Bathing with him was a fabulous experience. If it wasn’t for the fact they were expected at dinner, she was sure they would have returned to bed.
“Each time you kiss me, I feel a tickling sensation. Any idea why?” she asked him, curious when they were getting dressed.
He stopped what he was doing and stared at her, looking intrigued. “No, no one ever mentioned that before.”
“It’s not only when you kissed me when you were inside me too,” she explained, blushing.
“Oh, perhaps you’re more sensitive than others. I guess you’re feeling the presence of the nanocybots in my fluids,” he explained, not sounding very sure of what he was saying.
“Oh. I see,”
“Is it unpleasant?” he asked, sounding worried.
“No, on the contrary, it seems to enhance my pleasure. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt.”
He smiled. “Good to hear.”
James' voice sounded outside the cave. “Dinner is ready.”
“We’ll be right out,” Bretdon assured them, and they quickly finished putting their clothes on.
The community room was crowded with people. There wasn’t an empty table in the place, and they all seemed curious about Bretdon. Sandra quickly introduced them to the crowd and soon they were at a table, having enjoyed their meal.
Dinner tasted incredible, though it was a simple meal. Ophelia assumed it was because they had been eating canned food, sometimes cold from the can.
Bretdon spent the whole meal discussing with Sandra all the ways they could help other cyborgs escape and also how to help them contact those already in Arcadia.
“When I manage to contact them, I’ll make sure to tell them to send an emissary, so you need to set up the means for other cyborgs to communicate with you,” Bretdon was saying.
“When do you think you’ll be able to do that?” Sandra asked him.
“I have to help Ophelia meet her mother, and after that, we need to travel to one of the meeting places and wait for them to pick us up,” he explained. “Unless you have means to send messages to outer space,” he added.
“No, I’m afraid we don’t. We never thought we would need it. The only alien creatures we know are the Taucets, and we don’t have any desire to establish communications with them,” Sandra explained, scowling.
“Of course.”
“We have the vehicle ready for you. You can leave right after breakfast,” she said, changing the subject. “It’s not the fastest vehicle on Earth, but it will get you to Jackson city a lot faster than your legs.”
“That’s all that matters. What about its fuel?” Bretdon asked, pleased.
“It’s powered by the sun. You shouldn’t have any problem with it.”
“Perfect. You’ve been of great help. I wished there was a way I could repay you,” he said, with a smile.
“Don’t worry about that. We’re here to help. Don’t hesitate coming back here if you find out Ophelia’s mother was taken away, as we suspect,” she offered. “We’ll help you free her.”
“We will, thank you very much.”
After dinner was over, they asked to wash their dirty clothes, and a woman guided them to their laundry. There were several washers there.
“How many people live here?” Ophelia asked the woman.
“Five thousand. There are other communities like this one all over the country, but this was the first one created,” she explained, smiling.
“Don’t you miss your old life?” Ophelia wasn’t sure she would be able to live underground for a long time.
“Not really. I am one of the people rescued from the freedom camps. I was abducted by the Taucets and turned into their slave. That was terrible, but we enjoyed some freedom inside the colony,” she told them, with a bitter tone. “When the soldiers rescued us, we were sure we would be able to return to our own lives. Instead, they took us to one of these camps and turned us into prisoners.”
“That’s simply not fair. They have no right treating people that way,” she protested.
“They use the war to excuse their behavior, and no one seems to care, except for Sandra and her people,” she explained.
“I can see that now,” Ophelia mumbled, outraged.
The other woman sighed. “It’s up to us to change things,” she said shrugging. “Would you like a tour around the complex, while your clothes get washed?” she suggested, with a kind smile.
“Oh, yes, that would be great, thank you.” Bretdon quickly accepted. He had been able to scan the place, but that would never be like seeing it with the naked eye.
“We’ll take one of our vehicles for the tour, to do it walking would take too long,” the girl explained when they stepped out of the laundry, inviting then to hop in the vehicle in front of them.
“How big is this place?” Ophelia asked surprised.
“It has to be big. Like I told you, five thousand people live here, we need room for all of them and to satisfy their needs,” she replied with a smile. “There is a residential area, a commercial area and an official area where Sandra and all of the engineers work to maintain this place as safe as it has been from the beginning. We all have duties to the community, but we also have rights.”
It sounded almost utopic, and Ophelia hoped they could make it work for as long as they needed.
It was evident they were inside the Rocky Mountains. They had built a network of caves, carved in the rock, in a very logical way. Here and there were skylights, to provide natural light and ease the feeling of confinement all caves produced. It was a whole city underground.
“You have a great place here,” Bretdon told the woman when they were heading back to the laundry. “It’s amazing how you’ve managed to keep it a secret from the government.”
“That’s mostly thanks to Sandra and her team of engineers. They all worked for the government at some point in their lives, and they know what kind of technology they’re going up against. They also have a few well-positioned moles that inform us of every upgrade they make.”
“Good for you. I would like to share all the information I have with you as well,” Bretdon suggested.
“I’ll take you to Sandra. I’m sure she’ll welcome all you can share,” the woman replied, smiling.
After they left Bretdon at the officials’ area, the women headed straight to the laundry.
“I didn’t catch your name,” Ophelia told the other woman as they entered the laundry.
“I’m Marian.”
Ophelia smiled. “So, Marian, is your family here with you?” she asked curiously.
“Yes, we were all captured by the Taucets when they raided my small town. Luckily, we were taken to a colony where they kept both women and men, so I was able to see my parents and siblings once in a while.”
“Oh, that was great, considering the possibilities, of course,” she said, with a grimace.
“Yes, I know what you mean,” the other woman smiled. “When we were rescued, we were taken to the same camp.”
“Do Sandra and her people free the entire camp?” she asked, intrigued.
“No, it’s impossible. Most of these camps have a few thousands of people. They usually break in and release the people in a determined area. Some people chose not to escape, preferring the false sense of security of the bars and walls.”
“Yes, I can imagine it.”
The clothes finished their cleaning cycle, and Ophelia took them out of the washer.
“Do you mind if I make you a personal question?” Marian asked when she was folding the clothes.
“No, of course not. Go ahead.”
“How is it to be with a cyborg? He looks imposing, even a bit terrifying.”
Ophelia opened her mouth to answer the woman’s question, her first impulse to deny her last words, but she stopped before saying anything.
She guessed most people would consider the man scary. He was over six feet tall and owned a very lethal body. “I don’t find him terrifying. Despite all that has happened ever since we met, he has been very protective,” she tried to explain, smiling. “Somehow, I’m sure he would never hurt me, and that’s more than I can tell from most men I know.”
“It’s just that he looks so powerful, you know, able to kill you with no effort,” the woman tried to explain her point of view.
“Yes, he is, but he would never use his power to hurt innocent people. He didn’t have to drag me with him. He could have killed me or simply abandoned me after I helped him to break the controls that enslaved him,” Ophelia replied, in a somber tone. “Instead, he brought me along with him, and he’s even helping me to go see my mother, even when that means his departure from the planet will be delayed.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right.” The girl smiled. “Allow me to guide you back to the guests’ caves.”
“Please. I would quickly get lost in this place.”
Marian said goodnight when they reached their cave and Ophelia decided to get some sleep. She had no idea how long Bret would take, and she was a bit tired. It had been an eventful day, and she could really use the rest.
By the time Bretdon returned to the guest’s cave, the sun was coming up in the mountain skies. Ophelia was sound asleep, and he smiled, watching the way she had taken over the whole bed for herself.
“Hey, sleepy, it’s time for us to leave,” he whispered, taking a seat on the bed.
“Too early,” she grumbled, turning around.
“We need to leave now,” he reminded her, and those words had the power to throw her out of bed.
“Why? What happened?”
He chuckled. “Nothing happened. We need to leave now, it’s safer for our hosts.”
She rubbed her face, still sleepy. “Oh, you scared me for a moment.”
He got up and closed the distance between them. “Nothing to be afraid of, I assure you.” He claimed a passionate kiss on her full lips and moaned his disgruntlement. “I wish we had more time, but Sandra kept me busy all night,” he grumbled before he kissed her again.
“We’ll have time later,” she promised, with a naughty grin.
“I’ll make sure of that,” he nodded.