Selective Breeding | EDITING

Part 41

Dean was desperately trying to control his breath.

His back was pressed firmly against a wall. He could feel his heartbeat in his chest; even with his eyes closed he knew Ruma was still in front of him, pushing against him. Her hands rubbed up and down his arms.

He heard a purr. Then felt her hand against his cheek.

Then she mewled.

"Deon" a strand crackled voice called.

Deon quickly opened his eyes, looking down at Ruma. The muscles around her throat was still tight from her saying his name.

He too in a deep breath that he hadn't known he was holding, and quickly dropped down the wall. His eyes went past her, they had walked into a white building, it looked familiar but he didn't know why, until he saw that dark room with a chair still in the center.

"I'm sorry." he covered his head and looked down. Ruma rumbled and got down with him, and rolled on her back, scutching up between his leg so as he looked down he could see her.

She rubbed the back of his calf than signed, "I should have taken you back to the room, instead of with me."

Deon just snorted, "We were out, and you got told to go do something,"

Ruma rubbed his leg again. She lay there under him as she tried to figure out how she could help him. "How can I help?" she finally asked, as no other answers came to her.

He twisted his mouth up as he thought. With a sigh, he finally answered, "Just let's get out of the hall."

Deon stood up, doing his best to avoid looking at the room. Ruma held her hand up, and he gently got her off the floor. Once the dust was brushed off her Ruma, quickly pulled Deon into a room.

It at first looked like a small white office area, but there was a strange silvery reflective wall. Ruma set up her pad on the small table and started going through it. This was a fairly typical event that he saw her doing.

Deon looked around, he wasn't expecting to find paper, and yet, this was the first time outside of the books in Rumas room he had seen them. It looked messy in here, which was another strange thing for him to see.

He eventually got over the strangeness of this room and went and sat down next to Ruma. He looked over at the screen and saw a list of faces with tiny scribbles of information next to them as she used her finger to quickly scroll through it.

It stopped at the face of the boy they saw earlier for a moment, Ruma's eyes lingered for a bit, than quickly started scrolling again.

"Who was that?" Deon asked, with his arms crossed over his body trying to ignore that it got very cold in the room.

Ruma stopped scrolling, "Who?"

"That guy, in the- the Quad. Who was he?"

Ruma's face returned to the glum look. "My son."

Deon shook his head, he knew she had kids, and that she was a decent bit older than the average human lifespan, but he didn't expect to see a child of hers, be his age or more. "Why don't you see him more often?"

"I see him a lot, he just doesn't see me." she went back to her scrolling.

Deon thought about his next question, "Why is he there and not with you?"

"He aged."

"Can you explain that one?"

"His siblings were sold, but no one at the market wanted him. I was allowed to raise him until he hit the stage where he was useable in the program."

"I'm sorry."

Ruma seemed to just shrug, like it was not a big deal.

"I didn't see any small ones running about, are they older his kids?" Deo tried to move one to something she liked more.

"He hasn't produced any offspring."

"Can he not?"

She shook her head, "According to the records" She stopped signing, grabbed the pad and shook it, then went back, "He should be able to. He is a brude male, so that is the problem."

"Why would that be the problem? Also, is he full Rindosa?"

Ruma pulled her head from her pad at hearing Deon say her race's name. She stared at him for a while, as if she had a million questions and with no idea of how to ask them Then she let them drop.

"No, he is only half Rindosa. Why being a brude is a problem is because they wait for a female to choose them, they don't go out of their way for one."

"Seems counterproductive," Deon spoke, getting a glare from Ruma he shut up.

She shrugged again, "I won't have to visit him for too much longer; if he doesn't have an offspring by next year, he won't be around.

Deon gapped a bit at that. She said it so calmly and emotionlessly that it was almost like he was talking to someone else, the woman he knew had her only little baby book sitting on her nightstand at all times.

He wanted to comfort her but nothing could comfort that, he stood, "I am going to walk the hall."

"Be vigilant and safe, please?" Ruma watched him leave the room.

Deon started pacing, trying to run out the energy he had that built up over time. He continued this back-and-forth motion until he stopped dead and stared at the dark room.

He refused to be scared. He stepped towards it feeling the phantoms pains arise. Deon quickly turned away, maybe he would let that fear hold him for a while longer.

Then pattern continued for bout and hour. Or at least that is how long it felt like. When Deon heard the outside door open and saw Vassenhilo walk in. Deon was not about to get caught in the halls alone, and he couldn't make it to Ruma without being notice. His only option was that room.

He scampered in. Hiding in the darkness just around the door. He was trying to keep his cool long enough to go back out, and dash to the office door. When he heard the door creak behind him. His blood seem to freeze as he turned around slowly to she the towering monster that was Vassenhilo behind him.

"Why are you in here?"

Deon's chin trembled, "i-I RU-RU...Ruma"

"She'll have you after I am done." he shut the door leaving Deon in the dark. Seeing only a few spots of bioluminescent glow in the dark.

Deon shook, trying to hold everything together.

"Now, why are you here?"

"I was walking the halls"

"Convenient, why were you doing that."

He gulped, trying to figure out a way to explain.

"You sound guilty of something. Perhaps you are the spy Ruma warned me about."

Deon shivered, "Sp-y Me? No, No nnonono"

"You sure? Your always looking over Ruma's shoulder at her work screen, you are the one that snooped through my main computer system, you have been caught in areas you are not supposed to be in, and after you arrived I had a full quad poisoned. Ruma drops her guard around you."

"No" Deon whined, he felt sick, his kidnapper and torturer thinks he is a spy.

Vassenhilo got close, though Deon couldn't fully see him he could feel his presence. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you. I can't kill you if I want my pet happy, but I can certainly do other things. You jeopardise my work, or my pet and I will have no hesitation doing what I need to do. Understand human?"

Deon shook his head.

"Good, now get back to Ruma, and stay very close to her for a while, snooping might just make you more suspicious."

Deon nodded, Vassenhilo opened the door, letting light in. Deon took that and bolted around him, and down the hall to Ruma.

Vassenhilo watched him run. He wasn't certain if his informant was correct about him or not, but he couldn't be too careful.