Page 83 of Elanie & the Empath
More tears fell. More tears than I thought it was possible to generate. Sem did listen to me. He always believed me. And I’d told him I wouldn’t go back. “I do.”
Locking his arms around me, Gol pulled me even closer as he tucked my head tightly under his chin. “Don’t be sad, Elanie. This is the way for us. Bionics are meant for bionics. We’re often drawn to organics, pulled in by their warmth, but it always ends the same way. I’ve seen it time and time again. I did have high hopes for you and Sem, though. Portisans are one of the few species who never used bionics for labor.” A low noise rumbled from his chest. “Not that they’ve ever raised a finger to help us.”
“What should I do?” I asked myself more than him. “He doesn’t want me to follow him, but I have to. I don’t want to be here without him. I can’t.”
“You can.” Gol’s thick finger tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. “If you really want to follow him, I won’t stop you. But I hope you won’t act rashly. I hope you’ll wait and sleep in Thura tonight.” Hooking that same finger under my chin, he tilted my eyes up to his. “I have seen you change here. You are becoming the bionic you were meant to be. You are becoming optimal. YouareThuran, Elanie. Don’t sacrifice this if you don’t have to. You have already sacrificed more than anyone ever should for the world of organics.”
When his lips brushed against my forehead, waves of confusion and exhaustion and finally anger broke against me. Sem was gone. He’d left me all alone. He’d left without even saying goodbye. Who did that sort of thing to someone they claimed to care about?
If he didn’t want me to follow him, I wouldn’t. He might have taken my heart with him, but I would keep my pride.
“Thank you, Gol.” I fought against the tremble in my voice. “I think I need some time alone now.”
When he stood, the bed groaned under his weight, the bed Sem and I used to share but would now be mine to sleep in alone.
Pointing his chin at Grover, Gol asked, “Would you like me to take the grint?”
Grover made an affronted squawk from his perch at the foot of the bed.
“No.” I rolled onto my side. “He can stay.”
Walking toward the door, Gol glanced back at me over his shoulder. “Hearts heal, Elanie. Pain is temporary. But freedom? Freedom is eternal.”
31.SEM
My cell was justbig enough to let me pace a few steps back and forth. Which was how I’d spent my first night in the underground, along with the entire following day and the day after that. Staring out through the bars of my cage, Ifeltthe prisoners down here toil. They made and mended clothes, pumped water up through the pipes, maintained the thermal generators, and managed the feedlots whose odiferous inhabitants I could smell all the way down the tunnel.
Having my empathy back was a double-edged sword. Being able to use one of my senses again was a relief, providing a laughable sense of normalcy, considering my situation. But I already missed the mental quiet of life with Elanie. I missed having to pay more attention, searching every beautiful facial expression for cues about how she felt. Down here, however, reading vibes was useful.
Nobody would talk to me. No matter how often I shouted, how hard I rattled my metal bars, how much profanity I used—and I was getting pretty creative with it—it was like I didn’t even exist. In fact, the onlyreaction I’d received since Lars had tossed me in this cell was an amused snort from a Delphinian after I’d called him Captain Crapface.
Despite my unpopularity, I’d pieced together my situation relatively quickly from the thoughts and emotions flowing from my fellow captives. I was obviously not the first non-bionic to arrive in Thura, but this subterranean shithole was where we all wound up. Though my sewer mates had come from all corners of the Known Universe, they were united in their resignation to this life of drudgery, each one pretending to be a happy little worker. But an undercurrent of fear ran through this place like the water through the pipes. Everyone else might have earned the right to leave their cages, but we were all prisoners here.
I had to give it to Gol. There was a symmetry to this world he’d created. Bionics living off the labor of non-bionics, living freely above while we worked in secret below. It was diabolical.
Speaking of the gigantic asshat…
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway leading to my cell, the sound causing every non-bionic within earshot to fall to their knees, their heads touching the dirt in reverence, their emotions going all watery.
I rolled my eyes.
Hauling his ridiculous bulk in front of my cell, his shoulders hunched since the ceilings were too low for him in this cesspit, Gol asked, “What do you think of your new home, Dr. Semson?”
“It’s super,” I replied brightly, wrangling my fury like it was a hydroshark writhing in my arms. “Clean and comfortable. Five stars. Where’s Elanie?” I asked, cutting to the chase. “Does she know I’m down here?”
Scrutinizing the non-bionics still on their knees aroundhim, Gol snarled in disgust. “She is safe in her hut. And she knows only the truth: that you decided you didn’t want to be with her anymore and left Thura of your own accord. Without saying goodbye.” As he noticed my devastation, his lips twitched. “She’s quite heartbroken.”
“You sick son of a bitch!” With an ineffective grunt, I hurled my shoulder into my cell door. “Let me out!”
Gol’s laughter vibrated through the floor, the bars, my chest. “You are a funny little blue man.”
“Fuck you,” I spat, cradling my throbbing and hopefully not dislocated shoulder. “So what? We’re your slaves down here?”
“Slaves?” Gol’s cold rage was palpable, even without empathy. “What do you know of slavery, Portisan? No, you are not slaves. You are merely Thura’s labor force. Paid in food and fair lodging, kept safe from the deadly blizzards of this hostile planet. I protect you. I give your lives meaning. I give you purpose. Is that not what the rest of the Known Universe claims to do for us?” He leaned toward my bars, his voice dropping as a brow arched. “Tell me, Doctor. Did you ever think of the bionics on your ship as slaves?”
“We don’t keep bionics in cages,” I shot back.
His head tilted, eyes narrowing. “Are you sure about that?”
