Shattered Skies: Beginning's End (2 page)

The girls on the other hand, were brought up to become the perfect homemakers. We were taught the proper way to do housework, cooking, cleaning, and of course taking care of t
he men. We were lead to believe by Dr. Walker, that it was our job in the war against the monsters to take care of the men, and all of their needs. The most valuable item that we had been taught was not how to read or write; those were less important lessons that we would spend a little bit of time on. If we learned it, that was great; but if not, that was fine too. Our biggest educational experience was learning how to raise a baby in the situation that we were in. While taking care of the men was to be one of our main duties, the sole purpose we would serve the entire time we were on the planet was reproduction. We were to be nothing more than baby factories, constantly pregnant and constantly raising the next batch of soldiers or mothers; whatever the need be. Dr Walker spent a get deal of time working out the reproduction formula to ensure that each baby would have all the right genes required to make them the strongest they could be. Partners were selected for each of us, and under no circumstances was there to be any mating outside of the selected pairs.

Dr. Walker’s plan was very simple. Through the use of the sixteen of us that he saved that night, he would one day have the perfect army. For now, we were only in stage one. The males would sleep with and kill as many female Dominus as they could. The fewer females there were, the less breeding the Dominus could do among themselves. The theory being, without a significant amount of female Dominus, the population of these immortal monsters would slowly but steadily decline through the generations. While they were decreasing as a species, the underground human population would build through us. Dr. Walker was convinced with every baby that was born; we were one step closer in our journey to taking back our planet.

The monsters brought with them technology that humans could never imagine. They had weapons that with one shot could turn entire towns to dust. Nothing that the humans had could even compare. It was like the Vampires knew everything that we had and they had a counter weapon to not only match it, but to completely wipe it off the power grid. The humans could not compete, even the top secret government weapons were a joke when compared to the simplest tools of warfare that the Vampires brought with them. Dr. Walker saved all of the technology from the old way of life that he could. Our home was full of books and computers. The books were used to teach us the way that the planet used to be. He said that it was important that we always remembered where we came from. That way, we would know what we were fighting for.

Many of the computers were programmed so that he could track the monsters; there was not a Vampire in the world that he had not been able to locate. Knowing the sleeping places of all the night walkers would someday be a key component in his plan to rise and take over. 

While the Dominus were scary and unstoppable, their attachment to the beings that created them was a major weakness in Dr. Walker’s eyes. When the time was right, Dr. Walker believed if we managed to take out the night world, than the sun walkers would crumble in on themselves when they were faced with their gods being destroyed, giving the humans a chance to regain control.

Dr. Walker was wise beyond his years; he devoted every second of every day to making his plan foolproof. Every time the computer software that he developed found a new sleeping place for the Vampires, he would learn everything that he could about that location. There was nothing that he hadn’t planned for, well almost nothing. Only one thing interrupted Dr. Walker’s well thought out plan, and that one thing was me. I was not happy nor was I satisfied with the life he was forcing upon me. There was no doubt  in my mind that he thought he was doing what was best for all of us, but I could not bring myself to accept that the rest of my life I would be nothing but barefoot and pregnant. I didn’t understand why it was fair for him to force that life upon me. If I wanted to live like that, I could live with the rest of my species in their cages; at least then I would know why I was there. I wanted more out of existence than that. I wanted to live, I mean really live. I wanted the chance to truly make a difference. The chance to matter beyond the men I was being forced to take care of and the soon to be babies I was supposed to mother. I wanted to be a foot soldier. I wanted to risk my life everyday alongside of the boys. 

I was nothing like the other girls; they were all so content with knowing that they were playing just a small part in a bigger picture for the future. The children that they birthed and raised would one day change the world. That thought was enough to get them through their day. I however, didn’t have that kind of patience; I wanted to make a difference now. I wanted every single Dominus that I could lure into my bed to die, to revenge the family and the friends that I never got to meet. I wanted them, one by one, to pay for the normal life that they stole from me and the others. I wanted nothing more than to look into their eyes and laugh as they turned to dust. 

After many failed attempts at converting me into the perfect lady, Dr. Walker finally gave up, and much to his disapproval, he began to train me with the guys as a warrior. I think as much as he wanted me to realize that I couldn’t do it, he was secretly just as pleased when I proved him wrong. I had no problem at all following the lessons that he was teaching the guys and the hard work he was putting them through; I kept up with the all of them. I trained with them and I learned with them. I knew everything that they did and then some. I worked hard so that I could run the front lines just like they did. As much as I knew that I hurt
Dr Walker with my fits and refusal to play nicely with the rest of the girls, I was sure that my determination and dedication would eventually earn his respect.

I was Catalina; the human that had enough characteristics to truly pass for one of them. I had the same ice blue eyes, even the dark blue streaks that shot into the pupils. Eyes that nightmares were made of, eyes of the predator that stalked you in the night. All the guys were forced to have streaked stained film surgically placed over their irises; a very painful surgery that I was lucky to have missed. The guys also had to wear contacts at all times in order to match the color perfectly. Even the women were to wear contacts, even when they were asleep, just in case they were ever spotted. The Dominus eyes with their perfect DNA were way more superior than any human could even dream of; they could see in the night and for miles. We couldn’t mimic th
at, but at least thanks to the Doc, we had the technology to look the same. 

         My similarities with these creatures didn’t end there. I had the same wavy hair and the same strong build as the females of the species. Weak, frail little sex symbols that the humans use to measure themselves against were something else that wa
s lost in the takeover. The women of the monster world could take care of themselves and you could tell that by looking at them; they screamed power. 

Just looking at me, there would be no reason for anyone to think that I wasn’t one of them and that fact in itself was a little unnerving. The only thing that I had to have added was, of course, the retractable fangs. They were not my own, but when they were drilled into my gums, the deal was sealed. I went from human to monster in no time at all. I was just as convincing as the males and then some, and most of the guys resented me for it. They had to work constantly to make sure that their mannerisms matched the monsters and for me it was natural, something that I never even had to think about. I was literally born to play this part and there was no way I was going to let Dr. Walker or any of the others take that away from me. Of course, while the guys hated me for the ease of my life, most of the girls hated the fact that I didn’t accept the role of baby factory as easily as they had. I don’t know if it was because they were jealous or because they had been so brainwashed that they thought it was disgusting to play with the big boys, but they never went out of their way to befriend me; in fact, for the most part I was completely avoided. I was truly the black sheep of our little family unit. Of course, in all fairness, the males were raised to see all women as helpless tiny little frail creatures that lived to serve their every want and need, and the girls were raised to live up to that expectation. I guess I was an enigma to all them.

          Other than Dr. Walker, the only other member of our group that actually acknowledged me for the first sixteen years of my life because they wanted to, and not because they felt that they had to, was Darien. Darien was the only one I was close to. He was my best friend, the only person that I have ever trusted; he was the most important person in my life. No matter how hurt I was by being the outsider, he was the only one that was allowed to see it; the only one allowed to see the almighty Catalina cry. Hell, he was the only one that deserved to see the real me. Darien was a pure heart with a deadly brain, he was as hell bent on revenge and just as fueled by hate as I was; we bonded on that. As we got a little older, some of the others accepted me to the point that they didn’t go out of their way to avoid me, but not all of them. The twins, Jaden and Jewel, thanks to Darien, eventually joined out little group of misfits, and there it is; they are the only three people that I consider friends now, other than them, and of course Dr. Walker, I am completely alone. Sometimes, you have to give up certain things in order to make your life what you want it to be. I had to give up the family bond that Dr. Walker so promptly promised me if I would just fall in line. There comes a time when you just have to be willing to decide what is more important to you and leave behind the things that stand in your way or hold you back from being yourself.

              It was nearly seven when Darien’s phone call woke me up, so dusk had already fallen, which meant that I was late as usual and would have to rush around like crazy to get ready. Lucky for me, I work better under pressure. Even luckier for me was the fact that Darien knew me well enough to know that I would not wake up on my own. “You know Cat, you wouldn’t be able to survive without me.” I could hear the smile on his face. 

“You are probably right, but on that note I would probably get to sleep more.” 

“Go get ready beautiful and I will see you tonight, and Cat try to stay out of trouble until I get to you.” With that he chuckled and hung up the phone. 

Tonight was the biggest Dominus social event of the year. The Midnight Masquerade was the one and only night that the low class Dominus could mingle with the ruling class. Everyone that was anyone would be there along with the nobodies that would give anything to be somebody. It was a night of desperation and imagination. Every year that I attend the event, I find myself thinking how sad it must be to be the rulers of the planet and still want to be something else. I mean they have everything, wealth, power, and the ability to abuse it all on a regular basis, and  they still want to go to the dance and be normal once a year, a place where no one will judge them, where no one will fear them, and where no one will go out of their way to avoid them. Some monsters are just so selfish.

Even though it was a night of fun, the ball, like every other Vampire thought up event, had rules. Everything had to be orderly, and what better way to achieve this than structuring everything. The three rules that went along with this function were pretty cut and dry and mainly for the women, not the men, to abide by. Rule number one: you didn’t remove your mask or disguise until the ball ended and you were in your private room with the man who selected you. Rule number two: never under any circumstances reveal your name or your identity. And rule number three: every woman had to drink. They had to get so drunk that they could barely stand; apparently the evening is more fun that way. The last rule is the one that bothered me most. In my line of work I can’t afford to be judgmentally impaired. Drinking could slow me down and make me run off with the wrong Dominus, to whom, with enough alcohol in my system, I could very well spill my every secret. I get very, very honest when there is alcohol in my blood. Every year it got harder and harder to convince Dr. Walker to let me go. The guys were not expected to drink as much; no one would think anything if they slowly sipped the night’s poison. Yet, every year, I fought my way into attendance. It was the biggest event of the year, and I know it really makes no sense, but I wouldn’t feel normal if I wasn’t there. It isn’t every day that you can pick and choose which monsters you are going to take your vengeance on. I am like a kid at a candy store at this event.

After a lot of convincing and begging, Dr. Walker gave into me just like he always does. I like to think that my father would have been like him, stern, smart but also understanding, loving and unable to tell me no. Being the smart man that he is, he’s always one step ahead of the crowd. He called a brief meeting to inform the guys exactly what my costume would be. So come midnight, when everyone paired up for one night of no strings attached sex, one of the guys would quickly attach themselves to me claiming me as theirs for the evening, ending our night there. To say the least, no one was jumping up and down at the thought of losing a night of hot drunk sex to protect me.  

I was glad that one of our guys was coming for me, I didn’t want the responsibility that the four that ventured out on their own for the night had.  It was very important that the guys that did get to spend the evening ridding the world of more hideous female monsters made sure that the female they chose wasn’t a power head, because just like any other war, it is statistically bad to take out the leaders of the enemy because then you have a lot of angry little monsters on your hands with no one to control them. So they had to make sure they were well aware of their surroundings at all times. That sounded like a lot of unwanted responsibly that would put a damper on my night of fun. I was a hard working girl; I deserved at least one night, right?