The steel, elevator door opened in front of Justin’s face to reveal a large kitchen and seating area. It was open, spacious and light in color. Large windows streamed natural light into the kitchen, giving Justin a view of a clear, white sanded Caribbean beach. Justin stepped into the kitchen as the elevator door closed behind him and he was alone in the foreign house that was now his. Now to find his new mate. The Creators had told him that since he was a good looking specimen, he would get a beautiful mate, and despite himself, he was excited to meet her. He stepped quietly through the beach house and entered a bedroom to the right of the kitchen. It stretched out, larger than the kitchen, with two king sized beds on either side. Through a door, in the center of the room, was a large master bathroom, with a hot tub and shower inside. Justin exited the bedroom and soon entered a library across the large kitchen and living room. Inside the library, he found her. Rows and rows of books stretched in either direction and in the center of the room were four long sofas. On one of the sofas, a tall, blonde girl stretched out in sleep. Long, bleach blonde hair spooled down her shoulders and onto the sofa. Her long, delicate fingers stretched across her stomach. She wore only plain jean shorts and a large sweatshirt, but to Justin, she looked like Sleeping Beauty.

He approached gingerly, afraid to wake her from her nap. But as soon as he became close enough to touch her, her limp body went tense and her eyes flew open. Justin took a shocked step back as her turquoise eyes narrowed onto him. Then, she promptly threw a book at him.

It had been lying beside her, opened onto a small coffee table and she snatched it faster than he could blink, hitting him right in the gut.

“Hey!” He protested, scrambling behind one of the other sofas for cover.

“Who are you?” She demanded, a British accent only pushing Justin’s curiosity. As far as he knew, the Human Rescue Center was far away from England.

“You’re English?” He demanded, poking his head out to peer at her. She was approaching his sofa, another book in hand.

“And you’re most definitely Australian.”

“I’m not actually.” Justin said, backing away as she came closer, “I’m from New Zealand.”

“Same thing.” She threw the book.

Justin ducked away, “Will you stop, please? And it’s not the same thing.”

“I will stop when you tell me who you are.” She raised another book in the air.

“I’m Justin Sanchez!”

“That means nothing to me. What are you doing here?”

Justin didn’t know what was happening. He thought she would’ve been aware of his coming, “I’m your new mate?”

She froze, the book dropping from her hand. Then she seemed to recover enough to look him up and down. Then, frowning, she stormed past him and back into the kitchen.

She went up to the Creator screen next to the elevator and slammed her fist on the ‘Assistance’ button.

“Take him back!” She snapped into the mic, “I want Henry back!”

A robotic voice replied over the monitor, “Henry Black was not a compatible enough mate. You have received an upgrade.”

“I don’t want an upgrade! Henry was fine!”

“Henry Black has been released.”

“Why was he released and not me?”

“Henry Black was not compatible.”

“Why wasn’t he?”

Justin came to stand behind the strange girl, listening to the conversation between her and the robotic screen.

“Henry Black was not compatible.”

“You stupid piece of scrap metal and cheap technology!!” She screamed at it, “Take. Him. Back!”

“Hey!” Justin snapped, “I’m right here, you know.”

Justin was sure the technology used to create the Human Rescue Center was anything but cheap.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She snarled, not bothering to turn around even when the Creator screen went dark.

“I have rules. You don’t touch me, you don’t talk to me, you don’t look at me, you don’t even breath on me. Got it?”

Justin blinked, “Uh. But aren’t we supposed to be mates?”

“Yes.” She growled, turning on him, “But that doesn’t mean I’m doing a thing that these so called ‘Creators’ want me to do.”

“Maybe that’s why Henry’s gone.” Justin noted as she walked past him.

“If you wake up in the morning, don’t wake me up. I sleep in. Just pretend that you’re living by yourself.” She ignored his comment, “I get the bed on the right side.”

Justin nodded, “Fair enough.”

Then she vanished back into the library, firmly shutting the white wooden door.

Justin turned back into the bedroom, sighing and running his fingers through his hair. Then, on second thought, he turned and scrambled to the library door.

“Was Henry hotter?” He yelled through the key hole.

“No.” Was her far off reply.

“Then what’s your problem?”

“I refuse to have my life be controlled by other people, especially my love life.”

“Can you give me a chance?”

There was hesitation, “No.”

“You hesitated.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Go soak your head!”

“Can I at least know your name?”

“Crystal.”

“Despite the fact that you just threw three books at me and screamed at the control monitor to ‘take me back’, it’s nice to meet you.”

There was just a grunt from the other side.

“We’re going to be friends.” Justin continued

“I thought I said no talking?” She snapped.

“Well I’m not living the rest of my life without talking to someone, so screw that rule.”Justin replied.

The library door flew open and Crystal stood there, glaring at him. For a moment, she didn’t speak. Instead she merely gazed at him, a confused frown crossing her beautiful face.

“Why would you want to talk to me?”

Justin blinked, “Because you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen and also you threw a book at me so I’m expecting an apology and I also tend to be a very social person. So. I like people.”

She scowled, “I hate people. So as long as you stay out of my way, we’ll be fine.”

She stepped out of the library, moving past him into the kitchen again.

“Can you at least explain to me how this works? What we do here?”

“We eat. We sleep. We vacation. We fall in love. We get married. Have children. Our children have superpowers. The Creators take them away at a certain age and we never see them again. When we get too old to have children, say about forty or forty-five, the Creators take us away.”

“Where to?” Justin asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been taken away.”

“How old are you then?”

She tapped a few buttons on the creator screen and pressed the menu button. Then pushed the image of a mango daiquiri and went to stand beside the small slot beside the elevator where their food would come out of.

“I’m nineteen.” She said simply.

Justin was only a year older than her, but it bothered him that she’d been here before him. She was younger and had been exposed to whatever was happening earlier than him.

“How long have you been here?”

“Two years.”

“Two years?” Justin stepped into the kitchen with her, “Don’t you get bored?”

“Well, Henry was here before you. He was good company.”

“Good company, or great company?” Justin asked.

“He was a friend.”

“I’m hoping you don’t friend zone me like you friend zoned poor Henry.”

“There will be no friend zoning because we aren’t friends.”

“Ah ha. So we’re more than friends.”

“No. We…” She motioned to the space between them, “Are nothing.”

“Yet.”

She rolled her eyes, but Justin could see the hint of a smile on her lips as she turned away from him to receive her drink.