Hunter's Desire

by Meg Ripley

  THE END

  Taken By Two Aliens

  Allie Roberts has always been proud and excited to be in the Navy, but for the last six months, she feels that she’s fallen into a bit of a rut. She’s completed every type of mission with accolades, seen every continent that she’s ever dreamed of seeing—and she’s accomplished all of this in less than five years. Now that she’s being asked to sign on for an additional two years, she’s faced with a difficult decision: figure out what’s making her feel stuck, or find something or someone new to ignite her passion.

  Allie plans to use her next routine submarine exploration mission to meditate on which direction her future should take—but instead, her sub is viciously attacked by an enormous glowing sea monster before she has time to even reach the seafloor. Luckily, her life is spared by the work of two strange but irresistibly sexy male beings who happen to be nearby. Even stranger, they’ve been sent on a mission to the exact location that Allie was targeting, and they have no plans for coming back empty handed.

  Has Allie stumbled upon an ancient secret that’s best left alone—or has she finally found the key in these two stunning beings that will unlock the door to the destiny she has longed for her entire life?

  Allie looked down at her worn tennis shoes as her right foot tapped against the spotless tile of the ship’s cafeteria. She was waiting for her best friend, Carter, to come back with her lunch so that she could dash back to her quarters and eat alone before her mission— and not have to talk to her ex-boyfriend before he came swaggering into the place. Allie knew that dating a fellow shipmate who was infamous for his emotional side was a bad idea, but she was willing to risk the fallout considering how good looking he was. It shouldn’t have been surprising to her that their break-up hadn’t gone as smoothly as she’d hoped. She even tried to spare his feelings by telling him the main reason was their incompatibility, even though the truth was that his strange emotional outbursts were more boring than anything else.

  “We fight more than anything else,” she remembered saying to him in his apartment the month before. Allie was sitting on her couch, staring pleadingly at Bobby, who was pacing the floor. “And about pointless things—you get upset over dry cleaning, and the color blood-orange, and bicycles. I just can’t be moved by any of those things, and it’s clearly upsetting you. It’s been half a year, Bobby, and the only time we seem to like each other is during sex.”

  Bobby had thrown his hands up in exasperation, showcasing the natural flair for drama Allie had grown so weary of. “That’s because that’s all you ever want from me! Sex! You’re never interested in my knots! Or my workouts! Or my model planes!”

  Allie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I wasn’t interested in that stuff to begin with, Bobby. I told you we were going to be more…casual…from the get-go. You got a little too invested. That’s exactly what I told you not to do.”

  But Bobby didn’t want to hear about what he’d promised not to do, only what he felt he deserved from Allie. Though they were incredibly physically compatible, she couldn’t find enough common ground to keep the relationship going for more than six months—and she was unashamed to say that even this was a triumph. Six months was actually rather long for Allie, who preferred to keep labels away from her partners, less they try and bind them together with it, and being in the Navy made this preference even easier. Deployment was an easy excuse to not get close to someone, and no one bought this excuse more quickly than other Navy officers—until Bobby.

  Now that he was insisting they have a third heart-to-heart, Allie knew the best course of action was complete avoidance. He wouldn’t be back from his appointment for another hour—plenty of time to eat and get down to the bay in time for her own solo submarine mission. As she bounced from foot to foot, her jet-black hair swung from side to side like a horse’s tail, bound with an elastic tie and still damp from her shower. Finally, Carter pushed open the door the kitchen’s back entrance and held out a brown paper bag that was bulging at the seams with goods.

  “I threw in a few extra things,” he said in a low voice. “I know how hungry you chickens get.” He winked his real eye, and his glass eye twinkled under the fluorescent lights.

  Allie smacked him on his beefy arm as he laughed. “I’m not a chicken! I’d just prefer not to be cried on right now. I didn’t join the Navy to have my emotions exhausted.”

  “No, you joined to you have yourself physically exhausted, and possibly killed.” Carter crossed his arms over his apron and leaned back against the door, eyeing Allie’s wiry frame nonchalantly. “Have you figured out what you want to do yet, by the way? About your next go around?”

  Dread started to pool at the bottom of her stomach. “No,” she admitted, and left it at that, hoping Carter wouldn’t press the issue.

  But she’d spend so long dodging the subject that he wouldn’t let it slide. “It’s been two weeks. You’ve always been so decisive about everything in the past—you know what color toothbrush you want even if there’s fifty options— yet you’ve let this decision sit this long. What’s changed?”

  Allie shrugged. “I guess things are just…different now.”

  “Yeah, but what things?” Carter asked.

  She shrugged again, but she knew the answer: she was different now. When she’d joined the Navy five years before, no task ever failed to come with a rush of exhilarating adrenaline and a host of new things to learn; what was better, this excitement bled over into other areas of her life, until she was eagerly pushing herself to experience everything to its maximum potential—and having the time of her life while doing it. No rescue or retrieval mission was too difficult, because it always brought a rich new square of experience to add to the quilt of her life. New countries meant new languages and fresher, bolder cuisines than the ones she’d sampled before. Even the people she met seemed better than the ones in her old life: kinder, wiser, more open and honest, beautifully vibrant and unique in a way she’d never noticed before. But in the last year, she started to realize she was feeling stuck. The same things that used to move her failed to keep her attention; the same foods weren’t as flavorful as they’d once been; even sex was different somehow, less meaningful, less alive. The melancholy mood had, strangely, coincided with the start of her submarine missions—what should have been an opportunity to explore a whole new world was now just a bi-monthly chore.

  “I guess I just need different things,” Allie said finally. “I don’t feel fulfilled anymore. I don’t feel challenged. I don’t feel that rush of excitement, that dizzying high, that…spark.”

  Carter laughed. “You sound like you’re breaking up with the Navy, Allie.”

  Allie was shocked to find that it was true; it did feel like she was winding up to back away from the whole thing. Had she already decided for herself? Was this the end of her marriage to the Armed Forces?

  She groaned and covered her eyes. “Carter, what’s wrong with me? I’m literally sent down to the bottom of the ocean twice a month to check on ancient ruins and potentially dangerous wreckage. It’s the coolest job in the world. Why don’t I love it? Why isn’t it blowing my mind? Why don’t I want to do this for the rest of my life?”

  Carter moved away from the wall and brought her hands away from her eyes, holding them in his own as Allie took a deep, shaky breath. “Maybe you just need some leave. It’s ok to take a break if you’re not ready to…break away. Then you’ll be ready to make your choice. I know you’re not going to relax about this, but just trust that the decision will be clear when it’s time. And then come talk to me, and I’ll tell you that you’re crazy, and you’ll do it anyway. And everything will be fine.” His blue eyes shone with love, even though one was a little glassy.

  Allie laughed and felt a little of her dread drain away at her best friend’s reassurance. “Thanks, Carter.” She pulled her hands away and picked her bag of food up. “I have to get going, though. I have less than an hour to get down to that sub.”

 
; “Ah, yes, I heard you’re still scouring the seas for the treasure-strewn Spanish ship. Have fun!”

  Allie blew him a kiss and trotted away. She waited until she rounded a corner to break into a run, letting the sudden sprint relieve a little of the tension in her long legs. The halls were deserted, so she made it into her room without a hitch, and it only took her ten minutes to wolf down her sandwich and the greasy curly fries Carter piled on top. Allie saved the cookies and stashed the carton of milk in the mini-fridge in her dorm, happy that her best friend knew her habits so well. Carter had been the closest thing to a sibling she’d ever had; Allie had grown up the odd girl out, and hadn’t developed close friends until college. She’d been by Carter’s side since their second year when he had the surgery to remove the mass in his ocular cavity, and talked him through his depression when the Navy insisted he take on a domestic task, and leave active service for the remainder of his time. He helped her through her first major heartbreak, and helped her stay calm when she thought a fist-fight might end her three-year Navy career. They’d both been through a lot in their five years, and he was the main reason Allie wasn’t considering walking away; without Carter and the stability that being in the Navy gave her, she didn’t have much reason to be anywhere at all.

  I’ve got to try to be more positive about myself, she thought as she changed into her submarine gear and slipped on her backpack. You’re your own person, you know. She forced a smile for a shipmate who was strolling by as she started down the hall to the submarine bay, hoping that her cheeks didn’t look as stiff as they felt. Allie was used to being seen as odd and unpopular, but few people ever said she was anything but nice. This had been a concentrated effort from the eighth grade onward, but by the time she’d enlisted at the age of 21, Allie’s warm, peaceful nature was so reflexive that she had to try harder to put people off. Bobby was one of the two people on the ship who didn’t feel positively about her, and this was more than fine for Allie; drama was usually refreshing, in fact, except when it was romantic. You could never make everyone happy, but she would gladly settle for 99 percent.

  Her boots clunked against the floor as she finally entered the loading bay and signaled to the tech and that she was ready to depart.

  Collin nodded and pushed his wire frames up the bridge of his nose. They never seemed to slip, but he always fidgeted with them anyway, and Allie guessed it was a nervous tic he could never let go of. “Hey, Corporal Hames. I’m ready to resume mission Isadora.”

  “Hey, Sargent Roberts.” Collin grinned, lighting up when Allie stopped to log herself in for the mission. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to endear herself to him, but he seemed to like her, and that meant he didn’t mind if she took a little extra time to herself. “You’re all set, just follow protocol to seal the hatch before trying to start up this time.”

  Allie felt heat rush to her cheeks, and chuckled weakly. “Gotcha.” The last time she’d been down to look for the sunken Spanish ship, it had been the same day she was informed that she could now select from one of three new positions in the Navy, one of which meant less ship time and more pay. Allie was so shocked at her sudden invitation for promotion that she’d bungled the whole take off, and she was delayed for an hour.

  Collin seemed to notice he’d embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, I meant no offense.”

  She groaned inwardly; see what happens when you’re not positive all the time? “No, Collin, it’s fine! I’ll be sure to keep my eyes open this time.”

  He laughed, and relief swept over her. Allie walked over to lower herself into the hatch of her sub, annoyed at her constant urge to people-please. It was never enough to not offend—she had to make every interaction the best possible. It was part of the reason constant drama was so exhausting, but it made life, exhausting too. Sometimes she felt like one of those wind-up toys—tiny animals in circus hats crashing cymbals or banging on drums. Maybe I just need a new battery.

  She made sure to pull the hatch tight and seal it before turning to the control panel of the sub. Allie turned and stowed all of her materials beneath her seat and strapped herself in tightly, relishing the heavy sense of peace that always washed over her at the start of submarine missions. They’d been looking for the Isadora for three months, but Allie never cared especially about the reason they sent her down, just that she was allowed to man the partially-automatic ship as it crawled the ocean floor, slipping past the strange and terrifying beauty that lived around the sea floor.

  Allie slipped on her communication device, and Collin’s voice came into the cockpit as the heavy ship started to detach from its dock, dropping slowly through the crystal blue waters until the engines clicked on with a faint hum. “So, what do you think’s in there?”

  Allie smiled; that he’d waited this long to ask about the ship meant he was specifically asked not to. “I assumed it’s gold, or something equally valuable. Why else would we care so badly?” The waters around the ship were darkening, a school of silvery fish slipped by. In the distance, Allie caught of a glimpse of something nebulous and ghostly white, with long tendrils like smoke trails in the sky.

  “I don’t know,” Collin said finally. “Something historical. Some books, somebody’s skeleton, an artifact—”

  “That they can sell,” Allie said. “Or otherwise profit from.”

  When Collin spoke again, he sounded surprised. “Wow, I had no idea you were so cynical.”

  Allie laughed, and when she spoke again, the sub had started to move forward, its SONAR and other detection fields sweeping the waters in search of the galleon. “Not cynical. I just know what drives people. It’s always money and power, and power always comes back to money. And vice versa.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Collin allowed. “Picking anything up yet?”

  Allie watched the field, but there was nothing significant. “Nothing yet,” she said. “I thought I saw some jellyfish, but they must have swam out of here by now. I hope I see a whale again, they’re so—” something caught her eye on the screen, and she froze.

  Collin waited a beat before speaking again. “Allie? Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” she said, shaking her head. “I just thought I saw something on the screen.”

  “The ship?” Collin asked, his voice hopeful.

  “No, something moving.” Her eyes scanned the detection screen, and a few blips of movement were indicated below the ship. There, she was about to say, but something bigger appeared just in front of the ship—something wide and heavy, and much bigger than the ship itself. Allie gasped, fear coursing through her body as she braced for whatever it was to hit the submarine.

  “What?” Collin barked, hearing her gasp and descending into panic. “Wat’s up? I’ll call your ship back.”

  “No!” Allie stared at the screen, her eyes moving from point to point in search of the massive shape her ship had just detected. “I thought I saw something. Did you see it? Did it show up on the stream?”

  “I didn’t see it, Allie.” Collin sounded suspicious. “Are you screwing with me? Is this because I embarrassed you?”

  “No, I saw—there!”

  The shape was back, but this time it was behind the ship. Allie looked up and twisted her chair around to the rear porthole, but she couldn’t see anything. She looked at the screen again, and the shape was above the ship this time.

  “Colin?”

  “Yeah?”

  Allie frowned, her heartbeat accelerating. “When’s the last time you did a test of this equipment? It seems kind of…off.”

  “Really? Seems fine to me.”

  Allie kept peering out the portholes and back to the screen, but no matter how many times the shape kept moving, it was never where she looked. “I’m freaking out a little here.”

  “Want me to call you back?”

  Her heart was thudding against her chest, and she could taste the anxiety clouding her mind. She remembered Carter calling her a chicken, and wondered if she wasn’t just psyc
hing herself out because she was trying not to face her emotions. Her eyes went back to the screen, and no was on the tip of her tongue—but the shape was back, this time right in front of the ship.

  “Allie?”

  She raised her eyes, but all she could see was a stretch of shimmering green and white fog. Allie leaned forward, straining to see through the odd liquid that was beginning to surround the ship so hard that the safety straps were cutting into her shoulders. Something was moving through the cloud, but she couldn’t tell what. The detection screen went blank then, and as the lights dimmed, her breath quickened.

  “Allie?”

  Her eyes finally started to make sense of what was happening, and by then it was too late. A huge, luminescent white beast with eight long, thrashing legs was sailing toward the submarine through the cloud of ghostly ink, its massive mouth wide open and ringed with sharp, pearlescent teeth that all looked long enough to pierce through the metal ship. It was much larger than the sub, and it was moving so fast that she’d never be able to move out of the way in time. Colin was screaming in her ear as she watched it approached, too stunned by its size to move—its huge head alone was as big across as the submarine itself and terrifyingly vivid in its expression: all rage and lust, for blood or for bones or for whatever it was that creatures from hell ate. The limbs dangling from its head were as long as school buses, giving it the appearance of a mutated jelly-fish, and Allie could see that there were shapes floating around beneath its skin, presumably organs—or maybe half-digested prey.

  I’m going to die, she realized. Then: What the hell is that?

  The next moment, everything went black, and all she could hear was shattering glass and the shriek of metal.