by Jada Turner
“Shut your gob,” McKendrick snapped, yanking her hair. “It belongs to me. His family stole it from mine! That’s all they were, a bunch of thieves and whores, like his sister.”
“Say that again!” Max barked as McKendrick was shoved aside, the knife dropping to the floor. “Run, Jenna!”
She scrambled to her feet and ran towards the stairs. Jenna was nearly at the top when she heard a loud POP!
A searing pain filled her body as she glanced down to where a small dot of crimson was slowly spreading over her chest. Jenna reached up, her hand filled with blood. She thought she heard McKendrick scream as Max hurled him from the ceiling, his body falling into a crumpled heap and twitching as he died.
Her feet slid out from beneath her and she felt herself falling into the abyss below.
Epilogue
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Carl lamented. “I should never have let her go by herself.”
“Hey, man!” Brad said, working a piece of gum to death. “You said she was good. On her first investigation she gets offed by some nutjob? It’s not our fault she couldn’t hack it.”
“Aren’t you sorry she’s dead? She didn’t even have family for crying out loud!”
“Win some, lose some,” Randy said, struggling with the video cables. “She’s better off. “
“Says who?” Carl muttered. “We better get something this time, dad’s losing his patience with us.”
“Keep your knickers on,” Brad grumbled.
“Well, if you guys want me, I’ll be in the kitchen,” Carl told them and went off in search of a midnight snack. He was in the midst of a jelly sandwich when he heard a scream. He raced out of the kitchen just in time to see Randy being lifted by the scruff of his neck and tossed outside. Brad was halfway down the road, tearing at his hair and shrieking like a madman.
Carl felt a chill just then and a tap on his shoulder.
“Boo!”
“Wait, you guys!” he shouted, scrambling after them. “Wait for me!”
“That wasn’t very nice.” Jenna chided her companion. “For shame!”
Max turned around and grinned at his wife. “They deserved it, love.”
Giggling, she materialized and hugged him. “You’re right.”
“Let’s go to bed.” He lifted the candle and took her hand.
“Catch me” she laughed, backing away.
He leered at her. “You know what will happen to you when I catch you.”
Jenna smiled and twirled about in her gown. “I’ll race you across the moors!”
Max’s eyes lit up as she hitched up her skirts. “What’ll you give me if I catch you?”
Laughing, she darted outside and fled into the night. Max followed behind and caught up with her. She squealed with glee as he lifted her high, swinging her about.
Their happy laughter rose and floated in the air mingling with the soft whispers of the wind.
AREA 69
An Erotic SCI-FI Romance
Chapter 1
"Are you an alien?"
The question that Professor Olivia Monroe posed to the tiered rows of students sitting in the auditorium was one that fascinated and compelled her like few other questions in human thought, and she hoped that she was communicating her fascination effectively to them. Olivia had never embraced the idea that science was a cold, loveless, spiritless thing, a thing without wonder or awe, a thing lacking a soul. She had rejected that perception as surely as she rejected the image of "a woman scientist" as an asexual creature with her hair pulled back in a bun so tight that one expected her face to split like an overripe fruit; and drab, colorless, dowdy clothes. Olivia had always enjoyed being both a woman and a woman of science, and she dressed and carried herself accordingly. She looked professional; she never presented herself as some tart with a PhD. But she also did not present herself as a caricature of who she was. She was not just pretty; she was beautiful and she did not hide it. She wore just a little bit of makeup and lip gloss on her soft and feminine face. She let her light brown hair fall softly on her shoulders. Her nail polish was clear and the heels on her shoes not impractically high. She dressed in cottons and linens of softened but not muted colors. Olivia did subtle things to remind those with whom she came into contact that she was a whole person, not just her occupation.
From her lectern, Olivia used her iPad to progress the slide show displayed on the screen behind her to the tiers of students before her. Each advancing picture was an illustration of the points she made.
"The question isn't as far-fetched as it sounds," she lectured. "I want to finish today's class and start our next one with another hypothesis. Panspermia is the hypothesis that life is not unique to Earth, but distributed all over the universe in the form of microorganisms and the organic molecules that are the building blocks of life." Behind her, bigger than life but nowhere near as big as it actually was, appeared the awesome images of nebulae transmitted to Earth from the Hubble Space Telescope; images that she was sure her pupils had seen countless times already, but which she now hoped she was putting into a new context for them. She elaborated, "Rather than seeing just a cold, harsh, unforgiving vacuum when you look into space, imagine a place rippling with life and with everything that life is made of."
Something like a star flashed in the dim lighting of the auditorium, catching Olivia's eye. She immediately knew it for what it was: The smile of Levi Adams. There he sat, right in the middle of the tiered seats as always. Levi Adams, a pre-law student taking Astronomy and Cosmology as part of his Liberal Arts requirement, was one of the most beautiful products of natural evolution she had ever seen. Just 20 years old, he was a blond vision of handsomeness who wore the most pleasingly tight shirts that showed off the muscles so perfectly packed on his young frame. In the dimmed auditorium, Levi's smile occasionally flashed like the trail of light in the sky from a burning meteor. Every year there was at least one Levi Adams in Olivia's class, and in her daily travels on campus she routinely passed many more of them. The Southern California campus where she taught, which was the home of her research, attracted them, and the sight of them was one of the daily perks of her job. Had she abandoned teaching entirely for research, she would not see so many of them. She considered them one of nature's gifts, like the meteor showers and the Aurora Borealis. One of the most profound lessons of Olivia's own education was that that the universe creates beauty. Levi Adams was one of the beautiful things that the universe did. He made her think it was a good thing indeed to be an astronomer.
Or, to be more precise, Olivia was an astronomer who had in the last few years branched out into exobiology, the theoretical study of how life might evolve in environments outside the Earth, such as hypothetical alien planets. Returning her attention to the lecture and advancing the slides again to another series of shots corresponding to what she was describing, she went on, "Bodies traveling through space, such as asteroids--which become meteors--and comets--may contain microorganisms, carbon compounds that are the basis for proteins and amino acids, and even water itself. These bodies may collide with larger bodies, like planets. The amount of water locked in asteroids and comets far exceeds the amount of water presently on Earth, and all the water on Earth may in fact have been originally brought from space--and whatever may have been frozen in the water may have found conditions on Earth to its liking, so to speak. That may have started the first chemical process of evolution, and that may be how we all got here."
At this, Olivia allowed herself another glance at Levi, who now had a glint in his eye to match the flash of his smile. She enjoyed nothing better than to see a student's face lit up with understanding and appreciation of a thought--especially when the student looked like Levi. Finishing the lecture and cutting off the Photos app of her tablet, she hit the remote control for the lighting in the room and brought the lights up bright.
Stepping out from behind the lectern, she finished, "So I ask you again: Are you an alien?
Look at the person to your left and your right. Are they extraterrestrials? Are we all?" The students, including Levi, did as she asked, and a tinkle of laughter rolled across the auditorium. A few people pointed at a few other people and made a few joking insinuations, and the tinkle of laughter rose a bit until Olivia raised her hands to quiet things down, asking for a chance to finish. "If panspermia is correct," she said, "and I think there's a very good case to be made for it...there may really be no such thing at all as an Earthling."
And the tinkle of laughter broke out again at the peal of the bell. With the class rising from their seats, Olivia called out, "For the next class, I want you all to have read the chapter explaining the theory in more detail and be ready to discuss it further. All right, out with you."
Chapter 2
Remember, you're 36 and he's 20. Okay, that doesn't matter. Then remember, he's a student at this University and you're his Professor.
Walking through the quad along the rows of palm trees and the manicured lawns to her office and looking into the earnest and painfully handsome face of Levi Adams, Olivia did her best to keep her attention on what he was saying rather than how totally mouth-watering he looked, until she snapped to alertness when he said...
"So I really think I want to do it, Professor Monroe."
She blinked, startled, hoping she did not look as flushed as she felt. His looks and his body were so distracting; what was he talking about again? Finding her voice and her composure, she replied, "Excuse me, you really want to…?"
"Switch majors. From Pre-Law to Astronomy. I think it's what I really want. I know it'll mean more time as an Undergrad and my Dad almost went off like a nuke when I told him. But sitting in your class and hearing you talk about all those ideas and what they're about, and doing the reading...it makes me realize how much I like science. I've always liked science. Especially astronomy. I love the stars, Professor. You've taught me that."
"Really?" she couldn't help but smile at the boy walking beside her, so sincere, so interested...so bloody gorgeous. As a science educator she always liked knowing that she could light a fire of inspiration in a student and put him on a path to wonderful discoveries. It was doubly satisfying when the student looked like this. "So do you think your father might come around?"
"He wasn't hearing it at first," said Levi. "He really had my heart set on my being a lawyer. He wanted me to sign on with a big, prestigious firm like he did and move up to partner. He wanted to see me with the best office and the best wife and the best car and the best vacations and the best summer home, all the stuff he had. And I don't mind all that; I was brought up with it and all. And I like the law. But...there's just something about the stars that calls out to me. You know how it is."
"Yes, I know exactly how it is," Olivia answered. This boy was such a kindred spirit. He was describing all the things she had felt all her life. She envied him his sense of discovery of the universe, the thing that had lit up in her when she was a little girl. Perhaps if she were to help him transfer to another school, they could visit back and forth and... She suddenly caught herself: Oh Lord, what am I THINKING! He is a BOY! A very beautiful, very smart boy, but a boy! And he's GOT to have a girlfriend.
Thankfully, Levi was so intent on telling her about his decision that he didn't seem to notice the embers that he was stirring inside her. "So anyway," he went on, "I looked up the career stats for astronomers online, and I printed them out for my Dad to see. And I pointed out to him that some astronomers, the really good ones, might make $100,000 a year. Senior partners at the big law firms make more than that, but I wanted Dad to see I wasn't just throwing my future away on something that would make me a deadbeat. Astronomy isn't just some crap, worthless thing; it's important and you can make a good living at it. And that calmed him down a bit."
"I'm glad. And I'm happy for you if this is really your decision."
They reached the brick and glass building of the Science Department where Olivia's office was, and paused at the door. "Professor," said Levi, looking into her eyes in the way that only a young boy can look when he's seeking the approval of someone older, "do you think I can be one of the good astronomers? I mean, one of the really good ones?"
She looked up into Levi's face and saw the need for encouragement there, and wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him. And take him into her office with her, and peel off his clothes, and plop him down on the sofa, and dive down between his... Never mind. "Judging by your interest and your enthusiasm--and your grades this semester, young man," she answered with her warmest smile, "I absolutely think you can. One of the best."
Levi burst into a smile like the Sun coming over a mountain. He did a fist-pump in the air and half-shouted, "I knew it! I just wanted to hear you say it! Thank you, Professor! I'm gonna tell my Dad I'm doing it! Yes!"
Olivia carefully, very carefully in the interest of appropriateness, touched him on his arm. His wonderfully large and muscular arm. "Good. And I'll see you in class in a couple of days."
Still beaming, Levi said, almost jumping for joy, "You bet, Professor! See you!" And he spun around and sped off across the lawn of the quad. Olivia watched him go, her heart melting at the sight of an excited boy knowing what he wanted to do with his life--and what, under different circumstances, she would have loved to have the boy do with her. 36 and 20...it wasn't such a difference after all, really. Was it?
Chapter 3
"The papers are done, Professor."
Bruce set the pile of graded papers on top of Olivia's desk. Sitting on the opposite side, Olivia noticed that Levi Adams's was on top--and marked with an A. Good, she thought, holding at bay the thought of what she would not have minded Levi himself being on top of, and how little she would like him to be wearing there. She had read some of Levi's papers--the ones the grading of which she had not delegated to Bruce Foster, her teaching assistant. She knew from his class assignments that Levi was well on his way to being as good as he wanted to be. She was pleased to see that Bruce had given Levi the grade he most likely deserved.
With his waves of dark hair, smoldering good looks, and tight body with hairy forearms that so tantalizingly filled the T-shirts that he always wore, Bruce put the lie to the myth of science students being all geeks and nerds with the physical attractiveness of something growing in a petri dish. And as she looked up at him from her seat, Olivia grew curious at his smile, the smile that invited--no, begged the question she put to him: "So what's going on?"
The teaching assistant reached into his pocket and pulled out a felt-covered box, which he opened to reveal a very sparkly, antique ring. A woman's ring. Olivia immediately understood and grinned in the empathetic way that a woman grins when she knows what is in store for another woman. "Really? You're going to ask your girlfriend?"
Bruce nodded, containing his excitement. "Yep. Tonight at dinner. Down on one knee with my Grandma's ring, the works. I want to set the date for right after my last semester of Grad School. What do you think?"
Olivia leapt up from her seat and crossed around the table, giggling like a teenager. "What do I think? I think I know what she's going to think! Oh Bruce, this is wonderful!" She threw her arms around him and they hugged. She kissed him softly on the cheek and said, "She's getting herself a great husband."
"Thanks, Professor. I'd better go home and change now; I just wanted to get those papers to you before I, you know, changed my life."
"And hers! So get out of here and change it, already. And congratulations to both of you."
Olivia watched him cross the room and could feel the excitement in his steps. At the door, he smiled back at her before ducking out. She stood there for a moment, imagining the elated young man racing down the hall to his destiny. She envied him the way he felt, and envied his soon-to-be fiancee the way she was about to feel. It was not so long ago Olivia felt the same way. Which reminded her of the next item on her agenda for today.
Might as well get it over with, she thought, returning t
o her seat at the desk, tapping on her computer, and exhaling with a huff. Once, not long ago, she would never have thought of doing what she was about to do as "getting it over with." Once, just the idea of sitting down at her computer, as she was now doing, and calling him up on her video chat app, as per her appointment with him, would have made her heart race for an entirely different reason than it was racing now. Once, knowing that she was about see Clive's face was the most wonderful thing in the world. That was then.
From three thousand miles away, his face came up on Olivia's screen. A year and a half ago, Clive Shea had moved to New York to take a position in upper management of Crescent Enterprises. He was now "just under the CEO," poised to make millions. He had short dark hair, hazel eyes, a Gentlemen's Quarterly model face, and a gym-toned body, and looked as much at home in jeans and a flannel shirt as he did in the business suit he was presently sporting. And, as Olivia was at times pained to remember, he was like the ignition of a protostar in bed. They had fallen in love while Clive was working in middle management at the Southern California division of the high-tech Crescent Corporation--and administering the grants that funded Olivia's research. Having himself transferred to avoid the conflict of interest of sleeping with the person he was funding, he came upon an opportunity for advancement--all the way to New York--and, after much discussion, he had accepted it.
In that year and a half, Olivia set herself to the challenge of conducting a relationship with the man she loved from opposite sides of the continent, and to a life of racking up Frequent Flyer miles to be together until she could work out a new living arrangement for herself, possibly a new teaching position at a college or university on the East Coast, perhaps a position at an observatory over there. And then life changed her plans with a plan of its own. Her name was Elena, and she lived in New York, where Clive lived and Olivia did not. And before Olivia knew what was happening, Clive and Elena, as Bruce and his intended would soon do, had set a wedding date of their own.