“Oh my god Beth, stop!”

  “But the hologram function makes his dick pics so much better! And let me tell you, it is gorgeous!” she said whilst looking at her phone. Turning to Theo and noting the look on his face, she laughed. “Fine, you prude.” Putting her phone away, she fell back onto his bed where the two of them had been setting up to watch a movie.

  “I take it there has been no action for you then?” she asked with some residual amusement.

  “Hardly, most people still look at me like I am the Special Ed kid.” Theo sighed. It had been a while, though truth be told, he had not had much motivation to think about sex recently.

  “I can put out some feelers if you want, some people like a taste of the exotic,” she said mischievously, giving him a wink.

  “I am not going to be someone’s norm notch, even if there is an itch that needs to be scratched,” he said in frustration. “Gah, let’s just watch a movie, this is not a helpful topic of conversation.”

  “Suit yourself, though we should wait for Carrie.”

  “Fine. What is it we are watching anyway?” Theo grabbed the popcorn and drinks from his kitchenette and made his way back to the bed. Beth had already found the remote and started flipping through the movie channel.

  “Lesbian Vampire Killers. It’s a classic,” she said.

  “You have got to be joking me; I would rather watch Cat’s. Besides, vampires are so fifteen years ago.” He paused, frowning.

  “Come on, surely the quality acting and top class special …” Despite her mercurial nature, Beth was quick to pick up on Theo’s shift in mood. “Are you ok? Oh fuck, of course! I’m sorry Theo that was stupid of me. We can watch something else.”

  “No, it’s fine. I probably need a bit of silly right now.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Theo hesitated, his recent conversation still fresh in his mind.

  “Do you know Patrick?”

  “Of course, everyone knows who Patrick is. He’s like the face of the Coop for the insensate world here in Melbourne. He’s the one who helps keep our world hidden, at least from those who are not in the know.”

  “Well, Patrick was the one who found me on the night of the raid. He is keeping an ear out for my friend who went missing that night.” His voice had gotten softer as he slowly disclosed the stress he had been holding in. “I spoke to him earlier. They are still looking.”

  “Fuck, Theo. I’m sorry. I am sure your friend is alright.”

  “I hope so. It seems like they are slowly narrowing down the leads, but they haven’t found anything yet. No news is good news, I suppose.” He sighed, putting down the drinks and popcorn, and sat on the edge of his bed. Beth sat up and grabbed his hand.

  “Damn the Tagma,” she said.

  “Pat thinks there is a chance to find him alive.”

  “Or a blood convert.” She grimaced. “Gah, my damn mouth.”

  “It’s alright, it’s something that I need to be prepared for I suppose.”

  “It’s not alright!” she said fiercely. “We understand the world we’ve been raised in. We know what the risks are, but you and your friends had no idea. This is why we train and fight, to protect the norms from the evil that exists out there.”

  “Is it?” he said softly. “Are they really protecting the world? Or are they just trying to protect themselves? I mean, wouldn’t it be better if everyone knew about the risks the Tagma posed?”

  Beth pursed her lips.

  “I can see why you might think that, being so new to this world. Honestly, I don’t know. I only know that this is how it has always been. Our worlds have always been divided. My mum always said that norms have too much fear of the unknown. People don’t like the feeling of fear, and they can act in stupid ways because of it. Perhaps we remain invisible so the rest of the world can feel safe?”

  “Or at least free,” Theo said. “I imagine if the world knew about those that had the ability to use aether, then they would quickly be co-opted and controlled. It would be like the cold war, but on a bigger scale. I wonder if the cold war has ever truly ended. Truthfully, I am so new to all of this, I don’t even know what is possible in this world we live in.”

  “Maybe ask Patrick about it? I am sure he has a better grasp of this. Politics makes my head hurt.” She grimaced, though her expression cleared quickly. “Patrick is rather cute.”

  “You have a one-track mind lady!” Theo laughed despite himself.

  “What? Can’t blame a girl for having eyes, right?”

  “It’s not your eyes I’m worried about,” he scoffed. “So, what’s with this Tagma anyway? You said you could tell me about them.”

  “Right! I did. Well, there are a few different organisations, the Cooperative and the Tagma Aimatos are the biggest of them. The Council is another group, made up mostly of First Nations people from around the world. They consult with the Coop every now and again, but they are more focused on maintaining the balance between the human and natural worlds. There are other smaller groups, each of them focused on different areas. It is the Tagma that runs most contrary to the world in which we live.”

  “What makes them so different? Aside from the obvious kidnapping and massacres that is,” he said.

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  “You probably know enough about cultivation now to understand, but the Tagma are made up of groups that cultivate in a different way than we do. They draw in aether mainly through consumption rather than cultivation. They absorb the energy of people through their blood; some even drink it.” She shuddered. “They’re just like animals. At least, that’s what I was told.”

  “So, they’re fucking cannibals?” He shuddered, and then had a moment of panic thinking about Jimmy. “Are they like vampires or what? How does that even work?”

  “Not vampires, we call them blood sworn. They draw the aether from their victims through their flesh and blood, with the more powerful cultivators being able do it to people who are still alive. There are also the witches, who use death magic. When you start cultivating that way, it changes your body and you can only absorb aether through consumption, and not like the way we do it.

  “It’s almost the same as animals that have evolved from exposure to aether. We don’t always catch them all at the anomalies. They grow stronger from consuming the aether in the bodies of the other animals or people they eat. Most animals aren’t able to develop intelligence, though there are a few that have done so over time. Where do you think myths of werewolves and other creatures came from?”

  “Wow, ok. That does make sense… Hang on, are you telling me werewolves are real?”

  “All of it is real!” she exclaimed. In her excitement, she had grabbed Theo’s hand again, which was slowly getting crushed. “Not all of them are part of the Tagma though. There are neutral groups who try to get along with the human world as well. They utilise the anomalies the same way that we do, using them to grow stronger, and to gather resources.”

  “How long has this being going on for? I mean this battle between the Coop and the Tagma?” Theo grabbed his drink while waiting for Beth to answer, giving his fingers a break from her grip.

  “Carrie would know more about this than me, I’ve never been that good at history; or study at all really.” Beth laughed. “But I do know it’s been going on for a long time. I think it used to be more harmonious, before modern society, but population density is making resources scarcer. And well, we are food to them.”

  “Makes sense, I have very little interest in being a Theo-burrito.”

  Which earnt a groan from Beth. They both turned towards a knock at the door. Knowing that it was going to be Carrie, Theo unlocked it from his watch, not getting up from the bed. It took Carrie only a moment to make her way from the entrance, dumping a bag of treats onto the bed, before slumping into the chair next to it.

  “I am buggered! I am so ready to just chill out for a while.” Despite her claims of fatigue, Carrie looked radiant. Her long blond hair was tied back into a high pony tail, and her skin glowed. She wore the same track gear that Theo and Beth were wearing, though somehow, she made hers look like it had been ordered from a fashion catalogue.

  “You know I hate you sometimes, Carrie.” Beth sighed. “Just look at those legs! Where do they even end?” Carrie laughed, lifting one of her legs into a high point, before crossing it over the other, Basic Instinct style.

  “But I don’t have your tits Beth, you’ve got me there,” Carrie said.

  “That’s true” Beth mused, grabbing her boobs, and squeezing them together. They both laughed at Theo’s face.

  “Oh right, Theo and I were talking about the Tagma, but you are better at history than I am Carrie. How long has it all been going on for?”

  “Hmm, depends on who you ask. We became known as the Cooperative post industrialisation, when international movement became more common in the insensate world. The Coop restructured and took on a more business model approach, though you can still see military influences.” She leant forward as she became more engrossed in the topic.

  “We don’t know a huge amount about the internal workings of the Tagma. Like us, blood sworn can live for a long time, and I’ve heard their power structure is influenced by their elders. We have had run-ins with two distinct castes. There are the subs, which are basically humans with enhanced physical characteristics, but they don’t really develop many aetheric skills. They also lose most of the basic intelligence that separates humans from animals. That doesn’t mean they are not dangerous though. The more they consume, the stronger they grow.

  “The Witches and cultivators are the main problem, and we think they cultivate and grow similarly to us, though more in line with beast cultivation than human. As a baseline, they are stronger and faster than we are, but they generally have less adaptability in their skills.

  “There are also some Weres that join the Tagma, though the other half are part of their own communities and generally try to integrate into insensate society. They largely work with the Council being more nature aligned.”

  “Beth mentioned the Council and the Were’s. Are there any Were groups here in Oz?” He had a spark of inspiration. “Could you imagine Were-Koala’s? That would be fucking awesome!” Theo laughed and the girls joined him, though Carrie quickly destroyed the fantasy.

  “Koala’s are too stoned all the time to develop intelligence when exposed to an aetheric anomaly. I haven’t heard of any natives evolving, but I could be wrong. We do have some immigrated groups, but a lot of them live rural and tend to avoid the cities. They need space to shift, though the full moon is just a myth. I did chat to a werewolf once, and they can cultivate almost like a human on the full moon, but like most animal types, they get most of their aether through eating.”

  “That is so awesome.” Theo had grown up on a solid mix of Teen Wolf and Anne Rice; finding out they existed was all kinds of exciting. “Are there any good blood witches?”

  “To my knowledge, there has never been a blood witch or cultist that has been willing to work with humans. There were some attempts to negotiate with them in the States in the sixties I think, which failed abysmally. They are just routinely exterminated now.”

  “Ok. So, who runs the recruitment drives then?” Theo asked.

  “Good question, I don’t know really. I imagine those higher up know more. There must be someone, or a group of someone’s that have a lot of power to be able to make them coordinate. The Tagma tend to be solitary and territorial otherwise. The most they’ll usually organise is in family groups.”

  “I suppose you don’t usually live where you work, so that makes sense. Well, apart from us idiots anyway,” he laughed.

  “That’s true,” Carrie agreed. “Communication is also much easier now than it used to be, so the organisation doesn’t need to be together to remain effective. We once had a response team come and do a presentation at my high school, it seems they are like most terrorist groups and operate in cells. They are slippery and fanatically loyal.

  “To my knowledge, we have never caught anyone from their leadership group, and they tend to kill themselves, rather than let themselves be captured. The Carceri are another organisation you should know about. They manage the prisons that hold blood cultists and rogue cultivators. They specialise in restraining techniques.”

  “Well, it’s more than I knew before. Thanks ladies.” Theo was grateful to the girls. Despite the stress of waiting for news about Jimmy, he was starting to feel more comfortable in his new life, particularly now that he had shared some of the stress that had been sitting on his shoulders.

  “I have found our movie!” Beth cried. “We are watching Zombie Strippers!”

  “Seriously Beth?” Carrie rolled her eyes.

  “Right?” Theo agreed with Carrie. “What’s with the D-grade fetish?”

  “You know all about my D fetish, boy.” Her voice had dropped an octave. She winked at him with another laugh.

  “Uggh, my lord. Beth, you’re hopeless.”

  Set to the backdrop of Beth trying to persuade Carrie to check out her most recent sexting, Theo realised that some of the tension he had been holding had started to shift. There were still moments where he thought about his old life, but there was not a huge amount that he missed. He did hope that his brother was doing ok out there, but he had given up trying to play a positive role in his brother’s life a long time ago. Perhaps when he made it through the program, he would have an opportunity to look in on some of the people he had left behind. For now, though, it was time to focus on his new life.

  Even if that meant D grade movies and holographic dick pics.