Chapter 8 #2
The way he squeezed my hand continued fueling the endless shudders. “There is nothing wrong with being frightened. The emotion will help you alert and alive until you reach your destination.”
While he didn’t stop me when I jerked my hand free, I could see a flash of disappointment in his eyes. I jumped from the stool, backing away with my arms crossed, chilled to the bone. Not because of what he’d said, but because his words were similar to what Rage had told me.
“What destination?”
“Somewhere allowing you to grow once again.”
“What is going on, Peter? Why do I feel as if I’ve been groomed for a duty I neither understand nor want?”
“Because that is exactly what has occurred in your life. Now, your destiny awaits you. Tell me about the Savages you met.”
How he knew didn’t seem to matter. I looked away at the glowing lights in the two dozen terrariums, all filled with plants lovingly cared for. Nothing seemed real any longer.
“They were Savages, eight to ten of them. They confronted me in the city. I think they’d been stalking me.”
“They confronted you or they protected you?”
I pressed my fingers to my lips, both still slightly swollen from Rage’s rough kisses. Since I’d yet to take a shower, his scent lingered on every inch of skin. Maybe that’s how Peter had known I’d betrayed not only myself but my village. “I’m so sorry. I had a moment of weakness. They just…”
“Are you under the impression I’m angry with you?”
“You should be. I’m enraged with myself for letting my guard down.” I paced the floor, fighting the horrific chill already clashing with the enflamed throb pulsing between my legs.
Never quick to intervene, he allowed me a full minute of wallowing in whatever I was doing. At this point, I wasn’t certain myself. “Have I ever told you that there are two different groups of Savages?”
Was this another test? Peter remained a professor through and through, always testing my knowledge even when I wasn’t aware.
There were never any pieces of paper to score, or questions written down I was required to spend time on like a thesis.
His method of educating me had been brilliant, more because I hungered for more, even begging him for just one more topic.
But not about Savages. Once I’d learned they were brutal, vicious creatures, their sole intent on killing everyone in the Resistance, the subject had been closed. “No. What does that mean?”
“Sit, child. Your pacing is giving me a headache. Drink your tea before it gets cold.”
He waited for me to obey, which prompted another even uglier thought about Rage. But I sat down because whatever Peter wanted to share with me, I needed to hear.
“Alright. Please tell me what that means.”
“You already know why the Savages were created. Some of the finest scientific minds, those in several disciplines intending on creating the ultimate soldier. You also know why.”
“Because you told them it was necessary.”
His laugh was full of joy, which struck me as odd.
“I merely suggested enhanced protection was needed. Various scientists and other medical professionals created what they hoped would be an impenetrable army. With the fears at the time increasing with legitimacy of what could occur, the United States needed a foolproof method of fighting all those daring to attack our country. The plan was excellent. Unfortunately, neither the scientists nor the military had accounted for the intricacies of the poison gas used against the army of genetically altered men. In short, not a single Savage was spared from the extreme effects of the nerve gas.”
“Yes. That’s why even you have warned me about their horrors.”
“I have,” he said as his eyes twinkled. “Not all of the first-generation Savages are extremely vicious or incapable of acting as if almost entirely human, but they cannot be trusted.”
“First generation. Then I’m thankful I drugged them and escaped.”
His chuckle seemed as if pleased by my behavior. “You have a level of curiosity befitting your heritage. I should have taken that more into account with telling you about the Verndari.”
“The Verndari?”
“A name based on ancient Norse mythology. Savages rising from the ashes in a crisis. The name is perfect for the new generation of Savages. They are impervious to the effects of any gas produced both in the beginning and in subsequent years, including up to as late as five years ago from our enemies. They have many more capabilities than what is left of our world, I’m afraid.
They were also allowed to keep more of their humanity, which in turn creates a weakness but also a strength. ”
The United States. The name had changed before I was born in the United Sovereign States of America.
And now? Most simply used the terminology for the domed cities that had popped up in several locations.
From what I’d heard, the Freedom Cities were anything but free.
All run by a tyrannical man who’d named himself a king.
Many had fallen for his promises of rebuilding, laying claim to the concept of the Freedom Cities when he’d only been a part of the team developing the projects.
Now he lived in the main city called Zenith, a highly secured city filled with thousands of believers.
“You’re telling me the Verndari have a sense of humanity? Decency? That they aren’t really monsters.”
“I am. They are programmed beings, still genetically altered, but instead of using their extreme attributes for harm, they use them to support the Resistance. Unfortunately, they are actively being hunted.”
“By the Freedom Hunters?”
“Yes, and by rogue groups of survivors including the Borgata and others like them.”
I thought about what Rage had warned me. That I was being hunted. Why?
“If they aren’t killed, they are taken to prisons for the Exile.
They don’t mind rounding up the stage one Savages as well, especially after the coup of twenty seventy-seven, but most were and continue to be put to their deaths, not imprisoned and used for entertainment purposes.
Plus, they are experimented on as well. Those doing the king’s bidding are even more dangerous and uncontrollable than before. ”
His face fell in recognition of whatever horrors they’d been forced to face.
“How would I know for certain if the Savages I faced are Verndari?”
“They carry a mark on their groins. A black star. Unmistakable and in perfect formation.”
My mind drifted to Rage. While I’d admired his cock, I certainly hadn’t noticed a star. Was it possible he’d been truthful about what he’d told me?
“What does all this mean?”
“What did they say to you?”
I licked my lips, trying to force down some additional tea while my throat had already begun to close.
“He said he’d been sent to take me somewhere and he and his soldiers wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Why would he say something like that? Who did he think he was, trying to coerce me into going with him?
Where? Why?” A knot had also formed in my stomach, one large enough I struggled to breathe normally.
I was a nervous wreck. No one liked change, least of all someone who’d felt all alone as a child.
Peter was so calm, so in control of his emotions and very little interrupted his enjoyment of tea.
He’d once told me it was one of his greatest pleasures.
After consuming every drop, he finally lifted his head.
“I will answer your questions, but first tell me what you remember. What have the dreams returned to your life?”
“What have they returned?” I’d hated the dreams, terrified of their meaning. “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”
“Yes, you do, child. Think about your first memories of being saved and even before. That’s what you’ve envisioned at night. Yes?”
I had a terrible feeling I was going to throw up. “I can’t.”
“It’s important you do. Close your eyes. Why did you choose the name Jake for the dog?”
“That’s easy. I had a dog named Jake a long time ago. He was so sweet. They even looked a lot alike and…” I realized the memory had run free in my mind, images crystal clear. “I had a dog when I came to the village?”
“No, Star, you did not.”
“That was in my life before?”
“Yes. You are ready to remember even more and you will. Tell me what you remember about the day you were rescued. Just take deep breaths and allow your mind to be free. No one is going to hurt you.”
His voice as soft, melodic, and holding such patience with me. As always, I could trust him.
Even so, pain and uncertainty tore through me, my pulse skipping beats. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to remember anything.
Shivers sweeping through me were uncontrollable, but I trusted Peter with all I had and all I wanted to be.
“I was alone, but I don’t know why. It was a building, rubble and I’d found a safe place to hide.
I was so cold and so frightened that I couldn’t stop crying.
Something had told me I shouldn’t make noise, but I couldn’t help it.
I was distraught and so thirsty. I could hear wild animals and thought for certain I would die. ”
“What happened then?”
An ache formed behind my eyes, painful enough I rubbed my skin to try to relieve the discomfort. It was too forceful, the agony only increasing. Or perhaps that was all in my mind. “I heard another sound. At first, I thought a creature had found me. But then a face appeared.”
“A face?”
“Uh-huh. A man. No, it was a boy’s face, an older boy. I don’t know. Maybe seventeen? His face was thin and I remember him having long arms and legs.”
“What did he do?”
“He was nice to me. He gave me water and told me everything was going to be alright. After that, he took me with him. I know we hid in a building that night, but somewhere different. He even built a little fire to keep me warm. The next day, wherever he took me, there were a lot of people.” I opened my eyes, but the visions didn’t leave.
“Not long after, Mama and Daddy came to get me.”
He smiled slowly, nodding as if I wasn’t finished.