“He is curious,” I said wincing as the transport careened much too close to the wall. “Men with Earth breeders in their line seem more curious. Christof has Earth breeders and he was always the most curious Brother.”
The men were confused. They didn’t know a “Christof”.
“He is Damien’s Brother,” I answered. “He is the fourth Brother in my family.”
Their faces darkened and they looked angry suddenly. “He should have known better then,” the lead Brother said firmly. “Once he knew he was the offspring of a ve he never should have continued to participate. He should have made it stop.”
Our conversation was cut short as one of the men made a sharp sound. Rose and I were ignored as the men drew their weapons and took up posts around the transport.
“Steady, Brothers,” the man in front said and then it was like the transport was swarmed.
Creatures that looked two foot crocodiles were jumping on the air shield around the transport. One of them managed to get past the air shield and it came at Rose and me, jaws open. Brand sliced it in half.
The thing twitched and writhed in two pieces for several moments before the lead Brother stabbed it in the head. That stopped it.
The men cursed in volumes about the nasty creatures. Thom called them giles. I vaguely remembered reading about giles. The readings I’d done had noted them as pests in the londs where water was plentiful. They could rarely overwhelm a woman, but they could be trouble for men inrge enough numbers.
“Ciara,” Rose whispered clinging to me.
She looked as scared as I felt. “Hannah sent good men,” I whispered. “We will be okay.”
Rose’s eyes were wide and she didn’t look like she particrly believed that statement. We were tearing though a poorly lit cave with our friend tied on a transport behind us. Things were not looking good for us.
After the attack of the giles the men stayed on alert. I was happy they didn’t want to talk to us. I wasn’t thatfortable with men other than Damien and his Brothers. It would probably take time for me to get over that fear, I mused.N?velDrama.Org holds this content.
The caves we travelled through eventually opened up a little and got wider. There were ces we passed over massive undergroundkes. I could see the ssy surface below as we roared over it. I remembered Christof had told me about the undergroundkes. He must not have known about the underground rivers and tunnels.
“Tell me,” Thom asked focusing on Rose, “what is your name? My name is Thom rescued from the Youlypound.”
Rose refused to look up and answer, instead she huddled closer to me.
The man’s eyes narrowed as he watched her.
“They trained you, I know. If you looked at other men they put you out to be hurt. If you spoke the punishment was worse. That part of your life is over. We will treat you well in our camp. You will not have this fear any longer. If you wish to speak, you do so. Do not fear, silent human,” Thom said with conviction.
Rose didn’t look up, she couldn’t. I knew that countless moons of indoctrination was preventing her from hearing what the man said. Freedom did not exist the way he said it. Even if Basin had said she was “free”, she’d witnessed too much punishment to stray from the rules.
I stroked her hair infort and felt her shiver against me.
“Her name is Rose,” I told the man softly.
“Is that the name the men called her or it the name she had on Earth?” he asked sternly.
I watched the man’s eyes and didn’t see anger, only a certain resolve. He called me Rachel so he knew ves were renamed. This man expected to hear Rose’s original name.
“She was named Ruth on Earth,” I told him and he smiled approvingly.
“Ruth it is then and what about the poor, bound girl?” the man asked. “What was her name?”
“Always Fuji,” I told him honestly, “women from her are not given names until they are owned. If their owner wishes to give them a name, they get one.”
That gave the man pause. He and his Brothers found it odd. That didn’t fit into the way they thought things always were and it confused them. In their experience, everyone was given a name.
“Fuji is from Batra,” I tried to exin, “I don’t really know where that is. From what Fuji said all the women are ves. She doesn’t know another way.”
“She will learn,” Thom said with conviction turning his attention back to the void of nothingness we were passing through.
The twists and turns in the cave continued. Eventually I got used to theck of scenery and theck of light. The air started to get colder and I felt the chill on my face. Despite being underground it felt like we were making for the mountains faster than I’d ever done before.
The men we were with watched out for attack and protected us, but not the way Damien or Basin did. It was strange to realize that with freedom came responsibility. If I was cold, I had to button my own coat. There was no one who would do it for me.
Water was passed around in something like a canteen eventually. I took a drink and tried to pass it to Rose. She looked at me and took the container slowly, but did not put it to her lips.
“Drink, Ruth,” one of the men said, “it is good water and will refresh you.”
“I am Rose,” she said staring at the floor. “Ciara, please, tell these men I am Rose.”
“You are Ruth,” Thom said from behind her, “and you may speak to us. There is no owner to hurt you. Drink your water and be calm. You are free now.”
The man’s assumption irritated me. Damien and his Brothers did not hurt me. They had it all wrong and I was about to tell them. Rose’s voice stopped me cold.
“I was free before,” Rose said harshly still staring down, “and I was hurt. Basin and his Brothers protect and cherish me. My name is Rose and I want to know where Basin and his Brothers are.”
The men all made sounds that told me they felt sorry for us. “Drink, Ruth,” the man said in coaxing terms, “do not worry over those men anymore. You must not fear.”
I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that had nothing to do with the transport and it’s erratic path.
“Where are they?” I asked the man, starting to panic. “Did you take Damien’s family and Basin’s family or just us? Didn’t my female offspring send someone for Rose’s family and mine?”
“The vers,” Thom spat out, “were offered safety in our camp. They are being transported separately. Hannah and Kennedy are well respected or such a request would never have been honored.”
I stared at the man in the dim half light of the tunnels. He had referred to our men as “vers” and I had that sinking feeling again. Free men would view men like Damien and his Brothers as no better than the women.
“I am free with Damien and his Brothers,” I said quickly taking a step toward Thom. “They said I was not a ve and made me family one night long ago-”
Thom snorted and his eyes shed, “They told you this? They told you one day you were family to them?”
“Yes,” I said eagerly nodding my head, “they said I was family and not a ve. Damien and his Brothers decided on their own that very was wrong. I asked to be free and they made me family.”
“That was their decision, was it?” Thom asked lowering his voice and sounding slightly menacing. “They told you what you would be and you epted it. It doesn’t sound to me as though it was a real choice.”
I was startled by the statement and stared nkly at him. Thom just continued to speak, “You cannot make someone family, Rachel. Family between men and women is a choice. I don’t think you ever had the option of choosing another family. You were told where you belonged. This is no different from very.”
The man’s words cut deep for some reason. Probably because there was a measure of truth in them. It wasn’t like I had been offered the choice of Damien’s family, it was just the only option.
“Drink, Ruth,” Thom said, “it is still a long ride to our destination.”
It took a several tries for Rose to finally lift the canteen to her lips and take a tentative sip, then a couple of gulps. She looked amazed as she handed me back the container. This had been a first on this for her.