Blood Memory: The Complete Season One (Books 1-5) (40 page)

“
Her first?”

“
It’s a special moment in any woman’s life – the day she loses her virginity.”

Jordan blinked.
“Excuse me?”

Lindsay smiled.
“Come now. You must have noticed how few men there are here at Eden.”

Jordan
’s insides turned to water. “Yes… but… What? I don’t understand.”

“
Isn’t it obvious? We cast out those who cease to be of further use to us. Once a man or woman can no longer become pregnant, or impregnate, they are sent away. They become a drain on our resources and are released into the wild.”

Jordan
pushed away his plate, having lost his appetite.

“
Have you finished?” Lindsay asked.

“
I couldn’t eat another bite.” Jordan forced a yawn and stretched his arms. “We’d best hit the hay.”

“
But the evening’s just started.” Lindsay clapped her hands. Young girls ran into the space and took the tables away. “You will have a most unforgettable evening. Of that, I promise you.”

She moved away, and a dozen women filed into the centre of the camp like a choreographed dance. They wore pristine white robes and spun in circles around the fire. By the way their bodies moved, it was clear they did not wear underwear. One woman kept her eyes fastened on the fifteen-year-old boy the whole time, and he on hers. Jordan didn
’t know where to look.

The women sat on the outer bench clapped their hands in a regular pulsing heartbeat-like rhythm. The women who danced were not uniform in age. They varied from their early teens to their late thirties. Within minutes they were sweating from their provocative thrusting hip movements and heat from the fire.

The regular men watched with undisguised pleasure, their eyes moving from one writhing figure to another. Jordan and Stan exchanged a look and squirmed in their seats.

Through the heat haze Jordan could make out Anne clapping along with the crowd. When the women finally stopped they had spread out before the men. Three stood before Roland, three before the fifteen-year-old, two before the seventy-year-old, one before Stan, and three before Jordan, one of which was Lizzie.

Lindsay smiled. “I told you you would be very popular, Jordan.”

The women had their hands behind their backs, thrusting out their heaving chests.

Roland made a selection from his line-up – a buxom raven-haired thirty-year old. The pensioner and fifteen-year-old did likewise. Stan didn’t need to make a choice as he only had one woman on offer. He turned pale.

Jordan caught sight of Anne through the flickering flames, her hands frozen in mid-clap. The heat haze distorted her expression, but she did not look pleased.

“What’s going on?” Jordan said.

“
They have chosen you,” Lindsay said. She stood with the other women in Jordan’s line. “As have I.”

Jordan gulped.
“Chosen me for what?”

Lindsay
’s eyes shone, reflecting the flickering flames. “For intercourse. Now you must choose one of us. Who will you bed tonight?”

Jordan stood up.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I think there’s been a misunderstanding here. We just stumbled onto you.”

“
There is no such thing as ‘stumbling onto’ something. You were brought to us for a purpose. This is that purpose.”

“
Thank you,” Jordan said, backing away. “Really. I’m flattered. But we really need to get some sleep for tomorrow. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

“
You’ve only just arrived.”

“
All the same, we’d best get going. Thank you for the food, clothes and kind, ah, hospitality.”

T
he women before Jordan exchanged confused expressions. Lizzie turned to Lindsay. “He must pick one of us. It’s our turn.”

Lindsay glared at Jordan, who sensed a deep writhing anger beneath her calm surface. Then
Lindsay smiled, but the fire was still there. “He doesn’t need to choose tonight. He must be tired. Tomorrow, then.” She turned to Erica. “Take them to their quarters. They must be exhausted after their long journey.”

“
What?” Lizzie said, stamping her foot. The shy demure girl was gone. “He has to choose one of us. This isn’t fair! It’s my turn!”

“
You will have your turn tomorrow,” Lindsay said firmly.

Lizzie glared, her lips turning white.

As they returned to their accommodation, Anne looked back and saw everyone stood around the campfire watching them in silence. The atmosphere was cold despite the blazing fire.

“
Is there anything I can get for you?” Erica asked as they ducked into the Visitor Centre.

“
No, thank you,” Jordan said, ushering her outside. “Thank you. Good night!”

The moment Erica left they converged.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Jordan said.

“
Why?” Anne said, crossing her arms. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself earlier.”

“
Most of them were less than fifteen years old!”

“
That didn’t stop them.”

“
It would stop me.”

“
I’d have thought this kind of place would be what every man fantasizes about.”

“
Being put out to stud isn’t my fantasy. Not when they want to repopulate the world with baby Jordans.”

“
Yes,” Anne said, “the world’s bad enough with one.”

“
Thanks.”

“
Then we’d best get out of here,” Anne said. She raised an eyebrow at Jordan. “Unless you want more dessert?”

Jordan moved to the tent flap. People were milling about, returning to their tents or having conversations.
“We can’t go now. They’ll see us.”

“
In a few hours, then.”

“
Yes,” Jordan said, wiping the sweat from his upper lip. “The sooner the better.”

Jordan was exhausted to his bones but still unable to sleep. The others didn’t have that problem as they were snoring within seconds of their heads hitting their pillows. Muffled conversations passed by outside as the final few stragglers returned to their tents. The lights were doused. The camp became quiet and still save for the soft saw of snoring in neighbouring tents.

Once Jordan was certain the camp was asleep he roused the others. They put on their shoes and backpacks, fumbling with sleep-swollen eyes.

“We’ll make our way out of the camp and cross back over the marsh,” Jordan said. “Is everyone ready?”

They nodded.

Jordan bent down to unzip the tent tooth by tooth. He listened to the camp and heard nothing but the gentle croaks of frogs and chirrup of grasshoppers in the distance. He stepped outside.

A light flicked on. Jordan raised a hand
against the glare.

A voice said,
“It’s all right. The rest of you can come out.”

The others
emerged from the tent.

Lindsay turned off her flashlight. Black spots danced in
Jordan’s vision. The moonlight picked out the expressionless faces of the camp’s inhabitants standing around them in an arc. Only Lizzie’s betrayed the anger they felt.

“
Would you mind telling us where you’re going?” Lindsay said.

“
We need to continue with our journey,” Jordan said.

“
Your journey is here, with us.” Lindsay shook her head. “This is most disappointing. No man has ever been so averse to tending to us before. Do we detest you so?”

“
It has nothing to do with your appearance. We just don’t belong here.”

“
But you do. Earlier I told you Ely was once an island. But there is a story attached to it. When William the Conqueror came to England he had an extremely hard time overcoming Ely. He could not march his men over the marshland nor sail them across in it. His men and horses were trapped by the swamp. The Ely archers shot them from the safety of their little island. Every attempt he made resulted in failure.

“
Then one day a monk came to his camp. The monk said he could lead the army through the marsh, claiming there was a secret path through it known only to the inhabitants of Ely. The Conqueror paid the monk’s price and as agreed, he led the army through the marsh. The Conqueror took Ely. The land was irrigated and the Isle of Ely was no more.”

“We don’t know this secret
way through the marsh,” Jordan said. “If there even is one. How could we tell someone something we don’t know?”

“
You could discover it.”

“Then why would we lead someone through to your camp?
What would we have to gain?”

Lindsay shrugged.
“You might have your reasons.”

“
What reasons?”

“To destroy us, to take our resources, to take that which you would no
t have to create yourself. There are many motivations.”

“We have none of those. We want to get back to the ocean
, to our boat, and sail away.”

Lindsay cocked her head to one side.
“Are we so different to the ocean? We’re cut off from the world as you would be, but without the threat of shipwrecks. We have food, shelter, safety… and you want to leave?”

“
You don’t understand. There are… people after us. Dangerous people. If you don’t let us go they’ll come here and they will kill you all.”

“
That’s easy for you to say when I can’t check the truth.”

“
It is the truth.”

Lindsay looked him up and down with her cool green eyes.
“You’re lying.”

“
I’m not lying. Something is happening to the Lurchers. They’re changing. They’ve become-”

Lindsay held up a hand.
“Stop. We don’t want to know more. We don’t need to know more.”

“
Fine. But know they are hunting us and will not stop until they have us.”

“
The marshland-”

“
The marsh will slow them. It will not stop them.”

Lindsay was a lost cause. Jordan turned to the camp residents.
“Please, let us go. We are no danger to you – any of you. We will leave and you will never see us again, I swear.”

Some shuffled their feet, and looked to Lindsay, who didn
’t take her eyes from Jordan.

“
We can’t let you go,” she said. “You’ll tell everyone we’re here, that we’re safe. They’ll flood us and draw the Biters.”

“
We won’t tell anyone.”

“
Trust is no longer a currency we accept.”

“
You’re going to have to trust us,” Jordan said. He took a step forward. “We are leaving this place.”

Lindsay shook her head.
“We need fresh blood. We need to keep breeding to increase our population. It’s the only way our species can survive in the New World. You will usher in a whole new generation. We want what’s in your blood, your genes. You’re a fine strong man, Jordan. You will father many children.”

Lindsay turned her head to the side. The camp
’s four men approached, along with ten large women.

“
Wait,” Jordan said. “Let the others go.”

“
Let them go?” Lindsay chuckled. “You aren’t prisoners, Jordan. You’re guests. Guests with a very unique purpose.”

“
Let them go and I’ll stay and do whatever you want.”

“
Jordan, no!” Anne said.

“
Oh Jordan,” Lindsay said. “You’re going to do whatever we want anyway. As will they. Anne and Jessie will birth strong sons and daughters. As will you. It won’t be so bad. You will have women all day, every day to repopulate a devastated earth. There can be no higher accolade than this. You are blessed. You will grow old seeing a whole generation – your generation – retake what once was ours. Don’t you see? We’re doing God’s work. It is a great honour we’re bestowing upon you. You must see that.” She sighed. “Sometimes it takes newcomers a little time to realize their new place in the world.” She turned to the men and large women. “Take them.”

They were shoved into the room. The door was slammed behind them and heavy thick wooden boards were dragged across it on the other side. The room was six feet long by three feet wide, a bit of a tight squeeze for them all. The walls consisted of tree trunks that had been hammered into the earth. Jordan pushed against them but they did not budge. He slipped his fingers through the gaps between the trunks, but could not pry them further apart.

“
Damn,” Jordan said.