will defend you when you need it.” Gretal said with her toothy smile.
I examined the pendent and noticed it was shaped like a heart, mixed with filigree and swirls. In the centre was some markings that looked completely foreign to me.
“Now drink this.” said Gretal as she handed me a not so clean cup of black liquid.
I sniffed it. It smelt like it came from a very not so clean toilet.
“What is this?” I asked with concern.
I felt my jaw muscles locking up in protest of drinking this drink.
“This is ba-ba juice.” replied Gretal.
She was collecting leaves from a small bush she had growing in a pot in the corner of the room. I took a small sip and swallowed. It tasted as bad as it looked and smelt. Gretal glanced over at me.
“Drink it up. Don't waste time. We need you ready.” said Gretal impatiently.
“Ready for what?” I responded.
Gretal grinned and replied “For breeding.”
I almost spat out the next mouthful of this foul black goo when I heard Gretals’ reply.
“Breeding?!” I spoke out louder than I thought I had.
“Yes, you are the key to successful breeding. We have had in the past, somewhat mixed results in breeding human females. Filling in counterpart DNA with other creatures has worked out from ok to absolutely horrifying.”
“So I’m to sleep with these human women?” I asked with a smile.
“Oh no, you will not be mating in the traditional manner. I have a machine that will extract your fluids. This will be used in a bio chamber which will create genetic merging inside the woman with no need for you to engage in primal activities.” said Gretal.
I felt a little cheated when Gretal spoke of breeding yet the act of intercourse was not even an option. I took more sips of this vile black liquid. I had to stop myself from gagging a few times. I finally finished the drink and placed the cup on a bench cluttered with bits and pieces. Gretal walked over to me with a large needle with the glass chamber holding some sort of pinkish liquid inside.
“Drop your pants and touch your toes.”
“What?!” I replied in shock.
Gretal leaned in closer.
“I have to give you this injection, now drop your pants and bend over for me,” said Gretal in a calm but firm voice.
I didn't move. “What is that needle for?”
“This is to give your body a massive booster. Then I'll harvest your DNA for the chamber.”
I carefully lowered my pants, keeping my underwear on, I bent over. Greta jabbed me with the needle. A cold sharp pain entered my rear end and a heavy equally cold pulse moved through my body.
“Done; pull up your pants” said Gretal in a very casual, uninterested voice.
I pulled up my pants as quickly as I could and buckled my belt. I suddenly felt strange and light headed; I had to sit down.
"Gretal, I don't feel so good." I said as I watched my vision go blurry.
Gretal walked over to me and peered at my face up close. She smiled and moved back a few feet.
"You'll be fine. It is just the side effects of your injection. Happens from time to time." Gretal said as she turned away from me and went about her business.
My vision got worse and my ears must have been affected because everything sounded like I was in a large cathedral. I remember everything becoming darker and then nothing.
Dreams of pain, more like nightmares. Flashing images of damp, dimly lit workshops, where masked people looking at me, studying me. I am uneasy; blackness; empty cold feeling, I cannot escape.
A large black and brown rough rock the height of a tall man slowly rolls past where I am laying, which appears to be some sort of makeshift metal table. The rock continues to roll all the way until it leaves the room. Suddenly I feel a sharp bursting pain.
I wake up in bed. It is bright white light around me. I can see I am in a bed; which looks very old, but clean. It looked out of place in this bright white glowing room. I sat up and turned; put my feet on the glowing white floor. It felt very cold and extremely smooth. I stood up and that was when I realised I am wearing a poor man's version of a medical gown. The gown was a dirty patchy brown cloth that not only had its fair share of tears and repairs, it also had some splatters that I hope was not dried blood. I heard a soft whoosh sound to the left of me and I saw my guide, Belle. She was still dressed in her travelling gear.
"You're up." said Belle with a neutral expression on her face.
"Where am I?" I responded.
"You're in one of the natural forming glass chambers just outside of Ruck Nor." Belle said as she moved closer.
Belle removed a leather backpack and unbuckled it and took out clothes and tossed them to me.
"These are your clothes now. Since you are stuck here, you need to blend in." Belle said with seriousness.
"So what happened after I passed out?" I asked.
"Your DNA was sampled and blended with several of the women from the newest batch." Belle replied.
I started getting dressed. The dark brown pants with a rope belt looked like it has been worn by many people over many years and never washed. The shirt was a slip on, a pirate looking shirt that was equally as filthy. Belle had given me some black boots that were mid shin length in height. They had also been well worn and when I put them on they at least felt comfortable. The last item Belle gave me was a helmet that had an eye protection visor that came down to the nose. I put it on.
"Excellent" said Belle "You look like a local now."
Belle started to leave the room and I quickly followed her. Then we made our way out of the gigantic glass crystal point. The boiling hot sun reflected off the surface of the glass structure. Belle put on her very dark lens goggles and pulled up her scarf to shield her nose and mouth.
"What are we going to do now?”
"I need to get you to the library, you need to start learning about life here." said Belle.
This time Belle wasn't using a creature mount to get us from point A to point B. Belle had this banged up two seater vehicle that looked like a winter Olympics bobsled craft. The cockpit opened and the pilot seat shifted forward.
"Get in and buckle up." Belle said in her usual flat tone.
I climbed in and found the two leather straps with a brass looking clasp. I locked myself into my seat and the pilot seat began shifting back into position, allowing Belle to climb in. She buckled up and the cockpit top closed and sealed shut.
Belle pressed three buttons and flicked a few switches. A humming sound began and slowly grew louder. There was a burst of hiss sound and the craft felt like it lifted slightly and there was a slight vibration. Then Belle gripped the steering rods that were positioned one of either side of her.
The rumbling grew more and more as the humming became louder. A beeping sound started and then suddenly I was shoved back into my seat as the craft sped off. It felt like we were going really fast but I didn't realise how fast until we entered a canyon. The sandy stone blurred past us as Belle navigated the bullet looking craft, we narrowly missed the walls of the canyon on several bends.
Belle flicked a few more switches. Occasionally, I noticed pieces of technology build on the canyon wall. Small enough that if you blink, you missed it. Something crackled in the front section of the cockpit. It was from a small speaker on a transmitter. A scratchy radio voice came from the speaker.
"This is City HenNor 1 contacting unidentifiable shuttle, state your name, passcode and purpose of trip."
Belle kept navigating the high speed twists and turns while she replied, "This is Belle, passcode 882742, purpose of trip to bring new resident to library for educating."
It went quiet on the transmitter as Belle kept speeding along the canyon. Then the speakers crackled again.
"Access granted. Head to docking port 23." said the voice coming out of the speaker.
Belle came to the end of the canyon that opened up to a
grassy clearing that led to a monstrous gigantic glass crystal point that seemed to dwarf all the other crystal points. I was stunned by the sheer size.
"This is the capital. This is where you will be learning about your new home." Belle said as she guided the craft to docking port 23.
The docking port looked like a smooth concrete slab approximately 200 feet square. The craft came to a stop and I felt it lower and make contact with the docking port. Belle turned off the engine and the cockpit opened up. She got out and the seat shifted forward and I climbed out the back. I was sweaty, the high speed trip definitely got my heart rate going.
Belle noticed this and smiled before leading me to the large glass crystal point. The outer door whooshed open and two women dressed in clean, off white weave uniforms came outside to greet us.
"Is this the new resident?" asked the dark woman with sparkling gold eyes.
"Yes, his name is Craig West." Belle responded.
I watched as the two women in uniforms looked at me and walked towards me. The other woman was pale skinned and had blue/silver sparkling eyes. Their faces were neutral as they came closer and examined me. The dark skinned woman held up what looked like a touch screen tablet. I couldn't see what was on the screen but after several taps and what sounded like beeps and whistles, the two women gestured me to go inside the building. As I was led inside, I turned to see that Belle was not coming with me. Belle as usual had a neutral look on her face, which was the last thing I saw before the door whooshed shut.
The dark skin woman turned to face me. "I am Giga," she said.