Disclaimer: This work is based on James Cameron's Dark Angel. The characters that you recognise from the show do not belong to me and I am not making any money off this fic.
A/N: I need a little advice. At the moment, this fic is currently rated T (teen) but I'm torn between deciding whether it warrants an M (mature) rating. If you could just state in a review whether you feel it's rated correctly or whether it would be better for me to put it up I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance.
Chapter Thirteen
Hope keeps her word and by the fourth day of her self imposed exile, she tracks me down. Part of me wants to turn the other way as I see her slinking towards me. Maybe she likes me so much because I'm the only person shorter than she is. Well, besides the children of course. She gives me a wide grin but I notice a hint of uncertainty. She seems half worried and half ashamed.
"Hey," she says brightly but her gaze doesn't quite meet mine. "Free for a walk?"
I nod and she links her arm under my elbow though her grasp is a little lighter than usual. After a few steps, I notice that she is walking heavy on her left foot. I wonder if she has injured herself.
She finds us a quiet place. Perhaps it is so quiet because it is home to a nest of rats and smells of decomposing animals but it is away from prying eyes—and ears--- and I know that Hope would say that privacy is more important than comfort.
"Zane told me you came round," she starts, her eyes still on the floor. There is no trace of anger in her voice and I wonder if she is trying to reel me in, make me confess before she blows her top on me. That is how Shayna describes her 'meetings' with Max and I think it is appropriate here. Besides, I know for a fact that Hope isn't beyond such tactics. In fact, she positively delights in them.
"I bet that was a little awkward," she says with a little chuckle. A nervous little chuckle and I wonder what she has to be so worried about. She is an adult and it's up to her what she does, even if I can't fathom why she would do it.
"Yes," I say simply. Maybe my afternoon with Sizzle is paying off because I sound almost blunt and nonchalant. Hope swallows hard.
"The thing about heat is.....well, you don't really get a choice in it. It just happens and then next thing you know, you're grabbing the first guy you see."
"That sounds horrible," I say without any real emotion behind it. It's hard for me to gage why Hope feels so bad because according to Cosmo and Shayna, it's actually a very pleasurable experience.
Hope seems to understand and she give me an attempt at a smile that doesn't quite make it. She shrugs, slower than usual and I notice a faint shadow underneath her eye. The make up distracts from it but the bruise is still slightly evident. "I dunno, I just....it would be nice to be able to choose, I suppose."
I enhance my vision and I can see tiny marks and bruises dotted across her skin. She's done her best to cover them with fancy designs and symbols but the make up is no match for my superior sight. "What happened?" I whisper, slightly horrified. Cosmo made no mention of this particular side effect.
Hope laugh, her loudest today, and shrugs once more. "Animal instinct, I guess. It can get a little rough. Don't worry about it. It always fades."
I hate Zane. I don't care how many times he smiles at me, I absolutely hate him. Hope seems to note this because tilts her head and smiles. "Don't blame him, Beth. Neither of us had a choice in the matter and he didn't get off too lightly either."
"I don't understand," I say, in my first moment of complete honesty today. "I don't understand any of it. Everyone around here is so concerned with not having enough food or water and yet all they ever do is try to make more babies. It's stupid."
Hope laughs again and I narrow my eyes. I feel like she's mocking me and it makes me angry. She nudges my shoulder until I look at her. "It's not about making babies, Beth. Not always."
"Then what? What is about?" I'm almost yelling but Hope is still smiling at me. She shrugs again.
"I dunno. People do it because it's fun. They enjoy it. It feels good. Or if you're cursed like me, you don't get a say in it. Pick one."
"I want you to tell me what it's like. What happens?"
She opens her mouth to protest but I cut her off. "Don't tell me that it's a secret. Or that I'm too young to know. I'm so tired of no one telling me anything. How am I supposed to learn if I don't know anything?" Now I am definitely yelling, though it must work in my favour because Hope regards me for a moment then nods. She settles down and sighs then she proceeds to give me a basic, but rather graphic, play by play of her few nights with Zane.
After only a few lines of description, I begin to wish I'd never asked.
I skip class the next day and decide to hang out in Distopia. (I've been paying attention to the slang and lingo and trying to incorporate it into my daily converstations. It still feels a little strange)
From the moment I step into the lobby, I can hear voices. I follow the noise and end up in one of the offices on the ground floor. It is a wide empty space, furnished with nothing more than a filing cabinet and a large conference table. There is a generous amount of light, however, that makes it look larger than it probably is.
Everybody is there. Maine greets me. "Hello, Beth. We were just about to send Amber over to get you." Maine's voice is sweet and soft. She speaks slightly above a whisper and there is a certain aura of calm around her that never falters. She can't see me of course, but she can track through scent or sound better than anyone in TC.
Amber smiles at me and gives a little wave. Her strawberry blonde hair is loose around her shoulders and out of the infirmary, she looks fresh and young. There is a light dusting of freckles across her nose and a X6 male standing beside her. Any blonder and his hair would be as light as Merle's. The planes of his face are sharp but any harshness is offset by the brightness of his light blue eyes. He looks happy. "This is Eros," Amber says, and the name sparks a memory. Eros is the X6 who saved Amber from the fire. They've been inseperable ever since. He gives me a warm smile and I return it.
Hope doesn't look up from her papers but she tells me to grab a chair. There are none spare but Persephone stands and insists I take hers. "What's happening?" I ask her. She smiles down at me and for a moment, I envy all X9's who are going to grow up with her as a mother.
"The months and months of hard work are finally paying off. The big plan is coming together."
I smile back at her, though her answer really wasn't helpful at all. It seems Hope isn't the only one who excels in being cryptic.
Hope and Sizzle are muttering, heads bent over the table. Merle interjects every now and then. I look over at Amber to see if I'm the only one in the dark. She shrugs and that makes me feel a little better. I don't think I could bear it if she knew more than I did.
Hope sighs and pushes away from the table. "Okay, you finish up here, Sizzle. I'm going to take Beth, Amber and Eros for a walk. Come on," she says, gesturing to me with a nod. She gives me a tense smile and I know what it means. She's going to do something questionable and has no idea of the outcome.
The three of us follow her. Against my better judgement, I nudge Amber and ask if she knows what's going on. She's so pretty that I half expect her to snarl at me and push me away. Instead, she leans closer and whispers. "No, not really. Merle and I were just talking lately about how tough things are getting here and how nothing seems to be changing and she told me to come here."
Hope turns back to us with a smile. We've stopped suddenly and we appear to be facing a wall. "Okay, here we are. Remember to breathe through your mouths and don't puke on my shoes."
I stare at the wall as Hope leans into it. It opens, revealing a dark hall. When my night vision kicks in, I can see that the hall is actually a staircase, leading down into what appears to be nothing more than darkness. I know what this is.
Answers. Or at least some of them.