Oden (12 page)

***

Walking back down the tunnel is a blurry experience. I begin to feel not only tired, but dizzy while dark spots appear in front of my eyes. I end up having to sit down for a short moment and eat some food. I feel guilty to be resting and eating while the others haven’t had food for a long time, but as soon as I think I can manage to stay standing, I get to my feet and keep moving.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been gone for. I don’t know what to expect to find when I make it back to the rooms, either. I left without a word of warning to Mattie. I hadn’t expected to find myself in a warzone. I thought a short walk to find Ival, a quick grabbing of food, and then, in no time, I would be back.

I quicken my pace, my thoughts returning to where they have been repeatedly moving to since Jeprow uttered the threat against Mattie and Riley. I can’t let anything happen to either of them.

I leave the bag sitting in the kitchen and then edge closer to the rooms. I find Mattie asleep on the ground with two doors near her, standing open.

I don’t understand why she is on the ground. I rush to her, afraid she has collapsed.

“Mattie?” I hiss at her, dropping to my knees beside her and lifting her into my arms.

She mumbles, her face nuzzling my neck, but she doesn’t wake completely.

“Mattie, are you all right? Why are you on the ground?” I demand of her, needing to hear her say she is fine.

“The lights were bright,” she mumbles, her arms moving around me.

“The lights are bright out here, too,” I tell her, standing and bringing her along with me in my arms.

I poke my head in the room next to where she has been sleeping and see the outline of Hannah and Logan, relieved to see they are all fine.

I walk Mattie to the room next to theirs, placing her down on the bed.

“Watch me,” I tell her, watching her struggle to open her eyes against the bright light. “Touch any part of the wall, place your palm flat, and then move it to the side. It dims the lights, and if you keep going, it will turn them off.”

“Cool.” She closes her eyes again. “How come you took so long?”

“I got you some food. Do you want some now?” I sit down on the bed next to her. I’m still wearing my damp clothes, although they have mostly dried now.

“No, I’m too tired to eat.” She snuggles down on the bed.

I consider the small amount of room we have. Beds on Earth are much roomier. Since sex isn’t considered recreational on Oden, we usually sleep alone. There will be a room in each house that is set aside for the act of sex. For our people, when the need arises to produce an heir, we will stay in that room every night until a baby is conceived. Then we retreat back to our own rooms. Consequently, a small mattress is all that is needed. These rooms are down here for safety, not to make life comfortable for couples. Not that it will matter for us. I don’t plan to have any part of my body away from Mattie.

I strip off my clothes, watching as she sleeps soundly above the covers. Once I’m naked, I drag the covers under her, watching her move slightly with them before they are free from her weight. I lift them over her and then crawl onto the bed as well, cradling her to me. I’m exhausted, but my cock reacts to her warm body being so close to mine. I don’t think there will ever be a time I don’t want her.

I finger the vest she’s wearing under her new shirt. Ival wants me to take it back, but there is no way I will ever take this away from her and Riley. Not when Jeprow just threatened them.

I grip hold of her waist, her body flush against mine, and close my eyes, letting sleep overtake me.

***

I wake some time later, feeling groggy, when Mattie climbs back into bed. Since it’s so small, it is impossible to do so without disturbing me. It’s surprising I was able to sleep through her getting out of bed.

I hold my arms open, ready for her to rest against me, except I first feel her bare legs brush against mine. She was completely covered when I placed her in here earlier.

My heartbeat increases and I jolt in surprise when her hands move over my chest, briefly brushing against my own nipples and then traveling farther down my chest.

I hold my breath, waiting in the darkness to see what she plans on doing next. The bed shifts again, and then her leg brushes my other side, so she’s now straddling me. She moves her hips down until my cock is cushioned over her ass cheeks. I groan as she slowly moves along me, her heat and wetness dragging over me until our bodies are aligned, and then she sits so that I am just at her entrance.

I want to move. I want to push my hips upwards to fully enter her. I want to take her hard and fast. But I stay still. I let her remain in control.

When she slowly seats herself down on me, I force myself to only feel and not move. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up, however while I still have some control of myself, I will let her be in charge of our speed.

“Marduke,” her voice croaks out, hitching at the end as I’m finally completely sheathed by her.

“Mattie,” I hiss back, my hands moving until I’m cupping her face.

I bring her down to my lips. Every time I suck on them, bite her, or move my tongue with hers, her inner walls squeeze me. My cock is begging me to move. I’m not sure how much more torture I can take.

When the kiss feels too overwhelming, I trail kisses down her neck and by her ear, which again causes her to squeeze her legs tighter around me. We haven’t moved yet, and the wait is almost too much. Her body is tightening around me, sending jolts of pleasure through me, but I won’t be able to help having to move.

“Please, take this off me?” Mattie asks, pulling away from me and leaning forward and over me. The new angle causes her body to tremble as she reaches out and touches the wall, turning the lights until they are dimly lit.

“I can’t; it’s protecting you,” I tell her, gripping onto her hips and lifting her off me until I am nearly completely out of her, and then I drop her down, the slap making us both moan in ecstasy.

“I need you to touch me. I need your hands on me, your lips over my breasts. Please, Marduke,
please
.”

Her pleading is too desperate for me to tell her no. What harm can come from it when we are in the tunnels, safe from Jeprow? As soon as I have had my fill of her, I can place it back on.

“Fine, but I will put it back on you afterwards.” I try to sound firm, but my hands ruin the effect as I too eagerly remove the argu and then watch as her nipples pebble against her thin bra. I’m mesmerized by them, unconsciously deciding to rip off the bra until she is suddenly free of it.

Completely naked now, I drag my eyes away from her stunning breasts that are begging for my touch and gaze down over her stomach. I touch her there, imagining Riley growing inside her. Riley, who is part of us both and will be perfect because he or she was conceived by two people who love each other more than life itself, and we will love our baby just as much. I won’t allow anyone to take them away from me. Not Jeprow, not Ival, not anyone.

“I think I’ve gotten a bit fatter,” Mattie comments, her hands moving over mine. She has a small pouch like shape growing over her once very flat stomach, but her ribs are visible. She needs to eat more food if she and the baby are to remain healthy.

I vow to get her to eat more, starting right now, but then, as she rocks against me, I vow to get her the food
after
we’re finished in here.

“I think you’re perfect. I love you so much,” I tell her, wanting to roll over and take control of this, take her fast, take her every way I can until she’s crying from pleasure. Yet I don’t want to hurt her or the baby. Therefore, instead, I sit up, pulling her against my chest, and grip a hold of her hips again.

I kiss her once more, my fingers digging into her skin until I can’t wait any longer. I pull away, moving her against me and speeding up our rhythm as I lean down and suck one of her nipples into my mouth.

Her taste is addictive. Every time I lightly scratch my teeth over the sensitive area, every time I bite down gently, she squeezes around me tighter and moans my name. Apparently, she likes it when I’m a bit rougher.

I move to her other breast, giving that one the same treatment, and I feel a tightness growing in my balls, in my cock. I’m ready to explode, but I need her to come first. I need to make this good for her because she deserves it.

I reach down and move my hand over her clit and rub over her, moving my other hand to pinch her nipple before I lick over it, soothing the sting. She’s now in control of our speed, moving even faster over me, her grip beginning to be too much. I’m not sure I can hold out much longer.

Then she cries my name and I feel her coming around me. As she collapses over me, I finally let go, too. I’m completely lost in her arms and to the intense moment we’ve just shared to the point it takes me several minutes to become aware again. When I do, I realise Mattie is crying.

“What is wrong? Did I hurt you?” I cup her face, forcing her to look at me. My heart aches at seeing her upset as I berate myself for harming her. I was too forceful; I should have let her keep the pace she needed, not taken over like I did. I should have had better control of myself.

“I can’t lose you; I need you too much. I have nearly lost you so many times already, just in the past day. Please don’t leave me. Riley needs you, too,” she gasps, her tears coming faster.

I pull her against me, moving down so we are lying flat along the mattress. She is still on top of me and I am still inside her. I can’t bring myself to break that connection with her, not yet.

“I’m not going to leave you, not ever. No one will take either of you away from me. We’re our own family now, and I promise you, we will make this work.”

“And Hannah and Logan? They are part of our family, too.”

“Yes, we won’t leave anyone behind. I promise,” I tell her.

Because her sobbing doesn’t cease, I keep repeating to her how much I love her. I move my hand through her hair and over her back, trying to sooth her, until I finally feel her let go of the tension she is carrying and let sleep take her.

Even through her sleep, I don’t stop whispering how much I love her and how I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to our family.

I wish I knew how wrong I was. I wish I had some warning that I would be made a liar.

I would do anything to change what happens to her, to us, to our new family.

Our new family was already doomed, though.

Chapter 8

Mattie

Time passes. I’m not sure how much. We all sleep a lot, which makes it feel as though it has been days since we first made it to this part of the tunnel. Marduke has barely left my side, and I draw comfort and security from him being with us. Ival returned a short while ago, apparently his injuries have been fixed, and it’s the first time Marduke has left my side for an extended amount of time. The food supply is beginning to get low, which I know will mean he has to go out for more again soon.

He told me about witnessing the execution of his father, and the confirmation of his mother’s death. It gives me nightmares to realise how Jeprow wants to kill Marduke. That he is targeting him, wanting to murder him at all, is terrifying, but to know how he will do it makes me feel ill.

Marduke kept to himself the state of what is happening outside, but I fear it is worse than what we witnessed when we first landed on Oden.

Are Marduke’s people winning? How are the humans coping? What about on the other planets?

I can’t get answers out of him that he doesn’t know, yet I feel him holding back from me. I think it’s because he fears I will insist on tagging along with him. I might want to know what is happening, perhaps even wish to see it with my own eyes, but I am not an idiot. I know how dangerous it is out there, and I have people to think about now. I have to take care of Riley, and there is no way I can leave Hannah and Logan behind.

So I promise myself and Marduke that I will be good and not leave these tunnels. However, that hasn’t extended to me wearing that vest again. Marduke has tried several times to get me to place it back on, but each time, I’ve managed to distract him. He’s assured me countless times that I’m safe in these tunnels, and I’m hoping that, if I’m not wearing it, then maybe he will when he’s back out in that warzone. With Ival’s return and their obvious disagreements, I have no doubt in my mind that he will be leaving us again. Either it’ll be to get us food, or to join some form of attack on Jeprow. I can’t bear the thought of him being under-protected while I’m sitting in the tunnels, completely safe, being overprotected.

Therefore, as of right now I’m free of the vest. It also means I can touch my stomach whenever I please. I sort of have an obsession with doing that now. I have no proper idea how far along I am, and no idea how big Riley is. For all I know, Riley is still the size of a grape. I’ve felt no movement and I haven’t had any problems keeping my food down.

I’m leaning against the sink, my hand over my stomach, lost in thought when Lisa walks into the small area. She stares at me for a while and I drop my hands to my sides.

Things have been tense between us still, and this is definitely the longest I’ve gone with being around her and barely speaking. Back in college, I couldn’t be in the same vicinity as her without her calling out to chat. We’ve even had conversations through bathroom stalls and solid walls before.

“Hey,” I croak out, coughing to clear my throat. Her stare is making me nervous. It doesn’t help that she isn’t staring at my face, but at my stomach.

“Hope is thirsty,” she says, holding out a bottle.

I take hold of it, turning around and making the water come out to fill it up.

“Is that why you’re able to do what they can?”

“Is what why?” I ask, turning around and holding out the bottle to her.

She takes it back from me without making a move to leave. “Is that why you love him? Is it because you think you have to?”

“What are you talking about?” I frown at her.

“You’re pregnant.”

“What?” I gasp, my hand automatically moving over my stomach again.

I’ve only told Hannah the truth since Lisa has still been expressing her disdain towards Marduke. Although, to be honest, it was only a matter of time before she’d piece it together, seeing as I have to do everything for them because nothing works for humans. Without Riley, I’d be as helpless as they all are.

“I think I understand things now. You were a virgin before all this, and Marduke tricked you into having sex with him. I absolutely suggested you should do it, given it was the end of the world. Obviously, neither one of us realised what Marduke was. Then it was too late because you were knocked up.

“That baby growing inside you is wrong. You have to end it, just like you have to end this weird attachment you have towards Marduke. You don’t owe him anything.”

I’m too shocked by her words to speak for several minutes. She’s telling me that I’m only with Marduke because of Riley, and that I should have an abortion?
Seriously
?

“Lisa, that isn’t what happened at all. Marduke told me who he really was before anything happened between us. He didn’t take advantage of me.”

She shakes her head, not believing me. “No, he made you think he had already told you, but you have gotten your times mixed up. You have to have. How could you still want to sleep with him after he told you he was an alien? After you saw what his machines were doing to us? How could you want to have sex with something as evil as what his species is? You’re confused.”

I’m speechless again. Lisa is trying to justify to herself why I can’t be a traitor to my own people. She refuses to believe I’d betray humans like I have. I can’t even really be mad at her because I did betray my own people and planet by accepting Marduke. I know things aren’t exactly all black and white, especially not now that Jeprow and his creatures are on the scene, but back on Earth, there was just us against them. And I still chose Marduke.

“I know you can’t understand this, but just remember who Marduke is. He saved my life countless times. He cares—”

“He was the reason your life was even in danger! Come on, Mattie, really think about this.”

I shake my head. “His father was the one who ordered the attack, not Marduke. He loves me and I love him. He’s a good man, regardless of where he comes from.”

“He’s brainwashed you. Even if he does care about you, what happens if we all survive this? You’ll live forever on this planet with aliens? You’ll be a slave to his race? You’ll have children who won’t be accepted by your own people?”

“Lisa, please stop.”

“Why? Because you don’t want to think about the repercussions of your actions? Because you don’t want to consider that, while you were betraying us by sleeping with our enemy, humans were having their homes destroyed, were being slaughtered and herded onto spaceships so our planet could be stolen from us? Do you not want to consider the abomination that is growing in your stomach? Don’t want to think about how ashamed your parents would be of you right now? Because I sure as hell am ashamed of you!”

As a shocked silence rings in the air, Lisa’s hands are shaking and the water spills out of the sides of the bottle. She slowly looks down at it then steadies her grip and leaves me behind, feeling sick and dizzy from her words. I feel like every word she spoke was a stab to my heart, and even though I know she has it all wrong about Marduke, part of me knows she’s a little bit right, too.

I was selfish to have fallen in love with Marduke. It was self-centred to indulge in my attraction to him and embrace my growing feelings of love. It might have felt right at the time, but Lisa is right now. My friends, family, and fellow human beings were suffering while I was having sex and falling in love.

What type of person does that make me? Am I partly responsible for what has happened to Earth and humans during and since because I blurred the line between Marduke and me?

“Are you all right?” Hannah asks, tentatively stepping into the room.

I nod, a tear escaping and giving me away that I’m not really okay.

“That was out of line—what she said.” She watches me glance at her in shock. “I heard the last part of it. She’s upset, and I get that. I’m sure you understand that, too. But she doesn’t speak for us all. I can see how much you and Marduke care about each other, and I see that he isn’t a bad person. If Lisa didn’t know he was an alien, then she’d be singing his praises right now.”

I nod, knowing she’s right while also knowing it won’t really make me feel better.

“Riley is innocent in this, and because Marduke and I couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves, now our baby will grow up with this hate surrounding it, and he or she won’t even have a side to be on. Humans won’t accept it, and neither will Marduke’s people.”

“Well, luckily we all look similar, so unless you’re about to tell me that Marduke glows green or something, then I think Riley will be all right with us. Besides, we’ll love and protect Riley no matter what. Your baby will have the love of its family, and that is pretty amazing.”

I whimper, more tears flooding my eyes as I let Hannah give me a hug.

“Now, let’s go exploring. I found a room that looks interesting. Best part, it doesn’t have an invisible door so I was able to get in there without your help.”

Needing a change of scenery and some distance from Lisa, I am ready to agree until I see that she is alone. “Where is Logan?”

“He’s with Hope. I love that kid, but he is a bit full on about not giving you a second to yourself. Let’s go before he realises we’re not around.”

She shuffles me out of the room and I follow her down the hallway, heading away from our rooms.

I still feel upset, yet Hannah starts blathering on about a boy that was in her class who everyone thought was having an affair with her English teacher, Ms. Wreath, which is completely false since I recall her as being well into her eighties. I don’t even know why she was still teaching and hadn’t retired. I also remember her having an elderly lady coming to visit her most days, and I’m pretty certain they were an item.

Regardless of the details, I try to lose myself in her story, one which gets even more ridiculous when she adds in a car chase. She keeps the story going, not slowing down once until we reach the room she wants me to see.

Inside looks like a junk room except all the junk looks brand new. There are machines and contraptions piled up high, and I have no idea what we’re looking at.

“What do you think all this is?”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Marduke,” I say distractedly, stepping into the room and reaching out to take hold of a round metal ball as big as my hand. When I try to grab it, it feels solid and far heavier than its small size suggests. I only manage to knock it over and it falls down onto another machine, smashing through it until it rests on the ground.

“Oops, I hope that wasn’t important.” Hannah giggles, and I give her a wide-eyed look.

“Let’s just say this is how we found it,” I suggest, imagining that whatever I just broke was probably expensive, and no doubt, one of a kind.

When I step farther into the room, something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye. It’s a control panel much like what the doctor had back at the camp on Roth. The one she used to scan over me.

I pick it up, watching it come alive under my touch. I scan over the mess in front of me, just in case it’s not what I think and it’s about to shoot out lasers or something. It brings forth an image of the mess, but nothing attacks it or tries to melt anything. Next, I point it at my feet and see the bones in my feet. I move it to be over my stomach and hold it there, watching Hannah’s expression as she stares intently over the tablet that, from my angle, I can’t see.

“I didn’t know you were having three babies,” she gasps.

My eyes nearly pop out of my head. I quickly pull the tablet to my own eyes and see the image has frozen on the last image.

There is
one
small, tiny infant there. I see its head, which is bigger than I expect, two waving arms resting over its head, and three legs.

Wait, what?

“Why does it have three legs?” I gasp, panicking. Marduke never said anything about his kind having extra limbs. Everyone I’ve seen of his people has two legs and two arms. How is that possible?

“Let me see.” Hannah takes the tablet back off me why I hyperventilate in the corner.

“How am I supposed to hide that from humans? It has
three
legs. What if our DNA mixing caused this? What if it isn’t even healthy? What if something is seriously wrong?” I panic.

“Yeah, or what if he’s a boy and you’re panicking over a penis.” Hannah rolls her eyes at me.

“A what?”

“You know, a penis. That thing that dangles between Marduke’s legs that sort of started this whole thing and got you guys into trouble in the first place? Please don’t tell me I have to keep explaining this.”

“You think it’s a penis? Riley is a boy?” I feel faint, but in a good way now. Can you feel faint in a good way?

“Yes, you idiot.” She rolls her eyes again at me. “Seriously, how did Mum and Dad think
you
were the smart one?”

I ignore her retort, knowing she is actually as excited as I am. It’s proven when she starts jumping up and down.

“A boy! You’re having a boy, Mattie!” She dances in circles around me, and I laugh at her antics, feeling excitement drum up inside me, too. She’s obviously willing to ignore the fact that she told me earlier she wanted us to be having a girl.