Birds twittered to each other in the nearby trees, leaping from branch to branch or fluttering through the air in search of food or companionship. Some of their songs were cheerful and bright while others were haunting, like the look in that construction worker’s eyes. Rain tried not to picture him, but the weight of Mist’s words had forced his image into her mind, and she couldn’t help but wonder what her friend had meant by what she’d stated earlier, that the man shouldn’t be blamed for whatever had brought him to that position in life. Who else was there that should be held accountable? Shouldn’t all men be held responsible for what they had done, collectively as a sex, to women throughout history?
A twig snapped beneath her feet, bringing her back to the woods around her, and a squirrel darted across the path in front of Mist. The Mothers said wildlife was coming back in abundance now that so many girls were choosing to become naturists. They hoped that someday there would be thousands of squirrels, rabbits, and other forest creatures as there had been in days of old, before the war.
After a few more moments of walking, they stepped into a clearing. A quick look around revealed that Rain did know the place after all, but they’d never approached from this direction before. She wondered why Mist hadn’t brought her in the usual way but did not ask. Several tall, older trees stood sentinel around the perimeter of the clearing with new growth springing up beyond them, and off in the distance stood the ruins of a burned down dwelling.
The house had been here for hundreds of years, Rain supposed. Based on the remains, she’d done some architectural research years ago when she and Mist had first stumbled upon it, and she was of the opinion it was likely built a hundred years or more before the Claiming of Power. The timbers were charred in black residue, scarred from time, weather, and whatever had started the fire. She imagined it had been taken down in one of the attacks of WWIII. The area now known as Michaelanburg had been part of a country called the United States back then. All of the girls learned about the US in their history classes, how it was one of the most powerful nations in the world until the men’s greed brought it tumbling down. WWIII had not been kind to the country, and then when the men were at their weakest, Michaela and her followers had launched their attack, eventually claiming power, ending men’s reign and creating this new country out of the remains of the old.
There were other places in what used to be the United States that were occupied, but Rain had heard none of them were organized into governments the way Michaelanburg was. The war had taken its toll for certain. Whole cities were destroyed during the bombing. In fact, so much of the world was devastated, only a handful of nations had survived. While Michaela had tried to organize similar movements in the bigger nations--places called China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom, to name a few--she hadn’t been successful. Those nations that survived the war limped along, trying their best to reinstate themselves in the world, to rebuild what had been lost, but it was Rain’s understanding that so much had been destroyed during the war the world would likely never be the same.
In Michaelanburg, it was a welcome thought as they were certain if men in other nations ever heard of the justice being meted out here, they would attempt to move on the country and take power away from the Mothers, proclaiming they were “liberating men held captive against their will.” Rain shuddered at the thought of an invasion from a foreign power as she followed Mist through the high grass, running her fingers through the brambles. They certainly learned of the importance of keeping the Motherhood strong in every class they attended, and the Grand-Mothers especially were quick to remind them that should any outside nation attempt to raise arms against Michaelanburg, the girls must do all they can to protect their way of life. Luckily, there were large swaths of destroyed land, oceans, mountains, and other barriers to protect the country on nearly every side. So long as the planet did not recover from the horrors of war, their nation should be safe.
Mist walked over to a spot near the burned down house and stopped next to a pile of fallen timbers. “Here,” she said, pointing at the ground. “I was looking around earlier and sat down on this log.”
Rain stepped up beside her, rested her hands on her hips and waited for her to continue.
“Sit,” Mist insisted.
With an arched eyebrow, Rain sank down onto the log. “Okay….”
“And I was about to get up and head home when I noticed a glint on the ground… to my right.”
Rain turned her head that direction, but she didn’t see anything. “A glint?”
“Yeah, the sun must’ve been catching it just right because I’ve never noticed it before,” Mist said, climbing over the log and stepping over to where she had indicated Rain should look. She brushed aside some debris and branches, but Rain still didn’t see anything. “Come here.”
With a sigh, Rain pulled herself up off of the log, hoping this didn’t turn out to be a waste of time. If it was a button or a penny or something….
But it wasn’t. As soon as Rain stood up, she saw it. A shiny piece of metal protruded from the ground. They must’ve played her a thousand times over the years, run around the burned out dwelling, climbed trees on the perimeter. She’d never seen it before, but it was obvious it had been there for longer than the girls had been alive, longer than Michaelanburg had existed.
Taking cautious steps over, Rain stopped, her eyes glued to the shimmering object. She knew immediately what it was, but she had to ask. “Is that a… handle.”
“Yes,” Mist assured her, and brushing away a bit more dirt with the toe of her sneaker, she continued. “And this is… a door.”
Rain managed to pull her eyes off of the unexpected entryway in the ground before her and meet Mist’s gaze. “A door?” she repeated. “Why would there be a door in the ground?”Mist shrugged but still answered. “I’m not sure. I opened it earlier and went a few steps inside, but it’s so dark, I didn’t want to go alone.” Her eyes flickered a few times before she added, “I’m not scared or anything. I just… didn’t want to get trapped down there.”A small smile pulled up one corner of Rain’s mouth. She knew her friend well enough to know she would be a little scared to go down there alone, as anyone would, but not terrified. “Do you want me to stay here and make sure the door stays open? Or keep an eye out for… anyone?”Before she even finished, Mist was shaking her head. “No, it’s okay. I don’
“Water?” It seemed so strange to have a plastic container of water on a shelf, but then, perhaps they didn’t have hydration pills back then. She couldn’t imagine a world where a person had to worry about finding water.“The cans must’ve been food,” Mist said as she stood back up and shined the light around toward the chair in the corner. “Maybe people took shelter down here during the war.”“Maybe,” Rain agreed. It made sense that a room like this might be able to withstand the bombs they were dropping at the time, but it seemed dangerous to build the stairs of wood. If a fire had broken out, they could’ve burned, leaving them stranded. “It’s all so bizarre.”“I agree.” Mist took a few steps toward the mess in the corner, walking slowly. While there was still some light radiating her direction, Rain didn’t want t
The bell rang as Rain slid down the slick hallway, her shoes losing traction, her hand reaching for the door just as Mother Swan went to lock it. Everyone knew if you didn’t make it into class before the mother locked the door, you’d be barred from entering for the entire period, and since this was a lab, that meant Rain would miss the entire day. Luckily, Mother Swan was feeling lenient this morning. She narrowed her wrinkled gray eyes slightly and said, “Good morning, Rain. Cutting it awfully close.”“Good morning, Mother Swan. Yes, I apologize. It won’t happen again.” Rain waited for a nod of agreement from her instructor and then hurried to her seat next to Cloud, trying to catch her breath. She held her lab coat in one hand, her bag that contained her tablet and the other tools she’d need slung haphazardly over her shoulder where it had fallen in her desperate race to beat the bell and reach the door b
Rain carried her bag in front of her, both arms folded across it, as if the tablet and other odd assorted items inside were of extreme importance. That wasn’t the case at all. She was completely lost in her thoughts as she made her way to IW, trying to concentrate on what she’d learned in the lab that day, not on what she was about to do.They had done rounds, as she’d hoped, and they’d actually gone into the incubation room, or Nourishment Unit, as it was officially named. They’d watched the medical team work to bring the babies to thriving states and had been shown some that were likely not going to meet the criteria needed to continue to stay in the unit for much longer. Mother Swan had explained that once their levels reached below red level and stayed there for more than two hours, the technicians in the medical unit would “call” them, give them the cursed label, “failure to thrive,” and they&rsq
Nothing about IW was at all enthralling to Rain, yet it was a requirement, one she’d been taught not to take lightly. There was lubricant available from a pump on the wall near the chair where 24C was presented to her, but she didn’t use it. With some of the other men, she had to. With him, she could usually find enough pleasure to go without. Something about rubbing the oily substance on her private area before she went about her duties seemed even more vile than the practice session itself.With her knees on either side of his hips on the chair, she took a deep breath and pushed up, grabbing hold of his manhood and working it inside of her. It took her a few moments as she certainly wasn’t aroused, and it had been a few days since she’d visited IW, but after about a minute, she had him entirely inside of her and let go with her hands so that she could take hold of the two handles on either side of his shoulders. She had heard so
Opening the door to her shared room, Rain paused in the doorway as Mist turned and looked at her over her shoulder, her tablet propped on the pillow at the head of her bed. “Hey,” Rain said, not sure whether or not Mist was still angry at her.Mist clicked her tablet off and set it aside before rolling over and sliding off of the side of the bed so she could face her. “Hi.”Relieved that at least her best friend was speaking to her again, Rain hung her backpack up on a hook, not bothering to take her tablet out, and kicked off her sneakers, moving them over to the spot by her dresser where she kept them. She walked over to her bed and sat down across from Mist. “How was your day?”“Fine.” Mist attempted to smile, but it was so forced, it looked more like a snarl. “Yours?”“Ugh,” Rain groaned, lowering her head and shaking it slowl
The next few days went by without much discussion between Mist and Rain. Most non-school days, they would go out into the woods and walk around, but it had rained on Saturday, and the ground was still muddy on Sunday, so Rain had declined Mist’s invitation. It hadn’t deterred the nature-lover, though, so Rain had spent the day studying and reading in her room. Thoughts of the points Mist had brought up recently about the way the Motherhood viewed men kept coming back to her, leaving an unsettled feeling in her gut.Monday morning, she went to class as she always did. She had an hour of her history course before she’d report to Mother Swan’s anatomy class. Having the same Mother for all of her medical classes was helpful because she got to know each of her students so well. Rain had thought it was great only having one instructor until she considered that also meant she’d only hear one person’s interpretation of everyth
Rain entered Weather House with a lot on her mind. Cloud’s comment at the beginning of class had her distracted the entire time Mother Swan was lecturing, so now she had two quizzes to prepare for. She flew up the stairs to her level, down the hall, and pushed through the door without giving a second thought to what might be happening on the other side of the door.Mist was sitting on her bed, but she wasn’t alone. Another girl--woman was probably a better word since she was a couple of years older than them--was sitting next to her. They both looked up, caught off guard, as Rain stopped in the doorway, and she thought she saw Mist move something underneath her pillow.“Hi, Sunny,” Rain said, closing the door behind her and pretending like she wasn’t shocked to see Mist had company. In all of the years they’d roomed together, which was most of them, she couldn’t ever remember her best f