AN: I know, I'm a terribly slack update-r. It's been a year since I updated this, but I'm currently wading through my pile of WIPs so I can start posting my two novellas without anything hanging over my head.
I hope you like this, and please review; I'm looking for constructive criticism.
---
Jondy sat in her cell, against the wall. Renfro had given her a reprieve from Psy-Ops and the basement.
Jondy ran her fingers through her tangled hair and shifted uncomfortably. There were cuts and bruises marring her face and arms. Dirt and grime were smeared across her face, tear tracks evident. Her left knee was swollen and Jondy suspected her night vision was permanently damaged.
She sniffed again, standing up to curl up on her bunk. The cells were horrible. All Jondy could see stretching before her was Manticore. No such thing as third time lucky. She knew that. No one knew where she was and no one would find her.
There had to be a way out of here. Jondy sat up. There had to be. No way in hell was she staying here with Renfro. She loved Brin, but. . . Jondy wasn't staying. She knew she wouldn't survive another day in this hell hole.
Slipping to the floor, Jondy pushed her bunk up. One of the bricks was worn away and looser than the others. She began trying to pull it out, or just loosen it up some more so she could pull it out and maybe see what was down there. Anything to get out of this cell . . .sleeping wasn't an option after Psy-Ops, the nightmares were too graphic for her to cope with. . .
The door to her cell swung open, and Jondy jumped to her feet. There was Ben. . .
"Ben?" Jondy asked softly, flipping her blonde hair from her eyes.
"What?" The Ben Guy looked confused, as he checked her out. *Not bad, shame she's a bit beat up. . .*
"You look like. . .someone I used to know," Jondy said softly.
"Sorry 210, my designation's 494," he shrugged.
Jondy's eyes widened. "His was 493. You two must've been cloned," she said, shocked.
X5-494 nodded. "493...Your fellow traitor. He went psycho."
"How would you know anything about Ben?" Jondy spat, his death still hurting her.
"I know that because of him I had to spend six months in psy-ops. They wanted to make sure it wasn't genetic. Looks like ten years in the world finally got to him.," X5-494 said snidely.
"It was this place that screwed him up. The Outside kept him with us for longer," Jondy retorted.
X5-494 shrugged. "Whatever. Well, let's get this over with, huh?" Jondy stared at him as her removed his shirt - he wasn't bad looking - in fact, if she was in heat, he was great, but. . .
"What are you doing?" Jondy asked incuriously.
X5-494 looked up. "We've been paired off. I'm your breeding partner."
Jondy froze, gaping at him. "My. . .what? "
"We're supposed to copulate every night until you get pregnant," 494 explained, slowly.
"That's sick!" Jondy said. "Revolting! We're not animals is some kind of zoo!"
X5-494 shrugged. "Those are the orders, 21. Take off your clothes and lets get this over with."
"Get. Out. Of. My. Cell. Now," Jondy said in a low, furious voice.
"We've got our orders," 494 said, grabbing Jondy's arm. With a spin-kick, 494 jerked back.
"What was that?" he asked, looking surprised.
"The only contact you and I are going to have," Jondy snapped. "I cannot believe you would think . . ."
"You think I wanted this assignment?" 494 retorted. "You've been out in the filth for ten years! I could catch something!"
"As long as we both feel the same way," Jondy said, turning her back on 494. And caught a guard peering through the cell door window.
"Don't worry," Jondy said sarcastically. "Dirty talk. Always gets me in the mood."
The guard ignored Jondy, except to give her an appraising look, and turned to X5-494."You got something for me?"
"Yeah," 494 said, handing the guard a package of something. The guard handed him a wad of money. Jondy watched the exchange with shock. 494 looked up at the guard. "Do me a favour - give these to Vic. Tell him he can pay me later. " 494 handed the guard some cigars.
The guard looked at the cigars. "No problem."
X5-494 smiled. "Thanks. "
The guard left the cell window and continued on down the hallway. 494 turned around, and pulled out his wallet, to slip the money into his very fat wallet. Jondy had never seen so much money at once.
X5-494 caught Jondy staring. "He's got a thing for those vitamins they make us pop every morning."
"I'm not even gonna ask about the cigars.," Jondy said, looking shell shocked.
X5-494 shrugged. "I got a few things working. Listen, I've got an hour to kill before I head back to the barracks. Why don't you wake me up at 0100?" And he pulled down the bunk down, and lay down on it, closing his eyes. Jondy stared at 494 and felt a suddenly longing for Ben, for Zack and his apartment, to be asleep in Zack's arms, wrapped in one of Zack's shirts. . . A sob caught in Jondy's throat, as she sat on the floor, trying not to cry.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Zack and Zane gazed at all the I.D.s in the wallet. "I don't understand how Justin could be alive," Zack said, angrily. "We saw Jax kill him. The injuries were too much for even him to survive."
"Manticore created us, Zack. We can't put anything past them. Lets say that Justin survived and was kept from our unit. . .and he's got Jondy," Zane said, gripping Jondy's necklace tightly.
"He wouldn't remember her as his twin. They are reprogrammed. The only thing Manticore hasn't successfully managed is to reprogram Brin completely. She'll be brainwashed, but it wears off really fast. When Jondy went back, she was a wreck. Psy-Ops is deadly technology. Used often enough, it can prove to be fatal," Zack said, slamming his fist onto the table.
Zane caught the look in Zack's eyes. It was fear.
"You really love Jondy, don't you?" Zane asked.
Zack looked away. And nodded. "Emotional fucking weakness, Jondy is. I can't do this without her. And she can't stay in Manticore again, Zane. She's been back once already, god damn it. They'll destroy her."
Zane caught the urgency in Zack's voice. "She. . .they hurt her bad, last time, didn't they?" Zane asked softly.
Zack nodded. "Okay, get the others to Seattle. We need fire power. We go in, we blow up Manticore and we get Jondy out."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Jondy stared straight ahead. She knew she looked like crap - pale and exhausted and spending the entire night crying hadn't helped her. She was getting seizures again, damnit. But Renfro had made all the X5s in the breeding program come out here from a 'review'.
They stood in a line, facing forwards, as Renfro paraded up and down the line, demanding 'results' from each couple.
"Report," Renfro snapped at a couple.
"Successful copulation with X5-392, ma'am!" the male X5 said.
"Excellent," Renfro nodded, moving to the couple before Jondy and 494. "Report. "
"Copulation was unsuccessful, ma'am," the female X5 said.
"Explain," Renfro said coolly.
"X5-698 failed to achieve minimum mission requirements, ma'am," the female X5 said.
Jondy winced. *That was a bit harsh. Talk about public humiliation.*
Two guards came up and dragged X5-698 away from the others. Jondy paled slightly.
Renfro moved onto Jondy and 494, smirking. "Report."
494 thought fast. . .
"Successful copulation between myself and X5-210, ma'am. Twice," he said, with a smug tone.
"Excellent, 494, 210. What would you 599 say now, 210?"
Jondy decided that staring blankly ahead. Because if she even thought about what Renfro had said, she'd kill her.
Another day of Psy-Ops, of training and of tests in the labs. Jondy couldn't take much more of this. Her head span, everything felt like it was breaking, ending. The slow monotone of, "X5-210" was hammering into her brain. It was almost like her life before now was in colour - pastel, watercolour shades … and this was fading the colour away to watery grey.
Lying on her pallet, Jondy stared at the floor. Grey concrete stretching to the four walls.
And there was something shiny under her bed. Jondy rolled off, landing in a crouch, reaching for it. Maybe half a nail file, once? Or a blade? It was reasonably small, and blunt. But Jondy gazed at it, almost willing it to give her an idea.
---
The idea didn't come till the next morning, and it wasn't turned into a plan until the next night. There was a brick under her bed, and it was wearing away. Jondy could reach under there, and chip away at the concrete holding the bricks in place. Slow process …
Hiding the fact she was trying to burrow out of Manticore the first two nights was hard. But Alec was happy to sleep on her bed while Jondy tried to shift the brick from the wall.
It was the third night that Jondy finally budged the brick. The space left was about the same size as Jondy and the second Alec left her cell, Jondy slipped through it.
She was in the basement. It was dark, even for Jondy. Straightening up, she looked around. Barred windows, boxes and crates…
A figure emerged from the shadows, growling and barking at her.
"Whoa," Jondy whispered, stepping backwards as the Nomalie snapped at her.
_____
AN: I know, short chapter. But I know exactly where this fic is going and there are about two/three more chapters of this to go. Please review, just to let me know someone is still reading this…
I hope you like this, and please review; I'm looking for constructive criticism.
---
Jondy sat in her cell, against the wall. Renfro had given her a reprieve from Psy-Ops and the basement.
Jondy ran her fingers through her tangled hair and shifted uncomfortably. There were cuts and bruises marring her face and arms. Dirt and grime were smeared across her face, tear tracks evident. Her left knee was swollen and Jondy suspected her night vision was permanently damaged.
She sniffed again, standing up to curl up on her bunk. The cells were horrible. All Jondy could see stretching before her was Manticore. No such thing as third time lucky. She knew that. No one knew where she was and no one would find her.
There had to be a way out of here. Jondy sat up. There had to be. No way in hell was she staying here with Renfro. She loved Brin, but. . . Jondy wasn't staying. She knew she wouldn't survive another day in this hell hole.
Slipping to the floor, Jondy pushed her bunk up. One of the bricks was worn away and looser than the others. She began trying to pull it out, or just loosen it up some more so she could pull it out and maybe see what was down there. Anything to get out of this cell . . .sleeping wasn't an option after Psy-Ops, the nightmares were too graphic for her to cope with. . .
The door to her cell swung open, and Jondy jumped to her feet. There was Ben. . .
"Ben?" Jondy asked softly, flipping her blonde hair from her eyes.
"What?" The Ben Guy looked confused, as he checked her out. *Not bad, shame she's a bit beat up. . .*
"You look like. . .someone I used to know," Jondy said softly.
"Sorry 210, my designation's 494," he shrugged.
Jondy's eyes widened. "His was 493. You two must've been cloned," she said, shocked.
X5-494 nodded. "493...Your fellow traitor. He went psycho."
"How would you know anything about Ben?" Jondy spat, his death still hurting her.
"I know that because of him I had to spend six months in psy-ops. They wanted to make sure it wasn't genetic. Looks like ten years in the world finally got to him.," X5-494 said snidely.
"It was this place that screwed him up. The Outside kept him with us for longer," Jondy retorted.
X5-494 shrugged. "Whatever. Well, let's get this over with, huh?" Jondy stared at him as her removed his shirt - he wasn't bad looking - in fact, if she was in heat, he was great, but. . .
"What are you doing?" Jondy asked incuriously.
X5-494 looked up. "We've been paired off. I'm your breeding partner."
Jondy froze, gaping at him. "My. . .what? "
"We're supposed to copulate every night until you get pregnant," 494 explained, slowly.
"That's sick!" Jondy said. "Revolting! We're not animals is some kind of zoo!"
X5-494 shrugged. "Those are the orders, 21. Take off your clothes and lets get this over with."
"Get. Out. Of. My. Cell. Now," Jondy said in a low, furious voice.
"We've got our orders," 494 said, grabbing Jondy's arm. With a spin-kick, 494 jerked back.
"What was that?" he asked, looking surprised.
"The only contact you and I are going to have," Jondy snapped. "I cannot believe you would think . . ."
"You think I wanted this assignment?" 494 retorted. "You've been out in the filth for ten years! I could catch something!"
"As long as we both feel the same way," Jondy said, turning her back on 494. And caught a guard peering through the cell door window.
"Don't worry," Jondy said sarcastically. "Dirty talk. Always gets me in the mood."
The guard ignored Jondy, except to give her an appraising look, and turned to X5-494."You got something for me?"
"Yeah," 494 said, handing the guard a package of something. The guard handed him a wad of money. Jondy watched the exchange with shock. 494 looked up at the guard. "Do me a favour - give these to Vic. Tell him he can pay me later. " 494 handed the guard some cigars.
The guard looked at the cigars. "No problem."
X5-494 smiled. "Thanks. "
The guard left the cell window and continued on down the hallway. 494 turned around, and pulled out his wallet, to slip the money into his very fat wallet. Jondy had never seen so much money at once.
X5-494 caught Jondy staring. "He's got a thing for those vitamins they make us pop every morning."
"I'm not even gonna ask about the cigars.," Jondy said, looking shell shocked.
X5-494 shrugged. "I got a few things working. Listen, I've got an hour to kill before I head back to the barracks. Why don't you wake me up at 0100?" And he pulled down the bunk down, and lay down on it, closing his eyes. Jondy stared at 494 and felt a suddenly longing for Ben, for Zack and his apartment, to be asleep in Zack's arms, wrapped in one of Zack's shirts. . . A sob caught in Jondy's throat, as she sat on the floor, trying not to cry.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Zack and Zane gazed at all the I.D.s in the wallet. "I don't understand how Justin could be alive," Zack said, angrily. "We saw Jax kill him. The injuries were too much for even him to survive."
"Manticore created us, Zack. We can't put anything past them. Lets say that Justin survived and was kept from our unit. . .and he's got Jondy," Zane said, gripping Jondy's necklace tightly.
"He wouldn't remember her as his twin. They are reprogrammed. The only thing Manticore hasn't successfully managed is to reprogram Brin completely. She'll be brainwashed, but it wears off really fast. When Jondy went back, she was a wreck. Psy-Ops is deadly technology. Used often enough, it can prove to be fatal," Zack said, slamming his fist onto the table.
Zane caught the look in Zack's eyes. It was fear.
"You really love Jondy, don't you?" Zane asked.
Zack looked away. And nodded. "Emotional fucking weakness, Jondy is. I can't do this without her. And she can't stay in Manticore again, Zane. She's been back once already, god damn it. They'll destroy her."
Zane caught the urgency in Zack's voice. "She. . .they hurt her bad, last time, didn't they?" Zane asked softly.
Zack nodded. "Okay, get the others to Seattle. We need fire power. We go in, we blow up Manticore and we get Jondy out."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Jondy stared straight ahead. She knew she looked like crap - pale and exhausted and spending the entire night crying hadn't helped her. She was getting seizures again, damnit. But Renfro had made all the X5s in the breeding program come out here from a 'review'.
They stood in a line, facing forwards, as Renfro paraded up and down the line, demanding 'results' from each couple.
"Report," Renfro snapped at a couple.
"Successful copulation with X5-392, ma'am!" the male X5 said.
"Excellent," Renfro nodded, moving to the couple before Jondy and 494. "Report. "
"Copulation was unsuccessful, ma'am," the female X5 said.
"Explain," Renfro said coolly.
"X5-698 failed to achieve minimum mission requirements, ma'am," the female X5 said.
Jondy winced. *That was a bit harsh. Talk about public humiliation.*
Two guards came up and dragged X5-698 away from the others. Jondy paled slightly.
Renfro moved onto Jondy and 494, smirking. "Report."
494 thought fast. . .
"Successful copulation between myself and X5-210, ma'am. Twice," he said, with a smug tone.
"Excellent, 494, 210. What would you 599 say now, 210?"
Jondy decided that staring blankly ahead. Because if she even thought about what Renfro had said, she'd kill her.
Another day of Psy-Ops, of training and of tests in the labs. Jondy couldn't take much more of this. Her head span, everything felt like it was breaking, ending. The slow monotone of, "X5-210" was hammering into her brain. It was almost like her life before now was in colour - pastel, watercolour shades … and this was fading the colour away to watery grey.
Lying on her pallet, Jondy stared at the floor. Grey concrete stretching to the four walls.
And there was something shiny under her bed. Jondy rolled off, landing in a crouch, reaching for it. Maybe half a nail file, once? Or a blade? It was reasonably small, and blunt. But Jondy gazed at it, almost willing it to give her an idea.
---
The idea didn't come till the next morning, and it wasn't turned into a plan until the next night. There was a brick under her bed, and it was wearing away. Jondy could reach under there, and chip away at the concrete holding the bricks in place. Slow process …
Hiding the fact she was trying to burrow out of Manticore the first two nights was hard. But Alec was happy to sleep on her bed while Jondy tried to shift the brick from the wall.
It was the third night that Jondy finally budged the brick. The space left was about the same size as Jondy and the second Alec left her cell, Jondy slipped through it.
She was in the basement. It was dark, even for Jondy. Straightening up, she looked around. Barred windows, boxes and crates…
A figure emerged from the shadows, growling and barking at her.
"Whoa," Jondy whispered, stepping backwards as the Nomalie snapped at her.
_____
AN: I know, short chapter. But I know exactly where this fic is going and there are about two/three more chapters of this to go. Please review, just to let me know someone is still reading this…