The following morning Rhoswen took the little girl, who’s name turned out to be Miranda, to meet Anna. After Rhoswen explained what had happened, Anna encased Miranda in a hug and invited her to come live with her. Anna was shocked that Rhoswen had even survived the incident, much less convinced a half-breed to let someone else go.
The half-breeds acted as the disciplinary enforcers for the entire city. With their enhanced strength and senses, no normal human was a match for them, and so no normal human could stand against them. They were strict, stern, and most often cruel. They accepted no excuses, no apologies, no pleas. And while they were supposed to keep order in the city, they usually only punished those they particularly ran into, those poor souls who inadvertently insulted them. Or anyone who even hinted at a rebellion against the Pagoda.
The name Pagoda was given to the alien race that invaded around twenty years ago, three years before Rhoswen was born. She had never actually seen a full-blooded Pagoda, and neither had most of the people in the city. They controlled the planet from behind the scenes, mating with humans to create an army of half-blooded offspring to do their dirty work in the few remaining cities across the globe. It was predicted that full-blooded humans would become extinct in the near future, leaving only Pagoda and half-Pagoda.
Outside the encased cities, the world was frozen. Something about the Pagoda made everything colder and colder until the world became an icy wasteland. They built domes over select cities, where the cold couldn’t reach, and sent their half-breed military to watch over the remaining humans.
Travel between cities was impossible, as no human could stand the cold. And resources were wearing thin.
Rhoswen watched the city through her window, wondering why any of them bothered to go out and try to sell their belongings. Even if they made a little money, it would take far too much to buy a decent amount of food or fuel. None of them would survive much longer.
She and Anna were lucky. Terrian’s parents had been extremely wealthy surgeons before the Pagoda invaded, and so left behind a fortune for their only son, still a child then. He learned much about medicine from them in the years they survived after the invasion, before disease took one and a half-breed took the other. While he made no money now, his inheritance seemed to have no end, and he paid the girls well.
And so the three of them formed a little family at the clinic. Terrian didn’t quite make a good father, so the girls jokingly said he was the crazy uncle, and in return he called them the irresponsible, rebellious teenage daughters that were “every parent’s worst nightmare”. But in the end they couldn’t survive without each other, without the clinic to hold them together.
Rhoswen was happily working there a couple of days later, when the front door swung open and the half-breed walked in. He was back in his uniform, topped off by a black beret that pressed the black hair down over the lone green eye. She stared at him as he walked slowly toward Terrian. He was no longer the wounded boy in polka-dot pajamas, but an unfeeling monster in black.
There was a knot in Rhoswen’s stomach, and she looked over at Anna, who was frozen stiff. “Anna, come on... let’s tend the other patients,” Rhoswen told her, taking her hand.
”That bastard killed Miranda’s parents. I told you he was dangerous!” Anna whispered.
Rhoswen nodded. “I know, but there’s nothing we can do now. Let’s go.”
Terrian stepped out from the bedside of a nearby patient when the half-breed neared him. “Ah, Mr. Vartan! You came back for your check-up!”
The half-breed, who had apparently signed his patient form as Vartan, nodded. Terrian lead him through the swinging doors and into the back room. Some of the patients that were conscious drew in sharp breaths as Vartan walked by them, looking at him with terror written across their faces. Rhoswen felt bad for them.
Just when she thought things had calmed down, a few minutes after Terrian and Vartan had left the room, Terrian poked his head through the swinging doors and asked her to bring some more bandages. Rhoswen frowned to him, but gathered up the bandages and walked through the swinging doors.
Vartan was sitting on a cot, his jacket discarded and his torso again exposed.
At least this time he’s wearing pants.
He looked young, younger than the nineteen years of age he had written on the patient form. Shirtless, in baggy pants, and wearing the beret made him look strangely like some sort of male stripper. Dare she even think it, he almost looked cute.
Terrian removed the bandages and examined the wound. It was almost invisible now, healing rapidly with the amazing Pagoda blood. He carefully cleaned the area, examined it for infection, then dressed it with fresh bandages.
”Take these off in a couple of days. If the wound looks fine, you don’t need to put anymore on. If there’s any bleeding or discoloration, come here immediately.”
Vartan nodded, pulling on his jacket. He paused, looking at Rhoswen. “Is there a problem?”
Rhoswen blinked. “What?”
”You’ve been staring at my chest the whole time you’ve been here. Is there a problem I should be aware of?”
Rhoswen became red. She hadn’t even realized she was staring. “Oh... no... I’m sorry!”
Terrian looked at her in surprise, then looked back to Vartan. “You’ll have to forgive my nurse. She’s not used to seeing such finely crafted male bodies. The lot we get in here are very different from you.”
“Doctor!” Rhoswen’s face was now burning with embarrassment.
Terrian laughed, and Vartan seemed just a little confused. Rhoswen was deeply upset.
How can you act so casually with him? He’s a monster!
Vartan buttoned his jacket, thanked Terrian again, nodded to Rhoswen, and left out the back door. Terrian grinned. “Wow, he’s so polite!”
”Polite?! I saw him tear a woman’s head off the other night!”
”Well... he’s still a half-breed after all. At least we’re safe. He seems to like us, you in particular.”
Rhoswen was placing the left over roll of bandages in a cabinet. “Me?”
”You haven’t noticed? He keeps looking at you. Maybe he thinks you’re cute!”
Rhoswen went pale. “That’s not exactly a good thing, Doctor. You know what the half-breeds are like.”
”But you obviously think he’s cute,” Terrian said, still grinning.
”I do not!”
”Couldn’t keep your eyes off him.”
”I was looking at his wound!”
Terrian laughed. “Why deny it? It would certainly be a first, a half-breed with a willing human.”
”I don’t like him!” Rhoswen suddenly screamed, “He killed Miranda’s parents! If we hadn’t saved his life, he would’ve killed me too!”
”That’s all true, but haven’t you ever wondered? How much their human side affects them? I don’t think they’ve ever had relationships like we have. I don’t think they understand the concept of family. Maybe if they could experience that, it would awaken the humanity in them.”
”But Doctor, how can you make excuses for them? They killed your father, didn’t they?”
Terrian looked down, his glasses slipping down his nose. “You’re right. Sorry, it was just wishful thinking.”
The day wore on, just like the other days before it. They tended patients, joked with each other, and allowed themselves to forget about the outside world. And when the working day was over, they parted ways and returned home.
Anna lived in an apartment on the other side of town, where Miranda was at home waiting for her. Terrian lived in a large house a few blocks away, but spent the night at the clinic whenever a critical patient was brought in. He had often asked the girls to move into his home, but both had the desire for a little independence, at least for as long as they could maintain it.
Rhoswen entered her apartment that evening, flipping on the light in the small living room and locking the door up tight behind her. The room was dirty, no matter how many times she cleaned it. It seemed like a thin layer of filth covered the whole city, and no one could get rid of it.
There was no television, not for the past ten years. Her memories of it had become vague over time, but richer families could still watch videos if they could afford the extra electricity. Sometimes she and Anna went to Terrian’s house to watch old films. As interesting as they were, she found them depressing. People were usually happy in those movies, and she couldn’t relate to them at all.
There was an unused stove in the corner of Rhoswen’s kitchen and a small refrigerator stocked with items like fruit, vegetables, butter, cheese, and rarely some form of meat. She counted herself extremely fortunate to have what little she had, as most people in the city would sell everything they had for some meat or butter.
She unpacked her things from the duffle bag she carried to work each day, then changed into pajamas. She fixed herself a glass of water, placed it on her bedside table, and went to bed. The sheets were cold without the warmth of another person, but she had gotten used to that.
Sleep came slowly to her, and then she was haunted by violent nightmares filled with screams and blood and the half-blood Vartan killing Miranda’s father and then suddenly Miranda morphed into Anna.
”Why didn’t you save me too?” Anna demanded, looking up at Rhoswen with blood all over her face, “Why didn’t you save me like you did Miranda?!”
Rhoswen backed away from her until her back hit a stone wall. “I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, Anna! I didn’t know you then!”
Anna shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. I needed you. I needed to be saved!”
She came closer, until she was inches from Rhoswen. Finally, she reached out and wrapped her hands around Rhoswen’s throat, choking her.
Rhoswen awoke with a jolt, sitting up in bed and clutching the sheets in her fists. Sweat dripped down her back. Nightmares like that were surprisingly rare for her. Generally, she dreamed of her parents or of the clinic or of the world ending.
She never got back to sleep that night, and so she was early to work the next morning, even before Terrian or Anna arrived. Terrian came first, unlocking the doors and letting her in, followed soon after by Anna. The two girls changed into their uniforms while Terrian checked the patients. But just as they walked through the swinging doors, they heard the front door of the clinic bust open.
Terrian and the girls looked up just as three half-breeds, two boys and one girl, walked in. They scanned the main patient area with their two-color eyes, then looked at Terrian. One of the boys spoke with the same mechanical voice Vartan had. “We’ve received reports that you are harboring those who escaped punishment. Everyone in this building is now officially interfering with punishment, and will thus be punished themselves.”
Terrian pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again. “Anna, Rhoswen, I want you to run far away from here. Right now.”
Anna started toward him. “But Doctor-“
”RUN!” he screamed, and Rhoswen grabbed Anna’s arm, dragging her toward the back entrance. As they made it through the swinging doors, they began to hear screams and cries, glass breaking, and the sound of Terrian’s voice as he yelled for the half-breeds to stop.