Comments welcome! This is the final chapter of Transformations: The Book of Adam.
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Interstate 90
Just outside West Stockbridge, Massachusetts
2:15 PM, the second day
Father Cain's caravan of SUVs stopped at a truckstop just east of the New York border. They stopped to change their clothes. The Church Agents changed out of their charcoal black suits and into a variety of combinations of casual clothing.
Sister Illia put on a long, flowing dress of dark brown, orange, and yellow. She stowed her latex nun's coif in her suitcase.
Father Cain wore a black, silk suit. He stood at the edge of the parking lot and stared out at the New York border. "
Alea iacta est
," he said.
Sister Illia walked up beside him. "
The die is cast
," she said. "Julius Caesar as he crossed the Rubicon."
He smiled without looking at her. "You know your Latin, and your history."
"That is
your
history, not mine," Illia said. "Your words are inaccurate as well as presumptuous. We are not crossing a river, Father Cain, merely an imaginary line drawn up by politicians."
"And?"
"And, you are not Julius Caesar. We serve the Church and the living god. Vanity is not for us."
Cain nodded slowly. "Tell me, Illia. When these paper nations finally fall? Who will be the governors? Who will be the lords of the manor? It will be those of us in the Church who have served it faithfully and sacrificed the most."
Illia stared at him. "Governors? Lords? Nowhere in the words of Morpheus will you see such titles. The world he envisions for us is a world without kings, without lords or manors."
"Morpheus's words are a vision of utopia, to be sure. But, utopia comes at a price. The Children of Morpheus must be guided, progress must be directed, otherwise? There would be chaos... no, Sister Illia, it is Religious Caste who will rule this world. We shall purge it of all wickedness, all sin, and then you shall have your utopia." He turned back toward the SUVs.
Illia looked out at the border as Cain walked away. Finally, she whispered to herself, "Morpheus help me... I have tied my fortune to another insane man."
***
Adam opened his eyes.
The room was cavernous, the ceiling shrouded in mist. The floor was hundreds of yards of metal grating. Tall cylinders made of glass, hundreds of them, were arranged in row after row. They were filled with either pink or blue fluid, and many of them were occupied: men and women floated inside them, their bodies fitted with tubes and IVs.
Adam was bound on a tall metal cross, his feet together, his arms out to his sides. The shackles on his ankles and wrists were made of thick steel but cushioned where they touched his skin.
He tried to pull free, but it was no use.
Adam heard heels clicking on the metal tiles.
The woman who shot him with the dart gun was walking toward his cross from the rows of tubes. She wore a pink latex dress under her white lab coat. She smiled up at him. "Awake I see."
"Where's Crumb?"
"Your friends are fine," she said.
"
Friends
?" He gritted his teeth. "You have Lewis?"
The woman nodded. "He was at the bus terminal. It was a nice try, but, honestly? We have eyes everywhere."
"Please don't hurt them," Adam said.
She frowned. "Fuck, junior, what do you think we are, exactly?"
"Sociopathic monsters from what I can tell."
"We don't hurt people, Adam."
Adam stared down at his naked body. There was an IV in his arm and another in his side. "What are you doing to me?"
"Let's start at the beginning. I'm a doctor. My name is Dr. Demona..."
Adam laughed. "Seriously? Who names you people?"
Demona put her fists on her hips. "They teach you to be rude in Kansas?"
"I'm naked on a cross, you want me to be civil? What are you
doing to me
?" Adam concentrated, but he couldn't read her mind.
Demona smiled. "Ruh-Roh, your mind tricks aren't working, huh? Good."
Adam stared at the IVs.
"Quick primer on psychic powers - they originate in the pineal gland," she said and then tapped her forehead with a black, lacquered nail. "Little structure in your brain. The ancients used to call it the 'Third Eye'. Turns out the pineal gland is very sensitive to Fluoride - it blocks all your voodoo. The IV in your arm is where I'm injecting a Fluoride solution, the one in your side is where I'm removing it after it does its thing. Fluoride can be nasty, and I want it out of you before your kidneys have to work on it." She looked down at a small tablet in her hand. "For your next question: no, it isn't dangerous. Relax, I'm a doctor."
"You sound more like a mad scientist," Adam said.
"Potato, po-tah-to," Demona said. "Now, how did you get these powers? Were you born with them?"
"Look, doctor: I'm not telling you shit."
Demona rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm going to figure you out with or without your help. I've already run a complete MRI and my assistant is running a full DNA sequence. You're not helping yourself by being a stubborn ass."
"You want me to talk? You bring my friends out here so I know you haven't hurt them. And... get me something to cover up with!"
Demona stared up at him. "Why?"
"Why?
Why
?! I'm naked. I don't especially like hanging here with my dork hanging out!"
"Jesus. Okay, first of all, I have seen more naked men in the last few years than you can imagine. Second? I'm a lesbian, and I don't care that you're naked. You don't do it for me, kiddo."
Adam sighed and shook his head. "It's embarrassing!"
He heard heels clicking on the metal grates again.
The redhead was walking toward them. Adam felt his face flush.
Sugar stared up at him. She wore a white, latex loin dress: a collar low on her shoulders with two wide strips of rubber that covered her body front and back. The sides of her breasts were visible as were the outside of her shapely hips. The dress reached almost to the floor, her long stiletto boots ending at mid-thigh.
Adam wanted to die from embarrassment.
She looked up and down his body. "Is he safe?"
"Couldn't get in my head," Demona said. "He won't answer questions. Just whines about the fact his cock is on display."
Sugar laughed. "Oh, I see." She nodded toward him. "Shouldn't you have a condom on that beast? What if he manages to cum without touching himself?"
"Well, I didn't think there was much danger of that with me, but now that you're here dressed like liquid sex? He might just blow his load. Is that a new dress?"
"No," Sugar said.
"Hmm... I don't know. I've never seen you wear that before," Demona said and grinned.
"Demona..."
"I'm going to fit him with a cock milker," Demona said.
"A
what
?!" Adam asked.
"A plastic sleeve that fits over your cock. It's attached to a pump - it's for extracting your jizz," Demona said with a smile.
"Jesus," Adam groaned.
"You'll be happy to know, the sleeve is opaque - that means it isn't see-through."
"I know what
opaque
means, thank you," Adam growled.
Demona laughed.