A bell tolled from somewhere in the distance.

            Yawning, Brandon hopped out of bed with a smile on his face. To his left in the opposing bunk was Jason, still dreaming peacefully. Shaking his friend awake, Brandon followed the sound of the bell down the stairs of the dormitory. In the bottom floor, he passed fellow citizens, some of them looking as glad as him, and some infected with depression, for the exact same reasons. Most of the sadder and less enthused individuals were new inductees to the city: people Nicole had scooped off the street or from her college campus.

            Their poor outlook was difficult for Brandon to understand. He might’ve bought into it a year ago, when Nicole first added him and Jason to her collection, but now he could only gawk at them and shake his head. The sooner they learned the pecking order, the sooner they could find bliss in this place.

            Out in the streets, Brandon was joined quickly by Jason. Still grinning ear-to-ear, the pair made their way into the flowing marathon line of workers marching to the center of the city. Hundreds were already hard at work. In the center of the grassy clearing was the golden construction of a new statue twice as tall as the last pathetic effort: currently, only the Nicole look-alike’s feet and lower calves had been molded, but a renewed vigor filled the streets.

            This offering would be a success. Maybe it had something to do with the inspiration of Brandon’s turn, and his sister’s public declaration of love for him as his goddess; either way, the city had taken her message of worship to heart with a vengeance.

            The bell toll stopped, but the work had only just begun. Sweating already, Brandon was invigorated like never before as he helped pass tools gold plates in the human assembly line. Later, he’d be on duty helping hoist up the next segment of the statue’s calf muscle. He was looking forward to that.

            Above the skyline crest of the buildings, a shadow overtook the urban structure. A form loomed which put to shame the majestic heights of even the city’s tallest skyscrapers. Nicole’s fingers curled one by one over the wall, the looped grooves of the tips massaging the stone. Her lake-blue eyes peered into the heart of civilization, as the full mass of the girl’s countenance took shape in their view.

            Instantly, work came to a half, and hands were on the ground. Heads bowed, and silence obscured the previous construction-related chatter; only Nicole’s calm, windy breathing punctuated the morning stillness. Both Brandon and Jason, side by side in the grass, looked proudly toward the horizon of her beautiful face and wispy blonde halo filling the void.

            “Hello, my precious little creatures,” she boomed in murmur. Those fingers drummed contentedly on the inner walls. Her eyes narrowed, studying the birth of the sculpture. “I see you’ve been keeping busy to make up for the last embarrassment of tribute. This one looks to be much more promising, and worthy of my love for you. Keep up work of this kind, and you’ll never need to anticipate my wrath again. Or at least for as long as you earn it.” With that, Nicole blew a wet, lustful kiss into the city; a few microbial sprays of warm saliva even landed amongst the masses.

            “I’ll be away at school for a while now,” Nicole crooned, as she drifted once again from view, until only her voice held them all in aching thrall. “Be good now: work your hearts out, and think only of me. When I return, if I am pleased with your progress, then I think we could find a reward beneficial to all of you, and me as well. I hope that will be enough to lift your spirits into action.”

            It was indeed.

            The citizens broke into thankful prayers and shouts of glory, some in more reverent manner than others. Even the bitter naysayers found the strength to summon a few words of praise for her. Gladly, there was no longer a need for the patrolling troops which inhabited the space when Brandon first arrived; everyone, whether their hearts were yet fully dedicated to Nicole or not, at least understood their physical place. Though the work had to resume in a few minutes, there was just enough time to pause and thank the Nicole-owned heavens. Jason was already jackhammering his cock, while Brandon instead chose the more pious morning ritual of mentally languishing on his devotion to his goddess-sibling and the many gifts she’d given him this past year; even in spite of this humble thinking, though, his pants were beginning to tent already, as it so often happened at the mere appearance of his adoring goddess over the city.

            But who could possibly blame him for his belief?