Estimated reading time: 40 – 66 minutes
Image Credit: jadey919 @ Stock.Xchng
Chapter Two
“Brand New”
Five Years RT Prior
The day was a perfect cliché—overcast, cold, dreary. To Alice Brown it was glorious.
She stood on the steps of the last home she’d ever have to know. The Gardners had been relatively decent to their foster child. No outward abuse, physical or verbal, but they seemed to know on some level their home was simply a rest stop for young Alice.
She slung a brand new book bag over her shoulder and smiled.
The Gardners wouldn’t miss her. Not because they were unfeeling. Never that but simply because they’d never even remember a girl named Alice Brown.
A sensible import pulled up in the drive. The taupe color matched nearly every vehicle parked up and down the street. Small cars to match small houses with neat tidy yards.
Alice forced herself to walk with steady, measured steps when all she really wanted to do was hop, skip, and dance her way to anonymous freedom.
A young man with a smile to match her mood got out. His sensible trench coat matched his dark slacks. Alice wondered if she’d get to dress like him too. She always wanted to wear suits and ties. On the days when her imagination ventured into that mysterious grown-up world, Alice always pictured herself as being a cutthroat businesswoman who eschewed dresses for the confidence that only comes from power suits.
“Are you ready, Alice?”
“Yes, Director H.”
His eyes flashed red. The brief wash of violent color comforted Alice. It proved she really was going to leave this world.
“Have you already said your goodbyes?”
“Don’t need to,” she answered breezily while walking to the other side of the car.
“Okay then.” He slid back into the driver’s seat. “Buckle up.”
Alice did as requested and let out a sigh. Nervous energy crackled off her skin. She bit her lip to hold back a snort of laughter.
Director H. looked over at her. “I’m glad to see your joy.” He slid his attention back to the road. “It usually takes most of our new recruits several weeks to get to where you are right now.”
She wrinkled her nose in disbelief. “Why?”
“Well, it’s rather hard for most humans to believe much less understand. There’s also the matter of attachments that many find hard to overcome.”
“I thought you said recruits are almost always orphans. By choice on our spiritual journey.”
“True, but it doesn’t mean you don’t build up connections with others on this side.”
“Sounds overrated to me,” Alice stated with dismissive arrogance.
“I don’t doubt you believe so.” Director H. turned on the radio. Oldies from the fifties filled the comfortable silence. Alice turned her attention to the scenery passing them by. Suburban normalcy faded to highway hypnotism before jolting to inner-city chaos.
Alice thought back on the strangeness of her life. Abandoned at birth, passed over from house to house, some bad, others worse, before landing at the Gardners. By all rights she should be bitter, troubled, and thirsty for vengeance on an uncaring world.
Alice felt nothing.
Her attitude bordered between pragmatic and indifference. Some part of her wondered if her present attitude would eventually deteriorate into a massive meltdown of emotion. She doubted it.
“Director H.?”
“Yes?”
“What would’ve happened if I hadn’t gone to the hospital that day? Would you have still found me?” She looked over at him, noting how fine and light a color his hair was.
“Of course.”
“Really? How?”
“Dear Alice, you were never lost.”
She blinked. “Never?”
“Of course not. We knew the moment you were conceived.”
“Then how come…”
“How come we didn’t come sooner?”
“Yes.”
Amusement played at the corners of his mouth like a mischievous child. “You weren’t ready.”
“But I am now.”
“You are.”
Alice remembered the night in question from the week before. She had been hospitalized for severe dehydration courtesy of a nasty case of flu. Director H. had been Dr. Olson then. Handsome, friendly, not-so-easily dismissed.
He had come to her room, smile the same as now, kind and caring to a fault. He had sat by her bed and held her hand. Then with just a few words, Dr. Olson had become Director H. and nothing was ever the same.
Update for May 14, 2009 (One day late—sorry!)
“How are you feeling, Alice?”
“Okay.” She scooted up and leaned forward when Dr. Olson helped adjust the pillows. Alice murmured her thanks before asking, “Can I leave soon?”
“Tomorrow.” He pulled a chair by the bed and sat down. “Alice, I see that you’re fifteen. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
He clasped her hand in his. “It also says you’re living with foster parents.”
“Yeah.” She kept her answer soft, breathy, and innocent. Inside, she watched him with a wary, suspicious eye. It wouldn’t be the first time a man sought to use her orphan status for sexual gratification.
‘Can’t trust anybody too much. They always fail themselves.’
“That’s not necessarily true, Alice.”
“What?”
“They don’t always fail themselves. Sometimes they perform a great service by being who they are. They give you the opportunity to become stronger. I can already see you’ve learned those lessons very well.” He released her with a final squeeze of his fingers.
Alice repeated the word inanely. She eyed the plastic carafe as a possible weapon.
“There’s no need to hit me.” Dr. Olsen crossed his leg and linked both hands across the knee. “Although, if it would make you feel better you can scream. No one will be able to hear you.” His laughter reminded Alice of chimes. “That didn’t come out nearly as reassuring as it should have.”
“You can read my mind. You have ESP.” She stated it calmly, without fear or curiosity.
“You can compare it to ESP.”
“But it’s not.”
“No.”
“What do you describe it as?”
“The connection that comes from like-minded individuals who share the same space while at different levels of consciousness and form.”
“Symbiotic.”
“Exactly.” Dr. Olsen smiled at her with an emotion akin to pride.
Alice turned to him, eyes narrowed in acute study. Something tickled her brain. It pressured her to look without eyes.
“You’re in my mind.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Symbiotic, Alice.”
She stilled her body, easily forcing it to go outside the present. Hers was a skill honed through years in the foster care system. Alice found the familiar, steady rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. Her gaze remained on Dr. Olsen.
Soon, she saw.
“You’re not human.” The words slipped from her mouth with deliberate purpose.
“Tell me what you see.”
Alice complied, calm as ever. “Your eyes are red. Your skin is whiter than a corpse. Your hair is just as white.”
“Do I look like a monster to you?”
“No.” She allowed a tiny smile to soften her mouth. “You’re beautiful.”
He kept his hands clasped but motioned with a pointer finger. “Are you scared?”
“No.”
“Why?”
She took her time in answering. “Symbiosis.”
The word transmuted, serving many different versions of the same answer. Both man and girl had no problem understanding.
“Have you ever allowed yourself to see until now?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I wasn’t ready?” This time she replied with a questioning lilt.
“Correct.”
“What am I ready for?”
“For the rest of your life, Alice.”
She looked away. The sterile hospital room fit her very well. Alice didn’t feel any fear nor did she question the veracity of what was happening. She always knew she was odd. Alice just never knew the extent of it until now.
“Tell me.”
The being known as Dr. Olsen started. “My name is Director H. and I am to be your mentor. I help run a program called Genesis.”
“Is it with the government?”
“A government.”
“Not mine.”
“No.” Director H. welcomed the interruption and encouraged Alice to do so at anytime she had a question.
“What is Genesis for?”
“It’s a program designed to take specific humans and pair them up with their appropriate partners.”
“They’re not human, are they?”
“Mostly, no.”
Alice folded her hands neatly in her lap. She straightened her back and looked at the door. “Can anyone else see you?”
“For the moment. After you check-out their memories will be modified to ignore my presence.”
“Does my partner know I exist?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll work together for what goal?”
“Peace. Strength. Symbiosis. The rest of the goals will be those of your joint making.”
Update for May 20, 2009
“Is my partner like you?”
“Meaning?”
“Does he look like you? Or she?”
Director H. nodded his head with just a fraction of effort. “He is a he. We are not of the same line but there are similarities.”
She inhaled before letting out a cleansing breath. Her mind sped through the possibilities with careful, methodical motions.
“Alice, why aren’t you afraid? Why do you believe me so easily?”
“Because I always knew I didn’t belong here.” She answered with conviction bred from years of careful indifference. “You are proof that God exists.”
“I see.” Director H. found humor in her statement. “Genesis can be your salvation, Alice. What you are given you are expected to return. Remember that.”
Alice nodded. Her gaze flickered over his shoulder, seeing a nurse walk by with efficient quickness. “What happens next?” Her gaze returned to meet his. They were clear and steady, unmarred by intimidation or nervousness.
“You go home. Spend the next week preparing to say goodbye. Then you come to Genesis.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
Alice agreed with the proposed method. It lacked ambivalence. She liked it.
“Can I ever come back?”
“In some ways.”
“What does that mean?”
“Once you complete the program you will have a few choices to make. Dependant on those, you will reside back in this world if you choose. You can live elsewhere. It’s really again a matter of free will.”
“Are my choices permanent?”
“Only as permanent as you make them.”
Alice turned away. The blanket across her lap vied for attention. “What if I say no?”
The enigmatic creature replied without hesitation. “You can’t.”
“What if I refused to go?”
“You will.”
“What if I fail at Genesis?”
“Failure is only a matter of quitting. You can’t quit so you can’t fail.”
“Has anybody ever tried to run away from you after you’ve come for them?” The cotton knitting had held up to many washes. Alice wondered what happened to the blankets that eventually unraveled. Where they disposed or repurposed? Did they go on to live at a shelter or somewhere else?
“Yes.”
“Why do you think they did it?”
“Fear. The very emotion you can’t recognize, Alice.”
“It’s my strength,” she concurred.
“It can be.” Director H. stood up. He patted her on the hand and murmured, “Next Wednesday is the 27th. I’ll be at the Gardners at ten in the morning. Be sure you’re ready.”
“I will.” She tilted her head back. “Will you modify everyone’s memory of me?”
“Of course.”
“Will they forget I existed?”
“Yes.”
Her shoulders slipped back. “Good.”
Director H. nodded in understanding. “I think you will really thrive at Genesis, Alice. In more ways that you can comprehend right now.” He walked away before pausing at the open door. “You never asked what happened to the ones who refused. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”
“No. I’m not refusing.”
His smile revealed very sharp fangs. “Welcome to Genesis, Alice.”
Update for June 3, 2009
The car came to a stop. Alice gave Director H. a questioning look.
“You can get out.”
Alice got out of the car and looked around. They were alone in the parking deck of a rather large building. She followed her mentor while casting surreptitious glances all along the way.
Director H. seemed to know what Alice was doing despite her position behind him. When they stopped at the elevator he asked, “Having regrets, Alice?”
“Hmm? Oh, no. No. I’m just…”
“Just wondering if I’ve been a hundred percent honest with you?”
“Oh, I already know the answer to that.”
“Which is?”
“No.”
Low laughter tickled her ears. “You’re very wise.” The doors opened with efficient fanfare. They stepped in at the same time. Director H. pushed a button and they ascended.
Alice stared ahead, eyes fixated on the shiny silvered door. She did wonder if perhaps she had been too hasty to go off with the creature next to her. “If you were going to eat me, would you tell me?”
“No.”
“Would you kill me fast?”
“It depends.”
“On what?”
“If that’s what you had planned.”
Alice turned her head to look up into his amused bloody gaze. A flash of fang and a wicked smile calmed the wild thumping in her chest. “You’re a mean man, Director H.”
“So I’ve been told.” He reached around and pressed the emergency button. A serene, cultured voice asked, “Emergency Response Station. Please state your emergency.”
“The world.”
“Sequence?”
“110000100101100011101000.”
Alice heard a short burst of air. She felt something rush into her lungs. “Sequence accepted. Energy pattern accepted. Human DNA pattern accepted. You may proceed, Director H.”
She touched her throat while opening and closing her mouth repeatedly. “What was that?”
“Neurotoxin.”
“Oh…I’m sorry. Can’t you repeat that?”
“Neurotoxin.”
Alice’s breathing sped up. “Is this where you’re going to eat me?”
“Your fascination with being eaten provides marvelous insight into your psyche, Alice. No, my dear. That neurotoxin was designed specifically to work on anyone who wasn’t you.”
Alice locked her legs against the instinctual urge to bash his brains in and run without rational thought. She slid her hand into her pocket. Her fingers crept into the slots of the stealth knuckles. She fisted her hand. Alice didn’t have much of a plan, but she would improvise as needed.
“Oh dear.”
Alice kept quiet.
“Somewhere along the way I’ve lost your faith. I didn’t quite see that coming. This definitely calls for me to reevaluate my methods.”
The doors opened. Director H. walked out first before turning around to face the much smaller girl. He raised his hand and kept the elevator from closing. “Alice, I’d much rather you come with me willingly.”
She shifted her stance but didn’t reply.
“I want you to walk with me on your own. If not, I’m going to take my hand off these doors and let you make your way back to the Gardners.”
“And then what?”
“You can forget today ever happened.”
“You said no one has the right to refuse.”
“No. I said no one ever quits.”
“Same thing.”
“Not even close.”
Alice whispered, “I’m scared.”
“I know.” His exquisite face softened with compassion. “Just because you’re extraordinary doesn’t mean you can’t suffer from ordinary feelings. They don’t cheapen you, Alice. Not here. Never here.”
Director H. beckoned with an outstretched hand. “Will you trust me not to eat you?”
“What about others?”
“Hmm?”
“You won’t eat me but will you feed me to the others?”
Director H. processed her question before answering carefully. “You think you mean literally but you don’t. Your instincts are correct to a point, Alice. You can and will get eaten alive here if you allow yourself to slip. And you will slip. You will feel like quitting. You will feel like there’s no way you can survive another moment much less another day. Those times will come. It’s up to you on how long you’ll lay there and be someone’s feast.”
Alice tightened her fist.
“You won’t need that here, my dear. You can keep it if it’ll make your feel safer.”
She tilted her head slightly. She only saw a long, colorless corridor over Director H.’s shoulder.
“Are you ready?”
Update for June 24, 2009
Alice swallowed a mouthful of air. She let it out slowly. Her eyes darted even as her mobile face attempted to become an expressionless mask. Her fingers clenched into a hidden fist. She recognized the belated foolishness of feeling fear now when she should’ve felt it then.
“Alice?”
“Director H?”
They both spoke simultaneously. He nodded his head and answered, “Yes?”
“If you or anyone tries to kill me I swear I’ll make you suffer as much as I possibly can.”
“I would be disappointed in you otherwise.” Director H. held his other hand out. “Come, my dear. Show me what you’re capable of being.”
Alice placed the tips of her fingers in his palm. They were damp and trembling. She expected him to crush the weak digits. Instead, Director H. cradled them with tender care.
He kept his steps small to match her pace. When Alice realized this she tipped her chin up in a conscious display of strength and aggression. She lengthened her stride. Her stare hardened, eyes darting to and fro, waiting for anything to come out and attack. They met no one.
Seconds passed into minutes.
Alice’s guard never slipped but eventually her physical agitation did. Shoulders slumped. Fingers became dry. Eyes lost their fanatical glint. Breathing subsided into long, even draws of air.
The white corridor took on infinite proportions. Director H.’s glide never fell out of step with hers. She risked a glance at his profile. The relaxed expression gave no clue to anything abnormal.
Minutes turned into hours.
Fatigue pulled at her limbs. Alice’s feet ached. Her fingers, still clasped in his, hung limply. Her pocketed fist was stiff from clenching the resin knuckles. She trudged silently all the while wondering when this was going to end.
Hours turned into many more hours.
Alice stumbled to her knees. She kept her hold onto Director H. Head bowed, mouth open in undignified pants, Alice fixated on the brilliantly white linoleum.
What am I doing here? This doesn’t make any sense.
“Alice.”
The gentle, melodic tone beckoned her to set aside her mortal pains and look to him. She refused. Humiliated by her lack of control, she blinked back wayward tears.
I’m not this weak. I’m not going to break. I won’t.
“Alice?”
She tightened her grip on his. Alice pinched her mouth shut and carefully looked upwards. Her eyes, now dry and without expression, met his. “Yes, Director H.?”
“Do you think you’re fully committed to what lays ahead of you? Be honest with me.”
“I don’t lie.”
His elegant mouth curled into an appeasing smile. “I know you do not make lying a habit, Alice. Forgive me if it appeared that I implied otherwise. However, I already know the answer. I’m just curious if you do.”
She frowned in confusion. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Look behind you.”
Alice did as instructed. She surged to her feet in disbelief. “That’s not possible! How can the elevator be right there? We’ve been walking for hours!” She dropped into a crouch and studied the floor. “There’s no conveyor belt. We’ve been walking. I know we have!”
“We have been walking. We’re not going anywhere though.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why didn’t you notice?” he countered softly.
“Because I was too scared of what was going to happen to really pay attention or care.”
“And there’s your answer.”
Update for July 1, 2009
Alice shook her head in disbelief. “This isn’t real. It can’t be. Am I still in the hospital?”
“Do you want to be?”
“What?”
“In the hospital. Will going back to that time make this decision any easier? Or would you take that opportunity to never come here at all?”
Director H. came closer, walking Alice into a wall. She sank into it, body molding into cool liquid. She fought to free her limbs but they remained stuck as part of the structure. He noted her panicked stare but continued his interrogation.
“Answer me, Alice.”
She choked on her cries, refusing to give voice to the animal terror roiling inside.
“Answer me.”
She pulled with all her strength but kept sinking deeper into the hellish white wall. Soon the viscous liquid threatened to sink into her mouth. Alice strangled on her words.
“With enunciation if you please.” He ducked his head until his red eyes were on level with hers. “What do you want, Alice? Take away everything you think you know, or you feel like you should know, what do you want?”
“I-I want to be better.” She gagged in reflex but tasted nothing.
“Better how?”
“Strong.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“That’s not an answer. Why do you want to be strong?”
Alice struggled to move her body. She arched with all her strength but couldn’t move. Her lungs seemed to contract on itself. Air became difficult to come by.
“Alice!” Director H.’s voice broke its gentle cadence for the first time. It cut into her panic, neatly slicing it away from her diminishing logic. “Why do you want to be strong? Out of all the things you could’ve mentioned—power, wealth, fame, adoration, respect—you chose strength. I want you to tell me why.”
“C-Can’t…c-can’t breathe.”
“Yes, you can.”
“N-No.”
“Yes. You. Can.”
Alice’s present terror ratcheted to new levels. Getting sucked into a wall no longer seemed as scary as having Director H. stare her down. His unnatural beauty morphed. The perfect human features shifted, remaining much the same but taking on an immortal cast. His eyes promised retribution to match its bloodied sheen if Alice didn’t comply.
Self-preservation demanded she force air into her lungs and coherency into her thoughts.
In and out. Think. In and out. Think.
Eventually her breath evened out. So did her coloring. Alice stopped sinking yet remained stuck like the proverbial butterfly against a board.
“Good. You’re listening. Now answer me before I lose all patience with you.”
Alice gave a broken, shuddering breath. “I w-want to be strong b-because I want complete control over my future.”
“Impossible.”
“No. I can do it.”
Director H. briefly smiled. “You can’t. Your life isn’t your own you know. It touches so many others. It’s promised to many more. You can’t completely control it because it’s not yours to control.” He tapped the wall once. Alice collapsed against him. Director H. patted her back with light, comforting motions.
She rested against him, eyes hard as glass. “You said I have free will.”
“You do. You just don’t have omnipotence.”
“I’m going to be different.”
“Ah, Alice. I do so look forward to seeing you try.” He stroked her hair. “Are you ready to meet your partner?”
She pulled away slightly. His features were familiar once more. Fear didn’t subside; it only shifted to a new focus. “I have to see him so soon?”
“We can continue our walk, Alice. We’ve already been here for a month. I’m sure he won’t mind waiting.”
“You’re joking.”
“If it pleases you to think so.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a very fine piece of antiquity. After consulting the time, Director H. closed it with a soft snap. “What shall it be, Alice?”
She showed the first piece of wisdom since falling in with this strange beautiful creature. She didn’t allow herself to question the impossibility of how and why. She simply accepted it and moved forward.
“I want to see him. Let’s go.”
Update for July 20, 2009
Director H. held out his arm and waited for her to entwine hers with his. “Your life will be very much like our arms here, Alice. You will lean on your partner for support, even when you don’t want to. He, in turn, will support you, even when he doesn’t want to. You will move forward together.”
“What does he know about me?”
“Only that you exist.”
“Is that typical?”
“Yes. The less you know about one another, the less prejudices you can form.”
Alice picked her next words carefully. “Is he dangerous to me?”
“Of course.” He peeled his lips back into a sly smirk. “We’re all dangerous to you, my dear.”
Her heart skittered; unsure if it wanted to stay in its home or fly out and become a disgusting pile of tissue and blood. Alice’s legs resembled jelly. She found it increasingly impossible to rescind the fear wanting to consume her.
Am I making it too easy for these monsters?
“That’s not very nice, Alice.”
She quelled the frown threatening to take control of her expression. “Please stop going into my mind. It’s very rude.”
“Maybe. But your thoughts are infinitely fascinating.” Director H. didn’t have a shred of remorse for his actions. “You can be faced with the same situation a million times and I still cannot accurately predict how you’ll react.”
Alice stopped their infinite walk. She studied his bloodied stare, trying to see the message embedded in his words. Alice sensed his humor, even his indulgence. Suddenly, a whirl of images filtered into her.
She saw herself running away from Director H. She saw herself at the Gardners. She saw herself walking into the street and being plowed by a truck. She saw her obituary. Many, many times. She saw herself fighting him. She saw him pulling out her heart.
Alice gasped. Her skin turned chalky. Her eyes resembled the sky, open and limitless. Blood seeped from her nose.
She saw herself slitting her wrists with a proffered knife. She saw herself running down the corridor until she dropped. She saw herself slamming her head into the wall repeatedly. She saw herself hanging from the ceiling with his tie as the garrote.
Alice whispered nonsensical words of fury.
She saw herself sitting in his lap. She saw herself crying into his neck. She saw herself bringing her fist up over and over again. She saw Director H. holding her wrists down while he ripped her throat out.
“That’s enough, Alice.”
She turned away and retched. The sounds of vomit splattering over her shoes and pants made her moan in embarrassment. She flinched from the hand rubbing her back in empathetic circles. “Don’t touch me!”
“We’ve made so much progress, Alice. Do you really want to start over again?” He spoke to her with regret, as if she were a small child.
“Did all that happen? Did it?”
He considered her flushed, downturned face for a moment. His gaze crawled over her, assessing and noting every minute bit of emotion she showed and the plethora she hid behind a rigid façade.
“All that and more.”
“More?”
The whisper fell between them like an anvil.
“Yes. Much, much more.”
“How many times did you kill me?” She stood up.
Director H. tilted his head. A curtain of white fell over his face, shielding half of it from her view. “You’re still here, Alice. What does it matter?”
“It matters to me!” Her feet slithered back. Tiny, mincing steps become much large, aggressive acts of defiance. She turned her back and sprinted away.
Everything went black for a moment.
Alice found herself blinking. Her mouth formed the words she believed hadn’t been spoken before. “What does he know about me?”
“Only that you exist.”
“Is that typical?”
“Yes. The less you know about one another, the less prejudices you can form.”
Alice picked her next words carefully. “Will he hurt me?”
“Most likely.” He spurred forward without giving her a chance for rebuttal. “You will also have the ability to hurt him as well. You’re not without your own defenses.”
She stared at him, eyes skittering away from his. “Will he like me?”
Director H. smiled and patted her hand once. “Alice, you’re truly delicious. How can anyone not like you?”
“Delicious?”
“Oh, yes. Very delicious.” He picked up speed. Alice’s feet trotted to keep up with his lengthy stride. “We must hurry, my dear. We’ve wasted more time than expected. Our young Yukio must be going out of his mind with boredom.”
“Yukio.” Her tongue traced the word. “Yukio. That’s his name?”
“Yes. Come now!”
Alice noticed the hallway narrowing as they went along. She wondered at the lack of pain in her legs. She realized she was running full tilt—all while holding onto Director H.’s arm. Her attention swung back to the then of the hall. The tiny door, which should have gotten larger, seemed to shrink even further.
I’m going to bash my brains in. I’m sure of it. There’s no way I can fit. There’s no way he can fit. Right?
Her sight flickered.
Black. White. Door.
Alice sucked in a mouthful of air and squared her jaw. Logic didn’t fit. Not size. Not ability. Never logic. Never here. The sooner she got it the better.
“Good girl.”
Alice felt something press against her and then it was gone. “Oh my…”
The world had definitely taken a turn on its head. Streams of beings walked in orderly chaos. They flickered in and out, ephemeral as ghosts. She looked up. The dark walls circled up to a tiny pinpoint of light. Voices thrummed like insects. Continuous and indecipherable.
“It’s off to the baths for you, my girl.”
“I thought we were going to see Yukio…I mean my partner.” Pink stole her cheeks. She fidgeted beneath Director H.’s knowing glance.
“You’ll see him soon enough, Alice. However, first impressions mean everything for certain families and he holds a stricter standard than even they do.”
“Do I stink?”
Director H. tilted his head. “Do you think you do?”
She looked down. Her clothes still looked as fresh as they did when she pulled them out of the dryer that morning. A tiny frown scurried across her face. She blinked in thought, her mind stuck on flypaper trap of impossible memory.
“How long did it take to get here again?”
Director H. patted her shoulder with a smile. “Time doesn’t matter here, Alice. Come. You’re wasting time with these questions.”
“You just said time doesn’t matter so how am I wasting it?”
“You smell ghastly.”
“What? I do?”
“Yes. Now off to the baths with you, my girl.” A doorway appeared before them. It flickered twice before she stepped forward. “How will I get back?”
“I’ll find you. Don’t be afraid. It’s just water this time.”
Update 11-5-09
Alice looked at him, frown hanging from her lips. “You are so strange, Director H.”
“As are you. Go on now.” His elegant hand chased her away, albeit slowly.
Alice shook her head and turned away with a shrug. She studied the door before drawing in on her near-limitless reserves of courage. Alice walked through boldly. A curious sensation of falling drew her eyes downwards. Her feet tingled as the floor rushed up to meet her with dizzying precision.
Was I falling up or down?
Alice glanced behind her only to see the doorway had vanished. A cavernous chamber stretched into infinity. Steam floated, coyly showing glimpses of earthen pillars and walls tiled to match the floors.
Silence punctuated only by the irregular sounds of dripping water stuffed her ears to the brim. She easily could believe she was the only creature alive in this odd world.
It felt marvelous.
Alice moved deeper into the chamber. Devoid of fear, but tempered by caution, she allowed curiosity to govern her. The moist air parted to give way to an enormous bathing pool. Alice knew an invitation when it appeared. Her shirt joined shoes and pants in economic fashion. Soon she stood nude. Alice peered into the manufactured pond. She imagined she could fall in and never been found again.
It did not feel marvelous.
Diminutive height aside, Alice had never learned how to swim. Very few things frightened her (somehow Alice’s instinct to feel fear wasn’t reliable) and drowning ranked rather high on this personal footnote.
Come on, Alice. It’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re not going to drown. Only bathe. Director H. wouldn’t go through the trouble of bringing you here if he meant for you to die, right? You’re being silly. Stop it.
Embarrassment dotted her cheeks. She forced her body to stillness. The anxiety evaporated as if it had never been. Stoicism replaced indecision. Alice entered the pool with girlish grace, swaying slightly in a bid for balance, before sinking to her chin.
The water warmed her skin right to the edge of perspiration. Eyes bluer than the veins in her fragile wrists slit in contentment. Alice exhaled in smug relief. Everything was fine. Reckless emotions were for those without vision. If she couldn’t control her environment she could at least control herself.
A thick bar of soap appeared with a splash. Alice looked up, expecting to see an intruder. Instead, a beam from an unnoticed dome encircled her. Before she could study the light source, a tiny bottle of viscous liquid dropped in front of her. Alice plucked it from the water with an interested frown.
I guess it’s shampoo. But why so small? It’s worse than what you find at the local shelters.
She set it on the ledge behind her. Alice used the soap with brisk intent. Satisfied with her cleanliness, she ducked her head under for the briefest time possible. Alice’s heart quivered a few disconsolate notes before resuming its normal cadence. She opened the bottle and slathered her long brown hair with the contents. Piling the heavy mass on top of her head, Alice let her senses fall under the exotic scents.
It smells so good. I feel like a rich girl. Or better yet…I feel like I’m in a dream. No problems. No worries.
The enormity of the pool beckoned, testing her spirited conviction. Alice reached out with a foot. She defied physical limitation by clinging to the predetermined “safe” end while commanding her leg to stretch several feet away.
“It’s only water this time. What did he mean by that?” Alice muttered while carefully creeping forward. She somewhat expected to sink into an abyss and was most pleased when it didn’t occur. Alice jumped up once and landed with a splash. A stingy giggle manifested.
Alice dipped her head back, spread her arms wide, and imagined herself to be alone in a friendly sea. If only all water could be so polite and managed. The light continued its monocle stare. She closed her eyes against it and let herself sway in pleasure.
High above the girl, hidden safely in the lighted tower, two sets of eyes studied their newest addition while another set refused to look down.
“She’s magnificent, isn’t she? The constant pull between fear and fearlessness is exquisite.”
“Director H. you are to be commended in your choice of young Alice. She’s a perfect foil for the Yamagatas emissary.” The child voice and matching appearance didn’t reflect the ageless knowledge of the speaker.
“She will doubtlessly be pleased with young Yukio.”
“Really? How can you be so sure?”
Director H. spared his distant relative a mocking glance. “She thinks my eyes are pretty. And my hair. I imagine if I had bunny ears she would enjoy those as well.”
“Are you interested? It’s not too late to change the pairings.”
“Too kind you are but no. I’ve tired of the details that comes with pairings long ago. I’d much rather watch.” Director H. propped his chin on white-gloved hand. “They’re so delicious though, aren’t they?”
“Hmm. Yes. They are.” Brilliantly violet eyes turned away from the splashing pseudo-nymph and addressed the young man standing a hostile distance away. “What do you think of her Lord Yukio?”
“She’s adequate.”
“Really? How can you be so sure? You haven’t even looked at her.”
“I don’t need to, Director K. I trust you and Director H. with the choice.”
Update 11-8-09
“Yukio,” Director H. remained fixated on Alice. “I would have a word with you if you please.”
The younger male bowed his head and obeyed the dazzling creature whose intricately layered white suit threatened to outstrip the room of color. Yukio’s resentment presented itself only through his overly graceful movements. Director H. smiled and gestured, “She’s perfect for you. She followed me with only minimal slaughter.”
“Minimal? How minimal Director H.?”
He shifted from one leg to the other before addressing his diminutive colleague. “I only had to kill her seventy-one times.”
“Violently?”
“Mostly.”
“And she never hesitated in coming back for more?”
“No. In fact, Alice dared me to employ even nastier methods. The blood would’ve sickened even you, Director K.”
A blissful smile touched his rosebud mouth. “Exhilarating.”
Yukio remained unmoved by their morbid conversation.
Director H. waved the young man closer. He waited until Yukio reached his side. “Alice is strong enough even for your demons. You won’t be able to scare her away. She’ll keep coming after you until you have no choice but to give into her charms.”
“As you say, Sir.”
“I do say. I say very well. Look at her.” Director H. slid over, making room for his recalcitrant charge. Yukio joined him. Posture erect, virgin-colored robe not close enough to touch the metal rail, Yukio obeyed with minimal effort. His gaze flicked down and away with insulting indifference.
“She’s terrified of being eaten.”
“Really?” Director K. tapped his tiny gloved fingers against the railing in consideration. “She must be sensing it from previous incarnations.” He observed Yukio with sly amusement. “You made quite an impression there, Lord Yamagata. Obviously, you couldn’t contain yourself.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“If you say so. No, actually don’t.” Director K. swiveled his chair and faced the adolescent. His miniature black suit and matching tie contrasted aggressively against the carmine seat and even more so against the blindingly white room. “Our little Alice here has met your acquaintance more than once. I do hope you don’t kill her too quickly, Yamagata-sama. It’s such an effort to procreate these days. If you are tempted to allow your temper to dictate, at least remember that you must ensure your line survives. I can only reorder Time so often before it puts me in wretched mood.”
Yukio’s silvered stare darkened with menace. He pivoted on his heel and faced the child-like being. Yukio bowed low before his elevated chair. “You are my elder, Director K. so I beg pardon if my words are given with disrespect, but I cannot believe I have ever met this human in any incarnation.”
Director K. pursed his rosy mouth. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Foolish boy.” His wide smile revealed perfect fangs. “Why do you think you already hate her so?”
Yukio held Director K.’s mocking gaze for a vulgar amount of time. Helpless rage caused the ends of his knee-length hair to rise. His face whitened past the color of ice. The room’s temperature instantly dropped to freezing.
“And there, my arrogant Yamagata-sama, is all the proof we would ever need.” Director K. sliced the air with his hand. The room became unbearably hot. Yukio dropped to his knees.
Update January 11, 2010
Director H. tutted. “Children are ever so determined to have their own way and dispose of their elders’ good councel. Were we ever this pig-headed?”
“No, I can’t possibly believe so.”
Both men watched as Yukio fought to keep his composure even in the face of bodily harm. His body quaked, swaying from one side to the other in stingy degrees.
“All you have to do is relent, Yamagata-sama, and I will stop this.”
Yukio bowed his head further, lips mute but pride screaming what he thought of the tiny creature’s enmity swathed in dulcet tones.
“Do you suppose I’ll have to kill him and start over again?”
Director H. smiled and crouched down. “No. Young Yukio is stubborn, arrogant, willful, but he is a fool. Death would do nothing but teach him to dig his heels in further.”
Yukio’s mottled skin had gone past the point of cherry and had sunk into full plum. He wanted to leave this place, to run away and never come back. Only the shame it would bring to his line kept him in place. His presence had done enough damage to the Yamagatas. He refused to add to it.
Even if meant the flesh would fall off his bones.
“My patience is beyond tested, Director H. I would prefer to kill him and rewind.”
“You are too quick to lose patience, dear man. You would do better to let things progress naturally.”
“If I did that the families would’ve gone extinct millenniums ago and we’d be left with nothing but the humans.”
“True. Don’t forget they have their worth too, Director K. Without the humans, there would be no use for us.” Director H. lifted Yukio’s chin with one gloved finger. He smiled at the weak display of fang. “You would bite me if you could, wouldn’t you? You feel this instinct? It is good, Yukio. Do you know why? Because you cannot control it.” He acknowledged the rage his words created. “You cannot control everything. You cannot. Just as you cannot control this. Don’t forget it.”
He stood up, as graceful as ever, and addressed his watchful colleague. “I believe my wayward relative has learned his lesson. You may leave off.”
“If you wish.”
All moisture in the air instantly froze. Yukio drew in the bitterly cold air with relish. He would not forget this lesson. Nor would he forget why he had to suffer it. Once his throat released him, Yukio fought to find stable footing and asked, “When do I get to meet Alice?”
“You see, Director H.? A little pain never failed anyone as a teaching tool. Now Yamagata-sama is eager to meet his partner.”
“I believe that’s menace you hear, not welcome.”
“I care little for what it is as long as their functionality results in children.” Director K. pointed one miniature finger in uncompromising threat. “Now you go down there and meet your human bride.”
“Partner.”
“Bride, partner, pet, I care not for what it’s now called, Director H.!”
“Right.” His smile turned its voltage towards Yukio. “She is finishing her feminine toilette as we speak. Come, lets go meet our wonderful Alice.”
Update February 1, 2010
Yukio followed his elder through the wall. It dissolved around them before snapping back into place. The floor vanished, leaving Director H. and Yukio to float down.
Director H. assumed a comfortable position. He predicted this journey would take a bit of time. He observed his young charge with a benevolent smile. One which Yukio refused to reflect, causing Director H. to chide. “I hope you show a little more effort than this. It’s not as if we’re tying you to an unattractive girl, Yukio.”
“I wouldn’t care.” He inhaled sharply. “I don’t expect you to understand. After all, everything is of humor to you.”
“True. The tragedy of existing leaves two choices—madness of pain or madness of laughter. I choose the latter. You are stupidly choosing the first.”
As expected, the younger man drew up, limbs stiff like knives. “There is no stupidity in honoring the Yamagatas.”
“You do honor them to a fault. Duty is an unforgiving mistress, isn’t she?”
Yukio didn’t react overtly to the subtle barb. “I am here because of duty. I am going to dishonor my beliefs for this duty. I am going to submit my life to your disgusting program. I will bed that girl as many times as it takes to produce issue. The only stupidity here is not on my part.”
“Very passionate for a man of your honor. I am heartened to see you only control ice but are not entirely made of it.” Director H. reached out and touched Yukio’s colorless hair. “It’s too bad we’ll have to cut this. It seems so long ago since I had hair like yours. Seeing it makes me remember.”
Moments elapsed. “Remember what?” The question, although grudging, required the politeness of a response.
Director H. laughed and withdrew his hand. “It makes me remember why I choose the latter.” He clapped once. “All right, young Yukio. We must first cut off all this beautiful hair. It wouldn’t do for our Alice to see you with it, especially since it can’t stay. She’ll only mourn its loss and how would that be fair?”
He unfolded his legs precisely when the floor reappeared. His walk bounced with excitement. “Let us hurry!” Director H. swept his arm out with a flourish. A door appeared, suspended from nothing and leading to everywhere. He waited until Yukio stepped through before following. “Ana, my darling, how have you been?”
She leaned down from her considerable height and kissed his cheek. “Absolute.” Statuesque and willowy, Ana possessed a complexion so fair it made Yukio’s appear flushed. She motioned him to sit on her chair. The gorgeous pink cushion matched her tightly curled locks. “The regular?”
“High and tight.”
“Has he been collared yet?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“How long before his hair grows back?”
Director H. considered for a moment. “No less than an hour and seven minutes.”
“Will he be collared by then?”
“Perhaps.”
Ana’s inhumanely long fingers caressed Yukio’s scalp. “If not then you’ll have to bring him back?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I hope so.”
“Yukio, there’s nothing to fear here. Ana has quite a love affair with hair, that’s all.”
“I feared nothing.” He didn’t acknowledge the friendly pat to his arm.
“Good. Then you won’t fear knowing she will be able to fashion a doppelganger from your locks—one that looks exactly like you?”
Revulsion flickered. “For what purpose?”
“Many. Isn’t that right, Ana?”
“I’ll only keep one for myself, Yamagata-sama, just one. Then I’ll kill it after I’m done. You’ll only feel the tiniest bit of pain. Very, very tiny.”
“See? Very tiny.” Director H.’s brilliant grin widened. “Now off with the hair. He must hurry to see Alice before she drowns.”
Update 2-17-10
Ana flowed about Yukio; her movements jarred in their liquidity. He fixed on a point unseen to all except him. Hair hit the floor with whispered protestations. Yukio’s mind flickered with the fear his head would just float away. It felt that insubstantial without the physical weight he had carried for as long as remembered.
“I would tell you to stop frowning or you’ll develop wrinkles but that just doesn’t apply to people like us.”
Yukio’s face slackened. He heard Director H. sigh melodramatically. What he said next made him start forward.
“Ana, take a care not to decapitate him in your bliss.”
“Sorry, sorry. I can’t help it. His hair is so…beautiful.” She brought her nose forward to nuzzle the air above Yukio’s scalp. “I’m not sure if I’m happy to do this or if it makes me sad.”
“Neither, dear. It just makes you a bit crazed. That’s all. Once our Yukio leaves you can play with as many of him as you can take.”
Ana brought her thin blades to his neck. Yukio stopped moving. “Really? Five?”
“More if you can handle it.”
Her color exploded into rose. “I can handle this one.” Ana’s neck stretched with an inhuman angle to bring her face in front of Yukio. “You are going to bring me so much pleasure tonight.”
“Not me.”
“If you say so.” She smiled. Needle teeth shined silver like the instruments in her hand. “But you’d be wrong.”
“Quit teasing him, Ana.”
“I can’t help it. He’s so delicious. I love the way he tastes.”
Yukio quivered. Defiance demanded he forget his honor and kill the despicable creature in front of him.
“Be a dear and don’t do it. I’d so hate to have my suit sullied by blood. It was enough I had to walk around with your intended’s on me for a month.”
“Was he going to kill me, Director H.?”
“Hmm. I believe so.”
Ana drew back with a pout. “After I was this nice to him? How rude! No, no, no. This is unacceptable. I demand you let me cut his hair a second time. Before it grows back.”
Yukio’s muscles tightened, hovering on the edge between self-defense and aggressive slaughter.
Director H. hopped between the miffed stylist and rattled demigod. “Now, now. Let us all calm down. Ana, my darling, you know you were entirely too naughty in teasing him.”
“What is a little teasing between lovers?”
The air crystallized. Director H. hazarded a glance behind him. Yukio’s mercurial gaze crackled. “She doesn’t mean it literally. Only your doppelgangers.”
“Disgusting.” He skewered Ana with his stare before settling it on Director H. “Everything about you is disgusting. You play with us, giving no consideration to our position. Change Time, make copies, set us in opposition and then do it all over again. Disgusting.”
“Err…all right then.” Director H. clapped his hands. “Ana, divine as always. Have fun tonight.”
“Oh. I will. You can count on that.” Her sinister smile left very little room for speculation.
“Yukio, come. It’s all right. Ana won’t hurt you. There, there. Come now.” He patiently waited for Yukio to slide out of the chair without giving his back to either of them.
The door appeared. Yukio stepped through after Director H. He turned to see Ana wiggle her blades at him before the portal slammed shut.
“You probably shouldn’t have antagonized her like that.”
“I did nothing of the sort.”
“I disagree.”
“That woman is perverse. She shouldn’t be allowed to live.”
“Yes, well, you shouldn’t have antagonized her.” Director H. paused in his steps. The hallway darkened immediately, leaving enough light to illuminate the two. “You’re going to feel some…pain…off and on for the next few days. Don’t be alarmed. You’re not dying. That’ll just be Ana.”
Update 3-4-10
Yukio regarded him with a lifeless stare. “How do you live with yourself?”
“Who says I do?” Director H. tapped his pocket twice. “At the risk of repetition, we really must go. Alice is bound to be up to her pretty nose in water. The poor thing has probably drowned ten times by now.”
Yukio’s indifference caused the older man to shake his head.
“You ask how I live with myself. I ask the very same. You have no idea how pitiful Alice is when shock has her flopping this way and that way. It’s horrible. You don’t even care, Sir!”
“I have not harmed her, Director H. You have.”
“Petty details. Hardly inconsequential.”
“Agreed. So it makes no difference whether she drowns or not. It’s not real.”
“Oh, it is very real to her. Alice feels everything. Whether she’ll be allowed to remember is the question.”
Yukio’s stare flicked away. Immobile. Haughty.
“Ah, well perhaps you will feel differently after you’ve had the pleasure of tasting her.”
“Have you?”
Director H. hummed. Little jealousy. Definitely possession. So tiny, almost to be nonexistent, but there nonetheless. An ignoble start but one all the same. He had to take care with how he proceeded. The Yamagatas rigid morals were not going to be easy to overcome.
Especially Yukio.
“I’ve only had the pleasure of a few of Alice’s kisses. The first is when I slit her throat.” He blissful sigh underscored the heinous telling. “Her mouth, so pretty with blood, fit mine so beautifully. Even I was moved. I wanted to eat her right then. There was also a time right before I hung her—I couldn’t help myself. The last was when I ripped out her heart. Mmm…rest assured you will have a mate worthy of your line, Yukio.”
“As long as she fulfills her obligations I will fulfill mine.”
The hallway buzzed white like bleached bone. Director H. grinned. It set the other man on edge. “Would we all have such darling obligations to fill.”
“You may have her if you so desire. I would not stand in your way.”
“Bartering Alice as if she were a whore? No, no, no. That will never do, Young Yukio.” Director H. stalked him, grin bursting that he refused to give an inch. “She is yours until, oh I’d say, forever. Accept it. There is no changing this.”
“I am to be married, Director H. to Elise. I would not dishonor her this way.”
“There is no dishonor here. Elise is in the same predicament as you. However, unlike you, she’s found peace with it.”
Yukio’s mouth flattened. “I would not dishonor her.”
Director H. shook his head in pity. “Alice will have her hands full with you. I hope she gets the chance to stab you in your sleep. Or at the very least, cook you in a pot.”
Update 3-19-10
Yukio’s attention flicked away with insulting indifference.
“Are you ready to meet her?”
“I am.” The words pulled out of him like teeth, rotted and resigned to a shameful demise.
“Goody.” Director H. clapped his hands once in glee. “Well, there she is.” The hallway vanished, leaving them both suspended over a large pool presently occupied by a floating girl.
Yukio wilted beneath the steam. His body itched and burned with discomfort. Something else to place on her unwanted doorstep. He thought to ask on what was expected of him before killing that idea. Yukio would not be party to his own disgrace anymore than he already had.
“Oh, as I expected. The poor dear has allowed herself to drown.” Director H.’s casual tut sounded as mournful as a baby’s laugh. “Yukio, please help me get her out. Director K.?”
“Have they met?” The tiny shrill came from everywhere.
“In a matter of speaking.”
“What matter?”
“She’s dead.”
“Dead, Director H.? Did Yamagata-sama kill her already? Couldn’t he have waited until tonight?”
“No, I’m afraid he is the innocent party in this case.” Yukio carried only half of her weight, touching Alice no more than necessary. His repulsion of her heavy in his blank face. Director H. shouldered Alice. Unnecessary for the task but his compassion demanded more care than the one finger Yukio used.
“If Yamagata-sama didn’t do it, did you?”
“No. I’ve already performed my share of slaughter.”
“Then how did she die?”
“She drowned.” Director H. placed her limp body on the tiled floor. He disliked the marble sheen of corpse flesh. He checked his watch. Apparently, he had taken far too long indulging the prideful demigod standing with back turned to them both. “Alice has been dead for thirteen hours, twelve minutes, and fifty-two seconds.”
“And I suppose you’d like me to turn back time?”
“It is your specialty, my dear director.”
“Hmph! These two are taking far more of my precious attention than I would like.”
“I do sincerely apologize. Your brilliance is so underappreciated by the likes of this world.”
“Hush. No one likes a suck-up.”
“Of course not.”
“Fine. Fine. I will bring the Alice back to life. Again. When would you like it to happen?”
“One moment.” Director H. turned to his silent companion. “Alice, my dear, would you like to be brought back on the verge? So your handsome, priggish, but sensitive father of your future babies can breathe his kiss into your mouth?”
Yukio strangled on his ire, his silence was so void of warmth.
“Ah, I take it that would not suit you?”
“No. I would not.”
“Too bad. You both could’ve started so smoothly. The hard way it is.”
“Director K.?”
“Yes? Have you decided?”
“Mmm. Bring Alice back to the point of safety. I will ensure she doesn’t venture too far into the Styxian Realm. Whoever designed it to share bathing space should be scalped.”
“That would be you, Director H. Would you like to visit Ana?”
“Oh, yes. It was me.” He smiled in wonderment. “Yukio? Please exit the chamber. I will bring your darling girl to you as soon as she’s presentable. Is that agreeable?”
Yukio barely dropped his head in a nod. He pivoted on his heel and walked away. Alice appeared more animated than he did.
“The more you love, the more you hate. Your passion will definitely be the death of you, Yukio.”
The snow god remained liquid in stride.
TBC…
I’ve missed Julian & Lily as well. I’m...
2 Comments
when are you gonna update this one? i am horribly curious so curious its a little scary
I know! I know!
I really do need to update this one. I’m going try to put a little one up today. Cross your fingers.