Chapter 03

 

(07/03/06 0230 Bog Walk, Tropic League)

            A twee is a collection of genetically engineered nerves that essentially forms a secondary neural net inside a living brain, although that is in and of itself a simplistic explanation. Only the design team that built the first one really understood them.

            It adapts itself to its host, adopting a personality that complements the host’s and aids the host in survival related activities. For a child, it functions as the one friend who will never hurt it and, as the child grows it assists that child in developing a healthy personality. Note that the personality which results is what is healthiest for the host, and not one that society would necessarily want the individual to have. While a true parasite, in many ways it is a separate organism and can, at times and if certain permissions are allowed, take control of the body to preserve it. It also monitors the body and mind and can, over short distances, communicate with other twees and communication devices.

            Caradoc was asleep with Naomi curled up in his arms. His twee noted some new activity in the portion of the cortex that involves psychic abilities and began to investigate. This was interesting since the leadership of the family he came from had never been interested in breeding for psychic abilities and, for the vast majority of them, that portion of the mind would forever be dormant. Such was the case for Caradoc. He was not a psychic and only an external source could cause any sort of change in that portion of Caradoc’s brain.

            The twee found signs of such an external force acting on the brain of its host. There were signs that his miniscule tendencies towards telepathy were being amplified, if only in a very limited manner. It did not appear life threatening and so the twee elected to monitor the developments. It also made a note to report these changes to the only medical facility on this world that could possibly discover what was going on when they returned to Haven.

            It did not feel, at this time, that Caradoc needed to know what was happening. Perhaps it might have made a different decision had it known that at that very instant, Naomi and Caradoc were both in REM sleep and that their eye movements and twitches matched exactly. But there was no way for it to know that, since it could not access Naomi’s mind and Caradoc’s eyes were closed.

 

(07/03/06 0600 Bog Walk, Tropic League)

            Caradoc opened his eyes and frowned at the ceiling of his shack. He glanced down as Naomi stretched against him and smiled. ‘Time to rise.”

            She pushed upright and looked at him. “How do you know what time it is, sir?”

            “I’ve got a very good internal clock.” He frowned, thinking about the dream he’d had. It had been so vivid and it had involved Naomi in some kind of pitched battle. Absently he watched as she dressed and went outside. Then he dipped a rag in a bucket and gave himself a quick wash before dressing and following her out the door.

            The trees and other fruit bearing plants had been organized into neat rows and any extra plants had been cut down. Even the berry bushes had been organized and all were now flourishing. New furrows had been dug and vegetable seedlings were visible in every row, pushing towards the sun.

            Nancy walked along the rows, looking for weeds. She glanced up and waved at him. He waved back and she returned to her duties.

            “Master, they are adapting well here.”

            “We don’t treat them like vermin. Couple that with the fact that they eat better out here than anyone in town does and I’d be friendly too.”

            “Sir, they do know not to tell anyone, right?”

            “If they don’t, then their rations will get cut when their food gets confiscated.” Caradoc shrugged. “That would be annoying, but it would be their fault and they’d have to live with it.”

            “What about us?”

            He snorted. “We live next to the river. We’ll be fine. We can always catch fish and plant secret berry patches.”

            ‘Yes, sir.” Naomi turned to watch Nancy. “They’re not stupid, sir. They won’t betray what we have here.”

            “I hope not, but maybe you should start a couple of hidden berry patches just in case.”

            The elf smiled at him. “As you command, sir.”

            About an hour later, Naomi slid her bow off of her shoulder. “A flying pokegirl is coming.”

            Caradoc looked in the direction she was facing. “As soon as you know it’s not one of ours, sound the warning so Nancy can get to cover.”

            The elf nodded and smiled. “It’s Rachel.” Caradoc noted that she didn’t relax and her bow remained in her hands as the rack crested some trees and headed in their direction.

            “You worried she’ll attack?”

            “Merely cautious, sir. She is not your pokegirl and therefore isn’t to be completely trusted.”

            Caradoc considered that statement as Rachel stalled and dropped to the ground a few meters away. “That’s a healthy way to look at things. Considering my recent luck, keep working with that supposition.”

            The rack came to attention. “Tamer Bishop, your presence is required at Master Manley’s residence right after dinner.”

            Caradoc checked his watch and looked up. “When does Mr. Manley take his meal?”

            Rachel blinked. “Seven sharp, sir.”

            “What time do you recommend we arrive?”

            She gave him a startled look and then nodded slowly. “I’d suggest arriving around eight, sir.”

            “Why do you and Kathy do that?”

            “Sir?”

            “Whenever I seek advice from someone who knows the situation better than I do or when I express basic politeness, both of you respond it’s something that never happened before.”

            The rack glanced at Naomi before giving him a guarded look. “Sir, may I request that you do not repeat my response to others?”

            “I won’t.”

            Rachel took a deep breath. “Thank you, sir, even if you just lied to me.”

            “I don’t have any reason to, especially if, as it sounds from your request, you could get in trouble from it.” He smiled thinly. “I suspect that if I break faith with you, word will somehow get around and I’ll no longer be trusted by pokegirls, which I would then deserve. If I keep faith with you, than perhaps they’ll trust me a little more. I’d prefer that.”

            Rachel blinked. “You’re doing it again, sir.”

            Now it was his turn to look confused. “I’m doing what?”

            “Treating me like I’m a human.” A slight smile appeared as his expression grew more puzzled. “Sir, we pokegirls were created by Sukebe and so we’re not considered human. We fought humans, and killed them, sir; that is a fact that the men will never forget, nor will they ever let us forget it. I know they’re using it to justify teaching their children to treat us the same way and to believe that we’re subhuman. In addition, we’re a conquered people and we’re always reminded of that fact. We have no protection under the law and our owner, or tamer if you will, can do whatever he wants to with us.” She hesitated for a few seconds and then obviously steeled herself. “Just like the law protects your abuse of Naomi.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            The rack pointed at the new teeth marks on the elf’s neck. “That, sir,” she said simply.

            Naomi marched forward and glared up at the rack. “I like him biting me during sex and you stay out of this, bird.”

            Rachel flushed. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.”

            Caradoc took Naomi’s wrist and guided her back to where she’d been. “It’s ok, Rachel. You were merely pointing out what others probably think too. You couldn’t know that the biting was something between two consenting adults.”

            “There you go again, sir, treating me like I matter. That’s why we get startled by it; it’s not the way the other tamers treat us and it’s not the way the civilians treat us.” She started to say something else and halted.

            Bishop nodded understandingly. “It’s not the way Manley treats you either, is it?”

            Rachel looked away. “No, sir, he treats us well.”

            Caradoc accepted the half truth. Compared to the others, John undoubtedly did. However, her and Kathy’s surprise when they were around him confirmed that they were not treated as he treated Naomi. “I know he does. We’ll be there around eight tonight. Please let John know when we’ll be showing up.”

            Rachel hesitated. “I’m not sure if his invitation includes Naomi, sir. He prefers to deal with his tamers without their pokegirls. It reinforces his authority.”

            “I learned my lesson about wandering around without Naomi when that whorizard showed up. She’s coming with me. Feel free to tell him so he can be annoyed at me for disobeying your suggestion instead of him being upset at you for not volunteering the information.”

            A smile flickered around the rack’s lips. “Thank you, sir. I certainly shall. Good day, sir.” She turned and trotted several steps away before spreading her wings and taking to the air.

            “Are you interested in her, sir?”

            “She’s an ok person, but that’s all she’ll ever be.” Caradoc grinned. “I wouldn’t want to bed her.”

            “Good. I’m your woman and your alpha and I wouldn’t like her in the harem.”

            He gave her an amused look. “Well, we can’t have that; now can we?”

            She grinned back. “No, sir, we can’t.” She glanced at the sky where the rack was flying away. “She’s right, sir, you do treat me differently from others. Even Amelia and her children are frightened of me to a degree, while the other tamers think you’re spoiling me.”

            “I don’t care what other people think. You’re my woman and therefore only your opinion of how you’re treated here matters. I’d certainly speak up if I didn’t like the way you treated me.”

            She smirked. “Yes, sir. I remember our discussion over the fact that you believe I say sir and master to you way too often. However, sir, I want to, so you lose that one.”

            “It’s actually for the best since John mentioned during one of our meetings that the leagues are making it mandatory. I guess that helps to keep pokegirls oppressed.” Caradoc glanced at her. “Am I oppressing you?”

            “No, sir, you are not.”

            “It’s probably unseemly that I’m not setting the proper example for Richard and Nancy.” He shrugged. “So be it.”

 

(07/03/06 2000 Bog Walk, Tropic League)

            Manley was not in a good mood. “You’re late, Bishop.”

            Caradoc looked at his watch. “Mine says eight.”

            “Mine says 8:10.”

            Bishop folded his arms. “Ok. I’m late, Mr. Manley.”

            “Why?”

            “I didn’t know your watch was ten minutes fast.”

            “You should have arrived early.”

            “Mr. Manley, I’m own a farm and right now I’m setting it up. There aren’t enough hours in the day as it is and I’m not going to waste my time cooling my heels while waiting for you to finish your meal.”

            “I don’t like your attitude.”

            Caradoc shook his head. “There’s a reason I didn’t go into a formal military environment. I’m too much of a loner. Now, if you told me the real reason you’re in a bad mood instead of taking it out on me, perhaps I can help you to resolve it.”

            “I have to send you to Montego Bay. They want information on the Great Grape as well as seeds and cuttings. They also want your expertise.”

            “With all due respect, considering the opinions your other tamers have of me, that should be an occasion for celebration, not one of you being angry,” Caradoc observed wryly.

            John’s lips twitched as if he were fighting a smile. “Trust me, for them it is.” He sighed and waved at a chair. “Sit, Bishop.” He glanced at Naomi. “You had to bring her in defiance of my authority, didn’t you?”

            “The last time I was without her I almost got eaten by a whorizard. I’m not flaunting your authority, Mr. Manley. I’m protecting my skin.”

            “Perhaps you’re right.” Manley sank into his chair and stared into the darkness for several moments before speaking again. “I don’t particularly like the way you behave as a tamer, but you’ve got a lot of good ideas and you’ve shaken things up among the tamers, including me. Sometimes we forget that the war isn’t really over.” He shot Caradoc a look. “It won’t be until the last feral is caught.”

            Caradoc gave him a grim look back. “Considering the population and the state of the world, then your war will last for generations, and that’s if it ever truly ends. The ferals don’t need anything to increase their numbers and we need pokegirls to fight the ferals. We’ll be breeding our own before it’s all done.”

            John’s expression turned tired. “I know and I hate that thought.”

            “You have to live in the world that exists, not one you can’t wish into existence.”

            “Bishop, you remind me of the slave that rode with the new Roman Emperors to remind him that all things end. I never liked him.”

            “This isn’t an end, Mr. Manley, it’s a beginning.”

            Manley looked at him. “When we’re in private, you can call me John.”

            Rachel’s eyes went wide.

            “Very well, John. I am coming back. I’m a landowner here and I like my farm.”

            “The lure of the city can be very seductive and they’ll probably try to get you to stay.”

            “I’ve been in cities. They don’t have anything I can’t live without.” Caradoc flashed a quick grin. “In fact, it’s the other way around. They need the farmers or they’ll have to start learning how to grow food.” He sobered. “When do I have to leave?”

            “I’ve got some latitude about that, so you can take a couple of days to put your affairs in order. Amelia and her kids will take care of the farm for you while you’re gone.”

            “Thanks. If they’ve got other berry plants there, I’ll see if I can get seeds to bring back. The other berries have medicinal uses too.”

            Manley snorted. “Please bring back anything that isn’t nailed down. We need everything.” He sighed. “And we need fabric. Livestock are very scarce and a flock of some kind of ferals hit the sheep we’d saved. We lost most of the herd.”

            “I’m sorry to hear of the loss, but I can’t carry that much.”

            “I know. I just have a list of things that we need.” Manley smiled tiredly. “It’s a very long list. Bring back what you can. Most importantly, come back. There are reports that feral activity is on the upswing and I’ll need all the help I can get. Your covering the river has freed us up to patrol the area more aggressively and I need that kind of mobility.”

            “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

            Manley grimaced. “Do that. When you get there, you’ll need to speak to the regional commander. I’m not sure who that is anymore. It was Commander Wainger, but I understand he’s been transferred to the Navy.”

            Caradoc rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ll ask around when I get there.”

 

(07/04/06 0800 Bog Walk, Tropic League)

            Amelia favored him with an unhappy stare. “You will be coming back, right?”

            “That’s the intent. We’ve looked over the maps and it looks like it’ll be roughly three days to Montego Bay. Hopefully we’ll only be there for a day, so we should be gone a week or maybe two at the most.”

            “If we get killed while you’re gone, I’ll haunt you.”

            Naomi bristled until he waved her down. “Trust me when I say we’ll come back as soon as we can. I don’t want you getting ideas that you own my land.”

            Amelia snorted. “If you’re gone too long, I’m sure Manley will move someone else out here. You’ve got a bumper crop coming along and he wants it. If I was left alone, he’d be worried I’d poison his food.” She muttered something under her breath that he didn’t bother trying to hear.

            Nancy apparently heard it for she gave him a worried look and patted her mother on the back. “Don’t talk like that, he might find out and then Richard and I would be alone.”

            Amelia gave Caradoc a blunt look. “Well, are you going to tell him that I’m talking treason?” Nancy gasped.

            “Talk is just that, talk. Where I come from, people are free to say what they want. However, if you start stockpiling explosives, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t do it near my crops. In fact, I’d prefer that it couldn’t be linked back to me at all, so hide them off of my land.”

            Amelia chuckled as Nancy whipped around to stare at him. “When are you leaving?”

            “In two days. I’ve got to gather some stuff and we’ll take some of the dried fish with us, so Naomi and I will be catching more to make up the loss.”

            “Good. If you don’t come back we’ll need everything we’ve got.” Amelia touched his hand. “Come back. I’m having enough trouble getting used to the idea that not all tamers are scum. I don’t want the only good one I know to get killed.”

            Naomi nodded seriously. “I’ll keep him safe, Miss Henry.”

            “I’ll hold you to that.” She looked Caradoc up and down. “He’s too young for me, but Nancy will need a husband someday.”

            “MOTHER!” Nancy fled, her face flaming.

            Amelia watched her go. “I know she has to be tested next year,” she said quietly. “Is it evil of me that I hope she’s infertile? I don’t want to lose her too.”

            “It would be better for you if she wasn’t fertile, but better for humanity if she was.”

            “What do I care about humanity?” Her voice was bitter. “My husband died during the plagues, along with my brother’s whole family. Ken became my rock and then those bastards took him from me. They’re not getting her too.”

            “What about Richard?” Caradoc’s tone was even, but her face twisted anyways. “They may want him to become a tamer. Depending on how progressive they’re feeling, if Nancy is infertile they may want her to become one as well.”

            “Never!”

            “Richard won’t have much access to women and the lure of sex is a powerful one. Do you think he’ll go without? Pokegirl beauty spans the spectrum and he’s going to find some of them quite acceptable.” His eyes met hers. “You’ve seen the way he looks at Naomi.”

            “Can he have children with them?”

            There are existing reports of pokewomen in Indigo and Sunshine. Some of them have had human children. Telling her the truth is justifiable at this point.

            “I’ve heard rumors that older pokegirls can.”

            Amelia looked nervously at him. “May I ask you for a favor?” She took a deep breath when he nodded. “When you go on this trip, would you bring me back a bible? I need to seek guidance and I wasn’t allowed to bring mine.”

            “As long as you don’t mind that it might be used, I’ll be glad to bring one back for you.”

            “Thank you, Caradoc. God knows I need one and he’ll provide you with one that won’t darken your soul in the taking.” She cocked her head curiously. “Are you a Christian?”

            “No. I worship another god.”

            “Oh.” She seemed disappointed. “Maybe someday we can talk about religion.”

            “I will if you want,” Caradoc pushed to his feet, “but not today.”

 

(07/04/06 1930 Bog Walk, Tropic League)

            Caradoc lifted the bar into place and turned around to see a wet elf waver and appear as she dropped her fade. He noted the bright yellow hair and corrected his identification to wet queen. She smiled at him. “Hello, Bishop.”

            Naomi had been getting some water and lunged for her bow. In an instant it was up and leveled at the strange pokegirl. Caradoc interposed himself between the two pokegirls. “Naomi, she’s not here to cause trouble.” Then he spoke to the wet queen. “If you try to hurt her, I’m done forever and you can tell Shikarou to go to hell.”

            The wet queen shrugged off a pokepack. “I’m not here to fight. I’ve got the supplies you were issued.” She began releasing things from her waterproof pokepack. “I’ve already planted the primary transmitter in the riverbank. You can go there to make your reports.” She held up a bag. “Here are seeds for the three other kinds of berry.” The bag got tossed at him. “I’d suggest planting them as soon as possible, although I’ve been assured that they’re in some kind of dormant state that can last for years.” She held up a box with a transparent lid. Inside could be seen several small black objects. “I didn’t know that you already had a pokegirl, but these are some general T2s for your harem. They’re the reusable kind, not one shot items.” She put it down and a small book appeared in her hands. “I’ve been told that this contains recipes for the various potions that can be made from berries. I can’t read it, so I don’t know it that’s true or not. It probably is.”

            She looked over at him. “I’ve also got a selection of firearms and ammunition. Once you pick the one you want …”

            He interrupted. “Tamers here don’t use guns, so I can’t get any. Only select units have them.”

            “Your loss.” The elf hoisted the pack onto her shoulders. “Any requests?”

            “Don’t come to my house again. You might be seen.”

            “That is very unlikely. If you need something, use the transmitter to ask for it. Now open the door and go take a leak or something so I can leave. I do not want to spend all night here or watch the two of you tame.” She faded from view.

            Naomi unlocked and opened the door. She headed outside and came back a little while later with vine that she draped over the door. He felt that prickling on the back of his neck he’d felt when she was getting her bow as it burrowed into the wall. Leaves sprouted and with incredible speed it grew around the room in a thin line, sending runners down every window opening and around the door. “There, now I’ll know if someone is in here and invisible or otherwise hidden.”

            Then she turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes. “Master, may I know what is going on?”

            Caradoc looked at her for several seconds before making the decision. “You’re my pokegirl, so yes.” He settled down on their pallet and looked up. “Join me?” Naomi dropped down and curled up against him as he considered what to tell her. “You don’t know about a lot of what I’m going to tell you since you’ve been asleep for a while. Are you aware that the old countries no longer exist?”

            She frowned. “No.”

            “They were replaced by the leagues seven years ago. This is the island of Jamaica and it’s now part of the Tropical League.”

            “Jamaica. So that’s where they brought me.” She smiled at his questioning look. “After my unit broke up, I made my way to a military camp. When the camp dissolved, the commander had some teleport capable pokegirls scatter everyone all over the planet, according to some orders she’d received. That’s how I came to be here with my sisters.”

            Caradoc frowned as the memories of that strange dream drifted to the surface. He forced them away. “I see. Are you familiar with the geography of the region?”

            “No, sir, I’m not.”

            “Well, almost due north here is another island that the Tropic League calls Cuba. It was given to the league by the same body that divided up the world to the others. However, that island has been claimed by a third group, who call it Haven. The political organization there is a kingdom, The Kingdom of Haven to be precise. Are you with me so far?”

            She nodded. “I understand the difference between kingdoms and democracies. Communist countries are a bit harder to understand.”

            “I don’t know anything about them,” he confessed. “Up until the Havens showed up, their island was completely empty of people. They all died during the plagues. The Tropic League found out about the Kingdom of Haven when they sent an expedition to Haven. Its purpose was to set up a colony there. Haven has some valuable resources that the Tropic League wants.”

            “What are they?”

            “I don’t know the whole list, but one of the big reasons is Haven has exploitable oil resources somewhere offshore. They still use oil here for a lot of things.”

            “Here? They don’t somewhere else.”

            Caradoc froze for an instant. “I really can’t discuss that right now.”

            “Yes, sir.”

            “The kingdom captured this expedition and kept most of them for themselves, making them citizens of Haven.”

            “How did they feel about this?”

            “Apparently most of them are sheep, but their life in the kingdom is better than their life in the league. The king offered them the opportunity to return to the Tropic League and almost all of them chose to stay in Haven.”

            “Sir, what does this have to do with you?”

            “The king is concerned about what the Tropic League might be planning in way of retribution. He sent me to find out what they’re doing.”

            Naomi cocked her head. “We’re spies.”

            “Yes, we are. That’s why I’m looking forward to this trip. Montego Bay has a large military force and we’re going to look them over before coming back here.”

            “How long are we going to stay in the league?”

            “We could be here for years. It all depends on what we find out. I’m more of a sleeper agent than a deep cover one. Still, I’ll report what I find as long as I don’t have to break cover to do it.”

            She watched him for a moment. “You think the king has other agents here, master.”

            “I would, and I think he does too.”

            “But we’re on our own here and we’ll never know who any others might be.” It wasn’t a question.

            “That’s right. As far as we’re concerned, we’re the only agents in the Tropic League.”

            She snuggled closer. “Sir, this is a lot of information.”

            “That’s why we’re not going to discuss anything more until you’ve had time to think about what I’ve said.”           

            “Thank you, sir.”

 

(07/06/06 0630 Bog Walk, Tropic League)

            Caradoc looked at Naomi and sighed. “We have a problem.” He smiled when her bow slid off of her shoulder. “No, it’s not that kind of problem. We never made a way to lock our home from outside.”

            The elf stared at him before looking at the door. She chuckled. “Sir, we’ve never had to before.” Her chuckles became a low laugh. “I guess our trip is over before it begins. Will we have to tell Mr. Manley that we can’t go?”

            He shrugged off his pack as he laughed too. “I don’t think that would be an acceptable reason to avoid the trip. Besides, we want to go.” He went inside and Naomi watched as he shut the door. She cocked her head when she heard the bar thump into place and snickered when he clambered out the window.

            “Will that stop anyone?” She handed him his pack.

            “It might stop a feral pokegirl, but no, not anyone else. Richard or Nancy can crawl through the window if they need anything from the house.” He slid the pack on and shrugged it into place.

            Naomi frowned. “Sir, I’m the pokegirl. Why aren’t I carrying that heavy pack?” She was wearing a fanny pack and canteen they’d found.

            “We’ve already had this discussion. It’s a suitable division of labor, since you have to be able to use your bow without warning. I’m only carrying a knife, so I get the pack. Now, let’s find the A1.”

            “Yes, sir.”

            The plan was to follow the A1 north and shift over to the B11 when it split off a little north of the ruins of a community called Claremont. The B11 would take them through more ruins, including Browns Town, before turning northerly and rejoining the A1 at Falmouth, which may or may not still be abandoned. John had heard a rumor that it was being resettled, but it was only a rumor.

            Most of the road was in decent condition and they made good time, finally stopping for the night in Claremont. Naomi searched the house they’d selected while her tamer remained nearby.

            She appeared in the doorway. “It’s clear. Are we making a fire, sir?”

            “No, we’ll make a cold camp. I don’t want to light a beacon for the ferals.”

            Once inside, Naomi watched as he searched the house. “Sir, what are you looking for?”

            “Valuables like gold or jewelry. We won’t have any money when we get to Montego Bay, and gold is always tradable, unless the government has banned its private ownership.”

            “Can I help, sir?”

            “I’d appreciate it very much if you did.”

            When the valuables had been tucked into his pack, he frowned. “I want to check out the nearby houses too. What do you think?”

            She gave him a serious look. “Will you let me clear the house before you go in?”

            “Of course I will.”

            “Then, sir, any house is as good as any other to sleep in. We’ll spend the night in the last house we search.”

            Caradoc nodded. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

            They quickly explored three other houses, taking the small valuables in each one. Caradoc also found a Bible, still in brittle shrink wrap. It quickly went into the pack.

            At the fourth house. Naomi came back outside quickly. “Sir, there’s a pokegirl in the house, but she’s sick.” The elf made a face. “Very sick.”

            “I didn’t know pokegirls got sick.”

            The elf shrugged. “It’s kind of rare, but sometimes we do. I’ve never seen this illness before, sir.” She rubbed her bow absently. “I don’t think she’s in any condition to hurt you. Do you want to see her or should I put her out of her misery?”
            Caradoc considered it for a couple of seconds. I have never heard of an ill pokegirl and I wasn’t given information on any records from Haven. I would like to see this.

            “I think that seeing her might prove informative.”

            Naomi nodded and led him inside.

            The pokegirl was in one of the bedrooms, where she was lying on a bundle of old bedding that was soaked with sweat and fluids. The air stank of vinegar. The pokegirl was coal black, except for her matted red hair. She facing away from them, lying on her side and moaning softly in pain.

            In Caradoc’s vision, an orange mesh framework superimposed itself over the pokegirl body, tracing her form. I am unsure of what pokegirl breed this is. It could be a couple of species but nothing matches with 90 percent or greater accuracy. The body proportions are strangely altered. Please move so I can see her from the front. The mesh vanished.

            Naomi nudged him. “See what I mean?” She blinked when he headed into the room. “Wait, I can’t protect you if you get between me and her.”

            “Then you’d better move faster.” Caradoc moved around the edge of the room in case the pokegirl attacked him. He moved around her so that he was looking up from her feet and leaned over. Naomi hurried after.

            The pokegirl was coal black on this side too. She opened bright red eyes and hissed at him tiredly, but otherwise didn’t move. Her stomach was hugely distended and as he watched, it seemed to ripple. The pokegirl’s eyes squeezed shut and she moaned again.

            She is a nightmare. At least I think so.

            Naomi stared. “What’s wrong with her?”

            Caradoc turned to the elf. “I need you to take her shoulders and help me put her on her back. I’ll get the legs.”

            The elf gave him a shocked look. “You want to fuck that? She’s dying.”

            “No, she’s giving birth and it looks like something is wrong. Help me.” He dropped the backpack and hurried forward.

            Naomi rushed around to the nightmare’s head. “This is giving birth? This is nasty.”

            “Sometimes it is.” Caradoc looked at her. “Ok, I’ll get her attention and then we’ll roll her flat.” Before Naomi could say anything, he smacked the nightmare on the ball of her foot. “Hey!”

            Her eyes shot open in shock just as her belly rippled again and she cried out. Naomi grabbed the nightmare’s shoulders and pushed her onto her back as Caradoc took the pokegirl’s ankles and did the same. She struggled weakly, but was too tired to fight much as she was rolled onto her back.

            She struggled more when he slid a hand carefully inside her and felt around. He pulled it out and ran his hands over her belly. “Ok, it feels like the baby is hung up. I’m going to try something.” He stopped when the nightmare kicked feebly at him and slapped her inner thighs hard. “Stop that!” She froze. “I’m not going to hurt you unless you fight me.” He kept his tone warm and even. Her eyes stayed locked with his until her stomach rippled again and she moaned.

            He glanced up at Naomi. “Ok, now I’m going to try something.” Carefully he felt the lower portion of the nightmare’s abdomen. Finally he pressed down on one spot with the palm of his hand as she moaned again.

            The nightmare’s eyes popped open and she tried to sit up as she whined loudly. Caradoc nodded. “That might not feel better, but at least it felt different, right?” She looked at him uncomprehendingly and he sighed. “This whole feral thing is still really odd. At least she seems to know we want to help.”

            Naomi shook her head in disagreement. “She’s exhausted or I’d have already had to kill her.”

            The nightmare leaned up and groaned as she pushed. Caradoc smiled satisfactorily. “The baby is crowning. It’s moving again.”

            “What do we do now?”

            “All we can do now is wait. I can’t communicate with her, so I can’t coach her through the delivery.”

            “You know a lot about this, sir.”

            “It’s part of training for adulthood where I come from. Things happen and women always seem to want to give birth away from any medical care.”

            She eyed him thoughtfully. “Americans don’t school their kids in childbirth, do they, sir?”

            He shook his head as the nightmare pushed again. “No, they don’t.” He checked the baby’s progress. “Ok, it’ll be born soon enough. Everything else seems ok.”

            In a little while, he was wiping a black newborn off with a strip from a sheet. He looked the child over as she began hiccupping. “She’s fine.”

            The nightmare made an unhappy noise and tried to reach her baby. Caradoc carefully handed the infant over and watched the nightmare figure out how to feed her child. “Ok, we’re pretty much done here. Naomi, give her a great grape and we’ll leave before she decides to get ornery.”

            Naomi pulled a berry from her fanny pack and held it in front of the nightmare. The feral pokegirl sniffed it and carefully took it from the elf. Then she quickly ate it, sighing with pleasure as it healed her injuries from the delivery. She perked up a bit and sat up, cradling her newborn so it could still feed as she watched them leave the room.

            “Sir, I thought babies were supposed to be cute. That thing is really ugly.”

            “Babies are cute. Newborns, on the other hand, have just been squeezed through a hole smaller than they are and it shows. She’ll get better looking in a couple of hours.”

            “Oh, I see. Where to, sir?”

            Caradoc frowned. “I’d like to stay here so we could protect her until she recovers, but that would be foolish since she’s likely to be more dangerous to us then they might. We’ll pick another house and sleep there.”

            “One far away, I hope, sir.”

            “That sounds good. Lead the way, please.”

            Naomi led them to an empty house on the other side of town. “If the blood and urine smells draw ferals, they won’t come this way.”

            “Ok. Clear the house and we’ll settle down for the night.”

            The next morning they were gone before daybreak. They pushed hard and as night fell they entered the ruins of Falmouth. Naomi looked at her tamer. “Want to get the valuables out of some of the houses before we go to bed?”

            “Yes. We did well yesterday, but more can’t hurt. In the morning we’ll divvy everything up so you can hide some of it on your person.”

            “Why would we do that, sir?”

            “Even if it’s legal to possess, they might try to confiscate some or all of it. A lot of governments think it’s their right to steal from its own citizens. Sometimes it’s called taxes, tribute or duty, but theft it remains.”

            “Humans have strange rules.”

            “I’ll agree to that.”

            “How does it work where you come from, sir?”

            “If I use a service, I pay a fee for it. If the government doesn’t collect enough fees from that service, they stop offering it.”

            “Is that better?”

            “I think it is.”

            After gleaning the valuables of several houses, they picked one and barricaded themselves in a room before going to bed. About one in the morning his twee prodded him awake. Wake up but do not move. Something is wrong.

            Caradoc kept his eyes closed and listened as he took deep breaths and sampled the air. He heard an odd liquid noise and frowned as he tried to place it. It came again and this time he was able to roughly locate it as across the room from him and Naomi. He opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

            The stars in the night gave him enough light to see by and he immediately focused on the dark shadow against the far wall. It moved and that liquid noise came again.

            Caradoc gripped Naomi tightly and threw himself off their blankets as he thrust the bow and quiver into her arms. She woke the instant they started to move and a second later was armed and focused on the shadow. She muttered a word and a light appeared somewhere off to her left, hanging in midair.

            In the dim glow, the nightmare’s eyes gleamed redly as she shifted her baby to her other breast and watched them quizzically from where she sat. Naomi cocked her head and glanced at her tamer. “Sir?”

            “I don’t know why she’s here or how she got in.”

            Nightmares have phase.

            “Oh, that’s right, she can phase.”

            Naomi glanced at him. “How is it that you don’t know things and then suddenly you do?”

            “That’s a long story.” He watched the nightmare for a few moments and noticed with some surprise that her figure had almost returned to what he suspected was normal. She certainly had lost most of her pregnancy fat. While an excellent survival trait, it was unexpected in someone so human. “I don’t think she’s a threat or we’d be dead already.”

            “With all due respect, sir, she’s a feral. The fact that she’s not a threat at this moment doesn’t mean she won’t be one in ten minutes.”

            “Then we keep moving. Can you block phasing?”

            The elf shook her head. “No, sir, I can’t. I’ll have to stay up.”

            “You need to sleep too. We’ll take turns standing watch.”

            They quickly dressed. When they started to take down the barricade the nightmare made inquisitive sound. Caradoc looked and realized that her attention was fixed on Naomi.

            Naomi noticed too. “She’s staring at me.”

            She’s unable to forage yet because of the baby.

            “I think she’s here because she’s hungry. Give her another great grape.”

            “We can’t feed her forever, sir.”

            “We’ll be in Montego Bay tomorrow. A feral isn’t going to follow us in there and if she does, they’ll catch her.”

            Naomi dug into her fanny pack and the nightmare gave an excited whine. “Sir, am I wrong to hope that she doesn’t get captured by them? I don’t know what their policy towards children is, but if many tamers think like Manley it doesn’t bode well.”

            “If you are, then we’re both wrong.”

            Naomi offered the great grape to the nightmare, who took it without hesitation. She smiled and turned to her tamer. “You’re right, the baby is cute now. I’d try to hold her, but that bitch would tear my head off if I did.” She watched with amazement when the nightmare rose and, without a pause, turned and walked through the wall. “So that’s phasing. It’s impressive.”

            “Can you learn how to do it?”

            “No, sir. Ghost techniques are impossible for me to learn.” She gave him an unhappy look. “I hope that you won’t think less of me because of that.”

            “Naomi, if you can’t learn something, then you can’t learn it.” He pulled her in for a quick hug and for an instant she clung to him. 

            “Thank you, sir.”

            Caradoc nodded. “All right, now we need to be moving on. She knows where we are and that means we need to be going somewhere else.” He gave his elf a sly look. “I really don’t want her showing up at a bad time, like when I’m trying to evolve you. I’d prefer just to focus on you at that point.”

            She suddenly beamed. “Yes, sir.”

 

(07/06/06 1130 Montego Bay, Tropic League)

            After being woken up by the nightmare, both Naomi and Caradoc decided that it would be better to continue on instead of trying to get couple more hours of sleep. They did pause in their trek and take cover for two hours right around dawn.

            There were two really dangerous times for people trying to avoid ferals: right before dawn and right before sunset. At sundown, the diurnal pokegirls were starting to head for their lairs and the ones that were still hungry would be much more likely to take on a pair of travelers instead of waiting for easier prey. At the same time, the nocturnal pokegirls would be stirring; the predatory ones heading out with empty bellies. At sunrise the situation would be reversed, but no less dangerous.

            By waiting at dawn, they avoided being moving targets for any passing pokegirl. Humans are sight oriented and, for them, movement draws their attention. While many pokegirls did have enhanced olfactory senses, as well as some other more esoteric sensing abilities, all of them retained a lot of their human genetic tendencies and were still primarily vision hunters.

            After waiting, they continued on and were a few kilometers from Montego Bay when they ran across the first people they’d seen since leaving Bog Walk. “Sir?” Naomi pointed at a couple of people working a field of what looked like wheat. “Humans.”

            Caradoc nodded and waved to them. They stared for a moment before one of them trotted over. “Where did you come from?”

            “Good morning. Naomi and I were sent from Bog Walk to Montego. I’m supposed to talk to whoever runs the tamers there. I think I’m supposed to talk to the regional commander.”

            The man nodded as he gave the elf an appraising look. “You’ll need to go to the constabulary station in the center of town and talk to someone there, sir. The regional commander would be Commander Jordan.”

            “Thank you.”

            Montego Bay had suffered from the Red Plague just as hard as the rest of the world had. The city and the area around it had supported a population in excess of 140,000 persons before the deaths began and when the last person recovered, the whole region had less than 11,000. That few people were lost in a city that was built for over seven times that number.

            Caradoc noted the vast number of empty buildings and waved once at a tamer who watched them from a rooftop. He waved back and his winged pokegirl took off, swinging around to head for town.

            “Sir, she left him all alone,” Naomi observed quietly.

            “He may have a second pokegirl to protect him.”

            “I don’t see one, but you could be right. Or perhaps he’s never been chased by a horny whorizard.”

            “She was only horny until she crashed. Then she was just mad.”

            Naomi laughed. “That she certainly was, sir.”

            Soon they started seeing more people working on various things. Eventually, the former Jamaican Constabulary Force office appeared as they headed deeper into the city. With the change from an island nation to a league the building now had an ornate sign announcing that this was the Tropic League Constabulary Force Headquarters for the western part of the island. Caradoc paused some distance away to look the place over.

            Next to the front door there was a bench under a canopy umbrella. A man was sitting there with a ladyba standing next to the bench. He was sipping an ice-filled drink while idly watching passersby.

            The ladyba was much more attentive, closely observing each passing individual and obviously committing them to her perfect memory.

            Naomi dropped her voice almost to a whisper. “He’s a tamer?”

            “He’s probably guarding the door. While I understand that the Jamaica Constabulary Force was supposed to be a completely transparent organization, the Tropic League Constabulary Force may not be.”

            “Sir, if he’s protecting the building, he’s in the wrong place. Many pokegirls fly.”

            “There may be additional security or maybe they don’t expect an attack this deep in the city. The war is over, you know.”

            Naomi gave him a skeptical glance. “You heard Manley. For at least some of them, the war will never be over until we’re all dead.”

            Caradoc’s voice was firm. “Your war is over.”

            “No, sir, it’s not. My war has changed from fighting the humans to fighting the ferals for the humans. I’m still fighting.”

            He took her hand and turned her towards him. “Naomi, we are farmers, not professional soldiers or killers or whatever you want to call it. If we were, we’d have killed the nightmare and her baby since we couldn’t take them with us. They’re both feral and someday that baby is going to grow up and be just as dangerous as her mother. Yes, sometimes we’ll have to deal with ferals and sometimes we may have to deal with criminal humans, who in my book are just as a bad as if not worse than the ferals. It’s always been part of the lot of the farmer to have to keep vermin from bothering the crops and deal with them when they refuse to stay away.”

            She stared into his eyes for a moment with a questioning look before her eyes warmed. “My primary job is to help the plants?” When he nodded, a smile bloomed. “Thank you, sir. I’m not sure what it means to not be a soldier since I’ve been one all my life, but I want to learn.”

            “We are.” He nodded towards the constabulary building. “Now let’s get this done so we can get back to our farm. We’ll survey the town as part of my other mission, but I just want to get this done and get out of here.”

            As they approached the building, the ladyba watched them come. When it became obvious that the constabulary was their destination, she leaned down and spoke to the human, who sighed and put down his drink.

            Caradoc noted that the man was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The JCF had been a uniformed organization, and while there was little if any textiles production, he suspected that uniforms still existed. Apparently the TLCF wasn’t concerned with them, at least not right now.

            “You there!” The man summoned them with an imperious wave. “Who are you? Do you have business with the constabulary?”

            The ladyba cocked her head. “Sir, I have never seen this tamer before.”

            “My name is Caradoc Bishop and I’m from Bog Walk.” Caradoc let a little arrogance seep into his own voice. “I was summoned here by the commander to provide some technical assistance.”

            The man’s lips turned down in a sneer. “And just what help could you provide that we would need?”

            “I have no idea. The summons was not only preemptory, it was vague. However, I understand it involves Sukebe’s berry plants. How about you let me in the building so I can ask him?”

            The man shook his head. “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea.” He looked at the ladyba. “Get someone to escort our visitor.”

            “Yes, sir.” She disappeared inside, returning a few minutes later with a mule. The ladyba returned to her post as the infertile woman looked at the tamer. “You sent for me, sir?”

            “This man claims he has to speak to the commander. Go to his office and have the secretary verify that he should be here. Then let me know.”

            The woman’s face went blank. “Yes, sir.”

            She headed inside, but before she entered the door, Caradoc spoke up. “Miss, my name is Caradoc Bishop and I was summoned here from Bog Walk. It is something to do with berries.” The woman nodded and disappeared through the doorway.

            “Why do you treat her like she’s a pokegirl?”

            The tamer smirked at Caradoc. “Oh, she’s not. She’s a mule and is much less useful than any pokegirl.”

            “Why?”

            “She can’t have kids, she has no special powers and pokegirls are much better in bed.” He scratched his ladyba beneath the neck and she pressed herself against his touch. His fingers wandered down to tease one of her nipples and she shivered. “It’s a good thing they can do work or they’d be completely useless.”

            Caradoc decided it would be best to remain silent. He glanced at Naomi and saw that while her face was completely expressionless, her knuckles were mottled where she gripped her bow.

            They waited for about ten minutes before the woman returned. “Master Jones, Master Caradoc does have business with the commander. He is to go to the commander’s office immediately.”

            The tamer blinked. “Very well.” A smile appeared. “Take him there.”

            “Yes, sir. Master Caradoc, if you’ll please come this way.” She led him and Naomi inside the building and up three flights of stairs to the top floor. She stopped outside an office door that read “Commander J. Jordan”. She opened the door. “Sir, please speak to the secretary and she’ll set you up with the commander.” She started to leave.

            “Thank you for playing guide. I’m sure you had more important things to do.”

            The woman gave him a startled look. “No, sir, of course I didn’t.” She scurried off before he could say anything else.

            He exchanged a look with Naomi and entered the office. Inside, a busty red headed woman with the M on her forehead looked up, taking in him and his elf. “Sir, can I help you?”

            “I’m Caradoc Bishop.”

            She donned a professional smile. “Master Bishop, the commander is expecting you. Please have a seat and he’ll be with you in a moment.”

            A moment turned out to mean over half an hour. Finally, the door opened and man came out. He was in his early thirties and his face was twisted by a long scar that gave him a lopsided smile. “Tamer Bishop, I am Commander Jordan. Please come into my office.” He let Caradoc and Naomi enter and shut the door. “Have a seat.”

            A bronze statue of a beautiful woman stood in one corner of the room and it wasn’t until she moved to stand next to the commander that Caradoc realized that she was a pokegirl.

            Brass. They are very strong and very heavy.

            Jordan sank into his chair. “I’ve asked you here because I’ve heard that you’re an expert on the berry plants and, from what I’ve heard, they can be a godsend if used properly.”

            “Yes, sir, they can.”

            “We need that expertise here. I know you’re probably tired from the trip and so I thought that we’d set you up in your accommodations. Tomorrow you can meet with our technical personnel and start bringing them up to speed. How long do you think that will take?”

            Caradoc shrugged. “A day or two, perhaps a little more, should be more than enough.”

            “Excellent. I’ll send word that you’ll be meeting with them for the next three days, just to give you plenty of time. How does that sound?”

            “I’m not familiar with your city, so would it be possible to get an escort?”

            “That sounds reasonable, Bishop, and I’ll make sure you have one to show you to your home.” He looked at the brass. “Meredith, see to it as we’d discussed.”

            “Yes sir; I’ll be right back.”

            After she’d left, Jordan leaned back in his chair. “How was the trip?”

            “Quiet.”

            “Did you see many ferals?”

            “Not really, and the few we did see didn’t bother us.”

            Jordan nodded absently. “What route did you take?”

            “We came up the A1 and the B11 to Falmouth. I wanted to avoid the ocean. I’ve heard a lot of aquatic pokegirls hunt the beaches for food.”

            “We’ve had problems with them. They follow the sewage into the bay. How did the roads look? I’m considering sending out patrols along them.”

            “They are still in fairly good repair, although in places the damage is pretty significant. Patrolling them is probably needed. I know that the Bog Walk administrator is planning to do that, too. He wants the roads open so he can receive and ship supplies. He’s weighing that against the risks involved in shipping things to Spanish Town by river.” Caradoc rubbed his hands together. “The biggest issue is that while it might be easy to go downstream, getting the boats back to Bog Walk might be difficult, especially when the river floods. He’s leaning more towards wagons or carts if we can get more pokegirls to pull them.”

            Jordan nodded. “The authorities in Kingston think that the roads will be safer too. The rivers tend to have fewer pokegirls, but the ones in there tend to be more dangerous and aggressive. I’ve received orders to try and capture any ponytaur or their evolutions if I can find any, so I’ve been looking for them. If you see any, let us know. If you catch some, I’ll pay well for them.”

            He exchanged a quick glance with Naomi. “I’ll remember that.”

            The door opened and Meredith returned. “Sir, accommodations for Tamer Bishop have been taken care of as you instructed. His guide is Lisa and she’s waiting in the lobby.”    

            Jordan nodded and got to his feet. “Tamer Bishop, I hope you can help us with the berries. If they’re as useful as I’ve heard, it’ll go along way towards helping us patrol the area much more effectively.”

            “I’ll do what I can, sir.”

 

Caradoc Bishop, Tirsuli human

Naomi - elf