STORY EXCERPT

“Sacrifice,” the elder spoke as he circled the small auditorium with all the practiced grace of a man completely confident in his environment. “Sacrifice is a necessary component of a civilized society. For the past few decades, we have survived because brave souls generation after generation have made it possible for us to do so.”

Jess elbowed him in the arm as he came into auditorium, late, as per usual. “Hiya, Alexis.”

“I can’t believe you’re late to the drawing,” Alexis grumbled, hopefully quiet enough that Elder Garet wouldn’t hear him.

“Oh please. At least I’m here. Did they announce who the poor saps were yet?”

“Nope.”

Alexis didn’t understand how he could be so nonchalant about this. As men of an appropriate age, all of them were subject to the annual lottery. Winning was not a joyous experience either. Being chosen was akin to being banished from everything they knew. He hadn’t paid attention for the past five years because he hadn’t yet reached his majority but now… Now he was terrified.

“When the great Eoeans came up from the depths of space and offered us relief from the Great Plagues, they made but one request to us in exchange for their vaccinations,” the elder continued, obviously oblivious to their whispered conversation. “They required a select number of our young men to go to their cities and offer themselves as sacrifice.”

Oh God. I’m so nauseous. I don’t want to sacrifice anything. I want to go work for my father at his insurance company and smooze. I’m a good smoozer. Is smoozer even a word?

“So many volunteered the first year that a lottery was developed to see who would be chosen for this most honorable of positions. We continue this tradition on today. It will be a harrowing journey, one which will require the young man to give himself completely to the unknown. Good luck to you all.”

Alexis gripped the handle of his satchel and twisted. It was either that or scream. He glanced around the domed room with its polished wood floors and vaulted ceilings and looked at all the portraits of lottery winners who had gone before him. All of them had been all beautiful in their youth. Every town had a different way of doing the lottery, but the result was always the same. Some men left and never returned. He couldn’t help but wonder why the Eoeans had wanted them. What did they do to the winners?

The chosen elder for the year was dressed in his ceremonial robes that were, oddly enough, just like the ones the elders wore to the graduation ceremony at the college that had taken place three months ago. Since the population had been decimated, any sort of coming-of-age ceremony lent itself to an over the top gathering. It helped remind them all that they were recovering thanks to the Eoeans and their vaccines.

His peers were dressed similarly to the way Alexis was dressed, three-piece suites that were probably more expensive than they were worth. It was a “gift” from the town when they came of age. It was the most expensive thing most of them owned. The ones who were eligible for the lottery were seated on the long wooden benches in front of the podium five rows deep and two rows wide. Alexis had chosen to sit near the back for a quick escape to vomit after the lottery was finished.

“No worries, Alexis,” Jess said, grinning. “It’ll be over in just a second. Look, they’re lowering the projection screen now.” The screen slowly came down from the ceiling like a great white tongue sticking out from the mouth of society, mocking Alexis, who squirmed at its arrival. Why did they have this stupid ritual? Why couldn’t they just send the winner a notification via e-mail or something?

Alexis’s gaze went to his father, who was sitting in his section among other entrepreneurs of the city. What would he and Sire do if Alexis was sent away? An artificially created offspring, Alexis was the exact blend of his father and sire’s DNA and therefore the only legitimate heir. They could always create another one via test tube, but they’d have to wait another eighteen years before that child reached majority. It seemed like a monumental risk considering the expense of artificial procreation. The fetal survival rate wasn’t very high, and they were prone to infections. It had been that way since the Great Plague.

The screen flashed white, then blue, and then back to white. Please, let it be broken. The sick feeling in Alexis’s stomach grew with each passing second. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to take the tension. Why did they have to make such a process out of this? When this was over, he was going to his father’s lounge and drowning himself in a bottle of Turnac liquor.

“Alexis Bedlam, please come forward to accept the honor of the lottery clasp and say good-bye to your family.” Elder Garet’s voice might as well have been a pistol shot for the reaction it got. Alexis’s heart tripped over itself before stopping for an insane moment before thundering back to life in a full on gallop. “The next lottery winner will be announced in two minutes. Alexis, step forward.”

“Oh fuck,” Jess whispered beside him. His sentiments exactly.

Then he was being pulled to his feet, away from Jess. His sire and father were suddenly there, crying and telling him how proud they were of him. Alexis barely felt their hard hugs or heard their teary declarations. The elders spoke in hushed tones of the “honor.” Honor? Whose honor? What good was honor if he ended probably dead or enslaved? The Eoeans were a mystery to them. Few outsiders had ever made it back from the cities they’d built by the shores of every continent in the world. What would they do with him?

A necklace was secured around his neck. A single metal circle hung from it. The metal felt cold against his neck. He swallowed. He didn’t want this, didn’t want to do this.

“So few are chosen, Alexis,” Elder Garet said, taking his wrist and leading him away from his Sire and Father. “I know you will make us proud.”

Alexis opened his mouth to offer rebuttal, and he vomited all over the pristine wood floors.

ADULT EXCERPT

Holy cow. Oh my. I wanna touch it. He strained against the cuffs that held him suspended in the air. His mind still wasn’t wrapping around that nifty little trick. He tried to ask how it worked, but he couldn’t. Maybe Elia was onto something with this whole restraint thing. It was making his head spin and his body tighten impossibly. He swore he’d leaked more pre-cum in the last five minutes than he had in the past year. The fact that later they would be watching this, like he and Elia were some sort of very X-rated porno stars, turned his buttons like nothing else. He didn’t know why the idea appealed so much, but it did.

It was good in the beginning with David, too. The insidious voice in the back of his head was unwelcome in this moment of pleasure. He didn’t want to think about his ex or the fact that he’d once called the man Master. He’d never been good enough for him and had failed continuously in their relationship. David had turned to violence in his frustration. It hadn’t been Alexis’s fault. He saw that now, and wouldn’t accept abuse from anyone else again. There was a difference between a kinky bedroom spanking and an ass kicking. However, he couldn’t help but think he’d been the root cause of everything when it came right down to it. He’d asked David to play Dom, after all.

Elia’s eyes burned into him as he wrapped his hand around Alexi’s erection and tugged. “I do like the way this feels in my hand.” Alexis’s eyes rolled, and he tried to buck up into the touch. “It’s different from mine, though it is similar.”

Yes. Please. God. Want to come really bad. He screwed his eyes shut and squirmed. The device held him tightly. Fuck me. Please, fuck me. His toys hadn’t been enough in the intervening months since his last lover. He wanted flesh and blood against him, inside him. He’d never had two cocks before. He didn’t know if he could accommodate, but he sure as fuck wanted to try.

“Platform,” Elia commanded. The room obeyed, and a shimmering white surface appeared just in front of Alexis. Wow this place is handy. He remembered the flashes from the tutor. The thought of Elia’s hands spreading his cheeks and fucking him while spanking his ass raw just made him want to come right then and there. The platform had been what the Eoean had used on the tutor’s images to achieve that particular end. He wanted it, craved it.

Elia gently pressed on Alexis’s back and bent him forward so that he was ass up for his pleasure. Alexis’s palms pressed against the platform’s warm surface, and he wasn’t surprised that he couldn’t move them from the position. His cheek rested there as well, and his breath created a smear of condensation on the clear surface.

As something warm and wet was dribbled between the valley of his buttock, he shivered. His hole was begging to be filled. He was surprised when something inorganic pressed against his opening. He relaxed into the sensation, trusting Elia. He’d said he wouldn’t hurt him. Whatever he was pressing inside him filled him in gradual increments, taking up the space inside him with timed pulses. The vibrations began, and he couldn’t help but scream around the weird gag in his mouth. Talk about being probed by a horny alien. He chuckled a little at the thought, but it skated away as the pulsing flexible thing started to do some major stretching.

He managed to raise his eyes to check out the view screen and was supremely pleased by what he saw. Elia’s cock had turned a deeper shade of blue down and a cotton candy colored drip of pre-cum was lubing the plum tip. The second cock was rippling faster on the other one, milking more. Elia’s expression told Alexis that he better stretch soon because he was nearing the edge of no return. Lust had transformed his face into a mask of pleasure mixed with the pain of denial. Alexis understood the feeling all too well.

“Raise platform two units.”

Alexis’s body rose higher. What was he doing? The thought had no sooner ghosted through his mind when he got his answer. Elia dropped to his knees and sucked Alexis’s cock into his mouth. Alexis screamed as the toy fucked his ass, spreading him as Elia clumsily bobbed his head on his cock. It wasn’t practiced, but it was certainly enthusiastic. It made Alexis wonder if he’d ever given a blow job before.

He shut his eyes, unable to take the image of Elia on his knees for him. His ass stretched wider than he’d ever had before. The toy slid over his pleasure spot over and over, fucking him better than any of his own toys ever had.

“All Father above, you taste good,” Elia murmured as he pulled off his cock. “I can’t take anymore, Alexis. Forgive me if this makes you uncomfortable, my honor.” He gave the head of his dick one last lick before getting to his feet and circling around behind Alexis’s prone body.

Alexis squirmed as much as he could. The toy in his ass was removed, and his cheeks were spread wide. Yes. Take me. Elia.