Chapter 8

Sophia woke and stretched her legs as the sun filtered through the blinds. She knew it was right around eight, but she glanced at the clock to confirm.

The pitter-patter of Megan’s little feet reverberated down the hall, and Sophia smiled at the tentative knock on her door.

“Come in, Megan.”

“Hi, Mama,” Megan said, crawling into bed next to her.

“Hello, little one,” Sophia said. “How was your sleep?”

Megan sighed. “Fine.”

Sophia hugged Megan close, worried about her. Perhaps human children were sullen a lot of the time, but she remembered being a child on SR44 and running and playing. It seemed Megan rarely did any of those things, but was more introverted and seemed to walk around with the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was far beyond her years. Perhaps if there were other children for Megan to play with, she would be happier.

“Can I have pancakes?” Megan asked.

“Yes, you can, but only if we pick some strawberries and you eat them before the pancakes.”

She was getting the hang of this parenting thing. The ability to bribe and negotiate had almost become second nature to her.

“I don’t want strawberries,” Megan sulked.

“Well, what good food do you want?” Sophia asked. She was proud of her skill of not only bribery and negotiation, but also her ability to offer the child a choice, making Megan feel as though she were deciding her own destiny.

Of course, only a few choices were on the shortlist, and Megan seemed to instinctively know this.

“Can I pick some green beans and have those instead?” Megan asked.

Sophia smiled and tossed back the covers. “Of course, little one. Green beans it is. Just let me take a quick shower.”

Moving into the bathroom, she used the toilet and turned on the hot shower spray, looking forward to feeling it cleanse her body. After a few minutes, the water was finally warm and she took off her green nightgown and matching shorts, stepping into the hot jets.

The water burned her skin, and she reveled in it—not hot enough to scar her, but its heat cleansed her skin from the encounter with Micah.

This was where her guilt began.

She knew her position in this life was important. It was her job to produce children as pure as possible for the long-gone SR44 race. However, her meetings with Micah left her feeling dirty and violated, with a strong need to cleanse his scent and fluids from her body. She always held out until the next morning before showering to up the chances of creating a child. However, they had been trying since Megan’s birth, and their efforts had proved fruitless.

Sophia blamed herself.

Perhaps if she didn’t find Micah so intimidating, her womb would be more willing to accept his seed. She followed a healthy lifestyle and diet, so it wasn’t as if her body lacked the proper nutrients in order to create life. As she scrubbed in between her thighs with a washrag, tears streamed down her face.

Last night Micah had said that if she wasn’t able to produce a child in this fertility cycle, he would send in Jael to see if the male could be more successful. Micah was bad enough. She didn’t even like being in the same room with Jael, let alone letting the animal into her private flesh.

Taking a deep breath, Sophia pressed her hands against the cold tile, closed her eyes, and tried to calm herself. She needed to focus on the here and now, not what might or might not happen in the future. Megan was the priority, and right now, Sophia needed to dress, pick green beans, and then make pancakes. After that, they would study cause and effect, as well as go over some multiplication tables. Sophia wanted Megan to be schooled in case the world outside ever calmed down and the child was afforded a normal, human life.

Well, as normal as a child with glowing eyes at night could be given.

Again, something she couldn’t think about.

For now, they were safe.

After Micah’s departure last night, Sophia had practiced her astral travels again. She’d cautiously visited the city, and even gone into the homes of others. It was interesting to see the way the humans lived. Most were sleeping during her visit, but other were awake, watching television, reading books or spending time with friends. She had also walked in on one couple in the throes of passion, and she was surprised at how much they seemed to enjoy the sexual act. Would it ever bring her pleasure? Unless she had a different partner, she didn’t see how.

After seeing the cramped apartment buildings, Sophia decided she’d rather live out in the middle of the desert than like that. She’d been shocked when they male could see her, as she’d been in the same room as other humans and no one had ever noticed her. She couldn’t hear what he said—she heard nothing in her travels—but it looked as if he were speaking to her, and when he actually reached for her, she’d been frightened and hurried back to her body.

The male looked tired and pale, his dark hair messy as he ran his fingers through it. She couldn't help but feel that he was ill, and as a healthy male he would be very handsome.

In the daylight hours, thinking about it made her excitement soar, and she decided she would visit again and see if her original assessment of the male being able to see her was correct. Her astral travels had become her little taste of freedom. No one could hurt her in her spirit form.

Sophia shut off the water and stood tall. Although she had not seen in her travels the remnants of war Micah talked about, she had no reason to doubt him. Perhaps she hadn’t visited to the right part of the city, or maybe the war wasn’t taking place in the city she was visiting. Therefore, it was another day as an SR44ian in an awful world filled with hatred and cruelty, and she would do her best to shield Megan.