Saved From Extinction

I settled into his arms. "Well then, I'm happy we can't leave this room." I said and I kissed him and we fell into a deep, satisfied slumber.

The next day, Halley came to see us. "Trista, we have everything under control. We've got double security watching over you now."

"What happened?"

"Someone tried to access the security system using the old codes and it set off the entire alarm."

"Do you know who?" Wes asked.

"It was someone from the inside. The cameras were disabled so we don't know who, but it was definitely someone who has knowledge of how we work."

"Are you sure they wanted Trista?" Wes asked.

"We think so, but we can't be sure. We're working on finding out. Meanwhile, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here for awhile. You won't be able to access the rest of the grounds for awhile, but whatever you need will be brought here."

She closed the door behind her. We just sat there staring at each other. While we were in isolation, Wes would be cut off from communicating with any of the LLF. We were prisoners here and I felt guilty.

"I'm sorry," I said as we showered together, talking softly so the noise of the water would drown out our words.

"It's not your fault," he said as he held me.

"But I can't help thinking about the others you could be saving. The ones who really need you. But instead you came here, and now you're stuck in this stupid room. And I'm actually happy that you're stuck here. Isn't that terrible of me?"

"Trista, I wanted to come. I asked to come. They didn't want to let me at first, because they could smell you all over me, they thought I was too close, too attached to you. But when our informant told us that you only had a few days left before they shipped you out, they finally agreed to let me come."

"But why are they doing all this to save me? What about the other linderi who work as prostitutes or all the sex slaves? I've got it pretty good here compared to all of them."

"But you know all the lies. If we waited too long, it would be too late to save you." He held me tight. "I couldn't just leave you here to just slowly waste away. Trista, I just couldn't do it."

I kissed him. "I love you so much," I whispered.

We spent a lot of time in the shower because it was the only time we could really talk. I was worried they would get suspicious. But I loved taking showers with Wes. I had so many questions for him.

"Remember our first time?" I asked. "What if I'd never asked you to feed my babies? We probably never would've fallen in love."

He kissed me. "Well, when you first asked me to, I was going to say no. But I really wanted to. I was surprised how much I wanted to. If one of the other males had been awake, I probably would've asked him to do it."

"I'm glad you did it because I hated the way the other males tasted. They were so bitter, but you tasted wonderful." I put my arms around him. "And I felt so guilty for liking it so much. Could you tell how much I enjoyed it?"

"You were actually just feeling how much I was enjoying it. You could sense how much I was attracted to you, that's how strong it was. There was just something about you, I can't explain it. And then when you got on top of me in the van, I knew that I'd already fallen for you."

"But what would've happened to you if Matthew decided to come with us?"

"Like I said, you have to be good at hiding things in order to do what we do."

I put my arms around him. I felt a surge of love as I thought about the sacrifice he was willing to make for me. I didn't deserve him. "I love you. I love being with you. Every time, I love it even more. I love you even more."

I would have been perfectly happy staying in isolation with Wes, but after only a few days, I knew Wes needed to try to make contact with the LLF.

"Halley, I need to get out of here," I told her. "Can we just take a walk or something? Security can follow us around."

She reluctantly agreed. "Just for an hour."

Security escorted us out to the grounds. I sniffed the air, and I was surprised at how much I'd missed the smell of the others. Wes held my hand as we walked, the security guard keeping a good pace behind us, looking bored. He was dressed in a black suit with an earpiece and was wearing dark sunglasses. He looked way overdressed and like he was taking his job way too seriously.

"Can you smell Shea?"

He nodded. "She's almost fertile. They're going to want to pair her up with another male soon."

"We don't have a lot of time, do we?"

He shook his head.

As we were walking, I saw Matthew from a distance. Kayla was visibly pregnant. Tears automatically stung my eyes when I saw them.

Wes squeezed my hand, sensing my pain.

"I'm sorry, Wes. I don't know why it bothers me."

"He's still in your heart. He'll always be in your heart. Don't feel guilty about it. Don't feel guilty about anything that has happened at the hands of these fucked up humans and their breeding centers. It's their fault you're in this position. Don't blame yourself." He held me tight. "I'm so sorry for everything you've had to go through. I'm so sorry." He brushed his lips against my hair.

"I can't wait to get out of here," I told him. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

"We may have to implement Emergency Plan B."

"I'm too scared to ask."

"Do you know how to ride a horse?"

"No," I said.

"You're going to have to learn."

Wes arranged it with Halley for us to ride together on our daily excursions outside. We circled the ring while the security guard watched from the railing. It allowed us the freedom to talk openly without being heard.

Eventually, Wes was allowed to go outside when I napped on the days I was in heat. It gave him hours to plan and coordinate our escape. We were running out of time for Shea, and unfortunately, the human who had been planted by the extraction team was no longer there. Wes wasn't sure what had happened to him. But he was able to set up a remote signal that would alert the LLF of Plan B and he assured me they would be waiting for us on the outside. I didn't know how it could work, but I trusted him. I didn't want Shea to be forced to endure a male who wasn't her life partner. She had started her heat cycles and Halley was already introducing her to different males.

"It's set. We leave the day after tomorrow, you won't be in heat then, and neither will Shea."

I was nervous. If this failed, they would know it was an escape plan, and not an abduction like they thought. I wasn't sure what would happen if we got caught.

The next day, I woke up expecting to be in heat, but I felt different. This time, I knew exactly what it was. I was pregnant.

I watched Wes sleeping and I lay next to him, completely and utterly in love with him. Tears came to my eyes. We were going to have a baby. I was overjoyed, but at the same time, my heart was breaking. I thought about my twins and I almost felt guilty about being happy again, almost like I was betraying them. And I was scared. We would have to keep it from the humans who were watching us. They would be expecting me to be in heat. If my cycles changed, they would know I was pregnant and they would be even more protective of me.

I sat up and shook Wes awake, which is what I always did on the days I was in heat.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. He took in a deep breath and his eyes got wide. A smile spread across his face. I nodded. He sat up and embraced me.

We held each other for a few more minutes, our faces buried into each other's necks to hide the happy tears. "You have to make love to me," I whispered, glancing towards the mirror. He understood.

Making love to Wes, knowing that our tiny child was growing inside me, was heartbreakingly beautiful. He was being gentle, but I assured him he wouldn't hurt me or the baby.

All day long, we made love, constantly on the verge of tears. Our senses were so heightened that we felt like we were one, permanently fused together by the product of our love, our baby.

Later in the day when we were taking a shower together, he finally broke down, crying openly. "I love you so much, Trista," he cried as he held on to me. More than once did he allow his hands to linger on my belly and I had to nudge them higher or lower. We didn't want to raise any suspicions.

"Can you still ride?" he asked. I nodded. I didn't want anything to delay our escape, for Shea's sake. And in a few days it would get harder to hide my pregnancy from the humans. And once they found out, security would tighten even more and it would be harder to make our escape.

The next day, when we got to the stable, Shea was already riding her horse around in circles. We got our horses saddled up and we circled around a few times with Shea, but we ignored her as if we didn't know her.

Off in the distance, I saw Halley and some other humans walking towards us. It didn't look good.

"Wes," I called. He followed my gaze and saw them approaching. "They know something."

Wes looked at Shea and for a few seconds they just stared at each other, then Wes nodded once. Shea's horse took off, gracefully leaping over the fence and at the same moment Wes jumped off his horse and in one leap he mounted mine. Immediately, our horse jumped the railing and we were flying towards the mountains, galloping after Shea. I didn't dare look behind me to see if they were following us.

Wes held on to me tight and I felt safe as we galloped through the rough desert terrain. Wes followed Shea's horse as if they knew where they were going. From the distance, I heard a helicopter. I looked above me and saw it approaching us from over the next range. We would never be able to outrun a helicopter. It was too late. We were going to get caught.

I saw Shea's horse up ahead, but she wasn't on it anymore. No! I thought. What happened to her? Wes pulled on the reins and our horse reared up before stopping. In one fluid motion, Wes put his strong arm around me and jumped off the horse. I landed softly on the ground, barely jostled by the movement. He grabbed my hand and we ran towards the shade of the nearest mountain. I could hear the helicopter, but I couldn't see it as it circled back. Wes held onto my hand tight as he led me in a dead run right towards the side of the mountain.

"Wes!" I cried, but he kept running and then I saw it. There was a small crevice among the rocks that looked too small for us to fit, but as we got closer, I saw that it was larger than I thought. Just as I heard the rotors of the helicopter approaching, Wes shoved me inside. I stood there in total darkness for a few moments, trying to catch my breath. I turned around and Wes wasn't with me.

"Wes?" I called. "Wes? Wes!"

"Shhh..." someone said. Hands reached out and grabbed me and I stumbled forward. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw Shea standing in front of me.

I started crying. "Wes is out there," I said.

She nodded. "You're pregnant," she said.

I started crying. She held a cup to my lips, but I shook my head. "Please Trista. For the baby." I reluctantly took a sip of the water.

"We need to go," she said, strapping a flashlight around her head. She handed me a light and told me to put it on.

"But what about Wes?"

"He's going to meet us at the rendezvous point," she said.

I wanted to believe her, but I didn't think how it could be possible. They were going to capture him and-- and what? What would they do to him? How sadistic were these humans who ran the breeding centers? Would I see him again? I had to see him again.

As we walked down a series of tunnels, I could barely see through my tears and I tripped a lot, slowing our progress.

"Please, Trista. Be strong. For Wes. If you want to see him again, we have to move."

She stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. "What?" I asked. "What is it? Is it Wes?"

I took a deep breath. I could smell humans behind us. They were following us.

"Hurry," she said and we both ran through the tunnels. Shea knew the layout of the caves, which were getting narrower and tighter the further we went inside the mountain. We lost the scent of the humans who were pursuing us. After an hour, the tunnel started getting wider. I could see light up ahead.

We started running faster. I knew Wes would be waiting for me in the light. As we reached the mouth of the tunnel, I could hear helicopters overhead. They were looking for us. But what did that mean? Had they captured Wes? Shea held me back and we sat down on the ground. I was anxious to see Wes, to hold him again. There was a box near the entrance and she rummaged through it, pulling out rations and water. There were some silk clothes and she told me to put them on and wait. After another hour, we heard the helicopter retreat as the sun set outside. I heard a vehicle approach and stop. My heart was beating out of my chest.

Shea told me to stay while she went to investigate. "Trista, come on! Hurry!" I ran towards her and saw a van as I emerged into the dusky light. The back doors flew open and Shea grabbed my hand and pushed me inside before jumping in behind me.

There were two linderi males and a human inside the van. I looked around for Wes, but I didn't see him anywhere.

"Where's Wes?" I asked.

The linderi looked at Shea, and then looked at me but didn't say anything.

"He's okay, right?"

I could sense the tension in their bodies. Something wasn't right. "Please," I begged. "Just tell me." I cried.

"You're pregnant," one of them finally said.

I nodded and put a hand on my belly, trying to protect it, remembering how Wes had placed his hand right there just that morning.

"We're going to meet Wes at the rendezvous point, right?"

Shea looked at me and took my hand. I could see tears in her eyes and I knew something was wrong, really wrong. I didn't want them to say it anymore. I didn't want to hear it, but they spoke the words anyway.

"He's dead, Trista."

My heart stopped beating. I was sure it would never beat again.

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Chapter 8

Wes died while trying to save me, and our baby. When he saw that the helicopter had crested the peak, he pushed me into the crevice and jumped back on the horse trying to lead them away from me. But the horse panicked as the helicopter approached and threw him. He fell and hit his head on a rock. He was killed instantly. The outlook posted on the far mountain had seen him fall, and had signaled for a rescue, but later he saw the humans cover him with a sheet.

I was taken to the islands and our baby grew strong and healthy within me. Wes would have loved every moment, especially when the baby started kicking. I met Wes's parents and his brother and sisters and they all welcomed me into their family. His parents insisted that I live with them in their house, which was strange for me. I sat in Wes's boyhood room and lay on his bed. I could smell him everywhere and it broke my heart.

Everyday I fed our baby semen that Wes had stored in a cryogenic bank at the hospital, just enough to last the whole pregnancy. I don't know why he did that. It was almost as if he knew I would need it one day. As I tasted his seed, I cried, remembering how he had fed my twins outside of Las Vegas. I was scared to give birth. I was scared I would see our baby and I wouldn't be able to handle it, I would be too overcome with memories of him.

I went into labor in the middle of the day, and just thirty minutes later, I gave birth to a son. Our son. I named him Wesley and he was beautiful. As I nursed him, my tears flowed, silently dropping on our baby. Wes would've loved our son. He would have been a wonderful father.

As the days passed, it got easier. I loved being a mother, and Wesley brought me such joy. I no longer cried everyday, even when I smelled something that reminded me of Wes. Our son helped me get through the grieving process and I was surprised to realize that there were more good days than bad. The LLF would take care of me for life, making sure all our needs were met, including food and clothing. It helped to know that I could count on them, and I could count on Wes's family to help me through this.

I nursed my son for almost two years, and when he weaned himself, I knew my heat cycles would be starting soon. If Wes had been here, his presence would have influenced my hormones to delay my heat cycles for four or five years. But since I was alone, Wesley and I moved into our own house before they could start again. My heat cycles would be more mild than they had been at the breeding center, but I didn't want to be surrounded my Wes's scent while I went through it. That would have been too painful.

I loved being a mother and I loved living on the islands, which was more civilized than the breeding centers. Linderi were peaceful and they lived simply. They only used what they needed and shared what they didn't. I was surprised to see that linderi on the islands weren't nude all the time. They wore clothing made from natural organic cotton and silk made by special worms found only on the islands. I learned that clothing itself didn't hurt our skin, but it was the dyes and the way humans produced cloth in giant factories with dust particles and allergens floating around in the stagnant air.

The buildings were constructed using natural materials and they didn't accumulate stuff like humans did. Other than their simple houses, linderi didn't really feel like they owned anything. And even then, they would open up their homes to strangers who needed a place to stay. Crime was nonexistent among the linderi. There was a lot for me to learn, and I wished that Wes could be here to teach me and guide me. And to share our life together as we raised our son.

When Wesley started school, I spent my days helping Wes's father at the hospital where he worked, just for something to do. I mostly sat in the rooms of the older linderi and listened to their love stories. I told some of them my story and they all held my hand and told me I was young, I would fall in love again. But I didn't see how that would be possible.

I would also meet with new arrivals from the breeding centers and the rehab centers. I enjoyed talking with them. Some of their lives had been so brutal and it reminded me how lucky I truly was. I even saw the young girl from Las Vegas. Her name was Ashley and it had taken her years to detox in a rehab center. Her life had been particularly dreadful and I thought of the young girl who had compelled Wes to join the LLF in the first place. I tried to meet all of the new arrivals because they actually helped me come to terms with Wes's loss. It somehow lessened the pain to see their scared faces and to remind myself how far I had come. And as I held their hands and talked to them, I could slowly feel their fear melt away. I was sure Wes would have been proud of me. I couldn't go and continue his work out in the field, but I could help the newly freed linderi once they had arrived on the island.

But one day, I arrived at the quarantine center and stopped in my tracks as soon as I walked into the building. I stood there frozen for a few moments, unable to move. I took a deep breath. It was Matthew. He was here. I panicked and quickly ran out of the building before I could find out if Kayla was there too. I wouldn't be able to handle seeing them. I was halfway home before I realized they had been separated years ago, but I still didn't go back. I wasn't ready to face him again, especially if he had arrived with someone else.

Later that day, Wes's father came to visit me. Wesley ran to his grandfather and he picked him up and twirled him around. Everytime I saw him do that, it brought tears to my eyes as I imagined Wes picking up his son the same way.

"You look just like your daddy," he told him. He gave him a kiss on his cheek. "And you smell like him too." He smiled at me as Wesley ran outside to play.