Lust or Mate?

Chapter 7 - A Mother's Love

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Azarios

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“It’s always so dark in these damn streets,” Lake muttered, putting the lights on bright. I told him he should have let me drive. Unlike me, Lake didn't have a strong eyesight. I told him to forget about this place ever having any lights. Nobody cared about it. He nodded, saying it was true before adding that we had to work faster and get Mama out of here. He was right; we had to. This place was no place for anyone to leave.

Like Creswood, Vanguard City was once the city to be. It was the capital city of Oceanview, but a nuclear accident rendered the city uninhabitable due to the long-term effects of radiation. It was before we were born, and the place was declared habitable again, but because of the many lives that were lost, no one seemed keen on returning.

The old buildings were demolished, and new ones were built, but because people never came back, the place suffered vandalism. It became a hub for all kinds of criminal activity. Now it sat in a state of decay and despair, haunted by the memories of its past. The streets were empty, the buildings that once stood tall and proud now stood dilapidated and abandoned, with broken windows and boarded-up doors. Graffiti covered the walls, a testament to the lawlessness that ruled the city.

“We are here,” Lake said, stopping the car, and we exited and grabbed our bags. We bought Mama some stuff. The sound of broken glass crunched beneath our feet as we cautiously made our way through the desolate streets. There were barricades that prevented us from driving closer to where we were going. The barricades belonged to Minerva.

Minerva was one of The Priestess’s Angels. Angels was the name she gave all of us who were her slaves. Minerva and her group were responsible for the arms volt situated here, and this was also where the biggest lab was situated. She was the team leader and managed the shipments of weapons and drugs. The Priestess was into everything, and Lake and I were trainee assassins.

She had been training us for the past two years, but she hadn’t given us a big job yet. For now, we ran errands, picked up packages, and did all the small jobs, but this was our last year doing that. After graduation, we would be separated and placed in organizations that would be useful. The Priestess wanted us to be educated first. This was what she did to all her people; she gave them a skill. She had lawyers, hackers, guys in the army, the police force, and the hospitals practicing as doctors. She had people everywhere, and there was no getting away from her either. She had eyes and ears everywhere too, especially if you didn’t have anyone to help you get away like we didn’t.

After what felt like forever, we reached the gates, and Lake groaned as the bright lights shone in our faces while we put our hands up, showing the guys we weren't a threat. This was the drill. Every time we came here, we had to state our business, and permission had to be obtained from Minerva before we were let in. It didn’t have to be this way, but it’s how we kept our cover. The guys opened for us, and we headed inside.

“Hey, boys,” Minerva said, with the biggest smile as she threw away the cigarette she was smoking and walked up to us.

“Hey, Mina,” I said as we shared a quick hug before she and Lake shared a kiss. “I’ll see you in a bit,” I added and left them and proceeded to the tunnel that was going to take me to the other side where Mama lived. I was glad Minerva had the lights fixed because it was quite dark the last time. I got to Mama’s place and knocked, and her face lit up as she opened and saw me. We embraced in a tight hug before she pulled me in and asked where Lake was. I told her he was coming, and she had a knowing look in her eyes as she draped her arm over my shoulder and invited me inside. She knew about him and Mina.

Minerva was five years older than Lake. She left the orphanage long before it was our time to leave and also started as an assassin before she was given this job. She was the one who helped us save Mama’s life.

After The Priestess told us who she was and what was in store for us, we were enrolled at Crestwood, and we left. Mama stayed in the grand house with the others who needed her, but she fell very ill. Mama didn’t remember who she was. She didn’t remember where she came from, nothing. All she remembered was waking up in a hospital with no memory of who she was. The doctor said that there was a shelter for the homeless when the time came for her to be released and she went there since she didn't know where else to go.

She told us that the rain was pouring, and it was cold that day. When she got there, the shelter was guarded, and the men at the gate didn’t want to let her in. They said she was too old, which she didn’t understand because she wasn’t that old. Since she didn’t have her memory, we didn’t know how old she was, but we suspected she was in her late fifties or early sixties now, which means she was in her forties then.

She spent the night out there in the cold. She sat at the nearest bus stop the whole night. The following morning, she went to the shelter again, and she told us she was still standing there begging them to let her in, even offering to clean up the place when a truck pulled up, and she heard the men from the truck tell the ones at the gate that they were there to collect the workers. After the men went in, young women came out the gates, and Mama walked up to them and asked one of them where they worked.

She told her they were being taken to different orphanages to work as caregivers, and when she asked if there were any qualifications needed, the women told her there were none, adding that they were homeless and had been directed by the hospital to the shelter just as she was. When speaking to the woman, she told her she was homeless too and needed a place to stay, and the woman told her to hop in the truck with them. They figured since no documentation was needed for the job it wouldn't be a problem.

After everyone had gotten in, the truck pulled off, and a day later, they got to their destination. They were excited until they got inside and saw that they were not being taken to any orphanages to look after any children, but they were taken to a drug lab like the one Minerva operates. Mama said some of them wanted to leave, and that was their mistake. She said they killed right in front of their eyes and made an example of. They stayed and worked, but because of her heart problems, she got sick and was taken out. It was only then that she was taken to the orphanage, and that was right around the time that Lake arrived. Lake arrived at the place five years before me.

She looked after us and cared for us as if she was not being forced to do so. She was always loving and gave us a mother’s love, something we would not have experienced if not for her. She told us that Lake was not in her group, but when she heard the story of Lake’s family dying in a fire, she asked for him. Mama has burn scars on her body, which made her believe that whatever happened to her must have involved a fire also, like Lake.

We didn’t see her for almost two years after we went off to Varsity. One night, while we were busy studying for a test, a call came through from Minerva. She had heard one of the guys talk about a disposal job, and when she asked him, he told her it was Mama that he was to dispose of. She kept falling ill, and The Priestess believed she was of no use, so she told one of the guys to dispose of her, which meant killing her since she knew too much.

Lake and I were devastated, and we couldn’t let that happen. So we ambushed the van that was taking her to the disposal site, killed the guy, and we took Mama and brought her here because we didn’t know where else to take her.

Minerva freaked out when we showed up here with her, but she would do anything for Lake, so she listened when he asked her to help us, and she got us this place. This was no place for anyone to live, and Lake and I had a plan and took comfort in knowing that she was at least safe here under Minerva’s care, and she didn’t have to do hard labor. The Priestess paid us a stipend, and it’s what we used to take care of her and get her the medication she needed, but she needed a new heart soon, or she would die, and that was what we were working on, and a way to get us all out of here.

“Something smells nice,” I said, and she told me she made Lake and I's favorite dish. “I love you,” I told her, pecking her on the cheek, and she said she loved me too as she led me to the table. I told her Lake and I bought a new hairdryer since hers blew last week and that we brought some cough medicine as well. She thanked me, saying I didn’t have to, but I told her I wanted to. She knew our situation, so she didn’t want us to spend on her, but we were never going to let her need for anything, not as long as we were able to get it, no matter how we got it.