Then, he realized just what she had said: 'go home.'
He remembered the visions of her home: family life non-existent; the hospital stays, and was amazed.
"Why would you want to go back to such a life, with its pain, indifference, and...loneliness?"
"It's familiar, and...I am...free, there!"
He thought on that, for a second.
Free? What does she even mean by that? I have never been as free as now...
While he pondered, and puzzled, she carried her original thought forward.
"And when I get away from here, back to where I belong," she declared, with forcefulness. "I am going to put a stop to all these experiments! I will expose those doing this...even if it costs me my life!"
He frowned; his lips pursed into a straight, hard line. He had never thought of this whole procedure from her side of it.
No wonder she is so angry! It isn't me, as a person, she rejects. Our whole society is offensive in her eyes. And, I don't much blame her...
What the intelligent...the leaders, the physicians, those over us...have done... They invaded, used, conducted tests, without even permission...and, all for our benefit, never theirs. Oh, how, offensive...insulting...degrading. She SHOULD hate us...me?
Beside him, she was reading his unguarded soliloquy with himself. Her attitude softened.
"Show me how to get home, Loni," she pleaded. "Please."
His heart filled with regret; he shook his head.
"I cannot. I don't know how. I couldn't even find the jump portal. No one in this sector has any knowledge of where it is located. I can't read about it from them..."
"And," he added. "Even if you could go through backwards...
"What do you mean?"
"I know this much about such things," Loni admitted. "Our jump portal is programmed to one destination. You can only go that one way, until it is changed by the other side..."
"I can't get home through the light doorway? What about another way?"
"I know of no other way out of here. I would have gone myself, if there was a way."
Her shoulders sagged in despair, the hopes deflating like a great punctured balloon.
"I don't want to stay here, Loni!" she moaned. "This is...a living hell!"
Those great, beautiful, blue eyes filled with moisture. No longer hidden, tears slipped unchecked down her pale cheeks.
At last, surrendering, even though she feared him, Gemma sought solace in the arms of her companion, one so strange in appearance, she viewed him as a creature, not a man.
Little did she realize, she looked exactly like him, now that her change was complete.
****
Carefully, Loni dared to place his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. And when the sparks flew...he held on for dear life.
Yes, litterly...sparks flew. She knew his ulterior motive, and she did not want that. Rebellion rose up, hot and static, within her. He not only felt it, but there was the physical evidence.
When it first started, Loni jumped; the shock wave travelling up his arm to his shoulder. But he steeled his resolve against the static electricity, the blue and red visible waves passing through, and over him.
Whoa! I didn't know that was possible. Even mother couldn't do that...or, could she? Maybe, she hid the fact, because I was her son?
What a defense!
If I was any other man, her protection would have killed me.
Loni persisted, consolingly, running a hand up and down her arm, until the phenomenon ceased.
Submitting finally, Gem relaxed, slumped against him; the tears turned first to deep sobs of defeat, then admitted hopelessness...
And sometime, much later, he showed her his love...a comforting, gentle affair she would never forget.
****
In the weeks after, he didn't touch her often. He was not demanding, and she would not ask of him, but many times desires overcame them, and needed fulfillment. Gem preferred privacy; she loathed giving the watchful eyes at the monitors their thrill. Ever after, they made love beneath the trees by the waterfall, where no man could observe.
Chapter 21
The minute Gem stepped through, and the heavy doors fell shut behind them, she was assaulted by the mental noise from the dozens of minds all around her. She did her best to block away the barrage of senseless musing, and succeeded. When she became aware of what the place held, she quickly forgot, they were even there, at all.
There was food everywhere!
Up until this day, Loni and Da had always brought home fruit and beverages, from the stands along their route home, but, as a treat, like going to a restaurant back home, tonight, Loni had suggested going out. It would be Gem and Lydia's first time eating among the other workers.
Da had been whole heartedly enthusiastic, but the two girls had no idea what to expect.
Sometimes, at the fruit stands, other foods then fruit had been available: porridge, pressed roasted wheat cakes, or sweet leftover baked goods. And juice, squeezed from the various fruits, and vegetables, had been obtainable from taps, but...all this was in limited supply, and not often available.
It was common practice to keep their large mugs in their backpacks for the purpose of filling them at these taps; they also drank from the streams along the way on the worksite.
The girls each had been provided a kit upon arrival in the workstation, which included a pack, containing essentials, toiletries, etc; and was for storage of other treasures you might expect to gather in a lifetime. Of course, your most valued possessions were your eating utensils. It was wise to never leave your pack behind, or unattended; the loss of a cup was considered a great handicap, and was not easily replaced.
The room they entered was similar to a school cafeteria: an aisle between two rows of multi-tiered shelves, one on either side, each covered with multiple food choices.
Loni motioned his menagerie into
