TANAK: Sci-Fi Romance (Star Fall Series Book 1)

by E. A. James

  That is what brought her to this moment—the all-consuming need she felt to please her dad. She needed his approval; it was the only thing she had ever wanted in her entire life, even though it was probably the only thing she could never actually get. “Nicole,” she heard her dad’s voice call her from across the room. She looked up to see him standing at the door to his office. He was a large man, with dark tan skin and deep brown eyes, so dark they appeared almost black. “Come in,” he said motioning for her to follow him.

  Getting to her feet, she hurried across the room, her steps once again echoing around her. When she walked into her father’s office, her palms suddenly became very sweaty. “Sit,” he ordered her. She did as she was told without a word and waited for him to give her the speech. The same speech he had given her time and time again—before starting high school, college, and then grad school.

  “This is a big day for you,” he started, leaning forward and looking her in the eye, making sure he had her full attention. “I expect nothing but your best, Nicole.”

  “Of course,” she said, twisting her hands in her lap.

  “If you blow this, it reflects badly on me,” he said leaning back and crossing his arms at his chest.

  That was it—the speech. It was the exact same as it had always been. Whereas other parents would be congratulating their children on their new job, and wishing them luck on their new adventure, her dad only reminded her that whatever she did it would only and always be tied to him. That was her dad’s way of giving her encouragement—scaring her beyond the point of reason. “I know, dad,” she said quietly.

  “Sir,” he said to her sternly.

  “I’m sorry?” she looked up at him quickly.

  “Here, you are to refer to me as ‘sir’ or ‘Dr. Sanchez’,” he explained.

  “Yes, sir,” she corrected herself.

  “You understand how important this is, don’t you? This isn’t some class project or clinical experience. This is the real world—this is my world.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said quietly, looking down again. She did, too. She knew how important this was—to him. For her, all that mattered was earning his respect.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Her dad led her out of his office and began giving her a tour of the facilities. He didn’t pause long enough for her to write anything down, so she hoped she would be able to retain enough to at least do her job well. When he stopped in front of a large, double-paneled wooden door he turned to face her abruptly. “Are you ready?” he asked her.

  “Ready? For what?” she asked panic spreading through her.

  “To meet the team,” he said to her dryly.

  “Today?” she said nervously. “I thought that I was going to be starting tomorrow. Today was just supposed to be a ‘pick up your key, get to know the place’ kind of thing, I thought.”

  “This is part of that,” he said turning away from her and pushing the doors open, not giving her time to collect her thoughts.

  When she entered the room, every face turned to look at her. There was a large table in the center of the room, with twelve seats around it—all of them occupied except for one. Her dad sat in the empty chair at the head of the table. The men and women sitting around him were all much older than Nicole. They were all dressed in pantsuits and pressed shirts, and looked more like business associates than scientists. “Everyone, this is Nicole Sanchez, our newest biologist,” her father introduced her formally. “Ms. Sanchez,” he said to her. “These are the leading minds working here at Gen-Lab.”

  “Nice to meet you all,” she said, smiling weakly. She was still standing, since there was nowhere to sit, and felt extremely uncomfortable with everyone looking at her.

  “As an entry level biologist, your job will be to work with the specimens, collect data and samples, and then deliver them to us in the lab.”

  “I won’t be working in the lab?” she asked, shifting her weight back and forth.

  Her father shot her a disapproving look. “That’s a privilege which is earned. First, we need to see that you can follow simple orders and not question authority,” her dad said to her between gritted teeth.

  She didn’t know if she should answer or not, so she opted for saying something, but changing the subject. “What specimens will I be working with?” she asked.

  Everyone finally shifted their attention off of her and turned to look at her father. The room was quiet while they waited for him to answer. “It’s easier if we show you,” he finally concluded.

  He stood to his feet along with the two men sitting on either side of him. One was younger than the other, and couldn’t have been much more than 30 years old. He had kind eyes and a friendly smile that he only gave Nicole when the others weren’t looking. They filed out of the room, waiting for her to follow. As they led her down a long hallway, her hands began to shake slightly at her sides. She shoved them down in her pockets in an effort to keep them still. Her father, leading the group, stopped at a large, gray metal door. “Are you ready, Nicole?” he asked her over his shoulder.

  She didn’t answer. She just watched as he lifted his key card and slid it through the card reader next to the door. When the small box let out a loud, high-pitched squeal, her father leaned his weight against the door and pushed it open.

  She followed the small group into another long hallway. This one was dimly lit, with fluorescent light bulbs hanging down from the ceiling. All along the walls on either side of them were windows, giving her a view into the different rooms they passed. She heard the man in front of her explaining to her what each specimen she saw was, but she didn’t pay attention to him. She couldn’t make out his words over the pounding of her heart in her ears. Each creature she passed seemed more unusual than the last.

  In the first room, there was what appeared to be a large bear, but it was completely hairless. It moved about the room slowly, and when it turned to face her she had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. Its face was that of a bird, but again without feathers. “It’s hideous!” she exclaimed under her breath. She heard the younger man, who was standing next to her chuckle a little, and her father let out an exhausted sigh.

  In the second room, she had to lean in closely to even see what was being held there. At first, she didn’t think anything, but then she saw it. In the corner of the room was a small, shiny cube. “Is that it?” she asked, furrowing her brow and squinting her eyes.

  “Yes,” the man next to her said. He sounded annoyed. Maybe he had already told her, but it was when she wasn’t paying attention.

  When they walked to the next room, she decided to focus all her attention on what the man was saying before turning to face whatever creature was being held in the room. “This specimen is known as Specimen 91-33. It’s more dangerous than the others we’ve seen up to this point. We believe it is from a planet not too far outside of the Milky Way. It was found in the Rocky Mountains. While it may look like your average mountain lion, at night, it grows in size three times, and its already aggressive temperament becomes borderline insane.”

  When Nicole finally turned to look at it, she was surprised. The man was right; it didn’t look unusual or alien. “How did you guys know it was an alien?” she asked inspecting it.

  “Just wait till you see it at night. Then you’ll know there’s absolutely no question that this beast is not from this planet.”

  She turned to look back at the group but they had already moved on. They made their way down the hall, stopping at each window and giving her a chance to gawk at the creature inside the room. When they reached the end of the passageway she expected them to turn around, but they didn’t. They stopped in front of a door that had no window allowing her to see into the room. The door had a large red and yellow sign on it, which read “CAUTION-DANGEROUS.”

  “This will be your most important assignment,” her father said turning back to her.

  “What is it?” she asked, trying to keep her voice from reflecting her fear.<
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  Her father looked at the men momentarily before turning his attention back to her. “It’s best if you see for yourself,” he said reaching once again for his key card.

  When he unlocked the door and pushed it open, he waited for Nicole to step forward before entering the room. They walked in together and what she saw in front of her filled her with a paralyzing fear. She wanted to scream, to turn and run, and to never look back, but she couldn’t.

  It was a dragon—the enormous, scale-covered, winged and fanged beast in front of her was a dragon! The animal attempted to lunge forward in their direction, but its motion was cut short by the chains wrapped around its massive legs. Stopping just short of where Nicole and her father were standing, the dragon let a puff of smoke flow from its nostrils and fill the air with a hot, heavy steam.

  Nicole tried to fight off the dizzy feeling that was washing over her but she couldn’t. The harder she stared at the animal, the more the room around her began to spin. She felt her legs go numb, and her skin became clammy. She felt a cold shiver run over her, despite the heat that was now floating around the room, and in a heap, she collapsed to the ground. As her vision became blurry, she saw the beast staring down at her, his eyes fixed on hers. She tried to keep herself awake, but she couldn’t.

  The last thing she remembered was her dad’s disappointed sigh as he lifted her off the ground and carried her out of the room.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  When she regained consciousness, Nicole was laying on the floor in the conference room, her father pacing back and forth in front of her, and the two men who had joined them on the tour sitting in their respective seats at the table.

  “I don’t know why I expected anything more from her,” her father was saying under his breath. “She’s too weak for this,” he said turning to face his colleagues. “She can’t do it.”

  “I can,” she said sitting up. The three faces turned to look at her, concern written on the two men’s she had just met, but disappointment on her father’s. “Let me try again, I can do it!” she tried to convince herself as much as them.

  “Nicole,” her father’s tone was harsh. “Haven’t you done enough for one day?” She knew what he was really saying—“Haven’t you embarrassed me enough for one day?”

  Pushing herself up to her feet, Nicole straightened out her pants, readjusted her shirt and looked at him determinedly. “I want to try again,” she said firmly.

  “Give her a chance, Juan,” the younger man who had taken the time to explain each specimen to her said to her father.

  He turned to look at the person who was addressing him. “If you think she can do it, you take her, Allen,” he said to him. “I’ll be in my office.” And with that, he stormed out of the room, not looking back to Nicole or the man who was now standing to lead her back to the specimen holding area.

  “Come along, then,” he said as he waited for her to follow him. “I’m Allen, by the way,” he formally introduced himself.

  “Thank you for taking me back, Allen,” Nicole said smiling up at him.

  “Of course,” he replied as he slid his key through the card reader and waited for the door to open.

  As they walked down the long hall towards the large metal door, Nicole had to take deep breaths to keep herself from becoming overwhelmed and dizzy again. She knew what was going to be waiting for her this time, and she made sure she was completely prepared to face it by the time Allen pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  She followed him in, keeping her gaze fixed on the ground in front of her. The room wasn’t as warm as it was the first time. Did something in the air change, or was the cold rush of nerves about to overtake her again? She lifted her chin, although her eyes were still squeezed shut and counted slowly to five before opening them.

  What she saw in front of her almost sent her into a new fit of panic, but not because it was the same horrifying beast she saw before—because it wasn’t. Standing in the center of the room was a man. He was completely naked and his body was perfectly chiseled. He had dark, almost jet-black hair and deep green eyes that seemed to pierce right through her.

  Nicole felt a rush of emotions—fear, surprise, and embarrassment. She was afraid because she knew what the man really was; she was surprised because she didn’t expect to see what she did, and she was embarrassed because she found him to be very attractive, and his nakedness made her face flush red.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you before,” the man said, stepping forward slowly. The chains that were once wrapped around the giant legs of a dragon were now lying on the floor, too large to keep him restrained.

  As he stepped towards her, she stepped back. “You…” she started, her words coming out in barely a whisper. “You speak English?”

  “I suppose I do,” he said shrugging and smiling at her kindly. “My name is Amias,” he said holding out his hand.

  “I’m Nicole,” she said slowly placing her hand in his. When their skin touched she felt the room become warm again, but this time she was sure that it was her nerves that caused her to feel flushed.

  “That’s an interesting name,” he said tilting his head to the side.

  She couldn’t help but laugh a little. “And Amias isn’t?”

  “Now that the introductions are over,” Allen said stepping forward and placing his hand on Nicole’s shoulder, “we should get to work.”

  “Get to work?” she asked turning to him.

  “I have to show you how to collect the samples.”

  “Oh,” she said confused. “We’re going to do that today?”

  “We have to get started as soon as possible,” he explained. “Especially with this one,” he said gesturing to Amias.

  For a split second, she had forgotten that he was an alien—that he was a specimen that she was to study and research. Turning back to look at the man she felt bad. She didn’t want to subject him to experiment after experiment and test after test. “It’s okay,” he leaned in and whispered in her ear before walking over and taking a seat on the bench in the corner of the room.

  Allen exited the room, returning just seconds later with a bag and a clipboard. “You materials are stored in the closet just to the left of the door,” he explained as he walked over to where Amias was sitting.

  Nicole followed him cautiously across the room. She watched as he pulled out one item after the next from his bag and explained to her what she was to use them for. Throughout the entire process, Amias sat quietly, staring at her and not taking his eyes from her face. Whenever she looked at him, she got the feeling that he was reading her somehow—that he was looking deep inside her and seeing her inner thoughts.

  When Allen handed her a long syringe and instructed her to take the specimen’s blood she felt a ping of guilt surge through her. She took the needle in her hand and ran her finger along the inside of Amias’ arm. When she plunged the needle into his vein, she kept her eyes on her work and resisted the urge to look at him with concern to make sure he was all right.

  Silently, she scolded herself for her feelings. She couldn’t help but find him attractive—not just physically either. There was something about the way he carried himself, the way he looked at her, and the way he had tried to comfort her earlier. It was like he knew what she was feeling, and he wanted to make her feel better—she was the one who was going to be examining him, and yet he worried about how she felt.

  When Allen finished showing her how to collect all her samples, they collected their things to leave. “Nice to meet you, Nicole,” Amias called out to her as she exited the room.

  She turned to watch the door between them slam shut. Reading the warning again, she turned to Allen. “He doesn’t seem dangerous to me,” she said as they walked down the long hall.

  “Don’t let him fool you,” Allen said to her over his shoulder. “You saw what he really is. Do you really think something like that wouldn’t hesitate to turn on you if given the chance?”

  She didn’t answer; ins
tead, she tried to let his words sink in. He was right—Amias wasn’t just the man she met that made her feel drawn to him, he was also the beast that terrified her. But she couldn’t believe that he was dangerous; she couldn’t believe that he would hurt her.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The next day, as she made her way down the long hall, working with each of the different specimens as she did, Nicole felt a growing sense of nervousness form in her stomach the closer she got to Amias’ large, metal door.

  When she reached the end of the hallway, she took a deep breath before running her key through the card reader. Pushing the door open slowly, she entered the room, keeping her eyes locked on the ground in front of her.

  “Good morning,” she mumbled under her breath.