Uprising (44 page)

Many a girl lost her precious virtue to my charms. It was almost comical how easy it was to slip past those laced up knickers that they claimed were welded so tightly shut until a ring was placed on a certain finger.

Ha! Not for me!

I had no intentions of marrying, though I could have held on to my game. I just wasn’t interested. Then I died in a freak buggy accident and was absorbed by a Lighter trying to enter my body and take it over. I remember the darkness, the horrible pain of my life leaving my body as I floated, but I was stronger. I wouldn’t give up and I won. I remember the feeling of being invaded by others, more than one. I suddenly knew and understood everything.

The Taker can only come into the world when someone worthy and strong enough to handle him can be embodied. I was the Taker for a few years, I lost track. Those were the best years of my life. Then, some fool got a stroke of luck and was able to set the castle on fire while I slept. I didn’t make it and I remember, as I sat in the corner and burned, knowing I was dying and the fun was over, how truly pissed I was. Dead forever this time, at eighteen.

And now, here we are, 21
^st
century and America. What a dreary and ugly place. No rolling hills, no houses worthy of mention, no courts or balls or bath houses. Nothing of amusement. I blow out an exasperated breath and let my forehead rest against the cool window pane of the sitting room, let the memories of the Takers after and before me settle in. Let us see what these times might have to offer me.

I head into the master bedroom and look around. The clothes in the closet as well as the ones on my body are disgusting. Not just dirty but in fashion as well.

After I shower and put on some equally unfashionable attire from the closet, which I recognize now, everything is becoming clearer the more I relax and let the memories come in.

I head downstairs to find my service men lined up in the den. Waiting for me to address them. Waiting for the new course of action. I immediately begin to lay down the law. Letting them know I am no piddly Taker. I am
the
Taker.

“Out of my way fool,” I say to the one idiot half way blocking the doorway, though I had plenty of room to get through. He scrambles with apologies but I slap him across the face. Everyone stills. “I don’t want your sorry’s. I want your obedience. A simple ‘yes sir’ will do.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Now.” I turn to address the majority of them. “I am Malachi. I am your Taker and as far as you are concerned, there is no other. No past, no future, just me, here and now. I am back and I plan to stay. I know Crandle was very much interested in this human girl. This Sherry. I admire him, the man had taste. However, my plans do not include her unless she is to be my lunch or playmate. My plan is not to eliminate the humans. What purpose would that serve? My plan is to enslave them. They will work for us, do our bidding, become our brothers until every last Lighter has been given a new body and to feed and entertain me. Other than that, they are not to be destroyed and needlessly killed. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir,” a chorus rang out.

“Good. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not a human sympathizer. I don’t want them killed because they are of use to me. You don’t throw perfectly good...what are they called? Batteries? Yes, that’s it. You wouldn’t throw perfectly good batteries away now would you? No. And we won’t throw perfectly good humans away either. Only the ones who, after heavy persuasion, can’t be swayed will be eliminated. Now go. You know your jobs. We’ll meet with the enforcers tomorrow evening to hash out a further course of action.”

“Yes sir.”

As they walked out, I grabbed a particularly tall one.

“You. Where are the girls?”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“The ladies. The whores. The followers who want nothing more than to bang the Taker,” I explained and watch him scramble.

“Uh...I’m-,”

“Crandle didn’t have ladies for his pleasure?” I explained more slowly so he can understand.

He squinted and shook his head until...Light bulb!

“No, sir. He spent most of his efforts to find the human girl, Sherry.”

“What a waste. And a disgrace. Then again, maybe I should meet this Sherry after all and see if she’s worth all the trouble. Ok. You get me girls, now. At least three and they better be young and hot.” I couldn’t help it. I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. “It’s been a bloody long time. And I’m ready to play.”

Restoration

Polly and Piper were both taken down to their rooms and told to stay put. To emphasize that order we put someone there to watch the doors, as their rooms were across the hall from each other. Miguel was the first to pull watch duty, though he had no idea why. Most people didn’t know what had happened and I was glad to keep it that way.

Everyone was told as we convened for lunch that Piper and Polly had used Polly’s gifts on someone here to harm them and they were being held until it could be decided what to do with them. That was a good enough explanation for everyone.

Piper was also berated for a good long while about threatening her charge and a Special. Jeff and the others couldn’t seem to fathom how she could do that. She stayed silent and cried her angry tears and refused to further address anyone but Jeff didn’t give up.

“You can not harm, in any way, emotional, physical or otherwise anyone if this bunker or you will leave. Are we on the same page, Piper?” Jeff asked, not deflecting his tone.

“Who died and made you boss?”

“Piper...,” Jeff warned.

“Whatever,” Piper mutter.

Then Jeff turned to Polly.

“You will not use your gift on anyone is this bunker again or you will leave as well.”

“So not fair! I shouldn’t be held responsible-”

“Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Polly sneered and huffed.

She was upset too but for different reasons. She thought she should get off the hook completely because Piper ‘made’ her do it. The Keepers explained to her that it was her choice to participate and she should have gone to someone else for help instead of letting Piper sway her choices. She squealed in protest but eventually was taken back to her room by Miguel and Piper was escorted by Ryan.

The Keepers were all about choice.

And Piper and Polly could no longer be considered friends. I heard them yelling all the way down the hall as they made their way to their rooms.

“Don’t bump me,” Polly growled.

“You bumped me!”

“Stop being a brat. It’s not my fault you’re stuck here. You got me into trouble!”
“You’re the brat! And spoiled!”

“So!”

Afterwards, we finished lunch. Margo, who had finally come down sometime during all the drama, sullenly made the soup I had prepared last night and tonight I’d make ramen noodles. Mmm.

Merrick was still feeling guilty and walking around like he had something to apologize for. I assured him over and over that I was fine. He hadn’t
really
hurt me.

He had pushed me against the wall. Grabbed my arms. I think that’s where his biggest problem was. He had used physical force on me in anger, though he didn’t really have any control over it.

I decided it was time to put an end to his misery and hash it out, once and for all. I made sure Lily was with Marissa and Jeff before I retreated. They were just coming back from the hall where their room is and we were walking hand in hand. I asked them if they minded watching her for a while as I had to try to help Merrick get over this. They understood and Marissa apologized again for not believing me.

Lily went to them eagerly and they skipped off to the second room together.

I pulled Merrick to our room for a little R & R. Requite and Restoration. Requite for the love he’s always shown me and restoration of his feelings that I trust him and love him completely.

He came with me but reluctantly, he wanted to stay out where people could see us. Didn’t want to be alone with me, which I was some peeved about. He was afraid. If it had been so easy for Polly to do that before, she could do it again and make him hurt me for real he had said. But I knew he’d never hurt me.

“Sit,” I ordered him and locked the door behind me.

He sat down and I kneeled in front of him.

I explained how I knew there was something wrong the entire time he was angry with me. That I never doubted that he really loved me. That I knew something had to happen, to be resolved and was happy when it did.

He explained his feelings during it all. How he couldn’t believe how angry he was and was guilty for yelling at me but couldn’t do anything about it at the time. It overtook him. How he really and truly thought I could just leave him and move on because he wasn’t human and wasn’t good enough.

And that hurt me more than anything else he had to say or do.

“I can’t believe after everything we’ve been through together, you’d think that.”

“You’re better than me, Sherry. I believed it because it was believable. It’s not crazy to think that Cain could have had feelings for you. Your gorgeous and lovable, you’re sweet and you take care of everyone. I just assumed that someone else showed interest and finally you decided to act on it, this time.”

“That’s crazy! I’ve told you time and time again that that isn’t going to happen. I don’t know any other way to say it, Merrick!”

I was crying by this point, which he can’t stand. He is undone by my tears.

His face fell and he started to wipe them away with his thumbs.

“I’m sorry. Don’t you want me to be truthful?”

“Yes. Always. But I don’t want you to think
that
.”

“But, that’s how I feel,” he confessed as he pressed his head to mine.

“Listen to me.” I was upset now. Almost as upset as when he accused me to begin with because now he knew the truth and was still thinking that the day will come when I’ll leave him for someone else. I pulled back. “If I wanted someone else I wouldn’t be with you. There’s so little time left to waste it on something your heart’s not in. I love you and I swear if this doesn’t stop I’ll...I don’t know but I’m sick of it! There is no one else I want. Nothing else I want. How many times do we have to be together in this room? How many times do I have to tell you I love you? How many times do I have to marry you for that to be crystal clear?”

He seemed taken aback. I was yelling and he knew I was serious. I was scared too. Scared that I’d have to have this argument every month for the rest of my life, every time a semi cute new guy came into the bunker. I was not interested in that.

“I know you love me but, I just think that you didn’t date enough before all this and you had a bad experience. You haven’t experienced enough to see what’s out there and you’ll see something you didn’t even know you wanted in someone else later and that’ll be that.”

“Never. That’s the whole point in marriage, Merrick! You don’t get married until you find something better then get a divorce. You know, even if I did see something else I wanted, which I won’t, I promise you that, I would never act on it. The whole point of this ring I’m wearing,” I picked my hand up in front of him in the dark, knowing he could see it, “is to show people, ‘Hey, I’m married, back off’. I would never do what you saw me doing with Cain in that vision. Not with him, not anybody.”

“I know you think that now, but you can’t know what you’d do in the future.”

“Then why did you marry me?” I countered.

“Because I love you.”

“Then why can’t that be my reason? Who’s to say you won’t see something you like in another woman and leave me, huh?”

He snorted like that was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. It pushed me passed the boiling point. My heart rate and breathing were out of control and I snapped.

“Merrick! Stop it! I’m not the kind of person to do that to someone else,” I fought it but I burst into a sobbing mess, “and for you to have so little faith in me, hurts worse than anything. I’d rather you’d pushed me into a hundred walls than to say that to me.”

I got up to leave. Our first real fight, without compulsion, and I was walking out. I thought he was going to let me go, let me walk out and leave him there but no. Just as I reached the door handle and wretched it open he grabbed my upper arm and swung me around, kicking the door back closed with his foot. He pulled me to him and kissed me fiercely until I couldn’t breath nor think.

He moved me backwards to the wall and continued to kiss me, so deeply I thought I’d suffocate if he didn’t let up soon. But he didn’t and despite my feelings, I didn’t die. He lifted me up and pressed me into the wall, his hand caressed my face, my arm, my hair, while his body held me in place. My legs instinctively wrapped around him. Then he pulled back enough to gasp out his words to me.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured low into my hair and neck. “You’re right. Here you are, the sweetest thing to walk this planet and you’re mine and I can’t stop thinking about you not being mine. I’m sorry... It still just seems like a dream to me that you really want to be here with me. Maybe it’s the way this body reacts... I don’t know. It’s just so hard to accept that I could be what you really want, especially being a Keeper, not to mention be worthy of you.”