‘Hi there,’ said a voice. ‘You’re up.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘The pool; that is your two dollars, isn’t it?’
It was one of the local boys. She quickly regained her poise before picking up her drink and following him over to the table. She held little hope for the endeavour ending well.
‘I have to warn you that I am not very good,’ she said and then wondered why.
The boys did not reply. All she could read from their body language was an air of boredom. She sensed they wanted to beat her quickly and then get back to playing each other. The one who was to sit out the game went to the bar whilst his friend racked the balls.
‘Challenger breaks,’ the guy said, rolling the white down to the other end of the table with little interest.
Lucy felt awkward and wanted to get the game over with as quickly as possible. Losing was a foregone conclusion and losing quickly was the best she could hope for. As she was just about to play her shot, her opponent’s friend returned from the bar, but he was not alone.
‘Hey, guys, how about we make this a game of doubles?’
He was with the girl from the bar. Up close, she looked just as pretty as she did from afar, but was not wearing nearly as much make-up as Lucy had thought. No amount of mascara can enhance a face as much as simple self confidence. The boys both looked to Lucy, eager for her acceptance. When she gave it, they actually had the audacity to give one another a high five. She wondered if they had already decided which of them would be handed the short straw.
‘Girls against boys?’ offered the redhead, in an exotic, yet recognisably European accent.
The two guys nodded with enthusiasm, but Lucy just shrugged.
‘I am Anna,’ the girl said.
She placed her book onto a shelf by the table. It was a copy of the Lonely Planet – Deutsch Edition. Lucy’s big city credentials paled in comparison. Even if she had come from Sydney, which she had not, it would seem insignificant next to Germany.
‘I’m Joel and this is Josh,’ said the guy holding the cue.
The three then waited for Lucy to introduce herself.
‘Er, Lucinda,’ she said, after a brief hesitation.
Why did she say Lucinda and not Lucy? It is too formal and made her sound snooty. She thought the boys would now try for a threesome with the German girl and leave her out altogether. The two were whispering between themselves and she suspected they were discussing things she would definitely not want to overhear. She chalked her cue and then leaned over the table to take her shot. As she was about to strike the ball she heard a wolf whistle. It did not come from either of the boys.
She blushed.
‘Don’t be shy,’ said Anna. ‘We are going to beat these boys, no problem.’
Lucy smiled and then took her shot. Somehow, the compliment meant more coming from this girl than if it had been made by either of the boys.
The pack split, sending one red ball into a corner pocket and leaving another perched on the edge of the other corner. As she walked around the table to take her follow up shot her partner held up her palm for a high five. She duly obliged, but then felt a little stupid upon hearing giggles from the guys. To make matters worse, she completely fluffed her next shot and the cue ball followed the red into the pocket. Again, the boys laughed.
‘You guys will not be laughing when we beat you,’ said Anna.
‘Is that so,’ replied Joel, placing the cue ball back onto the table. ‘If you are so confident, perhaps you would like to make this a little more interesting. You’re already two balls up, so what do you say?’
Anna looked to Lucy, who instantly dismissed the idea. That first shot was a fluke. She did not want to get fleeced by these guys.
‘What do you have in mind?’ asked the German girl.
‘How about the loser gets in the next beers,’ replied Joel, receiving a nod of approval from his wingman.
Anna shook her head.
‘You boys should be buying a pair of beautiful ladies like us drinks anyway,’ she told him. ‘I’m sure you can think of a more fitting forfeit, do you not agree?’
Lucy cringed when she heard the word forfeit as she knew at once where the conversation was headed. She shrunk into her seat as the two boys engaged in some sort of blokey sign language, the meaning of which she had no desire to learn.
‘Losers have to get their tits out,’ said Joel, making Lucy wonder how she had mistaken these guys for being cute.
‘You have a deal,’ replied Anna, without even consulting her teammate.
Joel took to the table with relish and potted three balls in succession. He then ended his break by leaving Anna snookered behind the black ball. Lucy did not think she would even get another shot and she was right. Anna played a precision double off of the side cushion to not only get out of the snooker, but pot a red as well. She then polished off the next four balls with ease before doubling the black into a corner pocket.
The German rose from sinking the winning shot with a triumphant grin across her face.
‘I think it is time for you boys to pay up,’ she said.
The guys sheepishly lifted their tops, but they were more embarrassed about losing to a couple of girls than for baring their flesh. Showing their nipples was hardly a forfeit at all for them.
‘I demand a rematch,’ said Josh. ‘You girls got lucky and I did not even have a shot!’
‘What do you say,’ asked Anna, ‘shall we give this pair another chance?’
‘I think we’ve humiliated them enough,’ replied Lucy. ‘Besides, we’ve already seen what they have to offer and it’s not all that impressive.’
‘She’s right,’ agreed Anna. ‘What is in it for us when we beat you a second time; are you guys going to kiss?’
Josh began to falter, but Joel was quick to jump back into the negotiation.
‘You’re on,’ he said, ‘but only if you two do the same.’
‘You want us to kiss when you have not even seen our breasts yet?’ asked Anna, incredulously.
Joel was taken aback by her answer and looked to his friend for support, who in turn just shrugged.
‘Okay,’ he replied. ‘The same forfeit stands for you guys as in the first game. We win and you show us your tits. You win and we...’
He could not bring himself to finish the sentence.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Anna. ‘I did not quite hear you.’
‘I said that you win and we...kiss.’
‘It looks like we have a deal,’ said Anna, who then winked at Lucy.
It was the boys turn to break and since he did not even play a single shot in the first frame, Josh stepped up to the mark. He placed the white down and then smashed it as hard as he could with a thunderous cue shot, which made Lucy shudder.
Balls bounced all around the table like a flock of birds scattered by a mischievous cat. As they eventually came to settle, just one of them found a pocket.
It was the black.
At first, Lucy was unsure what this meant. Anna was laughing and both boys also seemed to think they had claimed the victory.
‘We win,’ declared Joel. ‘When you pot black on the break, it is game.’
Lucy bit nervously into her top lip, looking to her teammate for guidance.
‘That is not how we play it in Deutschland,’ replied Anna. ‘You fouled, so that means we win.’
The barman had come over to collect the empties from the table and he overheard the conversation.
‘Are you kids having trouble deciding who won?’ he asked.
‘No problem,’ replied Anna. ‘These guys are too pigheaded to admit that they lost. Josh potted the black on the break.’
‘That means we won,’ said Joel. ‘Tell her the rules,’ he then asked of the barman.
The barman looked first to the girls and then back to Joel.
‘House rules state that potting black on the break forfeits the game. It also means you’ve been seven balled and you
know what that means, don’t you, fellas?’
‘What does this mean?’ asked Anna, excitement punctuating her words.
‘It means that we are all in for a treat,’ replied the barman.
He leaned over and rang a bell that was by the table, to get the attention of everyone in the bar. A few people glanced at their watches and then relaxed when they saw it was not yet last orders. Others knew exactly what it meant and they turned to face the table.
‘Come on guys,’ said the barman. ‘Rules are rules.’
Joel gave his friend a little thump in the side for getting him into this mess. They then both dropped their pants down to their ankles and walked a lap of shame around the table to a huge applause from amused locals and surprised visitors alike. When the fuss died down and they refastened their belts, Anna was quick to remind the boys that their humiliation was not yet over.
‘I think you boys owe us girls a kiss.’
Joel smiled at first, but his face dropped when realisation dawned.
‘I’m not kissing him.’
‘Rules are rules,’ said Lucy, who was finally feeling the confidence to play along.
‘Ah, shit!’ exclaimed Joel.
The two boys moved sheepishly towards each and leaned in to touch lips.
‘I did not say that I want you guys to kiss on the mouth,’ said Anna.
‘Cheeks?’ suggested Josh, hopefully.
‘No, I want you guys to kiss on the nipple.’
‘On the nipple?’ asked a clearly surprised Joel.
‘On the nipple,’ confirmed Anna, glancing towards Lucy with mischief in her smile.
Josh rolled his t-shirt up to his neck.
‘Just make it quick, will you.’
Joel leaned forward. His mouth hovered over his friend’s chest, but he pulled back before making contact.
‘How about through the t-shirt?’ he suggested.
‘Whatever turns you on,’ giggled Anna.
Josh rolled his top back down and Joel leaned in once more before smothering his friend’s nipple with his mouth. He held his position whilst glancing over to the German girl to see if she was satisfied. Her poker face was perfect; she gave nothing away. Joel lingered for a little while longer until Josh gave out a yelp and pushed him away.
‘Jesus mate, you don’t have to bite.’
‘I did not bite,’ protested Joel. ‘That was you. You moved it.’
‘How can I move my nipple? You bit me, you queer.’
The girls laughed and it was enough to make the boys realise what idiots they were being. This time they were the ones left red faced. In an attempt to regain face, they offered to buy the girls a drink. Much to Lucy’s surprise, Anna hesitated, so it was she whom accepted the boys’ offer. She was fast learning that if she wanted something; she could no longer afford to just sit back and wait for it to come to her.
Chapter 3
Emmy looked at her watch.
The time was 10:07.
He was not coming.
She had expected this. Nobody was more stubborn than her grandfather. When she was a child, he promised to take her to Sydney as a treat if she scored straight A’s in her exams. She had never been to the big city and could not wait to see the skyscrapers, the museums and the ocean. Unfortunately, a B+ in Geography wrecked an otherwise perfect scorecard. The plane tickets were booked in advance and her grandfather still went ahead with the trip; he just did not take Emmy with him. Years later, she found out he was unable to get a refund on her ticket and let it go to waste. She never dropped a grade again.
‘We can postpone this if you want,’ suggested Charlie.
‘No, we have come too far to let one old man’s bitterness throw the project into disarray. We will proceed as planned. Tonight, history will be made; with or without the great Jackson Fox.’
She walked over to a control box, which was placed by the door to the laboratory. After typing in a password to unlock it, she pulled down a lever, which opened up the roof hatch. The ceiling gave way to a covering of stars in the same way that one unveils a plaque from behind a curtain.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it,’ she said.
‘This is nothing,’ replied Charlie. ‘Try and imagine the view you will have in just a few minutes.’
She did and a jolt of electricity shot up her spine. Sure, there was a risk to what she was doing, but it was greatly overshadowed by the potential reward.
As Charlie went through one final diagnostic check, she disrobed and lay down on the slab. It felt cold, but she knew the chill would not last. Soon her body would feel nothing at all whilst her mind would be sent into overdrive.
‘Everything’s ready,’ said Charlie. ‘All I have to do now is push the button.’
He slid the slab into the matchbox. Emmy remembered the false start she had experienced on her earlier run and made sure to focus on fully relaxing her body this time.
I am floating
‘Good luck,’ said Charlie, but she was not listening.
I am floating.
Her lab partner took his seat by the console. He could see that her vital signs were normal and her heart rate was slowly falling. There was also a monitor from where he could track her progress, although given the speeds and vast distances she was likely to travel, he expected the signal to be fragile.
I am floating.
Charlie turned the dial to level 2 and waited.
I am floating.
I am...falling!
Unlike the first time, Emmy did not jerk awake and the rush she felt was incomparable to anything she had ever felt before. She expected to slowly rise as she had done in the earlier test, but the sensation she experienced was more like moving downward, as if she was falling off the face of the Earth.
A few seconds into the journey she decided to apply the brakes, if this was even possible. There were no visual clues as to how fast she was going. This was largely due to the fact that she no longer had any eyes. In the lab she still had spatial awareness, this was by way of a kind of sixth sense, which Charlie christened “psychic sonar”. She sensed no objects in her vicinity, which could mean only one thing; she was in open space.
Stop
When her mind sharpened, she knew this meant that she was no longer in motion. She expected to be pulled back to her body, but this did not happen. Her consciousness was being amplified to the extent that she could actually begin to think with some degree of clarity without being awoken from her dreamlike state. She cast out her thoughts like a net into the ocean, hoping they would pick up something. There was nothing. She turned her senses to the opposite direction and this time she sensed a gigantic mass of energy before her.
Was this the sun? As more of the intensely bright energy came into her scope of awareness, she began to realise what she was witnessing. When she had become aware of her surrounding in the laboratory, the appearance of material objects such as the walls and the furniture had hinted at an opaque, almost transparent consistency. Charlie though, had shined and sparkled with the kaleidoscopic quality of a diamond. What she perceived now was the glow of a billion such diamonds. She was directly facing planet Earth in all its glory.
The vision was beyond anything she could have imagined, but she still had her sights set on a far greater prize. She willed herself away from the mass of psychic energy before her and pushed her consciousness deeper into space.
Unlike with conventional forms of travel, Emmy was no longer bound to the cosmic speed limit; the speed of light. She could move in an instant from one point in space to another. Within the endless void, any region of concentrated energy-matter reverberated out like an echo in an empty cathedral. She homed in on these pockets of activity and hopped from planet to planet as if they were mere stepping stones. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; she left them all behind as she descended deeper and deeper into space. She travelled further than any manmade craft or probe had ever gone before.
Every so often she would sense a massi
ve object and feel herself drawn to it. Maybe when she became more disciplined she could discover a new planet, but for the time being she was just finding rocks, albeit very big rocks.
The faster she travelled, the larger an energy-mass had to be to fall under her umbrella of awareness. She continued on, faster and faster until stopped by a wall of compact energy. The barrier was not completely solid, but it stretched out in every direction and even with her new found abilities she could sense no end to its vastness. It was the cocoon that surrounded the outer reaches of the solar system. Known as the Oort cloud, it is a barrier reef constructed of frozen comets and asteroids separating the solar system from the rest of the Milky Way. It is also more than a light year from Earth.
Emmy switched her focus back to the sun. Even from a distance of many billions of miles its presence was powerful. It would take even the most advanced spacecraft tens of thousands of years to get to where she was, yet she could return home in an instant.
She shifted her awareness once more and found herself viewing the Earth from the Moon. It was a sight shared by millions thanks to the images from Apollo 11, but it had never been seen like this. The planet was lit not by electricity, but by the living energy of every organism on its surface. Up close, it was so bright that it was adversely affecting the rest of her field of awareness, like staring directly at the sun. She was dazzled by its brilliance.
She turned her attention back to the moon, trying to visualise how the opaque mountains and craters surrounding her would look to human eyes. This really was a completely different world to the one she knew. She began to wonder if she was experiencing time as well as space differently, whilst in this altered state.
How long had she been out of her body? Hours, minutes, seconds? When her consciousness was stationary, she could sense the movement of atoms around her, but when she travelled everything became still as she navigated the crevasses that existed in between time itself.
Diamond Sky Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 3