by Ines Johnson
Her Dual Abduction
The Dually Captivated Saga
Ines Johnson
Those Johnson Girls
Copyright © 2015, 2021 Ines Johnson.
All rights reserved.
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.
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Manufactured in the United States of America
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Cover Design
Jacqueline Sweet Designs
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
About Ines Johnson
Chapter One
It was bluer than he expected. A blue so deep, so dense, that it did more than call to him; it lulled him forward.
Chen leaned forward, nearly pressing his nose to the screen that allowed him to spy the celestial body from his perch in the Heavens. The white clouds that moved over the blue taunted him, revealing a flash of sapphire on the Eastern Coast, covering up waves of azure in the Western Hemisphere, while cobalt swirled in each pole. He stared so hard at the brilliant colors swirling before him that soon it felt as though he were looking directly into a star.
Chen squinted. His large eyes drew to slits. The play of colors lulled him into such a state that he leaned far forward in his seat. Not just his eyes were pulled, something deep inside yearned for him to come closer. Chen came ever closer. Until he lost his balance and toppled over.
He righted himself and opened his eyes wide. Traveling through the Heavens was mostly a monochrome of black space and pale light from distant stars. The color blue was not prevalent in the universe. He'd seen the Earth many times in his mind, but never with his own eyes.
His mother's memories had not done the young planet justice. Soon, he would no longer need to filter his experience of that world through the prism of her recollections. He would make his own memories, have his own experiences to sift through. And he wouldn't be making them alone. The blue wasn't the only thing pulling him to the planet.
She was there on the planet, somewhere.
Chen shifted in his seat at the thought of her. The thought was a feeling that pulsed through him as a wave of energy. He had no face to go with the thought of her. He had no idea what she would look like, sound like, feel like. But he would soon.
He pushed that thought aside and pushed away from the console. Soon he would be a bonded male. But before he gave his soul over to a woman, he was determined to have a bit of fun. It had been so long since he'd felt pure joy. Chen turned back to the blue planet, a light of mischief in his eyes.
He had a whole itinerary planned. He'd been planning it since he was a youngling. The first item on his list was to dive into the pure blue waters of the Earth. He'd visited many planets, but the few that had the elements to produce water were unsafe. The waters, none of which were blue, were either toxic or needed to be filtered before consumption. Or the liquid bodies were filled with life-threatening organisms intent on making a meal or a host of him. From his mother's memories, Chen knew that most of the aquatic life on Earth was friendly, or at least not as deadly. The first thing Chen wanted to do was to dive into the depths of the ocean and allow the waves to crash over him.
The next thing on his list was to sample Earthling food. He wanted to try blueberries, plums, figs, and eggplants. It was true; he had a blue motif going on. He'd never experienced sweet fruits in his life. Taste did not translate well in telepathy, but sight did.
And finally, well not finally, but the third thing he absolutely must do on this visit after his body had been washed in the waters and his belly was full of food, Chen planned to ride a Bengal tiger. These creatures fascinated him the most.
He'd sifted a memory from his mother's childhood where she'd seen one in the distance. There was the metallic taste of fear surrounding the edge of the memory. But unlike his mother, Chen could communicate with any species. He would make friends with the beast and then grab a ride. Perhaps the beast would like to accompany him back to the ship too, along with her.
Excitement hummed through Chen at this amendment to his plan. As the ship moved closer into the Earth's orbit, he plotted his visit. It had been nearly one thousand revolutions of the planet around its star since his kind last visited. The beings there must be far advanced in enlightenment since that time.
Chen imagined people helping one another, living in harmony with each other, the animals, and the planet. He would go down, experience the items on his list and then perform his duties. It would be a fulfilling experience all the way around.
"We have little time."
The no-nonsense sound of his brother's voice interrupted Chen's plans. Chen turned around in his seat and into a face that was exactly like his own, except for the deep frown lines marring Hsing's brow and the grim crease that tarnished his expression.
"This is a momentous occasion, Hsing," Chen said. "We have returned to the place of our ancestors."
"This is the place of our mother's ancestors," Hsing corrected. He peered out at the blue orb, no hint of wonder or excitement in his eyes. "We no longer have a homeland. Or have you forgotten?"
Chen hadn't forgotten. It was burned in his mind, just as it was in his brother's mind. Just as it was in the mind of every male aboard this ship.
"You will complete your mission, and you will return immediately.” Hsing's voice brooked no argument. "It is not safe to orbit this planet. Too many eyes are upon it."
They both looked out into the darkness of space as though they could see the myriad of other beings that enjoyed stealing down onto the young planet against the orders of the Council. At the moment, the Heavens were barren. Chen's eyes caught once more on the many hues of blue upon the orb before them.
"All journeys come full circle," he said.
"You will come full circle, brother. You will go down. You will take a female and return."
"Abduction is against my nature, Hsing. Coercion won't make for a happy life."
"We don't need happiness, Chen. We need to save our species. Take the first female you see. This diversion is already a disruption to our itinerary."
"If only we had father's sutras on human women.”
"But we do not. We have nothing from our family. Nothing from our homeland remains."
Hsing came before his brother and peered into his eyes. It was an unnecessary exercise. There was no thought Chen could hide from Hsing. Still, Chen looked away from the scrutiny.
"We do not have time for your childish play, Chen-Na. You will do your duty to your family and to your kind. The alternative is the extinction of our race. I know you understand this."
"I do, Hsing-I."
Hsing came closer and put a hand on Chen's shoulder. The rare show of affection startled Chen.
"You look only within, Chen. You seek joy, zen, and a higher plane of enlightenment, but war follows us. You must look outside of yourself and for once let real
ity inform your path."
Hsing gave Chen's shoulder a squeeze. Then he looked once more at the pale, blue dot before departing the room. Marching back to his command console, no doubt.
Chen followed his brother out of the room and into the common area. All around him he spied the devastation the war had had on his people. Hsing had a point. He had to do what he must for their survival.
Chapter Two
"Ommm."
The vibration of the chant tickled the back of Shanti's throat, and she coughed. The hacking sound broke the flow of the aural vibration. A few eyes of her fellow chanters opened and glared at her.
Shanti winced in apology. Few acceptances were forthcoming in the room full of zen-seekers. She wished the sky would open and she could float away. That is, until the yoga instructor's gaze found hers.
Yogi Wizdom's hazel eyes locked with Shanti's. His easy smile spoke of encouragement, patience, and peace. None of the things Shanti felt. Shanti felt warm, hot, and wet.
"Focus on a single point," Wizdom encouraged the room of meditators. "And in that point, you will find enlightenment."
Everything in Shanti focused on one point, all right. It all arrowed straight to her core. She shifted on her yoga mat as she imagined those hazel eyes gazing down at her while she lay prone instead of folded into a lotus flower. Wizdom's brown skin made Shanti think of chocolate sauce, spiced chai tea, curried lentils.
Wow, when had her fantasies become Indian in flavor? Wizdom wasn't Indian. He was American, just like her. She'd found that out her second night at the ashram when she'd spent a good twenty minutes chatting him up, sharing stories of their unconventional youths.
They'd both grown up with alternative parents who believed in healthy eating, yogic exercise, and mindfulness. The difference, she learned, was that Wizdom's parents were music moguls who'd adopted the lifestyle late in their lives and passed the knowledge, along with their millions, down to their only child.
Shanti had been born on a commune. Pushed into the world in time to the sound of drumming and her mother yowling at the moon during her water birth. Not in a tub. In the actual ocean. When Shanti's parents passed, they did so without a dollar to their name and they left it all to her.
Shanti had been hoping to get to know Wizdom better the other night. Hoping that the knowing would come while they were between the sheets. Hoping that he would focus on a single point of her anatomy. Hoping that she'd be the one finding enlightenment at the throbbing core of her being. But they'd been interrupted.
Bow, short for Rainbow, Montgomery had sashayed her size zero Lululemons into the midst of Shanti and Wizdom's conversation. Bow sent friendly smiles in Shanti's direction. Though Shanti had never attended a formal high school, mean-girl was a universal language. Bow continued to send Shanti false smiles while cockblocking Shanti's efforts to get Wiz alone for the rest of the night.
Now, as Wiz led everyone in the final breathing exercise of the yoga class, Shanti had his attention. He smiled at her. She wondered if he was thinking what she was?
Was he thinking of bending her body over on the meditation pillows? Was he thinking of slowing down her breaths and teasing her until she was left panting and gasping? Was he thinking of opening her body along with her third eye?
Wizdom's mouth opened wide. Shanti leaned forward as though she could kiss him. He closed his eyes. His lips rounded into an O and...
"Ommm," he chanted.
Shanti sighed in frustration as her libido crashed back down on this plane of existence. She shut her eyes and tried to pick up on the tail end of the intonation, but she was completely out of tune.
She sat on a cold marbled floor -the yoga mat gave little cushion. Her long legs were folded into the unappetizing pretzel of the lotus position. She tried to concentrate on the words of the chant but her big toe was going numb. She tried wiggling it, but then her ankle lost its footing on her knee. Her body tilted to the right. She tried to correct herself, but over-corrected and crashed down to the left, into the person sitting beside her.
It was Bow. Bow dropped her fake zen and threw Death Stars at Shanti. Turning, Bow looked up at Wiz. Her brows rose, her eyes rolled, and her shoulders shrugged as though to indicate that Shanti was out of their league.
Bow scooted up in front of Shanti, directly in front of Wiz's eye line. She refolded herself into a lotus -without the assistance of her hands- closed her eyes and easily slipped back into the meditation.
It appeared that everyone had strategically scooted away from Shanti. She sat in a wide circle of nothing. No one near her. No one touching her.
"Omm."
Everyone's eyes were closed, mouths trembling out the tones, hands laid open to receive the bountiful energy from the universe. Shanti's eyes were open, her teeth chewed her inner lip, her hands clenched into fists. She looked over her shoulder at the door.
What the hell had she been thinking coming here? She'd stayed away from these places for the last ten years of her life for a reason. This reason. She didn't fit in.
She didn't have the attention span to sit still for meditation. She lacked the flexibility for the intricate yoga poses. Why hadn't she gone on a single's cruise instead? She didn't need to get in touch with her inner self. She needed someone to touch her inner self. That's what would solve her problems.
She gave Wiz a fleeting look before rising. His eyes were closed as he continued to lead the chant. Shanti rose as quietly as possible and exited the room.
Walking into the hall, the explosion of colors and statues brought her back to her childhood. Her father had been a part of the Black Panthers Party's breakfast program before he began following an Indian Mystic. Her mother was one of the mystic's many children. Shanti had grown up with a sense of righteous indignation and tolerant compassion.
Her parents were hippies, the kind that pillow surfed from ashram to ashram; mat-surfed through yogavilles; and couch-surfed into the basements of the strangers who they'd met at the ashrams and yogavilles. The way she'd grown up didn't make it easy to maintain long term relationships with kids her own age.
Her parents had been content to shout, pray, and talk a problem to death. They'd host sit-ins and bed ins, labor strikes (though neither worked a day in their lives), and hunger strikes.
As much as Shanti hated moving around as a kid, she hated sitting still even more. She'd been introduced to too many gods to wait for answered prayers. Shanti was a doer. A mover. A shaker.
She moved quickly to her room and shook the contents of her drawer into her suitcase. She'd thought that getting back to her roots would help her figure out what to do with her future now that her past was so screwed up. But that was a load of bull.
Her early past had been an exercise in trying to be still and peaceful while waiting for the world to change. Her more recent past had been full of her doing, moving fast, and shaking up the status quo. The problem was Shanti learned that those outside of the zen community also preferred to move at a slower pace and wait for the world to change instead of taking the initiative to change it themselves.
Shanti snapped her suitcase closed and made her way back down the hall. She'd planned to be at the ashram for thirty days. She'd wanted to cleanse her spirit and sweep out her soul to rediscover her authentic self. But what she found in a week was that she was who she'd always been.
"You are running away?"
Shanti stopped in her tracks. She turned back to face the little Indian woman. She’d seen the woman a few times during her stay. The woman's face was round, her cheekbones high, and her eyes overly large. Gray hairs poked out of a scarf. She was bent over on her knees cleaning the floor.
"Your feet move faster than your head,” the woman said. “Slow down so they can catch up. Then you will be where you are supposed to be."
"I'm not supposed to be here," Shanti said.
"No," the old lady smiled. "But slow down and you will get there, yes."
The old woman came over to Shanti and
peered in her eyes.
"Water never needs to rush. It goes slowly and brings the whole beach with it." She gave Shanti a gentle pat on the check. "All journeys come full circle," the old woman said with a secret smile on her lips.
Shanti was done with riddles and koans for the time being. She turned and let the door close behind her. She stepped out into the night's air. She didn't run. She didn't have to run. She had nowhere to run to. She'd run so far, so fast, away from all of her parents' teachings when she became a legal adult.
Well, most of her parents' teachings.
Okay, well maybe not their teachings, but definitely their lifestyle.
During cold season, Shanti still drank Echinacea Tea and swallowed a clove of garlic instead of visiting the pharmacy. She had a recycling bin instead of a trashcan and a compost under the sink instead of a garbage disposal. She cared about the environment. She cared about animals. She even cared about the humans who were doing all the damage to the environment, the animals, and to themselves. But unlike her parents, Shanti wasn't content to sit on a yoga mat or a meditation cushion and light candles for peace and compassion.
After her years in the Peace Corp, she found a job that used her specific set of skills in political science and human resources. Instead of sitting down and waiting for change, instead of simply trying to be the change, Shanti tried to pull the change into the present day.
In her small little town, Shanti not only became a loud advocate for change. She became a thorn in the side of farmers who sprayed pesticides on their crops and then posted organic labels on their foods. She helped unionize daycare workers, aligning them with teachers’ unions. She fought for public spaces for women to breastfeed. But when she went after the polluted waterways of the adjacent fishing community, it all came crashing down.