Aeolus (Frozen Origin Quickies Book 2) Read online

  Frozen Origin Quickies

  Book 2

  Aeolus

  By Crystal Dawn

  2016 Copyright by Crystal Dawn

  Cover by Eagle Eye Covers

  Editing by Eagle Editing

  This is a work of fiction and characters are entirely a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to a person living or dead is merely coincidental.

  Frozen Origin Quickies 2

  Aeolus

  Prologue

  He was god of the wind and he could control it, but only once he was on the outside. Here they came again with the needles and the scalpels. They took samples endlessly and he was just ready for the end, but he was too valuable for them to let die. He thought he might go mad from the daily dose of pain inflicted upon him. He opened his eyes, there was a new smell and a female that looked like an angel came with it. Maybe he had died and went to the heaven the humans spoke of so much.

  Ange was desperate or she would have never taken this job. She was a nurse and could get gainful employment, but her mother was a drunk and needed live in help to keep an eye on her so she needed a job that paid very well. She had three siblings, but you wouldn’t know it by the way they all made themselves scarce when they were needed. She was having some serious reservations about this job and they all were over this unbelievable man tied to this bed. Was he really ill or were they torturing him? If they were torturing him, was she brave enough to help him escape?

  Aeolus

  Chapter 1

  God of the Winds

  Blinding pain shot through him even though he was alone. It was caused by whatever they had given him the last time they changed the IV bag. How long had he been there? It was hard to tell when he was chained to a bed without even the freedom to purge his bodily fluids in an appropriate place. He was a test subject for something that required they collect everything his body produced. Aeolus wished he could damn them all to hell for not just what they did to him, but to all his kind.

  One small ray of sunshine was that he’d heard them speak of the others held by Origin and how many had escaped. Those that were free now hunted Origin’s facilities, employees, and those of their kind that hadn’t gotten away. The fear in their voices brought him his only joy. They had trouble keeping new employees when they found out they were being hunted. It was probably too late to help him. He felt his body preparing to give in to the final rest. Even a god could only take so much before it was all over.

  “Hey Sweetheart. How are you feeling today?” Ange’s sweet voice called out to him.

  “Why are you still here? Quit this job before it is too late.” He had cautioned her endlessly, but the woman wouldn’t listen.

  “You know my situation. What can I do?”

  “Sometimes someone is past the point that you can help them.” He observed.

  “Just who are we talking about now, my mother or you?”

  “Both of us. She will sink or rise to the top on her own.”

  “I think you mean sink or swim.”

  “What is the difference?” His voice sounded rough as a wave of pain hit. Ange gave him something that eased his pain. She was just extending his misery and probably her mother’s too. Their time was over, she needed to think of herself now.

  Ange bathed him, it embarrassed him to have this woman see him so weak and helpless. She took good care of him, better than any of the others ever had. Why did she bother when he was nearly out of time? The nurse took care of any sores or skin irritation left over from the previous nurse who had done almost nothing for him. Once everything was cleaned up, treated, and all fluids measured, it was time to eat. He had to be fed like a baby, and the food was all soft and easy to eat. It had tasted better since she’d been there too. He suspected she fixed it herself to make it more palatable.

  “Why do you do this? You just prolong the inevitable.”

  “There is still hope for recovery. You should try to gather your strength.”

  Was she trying to send him a message? Could it be help was on the way? It was useless to imagine rescue, if it didn’t come soon, it would be too late. He could enjoy the view, however, because Ange was lovely. The female really got to him and he wanted her to be safe, even if that made life unbearable for him. All he knew now was that he didn’t have long and if help didn’t come soon, it would be too late.

  She was done and now it was time for her to go to the next patient. It was a young female that was pregnant and due anytime. The woman wanted to be here because it was the only way for her to get free medical care, but he knew what that really meant. They must have been the ones that got her pregnant and they would claim the baby.

  Al was the nickname she’d given him and she’d told him to call her Ange. He thought it was a nickname for Angela, but he wasn’t sure. Ange spoke a little as she took care of him, but he knew she worried that the guards might listen in. It was something they had done often at the facility he’d been at. That didn’t stop him from enjoying her company or appreciating her voice.

  A guard came in and looked him over. “That nurse sure does take good care of you. It’s a shame she won’t be doing it much longer.”

  Al knew better than to show he cared. They would use her to control him if they knew. He’d seen it done to other gods and he had felt their anguish. It was something he couldn’t allow.

  “That’s alright, just stay quiet. The decisions are already made anyway.” The guard, Al thought his name was Maynard, was an asshole on a good day. Apparently this wasn’t a good day. Taking his electric prod, he poked Al in the side shooting an electric charge into him. It hurt like hell but Al refused to cry out. “That just never fails to be entertaining.” Maynard said as he chuckled and walked off.

  The god was just glad the nasty little man had left. Now he was stuck with his thoughts and worries over what might be planned for Ange. There was little for him to do but sleep in the hopes that he would regain his strength in case an opportunity arose to escape. Al drifted to sleep.

  Darka, the bitch that had been his nurse before Ange was standing in front of him. How had she gotten in? Every patient had gotten ill while she was entrusted with their care and even these sadistic assholes grew tired of her laziness and fired her.

  “I’ll be back.” Darka whispered.

  “That only works for cyborgs.” Al commented.

  “You’ll be under by care once more.” She insisted.

  The female had been a sicko, spending all her time caring for his male parts and offering services he would never desire from her.

  “If you were healthy, I’d ride you. You were probably good looking once. You’re still not bad.” She whispered leering at his body.

  Sweat broke out as a shudder ran over him. He’d always worried about what the sick bitch might do to him as he lay there strapped down. “Leave me alone.” He yelled.

  “If I do, you’ll die.”

  “Maybe it’s time. It would be better than living like this.”

  Darka disappeared and his eyes blinked open. It had only been a nightmare, at least for now. What if they really brought her back? What if Ange was gone forever? What the hell was he going to do?

  Al’s sleep was fitful at best as bad dreams and worried consumed him. He knew some of his brothers, other gods raised just like him, had escaped and found a home of their own. To him, it was just a dream, one that would never come true. It was almost certain that he’d die here. That would have already happened if not for Ange who had nursed him back to health.

  They’d taken so many samples of blood, tissue, semen, and even his hair. What the hell could they do with hair? With all those samples, what did th
ey really need him for? He expected to be put down every time someone came to the room. Hell, maybe he even hoped for it.

  Helpless didn’t look good on him. He was a god and that should never have happened. They had caught him off guard because he hadn’t known things had changed. He wasn’t at the main compound where the US government had supposedly raided, freeing the gods and he’d heard some of the females on the team had even mated with some of the gods in charge.

  Yeah, it was hard to believe, but the guards had whispered about it after they had all escaped to this new facility and he was strapped down and weak as a new born kitten. The guards had been scared then, and every time another lab was hit he could tell by the way they skulked about and looked over their shoulders.

  Wasn’t it time for another raid? If they only hit this place before anything happened to Ange. The doctor came in and checked his sheets to see how he was doing.

  “Looking much better. You’ll be ready to travel soon. I can’t say I’ll be unhappy to leave this place. It’s a real dump. The cold just gets to you. Mexico will be nice year around. Beaches and bikinis.” The doctor chuckled. “Oops, you won’t be seeing any of that. You may not even be going where I am. The only thing I’m sure of is this place is shutting down.”

  The doctor walked of humming a happy tune. They were planning to keep him alive, but where would they take him and why did they want him? All he could do for now is eat to gain his strength, sleep to heal his body, and keep his mind clear so if he had a chance to escape during the move, he could.

  One of the guards brought him some food a couple hours later. The guard ate as much of it as he fed Al, but still it was more than anyone gave him if you didn’t count Ange. Strapped down like he was, he couldn’t feed himself.

  “That new nurse is hot. You think I have a chance with her?” He asked.

  It took Al a moment to realize the guard was talking to him. “Maybe.”

  Apparently, that was enough encouragement for the guard. “I’ll ask her out next time I see her.”

  “Who?” A new male asked.

  “The new nurse. She’s hot.” The guard answered.

  “Stay away from her. They have plans for her.” The male voice demanded.

  “They do that with all the pretty ones.” He complained.

  “Too bad. Just do as you’re told and at least you’ll be alive to fuck an ugly one.” The voice concluded.

  “Bastard.” The guard whispered under his breath. “One of these days I’ll get out of this job.” He took the plate and shuffled out and Al caught a good look at him. He was short, chubby, had heavy horn rimmed glasses on and was already huffing just from the walk across the room.

  There had also been a funny odor emanating from him and one look at his uniform said it hadn’t been washed in several days. He looked like a lady killer alright. They probably ran the other way when he approached.

  Chapter 2

  Mom

  Ange had enjoyed her time with her patients. Her favorite was Al, she could see through his current condition to the handsome charming man he’d been before he’d been mistreated. They’d warned her that some of her patients were delusional, but he seemed so grounded. She’d begun to doubt what they’d told her as Al told her more and more. His story seemed to fit the circumstances better than theirs.

  Done for the day. It was time to go home. Unlike the average person, she dreaded it. Her mother, a career alcoholic, would be there bedridden and needing around the clock care. If you knew her mother’s history, you would understand what the term career alcoholic really meant. Sandra Perkins had always worked around alcoholic ever since she turned twenty-one.

  One of ten children, as the oldest her life had been hard. She’d had to work at jobs as young as twelve years of age and had been abused physically and possibly sexually. Ange wasn’t sure because her mother’s horror stories about growing up in the Perkins household changed with each telling.

  Her father was an abusive drunk and her mother a weak willed woman who cared more about herself and surviving his temper tantrums. She wasn’t hesitant to throw one of the children under his fists if saved her a beating. As the oldest, Sandra was the one until she was able to work and make money for the household. The beatings then moved down to her brother Tommy. Back then, people turned a blind eye and overlooked family situations.

  Now, after a lifetime of drinking, her liver was giving out and since she kept finding ways to keep drinking, her doctor refused to put her on the list. Ange wasn’t a match for her, and none of her siblings would have a thing to do with dear old Mom.

  The house looked much like it had when she was growing up except the paint was fresh and the yard clean and well maintained. She’d had no choice but to move in with her mom and so she could see to her care and afford to pay medical bills and get someone to sit with her whenever she was at work.

  Her life had sucked since her mom had come back into it. Sandra had been sick and desperate. Ange had no doubt without her help, her mother would have been dead weeks ago. She unlocked the door and came inside. There was no trace of the sitter she’d hired. The smell of alcohol wafted through the room. Her mother seemed determined to pickle her liver and speed her death that way.

  “Where’s Wendy?” She asked her Mother who sat up in bed, her eyes glazed and her mouth slack.

  “Weeendy? Who the hell?” Sandra asked.

  “The young lady who stays with you while I’m at work.” Ange informed.

  “Don’t know.” She said slurring her words.

  “Where did you get the booze?”

  “Friend.” She said proudly.

  “You’re killing yourself one bottle at a time.” Ange said but it was too late. Sandra was passed out cold.

  Ange went upstairs to her old room. She stripped and took a change of clothes as she dashed to the upstairs bathroom to shower. Her life was a pile of shit. It had been so much better a year ago when her mother had come calling. Sandra was hard to like, but she was her mother. The part of her that had pushed her into nursing had seen no way to turn her back on the old bag.

  Sandra hadn’t changed a bit not even standing at the gates of hell with the devil there ready to let her in. Some would say she was being mean, but they had never lived with that woman. No place would take her because she had a foul mouth on her and she would physically try to harm caretakers that refused to get her alcohol.

  It was likely she had run another caretaker off and Ange would have to scramble to find a replacement so she could go to work. At least tomorrow was her day off. It would give her time to get things settled.

  Once she was clean and dressed, she went back to her room. She always had to shower when she got home because that place made her feel dirty. Maybe it was partly because she knew something was going on there that was wrong.

  Upstairs was where she hung out when she wasn’t working. Being downstairs with her mother was more than anyone could deal with. Sandra would wake in a couple hours screaming for more to drink. Ange wouldn’t give it to her and she’d rant and maybe even try crying.

  Staying upstairs until bedtime when she would take care of her mother and see she was ready for the night was all she could handle for now. Sitting on her bed, she dialed Wendy’s number.

  “Hello?”

  “Wendy?”

  “Is this Ange?”

  “Yes.”

  “I know I shouldn’t have left and you don’t have to pay me for today. I’m not coming back, not ever. I’d rather starve than have to be around that awful woman. I’m so sorry because I know it’ll be hard on you. I just can’t.” Wendy cried and she could hear the sniffles. “I’m sorry.” She repeated and she hung up.

  There wasn’t many choices left now. Pulling out the list of applicants from the ad that had run two weeks ago, she selected one she’d marked off before. Desperate times called for imperfect choices in this case. She dialed the number.

  “Hello?” A timid girl answered.

&n
bsp; “Hello. Is this Mandy?”

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “This is Ange Perkins. You answered the ad to be a caretaker for my mom. Can you start Tuesday at five a.m.?”

  “Yes, I can do that. This is great. I really need the money. When I didn’t hear from you, I thought you passed me over.”

  “You have the job if you can get here.”

  “Sure. Tuesday at five in the morning. Can I have the address?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s four hundred and ten Baker St. It sits on the corner.”

  “I can find it, no problem. Thank you. You won’t regret it.”

  The problem was she regretted it and a hundred other things already. The girl was so young. She said she was eighteen, but she looked sixteen. It probably wouldn’t take long and she’d be gone too. At least she would be good for a day or two. Then the problem would be there all over again.

  She went downstairs and put a family size frozen lasagna dinner in the oven. It would last her three days at least. Mother wasn’t a problem, she could only eat mush or drink protein drinks. Her teeth were bad and even part of her jawbone was messed up and she couldn’t wear dentures. It had taken one hit too many.

  Her father had been gone for years now. The big bully had picked on the wrong person. He’d won the fight and ended up in jail where he’d been beaten to death. There was speculation that the boy’s father had hired someone to deal with him. Never mess with a rich kid, it didn’t pay.

  Ange thought about the apartment she’d given up to live here. Her beautiful and sleek place in a nice building. It had security, a gym, an indoor pool, and satellite TV. She had been an ER nurse working nights and the pay was good. She was ambitious and worked a lot of overtime hoping to buy a house and pay off her car. The car was the last thing of value she had left. That was only because she had paid it off right before her mother breezed back into her life.

  It wasn’t like her to have a pity party. She was better off then Al. Thinking of him made her remember what she had planned. Ange pulled out the burner phone. It was time to take a stand. If the place she worked was legit, they had nothing to fear. If they weren’t, she couldn’t live with letting that continue.