a whole new wonderland

the Kama Sutra

I kicked off my heels and watched as they fell like rocks in a well, bouncing off the bridges. I joined them quickly however, jumping to the tube beneath mine. Each time I landed, as I furthered my descent, I felt a rush of adrenaline pump into my heart, my feet yearning for solid ground. It wasn't until I finally hit the second to the final tube, at least 25 feet to the ground, that they slipped. My ankle, throbbing, gave in and I stumbled down the glass, my sweaty hands palming at it but only giving me a comedically squeaky noise. It was my back that hit the ground first, knocking the wind out of me. A high pitched ringing drowned out the noise and the pain and the thoughts. It was my first real moment of peace that I had received these past few hours. And then the pain came.
Electricity shot through my bones as I crawled to a stand. I was in an empty, smooth street, perfectly clean and lined with well kept, identical trees. I felt something purge upward with the pain and I collapsed back onto the street, my stomach folding into itself with a painful emptiness.
After vomiting, my sight became dizzy, my vision going triple. I saw a square black door, and lurched towards it, my clumsy fingers itching around until my finger dove into the strong steel. With a pop, the shining door swung open into a black hole. I could barely see, let alone stand, and I limply fell forward, landing on a soft padding and then rolled into a tight crevasse. My foot caught on something and as I tried to kick it off, there was a loud slam, and I was in darkness again. Murmurs of cries for help left my lips, but there were no friendly ears to come to my aid. This was no longer my Earth. I was amongst aliens now, and my only friend here was myself. Then, I passed out.
I faded in and out of consciousness for a while, time slipping away like a thief in the night. When I regained a grasp on my alertness, I realized I was still in the same spot I had been before, only it was somehow darker. I padded the walls next to me, only to see I was in a strange, soft, leathery hole. My hand hit metal, the thing hooked to my foot, and I pulled. Grey light streamed into the hole with a click, and my eyes burned. Suddenly, I realized I was actually all too familiar with my prison cell. It was the inside of a very nice car. And I was in somebody else's house.
I stepped out of the god forsaken vehicle.
“Where am I now?” My head was on a swivel as my eyes searched the area. It was a plain garage, Although nice, there was little in it. One thing there was though, was a door.
“Score.” I hobbled up the stairs, my body still beaten from the fall. A smile broke out on my face as the door easily opened and I was led into a smaller, brighter room. There were pictures hanging from the walls, a coat hanger with a single trench coat, a crimson rug decorated with intricate patterns, and to top it all off, a fancy light fixture above me, letting off a warm yellow glow. Carefully, I walked out the open door frame into what I could only call a kings hall. A grand fireplace, sprawling from wall to wall, cracked like fallen trees. The roof had to be more than 20 feet high, illuminated by the largest golden chandelier I'd ever seen. In the middle of the room there was a luxurious velvet couch in the shape of a crescent moon, it surrounded a dainty oak coffee table. Each wall was towered with bookcases filled to the brim, or maps and paintings of old and lost lands. There was a faint scent of earl gray and expensive perfume.
I heard a deep throat be cleared out and almost jumped out of my skin. I now noticed on the couch itself was a lone man, sitting smack in the middle. He had a large book in his hand and was holding a glass of wine in the other. In fact, looking upon the coffee table, the amount of empty bottles laying haphazardly on it and on the plush rug below, showed this was not the first glass of the night either.
I began pacing backwards, as luck would have it that the couch was facing away from me and instead toward the fireplace. Instead, I turned toward the staircase beside me. On the first floor, there was a large study, but above that, I saw more light coming from the second floor. I made my way up, further away from the drunkard on the couch.
The decor of the house was so contrary to the time period, with oak paneled walls and intricate pillars to hold up the roof, carved with depictions of cherubs and deep intricate trees. Humans were offering up sacrifices of food, wealth and... I paused and squinted my eyes to see clearly.
Women and men were also holding up babies. Children! Offering it to these cherubs and this large tree. The people weren't crying, but instead offered the newborns to the angels with large smiles upon their faces. The babies’ faces, however, were morbidly churned by fear and tears.
Something about their faces drove a deep shiver down my spine. As if I could hear the anguished cries of the forgotten children myself.
I turned away and quickly made up the stairs. I was led to a large stone room, a dining room, most certainly. I walked past the banquet table suited for royalty and instead hurried down the only hall left. Two more doors.
I quietly opened one door, only to be met with a high tech kitchen, horrifically standing out amongst the wood and stone of this perpetual castle. I closed the door and continued on for the other. This one was up a few more stairs, but as I opened the door, I was not greeted by an exit, but by a large and cold bedroom. Every other room in this house had seemed alive, if a bit too much so, but here there was nothing but hard wood floors and walls of stone. There were no windows, only a fireplace left deserted. The grand bed, with posts quite similar to the pillars I saw outside, was also a frosty sight, with scattered pillows and blankets. The only sign of luxury was the chiffon curtains and the walk in closet.
It was still not an exit.
I turned around and reached for the door handle but stopped suddenly as I heard footsteps echo outside. I saw the closet and booked it, thanking my lucky stars the man had enough taste to buy so many clothes. I jumped into a dresser and prayed this particular one was of no interest to him tonight. I heard the door to the bedroom squeal open, and some cursing. A light came on, most undoubtedly the fireplace, judging by the loud cracking. And then the closet opened and I held my breath. I watched a shadow pace around the room, before watching a dark shadow open the door to another wardrobe. This, to my surprise, was actually a door. A white light shined through the crack of my hiding spot before the man shut the door. That was my exit. I waited with bated breath, ears straining for a single sound, but I heard none. Quietly, I opened the dresser and stepped out, my bare feet silent on the cold stone.
My eyes locked on the door and with a great breath, I cautiously opened it. Fluorescent light blinded me almost instantly and I quickly covered my eyes in pain. I blinked as white dots began to form the likeness of my new room. The first thing I saw was a person, a blob of flesh starting back at me. My stomach dropped and I lurched back, only to see the blob do the same. That's when I focused in to see that this blob was merely a reflection I was seeing in the mirror. A very large mirror. I sighed in relief, my stomach relaxing.
I heard a faint sound of running water and a soft murmur of a voice. It came from behind a stained glass door that I opened with great care. This whole area was shining and white, the floor's reflection as milky as the one in the Fertilization Plant. To my utter disappointment, this door did not open to an exit, but to a large bathroom. The drunkard was taking a shower. I began to search the room for a phone, as I usually brought mine to the bathroom with me. It was my last chance to get some outside help, or at least some information. Instead, I came across a book, undoubtedly the one I had seen him reading earlier. The title was written in Sanskrit, and I was shocked by the contents. Other than words I couldn't decipher, there were ancient drawings of people having sex, pages and pages of it, each in a new position.
“No way, he was reading the fucking Kama Sutra.” I covered my mouth in shock as a giggle bubbled up. I had never actually seen The Kama Sutra in person, let alone someone reading it for fun. I picked it up and flipped through the pages, only to begin noticing there were highlights, circled positions, even notes I couldn't read. This guy was obsessed. That's when I heard a gentle voice coming from around the corner, I peaked over to see something that made me almost fall on my ass.
The man was in the shower, leaning against the wall, one arm against the wall of the shower, his face burrowed into the crook of his arm, and the other arm was…oh my God. He was…masturbating. Clumsily too, like he had no idea what he was doing. This guy was jerking off because he read the Kama Sutra.
I couldn't make out most of what was going on, the tempered glass of the shower door blurred his figure, but I could make out enough. The soft murmuring I was hearing was his moans, his voice quivering. He was stroking faster now, shaking with a slight whimper between breaths. He was finishing up. Suddenly, a wave of heat flushed my face, not to mention my body. I turned around, suddenly embarrassed about my peeping. I began making my way out of the bathroom, gently closing the door. I stopped for a second, still hearing his muffled voice from across the bathroom. The absurdity of the situation caused me to let out a stifled laugh. This world maybe hadn't changed so much, humans were still human after all, even with creepy selective breeding. I collected my thoughts and began heading out.
“What in The Producer's name!?”
My blood ran cold, I turned around to see the man. I didn't expect him to finish so fast. He was half naked and dripping wet, a towel wrapped around his thin waist. I pulled my eyes away from his, admittedly gorgeous, body, only to have my stomach flip as I suddenly recognized him.
He was the man who I had met earlier, the painting man. His black hair cascaded down his neck and his intense face was twisted in a shocked grimace.
“How did you even get in here?” I could tell we both were as horrified as the other. He walked towards me, but before I had time to even turn to escape, his walk became lopsided, running him straight into the wall. He slid down it, folding like a chair.
“How dare you-” he stopped for a second with a lost look. It took him a second before seemingly remembering I was there.
“This is MY house! Not yours!” He was being unusually loud. I then remembered the dozen or so bottles of wine he had vanquished.
“You come into my house! Ruin my night! I’ll have you know I'm an Alpha- PLUS! P-L-U-S! Which means I'm better than you and- and Derek. I HATE Derek, he is so obtuse and pig-headed! Why I outta- outta…” He tipped over and landed on his back. No more of his words were intelligible. His body shined under the light, moisture from the steam glistening on his lean muscles. Even sloppy drunk on the floor, he was beautiful. It was almost sad, like watching a bird tear out its feathers.
“Where's the door out of here?”
“No, I'm not saying anything, you're stuck here. I'm going to inform the Sentinels you're here and then you're done for.” He tried to stand up, only to make it half way up and slide down again. That's when his eyes landed on the book I had forgotten to put down. His pale skin went completely white. Suddenly, he regained his sobriety, picking himself up.
“Give that back.” His eyes were burning into my hand. I raised my eyebrow, and pulled the book toward me.
“No. I don't want to.”
“I swear on the Producers name, if you don't give that back right this instant!” His face was burning up.
“Why do you want it so bad? What's so special about it?”
“Yo-you wouldn't understand, it's not your business. Just give it back.”
The more he fought me on it, the more I was tempted to keep it.
“It's just a book about sex,” I started, but as soon as he heard the word sex, he looked up into my eyes with a horrified look, “why are you so desperate for it?”
“It's just a piece of literature, I'm not interested in disgusting old mating rituals, our technology left that behind ages ago! Now just give it back!” He launched at me, but I easily dodged it, his drunken steps were clumsy.
“What, you can't afford to get good porn?”
“What the hell is porn?! I just want my book!”
No way. He used the Kama Sutra as a dirty book because there wasn't any porn at all? He was that desperate? I couldn't stop myself from actually laughing this time. He was enraged by this, his face red with embarrassment and anger.
“What are you laughing about?!” He roared.
“Y-you used the Kama Sutra as your jerk off material.” I barely could get it out before I lost it again. He was mortified, looking like he was a second away from either gutting me or bawling.
“Y-you saw m-me?” He was pressed against the wall, barely standing up. His wet skin was more sweat than steam by now. I merely nodded my head. Before I could prepare for it, he launched at me, this time his body connecting with mine, knocking us both over. He scrambled after the book, ripping it away from my grasp. He had me straddled, sitting on my chest with both legs on my elbows. He flipped through the pages checking to make sure nothing was crumpled. I tried to get out from under him, but he was much heavier than I thought and I ended up simply squirming under him like a worm under an eagle's talon.
“Do you know how rare these are?! I can't believe you would be so careless!” He yelled at me. So this is what no pussy does to a man.
“Why are you so freaked out? You jerked off, so what?” I got in my face, teeth bared.
“Will you quit saying that!”
“Wait a second. Are you not allowed to masturbate? I know that old guy said there's no sex, but no self pleasure either?”
“I'll kill you, that's what I'll do. Then you can't tell anyone what you saw.” He was staring out into space, he had snapped.
“Wait! You can't kill me!”
He looked down at me, his eyes crazed, a man ready to murder.
“I, um. If you kill me you'll be in huge trouble! I'm the girl you guys brought back from the past!” I grabbed my gold pin and shoved it in his face, “See, see!”
His eyes darkened.
“Yeah, I remember you now. You're that ugly girl who ran into me in the hallway.”
“Wow, okay.”
“You don't get it do you?”
“What? The jerking off?”
“I said stop saying that!” He cried, “Everyone is genetically modified to have 0 libido, even Alpha +’s, like me. That's why all sexual paraphernalia was burned centuries ago. The fact I have this problem, means I can be counted as a liability to the Fertilization System. One unregulated baby and our whole world will be in shambles.”
“Do you get it now? If someone found out about this defect,” his voice dropped, “they'd kill me. If I'm lucky at least.”
I stared at him in disbelief. I had stumbled upon not a new world, but a genuine hell. There was a weakness to him I hadn't seen until now, the high horse he sat upon was a Trojan one. He seemed to notice my softened look of empathy and he bunched up his nose.
“Don't give me that look. This isn't my fault, some worthless scum at the lab messed up and now I'm cleaning up it's mess. I don't need your sympathy, I just need you to shut up.” I could tell he was sobering up from the damage control he was laying on me. His cards were revealed but he continued to keep his poker face on.
“Okay, fine. I won't tell anyone your secret. As long as you help me out too.”
His eyebrow raised.
“And what could you possibly need.”
“A way out.”
He pointed to his right.
“The front door is down the hall, to the left.”
“No, stupid, a way out of this world! I want to go back!”
Both eyebrows were up now.
“You want to leave? On purpose? Why?”
“Are you out of your gourd? This place is insane! The past isn't all that perfect, but at least I can fuck who I want, when I want, without the government euthanizing me.”
I watched his jaw tighten as he scanned my face, trying to detect some sort of ruse. He found none, and let out a great big sigh.
“Fine. I'll get you back to your dirty, nasty, uncouth time period. Only if you keep your part of the deal though. If you so much as utter the word “jacking”, I’ll have the Sentinels dragging you away before you can say “off”.”
I gave him a nod.
“Can you get off of me now.” I said, giving a slight tug from under his long legs. He seemed to have just then noticed he was still on top of me. I watched as his face flushed, and we both felt a bulge begin to throb against my skin. I had forgotten he was completely naked under the robe, but I was definitely aware now, his wet skin warm against mine. He scrambled off of me and turned away, re-adjusting his robe.
“You can wait outside, give me some privacy, will you?” He cleared his throat. He was a mess.
“Do you want me to leave the book?” I giggled. His head whipped around toward me, his cheeks were scarlet.
“Just get out!” He yelled. I legged it out of there before he began to throw things at me.
I eventually found myself back at the living room, the fireplace still alive with hot flame. The closer I reached the table, the heavier the scent of sweet booze grew. I was surprised he wasn't dead, judging by the quantity of empty bottles. Curious, I picked one, a quarter of the liquid still sloshing within. I read the ingredients, trying to find some sort of indication about the alcohol quantity. I couldn't understand part of the lettering. It was in English, presumably, but the words were still unfamiliar to me. I threw caution to the wind for a moment and decided to take a quick drink from the bottle.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of burn. It was smooth going down, leaving only a taste of smoke and rose on my tongue. I grew more curious and quickly took the last swig left. Still nothing.
Then it hit me like a truck. A heat spread through my body like a wildfire, and the edges of my eyes grew fuzzy. I forgot that in the future things will be different, including the wine. I heard a door open from upstairs, but I couldn’t manage to stand, or think for that matter. I saw a white figure standing at the top of the stairs, it descended like an angel.
“What this?” I stammered. There was a muffled voice but the fuzz crawled further and further through my vision, until I was left blind. And then I was gone.