[Chapter 24. Guests]

  With each new arrival, the tableau in the clearing changed.

  The second was a young Asian girl, plucked from a quiet study session. She appeared with a textbook still clutched in her hand, her expression one of sheer, uncomprehending shock. She had petite, slender frame with delicate features and this beautiful long, straight black hair falling past her shoulders.

  The third was a woman in her mid twenties, her striking, almost sculpted physique barely concealed by her charcoal business suit with a pencil skirt. Her long, fiery red hair was styled in a high ponytail. She landed in a fighting stance, but the sight of Iris and the hovering drones broke her resolve instantly.

  The last came mid-sentence, her provocative club attire was catching not only his eyes. Wearing a skin-tight, fluorescent pink crop top that barely covers her ample chest and a black micro miniskirt with fishnet stockings. The heeled platform boots complete the look, designed for nightlife and a party that might end not in her own bed. Her hair was platinum blonde styled in loose waves that frame a heavily made-up face with a few strands of pastel colors in them. Confident swagger dissolving into pure, unadulterated fear as she got dropped by the travel drone before them.

  Four women, gathered from different walks of life, now united by their shared helplessness, they gazed at the surreal events unfolding before them: mountains of food being brought by floating cubes that dropped far more then their size would allow; an anthropomorphic, wolf-like woman; and amidst it all, a man behaving as if it were just a normal thursday.

  "Looks like the party is all here now... would you like to wait for a more comfortable arrangement?" Searanox's question was casual, yet carried an undercurrent of absolute authority. He gave them no chance to answer.

  "I won't, so listen closely. My name is Searanox. This is Iris. In a few hours, your world, everyone you know, will be thrust into a new reality. A violent one. One where the strong survive and the weak are prey..."

  He took a short breath before continuing, "Count thyself fortunate for you were chosen, to be saved from that fait. If I was wrong, I return you, no harm done."

  The silence stretched, heavy and absolute. They stared at him, a desperate mix of fear and a dawning, horrifying hope in their eyes. Searanox let it hang there before continuing. "Tell me," he said at last, "what happens to society when authority loses the power to enforce its rules?"

  Finally, the one dressed for a night out, Sarah, found her voice. It was shaky, but defiant. "Chaos. People would do whatever they wanted. Take whatever they wanted."

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  "Precisely," Searanox nodded, a grim smile touching his lips. "What do you believe will be the first commodities on the shopping list, if there were no rules that govern behavior?"

  Vanessa, the one with the dancer's body beneath the business outfit, flinched. "Power... Control over others."

  "Good, very good," Searanox slowly rose from his place on the log. "You see, my dear. That is precisely why you are here. You are not just being saved. You are being recruited. You can stay here with Iris and me, be safe. When the System comes, you will have no power to defend yourself. But if you accept, if you serve me, you will be my assets. I will protect my own. I will grant you the power to survive. In exchange, you will do as I say. Without question."

  "Iris, they will assist you."

  Searanox turned and walked toward the house, the women watching him with a mixture of fear and awe. He stepped inside, the door stayed open behind him, leaving them alone with Iris.

  Iris turned to the women huddled together in fear.

  "Come," she said, her voice calm and absolute. "Our new home will not furnish itself. The furniture needs to be sorted." She gestured with one claw toward the scattered chaos of chairs, tables, and other furniture.

  The red haired woman, Vanessa, straightened slightly. A flicker of defiant pride surfaced despite the terror shaking her frame.

  "We are not your slaves," she said, her voice trembling but audible. "You cannot just..."

  Iris moved faster than thought.

  One moment she stood several steps away. The next, her clawed hand rested lightly against Vanessa throat. The touch was gentle. The threat was not. Silver eyes burned with predatory intensity as a low growl vibrated through her chest. "I can," Iris purred, lips drawing back to reveal sharp teeth. "And I will."

  Her claws pressed just enough to make the point unmistakable. "Searanox considers you an investment. I consider you... expendable. Your life has value only while it remains useful to him. Now, you will begin. Or you will be the first piece of trash I dispose of this morning."

  She withdrew her hand.

  Vanessa stumbled backward, her face drained of color, defiance shattered into raw terror. The other women watched in frozen silence as the lesson settled in with brutal clarity.

  They were no longer people.

  They were assets.

  Slowly, reluctantly, they began to move. Tables and Chairs were lifted. Furniture was dragged toward the silent, box like structure that served as their new home. Their movements were clumsy, driven by fear rather than coordination, but none dared stop. The clearing changed. What had been chaos and panic slowly reshaped itself into a crude campsite, a fragile outpost of order carved into the forest. Iris stood watch throughout, her posture relaxed but dominant, her amber eyes missing nothing.

  "Iris, why are you just standing there?" he asked calmly. "When you are done with the furniture, you can store the food in the sheds." he gestured toward a row of sheet metal sheds lining the edge of the clearing.

  The house itself was not impressive. It was cramped, plain, and poorly insulated. But it was shelter. Protection from the elements. He watched as the women carried furniture inside, slowly furnishing the five small rooms one by one.

  Outside again, he ran his fingers lightly along Iris back.

  "I do not want you slacking off," he said quietly. "And you will not treat them as slaves."