The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

was anybody there. And that uncertainty was weighing heavily inside my stomach. Sometimes I felt sure this structure was made for human uses; the next moment, I would feel equally sure there could be nobody out in this barren place, and I was guarding pointlessly. It made me twitchy and nervous, in spite of the heat trying to suck the energy away from me.

Smacking my lips together to try to generate a little moisture, I once again changed my orbit, moving closer to the edge that sat some sixty feet from the nose of the heloship. It was a bit far, but the area was so wide, I figured I would be able to see anything before it got too close.

As I passed by, I looked under the heloship’s wing to see Kathryn leaning heavily against the side of it, and Belinda’s legs sticking out from the hole we had opened up on the side. I drew nearer to the northern edge of the platform, trying to ignore the feeling of vertigo as the expansive wasteland opened up below me. It did not escape me that we were standing extraordinarily high, but… it also didn’t bother me as much as it normally might. The platform felt sturdy under my feet, and it helped to steady me.

As the expanse grew, I frowned when I saw a splash of blue appear, and moved forward a little faster. The blue—a slim line initially—broadened and grew as I drew nearer, until I realized that what I was looking at was the river. I drew to a stop, sweat trickling down my back and my skin already feeling tighter and hotter than it should.

Turning back, I confirmed what I already knew: the river on the south side of the tower was still there, and still green. Then I turned back again to confirm the other truth: the river I could make out there, flowing north, was clearly blue—and not a natural shade. In spite of all of the ambient light and direct sunshine, the river still managed to glow an unhealthy hue.

Had there been any moisture in my mouth, it would’ve evaporated instantly. I raced over to the edge, slowing to a stop and then kneeling down next to it. I braced myself, and then, ever so slowly, began to peek over the edge.

I had to stop as a wave of dizziness engulfed me. Leaning back, I exhaled, trying to calm the queasy twisting of my stomach, and then sucked in a deep calming breath, steeling myself. Then, leaning forward, I started with my eyes glued to the building, allowing them to slowly drift up and then over as I continued to lean forward.

They traveled down the side of the platform—it was hard to tell how thick it was without any frame of reference, but I guessed the entire thing had to be at least twenty to thirty feet. Below it, the yellow-orange earth stretched out, and alongside that, just next to the tower, flowed the river, glowing that same eerie blue. I lifted my head and felt a sick churning sensation in my gut.

There must be people inside this tower. Because they were somehow responsible for the toxicity of the Veil River.

But how, or why? Were they aware they were doing it? Maybe they merely didn’t care. What were they doing inside to produce that level of pollution? And why wasn’t there any sign of a toxic zone like The Green—could it be that nothing could grow out here, even with water?

If so, that meant there might not be people inside, and—

A sudden movement behind me caused my muscles to react instinctively, and I dropped low. I felt something impact my hip, heard a small noise of surprise, and felt more than saw a would-be assailant tumble over me and start to pitch over the edge. On impulse—I wouldn’t have been able to do it if my rational mind had thought about it—I reached out and grabbed a handful of the white fabric suit the person was wearing and yanked with all my might.

We both tumbled back onto the relative safety of the platform, but I was still mostly upright. He landed on his backside, giving me my first look at him. Or her. It was hard to tell under the white biohazard suit that seemed to encase them, including little booties over their feet. They were wearing a mask with a filtration device, but the visor was tinted to block out the sun.

Reaching forward, I snatched the hood off, revealing a man with a round face and black, pencil-thin mustache. He blinked up at me, clearly surprised.

“Who are you?” I asked, and his eyes grew wider. He reached for something on his belt—a black stick with a rounded top—and I scrambled back to put some distance between us, keenly aware of the edge behind my back.

Then something jabbed me in between my shoulder blades, and the muscles in my body seized up as wave after wave of electrical energy was pushed through them. I recognized the feeling from the Liberator suit I had worn, only this charge was stronger and far more painful. For a horrible moment, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything save feel the agony. And then, all at once, it stopped, and I fell to the floor.

I lay there, my muscles twitching violently and pain still coursing through my nerves, making my body tremble and my breath come in sharp pants. I looked around and realized another figure had joined the first, their white-clad legs now coming into view. They must have been the one who had hit me with… whatever that was. Just beyond them, I made out three more white-clad figures, heading toward Kathryn and Belinda.

Somehow, I mustered up enough energy to stand, yanking my gun out. They hadn’t even tried to take it, but I couldn’t think about that too hard as I regarded the two people from behind it.

“Enough of this,” I said, trying