Once we’re all settled in the cave-like bedroom it doesn’t feel as weird as I thought it would. It’s kinda cozy.
There are four double beds in each corner and Tony has made up a small bed for Little Kelvin. An upturned wooden box, acts as a cot for baby Belinda.
The room flickers in candlelight and I feel safe and secure, sleepily spooning Kade as my parents tell tales from my homeland.
The only thing that spoils the moment is what Kade and I are sharing our bed with: a couple of assault rifles. Not the most romantic of foursomes.
But they do serve to stop us falling into a false sense of security. It’s dangerous out there – and it could be down here, too.
……
But I have to say, the stories from my homeland are intoxicating and I’m absorbing every one of my parent’s words – until Kade interrupts them…
…“Was that you?” he whispers, as my father talks of home.
“Was what me?” I whisper back.
“That scratching, are you itching?”
“No. Of course I’m not – you know I’m not.”
“Then – what’s that scraping sound, can you hear it?”
When I zone my father’s voice out, I do hear a soft scraping – it’s coming from under our bed.
Kade reaches for a rifle.
My family seems undisturbed by these strange scratching sounds – which is a worry.
With the sound escalating, I feel Kade gently maneuver a rifle over me. I take it.
During a tiny lull in my father's conversation, Kade releases the safety catch on his rifle and its 'crack' and 'click' causes an immediate silence from my family.
Tony, my brother, breaks the awkward quiet, "Why have you engaged your weapon. Is it your intention to execute us – are we to become your sacrificial offerings?" He asks.
"Of course not. We're just on alert as we heard a noise," I answer.
Tony sits up in bed and sweeps his long curls away from his face. "You hear the sound of your friends sleeping. They're obviously exhausted after the ordeal of their rescue. You two must also sleep. Exhaustion is one of our many foes," he says, softly.
Tony remains seated upright and focused on us as we feel the course blanket tighten around our legs. Then I feel the indent of a weight sitting on the bed accompanied by a physical presence touching my thigh. Something or someone is on this bed with Kade and I.
"Get off, of us!" Shouts, Kade, instinctively kicking out. A thud is followed by a panting, grunt and scurry across the floor.
Baby Belinda’s wakening screams merge with Kelvin’s cries, which are drowned out by Kelly and Troy’s sudden shouts – “Who is it?” What’s going on?” They holler in unison, grabbing their rifles and leaping from the bed.
After the quiet calm of my hometown tales, it’s a rattling riot of noise down here.
Tony’s voice is (comfortingly) chilled, “Relax, It’s only CC.” He says. I hear a quiet affection in his voice, which is strange given that: Kelly, Troy, Kade and I all have our weapons pointed at him.
I feel Kade’s impatience, “Cut to the chase,” he says, with a rising voice.
Tony remains calm, “Cut to the chase. What must I comprehend from these words?” He asks.
Kelly, realizing Kade is becoming agitated, steps forward and lowers her weapon. “What is CC, is it something we should fear?” She asks, quietly.
In the dim light, I see Tony raise his arm and grasp a chord above his head. Kade tenses and lifts his weapon.
Tony pulls the chord and the room floods with light, which thrusts us all into a glaring blindness – “CC are Caesar and Cleopatra,” says Tony, affectionately.
……
When our eyes become accustomed to the light, we see two tree creatures cradled in each of Tony’s arms. One has a Bratz doll head attached to a teddy bear body, while the other has a baby dolls head with what looks like a snowman type soft toy body.
When a worm like tongue emerges from the eye of the Bratz doll, the familiar, creeping horror envelops me, “Tony, get that thing off you, its tongue is coming out!” I shout.
But Tony brings his hand toward the tongue and watches with a smile as it wraps itself around his finger with a: slithering, slimy, slurp.
The affection with which Tony handles these creatures reminds me of The Twins coveting their disgusting babies back in The Forever Garden and I can’t help but react, “They’re disgusting things!” I say, turning away.
Kelly is immediately apologetic, “Erm, we only have bad experience of these things. It was when one of them took my blood that I ended up in hell, or whatever the hell was I ended up in,” she explains.
Tony’s words are gentle, “Please don’t refer to my imps as ‘things.’ They are my pets, my rescue imps; mine since childhood.” He explains. When I look back, the tongue from the baby dolls eye is worming its way into Tony’s ear and he laughs affectionately as he gently pulls it out.
My mother speaks, “All creatures can become horrible in horrible hands. These two were rescued and have been nurtured with love. I understand your experience of imps has been truly horrific, because of course, we have seen for what purpose The Twins created them,” she explains, in her soft, sing songy voice.
“What exactly are they?” Asks Troy.
“They are surgically conjoined creatures, the species of which we don’t know, as they must remain encased in their protective sealant. These two were early subjects that were discarded by The Twins when they began displaying signs of tissue rejection. We rescued them and Tony nurtured them with love,” explains my mother, proudly.
Tony gets out of bed and gently pulls the creatures from him, placing them on the floor he allows them scurry under his bed, “Do not fear them, for they fear you more.” He says, getting back into bed, “Unfortunately, the latest imps are to be very much feared as we believe they may be species and mechanical hybrids controlled by the All Powerful One,” he says.
“Yes, The All Powerful One is a significant threat.” Says my father, “And we really should rest now, for we must prepare for what lies ahead.” He says, before greeting us all a good night.
……
Kade and I climb back into bed and his arms wrap tight around me. Feeling suddenly safe and sleepy, I close my eyes.
……
When I open my eyes, they instinctively dart to the beds of my family – they’re both empty.
I glance at Kade; he’s furled in a fetal position, deep in sleep, as are the others.
With a gentle hand, I grab the weapon and crawl out of the bed with a stealth like precision.
The floor is nothing more than compacted earth, which loosens as I crawl along.
When I pass little Kelvin and baby Belinda I quietly rise to my feet and tip toe toward the crudely cut arch that leads into the dining room. There doesn’t seem to be any doors in this under ground hide out; a fact I'm not sure is a good or bad thing.
Ahead, I hear the hushed haze of a whispered conversation. These words compete with the sleep heavy breathing from behind – so I inch forward toward the second arch that leads to the main living area.
Leaning back against the wall next to the arch, I place my hand over my mouth and nose to lessen the sound of my breathing, and listen.
My father speaks, “We need to give them their medication, quite a high dose. Mix it with their breakfast so they don’t notice.”
“Yes, I’d say double the dose. Although I must confess, I’m not sure they’ll survive the surgery,” says my mother.
“Well, we have no choice, we have to do it,” says my father.
“Father’s right, we must do it. I will ensure they get their full medication,” says Tony.
On hearing this I have an urgent need to sneeze. I try to stifle it, but it’s no good – a snotty sneeze spurts from me, swiftly accompanied by my mother’s words, “Is that you Tanya? Come on in and have some breakfast,” she says.
……
She smiles when she sees me, “Your clothes are dirty, have you been crawling on the ground.” She asks.
“Erm, yes,” I say, looking at Tony, who is opening a capsule and pouring the contents into a bowl of what looks like oats. “What are you doing?” I ask.
He looks at me and smiles; “I have to up the anti-rejection medication for CC. They may need a life or death surgery some time soon and this is a necessary precaution.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say, with a huge smile on my face.
“Don’t look so Happy, Tanya. Remember I love these animals,” he says, looking hurt.
“Oh no, I’m sorry, I truly am. It’s just that I heard your conversation and I thought you were talking about operating on us. My smile was a relieved one,” I explain.
“I understand,” he smiles, taking the bowl to the imps shuffling in a far corner.
……
“Come sit with us, Tanya,” gestures my mother. I sit opposite her while my father pours coffee into a heavy clay mug and gently scolds me, “You mustn’t eavesdrop Tanya, because you may misinterpret what you hear.” He hands me the mug, “Rest assured, there is only strong coffee in this cup,” he smiles.
I take a sip, “Wow, that’s triple strength caffeine.”
“Yes, we like to wake with a sharp shot,” laughs my father.
When I catch my mother’s eye, I notice she’s looking intently at me, like she’s trying to figure something out. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, I lower my eyes and take another sip.
Her hand grasps mine; it feels rough and scratchy, suggesting years of heavy, hard outdoor work, “I’m proud of how you’ve turned out, Tanya.”
The softness of her words coupled with the clenching of my hand makes me tear up and I feel compelled to ask her about me, “Did you call me Thomas, or is that what they called me?”
“We christened you Thomas, they kept your birth name. You were named after your father. It was a small comfort to us that they kept your real name,” she says.
Her words are laced with maternal warmth and they make me cry softly. “How do you feel about me now?” I say, between sobs.
“The same way I felt about you on the day you were born, an overwhelming sense of love. Now, you’re still my baby, my child, my beautiful, brave daughter, Tanya.”
“Did you know what they were going to do to me?” I ask.
My mother’s eyes fill with tears and my father takes over, “Yes. We were not abducted randomly, Tanya. I am, or should I say was, a leading light in the world of Gender Dysphoria and Gender Re-assignment Surgery. As a family we were carefully targeted by The Surgeon’s people; when they snatched us, they had their subject in you and their expert in me. In many ways I blame myself for what happened…”
…“NO! The Surgeon and only The Surgeon is to blame,” I cut in, sharply. His smile is soft, shy and I know it’s heavy with guilt. “Please don’t feel bad, that would mean another victory for her,” I plead.
“You’re such a wise young woman, Tanya, we’re all so incredibly proud of you,” he says.
“We’re proud of you both, Kade is an exceptional young man,” says my mother. Warmth floods me when I think of the love that suddenly surrounds me after a lifetime of hate and horror, “I know, I’m lucky to have met him, I really am. And now my family have fought for and found me – I'm truly blessed,” I say, between soppy sobs.
Tony approaches the table, “I echo everything my parents say, Tanya.” He sweeps his fingers through his curls and sighs loudly, like he’s slightly pissed or unsure of something – I can’t quite tell.
“What’s up?” I instinctively ask.
He looks back at the bedroom, then back towards our parents, “We need to tell them sooner rather than later, we owe them the whole truth, and nothing but,” he says, with an earnest voice.
My mother’s face darkens and she does her best to keep her voice suppressed, “Tony, we discussed this and agreed no more major revelations until we are liberated. The truth must come from their mother – we need Kade and Kelly to be fully focused on our fight!”
Tony looks slightly shaken. He lowers his head, “I must disagree mother. My conscience compels me to tell Tanya their truth, for she has lived it with them.”
He looks at me, “In addition, I believe my sister can take it, and most importantly – keep the secret from Kade and Kelly until we are all free.