Page 4 of Semi-Human

I take the elevator to the Heights and step out into a familiar corridor. There used to be a guard post here to make sure only the right people got to pass. After Skyfall, many residents of the Heights realized that being closer to the surface might not be so safe. The shift in housing over the following years helped take down most of the social barriers between the three main sections of the Hive. Some parts of the Depths are even considered chic these days.

Being a Defender, it’s hard for me to care about status and classes. My brothers and sisters in arms are all equals in the eyes of the Raiders who want us dead, and also in the eyes of the Hivers who rely on our protection.

The large park is mostly deserted. The lights have been dimmed to provide a sense of evening, and soon they’ll be turned off completely. Unsurprisingly, my heart beats faster as I walk where it all happened. The passing years feel meaningless; the memories are still fresh and painful. I could use a different route to cross the park, but I’m not a coward, and I want to remember.

I stop at the stone monument shaped like a giant tear. It’s positioned between two willows, their branches reaching the ground. They were planted before Doomsday, making them well over a hundred years old. A small screen at the center of the stone tear displays the name of every victim in an endless loop. Based on the name currently displayed, I’ll have to wait almost an hour for Ruben’s turn.

I place my hand on the cold stone, then make my way over to the Government District, where the buildings surround a square with a fountain. A few couples are watching the flowing water. There aren’t many romantic places in the Hive, making even this old fountain an attraction.

Since Dino is supposed to be in his office, I head over to the Foreign Relations building. He joined the assembly shortly after Skyfall, insisting on this position since it allowed him to keep traveling.

I step into the warm building and approach the front desk. Despite the late hour, the receptionist is still there, working on an old computer. I doubt we have more than thirty functioning computers in the entire Hive, but I’ve never tinkered with one.

“I’m afraid we’re closed,”

the receptionist says.

“Dino is expecting me.”

“He is? Oh! You must be Josh. Mr. Lopez told me that you’d stop by. Go right ahead. One floor up to the office at the end of the hallway.”

“Thank you. Have a nice evening.”

I walk up the stairs, which are covered with a thick carpet that has seen better days. After living in the Hive for over a century, we care more about things not breaking down than how they look, and Dino isn’t the type to care about old carpets.

I reach the office at the end of the hallway and take a deep breath before knocking. After a year of not hearing his voice, Dino says, “Come in, Josh.”

I open the door as he stands up from behind his desk. It’s still strange seeing him wearing the official beige assembly uniform, with the word ‘Unity’ printed above his heart.

He sizes me up, nodding his approval. “You look like a man.”

“Was I supposed to look like a woman?”

He walks toward me. His shoulder-length hair is gray, though he isn’t yet fifty. “A boy, Josh. In my mind, you’re still a pale boy who wants to know everything.”

I expect him to shake my hand, but he pulls me into a hug, holding me tightly until I relax in his arms.

“I’m sorry,”

he says. “It wasn’t my place to question your decision to enlist.”

His apology hits hard. I didn’t know how much I wanted to hear it or how much I missed him. “I’m also sorry.”

He lets go and smiles. There are more lines around his kind eyes, but he’s still an impressive man. “Are you breaking hearts out there?”

“I’m breaking skulls, Dino, and other parts if the Raiders are wearing a helmet.”

“Good.”

We move to sit on a couch at the side of the office. A steaming tea is waiting on a table, and he pours some into two cups.

“You’ve been domesticated,” I say.

“Fuck you.”

“Well, when was the last time you even left the Hive?”

“Last month, if you have to know. A diplomatic visit to the Free Cities—those who agreed to meet with me.”

Not everyone views the Hives in a positive light. Some are suspicious of us, especially given how organized our military force is compared to some of the Free Cities.

“Did you convince them to get off their asses and join us?” I ask.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. They’re fighting their own battles, taking out Raiders how they see fit. The thought of joining forces with us doesn’t sit right with them, but we’re becoming better at sharing intel. Baby steps.”

He smiles. “You’ve been doing well out there.”

“How do you know?”

I take a sip of tea. He made it sweet, the way I like it.

“I always keep tabs on you and Caden.”

“Can you tell him to answer my damn letters?”

“I did, and he told me to mind my fucking business. He has his reasons—I don’t agree with them—but he’ll come around eventually. Both of you are stubborn.”

He pats my leg. “I was told you figured out that kid was a Raider.”

“Yes, but I’m not sure he planned on hurting us.”

“He tried to lie his way into the Hive.”

“I know. It’s just a hunch I have.”

“Well, they’ll continue to question him until we can say for sure.”

“Ace seems to think there’s something bigger going on.”

I watch Dino closely. If there is something happening behind the scenes, he would know about it.

He nods, his expression grim. “It seems that people are already talking. I suppose it was bound to happen.”

I don’t like the sound of that. “Will I be out of line to ask for information?”

“You will be, but as a Josh, you get special privileges, depending on your promise to keep everything I say private.”

I sit a bit straighter. “I promise, sir.”

“Call me sir one more time, and I’ll throw this tea at your face.”

He stands up and goes to one of the closets, moving things around. “I don’t want to burden you with my problems, but that’s what you get for being nosy.” He comes back with an old tablet and hands it to me. “This was in our archives, collecting dust. Press the button on the side. It won’t explode.”

I smile despite myself. I love memorabilia, but I’m wary of old technology, and he knows that. I press the button on the side of the device, and it blinks into life. “What’s on there?”

“A closer look at the history of the Semi-Humans.”

I almost drop the tablet. We briefly covered their history in school, but I still can’t say for sure why we went to war with them. I know they were a threat, but the specifics are unclear.

“Should I be looking at this?”

I grip the tablet tightly, the screen showing what I think is called folders.

“I can take it back if you don’t—”

“No, I want to.”

“Then click on this icon twice.”

“With my finger?”

He smiles. ”Yes.”

I tap the folder icon twice. The screen changes, responding to my touch instantly. Dozens of little squares appear.

“Those are photos and documents,”

Dino says. “Start with the one on top.”

I do as he says, and an image appears. It’s a gray structure with people in white clothes, their mouths and noses covered with masks. “Is this a Hive?”

“It’s a lab. There’s a map on one of those files, pointing to an area in Kansas, though the location isn’t precise.”

I know Kansas is to the east, but I never had a reason to venture so far. “Is that where they built the Semi-Humans?”

“They weren’t built—they were engineered.”

He swipes his finger on the screen to show a different photo.

“The hell is that?”

It seems like a line of pods with green liquid inside. Unless I’m delusional, there are babies floating inside. It’s disturbing. “Did they grow them inside those things?”

“Seems like it, but I don’t know how long.”

He swipes again, showing a different photo of four smiling people in white lab coats. He points at the only woman in the group. Her short hair is deep copper, similar to the color the Semi-Humans allegedly had.

“Mother.”

I frown. “What?”

“The AI we call Mother—it’s her.”

My stomach cramps. “I don’t understand. AI is like computers.”

“She transferred herself into a digital environment, turning into what we know as Mother.”

He points at the tall man standing next to her. He’s handsome, but his eyes are less kind. His short hair was graying when he was still alive. “That’s Father.”

Well, shit. I have dozens of questions, but I settle for one. “Did they need to kill themselves to turn into AIs?”

“As far as I know—no, though they were killed during a battle with our Defenders. By then, we could fully breathe the air outside, and we went to search for the Semi-Humans’ lab.”

“To talk to them?”

He shakes his head. “No. Those in charge decided they were a threat. I went over old transcripts of meetings where they discussed the AIs. They were worried about having them in control of the Semi-Humans, but it was never clear how strong their influence was. It was during one of the battles that we found the bodies of Dr. Helena Roth and Dr. Ivan Volkov.”

“Mother and Father?”

“Yes.”

I’m trying to take it all in, realizing how many things I didn’t know—was never meant to know.

“And what about the other two in the photo?”

I point at the chubby man with the bearded face standing next to Ivan—or Father. His dark, curly hair reaches his shoulders. The fourth man seems the youngest, pale and skinny, his short hair sandy blond.

Dino points at the chubby one. “This is Nathaniel Mordok. The blond one is Timothy Brown. They were part of the core team and likely separated from Ivan and Helena after the project ended. Either way, we’re talking about events that happened seventy years ago, so they must have passed away by now.”

“You said that you didn’t want to burden me with your problems, but all of these photos are old. I don’t get how any of this is your problem.”

“You’re right.”

He goes to take a folder from a drawer in his desk before returning to sit next to me. There’s weariness in his eyes, and for a moment, I’m not sure I want to know what’s inside the folder, but it’s too late to back off now.

I put the tablet aside and take the folder from him, raising the cover. What is this? I blink, convinced my eyes are playing tricks on me. I look back and forth from each of the five people in the photo, trying to determine if they are all standing next to one another. I know that if someone stands closer to the camera, it can make them appear bigger, but the more I look, the more I’m sure that isn’t the case.

“Is this real?”

“Yes. Keep looking.”

With my hand shaking, I flip to the next photo. It’s the same five men, but from a different angle. Three of them are only half the height of the other two. “They don’t look like little people,” I say.

“They aren’t.”

“So that means that the other two are… what, 1 feet?”

“Give or take.”

My God. Beside their height, their hair is completely white, and their skin is so pale, I don’t know how they can stand being in the sun. They wear dark armor that seems to be made of metal. “When were these photos taken?”

“A few months ago in Nevada.”

“That’s in the west, right?”

“Correct.”

“Do we know who those giants are?”

“No. Could be a mutation of the Semi-Humans, or maybe the radiation in Nevada caused changes we haven’t seen before.”

I’ve seen people with mutations outside the Hive, but nothing that looked like this. It’s been decades since our air was purified, so those who suffered the worst mutations are likely no longer alive. Or so we thought.

“Are they a threat?” I ask.

“Yes.”

There isn’t a hint of hesitation in his voice. “If what we’re hearing about settlements being overrun in the west is true… it changes everything.”

I’ve never known Dino to exaggerate, and I have a feeling things are even worse than what he makes them sound. “Are we doing anything about this?”

“We tried to get more intel, but with little success. They operate from an old city called Las Vegas, and we haven’t managed to reach it. Even these photos were passed on from sources that know very little. Word about this will begin to spread, and I don’t want you to be fooled by gossip and paranoia. Caden will soon learn about this too.”

I nod, feeling flustered. Something about these albino giants is chilling, and the question marks surrounding them only make it worse. At least with the Raiders, we know who we’re dealing with.

“Whoever these things are, they’re unlike anything we’ve ever faced,”

Dino says. “That is why I’d appreciate your support in the coming months.”

“Sure.”

“In the Hive.”

I frown, then I understand. “You want me to leave the Defenders?”

“Temporarily.”

I hold back my anger. “We’ve had this discussion before.”

And it ended badly, yet nothing seems to have changed. He still doesn’t accept my decision to join the Defenders instead of being his right-hand man in the safety of the Hive. But I experienced firsthand how fragile our lives here truly are, and by fighting out there, I’m allowing the rest of my people to pretend their world is safe.

“This is different, Josh. You can make a true impact.”

“I am making an impact, and I don’t get why you’re so obsessed with this. Can’t you just let it go?”

He lets out a long breath and goes to his desk. He opens a drawer and takes out what seems like a photo. “I wanted to share this with you for years, but shame held me back.”

Unpleasant jitters fill my stomach as he walks over and hands me the photo. It shows a younger version of him, standing next to another young man who looks somewhat familiar. They’re both smiling, Dino’s arm around the other man’s shoulders. I’m surprised he has such a photo since it’s extremely expensive to use photography in the Hive. I’m about to ask who the other man in the photo is, but the words die in my throat. This young man looks familiar because he reminds me of me.

I raise my face to see Dino’s tense expression. “My dad?”

“Yes. We were best friends growing up until his tragic death.”

For a moment, I’m overjoyed to finally have a photo of my dad, but then it hits me that Dino has had this photo for years and has kept it from me. “Why am I seeing it just now?”

“Because your mother begged me to convince Eric not to enlist and instead become a partner in my new store. But I didn’t want a partner. I told myself that Defenders rarely see any action, and I gave your father my blessing. He enlisted the following day. Before Skyfall, Defenders could go for years without seeing battle, but Eric and his team were unlucky, and he died a little over a year after enlisting, while you were a baby. Your mother never forgave me for not stopping him, and I couldn’t blame her. I kept my distance like she wanted, and…”

His voice breaks, his breathing heavy. “After the plague, I wanted to take you in, but everything was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do with a kid who didn’t even know who I was.”

I find my voice and ask, “Did you open the store in the Depths because of me?”

I always wondered why he kept that place going—it was clearly a failure.

“Yes. It seemed like the best way to get closer to you without making you suspicious.”

I try to digest how I’m feeling, wondering if I’m angry or hateful, but I’m mostly relieved because Dino’s stubbornness about my enlistment now makes more sense.

“I don’t know if I could have convinced your father not to enlist,”

Dino says, “but I do know that not adopting you will always be the biggest mistake of my life.”

I focus on my breathing because I don’t want to cry. The past is the past, and I don’t need anyone carrying guilt because of me. Dino did what he could for me growing up, and for that I’m grateful.

I stroke the precious photo of my dad. I don’t quite remember what my mom and grandmother looked like, making this old photo all the more important. “I want to keep it,”

I say. “Please.”

“Of course. It’s yours.”

“Thank you.”

I exhale. “It’s getting late.”

“I want to see you again before you return to the field. I have many stories about Eric I’ve been waiting to share with you.”

I nod. “I’d like that.”

Before I leave, I have a thought. “Can you get me clearance to see the Raider we captured?”

“Why do you want to see him?”

Because I feel guilty, and it bugs me that I do. “I just want to see if he’s okay.”

Dino nods. “Give me a minute.”

*

The brig is next to the Defenders’ recruitment center. Almost three years ago, I stepped inside to enlist, terrified but determined, burdened by my fight with Dino and Caden, who insisted I was making a mistake.

I present my clearance to the guards, and one of them leads me two floors below. There are ten cells facing each other, all with glass walls for doors. Two men are sleeping in the cells closer to the entrance, but the rest of the cells are empty except for the one at the end, where they locked Finn.

“You need me to stay?”

the guard asks.

“No. Will he be able to hear me?”

“Yes, but you’ll need to stand closer to the door.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Finn is lying with his back to me, wearing plain gray inmate clothes that remind me a lot of what we used to wear at the orphanage. I can’t tell if he’s asleep, so I take a step closer and gently tap on the glass. He stirs and turns around, seeming surprised to see me as he moves to sit on the low single bed. “Are you here to gloat, Private Bennet?”

He seems unharmed. Being in this cell somehow makes him look even younger.

“It’s Josh, and I’m not here to gloat. Are you okay?”

His expression remains blank, but I can read the confusion in his eyes. After a long moment, he says, “They asked me a lot of questions. I answered, but they said I was lying, even though I didn’t.”

He shrugs. “I’ve seen how Raiders interrogate their prisoners, so I ain’t complaining.” He smirks. “Your boyfriend was there too.”

I tense. “He’s my friend.”

“Oh yeah? Funny. I don’t remember my friends sucking my cock on hills.”

“Maybe if you had a better cock.”

He bursts out laughing, a much deeper sound than his regular voice. When he calms down, he asks somberly, “Are your people going to kill me?”

“We don’t kill prisoners.”

Though I don’t recall us ever keeping Raiders as prisoners, and even if we did, I’m not sure I would know their fate.

“I can join your Hive,”

he says, leaning with his hands on his crossed legs. “I’ll work my ass off. I’m not asking for handouts.”

I stop myself from saying that having a Raider—even an ex-Raider—as part of the Hive is laughable. We don’t even take in regular people when they ask for shelter.

Finn is looking at me with such hope in his eyes, I end up saying, “We’ll try to validate the information you gave us. If you told the truth, I’m sure it will work in your favor.”

He nods in relief, and I feel bad for giving him false hope.

“I need to go,”

I say. “Try to rest.”

“Will you come to see me again?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Okay. Wait.”

“What is it?”

“Hmm… never mind. It’s just…”

He crosses his arms, his face troubled. “I don’t know if I can trust you.”

“Why would you need to trust me?”

Instead of answering, he lies down with his back to me. Confused, I turn around and leave.

*

I make my way to the Central Hub, where about half of the six thousand residents of the Hive live. Everything here is laid out in the most boring way—mostly rows of identical buildings with some shops scattered among them. But this is where the library is, and unlike in the Heights, the Central Hub residents never minded us Depths kids hanging around.

Caden’s apartment is on the top floor of a three-story building. He has a balcony with a view of a small internal waterfall. It’s late, so I unlock the door with the entrance code and slip quietly inside. The apartment is dark, lit faintly by the streetlights. I tiptoe past the living room to the bedroom where Caden is sleeping, tucked under a blanket. The open window carries in the gentle sound of flowing water.

I quietly remove my clothes and slip into bed, pulling up the blanket he left for me. After so long in the field, adjusting to a real mattress takes time. I sense movement as Caden turns toward me. He blinks and asks, “How was it?”

“Fine.”

I begin to feel the weight of Dino’s secret, knowing it will only grow heavier.

“Are you two cool?”

He slides closer and puts his arm around my chest.

“Yes. He tried again to get me to stay here and work for him.”

“He’s even more persistent than me.”

“He… has his reasons.”

“Oh?”

“Turns out that he and my dad were best friends. He gave me a photo of the two of them.”

“Are you for real? And he never told you?”

I remember the remorse in his eyes. He must have seen my dad every time he looked at me. “He felt guilty about what happened, and he was there for me growing up—that’s what counts.”

“It does make his interest in you seem less strange.”

“It was never strange.”

“Well, a bit. I mean, if he was really only looking for a right-hand man, it would have made more sense for him to focus on me—the full package.”

I roll my eyes. “The full package should have more than big biceps.”

He laughs and pokes me in the ribs. “You know it’s not the only part of me that’s big. Don’t belittle me.”

He clears his throat and asks, “Are you considering leaving the Defenders to work with him?”

“No, but at least this time you two didn’t gang up on me.”

“I still would’ve preferred if you were a librarian.”

“You said it was for women, so you only have yourself to blame.”

“True. You were with Dino for a long time.”

“I also went to see Finn.”

“Who?”

“The Raider.”

“Why the hell for? You have a crush on him?”

I stop myself from asking, what if I do? Caden and I aren’t a thing—he made that clear years ago. But I haven’t been with anyone but him, men or women, and for all I know, he could be sucking cocks on hills every single night when we’re apart.

“Joshy… do you have a crush on Finn?”

“No.”

“Good. He’s bad news, and you can be too trusting.”

Before I can tell him to fuck off, he snuggles closer, his breath warm against my cheek.

“It’s hard to sleep on soft beds,” he says.

“We’ll be out of here soon enough.”

I can’t help but notice that every time I’m back, the Hive feels a little less like home.

I stroke Caden’s arm, enjoying the familiarity of his skin and the sense of safety his presence has always given me.

“I need to talk to you about something,” he says.

For a second, I wonder if he’s already learned about the giants. It would make things easier. “What is it?”

“I spoke with Ace earlier… about the possibility of you joining my squad.”

I frown. “You just went and talked to him behind my back?”

“I wanted to get a sense of his thoughts. I’m not interested in picking up fights.”

“And what about my thoughts?”

“You asked to join my squad.”

I prop myself on my elbows. “Yeah, three years ago, and you said that having me with you would be too distracting.”

Which was probably the right call.

“You’re a better fighter now, and I could use a good sniper. Besides…”

He sighs. “I’ve been hearing things that make me worry about what might be coming. I’ll feel better having you with me.”

Knowing what I know, I see his point. “I’ll need to think about it.”

He nods. “Thank you. Blowjob?”

“It’s my turn to give.”

“I wasn’t offering.”

He pinches my lips. “Time to put this pretty mouth of yours to work, Private.”

He's not kidding about the work part. He's big enough to easily make me gag, but he never tells me to take it deeper or go faster. I suck and lick and tug on his balls as his soft moans fill the apartment. I know every part of his body, since my entire sexual awakening happened in his bed, with him letting me explore and discover what I like.

After we’re done, I lie awake for a long time, listening to Caden’s soft breaths while picturing giants marching from the west. Heading this way.