The Law of Glork Pt. 07

Vilet gazed at him patiently as he made his decision. Without a word, he silently escorted her back inside and up the ramp. She glanced at him as they passed her room and up onto the second ramp, leading to the crn.

Last night was lovely, but nothing could compare to that first night they had together. Even if they hadn't been able to talk then.

She stopped at the edge of the bdl, but scowled when Jack gave her a reproaching look. She relented, and they slid into the large bowl together.

It was larger than her and Lizbeth's bdl, and much larger than Nelras. Probably to allow for movement, as well as two people.

He sat cross-legged across from her, as usual, but she curled up her knees against her chest. He took that as a good sign. At least, that she was in a Feeling mood.

"So... those girls from earlier. From breakfast. They-"

"Old friends. Nothing more," she replied curtly.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Lizbeth said that they were bullies. Very mean to her," he added by way of translation.

She blinked, her eyes betraying a hint of frustration. "They were."

He shifted to rest his chin on a hand. "I thought you and Lizbeth were friends."

She glanced at the floor. "Not always."

Jack studied her curiously. "What do you mean?"

Vilet sighed. "Let me guess. Lzbth told you of my kind and gracious rescue from her enemies." She narrowed her eyes. "But conveniently left out the fact that I was once one of her persecutors."

Jack blinked in surprise. "You were?"

She hugged her knees, her silence a clear answer.

"How bad are we talking about? Like, insults? Or were you physically cruel?"

She did not answer, but her scowl deepened. She didn't bother hiding it, which was something.

Memories of his own past flashed behind his eyelids. He took a deep breath. "You know, maybe we aren't so different."

That got her attention. She eyed him skeptically, and he smiled. "No, really. I did that, too." His smile faded. "Probably much worse than you."

She rolled her eyes, and he shook his head. "Alright, you don't have to believe me." He hesitated. Was this really a good idea to be telling her this? No, of course not.

"Look, if you don't want to talk, how about you listen. Just like our first night together?"

"We couldn't understand each other," she snapped.

Suddenly, their eyes locked. She broke away, but only waiting for a second.

"I think we understood each other just fine," Jack murmured.

When she didn't reply, he continued. "So you think you had a bad past? Well, let me tell you something..."

"Years ago, back in school (a place where kids get together to socialize and learn everyday), I was a bit of a rebel. Had lots of fun with my friends, made lots of trouble, that kind of stuff. Sometimes we hurt people, but mostly it was just harmless pranks. A bit of destruction of public property, some vandalism..." He chuckled. "I should have gone to juvi more than a few times. But I always managed to slip away. I was smart enough for that, at least."

"Well, come high school, I've calmed down a bit. We played more along the obnoxious route of things. Sure, we had some illegal drinks and cigs and stuff, but nothing crazy. I even started to get some B's in school, which was a first. Probably had more to do with my old man bribing me for grades, but it was working out."

"Anyway, after I'd cooled down a bit with my friends, this girl comes up to me, a little *youngyear. She declared that she liked me and wanted to date me." He sighed. "She had a lot of guts; I'll give her that. Well, I said yes."

Vilet blinked but didn't look away. She seemed intrigued, even if some of the vernacular was going over her head.

"She was positively overjoyed. I held hands with her all throughout lunch, much to the dismay of my friends. And then, near the end...

"I dumped my milk on her head." He shifted uncomfortably at the memory. "Pushed her onto the floor and called her names. Insulted the heck out of her, then made off with my buddies like some kind of hero in the war for humor. I thought that's how it would end."

"Well, next day she sits by me at lunch again. Says that I agreed to date her, and she was going to stick with it. Boy, I was mad. I grabbed her and told her in no uncertain terms, and with no restraint on language, that her life was going to be hell from now on. And I kept my word."

"Whether or not she ever tried to escape, I never noticed. Day after day, I used her like some kind of personal verbal punching bag. It started with just pulling her hair, then yanking her around by it... Til finally, one day, I just cut most of it off with some school scissors."

Jack shook his head but kept talking.

"I guess her folks weren't very attentive, or maybe she was in some kind of home. Either way, no one really stopped me. Sometimes I'd get in trouble, but I was pretty good at avoiding that. She tattled on me once or twice, and I made her pay for it. Dearly."

Vilet's face had furrowed into a look of concern. He ignored her and continued.

"By the middle of the year, my hormones had started really kicking in. I decided the normal 'fun' wasn't enough for me anymore. One day, I ditched my friends with some lame excuse and cornered her in the girls' bathroom." He took a deep breath. "And I made forced her into giving me a blowjob."

"Now, I wasn't gentle about it either. By the end, she was crying pretty hard and had gagged a few times, but I'd gotten off. Figured I was done with using her as a toy - after all, I'd gotten my release."

"But once I'd gotten a taste, I was insatiable. Wasn't long before I took her virginity. My parents weren't home a lot of the time, so I convinced her to come home with me. Said I'd let her off the next day. I had no intention of keeping that promise, until I realized that I wanted to do it with her more often. And if she "consented" I figured I couldn't be charged for rape. Which was stupid, cause I totally could've been."

Jack leaned back and closed his eyes.

"I guess she was afraid of taking it to the police. Afraid of what I'd do when I escaped yet again. So she put up with it. Kept coming over. My buddies forgot about her after a while, and we just did the usual hijinks at school while I used her in secret afterwards."

"Ironically," Jack said with a frown, "She got me off my drug problem. I got addicted to dominating her, and after a while, she figured out how to minimize the abuse. I was kind of disappointed when the school year ended, and I couldn't threaten her anymore. Not that I knew where she lived, anyway. Some part of my sick mind figured the anticipation of school would drive her crazy. But I never imagined how crazy."

He winced. "Come next school year, and I walk in, looking to ambush her at the bathroom entrance. When she doesn't show up, I figure she just dodged me and I vowed to make her pay for that." Tears threatened his eyes, but he pushed on. "Til I heard some girls talking nearby. Someone asked where Mary was. She hadn't seen her at school. And then..." He choked. "One of them says she killed herself over the summer."

"I refused to believe it at first. Thought it was just girls spreading mean rumors. But when days turned into weeks..." He shook his head. "I looked through the summer's obituaries. Sure enough, I found her. Mary Sorenson." A sob broke through his lips. "I didn't even know her full name that whole time. She had the smallest obituary you've ever seen, too!" He pounded the floor of the bdl with his fist. "No picture. No history. Just 'Will be dearly missed by her Mama and Papa.' As if!"

He shook his head, wiping away some tears. "None of the girls at school even batted an eye after that first day. Found someone new to fill in the gap she left. I was..." He stopped. "I was her only mourner. Maybe in the whole world."

He buried his face in his hands as Vilet looked on. He couldn't bear to look at her. "It really shook me. Made me think about what I'd done. She had said something in passing about wanting to go to Harvard. She was a straight A student - I always ripped up her report card between semesters. It was important to her. Somehow," Jack laughed bitterly, "She kept her grades up through all of that abuse. It meant everything to her."

He took a shuddering breath, trying to compose himself. "So I decided that's what I'd do. I dropped my friends like a hot iron that year. Put my head down. Got to work. Really dedicated myself to school, you know?"

He paused. "Come to think of it, without her, I probably wouldn't be here. I only got to NASA because of that education. I'd probably be some low-life prison rat without her sacrifice. Not that that means much."

His head dropped. "You see why I can't believe in Glorks, really? Ksfm had nothing on me. Or, at least, we were fairly comparable. I don't deserve to be a Tilnur. I don't deserve to be alive, for that matter."

Finally, he got the courage to look at Vilet, who was eyeing him with something akin to pity. "So... can you top that?"

Silently, she shook her head. "I was cruel. But I am no murderer."

The word stung, only enhanced by the truth behind it. "You know, I repressed most of those memories. The counselors in college said I clearly had some 'repressed trauma,' or 'PTSD.' I never told them everything anyway, since I'd probably go to jail, but I honestly didn't remember all the details until just now. Something about meeting a Glork really brings back memories. And..." He winced. "Lizbeth reminds me of Mary. Just a little."

He fell silent, and she did nothing to interrupt the silence. He shook his head. He definitely shouldn't have told her that. He hadn't even told Lily, his best friend!

His head jerked up as her hand lightly touched his. Their eyes locked, but this time, neither of them looked away.

"You are no murderer," Vilet said slowly. "Not anymore."

Jack's shoulders sank and he looked down. "Not really a club you can quit, frankly."

"You act nothing like what you describe."

He shrugged. "Mostly. I haven't raped anyone since then. But I've done other things - things I shouldn't have. My old habits started coming back during college, not that you'd know what that is, and I got away with a lot of crimes - big and small."

Vilet fell silent at that, but only for a moment. "So how did you become Tilnur?"

He shook his head in frustration. "I don't know! Probably some micro-gene on living creatures that they can smell! Or the fact that it just ate! Or a combination of a bunch of factors that I can't calculate for! Whatever it is," he said quietly. "It isn't magic."

She raised an eyebrow. "Mgk?"

He searched for another word. "Fake science."

"Well of course it isn't fake."

He sighed. "Yeah. Forget I said anything."

The silence between them grew as they both though about what he'd said. After a few minutes, she spoke again. "When I first met you, in that Gtkr, I thought you were an idiot."

He glanced up at her, but she ignored him. "Then, after a few days, I thought you were just weak."

He rolled his eyes, conceding the point.

"Now... I see that you are neither of these things." She narrowed her eyes. "Though you act that way."

Before he could respond, there was a call from downstairs.

"Dinner is ready!"

Jack took a deep breath and propped himself onto his feet. He offered Vilet a hand, and she took it to stand with him.

As he turned to head for the door, she reached up and touched one of his tears with her finger. "You leak fluid from your eyes... when you are upset?"

Jack smiled sadly and took her hand. "Yeah." He tilted his head. "That probably seemed kind of strange, didn't it?"

She nodded, but her gaze was thoughtful. He couldn't blame her. Finding out that you were married to a monster wasn't easy under the best of circumstances.

Oh yeah, and he was an alien. So that helped.

She took his arm again as they descended the ramp. Sure enough, by the time they arrived, everyone was already seated and ready to eat, with their food laid out in front of them.

He frowned. "Wait, where's my food?"

"We've each prepared our dish for you tonight," Nelra explained. "As part of the spntr."

Oh. Right.

He took his seat as his wives got up and exited the door, presumably to fetch their respective dishes.

Man, he was hungry. He hadn't eaten since the morning meal which was... He did some quick calculations. Probably around 20 Earth hours ago. At least he hadn't gone hunting.

"Would you like it to be anonymous?" Nelra's muffled voice called around the corner. "Or would you like to know who made each dish?"

He hesitated, then glanced at Sara. She held up her hands in indifference. "Uh... Let's do it anonymous. Make it real fair."

"Okay." He wished he could see her face to better read her reaction. Her tone gave nothing away. "Close your eyes."

He obeyed, promptly leaning back as they entered again. He heard hushed whispering as they gathered around him, then the thumping of a bowl. Only when he heard them take their seats did he open his eyes.

The first dish he noticed was the bowl. Inside was a bright red swimming gel, appearing to be something between magma and soup. He leaned forward to sniff it.

Spice! Almost as an insulting pun on its appearance, it smelled hot! His mouth watered instantly. Back home, he had doused just about anything in hot sauce, especially tacos. While it wasn't the first flavor that came to mind when he thought of foods he missed back home, it was a wonderfully familiar smell,

After absentmindedly glancing around for a spoon, he noticed the eyes watching him around the table. Vilet and Nelra were picking at their meat and cheese casserole, watching his reactions intently. Lizbeth seemed less invested but was still watching with great interest.

To his dismay, even Lily and Sara looked on in amusement. Howard, on the other hand, seemed truly apathetic, more invested in his meal than the drama unfolding.

He returned his gaze to the soup, which he quickly realized was meant to be drunk, not spooned. Cautiously, he lifted it to his mouth. It was surprisingly warm, considering they didn't have any fire (much less electricity), and he took a small sip.

Sure enough, it was spicy! There was another sensation that accompanied it, like an electric tingle that made his tongue go a bit numb. The flavor was evasive and somewhat bland, leaving room for the spicy sensation alone.

In his hungry state, his instincts wanted to just drink it down and revel in the feeling, but he resisted. Keeping his face neutral, he set it down on the table and moved to the next dish, careful not to observe any of his spectators faces. They all knew who's dish it was, and since he could read the Vagonals pretty well, it might ruin the anonymity.

The second dish was placed on a thin mat of fresh moss. His first impression was that it looked like a large ball of cottage cheese, gooey, but still with a bit of shape, and pure white. Again, he caught himself looking for silverware. Something about just touching a wet texture at a meal was hard to get used to.

He shrugged and went for it, scooping some of it up into his hand. It squelched between his fingers as he lifted it to his mouth. No points for texture so far. He sniffed it, then sniffed it again. Just about no smell. He held back his gag reflex at the thought of eating tasteless glop.

At least he'd adjusted to the astronaut food. This was like a downgrade from moss.

Steeling himself, he carefully placed it in his mouth, preparing himself for the worst.

To his utter surprise, it melted in his mouth. It tasted... cheesy. No, not like a cheese. Like a blend of them. He closed his eyes, picking apart the flavors in his mouth.

Cheddar, gouda, mozzarella... Something creamy in there, too. He couldn't even name the number of flavors! He opened his eyes, resisting the urge to scarf the whole thing down right then and there, before turning to the final dish.

On top of a wooden slab that was reminiscent of a cutting board sat a peculiar dish. It reminded him of mashed potatoes, but instead of gravy, there was what looked like small wood shavings sprinkled on top, each paper thin and curly, roughly an inch long at the largest. He examined it, then took a sniff.

Smelled like cinnamon. He raised an eyebrow, appraising the dish in a new light. Was it a sweet dish, instead of savory like the last two?

As before, he scooped some of it with his fingers, trying to get a few sprinkles with it.

Bam. He was right, cinnamon. But not cinnamon and sugar. More like cinnamon and spam.

He bit back a gag and forced himself to keep chewing, all while keeping a straight face. Apparently, he did a bad job, because there was a giggle from across the table. He didn't look up, focusing instead on swallowing the food.

"Well?" Sara asked curiously. "Which dish did you like best?"

"It was a... hard decision," Jack replied evenly. It was a bit of a lie, but he wasn't going to worry about that. "But I think I'm going to have to go with..." He didn't know the names. "The cheeseball one."

Nelra smiled. "Thank you." Of course it was her. She had spent the most time with the qfn.

He tilted his head. "How did you make that? There were so many flavors?"

She shrugged. "You just have to know how to treat the cheese, that's all."

Lily interjected. "Now that you've had a taste, can we try them? I'm super curious what they made for you."

Jack waved his hand permissively. "Go for it. Just leave some for me, okay? This is my dinner."

"More like three dinners," Howard mumbled. But even he participated in grabbing a bit from each dish and tasting it.

After a brief round of everyone getting a taste, Lily gagged. "Who's dish was that?" she asked, pointing at the cinnamon potatoes.

"Yeah, seriously." Nelra wrinkled her nose. "Which of you put that down?"

Lizbeth opened her mouth to answer, but Vilet cut her off. "That's my mother's favorite dish," she muttered. "I like it."

"Well, you're probably the only one," Howard remarked. "That is an... acquired taste."

Vilet glanced to Jack, who smiled encouragingly. "It wasn't... that bad."

"Liar." Lily raised an eyebrow. "He's just saying that cause he likes you."

Vilet glanced away at that, a small tint of red appearing in her cheeks.

Howard burped and sat back on his stool. "Well, that was delightful! I'd love more of that cheese curd stuff..." he added, raising his eyebrows.

Jack scowled and put an arm over it protectively. "You've eaten three servings of food already. This is my dinner," he reminded.

Howard grumbled good naturedly and gave up, sitting back.

"So now... it's poetry, right?" Sara asked innocently.

Vilet perked up. "I believe that's correct."

"Well, maybe you guys should start while Jack finishes his food," Lily remarked. "He's got a ways to go still."

Vilet opted to go first, walking away from the table a bit and addressing them. She closed her eyes, reciting her poem in an almost trance-like way.

These ropes are cut to fit

My broken body

The stone is cold

But it feels of home

If only my heart

Was with memories scarred

I could forget my sin

Then maybe

I'd be free to run

But in the storm

I found myself

And in the storm

I found you

Your heart is cut to fit

My broken heart

These walls are cold

But I am warm

No longer my heart

Is with memories scarred

Now I forget my sin

And now

I'm free to love

She opened her eyes for the last line and caught his instantly. Instantly, Jack felt as though the air had escaped his lungs. Flashes of last night leapt to his mind. The look in her eyes, her face as she looked up into the lightning rent sky, passionate, desperate kisses fueled by much more than mere hormones.