Sinth Source - A Sci-Fi Alien Romance: Sinth Strain Book 2

by Pearl Tate

  This is exactly why I wish Payak was here! “Payak!” I try again through our interdimensional implant.

  Nothing.

  Alright. I can do this. Let’s start with the ridiculous, neon orange hat he’s wearing.

  Phasing in, I knock it off his head, but not before another banshee cry rises out of the crowd, and the entire group sprints over. The male has turned just enough to see me as the first transitioned runs through where I was standing, slamming into him. He’s a sturdy Earth male, that’s for sure!

  More than one of the smaller Earth species runs into him before flying off and either hitting the ground or staggering away, still looking for where I disappeared to. Unfortunately, exposing his head shows me nothing. No scratches and no bites on his face or neck where the hat came down over the back of his jacket.

  I have to wait long periods of time for the crowd to thin out enough around him before I can get in and cut off his vest. Some kind of animal filling—maybe small white feathers—fly through the air in a puff of debris, and I barely escape being crushed between the large male and another transitioned who must be watching. Some of them can be quite smart despite their lack of brain power. Maybe it’s instinctive?

  A part of me wants to wait for Payak, but as I slowly work on cutting and removing a weapon that’s slung over his shoulder and keeping the vest from falling off, I realize this is the most promising lead we’ve seen so far. This man is big, capable, and armed. He wouldn’t be easy to overpower.

  This might be it! It isn’t until I begin getting down to his final layers that I start to have trouble. Damn. What was he doing out here?

  So far, I’ve taken off a vest, a coat, another thinner coat, and now a fuzzier shirt that originally had fasteners down the front. It’s tangled around his arms, and I keep thinking, “The next layer I’ll see skin.”

  I notice that under this thin layer, I’ll be able to see his chest. Sure enough, cutting up the back, his skin is exposed. But now, it’s clear that getting bitten or scratched would have to have happened before the clothing was put on. Otherwise, they couldn’t have gotten through it. Now, I’m looking for a bandage … but nothing stands out, even as I manage to phase in and get the front cut open.

  Some of the final layers are still on his arms, but I couldn’t be more thankful they are when his milky white stare turns on me, and he lunges. He’s only slightly smaller in height than I, and I’m pinned beneath him before I realize he’s coming. The rest of the crowd has caught on that he’s successfully pinned me, and they’re almost to us when I flip him over my head, rolling backwards to straddle him and jam the last shirt that was on his body into his lunging, gaping mouth before hopping up and slamming right into another infected!

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  - Desin

  There’s no time! As the other Wen-infected beings throw their bodies against me, pushing me toward the big male behind me, I see they’re falling on him too and keeping him from attacking me for the moment. The one I’m holding will have to be sacrificed.

  Instead of holding him off, I spin the slight male in my arms so he can’t bite me and pull him into my embrace, phasing at the same time. Immediately, the Earth man’s high-pitched scream is cut off as he disintegrates in my arms. Unfortunately, he will be permanently missing.

  That’s one of the unfortunate side-effects of taking a living being into my dimension—well, until I met Jade. We learn the hard way in adolescence to not hold anything in our sleep, which is when we have a natural tendency to phase. Although I believe in some semblance of life after this existence, I don’t know what it will consist of. Taking another’s life this way is never done lightly, and I can only hope that the man I sacrificed is worth it.

  The rest of the transitioned group is just beginning to stand and meander off. The man I was stripping down is now minus all the clothing on his upper body. The others grappled with him, pulling and ripping at him, even unfastening his belt which now appears torn. They slowed him substantially, though, because his pants have drifted down his thighs, restricting his movements.

  Coming back to Earth’s dimension, I cut open the back of one his pant legs before phasing out of sight before he can even turn around. Studying the way he continues to limp along, I circle around him again, noting that it appears his ankle has now been broken.

  There’s no blood on him following the attack, despite bone poking out of the leg I just exposed. Once the affected complete the cycle to full transition, their heart stops. The blood congeals in their veins, becoming a black, rancid clot. I don’t see any bites on his exposed leg, either. Getting behind him again, it only takes a moment to reveal his other leg. I step on his pants, while he stumbles away and leaves them behind, limping and dragging the broken appendage with him.

  Very promising. Circling around him, I don’t see any big, gaping wounds that’d indicate he was bitten or scratched, and he doesn’t have any bandages on his body. This is great!

  The group of infected are now starting to turn around and head back to the helicopter that has settled down far away on the other side of the expansive field. I see the military personnel in charge of herding the transitioned hopping out with their equipment and tools. They begin assembling a rudimentary crate that pops up to collect the contagious into.

  Focusing on the group across the field, I take in the body armor they’ve all worn to protect themselves, and that has me thinking about Jade. Again. I love her soft beautiful skin. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that I convince her to mate with me. I mean, I’m fairly confident once we’ve mated she’ll be able to phase into our dimension as easily as I can, but there’s only one way to find out.

  I understand her questions and hesitation. She seemed very interested in me and my life. And she didn’t say no. She just said she didn’t make sudden or important decisions like this. She said she needed processing time.

  I can’t help but wonder if there’s someone else who’s captured her heart. She mentioned Charles? Could he be a real competitor for her heart and commitment?

  “Payak. Report.” Lana’s calls out through her interdimensional communication implant. I wait a beat to see if Payak answers. As the squad leader, Lana looks to him first, but as I suspected, he’s still not back. “Payak. Desin. Are any of the ZAC heading toward the Earth military viable options for them to consider further testing as an initial infected?”

  I know what she wants. She doesn’t have to spell it out. She must be buying some time on her end. She’s probably standing in front of someone right now, waiting for an answer. Taking a deep breath, I curse Payak for doing this to me. It’s going to look like I reported him, but I don’t have much choice.

  “The large, naked male dragging his leg due to a broken ankle is a viable prospect. His injury is from a recent fall while getting him stripped and couldn't be avoided. But he doesn’t appear to have any bites or scratches from before his transition.” I’ve slowed the man down considerably. Or I guess the other infected technically did, but the military herding teams will have way less trouble taking him down with their rudimentary devices than they would have had before.

  “Where’s Payak?” I can tell Lana’s voice dropped in volume, and I know she’s hiding Payak’s disappearance from the Earth-dwellers around her. Why? I couldn’t say, but that’s not my problem.

  The annoying part is that everything she’s seeing and every interaction with her is recorded and stored by the Sinth Sovereignty. They complete their own monitoring, fact checking, and progress updates, almost entirely through our Personal Assistants. It’s not something we talk or think about since it’s always been that way, but I don’t like that they’ll be aware he wasn’t here.

  “I’m not sure.” That’s the complete truth. While I’m not sure, I do have a pretty good idea. As I get closer to her I can tell from the look on Lana’s face that she has a pretty good idea too.

  Instead of responding, she turns her back to me and begins talking to Conrad, th
e helicopter pilot we came with. Perfect. The rest of the military group has fanned out in a tactical movement to round up the crowd into crates they assembled nearby.

  I notice a reflective shimmer to my right, where we were originally stationed when we arrived here, and I know Payak has arrived. He was just checking out our positioning and making sure I didn’t need help.

  “Where were you?” I demand as Payak shimmers into the dimension next to me. I push Payak to the right and away from the infected, while he peers over my shoulder as another helicopter settles down behind the first. He moves with me easily as I quiz him. “We were just about to leave. What the hell?”

  Payak just throws his arms up, acting taken aback, but I sure could have used some help earlier. It’d have taken a fraction of the time for us to work together and get the two prospects stripped. Plus, I had to disintegrate an Earth dweller whose family will now never know how he died.

  I feel super guilty about that. The humans do seem quite upbeat about being able to cure this. I’m no scientist, but maybe the humans have a physiology that’ll allow a reversal of the effects of the Wen virus easier than any other infected species we’ve seen? How should I know? That man may have been able to go home to his family someday.

  “It was Teresa. She’s … I don’t know. It’s hard to explain, but suffice it to say we mated last night, and her eyesight is changing. Did you know that the humans on the base have no idea Taxin are running the show?”

  Wait, what? “You mated?”

  I’m so … jealous.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  - Jade

  The Facetime ringtone as I dial out grates across my nerves as I bite my thumbnail. Noticing myself in the camera lens and realizing what I’m doing, I pull my hand away from my face just as the call connects. The familiar, deep voice I’ve longed for years to hear answers, “Hello?”

  I’m not shocked he doesn’t appear to know who it, even though I got his number from my adoptive mom, Jill. My adoptive parents always fill me in on what Charles is up to, so they didn’t think anything of it when I asked for his number to get in touch. I think they’ve been more confused and surprised when I don’t ask about him, but it’s just hard to hear. I’ve made a point of not coming home when he’ll be there, too—which is pretty much all the major holidays.

  My phone screen takes a moment to focus on the familiar dark-headed man I’ve loved my entire life. Even though I’ve rehearsed this, and even have some notes in my lap, I’m still sitting with my mouth hanging open when he exclaims, “Jade! How are you?”

  Blinking rapidly, I push back the automatic tears that spring to my eyes as his kind voice washes over me. He was everything in my world for so long. It’s impossible for me to swallow and talk past the lump in my throat.

  “Aw, Jade … what’s wrong?” His expression morphs from happy to concerned, and I rush to assure him. I’m such a dork—of course, he’s going to think I’m calling because something is wrong.

  “No, no. I’m sorry.” Sniffing, I swipe a hand under my nose. I wasn’t prepared for this … emotional outburst. “Honestly, I just wanted to call and touch base.”

  Charles’s familiar happy expression returns, and excitement crosses his face. “Did mom and dad tell you?”

  Shaking my head slightly, I watch his grin widen. Clapping his hands together, he leans forward, his face filling my display. “I’m going to be a father!”

  Dropping back onto the couch cushion, I bring the phone with me. I don’t know what I was expecting … but not that. How long has he even been dating … her—this new woman that’ll be the mother of his child?

  I’ve no idea who his latest fling is. Come to think of it, I don’t remember the last time mom and dad even really gave me an update on Charles. The last thing I heard was a few years ago, and he’d just started working for a set crew company on the coast.

  “I know! Exciting, right?” Shaking his head, Charles claps his hands again, sending an echo through my phone. “Yeah, I know it’s early, and Kim keeps telling me it’s too soon to get too excited, but she’s past three months now, so I thought it was safe to at least let our parents know. They didn’t tell you?”

  From the expression on his face as he watches me fight with my own internal adjustment to this news, I know it’s dawning on him that I haven’t said anything yet. Positive or negative.

  “No. Actually …” I clear my throat, straightening my spine. “… I didn’t even really visit with them very long. I wanted to talk to you, so I just called them for your latest number.”

  Sniffing, he leans back in the office chair, giving me a clearer view of the desk where he’s sitting. It appears he has a gaming console setup on the corner of the desk behind him. “Yeah, well, I’ve had this number for a couple of years. I didn’t even change it the last time I relocated. So, what did you need to talk about then?”

  “I’m … I’m sorry. Um, congratulations on becoming a father. That’s … incredible.”

  Charles is still smiling slightly, but he doesn’t say a word as I stutter out my unenthusiastic congrats. He’s not an idiot. That was never one of his traits, and his eyes narrow as he watches me.

  He’s so kind. That was always the most fitting way to describe him. Just like now. He waits patiently as I pull myself together and spit out, “I … I’ve met someone.”

  When I pause, unsure of how to continue, I watch his demeanor change as he leans forward. “Really?” His eyebrows raise as if he thinks I’m making this up. Does he think I’d lie about this?

  Biting my lip, I look down at my notes, floundering with how to continue. “Tell him how you feel about him” is the very first line. I can’t do that now!

  “Is this …” When I look up, Charles is shaking his head slightly, searching for words. “… New? Or just someone you’ve been seeing, and it’s getting more serious?”

  Nodding, I manage to cough out, “New. Totally new. But this is the first time I’ve ever felt …” My hand flaps between us as I flounder again before biting the bullet and spitting it out. “… Like I always did with you.” I don’t dare look at him as I swallow hard, the rock in my gut swelling painfully as I wait for him to respond.

  “Really, Jade?” Charles’s question has me glancing up, noting that he doesn’t seem mad. More curious.

  “Yes. Really. I told you the last time we saw each other how I felt, and that I didn’t think it’d ever change. I can’t … just turn off what I feel.”

  “I get that. But look at me, Jade.” Looking up, I take in his blue eyes, noticing for the first time as he takes off his hat that his hair looks thinner. But he’s just as familiar and beautiful as I remember. “It’s been a long time. I’m so much older than you. Pushing thirty now, you know? If you’re calling me, I’m guessing this new guy has really had an impact on you. Does he want you to commit or something? What’s really going on?”

  Letting my lungs release the breath I was holding, I think about what Desin wants. Commitment. Yes. Forever. Yes.

  From everything we discussed yesterday, this mating with him is … permanent. “Yeah, he does. He’s great and everything, but it’s the first time I’ve ever really thought that maybe … just maybe, I’ll end up with someone besides you.”

  I cringe when he laughs. He’s starting to hurt my feelings because it’s clear he never really considered me in the running for his heart. Why’s he being so callous?

  “I always knew you’d end up with someone else.” That has me paying attention. That isn’t what he said the last time we saw each other. He said that distance and time would help me get perspective. “We were just too close, and you’d decided that the comfortable, safe feelings you had for me were love. And that’s not love. You know that now, right?”

  When I just stare at him, he twists his ball cap in his hands, leaning forward to stare at me intently. “You lost everything when you were young. You didn’t talk for almost a year and had to redo fourth grade, remember?” Nodding,
I watch as his eyes drop to his hands out of the camera’s view when he adds, “You just wanted to feel safe and secure. I get that. But I never loved you that way. And I knew I never would. You were just too much like a little sister by the time I moved out. I love you, Jade, but not like that.”

  Nodding, I swipe away a tear that managed to squeeze itself out. He’s so honest. So real. He’s never lied to me or tried to convince me to do something I didn’t want to do.

  Authentic. That’s what Charles is. Just real.

  “I understand.” I choke out finally, pulling myself together. “I guess there are a few reasons I wanted to see you once more—”

  “Only once more? Are you going somewhere?” I laugh at his question as the mood lightens between us, and I begin to look at him more objectively.

  Slightly older, but mostly just more mature. Charles looks weathered. Do I look that much older too?

  “No! It’s not that.” I assure him—at least I don’t plan it to be! “I mean … it’s been years, and I guess I just needed closure before I take this next step with Desin.”

  Resting his palm under his chin as he leans into the camera, I watch as his eyebrows float up again. “Next step, huh? Is this Desin proposing?” Throwing his body back, he lowers his voice as he rambles to himself. “Because, damn. If he is, that’s going to put some serious pressure on me to propose over here. I’m planning on it, mind you, and we’ve talked about it. She just wants to wait until after the baby is born. You know how women are about looking perfect in their wedding dress on the big day. And she refused to run to the justice of the peace, although I tried to talk her into it.”

  As Charles talks, I watch his familiar features and take in his personality, and I can’t help but compare him to Desin. Desin who makes my skin tingle just with his voice. Desin whose touch sends a charge of awareness shooting into every particle of my being. There’s just no comparison.