Frozen in Time
r3-tarlan-p4Mulder and Morrison spent the first hour together in Lermontov's quarters being forced to pleasure their respective 'masters', and then Alderton suggested that voyeurism had its own enjoyment.
A sharp flare of pain met his initial refusal, originating from the restraining collar clamped tightly around his neck. He writhed in agony, gasping for breath like a fish out of water once the pain relinquished its hold. Looking up through pain-filled eyes, he met the azure blue of Charles Morrison and saw something he had not expected: compassion and regret. The emotions were hidden quickly but Mulder could not help the thrill of a small victory passing through him even as he panted in exhaustion at this other defeat. He kept his head bowed as Lermontov and Alderton settled into comfortable armchairs that were facing the large bed, and he tried not to flinch when Morrison reached out to caress his naked thigh. Another hand drew his face upwards and he almost snarled when Morrison moved closer, pressing his lips against Mulder's.
Mulder allowed this surface intimacy but refused to part his lips to give Morrison full possession of his mouth. He was relieved and a little surprised that Morrison made no attempt to breach his defences, accepting what he had been given. He let Morrison cover his body, closing his eyes as hot flesh rubbed, tantalisingly, against his own. At this moment he hated himself, hated the fact that he could not control the sexual urges of his body as he felt the first jolts of pleasure radiate through him. He took refuge in his memories of another strong, hot body, replacing the image of Morrison with that of his beloved: Alex.
Gradually, he pushed away all the external distractions, letting the grunts and moans from the two older men drift away from him. He refused to dwell on thoughts of their lust-filled faces as they watched him and Morrison performing for their gratification. Instead, he imagined he was alone with Alex, feeling Alex's hands roaming across his flesh, and Alex's body crushed against his own. He moaned softly, tears tracking down his cheeks as he reached an unsatisfying climax, hating the feel of warm, sticky fluid smeared between their bellies. He knew he had no reason to feel guilt; that he was not betraying the man he loved but, still, Mulder felt like a traitor.
The acrid scent of male sex had filled the room. It ought to have been invigorating, exciting but all Mulder felt was contempt and loathing. Alderton and Lermontov were stroking their own sated sex; their shafts bowing away from their cum-covered paunches. He turned away from the disgusting image, barely listening as they openly appraised and discussed the performance of their slaves. For the briefest moment he wished he had died 300 years ago and then he remembered that first sweet coupling with Alex, and all regrets fled from him. Although he did not know for certain, he had to believe that Alex was still alive, and if that were true then there was always the chance that they would be reunited one day.
The sound of movement interrupted his thoughts and Mulder watched as the two older men walked from the bedroom. He strained to hear them and sighed in relief when he realised they had no intention of coming back for some time. They had things to discuss but, judging from an earlier overheard conversation, Mulder had a strong feeling those things were to do with the Resistance.
Finally, he was alone with Charles Morrison though not in the way he had intended.
"Tell me what happened to Alex."
"If I knew then I wouldn't be lying here with an obedience collar choking me. Though I have to admit that it almost seems worth it right at this minute. However, I don't think I'll feel the same way in another few hours once Alderton returns with a whip."
"You must know something. Is he dead?"
"I don't know. The guard said he heard one of Alex's guards 'bartering' with the oncoming Resistance fighters. Alex's life for your safe passage to the City of Domes."
There were times when Mulder cursed his eidetic memory as images of Alex crawling towards him flooded through his mind. He heard, again, his lover's voice calling to him; saw the thick fingers that grabbed the luscious strands of dark hair, dragging Alex to his feet and away from Mulder. The world had turned black as he struggled against his captors in an attempt to reach Alex and, when he had regained his senses, Alex was gone.
"I'm sorry, Mulder."
Mulder looked deep into the azure eyes and saw the truth in the words. He realised how easy it could have been for Morrison to hate both him and Alex, for putting him in this terrible position as a sex slave to a sadistic bastard like Alderton. However, Morrison had chosen a different path for his emotions, letting the degradation teach him the wrongness of his former actions.
"I... I have a confession to make." Mulder stared hard into eyes that refused to hold his own. "I wanted Alex Krycek. He was.. is... so beautiful. I told him that if he didn't submit to my demands then I would take you instead."
Mulder rolled onto his side, facing away from Morrison, for once trying to keep a tight rein on his anger. This man had intended to do to Alex what Lermontov was doing to him.
"He agreed. He was willing to climb into my bed to save you from... me." Morrison touched Mulder's shoulder and Mulder flinched away. "You have to understand. This... taking what you want is all I've ever known. It's the way of our society except I've never been the one taken before now. Never understood how it felt from the victims point of view... until now."
Mulder turned back, seeing the glistening of unshed tears in the blue eyes.
"You want forgiveness? Absolution?" Mulder saw the slight nod. "Then help me escape. Help me find Alex."
Morrison fingered the collar encircling his neck and Mulder watched as the man focused inwards in fear before his features smoothed over in fresh determination. He gave a single nod, swallowing hard.
"I have friends who will help."
Mulder realised what he had asked of Morrison. He had asked him to betray everything he knew and had believed in but then, Morrison had no guarantee that Alderton would ever let him go, even once the punishment time was up. As if reading his thoughts, Morrison laughed in self-derision.
"If I was just an ordinary sex slave then its quite possible Alderton will beat me death one of these days, once he got bored with me." Morrison looked hard into Mulder's eyes. "But I'm not an ordinary slave. I'm a soldier and the son of one of the First Families, though not a high placed family. He will let me go... eventually... when someone new catches his eye."
"I know you don't have to do this, Morrison."
"I just wanted you to know that I'm not agreeing to help you out of some sense of self-preservation. If that was the case then I'd sit tight and wait to be released back to the military... back to my family."
Mulder nodded and then watched with curiosity as Morrison walked across the room and reached for his clothes. He could not help but notice the angry welts that criss-crossed the man's buttocks, thighs and lower back, suddenly wondering how many of Morrison's gasps during sex had actually been from pain rather than pleasure.
Morrison glanced back, his lips twitching in a half-smile.
"We'd look less conspicuous wearing clothes."
Mulder grinned and jumped from the bed, reaching for his clothing and dressing quickly, aware that, for the first time, Morrison made no attempt to lust -- even covertly -- at his naked body.
-ooOOoo-
Alex sank down into the luxury of silken suds and hot water, feeling the gentle jets caress his internally bruised and aching muscles. He tried not to think about the youth who sat close by; a boy in a man's body who watched him with open adoration and appreciation in his hungry, young eyes. He could feel the waves of desire coming from the youth. It was hard to believe that he had once been the same, poised on the cusp of manhood with those delicious, illicit thoughts and almost uncontrollable sexual desires flowing through him. In those days he would have jumped the bones of any person - male or female - who made the slightest indication that they wanted him. Now, all he wanted was one man and, even as he mentally prepared himself to seduce this boy, he knew his heart would never belong to anyone other than that one man.
Until he had met Fox Mulder, sex had been merely a tool. Sometimes he had used that tool with pleasure -- as with Marita. However, at other times he had faked his interest, pushing away the disgust as, like some modern-day, male Mata Hari, he allowed those vile old men to use his body in exchange for the secrets they would, unwittingly, reveal.
He sighed raggedly, wondering if the many sacrifices of his dignity had been worth it. He had awakened in a world where those old men's dreams had come true beyond their wildest imaginings. Their families were living in luxury, complete masters of the world while the rest of humanity strove to exist on the fringes of civilisation. All he had done, through his resistance, was to break the shackles of the Colonist invaders.
He knew that he ought to take some pleasure in knowing that, if it was not for the Resistance he had built, then only those old men and their kin would have survived the global holocaust. However, he had dreamed of greater things than this for his people than hiding away in dank holes in the ground; hunted down like dogs to be enslaved or slain depending on useful they might be in the brothels.
"You look a little sad."
Alex glanced across at the youth; letting his eyelashes flutter softly, and his mouth form that sexy pout he had practised for so many years. He ensured his voice was low and husky; seductive.
"Maybe I'd be happier with some company. It's a big bath... so much empty space that needs to be filled."
The youth swallowed hard, his cheeks flushing, eyes flashing as he jumped to his feet and, with trembling hands, began to strip off his clothing. Alex could not hide his appreciation of the strong body as the youth bundled up and dropped obviously expensive clothing to the floor as if they were mere rags. The boy was beautiful proportioned with a lean but muscular frame, and none of the gangliness usually associated with youth. Although Alex had already figured that he could only be seventeen or maybe eighteen years of age, the body was that of a man. Alex held out his hand and drew the youth into the bath beside him; quickly evading the mouth that tried to latch onto his own. Alex laughed gently as the boy tried to touch him everywhere at once, barely keeping them both from slipping under the surface. He recalled a friend's dog that had the unfortunate habit of wanting to hump his leg every time Alex came to visit. The boy reminded him of that dog.
"There's no rush. Take it slow."
The youth pulled back slightly, face reddened in embarrassment as he stammered out an apology. Alex smiled warmly and guided the boy's hand to his hardened flesh, eyes closing as he felt the slim but strong fingers wrap around the engorged shaft.
"I don't know how..."
Alex opened his eyes for a moment, just to reassure the youth.
"Just do what you like to do to yourself. Aah... Yes. That's it."
He closed his eyes and sank into sensations letting his mind float away from this young stranger to the man he loved. He could see the hazel eyes grow darker as the pupils swallowed the blue and gold; could see the firm lips part, that plump lower lip beckoning to him with a siren's call. He wanted to taste those lips, wanted to suckle on the luscious flesh. Alex reached between their bodies, his hand wrapping round the boy's shaft, thumb sliding over the ridged head to rub against the sensitive bundle of nerve endings at the tip. As he expected, the boy gasped, the slippery warmth of his come coating Alex's fingers before being washed away in the gently swirling water.
Alex faked his own pleasure as his erection subsided, years of practice making it easy to fool the boy into believing he had given Alex sexual release.
The boy snuggled up against Alex, kissing him with the awkwardness of the inexperienced, and Alex listened to the contented noises he made.
"I miss my friend."
"Hmm?"
"I miss my friend. He's here in the city... but he could be your friend too."
The boy raised his head.
"What's his name?"
"Fox. Fox Mulder."
The boy drew away and stepped out of the bath, wrapping a voluminous towel around his muscular frame. He turned back, holding another towel open and Alex slipped from the bath, allowing Spender's son to wrap it around him.
"I can't help you there. He belongs to Minister Lermontov."
"I thought your father was more important than Minister Lermontov."
"My father's sexual preference lies with beautiful, fertile females. An oddity, really, but no one would dare mention that to his face."
"Where is your father now?"
Alex followed the boy into an adjoining room, watching as he slipped into the overly large bed and casually taking the arm that was outstretched in invitation. He let the boy pet him, feigning pleasure at the fingers running through his damp hair.
"He's in the New England city, grilling the security chief over the recent loss of several females from one of the breeding camps... and some of the children. My new half-sister, Jennifer, was supposed to have been brought to the Domes but she's missing, and the female that bore her was one of those taken. Apparently, the unborn child she carried would have been another half-brother."
"How many siblings do you have?"
"Too many. My father uses the breeding camps like his own personal harem."
"Where are they... all these brothers and sisters?"
"Who cares." The youth looked at Alex in confusion and disbelief, a frown marring his handsome face. "I expect the older females are in the breeding camps by now. And any pretty boys will be farmed out to the brothels of the elite, or to the male breeding farms... depending on if they have viable sperm within genetic tolerance."
Alex hid his disgust at the boy's lack of any compassion for his own flesh and blood.
"Why are you different? Why are you here when they..."
"Because I'm not the product of one of those breeding animals. My mother is.. was the famous Dr. Dana Scully."
Alex drew back in shock, suddenly understanding why the boy held that edge of familiarity. He recalled photos of Scully's older brother, Bill. Bill Scully had been a big man with a similar build to this youth and Alex realised that the pitch black hair and dark eyes must be a legacy from Spender, the current leader of the Consortium. Spender must have used Scully's stolen ova to produce this manchild. Alex recovered quickly as a new thought assailed him. What had happened to all the other ova stolen from female abductees? He could understand the reproduction problems facing the New York resistance as they had such a small gene pool contributing to their survival. However, here in the City of Domes, it should not have been such a problem, especially if they had access to the millions of ova stolen from those unfortunate victims. The ova had been taken in preparation for the very real --- and now proved -- possibility of genetic mutation following the Colonist takeover.
Alex knew that something must have gone wrong. Perhaps all those ova had been destroyed. He debated on whether to ask but decided it might be better to save those questions. He had other more immediate questions that needed answers. For starters, he had no idea where Beverly Adams and Jack Scully had been taken, or even if they were still alive. He wanted to ask the boy more questions but he could tell from the small frown that the youth was becoming suspicious. It was time to back off but, at the very least, he now had more information on this new world that might be of benefit to the Resistance.
One other thought struck him as the boy settled against his side, the boy's hand toying with his flaccid cock in a way that was both annoying and pleasurable. He had hoped to turn this boy; building on the obvious infatuation but this boy was nothing like the compassionate but naïve Jeffrey Spender. Alex frowned.
"What's your name?"
The boy laughed.
"Boy! You must think me very rude. It's Charles. I was named after my illustrious ancestor, the first leader of the Consortium... CGB Spender."
-ooOOoo-
Wade and Jack raced back the way they had come, knowing the odds were against them being able to get out of the centre in one piece. The sound of running footsteps from ahead brought them to a halt and Jack tried the nearest door, looking at Wade in relief when it opened easily. They closed it behind them, desperately trying to quiet their harsh breathing as the footsteps grew louder in the corridor outside before fading into the distance. Jack drew in a deep breath and glanced around the dark room, his excellent night vision aiding him. He knew that they had gained only a brief respite from their pursuers, and that they could not remain here in this room indefinitely. Sooner or later a room-by-room search would begin.
"Yes."
His whispered word held an edge of triumph but he sensed Wade's frustration, knowing his lover could only squint into the darkness as he wondered what Jack had seen. Jack let the image flow across into Wade. There was a ventilation duct near the top of the right-hand wall but Jack turned to Wade in confusion when he heard soft laughter. He sent a query then smiled at the image of Fox Mulder he gained in response as Wade shared the memory of their attempted escape from the Dakota installation. It did seem like a cliché, using ventilation ducts to make their escape but it was one cliché that Jack had no problem with if it meant getting Wade to safety.
The duct was large enough for only one person to crawl through at a time so Jack went first, his night vision coming in useful once more. They pulled the cover into place behind them, hoping that they had left no clue that they had ever been in that room. Jack crawled forward as fast as he could within the tight space, well aware that his broad frame was not made for such a small crawlspace. He paused at the first intersection and started to turn left, some innate sense telling him that this would leave to the outside. However, another sense tugged at him and he realised that he was feeling the soft presence of his missing comrade. He was caught for a moment in indecision. Should he follow that trail to his Captain, or should he get Wade to safety?
"What is it?"
"I sense Beverly."
"Then we should go see if we can free her. We need her skills on the mainframe if we're to save Fox and Alex."
Jack nodded, sending back his response in a warm thought, and he turned right, heading deeper into the medical complex. He followed the strengthening mental trail, taking turn after turn in the labyrinthine ducts; dread filled him with every forward movement as he started to register the pain that she was feeling. Eventually, he came to a brightly lit room and he gazed through the slits in the ventilation cover, taking in a deep breath of muted anger and fear. Beverly was strapped naked to a table, her golden eyes fixed straight ahead, lips pressed tightly together in a bloodless line as a medic stepped towards her. Jack could see splatters of bright red blood on the front of his otherwise spotless white coat. She gave a small mewling cry as a scalpel scored the alabaster flesh of her abdomen, blood welling from the small surgical cut. The assistant stepped forward, handing a small instrument to the medic and Jack realised what they were doing. They were reaping ova though why they would want to take reproductive material from someone who was obviously a genetic freak in their eyes remained a mystery. Jack decided he had seen enough. He turned with great difficulty and then, with both feet together, he kicked aside the ventilation cover and leapt in the room. The assistant died instantly, the heel of his hand slamming the nasal bone into the brain in the way all resistance fighters were taught to do from childhood; another legacy from the father of the Resistance. The medic turned to flee but Jack grabbed the man and slit his throat with the scalpel, pushing the body away from him and slicing through the nearest leather bond that held Beverly strapped to the table. He moved quickly around her, releasing her bound ankles, all the while relaying past events and their current situation.
Beverly reassured him that she was strong enough to move unassisted. She looked across at Wade.
"Thank you... for coming for us."
Jack spoke aloud. "Won't make a blind bit of difference if we don't get out of here... NOW."
Jack hauled himself back into the duct and started crawling, then paused, waiting for the others. Wade assisted Beverly and then followed her, not bothering to try and conceal their escape route because of the damaged ventilation cover. Jack could only hope that no one bothered to check on that room and its occupants before they could make good their escape.
'They had only just started. They knew I was part of the Resistance and they were planning on a live autopsy.'
'Why were they taking ova?'
'They wanted to see how far our reproduction capabilities had degenerated. To see if we are a dying people.'
Jack could hear the exhaustion in her mind voice but also the courage that had made her such an excellent captain. They carried on crawling in silence, hoping that the hours of planned sadism would be the lucky break they needed. Jack took a different route, not wanting to travel too close to where they had last been seen. Eventually, he felt the coolness of fresher air and hoped it led to some place beyond the military complex.
Twenty minutes later he paused by the outlet and looked through the ornate cover at a beautiful parkland area. The grass was a verdant green and the air was thick with the scent of many flowers. He stretched out his senses but could read no sentient beings within range. He knew they could not stay in the ducts forever so he took a chance and eased the cover off its hinges, barely catching it as it started to fall.
Jack eased his large frame to the ground and, after a swift check in all directions, he helped Beverly and then Wade from the duct. Both Resistance fighters turned to Wade. They needed to get to the complex that held the Ministry of Defence so that Beverly could hack into the system, but only Wade knew the way.
DEMI-X is NEXT