Page 5 of Abraxas

They had another demon who also worked in the same capacity. He and Johnny took turns going on trips when they wanted and staying home when they didn't.

If they wanted to make it a full-time job, Lu considered having a plane to pick up the guests and later return them home. So far, nothing had been done because no one said they wanted a full-time job.

Up until the time they were freed, their lives had been so horrible that they deserved to make their own decisions and do what they wanted to. The money the band made supported everyone, so no one had to work if the band was working. They had the positions that needed filling.

They were expanding, which the demons had voted on and approved. So, more of them would have to work. Lu still planned for no one to work full-time unless they wanted to. They would be hiring people to fill any jobs their demons did not want.

Abe knew one of the problems was that none of the demons would complain or mention that they might like a different job because they didn't like the one they had. He knew a couple who didn't. If they didn't bring it up to Lu soon, he planned to do so. They had suffered enough. He wanted them to enjoy life. There was nothing he did that he minded doing, and he was sure they could move people around a little bit and find jobs to make everyone happy.

There were already a dozen demons training to be waiters. They all seemed excited about it, and he hoped they liked it. Stef explained that some customers might have difficulty with this. However, all of them felt like they could deal with it.

The hotel and restaurant would open in two months. Everyone would be able to see if they could handle the requested positions. They will start slowly. Stef recommended giving two trips–a week's stay for two fans each.

She felt that would be the cheapest way to get the word out. So far, all they did was hint about the giveaway, but even that had excited their fans.

The fans would get a fabulous, all-inclusive vacation. Their concert would be held where those fans could see the band play a few songs. They even planned to have a luau on the beach as one of the fun things for their guests. The plan was to have anactivity each day, and they could bring up to four people. That was in case there were children they didn't want to leave behind.

Demons were just overgrown children. Abe wouldn't deny that. They loved playing with kids and with the kind of things kids did. That was probably why they all liked Kiki being there. Gloria truly didn't understand that they enjoyed her sister, and none of them minded her exploits.

Kiki made friends with a few of the injured demons. Because of that, she had taken an interest in medicine. She was a good girl. Had she not had the opportunity to be there with her sister, things might not have worked out well for her. She still had a long way to go, but everything looked up.

Chapter 2

Las Vegas

Gloria woke up when it was time to eat. It was a nice meal served on the plane. There were two choices: an open-faced roast beef sandwich and ham and cheese. Each had different sides. The roast beef sandwich was served on a hot roll with mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn. The ham and cheese had chips. They could double the amounts of either if they wanted. Demons had big appetites, so that was what most of them did.

Gloria chose ham and cheese with pretzels. Since there were several chips, she also requested a bag of potato chips.

She didn't need two sandwiches. They were huge, more than enough to fill her up. Most of the demons did get two. There was no point in them getting hungry before they arrived, and they were only about halfway through the trip.

There was a rumor that they were stopping after lunch and picking up a few more passengers. She wasn't sure who this was or why they picked them up. The demons had a lot of secrets, and she usually wasn't privy to them. It must be all right because she was sure Stef knew. Her friend had probably made the arrangements. Gloria had to admit that she had been surprised that Abe had shared a secret with her.

She'd seen a large group of demons that had parts missing and had thought that it must have been an accident at the facility, not that they had been abused in such a way that theyhad lost parts. What a horrible group of people Origin was. Risa was with them, and that surprised her since she'd recently found out that she was expecting. With the morning sickness making things difficult, she was surprised she hadn't stayed behind.

The band always had a doctor with them. It was nice, but she had to admit it was unusual and often wondered why. It had not been enough to make her ask why. Maybe it wasn't that odd since they had several doctors at the facility, and taking one with them wasn't really an issue. Those doctors also were either mated to a band member or sometimes played in the band.

Gloria was happy, mostly at least. She'd been lucky to get this gig, and she rarely worked anywhere else now because she could support herself and her sister with what she made and even put some money away for a rainy day. When she did go on a gig, Stef usually watched out for Kiki. Her other gigs had become more of a vacation and a break from her sister. Was that wrong? She didn't understand it, but most of the demons seemed to truly like having Kiki around, and she behaved so much better when she was around them.

Abe had insisted that taking Kiki on would be no issue with him. She found it hard to believe, but her resolve against a relationship with him, especially because of Kiki, was beginning to soften. He was perfect, perfect for her and perfect for Kiki. Gloria found nothing wrong with the male so far. They used the term male so often that it was surprising they had started to say man. It had been suggested that by using the term male, they were putting too much distance between themselves, their fans, and the rest of the world's population.

Gloria wasn't sure why that mattered. Their fans adored them, and people of all kinds respected them for surviving what they had been through without even realizing how terrible it had been.

That was another thing she didn't understand. Why didn't they let everyone know what Origin had truly been like? Gloria knew they had shown a video of what had happened to those Origin workers who ended up trapped and abandoned. They were left to die a slow, horrible death. But what they had done to the demons was even worse. They had been tortured, had parts removed, and been experimented on all their lives, even as children.

The story had not been fully shared. Maybe they were holding back. There were more, many more, and they wanted to recover them.

That hideous guy, Cirrus, had been part of all that. Not the way that Risa had. He'd done it and enjoyed it, and while he said that they had his daughter and his participation had been forced, no one believed that he wouldn't have done it anyway because he loved it so much. Risa had her sister held over her, and she still tried to do the things she was forced to do in the kindest possible way. Occasionally, she had refused to do what they asked, regardless of how they threatened her.

Most people were that way. They had a point they would not pass regardless of what happened to them or even someone they loved. Gloria liked to believe she was that way and would work toward the greater good in any way she could. Unfortunately, she could not do much to help others when she struggled just to help herself and her sister. Did she resent her parents? Oh yeah, she certainly did, but she was still the one that had her sister and was trying to care for her, and sometimes she wondered if Kiki wasn't better off with her than with their parents.

“We're about to stop to pick up our passengers. It's a good time if you need to use the facilities or walk around a little to stretch your legs,” Abe informed.

“Thank you. Who are we picking up?”

“I'm not sure who, but it will be someone from the Antarctica facility. They run a lottery to decide who goes because so many want to. The rest will watch on their big-screen TVs in the rec room.”

“How does that lottery work?” Gloria asked.

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