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That's when I got my bright idea. I knew there was a vaccine from the vids in the stores. Solo had even joked about stealing some to inoculate ourselves with. I decided to steal some for Solo.
My memory gets fuzzy at that point. I don't remember how I got the vaccine, if I stole it or if she gave it to me. I know she was there. I vaguely remember a long white hallway and holding onto a pale and cold hand. I vaguely remember hearing her say, "Pity the children," to me again.
My memory clears up after that. I was running through the streets, the vial clutched in my hand and a needle box in my pocket, dodging vagrants and children suffering from the disease. They raved and moaned. Some thrashed about with seizures, while others lay preternaturally still.
I dashed home to find Solo worse.
The plague moved slowly in its early stages but frighteningly fast in the later. I'd seen it too many times on the streets since the plague had first appeared. Solo was nearing the end, but instead of raving like the others did he was quiet. He lay there, agony painted across his features as I pulled out the needle box. I was about to open the package when Solo's eyes popped open.
"Duo, no!" he said, looking at me. "I'm dead, or as good as. Giving me the vaccine won't save me. I'll just stay here in pain for a while longer. I don't want to be in pain," his voice broke off in a sob and he grimaced. Agony burned in his eyes.
"I don't wanna hurt. It can save you and some of the other street kids. Take the vaccine and live for the both of us. Help other kids live. Promise me?"
Tears rolled down my face. "I promise, Solo. I'll live for the both of us. I will."
"Good," he said. His eyes drifted shut and he lay there gasping. Solo's back spasmed up off the floor and he screamed his pain out wordlessly.
Pity the children, she told me. And I did. I pity any child of plague.
I listened to him scream and watched him writhe in agony. I couldn't take it. Solo hadn't wanted to be in pain.
So I ended it.
I took his dagger and slit his throat, while sobs tore mine apart. My tears mingled with his blood. And out of the corner of my eye I saw her again, tears silently rolling down her face.
I don't know how long I sat there crying over his body, but I had made a promise. I kept it. I think she told me how to measure the vaccine and how to inject it into myself. I don't know how else I could have done it by myself as young as I was, but I did. And after I'd injected myself I went out to the streets and inoculated as many of the street kids as I could, even though I felt like I was dying inside.
/It don't matter how you worship
As long as you're
Down on your knees/
I don't know how long I wandered the streets after I ran out of the vaccine. It could have been an hour or it could have been weeks. I never went back to the shed that Solo and I lived in. The thought hurt too much, even if he wasn't there anymore. They had found his body, I remember seeing that on the news vids, and they had taken it away. I didn't care. I wasn't going back there and that meant I didn't have anywhere to stay.
The plague continued its path of destruction through L2. So did another one, one that had been there so long, we couldn't remember when it had started. One that had been there so long it was a way of life.
I crouched down in a dark alley, staring blankly at the garbage near my feet. Something crunched to my left and I heard an ugly laugh. I looked up.
"Look what we have here, boys. We've got a new treasure for the boss."
His voice echoed in my mind as I tried to process his words. "Look what we have here, boys. We've got a new treasure for the boss." His eyes gleamed evilly in the dim light and he reached for me with a giant hand.
I shrank into myself and then instinct took over. I tried to run, and fled straight into one of his friends. His friend stopped me from leaving, while his hand got an iron grip on my hair.
"Now, now," he leered, "no leaving before you meet the boss." His sour breath rasped across my face. I flinched and began to struggle wildly. His hand whipped across my face and as darkness descended I felt myself getting tucked under his arm and I thought I heard her crying.
I awoke slowly, my head aching. "What a nice, young boy," a voice breathed. "He'll do nicely, very nicely." It paused for a moment. "Just how hard did you say you'd hit him?"
"Hard enough," the voice of my captor said. "He should be waking up soon, Boss."
"Good," the first voice answered. "I want my latest treasure awake. I want to find out how much he knows about his new job."
A warm and clammy hand caressed my chest. My naked chest. My eyes snapped open and I attempted to curl up into a tiny ball. The man, who still had his hand on my chest, stopped me. A wide smile crossed his face.
"What lovely eyes," he breathed, as he climbed onto the bed I hadn't realized I was lying on. He forced my legs down flat and I noticed that I wasn't just missing my shirt, I was missing all of my clothes.
He straddled my waist.
"Welcome to your new home and place of employment. You will refer to me as Master Jarrod." His smile grew wider as I stared mutely at him, my heart in my throat.
His had slowly traced a pattern down my chest.
"The next question is, what shall I call you?" he asked as my stomach caved in, trying to avoid his wandering hand. He frowned at that. "How cute," he sneered, "little amethyst eyes wants to leave. That answers my first questions. He needs extensive training." A happy leer crossed his face. "That's my favorite part," he purred.
"But first a name." His other hand made its way down my arm while the first began to make its way back up my chest. I'm sure my eyes grew darker in fear. His smile grew feral. "We will call you Indigo, and that's what color you will wear. Now, on to training."
He swung himself off my body. That should have made me feel better, but it only increased my apprehension.
"Alyx," he said, gesturing languidly towards me. My captor moved forward and lifted me off the bed. He placed me on my feet between Master Jarrod's legs and held me there. Jarrod's eyes wandered up and down my body.
"Pity he's not a little taller. It's always nice to be able to sit and watch them worship you from their knees," he smirked. "We'll work around that problem at a later time." He smirked again. "Watch closely, Indigo, your hands will be doing this next time."
I wish my memory wasn't so clear about this. I wish I could skip over it, but I can't. My mind plays on and I can only endure it.
His hands reached out and grabbed my shoulders. He started to pull me close to him. I whimpered softly as a tried to resist the tugging hands. He yanked hard, jerking me off my feet and into close proximity of his groin.
"Open wide," he sing-songed. I shook my head no, and felt a fist slam into my back. It shoved me forward as I involuntarily cried out. That's what they had intended.
He filled my mouth and his hands grabbed the back of my head. "This, Indigo, is what they call a blow job. Do as I say, and you won't get hurt anymore." I did as he said and discovered that he lied. Master Jarrod liked other people's pain and misery.
He had me out on the floor within a month. I served drinks and serviced customers. Jarrod had decided I was too young for anything but oral sex, but by the end of that year I was a master at it and he was about to move my training forward. I was desperate to escape.
I wanted to leave before I broke my promise to Solo. He'd wanted me to live for the both of us, and I couldn't, not there. I was almost dead inside. I could barely feel and I almost never spoke. I needed to live, and I needed to leave.
And then she came back.
/So I knelt there at the delta
At the alpha and the omega
At the cradle of the river
And the seas/
She was sitting in a darkened corner, her long hair again hiding her face. Her clothing was opulent. She looked directly at me and I could see the sorrow in her eyes.
I opened my mouth and nothing came out. I tried again, forcing the words to come out this time. "I understand now," I whispered. "I understand and I pity the children."
She nodded once. "I'm sorry," was all she said in answer. Jarrod yelled at me. I glanced away and saw he had a customer for me to service. I looked back at where she had been sitting and found no one there.
I went over to Jarrod and the heavyset man. His fly was already open. "Please him, Indigo," Jarrod ordered. I looked down and saw that a small stool was positioned between his feet. I knelt down on it and found myself between his thighs. I was about to begin working when I saw her again.
She was waiting.
An explosion ripped through the room.
Shards of glass, wood, and steel flew through the air. As did tables, other assorted pieces of furniture, and bodies. I fell sideways and backwards as my customer pitched forwards, his heavy body covering mine. A table landed nearby and its leg slammed into my skull.
Before I lost consciousness I saw her again. She knelt near me and tenderly kissed a small girl. The girl had been new to the establishment so I didn't even know her name.
Then she looked at me, indigo eyes glowing. "It will be all right. You will keep your promise," she swore to me. Then darkness dropped over my eyes and she was gone again.
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Copyright 2005