Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Mia was beginning to get a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she told herself she had to be mistaken. Surely the effects Teebra was talking about only happened to Chakioun females—right?
She started to ask more questions, but just then Sister Ersla started calling for all the women to gather up and hear what their new tasks would be. The chatter all around them stopped and everyone gathered around the lead woman and paid attention. But Mia was listening with only half an ear.
I’m sure the milk thing only happens with Chakiouns, but just in case, I don’t think I’d better drink any more Nutrient Crème—in any form, she told herself. She was going to be more careful from now on, until they could get out of here, anyway.
Mia just wondered how long that would take.
TWENTY-THREE
SEV
The artificial star was dimming to a soft twilight as Sev made his way back to the park where he’d left Mia earlier that day. He was sore and tired—the manual labor the males were expected to perform in the PPP Dome was no joke. He’d been allowed a shower and a change of clothes, though, so at least he wasn’t all sweaty and grimy, which he disliked intensely.
The members of the PPP were already gathering in the park. On one end of the long field was the outdoor communal kitchen and on the other he saw that a kind of stage had been erected. Probably so everyone could see the Prophet when he gave them all his “wisdom,” Sev thought sourly.
Despite trying to speak to several of the men he was working with, no one had any information about alternate routes out of the Dome and he was beginning to wonder what he and Mia were going to do about getting the fuck out of here. Because they couldn’t stay in a place where he was expected to do things to Mia she didn’t want done.
Or did she want them done? He thought again about the confusing signals he’d gotten from her when they had been watching the Instructional vid about the various “commands” a husband was supposed to use to train his wife.
Just then he saw Mia, standing by the communal kitchen and talking to two other women. He waved at her to catch her eye and she said something to the women and came over to him.
“Oh, Sev—there you are! I’m so glad to see you again!” She reached up to hug him and Sev leaned down to gather her into his arms. He knew they were just playing their parts but he couldn’t help thinking how natural and right it felt to hug his petite partner.
“Glad to see you too, baby,” he murmured in her ear. “Did you find anything out?”
“Possibly—nothing specific though.” She pulled back and looked at him. “I’ve been talking to some of the other women about what goes on around here—this place is seriously fucked up.”
“Like we didn’t already know that,” Sev remarked, grimacing. “I’m starving—we had stew for lunch. Do you know what’s for supper?”
“Oh, I think the lines are forming over there.” Mia motioned to two separate lines moving along the side of the open-air communal kitchen. Sev frowned when he saw there was one line for men and another for the women.
“Hey—why are they split up like that?”
“Don’t know.” Mia shrugged, though Sev noticed she didn’t meet his eyes. “You’d better grab a place in the men’s line,” she told him. “I’ll find us a place to sit on the grass.”
“What about you though?” Sev objected. “Aren’t you going to get any food?”
Mia shook her head.
“I, um, had a big lunch. I’m not hungry.” She pushed lightly at his arm. “Go on and go or there won’t be anything left.”
Giving in, Sev did as she said. He was served a hearty looking sandwich on a pink wheat-grain roll with a large pile of dressed salad filled with all kinds of nuts and seeds and dried fruit. As an afterthought, he grabbed an extra fork in case Mia wanted some. He didn’t want her skipping meals just to try and fit in with the “female ideal” in this fucked up place.
He found her sitting on a raised knoll covered in short, dense grass which should give a good view of the stage. She smiled when she saw him and waved. Sev climbed up and had a seat beside her.
“Here,” he said, offering her a fork when he saw her eyeing his salad. “I got too much—help me out.”
“You don’t need help!” Mia rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen you polish off three large pizzas in one sitting!”
“Well, maybe I had a big lunch too,” Sev told her. “Come on—eat.”
He was glad to see her dig into the salad—he even coaxed her to have a couple of bites of his sandwich. Between the two of them, they polished it off just in time to see a large spotlight suddenly switch on, aimed at the center of the wooden stage.