Sirens blared around me. Startled, I opened my eyes, unsurprised to find myself alive and well. That was expected, Rhia wouldn’t let me escape my punishment by dying. The sirens concerned me—we didn’t have sirens in Sanctuary.

          I found myself in the same position as before. The destruction caused by the explosion lay in front of me, small fires still burning among the wreckage. Behind me, blood coated everything in sight, but Rhia’s gate was no longer there. I don’t know why I expected anything different.  It felt like a lifetime had passed since I carried out my task, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. What am I supposed to do now?

          Before I could think too hard about that question, a brilliant red light flashed on and off throughout the entirety of Sanctuary. Along with the sirens, it was as if the dome itself was screaming in anguish, mourning the loss of its youngest generation.

          “What the hell is this?” The dome didn’t have an alarm system.

          A brawny arm grabbed my shoulder, breaking me from my confusion. I turned around and found Orion standing there, expression grim.

          “Orion?” I asked, not sure if I could trust my eyes. “I—I thought you left with the rest of the Elders?”

          “Come on,” he said, ignoring me. “The rest of the Church will be here any second. You need to run.”

          “Run?” I asked, not comprehending. “Where would I go? I can’t hide, the Church would find me within a day or two.” I shoved his hand off my shoulder and stood up, looking him in the eyes. “Besides, I deserve whatever they’ll do to me. I won’t hide from this.”

          “Boy, don’t be a fool!” Orion shouted, anger and desperation showing on his face before he stopped himself. He took a deep breath, visibly calming, and continued, “Look. Arsis. Remember what I said about Rhia only showing you part of the plan?”

          “Yes,” I replied, not liking where this was going.

          “Your part in this isn’t over yet. She asked me—”

          “Bullshit. I’m done. Don’t lie to me.”  I refused to listen to his nonsense. I’ve had enough for one day. “Rhia would have—”

           Orion grabbed the collar of my robe and pulled me close. His face was only a few inches away from mine, and if I wasn’t immortal, his glare would have killed me on the spot. 

          “Shut up and listen, boy.” He paused, making sure I wouldn’t fight back. When I didn’t resist, he continued, “I do as I am bid by Rhia, as do you. What comes next isn’t like what we did today. No one will tell you what to do. I can only set you on the path, and you must walk it, unaware of your destination. Let instinct guide you and know that Rhia watches over you.”

          “What if I refuse?” I asked.

          “We don’t have the luxury of a choice. You should know that better than anyone.” He looked past my shoulder at what I had done, and his anger slipped, fading into sorrow.

          As much as I hate to admit it, I understood. He’s as much a tool as I am—our lives are not ours to live. Sensing my resignation, he lessened his grip on my collar, and I stepped back a little.

          The strange alarms were still going off. That worried me. Maybe Orion knew something. “What’s going on with the red light and siren? I thought we didn’t have an alarm system?”

          Orion grinned. “We don’t.”

          I was about to ask him to explain what he meant when I heard men shouting.

          “Damn,” Orion cursed. “We’re out of time. Looks like the friendly priests are here for a visit.”

          Great, I forgot about them. “Where are we supposed to go?”

Orion started running along the wall of the dome. “Follow me! I have an idea.”

What he said earlier was right, I didn’t have a choice, and so I ran after him.

###

          We didn’t get very far.

          The Church has governed Sanctuary for millennia, and there’s an excellent reason for it. An organization doesn’t rule a nation for that long because they tuck you in at night and sing you lullabies. Maybe Rhia wouldn’t have given me such a shit hand in life if they did. Instead, the priests prefer standard tactics like religious devotion, social shaming, and force.

          Priests are law-keepers, meaning they know how to put down riots, catch runaway criminals, and beat the shit out of you. So, when a group of five priests appeared in front of Orion and me, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it was. Chalk it up to the morbid whims of a goddess ruining my day.

          We slowed our run, stopping twenty feet away from the priests.

          Orion bent close to me and whispered, “There’s about ten more of the idiots coming up to surround us. Don’t do anything stupid. Let me talk to them- get their guard down. If they give us a chance, we’ll try to run for it.”

          I wasn’t that confident. Our new friends had murder in their eyes. There’s no way they missed seeing all the blood, so if the senile Elder thought he could sweet-talk fifteen angry men, I wasn’t stopping him.

          Taking a step in front of me, Orion held his hand up and called to the priests, “Thank Rhia you’re here. Goddess bless you! There was a massive explosion, the main oxygen pipes collapsed, and everything went to shit. Please help us, I beg you.”

          He sounded pathetic to me, but the priests looked to one another, themselves on the verge of panic at the news. Orion dropped to his knees and started sobbing. I hadn’t known the man for long, but he didn’t seem like the melodramatic type. His acting skills were impressive.

          One priest, who acted as their leader, said, “Stay where you are. You need to tell us exactly what happened here. Where are the newborns?”

          “I—I don’t know,” Orion said, looking confused. “I don’t think they ever came through the gate. I never saw them.”

          For a moment, I thought the priest would buy it, but his voice dropped low, each word promising death, “Answer me this, why are you still here? Did you think to escape from Rhia’s embrace?”

          Orion hesitated.

          That was enough for the priest. “This blasphemer has provoked Rhia’s wrath.” His voice rose, fighting to overpower the sirens.  “She refused us our next generation because of this man’s selfish behavior! Arrest him!”

          That was our signal to run.

          At least, it should have been, but a deafening pop cut through everything. The priests froze, trying to understand where the sound had come from when white smoke billowed out from the walls.

          Seeing our chance, I grabbed Orion and ran, hoping the smoke would cover us.

          My lungs burned as we ran. “Hey, old guy, what is this stuff?”

          “Don’t know. Don’t care. So long as we get away.”

          “Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s safe.” I coughed as it became harder to breathe. Laying down for a nap suddenly seemed like an outstanding idea. I slowed our pace to a brisk walk. It was all I could manage.

          Orion looked at me, worried, “Probably not, but it looks like the entire dome is drowning in the stuff. Try breathing through your robes.”

          Logic, what a novel concept. I tried to congratulate Orion for this wisdom, but the words weren’t coming easily, “That’s—that’s a good…” I stopped walking. “Good…”

          Good what? I had to tell Orion something. It was getting hard to think. Damn it, what was good?

          I was so sleepy.

          That was it! I turned to Orion, unable to keep my eyes open. “Naps are good! Goodnight.” I fell to the ground.

          “Arsis!”

          I thought I heard Orion say my name, but I didn’t care. Nobody should interrupt nap time. Rhia should make it a sacred activity, then Orion could leave me the hell alone. My eyes closed as I awaited bliss.

          Just before I lost consciousness, a blue light hit my closed eyelids, almost disturbing my sacred nap. That was okay. The blue light was peaceful, just like Rhia. Beautiful.

###

          My head was pounding. It felt as if an ax had split my skull in half. I groaned. Rolling onto my side, I tried thinking back to last night. My memories were foggy, the pain making it difficult to remember. Did I get drunk? That would explain my headache. I haven’t gotten that drunk in a few years.

          I don’t remember dreaming last night, either. Why does that sound important?

          Wait.

          No dreams. I took a moment to appreciate the magnitude of that revelation—Rhia did not visit my dreams. Memories slammed back into me, and my headache redoubled. They were too much, and I didn’t want them again, yet they filled my mind forcing me to relive that moment.

          The ground jolted beneath me, breaking me out of the trance. Hearing the low hum of a motor, I sat up, confused. Was I in some type of vehicle? I had expected to be imprisoned by the Church—there was no way we had escaped the priests. They’re good at what they do, and I had fallen asleep—that would have sealed our fate.

          Rubbing my eyes, I opened them slowly, careful not to blind myself. I wasn’t in prison, that much I was sure of. I was in a hallway of sorts, as wide as it was tall, perhaps ten feet in both directions. It was dark, but a faint light about one hundred feet down allowed me to see my surroundings, not that there was much to see. As far as I could tell, I was the only one in the hallway.

          I stood up, leaning against the wall for support. Faint vibrations ran through the walls, and while I had assumed I was being transported in a vehicle, I tossed the idea out. The hallway was too large for that. Nothing in my Sanctuary education explained what I was seeing, and that had me worried.

          Maybe I was trapped deep beneath Sanctuary, in a place only the priests knew of? That’s certainly possible. The Church does have a few secrets, and if I were underground and near an active mine, that would explain the vibrations. It was the only reasonable explanation I could think of, so I decided it must be the case.

          Wherever I was, Rhia wanted me there; that’s what Orion told me, and I believed him. I wasn’t sure if that was a comforting thought. Now that I had done what she asked of me, I want nothing to do with her. She asks her servants to give up everything and gain nothing in return. I hate her for the life she stole from me, and for the monster I’ve become. And yet, Rhia is my goddess. My soul is bound to her, to be used as she desires. 

          Deciding that standing in an empty hallway was less than ideal, I started walking towards the light. I made it about halfway before the ground trembled, knocking me off my feet. Before I could regain my footing, I was launched forward, tumbling at least a dozen feet.

          “Damn it.” I cradled my head in my arms, and pleaded with the empty air, “I know I heal fast, but could you at least wait until the first headache recovers before giving me a fresh one?” 

          Was it just me, or did that feel like inertia?

          Curious, I held my ear to the wall and listened—nothing. The sound of a running motor was gone. I was rethinking my conclusion about where I was. It’s just my luck to find my way onto a mysterious ship of cosmic proportions. The idea excited part of me—I’d be considered a criminal if I was in Sanctuary, but what if this someplace else? Not only would I be the only Sunedi to leave the dome in millennia, but I could also create a new life for myself, one that didn’t involve prison.

          The hallway shook again, this time accompanied by the sound of a massive door slamming. It reverberated through my body, sending shivers down my spine. My instincts told me I should wait inside the hall for a while before going out to explore, just in case I wasn’t welcome here.

          After waiting for thirty minutes, I left the hallway, finding my self in another empty room, only marginally brighter than the hall. I stood, unable to comprehend what my eyes were telling me— the place was massive. The only thing I could compare its height to was Sanctuary itself, being maybe two- thirds as tall as the dome, well over three hundred feet tall. From where I stood to the other end of the room was easily one hundred fifty feet. This was the most impressive display of engineering prowess I had ever seen, considering this entire room appeared to be only one part of some giant cargo ship.

          “I don’t think the Church could keep a secret this big,” I whispered.

          That meant I wasn’t in Sanctuary anymore. So then there were other Sunedi living outside the dome. If this cargo ship is anything to go by, these Sunedi were far more advanced than we ever were. Is what Rhia wanted me to see? Had we locked ourselves inside a bio-dome for no reason? Were there others living outside the dome and thriving?

          I had to speak to someone. This was too big a revelation to keep it to myself. I bet these other Sunedi don’t even know we exist; otherwise, they would have helped us rebuild. That must be it. In that case, it was up to me to create some alliance.

          Excited, I ran to the other side of the room, looking for an exit. As I approached the wall, I noticed that it was angled in a way that the first side wasn’t, and that puzzled me. For master engineers, these people don’t appear to understand the concept of symmetry, and I still couldn’t find the door.

          Then it dawned on me. I can be an idiot sometimes, and today was no exception. The entire damn wall is the door! The odd angle a result of some careless Sunedi leaving the door open. I just never imagined anyone would need to build a door so large, but it made sense considering the size of the cargo they probably transport in this monster of a machine.

          Grateful for careless men, I made my way out of the cargo ship.

          Now outside the cargo ship, I stood inside a hangar, large enough to fit at least two other full-sized ships. The amount of resources it must have taken to manufacture this hanger must have been astronomical. It only confirmed my suspicions about these Sunedi—we needed their help to survive, and they have more than enough resources to do the job.

          I found it odd that I still couldn’t find anyone to talk to. A hangar this large should have hundreds on staff. We didn’t dock all that long ago, yet the place was empty, and the lights were turned off.

          There were giant windows high on the wall to my left, letting it a fair amount of light from outside. It was still daytime, which probably meant I had been sleeping for at least a full day. That means it’s breakfast time, and I haven’t eaten a damn thing. I dislike being drugged by mysterious clouds of gas, especially when it causes you to miss out on pancakes.

          Just like in the cargo ship, the hanger had gargantuan doors, which were also left open. Interesting. Everything here was so foreign that I questioned everything I had ever been taught. Did the Church hide this from us, or are they as ignorant as the rest of us?

          Five minutes later, I was standing in front of a door taller than the statue of Rhia. There was a gap around ten feet wide, more than enough space for me to pass through. It was much brighter outside, so much so I had to squint to avoid becoming blind. One hand held up as a visor, I walked past the door and into a new world.

###

          “Rhia’s tits. Where the hell am I?”

          I was wrong. Oh Rhia, I was so wrong. This wasn’t a new Sunedi nation. As my eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, my confusion continued to magnify. Everything around me had the same unbelievable scale of the hangar. The street in front of me must have been at least a mile wide, and it stretched further than I could see in either direction. I was standing on a smaller road made of concrete, maybe a few hundred feet wide, which ran alongside the main street. Buildings ten times the height of Sanctuary towered on the other side of it—their walls made of glass windows reflected warm sunlight in my direction.

          Sunlight.

          That was impossible, the sun hadn’t been seen since in ages; it was one reason life outside a bio-dome was impossible. Yet, I could not deny what I saw. Something told me I was about to see a lot more impossible things in the days to come. Nothing Sanctuary had taught me would help me here.

          I walked further outside. The air was almost sweet as I breathed it in; I had no idea that was even possible. It was nothing like the acrid stench of Sanctuary, and I welcomed its fragrance. After what Rhia had put me through, the world had drained of color. That was as it should be. Beauty didn’t exist in Sanctuary because it didn’t belong there. It was a place of brutal labor and cruel goddesses, but here—here with the sun shining and the pure air, was a place of unknown potential. Some of the colors flowed back into my perceptions, as I began to hope for a change I so desperately desired.

          Ensnared with awe, it took me a minute to notice the ground trembling. Like the pounding of my heart, there was a rhythm to the tremors. I looked to my left and froze; panic and adoration both seized me tight enough that I thought my heart would burst.

          She was a goddess, towering hundreds of feet tall, who else but Rhia could she be? She was a mile away, wearing a blue knee-length dress that clung to her massive thighs as she strode towards me. Long blond hair hung down to the middle of her back, and atop her head were a strange pair of earmuffs. They were like what we used to protect our ears back in Sanctuary, but hers were bright pink and didn’t cover her ears enough to offer any protection. She had a carefree expression on her face, head bobbing rhythmically as she walked.

          Multiple things clicked into place as I pieced everything together. This must be the goddess’s domain. Everything I had done up to this point, all the murders and death, had led to this moment. It was meeting with Rhia I wasn’t supposed to have for another thirty-eight years.

          Each step she took shook the ground with such force, I was surprised it didn’t split in two. Rhia was approaching with incredible speed, her stride eating up the distance in seconds.  Still in half a daze and having no better ideas, I fell to my knees.

          “Blessed Rhia, I am not worthy to be in your presence. I am here to serve you,” I said, prostrating before my beautiful goddess.

          She didn’t respond. Her footsteps were almost deafening as they came closer.

          “Have I done something wrong, oh pure one?” I risked looking up, concerned I had offended her.

          “Oh, shit.”

          That was all I could manage before a blue sandal the size of a building came crashing down on top of me, my bones shattering underneath its weight.

          I used to kill myself each morning, and a day ago, I shot myself in the head. I know pain well—or at least I thought I did, until that moment. When I shot myself, my head was completely blown off. That meant I had blacked out until my skull pieced itself back together, meaning I missed out on the worst of the pain.

          Apparently—through some twisted logic designed to torment me—having my entire body splattered into oblivion wasn’t enough to warrant unconsciousness. I felt my organs exploding and bones snapping. If my eyes hadn’t popped, the pain would have been blinding.

          I laid in a puddle of blood, unable to hear or see anything, my bones beginning to knit themselves back together. I had never burned myself at the stake, but I assume it must be similar to what I felt as the blood flowed back into my body. Every part of me was on fire, and I started screaming as soon as my mouth reformed. My eyes and ears came soon after, restoring the last of my missing senses.

          It took a few minutes before the pain receded, leaving me exhausted. Breathing like I had just finished running a marathon, I sat up, my head darting back and forth, searching for Rhia.

          She was gone.

         Was that really her? It had to be—the Church taught that Rhia was the sole creator of the universe. We use the words “woman” and “goddess” interchangeably, so that must be her… Unless it wasn’t.

         My mind was racing, on the verge of an existential crisis. I knew I couldn’t trust information learned from the Church, but did that mean that Rhia wasn’t the only goddess? If so, how many were there?

          While I attempted to wrap my mind around that insane proposition, I once again heard the familiar impact of a goddess’s footsteps. Damn, Rhia, or whoever she was must be coming back this way. Panicked, I swung my head around, searching for a place to hide but found nothing I could reach quickly.

          Wait a minute—the footsteps were coming from the wrong direction, so it couldn’t be the same goddess. My suspicions were confirmed as I saw another, different woman turning a corner to head my way. I was beginning to think beauty was intrinsic to all women. She was just as gorgeous as the blond, her wavy red hair fell down to her ass, blowing gently as she walked. I drew my gaze towards her chest; it was almost spilling out of her low-cut black blouse. Neither Rhia nor the blond had a chest so large, and I felt a strange sensation between my legs at the sight of it.

          Before I made a run for it, the goddess tripped, and she came tumbling down like a tree felled by an ax. I sprinted away as fast as possible, trying to escape being crushed yet again.

          Behind me, a high pitched voice shouted, “Damn shoes!”

          I turned my head back as I ran and watched as she landed face-first on the concrete just feet from me, the impact sending me sprawling. Her freckled face was close enough that, if I wanted to, I could have reached out and touched her. I held my breath, fear and awe warring inside, freezing me in place.

          “Shit, that hurt,” the goddess said, lifting her face up. Blood covered her upper lip.  “I told Marie these shoes were stupid.”

          Then she saw me and froze. It was her shocked expression that gave me the confidence I needed.

          I dropped to my knees and bowed before her. “Hello, goddess. It is an honor to meet you.”

          “What. The. Fuck.” She sat up, towering over me, and wiped the blood from her lip, confusion evident on her face.

          She pointed a massive finger at me. “You just talked!”

          My neck strained as I looked up at her, “My name is Arsis, your holiness. What shall I call you?”

          She didn’t hear me.

          Standing up, she backed away from me. “Holy shit, you just talked!” Her hands flew to the sides of her head, clutching her hair. “It talked. Am I going crazy? What even is that thing? It fucking talked to me!”

          I struggled to keep my balance as she paced back and forth in panic, the ground rumbling with her every step. Of all the reactions I was expecting to receive, that wasn’t one of them. She was a goddess, so I thought she would be—I don’t know—more regal? If anything, I should be the one confused and panicked, not her.

          Her frantic pacing stopped, and she met my gaze. I shuddered. She was as tall as Rhia’s statue back home, a being of pure power. It was one thing to be stepped on by an unaware goddess; it was another thing entirely to have one’s full attention, contemplating what she might to with you.

          She then lowered herself onto all fours, bending down so her face was a mountain hovering over me. Her hair fell around me, blocking out most of my surroundings. I glanced down, past her looming face to find her large chest resting on the concrete, breasts pressed together, showing ample amounts of skin. My dick stiffened at the sight.

          Was that supposed to happen?

          It only ever got hard in the morning, and no one in Sanctuary seemed to know why. So then why is it hard now?

          “I—I am sorry I freaked out like that,” the goddess said, blushing. She spoke softly now, her voice tender, “I just didn’t plan on finding a tiny…” She gestured towards me, not seeming to have a word for my kind.

          “Anyways, I was startled is all. Um…” She hesitated, biting her lip. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you?”

          “I am Sunedi, your holiness,” I replied. “I am a man… I thought you would know that, being a goddess.”

          Her eyes opened wide. “A man?” Her head rose a dozen feet, eying her surroundings as if to check that no one heard her.

          I introduced myself a second time, “My name is Arsis. I am honored to be in your presence.”

          She laughed at that. It was a rich laugh, reminding me of Orion, except where his was loud and gruff, hers was delicate and charming. Embarrassed, I stared at her chin, unable to look into her eyes. Did I say something wrong?

          “My, you have impeccable manners, don’t you?” She smiled. “My name is Amelia.”

          “Amelia… What a wonderful name,” I said.

          Her face turned even more red at my compliment. She opened her mouth to respond, but quickly shut it.

          All traces of joy became replaced with fear as she whispered to me, “Someone’s coming. It’s not safe for you here.”

          I didn’t have time to react before I felt two giant fingers around my torso, lifting me off my feet.

          “Sorry about this,” Amelia said. “I’ll explain later.”

          Wind rushed against my face as I, still held by her fingers, was shoved between her breasts.