ELIANO #9
I blink as awareness rushes back in, unpleasant and intrusive, slipping out of the darker corners of my mind. Unfortunately, I know I have to fight, at all costs, what is growing inside me, that desire for Salt and me to be something more than just a brief affair destined to end badly.
Salt’s behavior, his words, his expressions, the energy he carries around him, all make it painfully clear that for him this is only a stop along the way, and it brutally cuts into me. I should just give up hope, for my own good.
I sit up slowly and rub my face. Salt is still fast asleep. I carefully cover him with a blanket, then get to my feet.
I pull on my pants and a T-shirt and, after a moment of hesitation, decide to leave through the back door, the one that only opens with Salt’s access card. I find it lying on the kitchen counter, use it, and then slip quietly out of the unit.
Plain and simple, I need air. I want to tone down the rush of emotions, the excitement, and this foolish, persistent hope blooming inside me like a weed.
Today was my first time, after all, and I’m probably still under its silly charm, caught up in how special it felt to me.
But I simply… liked it a lot. Part of me is glad it happened with Salt. In some ways he is the perfect person, but in others he might be the absolute worst, because when he finally runs from the island, it will hit me over the head, three times over.
A potent thought pops into my mind.
Maybe… just maybe…I could convince him?
Talk him into changing his mind. It feels like some kind of path, though a rather fragile chance. If the right moment comes, I promise myself I will do everything I can to help him find another solution.
If Salt breaks the rules of the facility, we lose any chance of being together. I do not remember the precise details of the contract, but I am pretty sure that neither the Beta Activation Program nor Second Chance tolerates runaways. There is no ‘third’ chance.
I walk along the promenade, my thoughts erratic and tangled, and I’m so lost in them that I barely notice where I am going.
Only then do I realize I have reached the area near the first modules, the ones closest to the cafeteria building.
That is when I hear a faint sound, hardly audible, yet something about it draws my attention.
Carefully, I move between modules five and six, where thick bushes grow. I crouch low among them, almost on my knees, scanning the area, and something catches my eye.
Movement. Two bodies. Panting.
Behind module four, exactly what Salt mentioned to me earlier is happening.
Drax is there, fucking a beta pressed up against the wall.
The impulse to do something is strange, so I pull my phone from my pocket and start recording. I barely understand myself, but maybe this is a way to get proof of what is happening here?
The video is short. Within a minute of me starting to film, Drax finishes.
He zips up his pants, all in silence. Then he turns and walks away without giving the beta a single glance, heading toward the cafeteria building.
He passes behind several of the first modules, including the empty module number one, where Shane and Jeff lived.
The beta slumps to the ground, curling in on himself, his back against the wall.
Immediately, I stop recording, feeling sick to my stomach, and slip the phone back into my pocket.
The beta lowers his head, shoulders hunched. I hesitate, unsure whether to leave quietly through the bushes, when a soft, sobbing sound reaches my ears. Only now do I recognize this guy. This is Fred, Bashir’s husband! His hands are pressed to his face, and he is quietly whimpering.
On a stupid impulse, I step out from behind the bushes and walk toward him.
"What happened?" I ask softly, even though I already know.
He drops his hands from his face and jumps to his feet, nervously adjusting his pants.
"Nothing happened! What are you even doing here?" he blurts out, quickly wiping his cheeks to hide the tears.
I let out a short scoff. "I know what’s going on here, Fred. It’s Drax. He fucks betas to stimulate their fertility."
The beta stares at me for a moment with his wide, light-brown eyes. He is young, maybe twenty, which means he must have entered the program at eighteen. He does not say a word, just stares, his body trembling slightly.
"I only have one question for you," I say slowly, quietly. "Are they forcing you to do this? Did they come one day and say: you’ve been here almost two years and there’s no pregnancy, so you either agree or you go back to prison?"
He swallows hard. His lips tremble, he sniffles, then slowly nods. "Yes. And I would be locked up for a looong time," he whispers. "Drunk, coming back from a stupid party, I hit a group of people with my car."
"Did it end with them—?" I gesture with my finger across my throat.
He nods grimly.
Oh, hell. Drunk driving and mowing down a group of people sounds like something he wouldn’t wriggle out of with less than a fifteen-year sentence… and that’s with a miracle-working lawyer.
So, he’s stuck here; it’s his only chance to have a semblance of real life. No wonder he’s desperate.
I sigh. "Do the alphas know about this? Are they informed that their betas are, in practice, being raped by Drax?"
Fred shakes his head. "No. The alphas would not agree. They are encouraged to be more possessive here, so this… would be crushing." He lifts his hands to his face again, wiping away another tear.
"Those bastards," I growl darkly. "I guess this is BA’s way of padding the stats."
Silence settles between us. I shake my head slightly. "I’m sorry you’re in this situation, Fred."
"Yes, it was my own stupidity that started it all, so I have to endure it. Please, don’t tell anyone. I don’t want people to know," Fred blurts out through tears.
I breathe out slowly. "But you understand that this shouldn’t be happening? This is a government program, and this facility has clearly found its own ‘creative’ method to stay ahead in the rankings. I seriously doubt this is approved by the main oversight committee."
Fred is quiet for a moment.
"But what happens if Drax isn’t here anymore? They’ll be left with the standard methods, and those don’t work nearly as well! Will they shut the place down? Sidorov hinted at this."
"Sidorov wanted you to believe it, fear it, but I doubt it."
He presses his hands to his temples, trembling. "I don’t wanna be separated from Bashir! I want a kid with him… If I don’t get pregnant, they can…"
"Calm down, Fred. There are other facilities with lower stats that are still operating. What they’re doing here is illegal, and the blackmail they’re using is morally wrong."
"But what can be done? Someone would have to call the police, but it’s risky."
"It doesn’t have to be a participant. Someone from the outside, a journalist, might have ways to uncover what’s going on here."
Tears keep streaming down Fred’s face, so I add quietly, "I’ll think about what can be done, I promise. This can’t be left as it is."
His lips shake as he speaks. "It hurt so much. It was horrible."
I let out a slow breath. My protective instinct kicks in, anger rising inside me. Even though Fred is not my beta, his suffering is hard to stand.
"Was this the first time?"
He nods.
"When is the next time he’s supposed to come to you?"
"In four days."
"I’ll try to do something. This is a sick, humiliating situation, and it can’t just be ignored."
I pat his shoulder gently, careful not to overwhelm him with my presence. "Hang in there, Fred. Maybe I can come up with something."
He nods shyly.
It occurs to me that even though Bashir is considered a dominant alpha who defeats others, his hormones were apparently not strong enough to awaken fertility in Fred.
Are only freaks of nature like Drax capable of altering a beta’s hormonal profile, of initiating a sub-gender transition?
But at what cost? For me, that cost is too high.
"Take care," I say, turning away toward our module. Fred remains by the wall, clearly trying to pull himself together.
My head is spinning, but gradually a plan begins to take shape, clearer with every step. It involves risk, but doing nothing is not an option. I would never sleep again if I did.
I lived in Anzo’s fortress, forced to witness violence against the innocent, and back then I swore that when I was free, I wouldn’t be that kind of alpha. I would be the one who says no when it has to be said, because my morals demand it, even when it isn’t convenient for me.
I grip my phone in my hand, the video still saved on it. I intend to put it to good use.