Crossing Worlds

The girls sat silently for some time, staring at one another, utter shock washing over them as they processed the news. “He’s gone?” Hannah asked, her throat dry.

Emily nodded slowly, confused, “Why didn’t Mommy say anything? She has to know!” 

Hannah was also confused and scared, “She has to; is she covering for him? Why would she?”

“I don’t know.” Emily admitted, pulling her knees up to her chest, “He was one of the only people who understood us.” 

Hannah hurried over and wrapped her arms around Emily, embracing her. “I know, I know.” she said softly, Emily resting her forehead against Hannah’s chest, “We’ll be okay, we’ll figure it out.”

Hannah tried to console Emily, but she was on the verge of breaking down, fear coursing through her veins. How did they discover him? More importantly, did they know about her and Emily as well? If they could catch all of their group, and even their own Daddy had been caught! How would they possibly survive? She could feel Mommy’s grip on them tightening, the collar slipping around her neck, the nursery taking on an ominous glow, shadows rising as panic slowly set in, clouding Hannah’s mind.

Emily’s grip tightened around her, sniffling back tears, “We will be okay.” she mumbled.

Hannah relaxed, her panic attack slowly fading. Emily was right; as long as they were together, they would find a way. She heard footsteps, and suddenly, two Amazons stepped into the room, Mommy and another woman. This second woman was shorter than Mommy; she had long black hair and wore jeans and a T-shirt. The shirt had the image of Naomi across it, with the slogan “Full diapers, empty heads make good babies!” 

Hannah felt her eye twitch in disgust, still holding Emily, who hadn’t looked up. “Girls, meet your babysitter for the evening, Miss Carol; you behave for her, okay? Mommy has to go out.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Hannah asked, clutching Emily.

Mommy smiled, “He had to go away on a business trip.” she replied, dodging the question again as she left.

Miss Carol knelt beside them as Mommy left, “Aww, what’s wrong baby? Are you hungry? Your Mommy left several bottles for you.” she exclaimed, a finger under Emily’s chin, turning Emily’s head to look at her.

“I’m not hungry,” Emily replied, pouting. 

“That sounds an awful lot like a fussing young lady. Are you a bad girl?” Miss Carol asked.

Emily yelped, her cheeks blushing, shaking her head, “No! No, I’m a good girl!”

“And arguing with a caregiver too?” Miss Carol shook her head, collecting Emily and Hannah into her arms and pulling them to her chest. “Come on, you two need to learn a lesson.”

Hannah was beginning to panic; who was this woman? What was going on? “Please! I want my Mommy!” Hannah squealed, pulling against the woman.

The woman grinned, carrying them towards the house's front door, Mommy nowhere to be seen. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll get you a Mommy.” she chuckled, “Right after the Corrections Facility has their way with you.”

Hannah broke, screaming, trying to pull away from the woman as they stepped out into the hall, the woman's grip tightening around them. Both girls fought, pulling away, but the woman's grip was like iron. She turned down the hall carrying them when a voice sounded behind them.

“YOU! STOP!” It ordered a deep, masculine voice, making the women spin. “Drop MY girls right now,” Daddy ordered.

Daddy was dressed in childish clothes, and Hannah swore she saw a diaper bulge in his pants, but it was still Daddy! “Daddy!” She cried out, holding out her hands towards him.

The woman cursed, “You?! I thought they disposed of you, damn it.” she turned to run, but Daddy was on her before she could get a few steps, sending her and the girls spilling.

Hannah and Emily shrieked as they flew from her grasp, a robust and firm arm wrapping around Hannah’s chest and pulling her tight. Daddy thumped to the ground below them, having somehow caught both girls. “Daddy!” Emily and Hannah both cried in joy.

But the fight wasn’t over; the woman was already getting back to her legs, “You do realize what’ll happen to you WHEN you are caught again, right?” she spat, her brow furrowing in anger. 

Daddy gritted his teeth, letting both girls go to stand on their own. He pulled a pacifier from the massive pocket in the center of his overalls. “You will not take them from me!” he growled, jumping at the woman who dodged away. 

Daddy was too fast for her, quickly getting a grip on the woman, holding her down, and shoving the massive pacifier into her mouth, locking it in place. The woman fought and squirmed under his weight, trying to toss him, her thrashing growing weaker and weaker as whatever sedatives took hold of her. Daddy glanced back at the girls with a wild look, which dissolved into relief as he ran to them and embraced them.

“Oh, my girls, my baby girls.” Daddy exclaimed, “I thought I would never see you again; I…” he trailed off, holding both Emily and Hannah in his arms, and it took Hannah a moment to realize that the man was crying. 

Hannah did her best to hug him back, “We were so scared.” she whimpered, his grip tightening around them even more. 

Daddy pulled back, his eyes red, “I know; I’m sorry, they got me after leaving the school. Mommy had been called in to testify against me and defend herself. That woman had me in her car but underestimated my ability to get free of the cuffs; she wanted to personally collect you two and take you in before shipping all of us off.” He glanced around the hall, seemingly on alert suddenly, “We got to go, now.” 

Daddy stood, still holding the girls, and bolted down the long hall far faster than Hannah would have ever been able to achieve on her much shorter legs. “Where are we going? What happened to you?” Hannah asked, once again noting Daddy’s outfit.

“They were in the process of turning me into a Little.” Daddy admitted, glancing around them, “I’ve been watching those cartoons my whole life while they hid away; bastards had no clue how resilient I am to their tactics.” he said with a chuckle, “As for getting out of here, I don’t know yet.” 

The group entered a sort of docking zone with a yellow and black taxi cab parked there; Daddy immediately entered the cab, setting both girls in the car seats in the back and strapping them in before climbing into the front. “Welby, right?” the driver asked, making Daddy pause, halfway buckled.

“Excuse me? Do I know you?” Daddy asked.

The driver shook his head, “No, but I was prepared to wait here for you and take you to an address.” the man grunted, pulling them out of the dock and descending towards the street.

“Who,” Daddy demanded, Hannah’s alarm spiking with fear.

“Huh? I don’t know; dispatch, I think, mentioned the name Venli. I’m just paid to drive.” The driver said with a shrug.

Hannah felt a sense of relief wash over her; somehow, the Resistance had figured out what was happening and sent a cab! She briefly wondered if they were somehow behind Daddy’s escape as well. Daddy seemed to relax, and the cab sped off through the city streets. 

Hannah’s thumb had found its way back to her mouth, and the girls clasped hands, holding onto one another. Daddy glanced back at them a few times but seemed to decide not to say anything in front of the cabby driver.

“Cute kids, you got there; how long have you had them?” The driver asked.

Daddy chuckled, “A few months, they are very well-behaved.”

“It took me years to get my boy to act so well. What’s your secret?” The man asked.

Daddy smiled back at them, “I love them for who they are.”

The driver grunted in response, pulling their car to a step in front of a small store. “Here we are, you three. Have a good day, and be good for your Daddy, girls,” he said as Daddy climbed from the car.

Daddy unstrapped both girls, pulling them into his arms as the cabby sped off. There they stood on a busy Amazon road, cars flying by, lost on an alien planet. Daddy turned them around and faced the clothes store, which was selling little clothing and Tweener clothing. Daddy took a deep breath and stepped inside the small store. 

The place only had a few shelves; it was narrow, with the counter at the back, a Tweener sat behind the cash register, feet propped up, relaxed, and a boy, maybe in his early thirties. He stood up, “Hey there, mister, you mix up the nursery and your wardrobe?” he asked with a chuckle.

Daddy stepped into the store, a bell sounding behind them, “Something like that, we, uhm, were brought here by Venli; I’m Welby.” he said.

The boy glanced at Hannah and Emily in turn, “Ahh! They said to keep an eye out for you three; I got just the clothes for them!” he turned and ventured deeper into the store, stopping in a small nook, surrounded by hanging clothing, “Let’s see, yeah, right here!” he stated.

Hannah watched with evident curiosity as the clothes rack the boy was fumbling through suddenly lifted into the air, ascending high enough she could walk underneath it, the floor behind it descending and creating a staircase into what looked like a basement. “They’re waiting for you, " the boy said, returning to the counter.

Daddy seemed to want to ask further questions but elected not to. He let both girls down, as he would need to crawl to enter the small space. Hannah went first, descending the stairs. The stairs spiraled downward, the atmosphere shifting, growing colder with each step. The stairwell was dimly lit by flickering industrial lights set into the walls, casting long shadows, Hannah’s heart thumping with every step. Hannah and Emily could hear the faint hum of machinery from below, a constant, steady rhythm that vibrated through the metal steps beneath their feet. Past the entrance of the stairs, the ceiling sloped upwards, high enough to accommodate Daddy as he stood up fully, following the girls down the steps.

As they reached the bottom of the staircase, the space opened before them: a vast, underground basement that felt imposing. The place was massive, much larger than would have been imagined seeing the entrance above. The arched ceiling was high above their heads, supposed by thick, concrete pillars. The entire room was bathed in a cool glow of neon lights reflecting off the sleep, steel surfaces lining the walls. Monitors and holographic displays were everywhere, showing real-time footage of the city above, its streets, buildings, and people, all under constant surveillance. Some screens flashed with scrolling data, while others showed maps with glowing dots that pulsed, marking important locations throughout the city.

At the center of the room was an enormous circular control station, surrounded by Littles in sleek uniforms, each focused on their screens and controls. The station was filled with buttons, levers, and holographic interfaces designed to monitor every city corner. A massive holographic city map hovered above the control station, showing buildings, streets, and even underground routes in intricate detail. Dots of various colors blinked on the map, tracking movements. 

Along the far wall, large servers hummed with energy, their rows of blinking lights adding to the mechanical symphony of the base. Cables snaked along the floor and the walls, connecting everything like a vast nervous system. To one side, a set of large, transparent screens displayed critical information about ongoing resistance operations and profiles of significant figures in the city. There were even a few wanted posts showing blurry, flickering images. 

Before Hannah went any further, she heard a yelp behind behind her. She turned and saw Daddy on his knees, his arms behind his back, some glowing, pulsating power encircling his wrists, chest, and ankles, holding him tightly, a look of fear in his eyes as he was trapped.

End of Chapter 32