zmeydros
patreon
Remiel's Enlightenment - Chapter 17
🕑 Added 2024-05-21 16:05:02 +0000 UTCWithout the help she was hoping for and with her back against the wall, Amelia is forced to make a difficult choice that will determine.
(Ebook) (All) (Ch. 1) (Ch. 2) (Ch. 3) (Ch. 4) (Ch. 5) (Ch. 6) (Ch. 7) (Ch. 8) (Ch. 9) (Ch.10) (Ch.11) (Ch.12) (Ch.13) (Ch.14) (Ch.15) (Ch.16) (-----) (Ramda Dakimakura)
Without the help she was hoping for and with her back against the wall, Amelia is forced to make a difficult choice that will determine the fate of herself and her friends.
Remiel's Enlightenment - Chapter 17
by Zmeydros (Ramda Singlais)
(Edited by Akikotigress, Elara Singlais, and Wolfleah)
As I got herded toward Noah's office by Josiah, I frowned at how little my hat trick had accomplished. It would've probably worked somewhere where my bosses weren't in a competition to reform the most sinners. Even if the company image was at stake or something, no one looking at me would know I had anything other than a men's cut partially obscured by an ugly hat. It was a good compromise between what they wanted and what I wanted.
What the hell was I supposed to do? Just spend the rest of my life being a robot that did everything I was told to do exactly how I was told to do it? If I'd corrected the spreadsheet the way Josiah had told me to, I'd still be at it and miserable. This was bullshit!
The glass wall of Noah's office was something everyone talked about because whenever he turned the glass from frosted to clear, he was looking for someone to scold. The glass was clear at the moment and he was sitting at his desk, gesturing at his screen to look through some files. He was so tall and so lanky that he looked kinda like a scarecrow with gelled gray hair that was so spiky it could stand in for a straw hat in the right light.
As we entered, the window behind him darkened and a flexible screen descended from the ceiling. Then the glass wall frosted so we had privacy. The screen lit up, showing footage of Aeidou and Ezzie entering my apartment building.
Wait, my apartment complex's video feeds were readily available to Miramanna!? I'd checked the first day of orientation and found no record of Miramanna, or anyone from Trinity Stronghold, having anything to do with my apartment complex. I even checked on sites that divulged troubling Miramanna facts and such. It was illegal for off-earth companies to own properties on earth. Even the Miramanna complex was being leased and they didn't actually own it.
I figured them not being able to control my complex is why they always stationed a covert guard outside of it. Someone to tattle on Miramanna employees or protect us from being harassed (lots of people hated us for good reason). But, if they had access to the building's surveillance, they could call someone over the moment they saw a problem. It was really expensive to station a live person outside all the time. What were those guards for? What could they do?
"We're concerned about you, Remiel. Very concerned." Noah steepled his hands, his judgemental glare piercing me. The video switched to the camera in my complex's entryway and Aeidou, Ezzie, and I were sharing a hug before I led them further into the building.
"I'm t-trying to get to know Lezveioans. I might have to work with them someday. And Ezzie's a physicist that studies FTL." I wrung my hands. They were about to send me back, I just knew it.
"Oh, really? That's your reason? Does getting to know their culture include dressing up as a girl?" He switched to a video of me leaving my building in an orange sundress with red roses printed on it.
"I'm not dressing up as a girl. I am a girl!" Even though this was the worst time to say it, it felt amazing to be this sure. Everyone I knew telling me so had actually worked.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Josiah chuckled. "We're getting way too dramatic, aren't we? Come on, Remiel, I know you know that's not true."
"S-sorry." Being meek in this moment felt really uncomfortable, but I couldn't think of another way to protect myself from being sent home. My arms were tense and for some reason Julia's furious face from last night was sitting in my mind. The air that they knew better was so thick that I felt like I was going to suffocate if I didn't fight back. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do to Noah and Josiah, but whatever it was, I knew they wouldn't enjoy it.
"I appreciate your ability to de-escalate, Josiah." Noah cleared his throat and then wrapped his hand around the giant golden crucifix hanging from a thick gold chain around his neck. "There's numerous other examples of your sins against God, but it would be a waste of time to bother showing them because there's a simple solution to all this. We have clergy well versed in struggles like yours and we've already selected someone that you'll really connect with as your mentor."
"He's a truly great guy that's every bit as nerdy as you and he captained a spaceship for a decade before going into ministry. Heck, he's very well connected and he might even be able to get you a position on one of our ships after your internship is up." Josiah patted my shoulder.
I wanted to bite Josiah's hand. Josiah and Noah were trying to sell me this guy every bit as much as Ezzie and Aeidou were trying to sell me the idea of meeting Natasha. The difference was that Ezzie and Aeidou had my best interest in mind while Josiah and Noah wanted to destroy every bit of happiness I'd found.
"A shepherd is judged by how he deals with lost sheep and here, at Miramanna, we take pride in how many lost sheep we've brought back from the darkness." Noah tried to smile confidently, but only managed to look extra smug.
My heart was pounding, my whole body was stiff as if I was bracing myself for a bad landing. The blood in my veins felt like overheated coolant. Julia's furious face, her words, the fire I saw in her eyes when she challenged me to fight. I hated the look on Noah's face so much that my stomach hurt. In that moment, things I knew I shouldn't say aloud were the only things I could think of.
"Bring them back from darkness?" I clenched my right hand into a fist so hard that it was shaking. "For how long?"
"What?" Josiah's brow furrowed.
"Their whole lives. Miramanna is for life, Remiel." Noah's smile was less sure now as he looked at my face and my balled-up fist.
"Their whole lives, huh? Working here seems to give some people rather short lives, don't you think?" I narrowed my eyes at Noah. "Especially when you're the ones deciding who gets to be a girl and who doesn't."
Noah's eyes went wide.
"Now you listen here, Rem--" Josiah's words got lost because I spoke very loudly over him.
"If you believe God made me, then God gave me beautiful curly hair that looks better long and a body that runs better on estrogen. He gave me a feminine brain, a need to have weight on my chest, and a woman's way of socializing." I looked Josiah right in the eye and then turned my attention to Noah, letting every bit of anger I felt show on my face. "None of you know who I am or who I should be. None of you should have anything to say about whether I wear a dress or not. It wouldn't feel natural to me unless God made me this way. And if your clergy members don't agree with how I view my own, personal relationship with God, then they're not helping me come into God's grace. They're helping me turn my back on the path God laid out for me when he gave me this body."
"What a speech! Wow!" Noah clapped his hands like he found my outburst entertaining, but his face was pale. I don't think he was used to his sheep headbutting him when he mishandled them.
"Noah, can we try it my way now?" Josiah's voice was way too calm, too calculating.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Absolutely." Noah grinned. "I tried the carrot. It's time for the stick."
On the screen, Julia and Hosannah were kissing just in front of the robo-stylist pod I'd used, which was way down the street from the Miramanna building. I was horrified, and legitimately impressed, by the power of the high-resolution sensor and zoom lens combination on the security camera above the lobby door.
"Either you make your TrinityCutz appointment so you can get a proper haircut and start talking to Mark Tillerson every day after work, or I'm sending Hosannah back to Trinity Stronghold for being a lesbian." Josiah chuckled. "You're lucky that Miramanna is more willing to invest resources in its men than its women, otherwise you'd be on the next ship back home."
"Almost makes your whole pretending to be a woman thing silly, doesn't it? No one in their right mind would relinquish the yoke of manhood given the privilege it comes with." Noah switched to an image of me returning home in my orange dress. "Giving up the perks of manhood so you can parade around in a pretty dress? You poor lost soul." He shook his head.
In that moment, I wanted to strangle Josiah and then leap over Noah's desk and bash his head in with the gaudy crucifix he never stopped fondling. If I did that, I'd probably never get out of this building before I got sent back and it wouldn't buy Hosannah much time. No one was going to save me, Ramda either didn’t actually care about me or had gotten swallowed by a black hole. I was so profoundly stupid for putting so much stock in her. She was probably busy getting her jollies from wooing another trans egg from Trinity and had forgotten about me completely. It was her cruel, reckless ass that should be in danger of getting sent back, not me!
I took a deep breath and let go of enough rage to think clearly.
Ezzie and Aeidou definitely cared and wanted to help, but there was no real way for them to come to our rescue at the moment. Capitulating to Josiah and Noah at this point wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Knowing them, part of my rehabilitation would be for me to reveal Hosannah was a lesbian to the higher ups and seal her fate. Oh God! My options were so limited!
"For Hosannah's sake, I'll try to be a better employee." I sighed, unhappy with the only option that allowed me to be the feminine herm I needed to be and Hosannah to be the lesbian she needed to be. And to do it, I needed to lie my ass off. "Can I give all my girls' clothes to the guy stationed outside my apartment complex? I want to remove temptation from my life so I don't cause more problems for Hosannah or myself. I'm sorry I lost my head and forgot that reverence for one's elders is the most important part of a true disciple's life." I hoped pulling directly from Trinity Stronghold's sacred texts got me extra points here, because every time I recited something from them I felt like banging my head against a wall.
"That's a great idea!" Noah stood up, clearly excited to see evidence of my spirit breaking.
"I'd like to go home now so that I can have this all behind me by the time I'm done with my haircut." Lying like this with the threat of getting caught was torturous. My chest was so tight that I was having trouble breathing, but I was acting like I was just depressed and compliant.
"Rejoice with me; we have found our lost sheep!" Noah drummed excitedly on his desk. "I’m excited to see you start purifying your life and I will put actions behind my words. If removing the sin from your living space puts you in danger of being late for your TrinityCutz appointment, text me and I’ll personally make sure they still fit you in."
"Remiel has a lot of work to do today and this can be handled in the evening." Josiah was frowning while his lips were tense with frustration.
"It's all done." I smiled.
Josiah looked off into the distance for a moment as he used his implant to check on my work. His mouth fell open. "How did you?"
"I found a way to simplify my workflow." Office jargon always felt weird coming out of my mouth. I'd outsmarted Josiah by not listening to him and if I wasn't terrified of what I had to do next, I would've been bouncing with joy.
"Spoken like a true achiever." Noah sat back in his chair, looking far too pleased with himself. "Stop acting so surprised, Josiah. He's every bit as smart and capable as you said he was and he's definitely earned some time to sort his life out."
"Noah, I really don't think this is a good idea." Josiah shook his head.
"It's not my fault you can't celebrate the faithful exuberance in God's followers when it strikes. Plus, if Remiel does anything untoward, Charles will make sure there's no funny business." Noah clapped his hands together, looking at me. "Remember this gesture of trust, Remiel. I want us to be partners in your journey to become a true disciple."
"Thanks, Noah. I think I misjudged you before." What I'd misjudged was how hateable he was.
"I'm nothing more than your humble guide on the path to righteousness!" Noah cried out like he was behind a pulpit, slapping the table with his palm.
I didn't even acknowledge Josiah as I left Noah's office. Noah was more atrocious than the hat I was wearing, but Josiah was dead to me after what he'd just pulled.
Hosannah, you know the supply closet that has the instant coffee and the floor buffer robot's charging station? Meet me there as soon as possible and try not to let anyone see you. I made my way there by arcing through the office space in a direction that suggested I was going to the elevators. I made a quick turn and hugged the wall. Then I opened the door and went in.
It smelled like terribly cheap coffee and floor buffing solution. When the automatic lights flicked on, I saw a depressing amount of bottom-tier black tea and instant coffee creamer.
Hosanna popped inside a couple minutes later. Her hair had a lot of body today, making her prettier than ever. She'd done a double-shade to her eye shadow that went from purple near the bridge of her nose to green near the side of her face. It was gorgeous and possibly too racy for Miramanna.
"First, download Signet and I'll get you connected with Ezzie, me, and Aeidou." I tried to wear a reassuring smile, but the news I had for her made that very hard.
"I'll send my username. Julia already had me get that app."
A minute later, she was connected to everyone and my stomach was knotted up with tension. "I'm about to tell you something terrible and I need you to be quiet. Can you do that?"
"Yes." Her smile evaporated.
"They know you're a lesbian and they know I'm trans." I gulped, my throat feeling really tight.
"Oh, shit." Hosannah turned pale and started shaking.
"After we're done talking, you need to leave this supply closet before me and get as far away from this building as you can. They have a camera that can see almost to the metro station, so do not stop. Contact Ezzie and ask her to get you somewhere safe. Have Julia get anything you need, or want removed, from your place as soon as possible so Miramanna doesn't have time to go snooping over there. I've got my own plan to get away and I promise I'll be okay. I need you to focus on yourself so you can get out of this too. Okay?" Though I was keeping my voice even, I felt like my chest was going to implode and crush my lungs. I needed her to believe I had it all handled so she wouldn’t worry about me and make it out okay.
"If people are suspicious about me leaving, do you think I could just tell Noah I'm having a really bad period? He's really weird around girl problems and I doubt he'd question it."
"That sounds perfect and you haven't called out sick in ages."
I pulled her into a hug.
She grabbed onto me like she was out in the ocean and I was the only life raft. I hugged her just as firmly back, enjoying her softness against me. I hoped to be as soft as her someday.
"Will you be okay?" She looked like she was about to cry.
"Yeah, I've got Cuber on my side, remember?" I smiled as confidently as I could. It probably looked ridiculous.
"True, what was I even worried about?" She hugged me again, kissed my cheek, and then left the supply closet.
In the few minutes I waited, I formulated a plan to deal with, what was his name...Charles?
As I made my way toward the elevator lobby, I sent, Cuber, go get a good set of handcuffs as quickly as you can and bring them back to our place. I had an idea that put Cuber's dexterity, and ridiculous ability to obtain random items, to good use.
Just outside the entryway was the plainclothes-wearing guard who had tried to follow me, now wearing the same hideous hat I had on. I nearly laughed right in his face. I'd made him buy that hat when he was supposed to be undercover! At least something was going my way.
I tipped my hat at him and started walking toward the train.
"Remiel, hold up." The guard dashed to my side. "I'm going to escort you to and from your apartment complex."
"Ahh, okay." A gesture of trust, huh? Noah either didn't know what "trust" meant or he'd purposefully misused it. He clearly wasn't as stupid as I thought he was. This was bad.
"Just act like I'm not here." The guy walked slightly behind me to my right side while keeping an eye on everything around us.
"Is your name Charles?" I kept my eyes forward, walking quickly, but not to the point where it seemed like I was trying to get away.
"Yep." His tone was so flat it actively discouraged further conversation.
As we got on the metro train and spotted a lump in his left, easy-to-open, and unusually high up on his thigh, cargo pocket. Miramanna was totally the sort of company that would arm their guards, but do it in a way where no one really thought about it until they'd already been stunned or shot. Trinity was all about the appearance of peace and harmony, after all.
The only places on Trinity where you'd see openly-carried weapons was where the poor congregated and well, I'd found out on the internet that most of the queer people ended up in the poor areas if they didn't seem worth converting or killing semi-quietly.
As the train started moving, I watched Charles steady himself with his left hand. Yep, his left was definitely dominant.
Having confirmed that, I started composing a message to Ezzie. Her and Aeidou hadn’t let me down yet and I needed all the help I could get.
Hey Ezzie, I need your, or Aeidou's, help. Miramanna threatened to send Hosannah back home if I don't go to counseling where I know they'll try their hardest to convince me I'm not trans. I don't think I can handle going through that after all the effort it took me to get to where I am. And I'm just done. I know I'm going to do something really stupid if I stay. I took a couple deep breaths while trying not to cry. Then I spent a good half minute getting up the courage to write the next part. I need to escape and I have an idea. Could you put me in contact with the new head chef for Ramda's ship?
Hosannah already filled me in some and I was about to reach out to you. I'll have Aeidou give Natasha your contact info. Going to LA is a great idea and I'm already arranging for Hosannah to hide out with one of my cousins there. I think I'll have Hosannah somewhere safe by this evening and we're going to look into Luke's situation. Aeidou's already planned to meet up discreetly with him this evening. Let me know if you need anything and I'll jump on it as fast as I can.
Thanks so much! I'll see if I can arrange stuff with Natasha and I'll let you know. I let out a sigh of relief and leaned against a pole on the inside of the train.
*
There were no roads for cars in the Trilliant, but the streets that intersected in front of my building were twenty feet across and full of pedestrians. It was a T intersection and people were swarming the hip coffee shop on the corner across and to the right from my complex. I considered calling out for help so I could get away from Charles, but I kinda wanted my stuff and knowing Miramanna they'd find some way to spin things so I was the wrongdoer.
The suspiciously average guy currently out front of my building had a red beard and close-cropped red hair to go with it. He waved at Charles the moment we started going up the stairs.
"Take a break, dude. I've got this for the next fifteen to twenty." Charles motioned for the other guy to leave.
"I need at least a half hour. I have a lot of items to collect."
The redhead's smile grew as he heard my desire for more time. Then he trotted exuberantly toward the little shopping area that was near my complex.
"Whatever. I'll be here." Charles yawned.
A middle-aged woman sitting on a bench in front of the waist-high concrete wall that ran the periphery of the building yawned. The frilly sleeve of her white blouse flopped down as she put her hand up to cover her mouth. The frills on her sleeves, V-shaped neckline, and waist had a thin black line right on the edge. It was gorgeous. The knee-high, oval-shaped planter in front of her with yellow-orange daffodils and purple crocuses in it was also gorgeous.
Just as I started walking, Charles held out a hand to block me from entering the building.
I paused for a moment and a prompt showed up on my implant. "Share your exact location with Charles De Smet?"
"You can either share your location with me, or I'm going to follow you up. Josiah, and my gut, are telling me you're up to something." He was trying to look intimidating, but the ridiculous hat I'd made him buy was interfering with that a lot: it was completely the wrong shape for his head.
"Okay." I accepted the location sharing. "Done."
"If you take one step toward anywhere other than your apartment and back here, I will alert every guard in this sector and lock down the building." Charles's eyes were ice cold. "I don't trust limp-wristed men like you and I'd be happy to see you get sent back home. Understood?"
"Understood."
I walked on shaky legs through the entryway's doors. I was glad I had a plan to deal with Charles because he was definitely more shrewd than Noah was and had the demeanor of a dog that wanted an excuse to bite.
As I took the elevator up to my floor, I sighed at the fact I'd be leaving this place behind. The apartments were nice and the little touches they'd put into this complex, like the flowers in the planters, were all so well-thought-out. I wasn't going to miss it too much, though, not with people like Charles around.
I swore under my breath. He couldn't even insult me properly because he couldn't tell the difference between a gay guy and a trans woman.
Cuber wasn't home when I walked inside, but that was expected. The calming smell of freshly dried laundry told me she'd finished washing everything before I'd sent her on another errand. Standing in the entryway after closing the door, I took a moment to say goodbye to the beautiful gray-and-white striped quartzite countertops in my kitchen, my amazing, modular living room where I could play VR games or watch shows, the sunroom past it which had herbs growing in the center planter, and a beautiful view of the Nevada desert over which the snowy peak of Mount Charleston was keeping watch.
Pushing back tears, I forced myself to pack. My largest backpack was something you could probably take camping. It had plenty of pockets, good compression straps, a rain cover, a hip belt, a rigid frame that held it slightly away from your back so sweat didn't build up. The first thing I put in it was an expandable suitcase where a spiral of zipper went around the outside so you could make it as big, or as small as you wanted to. I had it fully zipped shut so it was nice and compact. Only the hard bottom that had wheels on it was taking up much room. Around those wheels, I packed the women's clothes that Ezzie had gotten me and then packed something I never ever wanted to wear again, but would be useful.
I punched a pillow the moment I realized I wouldn't be able to bring my VR equipment. Besides necessities, there was room for Ramda's toys and my breast simulants, though.
Hello Amelia, Aeidou says you need to stay with me to avoid conversion therapy and other ridiculous stuff Miramanna is trying to do? Zoe's message came in just as I was trying to figure out if I was out of room in my backpack yet. Her profile picture showed she was snow leopard hybrid with pinkish-gray fur, reddish-brown hair, and bright blue-green eyes.
I could probably find someone else if I had to, but I'd prefer to be with another trans girl and not anywhere near Vegas. My chest was tight. I didn't want her to feel forced into anything.
Cuber came in, cheering while brandishing a pair of handcuffs like she'd won them in a prize fight.
"Thanks Cuber!" I knelt down to her level. "Give me a sec, though. I need to finish something before I can pay attention to you."
You can stay at my place, no problem. I just sent you my contact card so you can find me in LA. I've got plenty of leftovers so you don't have to worry about food. If you need me to have anything else on hand when you get here, let me know. Keep me updated so I can be sure to be home when you arrive.
I'm already looking forward to having some of your leftovers. I bet they're incredible. I smiled. She was so conscientious. I'll keep you updated and thank you so much!
You're welcome so much! Stay safe!
*Oh, can a waist-high maintenance robot stay with us too? She's very helpful, but a bit rambunctious. I'm kinda her guardian. It's an odd situation that I can explain later." I grimaced as I thought about what I'd just asked of Zoe.
Aeidou already filled me in. It should be fine as long as she respects boundaries.
It can take some convincing, but so far, she's come around eventually. I bit my lip.
Sounds workable to me. This is my professional account and, since you're not hiring me, let's use my personal account from now on. See you later! The contact info for her personal account followed.
Remembering that Ezzie mentioned there was something special about Zoe, I clicked on Zoe's professional profile:
"She/her or shi/hir is fine. Certified Lezveioan chef who is as creative as she is organized. If you want to impress someone, I'm your woman." Links to her profile on a couple professional networking sites followed.
Since that told me almost nothing, I checked out her personal profile.
"Shi/hir. Proud trans hybrid dualsex girl. Disabled spacedock worker who kicked a corporation's ass and then became a Lezveioan chef. PTSD survivor. Plural (headmate's name is Sable). Certified Sneptaur." After that, there were links to hir social media streams one labeled "SFW (lots of worker's rights stuff)" and the other labeled "NSFW (Warning: smoking hot dualsex taur porn. NO MINORS!)."
I didn't have the time and probably shouldn't have started looking up what "taur," "dualsex," "plural" and "headmate" meant, but I was so stressed out that I was desperate for a distraction. Before I could even read one sentence, Cuber trilled to get my attention.
She was swinging the handcuffs with her right-front three-fingered hand while looking up at me intently.
Turning my attention to her, I cringed. The handcuffs looked well used. "Don't tell me where you got those. This time, I don't even want to know." I patted the top of Cuber's chassis as she handed them to me. "You did really good. These will make things a lot easier." I put the cuffs on the kitchen table.
U OK? Cuber was eyeing me with her sensor cluster.
"No, actually, we have to leave the Trilliant and go to LA. Miramanna won't let me be a girl."
But U girl! How can they not let U?
"They want me to talk to someone who will try very hard to convince me that I'm not a girl. They threatened to send Hosannah back to Trinity if I don't comply. I had to tell Hosannah to run because they don't like that she likes girls."
"Why they care? They idiots!" Cuber screeched with annoyance. "They need punish!"
"We can't, there's way too many of them and they're way too powerful. We need to run away." I sent Natasha's contact info to Cuber.
U go, I stay. I have projekt. I move stuf. Trust? Cuber held out her hand like she was making a deal with me.
"Huh? You have a project?" My brow furrowed. "Where will you stay?"
I hav place store things. I can stay there. I wil come later. Promise. Cuber held out two of her three arms, her three-fingered hands open. Trust?
"Cuber, I honestly don't know if I should trust you or not." I hugged Cuber and she hugged back.
U smart. I very not human. Am repair bot. Cuber patted me on the back.
"No, I do trust you, you're one of my best friends." I let go and leaned back so I could look at her in her creepy, asymmetric sensor cluster. "I am just afraid you're going to get into trouble I can't protect you from."
No mor protect me. I make own mistakes. U in danger. U flee. I stay. Come later. Cuber shook my hand like we'd just made a business deal.
I started crying. Cuber was right, I couldn't protect anyone right now and I had no choice but to trust her. I had no control over anything. Not even her.
I make U sad! NO! Cuber hugged me again.
*It's okay, I just don't want to lose you. I'm running from everything I've ever known, I can't lose you too." I cried harder.
U won't lose me. I come bak. Is promise. Cuber patted my back. Is truth.
Knowing I had limited time, I steeled myself and let go of Cuber.
"Cuber, I need your help with something. Something where you're going to have to run away from this apartment and not come back after you do it. Is that okay?" I looked at her, still pushing back against the wave of emotions that was trying to overtake me.
Anything U need, I do. She saluted me. I wondered where she got the gesture, but she'd been out a lot lately.
"You sure you won't miss the stuff you put in here?"
Hav much more in storage. Don't need.
"You never stopped stealing stuff, did you?" I shook my head.
Not steal. Surplus. Repurpose. Cuber gave me a thumbs up with all three, three-fingered hands, which was a little hard to interpret since either of the two side fingers could serve as a thumb.
There were some battles I knew I'd never win and this looked like it was one of them. Especially not when I had so little time. "Alright. What I want you to do is take everything out of the hard case for my VR equipment, including all the shock absorbent foam, and fill it full with the heaviest things in your surplus pile."
*
My heart was beating so hard that I heard blood thumping in my ears. Just before leaving the entryway, I took my backpack off and held it in my hands. It was heavy, but I wouldn't be holding it for long. I was in the same orange dress with red roses printed on it Josiah and Noah had shamed me for wearing and my breast simulants was giving me truly-lifelike cleavage in the V-shaped cleavage window. I was freshly shaved with some eyeliner that Cuber had applied.
Cuber was five feet behind me, the VR equipment hard case on top of her cubic body. She carried it like it weighed very little despite how heavy it was and in one of her three hands was the pair of handcuffs.
Knowing what I was about to do, how much I needed it to work, I felt like throwing up. Adding even more tension to the situation was the busy pedestrian street in front of my complex. When I'd been outside as a girl before, it wasn't in broad daylight during a time when lots of people had their lunch hour. I took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. If I let any of this get to me, I was going to screw up. Instead of worrying, I needed to focus.
I walked in front of Charles, and then looked over my shoulder in a way that tossed my hair like the most attractive woman in a romance movie. "Hey there, Charles." I said in the most feminine voice I could muster.
Charles's eyes went wide and then his face reddened with anger.
Cuber, now! I sent.
In the blink of an eye, Cuber handcuffed Charles's left wrist, threaded the other cuff through the handle of the VR case and cuffed his right wrist. Then she pulled on the case and Charles's arms went taut before his entire body lurched backwards.
His eyes went comically wide as he fell. Cuber let go of the case and dashed to my side.
By the time I'd handed my backpack to her, Charles was struggling on the ground.
Let's go! I canceled my location sharing with Charles.
"Faggot! Pillow biter! Sodomite!" Charles sounded ready to gnaw his hands off so he could go after me.
While Charles yelled obscenities, the woman in the beautiful white blouse with the thin black trim reached into her purse while jumping up from her bench.
My breath caught in my throat: of course she was a guard too!
Her hand was holding something with a pistol-like grip.
I bolted toward the train station with Cuber close behind while the female guard chased after us, ordering us to stop.
END OF CHAPTER
I’d like to acknowledge my $20+ patrons: Arkona Kothe, forestwolf98, Longhauler, LambChopSoldier, Navajo Demar, Tiliquain, Warialinth, and Xaziana Tenebris for helping make all this possible. Thank you! Thanks to all my other patrons as well. Every one of you rocks!
(Ebook) (All) (Ch. 1) (Ch. 2) (Ch. 3) (Ch. 4) (Ch. 5) (Ch. 6) (Ch. 7) (Ch. 8) (Ch. 9) (Ch.10) (Ch.11) (Ch.12) (Ch.13) (Ch.14) (Ch.15) (Ch.16) (-----) (Ramda Dakimakura)
Comments
Zmeydros
Sorry we missed your comment for this long. We went through hell over the last while. We're so glad you enjoy our writing so much. Ramda: We found your comment because I'm trying to get this project going again. I'm reading through the last couple chapters and making sure that everything is set up properly for the next chapter. We have a story coming out today that's going to be fun and then we're hoping the next thing that comes out is Chapter 18 of this story.
ChrisFloofyKitsune
This story's been dormant for a long time and... looking at the personal update posts since then... (very kind and brave of you to put that stuff out there)... I get the feeling that this story has fallen way way on the backburner. Are there any plans to revive this? Following that question... I feel the need to say I just got to the end of it today and I love it. But also also what I love about this story is readily found in all your other work. (You are undoubtedly my favorite author in general) Whatever you decide to do with this story, I'm eagerly waiting for whatever prose you want to put out next. Best of luck to you.
Zmeydros
Elara: So glad you're enjoying it! ^_^ End of next week, Ramda should be working on the next chapter. We won't leave you hanging for long. The bit of delay is because we were doing a timeline of Ramda's past and other stuff and figured out some minor tweaks we need to make to the timeline of Ramda's relationships and such. Should have all that figured out by the end of next week.
talk show ghost
AAaaaaaaahhh!!! What a cliffhanger! I was on the edge of my seat the entire chapter! Of course that woman was another one of the Miramanna Gestapo, but that doesn’t matter. Amelia is going to make it or I will hold you personally responsible for destroying my heart. Ramda please come back! 😭
