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So much can happen in one month. A seed can grow into a small plant. A fridge will be emptied and refilled at least four times. A fetus which looked like a worm can develop more and more into something that looks human. Or our world as we knew it can be destroyed.
I held my breath as I was looking down on Rey. My nerves growing more and more tense the more time passed. On the first glance, Rey appeared dead. This was my doing. Instead of protecting one of my few human friends with my Siren superpowers I had talked him into becoming one of us. To face the evil powers which overtook the world, we needed more strong Sirens. Unfortunately, in the past, male Sirens were known for being brutal and uncontainable. In addition, the transformation serum we used on Rey had never been tested before. I wished he would give me a clue about how his transformation would turn out. The odds were not in our favor.
I clenched my jaw and clutched his cold hand. “Please Rey, remember that you were a good man and don’t turn into an uncontrollable monster,” I whispered. I squeezed his hand a little harder, not receiving any response. “And, please, don’t die,” I pressed through gritted teeth. If he had given up his human life for nothing, I wouldn’t know how to forgive myself.
Yet, some things had gone according to schedule which gave me hope. The first signs of Rey’s transformation had started a couple of days after I had given him the serum. Rey lost some hair on his arms. In the third week, his skin, which used to look like leather, became firmer and a shade lighter. Even the big scar across his neck and right side of the cheek slowly disappeared as his cells melted into something eternal. His bald head received a youthful glow. Now, it should only be a few days until he’d wake up. He wouldn’t recognize our town anymore. So much had changed in one month.
To distract myself, I turned on the TV. The sound momentarily was too loud in the otherwise creepily quiet house. I turned the volume down and at the same time used my Siren senses to search for Alex’s heartbeat. Although it was dangerous to leave our hiding place, my boyfriend had to get some fresh air and stretch his legs from time to time. The even thuds of his heart let me know he was close by and fine and I directed my attention back on the TV. Like a burned-out zombie I observed the usual images of dead people with red skin as if they had been burned from the inside. The newest victims who had died of the Night Flu. M. Kulikow, Ukraine it said below one picture. Then, there followed a man. Neatly arranged on a white cloth which would later be burned with him. B. Kulikow, Ukraine it said below his picture. I shuddered at the death show. Instead of talk shows and commercials, we had those now. Commercials weren’t needed anymore since nobody was doing the shopping themselves. All the humans had been evacuated into sterile shelters and bunkers in order to try to stop a further spread of the Night Flu. To ramp up the drama there was a public execution of someone not behaving according to the safety rules once in a while. Everything was controlled by a health organization named PaNacea, led by Dr. Palmer. Only a few people could still work in their former job outside of the shelters. At the moment, it was all about community “safety”. I said that in quotation marks as apart from being clean the shelters were like prisons in which the humans had no personal freedom. The people in the town shelters were supervised by a community guard. The children old enough to go to school were taught in there. The younger children were cared for by nurses and the other adults cleaned and cooked. Mostly cleaning though, since the main goal was not to get infected by the virus.
“Nathalie, why are you watching this trash?” Alex walked into the living room as about the fifth picture had passed. He turned the TV off and an instant bolt of fear struck my body that I’d miss the death picture of someone I loved.
“Nothing else is on.” I sunk on the couch next to Rey’s feet. “Give me the remote.” I narrowed my eyes. “Please?” I added and pinched the top of my nose to suppress the raising tears.
Alex placed the remote back on the TV set. My eyes wandering to the top of his back where the loose spot of shirt in the center announced the strong shoulders on both sides. He turned around and then softly kissed me on my forehead. “I know why you are doing this to yourself but there’s no use. Roisin must be alive, and you will find her.”
My dear Roisin who had been the closest person to a real sister to me here in the US. She had been the first one of the Sirens whom I trusted. Two months ago, she left us to find out more about a death of a Minotaur friend. Since then, we hadn’t heard a word from her. It seemed too atypical that she’d forget about us. I wished I knew where Roisin was and that she was fine. I dreaded the day where I would see her picture on a white cloth with red skin. If she was fine, then why on earth didn’t she give us any kind of update? Again, I felt the urge to turn on the TV, in order not to miss anything. At least that way, we would know for sure.
I looked up at the familiar sight of a head with dark curls. For a split second his brown eyes took me to a completely different place where every day was sunny and warm, and no problems existed. I pulled on his arms to get up and kissed him, taking a deep breath of his scent.
“I know.” I tried to give Alex a reassuring answer. We couldn’t take any more losses.
“Perhaps either Luke or Melissa is on their way back with her now.” Alex attempted a smile.
I dropped a corner of my mouth. “Yes, perhaps.” We were taking turns of eight to ten hours with keeping an eye on Rey’s transformation and running all over the world to look for Roisin or finding out more about the current state of the world. Our only lead was that Roisin went to look for the Minotaurs in Turkey. However, we could neither find a trace of her nor of any Minotaurs. Apart from my worries about her, we could use her help here as well with Rey waking up soon.
“You were out for quite a bit as well.” I tilted my head, giving Alex a reproachful look.
He turned slightly pink. “Well, ehrm,” he coughed, “I had some business to do which I didn’t want to do right around the corner of the house. So, I walked a little down into the woods.”
I grinned sympathetically. The town had cut our water and so Alex couldn’t use the toilet anymore. I’ve been a Siren for much shorter than my relatives. Yet, those two years had been enough to sometimes let me forget the basic human needs like having to eat, sleep or go to the bathroom.
“When I wanted to return, I heard the speakers of the VCP,” he continued, and I looked at him alarmed. The VCP, short for Virus Control Patrol, was our closest threat. They were on the lookout for fugitives who refused to move into the town shelters. People like us. If they detected anyone of us still in the house, they’d force us to come with them. “I hid behind some bushes and watched as the VCP slowly took a turn up the road. I guess they didn’t notice me, but I could clearly see them with their helmets and guns.” A shiver went through his body.
I grimaced, my eyes widening. “I’m glad you got back okay then.” If they came here, I'd have had to hide Rey somewhere, but I couldn’t have dragged him off the couch on my own.
“This sucks.” Alex dropped onto a stool. “Before they showed up, being out in the woods made me feel like on a normal camping trip. Then, their speakers reminded me that besides us, hardly anyone is living a free life right now. I don’t even know which shelter they took my dad and sister to. I finally want to stop sitting around and do something.” He hit his fist on the couch table and made me flinch.
He saw my reaction and his face fell. “Sorry.”
I covered his hand with mine. “As long as they are in a shelter, they will be fine. Since PaNacea doesn’t want any revolutions, the VCP is treating them as good as it can get in a mass dormitory.” I had no idea in which shelters my American friends were either. Communication via phone didn’t work. However, it calmed me that the shelters we saw on TV always showed people in a decent shape. In addition, the last time I checked on my family in Switzerland they were still roaming about freely. No bunkers there yet.
“These stupid control freaks,” Alex growled. “I don’t want to admit it but living out here gets more and more difficult for me. I couldn’t survive if I didn’t have you.” He said deflated. “Soon, magical creatures will be the only ones left outside the shelters.”
“Well, that will also make it easier for us to find support. We can’t face PaNacea alone.”
“I agree with you but that’s what the male Sirens like Rey should have been for.”
“That’s the option the Orbiters had foreseen but perhaps they are wrong this time,” I countered clenching my jaw. The Orbiters were more powerful and omniscient than the rest of the magical world. That’s how they – up to now – were able to ensure the powers of good and evil were balanced. “While this serum might be what works for transforming new male Sirens safely, it still takes too long until a new Siren is born. We don’t have so much time regarding the rate at which PaNacea is killing magical creatures. Plus, we still don’t know how Rey will react.” We both turned our heads to Rey who was laying in the exact same position as before. I couldn’t detect a new progress in the transformation. Like so many times before, a wave of worry passed through me, wondering whether there was even life inside him anymore.
“So, you are against new Sirens supporting us in a fight against Dr. Palmer, but you are willing to build an army of other magical creatures?” Alex asked.
“We need to be able to make an impression as well. At least, if we find other supporters they will participate in their own free will. If we simply transform men because they are a good match to be a Siren it can’t be good for our fighting karma.” I got up to turn the TV back on and Alex shot me an annoyed glance.
“It can’t harm to stay informed about their moves.” I opposed.
“Stay calm and positive. Well, as positive as a building like this permits.” Dr. Palmer was giving a speech in one of the shelters, pointing at the people that were sitting on and in between bunk beds.
Now that I knew he was being hypnotized, his expressionless eyes, never directly looking at the audience, made much more sense. “We are very close to finding a remedy which works against the virus and I promise life can go back to normality afterward. But for now, we appreciate your collaboration which gives us the opportunity to focus on finding an end to our troubles.”
I shook my head. “Don’t you want to punch him through the TV?”
“I would also kick his ass if I were there.” Alex pointed to the screen. “Why are they all listening to him?”
“Guns and public executions. It doesn’t take a lot more to get people quiet.” Many magical creatures in a human shape had been shot in front of a watching audience in the past year. PaNacea had declared them as Alternatives and blamed them to be responsible for the many deaths through the virus. Some of the executed people had also been normal humans which had been accused of being Alternatives through other humans. PaNacea shot them too to keep the crowds satisfied and quiet.
“We will continue to fight the Alternatives. I am pleased to say their opposition is weakening.” Some applause and hooting from the audience in the shelter. “It’s only a matter of time until they give in and realize how much harm they cause.” Dr. Palmer’s mouth broke into a thin smile for a moment. “Or we will find a remedy against the virus and they’ll be powerless.”
“This guy is making me sick,” I said.
“Told you there is no good in watching this.” Alex raised his eyebrows like a wiseacre. “I could think of so many better things to do right now.”
“Like what?” If we could do something productive, he could have proposed it a long time ago!
“You know, you and me, alone in this house...”
I made a movement with my thumb into the direction of Rey.
“Well, he won’t care”, Alex waved my gesture off. “He is basically in a coma.”
“Oh, and what should we be doing then?” I sweetly responded to his teasing.
“I should start with undressing you.”
I chuckled as he approached me and moved his hands up below my shirt in a skillful motion. It tickled a little as his hands grazed my skin, but it was an agreeable tickle. We kissed and for a while, we stood there in an embrace. Then, I drew my head back.
“It’s too depressing, isn’t it?” I sighed.
His shoulders slumped. “We could forget about it for a while, Nat. I have to be doing something until Rey wakes up and we find out how we can continue. At least you get to leave and look for Roisin and do something useful.” He looked to the ceiling, but his hands were still playing around the back of my bra.
“You’ve helped enough with the serum.” I gently pushed his arms down and threw a glance at my watch. I had no idea what time of the day it was as we were using candles to light the living room. The windows were painted in a dark grey window paint, so you couldn’t see any movement or shadows when looking from the outside to the inside. The feel of the cozy beach house was gone but at least we still lived in our own four walls.
“When Melissa and Luke are back you can take off again while I’m still here like a pet that needs to be looked after.” Alex kissed me a final time and then let go to walk to the kitchen. He grabbed a carton of orange juice and took a few big gulps. I followed him and sat on the opposite side of him at the counter.
“Why did you say you were a pet?”
“Because I can’t even hunt or gather on my own and I go outside to go to the bathroom.” He closed the lid again and put it back into the corner of the counter.
“At least you are a pet that cleans up after itself.” I smiled.
“It’s not funny. This situation is maddening.” He pushed his jaw to the front.
“I know.” I placed my chin on my hands. “But it’s better for you to be here with us because your thoughts are of great value. It would be idiotic to have you in a shelter, where we can’t have any contact.” I pursed my lips. I couldn’t be separated from yet another loved one. Since my transformation from self-conscious 17-year-old Serena who lived with her loyal sister and caring parents in Switzerland, to Nathalie with Siren powers, I hadn’t been able to exchange a word with my family. They believe I died on a hiking trip and not being able to tell them the truth was still pulling on my heart strings with every passing day.
“When Rey wakes up and is okay, there is no need for me to further work on the serum. If I stay here, I only contribute to more danger.” Alex’s face became serious and before I could come up with an opposition, he pushed himself away from the counter. “I’ll go take a bath now, while the sun is still up.” He dragged his feet out of the kitchen toward the stream behind our house. Our location on Cape Cod was convenient as a hiding place since the house was sheltered by the dunes from the back side. However, if you were used to taking warm showers and now only had a cold stream to use, taking a bath wasn’t so relaxing anymore. At least I was able to run down to California within forty minutes and could wash myself somewhere, where it was a bit warmer. The world outside the shelters indeed wasn’t made for the modern human of today. With Siren powers, it was still possible to survive if not agreeable. Only, how long until we’d face the next problem? The sooner we could set an end to PaNacea the better.