《[Discontinued] After the Fall》 CH 1. Before the fall "The signs are there, it''s happening soon." Said a male''s voice. "We have already done as much as we can. Are you sure he will just sleep?" A motherly voice inquired. "We won''t live long enough to know, but he will, and just maybe humanity can rebuild itself after he revives." The man and woman leave the room, turning the lights out, and step into an elevator. They know this is the last time they will enter the room where they put their 14 year old son into cryogenic stasis. Lights on a nearby monitor flash on, words begin scrolling down the screen as line after line of programming code flash by. A sticker label on the monitor reading the words ''Teaching Protocol''. The monitor next to it labeled ''Visual History'' began displaying pictures of architectural wonders, famous people of history, farmlands, bridges, patent drawings, and blueprints of fortresses throughout history. The third monitor flashed to life, being labeled ''Theology''. It began scrolling through written religions of the world, and various religious theories. Finally the fourth and final monitor ticked on. Having no label, it flashed through various languages and language comprehension strategies. But this monitor had a second window, it was running a simple program on the side labeled ''power management'' the system ran for almost a year straight without a problem. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. On an unknown day, of an unknown era, the computers flashed off for a moment, and came back on. The monitors all had the same error message: ''connection to surface lost''. After a few moments they all closed the error windows, and displayed messages for switching to various backups. An era of history had fallen, there were survivors of the catastrophe, but they were too few in number. The cause would never be known, only one thing was for sure: this day would forever be known as ''Black Day''. And the few remaining humans would track the years starting at this day. And somewhere, in a tightly secured bunker, deep underground, a boy survived. CH 2: Awakening Coran had always followed what her father asked of her. Her mothers all adored her for being the only daughter born to the three of them. This morning was the first time in her twelve years of life she opposed their wishes. Women were becoming scarce. Most dying during childbirth. The ones who survived their firstborn were rare, and given status among the tribe. She dreaded the day she became a woman and would be forced to choose a husband. The scouts had come back to camp and said the hey had found metal, smooth, unbent, flat metal. She had never seen it, and wanted to watch it being harvested. Because she was about to become a woman, and because of it, the tribe had been sheltering her the past few months. She managed to convince her father to allow her to join the harvesters. Her last adventure before choosing her husband. They neared the spot the scouts had found, the ground became strangely firm, especially figuring the rain the last few days. The men around her stayed a few feet away from her, just in case she fell. In her tribe, the first man she touched after her 12th black day would be her husband. No man wanted to gain the wrath of an accidental wife, so they kept their distance. The two men with the thick metal bars walked up to the flat metal that barely had any rust on it. A small round shape was located to the left of the door. Coran walked over to it and looked at it. A voice rang through the woods, all around the team she came with. "Iris scan complete, human female confirmed. Survival possible. Opening door to stairwell." As the voice stopped, the pice of metal the men were about to try and pry away swung inwards, revealing more metal than she had seen in her entire life, but what was more is that none of it showed any sign of rust, or decay. The men around her were astonished, and it showed on their faces. This is something even they had never seen. Coran was now very happy she had convinced her father to let her come. She approached the opening, and the men backed away as she did. There were metal flats that kept descending, this must be what the voice called a stairwell. As she stepped on the first piece of metal, she felt a cool breeze from below, it was quite refreshing to feel on a summer day. "I''m going down, two of you follow in case there is a man, the rest of you stand guard. Don''t harvest until I come back." The men quickly chose two to walk behind her, and the rest stayed at the open hole. The three descended for nearly an hour before Coran saw another of the strange circles, she looked at this one a little closer and again the voice rang out. "Human female confirmed. Time elapsed since last entry is six hundred fourty-three years, twelve days. Christian Solar Calendar month: July. The his is the Fourth day of the month. Happy Independence Day. Time lapsed since connection to the surface lost: six hundred fourty-one years, Three months. Air quality exceeds minimum standards, no viruses detected. Beginning Waking procedures." "I only understood half of that. What about you two?" She asked he companions. "Miss Coran, I can only say That we have found something that is a year older than black day, whatever is here, is very valuable. Almost nothing remains from that time, and what does is owned by the larger tribes." In other words this whole place is an artifact that has an unknown value to her tribe. The young girl walked through the door and found a strange sight, four moving pictures, with strings comming from them, all attached to a huge cylinder as large as the trees in the forest, but it was clear. And there was a man inside of it. Coran took a step back and let the two men stand in front of her. The cylinder rotated down. The sound of water falling accompanied the dropping fluid levels of the cylinder, which she now recognized as a tank. The clear portion of the tank slid into the wall behind the tank. After a few minutes the voice that came from everywhere spoke again. "Waking process complete. Facility will be destroyed in 12 hours. Deleting memory banks and backups. Subject zero revived. Subject zero requires a guardian. Human female, please state your name." "Coran of Springfield." She replied, before her mind understood what she had heard. "Coran of Springfield is now Subject Zero''s guardian. No record remains of subject''s name. Please state the name you wish to give him." With a short thought, she recalled the name she had always wanted to call a child of hers. "His name is Jesse." "The name Jesse of Springfield has been recorded. Name is Hebrew in origin, with the meaning Gift of G_d. A good name for this one. Laminate plate complete. Jesse is no longer in the care of this facility. He will wake in 10 hours." A door opened in the base of the tank where Jesse lay, a strange material slid out and Coran grabbed it. Looking down at it she realized that it was some form of proof of guardianship. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "We need to get out of here, grab him and lets go. The other tribes might attack us if they find this place. And I for one do not wish to be outside of the walls if that happens." One man began to argue as she spoke again, "the voice said this place is going to be destroyed. Either it know something we don''t, and a tribe is about to invade, or it will destroy itself, pre-black day artifacts are known to do that, and either way I don''t want to be here to find out. Whatever we need to learn, we will find out from him later." She said pointing to Jesse. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ My head hurt. Something told me I needed to open my eyes. They slowly opened, and around me stood several men, a few barely old enough to be called that, but obviously men none the less. I didn''t recognize anyone around me. Had I been kidnapped? "Who are you? Where are my parents?" I asked, betraying my panic. A young girl stepped forward and handed me a Laminate. "Where we found you gave me this, what is it?" The tone in her voice told me she knew what it was, but was skeptical. I rested my thumb on the small square at the base of the Laminate to turn it on. A few seconds in the sun is all these needed to function. As the holograms danced above the page, I noticed this was a contract. And so I started with a simple question. "Can I get some food? I feel like I haven''t eaten in years." I exaggerated. Everyone in this room paled, and two girls in the back ran out the door. "First this is a Laminate, they are only used for legal purposes and are really difficult to fake. Also, they can only be activated by the people who are directly named in the document. So this means, I am either Jesse of Springfield, or I am Coran of Springfield." I paused for a moment, trying to recall my own name and I couldn''t. As if it wasn''t there before. I continued to read the different holograms to determine what was going on. The girls who left to get me food came back with a tray of vegetables, all looking to be home grown in soil that was lacking nutrients, why did I know that? Both girls set their hands on my forearms, I''m guessing to comfort me, and the men gasped at the behavior. I''m guessing their religion prohibits this, but none of the men made a move to stop them. They walked back to the door and stood where they had before, only now they wore triumphant smiles in addition to their well made animal leather dresses. The girl in front of me seemed angry all of a sudden and did the same thing as the other two, and laid the palm of her hand on my forearm. As she did that, the Laminate in my hand changed. One of the six holigram''s title changed from Certification of Guardianship to Certification of Binding Marriage. And now there were two more names added. Gina and Cassie, both also with the ''of Springfield'' after their names. I sat up straight in panic, my mind went fuzzy and started to get dark as I realized that this Laminate just showd the active user got married. And the active user was me. I pointed to the two girls on the wall, and simply said "Cassie and Gina right?" Their triumphant smiles turned to confusion. "So which am I? Coran or Jesse?" I looked back to the girl who handed me the Laminate that now stated I was in a Binding Marriage, meaning no possibility of a divorce or annulment. "You are Jesse." She said, then leaned her head to the side slightly, "how did you know their names?" She said pointing at the other two. Since she was already my wife I grabbed her hand and placed her thumb on the activation square in the opposite corner, so she could see what I was seeing. She tried to pull her hand back as the holograms materialized for her, but I held her hand there. I watched her eyes flick between the six holograms, and once she calmed down I pulled my hand off here and pointed to the one that stated we were married; then pointed at the line that named the spouses. "Is this magic?" She asked. "No. But for some reason this is blood bound. Meaning it will automatically show changes that occur to me. These are rare but not unheard of." I explained "Um, Jesse, that isn''t entirely true." One of the men shuffled forward as he spoke. "We found you in a room that has been sealed since black day. These don''t exist. They may have at one time, but that was a long time ago, but even you are older than Black day, and three months ago, was the six hundred fourty-first black day." He looked down, and then back up, "the voice in the room we found you said today was Independence Day, what is that?" I looked to all the faces around me, including my three new wives who barely looked to be in their early teen years, and saw that all of them were telling me the truth. The dizziness that had been threatening to claim me finally did. CH 3: Consequence The As soon as his head hit the hide-roll, his hand slipped off the thing he called a Laminate. All of the floating words disappeared, I knew no one else in the room could see them, I hadn''t been able to until he set my hand on it. I reached down and grabbed his hand like he had mine earlier and put it back on the clear Laminate between us, and the floating words came up again. I looked over all of them, glad that all girls were required to read, for the first time in my life. In the middle of the item was the doument he pointed to earlier, ''Certification of Binding Marriage''. I read through it quickly, and then went to the spouses line he pointed at. First wife: Cassie of Springfield; Second wife: Gina of Springfield; Third wife: Coran of Springfield. I looked over the Laminate and saw two more squares like mine and called the other girls over. "Cassie, Gina, I have to show you this, come here." The two girls were timidly approaching. The men might control agreements between the tribes, but we woman control inside the tribe. These two just made the decision of our next tribal chief, the older women will be furious with them for taking this decision from them. Cassie was the chief''s only child, his five wives having all passed during childbirth, Cassie''s husband would be the new chief. I grabbed each of their hands and placed them on the squares like Jesse had done to mine, then pointed at their names. "We have a problem you two." They both looked at me, their eyes still showing the wonder mine must have only a few minutes ago. I then pointed at my new husband''s birthdate listed in the same document. July, 4th 3100. "When we pulled him out of that room it said today was July, 4th." The two girls with me paled. We had just married a man on his day of birth. By the old tribal laws this meant that we would not be able to back out of our wifely duties whenever he asked. It also meant that we agreed to never attempt to kill, or divorce him. And if he died, we were to commit suicide immediately upon recieving the news. The three of us were now life-bound to this stranger. It''s my fault as well. But when I look over to our fathers, they are all smiles. We are the first three girls in the past twenty years to take a husband without being forced, and decided on a new clan chief at the same time. They may not be as happy in a few minutes when I announce the feast preparations. I''m the third wife, making family celebrations my job. I point to our fathers, a scowl, learned from my mothers, prominently decorating my face. "You three, prepare the birthday feast for your future chief." All the men in the room knew what this meant, everyone now knew what we had done, three new brides, life-bound to their new husband, and even if they killed him, they still couldn''t take us as their own. If we were invaded and this man was killed, three more women would be lost. Our fathers were no longer smiling, but carried out the duty a third wife had just given them. They would not be allowed to sleep within the walls for a month, if they failed to carry it out. Although, now we had a man in the tribe we couldn''t order, all because his birthday gift was us, his three new wives. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ He was pleasing to the eyes, and his voice, even if only asking for food, made me quiver. Gina stood next to me, and we darted out the door as soon as he asked for food. Going to the storage house, Gina''s mother let us in. We grabbed a few berries, and a few of each of the edible plants we had managed to find, then ran back to Coran''s house. He might make a good plaything. Gina may not be so lucky, but we had always agreed that we would choose the same man as our husband. So why not Coran''s new guest? I told Gina the plan, and she smiled and nodded, I think she was just happy this wasn''t going to be forced. It wasn''t often women chose to get married, but we each had to do it after our first cycle, when we were officially women. We walked in, each of us going to either side of Jesse''s makeshift bed, laid our small portion of food next to him, and then silently laid our hands on his arms. I heard the men gasp, I got the desired reaction again. They are so easy. When we saw Coran touch him as well, this man''s future was sealed. Our Brightest tailor, and now, the only healer apprentice in our tribe, and then there is me, all married to the same man. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Coran looked panicked as our new husband fell back asleep. She called us over, and grabbed my hand and set it on the clear thing the two of them had been looking at. Words appeared in mid air and I know, I couldn''t hide my wonder at this magic. She pointed at one of the groups of words, the one that had my name; and then pointed a little below that. As I looked at it, my mind went blank. I willingly married a man on his birthday. And that day was today, worse, I''m listed as the first spouse. I felt my face turn red at the implications, and slumped to the floor as Coran broke the news to our fathers in the harshest way possible. By ordering them to prepare a birthday feast for their new son. I want to die, but I''m now prohibited from even doing that without his permission. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ I sat up in the bed, the room was now empty of people except for the three girls who were now my wives, and myself. Coran looked unhappy, Gina and Cassie sat off to the side, I still don''t know which is which. "Hello girls. Mind telling me what you three thinking by marrying a complete stranger? Actually by looking at your faces, I don''t want to know. Looks like there is a lot bothering you now." I lift the pelt blanket off of me slightly and realize there isn''t a stitch of fabric on me. " um, so could I get some clothes?" One of the girls who I didn''t know yet stood up and walked over to me. Her brown hair, cut just past her jawline made her face look smaller, and less childish. "I am your second wife Gina, here are the pants I was told to make for you when you were brought back." I looked at her ears and noticed there were small trickles of dried blood and a decorated fish bone earring hung in her ears. I looked at the other two, and saw the same thing. I know that Coran''s ears weren''t pierced earlier. "Why did all three of you pierce your ears while I was out?" I asked, a bit more firmness in my voice than I intended. Gina who was still next to me was the one to answer. "It is a sign to everyone, including our neighboring tribes that we are married, and life-bonded. If you die, so do we." I lowered my face into my awaiting hand, having trouble believing what this young girl just said. And in a deadpan voice no less. I grab a grape out of one of the bowls the girls bright me earlier, then throw the blanket off and slide into the pants my wife brought me. There wasn''t a shirt; in fact none of the men were wearing shirts earlier. I look up and all three of my wives were red from embarrassment. "Did I do something wrong? All three of you are embarrassed." "None of us have ever seen a naked man before, well Coran, has, but she is a healer, those don''t count. They haven''t let her in the healing tents for the past three months." Cassie answered. "So I''m guessing you are Cassie then, my first wife? " "Yes, Jesse, we are preparing your birthday celebration for tonight. But there is something the three of us need to know in order to complete everything. How old are you?" I looked at the black-haired, blue eyed beauty that was too young to be a wife In my mind, then down to the Laminate. I placed my thumb on one of the activation squares, then called the three over. "Let''s find out together, shall we?" Each one put their thumbs on the three remaining squares to make the holograms visible to them, I cycled through the documents and found a birth certificate. And also the record of Cryogenic Stasis. I quickly did the math and looked at the girls. "Well. Not counting the time in the tank, I''m fifteen today." I said. "The three of us are twelve." Coran said. Gina pointed at the Cryogenic Sleep order and asked about it. "I was forcibly put to sleep in a way that my body stopped growing. If we included that time in my age, I would be six hundred fifty-five years old. But I don''t want to think about that, nor do I want to be considers that old." "Yes Elder." The three said together. CH 4: A Sad Happiness "I may be older than you, but I''m not old enough to be called elder. For whatever you are doing for this, I''m 15." I told the three preteen sin front of me. The three of them nodded their heads and Coran left the room, through the only door. I walked to the door and opened it. Then turned around and looked back into the room. It took me only a second more to realize there was no bathroom in the house, not that I needed one at the moment, just that i realized it. I looked back outside and there were mostly men wandering around, a young girl around my age was resting next to a stone oven. It appeared to be a communal kitchen. I walked over and could easily smell the fragrance of apples being baked, it made my mouth water. The girl reached into the oven and pulled out a small piece of pork roast and while it was still resting on the wooden spatula, slid it into a piece of flatbread, and handed it to me. I took a bite, it was good, but was missing something it was obviously fresh, and there was no hint of salt, I looked at the grass next to the oven and realized the grass, was wild onions. I reached down and ripped a few apart, and laid them on my piece of pork. The girl looked at me strangely as I bit into my food again. "Jesse, why did you eat weeds?" The green eyed girl asked me. "Before I answer, can I get your name?" "Leann, first wife of Buck." She answered. It seems women appear to be in charge, but still identify themselves by their husband''s name. "Well, Leann, this weed is actually wild onions. It''s a spice, and it changes the flavor of the meat; more when it''s cooked into it." I explained when her face failed to show that she understood. I finished off the rest of what I was given when I heard a blood curdling scream from the south of the village. The men and the few women around me started tearing up, while everyone mumbled over and over: "may she be stronger than her mother." It toke me a few seconds to get Leann out of her mumbling stupor to be able to ask what was going on. "My best friend is giving birth, we may loose her before the day is out." "Have confidence in your village''s midwives." I replied, trying to comfort her. "Jesse, what''s that word mean?" She looked at me in confusion. "What word?" "Midwives." "It''s a name given to women that help others in bearing their children." As I answered her I became more and more panick stricken. "Leann, show me where she is at. You can come straight back to your food." Leann stood up and motioned for me to follow her. As I followed behind her I started looking around for things I would need, keeping mental notes of where everything was, for when I sent for it. A good water source is the only thing I don''t see, but there are several clay bowls that I will need. The screams weren''t coming at the moment, but I knew this was going to be a long day for this poor woman. "That door goes to Jennifer''s house." Leann said, I willing to approach a y further. "Leann, if you truly want Jennifer to live to see tomorrow, find Coran, tell her I need two clay bowls filled with water that has been boiled, and as many white rags she can find brought here. There is a lot more that I need, but I have time to get them. I don''t have time to get what I''m asking of her." As I finished, Leann''s expression changed from disparity to hope. Not knowing what a midwife was, this change was understandable. I quickly made my way back through the village and collected the things I needed, I even found what I needed to make a small flame. Without better facilities, this poor woman is going to need stitches, and I''m not going to be responsible for an infection if I know I can prevent it. I look down at my pants and realize that Gina had said she made them. I ran to the house j woke up in, they were both still there, sitting in the same mumbling stupor I had to pull Leann out of. "Gina! You made these pants right?" "Yes." "Good! Go get your finest and sharpest needle, and your best and finest thread. Then ask Leann where I am at." She sat confused for a moment, "are you just going to sulk around when your needle and thread can save a life?" That got her moving. "Cassie, do you have anything around that can numb your body, that isn''t alcohol or fermented?" "Yes?" She questioned. "Good. Grab as much as you can, and Coke find me. The cook, Leann knows where it is.". Another scream could be heard even through the felled-log walls around us. "We have to hurry. Every minute you three wait is anothe minute that woman doesn''t have." The two women dashed out of the house before I could turn around. By the time I got to Jennifer''s house again two elderly women stood by the door. They looked toward me with a small glint of hope in their eyes. "Leann said you were going to try and help this young woman survive this." One of them said. "I aim to. I don''t know much about your culture, so pardon anything I do wrong beyond those doors, but if I can save her life, I''m willing to do almost anything to try." I paused for a moment, "I would appreciate your help on the other side, as well as teach you what I''m going to do." "Young man, I was the last woman in this tribe to survive childbirth. If I can give any of these young ones, to include your young wives any hope of survival, I''ll take it." She looked at the woman next to her and nodded. "And as far as wrongdoing, we won''t speak of anything that happens inside." "Good. The first step is to get her husband out. His panic can cause more problems than it will help. Second we have to get her to agree with this. If she doesn''t want help, I can''t help her." Just as I finished talking Coran walked up and started directing people on where to set things down, and the two elders walked into the house, and escorted a man out, it was the man who told me I had been asleep for over six hundred years. I walked up to him and rested my hand on his shoulder. "When I''m from, women come out of this almost every time. I''m rushed, and don''t have everything I need, but my goal is to walk out of that door carrying your child, and your wife still alive. I hope for all of your sakes, I don''t fail." "Why are you doing this, Jesse?" Coran asked. "Because nobody else can, and the survival of this village depends on it." "People are not supposed to help with things on the day of their birth. It''s a time to reflect for us." The man said to me. I looked him I the eyes and leaned a little closer to him. "Well then, isn''t it good for you and your wife Jennifer that I have slept for a long time, and don''t mind if my reflection must be done on another day. Fate does not wait for men, we can only take what she gives us. Today is Independence Day, and today, I''m going to do anything and everything to make sure those two survive, and I''m going to teach the two in there, and these three how to do it." As I finished Gina and Cassie approached, and the man nodded as his young wife screamed again, the men of the village having heard what I was plannin werenow close by. I looked at the three men that looked like they were in charge, one being Coran''s father. "You three," I pointed, " no man is to enter this house until I come out." I point to the man I had just been talking to, "I don''t care what you have to do to this man, short of killing him, but he is not to speak until I come out with his child in hand. I''ll explain it later." Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. With that I turned and walked into a battleground unlike any I had ever fantasized about. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ Greta, the last woman to survive childbirth, and Gina''s mother was helping the new man, and my daughter to keep Jennifer alive. The old myths talk about how women used to never die from bearing children. And now this man comes out of the ground, and says he can help. Who am I to argue with the man my beautiful Cassie chose. Cassie chose, I never thought she would choose, only one woman in my lifetime ever had: Greta. She could still bear another child, but as is our rule, a woman who survives once has the choice of when or if they go through it again. Greta gave us Leann, and then three year later chose to give us Gina. After that her husband has never asked it of her again. Keeping Greg quiet has turned out to be quite simple, I took him to the house we built for Cassie''s future husband, so I guess we took him to Jesse''s house. We aren''t letting him out. Coran has come out a few times with towels that were once white, now pink with blood. Is Jennifer going to be okay? I''ve seen warriors loose less blood and die from it. The sun is on the sun is on the edge of the horizon, the screaming seems to have finally stopped. Cassie stepped out of the house, and looked around. She spotted me and walked over. "Father, bring Greg here. Jesse wishes to hand the child to the father personally." "Is Jennifer alive? Is the child a boy or girl?" "Father, it''s been a long day, none of us have rested since Jesse woke up, and Jesse wants Greg to hear the news first. I may not like ceremony, because t I married him on his birthday, so I will do my duty and obey this request of his, as I see no fault in only saying things once. Now go get Greg." My daughter stood up to me. The amount of pride in my heart at this moment has never been higher, j signal two people to bring the new father over. After a few minutes he arrives, and looks at Cassie for a moment, she pointed to a spot next to the door and told him to stand there. When the door opened I realized that it was so he couldn''t look in. We would all learn what the fates have brought us together. Coran stepped through the door, followed by Greta, Greta had a white towel in her hands, it was moving, I almost cried at the sight of a new baby among us. The rest of the women filed out and stood away from the door, and it opened a little further. And there stood my new son, supporting Jennifer. Gina set a chair in front of the door, and we all watched as Jennifer sat in the chair. Jesse leaned over and whispered something to her. And then I realized the towel in her hands was moving too. Jesse then took the bundle from Greta and called to Greg. "Young sir," he said, making a show of it. "I hand you now, a son." Cheers went up around the town and Jese motioned for quiet. "Greg, today was a hard day on your young wife; please don''t be mad at her for not choosing a name for your son. Could you pleas hand the little one back to Greta." Greg did as he was asked, picking up on Jesse''s formal tone. He then hands Greg two towels. "Greg I am sorry, on this day, with a heavy heart that I pass to you two daughters." Jesse said almost in tears. This had indeed been a hard day for Jennifer, three children, and two didn''t make it, both precious daughters. Jesse took the two bundles from him after a moment and passed them to Gina and Cassie. The two girls walked away. We all knew why, but it was still hard to watch. When they came back empty handed, Jesse spoke again. "Greg, again I am sorry, your wife has had a harrowing day, may I present to you and the village your eldest daughter, and firstborn. Your wife has chosen the name of today to name your daughter." The whole village was quiet. Jennifer had survived childbirth of four children in one day. No one spoke, and we just listened. "Greg, today is July forth, in the year of our lord three thousand seven hundred fifty-five. And here is your daughter, Independence." I don''t know what age he used to announce her birthday, but we all understood that he was also announcing a new era. Our village has a second Matron, and a young one at that. "Greg, it will take Jennifer a while to recover, I have asked Greta how to word this, but until she recovers, she will not be able to perform her wifely duties. I will need to check her once a week to make sure everything is okay. If I can''t check her there is still the possibility of loosing her. As a husband, do not neglect her, but also know it will be a while before she is back to her old self." Greg nodded while Independence laid in his arms. Leann standing next to her best friend; there isn''t a dry eye left in the Village. As Jesse walked away from the two, I saw a tear fall from his eyes, but unlike the rest of us, his tears were only of sadness. As he got to the edge of the crowd, I heard him speak, no that''s not the right word. His voice made music, sing! That''s the right word. I heard him sing "Oh won''t you bury me at sea, And I''ll sleep where the world can''t reach, Drift out where no-one sees me go. Feel my shadow, clinging on your footprints, Feel the coldest air biting on your neck, The morning''s frozen, the world ''as grown Much older tonight. A torch in hand, and looking for God. Oh won''t you bury me at sea, And I''ll sleep where the world can''t reach, Drift out where no-one sees me go. These days I wait for my fate, But I know how it feels to be awake." After the song, the man left us there. Coran ran after him, I think he took it hard that those two didn''t make it. After a few minutes Cassie and Gina left the group as well. They all went to their house. I''m glad I didn''t have to force her. And with that man around, she just might have a chance. --------------------------------------------- A/N: a little longer than I planned for this one. I will have to go back through it again to find errors, as I did this one on mobile. Thanks for reading/following ~Tink CH 5: Duties of Knowledge After singing the Norse funeral song, I needed to be alone for a little bit. Coran ran to my side as I walked back to the house I''ve been using. I think she realized my mood, because she didn''t say anything. Jennifer had a horrible day. Quadruplets without any anesthetic, and only a few home remedies that barely worked. That girl suffered more than anyone should ever have to. I know Greta told me that the children not making it is normal, but I am having trouble accepting it. I walked through the door, and lay down on the furs making a bed. After I calmed down some I felt Coran rest her hand on my back. "This is hard for you isn''t it?" She asked, barely more than a whisper. "Yes. On top of the two girls, we almost lost Jennifer several times today. The only reason we didn''t was because I somehow knew what to do." "I learned a lot today, and the five of us can help better next time." "Yeah, but what makes me nervous is when it''s time for you three do be in that position, who can help you? I know that I will be just as much of a mess as Greg was today." Coran leaned down and kissed me lightly on the cheek, "Jesse, you leave that worry to us. You have been ''asleep'' for a long time. And it''s time for you to get ready for your feast, old man." She said teasing me. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ I had never seen or heard of the things that boy did. We women have born the burden of childbearing on our own for as long as I could remember. I was glad that we lessened Jennifer''s pain. I have given birth twice, and I know what it''s like. I want nothing to do with what that poor girl went through. Once Jennifer was handed her new daughter, Jesse told her about the name Independence, and she quickly gave the name to the girl. But then pain showed on her face, and Jesse handed the girl to Coran, and sat back at Jennifer''s feet, and said another one was coming. After the son was born, Jesse asked about how children were usually presented, so we al told him, and in the rare cases of multiples like this, the youngest was presented first. He then told Jennifer a few things about cleanliness, some things we already knew. And then he had Gina use her needle and thread. And spoke to all of us about why it was important. I''m really glad Coran was allowed to go on that trip this morning. We now have another Matron for our village. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ After hearing Jesse''s song, I ran after him. I felt like it wasn''t just for those two girls, but also for himself. It was his first day awake in a world he knew nothing about. The feeling in his words could be heard easily. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to ease this burden that I''m responsible for. I know that my presence is why he woke up. I pulled him out of that dream he was in, and exposed him to this cruel, dying world. When we got back to our house, he let himself fall into the bed, and buried his face into the pillow, and I heard him cry. I know we just met, and married today, and he probably doesn''t even think of me in an intimate way, but I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek as only a wife is allowed. I might be the third wife, but I was his guardian first. Cassie can scold me later, I don''t care anymore. I climbed into the bed and curled up to him, if only to give him comfort. An hour or so later, just as the last of the sun disappeared, Casie and Gina came in; when they saw me like that, they didn''t speak, and just joined us. In a short time we all fell asleep, none of us had the energy left for the birthday feast. As the sun rose, the Scout''s horn sounded through the woods. Another tribe had come into our territory. The horn that called back was from the Nixa Tribe. They had a few more women than we did, but no matrons, and we now had two. I needed to get Jesse ready to go outside the walls, as the future chief, he would be required to be present for any negotiations, and he is an elder, even if he doesn''t want that revealed. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ Coran pulled me out of bed shortly after the two horns blasted me awake. The girls darted pulling me through the village, and they all changed their hairstyle so that their new earnings were displayed. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. When we arrived at the poor excuse for a gate, I realized why, a trading group had arrived. Cassie started walking in front of me, and Gina explained that it was because it was her job to introduce me to the Nixa Tribe. Wait. Nixa, that word, it''s from the Midwest, If my hunch is right, then their tribe is south, and slightly West from us. As the four of us approached the new arrivals I sat on the ground behind Cassie''s father and listened to the two gentlemen talk about various plants they had found, and then a mutual warning about a heavy red fruit that grew on a vine. I asked Cassie to explain what they meant. Apparently over the time I have been asleep, some Tomatoes had become wild, and an old recessive gene had let some of the plants turn into their poisonous cousin: Nightshade. I saw the man pull a strawberry out of a pouch and said that he had managed to find a patch of the little things. Through the discussion I figured out that this little fruit hadn''t been seen in at least a generation. So at this point I spoke up. "May I see that?" I asked, the man looked upset until the three girls set one of their hands on me. His eyes flicked straight to their ears, and the rage that had been in his eyes disappeared. "If you bite it, you agree to trade two women for one of them." He said as he handed it to me. I made a show of keeping it far from my mouth as I nonchalantly picked the seeds off of it. Trading women for a fruit, and one that is easy to grow. I think not! I hand the fruit back, half the seeds now missing from it. "Something this trivial is not worth trading a dog for." I retorted. The men in front of me looked to question me for a moment, but with a quick shake of her head, Gina signaled not to question at the moment. She had seen what I had done. Greta and Jennifer, who shouldn''t be out of bed, repeated my sentiment in nicer words. "Young one, why are you present in this? You can''t be out of your thirteenth year yet." He said. I had been told about this while helping Jennifer deliver her children. He was challenging her position in the Tribe. But it was Greta who spoke up. "Chuck, you have known me for a long time," he nodded. "I''ve been a Second Matron since my daughter Gina was born." She pointed at the girl on my left, then back to Jennifer on her right. "As of yesterday, this is Fourth Matron Jennifer." The man''s eyes went wide as he looked at Jennifer seated in the chair. "I have never seen her before, and now you tell me she is a Fourth Matron?" "She gave birth to four little ones yesterday. Only a boy and a girl made it past the night." The man in front of me said. Chuck''s eyes went wide, and I could tell he didn''t believe them. Guess it''s my turn again. "Matron Jennifer allowed my wives an I into her home, to try something to ease her childbirth. It worked, however, she should still be in bed." I said while turning to look at her. The man stood up, signaling the end of the negotiations, everything that had been discussed would then be carried out. As we closed the gate behind us, I saw the look in Chuck''s eyes: greed. It seems some things haven''t changed. I looked at Cassie, as her father was the chief, which I had learned during the negotiations, "Cassie, is there a way to get people to fix that gate, before the day is out?" She looked at it, then to me, but it was Gina who spoke. "Father, our husband wishes to fix the gate, can you spare some carpenters for him." Gina''s father didn''t speak, he made a quick motion with his hand and six men appeared in front of me, I hadn''t even seen them approach. The three girls drug me back to the gate and Gina asked me to point out where the gate was wrong. As the men started to work I noticed that all their tools were stone. So we couldn''t do any fine carpentry in a short amount of time, but we could greatly improve things. In two hours a solid wooden gate hung where pieces of scrap wood had been. The men even fell a log and shaved it down to fit in the blocks I had shown them, none of the weapons I had seen earlier would be able to breach this gate. I had this horrible feeling that my second night in this town was going to be a lot less enjoyable. CH 6: Dreaming It''s been a week since I met Chuck, and I''m very glad I was wrong. Although we fixed the gate, the walls were horrible. After the seven of us fixed the obvious problems, I asked if there were any boys who hadn''t shown promise in other crafts. Two young boys, Ben and Martin were brought to me. They were rowdy , even for boys of eight and nine. I told the boys that I wanted them to find as many rocks as they could and set them along the inside of the walls next to the gate. In a couple days they had come up with enough stone to start construction of a new road. Using a form of lime mortar, mud, and the rocks the boys found, I began teaching them how to layer cobblestone, and the gate''s road was now stone, and provided plenty of drainage. At first the boys were mad that I insisted so heavily on the beveled look. But after the rain yesterday, and no mud under the gate, the boys started doing it my way. The carpenters have been a huge help as well. Although it''s not stone, the wooden walls are now solid, and don''t have holes big enough for wolves to get in any longer. I''ve also shown the carpenters how to do mortise and tenon joints so that the walkway on top of the wall is more secure. After they figured it out, two of them completely rebuilt the front gate. The old one didn''t match the new cobblestone anyway. Leann''s oven is now being used to bake bricks when she isn''t cooking. I''ve been using the bricks to build a new palisade on the inside of the current gate. Once it''s done, I''m going to tear the old gate down, and build a portcullis there. With what I''ve seen, unless we get invaded by siege weapons we are fairly safe at the moment. But the bricks I''m not using are going to the walls, and they are layering the outside of the walls about eight layers thick, compared to the sixteen I''m using for the future gate. It took me two days just to figure out a mortar mix strong enough for the foundation of the new gate. And the last corse of bricks has finally brought me back up to ground level. When I found the village Bowyer, I was surprised that it was Greta''s older sister, who also helped me with Jennifer. Carol was barren. One of four women here who were. The other three were all Coran''s mothers. Apparently the tribe only allows five wives per each man. Talking about it with the girls, all the neighboring tribes have the same ruale. The only exception is the current Eldest Elder. Which Gina pointed out was me. The exception also only applies if he has no other wives at the time, and even then it only allows for one more. Since most women end up being forced, it''s not something that happens often. When I showed Greg the drawings of what I was planning, all the guards stared pestering Carol. I guess they like the idea of the light crossbows she was carving. The strawberry seeds were put into a makeshift planter and I''ve Brennan keeping them watered. In a few generations, I might get some decent sized ones. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ When he started digging a hole inside the village wall, I thought he was crazy. Then he started filling it back up, using that weird mud that doesn''t get wet again after it dries, and the clay blocks he calls bricks. It''s now back to ground level, and is perfectly flat. He looks just at home doing that as I do with a needle and thread. Although what he had me do to Jennifer didn''t make sense at the time, I know that it helped. Even Greta said Jennifer is doing better than she had. It was Cassie''s idea to marry him. We were originally just going to tease him a while and then try lo leave him later. That plan bit us back. I''m not upset about it, at least not like Cassie was. And this way, we still get to stay together. So what if we share a man. ~I opened my eyes and glanced around. A large brick structure sat where my husband had just been standing, a metal, yes metal, strapped door stood closed on the paved stone road that now went the length of the village. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. A deep hollow sound reverberated through the air as I watched a carved tree, no, trebuchet is the word that came to mind, swing into the air. A boulder was flung loose from it, and then I realized it wasn''t a boulder. It was the maimed body of my sister, Leann. Somehow I knew she had been killed a week ago, but I didn''t know who did it. What has happened to make people do this. Jesse ran up to me. I saw love in his face for the first time. Why did this have to happen for me to see this look on your face? Where is Cassie? Oh there she is. Her body just landed on the cobblestone in front of me. I heard Jesse scream out in anguish, and now I knew who did this. The one word he screamed told me everything.~ As I looked up from my we hands, Cassie and Coran were there. Apparently I cried out while I was sleeping, Leann was next to me. I didn''t hesitate to grab he neck and pull her to me, Cassie as well. My mind still floating through the dream, somehow I knew, of the three girls in front of me, if my dream came to pass, only Coran would have a quick death. Jesse seeing me in tears came over to me, the look on his face matched my dream. The look of loving his spouse. Events are already moving away from the dream, but he is my husband now. I have to tell him. "Jesse, tell me you love me." I heard mysel say. "I''ve only known you for a week, so I don''t know how much weight it holds. Gina, I love you." Hearing his words, I broke down even further. And slowly told him of my dream, with his othe wives, and my sister listening. When I finished, he cocked his head slightly. "Do you know where the threat came from?" I nodded gently, and then looked at him, with as much resolve as I could. A single word fell off my lips. The voice didn''t sound like mine, but it was full of malice "Chuck." After a few more minutes I continued, "something is about to happen that will cause Chuck to become Tribeless, he will blame us, and come after us." I looked at Coran. "You appear to be his first victim, and I will be the he last." I look down seeing the images of the dream again. Jesse looks me in the eyes, and gets really close to my face for some reason. "SHIT!" He shouts out. I hadn''t heard him yell before. The stone chisel in his hand was thrown toward the wall, and it stuck. He then grabbed Cassie''s head and does the same, and then Coran''s. He looks at my sister, and asks permission to look into her eyes, and she gives it. He looks into her eyes, and backs away, walks over to the old gate leaning against the wall. And he punched it. Hard enough to put a hole through the four inch thick wood. At first I thought he was angry, but now I see something that scares me. He is afraid. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ We all knew my sister''s curse well. She always knew when a decision would be a bad one. A simple shake of her head and even the elders would change their choices. And she had just told Jesse about her curse. At first I thought he was used to this kind of thing because he listened to her every word. But when her tale was over he looked into her eyes, and then forcibly did the same to Cassie and Coran. At least he asked for permission before he did it to me. And then my blood ran cold. He wasn''t angry at us for not telling, nor was he afraid of her; he seemed afraid FOR us. When he punched the old gate, I know he broke his hand. But he flicked his wrist and then acted like nothing happened. Damn, even now, Gina has rotten luck. If her dream comes true, she will have to watch us die. And the look on her face is that it won''t be a quick death. --------------------------------------------- A/N: no, this chapter does not warrant adding another tag. Will be explained at the end of the next chapter, Thanks for the P/M. Thanks for reading/Following ~Tink CH 7: Experiments A/N Sorry for all the point of view changes In this chapter, but I felt like they were needed for character development. Also: Jesse is horrible at names, which is why he never uses the names when referring to his wive''s fathers. Thanks for the P/M, and for reading/following. ~Tink --------------------------------------------- I was kind of surprised at Jesse''s reactions. After he calmed down, he walked out of the gate, bent over and threw up. Coran and I took him back to the house, and she went to get some herbs. They finally let her go back into the healing tents. We still don''t know why he is sick, but I really don''t want him to die. Especially since he hasn''t laid with any of us yet. As his first wife, I felt rejected at first, then I noticed that he hasn''t been with Gina or Coran either. Does he not have urges? When he grabbed my head earlier and looked into my eyes, I know I did. I wish I knew why he holds himself back from us. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ As Gina''s husband ran out of the gate, I heard him start gagging on something. And just listening to him empty the contents of his stomach made me want to do the same, and I know I''m not sick. I am kind of worried for my sister though. I know Jesse hasn''t been with her yet. Even Jennifer mentioned it, if he gets sick now, what will happen to Gina? I followed Coran to the healing tents, and I was surprised that she was smiling. "Coran, why are you smiling, isn''t your husband sick?" She looked at me and made a sound I hadn''t heard from her in nearly two years. She laughed. "He isn''t sick. Gina''s vision scared him, his body reacted that way when he realized he might lose us." She told me. I don''t think she believed herself. She grabbed a few of the dried herbs, and then started walking back to her house. I looked at how happy she was. I couldn''t ask her about what was on my mind, I couldn''t ruin he mood. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ As soon as I saw the stuff coming out of his mouth, I ran. I went to the storehouse where mother always sat. I couldn''t hold back the tears, and just hugged her while I cried. I couldn''t figure out how I felt, which made me cry even more. The vision, Jesse''s panic, but also the care in his eyes, and then his anger. I couldn''t make up my mind about any of it. I think Mom knew what was happening, she didn''t say a word, and just held me. When I finally calmed down, Leann was there. "He hasn''t been with you yet, has he?" She was accusing, not asking. "We all sleep in the same bed, but he hasn''t been with any of us. I know he gets urges sometimes, but we feel like he is waiting for something." I looked at her, knowing what she would say next, I decided to cut her off. I pointed at my earrings as I spoke again. "We don''t feel it''s right to force him to do something he is obviously struggling with." She looked away from me, so I got off Mom''s lap and closed the distance between us. I grabbed her chin with one hand and forced her to look at me. "You know me Leann. And I will tell you this only because you''re my sister. The three of us know what we are doing. I don''t ask what happens with you and Buck; so do us the favor and don''t ask us about this again. Or do I need to talk to Cassie about challenging you as a First wife?" She shook her head quickly. "Thank you. If you ask me about my bedroom time again, I will not ask Cassie to challenge you, she won''t get the chance. The three of us are happy with the way things are right now, I know you are worried, but let his wives worry about him." She relented, but I could tell she hadn''t let this go. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ I overheard my daughters arguing. Greta sat in her chair, staying quiet. We had both voiced our opinions on the very thing Leann had brought up, not to Gina of course. As a Matron, if Greta asked about it, it would be the same as telling our daughter to force herself onto her husband. Hearing Gina now, I''m glad she gently told me to stay out of it. I have only seen Gina this mad one other time, a boy she didn''t like pushed her down, and tried to kiss her. The women orderd twenty lashes to the boy from his father. Gina never turned her eyes, and we all knew the boy''s father went easy on him. When the twenty lashes were over, the women asked if she was satisfied. She simply took the belt from the father and gave him twenty more, and they were harder than what had already been given. I still remember her cold voice that day. "If you don''t punish him with every thing you have, you aren''t punishing him." Her eyes left the man, and then scanned the rest of us. "If I ever have to be subjected to this again, the father will join the son before I am satisfied." We all knew she was serious. I never thought an eight year old girl would instill fear in me. But no boy has ever attempted to do that since, to any girl. I know Gina loves her sister, but the ice in her voice right now doesn''t show any of that love. Leann basically challenged her abilities as a wife, and in no uncertain terms told her that if it happened again, at least in public, she wouldn''t ignore it. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.I better tell Buck to get her to drop this. I forgot why I came over here anyway. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ As soon as Coran left the house, I asked Cassie to bring me the Laminate. I switched it to mirror mode, and then held it up to my face. I don''t recall having ever looked at myself before, and the water at the river wasn''t reflective enough to see properly. I looked into my own purple irises, and saw the same thing I had seen in their eyes. The purple irises were expected, it''s the most common side effect of Cryogenic Stasis. What wasn''t expected were the bio-machines floating in our eyes. If they were there, then they would be in every person''s body. But looking at mine, after seeing theirs, mine haven''t been corrupted with time. These would explain why I know things which I know I never studied. Until I heard about Gina''s dream I never even thought about bioengineering being used. But with this, I can update their sets, and then use the Laminate to see what she did. But these bastards who did this, did so without government approval. I kind of figured I had been some kind of experiment, but to have it slap me in the face like this. Well, the people who did this to me are long dead. There is nothing I can do about it now. I freeze the Laminate in my hands, so the picture stays, then call Cassie over. "These shouldn''t be there, and all four of you also have them." I pointed out the little monsters in the image. She took the Laminate from me, with the picture frozen it will keep it for a couple of hours. With it in her hands, I unfroze the picture and had it go back to mirror mode. "Who is this?" She asked. "It''s you," I grinned at her. I stood behind her, and I watched her reactions as I came into the image behind her. Her adorable nose, and pouting lips made my, more angular features stand out more. Her fish-bone earnings adding to this beauty in front of me. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. I kept my eyes on the mirror, and saw the shadows of worry leave her face, and for the first time, an honest smile took its place. She turned around in my arms and grabbed my face, ignored my resistance, and kissed me on the lips. "That was the first time you have shown affection to any of us. I know you are reserved, and don''t do it, but it made me happy. I''m sorry if I upset you by kissing you like that." I shook my head back and forth, unable to answer. She kissed me again, my mind still in a stupor from her unusual forward behavior. I heard the door open and a small giggle. The sound brought Cassie out of whatever was going on in her mind, and we both looked to Coran, who was wearing a radiant smile on her sun-tanned face. She walked over and hugged Cassie and then said something I didn''t quite understand. "So he finally accepted you, I''m glad we chose this way." Cassie nodded at the comment, and then said she was going to grab some food for us. Coran handed me a few different herbs to calm my stomach. I felt like I needed them more now than when I actually threw up. I held up one of the leaves, and set it aside, and looked at Coran, who was trying to play innocent about that particular plant. When Cassie came back, she had Gina with her, and she appeared to be in a really foul mood. Cassie handed out the small vegetables and a few pieces of meat to each of us. It seemed like she was always the one getting food for us. I decided to see if I could cheer Gina up by letting her see the mirror function as well. As I walked behind her, she looked at me strangely, and her eyes changed to the same expression Cassie had earlier. At least she understood that the blue eyed brunette she was seeing was herself. Before I could react, she kissed me as well. I was kind of stunned, and wasn''t used to the girls being this forward. I''m glad for it, but I still feel they are too young. Coran looked across the table, and held the leaf up that I had rejected earlier, and put it in her mouth. She walked over to me and the other two girls held me in the chair, all of a sudden I wasn''t as happy about their behavior. "I''m the only one not accepted yet. We have to change that." She said with that cursed leaf in her mouth. She leaned over and put her lips to mine, using her left hand, she grabbed my jaw, forcing my mouth open and pushing the herbs from her mouth to mine. This is not good. Coran looked at Cassie and Gina then nodded. These girls must have planned this. But there was something they weren''t expecting. It won''t get me out of this next time. But right now; I''m glad for it. Exchanging of bodily fluids, I grinned as Cassie''s reaction started. The Bio-Machines were updating. I quickly put her on the bed, and a short time later, did the same for Gina. I grinned at Coran, letting her know how her planned had backfired on her. I ate the meat so it wouldn''t go bad, a few vegetables, and then laid down in bed. And then the moaning started. Well, at least now people will stop pestering them, one more night of holding them back. I don''t know how much longer I can do this, they are starting to get aggressive. CH 8: Migraine I had trouble sleeping last night. The sounds coming from that house were just too much. Something tells me that I''m going to be delivering more than one baby in nine months. Well at least the men seem to be in a better mood. And the questions about Jesse''s ability has stopped. Maybe those three will be less tense today. They have been a pain to deal with since that man was found. These new styled bows seem like they will help our hunters, let''s see if I can get two more made today. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ My head hurts. The little bit of light coming in from the bottom of the door makes my eyes feel like they are being stabbed. For some reason, the rest of my body seems overly relaxed. The last thing I remember is helping Coran with getting Jesse to eat stamina herbs, and then my vision went fuzzy. All three of us are clothed, as usual, which means this plan failed too. Just what is it going to take? I''m starting to feel lost here. I climbed out of bed, took off my dress, and placed it at the base of the wooden door. Much better. I walk back over toward the bed, and I notice Jesse laying on the ground next to it. I smile to myself, take my chance to cuddle with Him without the other two. As soon as I lay my head on his chest, his arms wrap around me. I drift off back to sleep. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ I felt Cassie get out of bed. I felt way too comfortable, except for this horrible headache. I hear her pull off her dress, then the room gets darker. Thank you for doing that. Within a few minutes I hear her even breathing, she went back to sleep. I might as well do the same. For once, this week Jesse has slept in. I hope at least one of us made use of those herbs. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ I open my eyes and look around, the house feels too warm to be night, but it''s still dark. I look toward the door and find the culprit for the darkness, Cassie''s dress. That damn smile of his still bothers me, almost like he was saying ''I won again''. This game of ours is getting old. The three of us are getting hassled for this. It has to stop. Maybe I can convince the two of them to help me tie him up. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Even though he has been working on a new gate al this week, he is still weak compared to the three of us. And Gina turns thirteen next week. How did I know he was bulding a gate? I don''t feel like thinking about it right now. It''s too hot, and I still want sleep. I take my dress off, and throw it at the door, letting it join Cassie''s. I look over to Gina and like me, she is sleeping in her birthday suit. I look down on the floor and see Cassie cuddled up to him, dressed the same way. Well at least the herbs didn''t go to waste. ~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~ I wake up to a completely nude Cassie cuddling me. Although the update had an unexpected backlash. Mine updated too. Generations of information stored in their machines uploaded to mine all at once. Including Gina''s vision. I know all three of them have a massive headache right now. So I''m not going to wake them. I picked Cassie up and put her on the bed between Gina and Coran. Pick the two dresses off the floor, and lay them on the hide pillow where I usually sleep, and go out to the new day. Once I step out I''m met with an unusual sight, compared to the last week. Every one is smiling, I walked over to Greta''s chair and she smiles at me when I walked up. "Didn''t know you had it in you boy." She stood up and handed me an apple "I won''t be surprised if al that noise you four made last night doesn''t lead to more little ones." For some reason I felt like I needed to not respond to her comment, and went to Carol to see if she had a crossbow completed yet. Looking toward the hunting party, an orange glow seemed to be barely visible as they spared. Must be my imagination. --------------------------------------------- A/N. It''s short, but I will revisit this chapter later, and add some details that aren''t relevant at the moment. As always: thanks for reading/following CH 9: Skeletons "Can I ask you something?" Coran seemed to be fidgeting with something, but I couldn''t see it. "Sure, but just so you know, asking if you can ask something is the same as ''doing without permission''. It can potentially cause problems." I joked, trying to ease her tension. "The voice said this place would be destroyed once we woke you, so why is it still here?" We were standing in the room she found me. Gina, Greg, and another guy came with us. Cassie having to be left behind because of her ''moon flow'' happening. From what they told me, since it''s her first one, the women wouldn''t let her out of the house designated for it. I didn''t ask any more once I figured out what they were talking about. "I think it tried," I pointed to scorch marks in the corners of the room where it looked like small explosions occurred "I don''t think they expected me to stay sealed this long. The explosives must have expired." Greg and the man had a strange look on their face as though they didn''t understand. Truth be told, they probably didn''t. Gina was currently laying in the Cryo Tank with a pensive expression on her face. I started unplugging and unhooking the four computers plugged into the tank, they were probably blanked, but they could be repouposed. "Here is another one of those Iris Scaners. This is how I got down here before." Coran''s statement made me look over top of the monitors as I was working. I''m glad she did. The computer I was about to unhook was running a power management program. I don''t know if it''s for the tank or something else, I decide to leave it alone just in case. Gina walks over to Coran, and looks into the circle in the center of the wall. A voice that makes me picture a mother sounds through the room. "Unknown Human Female, Access Denied." Gina''s demeanor changes slightly, the excitement of finding something new having been taken from her. Coran looks into it next. "Coran of Springfield, welcome back. Access Denied." "Well that''s new. Guess that means it''s your turn to try." She tells me. I walk over, expecting a similar result. "Subject Zero, Jesse of Springfield, James Monroe, detected. Access to Subjects One through Nine granted. Opening access. As orderd by Joyce and Mitchell Monroe, following subjects will not be automatically awakened. Subject Zero Now Adminitrator." The whole time the voice spoke I could hear sounds of Cables moving, Gears clinking, and metal sliding along metal. The hidden door slid open revealing another room. I stuck my head in and realized that this was an elevator, and it only went down. "Shall we?" I asked, itching to see what other secrets were hidden in the place of my awakening. The five of us got on with room to spare, and I pushed the button to decend. The doors closed as a chime rang. I told everyone to grab the bars on the walls, once the door closed, we dropped, fast. Not fast enough to be alarming, but I could tell it was quick. When the full weight of my body could be felt again the door opened. And in front of me were nine more Cryogenic Stasis Pods. I stepped out of my daze, and into the room. Each of the tanks held another person, four men, and five women. With me that would make five pairings, then it hit me. These people weren''t saved, they were experimented on like I was. The only reason for their current survival was genetic diversity, an attempt to repopulate the world. This room made something all too obvious to me. Whatever had caused Black Day, was planned. And someone knew it would fail. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Who are these people?" I asked outloud, not expecting an answer, and was surprised when I got one. "Subjects One through nine are genetically modified, and Nano-machine enhanced humanoids. Subjects Two through Seven non-Terrestrial in origin, however Genetically compatible. Subject one, Alexis Monroe, Adopted, verified use of gift, as well as conscious control of Bosen Particles. All memories not pertaining to these two subjects erased. Administrative Authourization: Joyce Monroe. Subjects Eight and nine, Human, son and daughter of Lunar colonists. Prescribed Memory training for all subjects concluded." "Was it that long winded when you woke me?" I asked Coran, she shook her head signaling it hadn''t. "Black day was May 4th, six hundred fourty-one years ago. Using that as a reference point, when was the last access to this room?" I asked, hoping for a simpler answer as I looked at the teens in these tanks, just like I had been. "Reference date coincides with loss of connection to surface servers. Logs show a spike in electromagnetic and Bosen field readings at twelve hundred hours on reference date; spike occouring thirty-six thousandths of a second before. Would you like to use this time as a reference time?" "Round to the nearest whole minute." "Last access to this room made by Joyce and Dwayne Monroe One year, four days prior to reference date and time." The machine finally gave a simple answer. Can I break the thing now? Wait, it''s a computer, I wonder if it has video. "Do you have any Video capture for the ten minutes up to the reference time?" "Requested data not available. Data requested used in memory imprint to Subject one." I look down at the name plates, the one with ''Subject One'' on the tag was the only one on the back wall, where the other eight were on the side walls. The tag also had her name ''Alexis Monroe'' and I''m guessing a nick name under that. ''Ice Vixen'' "She has clothes." Gina said. When she said that I recalled waking up in Coran''s house wearing my birthday suit. "Should we wake her up?" I asked the four with me. "If they are like you, it shouldn''t be a problem." The man with Greg opined. "With the three of you living in Cassie''s house, that leaves Coran''s and Gina''s empty. We could probably put enough beds in those houses for them." Came Greg''s reply. "The Non-Terran thing has me worried, but I can''t think of a good reason why we should leave them." Gina spoke. "Lets do it!" Came Coran''s reply, her eyes glazed over. "Will they be able to walk on their own? I was carried back, and we didn''t bring enough people to carry this many." "The Unit for Subject Zero is the only one that required delayed awakening due to the learning protocol. Subjects One through Seven will be able to walk immediately upon revival. Movement articles for subjects eight and nine will be presented upon awakening, and are located in storage in their respective units." I look back towards everyone just to get conformation again, and get all nods. "Wake them up." As the tanks lower down, Laminates slide out of the tank storages, and Coran quickly grabs them. I grab the one for Alexis, it kicks on in my hand. The record lists her as an adopted Daimah and apparently my sister. Announcement I apologize to the followers of this work. My computer with my notes on this story has been lost. I was hoping to retrieve at least my notes, but that wasn''t possible. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. As such, this work will no longer have any updates, and I am closing it.