The S-Gene (Book 1: Amelia) - COMPLETE

A/N: Long time no see! So *sorry*. For those who do not follow me, I posted on my wall. We got really sick at the end of our vacation and honestly I was a *zombie* and everybody was sick and I had to take care of them (I don’t even know how I did that haha). I meant to post this yesterday, but something *BUGGED* me about the chapter, and I decided to sleep on it and I fixed it today. SO.

Here we are!

I promise, the next update will be on time! Thank you all so much for your patience!

***

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Amelia cracked an eye open, the sound hammering in her head. What the fuck time was it? She slapped a hand on her face, dragging it down. She groaned as she tossed the blanket off her body, and then pressed her bare feet to the cold ground.

She dragged herself to the door, her eyes barely an open slit. Why was it so fucking bright in here? Hadn’t she closed the curtain? Her return home after her encounter with the skinwalker had been rushed, to say the least.

Amelia had ended up staying awake longer than anticipated, crafting theories and questions for Noah.

She swung the door open, more sunlight assaulting her poor tired eyes. She brought a hand to her face, pressing the side of it to her eyebrows, shielding herself from the harsh rays of the sun.

“All ready!”

Amelia blinked. Virginia?

She was standing in front of her, waving a pile of papers while her face. And was that a giant smile on her face?

“W-what?”

“The contract! Noah agreed to it, and he signed. His lawyer dropped this off for you to sign.”

Amelia blinked. “He agreed on everything?”

It was not as though she expected Noah to be difficult, but - since she hadn’t been able to speak with him… something they did not appear to want, she thought they might take advantage and pretend as if he had made changes, or relay the wrong information to him.

The last thing she expected was for the contract to be exactly as she had decided with Virginia. Something was wrong with this.

“C-can I see it?”

Amelia searched Virginia’s face, waiting for a sign. A falter in her smile, a twitch of the edge, a tremble in her hand… but there wasn’t anything to indicate it would be inconvenient for Amelia to look at the contract.

“I’ve revised it of course. What kind of help would I be if I didn’t verify it? Still, be my guest,” she said as she handed her the document.

That was too easy, wasn’t it? It could be her paranoia, or the fact that everything was a lie, but she didn’t trust that any steps of this would be good for her.

Amelia grabbed it from her, her eyes glancing at the first page.

“Can I come in?”

“Mm, sure.”

She could make a snarky comment, or assume that she was there to watch her, but it was clear that Virginia would say something along the lines of the need to witness the signature. She knew which battles to fight and when to lay low.

This was a time for laying low.

It was fine.

She had the contract in her hands. The key to getting out of this hellhole. Sure, it said something about a couple of months but… no, she wouldn’t focus on that for now. She would focus on the fact that she would be able to leave and she would no longer be their prisoner.

There was an out.

Amelia half wished that Noah had argued for fewer tries but she knew it wouldn’t make sense. There was a line and they were tiptoeing it. She didn’t want anything to come into play and jeopardize this. She needed it.

She didn’t politely let Virginia in. Instead, she opted to move out of the way, letting her walk in herself. Amelia turned around, heading to the couch with the contract in her hands. It had a lot of pages, more than she remembered.

“Could I have this for the day? So that I can read it?” There was no way she would be able to get through it with Virginia hovering over her shoulder.

And there was the sourpuss she knew Virginia wanted to display from the beginning.

“It’s the contract we drafted together.”

“I know, I - I wanted to read it over, that’s all.”

“We can do that now. It’ll be faster. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“What do you mean, we don’t have a lot of time?”

What the fuck was going to happen? Was the contract going to set itself on fire? Why wouldn’t they have time? As far as she knew, they were in control of everything and did whatever the fuck they wanted. Why should this be any different?

She glanced down at the contract, a heavy weight pressing on her chest. The only reason they would not want her looking through this by herself was… that there was something they didn’t want her to see.

It made her want to read it even more.

“Once a contract has been approved by both parties, we have a limited timeframe to proceed. Noah’s bid on you isn’t going to last forever. Normal carriers might have more time, but you do not.”

Because she was a cash cow.

So now she was stuck. Virginia was saying a lot without actually saying much.

Amelia had two options.

One, she could stick to her guns and read the contract anyways.

Two, she gave in and let Virginia have her way.

If she chose option one, it might mean Virginia threatening to cancel the contract. They had accepted Noah’s bid, but she doubted it was done with much happiness. Did they plan for it to fail, did they plan to intervene… she didn’t know.

They probably had a few brides and bids waiting back in their offices. Canceling the contract would work in their favor.

If she chose option two, then there was a very strong possibility that she was agreeing to something that she would dearly regret down the line. Neither of these options was tempting.

Still, option two offered her a bit more time. What was she going to do if they canceled their contract and tossed her back out there? She wouldn’t make it long out there on her own.

Amelia would have to believe that whatever they were hiding from her, she could overcome it.

“Fine,” she replied through gritted teeth. “Can I at least take a quick look before I sign?”

“Why don’t you peruse while I fetch a pen?” she offered, her eyes glistening with the joy of her victory. Bitch.

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

Amelia plopped down on the couch, trying to scan every word as fast as she could. She soaked in the sentences, but it was no use. Amelia wasn’t exactly the smartest cookie around, but she wasn’t dumb either. However, legal jargon? Yeah, that wasn’t her cup of tea.

Most of the sentences were giving her a headache. It was like contradiction over nonsense… and by the end of the sentence, she had forgotten the beginning. This wouldn’t help.

The beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face weren’t helping either.

She blinked a few times, her vision blurring, but it was hopeless; nothing was becoming any clearer. Fuckity.

“Here you go.”

Amelia didn’t get the chance to lift her head that a blue pen was blocking her vision. Great.

“I’ve marked the spots for you.” She pointed to a few yellow tabs that were sticking out from the sides. “These.”

“Thanks.”

Her heart was like a hammer in her chest as she flipped the pages, the paper sticking to her sweaty fingertips. Come on. Every time she flipped a page, she tried to find one word that might stick out, something that might tell her she should slow down but nothing.

She couldn’t hear anything but her heartbeat every time she signed a spot.

One to go.

She took her time, dragging out every stroke until finally, she finished the last signature. The pen was barely off the page that Virginia snatched it away. Of course - she had won.

“Don’t worry Amelia, we’ll make it easy for you.”

Easy for her?

The question never left her lips. Instead, she winced as she felt something sharp in her neck. What the fuck? She tilted her head to the side, watching as Virginia pulled a needle out of her neck.

“W-wh…” she slurred.

Everything around her began to spin as she clamped a hand on her neck. It fucking burned. She tried to take a step forward… or was it backward? Whatever. She was trying to get the fuck away from that psycho, but she couldn’t.

Her limbs were heavy, her vision was dimming… she couldn’t move. Darkness took over and she knew it wouldn’t be long before unconsciousness would claim her. The motherfucking fine prints.

Shit.

***

Warm.

Sticky.

Bile burned her throat as she tried to swallow it down. Fuck, she was parched. Amelia’s eyelids fluttered open, and everything in front of her was a blur. She could barely move - it was as though someone had covered her body with a heavy blanket. What the… She moved her hands around, touching everything that was around her.

Smooth.

Smooth… skin?

Panic took hold of her heart, the feeling taking her breath away. She rolled her bottom lip inside her mouth, blinking a few times, praying that it would clear up her vision. Nope. Even as everything became crystal clear in front of her, it did nothing to ease the rumbling of her heart, and the adrenaline that spiked throughout her body.

Noah.

Shirtless - hopefully only shirtless - Noah was laying next to her. One of his hands was on her hip while she had both arms wrapped around him, forcing their chests together.

What in the fuckity-fuck?

How did they get into this position?

More importantly…How the fuck would she get out of it?

Maybe she could sneak away before he opened his eyes. That was… sort of logical? Maybe? Okay. Amelia think. Think. They were dosed with something. Yes. Virginia. Sharp pain… Needle? Her memory of the entire thing was messy and inaccurate, but she knew enough about Genecorp to know that drugging them made sense.

His dose might have been a lot stronger than hers. After all, he was… a Djinn. Maybe… Djinn… needed more drugs? Oh fuck. She didn’t know shit about shit. Alright, alright. The main point here was that he was still asleep and she was awake.

It would give her a chance to push away before he woke up and maybe give him an awakening that wasn’t so… brutal. Not that waking up cuddled up to someone was the bad part of this whole kidnapping-drugged-stuffed away scenario they had going on.

Okay.

She lifted her arms, feeling his skin stick to hers due to the layer of moisture that had built up on the surface. Great. She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing, as she retracted her arms against her chest. Amelia clasped her hands together, feeling her heart race beneath her touch.

Amelia flipped to her back, staring at the pure white ceiling above them. Alright, step one was done.

“You gonna be alright?”

OH, WHAT THE FUCK!

She jumped out of her skin, and a squeal - maybe more like a shriek - passed her lips. She sat up in a flash, nearly tumbling out of the bed in the process. “YOU WERE AWAKE?” she shouted, too loud for her ears, as she stared at Noah.

He was still laying on his side, but now his eyes were opened. Oh great. He had watched her agonize and slip away. As if she needed an audience for her humiliation.

“You looked panicked, I didn’t wanna startle you.”

Her eyes widened open. “And what the fuck are you calling this? Gently letting me know you are awake?” Had he lost his damn mind?

“Sorry -“

“How long were you awake?”

“I woke up when you started moving.”

“Could have saved me a lot of embarrassment,” she mumbled, fixating on the sheets covering part of her.

She needed to focus on something else- anything else. Like the part where… hm… the part where she had clothes on. At this point, it felt like a fucking victory. “Di-did you willingly come here or?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Got a little visit and… yeah woke up here.”

“Did you know? That they would move us?”

“No… I never… I never did a contract before. I assumed we would stay put but…” he stopped talking, his last word trailing off as he looked around them.

The room was huge. As in, the size of her old house. Why had they put them in here? Alright - that was a stupid ass question. They signed a contract saying they would reproduce… the idea behind putting them together in this house… mansion… whatever… was to… hmm…

Promote procreation.

Though what was wrong with either of their houses? Or them staying in their places and visiting each other?

A lot it seemed…

Maybe this place was a romantic sex house. She hadn’t seen enough of it to decide.

Though one thing was certain; if they went through all this trouble, it was for a reason. Them being here was benefiting them. More control… more surveillance. No other choice.

From what she understood, they had minimal privacy in the other homes, but what if here… they… did not have any? Could there be a camera on her right now? They had gone through the trouble of placing them all tangled up.

Maybe they were somewhere being fucking weirdo perverts and watching them wake up. What the fuck did they think was going to happen? They drugged them. She didn’t care if she actually had wanted this…

Who in their right mind woke up from being drugged and… kidnapped… and moved… and was happy? No one.

At this point, she had to be grateful that they were both wearing clothes. That was how bad her life was at the moment.

“So,” she began, her voice strained. “Hm, a new home. New everything.”

Please get it.

He nodded. “It seems so.” He popped his lips. “A better environment to get to know each other.”

Yeah, he got it. Else he wouldn’t be saying that.

Good. Good.

Except - how the fuck were they going to talk? How the fuck were they going to get out of this? It was fine. She didn’t care about her old neighborhood or anything about this place. They would take a stroll and they would hash it out - it would be okay.

“Yeah, naked.” She blinked. “Not- not I mean we were dressed. I mean. We woke up… with clothes. I don’t…”

Shut up, Amelia. Alright, so she was slightly flustered from waking up - tangled up… with Noah. And somewhere she didn’t know. After being kidnapped. So what?

"Are you nervous because this is new for you?"

"This?" she asked quirking an eyebrow.

Noah gestured between the two of them and her lips parted open. Did he mean to ask her if she was a virgin?

Amelia threw her head back laughing. "What? No. I'm not a virgin if that's what you're asking. I mean… who’s still a virg-“

Oh shit. Fuck?

Noah. Was Noah… No… He could look like a fucking gift from God. There was no way the man -Djinn- had never… or… could he? She looked at him, the tension in his jaw, the slight tint of red across his cheeks…

Could it be?

“Noah- are you… have you never… I -“

He chuckled, resting his palms on his thighs. “Guilty,” he strained to answer.

Oh wow.

She did not - she didn’t expect that.

“So you’ve never… and no one… like made a wish to…” No Amelia, that would be fucking rape. Then again, kidnapping and all this other weird shit was a thing so. Who knew how low the entire world could sink at this point? Someone wishing to fuck a genie? That sounded possible now.

“Let’s say a few things are off limits. That was one of them.”

“And you never…”

“Relaxing at a bar is new for me. Most of the time I used to run from humans instead. Enjoy a moment of freedom before someone chained me up again.”

Oh, that was a great way to ruin the mood. Extra points for Amelia. Good job.

“I’m sorry - I didn’t mean… I was trying to say…”

It was fine. Good for him. Waiting for the right person. Even though he had given up on ever finding the right person… Guys were rarely the virgin when this kind of stuff happened. But it was good. It was good.

The only negative part was that it made his life sound even lonelier than before. Even if someone did not want a relationship, they could enjoy the physical side. Now it sounded like Noah had been deprived of love and physical affection.

No wonder he had so whole-heartily accepted this concept, this life. It promised everything he never had…

“You know what… I’m hungry? Are you hungry?”

Yeah, probably shouldn’t trust any food in this house… but… since they couldn’t talk truthfully and she desperately needed to change the topic of conversation… food would do.

It would also get them out of the bed.

He wasn’t embarrassed - so she shouldn’t be.

But she was.

Amelia wrapped her arms around her shoulders, clutching at her body. Noah’s eyes met hers, and she could see there was a lot he wanted to say. He wasn’t the only one. She had so many questions, so many things she needed to know.

But they were back in a cage. A tighter one.

“Sure, breakfast sounds good.”

It was all it took for her to hop to her feet, and get out of bed. She smoothened her sweatpants. Dear lord. She hadn’t been wearing that before. Who the fuck changed her… and how much did they see?

A shiver rattled her body as she felt violated. They had no limit to what they would do. What was the expectation? That they would wake up and bang? Seriously. Did that happen before?

Fuck.

She turned around, finding the exit of the bedroom. Behind her, she could hear Noah shuffling, alerting her that he would be following her. She didn’t know this place. She carefully stepped out of the bedroom, glancing down the hallway.

The kitchen was probably not one of the closed doors. She would have to inspect this place eventually. Not now.

She swallowed hard as she clutched her hands into fists, keeping them near her chest. There was a peak of light at the end, which she assumed was an open area. She found out she was right as she stepped into the white ceramic kitchen.

Amelia palmed the wall, flicking the switch. It was dark. Then again, every single curtain was shut. That wasn’t helping. Was it morning? She never even checked the time. Her shoulders were tight as breaths were bursting in and out of her.

What was this nagging feeling?

She headed for the closest window, reaching out for the rope. She pulled it, lifting the purple curtain and revealing the view outside. Nothingness. Was it the backyard? She leaned in, trying to see further, but her view was obstructed. It didn’t appear like there was a fence - unlike her other house.

This sight didn’t feel familiar. At all. Granted, she hadn’t explored enough to know what her surroundings should look like, yet she knew they shouldn’t look like this. Amelia clutched the rope of the curtain, her stomach churning.

It was wrong, so wrong.

She ignored her bare feet, or the camisole offering her minimal coverage. Instead, she let go of the rope and bolted outside, huffing with each breath she took. Her feet thumped against the wooden floor as her eyes searched for the front door.

Once she found it, she yanked it open, bolting outside. The morning dew had left the grass damped, wetting her feet as she ran. She looked left, she looked right, but it did not matter in which direction she headed.

There was nothing.

No fake town, no sidewalk, no people.

Trees and grass as far as the eye could see. Nothing else.

Well, what the fuck is this bullshit?

No, no, something wasn’t right about this. It couldn’t be the normal way to do things… it was impossible. She had seen Stephanie. Stephanie was with everyone, mingling despite that she had signed a contract.

They hadn’t taken her away to some secluded cabin in the woods horror-style shit. So why had they done it to them?

The sound of footsteps crushing the discarded browning leaves on the ground got her attention and she turned around to look at Noah. The widened eyes and the parted lips were a tell sign that he also had no fucking clue where they were.

Not good.

Noah knew a lot of things and he didn’t know this place.

Red flag! Red flag!

Could it be… was it possible that… they were onto them?

Did they know this was all fake?

Had they seen through the poorly executed charade?

Was it because they didn’t fight hard enough for more reproduction?

Oh no.

She didn’t know how much they could hear, how much they could see… it was fucking limiting. She couldn’t talk to Noah the way she wanted to do it. She couldn’t scream all the rage that was festering inside of her chest.

Nothing.

All she could do was fake and pretend.

She had to ignore the deafening sound of her heart in her ears, the rushing of her blood, the adrenaline spiking throughout her body. She had to control the tremble of her chin, the quivering of her lips, and the twitching of her left eye.

She was fine.

Everything was fine.

Except it wasn’t.

Noah was looking at her, lips open every so slightly as if he wanted to speak but he also knew he couldn’t. She could only hope that he could read her body language and that the thoughts she was screaming to herself were somehow reaching his brain as well.

They know.

They have to know.

Nothing else made sense.

Then again, this hellhole had stopped making sense a long time ago.

Ding!

Her phone - the phone.

She plunged her hand into her sweatpants’ pocket, fishing it out. From the corner of her eye, she could tell Noah was doing the same thing. It was them.

GENECORP: Please enjoy this honeymoon retreat.

They looked at each other, neither able to speak.

This was bad.

Very fucking bad.