After the End - Chapter 5
VonReichter is busy mixing chemicals in his secret lab when the exterior
alarm goes off. He looks at the monitor to see that Sylvester is approaching. He
frowns; he hasn't summoned his servant. He walks over to the lab's door and
opens it.
"Master!" Sylvester half walks, half stumbles inside.
VonReichter begins to get annoyed, but then he notices the wound on
Sylvester's neck. "Ah, she got you." He grasps Sylvester by
the shoulders and pulls him inside, sitting him down on the floor propped up against the
wall. He then disappears into a separate room on the other side of the lab, returning a
minute later with a vial of sustenance. He hands the vial to Sylvester, who
gulps it down eagerly.
"You'll be pleased, Master." Sylvester says when he has had a few minutes
to recover. "I know the human's name - it's Lucas."
VonReichter quickly walks over to a nearby table and picks up a copy of the list Sylvester stole from Jose - all the blond, blue-eyed men between the ages of 20 and 30 in Merridiana. He scans through the names.
"Lucas Amato; the only
one on the list. Hah! I have him. And long before Jose!" He walks back over
to Sylvester and, leaning down to him, runs his fingers through Sylvester's
hair. "You've done well, my servant." He croons.
Sylvester closes his eyes and smiles in ecstasy as his Master caresses him.
VonReichter cups Sylvester's jaw in his hand and lifts his face, then kisses him
gently on the forehead. "Come," He says, walking back over to the
other side of the lab. "I must take care of that wound before Jose sees
it."
Sylvester wearily gets up and goes to sit on the examination table.
VonReichter looks more closely at his neck. "That's a nasty bite
she gave you."
"I made her angry."
"Oh?" One eyebrow arches upward.
"I pointed out that she was ashamed to bite me in front of her human.
Then afterwards I told him that what he was doing was bestiality."
VonReichter instantly stops his cleaning of Sylvester's cut. It's not very often that he
let his emotions get away with him, but this is one of those times. He bursts out
laughing; a dry, raspy sound. "Oh, that is excellent! I bet that
upset her."
"It did."
VonReichter grins. "Ah, my little Cybersix. Ever the tender-hearted.
It's about time I used that weakness against her."
"What do we do with the human, Master?"
"Nothing for now. I still have some preparations to make before we go
after him. In the meantime, see to it that Jose goes on a wild goose
chase." Using a pair of tweezers, he extracts a piece of skin-like
material from a Petrie dish and applies it to Sylvester's neck. It stretches to
cover the shape of his wound, concealing it.
"Yes, Master."
VonReichter stands back. "Good. Now get going."
Sylvester is so disappointed he looks like he's about to cry.
"You may come back after Jose has gone to sleep."
"Thank you, Master." Sylvester he bows and leaves.
Cybersix picks up her books and her keys and sighs. Here goes nothing. She pats Data 7 on the head, more for her own sake than for his. She leaves her apartment.
School is starting up again today, which meant she was going to have to deal with Lori. She had no idea what the girl would do now that she knew her teacher was really Cybersix. She may have told her friends already, or maybe not. Or she may decide to stand up and blurt it out in the middle of class. The only sure thing about Lori was that she was unpredictable.
And then there was Lucas. She hasn't seen or heard from him since the incident with Sylvester three nights ago. She'd tried to call him last night, so they could get what ever was going to happen between them over with before they met at school again, but he either wasn't home or didn't answer her.
Joining the crowd of people on the street, Cybersix sighs again. She has a terrible feeling she's just lost her best friend.
She doesn't know whether to be relieved or dismayed when, later on, her class with Lori goes the same as it always has - including the fact that Lori is still making moon-eyes at her. Well, Cybersix thinks hopefully, perhaps she's just trying to keep up appearances.
But she suspects it can't be that simple and, sure enough, when class is over Lori doesn't get up from her desk. She has dismissed her group of... well, Cybersix isn't exactly sure what the technical term is for the gang of guys who hang out with Lori, and she's not sure she wants to know.
"Did you want to see me about something?"
"Yeah," Lori gets up and starts walking toward her.
Cybersix motions for her to wait, then goes and closes the classroom door. She turns back to Lori and looks at her expectantly.
"Why are you doing this?"
Cybersix carefully considers her answer. She knows that, at this point, it's probably best to tell the truth. And she also knows that subtlety is lost on Lori. "There are people out to kill me." She finally says.
"Are you serious?" Lori asks incredulously.
"Very serious. Have you told anyone?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Good. Thank you. Look, just be aware that if you do tell anyone I could very well end up dead."
Thankfully, Lori appears to take this seriously. "Uh... okay. I won't tell."
Cybersix risks smiling at her. "That's all I want to say about it."
As quickly as the wind, Lori's mood changes direction. "So, you and Mr. Amato knocking boots?"
"That's none of your business." Cybersix stammers out quickly.
Lori gives her a sly look. "Oh, okay. I understand." She walks toward the door and, in a completely normal conversational tone, says. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Siedelman."
Cybersix just shakes her head, then gathers her stuff and leaves for lunch. She goes and waits at the table where she usually meets Lucas, but he isn't there. All through the lunch break he doesn't show up, and she becomes more and more depressed. But just before it's time to go back to class he appears, hurrying toward her and looking out of breath.
"Adrian, hi. I had some, uh, business to take care of." He leans down to her and lowers his voice. "Can you come by my place later? I think we have to talk."
"Yes, of course." She answers. Lucas merely nods to her and hurries off again.
That night, Cybersix lands on the roof of the building across from Lucas' apartment. He is standing in his living room window, waiting for her. He looks up and sees her, then opens the window and stands back. She takes a deep breath and jumps.
Lucas looks silently at her when she lands in the room. He goes to the window and very deliberately closes it, then stands there looking at her as if he can't decide what to do next.
Not knowing what to say herself, Cybersix waits for him to make the first move. And he does; suddenly he comes over, embraces her, and tries to kiss her.
She quickly turns her cheek. "Are you crazy?"
Lucas smiles. "Actually, I'm starting to wonder about that myself. But it doesn't matter." He steps back from her. "I'm ready to tell you that I'm in love with you again."
Cybersix is confused. "Even now that you know what terrible things I do?"
Lucas shrugs. "If our ancestors didn't kill to eat, none of us would be here. And there are people - humans - who do a lot worse: murdering in for money, hunting for trophies. I think you're doing very well considering the circumstances."
She is silent for a moment. "And what about what Sylvester said?"
"Ah, he was just trying to get your goat. Anyone could see that." He moves toward her again. "So unless you have any other ' horrible' secrets to tell me, I think I, uh, I want to get involved with you."
Cybersix takes a step backward. This isn't the response she was expecting. "But there's still one thing you haven't thought of, Lucas. Remember I told you that sustenance is poisonous to humans."
"So?"
"So it's in my blood. That means I could be poisonous to you."
Lucas frowns, thinking for a minute. "Did VonReichter tell you that?"
"No."
"Then how do you know for sure?"
"I don't. But do you think it's worth risking your life, Lucas? Because I don't. Do you have any idea what it would do to me if I accidentally killed you?"
This succeeds in making Lucas back off, an expression of dismay on his face. "Okay. No need to panic, this just means we need more information." He looks at her again and sighs. "And, to that end... I have to tell you about what I did with that sustenance you gave me."