Shadow Seed 1: The Misbegotten (42 page)

There was a huff and, for an instant, I thought she was about to go off on me, then:
“Its soooo not like that, Effy.  This is about something else, I promise.”

I peered through my eyebrows at Ramona, who was gazing back
, her own raised, telling me quite pointedly to get the
fuck
off the phone.  “I believe what you’re saying, really I do.  It’s just there are other people in my life now, Tirza.  Important people that, quite frankly, don’t want me to have anything to do with you, especially meet you somewhere alone.  It freaks them out.”

“You don’t think I haven’t already thought about how Ramona and Katie are going to behave knowing what I am asking you to do?  What do you take me for?  Am I that stupid to you, Estefan?”
   She volleyed the accusation right back at me unable to hold back the scorn in her tone.

I had to admit, I sort of did feel she had been a tiny bit immature
, since our break-up, but whatever this was, whatever it was that was bothering her now, had put those specific notions to sleep.  This was a different kind of Tirza than before.

“I don’t think you’re stupid, Tirza,” I fumbled.  “It’s just that things… are weird now, you know?”

“Not to me, not anymore,”
she clarified - her voice quavered.  It was jittery in a way I couldn’t describe accurately.

“Let’s just talk about it over the phone.  We don’t
have
to meet in order for me to give you advice,” I offered, hoping to find a fertile middle ground.

Ramona began to tap her foot, shifting her weight to one side as she did so.  She shared an “I’m going to end this soon” look with Sandy, who nodded back in what seemed complete agreement. 
Fucken females!  Shit!

She huffed again, louder than before. 
“Estefan, I don’t trust talking to you over the phone on an open line.”

That took me aback.  “What’da’ya mean you don’t trust talking on an open line?  You’re talking crazy, girl.”

“I have my reasons,”
was all she said.

Ramona put out her hand, wiggling her fingers at me, silently asking for the cell.  I cupped the microphone with my finger and shook my head “no”, which only served to sharpen the glare in her eyes.  She placed both hands on her hips.  I could see her jaw tighten underneath the skin of her cheeks.

I put her out of my mind for the moment.  “What is this about, Tirza?  I mean really, you should tell me, because you know Ramona is standing right here next to me about ready to explode.”  It was my way of delaying the inevitable by stating the obvious.

She snorted through her nose. 
“I can imagine, and I am sorry to the both of you for being so insistent, but I cannot tell you over the phone.  All the same, though, I’m still very desperate for your advice.  I need your help.  I need to see you…” 
Her voice tailed off.  I was startled when I thought I heard her stifle a sob, but still I wasn’t entirely sure she had made the sound in the first place.  I merely listened for a few moments.  She made no other sounds.

“Ok,” I began and right away Ramona’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling.  She took an involuntary step forward, but stopped when I waved her off emphatically.  “I hear you,” I continued and turned from all of them to face the windows of the Loft that opened to the hallway below.  I couldn’t see it from where I was standing.  I was too far back from the edge.  I didn’t give a crap about the view.  “I understand the severity of the situation
, even though you can’t explain it to me over the phone.  I acknowledge that, but, girl, I’m still gonna have to talk this over with Ramona before I can give you any final decision, and it may very well be that she comes with me.  Ok?”

“I don’t want her to get implicated in any of this, Estefan,”
she retorted.  Her choice of words bewildered the shit out of me.

Implicated?  What the fuck was this little chick talking about?

I breathed in heavily, inwardly glad that Ramona and the others had stayed put for the time being.  “That’s the deal, I’m afraid,” was all I could offer her.

“I see, ok…”
  She sounded worn out, beaten, completely deflated and that bothered me.  Tirza always had so much fight in her.  She was always out to prove how tough she could be.  This loss of spirit didn’t feel right.  There was something else in play, something I could only guess.

But, I had to end the conversation soon.  The girls would eventually yank the phone out of my hands.  I could sense of them at my back.  “I will talk with Ramona and get back to you, ok?”

“Yeah, sure.”
  Now she sounded forlorn, lethargic, as if the wind got knocked out of her.

“And I won’t drag my feet.  I’ll get back to you by the end of the day or by early tomorrow.  Does that sound ok?”  I was doing whatever I could to make her feel better; I just didn
’t have very many options with four nearly-angry girls boring holes in my back with their eyes.

She perked up at that. 
“Ok, Effy, if that’s all you can do for now, then ok.  I understand - thanks.”

She cut the connection before I could answer…

Upon me taking the phone from my ear, Katie said: “I don’t think you should go alone.  There is something going on that she knows about and she’s not telling you.  Whatever it is – and even if it doesn’t involve her trying to get you back – it can’t be good.  You should just stay away.”

Sandy and Leda were both nodding like bobble-heads.

“You did very well, my love,” came Ramona’s smug comment as she came forth and hugged me sideways, by the waist, planting a wet kiss on lobe of my ear.  “Let’s go eat and we’ll talk about this later.”

“That sounds good, because now I
’m like super hungry!” announced Sandy.

With that
we left the Loft and went back down the two flights of stairs to the kitchen.

It was not long after, with food reheated, the five of us seated about the dining table, we feasted on everything I
’d cooked earlier.  It wasn’t all that bad, but what Katie had said stuck with me.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was looming upon the horizon.  I couldn’t shake the feeling my immediate future didn’t look all that good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~♦~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Summer – 2018)

K.I.S.S.I.N.G.

Hours later
, after Flavia and Johan had picked up Martín at school, and all three had walked the remainder of the way home.  After, they had eaten some of the leftovers of the huge brunch I had made earlier in the day, the doorbell rang.  My spry step-sister jumped to her feet to answer it.  Her movement was quicker than usual, so I knew, without a doubt, she’d invited some of her friends over.  Not that this was an issue.  I didn’t care.  If I had, what was I about to say?  I was sitting on the large couch in the T.V. room with two sets of girls to either side of me, watching some documentary about the marvels of Dams, of all things.

I had Ramona’s legs draped across my lap, Katie’s head resting on my shoulder opposite Ramona.  Leda was filing her nails beyond my girlfriend.  Sandy, sitting next to my cousin, played with a lock of her hair, her eyes locked onto the huge LCD before us.  To a one, they were relaxed, themselves, at home, and so was I.  It felt normal, though the four of us had never sat together to watch TV.  It felt like we’d been doing it for years.  I was very content, being around so many beautiful women, each of them vastly different than the next, but each of them stunning, arresting – like a diamond, a sapphire, an emerald and a ruby lined up, side-by-side.  They were a marvelous display.  With such a wide array of personality and intellect, truthfully, I could think of nothing else.  I sat there surrounded by female flesh, femininity.  My mind wasn’t wondering.  I was in the moment.  I was there, present – young and alive – precisely where I needed to be, the exact spot.

“Hey Eff,” said Flavia breaking me from my dreamy thoughts.  I glanced toward the sound of her voice, indicating I was listening with a jut of my chin.  “This is Jolene, one of my friends; she came over to hang out, ok?”

Even though my step-sister was only a year younger than me, it had become a forgone conclusion for some years now, when our parents were out of the house, I was in charge.  I was responsible for everyone.  This wasn’t a big deal, because all of my younger siblings were relatively good kids and were easy to look after.

Plus, I wasn’t about to be a dick either.  Not with all the girls over.  Not after what we had gone through earlier than morning.  No way.

“Cool,” I said back to my sister, waved and dipped my head in the direction of the girl.

She waved back at the group of us. Her eyes darting over me and the sheer amount of girly bodies resting about me in what I assumed was mild surprise.  She was pretty.  She had dark brown hair cut just passed her ears, curled into a more timid version of a bob.  Her equally dark, wide spaced eyes and sculpted eyebrows, made it seem like she’d spent hours a day to make them look perfectly symmetrical.  She had prominent cheeks dominating her face every time she smiled.  Her narrow nose ended in a cute, girly button, but it was her thin lips - even all these years later – that resonate in my memory.  They were the reddest I have ever seen, naturally so.

She stood about the same height as Flavia – five foot two – had larger breasts, though, with hips already ripening to maturity.  She wore bright blue Capri pants, a white t-shirt with blue lettering stating something trendy and a pair of white flats upon her feet.

Johan walked into the T.V. room from the door opposite the one the two teen girls had entered.  His eyes darted over to Jolene and immediately his entire demeanor changed.  He went from his usual half-arrogant saunter, to some slack shouldered geek in the matter of seconds.

What the fuck is this?
I remember thinking as Jolene’s face suddenly lit up.  I swore I saw a sheepish smirk play along the lines of my brother’s mouth.

I sent a pair of raised eyebrows in Flavia’s direction.  To which, she replied, by rolling her orbs in disgust as if she were beyond weary of the situation.  “Come on
, Jol, let’s go to my room,” she suggested with a beckoning gesture to her friend.

“I think Johan has a kissing friend,” whispered Katie in my ear, which made me nod involuntarily.  I couldn’t get my head around my fourteen year old brother capturing the attention of a girl two years his senior. 
I should’ve known I wasn’t the only one who was good with the girls.  It’s in the blood!

“Can Johan come too?” asked Jolene in a voice that didn’t sound quite her own.  She seemed to catch herself and she swallowed quickly, clearing her throat.  “I mean to hang out too, you know,” she added with a hand coming to rest
between her neck and chest.

Must’ve been one hell of a make-out session
, I thought.

By then
, all of us, were riveted to the scene unfolding before us.

Flavia’s threw up her arms in supplication, spun on a heel and walked out.  “Well, come on you guys,” she called from the stairs as Johan walked up to Jolene and whisper
ed a soft “hello” that none of us can hear, but we could make it out by the way his lips moved.

Jolene just smiled as she turned gracefully to follow my step-sister though her eyes never left Johan’s.  Together they walked from the room, a numb silence in their wake.

“Oh shit, Eff, your brother’s got game too,” bubbled Ramona, at my side, making the couch bounce, as she giggled deep her throat, smiling so widely, her entire face was bunched up.  Her eyes were mere slits she could barely see through.

“I swear I could see that girls toes curling in her shoes,” muttered Leda
, out of the corner of her mouth.  Suddenly, she let her typically sour veneer drop and laughed just as throatily as my girlfriend.

Sandy edged to the end of couch, “one-bunning it” as my mother was fond of saying.  “I would say that was at least a second-base reaction right there,” commented the girl her smiling like the others.

“Could even be third…,” peppered Katie, her eyes still gazing upon the spot where three others had vanished from sight.

That made Ra
mona laugh even harder.  “Man-o-man, Johan got some titties!” she wheezed.  She was chortling too much to do much else, which made all the girls explode with laughter.

I just sat there
, unsure if I was happy for Johan or if I was sad that my little brother was growing up.  I mean, he had always been at my heels, following me, asking questions, my constant companion.  This was before my mother had married my step-father and, suddenly, our house was full with people again.  In my mind’s eye, he had gone from that little boy, that curious, happy little boy to something else, something more akin to me. 
Had he really sucked on that girl’s tits?  Had he felt her up, put his hand atop the mound of her pussy or cupped her ass?  Was it possible that he would know what to do?  Would he know the right time to do it?

I look back and I can see just how naive I was, at times, when it came to those around me, especially when it came to members of my family.  Of course, he knew what to do and when to do it just as I had when I was his age.  What the fuck was I thinking?  I lost my virginity when I was twelve.  True, she was older than me, and true, I hadn’t known what the fuck I was doing, but I had inklings.  Even back then, when it took only seven or eight pumps into a girl before I blew my load, I had an idea.  Unpracticed novice or not, why wouldn’t Johan know?  Why was I so special? 
I wasn’t.  Johan was my brother and that should’ve been enough to explain it.

“You ok, Effy?” asked Katie with a grin still plastered to her face.  I must have looked at her like an idiot, because her smile froze in place for a moment.  She read me and her levity returned - full force.  “Ha-ha, Jeez, Effy, what did you think, that you’d be the only one to get a crack at some pussy?”

“I-I just hadn’t really thought about… Johan,” I stammered not sure what else to say.

“We all grow up, babe,” said Ramona sagely, still bouncing here and there with laughter.  She wiped at her eyes, so her mascara wouldn’t run.

“Yeah, I know, but still.  It was kinda weird to see in person, you know.”

“You think he might have a ‘power’ similar to Estefan’s?” asked Leda.  The thought had just occurred to her and she was
obviously scared by the notion.

“Naw,” replied Ramona at once, making us all gaze in her direction.  She looked from one set of eyes to another.  “He’s different.”

“Has he got sick yet?” asked Sandy, looking from me to Katie since we’re his family and had been with him the most over the last few days.

“Not that I know of,” I answered with a shrug off my shoulders.

Katie shook her head in the negative, but stayed silent.

A thought occurred to me and I turned to Ramona.  “Will he get sick eventually?”

She nodded slowly, but there was little pause in between the end of my question and the movement of her head.

She had known for some time
, came the notion, which invoked a deeper version of the same line of thought.  “How many of us will get sick do you think?”

She tilted her head to the side
, studying something etched on the inside of her skull.  A barely hidden smile was etched for lips for a moment or two.  This was a thing she always did when someone had asked something serious of her and put her on the spot.

She was abruptly downtrodden.  “Every one of us, in this house right now, who hasn’t been sick yet
, will be within the next few days.”

My eyes bulged at that, because I hadn
’t expected her answer to be such a wide swath of my family and friends. 
Jesus Christ every fucking one of us!?!

“We’re becoming Mutos, huh?” asked Leda quietly from the other side of Ramona.

“Yes,” was all Ramona said.

“Which means… sooner or later, someone’s gonna snitch on us and the NIA Special Division will come for us,” added Katie as a matter of fact, devoid of emotion.  “And then there’s no telling what they’ll do.  Everyone that gets corralled by those bastards disappears permanently.  I’ve never heard of a person being released once they
’ve been captured.”

“What’da’ya think they’ll do to us?” wondered Sandy allowed, more to herself than any of us, but loud enough that it sounded like a question.

“Nothing good, Sandra,” began Leda.  Her eyes were direct, hard about the edges.  “What would you do if you were a member of an all-powerful government organization with a Muto teenager in your grasp?”  Every one of us looked her way.  “They’d do their worst, that’s what they’d do.”

God that sounded horrid!

“You really believe it is that bad?”  Sandy always had an overly optimistic outlook on life.  She just didn’t tend to see the worst of things, even when it was staring her straight in the face.

“Come on, girl, after experimenting on you in every possible way, don’t you think they’d turn to more basic methods of torture?”  Leda could be callous at tim
es - thick headed and callous, on the verge of being mean.  “They’d be raping you every hour on the hour until you couldn’t take it no more and died of exhaustion before anything else.”  She paused to shake her head.  “Fuck, Sandy, why do you have to be so childish sometimes.”

Sandy was staring at her in abject horror.  Her mouth was working, but nothing sound coming forth for a few seconds.  “They’d do that?” she choked.

“Jeez, Leda, why do you have to act that way?” I demanded more than a little annoyed at the girl, especially after everything
she
had done earlier up in the Loft.  You’d think she’d have garnered a shred of humility, but apparently not.

“What, Effy?  Look at her, she freakin’ hot, what lame ass, turnkey wouldn’t want his way with her,” was her justification for being rude.

“You’re hot too, Leda, who wouldn’t want a crack at your ass?” I countered, deliberating looking her up and down.

She squirmed upon the couch.  “Yeah, I know…,” she responded timidly, then looked over at Ramona her brow knitting.  “Get you man under control, girl.  He’s creeping me out with those eyes of his.”

“You deserve it, Leda.  Besides, Effy, makes a good point, it’ll be bad for all of us, if we’re caught, so maybe… instead of fighting, we should – I don’t know, stop all the bullshit and put our heads together, because this Muto-shit isn’t going away.  Sooner or later, something is going to happen and it’s not going to be good.  In fact, I think it’s going to be bad – real, real bad…”  She trailed off.

A profound, but charged, silence followed her prophetic words.  Every one of us felt a tingling sensation at the back of our necks.  We felt
the unease run up and down our spines, because we knew then and there, together – as one, Ramona had spoken the absolute truth.

[He is compelled to speak with an unaltered mind.]

My little prophet of a girlfriend, I really need to convey to you just how grateful I am that you’ve been by my side all of these years, grateful you’ve saved us all from utter disaster time after time…  I love you, Babes!

Anyhow, I regress… sorry.

[He sinks into what has gone before.]

…So we shared a long, intense look of mutual understanding, feeling for the first time, the gravity of what was happening.  It was unsettling, awkward upon our shoulders.  This was no longer about me and Katie or Ramona, or anything remotely like what we thought this summer would be like.  No, this was different.  Our group was getting bigger and would continue to do so.  If we were going to keep everyone safe and out of the clutches of the NIA, we were going to have to start coordinating like a team, especially against the likes of their Shock Troops.  They were armed to the teeth and used lethal force without question.  We had to be better, now
that our future’s had all changed.