The Hive: Part Four (complete)

Female Main character x Male human x Nonbinary Monster

I hear the repetitive music again, and my stomach churns. Rising from the bed, I pinch the bridge of my nose and groan to try and cover the sound. My mouth and throat feel dry, and my eyes feel as though they are full of sand. I raise my head, looking up at the window in front of me. I can see Eighty-One and Thirty-Six watching me through the glass.

“She’s awake now,” Thirty-Six announces. “Let’s go.”

Behind them, Forty rises. “Let her recover. She’s had a fever for a long time now. Give her a chance.”

“She’s ovulating as we speak!” Thirty-Six hisses impatiently. “Send in the male now! We can’t waste this!”

“No, no,” Forty insists. “Her body is too weak. She’s been fighting a fever, and she’s probably even more exhausted now than when she fell asleep. I suggest we wait.”

“Wait?” Thirty-Six sneers up at Forty. “We have been waiting! Now is the time for her to be impregnated. If not now, then a month from now, and we don’t have time for that. She’s not your pet, Forty. She is livestock!”

Forty inches away from Thirty-Six. “You still need to see to the health of your livestock. You can’t force insemination on her when she is ill. The stress could make it worse, and then what?”

“Pregnancy is a killer,” Twenty-Two speaks up. Rising from the back and standing beside Forty. “How many of your females have passed away due to their pregnancies?”

Thirty-Six fumes.

“You want as many offspring as possible, don’t you?” Twenty-Two sounds haughty and gloating. “Then you should treat her like she’s the only miracle you’ve got.”

“Eighty-One,” Thirty-Six snaps. “Send in the male.”

Eighty-One hesitates and clears their throat. “He’s not well either, Thirty-Six. I hate to admit it, but the lunatics might be right.”

Thirty-Six stiffens and slams their palm upon the glass. “Your female is diseased! She’s rotten! Look what she’s done!”

“She was fine until you showed up,” Twenty-Two jeers. “Perfectly healthy and extremely fertile. I say it’s your male who’s the disease-ridden one.”

“All our stock at the kennel is kept in prime condition.” Thirty-Six jabs their finger into Twenty-Two’s chest. “Perfect diet, exercise, and wellness checks every damn day.”

“Then maybe you’re the one to blame,” Twenty-Two says in a dismissive tone. “Maybe this little body of yours is the carrier.”

“How dare you?” Thirty-Six seems fit to burst.

I rise from the bed, dried out, stiff, and sticky. How long have I been asleep? “Forty, I’m thirsty.”

“Coming, Darling!” Forty starts to move, but Eighty-One grabs them by the shoulder and pulls them back. “She needs me,” Forty insists.

“I’ll take it to her,” Eighty-One growls.

My gut churns again. I can’t stand to be in their presence. They have my father’s face, his body, but everything about them is very much not my father. It makes me sick. When Eighty-One comes in with the water, I keep my head down. They set the cup nearby, and I want to reach for it, but not while they’re in the room. Eighty-One stands there, looking down at me with their arms crossed. “How are you feeling?”

It sounds like him, and it hurts so much. I clutch my arms tightly around my body, curling further into myself. “Tired.”

“How would you like to see your mate?” Eighty-One asks. “Maybe that will make you feel better.”

I look at the cup of water. I reach for it, drinking so I don’t have to answer. I gulp so fast I almost choke, gasp for breath, then try to finish what is left in the cup. Eighty-One sneers and steps closer. “You’re human. You don’t know what you want.” They grab me roughly, forcing me to look at them. I lash out, clawing their face and leaving red welts along their forehead and temple. Eighty-One bellows in shock and strikes me across the face, knocking me off the bed.

“Wait for the music, you idiot!” Thirty-Six screams. “This is why I can’t let you into the kennel! Fool!”

Eighty-One stands away from me, clutching their hand over their face. They look as though they’d like to kill me. Thirty-Six is probably the only thing holding them back.

“Don’t turn it on now!” Twenty-Two shouts. “Let us make sure she’s okay!”

Forty rushes in, putting themselves between Eighty-One and me. My head hurts, but I would rather risk whatever Eighty-One could do to me to strike them again. I’d love to rip the skin off their face so they didn’t look like my father anymore.

“Are you alright, Darling?” Forty kneels down before me, offering me their hand.

“Let it get up on its own,” Eighty-One jabs. “I didn’t even hit it that hard. It will be fine.” They come closer and Forty grabs hold of me, knowing I want nothing more than to lash out again.

“Is it sport for you to abuse the humans in your care? What even goes on at that Kennel? I want to know!” Twenty-Two yells. “Humans are valuable, and you let this stupid oaf go around striking them!”

“I don’t let them,” Thirty-Six scoffs.

“Then why bring them here?” Twenty-Two continues. “I’m contacting the city directly and asking them to send over handlers who know how to deal with humans, who won’t hit them or let them get ill!”

“I’m the best there is!” Thirty-Six snaps back. “Eighty-One, get out of there this instant!”

“She hit me first,” Eighty-One tries to argue.

“That’s what humans do, you moron! They lash out when they’re scared. You hurt her with your ugly little hands. Get out of there this instant!”

Eighty-One takes one last look at me as they leave. They look like my father, but those eyes... Even if Twenty-Two and Forty had eyes, they’d look the same as Eighty-One’s. They’d be hollow, empty, almost dead. There’s nothing left in Eighty-One that is my father. There is nothing on the inside that would constitute a living, breathing human like me, like Hemlock.

There is no music. So what’s holding me back? I attack Eighty-One. I have rarely ever had to use my bare hands on something. I’ve always had a weapon, but my father taught me well for a situation in which I had to fight for my life. Eighty-One doesn’t see it coming. I think Forty does, because their grip on me is less than air. I hear the door locking, and maybe Twenty-Two is responsible. I don’t know. There’s still no music, so I keep going. Eighty-One fights back, but I’ve already gotten the upper hand. Once he falls to the ground, I tear into him, blood under my nails and skin in my teeth. Once Forty comes close enough, possibly to stop me, I take off their head. There’s a sharp edge at the top of the concave dent, where the metal is splitting open. I bring it down, again and again, to erase Eighty-One’s resemblance to my father.

Again.

Again.

Again.

The music starts, but it’s too late. My hands are red and slock. Eighty-One got in a few good shots. My face hurts and my nose is bleeding, maybe. The headless Forty pulls me back, locking my arms so I can’t move, but I accomplished what I wanted to. Thirty-Six is yelling. Twenty-Two is screaming. I take deep breaths between the notes of the music. “Let me go,” I say to Forty.

“No.”

I sway my head from side to side. My father is dead, and he can finally rest. I’m relieved, both for that and because I don’t feel the anger anymore. Even with Hemlock, I felt it.

“Get her out of there before Eighty-One wakes up,” Twenty-Two says calmly.

“Figures,” Thirty-Six snarls. “That female is too violent. How do you expect her to raise any young?”

“She was docile with the male,” Twenty-Two scoffs back.

Forty drags me from the room, closing the door behind them. I’m carried through the halls and open corridors again, to another room that’s less inviting. Forty places me inside, looking at me even though they don’t have a head. “Well,” they murmur.

I look away, keeping my eyes on the floor. Blood drips from my face, and I take a wad of hair out from under my nails. “Clean up,” Forty says in a quiet, stern voice. “There is a sink over there. Wash yourself, get rid of all… that.” They stand there a second longer. “This door doesn’t lock. So don’t leave.”

I look up at Forty. Headless though they are, I would like to imagine them smiling at me. “Where would I go?”

“Don’t go anywhere,” they say slowly. “Especially not down the hallway on your left. Nothing down there except your mate’s chambers. Thirty-Six will be taking care of Eighty-One, so they will be busy for a few hours. Twenty-Two and I will have to clean up the mess. So you won’t be checked on for some time.”

I stare at them blankly. “Was I… supposed to do this?”

“You were supposed to do something.” Forty turns, then hesitates. “I’m sorry.” They leave, shutting the door behind them.

I sit there, not having heard such quiet since I came into this place with Nanny. I listen to the sound of my own breathing, focusing on it in case I start to hear the music from somewhere. After a while, I know I have to move. I get up and use the sink like Forty instructed, washing the blood from my face and hands, the chunks of flesh from under my nails. I rinse out my mouth. A tooth feels strangely loose from Eighty-One’s punch to my jaw. I look around the room, but there are no strange windows. Only the door.

I cautiously approach it, touching the handle, which causes the door to open. I push it, peering outside into the Mall. I recognize this place, adjacent to the room with the big dome in the ceiling. I step out, looking through the shadows and flickering lights. I smell dust, and beyond that I smell rain. I go down the hallway and find a room with a locked door, but a key has been left inside the lock. All I have to do is open it.

I stop. I look at the key, then the door. What if this is a trap? They could be setting me up and waiting for me inside. could be taken to this Kennel in their city. I pull my hand away from the doorknob. I have two choices. I can leave here, find Nanny, and take her with me, living our lives as we used to. Never stopping, just moving. Or I could open this door and find my fate behind it. I could be held forever, listening to the music all my life. But I could find Hemlock, go with him, and find a place we could make our own.

I pull my hand away, clutching it to my chest. I let out a whimpering cry, but I try to keep my voice down. There’s a knock at the door that raises my eyes. I cautiously reach out, taking the key again and turning it, unlocking the door. I knock back, and the door opens from inside. Hemlock looks at me, eyes bewildered.

“You’re alone?” he whispers.

“There’s no time!” I take hold of his hand. “We have to go. Now! I’ll explain later.”

Hemlock grasps my hand, but he’s apprehensive. “I’ve been here for days and heard nothing. Now you’re here, alone, with none of them around. This feels like a trap.”

It’s not enough to stay here, even if it means I get to be with him. There’s still a chance Forty and Twenty-Two could save me, but likely, after attacking Eighty-One, even at the Kennel my freedom would be limited. “I know. I feel the same way. But I’ve made my choice by touching that key. You can stay, but I’ll be leaving.” I can’t linger here. Not even for him.

Hemlock looks at me, and those earthy eyes only serve to remind me of the world outside. He stiffens his jaw and tightens his hand around mine. “But to where?”

I’m relieved, but I can’t lean into that relief yet. “I have to find Nanny first. Luckily, that leads us away from where They are.” I take him towards the barn where Forty had taken me before, where they keep the animals. I need Nanny to survive the journey, and without her I wouldn’t have survived as long as I have. I search through the enclosures, trying to find her.

“All these animals,” Hemlock says in awe. “This is amazing.”

“I just need Nanny.” I remain stalwart in that motive. Then I see a little goat that looks remarkably like Nanny. I follow it, chasing it down to where there are more, and Nanny is with them. My Nanny has had kids. Nanny races up to me, nudging my hand while her children flock around her, bleating, jumping, and playing. Another goat is lying in the back, his horns huge and curled. My heart sinks when I realize Nanny has a mate, and children. She can’t leave them, and we can’t take them with us.

“What’s wrong?” Hemlock asks.

“I can’t take her,” I confess. “She’s happy here. She’s…” I stand and shake my head. “There must be a way out from here.”

“You’re not going to take her?” Hemlock sounds confused. “Why not?”

“Leave it at that. I have enough to explain already.” I step away from Nanny, who begins to trot back to her family. I’m distraught. I’ve always had Nanny. But this is all too much. I have to think fast. Thirty-Six could appear at any moment. Then Hemlock’s hand claps down on my shoulder. “Bramble, look.”

My gaze lands on Nanny and her kids as they disappear behind a wall of vines. We follow them to an opening leading into a deep, dark tunnel. Nanny bleats from within, as if she’s beckoning for us to follow. “Is this a way out?” Hemlock whispers.

I step inside, following the sound of Nanny as she goes ahead. I take Hemlock’s hand in mine as we go down the tunnel. My father always told me not to travel in darkness, because it wasn’t safe, but leaving through daylight wouldn’t be safe now. Soon I see light at the end of the tunnel. Nanny leads us into an area lush with trees and greenery. It’s cool here, and the air smells heavy with rain. The earth is soft and damp beneath my feet, and hidden amongst the trees is a small house.

“We must have gone underground,” Hemlock whispers.

I walk forward, standing in the damp earth as Nanny and her kids started to gnaw at the brush. I look back at Hemlock, eyes wide open and breathless. “Are we free, then?”

“Running, I think, is the better word,” he murmurs.

We decide to inspect the house, and find it furnished and filled with supplies. I decide that Forty and Twenty-Two have been preparing this for us for a long time. Perhaps this is what they meant when they said they wished to save humanity.

In the house, Forty and Twenty-Two have left us countless resources to learn from. There are dozens of books, detailing how to farm and cultivate the earth. There are books dedicated to caring for animals, and identifying certain plants in our surroundings. I teach Hemlock to read so we can both learn as much as possible from the books left to us.

As time passes, my belly swells and grows heavy. I can feel our child moving inside. While we are happy, Hemlock and I are terrified. There are moments when we forget, but we always remember. We could be found out. Not only that, what if the worst were to happen during this pregnancy? Sure, we have books to look at, but neither of us knows a thing about bringing life into the world. Lots could go wrong. I could get sick, even die. I miss Forty more than ever.

One afternoon, I’m restless and unable to settle my mind, so I go for a walk. My belly is growing bigger, and I know before too long I might not be able to do this again. I want to wander the land around our new home, as all we’ve done is set up some defenses, a garden, and pens for the animals that wander between the tunnel and here. We’ve kept close to home, learning and growing. I’ve gone deeper into the woods, but never far enough that I can’t see some sign of home.

I come to a strange patch of earth with no trees or grass, just packed earth with some weeds. Near the edge is a pole with a box on it, and colored wires coming down from the box and descending into the ground. I pul on one, which leads to the base of a nearby tree. Tugging on another, I find stops at what looks like a stack of rocks. I try to move the rocks, but when I do, they don’t budge. They’re solid and stuck together. Moving aside some vines and bushes, I discover these rocks also descend into the ground. I step over the rocks, but a few feet ahead, just beyond the trees, I see my own reflection peer back at me, just like the window in my old room.

I step away and back over the wall. I leave that strange pole and wires, heading home. I try to convince myself I’m seeing things. I must be tired, or I might be getting sick. I haven’t eaten anything in a while. Hemlock is looking for me as soon as I get home. He smiles, taking me inside and showing me some of the things he’s been going over in the books. He’s found more seeds, and some twine for bean stalks. I sit in silence, thinking about the face of my reflection. I look back at Hemlock, his smile bright and excited.

I could tell him they’re still watching us. I can probably assume the tunnel is sealed if we try to leave. I swallow and place my hand on my belly, forcing myself to smile back at him. From then on, I strain to listen for the music.