Sanctuary Falling (29 page)

Illay grabbed Yllera’s hesitant shoulder and shoved Yllera into the room.
 
The room was dim, and more like the entry tunnel.
 
The glassy ceiling was spider webbed with the same vein-like light sources as the entry tunnels.
 
Thick pallets of some sort lined the walls and throw pillows rugs and blankets were thrown everywhere. Despite the randomness of the piles the room seemed well kept and on closer examination possessing of more than surface organization. When one of the piles blinked at her Yllera very nearly jumped. The pile wasn’t in fact a pile it was a very old very weather worn woman wrapped in several layers of blankets. She must be the seer.

“Sit!”
 
A frail yet firm voice commanded, while a worn yet strong arm gestured towards a cushion set in front of the woman.

Yllera didn’t require any further information, this woman was the gate through which she must pass to fulfill her mission. Yllera sat where she was told.

The woman shot out a dry, root-like hand and wrapped it around Yllera’s wrist before yanking it towards the hag’s ancient and nearly toothless face. “You smell strange, like a people alien to this world. Yes briaunti I believe. You have many friends,” the woman proclaimed then she licked Yllera’s hand leaving a mucousy trail behind. “Nepask!” The woman exclaimed almost immediately throwing Yllera’s hand away.
 
The seer spat a thick mucus, on the floor to Yllera’s left. “You are a thing which cannot be because it no longer exists!” The woman shook a thin finger at Yllera violently.

Yllera looked to back away from the woman, not knowing what she could have done wrong. Illay and Teverum blocked her path, each with daggers drawn.
 
“Seer, what have you seen?” Illay asked reluctantly.

“She masks! It is a poor job but she puts on briaunti and Tanerian, even you Teverum. She wears all she has touched! She is true to form!”
 
The old woman crooned.

“Are you sure?” Teverum asked gruffly.

“I have seen.” The woman rose and shuffled from the room.

Illay sheathed her dagger and sat on a pallet laughing.
 
Teverum tossed his dagger to the floor before finding a pile of pillows to sit upon.
 
“She, is true to breed?”
 
Illay laughed aloud, “Tell the truth Yllera, you must speak at least a little Tanerian.”

Yllera shook her head, “ I understand a little, but I don’t speak Tanerian.”

“You’re kidding right?” Teverum responded in his accented English, “Every Agurian I’ve ever met speaks at least a little Tanerian.”

Yllera frowned, “I thought we established it on the surface, why are you asking me again all of a sudden?”

“Because it is too ridiculous that the person we’ve waited generations to find, doesn’t even speak our language, “ Illay cackled.

“Waited for?” Yllera was missing something, “Not me, I grew up on earth. Until I was fifteen I didn’t know what an Agurian was, let alone that I was one. Then someone tried to kill me and crippled my Grandmother. That’s when I went to live with the factors. You really couldn’t be waiting for me. Besides I thought Tanerian was you know, the language of the Tanerian people, the enemy?”

Illay turned serious again, “To defeat an enemy you must know them. To know a person you must understand them. How can you understand someone if you don’t speak their language.
 
So their language is our language. And one day, perhaps sooner than we dreamed we will use it to free our people.”

Yllera shrugged, “What does that have to do with me?”

“Everything, you are truly Agurian. Even more so than Tev, or I am. You will lead us to our victory. Welcome to your new home,” Illay said arranging another pallet as a sleeping place for Yllera.

“Whoa! Leading you to your victory!” Yllera blurted rising from her cushion, her hand went to the emergency escape activator stitched into her pocket.

Illay gently pushed Yllera back down to a seated position, “If you were really sent here to establish relations between your
>
factors’ and our people you must remain with us. You are the best token of friendship possible.”

Yllera sat stiffly, she wasn’t sure if this was what the Chief was aiming for, but boy oh boy was this going to be a doozy of a report.
       

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Chapter 8

Love hurts!

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Annette manhandled her laundry sack down the hall to the laundry chute. Niri had clearly been thinking in Annette’s best interests when she had Annette take the room closest to the main activity room, but the laundry chute at the far end was quite a drag, literally. It had been two weeks and Annette had racked up a lot of laundry. Mainly because of the Technicolor sweat and mucous Tina had claimed were only natural for the immediate post metamorphic future. Annette had woken up to four different colors of sheets the first week alone, and when her sweat didn’t eat through the seams of her jumpsuits it left embarrassing stains in every shade of the rainbow.
 
It was great to be briaunti, but the laundry wasn’t funny.
 
Annette gave the bag a sharp tug and managed to fling it the last few feet towards the chute.

Actually as far as metamorphoses went, Tina had told Annette that this was mild. Annette had been fortunate enough not to experience any discomfort, aside from the telepathic sensitivity which seemed to be diminishing at pace with the suppresser.
 
It was so mild Tina couldn’t hide the taint of worry from Annette’s new telepathic sense.
 
Tina was anxious about the unexpected possibilities, and with Tina anxious Annette couldn’t help but be.

Annette found herself checking each move of her muscles, each smell, each sensation for some waiting disastrous outcome. It wasn’t exactly a relaxing recuperation. Having taken enough pause Annette reached down to lift her sack into the laundry chute. She paused again considering the idea of having Tina convince Niri that it was in Annette’s best interest to allow her room to take care of such menial housekeeping chores as laundry.
 
Not much hope of that.

“Hey Stranger!” A male voice shouted from the main activity room.
 
Annette turned towards it and recognized Carl.

“Hi, Carl,” Annette answered with as much enthusiasm as she could muster given her recent drag.

“Whoa, I hope you’re not upset that I haven’t gotten back to you with your present?” Carl said dropping his own sack of belongings and trotting down the hall to join her.

“Uh, no, I ugh, have a lot of laundry and the chute is too high,” Annette grunted try to lift the sack.

“Let me,” he took it from her, “Smells like Technicolor muck to me. Not quite through with your metamorphosis?” he said as he heaved the sack in to the chute in one quick movement.

Annette blushed, “Yeah.”

Carl flashed her a smile, “Been there done that, with my nose on overdrive. Trust me you could have it worse than you do. So are you sore everywhere?”

Annette grimaced the only time she was sore was when she tried to use her muscles, like during her laundry drag. “Some, I’m going to have to do a lot of retraining, strength, agility, endurance.
 
I have trouble lifting some of the books I’ve been reading.”

“Books? Like with paper and leather?” Carl couldn’t fully contain his enthusiasm, and it hurt as it bubbled over at Annette. Her knees buckled from the telepathic pressure. Carl was quick to catch her. “Sorry, I was a little too enthused at you wasn’t I?”

Annette tried to nod but every muscle was too busy trembling. With Carl’s apology came enough reprieve from the telepathic pressure to nod. Annette managed to stand with Carl’s help, her hand’s were still shaking.

“Maybe I should help you to the clinic,” Carl said with a worried frown.

Annette forced herself to find her feet. “No, I’m fine. I just should get back to the chores.”

“What chores?”

“Well, the floor needs vacuumed, the dishes washed, shelves dusted, fridge cleaned out. These quarters are a lot to handle for one person who gets a cramp when she lifts a feather duster.”

Carl broke out into a wide grin, “Then I have some good news, you have a roommate, and should have more by lunch, today was the last day of testing. I’ll handle everything, you rest.”

“No, I need to pull myself back together,” Annette protested, almost going weak at the knees again.

“Okay, but you have to let me help. I know some telekinetic shortcuts that should make things go quickly,” Carl started off towards the main room, Annette felt compelled to follow.

“I can’t use telekinesis, Tina gave me strict orders to avoid attempting anything,” Annette answered quickly.

“Okay, so I’ll use the tricks you rest.
 
By the way I still have your birthday present,” Carl grinned and stopped short in the hallway.

Annette felt a sudden lurch of apprehension in her gut, “What is it?”

Carl didn’t tell her; he showed her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. Without consciously deciding to, Annette kissed back. It was her first kiss, their mouths stayed mostly closed.

 
When it was over Annette’s lips tingled. The tingling slowly turned into a burning, quickly the burning spread.
 
Annette opened her eyes not clear on having closed them. Light filled her vision stabbing unfamiliar colors at her. Breathing deeply to cool the pain in her eyes, Annette taste-smelled everything, the trail of soiled laundry she had dragged down the hall, Carl’s strange male scent, the paint on the walls even had a taste.
 

A roar, bass and melodious, reached her in the land of sensory overload, “Are you okay?” It was Carl and it was agony.

Annette slapped her hands over her ears, feeling the roughness of her own hair.
 
She heard Carl breathing and herself. She heard her heart pound, and blood flowing through her veins, dimmer she heard Carl’s heart. It was all too much. Especially the shrill scream. It took her quite some time to realize it was her voice.
 
A hard slap across the face stung and resonated through her.

“Come on, pull it together,” Carl begged.

Annette managed to not scream.
 
She tried to
>
pull it together’, but her world was beginning to run together she was now smelling the color red. Her legs were buckling and there was nothing she could do but fall.

Carl was there to catch her. She thought to thank him.
 
Suddenly all of reality turned end over end. By the time her consciousness again found its center, Annette opened her eyes to Tina in a dimly lit room. Carl was gone, and the world was muted.

“Annette? Are you with us again?” Tina spoke softly. Annette flinched, despite the fact that Tina had spoken softly, the words were just too loud.
 
Tina picked up on it and quieted her voice even further, “Sorry, I didn’t think. At least I know your finally conscious again.”

“How long?” Annette asked past a dry and hoarse throat.

“You’ve been out of it for a few days. Carl said he kissed you and you just went nuts.
 
I’m figuring your very special eugenoplasts, didn’t like Carl’s. Or Carl’s didn’t like yours. Kissing him caused them to interact, unfavorably.
 
He couldn’t have picked a worse time to do it either. If I had more information about you at the time maybe, I could have expected this and been prepared,” Tina answered.

“I kissed back,” Annette’s gut felt the need to stick up for Carl.

“Okay so you both have bad timing. The good news is that you will live. The bad news, I had to perform a slap dash job of genetic repair to straighten you back out. The good news is this shouldn’t happen again,” Tina loosened restraints from
 
around Annette’s wrists, to which Annette had been oblivious.