by May Sage
He pulled up the reading from the moment when they’d met.
“Everything indicates fear, and all of a sudden, the subject becomes calm.”
“Perhaps she suffers from a personality disorder,” Slidr suggested.
Zarden shook his head; such matters had never thrown off his program in the past.
“No, no, look at this,” Adev, a young apprentice who’d earned her place around this table by often coming up with theories no one else thought of, said pointing to the readings. “This isn’t a deficiency, this is control. Your subject has trained her mind to ignore fear. Most humans are governed by their fear.”
The woman closed her eyes a second, and another set of readings appeared right next to the recording of Eva’s three-dimensional brain scan.
The second hologram showed almost the exact same activity. There seemed to be more functions active at any one time on the new data, though.
“What’s this?”
“My brain. An average Krinar’s cerebral activity. This shows similarities because we also tend to use our reason.”
“Are you saying this human has developed a consciousness similar to ours? That’s ludicrous,” he heard himself reply, almost angered by the very possibility.
Humans were a young, volatile race.
Adev shrugged. “Their intelligence tends to be near-Krinar, and according to our records, some amongst them, like Einstein, are, in fact, comparable to ours. It’s entirely possible that some amongst them may think like us. You can see she’s not using nearly as much of her brain potential, but she’s, of course, younger than any of us. If we were to pull up her brain activity next to one of our teenagers, it might be identical.”
“Fascinating. If you were to bring her to my lab, we could study…”
“Out of the question.” He cut off the mind expert, his tone final.
Zarken was on edge, still displeased. Adev’s theory, if proven true, would have implications he just didn’t want to consider.
He saw humans as smart and pretty beasts. He liked to observe them like they observed monkeys in the zoo. Eva had made him want to fuck her, and that, he’d understood; the scientist that had overseen their evolution had made it so they would be attractive to their race.
But if Eva thought like one of them…
“It will be easy enough to work out,” Slidr interjected. “Calibrate the algorithm to work on a Krinar, and test it out.”
Said like this, it sounded simple. It really wasn’t.
“There’s something morally wrong about predicting, and interfering with a Krinar’s decision. I’m not sure the Council would approve. Or the Elders, for that matter.”
Zarken didn’t make a habit to consider Krina’s governing body’s approval. The only reason why he wasn’t on the Council was because he didn’t want to be; his aspirations had never been politically inclined. Which was also why he wasn’t an Elder.
He’d seen his first million-year mark a few centuries ago. Considering his age and standing, he was qualified to sit amongst the revered few whom every Krinar obeyed without question. He’d never wanted to.
“It would be wrong, if you used it on one of us. It sounds too much like it would affect our free will. But she’s human.”
It should have been the end of it, but instead of convincing him he could use his program on her, Zarken found himself wondering if he should use it at all. If humans could be of an intelligence similar to a Krinar’s, what was the difference between their two races, then? And what gave them the right to toy with them as they so carelessly did?
He knew the logical answers to that. His race had created theirs. The way they’d destroyed each other and their planet over the short time they’d developed their industry was a blatant proof of their inferiority.
Still. It wasn’t sitting well with him.
“I’ll test her myself,” he replied reluctantly.
Eleven
Overwhelming
Eva woke up confused for all of two seconds, then she knew exactly where she was. The immaculate bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows was a far cry from the tiny apartment she and Julie had shared since college, but it was the mattress underneath her which clued her in.
She moaned and groaned, not wanting want to get up from this bed. Ever. The strange fabric massaged her spine, gently working on her muscles. And they needed it.
She tried to sit up, but the slightest movement tugged on her tense body.
“Oh,” she breathed.
She felt her cheeks blushing furiously as she recalled exactly why she was so sore.
She’d done it. She’d had sex with a delicious alien - multiple times. Her fuzzy brain couldn’t even recall how many times, actually. She remembered being underneath his heavy figure, on top, on her knees, standing up, at the edge of the bed, on the floor…
“Oh,” she repeated.
Her hand went to her neck. Holy fuck. Had he really…
Her reflection on the windows showed the bruise - all of her bruises, but this one in particular. It didn’t look like two puncture marks, to her surprise, but the cut was there nonetheless, a clean line that wasn’t bleeding anymore.
“You’re awake.”
Spinning to face him – it – her unfairly beautiful alien lover, her hand still around her throat. She took a step back, shivering for all the wrong reasons. And the right ones, too.
“You bit me,” she stated.
She hadn’t really believed those rumors. She hadn’t really wanted to believe he was dangerous to her either. If she’d been wrong about the first conjecture, she might have been wrong about the second one too.
“Are humans…food, to you?”
Did she sound like she was freaking out? Because she was freaking out.
Taking another step back, she hit the bed and gracelessly fell on it, as was her way.
Zarken was at her side within an instant- too quickly. His hands soft, he touched her legs, arms, and her neck, a frown marring his overly perfect face.
“You’re hurt. Let me fix it.”
He was out of the room and back again before she’d had the time to do anything other than getting up. There was a sleek device in his hand, simple and flat.
“Sit.”
She stayed standing, even as his eyes lightened, becoming molten gold again.
Okay, so maybe she gulped.
“I don’t heel either,” she told him, lifting her chin.
All the while, the sane part of her mind asked her why the heck she thought it necessary to antagonize him? Having no flight response shouldn’t equate to having a death wish.
But at long last, the alien chuckled.
“No, I expect you don’t. Please take a seat, Eva. I was too rough with you and you’re all bruised. I can and will heal you.”
She narrowed her eyes, hearing the clear warning underneath the pleasantry. He was asking now, rather than ordering her around. But as he said, he would do it, whether she wanted him to or not.
Pick your battles, Eva.
Getting healed was hardly worth a tantrum. Particularly when said tantrum could have deadly consequences.
“Right.”
She sat down.
Zarken was very gentle, and the procedure completely painless: he just passed his magic thingie over her body, and a red light warmed her skin. Instantly, the bruises faded, and her soreness ceased. He made sure to cover all her skin; everywhere but between her legs.
Eva tried to remain very still through it all, and act like nothing was happening at all, because as completely, utterly stupid as it might seem, she was getting turned on. His proximity, his touch, and the memory of all the ways he’d undone her the previous night entirely trumped her common sense.
“You didn’t answer me.”
Which meant she was right. She was food.
“I was waiting for you to calm down, first. You’re almost there, doll,” he replied, smiling down at her.
Her damn stupid heart flut
tered. It had zero business fluttering, dammit.
“Where are my clothes?”
“In the bathroom, so that you may put them back on after a shower. I’ve had them cleaned.”
Well, that was a little too thoughtful and domestic. And also not the actions of someone who might want to eat her for breakfast.
“There you go. Not panicking anymore,” he said. “You’re a perfect little doll. It only took it four minutes.”
He nodded his approval, which somehow made her temper flare.
“And to answer your question, since now you may be receptive to an explanation: no, we don’t see humans as food.”
“But you…”
“I’m going to record and analyze your reaction for future reference,” he informed her conversationally.
“And if I don’t want you to?”
Zarken tilted his head, not bothering to answer with any pointless platitude. That ship had sailed, pretenses were useless now.
“You’re a dick.”
“I do have one of those, as you’re well aware, doll.” Then, switching gears effortlessly, he continued, “Our race once needed to drink the blood of lonars, a now-extinct species. When a plague almost eradicated their race, we did what we needed to survive - namely, synthesizing a species with the hemoglobin we couldn’t live without.”
Oh fuck.
“You’re saying,” she gulped. “You’re saying you bred us. As your food.”
“Indeed. But that was a long time ago, Eva. We’ve since managed to overcome the deficiency in our DNA that made us rely on them.”
It was only when she exhaled that she’d realized how long she’d hold her breath.
“But if you don’t need it, then why…”
“Do you remember what it felt like, doll? When I bit you?”
She crossed her legs, feeling herself getting wet just at that mention.
She nodded.
“For us, it’s an incomparable high. And it also makes you more sensitive to everything.”
Okay. Okay. She could deal with that. It was undoubtedly messed up, and she would also have thought it creepy if he’d just told her, but after experiencing it, she had to agree on the sensitivity side of things.
“How…”
“Our saliva. To make our prey docile, it has evolved to develop a…”
She held her hand up. “You know what? I don’t actually need to know. It was just good fun, and there’s no harm done. Right? Now, we can just go our separate ways…”
Her throat felt dry. Why did her throat feel dry all of a sudden? Because she was stupid, that’s why. Going their separate ways had always been the plan, now more than ever. He’d drunk her blood, and told her that it was making him high. He’d drugged her with his saliva, without asking. And he didn’t even pretend he wasn’t doing exactly what he wanted with her now. Putting as much space as possible between them was a matter of self-preservation. She had no business being sad about it.
“Not quite yet. You need food, certainly, and a shower, too. Then, you can go, if you wish.”
Eva hated him right now. She’d never hated anyone or anything, but she was certain she hated him. Because in his cruelty, he’d given her an out, as well as an option to stay. If you wish. He’d made it her call.
Bastard.
“What would you like to eat?”
“Bacon and pancakes - but wait. You guys made both an impossibility.”
She crossed her arms on her chest; it was only when her overly sensitive, hardened nipples touched her skin that she remembered she was entirely naked. So much for looking badass.
Zarken dropped his gaze to her chest and bit his lip, before returning to her eyes, an unspoken invitation between them.
“I’ll take care of breakfast,” he said finally. “I’ve adjusted the bathroom to ensure you can use it instinctively. Go before I change my mind.”
“And if you change your mind, what would do you?”
Why was she pushing this?
“Trust me when I say you don’t want to find out.”
Twelve
The End
Okay, he was giving up. To actually be fair, they’d all warned him. Korum first, then Adev. Even his prototype had seen as much.
His doll was a delight. Mouth-watering in every single sense of the term. More unexpected yet, she was a challenge. A puzzle he hadn’t grown bored of within a night. He didn’t think any woman, human or Krinar, had ever appealed to him as much as she.
It was unsettling. Zarken’s plague, his constant state of boredom, made him indifferent to everything he did. By pulling him from the numbness, she’d made everything around him seem more important, more vivid, and fascinating. Feeling heat on his face when he stood in front of his window, he shook his head. How long had it been since he’d forgotten he liked sunny days?
“Whoever did your bathroom needs to get a medal. And your bed, for that matter.”
He smiled, without turning from the window.
He disliked everything about the human city: the tall buildings, the endless sea of cars and concrete below, the polluted air. Zarken shook his head. Not surprising; most Krinars shared his inclination. But he hadn’t even noticed it since he’d arrived on Earth.
“Oh my god. You didn’t.”
Zarken finally turned to her; her pretty mouth was popped open and eyes wide, as she stared at the breakfast bar like it might be some sort of an illusion.
How entertaining she was, his human. Something as simple as food could make her entirely light up.
“Of course I did. You wanted bacon and pancakes - bacon and pancakes you’re getting. I ensured the most popular recipe your records could find was followed by the house.”
“The house?” she repeated.
He inclined his head. “I’m not much of a cook. The house does it for me.”
“When can I move in?” she joke.
Oh, don’t even tempt me, doll.
He didn’t comprehend how or why he was so fascinated by her, but if he gave in to his needs, his wants, what his primal instincts dictated, she wouldn’t leave his dwelling until he was done with her.
That would simply not do, though. He was wise enough to recognize the birth of an unhealthy fascination, something he needed to nip in the bud, so to speak. Eva would leave his apartment, soon, and when she did, she was walking out of his life. That was better for everyone involved.
He knew himself. It might not have happened in a night, but he’d get bored of her. And then what? If she was his charl, she’d live the rest of her life, the rest of eternity, with a Krinar who didn’t care for her. Who didn’t care for anything.
You could just keep her until you go back home. Just three weeks…
His fists curled.
“Seriously, that must have cost an absolute fortune. Thank you, Zarken.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“If you were trying to make up for biting me, that’s definitely a good start.”
She was joking, of course, but his foul mood didn’t lighten up.
“I’m never going to make up for it, Eva. I haven’t forced you. I didn’t coerce you here. I haven’t done anything you didn’t enjoy. Tell yourself otherwise, if it pleases you.”
The shocked, hurt expression perversely pleased him. Let her hate him now.
“I should go home.”
“Sit and eat. The door is open; you can go when you’re done.”
On that note, he walked towards his office, ready to close this chapter of his existence.
Erase all data on Eva, he instructed his computer. Excluding relevant findings we may use for prototype E063.
A pointless gesture. He recalled her address, her place of work, and everything else. He wouldn’t make use of it though.
Data erased.
There. All done. He could go back to the rest of his life now.
Zarken’s fists didn’t loosen until he heard the front door close. Then, he used them to hit the wall. On
ce, twice, and a few more times. Hard. So hard he finally managed to break his skin.
He didn’t feel a thing.
Thirteen
Stalker
The antediluvian printer her boss persisted in keeping had jammed again. Eva cursed under her breath, kicked the damn thing and hurt her toe in the process.
Damn useless printer. Damn cheap Dr. Frances. Damn pointless job.
“Eva darling,” the elderly, elegant female dentist who owned this practice called out, visibly concerned. “Are you alright?”
She nodded. “Just the stupid printer,” she grumbled.
“You’re crying because of the printer?”
Was she? Oh well. It wasn’t a humongous change from when she’d cried over the slow internet the other day. And when she’d dropped her keys. And also, that vanilla ice cream she’d bought.
“I hurt my toe,” she replied lamely, going for a near-truth, all the while knowing all too well why the flood gates were repeatedly opening.
She was frustrated. Most people didn’t cry when they were sad, but they certainly did when they found themselves in a situation they didn’t want without being able to do a damn thing about it.
Particularly when it was their own fault they were in the mess.
Her first mistake had been not listening to Julie. Not because her friend had been right, but because it would have spared her some pain. Her second was her attitude after waking up. She’d turned it over in her mind a dozen times and each time, she cringed more.
She’d treated him like a vile sex offender.
He’d been right - they’d had sex. Consensual sex. So, yeah, maybe he’d taken her blood, and she was definitely entitled to be weirded out, grossed out, about it. But she had really acted like he’d hurt her, like he might want to do worse yet. No wonder he’d had enough.
She knew their fling wasn’t meant to last more than that one night but she would have loved if they had parted on better terms. She should have told him she’d enjoyed herself. Said thank you – for everything, the priceless, delicious food, the healing which had been overkill for the few bruises a night of mindless, crazy good sex had caused.