Chapter 9. Tusker
Aura grew more open towards her trainers and even more obnoxious about her manners. Being a very observant creature, she soon learned what a modest species humans were. She made it a game to suddenly flash her underside at them whenever they wouldn't leave her alone. They would always make disgusted noises and look away. She enjoyed this reaction.
To counteract this game, her trainers decided to give her underwear. She liked trying out new things to wear on herself. Billie scolded her a few times himself.
"You should just do what they tell you. They just want to teach you things." He snorted, pinched her elbow.
"I can't stand them. They are so strange about their ways. Why do they cover themselves up so much? They look like us underneath I'm sure." She rolled in his lap.
"It's just the way they are. Be happy they don't dress us up."
Meanwhile the pair chattered, Sanser was leading a woman trainer down past the units. Billie barked a few insults at him as they passed on by. Sanser cranked up his chin and strutted past.
"I don't need you to lead me anymore. Thank you Sanser." The woman said, feeding him a piece of dog treat. Sanser snuffled loudly and planted his eyes on her rear as she walked on. He had a habit of skimming over females in that fashion.
Billie's and Aura's trainers soon came to fetch for them. Aura stuck her face against the metal bars and chirped sweetly to them.
"Where-are-we-going-today?" Her collar translated to them.
"You two are going to be reintroduced to the colony." Her trainer answered, his cattle prod ready. Aura paddled out with her arms hung low. Billie followed right behind her, holding himself higher to protect her.
A huge locked door with a heavy fenced in gate barricaded the entrance. There was a sign engraved into the door. Billie could read but lacked the correct vision for it. His eyes strained on the bold letters.
Restricted Area.
Subterranean hominoid containment.
Authorized handlers only.
The large area they were put into looked no different than the real world outside. There were bushes and trees scattered everywhere. It was night inside this colony containment. Aura marveled at the pretty stars but Billie figured it was just an artificial night sky.
"Are they safe to go in with?" The woman they saw earlier stood at the entrance.
"Yes they are. But watch out for Firefly. She is somewhat ill-mannered." The trainer gave her a cattle prod and a flash light. She pulled on her night goggles and entered with the two new editions.
Before them in the brush were about a dozen pairs of eyes staring out at them. Billie halted and drew in a sharp breath. These strange Morlocks came out to meet them. All bristled and sniffing each others faces. Aura screeched at them and hid behind Billie.
He stared up at all of them. These Morlocks were huge and different. They all greeted the pair with a laid back and happy introduction. Again, Aura was the shortest Morlock of them all.
It didn't take long for Billie to find out all these Morlocks were very tame. Most had been captured and hand-raised very young in this place. They only grew big because of their diets and lack of hard-ship that was normal with their wild brothers.
The biggest one was easily seven foot. But he wasn't really just tall but broad all over. His head alone was enormous and frightened both Billie and his mate. He could stick their heads in his mouth and crunch down if he wanted to. He was a very well-fed and groomed male. His hair was fluffy and shimmering white. His skin was scar-free and smooth.
Aura stared out at this monster from under Billie's arm. Right away her mate sorted himself in their pecking order. Despite being at the bottom at his colony he easily impressed the others to prove himself at top. They were a soft bunch that could easily be intimidated. Even the mammoth-sized Morlock crouched down when Billie slashed at his shoulder.
Aura strutted around with her back hair raised, sorting herself out among the others as well. She couldn't withdraw the scent of the huge male from her nose. He was strikingly familiar to her in ways she couldn't understand. She grabbed the male by the arm and growled at him.
"I'm not doing anything." He whimpered, lowering his head.
"You sure are a pussy I can give you that." She snarled, planting her claws into his neck. She breathed in his scent some more. "It disturbs me how similar your smell is."
"I remember you." He blinked, lifting up his face. "I remember you. I know now who you are."
"I wish I did. How would we know each other? You never lived in our colony."
"I did before. Sister, Aura." The male spoke with more confidence.
"Brother?" She dug deep inside her memories. "But how? Is that you Tusker?"
"You remember me." He smiled lightly.
Now she did remember him and it disturbed her even more. He was like a ghost back from the dead. She had a few older siblings and one of them was an older brother called Tusker. She was just two years old then when he turned five. He had suddenly vanished one night when they went out to explore in the woods. There was only a trail of his scent leading into the woods and suddenly ending out of no where as if something had picked him off and flew away. Her parents never went near that patch of the woods again. Had they been that near to her colony so many years before?
"I am very surprised to see you here as well sister." His eyes glowed softly. "I was so frightened when they captured me. I am still scared."
"You are so damned huge." She answered, backing away from his large head. "Like those dinosaurs that was in one of those books."
"Well you are very small." He crouched down, trying to appear shorter.
Billie was getting to know the other members. There were three mated pairs, four adolescents and two bachelor males. All of them were very tame and not very aggressive with each other. This small colony felt more well-suited for him than his much more aggressive family members. He calmed down and no longer attempted to attack them.
Once again the woman that had followed them in earlier showed up. She was greeted with grunts from the others. The huge male stomped over, his posture in attack mode. The woman spun around and made that strange squealing noise. The male suddenly went down on his knees and rolled over on his back. The ground seemed to vibrate under his sudden collapse. The woman bent down and ruffled her fingers through his hair.
"That's my good boy!" She cooed at him in babyish talk. Billie snorted at the male's reaction. He was like a giant baby. He may not be stunted in size but surely in mind. It was no wonder the male was such an underdog and a bachelor. He probably thought of himself as a child. For once in his life Billie didn't feel sorry for himself anymore.
All of these Morlocks struck him as bizarre. The way they greeted him. The way they greeted their trainers was all done in an extremely childish manner. If only all of them really knew how it was to lead a life in the wild. This giant beast before him had more than enough strength to kill that over-powering woman that stood only at his belly. No, this nearly one ton beast would rather cower at everybody's feet.
"He's so dumb." Aura growled. She paddled forward towards the woman and pulled at the bag on her back. The smell of her favorite cereal was a lure. The woman yelped and batted her hands away.
The huge male roared in defense and made a mock charge at her. His sudden poof of white hair made Aura flip over backwards. Billie charged at him and clawed his arms. The two separated, staring at each other with bristled manes before the bigger male backed away.
A bright flash of light hit Billie on the face. The woman had pulled out her flashlight to warn him back. Aura spun off in another direction, shrieking in anger. Billie had more tolerant eyes and only backed off to chase after his mate. Tusker, the huge male, simply raised up his head and squinted his eyes closed.
"Now no fighting." She scolded them all. "Did you get hurt? Aww you got scratched."
Tusker peered down at his arm. The blood stained his white hair a deep red. He went back down on his knees and whimpered loudly to her. She went over and started to clean his wound with a paper towel. He purred loudly and closed his eyes as she radiated all her attention on him.
Aura was still stomping around and throwing a fit. She raised up her arms and hooted loudly. She threw back her head and screeched as loud as she could. The others copied her reaction and soon the whole area was full of high-pitched shrieking. The woman clamped her hands over her ears, unable to withstand the sounds. Tusker roared at them, throwing his heavy body in their direction. They fled in scattered directions.
"If you were any closer you could have blown them away with your own breath." The woman teased him, poking her finger into his belly button.
Tusker was a unique specimen to her. He was not captured by the Evogenetic Center but by a group that had obtained a time machine illegally. They had captured Tusker and abused him to be a dancing attraction for secret sideshows in the alleys. He was beaten to submission but eventually he couldn't take it anymore and would revolt against them when they cued him to jig. Fortunately her father found out and had them arrested. Only special laboratories with licenses could contain Morlocks. It was illegal for zoos and ordinary citizens to have them.
It took many years for Tusker to soften towards people again. He grew very close the woman called Alana, whom took her role as trainer for him. It was custom for male trainers to work with female Morlocks and vice versa. It kept the males from attacking them as it was their nature not to harm the opposite sex. Tusker could never work with a man again. He hated man with all his heart and would attack without warning. It was only Alana he would work with. Eventually he stopped dancing frantically at the sight of them.
Tusker was given his name because he sported two pairs of tusks on the top jaw instead of the normal one. An uncommon mutation among his species. This and his size alone kept the others at bay.
He stood guarding her jealously as she opened up her backpack. She pulled out a box of cereal and fed it to him by hand. He bent over and picked up the colorful pieces with his sticky saliva. Aura snorted at them, smelling the fruit loops she was so fond of.
"I wish to have some. Damned pig. I bet he'd eat the box too."
Her brother munched loudly on the sweet cereal, rolling his eyes at her. Aura crawled closer, hoping some of it would roll her way.
There was a loud bang in the background and random light. Out of the confusion scrambled a few goats. It was feeding time for the colony. Alana stepped back and sat on top of a nearby stone for safety. The Morlocks all turned towards the small animals and promptly attacked.
Alana had studied their hunting behaviors for years. She found them creepy in their stealthy ways of catching a meal. Their short legs prevented them from chasing their prey. So they resorted to stalking and such masters they were at it.
The boss would sometimes bring his wife or children over for a visit. They always wanted to see the Morlocks. These ugly descendents of their human kind. They mocked at how hideous and fat they were. Clumsy on their bowed legs and their crouching figures, these beasts made an example of what the human race revolted.
Of course, she knew, they were wrong. True, they were very easy keepers when it came to gaining weight. The Morlocks were only fed once a week. No fatty meats allowed. One could say they could gain weight just by breathing air. They had to be worked daily and kept occupied. She had seen the damage done to Tusker being kept locked inside a cage without any stimulation.
These creatures were highly modified killers. They stalked their prey with such precision that the prey didn't even know they were there. Not until they felt the teeth or claws in the back of their necks. Already it was too late then. She had been stalked herself many times. Tusker enjoyed playing the game of "prey and predator" with her. He had been successful at just about every chance he stalked her. Not a breath or rustle of the grass could be heard. Only a sudden roar from behind and the fluff of white hair. He would cover her face with licks.
The killing itself was done very quickly and clean. A snap of the neck before the prey knew it was lights out. It was probably not a bad way to go. Only the inexperienced Morlocks had a bad time of getting the job done. There was an instance a few years back in the lab when one of the young carnivores had attacked a trainer. The monster had grabbed the skin of his face and jerked it clean off. Then gutted him, eating the intestines as the man screamed.
The warped beast was quickly shot down. No Morlock that feasted on the flesh of man was kept. Once they turned that was it. They knew man was prey and an easy one at that.
That was a golden rule when it came to being a trainer. Never ever let your guard down.
It was always all eyes on them. No cowering and no abusive methods. The beasts were more complex than most would imagine them to be. They were deep-minded and were as difficult to understand as a computer to a person who didn't even know how to turn one on. If there was a problem, it always took a long time to get to the root of it. The translating collars often spouted off the wrong words. Their language was somewhat complex and hard to grasp.
Alana attempted to learn some of the common grunts she heard them use. When she attempted to speak to them she only found them confused or insulted. She probably used the wrong tone of voice or level of pitch. It could be anything. One had to be raised with them to get any understanding.
They were not like people. They were very smart but the uprising carnivorous instincts inside them would sidetrack their intelligent side very often. It made them unpredictable and the reasons why they were kept in units. Except for Sanser, only because he was closer to his human ancestors than Tusker was.
She came to understand their body language. It was limited and extremely exaggerated. As they lived in complete darkness most of the time it would be hard to get ones attention by subtle gestures. The courting dances were silly to watch. Their hair would fan out like a cat for a number of reasons. The swaggering walk down in frustration. The rolling eyes in warning of anger. Probably the most frightening of all was the bloodlust stare. The bulging, flashing white eyes with exposed tusks.
Tusker would only give this to the male workers. He would purr and whimper at the females, mainly only to her. It largely depended on how they smelled. The smell alone told them everything about you. How old you were, how healthy, your attitude. The body scent was like an open book to them. Tusker largely detested the smell of a woman menstruating. He would simply avoid them in a rude fashion. However, if she was ovulating, that was another show.
Alana attempted to teach him manners when greeting such women. Nobody wants a large "dog" trying to hump your leg. It was very difficult as such smell reactions were so heavily ingrained in his memory.
Overall she preferred to work with them rather than other people. They did not judge by looks but smell. They rarely lied and preferred to be your friend. It took many years to become a master trainer. The students were quickly weeded out in the beginning. They had to learn that one could not boss a Morlock around. The beasts had learned from their ancestors the hard way and now nobody could make one a slave without consequences.
Her father would remind them. Think of horses, our beasts of burden. These are not horses. They are zebras.
They had to learn not to be the slave of the Morlock either. Nobody wanted fangs in their backs every time they came to greet their albino relatives. If you gained enough respect as in Alana's case, you might just have the beast bow down before your every whim. You had to bond with them for them to bond back. You had to become part of the colony. Unlike their Eloi cousins, they were largely suspicious for a long time.
All of the Morlocks were sorted out by their time period. Each had their own instincts set to what they largely lived by in that time. Sanser was referred to as a "Proto-Morlock." He had the basic heavy-boned shape of his later descendants. Pale skin and more hair growth. Everything else was still basically human. He still was clumsy in the dark but more adept to it than modern man. He could speak English with hardly any difficulties. Not many of the Morlocks liked him. Even the gentle Tusker would bombard him with punches to shoo him away from his lovely trainer.
Tusker and Aura were considered "Late-Morlocks" as their species and the Eloi began to interbreed at their time period. Billie was considered a "Post-Morlock." Though the opinions differed to the scientists. To some he was no more than a hybrid. To the others he was considered the end of the Morlock/Eloi age and the coming of a new era to the humanoid species. It would take several million years till both species would entirely integrate. The breeding of hybrids was difficult. In Billie's case it was found out he was sterile.
To him this was a big blow. His line would end with him. The fight for a mate was futile in the end. Though that's what his friends back home would say. He was happy enough to have a mate standing by his side. Aura on the other hand didn't care. She wouldn't care to be a mother.
"You are still young now but someday you will want a child. I can not give you one." He told her, feeling horrible.
"I just want you. I love you and I always will." She reassured him.
Tusker didn't have the thoughts of children linger in mind. He was too indulged with Alana to care about matehood and such fatherly duties. He only wanted her attention and would grow possessive if she paid attention the other Morlocks or those evil men.
He would disrupt their conversations with loud howls and beating his fists against the bars. He was moved in with the colony because the units brought about his dangerous behavior. They reminded him of the cages the zoo would put him into. He loathed anything with bars. Anything that was small and boxy. He would grow wary and believe he was about to relive the same dark life again.
Alana picked up the shredded box after he finished slobbering all over the rest of the crumbs and gave it to one of the females who loved chewing on cardboard.
Tusker tilted back and belched loudly. His trainer rubbed his large stomach.
"Good thing I can't devour that much."
