bartolimieu07

The choice

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 34 in Beast of Burden

Mom hears me putting my phone back in my purse, and peeks around the corner. She still looks haggard, her face lined with grief and regret. "You're going now?" "Yeah. I have class to get to." "Will you...be seeing Ava anytime soon?" "I might be. Is there anything you wanted to...

The beginning of reconciliation

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 33 in Beast of Burden

"How...How can you say that, Maddie?" Dad's voice is hoarse and broken. "I signed the papers to turn my little girl into a pet ." He stares bleakly at Mom. "We both did! All for a little extra cash! She was so...so frightened. Oh God!" He buries his face in his hands. "All...

Mom and Dad

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 32 in Beast of Burden

"Hey, sweetie!" comes my mom's voice from the kitchen when I open the door. "Is that you? Everything should be ready in about ten minutes." "Where's Dad?" I ask. "Also, do you need any help?" "He's back in our room, doing something. Answering emails, I think. And yes, if you co...

The cure

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 31 in Beast of Burden

"What do you think?" says Elise. "It's the cure." She shakes the bottle, and the pills rattle around inside. "Enough for two people. Ingest directly, spike a drink, cut it and snort it...In any case, it should kick in after thirty minutes." "Really? That's all?" I ask skepticall...

A benefactor?

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 30 in Beast of Burden

The woman takes a step forward, then another, allowing the side of her face to be illuminated. I startle when I realize I recognize her. It's Elise, my ex-boss from the Pet Agency! Ava lets out a keening whine, pushing herself into my side for comfort. She must know Elise as well...

A warning and an invitation

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 29 in Beast of Burden

Some reheated leftovers from the wedding buffet sit neglected on the kitchen counter while the three of us cluster around my boyfriend's laptop, me peering over Greg's shoulder, Ava peering over mine. "Every user has an inbox for receiving messages," says Greg. "System alerts, c...

Back to beginning

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 3 in Beast of Burden

[META][SPOILERS] Reader Poll 2

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 2 in Beast of Burden

(2026/09/08) The "intern" path is complete. After a [short diversion](/story/Turning-the-World-Around-%28COMPLETE%29.75316), I've begun work on the winner of the last poll--a continuation of the "pet Ava" path. Time for another poll to gauge reader interest in future paths! I'll...

Bedroom tour

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 28 in Beast of Burden

"Here's your room," I say to Ava. "You'll be sleeping on Greg's old bed. I hope you don't mind." Her eyes light up. "Mister Bingley!" She picks up the stuffed rabbit I had placed on her pillow alongside some of her other dolls and gives it a heartfelt hug. It's almost enough to...

Resolution

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 27 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

The building housing Auto's core is formidable--thick, impenetrable partitions on all sides. A portal on one side leads into a small chamber featuring a massive steel door. Council Gerard leads Martin, Valerie, me, and a half dozen other councilors into this room, gesturing hopel...

Confrontation

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 26 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

I awake to coughing, Martin's and my own. The air is heavier, harder to breathe, suffused with the smell of smoke. When I turn on my flashlight, it pierces through a faint haze, the beam no longer reaching as far as it did. All of those impromptu fires, I realize--they're poisoni...

A trek through the darkness

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 25 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

The blackness is absolute. On normal nights, the sunstrand still emits a faint bluish glow, just enough to see. This is something else entirely, the kind of utter blindness I can only experience by closing my eyes and placing my hands over my face, or--more recently--needing to r...

Contentment and suspicion

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 24 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

"Oy there!" I greet Martin from across the central yard, rushing into his embrace. We hug for a moment before moving together towards the line for the food station. The sunstrand is fully waxed, and my task for the day is complete. Thirty days have passed since Martin and I join...

The art of low gee fucking

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 23 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

Valerie steps forward and takes her place on Martin's other side, grasping his free hand in hers. She stares at the mesmerizing sight of the circling stars, saying nothing. I stand on my tiptoes so my mouth is close to Martin's ear. "This is your chance," I whisper as quietly as...

Swirling stars

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 22 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

Martin finds me in the showers the next morning, just as I finish my rinsing. "Follow me," he says simply, pulling me down the path and across the central yard to a food station. The four eggs Martin took yesterday from the chicken polly have all been cracked open, their contents...

A stay of leaving

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 21 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

Martin's head whips around. "What?" he says, baffled. "What's this bullshit you're saying?" "I...I've completed my task--escorting you here. Tomorrow, Auto will have something else for me to do, probably back at my own polly, maybe somewhere else. I will need to return." "That'...

The other woman

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 20 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

The polly we reach at the end of the path is a mirror to my home--surrounded by wheat fields on three sides, abutting the redward hills on the fourth. Martin and I soon encounter our first resident, a young man with an armful of laundered bedsheets. "Excuse me," says Martin poli...

Biological imperatives

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 19 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

After a nice shower in the common yard, Martin and I visit the chicken polly's stores to restock our utilities. Martin requests and receives four eggs, which he wraps in protective gauze and places carefully in one of his front satchels. "I saw how much you liked them boiled," he...

A misunderstanding in the night

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 18 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

We set a very good pace along the path as the sunstrand wanes, engaging in pleasant conversation to pass the time. Martin tells me more about his former life on Earth, and I respond with some anecdotes of my own. He truly does not seem bothered by our brief encounter with the pro...

The provisioner

by bartolimieu07

Chapter 17 in Turning the World Around (COMPLETE)

"So...the chicken polly?" says Martin once we're established on the path, the Great Lake retreating and rising behind us. "They are these small creatures with beaks and claws and feathers," I reply. "The females secrete a very delicious--" "Yeah, no, I know what chickens are......