Ex Vivo (#2 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 18

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What nonsense is that?

Akoma blinked at the message on the screen. She had been gazing at it for the past ten minutes hoping that the message would just change, or perhaps the app would report a system hack or failure to her relief. She had no knowledge or memory of downloading the app at all, neither had she thought of doing so until that night. She remembered reading the details of the app in the app store back at Akwaboah Gardens hours earlier and how Stallion had commented on it, but she was so sure she did not install it or sign in. How could this be? If indeed she was already signed in, who then was her Boo? She quickly opened her phone's app store and typed a review under the Ex Vivo app.

'Hello. I'm not a User of this app, but when I installed it tonight, the app said I was already signed in. I don't recall creating any account at all. What could be the problem? I am suspecting a hack.

She waited patiently for a reply and made herself a cup of tea. After thirty minutes, she realized the management of Ex Vivo might be fast asleep and gave up, hoping she might receive her reply probably the next morning. As she retired to bed, she scrolled through her phone contacts and stopped when she saw Louisa's number. Louisa was her very good friend just like Ender. Akoma remembered their last moments together, how she had attempted to reveal everything she had done in the name of Ex Gratia to Louisa and the cost of that big mistake: Louisa's gory death at the hands of their own friend now gone rogue. Akoma missed Louisa, and she feared she would join her late friend one of these days after Ender was done with her at last. She thought of sending an SMS to her seamstress called Portia, but upon entering the first two alphabets of her name, one name caught her attention amongst the search results. She sat up slowly and frowned at the screen as if she had been slapped in the face. She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to wash her face, doubting her own state of mind. When she returned to the phone, the name was still there. She shook her head few times and pinched herself to ensure that she was not dreaming. She felt utterly terrified and wondered how the contact had found its way onto her phone. The contact was saved as 'Pokichu'.

The most reasonable explanation would have been that Poku must have saved his number on her phone while she was unconscious in his hotel room, but she believed there was no way Poku would have gone past the pattern security lock on her phone because he did not strike her as a cyber freak. She only remembered him touching the phone while kissing her, but she doubted that meant anything to the automatic sign up or his contact saved on her phone. On second thought, she felt thankful for having Poku's contact because it meant she could reach him, and she could get to know him more.

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Suzy woke up with a start and sat up in bed. She looked up and saw Stallion seated in a chair by the door, gazing at her with his gleaming eyes in the dark. She reached for the switch on the wall and turned on the lights. Stallion flexed the fingers of his left hand rubbed his forearm in silence. Everything that had happened before that moment returned to Suzy, and she felt terrified. Stallion realized his angel did not seem too pleased to see him in her room for the first time since they hooked up on Ex Vivo, and slowly, he rose to his feet and approached her. Suzy cowered and reached for a pair of scissors lying by the bed impulsively. She held it at him and brandished it threateningly.

"You stay away from me," she whispered as her voice quaked with sobs. "Why did you do that? Why did you kill him?"

Stallion stopped in his tracks and folded his arms across his chest. "You know why I did that. It's a simple logic."

"Tell me!" Suzy shouted at him.

Stallion licked his lips and bowed his head. "I am disappointed, frankly. You sound like I have a killer instinct that is so subhuman. I find that really insulting."

"You still have the guts to talk back at me with that sickening accent?" Suzy snorted and reached for her trousers, but she found out her phone was missing. When she turned to look at Stallion, she realized Stallion was tossing it in his hand.

"Looking for this?" he asked calmly. "I have a feeling you were thinking of – what – editing my specs to make me 100% submissive, I guess?" He chuckled and sat on the bed. Suzy pushed back to the edge of the bed farther from him and accidentally fell off. She picked herself up and backed away to the wall, still holding out her weapon. "Of all the moments you spent with me, the cuddling, the sex, the romance, the fun, and the exciting moments – it never occurred to you that you could control me. Why now? I find it very odd."

Suzy squinted at him in shock and asked, "Who are you? What are you? What do you want from me?"

Stallion frowned. "That's a silly question. I want your love. Your devotion. I'm your User. But – well – that's debatable because I am not sure which of us has used the other the most." He chuckled and opened the Ex Vivo app on Suzy's phone. "I don't want to hurt you, because your order said that you '...wanted a guy who would love you till you suffocated'. You remember that?" He turned the screen to face her and showed Suzy the optional character description in the app's order menu. Suzy gaped at it and felt completely blank. Stallion nodded. "I am not sure you were acting under anyone's compulsion. You wrote that yourself. You want a suffocating love. Fascinating. Can I play a voice note for you to hear, please?" He pushed his finger into his ear and turned it twice. A voice came out of his head audibly as though from a speaker, and it was Suzy's.

"Oh – then beat the daylight out of him next time he tries. Well – you can kill him if you want. Hahaha." The audio stopped and replayed three times, and finally, Stallion took his finger out of his ear and smiled. Suzy looked horrified by her own words and was so filled with fear that she could not stand on her feet but crumbled to the floor to sob uncontrollably. Stallion shook his head. "Your tears are nothing. Words are irretrievable once they've been spoken. Next time, you will be careful what you wish for." He closed in on Suzy with a grin on his face. Suzy swiped the scissors at him, and it slashed him on the right side of his face, but to her utmost dismay, the weapon left no effect on his skin. She ogled at the blades and realized they were badly bent after impact. She threw them away and shook her head pleadingly at Stallion.

"Stallion, baby please. No. Don't hurt me. That's not what I asked for. That's not – please," Suzy sobbed. Stallion stroked her bare thighs and crawled closer, reaching for her chin. "Stallion, please – I am your User. You have to obey me! You cannot hurt me."

"Too late. I am your User now. What's safe about love that suffocates?"

Suzy shook her head. "I didn't mean it that way. You're intelligent. How could you – "

"You modelled me to satisfy your every need, and that's exactly what I'm going to do, literally or not." Stallion slowly run his left hand over her head, and without warning, he seized her nose and pinched it to keep her from breathing through her nostrils. He shut his eyes and locked her jaw with his in a deep French kiss. Suzy did not resist at first, but after twelve seconds, the feeling was getting uncomfortable and she felt restless. She attempted to push him off but his body felt like a falling timber lying over her body. He quickly restrained her legs with an arm and one leg while supporting himself with the other leg, and he kept the kiss as airtight as possible. Suzy started to groan in agony and attempted to break free, punching him hard in the shoulders but he did not budge one bit. Her heart raced rapidly in her chest, and after about half a minute later the veins and muscles in her neck became tense. Stallion opened his eyes finally, and after a great deal of struggle from Suzy, she finally became limp and still. Stallion let go and stared at her, and as he stroked her face, a tear dropped out of Suzy's right eye. He returned to Suzy's phone and opened a menu in the Ex Vivo app, selected the option 'Sign Out' and after choosing the 'yes' button to the 'Are you sure?' question, the app said: 'Hello. You've been signed out of Ex Vivo. We can't wait to have you back.' He gave Suzy's lifeless body a final glance and slowly returned to the box in which he had been delivered. The box sealed him up mechanically and returned to its former state as though it had never been opened.

Shortly afterwards, an Ex Vivo 18-wheeler cargo truck arrived at the house and two men dressed in uniform emerged from it. They fetched the box first, and then returned for Suzy's body as well. They packed them both into the enclosed cargo space that was already containing other boxes and bodies of other Users. According to the numbers on the tags the men hung on their necks, Suzy's was the twentieth sign out. They shut the truck and headed for their next collection point.

"245 more to go," the driver muttered.