Page 47 of Phoenix Chosen 3

We walk for a few hours. Jackson’s questions fall quiet as the way becomes more and more difficult, and he struggles to manage the rugged terrain. At one point, he loses his balance and begins to slide down a steep hill, but Airos catches him by creating a dirt speedbump. We’re all exhausted. I’m a dozen feet above them, clinging to a tree trunk, trying to catch my breath. Airos quickly goes down to Jackson and helps him up to his feet.

“This march would be nothing if I wasn’t implanted,” says Jackson. “I’d be fuckin’ flying down this hill.”

“Kalistratos, are we still on course?” Airos calls.

“Almost there,” he says.

I lean in and quietly ask, “Really almost there? Or kind of almost there?”

He gives me a wry smile and doesn’t say anything.

We don’t reach our destination until sundown. The smell is what tells us we’re close—a tantalizing, complex aroma both delicious and disgusting; hearths, cook-fires, incense, livestock, and sewage. The odors of Circeana are like everything I’m used to on Earth dialed up to eleven, with even more on top. Not to mention, a shower is few and far between. I don’t mind it, though. I’ve gotten used to it. That said, I remember the hideout has natural hot spring baths around it, and I can’t wait to dunk my crusty self into one of them.

The forest ends, revealing rocky hills surrounding Aelonos below, which twinkles with firelight and a surprising amount of nighttime bustle. Kalistratos leads us along a hidden path weaving amongst the stunning rock formations that make up the hillside. Mountain goats watch from precarious perches and hop away when we get too close, little trickles of pebbles clattering down in the wake. And then we’re finally at the mouth of the cave Kalistratos had used as a hideout.

He holds up his palm, silently telling us to wait, and he and Airos cautiously proceed inside, staff and sword ready.

“I keep asking myself, why couldn’t I have been carrying when I was abducted,” Jackson whispers to me. “My Sig would’ve gone a long way here.”

“At least you have that backpack. I had nothing.”

“Sheesh, man. Must’ve been wild. What were those first few days like? How did you take care of yourself?”

“I got captured immediately,” I begrudgingly admit to him. “Nearly got trafficked.”

“Let me guess, the frogs?”

“How’d you know?”

“I’ve dealt with their kind before,” he says. “Picked up on the tell-tale signs real quick the first time I scoped out the town. How’d you get away?”

“Kalistratos,” I say. “And he almost left me behind, that asshole.”

I realize I’m smiling. Those were fucking crazy times. It’s hard to believe how fast everything has happened.

Jackson cocks his head. “So, uh, personal question. You and Kalistratos… You guys are…?”

I nod. “Partners. Mates.”

“Right, that’s what they call it here,” he says. He crosses his arms over his chest, shifting from one foot to the other, beforeawkwardly scratching his neck. “A lot of, uh, alternative family structures in this place.”

I’m confused. Jackson’s body language is all too familiar. He looks like a dude who’s just realized he’s accidentally come to the club on gay night.

“Yeah,” I say. “Shocked me too. Men like us are called omegas. Guys like Kalistratos and Airos are called alphas. They’re the ones who can get omegas pregnant.”

Jackson holds up his hands and recoils like I’ve just slapped him in the face. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. This little alien implant thing… I came here like this. No onegotme…” He struggles to say the word.

“Pregnant,” I fill in.

“I ain’t gay, alright?”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“What do I mean? I mean I’m not gay.” He laughs. “I have no problem with gay people, by the way. But just because I’m a Chosen whatever, doesn’t mean I’m gay.”

I’m stunned, but before I can get my brain working again and come up with a response, a family of startled rats comes scurrying out from the mouth of the cave, squeaking as they scatter and run past us. Airos appears after them.

“Aside from the rodents, it’s empty,” he says. “Come on.”

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