Songbird

By Liza O'Connor

Five hundred years from now, the necessity of population control and a preference for male children has resulted in a shortage of women. Down from the Appalachian Mountains, comes Tory White, an unusually tall and muscular young woman. Unable to read, she is deceived into signing a lifelong contract as a concubine. Entirely unsuitable for the position, she soon finds herself slotted for the 'beds', where few girls live beyond a month. Yet, her honest and forthright manner charms the head of security into saving her and sets her upon a path in which she becomes the 'heart' of the world and the savior of man's future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: New Authors Online
• Release date: Sep 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393684572

Liza O'Connor

   Liza lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels. She loves to create interesting characters, set them loose, and scribe what happens in a myriad of genres. http://www.lizaoconnor.com/   

Book preview

Prologue

The young woman sat stiffly on the rough-hewn bench beneath arching steel beams. She wore her best loom-woven party dress. Her hands betrayed her nervousness as they twisted, clenching and releasing each other. How much longer? Her voice was barely a whisper.

Her mother glanced at the digital clock on the aluminum wall that cut the massive cargo space into a small lobby. Another hour. Dana, why are you whispering?

Dana’s eyes rounded in awe. Because we’re in the ship that carried our ancestors from Earth. I’ve always wanted to see it from the inside.

You’ll see it plenty once you begin bearing children. She waved at the southern wall. But on the other side. That’s where the hospital is.

I’m not interested in that part of the ship. I like this section. It’s so historical.

Her mother rubbed the small of her back and arched her spine. It’s old, and long ago stopped being a ship. It’s now the municipal building, nothing more. Could do with better seating.

Dana stood and paced the three-foot area between the two rows of wooden benches. I wish they would tell me now who will be my husbands. I’m tired of waiting. I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life.

Her mother laughed at her daughter’s complaint. You insisted on coming at dawn. She gripped Dana’s arm, staring into her eyes with affection. Did you think the councilmen would rush their decision if you showed up early?

The young woman bit her bottom lip and sat down beside her mother. Do you think one will be Sean? I so want to be his wife. He’s so cute. Don’t you think he’s the cutest boy on Sanctuary?

Her mother petted her hair, soothing her. It will be whoever the council decides is ready to join a family unit. But rest assured, they will be good men and you will love them because that is our way.

Our teacher said that long ago on Earth a girl and boy would meet, fall in love, and marry. Just to each other.

That was a very long time ago, and it directly led to a population explosion that created mass starvations and riots in the 2200’s.

Yes. And because of that, they made marriage illegal and to even wish aloud for it to be otherwise was punishable by death.

Her mother sighed and shook her head. "It was a bit more complicated than that. In my opinion, the trouble started because of the Earthers’ belief that the number and sex of children should be their personal decision. Most people chose to have a son, thinking a boy would have a better chance in those difficult economic times. The result of all those individual decisions was that very few girls were born, and before their politicians could put the world’s survival before their re-elections, the ratio of men to women shot up to a hundred to one. That in itself brought the population crashing down. But it was too little, too late. The damage and bad decisions were already set in stone.

Thankfully, we’ve learned from their mistakes, and put the matter of deciding how many children and their sex into the Council’s hands.

Fluffing out her skirt, Dana chuckled. A hundred men to every woman. I can only dream!

Her mother’s mouth fell open in shock. There was nothing to dream about, believe me. You’ll learn soon enough about men’s needs.

With arrogance only the youth can maintain, the young woman replied, We learned all about that in school. Men get irritable if they don’t have sexual release once every four days.

That’s here. On Earth, the men became beasts. They would satisfy their needs anytime they saw a female not adequately protected. They’d sometimes kill a woman in the process of gaining their release. Finally, the government was forced to take action. Only the elite and upper middle classes were allowed to breed. The poorer women and even those in the middle class who lacked protection were gathered into compounds called Gentlemen’s Clubs, where they became concubines: property of the World Government. They were, in essence, sex slaves.

The young woman’s eyes rounded in shock. Our teacher never told us that.

That’s because you were a child, but you are now a woman, about to begin her family unit. Sit next to me and I will tell you the story of Earth’s most extraordinary concubine. She captured the hearts of a world in chaos and held them in thrall long enough to save humanity.

The young woman transformed into a young girl, with excited eyes, waiting in anticipation for a grand treat.

Her mother smiled. Her name was Tory, but she was called the Songbird, the most unlikely concubine there ever was.

Chapter 1

For the first time in her life, Tory White was uncertain what to do.

Just smile at the man and play that song I taught you, Leroy hissed in her ear.

Cradling the old guitar in her arms, Tory took a deep breath, stepped onto the empty stage and settled on the metal stool.

What’s your name, honey? the heavy-set man in his fifties, seated mid-row, asked.

Tory White, she said, carefully articulating her vowels as Leroy had taught her.

She remembered the first of his many lectures. People don’t like the Appalachian twang. They think you’re ignorant when you talk like that. You’ve got enough going against you, Tory, being bigger than most men. You need to improve the parts you can.

That’s what Leroy had told her, and she expected it was true. The few times she’d forgotten and answered in her normal manner, people would reply, talking really slow as if she were mentally impaired.

You like entertaining men? the man asked.

She was a bit put off by the way he asked the question, but upon consideration, it made sense. Leroy said this place was a club where men came for entertainment and if she impressed them with her singing, they’d get signed on as a startup band.

That’s how you’ve got to do it. Pay your dues at the bottom and work your way up. One day, I’m going to be famous, Tory, just wait and see if I’m not, Leroy had said with eyes that shined with anticipation.

We’re gonna be famous, she’d corrected him mentally.

And now was their chance. Focusing on the thinning hair that the fellow combed from one ear to the other, she replied, We like entertaining most anybody, I reckon.

The man frowned and spoke to Leroy, who was seated next to him. Leroy had already performed, and the man seemed to like him. She watched Leroy reply with great intensity, even though he kept his voice so low she couldn’t hear.

Finally, the fat man sighed and scrunched his face as if his breakfast had gone bad on him. Well, sing a bit and let me hear you.

Tory knew the man didn’t want to hire her. She was too big, almost six-feet tall, and very strong. Her mother said that she should have been a man. Tory could take down her brothers in a blink of an eye, despite they were just as tall and weighed a good hundred pounds more.

It wasn’t her fault she was so large. She ate hardly anything. Even Leroy had been amazed at how little food she needed. She really wasn’t big boned either. She was just tall, and muscular. Her grams said in the old days, people would have thought her beautiful, for she had the body of an athlete. Women were proud to be athletes back then.

Grams had a black belt in several martial arts and evidently, a black belt was the best you could be. But then everything changed, and women weren’t allowed to do stuff like that no more. So, Grams returned to the mountains to escape the changes. Her reason never made sense to Tory ‘cause women were only allowed to cook, clean, and keep a garden in the mountains. Weren’t no martial arts there either. But Grams never seemed to mind doing her chores. Maybe she’d been talking about other changes...

I don’t have all day! the man snapped.

Tory could see Leroy glaring at her from his seat beside the fellow. She’d just ruined their chance to be the startup band. Well, probably ruined it—she hadn’t actually sung, yet. She’d just have to do her best and see what happened.

Leroy had told her to sing a fast-little ditty with dirty lyrics, but she didn’t like the song and didn’t think she sang it well, so she sang a ballad that talked of virtue and innocence. Everyone always said it sounded pretty with her soft lilting tones. When she finished the song, no one applauded. The man still looked as if his stomach hurt, and Leroy glared at her in fury for not playing his choice of songs.

Why Leroy Stubs thought she would do everything he said always baffled her. He wasn’t her husband. Hell, he wasn’t even her boyfriend. He was just a musician who made his way into the Appalachians on occasion to find a partner to soften his voice. He’d show up a year later and people would ask what happened to the girl he took with him the year before. The answer was always the same. She got tired of the hard life, found her a husband, and settled down in a town along the way.

Having traveled with Leroy for six weeks, Tory understood why a girl would get tired of Leroy Stubs. He was pretty as a picture with long blond locks and a smile that made you like him right off. But being so pretty must have spoiled his insides. He was the most selfish, self-centered man-child she’d ever met, and that was saying a lot.

Yet, right now, she felt bad for him. They lost their chance to play as the startup band because she was so big. Leroy hadn’t wanted to take her as his partner. He’d wanted to take her little sister, but Pa said it was her or nobody, so in the end, Leroy sighed and said he hoped she’d do.

Now it was the fat man sighing. Well, it takes all kinds. He frowned at her. Come over here and read your contract. And don’t go skimming over it. You’ll be held to every word and you’d best understand what you’re signing. There’s no getting out of it later.

So, her choice of song had been the right one to play after all. She took the long page with tiny print in her hands, stared at each word for a moment and moved on to the next. It was very tedious, but Leroy told her this was the way she had to do it. Otherwise, they would know she couldn’t read, which would get her in hot water. Here in the towns, it was illegal for a person not to know how to read.

Grams knew how to read, or at least she could when she was a girl, but there weren’t no books in the mountains but one bible. Only the boys were allowed to read that. Girls didn’t need to know about reading, they just needed to be obedient, mind their husbands, and keep a good house and garden.

Tory didn’t see anything wrong with that, except that none of the men wanted her for their wife, what with her being taller than all the young men needing wives. Didn’t mean they weren’t always after her to spread her legs, but because they weren’t her husband, she didn’t have to obey them, and her foot could wallop a powerful ‘no’.

It took almost a half-hour for her to finish staring at each word on the page. When she finished, she picked up the pen and signed her name.

Date it, the fat man insisted.

She had no idea what he meant. Leroy leaned over and pointed to his signed contract. That’s the date right here, Tory, he said, and then explained to the man, We’ve been traveling so long to get here, that she must have lost track of the days.

Tory copied down each of his marks beside her name and handed the paper to the fat man.

He took it and frowned, as if having second thoughts. Finally, he counted out some money and handed it to Leroy. You’ve a one-month contract. Cause any trouble, be late to a single performance, hurt any of the girls, and you’re gone for good.

To Tory’s ear, his gone for good sounded a bit more ominous than you can’t come back again, and by the fear on Leroy’s face, he must have heard the same.

I promise, I won’t cause any trouble. He then glared at Tory.

Tory smiled at the man. I’ll be good as well.

The fat man’s right eyebrow rose an inch as he frowned. Good to know.

He then waved down a man, leaning on the back wall of the auditorium. This new man had what Grams would have called a silent walk, yet he was big as a bear. In fact, he was a good four inches taller than Tory and twice as broad. He had more muscles than any man she’d ever seen. He must do some heavy lifting in his job. She smiled at him when he stood before her.

New girl. The fat man nodded his head in the direction of Tory.

Tory held out her hand. Careful with her vowels, she gave the tall man her name.

He looked at her hand in surprise, and then shook it with a firm grip. Link Taylor.

He did not smile when he said his name, but then he had said it more like a fact, rather than a greeting. Tory thought his response odd, but it didn’t insult her. Why should he be glad to meet her? The only thing he knew about her, just now, was that she was really big, and that was hardly something to be glad about.

Mr. Taylor turned to the fat man. Jack, I need to speak to you. He glanced at her and Leroy and added, Alone.

Leroy grabbed her hand and pulled her up the aisle and outside. The moment he hit the sunshine, he let out a loud whoop. I did it! I finally did it!

Tory smiled. What do we do now?

Leroy stared at her in confusion. Well, I’m going to find my group and introduce myself. I don’t care what you do, as long as you aren’t tagging along with me.

Tory blinked. What group? You and I are a duet.

Sorry kid, but lady luck just reshuffled the deck. One of the backup singers for the Lost Children is sick and I’m taking his place for a whole month.

Her mouth fell open. But what am I supposed to do?

You, you, you! You know, you aren’t the only person on this planet! Damn, but you are the most selfish creature I’ve ever met. Can’t you be happy for me just for one moment? This is my chance at the big time. Don’t you understand how important it is?

Tory didn’t see how singing backup was such a big deal. She’d never heard of any backup singer becoming a star. In fact, her brother said it was the kiss of death and had warned her not to do it, even if the option was starving. She didn’t mention this to Leroy, mostly because he had stormed off and she had too much dignity to run after him.

She watched as he approached two pretty girls dressed in the shortest skirts she’d ever seen. They smiled when he spoke to them and one pointed to a building in the distance. Then he wrapped his arms around their waists, and they headed off in that direction.

She watched as Leroy’s hand slipped below the skirts of the girls. She expected them to haul off and knock the shit out of him, but they didn’t do anything. They didn’t even object.

She sighed. Well, at least he wouldn’t be pawing on her anymore, not with stupid girls like that around.

Suddenly, her whole body tingled. Turning to find the source, she located Link Taylor a few steps behind, studying her with the intensity of a hawk. His sunglasses hid his eyes, but she excelled at reading bodies as well as eyes, and his body said he was not happy with her. However, this wasn’t the normal repulsion men felt when they saw how tall and strong that she was. Link Taylor didn’t seem to think her a freak of nature, only a source of potential trouble.

That difference pleased her greatly. She returned his stare, refraining from giving him a smile, which he would undoubtedly expect, given how ruggedly handsome he was. She imagined all women swooned over him. How could they not, with that chiseled, strong chin and high cheekbones. And while his blond hair was cut really short, he had such a nicely shaped head that she couldn’t object to it. And then all those beautiful, bumpy muscles. Nope, there was nothing at all to object to in Link Taylor.

He pointed to a large grey building. That’s the girls’ dorm. Find Miss Dunbery, and she’ll see you settled.

She stared at the ugly building and longed to return to her mountains. Well, it’s not like I’ve got to live in the damn thing, she muttered and walked off. She had walked about ten feet, when she realized she had forgotten to thank Mr. Taylor. She turned to discover him staring straight at her.

Thank you, she called out and continued toward the building. Link Taylor aside, she couldn’t wait until this month was over. And when she left here, she was going home!

Chapter 2

As Tory entered the dreary grey building, she asked the man guarding the door where she could find Miss Dunbery. He pointed to the first door down the dark hall.

She knocked on the door and waited until she heard someone call out ‘enter’. She had barely passed through the door when a young woman seated at a desk, with a weird black beehive hairdo, screamed upon sight of her. That wasn’t the first time it had happened since she’d come down the mountain, but she thought it damn rude, and wished city people had better manners.

I was told to see a Miss Dunbery. Would that be you? She hoped it wasn’t. The girl didn’t look old enough to be in charge of nothing. But her narrow face was pinched, and her body tensed, like Mrs. Mayfair would get every year when she planned the canning schedule, so Tory wasn’t sure.

The woman shook her head, giving Tory a moment of relief. Then she ruined it by saying, Jack must be on the bottle again, hiring the likes of this. Frantically patting her beehive, she stood up and her eyes widened in horror, as she had to look up a good foot to meet Tory’s eyes. Dear God, what a disaster. She stormed from the room and then stopped. Well, come along! I haven’t got all day.

Miss Dunbery showed Tory to her assigned bed. It was the third bunk on a rack, only two feet beneath the ceiling. The mattress looked to be only five-feet long and two-feet wide.

You’re kidding right? Tory asked the prune-faced young woman.

That’s your assigned bed. It’s not my fault if you don’t fit it. And I hope you have your own clothes, because I’ve nothing in giant size.

I’ve got my own clothes, Tory snapped. And I’ll find my own place to sleep.

The woman laughed with scorn. You think any of the band or security is going to take you on?

Tory was ready to take her on. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. She pulled the blanket from the bed. Noticing she had no pillow, but all the other beds had one, except for the first bed, which had two, she reached down, took one of the two, and headed outside.

Where are you going? Miss Dunbery demanded. She followed behind Tory, yapping at her heels like a shrill mouse-dog. There’s a curfew you know. You have to be in your bed at curfew or I’ll report you and then you’ll be in trouble.

Tory turned and yelled. "Don’t have to wait ‘til curfew.