Earthbound - DM Arnold (popular e readers TXT) 📗

him. To this day, I have no idea what it was. After his friends left, he came to me and jabbed me with an injector. It was over in an instant, and it was a few instants before I realized what happened. 'Why, Zander, why?' I asked him. 'What did I do? Whatever it was, I'm sorry. Please don't punish me!' I pleaded.

“I felt myself being seized by the drug, my knees began throbbing and sounds began echoing in my ears. 'You make me sick,' he said to me, with such rage in his eyes. 'I'm going to make you sick. You are having the worst stomachache. You want to vomit but you can't.'

“I began to feel sick to my stomach. I was in agony. I tried to vomit but couldn't, and I was doubled over in pain. I begged Zander to stop, but he laughed at me and went back to his inhalants. Wave after wave of the most unbearable nausea swept over me. He left me that way until the drug wore off. My stomach still remembers that pain whenever I recall the incident.”

Nyk looked at the floor and clenched his fist under the table.

“His mixture is also effective as a truth drug. He'll order me to tell the truth, and there's nothing I can keep from him.”

Nyk stepped around the table and sat beside her.

“Senta saved my life, Nykkyo. Zander acquired that nerve toxin. One of his associates created it from an Earth pesticide. He boasted of it in front of me. One night as he slept I pilfered one of his cartridges, with every intent to use it on myself -- I was that desperate.”

“Why not use it on him?”

“I can't.”

“Why not?”

“His hypnotic drug. He planted a subliminal suggestion in my mind -- one of many, he claimed -- a post-hypnotic directive against lifting a hand to him. He'd taunt me -- goad me into striking him. No matter how I wanted to -- I couldn't -- I was paralyzed. And, how he laughed at me -- how he gloated...”

Nyk opened his mouth to speak but words wouldn't come.

“Finally,” she continued, “I made up my mind. I went to Senta's apartment, to say goodbye.” She turned away to compose herself.

“It ... it must've been the day I was sent up.”

She nodded. “Senta pleaded with me not to resort to a permanent solution to a temporary problem. 'Temporary, how?' I asked her. 'I'm an ax'amfin -- I was created to serve.' She told me no -- I'm a person with rights -- finishing school or no, Zander doesn't own me. She told me I could petition Central Admin for protection -- she promised to use her influence to help me start a new life.” She turned away again. “No one ever had told me I was a person...”

He looked in her face and she held her hand to her eyes. “I'm sorry...” Andra drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “Vebinad grads are expected to have better command of their emotions. My instructors would be displeased...” She gazed into the distance for a moment; then faced him, her eyes dry. “I decided then and there to leave him, as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Senta truly has been my savior, Nyk.”

“I'm the one who's sorry, Andra. I had assumed you no more than one of her paramours, another in a long string of lovers. I would've felt differently if I had known she was trying to help you.”

“The day before yesterday Zander left for Altia. I could tell from the gear he packed something was about to happen -- I knew it was now or never. I called Senta. She offered to conceal me in her apartment, but we decided it was too risky -- so she brought me here.” She looked up at him. “That's my story. Does any of this help you?”

“Indeed, it does. I wish it didn't.”

“How do you know Zander?”

“We grew up together here in Sudal. Zander was my best friend. His father, Gunder, was a middle-level Food Service manager under my father. Gunder perished in the same shuttle crash that claimed my parents. This isn't the Zander I knew as a boy. Something in him must've snapped.”

She finished her meal, picked up the trays and dropped them into the waste reprocessor. Nyk escorted her from the kitchen and sat beside her on a bench. “I'll be honest with you,” he said. “I never liked you, since I met you at that party. But I wouldn't wish what Zander did to you on my worst enemy. I'm horrified at his abuse. I was wrong about you, Andra. I disliked you because I saw you as a symbol of an institution I detest. It's not you I hate. You're merely a victim. I don't envy the life you've led. I felt sorry for you the night I stopped at your apartment and saw you in that degrading costume.”

“Zander likes to flaunt me. He had me wear that for your benefit. I feared he would order me to...”

“Do you mean when he asked you to disrobe?”

“He never asks me to do anything -- he commands it. Yes -- he has offered me to his associates before. I was surprised when you preempted him. It was my first inkling that you might be different from his other cronies.”

“I'm not a crony,” Nyk replied. “And, if it doesn't mean something -- if it isn't mutual -- I don't want anything to do with it. It's wrong to take advantage of someone.”

“I like your attitude, Nyk.”

“I'll admit my behavior toward you hasn't been exemplary. I'm truly sorry, and I hope the damage I did isn't permanent. I like you, Andra -- now that I know you and I'd like us to be friends.” He pressed his palm against hers and patted her forearm.

She looked into his eyes. “I accept your apology, Nykkyo.” She laced her fingers with his. “I'm sorry I haven't been more gracious toward you.”

“Can you tell me what you know of Zander's activities?” he asked.

“Nothing. I know nothing of what he was trying to do.”

“You're a smart girl, Andra. I don't believe you ignorant of Zander's doings.”

“At the finishing school they taught us to turn a deaf ear to anything political. It was for our own protection. What we don't know won't hurt us. Truth drugs have been outlawed on Floran, but not on all the colonies. If one of us knew something, it's a short packet trip to where one could be used. So, we were trained how to ignore anything that didn't pertain directly to servicing our assignments. Believe me, Nyk, I know nothing.”

“Did you know Zander was up to no good?”

She looked at the floor. “I suspect as much. That's why I decided to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to his activities. My assignment was to service him as his ax'amfin, and as his wife.” She shuddered. “We have an unspoken agreement. I don't ask about his business and he doesn't volunteer anything. I did my duty. I despise him, but I did my duty and it did not include collaborating with his schemes.”

“You never thought of contacting the authorities about your suspicions?”

“I have no proof. I was following my training and ignoring what he did.”

“But his drug mixture -- he was using a hypnotic and those have been outlawed.”

“It would be my word against his. Even a drug test would be inconclusive as none of the ingredients in his mixture are illegal on their own. Besides, he could claim I injected myself voluntarily, and he'd be right.”

“The nerve toxin...”

“It's not a controlled substance -- it's not a substance known on Floran. Possessing it is no crime, only using it.”

“But, his intent...”

“How can one prove intent before the fact?”

“So, Zander's been cautious not to do anything overtly illegal... You must be in a terrible dilemma. I think you made the right choice. You're better off not knowing. Andra, I'm scared. I'm scared for both of us. The more I think about it, the more frightened I become. I think people are likely to die before we reach the end of this. I hope we won't be among them.”

“I'm scared, too. If Zander finds me before I can petition Central Admin for protection, my miserable life won't be worth living.” She moved closer to him. “I've decided to trust you, Nyk.” He slipped his arm around her and she leaned against him. “I might try liking you.”

Nyk stood. “It's late. Let's choose sleeping quarters. My mom and dad had rooms on the top floor. Mine was on the middle level. When I'm here, I use my old bedroom. I've never felt comfortable in my parents' rooms. You can have your choice of the guestrooms, or if you want more privacy, feel free to use one upstairs.”

Nyk showed her the guestrooms and escorted her up the spiral staircase. “I like this,” she said. “It looks feminine and comfortable.”

“This was my mother's room. Do you have a case?”

“It's downstairs in the lower level.”

Nyk returned with her travel case. “You might as well make yourself at home. We're apt to be here for some time.” He set her case on the bed. Andra opened it, removed a pair of tunics and placed them in a drawer. Nyk picked up a polypack filled with injector cartridges. “Andra, what are these? Are you in the habit of using drugs?”

“Oh, no. Those are some of Zander's. The green ones are his special mixture. I wanted to keep them from his hands. I hate using drugs -- especially, now after...”

“I understand.” Nyk opened a cabinet and tucked the pack inside. “They'll be out of the way, here. Sleep tight, Andra.”

“Good night, Nyk.”

He retired to his childhood bedroom, undressed, stretched out and attempted to will himself to sleep. Andra's story of abuse haunted him. “That poor girl,” he thought. He closed his eyes and saw images of her doubled over in agony, as Zander laughed and took hits on inhalers. “Why, Zander? Ax'amfin or not, you had no right to treat her so.”

Guilt plagued him. “She's not having the best time with Zander,” he recalled Senta saying. What an understatement. “She deserves pity more than anything else.” He had plenty of pity for her, now. “Andra hasn't known many men and it would help her if you were just a little nice to her.” Nyk wondered if Andra could trust any man. His eyes began to burn. He flopped onto his stomach and buried his face in the bedcushion. “That poor, poor girl.” Soon he was sobbing.

A rap sounded on his door. “Nyk, are you all right?”

He rolled over and switched on the lighting. “I'm okay.”

The door slid open. Andra entered holding a pillow in front of her. “What's the matter?” she asked. “What are the tears for? For me?” Nyk nodded. She sat beside him and stroked a tear from his face. “Thank you for the tears.” She touched her finger to her lips.

“Andra, why didn't Senta tell me?”

“I forbade her to. I forbade her to tell anyone. I was afraid word would get back to Zander.”

“I wish I had known. I'd have tried to help -- believe me, I would've.”

“I believe you.” She kissed his cheek and Nyk saw her lick her lips.

“Do you like the taste of tears?” he asked.

She smiled and gave a guilty nod. “For the past four years I've been tasting my own.”

“It wasn't your fault, Andra. It wasn't anything you did. You didn't deserve it. You're a victim -- the victim of a criminal.”

“Senta tells me the same thing. I love her, Nyk -- like a sister. I couldn't have coped at all without her friendship. Now, I'm free. Please be happy for me.” She headed for the door, turned and gave him a little wave. “I'll see you in the morning.” He watched her walk out the door and heard her mount the stairs to the upper level.

Nyk descended to the ground level and led Andra out the front door. “Is this safe to do?” she asked.

“I think so -- we're quite isolated here. I've moved the groundcar into the lower level. I hate being shut up inside. Come on ... I'll show you my favorite places from when I was a boy.” He walked with her to the edge of the bluff and looked down. “That sea is teeming with life. None of it's edible. Earth people take nourishment from their sea. Koichi understood what it means to live on a planet that's unwilling to nourish you. The surf's more violent than usual. There's probably a storm brewing -- the second one this year. We should check the vidisplay for a storm forecast when we go inside.”

He guided her from the bluff. “I like to walk on the beach when the surf's