Torkel's Chosen

Torkel’s Chosen

A World Beyond Novel

By Michelle Howard

Published by Michelle
Howard

Copyright © 2015 by
Michelle Howard

Edited by: bellamedia

Cover Design:
www.estrellacoverart.com

License Notes

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licensed for your personal enjoyment only.  The eBook may not be re-sold or
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No part of this book
may be distributed in any format, in whole or in part without the express
written consent of the author.

Thank you for
respecting the author's hard work.

This is a work of
fiction and is not a reflection or representation of any person living or
dead.  Any similarity is of pure coincidence. 

Chapter 1

Faith confirmed
her receipt and ticket for the thousandth time. Faith Reid in bold black
letters and a red stamp of approval. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Thank
God. This was her third application for the off world Singles Program. ‘Find
Love Among the Stars’ the advertisement claimed. Great except for the fact that
getting in the program was against the odds. Every woman on Earth saved and
scrounged to raise enough money to apply for SP. Thanks to the great epidemic
women now outnumbered men ten to one.

If you were a man
life on Earth was great. You had the pick of the crop and didn’t have to be monogamous.
Stay with a woman long enough until she was pregnant and you could skip away to
the next. Faith snorted and unloaded her one allotted suitcase from the trunk
of the rental shuttle.

She wanted a family
as much as the next woman but not enough to let a man walk all over her and
stick her with the cost of raising a child alone on a world where jobs were
slim and housing was astronomical. Don’t even let her start on the citizen
funded healthcare. Nope, SP was perfect. The only problem was the fact she
wasn’t the only Earth woman to think this.

After much hemming
and hawing, Earth officials had finally announced that human men and women were
compatible with over ninety percent of the species on other worlds. No more
fighting over a man. No more waiting and hoping to find someone special to
start a family.

“Ticket please.”

Faith dragged her
rolling case toward the bored clerk at the entrance to the space station. She
handed over the manila colored ticket and held her breath.

He scanned the
slim document with his handheld unit paying close attention to the digital picture
she’d taken on her web cam. He glanced from her face to the ticket for several
long minutes. Faith’s heart pounded in her chest. Nothing could go wrong. She’d
paid damn near every penny she had to apply. Twenty thousand dollars.

The amount alone
had her leaning against the ticket booth, which drew a quick frown across the
clerk’s brow.

“Sorry,” she
mumbled, trying to relax her erratic pulse. Her nerves stretched thin until he
finally handed the ticket back.

“Proceed through
the double doors behind me, gate C. You’re due to leave in thirty minutes.
Don’t be late or the ship leaves without you and there’s no refunds or
rescheduling.”

“Thanks.” God. Faith
clenched her ticket and headed for the double doors, her suitcase clicking on
the uneven pavement behind her.

Security was
tight. Grey uniformed-clad officers with deadly weapons patrolled the station
in pairs of two. Not even Earth could have imagined the impact of the Singles
Program.

Women inundated
the city and state buildings daily. Some slept outside for fear of losing their
place in line to submit an application. Millions of women willing to take on an
alien husband. Faith was among the million.

Squinting, she
read the overhead signs until she spotted the glowing red letters for Gate C. A
single line of women walked or ran beneath the mesh overhang and archway for
the gate. Faith picked up her pace though not quite running.

When she’d first
applied two years ago after saving her measly salary and living with three
roommates, Faith thought she’d breeze through. She snorted under her breath and
joined the jostling crowd at the gate.

More fool her. It
seemed everyone had the same idea and Faith had been wait-listed for six months
before receiving her first rejection. Too old. She remembered staring at the
big X and the fear grabbing a hold of her.

How could twenty-eight
be too old? She was in the prime of her life and fertile according to her medical
records. A patient lady at the state office customer service had instructed Faith
to submit her medical records with her next application.

She had almost,
almost given up. The thought of using a fertility center to apply for
insemination wasn’t an option. Men weren’t donating sperm as much as they used
to. Why would they when they could sleep with any woman they wanted? The sperm at
the clinics didn’t come with a guarantee of pregnancy and you were out of ten-thousand
dollars.

No, it was better
to spend the extra money for the Singles Program and pray like hell to get
accepted. Faith’s next application resulted in a rejection within two weeks.

Full.

Too many
applicants and not enough slots. She’d been forced to wait. Every day ticked
like a time bomb in her head. If she turned thirty, she’d automatically be
disqualified. Apparently aliens didn’t want old wives when there were many
other Earth women to choose from.

At least Faith had
that in her favor. Earth women were considered prizes. They came in different
sizes, shapes and colors which seemed to fascinate other worlds where the
populations were mostly homogenous. Every man that received a bride from Earth
raved about the match to their friends and family.

A blonde woman
ahead squealed in excitement, hands stretched in the air as she walked through
the full-body x-ray scanner. Some of the women in line tittered. Nerves
probably.

“Please stand
still for the body scan and don’t move until instructed.”

Faith jerked. She
was next in line. “Um…okay.”

“Place your
luggage to the side.”

She moved her
suitcase to where the lady indicated and stood back on the yellow circle.

“Raise your arms.”

Faith put her
hands up in the air like the blonde but without the squeal. Sweat trickled down
her spine. Her thirtieth birthday was in two months. If anything kept her from this
flight today, she could dump her plans down the drain. No man on Earth would
want a thirty-year-old, curvy woman with a few extra pounds around the hips. Why
would he when his choices were limitless?

“Proceed through,
Ms. Reid.”

Faith grabbed the
handle of her suitcase and followed the arrows to departure bay for Gate C. Women
swamped the waiting area. Loud voices overlapped the announcements on the
speakers. Women sat on the carpeted floor or their luggage, while others leaned
against the available wall space. Not a single chair was available.

Glancing around, Faith
laid her suitcase flat and plopped down. Twenty minutes and she’d be on her way
to a strange new world. Fear for the first time since she’d received her
approval letter started to creep up her spine. What if this was the biggest
mistake she ever made? Was a family that important? Plenty of women on Earth
accepted their lot and did without one. 

“Hi, I’m Lindsey.”

The perky voice
interrupted her doom-and-gloom doubts.

Faith tipped her
head up which the squealing blonde from the x-ray line took as agreement to sit
next to her.

“I’m Lindsey Ferra,”
she repeated with a bright grin and extended her hand.

“Fait- Faye Reid.”
She’d always wanted to be called the less formal Faye and this was a new start
so why not a new name. Faye shook the offered hand and stuffed her own back
into her jacket pockets. Spring was here but the inside of the space station had
a bit of a chill in the air.

“Nice to meet you,
Faye. Have you decided where you’re going?”

Faye froze.
Lindsey meanwhile dug through her navy duffle and pulled out a handful of
colorful papers and brochures.

Faye cleared her
throat. Her packet was stuffed inside her suitcase. She’d planned to review the
information in her cabin.

Lindsey jammed
papers in her face. “I’ve narrowed my choices down to three planets.”

Faye took the
papers and stared at Lindsey’s blue eyes. “I thought we had the whole trip to
decide.” It would take at least a week to reach the first planet on the list
for the women making the SP trip.

“Sure,” Lindsey
replied with a casual shrug. “If you don’t care where you’re going. Otherwise
you might get stuck on Ontar Z.”

Was that bad?
“I thought most of the planets in SP were compatible with humans.”

Lindsey curled her
lip and offered Faye a stick of gum. Faye waved it away.

“Well, yeah.
Compatible is as compatible does.” She scrimmaged through her duffle and pulled
out a wrinkled paper. “Ontar Z.”

Faye glanced over
and blanched at the seven foot hairy giant on the cover. He reminded her of
those history texts with images of cavemen.

“Now him,” Lindsey
continued. “I’m not interested in.”

Faye let loose a
nervous chuckle. She couldn’t help it. “I’m not either.” She reached back for
the other papers Lindsey had given her. Maybe she should have started her
selection sooner. She’d been too overwhelmed and relieved to get accepted. “Why
these three?”

Lindsey leaned
over, hitting Faye with a hint of cinnamon from the gum she chewed. “Langhorn.”
She tapped the top page. “Men are highly sexual and very fertile. Average
families run up toward seven kids per couple.”

Faye flinched.
“Seven kids.”

Lindsey snickered.
“I know, right. But I chatted in a couple of forums and the women are pleased
with their lives. They don’t have to work and the men adore them. They just
don’t believe in birth control on Langhorn if you decide to go there.”

“Hmm.” Faye set
the paper on the side, not quite sure she was ready for more kids than she
could carry in her two arms.

“Ooohhhhh, this is
my top choice.” Lindsey fanned her self and pretended to swoon.

Faye’s mouth
curved up at the display. Lindsey couldn’t be more than twenty-one. Her
enthusiasm and attitude were irresistible. It had been a long time since Faye
had talked to another woman in such an easy manner. Most women since the
epidemic had become cruel and malicious. Sadly, the scarcity of men fanned the
competition in every of life.

“Why is…” she
struggled over the name. “Garulax your favorite?”

“Menage,” Lindsey sighed.
“On Garulax every woman is shared by two husbands. Can you imagine? Two men
devoted to your happiness.”

Faye quickly set
the brochure of the orange planet to the side. She needed to handle one man,
not two. The last paper displayed a purple world with blue skies and two moons.
When Faye flipped it open, there were muscled-bound, shirtless men in leather.
Long hair, short hair, some holding swords, others flexing fists. Her breath
caught on the words in quote. ‘Every woman will be honored and loved by her
Chosen.’

“This one looks
good.” Faye could see why Lindsey added it. Enotia

“Maybe.” Lindsey
reached for the paper and tapped her glitter-covered nail on the small print.
“You have to go through an auction or something silly. The men line up and the women
have to pick which one they want for a husband. No meet and greet or anything.
Plus, what if someone picks the guy you’re eyeing.”

Interesting. “Well
why is it in your good stack?”

Lindsey chuckled.
“Duh…did you see what the guys looked like?”

They both laughed
because the men were hot.

“I think I’m going
to Garulax. You should pick early too so you don’t get stuck with just any
world. I hear they fill up fast because they include women from other worlds
too in the Singles Program.”

Faye straightened.
“How do I do that?”

“As soon as you
get to your cabin, log in with the password in your packet and pick your
planet. It’s best to get it out of the way.”

“Thanks.”

Lindsey leaned
over and hugged Faye. “We women from Earth have to stick together right?”

“Absolutely.” Faye
didn’t have any girlfriends. Despite her age and curves women considered her a
threat. On Earth, every woman was a threat.

“Now why’d you
sign up? A man of your own or the thought of little, wittle babies?”

Faye smiled at the
teasing. Only two reasons women on Earth saved every dime they made. “Both. My
parents are dead and I was an only child.”

“They were
monogamous?”

“Yes.” Her parents’
relationship was unusual in the times they lived in but neither had wanted
anyone else.

“I can’t imagine.
My dad stuck with my mom long enough to get me planted and went on his way five
thousand richer. From last count, I have sixteen siblings somewhere and my
donor’s a rich man from selling his stud services.”

Her new friend came
to her feet and slung her duffle over her shoulder, jamming her three choices
in the opened zipper. “That life’s not for me.”

“Now boarding Gate
C.”

They both jerked
from the announcement, Lindsey showing her first sign of nerves.

“It was nice
meeting you, Faye. Good luck.”

Faye rose from the
floor. “Good luck.”

Faye grabbed her
suitcase and rushed with Lindsey and the crowd to the line forming for the ship
that would take her to her future.