The Calling

by Jill Sanders

  This time when he felt her convulse against him, he joined her and knew that, whatever happened, he’d never forget how wonderful she was. How somehow, they had found each other.

  They must have fallen asleep for a while; he woke when he felt her shiver next to him. He reached to pull the blankets over them, and she snuggled against him. His heart jumped in his chest.

  Had he ever felt so much in such a short time? Never. Well, with the exception of Stinky.

  He bolted upright in bed, almost dislodging them both from the smaller mattress.

  “Stinky,” he said, worry flooding his voice.

  “Easy. I thought about it. I have Fred there too,” she reminded him. “Lane was due to stop by in the morning and drop of some medicine for Fred. He was trying to clear up a small cough Fred had. He thinks it is allergies.” She sighed and pulled him back down to her side. “He’ll take care of the animals. Trust me. Course, when we return, we’ll have to explain why we’re such terrible animal parents to get in his good graces again.” She smiled and then laid her head on his chest. “But I think being zapped to a different world excuses us.”

  He relaxed back. “I’ve never left Stinky for more than a few hours,” he worried as he settled back down next to her.

  She rested her chin up on her arms to look at him. “I disappeared like this for almost two days recently.”

  “Like this?” He frowned. “Did you come here?”

  She shook her head. “No, I… I’m not sure where I went. One moment I was home, the next it was two days later, and Lane was complaining that I’d left Fred alone and missed work.”

  “When was this?” he asked, running his fingers through her tangled hair. Now that he was sated, he wanted a shower and some more food. Maybe those granola bars were still good? Or Jenna had mentioned there was food somewhere in here.

  “A few days before the bird-cident,” she answered.

  He thought about it. “According to what your mother said, maybe everything that’s happened has to do with you. I mean, there could be a reason the birds chose the store. You were there.”

  “I’d thought of that.” She sat up and hugged her legs close to her chest. “After what we’ve seen in the past few hours, I guess things back home seemed easy.”

  “Easy?” He sat up and leaned against the wall. “Normal, yes,” he agreed. “Your mother still hasn’t told us how she communicated with you all these years.” He glanced towards the door and thought about snooping around.

  “Do you think there’s something out there that allows us to make calls to other worlds?” she asked.

  He chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing. Okay, not about calls to other worlds, but…answers.”

  She sighed. “I don’t think I could sleep again now. How about a shower?” She jumped up from the bed and quickly dressed again.

  “You read my mind.” He followed her into a large military-style shower. There were rows of shower heads and lots of white tile.

  “Reminds me of high school, after gym class,” Joleen said taking up a towel and tossing her clothes onto a bench.

  “I wouldn’t know. I never had the pleasure of showering with a bunch of guys after gym class,” he said, watching her. Already, he could feel himself growing harder at her little striptease.

  She glanced back at him. “Never?” She reached to turn on the water.

  “No, by the time I was a teenager, I was taking college classes.”

  “It’s freezing,” she complained as she stepped under the water.

  “Wait for it to heat up.”

  “Something tells me it’s not going to get any warmer,” she said after a moment.

  He joined her under the cold spray and realized she was probably right. “At least it’s clean water,” he offered as she dumped a bunch of soap into her hair and started scrubbing hard.

  He moved closer and took over, nudging her hands down so he could slowly and gently wash out her hair.

  “That feels so good.” She sighed. “Having someone else wash my hair is why I go to the salon once a month.”

  He chuckled and enjoyed the feeling of her hands running slowly up and down his sides. “Keep that up and this shower is going to get really hot soon.”

  Her eyes opened and she smiled up at him. “Good,” she practically purred as she rubbed her body over his. When she wrapped her fingers around him, he lost the last hold on his control.

  Kissing her while the cool water sprayed down on them made his skin heat. He backed her into the long-tiled wall and nudged her legs until she was spread wide for him.

  “Mason.” She shoved him around until his back was up against the tile. “My turn,” she said with a smile.

  He held still as she slowly ran her hands and then her mouth over him, trailing lower until she knelt before him and took his length fully into her mouth. He fisted his hands into her hair and held on as she pleased him. When he felt like he couldn’t wait any longer, he hoisted her up and entered her slowly as she held onto him.

  Later, when they were both dressed, they walked around the large room in search of answers.

  The fact that the place had power told him either there must be a generator somewhere or that it was on its own power grid.

  “I can’t believe my mother has been stuck here all these years by herself,” Joleen said, sitting down at a computer screen.

  “From the looks of things, she hasn’t been alone too long.” He motioned to the equipment. “She couldn’t have set this all up herself.”

  “No,” Joleen agreed. “Why do you think she stayed behind?” she asked, running her fingers over the keyboard.

  He sat next to her. “For you,” he answered. “It is pretty obvious that whatever method she has used to communicate with you, it was the reason she stayed behind.”

  Joleen turned to him. “It was?”

  He nodded and touched her shoulder. “Let’s see what we can find out.” He’d grabbed the granola bars from his pack and set one in front of her.

  “Gotta keep up our strength.”

  She smiled over at him and took a bar from him. “I noticed some bottled water.” She stood up and disappeared, then returned with a bag of chips and two bottles of water. “Think these are stale?” she asked, opening the chips.

  “I’m willing to chance it if you are.” He took a handful as she sat back down.

  As they munched on the food, he searched through the computer for any details about what had really happened to everyone.

  There were plenty of photos and reports on people who at one point had lived in the caves. Families, scientists, and even a few animals that had survived the initial attacks.

  “Here,” Joleen said, catching his attention. She’d been searching another computer system across the room from him. He stood up, stretched, and made his way to her side. “I found some personal files my mother wrote.” She glanced at him. “She mentions when Spot arrived,” she said as he sat down.

  “Go on.” He motioned, and she began to read.

  “Today JoJo and I were walking.” She stopped, and her eyes teared up.

  He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Looks like that name stuck with people who love you.”

  She smiled up at him. “I guess I’m going to have to start liking it.”

  He chuckled. “Go on.”

  “JoJo and I were walking the perimeter. We had been talking about animals. She’d asked me where they had all gone. She’d been begging me for a dog for the coming holidays, but now I had to explain to my daughter that not even so much as a bug remained on the planet. We were living on a dead rock. She said she wanted a pet and that she was going to name him Spot. She stomped her foot, and the next thing I knew, there was a massive black alien creature standing by my daughter.” Joleen glanced at him before continuing. “She goes into great detail describing Spot here.” Joleen scanned through the text and started again. “Instead of being afraid of the creature, Joleen laughed and hugged it as if she
’d been best friends with the thing all her life. As if she’d willed it to her side. Before my eyes, as Joleen continued to talk to it and love it, the creature’s black fur turned a rainbow of colors. The moment I approached the pair, it turned on me. But Joleen called it Spot and told him I was a friend. Then it walked up to me and nudged my hand as if letting me know it wouldn’t hurt either of us.” Joleen scoured the notes. “A few days later, my mother starts calling it a Mimic in here, since it, in her words, turned into a dog on my command after I’d shown it a picture of what dogs looked like.” Joleen shook her head. “She says that the Mimic’s strength seems to drain when it shifts shapes and it normally chooses to remain as it is.”

  “Anything in there about you disappearing?” he asked her.

  He waited while she ran her eyes over the text. “No.” She frowned. “This file ends.” She leaned back. “She did mention bringing in survivors though. Maybe she didn’t think it was safe to write about it when there were more people around or maybe she just didn’t have time?”

  “Scientists always have time.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And we always keep journals on things like aliens or people disappearing to another world.”

  She frowned. “You’re probably right. Maybe she keeps a written journal like you do.” She glanced around.

  “That’s a thought.” He stood up and stretched and realized he was finally tired. Glancing at his watch, he groaned. “I wish I knew what time it was here. I have no idea when sun-up is. It’s about ten o’clock our time.”

  She glanced at the wall of monitors and frowned. “I guess we’ll see it on the screens when the sun comes up.”

  “Yeah.” He rolled his shoulders. “We’d better get some rest. Something tells me we only have a few more hours before your mother will be back.”

  “I could sleep,” she said, walking into his arms. “After.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Being with Mason was going to spoil her. He made sure to see to her every desire. When he ran his hands over her, he was gentle and demanding at the same time. The mix was as intoxicating as his sexy outer shell and his nerdy inner core.

  Her body seemed to respond to everything he did as if she’d been starved of sex for years.

  When his hands ran over her body slowly, she arched for him, came for him, and still wanted more.

  As they slept, he kept her pinned to his chest as if protecting her.

  They both woke when they heard the heavy door in the other room slide open.

  “Sounds like your mother’s back,” Mason said against her hair.

  “At least we got a couple hours of sleep,” she said, shifting out of the bed.

  “We don’t have to get up yet,” Mason said, sitting up.

  She glanced back at him and ran her eyes over his bare chest, enjoying his toned, tan muscles. “Right,” she sighed. “Too many questions racing through my head.”

  He nodded. “Agreed.” He ran his hands over his face and hair, messing up his dark locks even further. “We’ll dress and head out there to get some answers.”

  She dressed quickly and, before Mason was finished pulling on his shoes, walked out to see her mother sitting and staring at the screens.

  “It followed me,” she said, motioning to the screen.

  A burst of fear jumped into her as she turned and looked. All but one screen showed the daylight outside. At first, she thought that the camera or the screen was broken, but then she moved closer and realized that there was something large and dark filling the area instead.

  A pair of red eyes hovered in the center of the screen. A bright light flashed and, suddenly, the screen turned fuzzy.

  “He’s broken the camera,” her mother said with a groan. “I think he’s trying to break through the barrier.”

  Fear spiked in her quickly. “Can he do that?” she asked as Mason stepped out of the back room with a few bottles of water and some food.

  “Can who do what?” he asked.

  “The darkness, can it break through the barriers?” she repeated.

  “No.” Her mother shook her head, but Joleen could see a hint of insecurity behind her eyes. Eyes that matched her own.

  “What does happen when the darkness catches up with someone?” Mason asked. “I mean, it could just be like passing through a shadow?”

  “No one who has gone in has ever come out,” Jenna answered.

  Joleen felt a shiver race through her. Her knees turned weak and she sat down in the chair next to her mother.

  “Okay, so what other defenses do we have against whatever that is.” Mason asked, glancing around as if there were weapons lying around that they hadn’t noticed before.

  Jenna leaned back in the chair and shook her head. “There’s nothing to fight him off. The only thing that works to keep him at bay is the Proxinium.”

  “How have you gone out at night and not been taken?” Joleen asked.

  Her mother smiled. “The Mimic. Not only can he travel fast and turn his fur pitch black, but anyone riding on his back is invisible.”

  “What?” Mason asked, glancing at her. “You mean, we were invisible last night?”

  “Yes.” Jenna smiled. “I didn’t see you on the monitors until you climbed off his back. Here.” She leaned forward and punched a couple of buttons, and the scene from yesterday played.

  Sure enough, suddenly Mason appeared out of thin air. She watched as he helped her down from Spot’s back and she appeared just like he had.

  “Wow, that is so cool,” she said, leaning closer. “You can’t even see Spot,” she exclaimed.

  “No.” Jenna sighed. “Which can sometimes be a pain when he gets it in his head to take off on me. It’s one of the reasons I needed to run errands last night. He’s been MIA for the past week.”

  Joleen frowned at her mother. “You said you were going to explain how you’ve been talking to me.” She watched her mother’s face drop slightly.

  “How about we head into the house for some breakfast. Then I’ll need to get a few hours of sleep.” Her mother stood up. “I’ll tell you over food. I promise.” She touched her arm and Joleen relaxed slightly.

  As they made their way out of the caves, Mason asked Jenna about where she’d gone and what she’d gotten.

  “There’s a gas depot a few miles outside of town. I replenish my supplies, as well as hunt for any non-perishables left.” They climbed the stairs and stepped into the morning sunlight.

  Joleen stopped to take in a deep breath of fresh air. The sights and smells had more memories popping into her head. How had she forgotten this place? Growing up, she’d always believed it was a dream.

  Any time she’d asked her parents about the other home, they’d dismissed her. No wonder. They hadn’t wanted her to think about her life before she’d come to them.

  She was patient, really, or at least she tried to be while her mother moved around the kitchen making more pancakes.

  “Sorry.” She glanced over her shoulder. “It’s one of the last things available to make,” Jenna said, glancing over her shoulder.

  “It’s okay,” Mason said, sitting at the table reading an old newspaper that had been lying around the house. “We’re not picky,” he added absently.

  Her mother stopped and looked between the pair of them. “So, it’s ‘we,’ now?”

  Joleen couldn’t stop the smile. “You’re stalling.” She cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest to show her mother she meant business.

  Jenna sighed and turned down the gas oven then leaned against the countertop.

  “I knew from the start that you were special,” she started. “I met Leo, the man you knew as your father, a year after you were born.”

  “Okay,” Joleen said slowly. “So then who was my father?”

  Jenna took a deep breath. “No one. I… things are complicated and well…”

  Mason set the paper down and stood up. “Are you saying that Joleen is a test tube baby?”

/>   Jenna frowned. “I…” She shook her head and turned back to Joleen. “I had been working on a project. GeoTech had come into some… DNA samples from a comet that had passed by a few years prior. I was working with it, trying to narrow down where it had come from. What exactly it was made of. What kind of DNA it was.” She swallowed. “Until that day, I hadn’t been… It had been close to two years since I’d been with anyone.” Her mother motioned with her hands. “I can’t explain it, but that day, there was a breach in the quarantine capsules and… I was exposed and then I ended up pregnant with you.” She smiled and walked over to touch her on the cheek. “My own personal miracle.”

  Joleen felt sick to her stomach. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” She felt her entire body roll when her mother nodded her head.

  “You have no father, technically.”

  “What? Like an immaculate conception?” Joleen asked.

  Her mother smiled. “No, it was science. Whatever DNA had been scraped from the comet was alien in nature. There are more things out there than we know about. My guess, after the Mimic arrived, was that you brought him here on purpose, that he was there to protect us. Which means, somehow he’s part of what you came from.”

  “Explain,” Mason said, breaking into the conversation.

  Her mother turned to him and sighed. “The Mimic found her.” Jenna nodded towards Joleen. “Out of all the worlds…”

  “So, you do believe the multi-universe theory?” Mason asked.

  Jenna laughed. “Believe? Yes.” She nodded. “It’s truth. For proof, just look around you. My world—” She stopped herself. “Our world”—she motioned to Joleen—“died a few years ago when he attacked, wiping out over ten billion people.”

  “Ten?” Mason asked with a frown. “There’s only seven…”

  “On your world,” Jenna said softly. “Our world had just over ten.” She swallowed and then continued. “With my portal, I managed to save close to a hundred of them.”

  “Portal?” Joleen asked.

  Jenna nodded. “I’ll show you after breakfast.” She turned back to the stove.