The Flyer (The Flyer Series Book 1)

by Frédérick S. Parker

  We were just leaving the grocery store and heading back to my car when someone called my name. Turning around, I found a guy who looked about our age standing in the middle of the parking lot. The moment I saw his face, it felt like a ton of bricks landed in my stomach. I’d recognize those Alice blue eyes anywhere. It was the French model who’d shattered my soul and annihilated my heart. A flashback of Tyler’s drag party caused my knees to buckle and the taste of half-digested pizza to erupt in the back of my throat. I managed not to be sick, but if not for Uriah, I surely would have fallen. His strong arms were around my waist in an instant.

  “Jean-Luc?” My voice was barely above a whisper. I wanted to say more, but words failed me. All I could do was gape at him in stunned silence. The model looked just as I remembered. Tall and impossibly perfect. I noticed that despite the weather he was wearing a hoodie, the hood pulled over his head, hiding his hair. As he approached, he studied me with a mixture of sympathy and concern.

  “Hello,” he replied, his pale blue eyes shifting to Uriah. I noticed that my boyfriend was a good six inches taller than him.

  “Que faites vous ici… aux Etas-Unis?” Pushing our last encounter out of my head, I tried to appear calm and indifferent. Of course that was impossible because my heart was in danger of breaching my chest cavity.

  Jean-Luc looked at me for a moment, then his gaze shifted back to Uriah. Something about the way he was looking my boyfriend up and down made me uncomfortable. Is he checking him out? First he humiliates me, then has the audacity to try and steal my boyfriend? Before I could decide what to do, the French model was speaking. Had my mind not still been reeling, I might have noticed that not only was he speaking English, he didn't have an accent.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, his light blue eyes taking in my boyfriend’s face.

  “Uh, Uriah,” he replied, looking a little lost. “How do you know Aaron?”

  “We met months ago.”

  Realization dawned on Uriah’s face. “You’re the French model?”

  Jean-Luc was silent for a moment as he gave him another once-over.

  “Are you seriously checking out my boyfriend?” I demanded, pulling away from his protective clutches, no longer able to keep my temper in check.

  “I have no sexual interest in him if that’s what you mean,” the model replied calmly, his gaze momentarily cutting over to me. “I’m just trying to understand.”

  “Understand what?” Uriah asked, starting to look uncomfortable under Jean-Luc’s penetrating gaze.

  The French model hesitated, shooting me another look. “Does Aaron know?”

  “Know what?”

  “What you are?”

  Uriah shifted his weight. “What are you talking about?”

  When Jean-Luc didn’t answer, it occurred to me that he knew that my boyfriend wasn’t human. But how? And what was he doing here? After seven months, I found it hard to believe this run-in was a coincidence. And… wait a minute! Since when did he speak English? All our previous exchanges had been entirely in French. Now he spoke our language like a native. Is he…?

  “You’re not human, are you?” I blurted out, my eyes going wide.

  “That’s correct.” the model replied, his Alice blue eyes shifted over to Uriah. “And neither are you.”

  When my boyfriend's jaw dropped, I quickly took over. “How do you know that?”

  “My scanners picked up an alien life form in this vicinity. I came down to check it out.”

  “What are you?” Uriah asked, pulling me back to him, his tone guarded. Instead of relaxing, he seemed even more on edge.

  “In my universe, we are known as the Vongarians or V-group for short.” The alien didn’t seem the slightest bit perturbed by Uriah’s blatant unease.

  “Do you know what I am?” my boyfriend asked, his grip around my waist tightening.

  Jean-Luc’s eyes searched his face. “That’s what I was trying to figure out. My scanners were unable to classify you. If I were guessing, I’d say you’re an Antomolite, but I have no idea what genetic group you belong to. You resemble a Flyer, but you are much too tall and you have no wings.”

  “How do you know that?” I interjected.

  The alien turned his gaze on me once again and my stomach bottomed out. The intensity in his eyes was mind-boggling. How I never guessed he wasn’t human is beyond me. In that moment, there wasn’t anything Earthly about him. “Your words suggest that I’m right. His people come from a planet in my universe.”

  “How did you get here?” Uriah demanded.

  “Via my spaceship.” Jean-Luc returned his gaze to my boyfriend. “What I’d like to know is how you come to be on Earth. From what I understand of the Antomolites, you are a very primitive race. I don’t believe you have star voyaging capabilities.”

  “You said you are Vongarian, right?” Uriah inquired, suddenly looking suspicious, his gold eyes going dark.

  “Yes.”

  “Than you know that our two races are not on the friendless of terms.”

  To my surprise, the alien’s shoulders fell and, for the first time, he looked mildly uncomfortable. “I am aware of that and quite frankly I do not understand. From what I know about our history, the Vongarians have tried to help your people to the best of our ability. Granted, I don’t know all the secrets of our past, but I hope that you will not judge me for what my people have or have not done.”

  My boyfriend studied him for a moment in silence. Personally, I was lost. Since when does Uriah know of another alien race? That portal leads to a different universe? Whatever was going on, my boyfriend clearly didn’t want to divulge too much about himself or how he came to be here. While Uriah looked at Jean-Luc like he wouldn’t trust him as far as he could throw him, my feelings were quite different. As I got over the initial shock of seeing him, a calm had passed over me. I’d spent too many months hating myself for ever harboring feelings for him and wondering how I could have been so blind, but knowing what I know now, I realized it wasn’t my fault. His rejection had had nothing to do with me. In this case that age old cliché, “it’s not you, it’s me” was actually true.

  While my boyfriend continued to observe Jean-Luc suspiciously, a thought occurred to me. If this guy has a spaceship that can travel between universes, he must be pretty advanced. Perhaps he could help us.

  “Do you know anything about cerium or europium?” I asked, pulling away from Uriah. Before the alien could answer, my boyfriend pulled me back to him, his eyes darkening even farther.

  “Aaron, don’t. You can’t trust him.”

  “Why not?”

  “During my time with the Flyers, they told me things, things that most Antomolites don’t know. They warned me about the Vongarians. They came to our world preaching peace and friendship, but they have brought nothing but pain.”

  “What pain?” I asked, my eyes still on Jean-Luc who was looking more insecure by the second.

  “I don’t know exactly,” Uriah admitted. “But they blame the Vongarians for their struggles.”

  Turning away from the alien, I looked up into my boyfriend’s mistrusting face. “I don’t know what his people did to your kind, but is it fair to judge one person for the acts of his entire species? Doesn’t that sound a little closed-minded? You want to finish the race, right? He could be exactly what we’re looking for.”

  Uriah looked hesitant. Meanwhile, I turned back to the alien. “So, can you help us or not?”

  Jean-Luc’s eyes remained fixed on my boyfriend for a moment before they shifted to me. “Yes. I am familiar with those two elements. From what I understand, they are rare on this planet.”

  “Any chance you could help us get our hands on some?”

  “That shouldn’t be too difficult.”

  “In liquid form,” I added.

  The alien nodded, his eyes darting back to Uriah. “May I ask what this is for?”

  “No,” my boyfriend stated coldly. “You may not.”

&n
bsp; The alien nodded. “It might take a few hours for me to procure cerium and europium. Is there anything else you need?”

  Uriah started to shake his head, but I freed myself from his clutches and stepped forward again. “What do you know about genetic suppressants?”

  A look of realization swept across Jean-Luc’s face as he looked back at my boyfriend. “You’re using a genetic suppressant. That’s why you don’t have wings?”

  “So, you have heard of them?” I inquired.

  “Of course. My people created them.”

  “I thought technology didn’t work on Antomia.”

  Jean-Luc seemed mildly surprised that I knew that word, but he continued. “The genetic suppressants are not mechanical. They are biological.”

  “Biological?”

  “Yes. A genetically modified life form designed to suppress the Flyer gene.”

  “Now I get why the Flyers don’t like you,” Uriah murmured, the look of distain ebbing away. “You’re responsible for something they consider an insult to their existence.”

  “You speak as if you’re not one of them,” the alien noted, his curiosity mounting.

  “He was raised on Earth,” I explained.

  Jean-Luc nodded. “Hence, the genetic suppressant.”

  I could tell he had other questions, but I quickly pushed on. “So, is there any chance you could fix or replace the suppressant Uriah is using now. It’s diminishing. It won’t last much longer.”

  “I can,” the alien replied simply. “But that might take a while.”

  “How long?” my boyfriend asked. He had gone from regarding Jean-Luc with mistrust to peering at him hopefully.

  “A week? A month? I’m not sure. I’ll need a scan of your biology before I can give you a concrete answer.”

  “Can we get started now?” Uriah asked, looking like a kid in a candy store.

  Jean-Luc shrugged. “Sure. Follow me.” He abruptly turned on his heel and headed for the secluded place behind the grocery store. The moment we were away from prying eyes, he turned to face us.

  “Are you ready?” Uriah took my hand and nodded. The alien grabbed his wrist and a look of concentration came across his face. I blinked and suddenly we were surrounded by what I’m guessing was his ship.

  “Wow!” My eyes journeyed around the incredibly futuristic craft. Then a thought occurred to me. “Is Jean-Luc your real name?”

  “No, but it will do.”

  “How long have you been here. On this planet?”

  “I first came here in February of last year and have returned a couple times since. This is my longest stay so far.”

  “Does anyone know you’re here? Any humans, I mean?”

  “A few.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Research among other things.”

  “Interesting…”

  “The medical unit is this way,” Jean-Luc said as I started to wander around. Uriah and I followed him into a high tech medical room. He pointed at a large transparent cylinder and indicated that my boyfriend should enter. When Uriah was enclosed in the cylinder, a white light started passing down his body, beginning at his head. When it reached his feet, a 2D computer screen illuminated in the middle of the room. Approaching it, Jean-Luc examined the complicated looking results that scrolled across the screen. After a second, he hit a button on what looked like a three dimensional key board and the transparent cylinder vanished, allowing Uriah to step free.

  “Well?” my boyfriend asked, looking afraid to hope.

  “The good news is that I can replace your genetic suppressant,” the alien said, his gaze switching from the 2D screen to Uriah’s face. “But it will take a while. Hopefully no more that six weeks. The problem is that you have a simpler form of the suppressant, so creating a new strand will require greatly modifying the ones already in your system. This is within my power, but I’ll have to start from scratch. Will that be a problem?”

  “No,” Uriah gushed, looking positively gleeful. “Six weeks is fine. Until now, I thought I’d have to wait a year.”

  “Is there something else?” I asked, noticing a certain hesitance on Jean-Luc’s face.

  “Yes,” he said, stepping away from the 3D keypad. “As I said before, the genetic suppressant is comprised of millions of genetically enhanced micro organisms. You’re genetic suppressant is diminishing because they are dying. It appears as if this is occurring at a steadily increasing rate. As they die, their bodies leave behind a certain enzyme, known to cause blackouts and mood swings. Have you been experiencing any of these symptoms?”

  “I’ve had a couple blackouts,” Uriah admitted, starting to look nervous. “But no mood swings… I don’t think.”

  “The more of these micro organisms that die, the worse your blackouts and mood swings will get.”

  “Like he’s going to start getting violent or something?” I asked warily.

  “No… yes. Maybe. I don’t know. That depends on his personality. The main problem is it will increase the likelihood that he’ll do or say something he shouldn’t. Like expose his true identity. The enzymes make you susceptible to deep-seeded desires. As the blackouts get worse, the part of your brain responsible for telling you something isn’t a good idea even though deep down inside you want to do it, will progressively shut down.”

  “I don’t have a deep-seeded desire to expose my secret,” Uriah said confidently.

  “Are you sure?” Jean-Luc asked. “Sometimes we’re not aware of the thoughts that lurk in the outskirts of our minds.”

  My boyfriend thought this over for a moment and the look of unease returned to his face. “I don’t have the desire to show the world who I am, but I do have other desires… or inklings. Thoughts I wasn’t aware of.”

  “Like what?” I asked curiously.

  “Like asking to meet your parents. Consciously I wasn’t aware of any such desire, but obviously apart of me wants to.”

  A thought occurred to me and I asked, “Are these micro organisms toxic to humans?”

  “Not toxic per se, but they could case digestive issues,” Jean-Luc replied.

  “Is there any antidote?”

  “I’m not sure I understand. There’s no reason humans should be ingesting the suppressant. It’s in his cells.

  “Maybe I am.”

  “How?”

  I didn’t want to get specific about our sex life. “It’s complicated.”

  Jean-Luc looked perplexed. “Well, I guess I could give you something to neutralize their effect, but I still don’t see how you could be getting them in your system. Not unless you’re consuming large amounts of his cells.”

  This guy obviously didn’t know much, if anything, about human relationships and I certainly wasn’t interested in giving him the scoop. “Can I get the remedy or not?”

  “Sure,” Jean-Luc said, his Alice blue eyes slowly tracing over me before switching to Uriah. “Whatever you want.”

  “Thanks.”

  It didn’t take the Vongarian long to prepare a remedy. Within five minutes, he was handing me a vial of brilliant violet liquid. “This should neutralize any negative side-effects you experience do to the…” he gave me another once-over. “ingestion of his genetic suppressant.”

  “Is this a one-time fix or do I need to take it continuously?”

  “It’s a one-time fix.”

  When we arrived back at my house, Uriah and I went to my room. I wasn’t sure what was going on through his mind, but I was feeling hopefully optimistic. I was a little concerned about the side-effects connected to his ever-diminishing suppressant, but I was keeping my fingers crossed. And now that I had an antidote to his seed, we could be intimate without hindrance.

  “So, what do you feeling like doing?” I asked, taking a seat on my bed.

  Uriah shrugged. “Whatever you want. I’m not picky.”

  I pondered that for a moment, but the only thing that came to mind was sex. I was starting to feel like an addict. Bef
ore I could voice my desires, my boyfriend spoke up.

  "How long did you and Tyler date?"

  This question surprised me, but I answered candidly. "About nine months."

  "That's a long time."

  "Not really."

  "I've never had a nine-month relationship."

  "Maybe you would have if your mother hadn't kept you so isolated."

  "Maybe..." my boyfriend got a far off look in his eyes, but it didn't last long. A second later, he shook his head as if to clear it. “So, uh, when is Tyler having another one of those parties?”

  “Not for another month.”

  “Too bad,” he said, giving me a once-over. “I’d love to see what else you have in your closet.”

  “I could give you a little preview,” I offered, licking my bottom lip while leaning back slightly to accentuate my attributes. I knew what he liked, but to my surprise he barely looked at me.

  “Maybe later.” Concealing my disappointment, I straightened up while giving an indifferent shrug. “Okay. What about a movie?”

  “Sure.” Uriah situated himself on the mattress while I got the movie ready. Cuddling up next to him, we watched in silence. About half way through the film, there was an intimate scene that got my pulse racing. Without giving it much thought, I started pressing my ass against Uriah’s crotch. It only took a few seconds for his cock to stiffen, but he didn’t move a muscle. Assuming he needed a little more persuasion, I started undulating against him. Still nothing. He was as hard as a rock, but remained as still as a statue. What is wrong with him? Looking over my shoulder, I found my boyfriend staring fixedly at the TV screen, a muscle working in his jaw.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he grunted, not sounding the least bit convincing.

  “You sure? You look a little tense.”

  “I’m just trying to watch the movie.”

  “Really?” I could still feel his erection pressing relentlessly against my ass. If he got any harder, he’d bust right out of his jeans. “A certain part of you begs to differ.”

  “I’m good.”

  “Suit yourself.” Knowing he couldn’t possibly resist much longer, I continued my assault, rubbing my butt against him. Uriah made a soft hissing noise as I pressed back harder and harder, but he still refused to cave. This is so unlike him. Usually he can’t keep his hands off me. Rolling over to face him, I looked into his pale gold eyes.