora or another Angel to come running through the door, but no.
There was a knock at the door and I saw Hercules. I put the girl down and shoved Hercules into the wall and punched him
“The fuck”, he said elbowing me in the face and we tussled in the hall until he had me restrained.
“What the hell Hercules. I know you saw us. I know you heard us.”
“What are you talking about?” He said.
“Sure.”
Hercules glared at me.
“Look, you need to get that girl down to registration and report for PT on time.”
“How’d you know?” I asked
“What?”
“If there are no cameras how’d you know it was a girl?”
“I—“
I slammed the door in his face and went back inside the suite to bundle the baby up... I open the door and Hercules is still there.
“What?”
“Where is Thea? No one is allowed in the dorms after morning hours”, Hercules said.
“Good Luck”, I say and head down the steps. Everyone is staring at me. Home births happened all the time with the strict curfews, but medical and the midwives usually came.
Aurora stopped me in the hall, she adjusted my hold on the warm bundle I carried with both arms. The other women slowed down but kept moving.
“Oh my goodness. How’s Thea?” Aurora asked.
“You . . . didn’t hear anything?” I asked even though I shouldn’t be talking to her.
She shook her head
Pathos comes out of their apartment, both of them have wet hair and they smell like the women’s soap and shampoo. I don’t think I’ll ever feel clean again. A glare from an Enforcer causes Pathos and Aurora to move on.
Thea shuffled down the hall a few seconds later with Hercules leading her. She was barefaced and still splotchy in a maternity dress. Her hair was a matted mess and she was involuntarily crying, Hercules gently pushing her forward when she slowed down.
“Hurry up and get to registration”, Hercules said to us, “You don’t want to be late for PT, Adonis.”
Hercules gave Thea a warning look as he went to check the other floors.
When Thea managed to get down the stairs I gave her the baby.
“I can’t”, she said
“Get a grip Thea. It’s your job.”
“I don’t feel well. I can’t stop shaking. . . .”
I touched her forehead and she felt searing. She held her hands to hide the shaking and I just wanted to get this over with.
Despite how it looked I carried the baby, Thea shuffled along next to me. She stopped at a water fountain and had a long drink she got a few looks but not from anyone who could report her for being improper. She cried the whole way there, that morning I’d heard Thea cry more than the baby.
When we got to the registration office we were the only ones in line. The human woman had to prick our fingers and sign a Helion verification card for the baby. Then I handed her the baby over the counter so she could microchip her.
We waited
And waited.
The woman came back with a set of vouchers for the marketplace inside Helion Castle, a small store that was only for visitors forbidden for Helions unless under special circumstances
“Helion Citizenship is currently unavailable at the moment and we will take custody of the baby from here. In recognition of your service General Thantos is providing 10$ vouchers to the Marketplace.“ The human woman notarized the vouchers and gave them to us.
This happened sometimes. Mostly with girls. No one talked about it but it happened if the balance was off. We needed more protectors not people to protect. There was a rumor that human men were obsessed with Angel women and wouldn’t mind growing their own.
There was a rumor that an Angel baby went for one million dollars on the market. Helios smiled upon those whose progeny bought money into the country. Which meant I probably wouldn’t get a lashing today. But I wanted to hold my baby some more. I wanted to see her blue eyes. I hadn’t seen them.
On the way to the dining hall Thea collapses.
“He’s a bastard”, she said.
“Thea—we’re in public”
“Helios Thantos is a bastard”, she yelled, “He’s a liar and murder. He is the devil—“
I threw my hand over her mouth but she bit me. The Enforcers were making their way over.
“He’s the devil”, Thea shouted, “He is evil he is—“
“She’s fine”, I said to the Enforcers, “She hasn’t eaten and just gave birth.”
The Enforcers lunged for Thea and she tried to back away but was hit by a visible stab of pain.
“No”, she said as they secured her arms and one of them slapped her, “NO. I—I’m sorry. No”
“I’ll handle her”, I said but the Enforcers ignore me, “She hasn’t eaten and she just—“
“Stay out of this Adonis.”
“Leave her alone. “
They yanked her up from the ground and her sisters try to help but are pushed ahead by Enforcers.
“Where are you taking her?”
“Mental check.”
They put a syringe in her arm and she calmed down, they throw her in the back of a car. Removing her like an imperfection.
+++
“We’re short on human labor”, Hercules said
I took the shovel from him, but only because I had to.
For the past five weeks I’d been stuck with prison duty. The monotony of walking the same halls and shouting the same commands at the prisoners set in
I didn’t care anymore. I felt numb. I fell behind in PT and
since Hercules had found someone new to harass, he barely noticed me. I had
stopped going all together.
Our dorm had been cleaned up and everything replaced hours after Thea gave
birth. Like nothing had ever happened. In the quiet I had time to think. I’d
started reading contraband books out in the open. I’d try to hide it somewhere
good and every evening it’d be gone. I’d get a new book, hide it and it’d be
gone when I got back. Like clockwork. I laid awake most of the night, I’d tried masturbating but
my mind kept wandering to birthing and I was probably never going to have sex
again.
Then I got my new assignment
“Helios needs a new sewage tunnel for the prison”, Hercules said giving me a shovel, “You’ll be supervising”
“Then why do I need a shovel?”
“To supervise.”
This was human work. The crew I was put on was made up of humans. The humans didn’t speak to me. Each morning a Helion Enforcer gave us directions and we dug. We were extending the sewage system and it was foul work. The humans at least had comradery with one another. They even got paid.
One day I’d been given the repulsive job of laying down rat replant in one of the older tunnels. I’d been voted to do the job by the crew, the sewage water could be electric and I stood better chance of surviving the shock. When I entered the sewer I was surprised to see the whole place was crawling with rats and dead rat kings. I even came across a few dead bodies.
Up ahead in the shadows I saw something retreating. A dark figure on the run. The prison guard in me kicked into gear and I was in pursuit. I grabbed the figure and he threw me into the disgusting sewer water. I grabbed for him again and pulled off his hood.
The scar on his eye threw me off at first but I recognized him
“Leonidas?”
The fugitive raised a gun to me
“Nothing personal, kid.”
“Wait”, I said and he stilled.
“Hmm. What the fuck are you doing down here, kid.” Leon asked, “Helions don’t usually work this shit shift.”
“I’ve fallen out of grace with the regime.” I said honestly.
“That so? I heard Helios is kind of sick like that with his punishments.”
“Heard? From who?”
“What you think all Helions are loyal to Helios?”
“I used to think we were something great. Now I don’t know what to think. It used to be paradise but now---“
“Wake up, kid.” he said, “New Aeterna was never paradise. Never?”
“Helios paired me with Thea. You know her?”
“I can never keep the women straight, a lot of them are on our side though.”
“Thea gave birth to a girl. And Helios . . . sold her.”
“Fuck, man”, Leon said.
“Can you . . . can you find her?”
“I help you, you help us. You saying you want to join the resistance? You know if you get caught it’s torture until death, right?”
Is that what I was saying?
Fuck it.
I drop he shovel and tell my former friend everything I know
+++
I often got lost in the twisting maze of filthy underground tunnels. I could stand under the grate and get Intel from the officer’s bathrooms.
One day I got lost following the sound of a soft song. I hadn’t heard music in. . . . Forever. The music was coming from a loose grate. I opened it and lifted myself into a public bathroom. I washed up in the sink and put on a pair of pink scrubs hanging by the door.
I pushed open the door and realized I was in medical. On the
women’s side. I kept my face covered and walked along the halls. . It was
mostly quiet and doctors nodded at me. I stopped when I saw Thea’s name on a
door. I peered in and saw a white room she was lying on a bed in a hospital
gown.
I pushed open the door and saw there was a television
playing a video of her and Helios having sex. It didn’t look like he was
forcing her and I knew Helios took time with all the women, but it was unnerving.
The video switched then to a birth and I turned away. Then the videos looped
over and over again. It felt weird paring
the two together. Was this Helios' version of brainwashing ?
Thea was restrained to the bed, her eyes body was still but her right eyes still seemed to be active. She seemed to be able to blink it at will. Is where she’d been all this time? Drugged up in a hospital? Was this a mental check?
“We’re getting out of here”, I said to her, but she wasn’t listening. Inside all she could do was scream.
+++
Thea appeared at dinner 10 weeks later. She was small again and her face was made up. She was sitting at the table demurely eating her soup. Seeing her bought back that ugly night into sharp focus. If she’d seen me in the hospital she didn’t seem to remember.
+++
Artemis was given a hero’s send off. He died in a petty human terrorist attack. I was thankful for his death because Jorgen and I were allowed to sit together at the funeral
“The water is bitter”, I said as we cleaned up Artemis’ ashes. An honor since we were such close comrades.
“What?” Jorgen said
“She wanted water”,
“What are you going on about, Adonis?”
“The night Thea gave birth. She wanted water but the doors were locked for the curfew”
“She too good for tap water?”
“It’s bitter. The water in the paired dorms is bitter. I think it’s like that on purpose.”
“Okay”
“Prisoners gets water whenever they please and we don’t?”
“It’s just rationing.”
“I’ve been a good solider . . . now I dig shit tunnels with humans. Jorgen, when is the last time you had a meal you wanted? Talked to a friend, or made a single choice in your life.”
“Helios has his ways”
“He’s not a God you know. “.
“It’s an honor to be where we are. You remembered the old days, huh? Look around. Look to the sky” He tilts my head up and I see he Ariel Forces gliding in formation, “We are free to be ourselves. The next generation will be the greatest generation and you get to play a part in that. Imagine you son up there. His whole life free. Free from war and pain. “
“I don’t want a son. I want to be free.”
+++
Antony is a miracle born from an unsatisfying orgasm.
No longer on a soldier’s shift I was placed on rations more befitting my station in maintenance. Every morning it was undercooked oats for breakfast and boiled leftover vegetables for lunch and dinner. I hadn’t even seen the change in me until I looked in the mirrors and saw my muscle was reduced to skin and bones.
I’d also started collecting info to smuggle out to the resistance. I started off small. Stealing access badges and writing down shift assignments, then slipping it through the gates where Leon or another resistance member would pick them up.
On more than one occasion I’d been tempted to eat a dead rat, I needed some fucking protein and sometimes I’d sneak into the hospital wings. Stealing food that had been thrown away and hating myself afterward.
Thea had noticed the change in me and said nothing at first. I tried to hide the strange weight of betrayal I felt by crawling into the closet at night and pretending I was somewhere else. I knew she was smuggling information out to the resistance to, but we could never ever talk about it. Helios was always watching.
I think she heard my anguish and one night she followed me into the closet and let me get her pregnant where Helios’ cameras maybe couldn’t see. I wasn’t surprised to discover pleasure wasn’t upsetting to Angel women and it didn’t seem to prohibit fertilization as she was with child very quickly after.
My regular meals were reinstated when she began to show, but I was still digging in the dirt with humans. I didn’t even get a day off when it rained. The humans hadn’t even showed but I worked because . . . what else was I going to do?
+++
Leon and I had met in the sewer lines weeks before Antony
was born. The resistance had a tech guy who could mimic high level security
cards. The plan was to have the baby in the dorm and then pass him out the
window to where Leon would be waiting.
Thea had been moving so slow the day he was born, she spent the day in labor and when we were locked in the dorms she was more than ready. She’d wanted to be alone this time, and only called me when it was time to push.
He cried, unlike the girl. I took the key card from where I’d hidden it in between the seams of the bathroom rug. I turned on the hot water until the bathroom was filled with steam. I settled the little one on my shoulder and used the mimicked card to open the window. The fresh night air smelled so good. Like victory.
I saw a Helion solider patrolling the gate. His stance was off, he was a little too aware of his surroundings. The solider turned and I saw Leon’s profile
With slick precision Leon launched himself at the gate. Climbing the slick gold bars. When his feet touched down the alarms went off.
He had twenty seconds until Enforcers were surrounding him
“No”, Thea limped into the bathroom and grabbed the baby.
“This is the plan”, I told her.
“He needs me”, she said trying to quiet his crying.
I knew if I let her hold him, she’d never let him go.
Down below, Leon was looking at his watch. I make sure Antony is wrapped tight and prepare to drop him down to Leon, when Thea knees me in the groin.
“Bitch”, I shout.
Leon’s twenty seconds are up. Leon makes a run back over the fence. The Enforcers start to chase him and he races down the street.
The security locks click open and I grab the key card and wiggle through the window and let gravity take me down. I pray I hit the ground head first.
+++
I don’t die.
I wake up in a prison cell.
It’s empty.
I can’t
Move
I hear a machine beeping.
I can’t feel anything
I can’t move anything
Except my
Eyes
I move my eyes around and see I’m not alone. There are other human like figures in chairs with tubes coming out of their bodies. I squint and they squint at me.
I know some of them. I haven’t seen them in a very long time.
I sit
And stare
At nothing.
For hours
For days
For weeks
I just scream.
I have learned my lesson
+++
It’s jarring when I wake up in bed.
I don’t remember getting there but my fear of the hellscape I was in keeps me in line. I dig when I’m told to dig, I eat when I’m told to eat, I fuck when I’m told to fuck, I run when I’m told to run, I salute when I’m told to salute.
The only rule I break is holding my son. I wait until its dark and I feel like I’m holding more than a baby. He’s a precious innocent soul. He has so much potential. On his fifth birthday he will be trained to use a gun, to fight, to love Helios. When he is ten he will be given his first patrol. He may even kill his first human.
But Before he can even speak, the world gets turned upside down.
+4+
The revolution was pure anarchy and bloodshed. It was brutal and cold. I don’t care what they say.
The gates to Helion City had been blown apart by the resistance in the middle of the night. They had no plan for dealing with the women and children. It was as if they didn’t think there would be any consequences to that night.
They had armed reckless untrained civilians with guns and they were shooting at anyone who looked like an Angel. The security system went down in the paired dorms first, some Helion soldiers raced to defend our home. Most of us got the fuck out of there.
Some women risked trying to escape with their children, others barricaded themselves inside each other’s dorms. I grabbed Antony from his crib and ran into the melee, I had to get him out. Thea awoke and ran after me. At the front entrance Hercules laid dead on the ground at his post, he’d been shot point blank in the head trying to defend the dorms. He was a good Helion until the end.
I liberated his gun and kept my body around Antony. I dodged the bullets coming my way. Several gates laid flat on the ground and I ran for the street. For the first time I carried my son outside of the gates.
Outside.
Thea snatched Antony from me and we looked at one another. It was over. The world was changing. If she found a resistance member she’d be safe. If I found one I’d get a bullet to the head.
I dropped my gun and put my hands on my head in surrender and got on my knees. I was shot twice before a resistance member slammed me down and cuffed me and dragged me away until judgement day.
+++
Say what you will about the resistance, but they murdered countless Helion men. The dead 33 are in a better place than the 46 who end up in a New Aeterna military prison. An archaic dirty warehouse with murky cells and disease.They savagely remove our wings, but not mine since I only had the one. Then they dump us into squalor while the devil prince takes over the world.
There are thousands of people arrested for crimes against humanity. The humans get their trials first. We can watch the oversized television broadcasting their tear filled trials. When Jorgen finds out that I colluded with resistance I get jumped in the shower and left for dead. The military guards don’t care. Leon visits me but that big shot is so fucking busy now.
Paris Prince apparently puts in a good word for me and I get an actual trial date. One year after the revolution I’m paraded in a green jumpsuit to a makeshift court room. I don’t understand what is happening, but to my surprise Thea is there. She speaks in my defense, confirming the story of me defecting. Antony sits obediently next to her, a sleeping baby boy is in her arms and a toddling blue eyed girl at her feet. One of the humans from the sewer shift also speaks in my defense. That along with Paris Prince’ s accommodation sets me free.
Free
On the outside
I was deemed a non-violent conspirator and given probation plus time served. I was lead out of the prison with. . . nothing... except a borrowed shirt and shorts. A case of Gangrene from to tight cuffs in solitary had given me a permanent limp. No more PT records for me. I stood outside the prison homeless without my Brothers or my people
Thea met me by the gates, she had on a bright pink skirt and yellow top th. Antony seemed to remember me and let me hold him. Thea was nursing baby boy she’d been pregnant with the night of the revolution, Adam, she called him.
Poppy had curly blonde hair I couldn’t stop touching. I remembered holding her to my chest that night vividly. I didn’t want to know where Thea found her or how.
Thea still lived in the old dorm, but it was now full of color on the inside. The walls were pained in purple, pink and orange. The kitchen was dirty and stacked with brightly colored snacks and dishes. Clothes were everywhere and the TV blared a loud children’s show. Antony ran around and showed me his room.
Poppy was a polite little girl and . . . Adam was barley three months old. Thea worked in a coffee shop in a government building. A quiet job, where she still quietly took different kind of orders. She had a picture of Paris Prince in the living room. The Angel women loved him, he was their sly savior, his government supposedly keeping them safe.
+++
I got a government job as a painter, thanks to his holy excellency. I couldn’t paint when it started but I did alright now. There was always work to be done. Painting over Helion murals or over Unification Party graffiti. I missed seeing Angels in the sky, mostly when I paint something blue. I had to move into a community dorm with the other reformed Helions.
It was bullshit
They weren’t reformed at all.
None of my business though.
+++
Fucking Unification Party.
I opened another can of crème white paint and started on another layer on the brick wall. I could still see the Unification Party’s dumbass logo sprayed on the fucking wall. It was some sort of iridescent craft paint.
“Adam ?”
I take the lid off the paint and see Capitan Leonidas Argos sauntering towards me. Fucker thinks his big time now that he’s the queen’s bitch. Just like Hercules was Helio’s bitch.
“What?”, I ask starting on the second layer, “Is your precious prince paying me overtime for cleaning this shit up.”
“No”, he said, “Not in the budget. but . . .I got a job for you. Something more your speed. I cleared it with your parole officer.”
“What”, I said, “back to digging shit tunnels?”
“No.”, Leon folded his arm. I was surprised that queen bitch let him off his leash, “You worked as a prison guard back in the Helion days.”
“Yeah”
“How would you like to go back to that?”
“No thanks”
“What if you just had one prisoner to guard?”
I put the roller down.
“What are you saying?”
“What if I told you Helios Thantos wasn’t really dead?”
The End
+++
So we’ve caught up to this section. QC 22pt 2
Adonis, the Angel we’d promoted to guarding Helios last week is now laying face down on one side of the floor . . . his wing on the other, dried red blood coats his back. He turns his head when he hears us. Seraphina steps over him and to where the door to Helios Thantos’ cell is wrenched open. The man himself is nowhere to be seen . . .
Seraphina flips over the metal table divider in Helios’s cell, “Fuck. NO. Paris is going to jail while that man is. . .” She turns back to look at Adonis who is still on the floor gasping in pain. Then her eyes go up to what’s written on the walls in Adonis’ blood.
“What the hell is that?”
I follow her eyes. Written in blood in big choppy letters is the words
T-H-E
L-E-G-I-O-N
W-I-L-L
R-I-S-E
This scene was only added to introduce Adonis. His character
might come up again IF I were to ever do another QC story. I mean I want to do
it but I don’t know if I can.
And this whole serial was inspired by this section in QC 18
Some Angels were still paired, mostly out of habit or complacency. Either way all the male Angels knew to keep a distance from Anne.
I don’t know why I kept writing this rather dark piece . . . but I did The final novella in this trio will be much . . . jauntier.