Page 31 of Abraxas

Chapter 11

Mated Life

Gloria and Abe had finally worked things out. They moved into his place because there were three bedrooms, not just two, and the rooms were slightly larger. Homer had asked for Gloria's old apartment, and Lu gave it to him. Abe wondered if Homer and Dori would be the next couple. There were other possibilities, but why would Homer want the larger apartment if he didn't have plans?

Meanwhile, the work for the hunter video was going full steam ahead, and Dori had all kinds of cool plans to help those demons with trouble getting around go even faster than the ones that didn't. She built cool devices for the three demons in the video without limbs. Who knew that Dori could weld. She was a certified mechanic, and she had training in bodywork. Stef and the camera crew knew, as did Gloria, and she quickly told Abe that she needed those skills.

"Do you think she might train some of the demons who are interested in doing that kind of work?" Abe asked.

"She's done that kind of work before, so if they are really interested, you should ask her."

Abe thought he would suggest that to Lu because it seemed like a cool job for a demon. It was also something the resort could use because Lu wanted to put in a Go Kart track and a smaller one for little kids that would just stay in an oval area. LuFelt that having things for the little kids, too, would make their resort different than many of the others. The toddlers were often left out because they were too small to do things on their own. Their lawyer, who had not managed to visit yet, had pointed out that there would be a higher liability, but Lu didn't care.

Everything seemed to be on schedule for the grand opening, and they were both excited and nervous about what that time would bring. Right now, they were getting a lot of help with moving Gloria and Kiki's things into Abe's apartment. Some of the demons were painting because Gloria didn't like the colors that Origin had you used, and Kiki was choosing her own colors, so she was going to have the place painted. They were doing one room at a time to make things easier. Homer was also getting help moving things into Gloria's old apartment. For now, Homer was leaving everything as it was, which made sense because if he mated, he would just have to do it again.

“Did you want your three bedrooms instead of my two bedroom? Do you have a hobby that I don't know about?” Gloria asked.

“It is my hope that we might want children in time," Abe admitted.

“Children? Maybe a little boy that looks like you?”

“Or a little girl that looks like you?”

Gloria giggled. “Kids can be a lot of fun.”

“Making them can be a lot of fun too.”

“Maybe we can do that as soon as I am finished putting in this order for costumes for the video," Gloria offered. “We may have to upgrade all the gear that Dori is making for them to be space pirates. They'll have some cool things to ride around on.”

“Those two-wheeled things are cool. I think the other guys would like them, too," Abe said.

“I bet they would, but they are out of luck. They are not just expensive, but they are also hard to make. They will only go to those that need them," Gloria explained.

“You and Dori are killjoys.”

“They asked you to talk me into it, didn't they? It wouldn't do any good. She will have a hard time getting three ready in time for the video."

“How about the next video?" Abe asked.

“There will be three more guys that need them then. If some other guys want them, maybe they should train to do the work themselves.”

“That's a great idea. They could do their own and maybe even help with some more.”

“There you go. Problem solved," Gloria approved.

Abe left to tell the guys Gloria’s suggestion. He wondered how they would do if they actually tried to do that. Demons tended to be pretty good with their hands, so maybe they would manage. That welding looked tough. Some of the guys had talked about training to do some of the work with Gloria, but not anything as complicated as building something that could be driven around the island.

If one of them was good enough to do it, Abe wanted one for himself. What? Everyone knew that demons were just overgrown boys. They like to have fun and play, and that thing would be perfect for it. They needed to be careful, especially if they went to the side of the island that had animals. He thought he would just stick with the beach and the sand. He wasn't interested in getting chewed on by some wild animal. His communicator went off. The boss was calling them all. That made him wonder what in the world was happening now?

He headed to the office where they usually met when dealing with business, and everyone else was waiting for him. Lu got ready to talk and looked serious.

“I've been talking to Zeus about the things that have been going on here. He says there's a fight to control what is left of Origin. One group wants to come after us because they have decided that demons are now their best hope for breeding more gods. The other group wants to return, become legitimate, and do what they did before the gods were discovered. We had better be careful. We could be stolen and milked for our essence. When we leave the facility, we need to start carrying weapons. At least we can make it painful for them if they come after us," Lu explained.

“Is there any other action we can take?” Abe asked.

“If you think of something, you can let us know. Arming everyone is the only thing I can think of right now. We have surveillance. Security is doing everything they can to ensure nobody comes to shore without our knowledge.”

“Damn. It used to just be us we had to worry about, but now we have our families, and soon we will have our guests.”

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