It only took a few minutes to rub one out, but I spent a while thinking about the doctor Aina. It had been a while since I bothered committing a person's face to memory. It wasn't until forty minutes passed that I finally stepped out of the nut room. I grabbed my children and made my way to the reception desk. I looked toward the lobby looking for the kid and found him surrounded by other guys who were holding the forms but weren't filling them out. Instead, they were talking in whispers and glancing worriedly at the women who were trying to look busy but were stealing looks at the men as if they were sheep. When I finally stepped into everyone's view all the men stood up and ran to me.
"Are you okay?!"
"They didn't hurt you?"
"Were you scared?"
All the men started fussing over me like I had just come back from getting raped. The last to step up was the kid who also looked worried as he asked me a question.
"How was it?"
"Pretty good. Just rub one out and you're done. Aiming it in the cup was kinda hard though." Everyone looked serious as they took in my words.
"They didn't go in with you?" One of the men glanced once more at the women who all flinched and pretended like they weren't trying to listen in.
"If you don't want them to, they leave you alone." All of them heaved sighs of relief. I don't think I'll ever be able to relate to these guys.
"T-then it's safe?"
"Yea." One of the men looked determined as he gripped the papers and walked towards the reception desk.
"I'm ready." The guys watched as the 'brave' man walked towards the nut rooms. Following him, a few more gathered up their courage and did the same. I looked at the kid while shaking my head at their useless bravery.
"C'mon kid, let's get the cash." I grabbed the money that was promised, a whopping 1200 dollars, and passed it to the kid. His dirty face stared at me.
"Thank you Mr. Knoys."
"Don's fine."
"Mr. Don." Whatever. The kid stared at the money in his hand.
"You gonna be alright?" The kid reminded me too much of my brother, hell, with how I remember faces this kid could be his doppelgänger.
"Ye…No, I don't know, Mr. Don." I can't just leave this kid alone.
"You eaten yet?"
"Huh? Uh, no, not yet."
"Let's find somewhere to get some grub, you can tell me about your shit while we eat." He seemed to be struggling to find the words to answer me as his body was shaking slightly.
"Can I ask, Why are you helping me Mr. Don?"
"Cause I want to? Do you need a reason to help someone?"
"That's it?"
"Pretty much." He gave me a look like he couldn't believe it. "If you want a reason, let's just say you look like someone I know."
"....Alright." As I opened the door to the clinic the flash of lights halted my exit as the sounds of clicking and shouting began to surround us.
"He's Here."
"Could you tell us your.."
"Many wish to.."
"How do you feel as.."
"Can you describe.."
"Can you tell us.."
"Fighting..""…First to…""..actions.."
"Molested..""..stand for.."
Microphones were forced towards my face as reporters spoke loudly and over one another to try and get my attention. I couldn't even see anything due to the constant flashing of cameras.
"What the f…". Just as I was about to swear on the news a much louder voice cut through the yelling.
"Quiet! If you don't separate and stop bothering them I will prosecute all of you for Harassment. Now move!" I finally saw past the sea of lights and saw that the protesters had been replaced with reporters. There were also police here en masse who were holding the main members of each side of the protest while questioning them, a few cops even had riot gear on. The guy I punched was also getting questioned and he seemed to be in cuffs. What the hell happened. "You. Come with me for a moment." The cop who calmed everyone down motioned for me to come with her. She was dressed in a suit with a wire attached to her ear. I followed her, the kid sticking close but hiding his presence as much as he could.
"What's going on?"
"We need you for a statement." Oh yea.
"I in trouble?" The cop looked back at me before continuing towards an area separate from the other two groups. "Must be a yes."
Eventually she brought me to a small tent that was set up at the edge of the parking lot. She opened a flap for me but made the kid stay outside. Inside I could see a small table with an older woman sitting across from me, flanked on both sides by women in black suits and sunglasses. She was flipping through a folder as she spoke.
"Welcome Mr. Knoys. How was your visit to the clinic?"
"Pretty good. Not much to complain about." She closed the folder.
"You must be curious why we're talking like this." She motioned slightly and one of the guards left through the flap behind them.
"A little, yea. Don't think smacking a guy who hit me first justifies a warning from suits." I had gotten slightly complacent. Women or not, this world was similar to my own and folks like this woman were dangerous.
"That and this are separate matters. I simply wanted to thank you on behalf of the United Lands of America."
"Thank me? For what?"
"This clinic has been open for nearly a week, do you know how many people have donated since its begun operating?"
"Following the flow of what you're saying, probably none."
"Exactly. These protests have made the men skittish and with no one stepping up to take the first plunge, we have had no donations. I'm sure the good doctor gave you a nice sermon about humanity's extinction and so on, but the possibility of something far off is not nearly as frightening as the present climate we find ourselves in."
"So what? You're just here to thank me and be on your way?"
"I am here to thank you. Thanks to your display men are finally stepping forward and we now have a reason to place more security in the area surrounding the clinics. Your drawn blood is a wonderful excuse. Unfortunately, I'm here to do more than simply appreciate your efforts." She picked up the folder again. "Do you know that you haven't existed in more than ten years?"
"What?" I mean, I know I was suddenly moved here but what's this shit about ten years ago?
"The body of Donovan Knoys or as it's written here, Aldonado Ruido," I stood up, "was last reported missing more than ten years ago."
—-
"…ten years ago." He stood up violently at the mention of that name. Throughout our conversation this boy had been avoiding my gaze. Not like the typical man who did so out of fear or nervousness, the reason he did so was closer to that of laziness or indifference. This boy, he was different from other men born in this era, he was dangerous. I could tell from the gaze that was now staring straight at me. A gaze that seemed to be memorizing every detail of my face.
"Where did you get this information?"
"Public records." I read off the information that was written in this sparse file. "A young man, Caucasian, possibly Mexican descent, approximately 15 years of age, died in A hospital from blood loss caused by two bullet wounds, one in the neck, another in the chest. Found together with an older Caucasian man, presumed father, deceased upon arrival. Two different IDs found on both bodies. The young man's first ID Aldonado Ruido, is presumed to be his real identity. The second name, Donovan Knoys, is an alias." He was no longer staring at me and was instead thinking greatly about something as his head was facing down and his eyes were closed. "After being pronounced dead, the body disappeared."
"What the fuck." As he stewed in his thoughts, my attendant finally returned with the coffee I ordered. I held the small cup and began stirring in my preferred additives.
"I was quite surprised an hour ago when I read this as well. You've been dead for ten years and then suddenly a bank account with your name and social security pops up, filled with enough money to let you and a few generations live a life without worry. Generally, the ULA frowns upon faking your own death, but it just so happens that you made yourself quite famous as the first to donate and your little squabble in front of the clinic. We wou…"
"I'll take your deal, just give me all the information you have on me." He was looking at me again, a glare as ferocious as a beast's. I put down my coffee and took out the contract that was recently drafted.
"You will be the spokesperson advocating the legitimacy and necessity of the clinics as they open. You will not besmirch the government nor any decisions made. Lastly, due to possible retaliation by a certain political party, we will be assigning you a bodyguard. So as there's no secrets between us, your assigned guard will also be keeping tabs on you. Any questions?" He passed the contract back to me, seemingly having signed it while I spoke, cheeky brat.
"Give me the documents." I slid him the files containing his history.
"We can work cooperatively, if you have anything you want aside from the…" He walked outside before I could finish.
"Haah, bring Astrid." A few moments after sending an attendant, my best operative entered.
"Yes, mother?"
"Conditions are in our favor and I'm assigning you as his bodyguard. Those harpies will definitely try something since we've taken the initiative. They might try to seduce him or simply eliminate him, so make sure he stays alive and on our side."
"Understood mother."
"Also…"
"Yes, mother?"
"Be careful of him."
"Mother, please, I'm not som…"
"Listen. He is dangerous and you shouldn't lower your guard. His eyes, I only saw eyes similar to that once when I was a little girl. My father, he had the same eyes after returning from the Second War. That boy has taken lives and from the looks of it he might not have stopped. If it weren't for his face being plastered on every news outlet and lauded as a hero I…Just be careful."
"Yes, mother." I watched her leave, finishing the rest of my coffee before standing.
"Let's go."
""Yes, mother.""
I'm quite surprised. I thought men of your caliber no longer existed. Donovan Knoys, who are you?
—-
"Ah, Mr. Don. Are you okay…?" He ignored me and kept walking quickly, straight down the street. I tried to catch up but his legs were longer and I had to jog to reach him. He was reading something in a folder, too distracted to notice that he was walking through a red light. "Mr..!" Before I could finish screaming, a woman caught up to him and held onto his clothes, pulling him out of the traffic he was charging into, causing some of the papers to fall out of the folder.
"You shou-" She tried speaking as she pulled him back but he spun around and grabbed her by the neck. I could see his face now that he was turned around. He was terrifying. His eyes were open wide, his jaw was clenched and his nose was scrunched up. He stared down at the woman, glaring at her face. He looked for a long moment before closing his eyes. The woman smacked the arm that was grabbing her neck away.
"What are you doing?" The woman only furrowed her brow, but her body looked tense.
"Mr. Don…are you okay?" He broke eye contact with the woman before glancing at me. His face softened and he started reaching for the fallen papers.
"Yea." He stood up while rubbing his eyes. "Let's go eat."
I followed him to a diner. For some reason the woman was also following him. She also sat down next to me when we picked a booth.
"Umm."
"Who are you?"
"Astrid Kingsley." She kept glaring at Mr. Don while Mr. Don kept rubbing his eyes as he read.
"You're the bodyguard?"
"Bodyguard?" Why does he have a bodyguard?
"Correct."
They stopped talking for a while as He kept reading through the contents of the folder. I couldn't help fidgeting as the women around us kept staring at me and Mr. Don. Thankfully, most of them stopped when the woman called Astrid glared back at them. The waitress had already passed us by but only Astrid ordered anything, a coffee. Every once in a while, Mr. Don would stare at me before turning back to the folder, his face getting darker until he finally put it down.
"Fuck…" He let out a large sigh when he finally spoke.
"It seems you're satisfied with the information." Astrid had calmed down as time passed but she still frowned at Mr. Don while she spoke.
"It was…revelating." He mulled over the word as he glanced at me again before turning back to Astrid. "I'm sorry for what happened." He looked her in the eyes. "I was upset." She looked surprised. So was I. Most men were too arrogant to apologize to a woman.
"That…" Astrid looked a little stunned.
"Order what you like, kid. Must have been aggravating waiting for me." He paused before adding, "You too Kingsley, it's on me." He called the waitress over and we finally got some menus.
"Umm. Are you okay?"
"Hmm? What do ya mean?"
"It's just, you keep, uh, rubbing your eyes."
"It's nothing, just a bit of a headache. If I relax for a bit it should go away." He rubbed his eyes until he suddenly stopped. "Actually, there's a pretty effective solution." He looked past us around the diner. It had gotten more packed as women who saw Mr. Don entered the diner just to look at him. I caught a glimpse of Astrid's phone, it seems someone had taken a picture of him and mentioned where we were on tweeter.
"What are you doing?" Astrid was curious too since she asked what I wanted to know.
"Looking for a good body." What does he mean?
"What?" I looked at Astrid who looked at me at the same time. She had the same confused look I did.
"There." He walked towards a booth where a woman in a thick sweater and hair covering her face was sitting. She looked kinda gloomy and was one of the women who kept looking at us even when Astrid scared them away. She was creepy. Mr. Don stood right in front of her and she started trembling a little bit.
"I-I wasn't staring! I swear, I…" Mr. Don leaned in and whispered something in her ear. I couldn't see her face but she looked surprised and by the way she suddenly started nodding her head, I could tell she was excited. He grabbed her by the hand and led her to the bathrooms. Everyone in the diner was staring at them as they disappeared. The cook even let some food burn from the distraction.
It wasn't long before we heard a sharp yelp. Astrid stood up quickly, a vicious look on her face. She stormed towards the bathrooms. The women around us also looked a little disappointed. I think I knew what they were thinking. Mr. Don was probably hitting her. I knew that men didn't really enjoy attention but only the worst men hit women for just staring. I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed too. I thought Mr. Don was a little like me.
It didn't take long for Astrid to come running out of the bathroom. She didn't have that same vicious look anymore, instead she was covering her face with both hands, her ears and cheeks beet red. She plopped down on the chair and let her head fall on the table.
"What's wrong?" I thought for sure she would at least yell at him, but..
"Aahn!" A sound, completely different, started escaping the bathroom. "Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah!" The noises came repeatedly, and more loudly. I could see the women around us had also stopped with their previous look, the same red that Astrid had, started coloring their faces. "Hah. Hah. Hah. Hah."
"Uh, Ms. Astrid, what is.." Astrid still had her face covered but I was too curious.
"Don't ask. It's…adult things." I thought about it for a while.
"Huh?....Ah." I understood. I couldn't help covering my face in embarrassment.
For a long time, the noises didn't stop. I finally understood Astrid. We heard the shaky voice of the waitress and I could hear the plates hitting the table, but I couldn't get the thoughts, of what Mr. Don was doing, out of my head. The noises rose and fell, sometimes it was quick, sometimes they were long. The noise was always the woman's and at some point she began to yell words.
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Ooh Fuuuck!"
Everyone in the diner was quiet, not even the sound of a pin drop could be heard, I don't think the cook was even preparing orders anymore. We could hear soft moaning and contented sighs escaping thanks to the silence. I heard a few gulps coming from the booths around me.
Mr. Don finally exited the bathroom. He looked relaxed and his small smile had returned. Every woman in the diner was staring at him with misty eyes, except for Astrid. She was glaring at Mr. Don again, but it was lacking compared to how she did it before. I couldn't help but admire Mr. Don, he wasn't embarrassed or anything.
The woman walked out after him. Her sweater was stretched to one side, revealing her shoulder and her legs were buckling with every step, but her hair was finally parted to one side, showing her face. She was wearing a goofy smile, a small amount of something falling out of her mouth. She licked it clean before she caught up to Mr. Don.
"T-that was…thank you." She didn't have the same creepy aura around her anymore. She looked somewhat glamorous.
"I should thank you." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and talked in her ear. "Thanks to you my headache's gone." Her face heated up in an instant.
"C-can I see you again?" He pulled out his phone and spoke.
"Gimme your number." I could see the look of triumph on her face as she happily answered him. As she was leaving the diner I caught a glimpse of the contact Mr. Don had saved, 'Big tits in sweater.'
"Do you have no inhibitions?!" Astrid was whispering loudly at him. "We're in a public space!" Astrid was tense as she looked around the diner.
"That's why I went to the bathrooms."
"Unbelievable." Her looks of warning did nothing as every woman was openly giving Mr. Don lusty looks. Some even sent me a few.
"C-Can we leave?"
"Huh? Already? We haven't even eaten yet."
"Ugh."
—-
After clearing my head for a bit, I had the kid tell me his story. We had reordered the food, since the old set had gotten cold, and he told me his story while we ate.
"I was pretty little when my mom first crossed over to the ULA. You guessed right, Mr. Don, my family immigrated illegally when I was five. My mom spent a long time working, but she wasn't from here and her English wasn't very good so the jobs she had never paid enough. At first it was only one job, then it turned to two and three. My sister was young too, younger than me, a baby. I could only help with Clara so that's what I did until Clara could take care of herself enough to go to school. My mom held out for that long."
"You mean she's…"
"No, no. She's still alive but she's very weak. The years of physical labor hurt her and she needs special care at a hospital."
"That's why you need the money."
"Yea."
"...What about your dad?"
"My mom said we were coming here to look for him, but…"
"Never found him."
"Yea…"
We ate in silence for a bit as I was mulling over all the information I got today. Firstly, my body, in this world, was dead. I had thought that, this being a world of women, I might not even exist or at most I could find the version of myself that was a girl. What I found out instead was a mixed version of what happened in my world.
When I was a kid, back in my world, my dad and I crossed the border into the US (called the ULA here). My dad and I weren't immigrants, both of us were born stateside, we crossed illegally due to the work my father found himself doing at the time. We lived and worked on both sides of the border, with my mother and brother staying on the Mexican side. I had just started working with my dad but he had already saved up enough to get my mom and brother on the safer side of the border.
The inconsistencies start here. In my world, the ones who end up dying are my brother and pregnant mother. It was a harsh situation that made my father and I change careers, but the important bit is that it's the opposite of what happened here in this world. Here, my mother and brother were the survivors while my father and I were the deceased. The reason I was brought here or why I'm even in another world. That kind of stuff is too much for me. Rather than contemplate life like this, isn't it easier to just think about what's in front of me?
"What's your name kid?"
"Ah, yea. It's, uh, Marco. Marco Carsañero." Pretty much settles it.
"Okay."
"W-what?"
"I'll help you out."