“Okay, we’ve got all three artifacts in place. Now, all that’s needed is a blood sacrifice to…”
“I’m ready,” the Girl said, ceremoniously disrobing herself and laying down on the parapet.
The Archeologist seemed surprised at this sudden turn of events. “That took very little persuasion on my part!”
“I deserve this.”
“You sure you don’t want to struggle a little? Maybe beg for your life?”
“Will it help the ceremony any?”
“A little flavor for the surrounding offerings, but – ”
“Then go ahead and get it over with.”
The Archeologist seemed hesitant at first, then gradually grew into his role, his expression taking a look of determination as he chanted a few customary ritual passages before plunging the knife towards her chest…
And then she woke up, the sheets surrounding her chest feeling damp. She removed the offending material and wasn’t surprised to find the cause. Her breasts had leaked milk overnight.
Groggily, she got out of bed ahead of schedule, which would play havoc with the recap for tonight’s dream later. She dully got washed, got dressed, ate without much motivation, and started making her way to work as she’d done before. Only, this time, the mood was different.
She decided that instead of taking any fancy transportation there, she’d go there on foot. It was still early yet, and this part of the world was still in its waking moments. It seemed to take forever to get there, even though it didn’t take that long in reality.
She got there five minutes early.
“You’re early!”
“Yes, I know.”
She bypassed the usual gate with a different creature floating in the tube without much enthusiasm. Friendly greetings from the staff were accepted without much awareness or acknowledgment. She was dimly aware of such things happening, but felt disassociated, as if they were happening to someone else.
After being ostracized for so long, she was finally accepted into the Baby-Maker team, but only after having lost the only people she’d ever cared about. And they weren’t even people to begin with.
Despite her rise in social status, her daily tasks remained mostly unchanged. She was still in charge of taking notes for the Technican. She was still in charge of getting food for the staff. Only her feeding assignment was changed to a new Subject in another room. This Patient was even less amicable than BugBoy. It would just hastily shove the entire contents of the tray – including the bowls and utensils – inside its stomach, not caring about the taste at all, then nurse its desert for a good 50 minutes. It was more concerned about getting the main course out of the way to get to the good stuff, and paid little attention to the Girl at all.
She wondered how she’d get the trays back.
Even though she didn’t have to, she still went through the motions of preparing food for BugBoy. She placed the concoction of bananas and toothpaste outfitted with a durable straw for drinking onto a spare tray for serving. And when she opened the door to the room, there was no one there.
This is They 