Page 16 of Savage Daddies
A bell above the door jangles and a petite elderly woman with white hair strolls outside. Her hair is in long braids and she’s wearing an apron with white marks on the front of it. Her eyes are bright with energy and she gives us a big smile. “Ah, Axel and Nash! My favorite Steel brothers of them all!”
Axel chuckles. “I promise not to tell Erik and Gage you said that.”
She runs down the steps and grabs the tall man’s hand. When her gaze lands on me, she smiles wider and I instantly like her. She’s the first friendly face I’ve seen who might be able to help me escape, I reason. Butwillshe help me? I glance at her mates and worry that even asking for her aid will be futile. However, I promise myself that if the chance arises, I won’t hesitate to take it. I return her smile as I continue petting the dog.
“That’s Strider,” she says with a nod at the animal. “He likes you.”
“He’s a sweet creature,” I say. “I-I’ve never met a real dog before.”
“I imagine not, dear.” She approaches me and looks me over. “You’re from Emerald, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Welcome to the wildlands,” she says, stepping away from the tall man as she spreads her arms wide and spins in a circle. Despite her age, she has lots of energy. I have never seen a woman with pure white hair in Emerald before. I wonder how old she is. In the techno-cities, the average life expectancy is sixty-two. It’s rare to live more than a few days beyond such an age, but both the elderly woman and her mates appear older than the oldest residents of the techno-cities. I wonder why that is and my heart races. Will I be able to live past sixty-two now that I’m in the wildlands?
“You want to know how I’m so old, don’t you, dear?” She giggles and grasps my hand, giving it a squeeze as she peers into my eyes. Hers are a vibrant blue shade, and the lines on her face are deep.
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
“It’s a common question we always get from the techno-city women.” She releases my hand. “My name is Henrietta and I’m from Emerald, just like you. I’m seventy-one. My mates are even older than me,” she says.
“How is that possible?” Hope rises in my chest. I’ve always felt sorry for residents of Emerald who were approaching their sixty-second year in life. I’m still young, only twenty, so I have years to go before I must worry about my time on this world coming to an end, but I know that my impending demise would plague me as I grew closer to that final year. I feared it, in a secret part of me, a place I shoved the thoughts that often bordered on treason.
The tall man steps forward, his gaze intent on mine. “Because in the techno-cities, once a resident reaches the age of sixty-two, their sleeping quarters are pumped full of poison. Sometimes it takes several days for the poison to work, and other times it works almost instantly.”
My mouth goes dry and I stare at the tall Lambert brother in disbelief. “But how-how do you know this?”
“My father used to work in the Environmental Control Department in Emerald. He said it was done for population control. The number of babies hatched each year equals the number of residents that turn sixty-two and perish. Population control,” he says, emphasizing the last two words with obvious disgust. “He told us all about the techno-cities, though we have never set foot in one ourselves.”
My mind reels and I suddenly have the urge to drop to the ground and hug the friendly dog. But I keep standing and try to understand how all I’ve been taught could be so wrong. The Wise Leaders told us that it was scientifically impossible for our bodies to live past the age of sixty-two. They admitted to us that in the Old Days, people occasionally lived past that age, but they claimed those who did managed it by taking dangerous drugs to unnaturally prolong their lives. They also often became very ill and spread diseases to others, which caused damage to society overall. But Henrietta and the three Lambert brothers look perfectly healthy.
Axel turns to me, a look of concern on his face. Nash strokes my hair and I can feel him looking at me. “Are you all right, little girl?” Axel asks. “You’ve gone pale.”
“I’m fine,” I whisper. “Just-just shocked. This is a lot to take in.” I don’t think Henrietta and her mates are lying. I can sense they’re telling the truth. There is honesty in their eyes, as well as sympathy that I soon realize is directed toward me. In any case, theyarethe truth, all of them standing tall and in surprisingly good health well beyond the age of sixty-two.
“Let’s get you inside, Josie,” Nash says. “Come on, little one.”
* * *
Inside the cozy bedroomat the inn, I stare at the steaming bath water as the tub fills up, my mind still reeling from all I’ve just learned. The realization that it’s possible to live beyond sixty-two is astounding, even more so now that I know what causes death in the techno-cities. Poison. Not old age, like the Wise Leaders would have us believe, but poison.
Murder. They kill us. They actually kill us.
Anger bubbles up inside me. I’ve always thought myself pretty smart—after all, I’ve read more old books than anyone I know—but it had never occurred to me that something sinister might be causing death. Our current way of life is supposed to be better than what it was during the Old Days, but how can it be better when we have no say in when we die?
I’m twenty now. That means if I return to Emerald, no matter what, I’ll die in exactly forty-two years. While there have been times I’ve questioned the society in which I grew up, I’ve never questioned the rightness of it as deeply as I am now.
I don’t want to go back.
My stomach clenches tight when this realization washes over me. I don’t want to go back and I’m certain of it. I can’t return to Emerald, not knowing what I know now. But how can I stay with my captors? I still can’t imagine having real sex and belonging to four men. Four savages.
Where else could I go?
I ponder this question and come up empty. My head still spinning, I turn as the door opens and Nash and Axel enter. At the resolute look in their dark eyes, I suddenly remember that they’re planning to punish me this evening. I gulp hard and finger the opening of the soft, oversized robe Henrietta provided me with.
“Um, I was hoping for some privacy during my bath,” I say, hesitating to undress while they’re watching me, even though they’ve seen me naked from the waist down more than once. The water finally reaches the top of the tub and the spigot shuts off. I stare at the bath longingly, wishing I could sink down into the water and forget all my troubles. I could pretend I’m back in Emerald in my apartment, oblivious to the fact that I’m going to die in exactly forty-two years because the Wise Leaders want to keep the population of our techno-cities steady.
“Take off your robe,” Nash says as he sets a pile of clothing on the nearby bed.
