Nurture, Cliques and Green Skinned Freaks

A First Slice of HAM Author's Note: This chapter will be from the POV of Kristin, to see how it works out. Slang used in this timeline is explained at the bottom. Any teen girl wants to get out and about on Saturday night. Even a strange green teen. I'm liking Saturday night clothes shopping at Ely's department store with the girls. Perhaps clothes shopping is not something that I'm mad keen on, but I like the company. We're all trying on fancy clothes right now. "Well you look good in that, Kristin," says Carly as I try on a silver dress. "Thanks dear, a compliment from you means a lot to me," I say. Carly looks uber-cute in a periwinkle blue frock. It almost matches her eyes. But I look – different… I take a look at the full length mirror and study the effect. Silver dress. Bright green skin. A round, shiny green face. My skin a sort of colour between grass and chartreuse that's also glow in the dark. I'm wearing plum eyeshadow and plum lipstick with glitter. That's more tasteful than it sounds. Believe me when I say that red lipstick looks garish on my face. I'm not your typical girl. Actually, I'm not even pure human. I'm a hybrid being, conceived from an illegal experiment at Genutec – a really bad genetics research facility that was around at the end of the twentieth century. Genutec called us "the breeder program." There are thousands of us 'breeders' out there today. Shirley, another of the girls whispers to Vanessa, "yes, she would look good as a monster bride…" Does Shirley suppose I can't hear her? She must know that we have acute hearing. "Thank you so much, Shirley," I say loudly. I don't like my voice much. I sound so low and hoarse, that I caw out the words like an old crow. "Oh Shirley," says Carly, running her fingers through her chestnut curls. "I didn't say anything," said Shirley, grinning at me, her black eyes glinting, to show that she is glad I heard. I fold my arms. Shirley didn't want me tagging along, that's obvious. "Why not look at the baby toy section?" suggests Vanessa. A ploy to get rid of me without making me burst into tears and embarrassing them. Well fine. As it happens I will look at the baby section. I love to think about babies. It must be part of being a freaky 'breeder' being. I glance at Carly. Will she keep me company? But Carly shakes her head, looking a little sad. I hurry off, feeling a lump in my throat, but I won't cry. I step into the see-through elevator, careful not to look huffy. The elevator whizzes up and the ladies clothes floor is soon far below, spread out like a map. Now I emerge into the kid section on the top floor. I look at the baby clothes display first. Little baby grows in blue for baby boys and pink for baby girls. Mum and Dad don't want me having a baby yet. They think I'm still too young at eighteen. I really doubt that either of them ever had the baby fever like I get it. On medical advice they got me Pearl, my baby doll, to take around with me when my baby fever flares up. At school I can legitimately say it's doctor's orders. Shirley said it was creepy how much Pearl looks like a real baby. Well she can be as rude about me as she likes, I don't care. I handle the largest of the white teddy bears. Its velvety fur is a pleasure for my fingertips. It's a gorgeous thing. I can see it now in a crib with my baby. I close my eyes and I imagine I have a little pink or green skinned baby smiling back at me from a crib. I feel all warm and happy inside. I hear someone clearing their throat, loudly and look round. Hm, the lady at the till is giving me an odd look. I raise my hands to show I'm not stealing anything and browse the action figure shelves and pretend I'm shopping for a little boy. If I did have a little boy I would have brought him here, instead of lurking around the toy section by myself. Shirley wouldn't call me sad then. One of the figurines has caught my eye. It looks like a figurine of a little boy, but with an undertone of green to his skin. Interesting... I'll buy this one. Suddenly a news byte from a VP on display across the floor blares and gets my attention right away. The image of a presenter appears, fully realised in 3D across the room: "And so the horror once known as the Extremely Superior Hominid from Genutec is dead and this time, hopefully for good." The Extremely Superior Hominid? The Dextror if one uses Genutec's awkward acronym? He was Genutec's most notorious creation. In some mad bid to make their mark on the world they created the G.E.M.s – Genetically Engineered Men which they code named "The Chaos Emeralds," obviously because they had bright green skin, like mine… They were opposite ends of the same plan. The first one, the DAX, or 'the Seeder,' was to bring life to their plan. He sired all us 'breeder' hybrid beings. Daddy is my real father, but the DAX provided the sperm that bonded with mummy's egg to make me. Genutec set up the sham "Maximum Fertility Clinic" to trick good people desperate to be parents into taking part in their weird scheme. I know that this is how I came to be born, but I can still be a bit angry at that thought. Then Genutec created the Extremely Superior Hominid, later called 'the Reaper.' He was a really foul, arrogant monster that was meant to bring death to any who got in Genutec's way. But then he was too keen on bringing death and killed them. Then he tried to turn their delta radiation superweapon on Africa. Given Africa had few military defences in place, there was a real chance that the delta weapon could have started a radiation plague there. But it just so happened that the DAX had been removed from Genutec's complex by an inquisitive journalist and they stopped the monster together. I had thought both GEMs died that night! The VP news presenter continues: "And here we have Emily Maher, who was foremost at the fiend's defeat. Tell us Emily, how did you do it?" The POV shot closes in on a girl who's another breeder being like me, but she looks perfect. Like a giant green Barbie doll in the flesh. Honestly, look at those cheekbones and that pert nose. My nose is broader, like mummy's. "It wasn't all me, that is, I wasn't alone, my friends were with me," says Emily, stroking her cheek with one hand. Wow, she looks nervous. Not enjoying the limelight. "I am glad that I followed in my father's footsteps, though." The POV shot zooms right up close to her face as she gives a nervous smile. I always thought it a bit rude that they do that, no one looks their best from two inches away, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for Emily. Her face is perfect. Her green skin actually seems to glow as well. Could she be pregnant? After shoving the POV in Emily's face, the focus goes back to the presenter who drones on about the horrible Dextror a little. Argh! Now they've shown some actual footage of what must be him. A huge monstrosity of a skeleton with muscle tissue covering it. It looks burned a raw, reddish black. Well the first time round the Extremely Superior Hominid was supposedly burned up. Looks like he became a zombie then. The Dextror's jaws open wide and he yells out: "Death is the solution! No man, no problem!" His awful, grating voice sounds like he has a load of dry bread stuffed down his throat and is spitting out the words. Well who would have thought that the evil ghost from Genutec would come back and then be defeated by a breeder? Emily must be a real heroine, just like the DAX turned out to be a hero in the end. Most of us call other breeders "brother" or "sister." I'd be proud to call Emily "sister." She has done everyone a great favour. The news presenter praises her some more: "It seems that the DAX's daughter has done her father proud." Her father? All the DAX did was drop some of his sperm in a cup or something. That hardly makes him her father. The presenter continues; "while a grateful populace commends Emily, the new hate group, Humans Against Monsters, or HAM as we shall call them, still want to protest against the children from Genutec." Well if they're going to talk about HAM again I'm tuning it out. I turn back to the action figures, but then I hear a pair of voices discussing me across the department floor: "There's another one of the freakish things, hey? I'm telling you, Gannon, they're all alike. It's not just the Extremely Superior Hominid, they're all unnatural. HAM's right." Heard it before. Who's being so rude this time? I glance over. A burly lad with close cropped hair of a curious greyish-black is talking to another boy in a loud, rude voice. Oh my, but the other one's so gorgeous! I can't help it. I turn round and stare. His beautiful, freckled face turns to mine. I can see from right across the floor. He has such blue eyes, like fragments of a summer sky and auburn hair that glints in the electric light. Such an athletic build. "Hey, hey, Gannon, she's heard us I think, that freaky thing heard us," says the rude boy. "Shut up Baxter, you're behaving like someone born in a bin," says Gannon and leaving Baxter behind, he strides over to me. Oh wow… I can't pretend I haven't heard them. I realise I'm gawping again. Close to he's even more beautiful. Such vibrant freckles all over his exquisite features and when he smiles, he shows the most perfect teeth. "I'm sorry, did Baxter offend you?" he says. OK, OK, I'm going to act cool and collected. "I-I didn't hear, I - I mean, I don't care if he did, Gannon," I rasp. Oh great. Now I sound like an eavesdropping simpleton. "Well I apologise for him," says Gannon. Gannon's scent – it's driving me wild. I've tried describing this scent thing to mum and dad, about how all people give off their own special scent, but my parents don't have my sense of smell. "It's quite alright," I say, "really, you're not responsible for Baxter." My heart's quickening. I wish my voice wasn't so low and hoarse. I wish I could think of something interesting to say and not talk about Baxter. "Well you heard my name," said Gannon. "I'm Kristin," I say quickly, catching the hint. "How about I take you to the café, Kristin?" says Gannon, "a way of apologising for Baxter, since he's not going to." "Oh yes, let's!" I exclaim, probably too eagerly. Will he hold my hand? I glance at him, as we walk towards the café, hoping that he might offer to. Oh I hope the girls happen to walk by and see me with this freckle-faced angel. Baxter yells at us, "what are you doing, walking with her? Hey hey? Don't you care how this looks?" "Quiet, Baxter, you're embarrassing yourself," calls Gannon. I grin at him. The café is nearly empty at this time. The black tiles gleam in the soft lamp light. Sitting down opposite Gannon at a little round, oaken table, I try desperately to think of something smart to say. I gaze at his freckled face and take in his strong jaw and cutely formed nose. His scent thrills me. I would love to run my fingers through his wavy, auburn hair. He radiates good health. I don't think I've sat across the table from anyone this attractive before. "So what would you like, a coffee? Asks Gannon. "Oh thanks," I reply, "just a small banoffi dessert." The waitress comes over to our table at this point. She's a Genutec breeder like me, her long black hair in a ponytail and red lipstick daubed onto her green face. I have said before that this looks garish. "Good evening, darlings, and especially you, gorgeous," she says, addressing Gannon, "on a date? I like your way of thinking, good stock, we are." And she actually flutters her eyelashes at him… ohhh dear. "Uh, a coffee please and a banoffi dessert and a pot of cream on the side," says Gannon, shifting in his seat and looking a little uncomfortable. "Anything for you," says the waitress beaming. Well this is awkward. "Um, I like Ely's, don't you?" I say, trying to bring some normalcy back to the conversation, "the girls and I were having a girlie night out until I went to look in the baby section…" I realise I might be saying too much. It's definitely too early to talk about my broodiness. I flick a strand of my hair away from my face. "So how about that news byte?" he says, smiling his dazzling smile again. As his scent thrills me I wish I could lean forward and kiss him. "The Extremely Superior Hominid has bitten the dust again and it was one of your sisters who killed him this time." "It would mess with my head if I thought too much about how I was conceived at Genutec and all the strangeness that goes with it," I say, "I can't think why Emily wants to think of the DAX as "father," he didn't bring her up. My mum and dad wanted to use donor sperm, because Daddy has a congenital defect which made his fingers too short. I think that it really gets to him." I'm not telling how my granddad killed himself because of that stupid defect. It traumatised Daddy for life. No wonder he can't think rationally about it. And sometimes I wish I didn't have my inhuman sense of smell, because I can sense something a bit off about Daddy's scent – like I can sense an error in his genetic code. Well I will never tell him that. I never want him to start agonising over the obnoxious subject again. "If Emily and DAX both get good press and their connection is highlighted, HAM will only get bad press," said Gannon, tapping the side of his freckled nose and looking wise for one so young. "Although hate filled fools running around in red robes should probably get bad press no matter what." I laugh. "You're so cute," I say. I reach for his hand… But this moment the waitress comes back and sets the coffee and my dessert down and then puts a pot of cream in between us. "I can whip up a good batch of cream myself," she rasps, smiling at Gannon and she pats her breasts which are concealed beneath her frock, but are clearly much larger than those of a pure human girl. "Our boobs do wonderful things." Oh that does it! "Could you have embarassed me any more, sis?" I say, standing up and putting a silver sterling bill on the table. I pick up my banoffi. "Let's go," I say to Gannon. "I was going to pay," says Gannon as we leave the café. The waitress is blowing kisses after him. Rub it in, sis, rub it in. We go back towards the toy section. I swallow my Banoffi in one go. No point wasting it. It slides down my throat, the flavours lighting up my senses. Mmmm. I turn to Gannon. I suppose he wants to leave now. The waitress embarassed him too. But what am I supposed to say about it? "Um... I'm sorry the waitress was so rude, dear Gannon," I mumble. Suddenly Baxter's voice yells from across the floor – "that's the green skinned freak!" I turn round and there are two men in crimson robes with pointed hoods standing with him and they turn towards me, their faces hidden by the hoods, only eye slits visible. They're holding long metal sticks which have electricity crackling around the bases. OH NO! My stomach turns over. I freeze, staring, my head reeling, and freezing cold filling me as though I've been plunged in cold water... "HAM members! Quick, hurry!" says Gannon, dropping his coffee and taking me by the hand. We run past the toy displays, ducking round a shelf, the sour taste of fear in my mouth. Oh great planets above, what will happen to us? Must I put this lovely boy in danger too? My throat's seized up. I want to speak, but I can't. There are heavy footsteps pounding after us. There's a smash of shelves and the acrid smell of burning plastic figurines. Gannon pulls me towards a side door and wrenches it open. An alarm bell rings, but we dash down a flight of bare stone steps, our way only dimly lit by an feeble comet light. Gannon pushes open another door and we're among what seems to be a display of mannequins. Or old fashioned marionettes, how retro. He pushes me under a low table, on either side of which stand identical, giant mannequins with long, electrum blond hair. We cram ourselves into the narrow space under the table. It's hard to see past the mannequins. He puts his arms around me and in spite of the danger I thrill at his touch. I can smell his sweet breath. My own breathing becomes heavier. I feel my body responding. I huddle closer to him, and smell that he is sweating very lightly. Oh gosh, his delicious scents. They're just so tantalising. I can scarcely focus and think about the danger I'm in. I give a little moan. "Don't be afraid, I'm nothing like that spineless traitor Baxter, I want to help you," he says. I look back into his freckled face, into those fresh, sky blue eyes and know that I need him. "Hold me tight," I manage to croak. He holds me in his arms and I press my face into his chest. I want him to squeeze me to him, for our bodies to come together... No, I'm in danger... I can't think clearly. A pair of rough voices are shouting. "Where is the monster?" "You've lost her, imbecile!" They begin yelling at each other. Soon they are arguing and hurling vicious insults. "They're infighting!" Gannon murmurs. "Well it's to be expected. Put quarrelsome people together and what do you get?" The HAM members continue their dispute: "YOU'RE USELESS!" "YOU'RE WORTHLESS!" Then they come to blows. Oh I hope they're going to lay off me now. A stern gentleman's voice can now be heard addressing the men from HAM; "you two have vandalised an entire display. The police are here." I snuggle into Gannon. I know we've got to be together for me to be safe... and covered in his tasty scent. "There, they're gone now," said Gannon. I hug him, pushing my face into his chest and drinking in his special scents. He cares about me and he's here. I don't want him to let go. Slang used: VP = Virtual Projection. A type of 3D TV. POV = Point of View shot or where the camera is focusing.