Crossing Worlds

Interludes: Venli

“Well, how do you feel?” Adam asked, shining a light into Venli’s eyes.

Venli held up a hand, shielding her eyes, “Annoyed.” she said, “Some idiot is shining a light in my eyes.”

Irin scoffed, “Yeah, she’s fine; we can commence the first round of testing. Do you want to hit the button, Adam?”

“On it!” Adam responded as the two left the room, leaving Venli alone in the small sterile chamber.

The safety doors shut behind them with an audible thunk, and the screens lit up before Venli lit up. She found herself holding her breath, waiting, the crackle of the screen audible in the near silence of the chamber. The dreaded music began playing, and Naomi and Oliver began dancing across the screen. Venli steeled herself, forcing herself to watch despite her brain screaming at her to turn away, cover her ears, close her eyes, and run. Every instinct of Venli’s core told her to protect herself and escape, but she was more robust than those urges.

Despite her relative confidence in the serum, she had still opted for a protective liner for her underwear, just in case. Part of being a scientist was being prepared and ready for any and every circumstance. Venli shivered at the thought; they had done everything they could in preparation for this day, including preparing her adoption paperwork for a sympathetic Amazon family to the cause. She had put off signing that document until the very last minute this morning. Of course, it would only be submitted in this test was an utter failure that left her brain cleaned and bare, reduced to nothing more than a babbling baby. 

The screen clicked off, and a voice came over the intercom, “Venli, how are you doing?”

Venli took a deep breath, reassessing her faculties, testing her talent, and running through several thought exercises that would evaluate her mental capacity and ensure it hadn’t been reduced. Of course, the last check was a firm hand to her crotch and bum, still clean and dry. “Passed all safety thresholds; continue the experiment,” she ordered, her body screaming at her to run, to get away from the screen as it clicked back on.

She deliberately stared at the screen, trying to let herself be hindered by its alluring effects; the resistance had pulled no punches, utilizing an industrial-strength hypnotic panel ripped from a daycare facility for this test. If there were any time for their serum to fail, it would be now. After a mind-numbing ten minutes of constant bombardment, the show ended, and the door to the chamber re-opened. Her colleagues approached her with clipboards, asking her a series of questions and testing her physical capabilities, all designed around the programmed effects in the show. 

“Well, everything so far seems to be within tolerance,” Adam said with a smile.

The tension of the group broke, and they all cheered for joy, offering high fives all around as Venli stood, breathing a sigh of relief as they headed back into the central portion of the facility. Venli had dreaded this day ever since she had volunteered; she had pioneered the first sample of the serum, and through testing, she was the most susceptible to hypnotic messaging. If anyone wanted a serum to aid in their fight, it was her. 

The group continued through the facility, entering the main operations control center for the resistance; camera displays all across the city showcased a collection of Littles as well as Amazon government building interiors. Recruitment for the resistance had slowed to a crawl, and Amazon officials had busted outpost after outpost, forcing them further into the shadows and hunkering down. Some of the group's most prominent figures had been captured, including their implant's GPS, which was the last known location deep inside of a Little correction facility before going dark once and for all. 

Venli shivered, seeing the camera that showed the outside of the correction facility, a dark, imposing structure with sharp corners and rugged lines. It was a building deep inside of Amazon-controlled land; only the most dangerous Littles were ever sent there, ones deemed a danger to the Amazon government. This was why the group began intensive information control initiatives. Venli hated them, but as a means of protection and the continuation of the resistance, it was a necessary evil.

The initiative also meant more Littles were captured than was necessary, but, needing more true information about the group's motives and programs, they were adopted away. 

“One of our newest recruits found something interesting,” Adam told Venli, holding out a folder.

“What, another reprogramming facility myth?” Venli asked with a scoff, thumbing through the folder.

“No, the new daycare facility that opened downtown, they are offering some exciting contracts to Littles back on Earth,” he said with a sly grin.

Venli read through the notes, raising an eyebrow before her face took on a look of utter shock, looking up at Adam, “They offered this? Why, this is a huge opportunity; where is she? This girl?” she said, holding up the binder.

Adam chuckled, “I don’t think our recruit fully realized what they stumbled upon; it’s not just one Venli; there’s two of them already; this may be the opportunity we’ve been waiting for.” he said, stepping up to the main screens in the operations control room, watching a security camera.

The camera was showing the playground of the new daycare facility, focusing on two girls who were happily swinging, seeming to not have a care in the world. “What are we doing? We have to pull them out! Now!” Venli barked.

Adam shook his head, “We can’t. It would compromise our position if we pulled those strings now, and it would disrupt the program and throw everything into jeopardy.”

Venli growled, gripping the folder in white-knuckled hands, “Damn it, Adam, we can’t leave them to the devices of the center! We have a golden opportunity!”

Adam nodded, “We are well aware; we are tracking them; if they find out too much, it could compromise us as well; we need to move delicately; we wait for the perfect moment and then snatch this opportunity.”

Venli glanced down at the folder, rereading the cover letter, her fingers gently tracing the faces of the girls, Hannah and Emily Ashford. “They have no idea how much hope is riding on their ability to withstand their programming, do they?”

“None,” Adam responded with a sigh.

Interludes: Elia

Elia floated in the black void of nothingness. She felt nothing; she tasted nothing; she saw, heard, and smelled nothing. She had no sense of time or awareness of where she was; she was alone, trapped with her thoughts and memories. Had it been days since she was captured? Weeks? Months? Time had no meaning to Elia; she never seemed to sleep, trapped in limbo.

To Elia, it felt like both yesterday and last year, the capture of her outpost. She had been one of the Resistance’s top recruiters; she knew the Amazon world inside and out; nothing surprised her; they would never capture her. That is, as long as the Resistance had no internal Amazon spies that would coordinate a devastating strike across the city that would systematically cripple the Resistance’s recruitment and stagnate shipments and movements of Littles. The attack had been swift, coordinated, and debilitating. 

Elia had watched from her safe house as each outpost crumbled beneath the unified front of the Amazon police force; one by one, her friends, colleagues, and family members were taken. Elia had grieved, weeping for the loss as she watched her life crumble before her eyes. When they finally came for her, she was too numb even to fight, dragged off, and brought to the correctional facility before Elia could even realize what was happening. She should have known they would know her face her position in the organization; why hadn’t she retreated to the operations center like the rest of her team? 

Elia knew deep down why, a growing fear that her efforts were ultimately fruitless, the Resistance doomed to fail beneath the superior might of the Amazon government. Of course, that was only a piece of it. Elia would never leave her collection of recruits and colleagues to the ruthless terror of the Amazons; she couldn’t, in good faith, abandon ship just as the waters were getting rough. She had told them she would never leave them, and she meant it. It had been Elia's terrifying decision that landed her in the clutches of the interrogators. 

From the moment the Amazons got their hands on Elia, her memory was fuzzy at best. She distinctly remembered the onslaught of drugs she had been administered, the pain she had felt, her entire body on fire, ripped apart and stitched together again, only for the process to repeat itself over and over again. Of course, the hallucinogens she had been fed would manipulate her thoughts in whatever way the Amazons wanted, but to her, it had been real. How long did she last before Elia cracked and spilled even more secrets about the resistance? She had to have lasted longer than anyone else; it was who Elia was. 

This was yet the latest in the hurdles the Amazon world would throw at her, and like the rest of them, Elia would surmount and overcome. If there were anything the Amazons would know about Elia, she could fight never to give up.

Elia lifted her chin in defiance, staring out into that dark, unforgiving void, defying anyone who may be there watching. Of course, no one was, as far as she could tell. When Elia squinted, however, she saw something, a pinprick of light on the horizon. She studied it curiously as it suddenly began to grow and wrap around her.

Immediately, Elia was enveloped in light, sound, feeling, smell, and even taste; the absolute bombardment of her senses left her dizzy, crying in pain and agony as the overhead lights seared her eyes, tears leaking from the corners of her cheeks. She felt large, Amazon hands taking hold of her, lifting her from wherever she had been, her skin feeling like it was on fire, as if her nerves were feeling for the first time.

She continued to cry, her eyes glassy and unfocused, her movements uncoordinated and erratic, and her limbs, fingers, and legs refused to cooperate and obey her commands. Elia’s mouth refused to form the shapes needed for her to communicate her distress; she could hear words being spoken, but they were all gibberish to her. Elia felt herself being handed off to someone else, and suddenly, she was staring up at a woman, an Amazon woman who beamed down at her, holding Elia to her naked breasts. She was speaking, but Elia couldn’t understand a word the woman was saying, her giant fingers gently caressing Elia’s cheek.

Had Elia the capacity to understand, the words would have haunted her, “It’s a girl, a beautiful baby girl.” the woman was saying, caressing her newborn baby.

Interludes: Emily

Emily felt both excitement and fear as she was scooped up into the woman's arms, her new Mommy who beamed down at her. Emily had elected to wear a diaper when she made the transition, which made the woman giddy with excitement; not only had her new Little chosen to come live with her, but she had willingly accepted and chosen her new lifestyle. Emily smiled up at her, giggling, nursing a pacifier she had brought with her as Mommy inspected her diaper.

“This is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s a little thin, but it’s adorable too. I’m so glad you made this decision, sweetheart. Mommy is so glad to have you here finally.” Mommy said warmly.

“Thank you.” Emily said around the pacifier, “I’m really excited as well. I’ve always wanted a Mommy, but it’s impossible to find one on Earth.”

Mommy chuckled, carrying her new baby from the transfer station, “Of course it is, silly; they are all Littles over there! You couldn’t possibly find one until you came here, but don’t worry, now that you are here, you will always have a Mommy to love and care for you and a Daddy, too!” she added.

Emily grinned, squirming in the giant hands, “It’s like a dream come true, I just wish it didn’t have to end at the end of the week.”

Mommy cocked her head to the side, studying Emily, “End of the week? Ohh! That silly thing.” she responded with a great laugh, “Ohh sweetheart, you’re mine, you’re my baby.”

Emily cocked an eyebrow at that, studying the woman’s face as she walked, “What do you mean? This is just an exchange program; once the week is up, the school sends me home.”

“A week of school, yes; once that is up, you’ll be gone; bye-bye! No more Mommy or Daddy, back to pretending to be an adult, no more diapers, no more baby Emily.” Mommy responded playfully.

Emily whined at this, opening her mouth to comment, but saw the twinkle in Mommy’s eye as she grinned.

“Don’t worry, baby girl, Mommy is just joking! You will always be a baby, no matter what anyone says or what you think. Aren’t you excited to start your new life?” Mommy asked.

Emily still felt uneasy, and there was something about the way the woman was dancing around her return home, the careful, deliberate choice of words. There was far more to what Mommy was saying. “I suppose so. Are you sure it’s only for one week?” she asked hesitantly.

Mommy smiled down at her, “Of course! Only one week of school, that’s what your contract stipulates; now, no more big girl questions; let’s get you to your new home.”

Emily found her pacifier stuck back in her mouth in an attempt to silence any further questions. She felt an underlying dread that something was off. The way Mommy was acting, the way she was treating Emily, and her trip here. Emily couldn’t suppress the feeling that she had walked into a trap; she had prepared her home in case her stay got extended, but what if she never returned? As she was strapped into the car seat, Emily did her best to quell her fear that she might never see Earth again. 

End of Interludes