1606011189-Menagerie-Santiago.doc

by Menagerie (lit)

  Blue ushered her through the committee chamber doors to where only Golden waited for her. He was seated alone at the table and Valerie wondered where the other two members were. She hadn’t ever seen him without Silver and Bronze poised to whisper in his ears.

  “What’s going on?” Over her shoulder, Blue closed the chamber doors leaving them alone.

  “We brought you here to explain the procedures for your return home to Earth.”

  Golden stood and led her from the committee chamber to a hidden hallway at the back of the tall room. Following along at a measured distance, a vague recollection of having been here before surfaced in Valerie’s memory. A green shaft of light appeared ahead and she remembered exploring this prohibited space with Daisy. Until Dominick had caught them. Approaching the familiar space, she suppressed the urge to shout, “Ah ha!” and mentally rubbed her hands together. Now she’d finally get to see what was in this forbidden hallway.

  “All six of us are going back, correct?”

  Golden nodded and opened a door to a room she’d never seen in this part of the alien vessel before. “There has been a slight complication. We wanted to discuss it with you privately.”

  “What complication? How slight?” The spacious white room was well lit, with ambient light seemingly coming from the walls. It looked like her personal vision of mission control on Earth where shuttles and satellites were launched in to space. “What are we doing here?” She didn’t mean to sound so impatient. Time away from Dominick made her edgy. She wondered if it would be prudent to ask about finding a way to meet him back on Earth again.

  “You have truly fallen in love with one of the men in your group,” Golden remarked in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Startled that the conversation had strayed into what she’d just been thinking, Valerie crossed her arms ready to do battle. “Am I in more trouble now?”

  “No. At least, not trouble which will result in any consequences. However, we would like to offer you the possibility to remember each other once you go back to Earth.”

  “I thought you said paradoxes would result.” Still, hope colored her new exuberant tone.

  “They can, but we don’t believe this will result if we give you the information. Besides, the likelihood of your meeting is remote at best.”

  “Okay, tell me what information will help me find him.”

  Golden pressed his palms together as if in prayer. “Let me explain something to you first. Humans have a unique personification of being while traveling in our vessel. Especially the males.”

  “Why do you still suck us up into your vortex?”

  Golden smirked a little. “Your planet resides near a little-known wormhole exit. This path is the only one our ship can take safely to and from our destination. Unfortunately human capture has become a part of it.”

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “Centuries.” Golden looked away.

  “After all this time, surely you have better ways through space.”

  “No. Not really. Our enduring mission is to transport needed medical supplies to our planet’s remote and distant colonies across the galaxy. This phenomenon only happens every eighty-one Earth years, however, we endeavor to make right the lives of what humans we accidentally transport on our way back through. Up until very recently, humans were not inhabiting this particular area of Earth.”

  “So, all the alien abduction stories are true?”

  “Not exactly as your media has purported it to be.”

  “How, exactly?”

  “The first occurrence was over 400 years ago and impacted only one human. The number has increased over time. After several hundred years, we finally hit upon a system by which we weren’t hurting humans when they fell victim to our gravitational oasis vortex. It was a difficult transition for them initially, but we studied the problem and the environment you lived in was the result of long years of examination and analysis.”

  “What did you do?” Valerie asked in a near whisper.

  Golden pegged her with an intense stare, as if to mesmerize her into listening before he spoke. “First, we allowed the females and males to commingle in the containment tubes. This calmed the male population immeasurably.” He paused to take a deep breath and added quietly, “And also by letting the males separate into different personalities and reside this way during the flight. Setting up a process by which they could select an Earth female for sexual gratification purposes while they were on board alleviated all final problems with their captivity.”

  “I don’t understand. What different personalities?”

  Golden gestured for her to sit. It was the first time he’d displayed this level of consideration. She sat warily. “Explain the different personalities.”

  He also seated himself. “The truth is you’ve only been with one man since you’ve been on our vessel. He simply has several personalities.”

  Valerie shook her head. “No. I live with five different men. They are each unique and different, not the same man acting differently.” She stood and Golden’s eyes widened when she towered above him.

  Golden rose from his chair slowly. “Yes. However, on Earth all these men share the same body.”

  Her mouth fell open. “I don’t believe it. They’re all too different.”

  “Yes they are different, and yet they are all the component personalities of one man.”

  Valerie’s brain swirled madly with the shocking information. All her mates were personalities of the same man? She swallowed hard before asking, “Which one is it?”

  “Dominick, of course, which is why we are even having this conversation. If you’d fallen in love with one of the other personalities then we would have sent you back without the knowledge of a remote possibility of finding each other.” He pointed to her chair and they both sat down again.

  “We can find each other?” A beacon of hope rose so sharply she almost screamed out loud. Not something Golden and the others were comfortable with, so she tamped down her enthusiasm. “Don’t tease me.”

  “It is not a guarantee, but the possibility exists in certain circumstances. If you come across each other shortly after returning to Earth and get close enough to speak even a single word to each other, then your memories of this place will return temporarily.”

  “Great. He’ll instantly remember he shared me with four other men. I’m sure that will get us off on the right foot.”

  “Dominick will understand that you were only with his other personalities and not five different men. Merely alter egos of himself.”

  “Oh yeah.” Valerie’s skeptical nature came out full force. “How does that work?”

  Golden merely smiled tolerantly. “Humans are very complex creatures.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. This splitting of his mind phenomenon is merely a side-effect of being brought aboard the Chippen. Dominick is the true being of the man. But even you must admit that regardless of where they are, all humans can be different in personality when presented with different circumstances.

  “For example, Dominick is dark and dangerous and that’s how he lives his day-to-day life.

  “However, Hauser is the face that Dominick presents to the world at large because his true self believes it’s a better representation for living in your world. He can accomplish more by having a friendlier face to transact business.

  “Frasier is the analytical part of his mind dealing with numbers, finances and the general logic of every situation Dominick encounters.

  “Johnny is his creative side dealing with resourcefulness, inventiveness and artistic expression when the situation calls for it.

  “Mark is his softer side, where things are simple and non-threatening. This is the personality he uses to engage with family and friendships versus his work environment.”

  Valerie was stunned. “And they’re all a part of Dominick?”

  The other nodded and folded his hands serenely on the table. “Yes.”


  “Will it hurt him to have all his personalities put back together?”

  “No.”

  While this information was fairly shocking, she didn’t find it hard to swallow. It was, in fact, a huge relief. “And because I foolishly picked a favorite mate against your rules and my better judgment, leading to my supreme guilt-filled existence for the past several months, I’m rewarded with the possibility finding him.”

  “Precisely.”

  Galvanized with hope, she asked, “What do I have to do?”

  “Nothing. Once back on Earth, only a few minutes will have passed, if any at all. Our goal is to put you back fifteen minutes prior to your abduction. You may have a sense of déjà vu for a few minutes after we drop you off. If and only if you run into Dominick’s true self, you must say something so he can hear your voice. The recognition is triggered by the unique sounds of your vocal cords.”

  “So I won’t recognize him?”

  “My limited understanding is that he’ll seem very familiar to you. If he speaks to you first, he won’t recognize you until you speak in return”

  Valerie nodded and visualized Dominick. She’d spend the next seven days memorizing his voice.

  “Are you ready to go back to resume your life on Earth?”

  “I guess. Thanks for the chance to find Dominick.”

  Golden actually allowed the barest of smiles to form. “Very well. Follow me. We don’t have much time left.”

  “What do you mean? We’re leaving now?” She wanted to say good-bye to them. All of them. One last kiss. One last hug. And in Dominick’s case, one last enthusiastic intimate bondage encounter. Valerie looked at her watch. “But I still have several days. I wanted to say my farewells.”

  “That won’t be possible, I’m afraid. We feel it best to separate the groups before they realize or it’s harder. Trust me.” Glancing at his hand-held computer, he made a little noise and jumped up from his chair. He tugged on her arm until she stood up. “We must hurry or you’ll miss your window to go back.”

  Departing from the room, Valerie glanced over her shoulder and calculated her odds of escaping him and finding her way out of the maze of hallways she’d arrived in.

  “If you run back, you’ll be staying permanently.” Valerie hesitated until he added, “And so will they.”

  Tilting her head, Valerie smirked. “What if I want to stay here with him?”

  “You won’t be put with Dominick and his group, if you remain.” She sighed deeply and turned to follow him.

  “Fine.” Valerie hastened to keep up as they hurried down the long white corridor to yet another room with a large blue circle centered on the floor of a raised knee-high dais.

  “Step onto the gray platform and then into the blue circle in the center and you’ll be back before you know it,” Golden said.

  The lavender-skinned man standing before the panel of lights and buttons looked exasperated. “Ten seconds.”

  “Did someone tell Dominick he could find me, too?”

  “No. Only you. It has to be initiated by you.” Golden pushed her towards the blue circle, but she was uncertain and balked.

  “…Nine…eight…seven…” Lavender’s hand was poised over a large red button on the wall. She noted the snarky irritation in his tone as he counted. This unexpected departure was happening too fast. Would she even remember? Please remember.

  “Did Dominick already leave for Earth?”

  “…Six…five…four…”

  “Yes, right before we spoke.” Golden pushed her again. “Dominick was as difficult to get on the blue circle as you are.”

  “…Three…two…”

  Valerie stepped both feet on the blue circle as tears erupted from her eyes. She closed her eyes not wanting to see what happened on this ride.

  “…One…mark.”

  The last thought in her mind, the last visual memory she tightly embraced, was of her only true love. Dominick.

  Chapter 18

  Valerie jogged through the park and realized she’d apparently traveled half the path in a complete daydreaming fog. She glanced at her sports watch and realized almost thirty minutes had gone by. Looking at the terrain in her vicinity, she searched the area to get her bearings.

  The scent of fresh-mown grass assaulted her as if she hadn’t smelled it in a long time and took her back to her childhood and the humid heat of a lazy summer day.

  She couldn’t remember what she’d just been thinking before being distracted by the fragrance of the outdoors. Something about space or stars perhaps. She couldn’t quite grasp the nebulous strands of memory in her mind. Perhaps the strenuous exercise was making her brain soft.

  Rounding the trail hill with the elevation that led into the trees on the next incline, Valerie was troubled by her lack of recollection of the past half an hour. It seemed like she was forgetting something. Something big. Her methodic steps slowed to barely a trot. Was she forgetting something?

  The crunch of the gravel beneath her feet sounding like someone eating Grape-Nuts was overpowered by a loud, engine-revving noise coming from the street that ran alongside the park. She hated jogging along this portion of the path.

  Valerie looked towards what sounded like two vehicles racing, but could only see trees. In another hundred yards or so she’d be able to see part of the road.

  The racers would probably have zoomed by before she made it, but the sound of grinding metal on metal startled her into a faster trot. The looky-look in her longed to see the accident and view for herself the carnage. It was sick, but she didn’t know anyone who could resist the lure of possible bloodshed on the road. The muscles in her thighs protested the sudden burst of energy needed to push her all the way up the small hill to overlook the road.

  The sharp bang startled her and she stopped dead in her tracks for a moment before walking the rest of the way. Was that a gunshot or a backfire? Cresting the hill, she widened her gaze and looked down the short incline at the section of street revealed between leafy trees. A large black motorcycle was being chased by a sleek silver one. The rider on the silver bike held a long black weapon. A cross between a rifle and a handgun, he leveled it at the black motorcycle.

  The word Uzi pistol came to mind from she knew not where, but that same place told her it was an accurate label for the weapon in the silver rider’s hand. The rider of the black motorcycle hugged the frame of his bike. She didn’t know how he could even see the road because he was slumped in his seat so low.

  The gun she’d miraculously identified as an Uzi pistol fired another volley of rounds and hit the black motorcycle’s back tire, popping it. The black rider immediately lurched to the left, lost control of his bike and slid sideways into the ditch twenty yards from her perch at the top of the incline next to the road.

  The silver rider continued on speeding by into the moderately heavy traffic and disappeared around the curve of the highway.

  Valerie had never possessed a courageous bone in her body, and part of her wanted to run as far away as possible. Instead, she scrambled down the incline towards the black biker, who had slid to a stop in the grassy area beside the road and was now trapped beneath his motorcycle. Her intention was to help him, although her intrigue level was spiking too.

  The scent of burned rubber from his blown tire permeated the surrounding air. He wasn’t moving. Valerie approached and almost stumbled over a gun at her feet. The Glock 17 nine-millimeter autoloader had the safety off and it was ready to fire. She shook her head. Where did she know the specifics of the gun from? She knew it was factual and reached for the pistol before prudence could caution her about picking up strange guns from probable criminals in a dispute.

  Weapon in hand, pointed at the ground for safety, she took another step towards the motorcycle and its trapped rider. Under normal circumstances, Valerie would never approach a stranger or even speak to him. She was compelled to do so for some unfathomable reason.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?�
� The black rider struggled to lift his heavy bike off his leg one-handed as a grimace shaped his face. He twisted his body towards her when he failed to secure his freedom and she saw a sliver of his face through the visor of his helmet more clearly. Vivid arctic-blue eyes bored a hole through her. He did seem very familiar.

  His voice penetrated her and made her mind swirl in dizzy recognition. Where did she know him from?

  “I…you…I…” Valerie stopped and took a deep breath. Panicking was not going to help. “I was getting your gun.” Fingers closing over the grip, it was funny how comfortable the large gun felt in her hand.

  “I never let anyone touch my weapon. Bring it here.” The cadence of his sultry deep tone washed over her in warm waves of recognition.

  Valerie hesitated. She lifted the gun closer and pointed it away from him, checking the balance and weight like a pro. Flipping the release button, she popped the ammunition magazine out, studied the bullets loaded, full clip. Like she’d used it before. Like she’d spent months practicing. Like the voice emanating from the man at her feet seemed so familiar because he was the one who had taught her how to shoot.

  But how was that possible?

  The fragment of a dream wafted past her memory and she said, “You told me that I was the exception to your rule. I’ve touched your weapon plenty of times.” The words came out of her before she even knew what she was saying.

  He narrowed his lids as if processing her explanation, but didn’t argue, shockingly enough.

  What? Did she know him?

  A flood of images swelled in her brain. She remembered everything. The abduction by the Others. The gauntlet arena to choose a group of mates. The alien mating ceremony that joined her to five men for three years. Her forbidden favorite mate. The nightmares, the target practice, the resolution.

  The rushed explanation of Golden on her way back to Earth about how to find him. Her soul mate.

  Dominick.

  The name echoed in her mind and brought forth the words “forbidden pleasure.” Why would he be forbidden? One look at his body told her why the word pleasure came to mind. He dripped pure sex appeal, even trapped and struggling as he was beneath his motorcycle.