Getting Tzeitel Settled In - Pt. 1

Tzeitel looked pleadingly at Klaire, too scared to speak.

Klaire pulled Tzeitel in a gentle hug. “I’ll be here for you. We all will.”

Tzeitel hugged Klaire back, wishing she could stop crying. Stupid hormones.

Feeling the jet landing, Klaire gave Tzeitel a big smile. “We can finally get to a safe place.” She told her friend as James walked up.

“Delilah is gonna be outside to greet us,” He told them.

Tzeitel knew she had no reason to be afraid of James, her body reacted fearfully all the same. She moved behind Klaire as if the much smaller girl could protect her from the pyro if he chose to attack her.

Ami was happy to be in the safe place. But was troubled by how Tzeitel was acting.

James looked just as troubled as Ami and glanced at the younger of the sister’s with worry. “I'll go see what I can help with.” He said and walked out of the jet with most of the others.

Klaire looked at Tzeitel. “You know James would never even think of harming you, Tzeitel.” She reassured her. “He and I are more…close now. He helped me save Ami.”

Ami left with James.

“I know. Just he’s a guy…” Tzeitel gave Klaire a confused look. “C-closer?”

“He and I are lovers now, Tzeitel.” Klaire explained as she got up. “We've landed, so let's get you out of this jet. We need to speak with Delilah.”

“What-really?” Tzeitel could be excused for being surprised, She knew very well how Klaire was treated in MegaCorp from a very young age, she never expected Klaire to ever even want that kind of relationship. At least this information was enough to distract Tzeitel from how anxious she was to leave the jet.

“Yes, really,” Klaire replied as they stepped off the jet and found Delilah waiting for them. The blond woman smiled at the pair. “Hello, D, this is Tzeitel.”

“It’s nice to finally meet the famous Tzeitel that Klaire has told me so much about.” Delilah said with a friendly expression. “I’ve got a room set up for you in the women’s dormitories. There’s a lock on the door, fresh sheets laid out and a lot of clothes in different sizes for when you’ve finally given birth. Want me to show it to you? And, only women are allowed in that sector of the Underground, so you’ve got no worries about men intruding, even in the large bathroom section.”

“I and James live in the family section,” Klaire explained. “But I can stay with you tonight if you want.”

Tzeitel felt intimidated by her own reputation. What had Klaire been telling everyone about her? This Delilah seemed friendly enough but Tzeitel instinctively moved closer to Klaire, her eyes still pleading. “P-please.”

“Go ahead and show us to the room.” Klaire said and Delilah would indeed lead the way.

“There are multiple maps set along the walls of each section of the place, so if you ever get lost, you can find your way.” The blond explained as she gestured to one of those very maps. “If you can’t figure it out, there’s always someone walking around that will help.” She gestured to some double doors as they passed them. “That leads to the main section of the building where everything connects. Kind of like a giant meeting room or auditorium. I don’t expect anyone to come unless they want to. Any announcements made will always be spread out or put on the speakers in the hallway. We never run them at night unless there is an emergency.”

Tzeitel nodded, walking so close to Klaire their shoulders touched. The Underground was much bigger than she had expected, The size of it reminded Tzeitel of MegaCorp. But I should be safe here. It’s not like MegaCorp. Tzeitel reminded herself but still felt overwhelmed and sick. Her ankles hurt. She waddled unhappily.

Klaire made sure to help Tzeitel stay steady and smiled at the room they had set up for her friend. “This is all yours.” She said as she glanced around the room with a smile.

“Food is served in the dining hall, so whenever you’re hungry, that’s where to go.” Delilah told them as she looked at a tablet in her hand. “I’ve got to catch up with some informants about some medical issues, so I’ll let Klaire help you from here.”

Tzeitel sunk into a chair. She was still nervous about this new place but she needed to take the weight off her feet. Her large scared eyes looked over the room. She told herself it was safe. Loreen told her that the room she had put her in was safe too. Coral and Thrane still came in. Tzeitel shook. It felt like Thrane had let her go. Which probably meant he could get her back again easily. Back to be experimented on, tortured, the babies taken for more experiments and impregnated again.

Klaire went around the room and looked over a few things, pulling out some clothes for Tzeitel. “This should fit. If not, I can dig out something bigger for you.” She commented with a smile that was very motherly. “Want to get a bath? I bet you could use one.” She looked at her best friend.

Tzeitel flushed and looked down. Klaire had heightened senses so Klaire suggesting that Tzeitel could use a bath… Tzeitel thought of something more horrifying that just body odor- could Klaire smell them? Canestone, Urbanus… Klaire would not know Canestone’s scent but she would recognize Urbanus’s smell. Klaire had not asked any uncomfortable questions, Tzeitel wondered how much she already knew or had figured out for herself. “I-I’ll t-take a b-bath.” Tzeitel stuttered, freaking out.

“I’ll help,” Klaire said. “It’s gonna be difficult to do anything with how weak you must feel after all you’ve gone through. I know I was and I didn’t have pups growing inside me.” She explained, looking over some of the soaps available on one of the shelves. Delilah had spared no expense with that hard earned money of hers. She was making sure all metas felt like they were as special as any human.

Tzeitel hung her head in shame, the babies lightly kicking inside her. “Th-thank you.” She whispered, trying to not panic.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Klaire said as she went over to Tzeitel. Gently setting a hand on her shoulder, she gave her that motherly smile again. “No need to look so embarrassed. Remember, I got hurt and used a lot while in MegaCorp. We’re stronger for surviving. Remember that.”

“I’m sorry,” Tzeitel whispered. She had always felt guilty protecting herself from that kind of abuse with her powers while unable to stop it from happening to Klaire. In fact Tzeitel suspected driving them away from herself drove them to Klaire. Tzeitel could not look up and tears ran down her face. “I'm sorry. I should have stopped them. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Klaire asked, genuinely confused as she gently helped Tzeitel to the private bathroom Delilah had provided for the room.

“You always protected me.” Tzeitel turned the water for the tub as hot as it would get. Her legs were too tired to hold her up anymore so she sat on the bath mat on the floor, staring into the tub as it filled with hot water. But she wasn't seeing the tub or the water, she was seeing Klaire being dragged away from her after an escape attempt. “When they hurt you I didn't stop them. I protected myself with my powers and everything I did, I was so damned selfish.” Tzeitel sobbed.

“I don’t blame you for being selfish, Tzeitel.” Klaire admitted and changed the water so it wouldn’t be too hot. She hated how obvious it was that her friend seemed to be punishing herself. “It’s not your fault what they did to me. They would have done it either way…” That was something she knew all too well from what older meta women had said. There were kind ones, though. Rare as it was, there were kind ones.

It was very rare…