World of Women - World of Women – V4 – Chapter 22

Somewhere within the male district of Amaryllis, in a dark alley, a manhole cover was slowly opened. A woman dressed in black emerged, followed by another brunette beauty. Finally, I took up the rear. As soon as we were all in the ally, I didn’t hesitate to toss the manhole cover back on. If Rebecca had seriously been chasing us, the weight of a man cover probably wouldn’t stop her.

“She wasn’t interested in us,” Brooke said, seeming to read my mind.

“D-demons are real…” Cornelia muttered to herself, her arms wrapped around her as she continued shaking.

She had walked into a corner, rocking back and forth without even looking at either of us. Given the trauma in her life, finding out this was all real only a few moments ago must have been far too alarming. I wanted to offer her some comfort, but my mind was far too busy thinking about everything that happened recently.

“Why not?” I asked.

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe her. I honestly agreed. Had she wanted to fight us, then it wouldn’t have been that easy to incapacitate her. She could have hidden, and then attacked us from the dark. In fact, it wasn’t clear how powerful she was, but it was clear that we had just accidentally stumbled on her under the male district, and our meeting was completely by chance. She likely wasn’t involved with whatever was going on with Alyssum and the government.

“I-is she the murderer killing all the men?” Cornelia asked weakly before Brooke could respond.

Brooke turned to her, a small frown on her face. “It would make sense.”

“I saw… Ash too… at the last murder. She said she broke up with Rebecca. She said… a lot of things.” I cut in, avoiding some of the more difficult things she had spoken about.

“Demons notoriously don’t get along.” Brooke shrugged. “When they are not destroying other civilizations. They are destroying each other. That’s why they always obsess over a common enemy. Without that, they would tear themselves apart.”

“I don’t know… when she appeared, she didn’t feel threatening,” I said.

“A-ash… that’s the girl… your roommate who died, right? She’s really a demon?” Cornelia asked.

“Do you need to ask?” I shot back, a little more hostile than I intended.

She winced, but then slowly shook her head. “I guess not…”

“She said she was invited there. Do you know what that was about, Brooke?”

I felt like I was having two conversations. Cornelia was only just catching up with reality, while I was also trying to catch up with what Brooke knew. It seemed that in the last two years, she hadn’t done nothing like me. She had researched demons extensively. Perhaps, it was Lilith that had asked her to look into them. Information could be found, but that sort of stuff didn’t end up in any male-orientated libraries.

“No…” Brooke responded stiffly. “But, it could be related to the information that was recently released through Mako.”

“Mako?”

“Come, it’s not safe here. I know a place we can talk privately.” Brooke didn’t answer my question. Instead, she put her guns away before lifting her hood.

“Okay, but I expect answers once we get wherever we’re going…”

“No!” Cornelia suddenly cried out. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Cornelia had finally seemed to snap out of it, but her words were one of defiance.

“I don’t honestly care where you go at all.” Brooke shrugged. “Leave if you want, but Clyburn is coming with me.”

“That’s not going to happen!” Cornelia spoke harshly. “All of this nonsense. Defying the government. Fighting demons. Chasing serial killers! It’s not normal!”

“Cornelia…” I tried to speak.

“No! I am your agent. I decide what we do. I’m done with this. All you have to do is bang women and get them pregnant. That’s all society has asked of you. Why can’t you just do your job?”

“Cornelia, I can’t just turn my back on all of this,” I responded firmly. “I don’t know if I can be a help or a burden, but the thing I refuse to be is a layabout. That was a life I already lived, and I don’t want to repeat it this time.”

“If you want to be useful to society, then you should just pump out babies!” Cornelia snapped. “That’s what society needs from you! As for your opinion, I’m no longer asking! With my powers as a government official, I order you to return with me. Once we explain everything, you’ll be relocated to the male district, where you will spend out the rest of your days being assigned women to take care of all of your needs.”

“No.”

“Excuse me.”

“I said no!” I snapped back. “I’m not coming with you! I’m done being a pawn of the government. If my sister has it in her to rebel… if… the mother of my children can risk their lives, then how can I just sit back and do nothing? I’m done following the MPA. In fact, I’m done with the MPA altogether!”

“You think you have a choice? The government had provided everything for you. Your entire life you owe to the government.”

“What the fuck has the government done for me?” I shouted. “Better question, what has the government done for you?”

She blinked. “Me?”

“Cornelia… or what was it, Shy Anne? It’s the same people telling you what to do now that pushed you under that tree. Do you think the WRA really went away? It just grew deep and embedded itself into society. You let them rape you sideways with the paddle under that tree, and you’re still doing it to this day.”

Slap! Her hand went across my face, but I didn’t back up, and I barely even felt it.

“You dare…” She was shaking now, her entire face red with rage.

“That day… when you were under that tree…” I spoke quietly. “That’s what it is like, for all men, everywhere, constantly under the oppression of women.”

“You’re talking like the government will even welcome you back.” Brooke snorted, causing us both to turn to her in surprise. “I’m sorry, girl. You’re already passed the point of no return.”

“Wh-what does that mean?” Cornelia asked uncertainly.

“Do you think that it was pure coincidence that the Alyssum hideout was attacked mere hours after you two showed up?” Brooke scoffed. “They’re tracking you. One of you, or both of you. Which is why we need to get going soon. I have a jammer on me, but they know we’re in the male protection district. The longer we stay here, the more likely we get captured.”

“And what if we get captured?” Cornelia raised her head. “I-it’d serve you right! After we’re processed, Clyburn and I will just return to our old lives.”

“You think they’ll let you go?” Brooke snorted.

“Excuse me?”

“I saw the people as they broke into the factory. They weren’t cops.” Brooke shook her head. “You both know too much. This isn’t about some serial killer or some little anti-MPA revolt. If they find you, they will kill you.”

Cornelia’s mouth opened and then closed with a click. She crossed her arms, looking like she wasn’t going to move.

“I don’t have time for this.” Brooke shook her head. “Clyburn?”

“I’m coming.” I turned away from Cornelia and started following Brooke as she walked back into the ally.

“Where are we going anyway?” A pouty voice came from behind, and I looked back to see Cornelia following us.

I raised an eyebrow. “Cornelia?”

“D-don’t get the wrong idea! I think she’s lying! I don’t believe my life is in danger. However, you’re my charge. If I don’t take care of you, losing my job might be the least of my problems.”

“Thank you.”

She didn’t respond, simply lowering her head and following on in silence. Brooke moved on, taking several back allies. Twice, we saw patrols passing by an ally, and we had to duck behind a trash bin. I also saw a blockade around the male district. It was abundantly clear they had sealed off the entire district and were looking for something. Were they really going to such an extent to find us? The more I thought I understood, the more confusing things became.

She finally stopped at a doorway leading into a broken-looking building. That wasn’t saying much, as all the buildings around this area looked fairly derelict. This was the supposed Male district? From the outside, the place hadn’t seemed like much, and although the males’ freedom was restricted, I had been given the impression that they lived grand lives. Their buildings should have been at least as nice as where Cornelia was living. From these back allies, the impoverished areas of Amaryllis seemed like an improvement.

After looking both ways, Brooke moved up to the door and knocked in a particular tone. She waited for a bit, and there was finally a click. The door opened, and an older woman appeared. She’s wasn’t someone I recognized, but I still ended up looking at her twice. She was in advanced years of age and walked with a stooped step. The only women this old I had ever met were the ones my mother used to hire as maids, and even those women were still beautiful and spry. This woman was probably the ugliest woman I had ever seen in this world, which was to say she was probably of average appearance in our old world.

“Come in, hurry. The patrols have already passed our door. They’ll be hitting the alleys next.” She gestured us to come in as she stood to the side.

The group of us entered the building through the back door. The old lady closed the door immediately, locking it with several deadbolts. She didn’t follow us, though. Instead, she stayed at the door as if she was being vigilant. Brooke continued ahead as if she knew what was happening. She progressed up a flight of stairs, and we followed her as she walked down a long hallway filled with rooms. The building smelled a bit of piss and other unpleasant smells. The carpets were stained, and the walls were filthy.

One door was opened, and I could see a man sitting there in nothing but a shirt and shorts. It was a scene that wouldn’t have been surprising in an urban city of my old world, but here in Amaryllis, for a man to live in this kind of squalor was shocking. Brooke seemed to take this in stride, but Cornelia’s eyes were wide and her mouth was open as we continued down the hallway.

Most of the doors were closed, but the few that were open showed small, cramped apartments, as well as men who appeared sickly, malnourished, and beaten down. There wasn’t a single man who looked to be well-off.

“What is this?” Cornelia asked after working the moisture back in her mouth and swallowing hard.

“This is the Male District,” Brooke unexpectantly answered. “What did you expect?”

“Men are… they’re supposed to be…” Cornelia seemed to be at a loss for words. “The MPA told us the men that got sent here were being well taken care of.”

“The MPA says a lot of things.” Brooke sighed. “As long as they can appear to the masses like they care, they can basically do anything. When the MPA first went into effect, they began to renovate this area, but that was only enough to make the few outer houses look nice, which were almost all given to administrators and councilwomen in charge of the district. Deep inside, where the men are, they never bothered. These men are forced to make donations daily, but now since they don’t have to interact with women, the government stopped bothering to give them more than just a penance.”

“If other women knew… if other women saw…” Cornelia gulped.

“Other women do know. Other women have seen. However, it’s cheap. Those at the top save a lot of money when they don’t have to pay to keep men comfortable. 1/4th of the men, those in the younger generation like Clyburn, they get to live out there, and while their lives aren’t as grand as they used to be, they still put on a good show, convincing the citizens of Amaryllis that men are well taken care of. Meanwhile, everyone else, they are just locked in this cage, ready to give sperm until they die.”

“How can this be sustainable?” She gasped.

“Easy. Long-term storage practices have come a long way in recent years. Any sperm donated can be stored for years. The catalog is just there to satisfy the vanity of rich women. Most others simply get some sperm. Rather than have a man work his butt off impregnating five women a month, taking decades before he sees a male descendent, within five years of daily deposits, they could stock enough sperm for a hundred years of impregnations. In the last few years, external fertilization has become better than sex at successful impregnation.”

This was the true reality of the MPA movement. It wasn’t about protecting men, it was about benefiting those in charge. The time had come where worrying about men just wasn’t needed anymore.

Cornelia’s eyes looked wet as she listened to Brooke’s talk. So, Brooke had been involved with this stuff these last few years. I had been upset that when I got home, everyone wasn’t waiting for me. It looked like just because they weren’t waiting, didn’t mean they didn’t care. They had all dedicated themselves to trying to help in one way or another. It left my heart feeling complicated once again. I felt like I should have been able to do more.

“We’re here.” Brooke stopped, also causing the conversation they were having to fizzle out.

Brooke looked around carefully again, and then gave another knock on this door. This time, it was even longer before someone came and got the door. I heard someone on the other end.

“Just a moment. Just a moment.”

That voice, I suddenly felt a vague amount of recognition. At this point, the door opened, and a familiar face appeared. Although his face was familiar, it was also much different as well. Oswald was standing there, but he looked much older. It had only been three years since I had last seen him, but he looked like he had aged ten. No, maybe even twenty, since he had once looked young for his age. It was like all of his years suddenly caught up with him and then surpassed.

He had grey hair now, and his face had considerably more wrinkles. He had used to be a confident man with a straight back, but now he stooped just a bit, like the old lady at the front door. The prideful lawyer who had once been my father’s best friend and toyed around with my mother, that man no longer existed. His eyes passed over Brooke like he expected her, but they widened slightly when they landed on me.

“I… I thought you had gotten out of the city.”

I was certain that if anyone could play the system, it’d be Oswald. He’d either convinced the MPA that he was totally on board with the whole thing, or he would have used a contact from a former lover and disappeared in the night.

“I was never given the chance,” Oswald said, even his voice sounding older than I remembered. “They went after men in power first. As a lawyer, they presumed I’d give them problems. Even before the MPA decision was announced, I was already rounded up and placed through… training. Of course, they wouldn’t announce stuff like that.”

“Training?”

“They give us drugs, mixed with brainwashing and propaganda.” He shrugged. “The drugs are put in the water. I wouldn’t drink it if I were you.”

The way he said those words made my hackles rise. At that point, I realized why the male district was placed on an unfinished island. Islands needed their own water and power separate from the main city grid. They could specifically target the male district and the rest of the city would be none-the-wiser.

“Yes, um… we sneak water in though,” Brooke said. “Even if you take the drugs, they’re just a mild depressant to make the men more complacent. On an individual level, it’s not a big deal even if you drank some. On the population level, it’s enough to keep the men from rioting again. That’s why they started doing it.”

“Well, come in. Come in.” Oswald moved aside.

The group of us left the hallway and entered his room. It was the size of a single studio apartment. With four people present, it was already very crowded.

“I can’t believe it’s gotten so bad. I had no idea,” Cornelia whispered to herself.

“Even when it was good, it was bad,” Oswald grunted, going into his fridge and pulling out a beer. “It’s just now they’re showing their prejudice on the surface.”

“If I had known about this…” I said, my fist shaking.

“If you knew about this, you’d be doing the same thing you’re doing now.” Oswald sighed. “This is the way of things.”

“This is what… Hannah and Lyra are fighting against.”

Oswald shot Brooke a look, and she gave a slow shake of her head. He let out a sigh.

“Are we wrong?” Cornelia frowned.

“It’s not the entire story.” Brooke sighed. “First, you two need to get out of those clothes. We need to find out where your tracker is. Undress and take a shower. We’ll burn your clothing. After that, well, we’ll go from there.”

I thought Cornelia would frown, but without hesitation, she reached down and lifted her shirt, pulling it off in front of me and Oswald, showing her bra. “Fine… but after we’re done, I want answers.”

Without another word, she walked into the bathroom, which was admittedly only a few feet away. After a moment, Brooke gave me a look, and I rolled my eyes before following Cornelia into the bathroom. I had thought to go one at a time, but they were worried the government would still catch us, even with whatever jammer she was using. I stripped off my clothing in the bathroom. By this point, Cornelia was already in the shower, playing with the dial. I picked up her clothing and tossed it with mine out the door.

Then, with a breath, I stepped into the shower behind Cornelia. She was bent over, playing with the dial, and I looked down. I could see the clean slit of her pussy, and the nice rounded form of her buttocks. She turned the shower on and then stood back up. There was not a lot of room in this shower. Between the two of us, there was only about a two-foot gap. As the water started to come down, she turned to me.

“What?” She asked, looking up at me as her hair became wet.

“Your… um… you look fine.”

“What did you think? That my pussy was destroyed?” She frowned.

I blushed. “Ah… that…”

“The physical damage was healed, but physical damage wasn’t the only thing done to me that day.” She frowned, and it was impossible to see if she was tearing up since water ran down her face.

“You said you couldn’t have babies?”

“My ovaries were removed,” Cornelia said.

“W-was it necessary?”

“I asked for it.” She shot me a defiant look. “In truth, they were damaged, but a good enough magic could have fixed them. I asked to have them removed.”

“Why?” I asked, unable to stop myself from making a face.

“After… what happened… I didn’t want to have children anymore. I didn’t want to deal with people anymore. I wanted to hurt. I wanted… I don’t know… I wanted the damage to be permanent. If the damage wasn’t permanent, then what meaning was there to what I went through? Would there be a day I would get over it? Have a baby? Pretend it never happened?”

I didn’t know how to answer those questions. I understood another piece of Cornelia though. She had callously toyed with men’s hearts, becoming the top MPA representative. It was because she didn’t have any emotions towards any of it. She could whore herself out because she had no sexual identity that she cared about. Then again, she only used her body to make men fall in love. When it came to finally put out, she never went all the way. Likely, the trauma from that day was too much.

Every so slowly, I reached out and touched her arm. The shower was hot now, but her skin felt a bit cool to the touch.

“Clyburn…”

“Yeah.”

“Please don’t touch me.”

“Cornelia. I don’t think I can leave you alone.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me you feel sorry for me. I hate men who feel sorry for me the most.”

“I think you need me,” I said after a moment.

“I don’t need you,” she scoffed. “I’m fine by myself.”

“What if I need you?”

She went to respond, but then stopped, biting her lip. “I’m not worth… being needed.”

I reached up and touched her face, wiping away some of the shower water running down her face with my thumb as I held her cheek.

“I-I said… don’t touch me.” Her breath stuttered slightly.

“Cornelia… I-”

The curtain pulled open, revealing Brooke standing there. She reached in, turned off the faucet, and then tossed a towel in both of our faces.

“Get dry. We need to check you.”

The pair of us stood shivering in the middle of Oswald’s apartment. He had some kind of device that resembled an airport metal detector. He waved it in front of me for a bit and then shook his head before moving to Cornelia. I didn’t like the fact he was looking at Cornelia naked, but I kept my mouth quiet and let him work. He waved the device a bit but stopped when he was in front of her arm. His expression changed and lifted her arm.

“Did they ever inject you on top of your hand?” Oswald asked.

Cornelia frowned. “I… think they did once. They said it was just a routine…”

Without hesitating, Oswald dropped the scanner, and then pulled a large knife out of his bag. I let out a cry, moving to stop him as he brought it to her arm.

“Wait! That’s not necessary!” I tried to stop him.

“It’s okay!” Cornelia responded stubbornly before looking at Oswald. “Just do it.”

He nodded. “Good girl.”

He cut into her hand, on the top, just about where the wrist was. It bled and Cornelia clenched her teeth as he slid the knife under her skin. After only a brief moment, although it felt much longer to me, he used his fingers and plunged them into that bloody mess. A moment later, he brought up a small transparent-looking item. I instinctively looked at it closely and could see that embedded in the little piece of plastic was a runic circle. It was nearly as transparent as the plastic.

“That’s… that’s the tracer?” Cornelia asked, seeming much calmer than I was as her bloody hand started to drip to the floor.

“It is,” Oswald said.

“Destroy it,” she responded coldly.

Grasping it between his thumb and forefinger, he squeezed, shattering the mark. Meanwhile, Brooke grabbed some towels and bandages and helped Cornelia clean her wound up. I could repair that with a healing rune, but I didn’t have any on me, let alone pen and paper to draw one up. If I worked one up in my mind, there was no guarantee it would work like intended, so I only sat back and watched. After the mess was cleaned up, Brooke and Oswald finally looked like they could relax. We were given clothing to wear, which were very simple workers’ unitards that resembled a lot of the workers in Amaryllis.

After I settled in my new clothing, it was Cornelia who spoke first, still holding her freshly wound wrist. “Now, tell us everything you know.”