Page 4 of Relyn
“Cousin Lily is getting married!”
“Again? What is this? Three times?”
“Four, but those first ones were, you know.”
Yeah, she knew. Uncle Roger had no problem paying for his baby to stay here on Earth. Nora’s dad had offered once, mainly to show off to his brother that he could afford to, but Nora hadturned him down. She’d take her chances, though by now, if she hadn’t matched, she wasn’t likely to. Nora had also considered in vitro, which was, in the short term, a cheaper option. But she didn’t relish raising a child on her own, and it didn’t seem like many good quality guys were interested in dating a middle aged, slightly frumpy English teacher. Just the announcement of her job title sent most guys running with memories of their high school days.
“Anyway, I’ve got things all set up for Sunday. I’ve even got some extra guests coming. Bob and Joel. I think you’ll like them. They’re roommates and Joel is really smart.”
Her mother was trying to set her up again. Knowing her track record, they were both probably gay. Her mother had horrible gaydar.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Nora said and took a sip of tea, unimpressed.
“Your Aunt Shelly has five grandchildren!”
As much as her father competed with his brother, Nora’s mom seemed to be racing with her sister, a race that she was losing spectacularly.
“True, but you have to admit I’m getting a little old for catching up.”
“You’ve got time.”
Nora snorted. “I’m too busy for that nonsense. Besides, I think I’ve proven that I don’t need a man to complete me!”
“I can’t believe I raised you as my daughter. You will bring that pie?”
“Yes, mother. I will be there with pie in hand on Sunday. Love ya, bye bye.”
She told vid screen to hang up. She didn’t need her mother rubbing in the fact that finding a guy seemed to be a skill she couldn’t master. Oh, there were always those open to an opportunity, but Nora wasn’t into that sort of thing. There werealways too many awkward moments and too many missteps to make it a viable option.
No, it was always better to just skip the live ones and go straight to the battery powered options. Then, she didn’t have to worry about strings or diseases or anything like that. No, she could power up her pink toys and engage her imagination and be quite satisfied all by herself. She adjusted herself in her seat. It was quite clear that she was going to need a session tonight, and just the thought of it had made her hungry for more than just dinner.
It was early though, not even five o’clock. Fine, she told herself. Early dinner, and then maybe a nice hot shower and a curl up with a trashy steamy romance. Those essays could definitely wait another day, right?
Chapter 2
Relyn
“Kill!” It was the first thought, the first sound he could remember, but it was there, loud and definite, hissing at him over and over again. “Kill! Kill it, kill it!”
He didn’t know what it was. He didn’t know what he was. He could move, yes, move across the surface that was cold and rough beneath him. The world was black. Was he supposed to see? And how did he know that he could not see if he hadn’t seen before. He stilled for a moment, but the order continued.
“Kill! Kill!”
Even if he couldn’t see, didn’t know what he was, something deep inside of him rebelled against the voices. But he had no way of speaking, no way of communicating. He was a pulsing form and not much more.
The voices got angrier, and a burning pain coursed through one side. He withdrew, retracted himself away from it. He sent out a finger in the other direction, and encountered a shape.
“Yes, kill, kill it.” They were pleased and the pain stopped. He moved to explore the shape more. A jolt of pleasure tingled along his edge. They wanted him to reach out, cover more of the shape. He moved, sliding himself across the uneven surfaces,discovering that it was a warm and moving frame. It had breath. A living thing, like him.
“Now kill! Kill it!”
“Kill!”
The voices became more insistent, more grating and the pain became more frequent, but for some reason, something inside his core refused to budge. He didn’t like the voices, didn’t care how much pain they caused. This creature they wanted him to kill had done nothing to harm him. The more they prodded, the more he resisted. If he could reach out to them, he’d cover their noises and show them just how much he cared to do what they wanted.
Suddenly the hissing stopped, the pain subsided. Had he won? Would they now leave him alone?
The form below him moved. “Kill me. It’s what they want. I am nothing. They’ll kill me anyway.”
