Women And the Demons Who Love Them

Imperium-3

RUDE- Eternal Youth

    She wasn't lying when they said anything I wanted. When I was finally released, they gave me a nurse's uniform and I walked right out the front door. Ridge took me back to her apartment. Everything had evolved. The streets are now made of steel. The cars no longer touch the ground. I can feel the magnetic push from the car and the street. Everything is so polished and shiny now. It's beautiful. 

    From Ridge's condo, I can see a lot of the city. It's high up. The windows shimmered with the lights from the cars. That's not what caught my attention. There are so many lasers out there coming from the pedestrians walking outside. When they entered their cars or buildings the laser would disappear with them. What are those?

    "Overwhelmed yet?" Ridge asked. I turned to face her. The laser in her chest isn't as bright as some but it's there. What did that mean? 

    "Not really," I said truthfully. 

    "If you like, tomorrow I can teach you how to drive," 

    "Really?" I asked looking at her. "I mean the concept is the same right? Gas pedal, brake, shifter?" 

    "Most cars run on autopilot now. The speeds are different but you can still drive manually," 

    "Don't I need a license? To get documented and what not?" 

    "You're a special case. Your name has been encoded into every system. Technically you're a being of every world," 

    "Am I still considered to be human?" 

    "No and yes. You're now a type ten superhuman class. There are only eight earthborn with that rank," 

    "Type ten superhuman," I repeated softly. "Can I see my files?" 

    "Yes," she nodded handing me what is now a tablet. "Put your hand up and I'll take a picture," 

    I lifted my arm exposing the barcode on my arm. It used to be a bracelet. I used to lose mine all the time. A clicking sound came from the piece of glass and a bunch of documents popped up on the screen. She handed it to me and walked away. Everything is categorized. Special documentation. News and Media. Finance. Passport. Medical records. Certifications. Education. I clicked on the certification option. The first thing to pop up was my birth certificate. Born the sixth of August year thirty-two twenty-one. Working-class level two homo sapien. New York City, The Bronx. 

    "Ridge, where are we?" 

    "Earth," she mused. 

    "I know that but where on earth are we?" 

    "We're in Manhattan, New York," she said coming over to me with a glass of orange juice. "Why do you want to go somewhere else?" 

    "I was just wondering. I also wanted to know if I could still go to school at Imperium?" 

    "I wanted to ask you if you want to go. I was offered a job as a professor in my field of work. I was going to discuss it with you when I thought you were ready," 

    "What if I had said no?" I asked playfully. 

    "Then I would have taken a job here in one of the earth universities," 

    "Do you think I'd get in trouble?" I asked. She looked at me confused. 

    "For what?" 

    "I'm a hundred and sixteen years late to class," I joked. She smiled before we both started laughing. 

    "We'd have to meet with the Queen of The United States. She wants to meet you. A lot of earth nobility wishes to meet you in person," 

    "Why? Because I took a century-long nap?" I scoffed. She smirked. 

    "Yes, you are the world's first true brunette sleeping beauty," I rolled my eyes at her. 

    I had woken up in February. We're in July now. In our time together, Ridge and  I had grown close. She's twenty-eight but doesn't look it. I mean I'm one hundred and thirty-four years old stuck in my forever young body. So who am I to judge? She's brought me into this world teaching me as much as she could. 

    She had really dedicated her life to me. So had her mother. So many lives were changed along with mine. I hadn't seen that at first. I had wanted to... I had been angry and hurt. Any minor thing was catastrophic. She'd look at me with her almost Hinge-like eyes of disappointment and It made me feel like crap. So I try to keep it all in check. 

    "How soon can we meet with them?" I asked. 

    "We can wait a few weeks. Get you settled. It's the middle of the spring semester at Imperium. We'd still have to wait for a while. We still have to see where you stand educational wise. Test your strengths and weaknesses. What do you want to study?" 

    "Linguistics. There are more languages for me to learn now. So much I don't know. I want to catch up with the universe, especially if I'm going to outlive it," 

    "I am so glad to hear you say that," she smiled taking my hand in hers. 

    "I'm sorry for giving you a rough time," I apologized. She waved her hand as if she were waving the whole thing off. 

    "I would have probably done the same if I were in your shoes. I mean so much has happened. I'd hate to wake up under these circumstances myself," 

    "What do you think the nobles want to talk about?" 

She sighed. 

    "They're going to try and convince you to stay here. They're sending the queens instead of the kings to try and convince you that this is the safest place for you. They might even send in the Grand Duchesses. The Grand Princesses. They really want you to stay. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Trinity. You have rights. It may not be the family you remember but you still have a family. We want you to live however you seem fit for yourself," 

    "They want to keep me in the lab don't they?" I asked. I can't say I'm surprised. She nodded. 

    "They wouldn't call it a lab. They would give you free rein make it seem like you're choosing this out of your own volition. You'd be nothing more than a pampered servant," 

    "Are the other superhumans probed like this?" 

    "No, which is why the university is bringing some of them here so when you talk to the nobles. Well, two of them volunteered. They know what this is like," 

    "Are they like me? What can you tell me about them?" 

    "There are two who are similar to you. Except they were born that way. Leenah Morton was born September eighth twenty-nine eighty-three," 

    "What?" I gasped. 

    "She stopped aging at twenty-five. She has superhuman strength. She's a little taller than you. A little more intimidating," 

    "I'm intimidating?" I asked. 

    "Well, you weren't when you were smaller. Now that your muscle definition is setting and you've gained some mass you look like you can beat the crap out of anyone. When you get excited or angry your eyes kind of glaze over and your veins become dark blue. Not to mention you spark," 

    "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," 

    "Oh, sweetie you don't scare me," she said rubbing my arm. 

    "What about the other one?" I asked. 

    "His name is Barrington Stone. He's a warrior from before the Empires were forged. He was born in twenty fifty-six. He and Leenah are together. He's very serious and big. He scares me," I laughed. "Barrington Stone teaches history and self-defense at Imperium. Leenah is the Chancellor," 

    "They're coming here for me?"

    "They should arrive at the end of the week. The other three are already here. One of them is the Grand Prince in the middle east. He's a bit like you. He can manipulate air. His aging is slower than the average human. He's fifty-seven now but he looks around my age," 

    "You look twenty," I said making her smile. 

    "Thank you," she flushed. "His name is Eshan Abbas. Do you speak any Middle Eastern languages?" 

    "Yes, I speak fluent Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, and some Kurdish," 

She sat back. "Show off," I smiled. "What is so important about learning other languages?" 

    "Communication," I chided. "I know fifty-seven languages. I don't know more because there were only six planets," 

    "There are more than fifty-seven languages on earth," 

    "I know most of the mainland languages. Languages that I was taught by those who were willing to teach. Some of them I had to learn on my own and it was not an easy task because sometimes I didn't know how to pronounce things," 

    "What else did you learn aside from the language?" 

    "Cultures. I like people and I want to know what makes them who they are. Like you. These runes on your arms indicate your need to mend," she looked down at them and smiled. 

    "How did you know that?" 

    "Hinge had the runes of binding. Axe had the runes of creation. Because the majority of your family are welders they believe that the runes are strictly bound to that trait. One thing can mean many different things," 

    "One meaning can have many different names," she said looking away. "We're not allowed in our village anymore. We were dishonored,"  

    "You've done so much on your own. You followed your heart and have saved a lot of people including me. Just because they don't want to step outside their box, it doesn't mean you're wrong," 

    "You should get some rest. Tomorrow, your family is coming, You have great-nephews and a  niece," 

    "What?" I asked looking back at her. 

    "Your father remarried. You had a brother and a sister. Your brother had a son and he has a daughter. She has four sons and a daughter. They all want to see you," I nodded looking down at the tablet. She said goodnight and walked over to her room.

    I walked into my room. It's grand. Bigger than the room I had back home. The walls aren't like everything else. They're made out of drywall. Painted in a soft powder blue. The bed is an early modernization build. White wooden pillars, with a wooden box frame that held the mattresses off the floor. A metal ring held the pillars together. A white sequin tulle was dropped around the bed, giving it a heavenly almost serene feel. The bedding is a soft yellow with blue swirls decorating it. There are lots of pillows. The rest of the furniture followed. 

    The only thing out of place is the massive window covering the entire sidewall. It's covered with yellow and white chiffon tulle that came down from the ceiling to the floor. They were layered in front of one another so the light didn't shine through easily. 

    The carpet is soft. A much lighter shade of blue than the shade of blue on the bed and the walls. I smiled knowing that this was the style Hinge favored. I sat at the end of the bed with the tablet in my hands. I had put it off for months because I didn't want to add to what I was already feeling. I didn't want to not know either. I didn't like the fact that my accident had affected so many. Especially, my family.

    What I do like, is that the world moved forward without me. It became bigger and better. I love that my dad hadn't lingered around me while I was unconscious. None of them did. That makes me happy. I didn't want to be the reason why they were held back. I looked around looking for my bag. I got up and walked over to the closet. I pressed my hand to the door making it slide open on its own. 

    My breath caught in my throat. It's like walking into a small clothing store. My tablet binged in my hands and a video with her face on it popped up. The notification was linked to the sensor on the door. I raised it up turning the volume as high as it can go before pressing play. 

    "So, there are a lot of things I want to say to you. Like a whole lot. I'm just going to start with I miss you," my eyes watered as the sound of her voice trembled. "When we heard you had been in an accident I wanted to beat you. I was so mad and upset. When we got to Imperium and saw that you were fine I thought you were going to just wake up any moment and we'd go home. 

    "But that time never came. A whole year went by. People came and went and no one knew why you were asleep or what was wrong with you. We brought you to Manhattan because it was the only place that could hold the amount of energy you were emitting. Yeah, you're a freaking spark plug now. I never had to charge my phone around you," I laughed with her. 

    "Anyway, I kept my promise to you. I reserved my greatest designs just for you. All of them should be here. Wherever this is. Axe, insisted they might be out of date by the time you woke up but let's face it. My designs are timeless. You are always going to be the show stopper you have always been. Remember. Never wear the same ensemble twice. Fluff your hair Rapunzel. Plump your lips and stay fabulous. I love you, Tri. Keep me in your heart forever. Take care of us," 

    I looked around feeling my chest constrict. I put the tablet down feeling this energy in me come to life. It had been calm. Whenever this flared in me and I touched any part of myself I sparked. I looked around and jumped when I caught my reflection in the mirror for the first time.

    Ridge had been right. It looks like the blue-ish gray in my irises leaked out and covered sclera. My pupils widen. Inside little blue sparks shine through. The veins on my face are dark blue. Like I had tattooed lightning strikes on my face. They coated my arms and legs. I pulled my shirt up to find more. 

    Once I was calm, the darkness of my veins faded away and I looked like myself again. Fair skin, dark hair, ice-blue eyes, sharp features. It's all there. I grabbed the thick rope my hair is now and put it on my shoulder. Even like this, it went down all the way to my knees. I had wanted to cut all of it off but Ridge talked me out of it. It does need to be cut though. It's heavy. 

    I walked back to the bed forgetting about the bag. I had wanted to get my earbuds but I don't need them anymore. I brought the files my dad had sent to the email he set up for me on the tablet, and began to watch the videos, look at the pictures, and read his letters. Every time he told me he missed me and loved me, I felt like I died a little more inside because of the sincerity in his eyes. He had suffered so much. His suffering is over now. It's only fair that I start to feel what they all felt. It's right to keep them alive inside of me like they had kept me living all this time.