Inquester-commandant Mâstusiu looked down at the young women cowering before her and her men. The blonde one was almost pissing herself from fear, whimpering in her seat and avoiding her eyes. The brunette had a blank, unreadable look, neither scared nor defiant, more like quiet, stoic acceptance of her fate. Mâstusiu deliberately avoided introducing herself, knowing that the mystery added to the impending threat she posed.
“You know what I’m talking about” continued Mâstusiu. “We have not found anything here that gives us any leads about the whereabouts of the… individual. However, from our peers in Bitagweh, we have learned that it is not uncommon for those who have mingled with the ‘people’ we are looking for, to have continued to ‘be in touch’, because the aliens are capable of offering enticing gifts or knowledge, and in some cases, certain… sordid pleasures”.
Here Mâstusiu searched the brunette’s face, Cantlutloche, for any signs of embarrassment, guilt or anything, but the pale girl’s countenance remained steady and deadpan, which either showed a clear conscience or a depraved mind which knew no shame. The other girl simply stared at the floor. As no other reaction was forthcoming, the Inquester continued:
“But in all cases these gifts eventually turn sour, and invariably those accepting them are lured to their doom as the aliens come to collect their due. I’m told you are aware of that young woman from Bitagweh who was abducted last year. Some alien artifacts were found among the few belongings of her that were recovered, as were a lot of unfinished electronic projects made with Lur’s materials, but which nefarious purpose the authorities over there have been unable to ascertain. Maybe the young woman had second thoughts about abetting the aliens’ activities and they decided to snuff her out”.
“The father of the woman said she was seeing a guy by the name of Mark, which matches the name of one of the known aliens over there, but of course she always declined to introduce the man to her family. It is quite likely the snatched woman is now under examination in a lab in one of their ships, whole or in pieces”. Mâstusiu paused for effect. “It is rumored the aliens have a device that can shrink humans to their size”. No reaction from the girls.
“We are determined not to let this happen in our country and will take ANY measures needed to avoid infiltration and invasion. We have monitored all of you very closely for the last weeks. Your Tungese friend Fisotrano, because she spends more time in public places, we have been able to scrutinize and frisk more closely and repeatedly, and we have not found anything on her, either. But let this visit be a warning that you will keep being under continued surveillance. We.Are.Watching.You. We have paid informants in this house and around you. My card is on the table. If one of these aliens contacts you anew, you NEED to contact me immediately and aid in its capture”.
“Now both of you, I need you to look me in the eye” both girls did. “this is your last chance to tell me if you have seen the alien from that day on”.
“No, mistress”. Said Mal-Jabloki.
“No, mistress”. Said Cantlutloche.
“If I find out you are still communing with the alien after this, and don’t tell me, I WILL find out. You will be captured, declared an enemy of the State, marked, blinded and declared an outlaw and reduced to beggary. You will be forbidden to leave the city, the territory or the country and will be forbidden to hold a job. Do you understand?”.
“Yes, mistress. Both women lowered her eyes. Without another word, she left with her men, leaving a bedlam of a mess from all the girl’s belongings, but without taking anything. Mâstusiu would not abide any petty theft from her men on the job, nor being grabby with women. Any other form of intimidation was, however, encouraged.
Cantlutloche and Jablo stayed stupefied for a few moments, looking fearfully at the door through which the goons have disappeared, not knowing if they were allowed to move. Then Jablo started to snuffle. Cantlutloche rose fom her seat and, kneeling beside her roommate, embraced her. The blonde buried her head in Tloche’s shoulder and, hugging her tightly, wept, wracked by hearbreaking sobs. Tloche closed her eyes tightly but did not cry. However, she felt a bottomless dread beneath her breastbone.
Being a medic in the making, she always found the expression “heartbroken” to be dramatic, but now she understood. Her heart ached with fright and compassion for what lay ahead for her and her helpless, lost little man. Will she find him again?
A few minutes later she led Jablo out of the apartment to the park to get some air. The other girls of the house were starting to trickle in again. As they made it to the exit, Tloche and Jablo saw the boarding house’s chief, Miss Taborda, with two other girls, kneeling near the entrance. They got closer and what they saw froze Cantlutloche’s blood to her core.
“Poor little bird” said Miss Taborda “he must have fell from his nest, he got in here and all these careless women went through here in a panic and trampled him to paste”. She shook her head, as she looked dolefully at a messy red stain of gore in the white tiles of the porch; only a small, flattened pink limb to the side betrayed the fact that the smear had not always been a shapeless blot, but that it had once been a walking living being. “this is going to be difficult to remove”. She lifted her eyes and met Tloche’s dark eyes, wide in utter horror. “Oh, Tloche, you’re the least squeamish of this lot. Will you be a good sport and fetch me a bucket, a mop and something to scrape this off?”.
Before anyone could even lift a finger, and as everyone looked, open mouthed, Cantlutloche made a strange little sound that was neither a sigh nor a moan, rolled her eyes and dropped to the ground in a swoon.