Before he’d finished, A.A. Catto was already pressing her thin hard body up against his.
***
Billy could remember very little of what happened after he’d been taken out of the lift. He dimly recalled a strange young girl talking to them. He could remember a figure in white who did something that made the pain stop, but after that everything had been a drowsy jumble of dreams and reality. He was carried along corridors, through doors, the images of his grey-uniformed interrogators loomed in front of him. He’d screamed and fought, and then been comforted by visions of blond hair and pink material stretched over firm breasts. A machine that buzzed and gave off violet light was moved over the damaged areas of his body. The figure in white had come and gone. The pink visions had remained to save him from the questions. The column of ghosts had shuffled past. Briefly he had imagined himself in Pleasant Gap, then he had sunk down into a dark warm pit of unconsciousness.
***
A.A. Catto and Reave lay naked on her huge bed. The ceiling above them was a large glowing mirror. Her reflection smiled down at him and her lips nuzzled his ear.
‘Do you like me, Reave? Do I please you?’
‘Yes, very much.’
‘Do you think I’m beautiful?’
‘Very beautiful.’
She propped herself up on one elbow.
‘I have a present for you, Reave.’
‘You mean the clothes? They’re too much. I’ve never had clothes like that.’
A.A. Catto smiled and shook her head.
‘No, not the clothes. Something else.’
Reave sat up.
‘What is it?’
‘Wait and I’ll show you.’
She called to one of the Hostess-1s.
‘Bring my special present for Mister Reave.’
They came over to the bed carrying a box made of purple leather. A.A. Catto opened it, and Reave saw, lying on a pad of dark red velvet, a collar that looked as though it would fit round a man’s neck. It was made of silver, about three inches wide and decorated with fine gold inlay. Beside it was a tiny ring, its exact miniature. A.A. Catto picked up the collar and snapped it round Reave’s neck.
‘There.’
Reave put his hand to it.
‘It’s very pretty. I don’t normally wear jewellery.’
A.A. Catto smiled.
‘You’ll wear it for me?’
Reave stroked her tiny breast.
‘Sure.’
She slipped the ring on her third finger, and chanted in a childish singsong.
‘The collar for you, and the ring for me.’
It was the first time Reave had heard her sound anything like she looked. Her lovemaking was in no way childlike. Reave remembered being surprised by some of the things she’d suggested. His finger fiddled with the fastenings at the back of the collar.
‘I don’t seem to be able to get this off.’
A.A. Catto kissed him.
‘You can’t.’
‘I can’t?’
She held up her finger with the ring on it.
‘Only if I want you to. It’s controlled from here. I twist the ring one way, and the collar’s locked. I twist it the other and it’s released.’
‘Can I take it off now? I’m not really used to wearing it.’
A.A. Catto rolled over and began to play with him.
‘Not yet. It does a lot of other things as well.’
***
Billy opened his eyes. He was in an unfamiliar room, lying on the largest, most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. One of the pink and blond girls came into his field of vision. She smiled at him.
‘May I help you, Mister Billy?’
Billy struggled to sit up.
‘I don’t know for sure. How long have I been out?’
‘Just over five hours, Mister Billy.’
Billy stretched, and patted his face with exploratory fingers.
‘I feel amazingly recovered.’
‘The treatment has an almost total success rate.’
Billy grinned.
‘So it would seem,’
Another Hostess-1 joined the first one.
‘How may we serve you, Mister Billy?’
Billy scratched his head. They were both smiling at him so invitingly that he began to wonder if maybe he was still delirious.
‘What can you do for me?’
They both chorused.
‘Anything you might ask, Mister Billy.’
‘How about some coffee and a cigar?’
‘Certainly, Mister Billy. Shall we both fetch them, or would you like one of us to stay here and entertain you?’
Billy laughed.
‘Does that mean you tell me jokes or join me in bed?’
‘Whatever you wish, Mister Billy. If you find one of us attractive we are available to serve you in any way.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Of course.’
‘Okay then. Let’s do it. One of you go get the breakfast and the other climb in with me.’
One of the Hostess-1s began to take off her pink tunic while the other went to arrange the food. Billy grinned at the one who was leaving.
‘You can join us when you get through.’
***
A.A. Catto and Reave were locked together, intertwined, moving furiously against each other. The gasps and groans mingled as their excitement grew and grew. Reave moaned as he felt himself on the verge of orgasm. A.A. Catto opened her eyes and her hand moved to the ring. Reave screamed as the collar sent a violent shock flashing through his nervous system. His spine arched and his body shook in uncontrollable spasms. A.A. Catto dug her nails into his back and then sank back with a satisfied smile. Reave shuddered and passed out.
***
She/They floated up a flat area that ran between the human habitations. Her/Their energy was depleted, and She/They moved very slowly, but now She/They was within reach of the stasis point and everything would be well.
The human beings spilled out of their crude buildings and gawped at the strange creature who floated down their main street. She/They had always found the childish curiosity of humans an inconvenience, but under the circumstances it couldn’t be avoided. The stasis point was all important to the task She/They had to perform.
A sense of relief came over Her/Them as She/They reached the absolute centre of the field. The standing pair carefully laid their injured third fractionally above the dust of the street. The inert form was supported a few inches above the ground by a faint blue glow. The remaining two stood erect, and one of them slowly raised the energy wand.
A crowd of humans had surrounded the triple form, but remained at a safe distance. Their shouts and chattering died away as a dim red light enveloped the three figures. They backed away a few paces as the light grew in intensity and rose up the spectrum through orange to yellow. The light became stronger and stronger, turned green, blue and finally an intense violet that almost hid the figures from the view of the crowd.
The sky above the little town flickered on and off as She/They drained incalculable amounts of energy. Lightning flashed in the distant, grey hills, and claps of thunder rattled the buildings. The glass in some of the windows shattered and collapsed, and a tree, down beyond the last house, crashed across the main street. The town generator whined and vibrated as it tried to cope with the incredible overload. A gale-force wind howled down the street whipping up tall spirals of dust. Some of the older humans sank to their knees and began praying.
There was a flash of intense white light. The humans who had been watching it turned away, temporarily blinded. The light around Her/Them slowly faded down to the dull red again. The pitch of the generator fell to normal, and the sky returned to its usual colour and brightness. The inert figure on the ground slowly rose to join the other two. She/They was once again complete. The triple form rose slightly and begin to drift back the way She/They had come. Towards the end of the street, She/They began to gather speed. Her/Their desire was to get away from the gawping, ignorant humans. Her/Their trials and pain were over, all that remained was the continuing search for the place of invulnerability. A place of solitude that She/They could render stable and make secure from the inroads of the disrupters. There She/They could restore Her/Their power, meditate and study, and prepare for the ultimate campaign. There would be other battles and other reversals, but Her/Their projections always led to the final conflict. It could only resolve itself in one of two ways. Her/Their form would be broken and become part of the chaos, or She/They would restore order to every level of the fabric of reality.