Jenny Plague-Bringer

Chapter Thirty-Two



A guard appeared at the narrow window in the steel door to Seth’s cell. “You have a visitor,” the man’s voice said over the intercom. “She’s eager to see you.”

Seth stood up and started for the door, but the guard ordered him to sit back down. Seth returned to the edge of his bed. It had been a long, slow day, broken only by the arrival of breakfast (toast and canned pineapple) and lunch (toast and beans). The guards slid his food trays through a very narrow panel at the bottom of the door, shoving it deep inside his cell with something like a broomstick. Seth always had to catch his tray before it hit the wall and spilled all over his floor.

The days were otherwise extremely long and slow—he kept refusing to cooperate with the secretive government agency that had captured them, and in return he had nothing to read, no television, nothing to do except sit in his cell and wait for nothing to happen. His only diversion was looking through all of his new past-life memories, learning about times he’d lived in nineteenth-century London, in the Italian Renaissance, the Middle Ages. He’d often been cast as a kind of sorcerer or witch doctor. He’d also spent a number of lives as a nearly invincible warrior, leading armies into conquest, quickly recovering from countless arrow and sword wounds, which his men naturally saw as a sign of divine favor, spurring them on to fight harder.

Seth and Jenny had both resolved to never to be used as weapons again.

Now, he waited anxiously as the door slowly opened, hoping that they’d sent Jenny to see him for some reason. He was disappointed when Mariella entered instead, and the guard slammed the door behind her.

“Seth!” Mariella ran toward him, and he stood and awkwardly accepted her hug as she pressed herself against him.

“Have you seen Jenny?” Seth asked.

“No...they wouldn’t let me see her.” She looked up at him. “But I’ve been doing their tests, and they’re happy enough that I could ask for one privilege. I told them I wanted to see you.”

“You did?”

“Of course. I needed to see you....I needed a friend. And you always make feel so safe.” She looked up at him and brushed her fingers through his hair. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“I’m glad you’re okay. I just wish I knew what they were doing with Jenny.”

“I’m sure Jenny’s fine.”

“How can you know that?”

“We’re fine, aren’t we?” Mariella smiled and touched his cheek. “They haven’t hurt us, so I don’t think they’d hurt her, either. If they wanted us dead, they wouldn’t have bothered bringing us all this way.”

“And I wish I knew how the baby was doing,” Seth said. He’d worried constantly about Jenny losing this one, just as she’d lost all of them in past lives. He knew it was useless to hope, but he hoped more than anything else for a better outcome this time. He needed the baby to live—he could not imagine what life would be like if they lost it.

“You’re under a lot of strain,” Mariella said softly, tracing her finger down his cheek to the corner of his lip. “So am I. That’s why I begged them to let me see you. I need you, Seth.” She rose up on her toes and tried to kiss him, but Seth dodged it.

“What are you doing?” he asked, stepping back from her until his legs bumped against his bed. She moved closer, cornering him.

“I think you know.” Mariella wrapped her hands behind his neck and kissed him along the cheek. “Play along, they’re watching,” she whispered. Her fingers drifted down along his muscular stomach, brushing the front of his orange prisoner jumpsuit.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Pretend to cooperate,” Mariella whispered. “It’s our best chance to find a way out.”

“I won’t even think about working with them until I’m with Jenny again.” Seth looked up at the black dome in the ceiling. “Tell them that.”

“Cooperating is the smart choice,” Mariella told him, not bothering to whisper now. “If you don’t work with them, you’ll never get out of here.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Seth said. “Tell them I have to see Jenny, or I’ll make sure everyone suffers. Especially Ward.”

Mariella pulled back from him, looking angry.

“You’re making the wrong choice,” she told him.

“How can you be so sure you’re making the right one?” Seth asked.

“Just remember I tried to help you.” Mariella glanced at the black camera dome as she left. “I did my part. I can’t be responsible for what happens to you if you don’t listen to me.”

“I’ll remember,” Seth said. “I’ll remember you turned on us the first chance you got.”

She had a hurt look in her eyes as she knocked on the door for the guards to let her out.

“You don’t understand anything, Seth,” she said.

“I understand enough,” he replied. When she was out the door, he let out the breath he’d been holding.

He was glad Mariella had left so quickly, because her visit had stirred up too much of what had happened in the past and the confused feelings he still had for her. Mariella would be remembering those things, too, if she’d recovered her past-life memories like Seth.


Niklaus knocked as he pushed open the door to Sebastian’s room. The young S.S. officer with the cold gray eyes looked without comment on the issue of Amazing Stories that Sebastian was re-reading for the tenth time. No more American pulp fiction could be brought to the base, under the irritating new guidelines that allowed only “fine German culture,” such as films of Adolf Hitler addressing huge crowds, which Sebastian hadn’t learned enough German to understand. Sebastian could so far only understand some common, simple words and phrases.

“Pack your bag,” Niklaus said in German. “You’re moving rooms.”

“Why?”

“Orders,” Niklaus replied. “Move now.”

“Where am I going?” Sebastian asked, standing up.

“Other room.”

“That’s very helpful, thank you.” Sebastian packed his clothes and meager belongings into the suitcase he’d bought with Barrett’s money in Charleston. It matched Juliana’s, because she’d picked them out.

Niklaus took him past the double doors to the female dormitory hall, then unlocked a third pair of double doors. Sebastian had never seen them open before.

“What’s in there?” Sebastian asked.

“Other room,” Niklaus said again.

The mysterious third hallway had fewer rooms, just three doors on each side. Niklaus took him into the first door, into a room much larger than Sebastian’s previous dorm room. It was also carpeted, furnished with a fireplace, a dining table, a sofa and ottoman, and hung with paintings. Candles burned in sconces along the wall, and soft chamber music played on a phonograph. It was, Sebastian, could not deny, a much nicer room.

The bed was queen-sized and hung with curtains. Mia and Alise sat on the bed, holding hands and smiling at him.





“Sebastian!” Alise hopped to her feet, and Mia followed, still grasping her hand. “Do you like it? I decorated it myself.”

“It’s nice,” Sebastian said. “Why am I here?”

“Because you’ve been so good,” Alise said. “Everyone is pleased with what you’ve shown them in the lab. I know I’m impressed! They say you have real power in your hands.” She giggled, looking him over.

“I’m glad they’re glad,” Sebastian said. “But I still don’t understand.”

“Then let me explain.” Alise held onto Mia with one hand, and with the other, she took Sebastian’s hand. “You see, when you’re good, you get rewarded. You’ve both been very good, going along with all these pesky tests without complaining. So you both deserve a little fun.”

Sebastian’s body filled with a hot, tingling glow. Mia filled his mind, her smoldering dark hair, her sea-green eyes, every curve of her body perfect. He could only think of his aching need to touch her, so strong that his toes actually curled inside his socks.

“Don’t you each see something you want?” Alise pulled them closer together, then circled them, counterclockwise, wrapping their arms around each other as their eyes shared a hungry gaze. “Could you ever want anyone more than you want each other?” she whispered.

Sebastian and Mia pulled closer together, until they could feel each other’s bodies through their clothes. Alise touched the backs of their heads and pressed them together until they kissed.

“Love each other,” Alise whispered.