ã€ŠThe Heart of Delmar (part 1)ã€‹


 1 Welcome to Delmar

    I¡¯m so excited for you guys¡± Deidre grinned, giving her friend a big giddy hug. ¡°Your first time moving in with a guy.¡± She added, hopping a little and bouncing her wavy blonde hair. ¡°At¡­28.¡± She added, her short raven-haired friend glaring back.

    ¡°I know it¡¯s crazy, we¡¯ve only been dating for a week, but we clicked so fast that I feel like we know each other already.¡± Nicole argued poorly, fiddling nervously with her jet black braids, the streaks of purple woven in and out down to the little skull holding the end of it together. A gift from her soon to be, live-in boyfriend.

    ¡°You know you don¡¯t have to move in with an alien just to be part of the group. Vicki and I started dating someone the first weeks we moved to this moon.¡± Dee started, Nicole¡¯s eyes bugged out, shocked that she would even suggest such a thing.

    ¡°What are we implying exactly?¡± she asked, crossing her arms, trying to look intimidating at a whopping five foot zero in her little black and red plaid skirt.

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, we got the house super cheap because Vicki was already dating Jack and head of a construction crew. I met Silverback at the safety convention and then when Orion moved to another city system, he pulled some strings to get Silverback as the new foreman for his crew so we could see each other more. Jack¡¯s lived here since day 1, Silverback worked in the house every day for months getting it renovated while we moved in, and half the mornings they were still there. They practically both lived in the big house already. Half the girls moved here with their husbands or boyfriends and you¡¯ve been single this entire time. I know you had a bad breakup right before the move, and we¡¯ve been trying to get you to go out and meet someone but we didn¡¯t mean they had to be on the construction crew. We¡¯re not the construction crew housewives of Beverly hills.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s a native isn¡¯t it?¡± She snipped, twisting her mouth accusingly and letting her luggage stop abruptly, halting all progress.

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­We like him, he¡¯s nice, but he IS Delmarian.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve known you for almost ten years, Dee, and I never took you for a racist.¡±

    ¡°Sweetie, it¡¯s not racist, if anything it¡¯s species-ist. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re dating a Mexican guy. He¡¯s a nearly 8 foot tall space reindeer. That¡¯s gonna be a lot more culturally different then like say, moving in with a guy from new York, or moving in with a guy who immigrated from Taiwan. People are people for the most part, we all came from the same species, Hell even Silverback is half human and half Eridani¡­which are almost human passable. The physical differences can be summarized in a pamphlet. I know, I watched the hologram video on what to expect when dating an alien. Trust me¡­all the parts are pretty familiar once you get past the orange tint.¡±

    ¡°But because Vinn doesn¡¯t look human passable it¡¯s way worse?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my friend¡­ and this is all new to all of us. We packed up an online business and moved to an alien moon to get better healthcare and it¡¯s been a weird fucking year, we¡¯ve all been stressed out and missing our families back on Earth. You¡¯ve spent most of that time online and never leaving the house.¡± She said, looking concerned.

    ¡°That¡¯s my Job, Dee. I¡¯m a game tester. I get paid to stay in my house and play games all day, find the bugs and stream the playthrough.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my point. We all create content for a living, but then we get some fresh air and go places and explore. You haven¡¯t even left the little island this entire time except once to go to a game convention one city over, dressed as an elf.¡±

    ¡°You know damn well I make a fucking adorable elf.¡± Nicole scoffed.

    ¡°Of course you do, and you still didn¡¯t flirt with a single guy, you just stuck near event staff or food venders. I grilled you for that. Then all of the sudden they bring in a guy from another construction crew and the next day you¡¯re dating him? A week later you¡¯re moving to his place? I know you took some time to adjust and we all wanted you to meet someone but¡­¡± Deidre staggered around her words.

    ¡°Preferably a human guy or at least a passable halfbreed?¡± sighed Nicole. ¡°Maybe the reason I didn¡¯t get out was because I was terrified that I packed up and moved to some strange moon to be with my friends and realized immediately I made a mistake. Maybe I lived online and worked my job to death was because online it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re off-world or not, the internet is just cyberspace and it felt like home. I made money doing what felt comfortable instead of having a panic attack. You know when I was at Delmarcon, 20 minutes after I got there some random guy grabbed me. Turns out he was just a fan, but I¡¯m tiny and easy to kidnap and he just ran up behind me and gave me this gigantic creepy hug. They had to get security on the guy, he wouldn¡¯t leave me alone. Human guys suck. I don¡¯t even know the legal policy for human trafficking on this world, is it legal? Do you even know?¡±

    ¡°Honey, slavery is illegal on every human populated world, there would be some criminal laws.¡±

    ¡°The point is that I get out one time to what I think is a safe place and I almost get abducted by some crazed fan.¡± Nicole argued.

    ¡°So you found the biggest scariest alien guy on the construction crew and started dating him. I get it. Who¡¯s gonna mess with you when your boyfriend has antler?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about that. He¡¯s just¡­different.¡±

    ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t notice¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t know who I was, he didn¡¯t even know our brand or the house until he was digging the pool for the back yard. He just saw us around the house and something about me drew him to me. And you know how he introduced himself?¡±

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Vendetta, an ex military demolition specialist and single alien? Wanna get weird?¡± Deidre asked sarcastically.

    ¡°He brought me a crate of bananas.¡±

    ¡°Wow¡­sexy. I know that does it for me every time.¡±

    ¡°He said he noticed I looked sad and tired and was avoiding everyone. He went online and looked up ¡°human stuff¡± and he thought either I had a deficiency in Potassium, or experienced a death in the family. He plopped down a crate of bananas and said ¡°I read it¡¯s custom to give humans vegetation bundles in difficult times and you may be suffering from a vitamin deficiency, judging from your skin tone. Either way, this should help.¡±

    ¡°He brought you a bouquette of bananas?¡±

    ¡°Because primates like bananas and he didn¡¯t know the difference between a bunch of bananas and giving someone flowers. How fucking adorable and stupid is that? I busted out laughing and we just started chatting. It was like talking to an old friend again after years. We have a lot in common.¡±

    ¡°You both have hooves, bunny ears, you¡¯re both covered in orange fur.¡±

    ¡°He plays online games a lot because he doesn¡¯t fit in. He plays in a band, I¡¯m a failed musician turned gamer. He has a rescue goat named Reeves. You know I instantly fall for the pathetic needy rescue animals, and the scraggly little weird ugly critters that don¡¯t belong. And now I met one who also has his own rescue animal.¡±

    ¡°Reeves, Like Keanu?¡±

    ¡°No it¡¯s short for Soul Reaver, he assumed the little goat was a baby and that it would grow up to be something large enough to ride into battle. It¡¯s pretty normal for anything on 4 legs on Delmar to get huge, turns out it was a pygmy goat someone couldn¡¯t sell for meat so they just tossed it to the streets.¡± Nicole sighed.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t think a moon populated by aliens who don¡¯t eat anything with hooves and horns would probably not eat a baby goat?¡± Deidre scoffed.

    ¡°People are really stupid, especially space freighters. Space is weird, even some of the captains are absolute dipshits in space.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. Speak of the devil, cloven hoof, horns and all. There he is, right on time.¡± Dee said with a wave as a lumbering orange figure approached, covered in dust and dirt.

    ¡°Hey Vinn, How¡¯s it hangin?¡± asked Nicole.

    ¡°Probably about eye level for you.¡± Dee muttered through her teeth with a fake smile, receiving an elbow jab to stop before he could hear her remarks.

    ¡°Another double shift. Sorry I¡¯m late and didn¡¯t get to shower.

    ¡°Are they trying to work you to death?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°No it¡¯s voluntary, I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m just trying to get the place as finished as I can before you move in. This happened pretty fast, I just can¡¯t pull it off in a day.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­you¡¯re renovating your cube?¡± asked Nicole.

    ¡°Well sorta. It¡¯s Delmarian custom to build your home before you move in your mate. I didn¡¯t expect to need it finished for a while.¡±

    ¡°I thought we were just moving some of my stuff into your place?¡±

    ¡°That piece of crap cube? Absolutely not. It¡¯s a human cube 2.0. They¡¯re basically dorm rooms. I¡¯ve been saving up for a real place and since I started working this crew I made a ton of money and got a fixer upper real close.¡±

    ¡°Fixer upper?¡± muttered Dee.

    ¡°Well it was essentially just a wine cellar for the mine but they abandoned it years ago and I¡¯ve been blasting it out after hours. It¡¯s really opened up now.¡±

    ¡°Is that the weird vibrations I¡¯ve been feeling?¡± Dee asked. ¡°I thought they were moonquakes.¡±

    ¡°Nope. Demo charges. This entire place is solid stone, your foundation is probably on one of the blackstone veins, they just ring like an iron pipe when you do blasting. Sorry bout that. I¡¯m probably done with the blasting now, it¡¯s just jackhammers and laser rigs from here. You won¡¯t feel a thing. But it¡¯s totally liveable and nice upstairs, the basement is a work in progress so expect a mess down there. I¡¯ll have it looking fantastic in no time.¡± He excitedly huffed.

    ¡°Okay, I trust you.¡± Nicole nervously lied, trying to ignore the look of ¡°told you so¡± Dee was beaming at her.

    They stopped in the road, still within view of the big house in the distance.

    ¡°Well. Here it is.¡± Said Vinn, extending a large furry hand towards a small hill topped with a very plain looking plastic square roughly 24 feet by 24 feet.

    ¡°Uh¡­you sold your human cube, for a similar human cube somewhere else with an unfinished basement?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°No, that would be stupid. That IS my old human cube. They air lifted it on top of the sight so we¡¯d have somewhere finished to live in, while I finish the real home. The real home IS the basement. It¡¯s just not livable yet. I was afraid if I told you, you wouldn¡¯t wanna move in yet and you might change your mind. I don¡¯t know how your vision of the future potential is, since you don¡¯t work in the industry and you¡¯re visually impaired.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡± she asked. I¡¯m not visually impaired. I have perfect 20/20 vision.¡±

    ¡°I meant like¡­being human. Trust me, by most species standards, all humans are blind as shit. I think Delmar Prime actually gives you disability benefits for the blind just for proving you¡¯re human.¡±

    ¡°What do I get?¡±

    ¡°Free safety rails, grab bars for showers, phones with really big screens.¡±

    ¡°So can I see the basement?¡± she asked.

    ¡°probably not, we may need more lighting, but you can certainly have the tour.¡± He said receiving an annoyed look until she realized he wasn¡¯t joking.

    ¡°So here¡¯s the freight elevator, I haven¡¯t finished the stairs yet. Careful, it¡¯s a 60 foot vertical drop to stone, you could really trash a knee or ankle.¡±

    ¡°You think a human falling 60 feet onto stone would just result in a broken ankle or twisted knee?¡± she skeptically squinted.

    ¡°I assumed there would be SOME kind of injury, Hell even I might get fairly hurt from that if I landed wrong.¡± He said flipping on the bright industrial lighting and lowering the elevator into a rather gigantic chasm. Nicole¡¯s expression went from a mixed bag of confusion to pure baffled disbelief as the platform lowered into a giant cave filled with a mixture of debris, clean edges and rough broken stone the color of black marble. The massive main chamber branched into numerous smaller rooms, varying in size and doneness. A second floor had been carved right out of the stone, standing on pillars.

    ¡°Holy shit.¡± She gasped.

    ¡°I know¡­I told you it was messy. You¡¯re not afraid of heights are you? Shit I should have asked that first, I forgot some humans fear heights. Stupid Vinn. What about caves in general, or cave spiders?¡±

    ¡°No I like spiders, caves are okay I guess, and I¡¯m not afraid of heights. Just¡­drowning. It¡¯s not a flooded cave is it?¡±

    ¡°No it¡¯s justfull of debris¡­probably spiders, I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s so messy.¡±

    ¡°No that¡¯s not what I meant. This isn¡¯t a basement, it¡¯s an underground mansion.¡±

    ¡°Not yet, it¡¯s still got a lot of work, hence the human cube above. We¡¯re gonna be whittling this bad boy out and detailing for a while but once the main cutting is done and the dust problem isn¡¯t a problem anymore we can start moving things down here and really making the rooms, like¡­roomy. So don¡¯t look at it as being months of renovation, it¡¯s more like days of demo, we hire a cleanup team, and then it¡¯s a nice basement, and it can be months of fun, options and designing a dream home. Something like 3,000 to 3,500 square feet depending on the water feature, that may not work like I planned. I dunno.¡±

    ¡°Vinn, that¡¯s massive. I grew up in a house that was not even a third of that, and it was plywood and cheap carpet, not carved out of solid marble. My god, the marble chunks taken out of here must have been worth millions by itself.¡±

    ¡°Yea you really don¡¯t understand the prices of stone on a moon made entirely of stone. This shit is basically free, you just pay for the labor. Delmarian Greystone is anything but fancy rich people stuff. It¡¯s the plywood of Delmar.¡±

    ¡°Looks black to me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really not helping that point about human vision, ya know?¡±

    ¡°But 3,500 square feet for you and a goat? Vinn, I thought I was just moving into your place, I didn¡¯t realize you were spending your life savings on a giant underground lair. This is a lot to handle. How long did you plan for me to stay?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully a long time. It¡¯s Delmarian custom, this is totally normal. Delmarian men in the working class build their own homes, usually pretty large because we¡¯re kinda large and often have large families. I wanted this anyway, it¡¯s my dream design. So you being here changes the location but I¡¯d be spending my money on this home regardless. I¡¯m not going broke to impress you, I¡¯m following what we do, and adjusting it a little. We build a traditional home, we find a mate¡­granted I did that slightly out of order, but the result is the same.¡±

    Nicole took a very anxiety ridden breath to calm herself among the cavernous void of black (or to some eyes, grey) stone. She counted to ten in her head and took her paranoia to a deeper darker place than even the deep dark place she was literally descending to on a rusty mining freight elevator.

    ¡°This may be entirely my fault, so please don¡¯t blame yourself, but I have to ask something and I just want an honest answer. I know you¡¯re a very honest person and you won¡¯t sugar coat this for me. You said months of US renovating. When you keep referring to me as your mate, is that essentially just the cute Delmarian term for girlfriend, or is there more to that than I understand?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about Delmarian culture, do you?¡±

    ¡°Not really, that¡¯s entirely on me.¡±

    ¡°Okay, fair enough. In our culture, it¡¯s fairly common at a certain age to select a mate. Usually a male would spend some time with a number of females to sort of see who appeared the most compatible, few weeks or more depending on the number of females, and he would choose one. He would ask her to live in his home as his mate, and if she agreed, they would be mates. They seal the pact with the totem. Now I know this was a little fast but we connected so quickly and when you suggested moving in, I assumed human females were just more aggressive. Obviously I accepted even though the house was not complete, usually the house is part of the consideration in convincing a female to agree, but you initiated it knowing I lived in a modular human cube as a temporary lodging, so obviously you didn¡¯t care about that and anything I built for us would be better then a shitty plastic box manufactured for temporary free human housing.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± She said, nearly cutting him off. She placed her hands over her mouth and paused for a moment. ¡°You said totem? Did I just get Delmarian married? Did I just accidentally propose to you and get Delmarian married?¡± she asked, pupils shrinking slowly as the awkward pause for an answer grew longer.

    ¡°The word marriage is probably stronger in your culture.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god I¡¯m the stupidest bitch ever.¡± She blurted.

    No you¡¯re not, this is clearly a matter of cultural ignorance rather than stupidity, and obviously you should have taken some classes on Delmarian culture of you wanna live here and not do this kinda thing. But I¡¯ve read about human marriages and I assure you this is not nearly as severe and significant as a human marriage. Those are theoretically permanent and until death? Which is insane. Delmarian marriages are far easier to separate from, and they only commit to about 2 years until either offspring are born or they decide it¡¯s not working out. There¡¯s no messy divorce or shame ceremony. It¡¯s way less bad than you think. But yea you did kinda sorta get Delmarian married. Ya did that. Sooooooooo¡­thoughts? Feelings? You need a beverage? I got smoothies.¡±

 2: Roleplay

    ¡°YOU DID WHAT!?¡± Hollered Dee as another 2 humans stood in the background and Nicole tried not to cry.¡±

    ¡°I fucked up. I got accidentally married.¡±

    ¡°This is exactly what I was talking about. You¡¯re dating an alien you know nothing about and you don¡¯t even know their culture!¡± Dee ranted as her other friend tried to be the voice of reason.

    ¡°Dee, calm down I¡¯m sure this misunderstanding can be fixed easily, right jack?¡± Asked the tall redheaded girl with the pixie cut, looking to her male counterpart as if he had the solution.

    ¡°Why would I know this? This is Delmar M44, I¡¯m human, I¡¯ve never been married, let alone to Delmarian. They¡¯re a very ritualistic species of superstitious and often nonsensical rules. You know if you get in a fight over a parking spot you can legally declare FUPAR, and if the other guy accepts you just fight to the death in the next schedules arena ceremony. There¡¯s one Friday if you wanna go, nosebleed seats are free.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not helpful, Jack.¡± Whispered the redhead.

    ¡°, I¡¯m not trying to be an asshole, I¡¯m being realistic. What exactly did you agree to, Nicole?¡± Jack inquired.

    ¡°We were playing an online game at his place and I forgot something back home, so I said ¡°wow, we¡¯re always together, we may as well keep some supplies at the other¡¯s house, or I could just move in with you and save time.¡± She quoted. ¡°I was mostly joking. He looked really flattered and said ¡°you wanna move in with me?¡± and I thought for a second and figured why not? I never do anything spontaneous and I thought it would be for a few days to sorta see what it was like. It sounded fun.¡±

    ¡°Did he give you anything?¡±

    ¡°Yea he gave me this little skull bead he wears in his hair, and I wore it. And then he gave me a big long hug and¡­That¡¯s a wedding ring isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yea. More or less. That¡¯s a hair bead totem male Delmarians wear to show they¡¯re officially an adult, and by accepting it, you signed a legal contract.¡±

    ¡°Why is it a skull? Dee asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s Delmar, death is kind of the vibe? Their national symbol for peace is a broken sword covered in blood. You can buy a fresh spine in the giftshop of the arena. Usually whoever died in the last one. They just bleach it and run some string through the middle.¡± Jack explained.

    ¡°Nicole¡­Your husband¡¯s entire species is in a death cult. Good job listening to me when I was being ¡°RaCiSt¡± Dee said, gyrating her entire body to emphasize the point. ¡°Nicole Marie Evergreen, you have pulled a stupid maneuver.¡±

    ¡°Are we even sure that¡¯s still her full name?¡± Jack asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know if Delmarian wives still take the males last name, but they still do that on Earth so just being human alone might make that legal.¡±

    ¡°Do you even know your own last name right now?¡± barked Dee. ¡°You could be Nicole UngaFluffmatron right now and you don¡¯t even know. What if you can¡¯t even pronounce your own last name? You know Delmarian names are mostly just long-ass chains of bunnny-mumble sounds. Do you even know Vinn¡¯s real name?¡±

    ¡°Vendetta.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s his tittle, honey. They give them title names, his legal name is probably 12 syllables long and requires peanutbutter on the roof of your mouth to accent correctly.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god I don¡¯t know my own name or my husband¡¯s name, what is wrong with me Dee?¡± she panicked.

    And worse, what if some other Delmarian chick wanted him and you have to Fupar for it. They kill in that arena. What¡­ IF. YOU. HAVE. TO. FIGHT. A. Bitch. You¡¯ll die. You¡¯re tiny. We should just leave town.¡± Dee said, already packing.

    ¡°How? It¡¯s a moon made up of an underground series of cities, Dee, there¡¯s no countryside or wilderness, it¡¯s just subways that lead to other cities! You could volunteer as tribute. Fight in my place. You¡¯re good at fighting.¡±

    ¡°Oh screw that, I¡¯ll throw down with some normal human chick for you, but a 300 pound 6 foot moose-ho with an axe and steroids for blood, no thanks, I¡¯m good. We¡¯re just gonna run away.¡±

    ¡°Everyone shut up!¡± Yelled Jack. ¡°Nobody¡¯s getting Fupar¡¯d, that¡¯s just between Delmarian. The Osirian that owns this place tried to make Fupar illegal, but they had a vote and amended the law. It¡¯s legal between adult Delmarian but not any other species. You¡¯re safe.¡±

    ¡°How do you know, You¡¯re a carpenter on a construction crew!¡± Dee snipped.

    ¡°And I¡¯m the one who pulled some strings to get you to this moon, remember? I worked directly for Gizzy Greggerious, she¡¯s on the high council. She was one of the people who voted on that law¡­granted she voted to keep Fupar legal for Osirians too because she is trying to overthrow the big grey Delmarian on the council she calls Gandalf. She¡¯s pretty sketchy and sinister, but I know her. She likes me, we¡¯ve had beers together, her son runs the whole construction industry here, he¡¯s a great guy. That¡¯s why you all came here. When Vicky told me she had cancer, I broke protocol and went to Gizzy. You know Earth¡¯s healthcare system is trash and her odds were not good.

    I couldn¡¯t just let her die, so I pulled some strings, I broke security, I could have lost my job, I could have been executed for that, Most of Earth¡¯s civilian population doesn¡¯t even know aliens exist. But I vouched for Vicky so she could get treatment, and everyone else got involved. You people can¡¯t just let anything be, you have to dig for the worst scenario, but look at where we are.  is alive and healthy, all of you have insanely advanced healthcare, they cured your Diabetes, Dee, I copuld use a ¡®you¡¯re welcome Jack, thank you for sticking your neck out to beg an alien overlord to let a buncha frigging people break security and move worlds.¡¯ You were all in debt up to your eyes, failing businesses, Hell the only reason I met  was because you couldn¡¯t hire anyone to fix your air conditioner and I felt bad for you. I was on Earth vacation, I didn¡¯t wanna do a free AC job on a Sunday. You got a fully paid off mansion now and a booming business doing almost nothing on a world with an incredible economy and great housing, right on the damn beach overlooking the ocean. Simulated ocean, obviously, it¡¯s a lake and a screen, but you can¡¯t tell it¡¯s not Malibu beach.¡± he ranted.

    ¡°What¡¯s your point, Jack?¡± Dee asked, crossing her arms as  spoke up.

    ¡°His point is that he knows this place better then we do. I trusted him when none of you did and I¡¯m probably alive for it. Everyone of you doubted him and said he was suspicious and plotting something and you didn¡¯t trust him, and he still basically saved all our asses. Trust him for once when he says it will be okay. Jack, is it going to be okay?¡± she said Hugging Nicole as she tried not to break into tears.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine. Nobody is getting killed in an arena, nobody is getting murdered, nobody is stuck in a marriage for life. Vinn is a good guy, he¡¯s weird but he¡¯s one of the nicest guys on the crew. That¡¯s why I recommended him when we needed a new demo guy. We go way back. He¡¯ll take care of Nicole, I¡¯ll talk to Gizzy about loopholes or exceptions in the laws, this is fixable, it¡¯s nobody¡¯s fault. Weird shit happens in space and you just adapt. Now it may take a few days to get a meeting to talk to Gizzy, she may have to get back with us, this may take a week or 3 weeks, I don¡¯t know, but if you have to be stuck married to a Delmarian, you should be very glad it¡¯s Vinn. Just try and have fun, you wanted to know what it¡¯s like dating a space jackelope, now you kinda have to, so look at it as you GET to. Look at it as an adventure, an opportunity, an experiment, and the time will pass quicker than you think, and everything will be okay. This is fixable.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Nicole nodded, sniffling and wiping her eyes ¡°I trust you.¡±

    ¡°Trust Vinn too. He won¡¯t hurt you. He will definitely say things that will be confusing and embarrassing and it¡¯s gonna be strange, but you¡¯re safe. I¡¯ll talk to him myself. I¡¯ll sort it out.¡± Jack said, trudging away.

    Jack sat on the roof of the plastic human cube 2.0, it¡¯s prefabricated skids sitting badly tilted on the soft dirt of a poorly air-lifted delivery pad. He took a swig from his beer and looked up at Vinn, towering next to him and knocking back one, tossing it in the crate full of empty bottles, presumably mostly from Vinn.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I just gave her the totem bead.¡±

    ¡°Vinn, you¡¯re just lonely. You met a nice girl and you misunderstood the signals, that¡¯s all. Cultural misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°Yea a misunderstanding like I always do, except this time I got married to a girl who¡¯s looks like she just got abducted by pirates and can¡¯t go home. She liked me a lot in the daytime when we were around people and the crew, but now that she¡¯s stuck with me in a cave 20 meters below the ground I don¡¯t seem quite as safe, apparently.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. You know what it¡¯s like to leave your homeworld. You were bred for military combat and taken away when you were still a foof. The war ended before anyone even saw combat¡­mostly because Gizzy just leveled the enemy world in one illegal move, but then they stationed you here and you got a job blowing shit up where nobody dies.¡±

    ¡°Yea it¡¯s a pretty great job. I just spent so long training that I never got to find a mate. I¡¯m ten years old Jack, That¡¯s like 20ish in human years. I¡¯m just in my prime, I didn¡¯t have to go to war, I finally got some money in the bank, but I don¡¯t fit in with the others. I trained in a species integrated facility. I didn¡¯t get to do the rituals and the bonding with other Delmarians. I¡¯m kind of a screw up. You¡¯ve seen how the ladies look at us soldiers, it¡¯s not like your world where you guys come home heroes, we¡¯re genetically enhanced to be intimidating and huge. Even Delmarian women don¡¯t want our kind, they¡¯ll just be having offspring with the perfect DNA to be taken away as soldiers too. I can¡¯t find a military mate, I¡¯d just get drug back into that life. I don¡¯t wanna kill people for a living. I don¡¯t wanna wife that does. Where does that leave me? And then I see Nicole. This weird little human thing, she¡¯s all alone too and looks like she¡¯s starving, her skin is deathly pale.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s half Ukrainian, that¡¯s normal, and she¡¯s a gamer they get very little sunlight.¡±

    ¡°But she just looked like some sad little rescue human. I felt bad for her, I was nice to her, I brought her some bananas, and apparently they love that. We just clicked. She¡¯s a really odd human. You know she beat the beta release of hellsgate 2 before it was even out? I can¡¯t get past the second level.¡±

    ¡°You lost me on the video game stuff but I get it. You pitied her and then you got to know her and found out she¡¯s unique, and she liked you. She wasn¡¯t scared of you, she didn¡¯t treat you like a genetically enhanced fighting machine, and she didn¡¯t treat you like one who failed to even reach combat.¡±

    ¡°Now I basically abducted her. How¡¯s that for trust? You give a guy a chance and he throws a marriage bead at you at the first hint of interest. I should have known better. No female proposes to a male, especially with an unfinished house and no social status. I never even questioned it. I saw my moment and I went for it. And I took a huge shit right on the entire situation. You know when they get the marriage overturned she¡¯s gonna leave my ass in a second. That relationship is over the moment they stamp the seals in wax.¡±

    Nicole sat on the deck of the house, overlooking the simulated ocean, kicking her combat boots inches from the wood with a beer in her hand and  next to her, drinking something in a plastic cup with a straw. She touched Nicole and she jumped half out of her skin.

    ¡°Damnit, , you know not to nudge me near the water. Freaks me out.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I forgot you hate the water. We¡¯re 6 feet back I didn¡¯t you would jump.

    ¡°I¡¯m just extra jumpy I guess, the whole¡­moving thing. Getting married like an IDIOT!¡± she yelled, throwing an empty bottle.

    ¡°Stop blaming yourself.¡± She whispered to Nicole. ¡°I just don¡¯t know why I screw up everything. I¡¯m guarded, I¡¯m creepy, I never leave the house, and everyone says I should try and meet a guy, and what do I do? I go for the first guy who looks at me with a hint of interest, get married. You know when I saw him that first day, he tripped over a board and almost ate shit right there in the unfinished basement green room. The guys chuckled. I know guys fuck with each other like that but you could see that it hurt him. He was embarrassed. What kind of 7 foot giant monster gets embarrassed and hides it from the guys? He could snap any of them like a twig and he just shuffled on instead of saying ¡°oh fuck you guys and your moms.¡± Like most big guys would. Even I would, I¡¯m a gamer, I¡¯m aggressive as hell when embarrassed. But he just looked sad like some mangy rescue dog that didn¡¯t adjust yet and was still skittish. You know I have a soft spot for those big doofy sad dogs in those commercials. I¡¯d adopt them all but I can¡¯t. The house voted no pets after the first one I brought home. How is something that big and scary so afraid to fight back?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s a soldier. They¡¯re like lab grown or something to be killing machines. He probably knows if he swung at them he¡¯d put them in a grave. Or maybe he saw some shit and he¡¯s just traumatized. Helicopter flashbacks every time fireworks goes off?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a demolition specialist. He plays with bombs for fun.¡± Nicole added with a deadpan look.

    ¡°Good point. But you two did seem to click really fast and you¡¯re both lonely, I get it. You jumped the gun a little and didn¡¯t know accepting a hair bead was a damn alien marriage proposal. You might have if you read the free material, they do have holograms and shit for dating aliens, you really do need to read more culture, but still, that¡¯s an easy mistake. You were ready to try sleeping over a few days with him just the other day, just go for it. You kinda have to now, but you love exploring haunted houses and caves, just pretend he invited you camping and you decided to spend a few days exploring dark creepy caves¡­except you live there now. Nicole, you dress up as goblins and elves and play games about adventures and exploring dungeons and roleplay as mythical creatures. You can¡¯t pretend to be a Delmarian girl exploring a dungeon with your boyfriend for a while? He just has a really good costume. Just roleplay it. And please, Nicole, watch one of the cultural holograms. They¡¯re interactive you can ask them things, they¡¯re very helpful.¡±  explained.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I told my parents I was moving to Australia and got on a ship to another world, I¡¯ve been pretending to be live streaming from down under when I¡¯m down underground in a moon somewhere so far we can¡¯t even visit home without a week advance notice, security clearance and a passport. And I survived that. This should be easy for me. I just don¡¯t know how far to take this role.¡±

    ¡°As far as you both feel comfortable. Now go get your hiking shorts and your elf sword and go defend the mines with your barbarian husband. He may need a healer.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, V. I¡¯m gonna miss you guys.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re right down the road¡­well up about 80 feet, and THEN down the road. You can visit us every day, and we can see the little human cube from the second story deck. You¡¯re gonna be fine. And you don¡¯t have to shave your legs the entire time. I seriously doubt he¡¯ll question it.¡±  said, giving her a hug and discreetly sliding the last of the beers away from her as she grabbed the case and pulled it back.

    ¡°You know what, you can just have those. Maybe bring them with you, he¡¯s probably expecting you pretty soon and you do need to be able to walk there before it¡¯s too dark.¡± She added.

    Nicole peered back in the distance along the glistening beach and the white sand, down the road to the little dot of light from a single lone human cube, where it suddenly took a vertical drop into a huge pit of broken rocks and debris.

    ¡°Get in character bitch. This is the role of a lifetime.¡± She sighed to herself, standing up and grabbing her little portable tent. ¡°It¡¯s Hobbit time.¡±

 3: Coffee and Tits

    She awoke to the sound of a crackling fire, almost forgetting she wasn¡¯t really camping, as she opened the tent and noticed the cave illuminated via strings of industrial lights leading to an unfinished kitchen where Vinn was making breakfast. God only knew what that was.

    ¡°Chicken?¡± he asked, holding up a whole raw chicken, feet and all ready for the skillet.

    ¡°No I¡¯m not hungry, I brought something to drink instead.¡± She said hungover and numb.

    ¡°Damn, heated up the skillet for nothing I guess.¡± He said plopping it on a plate for himself and pouring some orange colored sauce over it, completely raw. ¡°Sleep okay?¡±

    ¡°Enough.¡±

    ¡°You know you could have had the bed, or at least a carpeted floor inside the cube. You didn¡¯t have to sleep in the actual unfinished home in a little people bag.¡±

    ¡°Just wanted to get a feel for living in the dark I guess.¡± She said darkly.

    ¡°You really need some food. I can throw this in a skillet and burn it for you at any point but it¡¯s still gonna have the sauce. Want me to order anything? A vegan burger, one of those cereal boxes, some bananas?¡± They¡¯ll bring it right to the cube.¡±

    ¡°No I just need some liquids right now.¡± She said shaking a bottle of Sport-power and opening a thermos of coffee to warm up on the burner.

    So I looked up that ¡°soap¡± thing last night after you went to bed. I had no idea humans had a separate cleaner for the hairy bits and the non hairy bits. Fascinating stuff. Who would have even thought of that?¡± he said shaking his head. ¡°So what are you drinking?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s called coffee. It¡¯s like an herbal brew full of stimulant drugs, you¡¯d love it.

    I know what coffee is, I work construction, half the guys run on coffee, I got coffee I¡¯m drinking here but it¡¯s very different. I just never saw this kind before.

    ¡°It¡¯s an iced Moccachino. I have one every once in a while, and when I would go camping with my dad he always got me one. You wanna try some?¡± she asked. He took a swig, pondering a moment in turmoil as to his feelings.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look impressed.¡± She smirked.

    ¡°Tastes nothing like the coffee. You¡¯re sure this is coffee? Why is it so viscous and light¡­foamy?

    ¡°Well you probably drink black coffee, this has chocolate and milk a-¡±

    ¡°Milk.¡± He interrupted, looking mildly horrified.

    ¡°Oh my god you¡¯re not allergic to dairy are you? I didn¡¯t even think about that.¡±

    ¡°Allergic no. It¡¯s just disturbing. You know where that comes from, right?¡±

    ¡°Yea.¡± She chuckled. Dairy farms¡­cows.

    ¡°And most humans are just fine with that?¡± he pondered.

    ¡°Yea most. It¡¯s just milk.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alien tit liquid.¡± He protested. ¡°You ring out another species tit in your coffee? This looks mostly tit. It¡¯s more tit than coffee.¡±

    ¡°Okay firstly, Humans are mammals. It¡¯s perfectly natural to produce milk, and it¡¯s made specifically for nutrients and consumption. All mammals lactate, get over it.¡±

    ¡°So humans produce milk too¡­¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And that is human milk in your beverage?¡±

    ¡°Ew, no. It¡¯s cow¡¯s milk. Nobody puts human breast milk in their coffee.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­So it¡¯s repulsive to consume the milk when it¡¯s produced by your own kind as nature intended, but if it¡¯s squeezed out of an alien¡¯s titty it¡¯s entirely normal.¡± He asked. She opened her mouth to argue a point and then froze, looking more like she had a revelation or some from of blood clot of the brain.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really think about that.¡± She admitted. ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡±

    ¡°Human or cow, that¡¯s still alien to me. Cow should still be alien to you. Is any milk fair game? How about sheep?¡±

    ¡°Acceptable.¡±

    ¡°Horse?¡±

    ¡°In some countries yes, not in all of them.¡±

    ¡°Cat milk.¡± He said raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°Ugh, what the fuck, Vinn?¡±

    ¡°How about Pandas, or ducks?¡±

    ¡°No, and also ducks aren¡¯t mammals.¡± She noted.

    ¡°So everything with hooves is fair game, anything else including your own species is disturbing¡­and you think I¡¯m the weird one here. The guy with hooves who doesn¡¯t eat anything with hooves, or lactate.¡±

    ¡°All good points. BUT! So what to baby Delmarians drink?¡± she quizzed.

    ¡°The same thing we do, water mostly, plant juices, blood.¡±

    ¡°Oh so blood isn¡¯t a troubling fluid but milk is taboo?¡±

    ¡°Blood is basically meat. We all eat meat, there¡¯s blood in meat. I¡¯ve seen you eat meat before. You¡¯re not a Vegantarian, You ate bacon yesterday.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cooked! The blood is gone.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not gone, Blood doesn¡¯t evaporate into the aether, it¡¯s just hot and solid now, it¡¯s essentially turned into more meat and less water, therefore blood is in the same family as meat. It¡¯s liquid meat. Watery meat. Foofs can¡¯t digest the solid meat until they are several days old, so they consume the liquid equivalent.¡±

    ¡°Okay I think we¡¯ve reached a point where nobody is winning or making any really good points here, we¡¯re just quoting culture and saying it¡¯s normal. And I¡¯ve heard ¡°foofs¡± twice from you. Are Delmarian babies actually called foofs?¡±

    ¡°Yea.¡±

    Okay that is too adorable. I can¡¯t even argue while thinking about that, so

    how about the non mammals do the gross blood thing, and those of us milk producers can have our lactose coffee? You wanna put blood in your coffee, be my guest. The rest of us with titties are gonna stay on team titty.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°You don¡¯t really even have ti-¡± he stopped. ¡°I¡¯ve immediately noticed from your reaction that I¡¯ve crossed a line and despite not understanding it, or why, I would like to apologize.¡± He backpedaled desperately.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re foreign as fuck.¡±

    ¡°I very much am. So foreign and innocent. I will make efforts to research what just happened and how to avoid it.¡± He nervously braced.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­don¡¯t just go Google ¡®titties¡¯ and go down that rabbit hole. Sometimes women are simply not supposed to be understood.¡±

    Jack sat on a metal chair, enjoying a sandwich as Vinn pulled one beside him and plopped down, stressing the welds.

    ¡°Jack, I need to understand women, and therefore need to ask you some awkward questions and despite being male you may still get mad. I don¡¯t even know at this point. I¡¯m not supposed to Google titties.¡±

    ¡°Vinn, I can already tell this is going to be about Nicole and I may not want to know this information. Is it about anything other than Nicole¡¯s body and human anatomy.¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Please go talk to Silverback. He¡¯s older and wiser than both of us combined, I¡¯m sure he has better answers that I don¡¯t have to discuss at 7AM on a work day.¡±

    ¡°An obvious dodge of discomfort, but with a valid point. He does tell significantly more sexual jokes at work. But I do need a favor. Unrelated to titties, I promise.¡±

    ¡°God help me.¡± Jack struggled.

    ¡°Can you get me some¡­black market gamer gear. I need to build Nicole a special custom gaming room, money is no object, I know you can get hard to find things. Please, I need this for her. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°I will get you whatever custom 3d virtual gamer shit you need and not ask why, if you promise to stop talking about tits and take that problem to Silverback. I¡¯m the tech guy, he¡¯s the tits guy. Go, now.¡±

    Vinn plopped down and smiled with a weird unsure look on his face.

    ¡°Well this is about to get weird, isn¡¯t it?¡± said the grey bearded man, casually adding something to his coffee that only a foreman would be allowed to do at 7:08 on a work day.

    ¡°Human females are far more complicated than I anticipated.¡±

    ¡°HA! No shit Sherlock.¡± Silverback snickered.

    ¡°I read many books on anatomy and history and none of them seem to have prepared me for this.¡±

    ¡°Son, you¡¯re a young buck, maybe literally, and you just got married. You¡¯re supposed to be scared shitless and confused. That¡¯s the way of things. You get to your third marriage and it starts to become normal and obvious, but you crossed the species barrier by a wild-ass leap, and that is bound to make the problems even worse. Have you tried just being honest and blunt with her and saying exactly what you thought?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Repeatedly¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s where you went wrong first, bucko. She¡¯s what¡­28 years old?¡±

    ¡°I believe so.¡±

    ¡°Women don¡¯t want full honesty and bluntness till they¡¯re about 40. Young women her age want things sugar coated and finessed with poetry. They want fun and adventure, but also just the freedom to be themselves and prove they can be independent, while also being totally reliant on everyone, and wanting to feel powerful.¡±

    ¡°None of that makes sense.¡± Vinn sighed.

    ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s the point. Young women are insane, and young men are stupid. When women mature, the insanity usually turns to enlightenment and when men become older, they just look older and take more vitamins.¡± Silverback explained.

    ¡°But you¡¯re dating a younger human woman.¡±

    ¡°Right, and I know from experience how crazy that can be and when to just nod and sip your coffee. Dee is a spirited gal but she¡¯s not ready to get married, and we¡¯ve dated for a while now. Your little Nicole wasn¡¯t ready either and she just tripped over a cultural barrier and fell headfirst into it, and frankly you¡¯re just about as clueless as her. The fact that neither of you even has a college degree in biology, let alone Xenobiology, let alone in the other¡¯s species, just guarantees that it all gets more complicated.¡±

    ¡°So you think we¡¯re doomed?¡± Vinn asked.

    ¡°No, of course not. I think you¡¯re fighting some stranger issues in more risky territory so the game has gotten tougher. Love finds a way, and if it¡¯s not love then it will find a way to end. If both of you are willing to do everything to make it work, then you will. Probably. But if even one of you decides to half-ass it, THEN it¡¯s doomed. So what exactly was your fight over?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe the fight is truly over, but it was about tits.¡±

    ¡°Mother of god.¡± Silverback sighed, sipping his mug.

    ¡°There seems to be a lot of variation. Your mate appears to have significantly larger tits. What is the significance of this in a relationship?¡±

    ¡°You really don¡¯t sugar coat anything do you? You just go right for the kill on everything?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m literally bred and enhanced to be a special operations soldier. We don¡¯t get training on sugar coating; we get encouraged to follow orders, get things done and report results.¡±

    ¡°Well soldier, listen up. First rule of tit club is you do not talk about another man¡¯s partner¡¯s tits during tit club. That¡¯s also the second rule. It was important enough to repeat. Breaking those rules will get you directly into fight club, and the only reason I¡¯m handling it calmly is because I know you don¡¯t know any different, and you¡¯d kill me in about 5 seconds if I officially challenged you.¡±

    ¡°That seems accurate.¡±

    ¡°Frankly you don¡¯t need to know anything about another mans partner because no two are the same so it doesn¡¯t help you a bit, and it will only get you into trouble unless they¡¯re one of those swingers, and then they wouldn¡¯t want you playing along either because I¡¯m guessing just from your build and weight that there would be problems there too. Your problem is that you want the rulebook on human females and how to understand them, and the reason that book doesn¡¯t exist is because every one of them comes with their own unique book and even they haven¡¯t read it. You need to write your own book, and just for the model you have. Listen, learn, expect miscommunications, expect her to go apeshit for absolutely no reason and understand it¡¯s probably not your fault, you¡¯re just in the crosshairs.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s troubling.¡± Vinn nodded, taking notes.

    ¡°It gets easier with time. Don¡¯t try and figure out what you did wrong, she may just be having a bad day. Just be comforting and be yourself. If it¡¯s not something you did, she¡¯ll appreciate the support. If it¡¯s something you did, she¡¯ll tell you and it will be obvious. If it¡¯s your fault and obvious and she still denies it but still lashes out at you for it, then she¡¯s one of the psychos and you can¡¯t win, the war is over, you¡¯ve lost, get out while you can, private. Nicole doesn¡¯t seem like the manipulative bitch type. She¡¯s just scared and too afraid to admit it because showing weakness is a weakness you cant afford when you¡¯re a fifth the size of the person you¡¯re up against. You¡¯re intimidating Vinn. Hell I¡¯m intimidated and we¡¯re not even married.

    Most humans look at your kind like monsters, big scary ones they can¡¯t trust. The only reason that girl is with you is because she can see you aren¡¯t really a threat, or she just has a thing for monsters¡­probably both. That¡¯s a balance you need to figure out between you two. Just keep being honest about your feelings, but remember when you do, she is the size of a prey animal and she just moved from a house full of humans she trusts and feels safe with, to a dungeon with a guy she just met who could literally take her head off in one bite and nobody would hear the scream 60 feet underground.¡±

    ¡°Then why did she wanna move in with me? She suggested it, I wasn¡¯t even thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°For one, she underestimated the hell out of the cultural differences, that¡¯s on her, they have the damn free hologram videos. She also didn¡¯t realize you bought a cave. Secondly, in human culture, people move in sometimes just to see if they work as a couple. It¡¯s not marriage, it¡¯s just dating. She wanted to take things to the next level, she tried to skip a level and she skipped about 12 levels and ended up unprepared at the boss fight. Now there is still hope for you, and this is where you need to pay attention soldier.¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.¡±

    ¡°Not that literally.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Foreman.¡±

    ¡°Close enough. Now that little gal is no child, she¡¯s pushing 30. She¡¯s still rocking a goth phase well past the point where it¡¯s just for attention, and she has several well done tattoos. Those weren¡¯t mistakes. You know what those tattoos mean?¡±

    ¡°On my world it¡¯s a status usually reserved for soldiers or athletes and their achievements and/or kills in the ring but since that makes no sense, I assume it¡¯s for decoration.¡±

    ¡°Mindless tribal and tramp-stamps are for decoration. Hers are thought out and planned statements on things she finds interesting enough to display permanently either for herself or others. She has at least 3 classic horror movie tattoos and one modern one. That¡¯s the kinda girl that likes scary things until it gets too real too fast. She likes you, she likes that you kinda scare her, but she still wants the comfort of knowing you¡¯re safe. Like a horror movie. The thrill in the fear and excitement of something dark and menacing but deep down knowing it¡¯s just a movie and it can¡¯t hurt her. Don¡¯t try and act human, or try to water down the fact that you¡¯re a monster, just remind her that you¡¯re a monster that she¡¯s safe with. That¡¯s the monster she wants. You play that card right, and you may be the next tattoo.¡±

    ¡°Interesting.¡±

    ¡°Remember, she didn¡¯t know she signed up to be a wife, that¡¯s the part that scares her more then anything. She volunteered to date you though. It¡¯s not you. It¡¯s the cultural shock. She was completely onboard with you and a familiar setting; the foreign setting is what made her think she made a mistake. If she accidentally married a human guy she just met and got taken into a cave to live like a native she¡¯d be just as freaked out. You didn¡¯t marry a Delmarian girl, you married a human girl. Be a Delmarian, let her be a human. Look for the overlap and things you have in common, don¡¯t try and force them or you¡¯ll just trade compromises all the time.¡±

    ¡°Your elderly wisdom is appreciated.¡± He nodded, standing up and returning to work.

 4: Disassembled Nicole

    Nicole checked her phone to make sure she wasn¡¯t getting home late, still wearing her cat ears and earbuds as she briskly walked from her old home to the new one. Before she even made it to the entrance, Vinn was rushing to meet her.

    ¡°Vinn you don¡¯t have to greet me in a rush every time I come home. I¡¯m not gonna fall off the elevator or run away.¡±

    ¡°I have something for you and it needs a little bit of warning or a form of sugar coating. I don¡¯t know what that means entirely.¡±

    ¡°Oh good grief, what else, is there a blood drinking ceremony or something?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not even close to a holiday. This is a good surprise, I¡¯m sure of it, but I wanted to build the hype.¡± He grinned excitedly. Here is a blindfold and I would prefer you hold my hand because some of the rails are missing from the recent project.¡±

    ¡°You know I normally like creepy surprises and blindfolds but recently the surprises have been wildly hit and miss so is it okay if we speed this part up?¡± she asked impatiently.¡±

    ¡°Just look.¡± He said, sliding the blindfold off. Nicole was standing at the rail where the floating top floor reached out to one of the wall cutouts, this one had siding and a front door.

    ¡°Wow, what the hell did you do?¡± she said peering into the room, as if Willy Wonka himself had opened the doors to a land of wonder.

    ¡°I modified one of the rooms. It was going to be for storage originally but I decided to make you a safe space instead. I can store shit somewhere else. I can always make more rooms, we have a shitload of expired explosives left.¡±

    ¡°We are definitely getting back to that point later and don¡¯t you dare take that away from me, but this is insane.¡± She gasped, twirling like a proverbial Alice in a slightly more demonic wonderland of her design.

    ¡°I looked up some of your tattoos and built a custom room using the color scheme and some old movie posters. I had a few posters printed, some bands from your younger years. Your friend Dee was a great source of material, that hopefully makes it less stalker-ish and more magical.¡± He said with relief.

    ¡°The explanation sort of defeats the magic part, but it does make it less stalker-ish. How did you get all of this in here so fast, I¡¯ve been gone like 9 hours?¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t think you understand the level of technological advancement that this world has to offer, but mostly magic. I did have to rush order a custom human cube and disassemble it for the parts. I¡¯ve been trying to understand human females, turns out I only needed to understand human Nicole. So I took a lot of inspiration and additions to the human cube and instead of a disassembled human cube, I made a disassembled Nicole cube. I also immediately regret how that sounded out loud and hope the mystical wonder of the room distracted you from hearing it.¡± He puckered.

    ¡°Nope, heard it pretty clearly.¡±

    ¡°Fuck.¡±

    ¡°No it¡¯s funny, and kinda morbidly cute. It¡¯s like you made a room out of me so I could hide inside myself for a while.¡±

    ¡°Oh thank the gods you got the concept, we were missing a lot of those the last few days and It was concerning me. This took a LOT of work.¡±

    ¡°Is that why the room is so short? Because you made it me size?¡±

    ¡°Well a safe place to hide inside yourself should be private, and Dee specifically said you liked Cedar flooring so I just built up enough cedar flooring to get the room height to 6 feet. You can be alone here any time you want because I literally cannot cram my furry ass through that doorway and I couldn¡¯t stand up in there if I did. I had to put the Skylight glass in from the outside or I might have trapped myself in there and that would have really ruined the magic. That skylight should help you feel less underground. It¡¯s the closest to the surface.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice. Doesn¡¯t feel like a basement. Just feels like a home.¡±

    ¡°I mean we are technically still in a basement, the moon¡¯s entire surface is void of life and inhospitable, the entire city is a mile under solid rock, but the Osirians did a really good job on the roofs hologram grid. People in here keep forgetting we¡¯re underground. It¡¯s both a compliment and also a source of occasional psychosis, but you seem fine, you are agoraphobic anyway, right?¡±

    ¡°Not really, I just¡­prefer places where a lot of people can¡¯t be in at once.¡±

    ¡°Hence the inside-out Nicole room. I just keep making that worse, would you like to name it yourself so I can just use that, please?¡±

    ¡°Honestly doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s perfect: The white walls, gamer lighting, and the weird pink and black carpet. Where did you get pink and black striped carpet?¡±

    ¡°I bought pink carpet and black carpet and frantically cut it up into strips. It¡¯s not even tacked down, it¡¯s actually very dangerous to walk on for someone who takes fall damage, but I¡¯ve ordered something legit, it¡¯s just on shipping delay. Just don¡¯t trip and die until it arrives in 2-30 business days. Why do I even pay for the express shipping on this shit?¡± he asked as she gave him a big sudden hug, awkwardly trapping him with just his head in the doorway.

    ¡°I promise I won¡¯t die for 30 business days, but the room needs one more thing.¡±

    ¡°Bathroom. I knew it. Ran out of space, I would tear it all out and blow a hole in the back wall but that¡¯s another project. I¡¯m setting up a pretty special game simulator room you¡¯re gonna love. Seriously don¡¯t go in there, I wanna save that reveal. It¡¯s a whole thing.¡± He grinned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to build me everything in the world.¡±

    ¡°Trust me; you¡¯ll be glad I got this one. You better, it was not cheap, and I cannot return it. No pressure.¡±

    ¡°Vinn, the one thing this room still needs is a wider door so you can crawl in too. The whole point of an inside out Nicole room is to be crammed inside with all the weird creepy stuff that makes me feel safe. So how can I really get the full use of it without the biggest creepy thing I need in here? You. But I¡¯m sure your other gifts are very special too.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m finally getting the hang of this.¡±

    ¡°But yea the bathroom would have been cool; it¡¯s like a 2 minute walk down 2 flights of stairs to the nearest one. This place was not designed for humans. If you could, in any practical way put something on the same floor level, that would be amazing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the explosives. I can wait till you are at work.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare. I wanna push the button. Please tell me you have some oversized steampunk safety goggles.

    ¡°Safety goggles¡­I keep hearing about those things.¡±

    Jack strolled to the mansion, yawning and stretching and looking forward to some alone time with his girlfriend as a very fast trudging Dee approached him, ruining his expectations entirely.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Jack, we need to go check on her.¡±

    ¡°Dee, it¡¯s been one night, she came to work, and she probably just left. Why the sudden urgency.

    ¡°I have this 6<sup>th</sup> sense about things; I know when my friends are in danger. I¡¯ve been trying to ignore it but she was so depressed all day and left looking terrible, and then right after that I felt the house shake slightly. Vinn said the Demo was done the other day, what if the place caved in? What if she is hurt, what if she ran away?¡±

    ¡°Dee, she¡¯s not depressed, she¡¯s tired. She¡¯s probably not sleeping well yet. I¡¯ll make you a deal. I¡¯ll go with you, under the conditions that when nothing is wrong not only do you explain to Vicki that it was entirely you that delayed our plans, but also that to apologize for it you will just go leave for the afternoon and give us at least 4 hours alone in the house on the one day everyone else is gone, yet here we are hiking down to check on Nicole because you felt a slight quiver in the ground and got a feeling.¡±

    ¡°Okay fine but if she¡¯s hurt you¡¯re gonna feel like a huge dick.¡± She insisted.

    They knocked on the door of the cube, noticing it seemed more tilted than usual. Dee peaked into the window between the slightly cracked blinds looking for anything nefarious.

    ¡°They¡¯re not here.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°They probably went out to a movie, or dinner, or went on a walk down the beach. You realize this moon is just striped with blackstone and despite being the best foundation for homes, there is a lot of mining that goes on in a mining moon, and if they hit the same blackstone vein miles away with a heavy demo charge you might still feel a little quake.¡± He assured, just before both of them collapsed from the sudden shutter of the ground. The both took on a look of worry and rushed to the elevator that was blocked by a chain and tape. They got down and carefully squeezed under it, hanging on tightly to the rusty elevator as it slowly squeaked it¡¯s way down, both praying there wasn¡¯t a second explosion while they were still suspended. They got to the bottom and the lights turned red, a security siren going off. Jack quickly texted Vinn the words ¡°Do not call police, we¡¯re in the basement.¡± And after a moment, the alarms stopped. They proceeded into the dusty basement chasm and noticed a stack of wooden crates with a steel door propped in front of it. Vinn stood up, looking confused and removing his safety glasses.

    ¡°What the hell man? I blocked that elevator off for a reason.¡±

    ¡°We just ducked under it, it wasn¡¯t very secure.¡± Jack scolded.

    ¡°Well I assumed anyone just visiting would be smart enough to take the hint that it meant do not enter, since everyone I know is in construction and knows I¡¯m a demolition expert. You could have both been killed by flying rocks and shit.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Nicole?¡± Barked Dee.

    From behind the barricade popped up a very giddy Nicole, wearing her usual skirt and tank top combination, but with the addition of knee and elbow pads, huge steampunk safety goggles, earmuffs, an old army helmet and a gigantic beaming smile.

    ¡°We¡¯re playing with explosives!¡± She yelled far louder than necessary.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that extremely dangerous?¡± Dee asked.

    ¡°WHAT!?¡± she asked. Vinn sighed and lifted up a riot shield with a couch cushion taped to it and pointed out the barrier and the excessive gear she was wearing like some kid who got to play with daddy¡¯s oversized army gear.

    ¡°Dee, this above and beyond ESPLOSHA regulated safety standards and the only violation of demo protocol is the part where two people ducked under a chain on private property during a blasting operation with zero warning. So yes, thanks to you this was an extremely dangerous situation. Look, I know you sell merch and do product reviews for a living, and that¡¯s a very physical and laborious job that must stress you out greatly, but some of us have college level safety courses on handling explosives and though I do sometimes act a bit laxed on my own safety, I take the safety of others very seriously, especially Nicole. Look how excessive that is. I know you don¡¯t like me, I¡¯m not sure of it¡¯s a racism thing or you just act like that to all of your friends boyfriends and husbands¡­hopefully that because it¡¯s from a place of love and not just bitchiness, but I¡¯m trying to have some quality time having fun with my wife, and I can see now that we really need to put up that door in front of the elevator as the next project.¡±

    ¡°Yes, quality time with your loved ones.¡± Jack said looking back at Dee. ¡°That¡¯s always a sacred and private thing people don¡¯t want interrupted.¡±

    ¡°Dee I¡¯m fine!¡± Nicole said, still grinning and almost skipping her way over, earmuffs off and still wearing the giant wobbly helmet. ¡°We¡¯re having fun. He let me push the big red button. I¡¯ve always wanted to do that. He made me a creepy me-themed cubby hole room and we¡¯re blasting out space for some extra bathrooms.¡±

    ¡°Why do you need extra bathrooms for 2 people and a goat?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Have you seen this house layout, it¡¯s weird as hell. It¡¯s like one giant 2-story building with a wrap-around staircase leading to a bunch of rooms on different elevation levels. It¡¯s some kind of Delmarian religious thing about spiraling down to the underworld with your family, but it¡¯s super impractical when the bathroom is on a different floor and you have like 200 feet of hallways and 20 steps to get there. We¡¯re putting one on every level. We¡¯re compromising and making the house more human friendly. Isn¡¯t that sweet?¡± she said, still slightly yelling and hugging Vinn tightly. Vinn gave her a pat and grinned.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually really bad luck to alter the sacred spiral, but it¡¯s probably even worse luck to marry a human so I figure if it¡¯s necessary¡­screw it. I¡¯m not THAT superstitious anyway or I wouldn¡¯t have married a human.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°I am so sorry.¡± Dee sighed, looking embarrassed. ¡°You two do your weird thing, I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t barge in during anything even weirder. From now on if this hobbit hill is rockin, I just won¡¯t come a knockin.¡± She smiled, giving a wink.

    ¡°You do realize phones exist, right?¡± Jack muttered.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m officially an asshole, and I just remembered that I have to be heading out pretty soon. I have some evening plans that should keep me busy for about 4-5 hours.¡± She said, looking like there was a slight bit of pain admitting that. ¡°So you two kids have fun blowing shit up and living in a hole.¡± Dee said, heading back to the elevator. Vinn shook his head and breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°Your friends are strange people.¡±

    ¡°I know, what the hell?¡± She scoffed as Vinn¡¯s phone chimed, and he checked the notification.

    ¡°Oh hey they just got the skull toilets in stock, you want the white one, the black one of the gold one?¡±

    ¡°Black obviously, a golden throne is just excessive. What are we, some kind of ritzy space overlords?¡±

    A dim flicker of light illuminated a throne room, gleaming off the gold throne and the giant gold chandelier made of Delmarian skulls and broken swords from the Fupar arena. Gizzy took a puff from her cigar and tilted her head at the hologram screen in front of her, her eyes glowing bright blue in the dark.

    ¡°Very interesting.¡± She muttered as her advisor brought her a mug of something that probably causes cancer just by breathing the steam rolling out of it.

    ¡°We¡¯ve detected several unauthorized tremors in the area and tracked it to that location. It¡¯s just a Delmarian spiral home in progress but with no paperwork or crew papers we had to scan it for security, especially that close to the tunnels. Should I file a notification of relocation and reimburse them for the cost and inconvenience?¡±

    ¡°No, let them work. I¡¯ll make a personal report later tonight.

    ¡°You have a busy schedule, and a meeting with who I am required to refer to as ¡°Gandalf the Lardass¡±. This may interfere with the timeframe.¡±

    ¡°Tell that spherical Jack-off-alope I¡¯ll be there on time. He knows I like to make him wait; he can wait a little longer this time. I have very important matters to look into. Contact the Delta team working on the south side fountain in the town square, tell them to halt all progress and prep for immediate emergency tunnel excavation, discreet, no paperwork, no explosives, and short range lasers only. I¡¯ll take care of the details. I want them ready in 2 hours.¡±

    ¡°Empress Greggarious, I do not understand the purpose for this, but I will make it so. Should I add 50 percent bonus to their pay?¡±

    ¡°Double it; I want happy workers who don¡¯t ask questions, not annoyed workers wondering why we changed plans. People hate it when you pull them mid project for another project. They don¡¯t give a shit when you throw money at them for it. They just smile and go to work and the only questions they ask are what do we do with the bonus money and this vacation time?¡±

    ¡°And can I ask if it¡¯s not too personal, what exactly IS the purpose of this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna let the happy couple keep blasting, I wanna meet the girl myself, Give Jack a message that I¡¯m willing to see her about the marriage reversal, but be sure it¡¯s while Vinn is working. I want her there alone. Bring up the file on this Nicole.

    ¡°Nicole Marie Gurverdermnerer.¡±

    ¡°God I hate Delmarian names. You sound like your having a stroke when you say them.¡±

    ¡°Why is she of interest?¡±

    Because she married a Delmarian and I don¡¯t know why, and they put their house right next to the tunnel system. Look at this security data. She streams her entire sad little life from her gamer chair; she basically signed a security waver giving us permission to know her entire life. This is better then looking up someone¡¯s social media accounts. 14 medieval adventure game playthroughs, 6 different sets of headphones, 4 of them Nightmare before Christmas character themed, 1 with cat-ears, and a Slipknot poster on her wall. She¡¯s not playing a Goth chick, this girl is legitimately like this.¡±

    ¡°Two other girls in the same house have cat ear headphones and band posters.¡±

    ¡°Yea but look at the streams, they¡¯re dressed like holographic strippers. They¡¯re doing it for the attention, all current pop culture content and tits. You don¡¯t go classic outdated on your character bullshit and stream in long sleeved hoodies unless you¡¯re doing it for comfort rather than views. This girl isn¡¯t playing a bit. She married a guy who could break her in half and moved into a dungeon with him. She¡¯s perfect, I want her in the tunnels, I want prediction scans of the demo work, I wanna know the most likely spot they plan to dig next and I want a corridor running right past that tonight. Mark it down as an air vent and tie it to the old ventilation. This week just got interesting.¡± Gizzy grinned with a maniacal extension of her tusks.

 5: Surprise and Supplies

    So what¡¯s it like dating someone the size of your leg?¡± Silverback asked as him as they breathed heavily and drank water from very different sized bottles. The light clanking of metal on metal in the background set a rhythmic tone as Silverback grabbed another giant iron plate and strained to get it to the bar on a Delmarian rated bench press rack.

    ¡°I really like her, she¡¯s funny, she¡¯s cute as hell, she makes me happy but damn do I get nervous when things get remotely physical. I¡¯m afraid to hug her sometimes because she hugs super tight and I wanna squeeze her back, and I don¡¯t know what point of squeezing will start breaking bones, so I kinda just pat her head. Spot me.¡±

    ¡°Hell no. I can¡¯t budge that shit. If you drop that bar with me hanging onto it I¡¯m going to the ER before you do.¡± Silverback wheezed.

    ¡°Yea good point. It¡¯s fine.¡± He said gnashing his teeth and doing a fairly comfortable few reps.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s why I got you two those recovery shots, anything shy of car crash, those will bring you back to peak health. So I assume you two haven¡¯t¡­¡± he hinted with a smirk.

    ¡°That¡¯s personal and a respectful gentleman doesn¡¯t tell about his conques-¡±

    ¡°So no, you haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Nope, not yet. Just cuddling and some light making out.¡± Vinn sighed.

    ¡°Scared as hell hu?¡±

    ¡°Oh terrified. Absolutely scared to death, man. I wasn¡¯t this scared my first time, and I was young. At least I didn¡¯t have to worry that I could break my girlfriend, I just wanted to look good naked and not screw bad. Throw another 200 on there.¡±

    ¡°Vinn I bench 200 as my finishing lift, getting these plates up here IS my damn workout for today. I¡¯m wiped. Why are you adding more, you usually stop adding at 1,400.¡±

    ¡°I still wanna look good naked. You know how hard it is to look buff when you¡¯re covered in fur?¡±

    ¡°Vinn you¡¯re working your frustrations out on the bar and in doing so making your problem of being overpowered even worse.¡± He noted.

    ¡°Crap, that¡¯s a good point. I¡¯mma switch to just legs for a while.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not taking these plates off by the way. Anywho, you just gotta be safe and trust yourself. Make sure she¡¯s on top, obviously. Hell, have her cuff your arms back with some log chains or something, tell her you¡¯re just kinky like that. There¡¯s plenty of ways to get around limitations if you plan and plan and plan the shit out of it.¡±

    ¡°Did you have to do anything like this for Dee?¡±

    ¡°No, she¡¯s thick and sturdy and I¡¯m old, it basically equals out.¡±

    Vicki and Nicole sat in the hot tub watching the simulated ocean.

    ¡°I¡¯m just not sure if it¡¯s safe.¡± Nicole said. ¡°What if he just sneezes and pops my head off?¡±

    ¡°If it makes you that nervous, do some prep work. Get the place ready and get some recovery shots just in case. You¡¯re not the first human to have a Delmarian boyfriend you know.¡± Vicki noted.

    ¡°Do you know anyone I could talk to?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know anyone personally, I just, I¡¯ve seen couple walking around before. Not a whole lot of them, but there has to be some safety gear. Just make it like a fun thing, get some fuzzy handcuffs, or ¡­towing cables and tie his arms back. Make sure you are on top. He¡¯ll probably be into it. Hell at this point he¡¯d probably be into anything. You need to go shopping. There has to be some Delmarian compatibility sex stuff. I know a place, I¡¯ve shopped there, I didn¡¯t specifically ask of they have human versus Delmarian stuff but they might, they have everything.¡±

    ¡°Jack is human, why are you shopping for alien se-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Here¡¯s the number. You want me to go with you?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not, this is embarrassing enough.¡±

    ¡°There is nothing to be shamed of, this place is very discreet on their delivery packaging too.¡± She assured as Nicole looked at her skeptically. ¡°Here, use my gift card. Jack makes a lot of money.¡±

    The door bell jingled on a swinging shop front as the cashier looked unexcited to break from her phone.

    ¡°Welcome to Bed Bath and Uranus, the only sex store in town with flame resistant lube. Can I help you?¡± she droned.

    ¡°Hi I¡¯d like to buy some¡­items. Whispered Nicole, wearing sunglasses and an oversized hat like a disguise.

    ¡°We have a lot of those; this is an alien sex shop. Can you be more specific?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s say, hypothetically, someone I know was into Delmarians and wanted to explore that.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°We have videos, toys, costumes, erotic fiction, and educational sex holograms.¡±

    ¡°I HAVE THE DAMN HOLO¡­I have the holograms already. I¡¯m not explaining this right. Let¡¯s say I was dating a Delmarian currently and things were progressing. Is there some kind of¡­preparation I would need? Any helpful items or a kit?¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°You want a Delmarian safety kit because you¡¯re gonna bang a Delmarian and you¡¯re scared shitless you¡¯ll die.¡± The annoyed lady said bluntly, showing her tattoo of a skull and antler with a number of hash marks counting up.

    ¡°¡­Fine, do you have the kit?¡± she snipped.

    ¡°Kind of a rare item, we can order one. They¡¯re not cheap, bit it¡¯s fast and discreet. They¡¯re not¡­ILLEGAL per say, but frowned upon heavily.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, just order it.¡± Nicole said paying in cash to avoid the receipt.

    ¡°You may also wanna go down and check out the furniture store on 15<sup>th</sup> street.¡±

    ¡°We already have a couch.¡± Nicole informed.

    ¡°Is it a level 2 or higher safety rated couch?¡± asked the cashier with a smile.

    ¡°They have safety levels¡­for couches?¡±

    ¡°Couches, beds, you name it, they have reinforced it. Honey, get the couch, or you¡¯ll regret it and still be getting another couch after. One correct couch is cheaper than 2 broken ones and a back brace. Get the one with the steel tube frame, it holds up to 900 pounds and doesn¡¯t flip over.¡± She suggested. Nicole¡¯s eyes stared widely.

    ¡°So that¡¯s 15ths Street? Do they air deliver?¡±

    The automatic store doors opened as Vinn in a trenchcoat walked into a well lit supermarket and to the help desk. The lady behind the desk, hand near the panic button nervously put on a smile.

    ¡°Welcome to Shop-Mart what can I get for you?¡±

    ¡°Hi, so I need some supplies.¡± Vinn whispered like he was buying crack.

    ¡°This is a retail megastore, we have literally all the things.¡±

    ¡°I got a list, so which is better, Aspirin or Ibuprofen?¡±

    ¡°It depends on what¡¯s wrong; do you need it for joint pain or migraines?¡±

    ¡°Just give me like 800 of both. Also, do you have extreme sports safety gear?¡±

    ¡°For climbing or for motorsports or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Technically there¡¯s climbing involved but I¡¯m more concerned about sudden impacts. Elbow and knee pads, do you have those foam helmets in human sizes? Adult female, small?¡± he asked.

    ¡°What color?¡±

    ¡°Oh it doesn¡¯t matter it¡¯s gonna be fairly dark in the cave. She can¡¯t see shit.¡±

    ¡°Oh caves! I love cave climbing. We have a wide selection of cave diving equipment.¡± She perked up.

    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Vinn said, getting his notepad.

    ¡°Ropes, pulleys.¡±

    ¡°Ironically no, pass.¡±

    ¡°Hydration packs?¡±

    ¡°Oh yea, several of those. Humans love electrolytes. Is there anything especially for like¡­cave-based horseback riding?¡± He squinted suspiciously.

    ¡°Nausea medicine if being jostled around makes you sick? You¡¯re doing cave climbing on horseback?¡±

    ¡°Two boxes¡­of that¡­stuff. So roughly how much does an average human sweat during an Olympic event? We talking towels, or is there ever a tarp required for this during any extreme sports or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t help you if you won¡¯t be more direct. Whatever weird sport you¡¯re into, we have the gear but you have to be blunt with me. Exactly what extreme thing are you trying to do safely?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Hopefully my wife, it¡¯s been a weird week. Ooh, baindaids, I see those in safety kits all the time. Lotta those¡± He said

    ¡°We have romantic massage oils on sale on isle 3.¡± She winked. Vinn leaned in closely.

    ¡°Lady, the last thing we need is a potential loss of traction on a stone floor. Ooh, grip tape, would that be with the skateboards or roofing safety gear?¡±

    Vinn and Nicole stood silently, avoiding eye contact. As the air lift retracted the cables for the couch.

    ¡°You¡¯re home early.¡± Vinn said.

    ¡°Yea you too. I had this delivery to be here for.¡± She muttered.

    ¡°We ran out of work, um, at work. Boss sent us all home. So¡­redecorating some stuff?¡± Vinn asked. ¡°Nice couch¡­beefy. Lotta bars on the back.

    ¡°Well you said to decorate with whatever I wanted, I paid for it, so I just wanted a slightly bigger couch, you know, in case we have guests.¡± She bluffed.

    ¡°Sure, sure. Makes sense. Bolts down to the floors, you need me to drill for that?¡±

    ¡°Yea once we¡¯re sure it¡¯s in the right spot. They say couches tend to scoot around and ruin your floors, it¡¯s best to just keep them stable.¡±

    ¡°Yea by drilling into the floors. I get it. I¡¯ll get the bits later.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s with the uh, red floor tape?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Really needed some color in here, and you know I keep slipping on the dang floor in that spot, I think my coffee mug has a leak.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t wanna get a new mug?¡± She whispered.

    ¡°It¡¯s my lucky mug, the tape was actually cheaper, and it gives it a really hip 80¡¯s look you know.¡±

    ¡°Yea like a skate park, but for¡­watching TV.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, but with grip. For that gripping television content. I also got us a new coffee table.¡± He said discreetly holding the top down by leaning on it.

    ¡°Oh, no. I liked the old one.¡± She pouted.

    Yea but this one holds things, like medication and beverages, don¡¯t worry about what kind, it¡¯s fine.¡± He diverted.

    ¡°Not using the beer cooler? Anymore¡± she said, noticing it still there.

    ¡°Already full of beer. I like my options.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± she asked touching the corner of the tarp tucked behind the pillar.

    ¡°That¡¯s a debris, uh tarp, for construction. So we can cover the couch if we¡¯re making debris¡­from construction. Wouldn¡¯t wanna ruin the new couch.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°The couch that I bought that you didn¡¯t know I bought.¡± She eyebrowed.

    ¡°It¡¯s crazy how we sometimes just like, KNOW the other person is gonna get something. You ever do that?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Oh yea, all the time. Did you get me a bike?¡±

    ¡°No just the helmet and pads.¡± He yawned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a bike, you know.¡±

    ¡°Yea but you never know¡­ ya know? Plus if we do more demo, you gotta have a helmet anyway, all came cheaper as a set.¡± He bluffed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have like, big heavy construction ones better than this Styrofoam one?¡± She asked, looking at the safety demo gear.

    ¡°Well now, can you really have TOO many options when it comes to safety? I see you got some groceries?¡±

    ¡°No. I just put this bag in a grocery bag here to double bag it.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s in the bag under the bag?¡±

    ¡°Girl stuff, makeup, hair things. I¡¯ll carry it. It¡¯s not heavy.¡± She said straining to lift it.

    ¡°Cool, cool. Yea just, you can keep that stuff in your new room, I won¡¯t bother it. Gotta have your privacy for that stuff I assume.¡±

    ¡°Yea it¡¯s pretty private makeup. There are a lot of secret techniques involved in looking like this. If the boys knew it would ruin the mystery.¡±

    ¡°Yea the magic is really in the mystery. So I¡¯m gonna find the drill bits for the couch anchors, and then do some alone work in the surprise room. May take a few hours.

    ¡°Yea I¡¯m gonna go touch up my new makeup. May take a few hours too.

    ¡°Just see you at dinner time then? Say 6:30¡± he suggested.

    ¡°Yea sure.¡± She smiled ¡°I¡¯ll order from that place we both like.¡±

    ¡°Oh and I found these in the yard, thought you might want them.¡±

    ¡°Spurs? Like for horseback riding?¡± she puzzled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what they do, but they sure do look as if they could be for horseback riding I think.¡± He nodded excessively.

    ¡°Brand new in the yard, Weird. I think these are the things you use to kick the horse to go faster.¡± She noted as he grabbed them back.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want these anyway they look sharp and you never know where they¡¯ve been. I thought they were something else. They¡¯re pretty old and dirty.¡±

    ¡°Got the tag still on them.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Probably an old tag, I¡¯ll just get rid of this. Stupid¡­not what I thought they were used for. I¡¯m gonna go return these. Uh, to the yard out back.¡± He pointed.

    ¡°Dinner at 6:30 it is.¡±

    ¡°Yea neat. See you then.¡± She finished, checking her phone and dialing. ¡°Yea I¡¯d like to place a delivery order for later. 6:30. I would like one of your famous chicken sandwiches, extra crispy, no pickle, and in a separate bag can I get 3 more of those, rare. Yea like super rare, everything else normal. That would be great. Thanks.¡± She smiled, hanging up and looking down at her kit of goodies. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what kinda stuff you come with.¡±

 6: The Contract

    A very hefty grey Delmarian sat impatiently at a private dining table, drumming his nails and clicking his numerous golden rings together as he waited.

    ¡°More wine?¡± asked the waiter

    ¡°Yes, and be sure to charge it to the woman making me wait. Your most expensive bottle.¡± He said, knocking back his goblet and shifting position as he spotted Gizzy entering the VIP floor in a slinky black dress and steel toed boots.

    ¡°How personal for a business meeting. Fine silk and 3d-printed carbon fiber footwear, with authentic scratches and work wear on the toe.

    ¡°I like to annoy you, fatass. The distracting tease, the obsessive compulsive mismatch and as much as I like watching you uncomfortable and knowing your love of Osirian feet, I refuse to wear heels for any man, and I need you mildly distracted, not fully erect and unable to listen.¡±

    An hour wait. That¡¯s excessive even for you. What have I done to make you extra annoyed with me today?¡±

    ¡°Oh just not seeing your name in the recent arena death list is enough to make me annoyed with you. That open invite is getting a bit dusty. You¡¯re still scared to cross blades with a woman half your size?¡± she said smiling and politely accepting a goblet of wine from the waiter.

    ¡°We both know it¡¯s a political problem, members of the same council fighting to the death, especially after passing the bill that only 2 Delmarians can do that legally.¡± He grinned.

    ¡°Which you spent good money to make sure had the winning vote.¡± She snipped.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it if a mostly native council agrees with our traditions and my compromise proposal for the safety of others. We both agreed that having humans in Fupar was a terrible idea, so why stop there, draw the line of tradition.¡±

    ¡°For the safety of your old fat ass.¡± Gizzy snipped. ¡°My vote was for Delmarian and Osirians to be privy, and you down good and well on average our species are the same weight class so you weren¡¯t protecting shit¡­other then you.¡±

    She plopped down a small electronic device on the table and the light turned red.

    ¡°Now unless someone speaks fluent Ancient Mesopotamian street slang we can talk plainly without nosey waiters or people with really good ears.¡±

    ¡°Good, because you¡¯d never build this up to bitch about the Fupar laws. There¡¯s something bigger. What exactly are you up to Gizzy, modifying construction records on a project already classified. Now that¡¯s sketchy even for you.¡± He said pouring more wine.

    We¡¯re having one hell of a time keeping the human Delmarian relations stable. The cultures are just too damn different, and without my kind stepping in the middle ground you¡¯d be at war and frankly the humans would just go extinct on this moon, and you know my people favor the humans. That¡¯s a bloodbath. We may despise each other and wish various forms of harm on the other, but even the two of us don¡¯t want a race war in the colony, and we both want the good of the people, even if we disagree on how to best do that. Agreed?¡± she asked.

    ¡°As rare as it is¡­ I agree, what does that have to do with the tunnel systems and air ducts, and a house of humans?¡±

    ¡°Them, not a damn thing. The other day public records showed a red flag on the marriage list. 108 pound Human female, 28, 5 foot zero; Delmarian male, Equivalent 20 human years, 7 foot 3, 550 pounds lean, military class.¡± She said wide eyed.

    ¡°That¡¯s a hell of a combination. I hope she has good life insurance.¡±

    The point is she¡¯s one brave little gal. I know the guy and if she wanted to walk away, he would let her, and she stayed. Now unless you believe in destiny and true love¡­¡±

    ¡°HA!¡± He burst out with a belly laugh.

    ¡°Exactly, then she is perfect for Operation Shadow Walker.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve spent million of your own money on that ridiculous project and keeping it under wraps. You really think letting humans wander around in a simulated nightmare with an endless tunnel system designed to provoke their every fear is useful, or do you just like torturing humans?¡± he asked.

    ¡°The candidates are voluntary, always have been. We select humans we think are suitable, we put them in a room with a memory dampening field and we give them the pitch. If they are appalled or uninterested, they walk away and have no memory of the conversation, no harm. If they agree, we negotiate terms, record the consent, have them record a message to themselves for confirmation, they get compensated for the possible issues and off they go on the adventure of a lifetime, having no memory of the conversation.¡±

    ¡°I still think you just enjoy watching humans run around scared like lab rats.¡±

    ¡°The scans and the data we¡¯ve gotten so far is phenomenal. The human brain lights up like Christmas when they genuinely fear for their lives but you can¡¯t exactly tell them not to expect it and then jump up and yell RAWR and get a genuine response, and creating mass hysteria with unwilling participants would be torture. And the only creature I enjoy tormenting is you. So consensual memory wipes and compensation is the only way to get real fear bottled up without anyone getting hurt.¡±

    ¡°So why is this girl so special?¡± Gandalf asked.

    Because she¡¯s a rare type in an even more rare scenario. Only about 1 in every 50 people volunteer for it. That¡¯s a lotta no¡¯s and I can understand. Facing your fears is well, scary. Most humans don¡¯t enjoy being terrified, but some get a thrill from it, it¡¯s rare when someone can fight through that. She also has a very unusual anomaly in her bloodwork. Frankly I don¡¯t know what it is, but it¡¯s fascinating.

    We also have a lot of Delmarians who would be pissed to see human and Delmarians marrying and integrating, ¡°diluting¡± the cultures and reducing the number of offspring, as if there aren¡¯t enough of you already populating 37 worlds now. You bunnies fuck like rabbits and can¡¯t supply the worlds you have, but sacred law states that conquering and spreading the empire is the highest honor, so here you are fighting yourselves over a stupid holy book. I¡¯ve seen it before, it never ends well.

    We have a young woman with a very rare brain profile, who just married one of the most intimidating classes of your kind, word will spread, and we can¡¯t pass the chance to study that in action. I can¡¯t wait around for her to accidentally find the tunnels, which can take months, so I¡¯m manufacturing the opportunity and bringing it to her. We have some very big representatives arriving soon who would love to shut down the program unless we have some impressive results. Even¡­HE is supposed to arrive.¡±

    ¡°This all sounds like a very big problem for you to solve, and you do so well working alone. Why am I here? You don¡¯t ask me anything because you don¡¯t like my prices.¡±

    I need you to pull some strings where I can¡¯t reach, and I promise you as a result, it will be worth it to you as well, if this works.¡±

    ¡°Promises and IFs. Cooperation on a project I don¡¯t believe in, to solve an issue I feel is unfixable, that theoretically benefits me if it succeeds. You¡¯re a terrible salesperson. You make such a better display model.¡±

    ¡°How about this¡­ a wager. You have a nice gambling addiction that rivals even my own. If this succeeds, Delmar will move out of the dark ages and into the modern integration, which would eliminate a lot of political power among your more traditionally based enemies, You win, I win, everyone wins; but only if HE approves. If it fails, and the project is canceled for lack of results or this blows up in my face then I look like a fool, lose a lot of money and for your reward¡­I will personally step down from the council.¡± She smirked.

    ¡°So you will wager your very position of power on something for my assistance? What makes you so sure I wouldn¡¯t agree, and then sabotage the project to get you off the council?¡± he smiled.

    ¡°You would risk a civil war just to see me fall from the council? Even your titanic ass can¡¯t be that vile.¡±

    ¡°You bring the vile out in me, Gizzy. Exceptions could be made, sacrifices.¡±

    ¡°That speech jamming device is also a broadcast microphone. I¡¯m recording this conversation live at several locations to people who were on the fence about the two of us, and if you were found sabotaging me on a perfectly legal bet, no only would I keep my seat on the council, but you would have just admitted that in order to dethrone me, you would do what you just admitted is volatile for Delmar and the humans. I believe that would be called treason, knowingly threatening the balance of allies and harming both humanity and Delmar simply to get something you want.¡±

    ¡°You devious bitch.¡± He grinned ¡°Blackmailing a council member.¡±

    A very light payable penalty if I¡¯m wrong. In fact I believe the penalty for Treason that betrays peace and your own kind is¡­death? Is it not? In fact I would gladly volunteer to do the honors in the arena in an entirely legal manner that you know you have zero chance of winning. So¡­if I¡¯m right, all you risk is a few favors and connections, we don¡¯t have to mention here, and we bring two species closer together as a result. If I¡¯m wrong, it all falls on me, I step down and you have your majority council vote. And if you cheat me, humanity, and Delmar like the backstabbing snake I know you are, then the project continues with a mere delay, and I collect your fucking head for my wall¡­all within the confines of your own traditional laws and religious honor system. Isn¡¯t gambling fun?¡± She said, slamming her boot on the table.

    ¡°Every time we meet, I remember why I hate you, but for the good of the colony and a confident wager, I accept the terms.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Under recorded pressure I bet you do.¡±

    ¡°Now how about we go some place more neutral with no listening ears to discuss the finer points that both of us may want to remain private.¡± He shook, taking the bottle with him.

    ¡°Oh I thought you¡¯d never ask, punkin.¡± She toyed menacingly, baring her teeth and placing the language jammer in her purse.

    Nicole stood alone in a very large gilded office, expensive blackstone polished floors and pillars, statues of the old gods of Delmar Prime, and a single receptionist so quiet that the scraping of her pen on paper echoed down the sacred halls.

    ¡°Nicole Marie Gurverdermnerer? Gizzy will see you now in room 6.¡±

    ¡°God I hate that so much.¡± She sighed, entering the room as Gizzy sat in a very casual attire, snacks and beverages on the table for refreshment.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the infamous Nicole Marie Gurv-erder-mner-er.¡± Gizzy struggled, looking like she was in physical pain.

    ¡°Yea I hate it too. Can we please just call me Nicole?¡± she groaned.

    ¡°Horrible names aren¡¯t they. But unfortunately for now that is your legal name, but you would like to have that reversed, I hear.¡±

    ¡°I want the option at least, I¡¯d also like to keep my real last name.¡±

    ¡°Both very doable, both take forever to get done and the paperwork is exhausting, these political bunnies move slower than stalactites, but fortunately your husband works for Jack and Jack is a friend of mine, so we can speed up the process and get things done properly, legally and without the bullshit and dragging this out for a year. Since you¡¯re human, by claiming you were unaware of the legal binding of the bead, the marriage can be nullified and your name restored, and though unorthodox, you could theoretically still date Vendetta, live with him or back at your home as you choose and if you were to stay together and wish to get married at a later date, it would simply be a matter of coming down here and publically exchanging the bead again and people will roll their eyes and give you both judgey looks, but it¡¯s legally binding, so they can go fluff themselves.¡±

    ¡°THANK you, I owe you big time. This has been a very stressful misunderstanding and I appreciate the help. I can¡¯t imagine why anybody jokes about you being villainous.¡±

    ¡°Because in return¡­ I want your soul.¡± She growled, eyes glowing.

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just fuckin with you, Nicole. Everyone in power is a villain to everyone else in power who disagrees with their views on running a moon. That¡¯s politics. We¡¯re all assholes when we get into the chamber and start voting on things. Now this process will still take several weeks, but you¡¯re a tough girl and you got lucky and married a nice guy, so you¡¯ll be fine. In the mean time just don¡¯t sign any documents where your full name is required. That¡¯s just more paperwork. Now if you¡¯ll follow me to this next room we can get some basic information, fingerprints, ID confirmation and you¡¯ll be good to leave in 15-20 minutes. Refreshments?¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯ve had enough bananas for a while. I brought my own energy drink too in case they only had Delmarian blood sodas or something.¡±

    ¡°Smart girl. Come along now.¡± She said leading her down a series of halls into a very sterile room with stainless steel plates and a mirror, as well as an odd device hanging from the ceiling. The door closed, and a gentle hum filled the room.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°I have another matter to discuss, off the records.¡±

    ¡°Oh no here¡¯s the price.¡±

    ¡°No no, the help is free, but you can help all of us for free if you volunteer for this project. Consider this an opportunity. You want my help, all I require is you listen to my sales pitch with an open mind, and then it¡¯s up to you. I have been running this program known as Operation Shadow Walker, it¡¯s a series of arbitrary tunnels and caves, designed to screw with people¡¯s minds and drive them to the brink of panic.¡±

    ¡°And there¡¯s the villainous part.¡± Nicole sighed.

    ¡°It¡¯s safe, technically. Nothing is haunted, ghosts don¡¯t exists, the spiders are non venomous and timid, the monsters are either not real or working for me, it¡¯s basically a glorified haunted house on steroids and people do that for fun and PAY to get in. How many times have you paid to, or excitedly went to something or somewhere, just to be scared to the core for fun and entertainment, with no real point otherwise?¡± Gizzy quizzed.

    ¡°A lot, actually. Do movies count?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the scary ones, especially in theaters. I¡¯m studying human fear. Basically I wanna inject you with a small monitor and let you go on a horror movie adventure for science, and due to the rarity of your human personality type and genetic oddity, you are the key to understanding the human mind¡­or at least the best option we have in the short time we have before they shut down the program. Then point is that it does a lot of good, we¡¯re gonna lose funding and you can save it, and all you gotta do is get poked in the arm and then go to the greatest haunted house ever constructed from billions of dollars out of my own pocket. AND you get paid well. Now tell me you¡¯re gonna turn that down.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t wanna do it.¡± Nicole shrugged.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Sounds suspicious, I don¡¯t know you, seems scammy.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then hear pitch number two. I¡¯m not allowed to legally discuss that we¡¯re on the brink of a human Delmarian civil war and we need your damn cooperation to hopefully stop that and all you have to do is go live a scary movie like you always wanted, and then no war, and we give you a shitload of money for your contribution.¡±

    ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not lying?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°Because you see that thing above your head? That¡¯s a brain wave jammer. That means the moment you walked into this room you stopped forming memory and the moment you leave you will be perfectly fine and back to normal and remember nothing at all of this room, just like it never happened and where did the time go? You lost 20 minutes, how weird, oh well. Just like being blackout drunk in college, except pinpoint accurate and less bad for your body. I could tell you anything and you won¡¯t remember it.¡±

    ¡°Prove it.¡±

    For example¡­I have weapons of mass destruction that the senate doesn¡¯t know about. They¡¯d execute me for that but it saved my family once and I lied in court when I said that was the only one I had. I have 36 of them shits pointed at everything that looks like a threat. I also cloned myself with bigger tits because I¡¯m insecure and jealous of my own wife¡¯s smoking hot perfect body. See? I have no reason to lie in here, you won¡¯t remember any of it. I can¡¯t walk in heels.¡±

    ¡°Then why am I here? Why bother?¡±

    Because I need you to agree to this, record a video of yourself agreeing to this to show yourself later for legal reasons, and the lab ra- sorry, the volunteers for this need to be consensually willing for moral reasons, and not know they did that yet, for reasons of: it¡¯s not real fear if you know it¡¯s fake. So if you agree, you still won¡¯t remember this, not until it¡¯s over. Either way this conversation is wiped when you leave, and you either help or you don¡¯t. We don¡¯t have much time to find another volunteer and you are perfect.

    ¡°What¡¯s so perfect about me?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°You love fear, and you don¡¯t know why. You crave it, you run towards it because it scares you and the only thing holding you back is logic that you¡¯ll get killed doing the scary thing. You throttle your actions for the consequences but you secretly get an adrenaline high out of the fear and you¡¯re addicted to it. The horror movies, the decision to move to an alien moon when you didn¡¯t need to, did you really leave your family to be with your friends, or did you just realize you can¡¯t pass up the chance to go somewhere scary and unknown? A subterranean moon that looks a lot like hell. You hide from people because of embarrassment, and you think it¡¯s fear, but when an alien monster 5 times your size flirts with you, you get married to him, and the only reason you have regret is because you didn¡¯t think of the consequences while you were indulging that fear high. Why?¡±

    ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Neither do we, and we need that answer, because irrational fear is why trigger happy politicians and religious radicals launch rockets, and why people live their lives in a safety hole because spiders and clowns give them crippling anxiety. We have council members willing to go to war because they fear integration and change, and we have people like you making mistakes that can get them killed, because you chased the fear other people run from, and we don¡¯t know why¡­but we are close. We are so close to answers and solutions, war avoidance. Violent outbreaks, riots being a thing of the past, all with just a simple pill or a shot, but we can¡¯t scoop the answers out of the brains of the dead, and we cant kill humans to scoop it out while they¡¯re still alive, and some of you little weirdos have the gene responsible for controlling it. And you specifically have something frankly, I¡¯ve never seen, in your blood.¡±

    ¡°I think I understand why they fear you.¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­I¡¯m scary as shit. And hot enough to manipulate stupid men¡± Gizzy grinned, her tusks gleaming a metallic white.

    ¡°No¡­well yes but aside from that¡­You have absolute determination. You do what you believe has to be done and damn the consequences of what others think because you know you¡¯re right even if you have to break a few eggs. You believe yourself entirely. You scare people because you¡¯re unpredictable, because you¡¯re a mad scientist pretending to be a villain, that¡¯s pretending to be a nice cheerful person. You¡¯re a morally grey conundrum willing to sacrifice and destroy for the greater good, but you can¡¯t cross a line without being the thing you hate. You could just run the experiment anyway, say that I consented. Fake the video, the fear would be the same. So why don¡¯t you just commit to the villain role and brainwash me?¡±

    ¡°I have my reasons. But that defiance of fear right there is what I mean. I¡¯ve seen it before.¡± Gizzy sighed.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re one of those people too, like me. You have a dark side that¡¯s under control but if you cross that line you know you won¡¯t come back. You¡¯re not the villain, you¡¯re overcomplicated. You just need some people to think you¡¯re the villain and some to praise you, and then you¡¯re happy. You wield fear like a weapon. You¡¯re damn good. I know what you are because I know monsters and which ones are misunderstood and I hope you¡¯re scanning me right now because despite knowing what you are, and kinda wanting your face tattooed on my calf, but you still scare me. Genuinely.¡± Nicole admitted defiantly.

    ¡°And it¡¯s intoxicating isn¡¯t it? Like a heroin addict getting the pure shit for a change. But fortunately you won¡¯t remember any of this and you¡¯ll just go on thinking I¡¯m some nice lady that saved your ass from an accidental marriage. I¡¯ll help you there either way, I already sent in for the forms. Two weeks, all done. Now you can either admit what you are and sign the waver, go on your merry way headed for the ride of a lifetime. Or you can deny what you are, and do it for the greater good sacrifice, because we both know you wanna sign that form, and if I let you remember this and you told me to fuck off, you¡¯d be back here in a day or two asking if the offer was still valid. Of course for security reasons I can¡¯t prove that last part, the memory buffer is already running anyway. Do you wanna go home? Play Delmarian housewife for a few weeks and probably go back to hiding in your own cave, wasting your life in front of a computer like some bored writer, playing games and drinking sponsored beer while the world turns to shit, or do you wanna help me make a difference? Do you wanna BE the difference?¡±

    ¡°Damn you are good.¡± Nicole squinted, absolutely amazed by the aura of charismatic power and doom-like weight of the room. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, for both reasons. For the cause I don¡¯t know if I believe is real, for the greater good that may be a fabrication, and for the thrill of finally seeing where my own mind goes. But I want an honest answer to something. If you could volunteer for this¡­would you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°37 times. My wife made me stop. We don¡¯t even let the volunteers go more then twice because of the side effects of accumulative trauma. The first time is cathartic, therapeutic, the second time is darker, eventually you face your darkest fear, and after that it just becomes a job and someone stops you before you go insane.¡±

    ¡°Did they? Did they stop in time?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ll find out soon won¡¯t we?¡± Gizzy said with a slight snarl.

    ¡°There¡¯s so much more you aren¡¯t telling me, but so far you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll sign, I¡¯ll do the video, I¡¯ll take the shot, because I¡¯ve been standing on that edge looking down and wanting to jump and I can¡¯t bring myself to do it. So go ahead. You have permission to push my ass of that edge¡­please. I wanna know who I am.¡±

    And that, is why you¡¯re so special. Let¡¯s hurry up, you¡¯ve already taken longer than most to either jump off or run away. Your hubby will be missing you. So¡­what scares you more then anything?¡±

    ¡°Drowning.¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s gonna be an expensive one, but you¡¯re worth it. On to the next room to finalize the video and get your signature and blood sample, and the tracker chip only hurts for a second. It¡¯s a small needle.¡± She said. Nicole left the room and the door close. A buzzer went off and she buzzed the next client in. Vinn stepped into the room and sat down.¡±

    ¡°I need a favor.¡± He said bluntly.

    ¡°And I have a price for those. Get comfortable, we have a whole sales pitch for you.¡±

 7: Old friends

    Nicole stepped out of the hover taxi, scratching her head and heading down the elevator to her cave.

    ¡°Hey honey, how did it go?¡± Vinn asked.

    ¡°Great.¡± She said coldly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t sound like it went great.¡±

    ¡°No it went great, I just feel weird. I didn¡¯t sleep very good and I think I¡¯ve had too much caffeine to compensate. I feel like I was in that waiting room for hours but I also feel like I just went right in and then an hour passed.¡±

    Oh you never get right in, they make you wait forever. You probably dozed off. It could also just be the weather, my head is pounding for some reason. So what did Gizzy say?¡±

    ¡°She said the paperwork should take about 2 weeks and then I can have my old name back, and we¡¯ll be legally un-married.¡±

    ¡°And you can go back home and forget all this nonsense. Hopefully we can still be friends.¡± He sighed.

    ¡°VINN! I¡¯m not breaking up with you, dumbass. I¡¯m just getting back my right to choose. And my name, I hate the name, I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s just so bad. I don¡¯t want to feel like I have to love you because I¡¯m stuck with you, I wanna get to know you and see if I really do, or if it¡¯s just an exciting fling. I hope we fall so deep in love that it doesn¡¯t matter, but it has to be real and sometimes it¡¯s just not. That¡¯s why we take time, why we date, why we move in for a while at least on my world. I¡¯m a slower burning fuse, humans are indecisive emotional creatures and we need our time to understand ourselves first.¡± She explained.

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic because I sort of thought you weren¡¯t coming back.¡± He smiled. She strolled to his side and hopped up into his lap. ¡°You gotta do something really shitty or turn out to be a jerk for me to give up that quickly. Do Delmarians ever just sit on the couch and watch movies together?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­that¡¯s why I bought a big couch and a huge TV. That¡¯s why they make those here, they¡¯re just way bigger couches.¡±

    ¡°You ever see the movie Seven?¡±

    ¡°I never saw the first 6.¡± He shrugged. She giggled and got comfy, swiping her phone to the selection menu. ¡°You¡¯re gonna love the ending. It¡¯s so fucked up.¡±

    Vinn woke, sat up, reaching over to find Nicole missing, and then he remembered her heading to work and him rolling back over on the couch. Days off don¡¯t have the same appeal when your partner is gone. He had his breakfast, fed lil Reeves, tinkered with the stone cutting laser a bit, normal as can be. A gentle buzz from his phone got his attention, expecting to see either work related or Nicole related, since that was basically his whole life, but to his surprise it was an unknown number with the text reading simply ¡°Go outside, asshole.¡± Naturally he made his way up the freshly placed steps and opened the door. Silence. He took a few steps and his ears perked up to the sound of rustling to his left and the moment he took a step in that direction something struck him in the back like a cannonball. He turned to defend and paused in confusion.

    ¡°HEY DICKHEAD!¡± hollered a very familiar looking Delmarian, throwing playful jabs at him.

    ¡°Kraken?¡± he asked, looking perplexed. ¡°Why are you on this moon, and how did you find my home?¡± he asked.

    ¡°More like how has it been, you doin good, still alive bro?¡± Kraken shrugged.

    ¡°Sorry, I was really distracted and been working a lot, Just didn¡¯t expect to see you or¡­anyone from the core.¡± He admitted.

    ¡°Yea well the war ended pretty damn fast so we all went somewhere. I¡¯ve been hopping place to place and doing some odd ¡®under the table¡¯ jobs myself, and they offered me a security gig here for some big convention in a few weeks. Next thing I know I hear someone talking about ¡°Vendetta¡± getting building permits, and I thought, no way it¡¯s the same bastard I knew from the core. Looked you up, sure as shit here you are. I had a hell of a time finding the place, your listed address was just a square hole so I asked the cube moving services if they recently did any air lifts and they gave me this shitass map on a napkin. You went WAY offgrid.¡±

    ¡°Yea I wanted to get away from the planets that had a habit of conflicts, so I figured I¡¯d try some small mining moon, they always need demo guys.¡±

    ¡°You always were a pyro. I bet you got about 400 pounds of expired explosives somewhere for shits and giggles.¡±

    ¡°No actually I used most of that opening up the house.¡± He gestured.

    ¡°Oldschool spiral dugout, classy. Chicks love the traditional undergrounds. Man it¡¯s impossible to get any serious tail with a military brand nowadays. Nobody wants to settle down with our kind.¡± He huffed, rubbing his nose ring.

    ¡°So you cut the beard down I see. I barely recognized you, I almost just attacked you thinking you were some kinda weirdo trying to rob me. I didn¡¯t expect some kinda weirdo wanting to chat.¡±

    ¡°Like it would make any difference, I could kick your ass blindfolded. You carrying heat?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s a gun-free in city limits kinda place.¡± Vinn noted.

    ¡°Yea not for security, but when I clock out they pat me down and shelf the cannon. Like damn, just shelf my dick while you¡¯re at it. Amiright?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± He nodded, noticing Jack strolling down the path.

    ¡°Oh my god the Delmarians are multiplying. Someone send help.¡± He joked.

    ¡°Friend of yours?¡± asked Kraken.

    This is Jackson Greene, carpenter and handman on my crew.¡± Vinn noted.

    ¡°Yea I heard this place is a pretty diverse moon. Like the high council is half aliens now? Weird. Anyway I¡¯m Kraken, old core buddy of Vendetta¡¯s from the war we were supposed to be in. Construction and de-struction. You build shit, and he burns it down or what?¡± he jabbed.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a mining moon and basements are popular, this damn greystone is so hard to cut you¡¯re better off getting a guy to blow a hole in it first.¡± Jack yawned.

    ¡°Yea ol Vinn here can sure blow, right? Ah I¡¯m just kickin your balls around. It¡¯s a core thing. So you guys building a dugout together or ya got a crew on it? Kraken asked, scratching his groin without hesitation, like a classy gentleman.

    ¡°Just Vinn. He insisted on doing it alone. Tradition or something.¡± Jack shrugged.

    ¡°Oh, really? Vinn, you lookin to settle down, get the big flex home on your own, start shoppin for a wife. Good luck on a moon this size, there¡¯s probably 8 available pieces in the whole town and 4 are ugly. You got a target in mind or is this a general mission of salvage anything worth havin.¡± Kraken played.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been married for 4 days now.¡±

    ¡°No shit¡­and you don¡¯t even have the place done yet? Here I am giving you tips like the sergeant of scoring ass that in am, and you¡¯ve graduated to General right over me. How the hell did you bag a bride with that face, construction wages, and a cave full of debris and plans?¡± he chuckled.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Well we just met and things¡­transpired¡­in very unexpected ways.¡±

    ¡°Waged war on that ass so good she just didn¡¯t care what you were building hu? You use my tips? You did the thing didn¡¯t you? I told you the flip-and-go gets them every time. They¡¯re like what the fuck, confused and then BAM you got her hooked. Never thought the move was good enough to propose with though.¡± He said punching Vinn in the arm a little harder than anyone would have expected.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. My crew did some work on her place and I thought she seemed interesting, so I made a move and she responded.¡±

    ¡°Oh I get it. That¡¯s fucking brilliant. You get on a construction crew, buncha integrated aliens with fancy Osirian tech, start cranking out these massive nice places, doing ¡®favors¡¯ for the ladies in the shitty housing, and they know before you even start that you can finish the job. Even if you don¡¯t have the money for a nice place yet, you got guys that can work for cheap and connections, Damn you¡¯re smart. You didn¡¯t even have to have the home, you just showed your capability and pulled a team effort. I gotta try that. You guys need a security guard? I can carry stuff and get supplies.¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯re actually reducing some guys, the market is down a little.¡± Jack said, winking at Vinn because he could already tell he was more annoyed than he was already.

    Well if you change your mind, I¡¯m staying at the cube complex down by the tower, here¡¯s my cell. I¡¯m not forklift certified but with these shoulders, I basically am the fork lift, know what I¡¯m sayin?¡± Kraken chuckled, giving jack a playful arm slap that almost knocked him over. ¡°Seriously, though, this scam is brilliant.¡± He said, heading on his way. Vinn waved and smiled.

    ¡°What was that about?¡± Jack muttered.

    ¡°I dunno, I hate that guy. 50 people in my division, and someone finds me here¡­had to be that one. Not Socket, or Left Lung or Bones¡­had to be Kraken.¡±

    ¡°Where do these nicknames come from exactly. Every Delmarian has a random nickname.¡±

    ¡°Well no other species can pronounce our legal names anyway so they started giving us titles, The Eridani all have nicknames so we thought it was a good idea for communication. Getting a title used to be a high honor thing back in the old world so we just went with it. It¡¯s better then having every alien stare at an ID card for a minute and then blurt out some nonsense that could potentially be like a third of our names equally butchered. Awe, man, Butcher was cool. Why couldn¡¯t he have dropped by instead of Kraken? I liked that guy.¡±

    ¡°So where did Kraken come from? He doesn¡¯t look very aquatic.¡± You¡¯d be amazed. He¡¯s the only Delmarian I know that can swim. Most of us sink like a rock. And you know the totem bead I gave to Nicole? He used to have this beard about a foot long and about 30 of those beads just down in rows. He said he was gonna have so many wives that he may as well keep a stash on hand. He wasn¡¯t even joking, he was serious. It looked like a bunch of tentacles that waved around when he turned his head.¡±

    ¡°Weird. And Vendetta? How did that happen?

    ¡°I used to be really hotheaded and held a grudge. Some of the guys thought it would be funny to hold me down and saw off one of my antler. Gave it back like a gift with a bow on it.¡±

    ¡°And I guess you got even and took one of his horns?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡­sharpened it and stabbed him in the leg while he slept. Delmarian core is fairly brutal, it¡¯s not the kinda place for the weak or the passive. It¡¯s kinda like prison except instead of sodomy, it¡¯s just like twice as much stabbing. If you don¡¯t dominate, you get trampled.¡±

    ¡°Shit. No wonder you went so far away when you got out.¡± Jack said, rubbing his shoulder. ¡°Damn he hits hard.¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t wanna kill people and live every day training to kill people. I liked food. The food was good.¡±

    ¡°How does a guy bred to fight and genetically enhanced to fight more, spend most of his life in a violent training camp and end up like you¡­nice?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. Maybe they forgot to give me the rage injections or something. I just never hated anyone quite enough to want to kill them. Stab them in the leg maybe, steal their gun and hide it so they get in trouble. You¡¯d have to hate someone pretty bad to wanna kill them. Nobody ever did anything to me that unforgiveable, let alone some soldier I don¡¯t even know. I was so relieved when the war got canceled and they had to downsize the army. Kraken was just pissed off. He wanted to kill something. If another war breaks out, he¡¯ll volunteer immediately just to get back in the action. You couldn¡¯t pay me enough to go back.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry you just didn¡¯t fit in with a bunch of roided up assholes who live to murder, I¡¯m sure that hurts. But you fit in with a bunch of drunk assholes who build houses and seem to actually enjoy life. So there¡¯s that. I noticed you dodged the Nicole topic. Kinda stood out since usually everything you say is about her and how great she is and this guy congratulated you on the wife and you don¡¯t even say her name.¡±

    ¡°Nicole is not a very Delmarian name, that would have been a huge shitstorm. He¡¯s a purist. Anything not Delmarian is basically trash. Your life is destined by the gods to conquer and earn your riches and then have as many foofs as you can crank out with however many wives that requires to build the clan. Multiply, expand, conquer, multiply. It¡¯s like an infinite loop of accumulation. Why not have one great home and one great wife, maybe a few kids you actually have time to raise because you have 2 instead of 12 of them? Seems way more simple and sustainable. Most of us have abandoned the old ways but there¡¯s a lot of purists still out there, some on the councils, a LOT in the core, that¡¯s kinda the brainwashing at work. Hopefully he¡¯ll just stay busy on his security job and go away soon.¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s a shame. I was really getting to like him. And if I don¡¯t show up at work tomorrow just tell them I fell and dislocated my shoulder.¡±

    ¡°I gotcha covered.¡± Vinn nodded.

    Nicole came home with an energetic skip, looking around at the progress and trying to find Vinn, who was asleep on the couch. He opened one eye as she leaned closer.

    ¡°Long day?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Ran into an old¡­war associate.¡±

    ¡°Oh visit from a friend?¡±

    ¡°Not what I said, honey. Anyway I¡¯m too worn out and mentally fried to finish the stairs.

    ¡°Well, you did have to redo them since I can¡¯t get up the steps you made the first time.¡±

    ¡°Standard Delmarian step height, I was not thinking about shorter legs.¡± He said feeling stupid.

    ¡°Well, now you can think about them.¡± She said plopping down almost on top of him and showing off her fancy stockings. How about I get you an energy drink and we do something fun?¡± she winked.

    ¡°Is it one of the sponsored ones you have like 200 of that you¡¯re required to have visible when you stream any live games. The ones you probably drink too many of?¡±

    ¡°¡­yes.¡±

    ¡°Okay fine, mint chocolate chip. The rest are horrible. He admitted.

    She strolled past and handed him one, continuing past him and up to her little human alcove. When she returned she was dressed in an entirely different outfit.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± she asked, coyly lifting one knee and giving him a spin.¡±

    ¡°Looks great, Are we going out somewhere with a themed dress code?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just for here. I¡¯m not wearing this outfit outside unless there is a fire in the cave. It¡¯s a costume for indoors.¡± She hinted.

    ¡°Well it looks incredible, If you wear stuff like that on stream I definitely understand why you have so many viewers.¡±

    They don¡¯t get skirts this short, and they only get angry gamer Nicole, or sweet girl smiling for donations Nicole. Sweet girl Nicole is done for the night, and I¡¯m sick of gaming.¡± She said seductively, sitting on the coffee table.

    ¡°I like where this is going but what Nicole is left exactly?¡±

    ¡°Dangerous Nicole.¡±

    ¡°I highly doubt that. You don¡¯t even like to kill bugs and your only bladed weapon is a plastic LARPing sword.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know some of the terrible things I¡¯ve done. I may seem nice, but I¡¯ve been a bad girl lately. REALLY bad.¡±

    ¡°What did you do? I can¡¯t imagine anything too serious.¡±

    ¡°Lots of things. Terrible things.¡±

    ¡°Can you be specific, I am getting concerned.¡± He pondered.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, the punishment is the same.¡±

    ¡°I doubt it. It¡¯s probably something very forgiveable but anything meriting punishment would deal with the legal system. Do we need to get a lawyer?¡±

    ¡°No, we don¡¯t need¡­Maybe you should just arrest me and get it over with.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I guess¡­No TV for a week?¡±

    ¡°Ya know, Sometimes I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re a virgin or just an alien¡­or both. I¡¯m trying to roleplay with you.¡±

    ¡°With just two people? We don¡¯t even have matching costumes or cameras. I don¡¯t know the backstory. Shouldn¡¯t we try and find a gathering somewhere? Oh I bet they have some online grou-¡±

    ¡°SEX¡­I¡¯m DOING SEX STUFF! Apparently Delmarians don¡¯t do roleplay sex?¡± She said tossing her hands up in frustration.

    ¡°Nope. Does it require any special dice or boards?¡±

    ¡°Maybe you need to start watching porn, I¡¯ll make a playlist or something. You know you can also throw in something you like. There has to be some kinky Delmar stuff you¡¯re into. We gotta make a comparison list. There¡¯s gotta be some overlap and some established boundaries. We gotta make this fun or it¡¯s just going to be scary. We¡¯re way too culturally far apart to just wing it like I usually do. Any human man would know what¡¯s going on if his new wife showed up in this outfit holding an empty charcuterie board and a can of whipped cr¨¨me. I even got vegan whipped cr¨¨me for you. It¡¯s non dairy.¡±

    ¡°I just thought you were satiating your guilt with a snack of some kind. I was worried that you did something terrible. I thought you were being sexy to soften the reveal of your guilty crime.¡±

    ¡°You know what, we can¡¯t be the first human Delmarian couple in existence, there has to be some kind of book or video on it we can watch together.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­we keep telling you these resources exist. I already downloaded the hologram.¡±

 8: Sex hologram

    Nicole¡¯s hair bounced slightly as she sat down, looking annoyed and pressing the play button on her phone, still in her maid outfit, but with a beer instead of a soda.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m virtual Izleena, and this is the interactive program for interspecies dating.¡±

    ¡°I like this lady, she seems friendly.¡± Vinn smiled.

    ¡°Thank god, how do we use this thing?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°I have voice recognition software or can be synced to your smartglass phone. In fact you can change my appearance and demeanor if you like.¡±

    ¡°No, sexy alien lady is fine.¡± She sighed.

    ¡°Please begin by selecting your gender and species.¡±

    ¡°Human Female.¡± Nicole yawned.

    ¡°Excellent. Now please select the species of your partner or potential partner.¡±

    ¡°Delmarian male.¡± She yawned. The screen changed from a pleasant green border to a red border, and virtual Izleena¡¯s outfit became suddenly more professional and white. Some sad music began playing.

    ¡°Thank you for your clarification. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that as a citizen of an Osirian-owned Delmar colony, you are welcome to free healthcare at any time, including our top emergency response drones. If you have not filled out a will or medical emergency guide, we advise doing so now. Would you like to register now via this hologram?¡± she smiled.

    ¡°Is this an ad? Do we have ads in educational holograms now?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Not usually.¡± Vinn grimaced.

    ¡°This is part of the interspecies guide, and based on your selections, we have strongly recommended before proceeding that you are made aware of these services. In the event of an emergency, your medical charts you filled upon moving to Delmar M44 are already on file, but your section marked ¡°death and near death¡± care seems to be missing. Though optional, we require you to verbally confirm avoiding the waver before proceeding.¡±

    ¡°Wait, so because I¡¯m married to a Delmarian you have an automatic death warning?¡± she asked.

    ¡°We believe in being prepared for all scenarios, both unlikely and inevitable.¡±

    ¡°Oh this just got alarming. So If I had picked like Eridani, or Reptilian or Chaffee on the loading screen, would there be an ad for life insurance or would we just be right into the sex instructions?¡± she asked the hologram.

    ¡°These 3 selections have the standard human allergen warnings, but no life insurance warning.¡± Virtual Izleena smiled.

    ¡°Oh great so it¡¯s not standard overkill, my husband specifically comes with a mandatory waver to sign in case I die or need an E-vac.¡± Nicole huffed.

    ¡°It could be worse honey.¡± Vinn whispered. ¡°Virtual lady, open a second window for copulating advise for a human female and an Osirian male¡­just for comparison.

    ¡°Loading copulation program for Human Osirian sex¡­¡± she smiled, pausing momentarily as the screen turned entirely black and beeped loudly.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Do not attempt. Would you like me to contact suicide prevention assistance?¡± She asked.

    ¡°No, cancel the window. It was hypothetical.¡± She replied, frantically trying to cancel the warning.

    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful. Have a fantastic day.¡± Virtual Izleena smiled, closing the second window. You can proceed to your previous selection now.¡±

    ¡°See? At least we didn¡¯t get that warning. That¡¯s pretty much just guaranteed death.¡± Vinn shrugged. Nicole plopped her face into her palms and let out a slight muffled scream, kicking her feet in frustration. ¡°Are we really doing this? Are we really about to watch alien sex ed like a couple of highschoolers and then try and recreate the recommended safety instructions?¡± she pouted.

    ¡°Why else did we load the video?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She said half moaning and half dry-crying in frustration. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­I thought I was good at sex, and now I¡¯m entirely lost again. I don¡¯t know what to do, are there rituals? Are they required? Do you have species specific positions we don¡¯t? And we¡¯re not even mentioning the obvious¡­¡± she said violently gesturing her hand towards his crotch. ¡°Compatibility. I¡¯ve never had sex with an alien before. Have you had sex with an alien before?¡± she asked crossing her arms.

    ¡°Nope. Never even attempted it. Just Delmarian.¡± He admitted.

    ¡°Should we just wing it? Should we just get really drunk and start doing shit? We know it¡¯s gonna be weird, we both know we¡¯re clueless and bound to do things that makes no sense, do we wanna follow the instructions like normal people or do we just wanna be weird and see how doomed or fine this whole thing is gonna be?¡±

    I¡¯ve been asking myself that for days. I have no clue. Most married Demlarians have sex like 10-30 minutes after the bead exchange. I¡¯ve made no moves for 5 days because I didn¡¯t know if humans had a 30 day waiting period or the female chooses the initiation, I mean you did the proposal, I assumed you¡¯d initiate the sex and then you just never did and I¡¯m thinking¡­is there a mating dance I need to do and I¡¯m just bombing this whole thing? What do we do here?¡± Vinn asked.

    ¡°We drink. We do the same thing 2 virgins do that don¡¯t know what to do, except we¡¯re smart and communicating how lost we are, so we¡¯re on the same page at least. It¡¯s high school prom, we know it might happened, I got the dress on, we¡¯re in your car at the make-out spot. You brought some wine coolers, and we¡¯ve spent an hour sipping garbage booze and listening to music waiting for one of us to make the move. That¡¯s the roleplay. Here, get whatever drunk you think is stupid drunk, but not whiskey dick drunk.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what any of that means.¡±

    ¡°You wobble when you walk, you¡¯re definitely not driving home, everything is a little blurry but you¡¯re still able to form sentences and get an erection. Does alcohol even affect you like that? Do you even get whiskey-dick? Oh my god you didn¡¯t go to prom, you were in a military school. I can¡¯t even use the roleplay scene. We¡¯re so screwed.¡±

    ¡°I think I got this, You go do the thing you just described and I¡¯ll do what I did when I had my first time, and then we¡¯ll just¡­meet in the middle. Literally. Hope it lines up¡­literally.¡± He squinted.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna need a stepstool or something.¡± She sighed.

    ¡°No you¡¯re light I can pick you up fairly easily.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like something the video probably tells you no to do. But you know what you¡¯re a weird Delmarian and I¡¯m a weird human and bad Nicole doesn¡¯t play by the rules. She gets drunk and has prom sex like BOSS!¡±

    ¡°How about you take the lead on this because you seem very energetic and I don¡¯t think you can physically harm me if you tried, and one of us has to just do our thing. If your thing sucks, I can just say hey that¡¯s not doing it for me, but if my thing goes badly that medical evac drone won¡¯t fit through the elevator shaft and I am definitely going to prison.¡± He noted.

    That¡¯s good thinking. I¡¯m gonna shotgun 2 of these, get whitegirl wasted and just give you the performance and if it¡¯s super lame you just keep being supportive because if I clown this up badly and you tell me I¡¯m failing I¡¯ll just cry and lay on the floor. You can tell me what was bad in the morning when I¡¯m sober and rested up. We¡¯ll fix it next round. Sound like a plan?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Why not. You wanna record it for review later?¡±

    ¡°No. No I do not. My mascara is running, my hair is a mess, I¡¯m frantic. I do not look cute and confident right now.¡±

    ¡°Sure you do¡­except confident. You do not look confident.¡±

    ¡°Get ready to have your world rocked or flooded with absolute disappointment.¡± She said taking a few deep breaths and pacing the floor, chugging the cans in session. ¡°You can do this bitch. You are a QUEEN and queens aren¡¯t quitters.¡± She said locking eyes and getting her game face on. ¡°Fuck it, Yolo.¡± She said, sprinting half the distance and then just leaping towards the couch.

 9: Afterglow

    The dim lighting flickered now, as the fireplace was running down to just coals, a shred of it¡¯s former glory an hour ago when it was fresh.

    Nicole¡¯s pupils focused forwards at the darkness of the cave as she stared like a zombie and slowly lifter her tea, her hands shaking so badly that half the tea never reached her mouth. The silence was pierced by a slurping sound and a slight cough as she forgot exactly how to drink for a moment. Vinn sat up behind her and debated weather or not to give her a hug, or give her space. The moment of awkward pause was horrifying.

    ¡°Your reaction is absolutely troubling and I am afraid to move or startle you. Any feedback would be a huge improvement.¡± He softly encouraged.

    ¡°Yea¡­we¡¯re gonna need the life insurance policy.¡± She said rubbing her head where the Band-Aid was.

    ¡°I am so sorry about that I can get some like tennis balls for the antlers or something. I am so sorry.¡±

    ¡°No it¡¯s fine, now we know that risk. Wasn¡¯t an eye, that¡¯s good.¡± She sipped.

    ¡°So on a scale of one to ten¡­one being never again for any reason, ten being I get you some sports drink and we go again?¡±

    ¡°Oh no¡­not just yet, give me some re-spawn time there, Player 2. But I will accept the sports drink. And then tomorrow first thing¡­we do the life insurance policy, and then you get that damn front door finished. And then game-on¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am. Mission accepted.¡± He saluted, lying back and feeling a relief she didn¡¯t just say ¡°one¡±.

    ¡°You know what¡­we might just actually make it.¡± She said taking the recovery shot.¡±

    ¡°YES.¡± he whispered, fist pumping the air. Her head rushed and she nearly fell over, her veins on fire and her pupils contracting and adjusting.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god these are intense.¡± She huffed.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re not really supposed to use them for minor injuries. You need some water or something you look really dazed.

    ¡°Not now, more sleep.¡± She said rolling back over.

    Nicole woke up, barely. She stretched and rolled over, grabbing for the blanket and tugging on it to free it up.

    ¡°Nope, that¡¯s just my arm hair.¡± Vinn chuckled.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± She smiled, realizing the entire couch she thought she was sleeping on was just Vinn. He draped the blanket over her.

    ¡°So that was a hell of a thing.¡± He sighed.

    ¡°Several things.¡± She whispered, yawning and stretching again. ¡°So what are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Just staring at your toes.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were into that.¡± She said looking half worried and half intrigued.

    ¡°Not staring in a weird way.¡± He defended. Her eyebrows raised.

    ¡°Okay it¡¯s probably weird to you, but not in a weird sexual way. They¡¯re just so¡­odd.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± She sarcastically huffed.

    ¡°I mean human feet. The individual toes, what do they do? It seems useless. You can¡¯t even run on gravel.¡± He muttered.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t really get a choice of hooves, that¡¯s why we invented shoes.¡±

    ¡°It just keeps re-hitting me how different we really are. None of this should remotely work on paper.¡±

    ¡°Well it worked on a couch so, let¡¯s just forget the paper and stick with that.¡± She jested.

    ¡°You want breakfast?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m staying right here for a while.

    ¡°You wanna maybe¡­¡± he smirked.

    ¡°Life ins-¡±

    ¡°Life insurance policy, and horn caps. That first. Great idea. Very smart choice. Completely agree with you.¡±

    The cold morning air was misted with the hot steam of coffee mugs as 6 grown men silently stared at Vinn with smirks on their faces. He looked around and noticed the lack of blinking. Or construction work.

    ¡°What? I showed up 4 minutes late for the first time in my career, we gonna write me up or just stare a hole in my head. Start a forest fire?¡± Vinn snipped.

    ¡°So how are things?¡± asked Silverback.

    ¡°To hell with things, how is Nicole, is she¡­walking?¡± jack inquired.

    ¡°I walked her to work, that¡¯s why I¡¯m late.¡±

    ¡°So she is at least able to walk.¡± Jack said looking relieved.

    ¡°Guys¡­no we¡¯re not doing this conversation.¡±

    ¡°Yea we are. I¡¯m your boss and we got shit to do today, and you brought up my girlfriends tits and made me do the whole talk. You¡¯re doing this. We don¡¯t need the finer details but there are questions. Did it happen?¡± Silverback ordered.

    ¡°¡­yea it happened. That¡­happens. We¡¯re married, it¡¯s completely normal, and kinda personal actually.¡±

    ¡°Normal is unlikely as hell. How do you feel? Optimistic? Little bit worried about legal actions?¡± Silverback asked.

    ¡°Very funny.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking. We have terrible lawyers for this stuff.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°So Nicole¡­¡± Jack asked. ¡°Did she look happy this morning, traumatized, or totally confused? We all wanna see this thing succeed here.¡±

    ¡°Guys, this is new to both of us, we don¡¯t have to share any details with my work friends.¡±

    ¡°Bet your furry ass she¡¯s talking about it with her gal pals.¡± Silverback chuckled. ¡°Every detail and oddity. We don¡¯t wanna know visuals and measurements, we just feel invested in this pairing and we wanna know if it¡¯s crashing to an end or blooming into something beautiful. We care about both of you and just want the basic updates. Did it seem promising?¡±

    ¡°I think so. It was very awkward at first but we really bonded and broke through some emotional barriers.¡± Vinn said chugging coffee.

    ¡°Did you break through your couch?¡± Silverback smiled.

    ¡°You know, just because I¡¯m a large class alien doesn¡¯t mean everything has to be like a bull in a china shop. It¡¯s called restraint and respect. You¡¯d be amazed how many species have very normal and sensual sex, it¡¯s not all just the offensive stereotype that the bigger the creature the more we screw like a demon from hell. It¡¯s called making love, not hategrinding the room apart with primal beast sex.

    The courthouse shuttered with the sound of an explosion and several demonic banshee shrieks as the desk clerk of a private office barely even winced, checking her phone and seeing 4PM, nodding as if expected. A waft of smoke rolled through the room as the door opened behind her and a massive glowing figure on all fours stomped through, the sound of breaking glass and furniture falling in the background accented the casual silence. The clerk stamped some papers and glanced back, as the glowing blue beast raked her dreadlocks back with a handful of extended claws, still glowing red with heat.

    ¡°Your 4PM sex meeting with the wife went well?¡± she asked, still looking down. Gizzy stood up, covering herself with one of the asbestos robes hanging on the wall as her tusks and canines retracted to their normal position and her eyes went from arc-welder white to casual blue.¡±

    ¡°Not a bad little quickie. I¡¯ll see you later honey!¡± She smiled as the sound of high heels left the back of the room.

    ¡°See you tonight for dinner!¡± Izleena waved,

    ¡°Would you like the cleanup crew to replace the couch?¡± she asked Gizzy.

    ¡°Yes, the blue one in storage room B would be fine.¡± She said wincing and relocating her shoulder with a harsh snap. ¡°God that women is gonna kill me some day.¡±

    The desk clerk casually took out a small box from the drawer, removing a syringe of highlighter green liquid that she methodically injected into her forearm.

    ¡°Oh, and we are running low on radiation resistance serum, so we need to order more or I can¡¯t be here for your Monday schedule.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. There¡¯s more in the vault.¡± Gizzy said, her voice returning to normal pitch and her demeanor now more professional.

    ¡°Window replacement?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and fire the glass installers. Level 13 rated my big blue ass.¡± Gizzy growled.

    Dee sat in a folding chair, her eyes wide with horror and intrigue and her mouth wide open as if frozen in a comment.

    ¡°And you consider this is a¡­successful thing?¡± she finally uttered aloud

    ¡°We had sex, it was perfectly fine.¡± Nicole shrugged as Vicki entered and stopped at the doorway.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Said Vicki, just leaving the room.

    ¡°It was actually very magical after the awkward start.¡± Smiled Nicole.

    ¡°You know what else is magical¡­Greek mythology. Doesn¡¯t make me wanna participate in any of the myths. And you are just¡­fine with this?¡±

    ¡°I feel safe with him.¡± She replied.

    ¡°You got a life insurance policy this morning. Are you nuts? Is there drugs in Delmarian sweat? You know they are like 15 percent performance enhancing drugs by weight right? Some of those may have soaked into your scalp and affected your brain.¡±

    ¡°First off they don¡¯t sweat. Oh and like you don¡¯t have some weird kinks?¡±

    ¡°Sure, I clearly like my men 300 years old with an orange dad-bod, this is a whole different ballgame. You just described what sounded like a damn horror movie.¡±

    ¡°Yea.¡± She grinned from ear to ear. ¡°It was kinda.¡±

    ¡°Dyah-uh¡­I guess whatever floats your boat or in this case probably sinks it. I just wanna make sure you survive the sequel.¡±

    ¡°They have other supplies for assistance we have looked into.¡± She shrugged.

    ¡°Like what? Log chains and werewolf lube? One of those puffy suits they wear when training police dogs to attack the stunt guy? It¡¯s a good thing they can re-grow limbs on this world, that better be on your insurance plan. You need to be careful with this. You almost lost an eye. When most guys say you look good enough to eat, that¡¯s just a euphemism, if he says it, you might need to change outfits or run. You got your mace?

    ¡°In my purse, as always.¡±

    ¡°Is it bear mace?¡±

    ¡°Dee, The mace is for walking alone at night. I¡¯m trying to tell you I¡¯m happy. I had the weirdest night of my life and I smile every time I think about it. My knees still really do hurt, but that¡¯s about it. And I feel super thirsty, I cannot get enough water.¡±

    Just so we¡¯re clear if he crushes you to death, even by accident, I don¡¯t care if he leave me all his money in the will, I¡¯ll take it but I¡¯m still gonna kill him. Accident or not, I¡¯m getting some black market silver bullets and hellsing-ing his lycanthropic hide.¡±

    ¡°Dee, bumps and bruises happen, it was an accidental horn bonk and I¡¯m fine. The recovery shot mended it right up. Except I do still feel tingly at the injection. Can you be mildly allergic to those?¡±

    ¡°Girl you better hope not.¡±

    Vinn flipped the switch and stepped back, the red and yellow lights turning on.

    ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s official. You have a streaming and gaming setup at home better than the one at work. I guess that means you can work from home more.¡± He hinted.

    ¡°I still wanna go see my friends and do Wednesday game night. Sorry we can¡¯t let you play this time, it live streams to Earth and you¡­ would draw attention.¡±

    ¡°They have overlay Holograms.¡± He pouted. ¡°I like game night.¡±

    ¡°Yea but if that thing cuts out and we get kicked out for security protocol violations I¡¯mma be super pissed. I hate that I have to hide your from my whole planet, especially some of my old friends, but the rules are for security.¡±

    ¡°What about your parents?¡± he asked.

    No, I¡¯m sorta glad I can¡¯t tell them I¡¯m dating an alien. That would suck for me, I think. I¡¯m not ashamed of you, it¡¯s more like being ashamed of them, and also not wanting to hear the lecture for the rest of my life about how they won¡¯t have grandbabies or they¡¯d have horns, and I¡¯m horrible. They freaked out when I accidentally admitted that I was a little bit of a furry-fan on stream, you think THIS would be chill? This is next level upgrading.¡±

    So¡­what if Jack wore the tracking gear, and you used a hologram over him?¡±

    ¡°I mean yea it would work but then Jack is just gonna be playing third wheel on a D and D stream while you still sit at home, so I don¡¯t think it would be very fun for either of you.¡±

    ¡°No I mean¡­to meet your parents. If the off chance the hologram cut out, it would be confusing but not illegal. He¡¯s human, he has earth clearance. There¡¯s no security risk, if anything went wrong you¡¯d just have to explain to your parents why your boyfriend changed boyfriends, that¡¯s way more comical than dangerous.¡±

    ¡°So you wanna meet my parents? Why?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I hear that¡¯s custom when things get serious and not only are we sleeping together now, but we¡¯re married and you live in my house we co-own. That¡¯s got some serious vibes to it.¡± He said.

    ¡°We can¡¯t tell them we got married.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Because they didn¡¯t even know I was dating you, and we basically just met. That¡¯s a trigger in itself.¡±

    ¡°So tell them you¡¯ve been dating me for months and didn¡¯t wanna say anything because I¡¯m weird and foreign. Are they THAT bad that just dating a foreign guy is a problem?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Well, no. Actually it would make sense because I told them I moved to Australia to help starving villages.¡± She said. ¡°I can game for fun and feed the people by day, they don¡¯t know how much I sleep, plus it had to be far away and something noble enough to merit moving away. Sorry I made myself look kinda selfless.¡±

    Does my name sound Australian at all?

    ¡°No but you could be Aboriginal, they don¡¯t know anything about that. You could make up anything. Plus you ARE tribal and Jack is like 6 foot 2 so most of the height difference jokes still work, it just sounds like I¡¯m being dramatic or funny, neither would shock them. Oh my god Vinn, you¡¯re gonna get to see my parents and they¡¯re gonna get to see¡­¡± she said suddenly looking sadder ¡°Some virtual Aboriginal guy but with your voice and personality. Are we gonna have to do the same thing with your parents?¡±

    ¡°Yea, no. I was bred specifically to go fight and die in a war so they don¡¯t really give a shit that I exist, and I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re even alive or where, and we¡¯re not even gonna go down that rabbit hole. Don¡¯t say the joke.¡±

    I totally would normally, but the topic was too dark.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna see the humans who made you!¡± he smiled.

    ¡°Oh we need a script or something, you¡¯re gonna say stuff like that the entire time, hu?¡±

 10: Greenman

    This is so stupid.¡± Jack sighed, looking in the mirror at his skin tight green zentai suit, a pair of red shorts and a flannel shirt.

    ¡°Is the clothing too much or not enough?¡± Asked Nicole.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m just supposed to silently walk around and wave and try to copy Vinn¡¯s movements. I have no say in this. I look like GreenScreen Spiderman on vacation.¡±

    ¡°You look great¡­I mean on the screen anyway it¡¯s super realistic.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a script or anything?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No we¡¯re winging it yolo style. That¡¯s kind of our thing and it works on other stuff.¡±

    ¡°Damnit. This is so fuhuHeeeeey!¡± He said turning and waving.

    ¡°Hello! Nicole, we don¡¯t see you enough, you never visit.¡± Her mother said.

    ¡°Mom, I live so far away it¡¯s stupid, and I¡¯m super busy. We move around a lot. They can¡¯t lose a person for weeks and the paperwork is unreal.¡±

    ¡°We watch your streams sometimes!¡± said the man in the glasses, waving to the camera.

    ¡°Sorry about the cursing, dad but thanks. Do you guys ever watch any of Dee¡¯s streams?¡±

    ¡°No, just you.¡± Her mom noted.

    ¡°Good, keep it that way. It¡¯s a very different kind of content.¡±

    ¡°Is this your boss or coworker?¡± asked her dad.

    ¡°Um, actually, Mom, dad, this is Vinn, and we have been dating¡­ for a long time.¡±

    ¡°You have a boyfriend and you didn¡¯t tell us for a long time?¡±

    ¡°Well, there are some cultural¡­complications. He¡¯s actually a construction worker, who helps build homes for the natives and people who can¡¯t afford it.¡± She said, looking at Jack. ¡°See, I¡¯m not even lying yet, this is too easy.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s nice. Is that what you do too? I thought you did planning?¡±

    ¡°Uh, I mostly just do odd stuff, cleanup, some cooking, but recently I¡¯ve been helping in the construction too. It¡¯s actually really fun. Vinn makes sure I don¡¯t get hurt.¡± She smiled, which was genuine until she looked up at Jack in a green zentai and her look lost some of it¡¯s love twinkle.

    ¡°So how long and you been dating our Nicole. Asked the dad.

    ¡°Uh¡­honey you wanna take that one?¡± he dodged.

    ¡°Sorry he¡¯s kinda shy and English is not his first language, so if he says anything that sounds out of place, he¡¯s trying his best. The complex stuff tripps him up sometimes.¡± She explained.

    ¡°You made a very nice daughter. Good quality work, proper nutrition.¡± He said as jack gave a jerky thumbs up. Nicole¡¯s smile saddened a little.

    ¡°Stuff like that.¡± She said. ¡°But kind of a long time, and that¡¯s what I wanted to talk to you about. It¡¯s gotten pretty serious. He wanted to meet you guys.¡±

    ¡°Sounds pretty serious.¡± Her mother said looking both concerned and intrigued. ¡°Do you have any siblings?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re both dead.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°Vinn.¡± She nudged, as Jack stared back annoyed. ¡°oopse.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine? They died in military camp, it happens a lot. Like one in 5 of us makes it to adulthood here.¡± He yawned.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s terrible, you poor thing.¡±

    ¡°War¡­kind of a bitch.¡± He winced as Nicole rubbed her face in embarrassment.

    ¡°Nicole I didn¡¯t know you were volunteering in a warzone, is it safe?¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry Mister and miss parents, I take good care of her. The war wasn¡¯t even on this¡­half of the continent. It was years back, and this is a pretty safe place here. They have good housing and food and uh, actually we just got Nicole some really good life insurance¡­ it was free.¡± He grinned.

    ¡°Sounds safe.¡± Her dad sighed.

    ¡°Mom it¡¯s just standard for the area, there¡¯s no wars here, the scariest thing you¡¯re likely to encounter is probably Vinn.¡± She joked. ¡°or a spider I¡¯d adopt¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look very scary.¡± Her mom smiled.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m a real teddy bear, but you know¡­pretty big, kinda intimidating.¡±

    ¡°Mom, He¡¯s very¡­close to his tribal roots. He sometimes looks a bit more¡­primal?¡± she puckered.

    ¡°Well there¡¯s nothing wrong with embracing your culture, Vinn. Is that your nickname or short for something?

    ¡°Vendetta¡± he rattled as Nicole puffed her cheeks out and realized this maybe could have used a script.

    ¡°Does that mean anything in your native language?¡±

    Nope, just like vengeance. Our names are usually intimidating too, hence the Vinn part. Old outdated culture stuff. Whatyagonna do?¡±

    You¡¯re not wearing your tribal clothing for this? Nicole he didn¡¯t have to dress up like some white guy for this.¡±

    ¡°Oh I felt it was necessary to look a little more presentable. First impressions are awkward enough given the situation.¡± He grinned as the door opened and Dee walked in.

    ¡°Not now Dee.¡± Waved Nicole.

    ¡°Oh sorry, you¡¯re doing the meet the parents¡¯ thing now?¡± she asked starting to leave.

    ¡°Dee, don¡¯t be shy, we never get to talk to you either. So tell me, is Vinn keeping her safe on the worksite? She is wearing proper safety gear, isn¡¯t she?

    ¡°Oh yea, like overkill. Like cartoonishly safe, it¡¯s kinda sweet. You have no idea the amount of safety crap they have set up. He doesn¡¯t even wear shoes and he makes her use the safety gear. She¡¯s safe. He¡¯s a very good husband.¡± She smiled as everyone else stuck their arms up and muttered a variety of mumbled responses.

    ¡°Shit.¡± Dee winced.

    ¡°Husband? You¡¯re dating a married native?¡± Her mother asked. ¡°Are you having an affair with this man?¡±

    ¡°No, of course not mom, it¡¯s just¡­the explanation is also a bit jarring. Thanks Dee, by the way, way to fuck that up.¡±

    ¡°SORRY. I thought that¡¯s why you were having him meet your pa-I¡¯mm a just leave.¡±

    ¡°No Dee get your ass back, anyway So mom, dad. Uh¡­weeeeee got married.¡± She said, pausing excitedly for effect, and then doing the presentation arms as if to show that they won a brand new Vinn.

    ¡°You got married!¡± you didn¡¯t even tell us or invite us to the wedding.¡± Her mom gasped.

    ¡°It was a pretty brief ceremony.¡± She admitted.

    ¡°Mostly just the bead and the hug and her saying ¡®Yea sure why not?¡¯ and that was it.¡± Vinn said. ¡°It was a tribal thing.¡±

    ¡°Nicole, why would you not tell us you were dating someone serious enough to get married, you could have at least video conference called us for a 5 minutes ring exchange for show, at least.

    ¡°Mom, there¡¯s no rings.¡± She said scrunching her face and lifting up the bead. ¡°This is it¡­that¡¯s the ring. I told you¡­tribal.¡±

    ¡°Carved it myself out of bone.¡± Vinn smiled.

    ¡°Well at least you told us now, how long have you been married?¡±

    ¡°We just got married last week, there was a lot of work stuff and¡­things neither of us was informed about that goes with the process. We¡¯ve been filling papers and that¡¯s not even mentioning the construction. I mean we got water lines to dig, I¡¯m getting very little sleep between the streaming and the project and trying to have time with Vinn, and the goat keeps waking me up. It¡¯s been a really crazy week for us, this is the first chance we had to do this.¡± Nicole huffed.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just very unexpected.¡±

    ¡°Yea, tell me about it.¡± Vinn laughed. When she proposed I thought I was having a hallucination or something. Shock of my life to say the least.¡±

    ¡°This just gets worse and worse, we should have done a script.¡± Nicole huffed, gritting her underbite and hating herself a little bit.

    ¡°Well Nicole, I never would have expected that from you.¡± Her mom smiled. ¡°That¡¯s very bold and you¡¯re so shy and reserved, and you proposed to him?¡±

    ¡°Can barely believe it myself, mom. Still reliving that moment. Every day.¡± She said hugging jack and slowly leaning her head on him, feeling gross about it the whole time.

    ¡°Is that normal for your culture, Vinn?¡±

    ¡°God no, weird as shit. I didn¡¯t even know women could do that. She¡¯s a very fascinating lady. I¡¯m just baffled by her every day.¡±

    ¡°So how old are you?¡±

    ¡°Just turned Ten.¡± He replied.

    ¡°Vinn, you goof. You need to emphasize your jokes more or people don¡¯t know you¡¯re kidding. HA. He¡¯s 20. He¡¯s a little younger than me.¡± She dodged.

    ¡°Never would have guessed. He looks at least 35.¡± Her father said. She looked at the screen and squinted. The easily 35 year old man in the hologram.

    ¡°Yea we didn¡¯t really think about that, hu.¡± She muttered to herself.

    ¡°Tribal life¡­ really ages you.¡± Vinn sighed as the internet lagged a bit and a slight shutter from the ground cut the hologram out for a few flickers. Her parents both leaned in closer to the screen.

    Nicole¡¯s eyes widened as she realized the hologram was completely off. There stood a guy in a green body suit. Jack froze for a moment and then darted out the door, leaving them in silence. Nicole groaned and shook her head.

    ¡°I told you the cultural difference was weird.¡±

    ¡°Nicole¡­is this real? What is going on?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s real, I¡¯m married to a tribal guy, you just. You don¡¯t understand how superstitious and shy he can be. And please don¡¯t ask what my last name is, I literally cannot tell you. I can type it out and you can fend for yourself and you will never get it right. It¡¯s atrocious; I¡¯m filling papers to get it changed back. I gotta go, he¡¯s probably panicking right now. HONEY the camera doesn¡¯t steal your soul, it¡¯s not going to bring bad luck to the village. He¡¯s not coming back. I¡¯ll call you guys later.¡±

    ¡°Nicole wha-¡± her dad said as she hung up the feed.

    ¡°Well that went great.¡± She snipped, to the disembodied voice of Vinn.

    ¡°Could have been worse, Could have tried that without Jack.

 11: Release the Kraken

    Vinn nervously held his phone in his hand and took a courage shot before pressing the button.

    ¡°Hello?¡± the voice asked.

    ¡°Hi, Misses Nicole¡¯s mom, please don¡¯t hang up, it¡¯s Vinn.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what to say.¡± She admitted.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine I can do the talking. It¡¯s my fault, the green suit the whole stupid thing; she didn¡¯t even wanna do it. I probably seem like an insane person.¡±

    ¡°Well you did leave an unusual first impression.¡± She chuckled.

    ¡°Yea that¡¯s pretty expected for me. Nicole doesn¡¯t even know I¡¯m calling, I don¡¯t know if she would be mad but I dicked this up so bad I wanna make it right. I¡¯m not really good with this sorta thing, my culture is very outdated and often¡­barbaric, but I¡¯m still part of it deep down. I¡¯ve never even showed myself on the internet before¡­I guess technically I still haven¡¯t. It¡¯s a pretty big thing. Greenman was¡­well stupid but something.¡±

    ¡°You really are that afraid of being on camera?¡±

    ¡°More then you could possibly understand, ma¡¯am. I don¡¯t look like you people, We get treated like savages a lot, weird looks, weird questions, or just told we¡¯re not welcome, and I understand given our ways. Some of us can be very brutal and unwelcoming to outsiders, but we¡¯re not all like that. The truth is Nicole probably avoided you because when she came here, I think she felt like she made a mistake. It¡¯s scary here. It¡¯s a wild place with a lot of wild things and even with the group and the comforts from home and the internet, I think she felt alone and scared.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she come home?¡± She asked as Nicole curiously peered around the corner, debating on weather to stay or go or stop him.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem like the type to quit something just because it¡¯s scarier than she realized. She¡¯s a tough girl. But for whatever reason she seems to be happy around me. I have no idea why, I consider myself rather boring but she felt safe with me, and I got her out of her comfort zone and she¡¯s really starting to smile more. I make her laugh, it¡¯s certainly not my looks she¡¯s after, trust me, I¡¯m not winning any beauty contests. I¡¯m rough around the edges and sometimes I¡¯m a big dumb screw up, but I love her. I know I seem strange to you, but frankly you people are weird as hell to us, and I tend to make that worse trying to make it better.¡± He explained.

    ¡°Your not making her sleep in a cave and eat raw meat or anything are you?¡± she joked with a long laugh.

    ¡°No, absolutely not. She has a drop-in prefab dwelling outside the cave and everything she eats is cooked. I¡¯m not trying to change her, I think she¡¯s perfect the way she is, she¡¯s nothing like what I thought I wanted, and now I don¡¯t know that I could make it without her, and in a way I think she needs me too.¡±

    ¡°You know a mother can tell when her little girl is hiding something or trying to sugarcoat it. I can here the sincerity in your voice Vinn. You¡¯re telling the truth. You love her. In a strange way I¡¯m glad she found you. I never felt like she was safe way out there alone, and if she¡¯s safe with you, and she¡¯s happy, then I guess it doesn¡¯t matter if she¡¯s far from home. You just make sure wherever she is, feels as much like home as possible.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting there. We¡¯ve made a lot of progress I think. She¡¯s made the place very different and I¡¯m happy to have it that way. And my goat likes her. He¡¯s a good judge of character. Whatever it takes to make her happy is what I¡¯ll make my life¡¯s work¡­even if it means her some day going back home.¡± He said, sniffling a little, hanging up the phone. ¡°Hopefully not forever.¡±

    ¡°Are you crying?¡± Nicole whispered.

    ¡°No¡­you¡¯re crying.¡± He bluffed.

    ¡°Vinn¡­it¡¯s late. I¡¯ll be on the couch, you better be there real soon. It¡¯s cold in the cave.¡±

    ¡°Is the fireplace broken?

    ¡°Okay I¡¯m not cold I just want you there.¡±

    ¡°You only love me for my fur coat. I swear¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m trying to let my winter fur grow out.¡±

    ¡°Doing a terrible job at it. Thin and patchy as hell.¡± He joked, turning off the light and following her.

    The next morning, Nicole was in the middle of trying to beat Assassin prot¨¦g¨¦ 3 when there was a doorbell ring. She tried to ignore it but on the second ring, she paused and made her way to the entrance. She opened the door expecting some deliver package or Vinn saying he forgot his keys but there in the doorway stood an even larger Delmarian, looking confused to see her.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yea Where¡¯s Vinn?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Work, He¡¯ll be home later, I can take a message or you can just drop by after 6.¡±

    ¡°Damn he must be making money at this gig if he can afford a secretary, cuz you sure as shit are not built for construction.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m his wife, actually. Do you have a name I can use when he gets home so he knows who dropped by?¡± she said looking annoyed.

    ¡°Oh bullshit. Seriously. Where¡¯s the wife. I wanna see how he did, he didn¡¯t give me a name so I¡¯m curious if I know her.¡±

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t obviously, because her name is Nicole and she¡¯s standing right here.¡± She snipped.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Cut the shit smoothie.¡± He said pushing her out of the way and walking down the stairs.

    ¡°Hey you can¡¯t just come into my home like that, asshole. I could call the police.¡±

    ¡°Lady, Vinn knows me, it¡¯s cool. I just wanna see the place and see if he¡¯s avoiding me or something. I don¡¯t really get the joke here.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no joke, get out of my house.¡± She yelled.

    ¡°Are you actually serious?¡± he chuckled, noticing the bead in her hair. ¡°You¡¯re not fuckin with me, are you?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± she said holding the phone to her ear.¡±

    ¡°Hey relax, I¡¯m leaving, I thought it was a prank, I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I was just gonna catch his ass in the act, but there¡¯s no act. That¡¯s really his hair bead. I recognize the shitty craftsmanship. Man was so broke he made his own marriage bead.¡± He said heading up the steps and pausing outside.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s fine with me. It¡¯s the thought that counts not the price.¡±

    ¡°That explains the unfinished house and the wife with no name.¡±

    ¡°Still Nicole, by the way.¡± She barked.

    ¡°Man I just can¡¯t process that. You¡¯re just human, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯m a level 12 Druid tiefling, what clued you in? Is that a problem?¡± she asked as Jack came strolling up the road responding to the call.

    ¡°Yea it¡¯s a problem. It¡¯s a problem happening a lot of places, I just never imagined it here. Vinn really did go downhill.¡±  He sighed as jack walked directly into his line of sight.

    ¡°Do we have some form of misunderstanding?¡± Jack said sternly.

    ¡°Oh like you matter. And I understand this perfectly. This is a Delmarian owned Moon and then they sold out to the big blues and now they got humans crawling all over it shitting on our land.¡±

    ¡°If I remember the books correctly, This was an Eridani moon until Delmar claimed it, and just decided it was theirs and began mining the place.¡±

    ¡°They weren¡¯t using it. They barely had the technology to plant a flag, you think they needed the moon? Sacred rights, you take what you can take and hold. And what does a human even care? Whoever¡¯s rightful moon it was or is, one player that sure as shit has no business here is your kind. You¡¯re Osirian pets, just lucky they didn¡¯t want you for livestock. Bad enough we have to share the same space, now they¡¯re marrying into clans. Absolute joke. That shit should be illegal but this worlds council is half outsiders so what can you expect?¡±

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t give a shit about your politics or your opinions, go tell that to your drinking buddies or your cult leaders, this is privately owned property. Vinn isn¡¯t here and she told you to leave. That¡¯s the whole debate settled. Get lost.¡± Jack barked.

    ¡°I sure as hell do not answer to a human female, but I¡¯m equally as unimpressed with your bodyguard flex, smoothboy. I got 600 pounds of meat on you and you think I¡¯m worried?

    ¡°You got a bulletproof dick too?¡± Jack asked, drawing a pistol and aiming for the crotch.

    ¡°Alright, maybe you do have some fight in you. Those are illegal around here, that¡¯s a gutsy move. I¡¯ll give you half a point of respect for breaking the rules and racking the slide. That safety is off and everything.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t make threats I don¡¯t intend to keep. Walk or drop. You got a few seconds to think about it.¡±

    ¡°Now hold on a second, human. You shoot a security guard with an illegally owned gun, they¡¯ll kill your ass.¡±

    ¡°Yea but you¡¯re still dead. I got connections too. Step forward and find out.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d make a descent little soldier, Shame you didn¡¯t Marry that scrawny human girl before Vinn did. He made a shitty soldier and this is frankly just a disgrace beyond belief. She¡¯s feisty, and I could even see having her in the house as a servent, but none of you have the right to wear that bead and call this your home. That¡¯s crossing a line there, lifestock. Sure, I¡¯ll leave, I got nothing left here to stay for, I¡¯ll be saying what I need to say to Vinn soon enough. So calm down little soldier, war is already over.¡± He said turning and walking away. ¡°The big blue bitch ended that before we even got to draw blood.¡± He growled angrily.

    ¡°Nicole, you okay?¡± he asked, lifting the gun and momentarily just considering shooting him in the back of the head.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Jack¡­Why do you have a gun? I mean I¡¯m thrilled you do, but why do you have a gun?¡± Nicole asked, circling him inquisitively.

    ¡°I work for Gizzy. Some of her pets follow orders and get privileges, let¡¯s just leave it at that.¡±

    ¡°You have Earth clearance, direct line to an overlord and you carry a gun¡­Jack you kinda scare me but you are cool as shit. Does Vicki know you¡¯re basically Jason Bourne?¡±

    ¡°Vicki knows a lot more then you do. In fact you don¡¯t even know I have a gun.¡±

    ¡°Gotcha. So what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°You go back inside and wait for Vinn, go on with your day as usual.¡±

    ¡°Should I call security?¡±

    ¡°He is security. They won¡¯t do shit.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna stay with me till Vinn get¡¯s home? What if that guy comes back.

    ¡°Oh he won¡¯t come back, and you¡¯re not going with me.¡± He said heading in the same direction.

    ¡°You¡¯re following him?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nope. You saw me head straight back home the other way, that¡¯s why you¡¯re staying here and waiting.¡± He said speeding up his walk. She stood cross armed and dumbfounded.

    ¡°Jack who the hell are you?¡± she pondered aloud.

    Gizzy crossed her feet on her desk, peering down the obscenely large desk at the top of Jack¡¯s head.

    ¡°No appointment, no call, and you¡¯re carrying the gun I gave you. This better be interesting.¡± She sighed.

    ¡°He walked right into their home and threatened Nicole If I hadn¡¯t showed up when I did while Vinn was at work, that could have gotten bad. I followed him for 4 miles, tracked him to the hotel.¡±

    ¡°He knows you did. He¡¯s special operations. He is fully aware that you followed him.¡± She said lifting her phone up to her head.

    ¡°Hello, I want a security drone circling Angler beach and 2 guards on patrol, make sure they work for me, not for the convention. If anyone shows up to relieve them of duty or waves a security badge that isn¡¯t one of mine, stand your ground. Yes immediately.¡± She said hanging up. ¡°You were saying?¡±

    ¡°You know who he is.¡±

    ¡°Yes I do. I know everything. His name is Kraken, and he¡¯s dangerous. Unfortunately the council wants dangerous people for the convention. We hired a lot of security and some of the council members don¡¯t care who they hire as long as they¡¯re lethal enough to do the job, and this is a meeting we can¡¯t afford not to secure. Lotta big decisions and people arriving you don¡¯t need to know about and did not hear from me. I know every security member they brought in, read every file and the ones that concerned me, I re-read them. You just made yourself a target.¡±

    ¡°Can you get him arrested?¡±

    ¡°After the convention, I can have charges filed.¡±

    ¡°After the convention? That¡¯s not really your normal style.¡±

    ¡°My normal style might be to tell you put two in his head and 3 in chest to be sure he stays down and then make it look like a robbery gone wrong, but you see I don¡¯t run this moon. 12 people run this moon, I¡¯m only one of them, one would take my side, and nobody else. You seem to think I¡¯m supreme emperor of Delmar M44, but we have players coming to town even I don¡¯t argue with and matters I can¡¯t touch. He was specially selected by one of the council, and that means if you go start something, I can¡¯t back you up officially, and everyone knows you work for me, and where did you get a gun on a moon like this.¡± She winked, placing a different gun on the table.

    ¡°Must have printed it myself, surely nobody gave it to me.¡± He grinned.

    ¡°So Jack, don¡¯t start a war, and if you do start a war, you¡¯re on your own and I don¡¯t know you, and you start it with this gun. Turn in your Osirian weapon. You are officially on the records, suspended for threatening a security officer. And off the records, let the drones watch the house and keep this thing better hidden. And if you do fire this, and you better not have to, do not be standing close to what you hit. Do I make my orders clear, Jackson Greene?¡± Gizzy snipped.

    ¡°Perfectly, ma¡¯am. I apologize for my misconduct, it won¡¯t happen again. Here¡¯s my gun and ID.¡± He said placing his weapon down and his card, and tucking the other gun into his pants.¡±

    ¡°And Jack¡­keep an eye on Vicki, let me keep an eye on everything else. She is your mission, don¡¯t get in the way of mine unless I tell you to.

    ¡°Thank you. And I hope after the convention you can forgive my overstep and let me have my ID and gun back.

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be ready to forgive you by then.¡± She smirked.

 12: hole in the wall

    ¡°What the hell was that about?¡± barked Dee as Vicki made them coffee and Jack sat down for a cup.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s been handled.¡± Vicki said calmly.

    ¡°What does that even mean? Some big creepy jackelope thug breaks into Vinn¡¯s place while he¡¯s gone and threatens Nicole and it¡¯s just fine?¡±

    ¡°She called me instead of the police; we¡¯re lucky she did that. I was right here and responded, the situation is handled. I took care of it.¡± Jack replied.

    ¡°How did you take care of it?¡± she asked.

    ¡°He said he took care of it, so it¡¯s taken care of, Dee. Just trust him.¡±

    ¡°I just don¡¯t understand this. Some giant monster trespasses on their property and basically tells Nicole she¡¯s a slave, and we DON¡¯T call the police, and then you go down there and just intimidate him? Jack you¡¯re a fairly big guy and in descent shape and your confidence is borderline magical, but you intimidated a guy 3 times your size who has horns and isn¡¯t afraid of Vinn? Jack what the fuck happened?¡±

    ¡°What did Nicole tell you?¡± he asked.

    ¡°She said you talked to him and told him never to come back and you intimidated him to leave and then went home.¡±

    ¡°Then I guess the only thing you need to do is trust me. Trust my connections, trust the names I can drop, and trust the things I get done. The situation is handled, there is no more problem, thank god it worked out that way, do not make any problems, or get anyone into a panic. Nicole is okay, please do not go on a rant that makes her feel not okay, okay?¡± he said firmly, oddly aggressive for him in a way she never saw before.

    ¡°Jack you are a disturbing man and I¡¯m glad as shit you¡¯re on our side, because I trust Vicki and Vicki seems to think you got this handled, but I don¡¯t know what that means and I¡¯m gonna worry about that.¡±

    ¡°You worry too much.¡± Vicki said, sitting down with her coffee. ¡°We have a good life here; no we have a great life here. It¡¯s not perfect but it¡¯s better then what we had before, There¡¯s a lot of things you can worry about and people you can not trust if you want, but jack knows what he¡¯s doing and if he says she¡¯s safe with Vinn and he handled the problem, then the problem is handled. Maybe if you ever trusted either of them and stayed calm about anything, we wouldn¡¯t have to keep you in the dark about everything. Jack took care of it.¡± She repeated slowly, calmly flipping her red hair out of her face and sipping her coffee.

    ¡°I just wanna say for the record I¡¯m happier every day that my boyfriend is a boring old construction worker, and all I have to do it shake my titties and wear cat ears online for donations, because I can¡¯t handle much more than that without my head just blowing up.¡±

    Dressed in full PPE, Nicole stood staring at a corner in the kitchen wall, or the wall that would eventually be the kitchen.

    Why is this area so wet? It¡¯s not leaking is it?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Oh it¡¯s leaking like hell. Absolutely. Hence the green stuff.¡±

    ¡°Can you fix it?¡± she asked looking worried.

    ¡°I thought humans likes water. Your whole planet is covered in water, you¡¯re mostly made of water, it rains water, All the best homes are on the beaches. You¡¯re always playing in the ocean and building swimming pools. But you¡¯re afraid of water and cant swim.¡±

    ¡°You can?¡±

    ¡°Gods no. Delmarians are not built for that.¡±

    ¡°So where¡¯s the water coming from? The plumbing isn¡¯t even all in yet and there¡¯s nothing up there is there?¡±

    ¡°No, that might just be uh¡­slightly under the lake.¡±

    ¡°Under the lake?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yea I told you I thought humans liked water, your whole damn group house was on the beach.¡±

    ¡°Yea up TO the water, not under it. Is it gonna flood or collapse?¡± she asked, looking like she was having some kind of attack.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I told you that stone is insanely strong and I welded in enough supports on the roof to hold a damn second moon. Nothing is coming down. Come here sweetie.¡± He said calming her. ¡°Delmarian greystone is so tough we have to drill holes and saturate it with chemicals before setting off explosives. It only breaks along these darker lines because those darker lines are porous and it soaks in the brittling agent.¡±

    ¡°So why is it leaking?¡±

    ¡°Because those dark lines are porous and it soaks in liquids like brittling agent¡­or you know¡­lake water. I guess one of those dark lines runs right up to the lake. It¡¯s fine, we can stick a patching brace on there and shoot it full of water-activating foaming sealant. Scrape off the foam, paint the seam, you¡¯ll never even see it, it¡¯s 12 feet up. Just part of the job. We do this all the time. You¡¯re safe. Half the homes on this world have patched and filled spots, just gotta do it right. Anyway, we¡¯ll go get one tomorrow, stuck a bucket under here for now and we¡¯re good. You ready to put in that fancy shower? I got the rock already drilled and soaked. We can blow some shit up.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so hot when you¡¯re destructive.¡± She said, grabbing her gear excitedly.

    The room shuttered and a plume of dust rolled out of the wall, swirling up to the venting tubes and clearing in seconds.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Vinn said turning the corner.

    ¡°What Oh? What does Oh mean?¡± she asked, trying to quickly remove all her demo gear.

    ¡°Remember when I said the leak was not a big situation and we don¡¯t need to do anything right away?¡±

    ¡°Yea.¡±

    ¡°Well this is not one of those situations. We may need to work late tonight.¡± He said as she darted around the corner. She gazed in awe at the fairly square missing chunk they intended to remove, and the two 4 foot wide tunnels branching from it, away from the home. Tunnels that they did not intend to discover.

    ¡°What is that?¡± she asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s what we call in the construction business an ¡°oh shit¡± moment. I¡¯m calling Jack. This isn¡¯t good.¡± He huffed.

    Jack stood with his arms crossed, peering both ways down the tunnels.

    ¡°Yea that¡¯s a fuck-up. You were not supposed to dig there.¡±

    ¡°Well, I did and now what do we do? Call Silverback?¡± Vinn asked.

    ¡°I would not do that if I were you. This area is full of old mining tunnels and air vents, lotta maintenance tunnels and stuff. You see down this way? That¡¯s an air intake grid, rusted tight. That hasn¡¯t moved for months or years. On the other hand, THAT tunnel is a different story. I have no clue what that is. Obviously this vent was pulling air from somewhere but that¡¯s a hell of a man-sized tunnel for airflow. It¡¯s almost gotta be maintenance. Probably abandoned and blocked off after the mining. That could go for miles.¡± Jack said, peeking in.

    ¡°And I¡¯m guessing we would get in trouble for that and be living in a hotel room until they fixed it. Jack I swear I checked the plans and that area was supposed to be solid stone.¡±

    ¡°Yea I know. You didn¡¯t halfass it. The plans were updated 4 weeks ago, scans show solid slate.¡±

    ¡°I was gonna use that part for the shower. I was not exactly thinking my shower would be directly in the bend of a hallway. Did they just put this in yesterday?¡± he huffed.

    ¡°Not a chance. Look at the old lightbulbs rusted in the sockets, that air vent frozen shut with grut and corrosion. This has to be an old tunnel. Why the hell was it not in the scans? That just makes no sense.¡± He pondered.

    ¡°Must be haunted.¡± Nicole whispered, looking transfixed on it. The deep rush of a slow but heavy wall of air beathed in and out from the tunnel.

    ¡°Yea right, haunted.¡± Jack chuckled. ¡°The problem here is that if you just wall that off and this is a maintenance corridor for something, they might just cut right through into your bathroom some day. I doubt it¡¯s ever used, it goes nowhere except to one old vent but that vent might still have a purpose and if you block it, which could set off a sensor somewhere. It would take days to brick up a corner and mortar it shut, and fill behind that with gravel and seal that up like new. So you can¡¯t quickly fix it, and you can¡¯t close it off entirely.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just leave a big open tunnel into the house.¡± Vinn noted.

    ¡°Yea. Tell you what. You get some scrap steel bars and box in that tunnel, I¡¯m gonna go get a heavy gate door from the yard and we¡¯re gonna stick a door there with a breathing hole. If anyone would happen to run into that from the other side, they couldn¡¯t get in without a lot of time and noise and you could at least warn them they¡¯re breaking into your house. Any maintenance crew would listen, and you could open the door and explain the problem, show them the scans. But it would keep out anything bigger then a gerbil for now, and still let air through. Slap a carbon mono sensor on there in case you¡¯re pulling any toxic air, and then we can work on a more long term solution to wall it up correctly. I¡¯d just not mention this to anyone else, we can get this temporarily sealed for the night and everything will be just fine.¡± Said Jack.

    ¡°Man you¡¯re a lifesaver. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if you weren¡¯t around.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d call Silverback and he¡¯d say the same thing but then he¡¯d have to report it, and your home would be closed off for red tape and paperwork for weeks until whoever knows what this is cleared it for walling off or rebuilding, and you¡¯d likely get your blasting gear confiscated. Technically you don¡¯t have clearance to do this unless each detonation was cleared by a Foreman so that HE could take the hit for shit like this. Don¡¯t do any more demo till we fix this problem. I¡¯ll be back with a door and some hazard sensors. Start welding.¡±

    ¡°Man I¡¯m stupid.¡± Vince said, staring at the new mystery door with Nicole.

    ¡°Vince he said you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, it¡¯s probably just mining tunnels nobody uses. Just chill out. Things happen, at least we didn¡¯t get the house quarantined or something. At least the lake didn¡¯t collapse in. Jack said that door is solid, we¡¯re safe. In fact if you wanted, we could go in and see where it goes.¡± She said in a trance.

    ¡°Screw that, it could go for miles or lead to a site we¡¯re not supposed to be at, or someone¡¯s workshop. Hell it could branch off and we could get lost. You think there¡¯s gonna be cell reception down there? Fat chance.¡±

    Doesn¡¯t it make you curious what¡¯s down there?¡± she asked, biting her lip and feeling a strange urge to venture inside. She closed her eyes and she could almost hear the subtle flowing of water in the tunnels. For unknown reasons, she wanted to see it.

    ¡°Well yea but not without proper safety gear and a spotting team. This isn¡¯t even on the damn blueprints and we can¡¯t tell anyone. Some mysteries are best left unsolved, and maybe Jack can figure it out later. Plus I can¡¯t fit, that¡¯s a 6 foot ceiling, I¡¯d be crab-scrunching for got knows how far with no way to turn around.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. You can¡¯t get stuck in there. It¡¯s too small for anyone your size.¡± She whispered, staring into it.

    ¡°Anyway, I gotta go. I¡¯m an hour late for my shift and Jack is covering my ass. You good? It¡¯s a solid door, nothing¡¯s getting in, you¡¯re safe in the house, just don¡¯t open the door for anyone on the off chance a crew runs into it. Just call me, and tell them you¡¯re alone, armed and your husband is right down the road and will be here any minute. Which is pointless because I¡¯m 99 percent sure nobody¡¯s done anything in that tunnel for years. Are you scared of bugs?¡±

    ¡°No I like bugs.¡± She admitted.

    ¡°Good because that¡¯s the only thing getting through that grate and none of them are venomous, but the cave spiders freak some people out. They¡¯re creepy looking and large but super harmless. Just try and relax, do your streaming thing, get some sleep, watch a movie. We¡¯ll take care of this.¡± He smiled. ¡°Shit happens, right? And we fix them together and move on¡­with annoying delays and extra steps.¡± He smiled, ruffling her hair. ¡°You feeling okay hun, you look¡­well paler than usual.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m just hungry, you go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so there are some various meats in the fridge for you, and I¡¯m sure you can manage right?¡±

    ¡°Yea yea. I¡¯m fine.¡± She said.

    Nicole made her way to the fridge and dug through the selection of meats, picking up a rather hefty slab of whitefish. She stared at it, breathing faster, The smell was hypnotic. She slowly held it closer and gave a deep sniff, opening her mouth. Before she could comprehend what she was doing she found herself halfway through the slab with a mouthful of raw fish and a confused feeling. She finished chewing and swallowed it, putting the other chunk back. For some reason she felt better. A fluke perhaps, a sudden craving?

    Nicole breathed heavy, peaking into the new steel door to the tunnels with her flashlight. She double checked her phone, full battery, extra flashlight, baindaids, camping knife, and a backpack full of protein bars and drinks. Big handful of glowbands from the last game party. She turned the large steel bar and slid it unlocked, opening the door and stepping inside. You got this girl, if you can handle Vinn on a couch, you can handle anything in here.¡± She smirked, feeling a tingle in her arm.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good girl.¡± Gizzy smiled, enlarging the screen and running the program. ¡°You know you wanna see what¡¯s inside.¡± She whispered in the ominously dark room that she clearly set up for effect and her own amusement. ¡°When the big rabbit¡¯s away, Alice will play. Now see where the rabbit holes goes, little Alice.¡±

 13: Hello Darkness

    She walked about 50 yards in a straight line before reaching a branching point, a staircase to the left going up and one forward and down. She snapped one of the glow bands and placed it on the ground before going up and reaching a dead end heavy steel door. Not even a latch to open from her side. She scoffed, going back down and grabbing her glowband, following the stairs down.

    The stairs opened into a room with dim lighting, a sickly orange like old sodium lamps, and a number of ways to go. She decided to follow the copper pipes that lead from the wall, ignoring the one leading down to another level and choosing the other. She tossed her glow band in the center of the room so she would know when she was back at the stairs. Something in her was drawn to the pipes. She knelt down and felt it, water running through it, leading down.

    The dim tunnel was dusty, warm to the touch clearly damp and riddled with cobwebs. On the right side a natural stone wall carved out of the rock, and on the left, one made of brick and mortar, with a copper water line following it, and what looked like possibly electrical lines in rubberize plastic conduit. They branched down and left randomly, presumably going to whatever was behind the brick wall and whatever was in the tunnel below her. Now she questioned if she should have gone lower, but more so¡­what was behind the brick? Why divide a tunnel and spend so much effort just to make two narrower paths for the same utility lines? She followed the tunnel that snaked around in random jogs, as if going around something in the solid rock, going in the same direction but dodging an unknown obstacle now and then. Surface vents maybe?

    She reached a T in the path, the strange brick and utility tunnel going left and a dugout hole going right. She broke another glow band, peering right. It dropped off into a large empty room, with stairs down and too many paths to keep track of. A junction room of some kind, a chance to maybe check the tunnel below her, but maybe later, she put the glow band on her arm and turned to the familiar tunnel that now took a very straight shot for a very long way. The lights flickered and dimmed randomly as she peered into the nothing, her flash light beam failing to find and end to the tunnel. She turned the lens and focused it, but the results were the same. Brick wall, pipes and what felt like an endless mile of straight line, tiny orange dots turning on and off down the walls leading to a point like it just beckoned her. The flickering almost seemed to start behind her and run down the tunnel like a little fairy of doom, racing it¡¯s way to the abyss as if to say ¡°follow me.¡± So she did.

    She felt the slight sensation of leaning, realizing the path was ever so sloped downward, subtle but detectable to someone thinking about it.

    ¡°If I¡¯m going down¡­I may as well go as down as I can.¡± She reasoned, turning back and taking the stairs to the lower path leading the same direction, but with less flickering lights. The same brick and pipes, of slightly different size and height, much of the same pointless direction until she noticed the pipes at one point diverted down and up, unto the floors and ceiling and then right back down again just a few feet further, as if there should have been a door there. The old faded red brick wall abruptly became grey and mossy brick of a different kind, conveniently in the shape of a door where the pipes went around¡­ With a hole in the middle, just above eye level.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to be there, are you?¡± she said, tip-toeing for elevation and trying to see through. Not enough room to crawl through or even stick her head in, just enough to reach in and shine a light around. On the other side, just more natural stone, separated by an endless wall and utility lines, for no reason. She pressed her face to the stone, trying to see anything else through the tiny gap where her arm was almost completely filling. She felt her skirt lift and flutter slightly, jumping and almost losing her flashlight as she turned to defend herself against¡­ the wind.

    ¡°Good grief you are paranoid.¡± She huffed, as her heart rate lowered and she noticed the occasional in and out flow of air from the tunnel. Just beyond that was a path to the right, barred off by a grid of rebar and thick bolts in the rock. She peered inside, part of the floor missing, a room of emptiness and grey brick with a slight bit of light at the very end as if there was a doorway and the path on the other side was well lit. She wanted to see but the bars were clearly not going anywhere.

    Further down another doorway on her right, open to another empty grey room. Drains in the floor, and a large wooden door on the left with no handles. She assumed it was walled off for some reason but a light nudge of her boot revealed that it did in fact swing inwards just a little, but with no knobs or levers to open it.

    ¡°Why am I on the wrong side of every door that only opens one way?¡± She asked noticing another little hole in the wall. They weren¡¯t accidental. The sizes varied but they were crisp and carved, not broken. She ran her hand along the opening, mossy to the touch.

    Quite a ways down the brick wall to nowhere, she noticed a similar walled off cubby like the one with the peep-hole, except the slab with the hole in it had crumbled out, leaving a much bigger opening. Almost big enough to squeeze through. Something was over there. She couldn¡¯t resist. She knew she wouldn¡¯t get through entirely, her skinny arms and chest probably could but her slightly wider hips surely wouldn¡¯t, but with the wall being only about 2 feet thick, surely she could see something, in fact it was already lit with the same orange lighting as the main tunnel. She stuck the flashlight in her mouth, biting it to one side like a stogy, and she hopped up, shimmying through just until her hips stopped her.

    ¡°Shtupid wide ash.¡± She muttered with the flashlight cigar like some 20¡¯s gangster. She could see about ten feet either way. Nothing much different than the side her ass was on, except the lack of utility lines and the drip of leaky water fittings, except a sound she could hear very clearly to the right. She held her breath listening to the click and noticing it was very repeatable, almost like it was counting down. She almost missed it but for a second she could have sworn the lights behind her dimmed just as the click on the other side happened.

    ¡°You¡¯re not random at all, are you?¡± she smirked. Suddenly she heard footsteps and decided to get out of the wall and she realized to her alarm, she was slightly stuck. She almost yelled for help, but if the help was on the wrong side of that wall, she would have to drop her flashlight, and be stuck in a rather compromised way. She began wiggling, getting genuinely nervous now as the footsteps approached and in a moment of panic she jerked her body harshly and flopped out, into the hall, fumbling her flashlight, as the footsteps seemed to pass her by in the same tunnel. She turned the light on and pointed it around, looking for whoever it was while fumbling in her bag for the knife.

    There was nobody, 30 yards of empty path nobody could have casually vanished into and no more footsteps.

    ¡°What the hell am I doing in here? This is insane. Am I tripping out?¡± she asked aloud, sniffing the air to see of she smelled gas or anything that would make her less oxygenated and rational. She could smell the salt water. It dawned on her that she might be below the lake at this point, and her fear began to creep up her back. But she kept going forward, past another barred off room, and into an open one as empty as the others, again with a single heavy wooden door that didn¡¯t open from her side, and a very large chalkboard that looked oddly clean. The walls everywhere were dusty and damp as if abandoned for months or years, and yet the chalkboard was almost perfectly wiped clean. She turned to exit the room and noticed this wooden door had light under it, but just long enough to turn off and stay off. She tried to peer through the gaps but the door was tight and strangely, the seam in the middle covered in cobwebs was broken. The door had been opened sometime after the webs accumulated. The door had been opened while she was down there. She looked down and noticed she was standing in a little puddle, expanding from the doorway.

    ¡°I¡¯m so out of here.¡± She huffed, heading back the way she came and briskly, knife in hand and flashlight up and ready. She marched adorably onward with her pigtails bouncing from the speed of her steps until she looked down at one of the floor grates. It was longer than before. She didn¡¯t remember seeing any that spanned the entire tunnel floor. Brick wall and utilities on the left, solid stone and empty rooms on the right. She wasn¡¯t going back the way she came. She knew she turned left exiting the room, which would send her back home, and yet she had just gone significantly further away, and she was unsure where the confusion was.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Doubt set in, endless tunnel and flickering both directions, the brick wall that was always on her left no longer felt like it was always there. Did it switch at some point in the monotone jogs around nothing, or did she exit a room into a different side entirely where the scenario was reversed? Why was she so sure she was still going further from home, and yet determined to go that same way? Why did she need to go further? She slowly went along, now her curiosity turned to absolute confusion, and came across another familiar doorway into the stone side, but this time there was a narrow hallway, oddly tall and lit at the end by those same stupid orange lights. She could see the doorways that were roughly chiseled square were now very classically arched like an old sewer system.

    The last room was, yet another hallway, even narrower, but with a darker floor. She walked through and let out a scream as she realized the floor was not just dark, but much lower than before and as she caught herself, she realized she was thigh-deep in water.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? 40 floor drain grates, and this is the one place that could have really used a floor grate for a change? Who designed this shithole?¡± she said, angrily kicking and sloshing her way along. She was already drenched, so why not? She trudged along now more angry than scared, flashlighting each of the empty rooms she passed of varying size and varying degrees of nothing. Feeling the drip of water from the stone above. The droplets passed her flashlight as the white streaks of reflective water dropped in front of her until she paused, noticing one of them wasn¡¯t white. She pointed the light up and stared at the dozens of mossy fissures that were dripping water and noticed one was a rusty red, dripping a single red drop now and then. Her heart fluttered a little.

    She was a rational girl, it wasn¡¯t even the right shade of red for blood, more of a rusty orange than red. She watched the drops each time, debating on her ability to judge color. She looked down, still in water past her knees and the water seemed surprisingly clear and clean looking, no bloody rings and shimmer, just the ripples of what she now realized was alarmingly warm water. She hadn¡¯t noticed till that moment that instead of shivering cold, not only was the room comfortably warm but warmer than the tunnel she started in, and the water was actually warmer then the room. She then froze, looking at the lines on the brick wall, and realized something startling. The water was slightly higher. For some reason this nonsense sent her into a flight. She rushed quickly past the ¡°rusty¡± drips and down the rest of the tunnel to the room at the end that to her disappointment was just a dead end.

    ¡°Shit¡­There¡¯s nothing here. There¡¯s nothing anywhere. It¡¯s just nothing and paths to more nothing. What the fuck is this place?¡± she barked loudly, almost drowning out the sound of something splashing through the tunnel she was just in. She readied her knife and went for it, sprinting as much as anyone can sprint in nearly crotch deep water, chasing the sound and ready to face her opponent but the sloshing turned to footsteps and the footsteps faded to silence as she reached the main utility tunnel again, soaking wet and confused. The lower holes in the wall now had water pouring through them and the dry tunnel she was just in now had an inch of warm water in it as well. She bolted onward, no idea why, determined to find answers and cutting hard right through the next room expecting nothing or some maintenance asshole chuckling and getting their jollies out of scaring her but she stumbled down several unexpected steps into a room that was far more lit than expected and instead of the dim orange glow, it was toasty and warm with the bright light and crackle of a fireplace.

    She got up and circled the room to check for anyone else, and found nobody, but far from nothing. The room was clean, furnished, hotel-esque even if you were going for medieval king¡¯s chambers. A bed with clean sheets, a glistening fountain like the kind rich people would have in their living room, shelves of white stone, 2 carved pillars, a wooden bench, a table missing it¡¯s top, a roaring fireplace, and on the far wall a large modern flatscreen TV, not a speck of dust on it.

    ¡°I¡¯m, losing my mind.¡± She said, nearly sobbing, the stared into the fire to dry off, spotting the wall switch that she immediately flipped on and off to light and unlight the gas fireplace. She broke into subtle tears, wondering if it was all a dream she couldn¡¯t wake from, and why didn¡¯t it at lest have Vinn. At that moment she imagined the sound of his hooves and stared at the tv, flipping the fire on a off for no reason, and as she gradually leaned closer she realized for a split second when the light shifted, she could almost see through the flat screen into the room behind it. She flipped the light on and left it there. Now wondering if she imagined the hoofsteps to comfort herself or of she actually heard them, and she was too afraid to flick the light off and on to confirm weather or not the TV was a 2 way mirror. she touched the glass and it felt wet.

    ¡°It¡¯s gotta be a dream. It has to be. I need to wake up.¡± She panted, now in full panic mode. She sprinted to the endless tunnel, now ankle deep, still for some unknown reason draw to keep going, almost beyond her will to fight it, but she turned the other way and ran, passing room after room, u-shaped path jog after another, holes in the brick wall between two tunnels that had no reason to be separated except to be followed or follow someone. She fought through the tears and dismissed the brief flashes of figures through the holes in the brick wall that could have easily been her flashlight shifting the shadows. Her feet and knees burned as she maintained a dead full sprint for what felt like hours. She slowed as the water reached mid calf.

    She slid her way into the 2 story transition room, now not really sure which way she started from or where her glow-band was, because it either had washed away or it was the wrong room.

    ¡°FUCK!¡± she screamed, trying every combination of path for about 15 indecisive long steps until she collapsed in the middle of the room from exhaustion, both emotionally and physically and lying on her side. She didn¡¯t have the energy to get up and the water was almost to her nostrils. As the water covered her eyes and she arched her back to move her mouth just a little higher, she sniffed in one frantic breath to exhale the word HELP!¡± and as she did she was pulled up by a pair of large hands.

    She swung the knife to defend herself and her empty fist just bounced off a furry bicep as she realized she was in her cave, home, the fireplace burning and Vinn picking her up.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re okay. You¡¯re safe.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± She sobbed.

    ¡°You had a nightmare, Nicole. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re on the floor but you were asleep and you screamed HELP so I woke you. That¡¯s all I know. Why are you scratched up and soaking wet?¡± he asked. She looked down and realized she had a few minor scrapes on her elbows and knees and she was wearing her hiking boots and in fact head to toe soaked in water. It wasn¡¯t a dream. Not all of it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so stupid. I went into the tunnel.¡± She cried.

    ¡°What? Why? Why in general, but why alone and when I was gone?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She sobbed. ¡°I needed to know, I took everything I needed, I marked my way back I had my knife and my backpack and everything and then¡­everything stopped making sense and I woke up her and almost stabbed you.¡± She said hugging his arm.

    ¡°Well apparently you got scared and ran back and collapsed when you got home, probably from exhaustion, and luckily without your knife in your hand¡­in my case.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t make it back Vinn. I fell and couldn¡¯t get up and I never made it out.¡±

    ¡°Well, you clearly did, that sounds like a bad dream you had after venturing into a dark scary tunnel you shouldn¡¯t have been in and then passing out from exhaustion running back. Honey you went into a scary dangerous place and got confused and lost, freaked out, thankfully found your way home and then fell asleep, and dreamed the last part. That¡¯s the only logical explanation aside from the part where you decided to go into the damn creepy tunnel alone without even telling me. I know you like adventures and exploring but damnit, you gotta plan that better. Bring a friend, tell people you¡¯re going, or like¡­don¡¯t go into endless mining tunnels at all. Have you considered a walk in the woods¡­above ground with supervision?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just¡­I needed to know what it was.¡±

    ¡°Then you should have waited for Jack. He could have gone down there either with you, or preferably just himself and another big guy with mining experience, and solved the mystery. What was even down there?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Nothing¡­just tunnels and tunnels and empty rooms and then one big fully furnished room with a 2-way mirror like some kind of medieval sex dungeon. And it was all filling with water.¡±

    ¡°Yea I¡¯m guessing that part was after you blacked out. You think maybe you have some¡­like repressed thoughts about¡­sexy scary underground adventures that you feel lost in and needed to escape? Just hypothetically? No reason at all, totally random scenario for example?¡±

    ¡°I can still hear the water.¡±

    ¡°Honey there¡¯s no water, except what you wicked up from down there. We need to get you out of this cold soggy outfit and warmed up.

    ¡°I am warm¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re drenched and freezing, honey.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just glad to be home. You need to lock that door.¡±

    ¡°It only opens from one side¡­THIS side. Nobody can get in.¡±

    ¡°You need to lock it from this side too.¡± She said looking alarmingly serious. ¡°You need to lock ME out of it.¡±

 14: The Festival

    Nicole sat in a folding chair, looking ashamed as Dee stood over her like an angry mother. She slowly chewed on a large chunk of raw salmon.

    Nicole Marie Governor-Murderer, or whatever your last name is now. What actual in the fuck of all things are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Are you on drugs, because all Delmarians are on drugs did you try his drugs?¡±

    ¡°NO! You know I don¡¯t do anything hardcore. I drink a little, and I probably have way too many free sponsored energy drinks but that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Honey you¡¯re eating raw fish in the dark. You look sick, what is this?¡± she asked, lifting up a blender bottle with a strange residue of pulpy white and yellow.

    ¡°I made a smoothie.¡± She said, chewing away. Dee smelled the bottle. Did you blend up raw eggs and raw fish?¡±

    ¡°I wanted something salty.¡± She sobbed and Dee examined her eyes and noticed the pupils were fully dilated.

    ¡°Is Vinn hurting you or abusing you or something and you can¡¯t get out, because we will get you out!¡± she asked.

    ¡°No he¡¯s a sweetheart. This isn¡¯t Vinn.¡±

    ¡°Is it just stress, because you married an alien and have to have sex with him now until the divorce is finalized?¡± she asked. ¡°and you just really find comfort in sushi?¡±

    ¡°Dee, not that it¡¯s your business but the sex was amazing. I¡¯m not upset about the sex, even if we got divorced and went back to just dating, I would be going back to the sex part, believe me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s far enough, a no would have worked there too.¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Is it the other guy?¡± Dee asked darkly.

    ¡°No¡­maybe. I don¡¯t know.¡± Nicole replied, realizing she didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°Look I get it, I¡¯m a loud mouthed security risk and if Jack turned into a damn werewolf the other day I would not be shocked anymore, but everyone seems to think he pulled some magic out of his ass and as much as I hate to admit it¡­ He seems to do that a lot. I can¡¯t imagine how scary that was for you to be alone and having a literal mythical beast eyeing you like a snack and walking right in your house, knowing you couldn¡¯t do a damn thing to stop him. That¡¯s fucked up, and that is exactly why it pisses me off that we have a zero gun policy here when giant bunny minotaur¡¯s that can flip a car can just walk around and go shopping around us. It¡¯s not a fair playing field, especially when the cops favor the monsters, because half the cops here are monsters. I thought racism was complicated on Earth. Now it¡¯s got layers and aliens and we¡¯re on the bottom tier. That¡¯s why I got weirded out when you started dating one. I thought shit, if some human guy was picking on her I could punch his teeth out and at least scare the guy. I can¡¯t scare that thing. I¡¯m like a hamster to that thing. I didn¡¯t know Vinn, I didn¡¯t trust him, now I¡¯m glad he¡¯s here, we¡¯re getting some of the scary people on our side. But sometimes it seems like they just keep getting bigger and we¡¯re always outnumbered. But for some reason jack has plot magic and Vinn would give his life for you. So I can¡¯t believe this but, I think we¡¯re gonna be fine. Don¡¯t lose your mind over it. You¡¯re stronger than that.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I feel like it¡¯s over?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re the paranoid bitches in this group. That¡¯s what we do. We overthink and lose sleep and you blackout and have waking nightmares and you don¡¯t even wanna know what I did the other day, but you can¡¯t go running off into scary haunted tunnels by yourself. Honey you¡¯re really pushing it on our luck. And frankly I¡¯m insulted you didn¡¯t bring me. If you¡¯re gonna do something stupid and reckless that could get a bitch killed, why did you not bring me?¡± she smiled. Nicole laughed and felt a little better. You don¡¯t need to be scared of that Delmarian guy, you got friends that got your back, a big scary tough one and Jack with¡­whatever the hell he has that can scare one of them.

    Dee¡­I¡¯m not scared of him¡­I¡¯m scared of what¡¯s in the tunnels, and how did I get out? Something pulled me out or I would have drowned. It wasn¡¯t Vinn. Who pulled me out?¡±

    ¡°You dreamed it. There¡¯s no monster in the tunnels, Nobody is watching you, and you¡¯re okay. And that bastard can¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    Gizzy sat at her desk, staring at a screen with Kraken¡¯s profile on it.

    ¡°You bastard.¡± She huffed. ¡°If you ruin this for me, I¡¯m going to kill and clone you back so I can kill you a bunch more, and then start your boss.¡± She growled to herself as the door opened and the secretary stepped in pale as a ghost, tears in her eyes, but a smile as well. She looked blissful, holding up a phone.

    ¡°What? I¡¯m kinda busy dealing with a complication right now, can they wait?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s him.¡± She whispered.

    ¡°Tell that fat sack of ass I don¡¯t answer to his every call.¡±

    ¡°Not Gandalf¡­HHIIIMMM.¡± She said handing the phone to Gizzy. Gizzy¡¯s eyes dimmed and she became silent and nervous. She grabbed the phone.

    ¡°Hello? I am so sorry, I would never dream of insulting your honor, sir, I thought it was someone else. I never imagined you would contact me personally. I¡¯m thrilled, I¡¯m just¡­Yes, everything will be ready for the conference. The, sir you can have whatever seat you want, you can have mine and I¡¯ll stand the entire meeting, I¡¯ll hold the damn thing up if you wish. Facing the north window during sunset? What a spectacular idea, Sir you will not regret this, this will be history being made. I would also feel obligated to congratulate you on your victory against me long ago, it was an honor even to lose. I look forward to seeing you again on our world, and you have my word security will be spotless.¡± She said placing the phone down and solemnly bowing.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a video call.¡± She whispered. ¡°He can¡¯t see you.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he saw it. I want the conference room completely renovated, I want the entire room physically rotated to face the alignment of the sunset. If there is a building in the way, remove it.¡±

    ¡°Are you speaking literally?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. I want a perfect view from that room. Nothing obstructing.¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am it is the tallest structure on the surface, the only possible obstruction of the view would be the wings of the red temple.¡±

    ¡°Then have them move the temple.¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am?¡±

    Dee and Silverback sat on the edge of the bed, looking a little nervous and excited.

    ¡°So you really wanna watch this together?¡± He asked.

    ¡°You know I over-think everything and imagine it worse than it is. I have to know and I want you to watch it with me. Maybe it¡¯s fun, maybe it¡¯s kinda sexy, it¡¯s kinda like porn.¡± Dee teased.

    ¡°It¡¯s educational holograms on Delmarian sex I don¡¯t think it¡¯s gonna be anything appealing. I think it just bothers you and your imagination is running wild.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you even slightly curious, or worried? The rumors, the assumptions.¡±

    ¡°A little bit. Who wouldn¡¯t make assumptions?¡± Silverback huffed.

    ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s not even that weird. She seemed okay with it. How weird can it be? Remember when we had sex for the first time?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. You were beautiful, ravishing.¡± He beamed.

    ¡°And I was kinda worried because you¡¯re half Eridani. Sure you LOOK pretty human but you never know. I was like what if it¡¯s weird. What if he has 2 dicks, or no dick and just something totally else, what do I do with that? I got so worked up I spent an hour in the bathroom pretending to shower just over-thinking and then, I popped a Xanax and came out all cute, and there you were. Naked and hot as hell. And I thought Oh my god, it¡¯s just dick. It¡¯s orange like the rest of you, but otherwise it¡¯s just a hot guy and some orange dick, I know how to do this. This is easy. It was fine. It wasn¡¯t that different. How do we know they¡¯re not just like a big hairy guy? My worry was for nothing. Let¡¯s watch it and alleviate our doubts.¡± Dee said pressing play on her phone. ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s a lot of selections.¡± She noted.

    ¡°Are those different chapters? This hologram is over 4 hours long?¡± he noticed.

    ¡°Screw it, I¡¯m skipping to the genitals¡­¡± she said scrolling forward. ¡°There¡¯s another menu just for the genitals? WHA-uh 14 chapters of just genitals!?¡± she gasped. They both leaned closer at the chapter thumbnails in confused wonder.

    ¡°What do these chapter titles even mean?¡± she winced ¡°Erections, stages 1 through 4?¡­what are the other 2 stages? Where could you possibly go from there? Pseudo-prehensile impedimenta? What do any of those words mean, and it¡¯s a whole chapter just on that.¡± Dee yelled.

    ¡°I know two of those words and they don¡¯t belong with genitals.¡± Silverback pondered. ¡°Click the animation.¡± He suggested. I don¡¯t want to.

    Dee you started this, click the damn animation.¡± They both jumped and scrambled for the phone. ¡°Stop the animation!¡± he yelled. ¡°I was wrong.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°MY EYES!¡± she screamed

    ¡°It just gets worse as it plays! How is it that complicated!? Who designed this thing, NASA? IKEA!? This is like an HR Geiger nightmare¡­wait, this is still stage 2.¡±

    ¡°OH MY GOD!¡± she growled, pressing the stop button harder.

    ¡°Does that say 1 to 1 scale?¡± he barked angrily. ¡°That¡¯s not even fair!¡±

    ¡°NOOOOOOOOOO000oooohohoho!!!!¡± Dee sobbed. ¡°I wanna go home!¡±

    ¡°We are home.¡±

    ¡°FFfuuuuhuhuhuck.¡±

    ¡°Dee what have you done?¡± He yelled as she sprinted from the room.

    Vinn sat on the couch watching the news as Nicole sat beside him.

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s weird. They just discovered the red temple on the surface that¡¯s been there for thousands of years is actually slightly off center from its original spot due to volcanic shifting. They¡¯re gonna move the entire temple 600 feet to the north in to pay respect to it¡¯s heritage. Seems excessive to me but the crowd is excited. I think they¡¯re gonna have a big ceremony. You wanna go? It¡¯s topside?¡±

    ¡°To watch them slowly move a temple 600 feet over the course of days? Not really.¡± She said, sipping her off-white smoothie. The faint smell of fish in the air.

    ¡°Good it sounds boring as hell. I just thought you might wanna see like¡­actual space. Some humans have this confinement problem where they don¡¯t see the sky and it drives them¡­um, unhealthy.¡± He hinted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have human confinement syndrome, or alien moon syndrome.¡±

    ¡°Just trying to make you feel better. Let you get out and get some fresh air. That¡¯s where the rich people live; they have way nicer air in that dome.¡± Vinn said as the tunnel door creaked open and jack stepped out, looking like a wet coal miner.

    ¡°Did you see it?¡± Nicole asked, hopping up on all fours like a dog on the couch.

    ¡°I got clearance from Gizzy and checked the tunnels. Every stretch of it. It¡¯s just maintenance and air ducts. Nothing but water lines, electrical, some support pillars, and old maintenance routs. Most of it is sealed off because they determined the rocks below it were more stable so they decommissioned the tunnels. It¡¯s just creepy dark hallways. Nothing that significant.¡±

    Then you didn¡¯t find it all. There¡¯s more down there. The water.¡±

    ¡°Honey you dreamed that part. Jack just spent 6 hours in there with 3 more guys, scanners and updated blueprints from Gizzy. It¡¯s just dangerous old pipes and tunnels. There¡¯s nothing to find but tetanus and rats.¡± We have both of those here at home.¡± Vinn assured.

    ¡°It¡¯s not flooded, it¡¯s just damp. That tunnel is directly under the damn lake, it¡¯s bound to be drippy and wet, but it¡¯s all grated to drain, it can¡¯t flood unless the whole thing collapses at once.¡±

    ¡°Someone else was down there with me.¡±

    ¡°The odds of anyone else getting in there with it sealed up is slim, let alone on the same night as you and crossing paths.¡± Maybe you just need a night out with friends. There¡¯s an Earthtown party down the beach I heard about. It¡¯s mostly humans, food vendors, there¡¯s gonna be fireworks, you and Vinn should go check it out.¡± Jack yawned.

    ¡°No.¡± Vinn said. ¡°She¡¯s spent enough time with me and my kind, Let the humans do the human thing. Take Dee and go have fun. Have some of those hot dogs, some Yoga shots, get some weird hats. Go nuts. I¡¯ll stay here and work. Bring silverback, he¡¯s human passable¡­ish.¡±

    ¡°Vinn. It won¡¯t be right without you.¡± She insisted.

    ¡°Married couples do things apart sometimes. Those are YOUR people, they don¡¯t want me lumbering through the crowd. Go have fun with your human friends and do a gals night. Strip clubs or whatever you ladies do. Bachelorette parties. Me and Jack can have a bro¡¯s night and watch a game.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°You have no idea what half of those things are, but thank you. Maybe I do need a night out. Thanks honey. I¡¯m gonna go shower and pick an outfit.¡± She said looking excited for a change. There was silence for a moment until the sound of running shower water.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice of you. Sad that you¡¯re right, you¡¯d make them uncomfortable, but it¡¯s nice. Beer me.¡± Jack said. Vinn grabbed a bottle and thumb-claw flipped the cap. ¡°We really gonna watch a game? You don¡¯t watch sports.¡±

    ¡°I dunno.¡± Vinn said darkly. ¡°So the tunnels are just decommissioned and inactive, there¡¯s no necessary airflow or emergency fire systems?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± He said taking a sip and flipping the channels.

    ¡°After she leaves, I need help welding up that door. Seal it off, weld the bolts down, put some stone paneling up over it. I don¡¯t want her going back in.¡±

    ¡°You got it big guy.¡± Jack nodded, clinking bottles.

    Dee, Vicki, and Nicole walked their way down the road, all of them now carrying mace and a pocket knife almost constantly. Silverback followed behind just as a precaution, giving the girls enough space to gossip and giggle without any interruption. He watched the crowd gradually tighten as they neared the festival area. Big celebration, the day they all came to Delmar M44 and established a brand new colony. Like Mardi Gras but on half a Quaalude. It was a big college area, and a lot of the events were in the newly built campus, a way for the transferring students to get their party on before it would affect their grades. The girls waved cards and strolled past the gate, the bouncer didn¡¯t even acknowledge or ask Silverback if he was over 21, which annoyed him slightly as he scratched the grey in his beard.

    ¡°Oh wow, this new campus is LIT.¡± Dee said with her jaw dropping. I should take classes just to get to use the lobby.¡±

    From 2 fireplaces and a pair of spiraling marble stairs to the second floor, the open main lobby was large enough to amply the music and people talking. Dee marveled, looking upward as she gazed at the floor above her with rows of thick glass flooring. Both the full lobby and the half lobby above ended at the front side of the building, overlooking the ocean, so vast and tranquil most people forget it ends a mile out with a simulated Truman projector. The fake full moon cast white light on the narrow beach separating it. Majestic, even for something artificial.

    ¡°Oh look, they¡¯re doing a bar in the library, let¡¯s get some shots!¡± Dee encouraged with a wiggling ¡°WHoOoooo.¡± As she went. A rather well dressed man with sunglasses and an earpiece was standing just beside the corridor to the library, blocking the option to turn to the stairs.

    ¡°Hey there Agent Smith, you here to frisk or be frisked?¡± Dee joked.

    ¡°I¡¯m just here to make sure nobody uses stair well A. there is an unfinished segment and it¡¯s not structurally sound or safe.¡±

    ¡°At ease, private.¡± She saluted, moving along to the library.¡±

    The party continued for some time, several guard changes and themed games, an abundance of alcohol and weed passing around.

    Silverback made sure the girls were at least in view at all times, limiting his drinks and looking very much like a cop as he tried to blend in with the crowd. Another totally not cop looking man approached him, nudging his shoulder.

    ¡°Sir, can I see your ID.¡± He asked discreetly.

    ¡°What for?¡± he asked.

    Just part of the rules, random card checks for anyone alone. Security reasons.

    ¡°I¡¯m not alone, I¡¯m just laying back to give my girlfriend and her gal pals some space.¡± He assured.

    ¡°Sure gramps, You got ID?¡±

    ¡°You shitting me? I look 60. I didn¡¯t bring my ID, I haven¡¯t been carded for 70 years, and they didn¡¯t card me then because there were no drinking laws here. Or humans.¡± He complained.

    ¡°Gotta come with me, we can do a face and fingerprint scan at the desk.¡±

    ¡°This is ridiculous, I¡¯m here entirely to look after those gals and make sure they get home safe. I can¡¯t watch them from somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°We have hover cabs and security for that, sir.¡±

    ¡°Well who makes sure the security is clean and doing their job?¡±

    ¡°I do. Campus police. It¡¯s not personal man, but we¡¯re beefing up regulations this close to the big council thing, and even Earthtown has rules. Takes like 5 minutes man.¡±

    ¡°Fine, where¡¯s the damn desk?¡± Silverback groaned.

    ¡°Second floor. The computer at the main desk is acting weird. Scanner keeps lagging.¡± The young man shrugged. He rolled his eyes, and followed him all the way to stairwell B and to the other check-in desk.

    Vicki did another shot and among the cheers she made a face of objection, almost throwing up.

    ¡°Uagh, I though these were all Earth drinks? The Eridani shots are always so damn spicy. I need a drink to cool down the drink. I¡¯m gonna find Silverback, he¡¯s got my water bottle¡± She said, looking like a cat about to throw up.

    ¡°And a pink water bottle, with a flower on it.¡± Said the campus police officer as Silverback tossed his hands up. ¡°and a little bag with a knife and mace.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my girlfriends purse dickhead, I¡¯m the designated bag holder tonight.¡±

    ¡°Sir your scans do not show any identification, and this campus does not allow weapons, code white, we have suspicious activity on floor two. He has no ID and the retinal scan shows nothing. No he¡¯s not human.¡± said the young man to his com.

    ¡°I¡¯m half Eridani, My father was human, My name is Nathan Silverman, they call me silverback, I work for Greggarious construction, I¡¯m here with 3 young ladies, 2 platonic friends and one I¡¯m dating that I can no longer even see now that I¡¯m on the second floor. Dee gets dumb when she drinks, so I took her purse after shot number 4 so she doesn¡¯t hurt herself. This is a free campus.¡± Silverback objected.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the system is not showing you and we gotta wait till it confirms since you don¡¯t have your ID.¡±

    ¡°HEY!¡± Yelled Dee, ¡°Where¡¯s Vicki at?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she took off to find Silverback and just vanished. Let¡¯s try the balcony; you can see her hair from a mile away like a floating match head.¡± yelled Nicole, barely able to see over anyone.¡±

    ¡°Move people, we gotta rescue mission, doot doot!¡± Dee said staggering along.

    The rather Smithy Agent responded to his earpiece, looking alarmed.

    ¡°Now? Are you sure?¡± he asked as a voice on the other end growled at the hesitation. ¡°Sorry maam, I didn¡¯t mean to question you, but two days in a row¡­isn¡¯t that pushing it?¡±

    ¡°Your job is not to question me, your job is to follow orders and report results. Shift change NOW.¡± She said.

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± He said leaving his post.

    ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s Mister sunglasses.¡± Dee said as Nicole took away her drink. ¡°Let¡¯s go say hi to Mister Sunglasses before he logs out and disappears.¡±

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he guarding the stairs?¡± Nicole asked, suddenly feeling like the room slowed down, the crowd growing quieter as she listened to her breathing as if it was out of sync.

    ¡°Uh, oh, SOMEONE¡¯s gonna get fired, or worse, deleted!¡± Dee joked. ¡°Hey wait, I was kidding, we can¡¯t go down there.¡± She said following Nicole. Sunglasses discreetly took his post again, sipping some coffee and blocking the stairs.

    ¡°Shit, sunglasses man came back, we¡¯re gonna get in trouble.¡± Whispered Dee.

    ¡°Then we can¡¯t go back can we? We have to find a way around.¡±

    ¡°Just tell him you dropped your keys and you got them, he¡¯s probably cool.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t go back; don¡¯t you feel the air moving?¡±

    ¡°What air, there¡¯s no air. You¡¯re drunk.¡±

    ¡°YOU¡¯RE drunk.¡±

    ¡°Yea I¡¯m pretty drunk.¡± She giggled ¡°Are we doing that adventure thing where you insist on being stupid and I can either narc on you or go with you, because I don¡¯t wanna go down the stairs and you shouldn¡¯t either.¡±

    ¡°Then go, I have to see what¡¯s down here.¡± Nicole insisted.

    ¡°Why? It¡¯s stairs, it¡¯s probably a basement with construction shit lying around. We have that at home.¡±

    ¡°I can feel it in the walls.¡± Nicole said palming the stone and breathing with it.

    ¡°Fuck, nevermind sunglasses is heading down, just go gogogogo.¡± She said changing her mind as he slowed down and intentionally let them gain a little ahead. Another similar looking guard took his place behind him, blocking the stairs.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry miss, these stairs are out of order, safety reasons.¡± He smiled as another person passed by.

    ¡°See?¡± Dee whispered. Big-ass unfinished basement floor.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s more.¡± said Nicole, confidently following the sound of air breathing in and out. They briskly walked past a large pillar and to a strange wooden door. It was open and dusty. They passed the threshold and closed it to hide from Mister sunglasses. Nicole noticed there was no light coming from the gaps, the thick wooden doors sealed oddly well and there were no handles or doorknobs, just like the doors she saw in the tunnels, except they went through and closed it.

    ¡°Shit, we can¡¯t go back. These only open one way

    ¡°WHAT!? WHY? And how do you know that?¡± Dee barked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen them before, she said, getting her flashlight out and palming her pocket knife, blade closed but handy.

    ¡°Are you shitting me? We¡¯re locked in some unfinished college basement?¡± she said getting her phone out. ¡°And of course it¡¯s a huge stone basement so there¡¯s no bars. This is an underground space colony with alien tech, there¡¯s always 5 bars¡­what kinda basement has no bars!?¡± Dee complained as she followed Nicole into the room on the left.

    ¡°It was empty, aside from a stone slab in the center, about 6 feet by 8 feet, covered by wood and leather.

    ¡°Is this a bed or a sacrificial offering table?¡± she snipped.

    ¡°Maybe both.¡± Nicole sighed, leaving the room and heading along.

 15: Livestock

    ¡°The room splits off, which way do we go?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°UP. DUH. We went down 2 flights of stairs, so we go up 2 flights of stairs and we¡¯re back up to the surface!¡± she insisted. They proceeded up 2 flights and when it leveled out they turned right, theoretically towards the lobby if they went far enough. Dee stopped and her eye widened.

    ¡°Nope, keep going up.¡± Dee whispered.

    ¡°You just said ground level, this would be ground level.¡± She said looking in to see why she was startled. The room was dimly lit with the same orange lights as before, minus the flickering. A strange smaller room or structure to the left made of the same brick, and to the right into the open area of the room was another hallway, a large stone table in the center, and a wall with some strange tapestry.

    ¡°The hell is this thing, like some medieval grape smasher for wine?¡± Dee asked, noticing the 3 distinct ¡°stalls¡± separated by stone wall. Each one had some sort of device, like a press, with a lever beside it. She did what any sane person would do and pulled the lever, startling them both as the press came down partway and stopped.

    ¡°It¡¯s still powered? It looks old as hell; it didn¡¯t even go all the way down.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s supposed to.¡± said Nicole, noticing another one in the same position.

    ¡°Then what does it do?¡± she asked as Nicole made her way around to the other side and stepped in.

    ¡°It closes just enough you cant quite squeeze out, or reach the lever.¡± She said as the one behind her activated, and came down suddenly. She shrieked, just knowing it was about to cut her legs off until she realized it was stopped the same way. Halfway down.

    ¡°Dee pull the lever again, get me out.¡± Nicole hollered.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t pull it the first time it just went, can you squeeze out? It¡¯s not going up.¡±

    ¡°No I can¡¯t, that¡¯s what I was saying. I¡¯m stuck. It¡¯s like the size of a telephone booth in here. Try the back side.¡± She said trying to stay calm and not lose her cool. The back side opened and she knocked Dee out of the way diving through. She sprinted a good 20 feet around the device and into the light before catching her breath.

    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Dee asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It has a drain in the floor and nothing else. I think it¡¯s for holding something, like an animal.¡± She huffed out of breath as Dee¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°There¡¯s an animal slaughterhouse behind the walls of a college dorm¡¯s unfinished basement? Please tell me this is an agriculture classroom.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. These cloths aren¡¯t just hanging up here.¡± Nicole said moving the ¡°tapestry¡± on the nearby wall. ¡°These are viewports to the next room.

    ¡°Oh fuck this, we¡¯re going up, if we have to jump out of a second floor window we¡¯ll just aim for some bushes or something.¡± Dee explained.

    ¡°What if there are no windows?¡± she replied.

    ¡°Oh I hate when you point things out like that. What¡¯s behind the cloths?¡±

    ¡°Just another lit room, with another stone table, and water dripping on it.¡±

    ¡°Oh that¡¯s fantastic. Holding stables and a slaughtering room.¡±

    ¡°And we¡¯re right above the other room with the bed and or sacrifice pad. You can see it through the grates in the floor under the table here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going up. Follow me.¡± Dee insisted

    ¡°I wanna see what¡¯s down the hall.¡± Nicole said with a drone in her voice.

    ¡°Are you actually enjoying this?¡±

    ¡°No, I just need to know where the water is coming from.¡± She said noticing the tiny stream running down the hall.

    ¡°No you don¡¯t. Neither of us do. We¡¯re not gonna mention this to anybody, we¡¯re just leaving and blocking it out. Nicole this is an alien moon. those could be holding cells for people. You¡¯re a small person and you juuust barely couldn¡¯t fit back through that thing, but you had plenty of room to stand up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going down the hall, you can go further up.¡± Nicole said without hesitation, following the water.

    ¡°Nicole damnit. I regret everything I said about bringing me along with you. I mean like if you did a fun creepy haunted hayride or something, not a real human slaughterhouse.¡± She said following her, mostly due to her having the only knife and flashlight since Silverback had her purse. They went onward, past another iron door and another hole in the wall just big enough to look through, or water to drain through, and right through a doorway with another wide drain grate. Dee felt water drip on her head and did a little panic dance, looking up and noticing the leaky stone cracks.

    ¡°EEEuuuaaah, Nicole there¡¯s water dripping from the ceiling. Everything is wet and moldy and dark and there¡¯s drains everywhere. What the hell is this?¡±

    It¡¯s a dead end. It¡¯s just a room with nothing, except a staircase to the ceiling that goes nowhere.¡± She said crouching down.

    ¡°No¡­That¡¯s stairs to nowhere that¡¯s the top of the stairway we came in through, because you can see down into it through these holes. Nicole this is like a maze where you can watch the rats through the freaking creeper holes.¡± She said venturing on and stopping. ¡°And the next room has a shower and a flat screen TV. What is this? A sex club, or a meat processing plant?¡±

    ¡°Maybe dual purpose.¡± Nicole shrugged.

    ¡°How?¡± She stated ¡°How can you make it somehow worse no matter how bad this gets.¡±

    ¡°Listen.¡± Whispered Nicole.

    ¡°Oh god what now. Footsteps? Maybe it¡¯s Mister Sunglasses. He could just be trying to help get us out, and if he¡¯s murdery, you can stab him.¡± Dee said confidently.

    ¡°Not Mister Sunglasses¡­¡± Nicole said quietly ¡°Hoofsteps.¡±

    ¡°Run.¡± Dee said, sprinting and trying to drag or carry or throw Nicole along with her as she reached stairs that only went down. Without questioning it, they jumped about every other step and rounded the corner; picking a random fork and sliding past a mossy well and another dripping ceiling directly over a vent with what looked like hand holds. They turned the next way and stopped, sliding on wet floors.

    ¡°A dead end?¡± Dee whispered, staring at the metal table, suspended by 4 steel cables, with another Flatscreen TV on the far wall. Nicole turned and slapped her hand over Dee¡¯s mouth to silence her before she even said a word. The sound of heavy breathing just outside the wall. Nicole peaked down at the hole just at the floor, far too familiar with the sound of a Delmarian breathing heavily and the scrape of hooves on stone floors. This time it wasn¡¯t so comforting. Something in her head told her to whisper the word ¡°Vinn¡± through the opening but she knew better. His steps were too clunky, the smell was not right, there¡¯s no reason it would be him anyway and if it was he would be hollering her name in panic, so why did she still feel the need to speak? Why did she want to badly to say something?

    She calmed her breathing, realizing maybe it was any of a million Delmarians who could be just trying to help. She gnashed her teeth, already regretting the stupid thing she was going to do.

    ¡°Vinn?¡± she breathed, ever so softly. The hooves stopped. She waited with her ear to the opening for Vinn¡¯s voice, the weird combination of mints and sawdust on his breath that she found comical. The breath that came through was just soggy air.

    She listened for a reply and realized it wasn¡¯t breath she was hearing, but the rush of incoming water that suddenly poured from the opening.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°RUN!¡± Nicole screamed, hitting the doorway at full speed, looking back to make sure Dee was behind her and almost running into the wall in the process. Dee struggled to follow and the gap was growing slightly, as she randomly weaved in and out of endless halls having no idea if she was getting higher or lower elevation. Suddenly Dee turned around to make sure they lost whatever it was that scared her and when she looked back the light was dimmer and Nicole was not there.

    ¡°Shit,¡± whispered Dee, trying to decide which dark path might have light further down. She darted in the least nonsensical path she could guess Nicole would make, having no actual clue or believing it. She saw a spot of significant light and ran for it. Her legs were moving so automatically she didn¡¯t think to weave around the potential obstacles like the 3 large holes in the wall on her right big enough to crawl through to safety. She passed the first 2 and then suddenly felt her leg touched by a hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± yelled sunglasses, but she was too scared to hear him or stop, only picturing what monster touched her ankle.

    Nicole ran out of steam and adrenaline just as she reached the opening of a very long series of turns with no rooms or doorways. She could feel the ground moving upwards, to higher ground. She stopped to catch her breath and realized it was an empty room with no way out except the way she came in, and another one sided wooden door with no visible handles. She dropped to her knees, looking for a gap or a vent she could fit through, realizing the water was now a foot deep and this was the highest point in a long path. The only way back was deeper. The water was rising, and she was exhausted, unable to move. She heard the faint echo of Dee¡¯s scream when Sunglasses grabbed her ankle. Her mind assumed the worst. Someone was down here. The knife in one hand and the flashlight in the other, barely able to lift either let alone herself. She held her breath, realizing if she heard hooves there was no way out and nowhere to hide, no defensive positions and she could barely swing her arm if she wanted. The water was rising faster and the end of the long path may be submerged by now, and the longer she waited to try, the deeper it would get. Then the flashlight began to dim.

    She turned it off, realizing she may need the last bit and the path was one way for a long distance.

    She stood up, with some energy she didn¡¯t know she had, her eye adjusting just enough that she thought she could blindly aim the way back. Her pupils dilated and somehow she could almost see in the pitch black. Knife out front, her other hand closed around the flashlight bumping her knuckles on the walls to orient herself, she made it further and further until she could see a hint of light. It was a crack in the bricks, leading to the outside. She could see a street lamp and hear the faint music of the festival that was apparently quite a ways away. She could probably scream through the gap but if anyone heard her they still wouldn¡¯t know how to get in or her out. If she screamed, her position was compromised, and she couldn¡¯t leave without Dee anyway. She stood chest deep peering through a drain flowing towards the ocean and realized as close as she was to getting out, she may as well have been a mile away.

    Dee sprinted through room after room of murdery pointlessness until finding a small door a monster couldn¡¯t fit through. She rounded the L shaped room and was back at another dead end, sort of. She could fit through the hole if she tried but it lead down into the room below, totally dark, maybe ten feet, maybe 50. The drop may have been right back into danger or right to a pair of broken legs in a room with no exit filled with water. She was safe in the little L shaped corridor, if she stayed. Back at the little opening she ducked under there was a well lit room, but the entrance was blindly out of her way and the only way to even see if it was clear would be to leave the safety tube she was in. She stood back again the wall, staring into the lit room. Just the same dirty stone, one of the many devices resembling a people smasher and a hole in the middle filled with water. Not a lot of options.

    She heard steps again, backing deeper into the dark tunnel and sitting down, holding her mouth to keep from letting out any noise. And then suddenly the footsteps stopped and she realized the were boots, not hooves. A human sized figure ducked under the little doorway and clicked on a light, still unsure if this was salvation or death she closed her eyes. When she opened them, Mister Sunglasses was crouched down, holding her hand to her mouth and holding his finger to his own as if to say ¡°Don¡¯t scream.¡± As he carefully let go. He was holding a gun in his hand as he did, and he sat down beside her.

    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± he asked very quietly. She shook her head no. ¡°Can you walk?¡± he asked. She nodded. ¡°Then follow me and try to do it quickly.¡± He said leading her along with a wave, tactically lifting both light and gun to his front. He made his way deliberately through several turns and through a narrow spot, motioning her to go in front of him. He hit a switch on the wall and the opening closed. It was far better lit in this part. And he turned off his flashlight, holstering his gun and walking more casually past her.

    ¡°You can talk now.¡± He said normally.

    ¡°Was something else following us? Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Campus security.¡± he lied.

    The hallways were wider now. Wide enough to drive a golf cart through and lit well enough to do industrial work. They walked for a good ways, nice and straight lines, no jogs or rooms, just the occasional peep-hole to the right and always to the right side into darkness.

    ¡°What is this place?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s safe.¡±

    ¡°Where is Nicole?¡± she asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Then go back and find her, I¡¯ll stay here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how this works.¡± He said as she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

    ¡°Nicole is still in there, and you have a gun and a flashlight.¡± She said with tears in her eyes. ¡°Answer me, is someone else in there with her?¡±

    ¡°Nicole is alone.¡± He said darkly.

    ¡°Now you grow some balls Mister sunglasses and go back for her, and leave me in here. It¡¯s safe in here, you said that, so I won¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll stay right here and wait and you go get Nicole.¡± She demanded.

    ¡°I said that¡¯s not how this works.¡± He repeated, yanking his arm free and taking a step with a clicking sound. He felt his side and realized she had his gun.

    ¡°Then you can stay in here where it¡¯s safe and wait, and give me your flashlight, and I¡¯ll go get Nicole, got it?¡± she said pointing the gun at him.

    ¡°Are you really going to shoot me, and then with no idea where you are go back in there with rising water? How does a gun help you then? Have you ever even held a gun? Do you know if the safety is on or off or how to use the sights?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been walking around in there with the safety on?¡± she smirked. Or did you have this thing all ready to rock if you pull the trigger? I could shoot you in the foot and then you¡¯d definitely be here when we got back. Why do you have a loaded gun, why wont you help me find her?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, it¡¯s not safe. Half that place is underwater. You are not supposed to be down here.¡± He insisted.

    ¡°Neither is Nicole.¡± Screamed Dee.

    ¡°Yes she is. SHE is supposed to be down here, not you. You were not supposed to get past the stairs.¡± He admitted.

    ¡°What?¡± Dee asked, looking lost confused, betrayed somehow even.

    ¡°She chose this, you didn¡¯t. She knew what she signed up for, you just followed her. You are the mistake, give me the gun.¡±

    We can¡¯t leave her to die, Nicole can¡¯t swim.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it matters at this point. I have orders to get you and leave. That way is flooded weather she made it through or not. That¡¯s all I know. You have the gun and I wouldn¡¯t lie about that. I take orders and I follow them. My orders were to leave my post so she could get by, and then follow to make sure she goes far enough. And then I got a change of orders to find you, get you out and bring you here.¡±

    ¡°Where does HERE lead? ¡°she asked.

    ¡°Everywhere. There¡¯s miles of tunnels under the place, old mining lines and utilities from before humans were here, and a lot of it looks a lot newer. It just keeps growing. It¡¯s like a living thing designed to get you lost. Now you can give me the gun and we can leave, or you can shoot me and go back in there, and swim in the dark through 2 floors of a maze with one breath of air. That gun isn¡¯t gonna kill that thing to help you and you¡¯ll die trying. I don¡¯t want you to die. Please don¡¯t make me do something stupid. I can carry you for a while but not injured and not all the way. It¡¯s a long damn way out and you need to be walking it.

    ¡°Then walk.¡±

    ¡°No. Give me the gun.¡± He insisted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll shoot you in the foot.¡±

    ¡°Sure you will.¡± He said stepping closer, hands up in a submissive manner.

    ¡°Don¡¯t push me!¡± she threatened, following his foot with the gun and finally firing it. He grabbed the gun and put it to her back, her arm now twisted behind her.

    ¡°Steel toed boots, standard issue. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d do it, but it¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re not very willing to aim higher. Now move or I¡¯ll put you down and leave you, and just tell them you never made it out. I¡¯m trying to help here. Stop trying to get yourself killed. Nicole is either out of that tunnel by now, or dead in it.¡± He said, Dee frozen with tears streaming down her face. Half shock, half given up.

    She started walking. She walked for a ways, silently turning when he said, and the direction he said, eventually her arm was released and the gun in her back was moved a few inches further but never down. She shuffled till her feet were numb and what seemed like hours in the same-looking forever tunnels around the tunnels. Finally she stopped, realizing he was taking a break and checking his phone.

    ¡°You have my coordinants?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Who¡¯s on the phone?¡± Dee asked.

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t know that answer, lady.¡± He admitted. ¡°I have the fat blonde with me, Nicole, not my problem. We¡¯re skinned up but fine and I am done with this shit. I did my job, you can take her from here.¡± He said hanging up and looking relieved.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± she asked.

    ¡°You know why this gun doesn¡¯t scare me?¡± he asked her. ¡°Because it¡¯s not loaded to kill.¡± He said pointing it at her thigh.

    ¡°Wait. I don¡¯t understand. Please don¡¯t. I don¡¯t understand what I did!¡±

    ¡°You never will. In fact, you wont remember a damn thing about any of this, or me.¡± He said firing the gun. She dropped to the ground and gasped, expecting blood but seeing a small metal dart in her leg. It burned like hell but she was fine.

    ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just a job, you¡¯ll sleep it off.¡± He said as things began to get very Fuzzy and grey. She slumped over and realized she couldn¡¯t move, or blink. And her ears were ringing so loudly she couldn¡¯t hear the sound of the medical cart rolling into her view and the men in gowns and masks loading her up. Suddenly something cold and metal was strapped to her head and the mumbling and muffled noises turned to a peaceful silence and everything was white.

 16: Live performance

    Dee woke up, bright lights and beeps as she tried to sit upright and was met with a hug from Silverback.

    ¡°Oh my god you¡¯re okay.¡± He sighed.

    ¡°I am? Where am I?¡± she asked.

    A hospital wing right off campus. Are you in pain?¡± he asked.

    ¡°My ankle hurts a little and my head is pounding but I¡¯ll live.¡±

    ¡°Doctor said it was a heavy sprain and he gave you a recovery injection.¡± Silverback said as the doctor entered, taking off his sunglasses and placing them on the counter. She squinted at him and puzzled.

    ¡°Do I know you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°What do you remember?¡± he inquired suspiciously.

    ¡°You were the¡­agent guy who we snuck past at the party.¡±

    ¡°Good, and after that?¡± he quizzed.

    ¡°Then you¡­I think you followed us but I don¡¯t know. I just heard footsteps mostly.¡±

    ¡°And do you remember falling down 2 flights of stairs as I hollered ¡°Campus police, you can¡¯t be down here? Or me carrying you back up to the medic office?¡±

    ¡°I guess so?¡± She pondered.

    ¡°She¡¯s lucky event staff has security take medical training, and she¡¯s even luckier she didn¡¯t kill herself on those steps. I got my ass chewed for even moving, her but I didn¡¯t wanna leave her down there like that. She took a hell of a thump to the head but she seems to remember everything up to the impact, so that¡¯s a good sign. They scanned her, got her stable. Have you ever had a recovery shot before?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± She pondered.

    ¡°Well they speed up the healing process. Yay alien nano-technology. The nanobots basically turbocharge your bodies natural healing ability for a short time. You¡¯ll be fine in 20 minutes and side effects are mild. You¡¯re gonna be confused and probably have some bad dreams, some soreness at the injection sight on your leg, and if you don¡¯t feel absolutely nauseous as hell by now you¡¯re not allergic, so that¡¯s going in your chart.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Nicole?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re still working on her. She didn¡¯t get quite as lucky but it could have been way worse.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± She asked sitting up and slumping back down.

    ¡°Physically she¡¯s fine, scraped up to shit, multiple bruises on her hands and feet, drenched and shaking but nothing a recovery shot won¡¯t fix. Mentally however¡­well that¡¯s for another doctor¡¯s evaluation. I¡¯m not really supposed to say anything so you didn¡¯t hear this from me, but¡­she had some kind of mental breakdown. They checked her all over, there¡¯s nothing wrong that isn¡¯t explainable from her running herself half to death and falling a few times but she is talking about a lot of things that don¡¯t make sense. I¡¯ve been down there before, we¡¯ve had student get into the tunnels more often than you¡¯d think and they all come out pretty scared. It¡¯s dark and scary and you can get lost easily. There¡¯s some plumbing issues so there¡¯s standing water in a lot of places, easy to slip and fall on. The air down there isn¡¯t always good, and between you and me, I think she panicked when you fell and tried to run for help but she got lost and just kept getting deeper and deeper until she blacked out.¡±

    ¡°Is she¡­like sick? She was looking really pale and had these weird cravings.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a psychologist, or a neurologist lady, I¡¯m not even a dietician. I¡¯m a field doctor trained in basic injury response and I do security for events. I can¡¯t say what happened or why, but she ran until her legs gave out and blacked out in the dark and I¡¯m frankly amazed they found her. That¡¯s a lot of tunnel to get lost in. people have just gone missing before and found weeks later, and a recovery shot doesn¡¯t fix you when they find you dead.¡± Your friend lost her shit, it happens.¡±

    ¡°Could it be stress? Could it be some kind of brain infection from breathing cave dust?¡± asked Silverback.

    ¡°There¡¯s no infection, no tumor, scans are clean, she just¡­panicked and hallucinated. Stress can do that, a lot of things can do that, there¡¯s no drugs in her system, aside from some old nanobots from a previous recovery shot that haven¡¯t broken down yet. Her blood alcohol was fairly low for that event, and safe enough. You need a therapist or a counselor to answer anything else. I just do scans and shots.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡± Vinn sighed.

    ¡°Nothing is your fault Vinn.¡± Jack said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot going on right now. There¡¯s a big security event, I may have to even fill in some shifts they¡¯re so swamped, you got married, she¡¯s from another world, she¡¯s only human, she got threatened by a Delmarian the other day, no offense big guy but you guys do look all kinda similar and she¡¯s had love and fear and one big Delmarian trying to make her happy and another one scaring her to death, and you¡¯re living underground in a cave. You know some humans can¡¯t handle underground environments, it happens to coal miners back on Earth, you dig deep you get stressed and you have go a little nuts. She¡¯s inside of an alien moon she can¡¯t escape, and then she moved below soil level even then, and frankly anyone would have a nervous breakdown.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°She¡¯s afraid of the water Jack. I moved her to as leaky cave and blasted out rooms under the damn lake. I couldn¡¯t have known, but it¡¯s still my fault. If I move her topside will she get better? What if we get a nice big open house or just move into the old one she was in before?¡±

    ¡°She may just need time, or maybe there¡¯s some medicine to help. She¡¯s not crazy, Vinn, she¡¯s just stressed out. I¡¯ve seen it before, people get better but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the cave or the stupid tunnel adventure, or Kraken that triggered her, but she needs time and support. They wanted to take her to a facility for treatment but I know where that leads and it¡¯s as risky as it is helpful, it¡¯s a prison with prettier walls. She would just get worse. So I called Gizzy and got it waved. They cleared her charts, she¡¯s free to go.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the best friend I got man. Without your connections and you busting your ass pulling favors, I don¡¯t know how we¡¯d make it.¡±

    ¡°Well, before you award me the greatest persona live award, just know I¡¯ve had to make some decisions and sacrificed to get there. You guys just get the good side of me. My golden halo doesn¡¯t run to the core. I have my horns too buddy, you just can¡¯t see them. That¡¯s all I can say.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you did in the past or what you do that you think is so bad, but you saved my ass and hers several times now and I could never repay you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t ask you to. In fact maybe I¡¯m just being an extra good friend to try and even out everything else I¡¯ve done. There¡¯s a reason Dee doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m a hero, and she keeps saying she¡¯s just glad my scary ass is on your side. And she¡¯s not wrong. She¡¯s not wrong at all. Not everyone is on my good side. But Nicole will be okay. We moved some of her stuff back to the big house and we¡¯re setting you up a room so you can stay there too. You¡¯re a family, you shouldn¡¯t be apart but maybe that cave isn¡¯t where she needs to be right now. Just play it by ear one day at a time. Hopefully I don¡¯t run out of favors. You have no idea how expensive those can be to rack up.¡± Jack sighed.

    Gizzy sat in her office shaking her head.

    ¡°Jack, do you just live here now, like one of my kids or something?¡± She sighed. ¡°Every time there¡¯s a problem, you end up back here.¡±

    ¡°I know, and I¡¯m wearing out my privileges.¡± He admitted.

    ¡°No you¡¯ve worn out your privileges several favors ago. You know why I even answer your calls, Jack?¡± Gizzy said with strange look.

    ¡°I might know.¡±

    ¡°Because you remind me of your father, I respected him, and because I gave you a chance and you said you¡¯d owe me and thusfar you never turned me down when I had a favor to ask. But it¡¯s getting one sided. I¡¯m not your mother, not even the same species. There¡¯s no unconditional forgiveness here. We have a very important guest arriving soon and if you fuck this up, I can¡¯t and won¡¯t help you. Your friends are costing you a lot, and I¡¯m risking my neck giving you these lines of credit. It¡¯s already looking rather suspicious.¡±

    ¡°I know. I apologize. What do I do? Tell me what I need to do and I¡¯ll do it.¡± He sighed.

    ¡°Well for the most part just stop risking your neck for your friends and let the system do its job. The system usually works, because I make it work and I¡¯m not perfect so neither is the system¡­ but I¡¯m very good, and you gotta let the system have a few flaws now and then. Let me do my job. You want my word your friends are gonna be fine? Then believe me. But if they keep fighting me on it, there will keep being problems. Dee is a loose cannon, Vinn means well but he attracts shit for some reason and you seem to think you have to swoop in and fix everyone and sometimes people need the chance to fix themselves for a while. There is one, and only one thing you need to do to protect your friends, and fortunately it¡¯s also the price I¡¯m charging you for the trouble.¡±

    ¡°Let me have it.¡± He said opening his arms.

    ¡°You need to operate again, it¡¯s a very delicate operation, and you¡¯re out of practice. Things are about to get worse before they get better, you need to restrain yourself and follow your training, and when I say thing have gotten bad enough to operate¡­then you get to do what you do best.¡± She said, reaching behind the desk and placing a rather large black plastic case from behind it.¡±

    ¡®Is this what I assume it is?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a 6 string bass like it says on the case, I want you in my band. Of course it¡¯s what you think it is. It¡¯s coded to your fingerprint, double locked, don¡¯t even open it till I say to. But your friend Vinn is about to start a fight and you need to allow it. You need to let him man up and be the hero. Stop assuming you¡¯re always player one. He needs this, and we all need this. So let it happen. And the night of the council meeting, you¡¯ll get a call and some details, and you take that bass case to where you need to be. And let me make this very clear: You do not pull the trigger, until the exact moment I tell you to pull the trigger. Not a second late, or early. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± He nodded.

    ¡°And don¡¯t think we¡¯re even if you pull this off. If any of us fail this, you are on full time and operate for me. Because Plan B sucks, and it requires a lot of people dying. If this goes well, then you get a vacation and life is good, and then some day, I¡¯ll be showing up to your place of work, and we¡¯ll be discussing your next payment plan.¡±

    ¡°You know some days it feels like I sold my soul to you for all of this.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s my ex husbands¡¯ line of work. He¡¯s the lord of the underworld, I¡¯m just a very strict boss and you¡¯re a very talented Surgeon. Sadly when you do the best work you get the hardest jobs. Welcome to my hell. Now get out of my office before one of the dozen enemies I have gets the weird idea that we¡¯re having an affair or something. I have a reputation. It¡¯s horrid but it has boundaries.¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°And don¡¯t forget your instrument. You have a solo to perform live¡­Doctor Greene.¡±

    The hover taxi hummed along, jack looking at the case as he dialed Vicki.

    ¡°Hey it¡¯s Jack. Yea I¡¯ll be home soon, bad water leak, got it stopped. Yea everything is fine, we¡¯ll get them both moved in and everyone will be happy like one big family and then after this damn controversial political event is over, people will start acting normal again, and then we¡¯re fine. Just gotta take a little vacation, get the gang together, have some fun. And for security reasons I¡¯m moving some flights around so your friend Mel gets here early. I don¡¯t want her late and getting into that event traffic. No don¡¯t tell her it was me. She hates it when I do the mystery shit. Too many questions I can¡¯t answer. Makes her suspicious and uneasy. Everyone is safe together, that¡¯s all that matters. We¡¯ll make it fun.¡± He said looking down at the case nervously. ¡°All kinds of fun.¡±

 17: To kill a friend

    The crash and shatter of stones furniture echoed through the empty cave as Vinn paced around, randomly attacking things. The doorbell rang.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s home, go away.¡± Vinn lied.

    ¡°Vinn It¡¯s Jack. Open the damn door.

    ¡°Is Nicole with you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just me. Open up.¡± Jack said. Vinn hit the buzzer and the door unlocked.

    ¡°Love the redecorating. Going for a modern look, sort of a trainwreck meets vagabond vibe?¡± he said noticing some things in boxes. ¡°A vagabond trainwreck ready to run away as it looks.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving, I haven¡¯t decided when or where just, somewhere.¡±

    ¡°Put the boxes back up, you¡¯re not moving anywhere, except the guest room in the girl¡¯s house.¡±

    ¡°Nicole is sick and she wasn¡¯t sick before she met me. She was doing okay and then she started dating me, and now she¡¯s sick and we can¡¯t make her better. I¡¯m leaving her. She¡¯ll hopefully heal.¡±

    ¡°No you¡¯re not, and don¡¯t even give that another serious step. She needs you more than ever, abandoning her now is the worst thing you could do. If she loses it because the one thing in her life she counts on leaves her behind, because things got rough, she may not come out of that, and she will end up hospitalized, and I won¡¯t pull strings to get her out because if she gets any worse she won¡¯t be safe here.¡± Jack explained. Vinn sighed.

    ¡°She would still have you. Everyone still has you, Jack.¡±

    ¡°The hell does that mean?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Are you sleeping with her?¡± Vinn asked.

    ¡°I¡¯d never do that to you, and especially not to Vicki, that¡¯s just insulting and I should kick your ass for suggesting it. God knows I could, because you wouldn¡¯t hit me back and I hit hard.¡±

    ¡°I would understand if she was. She¡¯s a human, you¡¯re a perfect human, you always save the day somehow, It doesn¡¯t seem like you to cheat on Vicki, but you have a lot of secrets lately. If she was cheating on me with someone, I could forgive her. I could understand her. I just wanna know the truth. I won¡¯t even hate you for it.¡±

    That¡¯s the point, Vinn. You should hate me for it. Yea, I¡¯m sleeping with Nicole. She needs a real man she can depend on and you are too damn soft. You¡¯re a giant fluffy plush werejackelope with no balls, and Nicole needs someone to protect her. You weren¡¯t there, I was, I started it. So yea we slept together, a few times. Are you happy?¡±

    ¡°I respect the honesty, Jack.¡± Vinn said standing up and cracking his neck. ¡°I said I¡¯d forgive her, she¡¯s confused and scared. But you have no good excuse. You stabbed me in the back and made me look like a fool. So fuck you Jack. I hope Nicole finds someone better then both of us, and I hope your guilt just haunts you. All the more reason to leave.¡± He said, tightening his grip and not leaving.

    ¡°And you¡¯re still not gonna fight me?¡± Jack sighed. ¡°All that and you just walk away. If Nicole left you for some nice guy, I could understand your point, there¡¯s nothing to do but leave¡­but you just nailed it, I¡¯m a piece of shit cheating bastard with secrets and a past. You really think Nicole would be happier with me or that I¡¯d leave Vicki for her? I¡¯d probably cheat on her too, I cheated on Vicki with her and I love Vicki. Nicole is just a vulnerable girl who needed a man¡¯s comfort and there was nobody to step up but me, so I acted. She¡¯s a friend, I don¡¯t love her. You really think you leaving just fixes everything? Happily ever after villainous backstabbing Jack with his harem of happy brainwashed women? I cheated because I do that¡­She cheated because you¡¯re a giant bitch, and you won¡¯t even face me now because of the same reason. Damnit Vinn, grow some furry balls.¡± Vinn turned and grabbed him by the shirt, pushing him to the wall. He reared back to knock him into next year, and paused.

    ¡°Do it.¡± Jack provoked.

    ¡°If I did I¡¯d kill you.¡±

    ¡°I doubt that you fur-wrapped gummy bear. I¡¯m tougher then you think. Nicole even said that when I was giving her-¡± he said twisting Vinn¡¯s pinky enough to break free and dodge the incoming massive fist that struck the wall right where his face was previously. Jack felt the rush, that one you get when you dodge death again.

    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit.¡± He said giving Vinn an uppercut to the crotch and rolling out of the way as he tried to stomp him with lethal intent. ¡°HOW COULD YOU PRETEND TO BE MY FRIEND!¡± he growled.

    ¡°Lying is what I do best.¡± Jack said, grabbing a 2x4 and batting Vinn¡¯s fist away as he went for another punch.

    ¡°You just sat in my home, drank my beer sitting on my couch knowing you slept with my wife, and you didn¡¯t even feel guilty? She was vulnerable, confused, you¡¯re just a predatory bastard and I¡¯m gonna bury you down here.¡± Vinn growled, picking up a shard of rock large enough to smash a human on its own.

    ¡°Like hell you will.¡± He said drawing a gun from his back and pointing it at Vinn¡¯s face. He stopped. ¡°Drop the rock Vinn.¡±

    ¡°Where did you even get a gun? Who are you, Jack?¡±

    ¡°Drop the rock and I¡¯ll tell you, or I¡¯ll bury you down here and make it look like a cave-in.¡± he said coldly ¡°Look me in the eyes and tell me I don¡¯t know exactly how to do that. Look me in the eyes soldier and tell me I¡¯m lying when I say this¡­I¡¯ve buried people before.¡± Jack said, believably. Vinn dropped the rock and backed away.

    ¡°I might take the shot and kill you anyway.¡± Vinn said confidently.

    ¡°That right there, Vinn. You feel that? Focus on that emotion. That is the seething rage of a Delmarian soldier who¡¯s been wronged and deserves revenge. They call you Vendetta for a reason. You want to kill me, and you would have if I didn¡¯t stop you. And you stopped because you know I¡¯d kill you first. Hold that thought, embrace it, accept it, understand it. That¡¯s part of you. It¡¯s always been part of you. You¡¯re bred to kill and trained to kill and you got yanked from your purpose before you had a chance to do it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough to take everything from me, but you have to take away who I am before you go too?¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to get you to understand who you are. You¡¯re a machine made of meat and teeth, designed to kill things, and you have made the choice to be kind. That¡¯s admirable, and you should be proud of that. But you also have that ability to kill in you and you have never used it before. I know the feeling, I had it once. That¡¯s a weapon you carry that they can¡¯t disarm, that you control and you refuse to even acknowledge. Acknowledge it now because if I had not moved, you would have killed me. That was a lethal stomp, and a 400 pound jagged rock you were ready to drop on me. You drew your weapon for the first time, soldier. Not in training, not in practice but with the intent to use it. Now focus on that rage and holster it, but don¡¯t you dare forget that holster is there. You could kill your best friend if he became your enemy, because this time, it wasn¡¯t about you, it was about her. You can fight for her, you can kill for her, Vinn.¡±

    ¡°Jack why are you tormenting me like this?¡±

    ¡°I just saved your damn life, Vinn. You just don¡¯t understand it yet. I¡¯m not sleeping with Nicole, dumbass. I never did, As far as I know and I know a lot more then you think, she¡¯s been faithful to you since day 1. I just needed you to remember what you are. You¡¯re a weapon, you¡¯re a trained, fully sharpened weapon, you just forgot you could draw that weapon.¡± He said holstering his own sidearm.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t¡­¡± Vinn said fighting back tears, unable to finish his sentence.

    ¡°No, she didn¡¯t cheat on you. She loves you, and I¡¯m still your best friend, and you¡¯re not running away. But some of what I said was true, that¡¯s why it felt so real. You¡¯re softened, you¡¯re lost, and you¡¯re losing your shit. Now Nicole wants that teddy bear she fell in love with, but right now there is some heavy shit going on and the fraction of it that I know, is enough to be concerning, and I don¡¯t know half of it. Kraken is a killer, I looked him down like a mirror and we both knew we were looking at a monster willing to tear the other apart, I just had the drop on him. He looks as you and see¡¯s a sniffling boy who can¡¯t even defend his own honor, and he looks at Nicole like human trash. He has security clearance somehow, and I don¡¯t know where the hell an unstable loose cannon like that got a pass and didn¡¯t fail the psychological exam without someone above my rank making it happen. You have a very dangerous enemy who thinks you are easy prey and THAT is your biggest weapon.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a very good weapon jack, that gun seems fairly good, you could just get me one of those.¡± He suggested.

    And you¡¯d be hung for premeditated killing of a fellow soldier with an illegal weapon that I gave you. So you¡¯d hang and I¡¯d be hard pressed to get out of that cleanly.

    ¡°Then what do I do?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You move into the big house, where Nicole is safest, and you act like a husband to that poor girl. Support her, make her feel safe, and don¡¯t mention any of this shit to anyone. We never threw down, this gun doesn¡¯t exist and we never had this conversation. I just came over to help you get some things, got it?¡±

    ¡°So far, yea.¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m borderline breaking orders telling you this, but something is going on and it¡¯s either behind Gizzy¡¯s back, over her head, or out of her reach. But it involves Nicole and it involves this convention of the council and at least one other council member. I¡¯m not sure I want to know more, I already feel like I know too much. I don¡¯t design the operations, I just operate, and Gizzy said to trust the plan¡­but that plan involves you and I¡¯m not ready to risk your life on a maybe so I am giving you an edge and a head¡¯s up. It¡¯s about to get worse, it¡¯s about to get confusing and it¡¯s about to get very scary and you need to be ready to draw that weapon, soldier. Kraken is going to challenge you, and you are going to accept it. Not right away, or he will know you have something in that holster. You need to act like a bitch, and refuse to fight, until he gives you a reason to fight. He will just get meaner and more frustrated the more you deny him what he wants, and at some point he¡¯ll do what monsters do and he¡¯ll find a vulnerable spot he can provoke you with and when he does, you accept the challenge.

    ¡°Are you nuts? He¡¯ll kill me.¡±

    ¡°Probably, if you think like that. I think Gizzy is willing to let you die for whatever she is doing and my orders are to hold back and let you fight. You¡¯re not ready for that. I¡¯m not ready to let you die for orders, so I¡¯m bending the rules and letting you know now. You can win that fight if you believe you can and you are going to let his overconfident ass get cocky and then you¡¯re gonna do what you just did with me and get real lethal, real fast.¡±

    ¡°Jack you dodge it, I lost a fight with a human and you didn¡¯t even use the gun till you made your point. I can¡¯t even beat you.¡±

    ¡°Firstly, you have no idea how good I really am, and frankly if they¡¯d let me take your place I¡¯d have about the same chance as you of taking down Kraken. I don¡¯t brag very often but you didn¡¯t lose to a construction worker, you lost to the best, and that was training. You¡¯ll get better. Secondly, I knew your moves and he doesn¡¯t, I worked you up to lethal strikes intentionally and he doesn¡¯t think you have it in you. He¡¯s going to underestimate you, and he doesn¡¯t understand how much you love that little gal. He¡¯s fighting for himself, you¡¯re fighting for her, you have more to lose, more to gain, more to be pissed off about, and the element of surprise. Now that makes you one dangerous motherfluffer. Can you kill for her?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re damn right¡­I am dangerous. Just not to very many people. I¡¯m gonna kill him.¡±

    ¡°And also I got you a present.¡± He said walking to the small black briefcase he left at the door.

    ¡°Drugs?¡± he asked looking confused at the syringe.

    ¡°Yea basically every fighter is on performance enhancing drugs at this point so they don¡¯t even check or disqualify you for it. Drugs and arena fighting are pretty much a guaranteed deal. However¡­This is some nasty shit.¡± He grinned.

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t he be on the nastiest shit too?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be on the nastiest shit a Delmarian can buy, you bet your ass. You can¡¯t buy this. In fact this doesn¡¯t even exist and when you take it, I¡¯m confiscating the needle afterwards and disposing of it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s gonna hurt isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Oh yea. It¡¯s gonna sting going in and then fade away and then when you¡¯re natural adrenaline hits peak levels, you¡¯re gonna feel some shit like you never imagined possible and you¡¯re gonna feel like you¡¯re dying, and then you¡¯re really gonna like it, and you¡¯re gonna have cravings for about 3 days where every time you eat red meat you zone out and get emotional and basically just need to murder your food as quickly as you can, so I suggest switching to protein powders and lots of fluids and it¡¯s gonna burn like hell when you piss the first few times.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, Jack, are you sure you¡¯re human?¡±

    ¡°Medically yes, but some days in my heart I ask myself that too. Most days I decide I am, sometimes I can¡¯t decide.¡±

    ¡°You are terrifying, I¡¯m really glad you¡¯re on our side.¡±

    ¡°Most people are. Now you have plenty of time to get prepared. You know this fight is happening before Kraken even does, you have the power of love and drugs in your veins and now you know what it feels like to look your enemy in the eyes and decide to kill him without hesitation. Nicole loves you because you¡¯re not a monster like some of the others. You¡¯re a monster with control and a conscience, and you don¡¯t need to hide that side, you just need to know when you draw your weapon and when to be your normal squishy self. Just like me. Fortunately, you only have to go through that once and you have friends backing you up and high ranking council members rooting for you. I had to do that alone, more times than I can count, and at least once more after this is over. It wears on you, Vinn. It eats at you. But if a human can survive that this long and still shut it off and go home, act normal, comfort his girl¡­A Delmarian bred for power can do it one damn time to protect the women he loves. Now tell me you can¡¯t handle this.¡±

    ¡°I can handle this. I have the power of god and anime on my side.¡±

    ¡°Yea don¡¯t try and be intimidating with your words, you¡¯re not good at that. Just be a gummy bear with a gun in your back pocket for a while and then when the fight starts, you may actually have some fun. That¡¯s the part that will haunt you for a while.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever, for any reason let me have this syringe of shit ever again, Jack." Vinn sighed.

    ¡°Syringe? I never gave you one to begin with, I won¡¯t give you one till right before the fight either, and I certainly won¡¯t do it again.¡± He smirked.

    ¡°Damn you¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°I know. Now go be a squishy teddy bear for a few days.¡±

 18: Moving on up

    Vinn rolled into the main kitchen of the house, little reeves on a tether and a giant roll around tool crate full of Delmarian stuff.

    ¡°Weird¡­so I live here now.¡± He sighed.

    ¡°Temporarily.¡± Reminded Dee, sitting at the kitchen bar enjoying her cereal.

    So am I sleeping in the basement or¡­?¡± he asked as Nicole skipped down the hall to greet him.

    ¡°No silly, we¡¯re married, you¡¯ll stay in my room.¡± She insisted.

    ¡°You know I just realized I¡¯ve never been in your room before.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Dee asked, looking perplexed. Not once?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a big damn house. I joined the construction crew late; everything was done except the basement and I had no reason to go venture into random girl¡¯s rooms. So other then the kitchen and the basement I¡¯ve not really explored this house.¡±

    ¡°Never snuck in there for a little action?¡± Dee pried.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t date that long before getting married, Dee. By the time we got comfy enough to move past couch-acceptable cuddling she was moving into the cave. I¡¯m kind of excited actually I get to live like a human for a while. This could be fun.¡± He smiled as Dee glared in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯m overjoyed already.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the meat locker? I brought some food with me. I didn¡¯t wanna just come here and mooch all your food. I eat¡­kind of a lot of it.¡±

    ¡°Fridge is far right to the back wall, but there are 2 smaller ones on the second floor, I suggest you use the one near Nicole¡¯s room. Mostly because I use this one and I don¡¯t want big chunks of meat mashed into every available spot.¡±

    ¡°Good idea.¡± He said rolling the large cart along and around the corner until he realized it wouldn¡¯t make the turn to the stairs.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the freight elevator?¡± he asked.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have one. We have stairs, and down there, we have other stairs.¡±

    ¡°I bet if I got a fork truck in the kitchen I could thread the tool cart right on that balcony.¡±

    ¡°Oh hell no you are not. These are really new marble tile floors and we got hardwood flooring in the hall. I don¡¯t know how much a fork truck plus you and that thing weighs but you are NOT ruining my flooring. In fact we need to get you some house slippers for the same reason. Those hooves are gonna wreck the wood.¡±

    ¡°I mean I can¡¯t take them off, they¡¯re kind of my feet. Do they make slippers for hooves?¡±

    ¡°I dunno, figure it out. I am already Bath and Beyond that problem.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know what that means.¡± He huffed as Nicole got between them.

    ¡°Now you two are gonna behave yourselves, you¡¯re housemates for a while and no we can¡¯t get a fork truck in the kitchen, we¡¯ll just move your stuff in boxes and then roll the tool cart somewhere out of the way. And Dee he¡¯s not gonna ruin the flooring, and if he does I¡¯ll pay for it, I¡¯m not making him wear hoof-slippers all damn day. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know people who do flooring cheap.¡± Come on big guy, let¡¯s get you settled in.¡± she said assertively.

    After several trips up and down the stairs filling boxes and whatever they could find to cram it into Nicole¡¯s room, the cart was rolled out to the deck and left outside under the roofing.

    ¡°So this is the OG Nicole cave hu¡­bright, lotta windows. Kinda weird. Where¡¯s the couch?¡±

    ¡°No couch in my room, just the bed.¡±

    ¡°Soooo where do I sleep?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Uh¡­on the bed.¡± She chuckled. He pondered the size of the bed for a moment and felt there may be a problem. You don¡¯t think a 7 foot 3 person sleeping on a 6 foot bed poses an issue? How bout the antler?¡± he asked. She had a sudden moment of clarity.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you sleep on a couch. Shit.¡± She sighed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll crash on the couch in the basement, it¡¯s cool. We¡¯re both familiar with that couch.¡±

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t wanna sleep in my old room and have you 2 floors down while you sleep on the couch. I¡¯ll sleep on the couch with you.¡± She insisted. Dee strolled to the doorway.

    ¡°So you¡¯re back to living in a basement with no windows¡­that¡¯s definitely healthy and kind of the entire point.¡± She sarcasm¡¯d sarcasmously.

    ¡°This is different, it¡¯s not a literal cave, it¡¯s just below ground level, it¡¯s finished and white walls and it¡¯s the house I¡¯ve lived in the whole time I¡¯ve been here, right under my old room. He has to sleep somewhere, Dee. Would you like him to sleep on the floor? or maybe the big couch in the main floor entertainment area where you hang out? Just 24/7 walking past him and hogging you movie spot.¡± She said, crossing arms.

    ¡°Yea basement couch might work. The only issue is that we have Mel visiting tomorrow and we gave her the wet room which is right past the basement couch. So every time she comes out of her room there will be a megamoose snoring away and you on top of him. And please do not have sex on that couch.¡±

    ¡°Cant we move Mel somewhere else?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s half Eridani aquatic, we told her we had a room in the basement with a glass wall overlooking the ocean, it¡¯s got the new built in hot tub in the floor. You wanna tell her sorry we¡¯re kicking you out after 2 weeks of planning and stuffing you into a guest room without the cool shit we promised?¡±

    ¡°So she¡¯ll have to see a big hairy jackelope on the couch sleeping, who cares, she¡¯ll get over it.¡± Nicole insisted.

    ¡°Seriously, no sex. There¡¯s no door to that room and Mel has to go through it to get out of hers. In fact no sex in the house would be fantastic.¡± Dee insisted.

    ¡°Dee, we¡¯re newlyweds and going through some traumatic times right now. Do you have sex with your boyfriend who you¡¯re not married to in this house like every day he¡¯s over?¡± she scolded.

    ¡°Yea in my room with the door closed where nobody can see or hear us.¡±

    ¡°We hear it.¡± She snidely sniped.

    ¡°Where nobody can see us. Nicole, we watched the Delmarian sex ed video. I refuse to experience that again.

    ¡°Oh you ass, we agreed you wouldn¡¯t watch that, it¡¯s an invasion of our privacy.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s public online educational material, anyone over 18 can view it. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s YOUR sex tape, but now I know what goes on and¡­no, there¡¯s no room with that kind of wall clearance and soundproofing and just no.¡± she snipped. Vinn pondered a moment.

    ¡°Actually, the basement¡¯s bathroom is all heavy granite tile and drains, it¡¯s fairly roomy in th-¡±

    ¡°Eew¡­no. Guests use that bathroom.¡± She pointed out. Nicole took on a look of attitude, standing on her tiptoes to look about as tall as Dee.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Oh so random people can piss and shit in there when they come over and it¡¯s totally fine because it spray cleans with like no effort, but a married couple¡¯s lovemaking is just vile and unsanitary. God forbid the giant walk-in shower that steam cleans itself and has soap in it have anything dirty happen there. How ever would we get the stains out of the stainless steel rails and the waterproof granite floors and the ceramic sink? Those can only handle human sweat, drunk vomit and shitsplatter. Clearly an alien PUBE is crossing the line.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not soundproof!¡± I¡¯ve heard people farting in there from the couch area before. If you can hear a fart, you can hear a wildebeest in heat getting it on.¡±

    ¡°You do realize I¡¯m still here, right?¡± Vinn said, standing up for himself for once. ¡°You know that¡¯s extremely offensive to say. Nicole uses the playful ones but you may as well be dropping racial slurs with that one.¡±

    ¡°Good job Dee.¡± Nicole sighed.

    ¡°Have I ever once said to you ¡®Move your shaved monkey ass out the way Dee?¡¯ or ¡®Keep your weird chimp-tits off the counter, you¡¯ll leave marks with your primate sweat glands and your¡­weird smelling bare feet.¡¯ Now have I?¡±

    ¡°You asked Nicole out with a bouquet of bananas.¡± She scoffed as Nicole defended him.

    ¡°That was a cultural misunderstanding, he was concerned for my health, and it was fucking adorable. Do you sit around planning for Mel to arrive chuckin down aquarium rocks for the Fishbitch?¡± she said as footsteps rounded the corner and Mel stood there blinking.

    ¡°So this is a bad time, I can see that.¡± She said turning around.

    ¡°No, sorry Mel I was making a point here, it was meant to be impactful. I was trying to be offensive to Dee, not to you.¡± Nicole said, turning flush and embarrassed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Is that a Delmarian on the couch?¡± she smiled. ¡°Hey buddy!¡± she waved.

    ¡°Hello new person, welcome to the circus. All the weirdos like us get the basement. ¡°He greeted. Dee flapped her arms in frustration.

    ¡°So you¡¯re early.¡± She smiled through her grit teeth.

    ¡°I had to leave the hotel early, there¡¯s some kind of security thing and they¡¯re moving like 3 buildings. Just¡­moving them. The whole buildings, right down the road. Strangest thing you ever saw. They called and told me my flight was moved early.¡±

    Dee paced the floor to calm herself.

    ¡°So fine, you can use the bathroom discreetly but I doubt Mel will be thrilled hearing it, and certainly do not have sex on that couch with her down here. That¡¯s ridiculous. Mel, How would you like to come out of your room and see¡­¡± she paused, trying to avoid anything that could be a racial slur. ¡°Delmarian sex party 6 feet from your walking path?¡± she said, feeling like she made a strategic move.

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t mind at all. I can just look straight ahead, unless you guys¡­don¡¯t want me looking straight ahead.¡± Mel said, lifting her eyebrows and waiting for reactions. ¡°Ha, just kidding, but seriously I could put my hand up and just walk right past you¡¯d probably never see me. I¡¯m very discreet.¡±

    ¡°You have pink hair and practically glowing skin, even in the throws of Delmarian passion they¡¯d notice a neon mermaid shuffling by¡­why am I arguing this? Just use the bathroom. Please. Or else me and silverback, are gonna get it on right on the kitchen counter, every morning.¡± She threatened.

    ¡°This is a really interesting house.¡± Mel smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just adventures and drama and nude bodies all day.¡± She clapped, taking her luggage to her wetroom to settle in.

    ¡°Ha.¡± Nicole stated.

    ¡°Nicole¡­please?¡± Dee begged.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be discreet if you let it go. You know we would have probably thought of the bathroom in 2 seconds even if you didn¡¯t grill us about it. Now you made it weird for everyone.¡± Nicole scolded as she stormed off. Mel stepped back out in a bikini and checked to see if Dee was gone.

    ¡°So just to clarify, that was mostly sarcasm fighting, and there¡¯s not a swap policy or any group thing here?¡± Mel whispered.

    ¡°Sarcasm.¡± Vinn nodded.

    ¡°Shucks, well I¡¯m headed to beach for a swim, you two just do whatever.¡± She said, bouncing her way down the hall. They both blinked in unison and amazement, at many thing both said and seen in the last few moments.

    ¡°Vinn, it¡¯s a good thing you don¡¯t like tits.¡± Nicole said, wide eyed and distracted.

    I¡¯m sorry, what, I was distracted.¡± He said, as she playfully smacked him in the side. ¡°You don¡¯t have to like something to notice it. I¡¯d notice a plane crashing into the basement and probably be distracted for a second. Give me a break.¡±

    The house was dark, Dee roaming the basement for whatever reason. Sipping a glass of juice, she peered into the basement den at the sleeping weirdos.

    ¡°What are we watching?¡± Whispered Mel, startling Dee into splashing juice on her face and shirt.

    ¡°I¡¯m just checking on them.¡±

    ¡°They look like they kinda have this down to an art on their own.¡± She whispered back.

    ¡°I just¡­She¡¯s my best friend, she¡¯s not been well.¡±

    ¡°She looks pretty well to me. Oh don¡¯t give me that frown, be happy for them. Look at them. She¡¯s all goofy looking slumped over that undersized couch and she¡¯s laying on top of him sound asleep and smiling. Look how he¡¯s got one hand deathgripping the blanket and the other hand on her back. Even in his sleep, he¡¯s got her tucked in where she can¡¯t slide off and fall. And tell me that doesn¡¯t look super cozy, just a big bearskin rug under you and a fleece blanket tightly over you, just moving slowly up and down about 3 inches as he breathes. He¡¯s both the lover and the actual bed, and he¡¯s practically rocking her to sleep. How can you not find that adorable?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is pretty adorable. I don¡¯t even know anymore if I¡¯m just nosey or overly concerned.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being nosey right now, and it seems fine. I¡¯d be just as concerned with my best friend, but you don¡¯t have to fight them over it. Just let it be. It¡¯s a beautiful thing, love. Why would you wanna make that more complicated? You know if you got to know Vinn personally, as a friend, you might just be happy that two of your friends are in love and happy. Both of them could be doing far worse.¡± She said taking a sip of her drink. Dee slowly turned her head and stared at the glass.

    ¡°That¡¯s not milk is it?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Are you drinking Nicole¡¯s nasty protein sludge?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, was that not like an anyone drink? It was in a huge blender in the fridge. I assumed it was like everyone margaritas. I don¡¯t think there was a name on it.¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s raw gelatinous fluid that smells like it¡¯s made of blended fish and eggs¡­because it probably is. The smell alone¡­Did you microwave it?¡±

    ¡°I tried it cold but it just seemed like a warm mug kinda drink. Have you tried it?¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­no. That¡¯s not something most humans would even drink if you paid them¡­well maybe if you paid them a lot but definitely for free.¡±

    ¡°Then why is Nicole drinking it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she¡¯s been acting weird lately, like she get this dizzy looking sick vibe sometimes and now she craves this¡­god-awful Elmer¡¯s glue shake all the time.¡±

    ¡°Can Delmarians get humans pregnant?¡± she asked, sipping her mug with a smile.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s medically impossible. I watched the educational video.

    ¡°Oh, I love that one. It¡¯s so fascinating. I just thought maybe¡­like in rare cases or something.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t put that into my head. I¡¯m already disturbed by what you¡¯re drinking.

    ¡°All natural protein, vitamins, nice texture. I drink stuff like this all the time. It¡¯s not weird for Eridani, especially my subset.

    ¡°Yea why does every Eridani seem like their own species.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re like canines, we adapt to our environment faster than most species. True Eridani can even change subsets over the course of their lifetime if they move somewhere different. Is Nicole maybe halfsies?¡± she suggested.

    ¡°No, we¡¯ve seen her med scans, she¡¯s totally human. In fact I know her parents, and they¡¯re both human. They don¡¯t even know aliens exist. It has to be psychological. She has this childhood phobia about water. It terrifies her. We had the pool made 4 feet deep so she can touch bottom and she still just sits on the side and splashes her feet. She won¡¯t get in. She won¡¯t get within ten feet of the ocean¡­fake ocean whatever. We have a deck hanging over the water and she wont go within 3 feet of the rails and it¡¯s like 3 feet deep along the deck. But ever since she moved in with Vinn she¡¯s had this weird hypnotic thing where she ¡°follows the water¡± and ends up in the damn dangerous tunnels where she could get lost or killed. And she has nightmares after about them flooding and drowning her. Now she¡¯s eating raw fish and drinking¡­that abomination in a mug. It¡¯s like her phobia has become its own entity and it takes over sometimes. I don¡¯t like leaving her alone. What if she sleepwalks right into the ocean?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very sad, but she was afraid of water before she met Vinn. What if you¡¯re just connecting two completely different things because they happened a the same time and you need someone physical to blame? You can¡¯t yell at fear itself or bad luck or trauma, so what if you just assume he¡¯s part of the problem instead of part of the help?¡±

    ¡°Shit. I never thought about that. She¡¯s not suddenly phobic of hair or antler, she¡¯s not having nightmares about the running of the bulls festival or eating raw chicken covered in hot sauce¡­What if I am just blaming Vinn for something random? Am I the asshole?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, I couldn¡¯t say¡­your case evidence does seem to be building.¡±

    ¡°Awe, maaan. I¡¯m the asshole. Oh please stop gesturing like I¡¯m gonna try that goop. You¡¯re right about most of that but unless you got like 5 grand and a bucket that¡¯s not going near my mouth.¡±

    ¡°Oookey. Your loss. This stuff is super expensive pre-made and then you got all the gross preservatives and it¡¯s just not as good as the fresh stuff.¡± She sighed.

    ¡°Okay we gotta leave, this just feels invasive, the smell is horrifying and now his hand¡¯s on her ass and I need to go to bed.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m gonna go for a night swim. See you in the morning.¡± She said sashaying her way down the hall and up the stairs. Dee stood in the dark basement stairwell.

    ¡°I swear sometimes I think I¡¯m the token human of the house.¡± She sighed.

 19: Teddy Bear

    Dee woke up, staggering towards the kitchen and hearing Vinn and Nicole in there before she even got there laughing and muttering, Dee paused, waving to silverback as he refilled his coffee at the bar. ¡°You¡¯re here early.¡± She said to him.

    ¡°No you¡¯re up late. Trouble sleeping?¡±

    ¡°You could say that.¡± She yawned as she almost rounded the corner to the kitchen where the happy couple was making breakfast.

    ¡°So Last night we did oil rubbing?¡± Vinn started ¡°and now we¡¯re ready to move to molten hot wax.¡± he said as Dee froze in a grimace.

    So it¡¯s really just a lot of greasing up and rubbing to keep everything smooth and shiny?¡±

    ¡°Yea pretty much. You gotta get the wax super hot tho, it¡¯s way better hot.

    ¡°Are you guys¡­clothed?¡± he hollered.

    ¡°YES.¡± Nicole scoffed. What¡­ like we¡¯re just naked in the kitchen? Like some crazy pers-¡± she paused as a very naked Mel strolled through to grab a scone on her way from the pool.

    ¡°We need to talk to her about that.¡± Vinn muttered.

    ¡°Yea, Nicole sighed.

    ¡°I disagree. Let her express her culture.¡± Silverback shrugged getting a very shitty look from Dee. She carefully turned into the kitchen.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t like waking up to you guys discussing your oils and waxes in the kitchen.¡± She said, noticing them standing over a large cutting board.

    ¡°Dee, he¡¯s showing me how to condition and season a cutting board¡­he brought his from home. It¡¯s a family heirloom.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m just the dumb one here.¡± She nodded as Silverback gave her a forehead kiss on the way through.

    ¡°Well, I better head to work. Jack and Vicki are already there and we got a whole second floor studio to get painted and trimmed out today.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna head out as well,¡± Nicole said, I have an appointment to get my nails done and I may do some shopping with Mel. She wanted to talk to me about something. Vinn thought I needed a fun day out.¡± She winked, giving him a big kiss right on the mouth as Dee cringed slightly. ¡°You two can finish up the sauce, Vinn makes this amazing Delmarian like¡­curry sauce thing. It¡¯s wild. They put it on raw chicken mostly, but the actual sauce is good on other stuff, you¡¯ll like it.¡± She finished, waving goodbye.

    ¡°Bye sweetie! Have fun!¡± Dee waved as the door closed and she turned to Vinn.

    ¡°Really sunny weather today, hu?¡±

    ¡°Vinn we¡¯re in a dome cave city, the sun is lightbulb on a track, and it¡¯s the same thing every day. Okay what¡¯s going on here?¡± she asked bluntly.

    ¡°We¡¯re just making sauce, you can dice an onion, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can make an onion smaller, gimme the knife. Why is everyone mysteriously leaving us alone? Am I about to get Fupar¡¯d? Is there like a ritual fight for Nicole or something because I will invoke Parlay and that overrides Fupar.¡±

    ¡°Dee, I¡¯ve talked this over with Nicole, it was her idea but I totally agree, we need to go on a date.¡± He said calmly slicing tomatoes. Her eyes bugged out and she nearly choked on a piece of raw pepper.

    ¡°The fuck in what, now?¡± she replied spitting out the food.

    ¡°Not in a gross way, or a romantic way; as friends. I almost said not in a weird way but¡­it¡¯s gonna be weird, obviously. I¡¯m there.¡±

    ¡°Accurate so far. You know it¡¯s just called hanging out when it¡¯s friends, right? You could have just said we¡¯re hanging out.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, But¡­ we both love Nicole. I¡¯m her husband¡­¡±

    ¡°That still sounds so weird.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m her husband, and she¡¯s your BFF. But we barely know anything about each other. Think about it. I don¡¯t even know your last name. You all have lived in the same house, Jack lives here, Silverback and you got your relationship, he practically lives here. Me and Nicole are very close, I¡¯m work bros with the guys, but when have WE ever hung out?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve hung out.¡± She scoffed.

    ¡°Name a specific time we hung out, crossing paths and waving in the halls while I was working on the basement does not count.¡± He noted.

    ¡°Well there was the¡­um¡­No you weren¡¯t on the crew back then. Uh, Okay¡­ well shit we are basically just strangers with the same friends aren¡¯t we?¡± she realized.

    ¡°Right, so we need to fix that. You¡¯re not gonna stop being nicole¡¯s Biff, and we¡¯re married, I¡¯m hoping that lasts, so we need to really break the strangle chains.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes I have no idea what your phrases mean.¡±

    ¡°Like in the Fupar pits when they used to do strangulation chains as a weapon option but they banned it because it took too long to kill someone, Like stupid long, hours sometimes. They banned it, and ceremonially broke the chains of strangulation as a symbol of unity and compromise.¡± He said, smiling.

    ¡°So like burying the hatchet¡­except sounding worse.¡±

    ¡°Why would you bury a hatchet? That¡¯s a very useful tool. And a child could dig that up.¡± He puzzled.

    ¡°This is gonna be a great date, I¡¯m so very excited.¡±

    ¡°See, sarcasm. I¡¯m learning that. It means you¡¯re not optimistic. So what¡¯s with the whole racism thing you got going?¡± he blurted as she looked horrified.

    ¡°I¡¯m not racist. I find that term a little offensive actually.

    ¡°Dee would you like me to compile a list of offensive terms you use on a daily basis towards me, because I can buy a notebook and start keeping track.¡±

    ¡°Okay, can we agree it¡¯s technically species-ist and that¡¯s totally different?¡±

    ¡°Technically correct on the first part, not as different as you think. I understand we¡¯re a completely different species from different worlds, and even our biology is foreign, believe me Nicole REALLY surprised me with¡­nevermind. But we need to just find common ground. We need to get into the stereotypes and establish what fact and what is assumption. Hopefully we can get along better. And then I¡¯ve planned us a sensual hot oil massa-I¡¯m just kidding. I couldn¡¯t resist seeing you get worried.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°You know what, you make things weird and awkward a lot, I¡¯m gonna just go for it here and do the same. Full honesty and bluntness and we¡¯re either gonna make some progress or make this weirder trying. Got it?¡± she ordered.

    ¡°See that¡¯s the spirit, go for it, see what happens. The ol, fuck-it and yolo.¡±

    ¡°Squat down to eye level real quick and open your mouth really wide.¡± She said.

    ¡°So you chose weirder, that¡¯s neat.¡± He said not doing that.

    ¡°Seriously, I need to know something that¡¯s been bugging me. It¡¯s a stereotype and I¡¯m too short to know. Get down here and just open that mouth.¡± She ordered.

    ¡°Dee I swear to gods if you make out with me, I am going to dump 4 liters of sauce on your head and run away.¡±

    ¡°Just trust me, it¡¯s not that weird. It¡¯s pretty weird, not that weird. And DO NOT under any circumstances pretend to bite down. Just hold perfectly still.¡±

    ¡°I hate this.¡± He said reluctantly opening his mouth. She leaned forward like she was spelunking as he looked more worried by the second.

    ¡°God these teeth are just horrifying. It¡¯s like being in a bear trap but moist and orange. You really could just casually bite a human head off. Wild. Okay we¡¯re done.

    ¡°Dental fetish?¡± he guessed.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m actually pleasantly surprised. No dog breath whatsoever. Mild and minty.¡±

    ¡°Seriously? You just assumed I had horrendous animal breath.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re breaking assumptions here, how could I know what¡¯s a stereotype and what¡¯s not? You wanted to be blunt. See, I¡¯m now less grossed out about Nicole kissing you. You have good dental hygiene, good for you.¡±

    ¡°Most Delmarians have cleaner mouths than the average human. We brush and sanitize after every meal. You just ate raw onion with your coffee, how¡¯s you¡¯re breath right now?¡±

    ¡°Mkay you won that round for sure. Well played. Rapid fire round¡­¡±

    ¡°Hit me.¡±

    ¡°Blood sacrifice rituals.¡±

    ¡°Only the hyper-religious purists. Every planet has cults.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all obsessed with raw chicken.¡±

    ¡°Yep, that one¡¯s accurate. I mean who doesn¡¯t love chicken?¡±

    ¡°Yea like fried or in a quesadilla. Okay your turn.¡±

    ¡°Are the big human boobs real or fake?¡± he asked.

    ¡°It varies greatly, Mine are real and they¡¯re spectacular, no you can¡¯t touch them.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t wanna, just had to know. Bubble baths¡­just why?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, it¡¯s just fun and relaxing. We like nice smelling pointless stuff and soaking in hot water. How sharp are the claws?¡±

    ¡°Naturally, more pointy than ¡®sharp¡¯, fighters sharpen them like razors, but I round mine off blunt, like the antler. I don¡¯t wanna accidentally scratch Nicole.¡±

    ¡°Okay that¡¯s very adorable. Sleeping arrangements, is it safe?¡±

    ¡°We sleep on the couch, I usually just set her on to of me so even if I roll over she just falls off rather then under me, it¡¯s virtually foolproof, he have a padded rug at home over the potential fall zone but last night I just tied a knot in the blanket.¡±

    ¡°So basically you have a couch and then you just ARE her couch?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much. Water. What¡¯s with humans and water and why is Nicole weird about it? Details.¡±

    ¡°We just like water, I dunno why. Swimming is fun, it cools you off, the ocean is pretty. Nicole almost drowned when she was little, so she just has a fear of any deep water she can¡¯t touch bottom in, which is not very deep given her size. I think she was like almost pronounced dead and they had to do CPR and everything. They broke 3 ribs, she was hospitalized. She never got over it.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit. I thought it was an irrational thing like when humans are afraid of non-venemous spiders or clowns.¡±

    ¡°Okay spiders are scary, don¡¯t even. Nicole is the weird one here that will just pick those nasty fuckers up and talk to them. That¡¯s not normal. Dark stereotype time, Delmarian men and controlling chauvinistic bullshit.¡±

    ¡°Mostly outdated exaggeration, again purists¡­make us all look bad on that one. They see women as trophies to collect. It¡¯s about as bad as you assume, but among non purists we generally respect females as different but equal. But you do sometimes encounter THAT guy. Bananas. Do humans really like them that much? I get mixed signals.¡±

    ¡°Okay we do generally like fruit, that¡¯s accurate, bananas no more or less than anything else, some of that is a ¡°primate joke¡±, you can blame Osirians for that one.¡± Do you like music?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Good music, yea. Who doesn¡¯t? I will say, stringed instruments and the whole ¡°harmony¡± thing is new to us, Delmarian music is mostly rhythm, percussion monotone chanting. But I¡¯m learning. That¡¯s why I joined the work band, they needed a drummer anyway. Jack is just awful on a drum kit. We love him but he cannot keep a kick drum on time for shit. Even he knows that.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d probably like rap-metal. I¡¯ll get you a playlist. I¡¯m more of a showtunes gal myself.¡± She smiled ¡°I¡¯m not a bad singer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to remain silent on that opinion, your bathroom has fairly thin walls and your voice carries.¡±

    So I¡¯ve seen you do that thing where you act like you¡¯re gonna swallow Nicole¡¯s head, is that a Delmarian thing, is it a dominance thing? It weirds me out.¡±

    Honestly I did it just as a joke once because I was nervous and trying to be funny and she seemed to think it was cute and comical so I just kept doing it.¡±

    ¡°Can I touch your fur or is that too weird?¡±

    ¡°That very much depends on where you plan to aim.¡±

    ¡°Just like your arm, dude. I¡¯m not going for belly aggressive tummy-rubs here.¡±

    ¡°Yea arm is fine, the other is pretty weird.¡±

    ¡°Huh, yea super soft actually. I was assuming really rough and rugged.¡±

    ¡°I use conditioner, so why exactly do humans seem to compare us to dogs a lot? We¡¯re really not doglike. I get the jackelope one, I¡¯ve googled that and, I¡¯mma be real, our babies do pretty much look like that. It¡¯s not far off. But why dogs?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Humans and canines have always had a bond for some reason. They hunted together and protected each other and we keep them as pets and fed them. Dogs are man¡¯s best friend, they get pets and belly rubs and affection. We love dogs. It¡¯s a compliment actually. God now I have to ask and I kinda don¡¯t wanna know but my stupid nosey ass just¡­You and Nicole¡­belly rubs and good boy stuff?¡±

    ¡°What? No. The hell, Dee. I¡¯m not her pet. I¡¯m a sentient being with an education and career. We have a pet goat.¡±

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m aware, I keep being reminded of that when I go downstairs and turn the corner and he¡¯s just EEEEEHT! Right at me wanting food. Scared the shit out of me several times. He¡¯s so quiet and then suddenly not.¡±

    ¡°Yea he¡¯s weird. So do you think Nicole just kinda sees me as a rescue pet?¡± He asked sadly.

    Don¡¯t take this wrong, but kinda. But you¡¯re more then just a rescue pet to her. She definitely loves you both as a friend as a¡­husband, almost said boyfriend, still so hard to absorb that. But you do kinda have a dual purpose vibe. It¡¯s not a bad thing, really. Nicole loves animals, she just melts around puppies and anything that needs rescued from a lonely cage. I think she may have started seeing that in you, and then she realized you¡¯re just a person too, like a regular person with a personality and she fell in love with that part. You¡¯re kinda perfect for her in that way. I¡¯m almost¡­jealous?

    ¡°You wanna Delmarian boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°No gross¡­ sorry, not¡­ I¡¯m jealous that you two clicked that well and so fast and you¡¯ve been barely married and already seem like an old married couple. It¡¯s very sweet. Me and Silverback fight a lot. Not like they way Delmarians fight, we argue verbally and disagree a lot. I kinda wish we had that cutesy thing you guys have. I¡¯m probably just imagining the grass greener on the other side, I¡¯m sure you two argue a lot too when nobody¡¯s around.¡±

    ¡°No. like a few times early on and now nothing. We never fight. It¡¯s great.¡±

    ¡°Shit, I guess it¡¯s just us. So oiling a cutting boards hu? That¡¯s a really pretty light pink. Is that stone or some kind of weird wood?¡±

    ¡°Uh, bone, actually. Old tradition that after a thark hunt you boil the ribs and flatten them down, make things out of them, like utensils and cutting boards.¡±

    ¡°See this is why I don¡¯t like bonding. I ate stuff off of that thing. We were doing so good and then BONES!¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­it¡¯s been boiled and bleached, so it¡¯s totally clean. The pink color is mostly stained from chicken blood.¡±

    GggAAAtt, we¡¯re moving on to other stuff now.¡±

    ¡°Dee are we bonding?¡±

    ¡°Kinda. I think I blamed you for her recent¡­mental downfall.¡±

    ¡°Yea, I did too. I kinda got hit with it from within and without.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s gotta be that damn cave, Vinn. She¡¯s happy with you when she¡¯s out of that cave. It¡¯s not you, man you¡¯re an absolute teddybear even I realize I can¡¯t dislike forever. It has to be the cave, is it fumes or cave-in phobia, or contaminated water or lead paint? She¡¯s not like¡­pregnant?¡± she muttered.

    ¡°Physically impossible for multiple reasons you don¡¯t want to know or need to know. But aside from that and the paint, maybe. Any of those could be making her sick.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed the¡­new diet she¡¯s on¡±

    ¡°Oh, yea that¡¯s¡­so here me out.¡±

    ¡°I know it¡¯s normal for you guys but it¡¯s weird for humans, is it at least medically safe? She is DOWNING that fishy crap like a preggo craving. Even fishchick¡­sorry even Mel just had a tiny mug.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not shocked by that, makes sense for her. But yea sure. It¡¯s healthy enough. It¡¯s got tons of¡­gelatinous protein, and¡­flavor. Not a flavor many would enjoy but there¡¯s flavor there. So she¡¯s never done that before?¡±

    Not that I would have ever guessed. The weird part is¡­she looks¡­better when she drinks it, or when she chaws down half a fresh salmon out of the package. She seems to look sick and pale when she doesn¡¯t.

    ¡°Yea that¡¯s¡­concerning and weird.¡± Vinn admitted.

 20: Jack of hearts

    A rather professional looking reptile in a doctor¡¯s jacket flipped through some pages on his tablet as both Vinn and Nicole sat looking silent and embarrassed.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s certainly¡­a dietary choice. Little bit unorthodox for a human but I¡¯ve seen stranger things, Way stranger things, very unhealthy things that you would not believe or want to know.¡± He huffed with a traumatized look, returning to the mason jar of fishy goop, this batch with a hint of pink. ¡°I don¡¯t see a reason it could be dangerous, the scans show no allergy markers, no pathogens, it¡¯s clean, it¡¯s insanely high in salt but otherwise you could technically live off of this and some vitamins long term.

    ¡°So why do I crave it?¡± she asked, looking pale and her eyes sunk in.

    ¡°You may have just developed a deficiency. Your salt levels are alarmingly low, your protein is tolerable but it could be better and your blood is slightly anemic. You¡¯re not seriously sick, but you do seem to have some issue we can¡¯t pin down. Try the¡­shake, for lack of better term.¡± He suggested, microwaving it like she likes. He handed her the jar, almost gagging from the smell of it. She grabbed it like an addict needing a fix and aggressively chugged it in one breath, gasping at the end like a breath of relief. Her eye color faded to normal golden brown, her skin went from deathly pale to still fairly pale and she seemed to perk up.

    ¡°Wild¡­your vitals just leveled out perfectly. You¡¯re pretty much within healthy human ranges on everything. You seem to have been craving exactly what you needed and found the combination. So I say we do scans every 2 weeks, call me if anything changes and as weird as it seems, keep doing this. Whatever keeps you going. I assume you can tolerate the taste and texture.

    ¡°It¡¯s insanely good.¡± She sighed. I cannot stress how good this is.¡± She admitted, feeling weird about that.

    ¡°Okey dokey, well everyone has their preferences when it comes to food, there¡¯s no way in Delmarian hell I¡¯d even try that myself, but cultures vary and good for you. She seems healthy as a result so maybe chalk it up to a fluke and just make sure and keep it fresh and clean and don¡¯t let it get funky, just like any raw product. I¡¯m giving you a clean bill of health.¡± He smiled.

    ¡°Thanks Doc.¡± Vinn nodded, and they exited the office.

    ¡°So I guess you¡¯re just anemic and weird, we kinda knew that.¡± He smiled.

    ¡°I guess so. Oh can we stock up before we get home. I¡¯m still hungry and it¡¯s game night. I kinda want some already done and bottled.¡±

    The door swung open as Jack and Vicki strolled in, laughing and arms over shoulders.

    ¡°We¡¯re back, everyone happy and getting along well?¡± Vicki hollered.

    ¡°Basement!¡± hollered a Nicole.

    ¡°I thought we were getting her out of basements for a while.¡± Jack sighed, grabbing a beer and pausing, stepping back and grabbing 2 more as they went down stairs. Everyone was sitting in a circle around a coffee table in the middle of the first room. Nicole smiled pleasantly Hugging Vinn as he waved too.

    ¡°We¡¯re playing Uno, I¡¯m kicking everyone¡¯s ass look at all these cards I got.¡± He replied.

    ¡°Mel, I see you¡¯re settling in.¡± Vicki smiled.

    ¡°I suggested we play twister because it would be impossibly hilarious but I was outvoted by everyone.¡± She giggled.

    ¡°Not everyone.¡± Dee muttered, giving silverback a shitty look.

    ¡°What? I was being supportive to our guests.¡± He muttered back. ¡°So date night go well?¡± he added louder.

    ¡°Movie was a bit drawn out, food was good. Company was spectacular.¡± He said winking at Vicki. ¡°So lets get this party really sta-¡± The doorbell rang, causing him to scrunch his face in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯m already up.¡± He groaned, heading back up the stairs to the front door.

    ¡°Pizza delivery.¡± Said a strangely fetching women with white hair and the bluest eyes you ever seen.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cover it. What do I owe you.¡± He asked.

    ¡°Everything.¡± She winked, her eyes glowing as she walked to the car and waited. He opened the top box and in the middle of the pizza was a plastic divider as expected, and a gold coin stuck to it. Large, roughly the size of a silver dollar, with a face of Caesar on the front and what looked like a swath or red nail polish.

    ¡°Are you shitting me?¡± he huffed under his breath. Vicki joined to bring down the food and saw him standing there silently, paler than usual. ¡°I gotta go honey, you guys enjoy game night.¡±

    ¡°What? Where are you going? It¡¯s 10PM on a weekend and we just got.¡± She stopped, noticing the gold coin. Her face turned from a pleasant smile to a look of disappointment. ¡°What do I tell them?¡±

    ¡°Something work related, someone¡¯s furnace went out or something.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re coming back, aren¡¯t you?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yea, probably a quick, 1 hour, 2 hour job.¡±

    ¡°Fixing a furnace.¡± She said, biting her lip and knowing it would be at least 3 hours.¡± He went to his toolbox, the ones shaped like an instrument case.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Jack, does the construction business ever let you, retire?¡± she asked sadly.

    ¡°Maybe. Not as long as things keep breaking.¡± He said, heading out and getting in the car. She held her disappointment for a moment and then put on a fake smile, carrying the food downstairs.

    ¡°Food¡¯s here.¡± She hollered. ¡°We brought Pizza!¡±

    Jack sat in the car, case next to him.

    ¡°Why the blonde look? You trying to make my girlfriend mad?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just trying out a new model¡­why, does it work for you?¡± she grinned maniacally.

    ¡°No it just¡­reminds me of my mother. But you knew that didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked Gizzy.

    ¡°Mind games, Jack. Everything is a calculated move. I want you to remember where you came from and what you¡¯re capable of.¡±

    ¡°Yea a roman coin and a pale blonde human avatar telling me to get my rifle¡­real subtle hints. So what is the mission?¡± he asked as the hovercab began moving.

    ¡°Blowing the dust out of the cartridge, clearing the cobwebs. I need to make sure you still have it.¡± She yawned,

    ¡°I still have it. It doesn¡¯t get that rusty that quickly.¡±

    ¡°Your father used to say that shit a lot Jack, and he was the best. WAS the best Jack. He fucked up one time and it got him killed. You fuck up and someone else might get killed. You have that Roman confidence but you also don¡¯t quite have the Roman bloodlust so you¡¯re not your father. Maybe that makes you better, or worse. We¡¯ll find out some day. Tonight, you need to just take it easy, get your instrument warmed up. This is band practice, not the live show.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the mark?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s specific.¡± He huffed, unlocking the case and assembling the rifle.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know it. She hinted. ¡°You better know it.¡±

    Vicki answered the door, rolling her eyes again.

    ¡°Just one after another.¡± She sighed. She opened the door and the same blonde with blue eyes was standing at the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m super sorry to ask, but I need to take my medicine quickly and I don¡¯t have any water.¡± She said in a completely different ditsy voice. ¡°Can I get a bottle of water or something?¡±

    ¡°Sure, help yourself to the fridge, I¡¯ll just wait here a second.¡± She replied, sitting on the counter. Gizzy in a human drone strutted herself to the fridge, grabbing a water and pretending to take a pill with it.

    ¡°Oh thank you, I was out for a walk and forgot to take my meds before I left. Don¡¯t know if I could have made it back without stopping, thank you so much.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± she asked bluntly. Gizzy looked surprised.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± She jested. Slowly pouring the water down the side of the counter where she couldn¡¯t see it.

    Nicole¡¯s ears perked up slightly, hearing the sound of water dripping nearby.

    ¡°Does it have to be Jack every single time, or do you have other cards out there fixing things? Are you so pressed for workers that you can¡¯t spare even one, or is he the only one who can fix a furnace?¡± she asked rather snippy.

    ¡°I have other cards in the deck. But sometimes you just need to fix a really important furnace, and not just anyone has the magic touch.¡± She said producing a playing card from nowhere, a jack of hearts of course.

    ¡°I know you saved my life, and I said I owed you anything. I meant myself, not Jack.¡± Vicki informed boldly.

    ¡°That¡¯s sweet but, I don¡¯t think you have the hands I need at the moment.¡±

    ¡°Why are you in my house?¡±

    ¡°I wanna meet the crew. You¡¯d surely let your old friend ¡®Samantha¡¯ meet the gang since she¡¯s passing through.¡± She smirked.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer you didn¡¯t, but you¡¯re not asking when you bring that coin to jack. Okay ¡®Samantha¡¯, lets meet my family. They mean everything to me, especially the man in the cab with you.

    They strolled downstairs, the group still playing uno, noticing the new face.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the new player?¡± asked Silverback.

    ¡°Just a gal I met a while back at a convention. Her name¡¯s Samantha, she was just walking by and wanted to say hi¡­very briefly¡­before she leaves.

    ¡°A Delmarian, in a house of humans and almost humans. How interesting. Said Gizzymantha.

    ¡°We¡¯re playing cards. Turns out I don¡¯t know most of the rules.¡± Vinn chuckled.

    ¡°I see. Is that adorable brunette at your side your girlfriend?

    ¡°I¡¯m his wife actually.¡± She said proudly, flashing her bead.

    ¡°Wow, congratulations. That¡¯s very progressive of you two.¡±

    The scene changed to a dark room where Gizzy sat at her chair, both eyes totally red and saying the same lines. She reached to the keyboard and pressed a few keys. Nicole¡¯s heartrate jumped slightly, looking around as of she heard something.

    Well, you have a lovely home and I wish you both the best of luck.¡± She said, heading up the stairs and lightly rubbing her hand on the brick wall near the bottom rung. Nicole heard the echo of a faint click, as if the door just unlocked.

    ¡°Lock the door when you leave.¡± said Vicki aggressively.

    ¡°Well I wouldn¡¯t leave it UNLOCKED, would I?¡± she winked. Nicole¡¯s head echoed with the click and the word ¡®unlocked¡¯, and the still faint drip of water on the marble.

    Jack peered down the scope, Gizzy¡¯s neck awkwardly close to the rifle as it spanned the back seat of the cab and out the open window.

    ¡°I¡¯ll know it when I see it?¡± he asked. Watching the window of an office building a good 800 years away.

    ¡°Half of this game is instinct and timing, Jack. I¡¯m not holding your hand.¡±

    ¡°Yea well most days it feels like you¡¯re holding something else of mine and I¡¯d appreciate you loosening your grip on them a little.¡± He said watching the hotel room as 3 men talked about something over a bottle of wine.

    ¡°Who am I looking for here Gizzy?¡±

    ¡°Your father would know his mark¡­and the right time to pull the trigger.¡± She said softly.

    ¡°He noticed the door opening, and room service handing over an unopened Champaign bottle. The label: a picture of Julius Caesar.

    ¡°Clever, but pointless.¡± He said. The oldest man of the 3 took the bottle, belly-laughed and began taking off the wire holding the cork.

    ¡°Style and intuition is never pointless.¡± She whispered. The man picked up a large knife and placed it to the bottle. The old sabering the wine bottle trick that always ends in disaster.

    Gizzy too a puff from her cigar, counting the seconds in her head.

    ¡°Hail Caesar.¡± She exhaled. The knife struck the tip of the bottle, the rifle went off, the cab wobbled slightly, and the Champaign bottle exploded. The 3 men looked shocked and then collectively laughed and walked into the next room.

    Two tenths of a second off, jack, not bad but not perfect. You jumped the gun a little but the shot placement was flawless. I¡¯ll consider that a passing grade.¡±

    Well that dangerous alcohol has been eliminated either way. The world can rest easy knowing it¡¯s safe tonight.¡± He said sarcastically. ¡°Now can I go home?¡±

    ¡°Sure you can. Good boy, Jack.¡±

    Vicki breathed a slight sign of relief, not knowing why. Nicole stared at the brick wall with stressed eyes that needed to blink, transfixed on the wall where Gizzy touched, still damp.  The sound of a click still fresh and hot in her memory like it had been branded there. She could almost hear it breathing, pulling air from the wall. She reached into her pocket and dug out a few pills, taking one, and then taking another just to be sure.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Vinn asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a little tired.¡± She said softly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go make the bed.¡± He yawned.

    ¡°You mean you¡¯ll lay on the couch.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Same thing.¡±

 21: Face yourself

    Nicole stood in the basement, silently, in the dark. Vinn was asleep, like everyone else. She grabbed her water bottle and stepped closer to the wall, leaning against it as it breathed softly. She followed the sound away from the steps to the corner of the basement where jack had his carpentry tools in a bucket, lined with a leather harness she slowly opened the door behind it, an ordinary closet where the water lines came up from the concrete. She took a flashlight, a small carving knife, and stepped closer to the old concrete blocks that represented the foundation. She listened in silence, remembering or possibly hearing the click again. She wasn¡¯t even sure. But she pushed the concrete block and the wall slid slightly. She opened the hidden door and noticed the single latch holding it shut, retracted. It extended again with the same click, as if to tell her this was a one time event. She placed a screwdriver down to prop it open so it would STAY unlocked and open.

    She peered around the room and noticed a small black suitcase, the latches on it fully up in the open position. She lifted the lid and removed the handgun, a fairly common but illegal 10mm auto with the serial number missing and the tell tale seams of 3d printing, the kind you get from cheap civilian models. She put the holster on and slid the gun in, waiting for something, there was the second click she remembered, and she pressed the further wall, opening the other side and passing through. She placed another screwdriver down to keep that one open as well. She racked back the slide just like her shooter games, watched the bullet enter the chamber and latch shut.

    ¡°Alright¡­let¡¯s do this.¡± She sighed.

    Jack sat up suddenly in bed, checking Vicki who was still asleep. He checked her pulse, sigh of relief, and then got up. He walked the house, looking for anything out of place, and the only thing missing seemed to be the girl who was sleeping on top of Vinn. He went to the maintenance closet, opened the door and noticed his gun missing. He also noticed the thinnest razor of orange light coming from the back wall, the screwdriver keeping it open.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± he gasped, pushing the wall open, that he didn¡¯t even know opened. The glow of the orange tunnel lights illuminated his face.

    ¡°You have got to be shitting me.¡± He said, silently darting to the kitchen to get a few things.

    Nicole began down the lengthy stairs descending into hell, ending at the same utility juncture she found the first time. She walked with determination and speed, this time passing the rooms she searched before and ignoring the details to get to whatever was at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel of flickering orange lights and pipes. Her focus on the goal blocked out everything around her until she reached the end of the tunnel, where the red brick divider wall and the stone wall on the right abruptly became dark black, red brick flooring, and an arched top of rusted metal with old black paint chipping off in spots. She could hear water running behind the metal, and the green mildew at the edges where it didn¡¯t quite seal.

    After a jog and a short series of stairs almost designed to disorient your elevation and direction, the stone lightened a bit and branched off. It looked similar to the last location where Dee had joined, but she could never be sure.

    She chose the arched sewer d¨¦cor, passing several empty rooms and sudden starwells going down into the void, determined this level was the one she wanted, or perhaps needed. She spotted a room that looked less empty, investigating it.

    A series of marble countertops and unknown scientific devices covered them, not old and rusted but oddly fresh, some closed containers even still containing transparent liquids or powders. The doorway had a rubber seal around it, and the lighting was far bluer. On the far wall was a cooler, a small lab type fridge with conduit and tubes running from it, the subtle hum of the compressor running, and the flow of air from it¡¯s top vent.

    Several thin copper pipes descended from the ceiling, all snaking their way to either metal drums on the ground or the cooler of mysterious containers. Her heart seemed to stop and sink when she leaned in to read the labels on the tubes and the containers they went to. Several names, mostly unfamiliar aside from the last one on the right labeled ¡°Nicole¡± with a disturbingly crisp and freshly printed sticker.

    ¡°Is it all in your head?¡± she whispered to herself. Trying to blink and make the label change to anything else, and it didn¡¯t. She heard a clunk, and went silent as something walked past one of those horrid little holes in the walls; this place seemed to be riddled with them. The same ones always at eve level, or the ankle-level ones large enough to get an arm through. She grabbed one of the small metal tins in the case under her name and pocketed it before leaving the room. She needed to see what was above.

    She hurried down the hall, unsnapping her gun holster and noticing the little wooden closet door too small for a monster to fit through, and opened it to see a ladder down to anywhere but where she was. She climbed down and hopped the last few feet to a damply flooded floor, half an inch of water, presumably warm. She needed to go up. One floor above where the vials were, and it seemed as though every few feet changed direction, corridor size or style, like some kind of badly merged video game level that overlapped another one, over and over, until the game was broken. Or perhaps she was broken, and this was just a game. Finally she found the curved stone steps leading what she believed was to the correct floor. Her sense of where the vial room was, was now entirely guessing, and she could hear the hoof steps faintly from the previous floor.

    She paused for a moment, in confusion at the change in surroundings, moving again as she remembered she was being pursued. Now resembling a hotel from the 70¡¯s, fake brown and red pattered tile floor, the stone brick walls painted drab and muted colors and the dungeon-like arches now framed doorways. She expected to hear jazz music and smell the scent of cigarettes and gin as she made her way around dead ended room and unlevel halls. Some rooms were almost decently lit but with no known light sources to be found aside from the orange bulbs in the hallways, and there she saw it¡­the long corridor with the slight bend just so subtle that it almost impeded the view but allowed a narrow visible slit from the end to the far end, just like the one below her. It was close by.

    Her mind raced as she kept trying to decide of the hoofsteps were below her or on the same level, getting further or close, seeming to overlap and pass several times. Halfway down the corridor it split into 4 ways, each hall halfway misaligned from the one it merged into and though she needed to go forward she hesitated and looked to either side. To the right, an open wooden door with what looked like a row of books. And to the left a hallway that changed styles yet again and tapered a thousand yards into nothingness, and standing at the far end of the transition was a dark figure, roughly the height of the hallway, hunkered down to clear it, the fray of silhouetted antlers that turned her direction.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± She whispered, darting to the right, closing the door and hoping it had a lock. She slammed it shut and pulled the heavy locking bar, almost amazed she was on the correct end of one of these doors for a change. However, the sudden shutter of something impacting it made her question the holding power of the lock or hinges. The door shuttered again in an aggressive pattern of rams, followed by a gruff animalistic sound.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run little human.¡± It growled in Kraken¡¯s gravely voice.

    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand? Your human females are infecting our Delmarian homes like rodents. The only way to rid of rodents is to flush them out.¡± He said, followed by the creaky turning of a water valve. She could hear the soft flowing of water as it made its way under the doorway.

    ¡°Delmarians can¡¯t swim.¡± She yelled back.

    ¡°Not many. Some of us can¡­You doubt the Kraken is afraid of a little water? I assure you I can swim well. Delmarians can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes. Can you do either?¡± he asked.

    She ran from room to room through the odd sort of library, past a seating area, another wall mounted TV, a room that at a glance looked to have a noose hanging in the middle, and finally to a dead end room with one of the heavy doors that only went INTO the room, she turned back to the seating room and up the stairs, praying it wouldn¡¯t just end as well, trapping her in a library-themed flooding tomb. She passed a large skull tapestry and spiraled to a smaller room above the center that had one doorway, the handles on the other side.

    ¡°No.¡± she whispered. ¡°It¡¯s not fair.¡± She looked down and noticed the glass table in the room¡¯s center, and the glass square below that, peering down into the room below. The sound of wood cracking in the distance told her she had limited time to think before this would be a final resting place. She began kicking the table leg, breaking it free from its spot on the floor, and she smashed the glass viewing hole with the nearby wooden chair, now just an open hole with a ten foot drop into water and broken glass, which seemed far less terrifying than it should have. The wooly figure passed across it, never looking up. She readied her gun, listening as the hooves creaked and bent the wooden stairs spiraling to the top room. Just as antler became visible, she sat down on the edge and waited.

    He turned the corner, staring at tiny Nicole, on the edge of the opening, pointing a gun at him. She stomped one hoof forward and she pulled the trigger. The round struck center chest with a metal clang and an unexpected flash of fire, not from the gun but the impact area, startling her and falling down the hole. She caught herself in a stumble, narrowly missing the broken glass as her knee luckily bent the right direction and her back hit the water. She stood up, just glad to be standing and still have air above her mouth.

    ¡°What the hell are these bullets?¡± she gasped, realizing she had a pocket full of pointable grenades rather than a standard magazine. The gun was soaked¡­would that matter? An arm slammed down through the opening, clad in black painted metal armor. He wasn¡¯t getting through the opening, but he could go around and clearly these rounds weren¡¯t going to stop him that easily. She fired another one, clanking off the plate armor and deafening her with another ball of fire. She ran back through the main library door, back down the hall where the vials were being collected, sloshing knee deep and unsure of her footing.

    She half expected to find some version of herself hanging on the wall, being drained by tubes or bleeding out. At this point her mind was creating the worst things she could imagine. She found the room, knowing it was the right spot and she closed the door behind her, latching it the moment she noticed the other exit door partially opened, just  enough to get through. Not a dead end at least.

    Jack jogged through the halls, combat knife in hand and really wishing he had a gun right now, the familiar echo of explosions from somewhere. His boots soaked as water dripped from seemingly everywhere at once. A part of him was glad at least she had a gun, but with standing water this far in, the tunnels going deeper would only have more, and what was she firing at? What was down there with her? He stopped, seeing a small figure in the dark walking his way.

    ¡°Nicole, thank god I found you let¡¯s get.¡± He stopped, noticing the glowing blue eyes and the silvery white hair. ¡°She¡¯s down here, help me find her, do you have a weapon?¡± he ask as sort-of Gizzy casually strolled into the light with no form of rush or fear.

    ¡°Jack, let her go.¡± She said.

    ¡°Bullshit, this place is flooding and she¡¯s firing at something. She¡¯s scared.

    ¡°She is exactly where she needs to be. You on the other hand, were not supposed to be here.¡±

    ¡°She put a screwdriver in the doorway to keep it open. She wanted me to follow her.¡±

    ¡°Clever, I admit, but a mistake I knew was possible. Let her go Jack.

    ¡°I can¡¯t just let her die down here.¡±

    ¡°She won¡¯t. I assure you¡± She promised.

    ¡°So the rumors are true? You¡¯re running human experiments down here and Nicole is just a lab rat for your amusement. You plan to waterboard her for fun?¡±

    ¡°A voluntary participant in an experiment with a far greater purpose than you know, and though unpleasant, temporary and necessary. She will be fine, Jack. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°How? She can¡¯t swim. How can I let my friend fight for her life in her worst nightmare and just turn back?

    ¡°She¡¯s fighting for her freedom, not her life. The situation is under control, do not fuck this up, I won¡¯t allow it even if you try.¡± She said flashing a holster, the kind with a dart gun. You are going back one way or another, either me dragging your unconscious ass out of here, or you turning back willingly. Select your exit and carefully weigh the consequences of what you choose.¡± Said the haunting voice, as the eyes circled him.

    ¡°The bruise on her leg that day she met you¡­you injected her with something, some mind altering drug or microchip to drive her insane, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Jack I don¡¯t think you understand how this works. The implant does not call to her. It does not MAKE her do anything. The chip allows her to feel the tunnels, and when they unlock. It lets her hear the water, nothing more. She can ignore it, but she doesn¡¯t. I am not brainwashing her to go inside, I am not puppeting her against her will. She agreed to this, she just doesn¡¯t remember doing it. She can¡¯t or the experiment doesn¡¯t work. The danger is minimal but the fear needs to be real. She is going down here of her own free will and she doesn¡¯t know why. She does it because she needs the water she fears so much. She craves it, and she wants to know what lies beneath it. She needs to finish the scary movie, Jack. That¡¯s something in Nicole, not something in the implant. That is WHY we chose her. I¡¯m not torturing her, I¡¯m giving her the tools to torture herself and studying why she does it. I didn¡¯t break Nicole, I found her broken, and I¡¯d like to know how to fix her too. I just have less gentle tools than the doctors, and mine do a better job in less time, and time is something we don¡¯t have enough of. You¡¯re trying to understand the game, the game is simple: to let her find her way. Let her go, soldier. This is not your mission.¡± She ordered.

    With a tear in his eye he looked down at the knife, realizing it meant nothing, sheathing it andlooking back.

    ¡°Promise me she will be okay. Look me in the eyes with those dead mechanical substitutes and tell me she will be okay. MAKE ME believe you.¡±

    ¡°Make yourself believe in her. The monsters aren¡¯t real, but the water is rising. She knows the way¡­all she needs to do is swim. Do you have so little faith in your friend or in me?¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± He said fighting tears, tossing the knife. ¡°You win, you always win. You¡¯re always right aren¡¯t you? You better believe that yourself.¡± He snipped, turning back and sloshing towards the beginning.

    ¡°Good boy¡­Oh and Jack¡­¡± she hollered. ¡°13<sup>th</sup> and Raible street, perhaps you and Vinn need to have a drink at the bar, and I would hurry.¡± She said.

    He sprinted down the path as Gizzy calmly waited in the darkness.

 22: Drown

    Nicole was confused, the room was dim, but she could see a row of 4 devices similar to the human holding cells the last time, and a row of lockers, and a table with a sink full of water. The door cracked, nearly in half. The room was too small to fire the gun in, not without injuring herself or bouncing shrapnel back, and it wasn¡¯t doing much against that armor anyway. She squeezed through the other partially opened door, hoping for a way out and finding just the other side of the human traps. The Door splintered and Kraken lumbered through. One more door between them. She had one move and the timing needed to be perfect.

    You¡¯re trapped little human. It¡¯s over.¡± He huffed. She noticed the drain below her was full and starting to overflow.

    ¡°Face me, or face the water. You choose how you wish to die. Quick snap of the neck, or gasping for air in your own personal hell. Consider me your easy way out. It¡¯s nothing personal, it¡¯s just a job.

    Gun in her hand, the kraken seemed beatable, stuck in flooding room didn¡¯t seem to optimistic. Perhaps if she got behind him, was the armor on his back as thick as the front? Anything was better than drowning, and for a moment, Kraken didn¡¯t seem so scary anymore.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll take your offer. Because you don¡¯t scare me anymore. You¡¯re either just a puppet on a string, or a quicker death, and I¡¯ll die fighting any day, you prick.¡±

    ¡°Strong words with little action behind a closed door.¡±

    ¡°Yea, you keep staring at that door you big dumbass.¡± She whispered to herself. ¡°and leave your giant backside unguarded.¡± She finished, taking off running towards the traps, knowing she could just barely dive through and have enough time to take one shot before he realized it. She put her arms to her side and slid, wriggling to get through.

    Suddenly the sound of gears and metal overwhelmed her senses and the piston slammed down. She screamed, knowing it was going to take off her head and then silently breathed, realizing it was even worse, it stopped halfway down, just barely missing her neck, but not enough to get her head through. Kraken strolled out casually, the gun pinned at her side, facing away backwards.

    ¡°Did you really think that would work?¡± he asked, kneeling down.

    She couldn¡¯t go forward or backward, only her head protruding from the other side. She went limp, feeling herself giving up as kraken strolled back into the front of the room, her head almost literally served on a silver platter as he returned with a vial in hand. He grabbed her head and collected the tear streaming down her face.

    ¡°I have what I came for.¡± He said, placing it in the metal cooler.

    ¡°Report.¡± Said the voice in Krakens Earpiece.

    ¡°Successful. He said relaxing and stretching.

    She smirked, looking up at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you anymore. I can see it in your eyes. You wanna kill me but you can¡¯t do it. You¡¯re on a leash. Why else are you waiting?¡± she chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s all a game. Always has been. You¡¯re a pawn, and all of this was meant to make me face my fears¡­to face you. Well look me in the eyes you big bastard and tell me If I¡¯m scared of you!¡± she calmly grinned.

    ¡°Oh you poor pathetic stupid girl. You were so close. You think your greatest fear to face was me?¡± he laughed, pulling the lever and lifting the plate holding her head in place. ¡°My job is just to point you in the right direction. Your greatest fear hasn¡¯t arrived yet.¡± He smiled, turning around and lighting a cigarette as he closed the door and locked it. She squeezed her way through, slowly as the water reached her. Now neck deep she pointed the gun at the door and pulled the trigger and fired a round. It didn¡¯t budge. She fired 3 more times and the wooden door just stared back at her. She pulled the magazine and looked carefully, the rounds were blanks. Everything was a show, but the water was real. There was no way out that door.

    She waded through and moved in circles looking for anything useful and threw the gun at the door, climbing the human trap just to get out of the rising water. There was no ladder, no secret tunnel, and above her head just a drainage hole too high to begin reaching for. She hugged the metal bar, screaming in fear, entirely lost and alone. The black water climbing her back, oddly warm and silent, consuming her, swallowing her slowly as if to savor her death.

    ¡°PLEASE HELP!¡± she yelled at the grate overhead. ¡°I CAN¡¯T SWIM!¡± she sobbed, slipping into the water. Her hands flailed, pushing off of anything she could to reach the grate, as if reaching it mattered. She grabbed it, pulling herself up for one more deep breath before the last inch of room vanished into the dark and the pipe above her filled up. She let go, sinking into the darkness. She opened her eyes and her pupils dilated, but to her surprise she could see. The dark water was oddly clear, dim but very visible. There were no light sources she could find, but the room was somehow perfectly clear as if drawn in black and white, but the edges all crisply lined. She swam her way to the wooden door, not even realizing she was propelling herself effortlessly. She pushed the door and with the water now equal on both sides, it slowly moved open.

    She swam into the hall, still completely filled with the clearest water she ever saw, but still pitch black. Was she dying? Dreaming? She was so far in that getting out would take ages, and her one breath was almost out. She went limp, floating in place, trying to think of what to do with her last seconds as her body began struggling, trying to inhale as she closed her mouth tighter. Her brain was on fire with signals, screaming, ¡®open your mouth and breathe¡¯, but even knowing there was nothing to take in but water, she couldn¡¯t resist forever. Something in her just gave up, accepting it, and she let go, letting her body suck in a lungful of water, and everything went still.

    Jack and Vinn stood and paced the street corner, waiting for anything.

    ¡°Jack why are here and not looking for her?¡±

    ¡°Because this is where that tunnel goes, and it¡¯s where she¡¯ll end up, trust me.¡±

    ¡°I trust you jack, but can¡¯t we go in and find her?¡± he asked as the rush of water got their attention, the drain pipe leaking slightly behind the alley. A large iron pipe protruded from the cobblestone path, pointed at the lake, several metal rails and chains warning not to cross.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Vinn that¡¯s an outlet for backpressure, it only opens outward and usually with a wall of water. You go in there, and either it doesn¡¯t open or it opens and sends you 40 feet into the lake. You can¡¯t swim and I can¡¯t swim good enough to carry you.

    ¡°Then why are we here?¡± he yelled as people walking by stopped to investigate.

    ¡°Because I was told to be here and you have to trust me.¡±

    ¡°And what if you¡¯re wrong Jack?¡± roared Vinn.

    ¡°Give me your better plan then. Where do we go?¡± Jack barked back.

    Vinn angrily punched the pipe, struggling to find an answer.

    Nicole froze, like a ragdoll in a pool just lifeless and limp, waiting to die. She waited far too long, blinking and turning her eyes to look around. There was no pain, her body was not struggling, she was warm and relaxed and yet¡­still alive with both lungs full of water. She tried to move and found herself able to. She didn¡¯t understand, but the sound of the water was still moving. She swam higher, up through another pipe that was missing the vent cover, still unsure how she was alive let alone able to see anything.

    Surely it was just a dream, it had to be. So she only had to wake up an follow the flowing water to find her way home. The dream was relaxing, like a warm bath, dark and quiet like the last moment you remember before falling asleep in your own bed or in her case on the wooly chest of a slow-breathing jackelope. The tunnel didn¡¯t seem as claustrophobic as before, her movements fluid and effortless, propelling her with ease along with just the slow kick of her feet and the automatic wriggle of her back. The pipe opened into several more pipes, mostly the same size pointing back and one larger one pointing forwards, blocked by a large steel wall and a beam down the middle. She could see light, the slight bubble of air leaking past it as a sound in the distance rumbled and called her. Like a deep trumpet in the dark. She welcomed the approaching roar and smiled as the metallic crunch of the valve moving poured in more light. The roaring groan of the bar turning finally broke loose and like being pulled from death, her body rushed through and into the light. And it burned like hell.

    ¡°NICOLE WAKE UP!¡± Vinn yelled, hopping on one hoof to get her to the shore. He gasped and submerged, unable to swim himself but making slow progress. A hand grabbed him and his hooves hit soil as he pulled himself up with Jack¡¯s help, carrying Nicole who was struggling and covering her eyes.

    ¡°Breathe sweetie.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just too bright.¡± She coughed, spitting out water in an oddly calm manner. Vinn patted her back and hugged her, not sure what to do exactly as she blindly felt around and hugged him back.

    ¡°That was too close.¡± Jack said, opening her eyes and noticing they were entirely black. She struggled to shut them as the blackness contracted into pupils and returned to something passably human looking.

    ¡°God it¡¯s so bright, where Am I?¡±

    ¡°On the shore, 20 feet from the street, in the dead of night, one street lamp. It¡¯s dark as shit Nicole. She blinked and forced her eyes to focus and realized it was not as bad as before.

    ¡°You must be so cold and scared.¡± Vinn said afraid to hug her any tighter.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± She smirked.

    ¡°Okay well I¡¯m cold and scared, so let¡¯s get you to the road at least. I think you¡¯re in shock. We need to get you to the hospital.¡±

    ¡°Vinn, I¡¯m not in shock. Look at me. I¡¯m not afraid anymore. I found what I was looking for¡­myself.¡± She said. ¡°And I¡¯m back.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that even means but I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay and don¡¯t you ever go into that place again.¡± He scolded.

    ¡°She won¡¯t need to.¡± Jack said as the valve opened again and he drew his boot knife. Kraken lumbered out of the narrow opening, drenched and confident, strutting up to them as the crowd at the bar began to notice the drama. Several people began watching, taking their phones out, including a platinum blonde with vivid blue eyes, grinning and playfully waving.

    ¡°Vinn, remember what I told you, stand down.¡± Jack said readying his blade.

    ¡°What are you doing with that blade little soldier?¡± Kraken growled. ¡°You gonna kill me in front of everyone? For what? For all they know I saved that little human.

    ¡°I challenge you.¡± Jack growled.

    ¡°You can¡¯t. Only Delmarians can fight in the pit legally. Right now you¡¯re just threatening a security guard. But I¡¯ll allow it. You¡¯re only human. You¡¯re scared. Your friend here nearly drowned. Now Vinn on the other hand should be furious with me.¡±

    ¡°What did you do to her?¡± Vinn huffed.

    ¡°Everything I wanted.¡± Kraken smirked.

    ¡°He¡¯s lying, Vinn.¡± Said Nicole. ¡°Just let it go. I won.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Stand down Vinn, remember what I told you. Don¡¯t let him win, just hold your ground.¡± Jack reminded with a wink.

    ¡°I challenge Vinn to the pit, over a matter of honor.¡± Hollered Kraken as the crowd grew interested. Vinn looked at Jack for the signal. He stared coldly.

    ¡°Fight me. Soldier to soldier.¡± Kraken boasted.

    ¡°Wha-no.¡± Vinn scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re just provoking me.¡±

    ¡°I publically invoke Fupar in front of these witnesses. You can¡¯t turn it down!!¡±

    ¡°Yea, I can. It¡¯s totally legal. People do that constantly.¡± Vinn argued.

    ¡°And it proves they have no honor.¡± Kraken said loudly.

    ¡°The hell does that even mean, you¡¯d kill my ass and then I¡¯d be dead, that doesn¡¯t do me any good. Then she¡¯s alone and sad, why would I volunteer for that?

    ¡°Because that is your second dishonor. You married a human, you ran away from the core, you have no honor left, fight for something back, incel.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good, thanks for the offer dicknuts.¡± Vinn shrugged.

    ¡°Wh¡­what are you?¡± Kraken asked with revolt. ¡°What have you become? You¡¯re not a soldier, Not a Delmarian, not even a man. You may not care what I think about you, but everyone here has seen and heard your cowardice and you will be labeled as such. They will chant your name and brand it Coward, and that is permanent. Your wife will leave you for someone willing to protect her.¡± Kraken announced. ¡°Perhaps this little soldier who has the guts to challenge me knowing he would not live. You have less honor than a human. And your name shall be worthless.¡± He puffed up proudly.

    First off, everyone is right, Delmarian names are already pretty shit, so what¡¯s one more stupid title? Secondly, if I gave a crap what people thought of me, do you think I¡¯d have married HER!?¡± he pointed. She jerked her head back and looked pissed. ¡°Sorry honey, you¡¯re perfect it¡¯s just.. the racist thing, you know what I mean, don¡¯t even.¡±

    ¡°And your woman will stay with you as a coward?¡± kraken scoffed.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Hollered a tiny voice from Nicole. ¡°Because I love him. And I¡¯d rather have him alive, than dead with your stupid honors.¡± She admitted as kraken pulled Vinn up buy the shirt collar.

    ¡°Bro you got nothing. You can¡¯t intimidate me or shame me. I know who I am, I¡¯m weird and clumsy and pretty bad at soldier stuff, but that¡¯s just me. I know my flaws and accept them and refuse to believe the crap you think is a weakness. So what you got, more names? Wanna call me a pussy? Humans HATE that one, you wanna slap me, I¡¯ll slap you back and they¡¯ll break us up, and I still win. There¡¯s nothing you can say that is gonna change anything.¡± Vinn scoffed. Kraken leaned closer, antler to antler so nobody could hear but Vinn.

    ¡°And what happens when I come back some night for that little human of yours? Maybe when she¡¯s walking home or reading one of her books at night while you sleep? Some day you¡¯ll be away and she¡¯ll be all alone. People get lost in those tunnels you know, unless you¡¯re someone like me that knows them well. I¡¯m staying on this stupid moon until this is done. You wanna live in fear the rest of your life?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯d hang you for that. Delmarian or not they¡¯d hang you.¡± Vinn said, losing his chill very quickly.

    ¡°Would they?  Half the security on this moon thinks I¡¯m right. She keeps running into those tunnels, why would she not return and be found dead? Who would question it? They don¡¯t want human females infecting the men¡¯s minds either. I might get away with it, Maybe they wouldn¡¯t even care if I did it. Even if they did, in the eyes of the purists and the old gods I would die a martyr¡­and she¡¯d still be dead regardless, and you knowing you could have stopped me. I¡¯m taking one of you two apart, one way or another, and that will leave the survivor broken and alone. But my only interest in her is to get to you. If you die, she lives. So the question is not ¡®are you man enough to die for honor¡¯, the question is¡­are you man enough to die in her place?¡± Kraken smirked. Jack subtly nodded. Vinn grabbed him buy the horns.

    ¡°I ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE!¡± he said shoving him back as the crowd cheered.

 23: Ready to die

    ¡°VINN WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?¡± Nicole yelled, circling him like a vulture.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand how these purists are, honey. You don¡¯t understand how insane HE specifically is. He¡¯s right, for once. We¡¯d never be safe, and he would always be watching. One day he¡¯d get the drop on one of us and it could be you. I¡¯m not taking that chance.¡±

    ¡°Report him! He threatened our lives!¡±

    ¡°This is Delmar, people do that constantly, and it¡¯s legal. It¡¯s called a challenge; they have like one a week on this moon, at least. Nobody heard him threaten YOU, they all saw and heard him challenge ME. Totally legal here. Unless he actually makes a move on our lives, he¡¯s not breaking any law. He¡¯s special ops, and bat shit insane, and unfortunately, one of the best in our class so if he makes a move, he¡¯d succeed, especially if he went after you. And he would, because if he killed you and got away with it I¡¯d challenge him anyway, because I¡¯d lose my mind. So we¡¯re both dead in that scenario. There¡¯s no way I could live on knowing your killer was walking free, I¡¯d either challenge him and probably die, or I¡¯d kill him in his sleep and then hang for it. So what is the best option here? I step up and fight him, legally. Problem solved.¡±

    ¡°And you really think you can beat him?¡±

    ¡°NO, probably not. That¡¯s why I¡¯m so freaked out. I could get lucky or some shit but he¡¯s probably gonna murder me. Maybe he just wants to prove something, maybe he¡¯d just kick my ass and let me live. I¡¯ve seen it once in the pits¡­once. Probably not, but I need a coping scenario here I¡¯m probably gonna die.¡± He admitted.

    ¡°We run.¡± She said firmly.

    ¡°We can¡¯t run, we don¡¯t have passports, security is locked down for the political conference. We don¡¯t have connections, he¡¯s got military connections and security clearance so he has access to guns and we don¡¯t. That¡¯s just really guaranteed double suicide.¡±

    Vinn this can¡¯t just be the only way, it just can¡¯t. It¡¯s not fair, it can¡¯t be legal. They can¡¯t allow that!¡± she yelled.

    ¡°It¡¯s a crack in the system, honey. Delmar sucks. That¡¯s why a lot of us leave it. Before Gizzy got on the council you could challenge humans to Fupar. You know how many humans just got stomped in 2 seconds over some stupid cultural law they didn¡¯t know about? Progress takes time and steps, and in the mean time there are shitty scenarios and we¡¯re in one. If you haven¡¯t noticed I seem to create those just by existing.¡±

    ¡°Talk to Gizzy. We can explain it, have him put on some kind of mental instability watch. Maybe she can¡­like¡­ give us a security detail.¡±

    ¡°He IS security detail. He knows a lot of those guys from the core, and a lot of the core guys are purists! There¡¯s a good chance one of them would kill you on their shift if he ordered it. I have to fight him. If I fight him and I win, it¡¯s over. That¡¯s how the pits work. It¡¯s a score settling endgame. Any other scenario is your life at risk and both of us going insane looking over our shoulders until something bad happens. He¡¯s patient, he¡¯s trained, he¡¯s dangerous but he¡¯s got one weakness¡­he¡¯s cocky. He thinks he can¡¯t lose and there is no way I¡¯ll even stand up to him. He won¡¯t expect it if I just nut up and rush his ass and that¡¯s literally the only plan I have. Pretend to be scared, which is gonna be super easy to do, because I am, and then right before they ring the gong  for the blade round, I just bumrush him and hope he doesn¡¯t expect it. I¡¯ve seen fights go like that.¡±

    ¡°How often?¡± she asked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want me to tell you that number, just trust me it¡¯s a thing. Weird shit happens.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find Jack, he has to have some magical solution up his ass like usual.¡± She said stomping out of the room, brushing past Dee, who she completely ignored. Dee knocked and waved.

    ¡°Hey big guy.¡± She smiled.

    ¡°Heard the news, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Yea, pretty upset about it. Everyone is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m working on it.¡± He sighed.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve always treated you kinda shitty. You¡¯re risking your life for my best friend and I can¡¯t ignore that. I wasn¡¯t any better then those shitty purist dicks, and I was wrong. She¡¯s lucky to have you and I¡¯ll miss you if you die. I wanna give you something.¡± She said, holding out her hand.

    ¡°Better not be a damn bead.¡± He joked.

    ¡°Silver bullet. Got it online, it¡¯s probably not even real but there¡¯s symbolism there and you can have it, because I don¡¯t want it anymore.¡±

    ¡°Human superstition luck charm?¡±

    ¡°Yea something like that, it¡¯s complicated but it¡¯s a compliment and we¡¯re not getting married if you take it, there¡¯s no real strings attached. It¡¯s mostly just symbolism and when I got it I didn¡¯t know you. Now I do.¡±

    ¡°Well it means a lot, so thank you.¡±

    ¡°You earned a hug, big guy. Come on, bring it in. Nope, squat down lower, too close to the¡­there ya go. Platonic elevation, that¡¯s good. Above the waist contact. Those shorts really do not provide any support, do they? God, Nicole is a real trooper. Good for you though.¡± She nodded.

    ¡°May your token bring me luck.¡±

    And may the force be ever in your favor.¡± She saluted.

    Gizzy stood arms crossed as Kraken stomped back and forth in her office, stepping angrily up to her and looking her in the eyes.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°How dare you. I was promised her blood and you denied me that?¡±

    ¡°I promised you satisfaction and honor, you didn¡¯t feel that the other night, all that show and speech didn¡¯t feel powerful? I promised you blood, not Nicole¡¯s blood, you¡¯ll get your reward at the fight, all the honor, all the glory, let all the purists respect you, first blood you¡¯ve spilled in ages I bet. Back in the Fupar pit like the old days. Face it Krackhead, you¡¯re just mad because you grew to respect that little human and she was never part of our deal. You got that in your head for some reason. You wanted Vinn, glory, and recognition, and I got Gandalf to bring his best man for the job. So congratulations Punkin, you get everything you wanted and promised, just not the bonus treat you decided you wanted midway. Never part of the deal. You¡¯re not actually getting a bit of a crush on that human are you? That doesn¡¯t make you much better then Vinn now does it?¡± she provoked.

    ¡°I want her as a prize, not as a wife.¡± He objected. ¡°I want Vinn to see her head on my wall.¡± He said, cut short by an impact to the neck. Gizzy grabbed him by the throat and arched her back, growing taller than she was, and pinning him to the wall, slowly lifting his hooves off the ground. Her eyes glowed white and her canines lengthened. She growled in a deeper voice than he could.

    ¡°Listen here you dickless throw-rug. I could snap your neck for the insult and call it self defense.¡± She said as he struggled to twist her wrist and break free, to no effect. ¡°Now listen carefully. The deal is done, the prize is yours, in the pit as you wanted. Nicole is not your trophy, and if you even so much as consider altering the deal or step within 50 yards of her, I will pull your spine through your ass and make it look like a suicide, go ahead and ask me for the details. You wanted blood, go get it, you wanted your job, you have it. But don¡¯t you dare try that intimidation shit on me. You¡¯re nothing, furr covered worm, an order-taking bitch on my leash, and you need to remember that. Now act like a Delmarian male and go prep for the fight, and at least act like you did it for honor.¡± She said releasing him. He sat on the ground dizzy and spinning. He throttled the urge to slap her face for the insult, knowing full well he may not have a hand to retract if he did. With tail between legs, he staggered up and stomped out.

    ¡°Dude I am freaking out right now.¡± Said Vinn, nervously bouncing his knee as Jack prepped the needle.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a shot buddy.¡±

    ¡°Not the shot, asshole, the whole, you know, death battle I¡¯m probably gonna lose while my wife watches me get beaten to a carcass for 8 minutes. That part. The needle is not a big deal, the other part feels like a deal that¡¯s more significant in size. He said as Jack stuck a syringe in his bicep, and gave him a huge dose of clear liquid.

    ¡°That didn¡¯t hurt a bit.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°That was a sedative cocktail used to make prisoners docile, it¡¯s a low dose so you should just be more relaxed and mentally focused, and then it¡¯s gonna wear off before the fight, and then you¡¯ll feel the good stuff kicking in.¡± He said giving him the second shot, a vial of glowing green gel that had lightly etched the syringe glass over a few minutes of prep.

    ¡°GGGgyad what the hell is in that? Powdered glass and hot sauce?¡± he clinched

    ¡°I told you it sucks going in. The burn will last about a minute. Now tomorrow when it soaks in you¡¯re gonna feel a burst of energy, like you had the best sleep of your life and a strong coffee right before a big exciting vacation. You¡¯re gonna feel confident and indestructible. And then it¡¯s gonna gradually increase until you feel uncomfortably energetic like your bones are gong to take off running without your muscles wanting to.¡±

    ¡°Oh great this is fun.¡± Vinn sighed.

    ¡°But wait, there¡¯s more!¡± Jack announced. ¡°Your senses will heighten, and before long your own heartbeat will be so vivid that it will annoy you and you can see your heartbeat in your eyes like dark flickers of lighting. That¡¯s the blood vessels in your eyeballs under tension. Then you reach a peak stage where instead of feeling nervous and scared with anticipation you just wanna kill something. Anything, everything, just the primal urge to murder something with you bare hands and teeth and you¡¯re gonna sort of like it and that¡¯s gonna frighten you a bit. It feel like losing yourself and giving in to something dark you don¡¯t wanna be, but it¡¯s temporary.¡±

    ¡°How many times have you done this?¡± Vinn questioned.

    ¡°Lost count. Then you stop forming short term memory, and every few seconds it feel like time jumped and you don¡¯t remember the last 30 seconds, it¡¯s dreamlike and disorienting. At this stage you¡¯re actually more impaired than enhanced; you would fight like distracted shit and be wildly out of control, and that¡¯s the night before the fight. The day of the fight, you need to play some music, something soothing and deep, not intense, but meaningful and complex with a slower pace, I have a playlist for you. You get used to the feeling and your body feels lighter. That last for about an hour and that is when you should be ready for the fight. You¡¯re gonna go in fully coherent and feeling like it almost wore off, it¡¯s gonna freak you out a little because you¡¯ll think oh shit it ran out before it needed to, but that¡¯s not the case, your body has just equalized to it. It binds with your adrenaline, so the more angry you get and the more abuse you take the meaner you¡¯ll get.

    The first part of the fight is hand to hand so he is going to pummel the shit out of you for a while and seem to be winning but he¡¯s actually just activating the serum, take the hits. At some point it will take over you and your mind will just be on autopilot, stay with it, don¡¯t fall asleep, stay in the passenger seat and watch the fight, and always watch your opponents¡¯ moves. Your body is operating without you, but your mind is still giving it information so watch his hands, his footsteps, where his head turns before he moves, get ahead of his movements and use that slowed down feeling to scan the fight so your body can react to it.

    ¡°So I¡¯ll just be damn near indestructible?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not. You¡¯re still flesh and blood, and any stab or cut will do the same damage as it always would, you just don¡¯t care or feel a damn thing so your body reacts but your mind doesn¡¯t actively know you¡¯re injured. At this point they¡¯ll introduce swords. One good hit to the throat on either of you is still a done deal, so you may be a concrete wall of hulk rage impervious to punches but don¡¯t think the sword is gonna bounce off you. It won¡¯t, they still cut the same as ever. At that point you need to switch tactics, you¡¯re no longer letting him hit you and build your rage, you¡¯re not tanking it, and studying his moves, learning and pretending to be losing. Foreplay is over, give in to the serum, unleash hell. Your body should know everything it needs to win, and all you do from there is fall backwards into the darkness and remind yourself you WILL come back out of it¡­unless you die, obviously, but the good news is that if you die then you wont really be aware of it so it¡¯s like going under medical sedation and then dying in your sleep. You¡¯ll either wake up or you won¡¯t and if you come back, you likely won.

    ¡°None of this sounds okay. I assume nobody does this recreationally.¡±

    ¡°If you survive, you¡¯ll want to. It¡¯s highly addictive. The cravings are pretty severe. If you wanna have sex with your wife, Do that tonight, because for the next 2-3 days you do NOT wanna have sex. Trust me.

    ¡°Oh super. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    ¡°But once it flushed out of your system via about 6-10 gallons of water and really unpleasant pissing, you¡¯ll feel fine and there will be no further side effects. Not after one dose at the level I¡¯m giving you. It¡¯s the accumulative effect that causes issues and don¡¯t worry about getting hooked, you can¡¯t get more of this anyway if you wanted. In fact as far as anyone knows from this point forward, you never had it the first time. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Loud and clear captain.¡±

    ¡°Now go home, spend some time with Nicole, rest up. Shit¡¯s gonna get real later on.

 24: FUPAR!

    Nicole took her seat in the VIP section of the arena, next to Vicki. Silverback and Dee arrived a moment later, Dee staggering drunk already.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Jack?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s not joining us.¡± Vicki said calmly.

    ¡°What do you mean he¡¯s not joining us, Vinn might die and he¡¯s not even going to provide moral support?¡±

    ¡°Trust me, Nicole, he¡¯s providing more support than we are. Just keep it together and be brave.¡± She whispered cryptically.

    Jack, dressed in all black and sitting atop some form of radio tower, adjusted his ski mask, opening the instrument case and removing the rifle. He steadied his mind and peered out to the arena in the distance. 812 yards, windage 15mph. He loaded the round and locked the bolt in place, getting settled in, and clicking the safety on.

    Vinn sat in a metal chair, shirtless and covered in tribal paint marking his clan and making it easier to see which one he was from the nosebleed sections of the crowd. He breathed deliberate breaths, thinking about Nicole¡¯s smile as the playlist droned out a soft trancelike melody. He wrapped his wrists in bright green bands, checking the clock, 5 minutes left. The playlist switched tracks, and a Viking mantra began playing. The fur on his neck stood up as the tension built and at the 40 second mark. The track went full Deathcore, the volume jumping up. His pupils dilated and his already light red eyes began to go a rusty dark color. His head began to nod to the beat, his confidence building as the doors opened and the end of the tunnel glowed a soft white, the sound of the crowd building up to a dull murmur entirely drowned out by the barrage of drums and bass rattling his ears. He stomped his way down the tunnel, tossing the earbuds aside and feeling the brisk cold hit his face, and the light of the arena. He peered up at the VIP section.

    ¡°I LOVE YOU VINN!¡± Nicole shouted, hanging dangerously over the rail.

    ¡°I love you too.¡± He muttered to the void as Kraken, wrapped in black and yellow, stomped up to him and stopped, towering over him with a confident stretch compared to Vinn¡¯s nervous slouch.

    ¡°After I make you my bitch, your bitch is next.¡± He growled.

    ¡°Stay calm, wait it out.¡± Vinn said inside his head, looking up into the eyes of the devil and holding his rage. The gong sounded, the crown settled down. The gong sounded a second time. Silence. They took 3 steps backward, leaving the very center circle as the third gong sounded, waiting for the 4<sup>th</sup> to start. The last gong sounded.

    ¡°FUPAAAAAR!¡± rung out in the arena

    Kraken burst into a sprint, locking antlers with Vinn and scrunching him down with overwhelming power, lifting him to his feet with an uppercut to the ribs. Vinn swung back hitting only a blocking arm and taking an unexpected knee to the side, followed by a right hook that put him in the dirt. Kraken chuckled and circled, playing with his food a little.

    ¡°Get up little soldier.¡± He growled.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just enjoying the scenery.¡± Vinn huffed, hopping to his feet and switching positions. Vinn pretended to hesitate and then stepped into the striking zone, taking another hit to the face and turning with it, throwing a back kick that Kraken seemed to just absorb like a wall, barely wincing. Vinn ducked a power swing throwing a few rapid hits to the chest. Kraken held his hands out as if to just let him swing to prove a point, and after several more hits, he grabbed Vinn by the antlers and pulled him down right into a rising knee, rolling him to the dirt again. Kraken beat his chest like an ape as the crown roared with a combination of cheers and boos.

    ¡°He is so fucked, isn¡¯t he?¡± whispered Dee to silverback.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think like that.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re both thinking it.¡±

    ¡°Then just don¡¯t say it out loud.¡± He said solemnly.

    Vinn got back up, shaking it off. He felt a sudden rush of fear, as kraken charged him, knocking him to his back and planting him in the dirt, as he unleashed a wall of relentless right punches. Jacks voice echoing in his sloshing brains. ¡°don¡¯t fall asleep, stay in the passenger seat.¡± He moved his arms up to take some of the hits and suddenly was lifted up to his feet, only to have his hooves kicked out from him, and sent face first to the ground with an elbow to the back of the neck. Nicole¡¯s eyes welled up and she sunk into seat, trying to block the action with the rail but unable to stop watching.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up on him yet. This half is not his strong suit.¡± Vicki encouraged.

    ¡°No shit.¡± Sobbed Nicole.

    ¡°Jack said he¡¯s an absolute beast with a sword.¡±

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    Vinn staggered to his feet and stepped back, suddenly he felt heavy. His spine tightening and a rush of cold chill flowing through him, His opponent seemed a bit smaller now, he resisted the urge to smile, waiting it out and taking the next few punches, throwing one back every so often and backing up to stay upright. The sound of a tribal horn roared through the air. Stage 2. A pair of short swords clanked to the ground behind them both as they backed away, picking them up. Vinn glared, holding his ribs and leaning to one side, both pretending to be injured and also actually thinking he might be. That rib seemed softer then it should be.

    ¡°Nicole, sit up.¡± ordered Vicki. She reluctantly did. Vinn stood upright, slamming his left fist into the side of his own head, in a slow repetitive manner feeling his heart rate skyrocket. The crowd began chanting, loving the display.

    ¡°Have you accepted death, yet?¡± Asked Kraken.

    ¡°For one of us.¡± He wheezed, pulling in a massive breath through his nose and releasing it just as the gong sounded. He stepped back, avoiding a strike or two from the blade, the third swing clipping his right antler and sending a few sparks through the air. He met the next swing blade to blade and let his wrist go limp, sending kraken unexpectedly forward into a headbutt and spinning with the rebound. He swung behind his back to lay a gash in kraken¡¯s forearm. The crowd roared up. Kraken looked rather shocked and almost amused by this.

    ¡°And here I thought you would never get a lucky hit. You¡¯re dying more honorably than I imagined.¡± He toyed as Vinn started foaming with hatred.

    ¡°Give in to it, Vinn.¡± Jacks voice whispered. ¡°Fall into the darkness¡±

    Vinn exhaled and put his arms out, falling into the void of his own body, now only vaguely aware of the fight at all, like a dreamer watching a fighter¡¯s dream.

    Kraken stepped forward expecting a dodge or a passive sidestep but was met with aggression. Vinn let out a primal roar, sending blood and spit out like a mist and then slashing the mist in half with a series of rapid fire power swings. Kraken held tightly able to only hold his ground as the impacts sparked and chipped both blades. He threw a knee up stop the unrelenting machinegun fire of metal. He connected with Vinn¡¯s bad rib, breaking it completely and instead of hunkering down, he planted a hoof into kraken¡¯s knee and send HIM rolling into the dirt. He lifted his blade to defend and felt it shutter with a strange impact as he lifted up a much lighter sword with a blade about 4 inches long. The rest of the sword was buried broken at a sharp point under Vinn¡¯s hoof. Kraken blocked the incoming killstrike with the guard anyway, and dropped the broken blade to roll to safety.

    ¡°He¡¯s got this.¡± Vicki whispered, hugging Nicole to build her confidence.

    ¡°Vinn swirled the blade around trying to place himself between the shard and Kraken so if he went for the VERY short sword, he would be right in decapitation range, and Kraken knew it. Kraken discreetly palmed a small splinter of the broken blade behind his arm, raising his fists like a boxer hiding a razorblade. Vinn rushed in to kill as Kraken went for the sword on the ground, and just before ducking into the death zone he turned and threw the splinter, sticking it in Vinn¡¯s knee and sending him down. Kraken grabbed the shortened sword and kicked Vinn¡¯s hand, sending his full sword flying in the distance.

    Suddenly he was kneeling, weaponless and unable to stand or pull out the shard in his knee as Kraken held the only half weapon, stomping the shard in his knee and breaking it off, thus eliminating any chance of removing it. He had the high ground, and the edge, and he stood above Vinn pointing the broken sword at his nose.

    Nicole lunged forward roaring with rage as Silverback and Vicki struggled to keep her in the VIP box, screaming violently through snot and tears, read to take on Kraken herself.

    ¡°Well done, Vinn. A better performance than I ever imagined. But all good shows must come to an end. You¡¯ve earned a final statement, make it count.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good.¡± Vinn sighed, looking calmly ready to die. Kraken chuckled taking a knee and grabbing his shoulder, pulling back to run the shard through his heart. He lunged forward, Vinn¡¯s hand grabbing his wrist, and the blade struck his left shoulder instead, he pulled the blade in tighter locking Kraken in close.

    ¡°I got a lot more dialogue left.¡± Vinn whispered darkly.

    Vinn let out a banshee cry, and with his free right hand, he grabbed his own chipped antler and snapped it off, plunging the end into Kraken¡¯s eye. Kraken recoiled in pain as Vinn yanked out the antler and stabbed him in the neck, over and over, dropping on top of him and biting his neck, with one ferocious release of rage, he started twisting and yanking, and a spray of orange blood covered him from head to knees. He planted his good leg on kraken¡¯s chest and held up the severed head, roaring to the crowd as they lost control and cheered, several small fight breaking out sporadically. The trumpets sounded and Nicole burst into a flailing sprint, stumbling and running into people on her way down the steps. She hopped the rail and dropped into the arena, barely hitting the sloped section that slowed her fall and rolled her in the dirt. She scampered to her feet and ran to Vinn, still holding the head, tossing it aside as she arrived. She burst into incoherent tears and muttering as she hugged him.

    ¡°Ah AH, damnit, broken rib!¡± he squeaked as she jumped back and froze. ¡°The shit wore off, I feel everything. I¡¯m just faking at this point. Please get a medic.¡± He half chuckled almost crying. She held his hands and put her forehead against his, now missing a horn nearly to the skull. The medical team slid to a stop examining the blade in his shoulder and the piece in his knee.

    ¡°This one¡¯s not that bad.¡± He said flexing his shoulder as they pulled it out with a sigh of relief. Another medic locked a pair of pliers onto the nub sticking out of his knee, bracing with his boot and yanking it out.

    ¡°AAaaaAAAAAhhh, SHITASS!¡± he screamed. ¡°That one was way worse! That one was so much worse! He said, ¡°UUgh, gonna throw up.¡±

    ¡°Ribs 4 and 5 broken.¡± Said the doctor holding the scanner.

    ¡°NaAaAaw, ya think?¡± Vinn gasped sarcastically.

    ¡°No serious internal bleeding, no punctured organs, superficial lacerations and bruising to the¡­well everywhere. Shoulder wound missed the artery and tendons, that knee will need surgery. You¡¯re gonna be fine soldier.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a soldier, I¡¯m a married construction worker.¡± He proudly smiled.

    ¡°Holy hell, how are you not dead?¡±

    ¡°I KNOW, RIGHT!?¡± he deliriously chuckled as the rolled him onto the cart and carried him to the exit, Nicole running beside him the whole way. They wheeled him to the surgical room, as a nurse tugged on Nicole¡¯s arm to move her to the hallway.

    ¡°The doctor needs to speak with you privately, nothing bad but quite necessary.¡± She assured.

    ¡°Vinn I¡¯ll be right¡­oh he¡¯s unconscious. Never mind.¡± She noted as she followed the nurse. She led her down a hallway and through a pair of odd metal doors that locked behind them.

 25: The prestige

    The lighting was different and darker. The nurse veered away and into another door as Nicole stared at a pair of blue glowing eyes in the darkness. She was drawn to them, like a moth, to a pair of glowing blue eyes in the darkness. It¡¯s a real problem with Osirians on planets with a lot of insects.

    I know you¡­you¡¯re that Gizzy person I talked to about my marriage papers. You¡¯re not a doctor¡­are you?¡±

    ¡°Legally no, technically sometimes, that¡¯s not related to this. I¡¯d like you to note the grey conical device just above your head.¡± She said casually as Nicole looked up and felt a strange bassy oompf of heat, suddenly fumbling to the floor as a rush of memories flooded back to her all at once. Gizzy handed her a signed consent form and a thumb drive. She already knew it was the video she made to herself, explaining her consent and conversation.

    ¡°In case you wanted to have a third party scan for authenticity to prove it was unaltered and genuine. Feel free to do so at your own convenience.

    ¡°You set this up?¡± Nicole whispered. ¡°All of it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did. That¡¯s why they call me a villain, honey.¡±

    ¡°Why? Why torture us?¡±

    ¡°Because you still have a fear chip implanted in your arm and that brave dumb bastard just showed all of Delmar he¡¯s willing to die for a human wife. That was the move that will get 2 council members to see my side, and one that lost a bet and reluctantly has to. The program is complete and the integration laws that will be voted on at tonight¡¯s council meeting will be more then approved. Do you realize your little show just changed a lot of people¡¯s lives for the better? Do you realize that you volunteered to make this world a better place by facing your fears and that is exactly what I did?¡± Gizzy grinned. ¡°And so much more even I didn¡¯t expect.¡±

    ¡°I volunteered, not him. You nearly got Vin killed. You paid a crazed killer to fight my husband to the death knowing he would probably die, you psychotic bitch.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on, we rigged that shit too. I had snipers on the roof of the arena ready to put him down if it got too close, with my best man on lead target.¡±

    ¡°It looked pretty damn close to me.¡± Nicole huffed.

    ¡°It had to be close. We had to make it look convincing. Actually if Vinn didn¡¯t do that horn thing we were ready to take the shot, which was really good timing. Just¡­wow, shocker, I¡¯m still not over that move.¡± She chuckled with a slow clap.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you be on trial for murder or rigging a death battle?¡±

    ¡°Honey, I cheat a lot. I¡¯m good at it. We had a fall guy and everything. I get away with so much shit it¡¯s unreal. Villain, remember? And tonight, your ally for the cause, but I don¡¯t play fair in a game that¡¯s not fair to begin with. I play to win and usually do.¡± She said reaching back and offering some meat and cheese samples. Nicole slapped it away, a few discs of meat sticking to the wall.

    ¡°So in the tunnels you had snipers keeping me from drowning?¡± she squinted.

    ¡°Actually no the water is harmless to you. You¡¯re aquatic characteristics kicked in with the nanoshot. You could breathe underwater for like 20-30 minutes, we could remotely drain it before you drown. You may even be able to breathe underwater indefinitey, we just didn¡¯t test that yet. You and Vinn were never at any high risk of death, it just seemed that way because that¡¯s what I wanted it to seem like. That¡¯s why the tunnels work. If it doesn¡¯t seem real, it doesn¡¯t work. You should be thanking me right now. You came to me with a dumb mistake, I gave you the free option to get out of a marriage you didn¡¯t want, I showed you both who you truly are, to yourselves and to each other. I brought a racist council closer together enough to get paperwork in motion and did you forget the whole thing comes with a bunch of money? You asked me a favor, I offered you a job, and you did the job, Good job, gold star for Nicole. Sure, I lied to you about some shit, and scared the hell out of you as promised, and then paid you more than I offered for the trouble.¡± She said producing a huge envelope of cash.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t for the money.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Tell me that wasn¡¯t the most intense scary movie you ever experienced. You can get the little GG gold logo tattooed on your leg if you want. I¡¯ll allow it.¡±

    ¡°You took it too far, and you don¡¯t even feel bad about it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I feel bad about it, I feel bad about a lot of thing I have to do, and that¡¯s politics. It¡¯s a shitty job but it keeps my family safe and quite frankly It¡¯s what I¡¯m good at¡­preventing wars, or ending them really quickly. I¡¯m a monster, and I used that to do the best I can with it. Don¡¯t think it doesn¡¯t stress me, or make me sick sometimes.¡±

    ¡°You seem pretty heartless to me.¡±

    ¡°Well technically none of us Osirians have a heart, we don¡¯t even have blood, but I digress. We do have feelings.

    Leadership is a series of bad decisions and you get to pick the lesser evil to unleash. And if it makes you feel better, that part about Kraken hunting you down forever and murdering you... That was off-script. He was supposed to threaten VINN, and apparently when you hire a psychopath to be a psychopath they can go a little out of control on the script lines. Thankfully he¡¯s dead and you get to keep the head as a trophy. Unless you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll add it to mine. Monsters like me have to work with other monsters too sometimes. I made your live hell for a little while, I¡¯m a bitch sometimes, I¡¯d do it again if I had to, and I¡¯m sorry it has to be that way. Here are your divorce papers, your change of name approval, and an envelope with a shitload of money.¡±

    ¡°You can keep these papers and stick them in your big blue ass. I¡¯d be honored to have that Delmarians ridiculous last name.¡± She said, ripping them in half and throwing them.

    ¡°And they money?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m keeping the money, but the rest of that you can shove up your ass. This is my money now, I got stuff to do with this and Vinn deserves compensation. But I still hate you.¡± She snipped.

    ¡°I know sweetie. You¡¯re not alone there, and I think I¡¯ll get over it some day. And lookie here it¡¯s Vinn the Merciless, as they¡¯re calling you. Well played, we¡¯ll get you a nice gold prosthetic horn until that grows back.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°I just wanna go home.¡± He said hanging his head.

    ¡°Why do you look so sad?¡± Nicole asked.

    ¡°I just proved I can rip a dude¡¯s head off, and it¡¯s just made me more worried about accidentally hurting you.¡±

    Vinn, I¡¯m like the great and powerful Ozz, Instead of a heart I gave you Thark testosterone drugs and some balls, and instead of going home with red shoes, I gave Nicole her true self and a lot of money. You missed the¡­son of a bitch I¡¯m not repeating that. Quit whining and go bang your wife.

    ¡°We¡¯re just not compatible, I can never truly feel like I can even hold her without risking her life.¡± He said.

    Actually, you couldn¡¯t kill her now if you tried.¡±

    ¡°What? Nicole said. ¡°I get hurt falling off the bed.¡±

    ¡°Well you probably used to but have you noticed since you¡¯ve been in the caves you seem to heal pretty damn quickly?¡±

    ¡°Well I haven¡¯t really got hurt to know.¡±

    ¡°And the weird cravings, and the night vision? You really think that was all in your head? Nicole you¡¯re a tiny little monster. I don¡¯t know how to tell you this but you¡¯re kind of an aquatic technozombie.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t follow.¡± Vinn blinked.

    ¡°Yea me neither.¡± She admitted.

    ¡°Swear to gods, I hate being the only self aware character in a story full of idiots. I keep forgetting nobody else knows the plot! Nicole you know why you¡¯re different? You know why you never felt like the others and never fit in?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m weird or have a mental disorder?¡±

    ¡°Well yes but those are side effects. I have your bio scans here and I didn¡¯t notice this at first but something was off. You fascinated me, something about you was familiar. I assumed it was just a fluke until you had your first¡­encounter of the third kind with the lover moose.¡± Gizzy said raising eyebrows a them both. ¡°Sex, you had sex with Vinn, everyone knows. And I¡¯m guessing despite all efforts and safety you ended up very happy but scuffed up and sore? Most humans that have a love tussle with a monster end up no pun intended slightly banged up. Anything from scraped knees and elbows to bruises from him holding you too tight to¡­um¡­that one case of a spiral fractures spine leading to death but I digress. You took a recovery shot.¡±

    ¡°Antler to the head¡±

    ¡°Ow, those hurt. I¡¯ve been there, but mine was¡­attempted murder.¡±

    ¡°Yea so¡­every hospital has recovery shots; they¡¯re about as rare as epinephrine.¡± She shrugged.

    ¡°Yea, and for a human they just speed up your recovery via nanobots. The nanobots mimic the bodies healing cells and boost the human body¡¯s ability to regenerate and heal injuries. Hence why they can fix a broken arm in hours but you get decapitated and they don¡¯t do shit. I never in my life had a human react oddly to the nanoshots except a few mild irritations here and there. But your body bonded with them¡­or the¡­check the scans. 0.8 percent nonhuman cells.¡± Gizzy read off the tablet.

    ¡°Wait¡­ is she¡­pregnant?¡± gasped Vinn.

    ¡°No dipshit, she¡¯s just under 1 percent alien. Menacodian to be exact. They are so rare we¡¯ve only ever confirmed 2 live specimens. One of which I have as a pet. We love her. Her¡¯s our buddy. But out of the 2 samples we¡¯ve studies we learned¡­well jack shit frankly we have no idea where they come from or if there¡¯s more, HOWEVER, they were both aquatic, cold water loving reptiles with curious natures, dark vision, rapid healing underwater breathing and just the most vicious little teeth you ever saw. Horrifying. So thankfully you didn¡¯t get the teeth but your childlike curiosity may have passed through. When was the last time you felt cold?¡±

    ¡°In the cave, the night before¡­¡±

    ¡°YYYYep. And I¡¯m guessing in the caves you could always sense where the water was.¡±

    ¡°Actually yes. So wait. You¡¯re saying I¡¯m a tiny part alien and because my alien husband can only have rough sex, I took a nanobot shot that mutated me into something else?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­sorta. You¡¯re still 99.2 percent human but those nanobots have only gotten stronger since binding with the Menacodian cells. Menacodians are tough little shits, they can fall 3 stories to stone and never even get a booboo. Ours does that all the time. I¡¯ve been injecting her with nanobots for years now she¡¯s basically got plot armor. You¡¯d still get hurt, but you¡¯d heal. Realistically if your fuzzy hubby broke your spine in half while doing the horizontal tango with a 2 foot height difference, you¡¯d heal in hours, minutes even?

    ¡°What am I going to become¡­some sort of monster?¡±

    ¡°No, this is it right here. This is your final form. You always have been a little monster, Nicole. Now you just got the healing factor of a monster too. Maybe not enough to bolt adamantine to your skeleton and give you sushi knives, and I do NOT recommend decapitation. You will totally die if your head is cut off¡­probably. This only gets you so far, you¡¯re not a god, you¡¯re just better than human. But hey, at least you two can bone now without worrying about Vinn rolling over and crushing you to death. If you break a few ribs, they¡¯ll just heal in seconds. Hopefully that will spice things up in your relationship because honestly you two are just too damn¡­mushy. You¡¯re so gentle it¡¯s kinda gross.¡±

    ¡°Well I think we prefer it a little bit mushy, but it¡¯s good to know we have a safety net.¡± Vinn smiled.

    ¡°You can¡¯t break me.¡± She sighed, hugging him.

    ¡°No you still CAN break her, don¡¯t try it. But she¡¯ll heal. Again, this death insurance, not invulnerability, She¡¯s only about 30 percent more durable than any other 5 foot zero girl pushing 30. Don¡¯t go full apeshit on the sex, you¡¯ll just be broken up and regenerating every 5 seconds and it¡¯s gonna hurt¡­every time.¡± She said puffing her cigar.

    ¡°So it¡¯s over?¡± We heal up and go home and do whatever we want? No more stalkers and nightmares and sleepwalking tunnels and death following us?¡±

    ¡°Yep¡­pretty much. Have fun.¡±

    ¡°Okay just one more question¡­¡± Vinn asked as Gizzy rolled her eyes. ¡°What is the deal with Jack?¡±

    ¡°Honey he can explain that to you in the next chapter, I got shit to do and I¡¯m very late for something I planned on being semi-late to. Ask Jack who he is. Seriously go. I¡¯m leaving, this isn¡¯t my home, I just do the overlord scenes here.¡± She said, flipping off the doom lighting and removing the overlord robe to reveal a classy black dress and combat boots, heading out the back door.

    Gandalf sat down and glared at Gizzy, slowly enjoying her steak in a sexy yet kinda snide manner if you can imagine that.

    ¡°You¡¯re very good.¡± He admitted.

    ¡°I bet you REALLY hate me now.¡± She said with a mouthful of mangled flesh.

    ¡°Oh not much more than always. To be honest, I was always on the fence about the purists. They paid me just enough to stay on that fence, but if the tides shift, so be it. I¡¯m still on the council and I will still make your life difficult when I can, and you will keep being you. The gods have a sick sense of humor.¡±

    ¡°Not all of us, mostly just me. But you had to resist cheating for a long time and I bet that hurt your little ego almost as much as knowing I¡¯m still on the council.¡±

    ¡°Resisting the urge to cheat is something we¡¯re both used to. And there will be another day when you ask for my help and we roll the dice again.¡± He said confidently.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s the fun part about gambling, isn¡¯t it? If you¡¯re the only one cheating there¡¯s no rush. There¡¯s no risk, no fun. God this steak is good, we really need to get some actual cows on this moon. Delmarian soldier meat is not quite the same, but with some Carne Asada seasoning it¡¯s not far off.¡± She said widening her jaw for a massive obscene bite of rare, bloody orange muscle.

    ¡°If I were to accept your Fupar challenge with some form of amended exception, would you really still want to collect my head?¡± Gandalf asked.

    ¡°Yep. In a heartbeat.¡± She admitted. He chuckled, and shook his head.

    ¡°You would make someone a fine trophy as well.¡±

    ¡°And we both know it¡¯s not my head you¡¯d have put on a plaque for your secret alone-time room. The fact is, you¡¯d have to agree to find out and you may have no balls, but you¡¯re not that stupid.¡±

    ¡°Traditions and rules, Gizzy. Some of them must be kept sacred.¡±

    ¡°For now.¡± She smirked.

    ¡°But you got what you wanted, and Lord Keanu was very impressed. You should have all the funding you need now for anything you want too.¡±

    ¡°Not quite. I still want the full mining rights to Earth. We¡¯re not even close to that one yet. That¡¯s at least¡­3 maybe 4 books off.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying half the time, Gizzy but your insanity amuses me. I¡¯ll leave you to your¡­steak.¡± He said cringing uncomfortably.

    ¡°Bubbye punkin.¡± She waved with individual painted nails, kicking her feet up on the table as she chewed.

 26: Who are you, Jack?

    The group sat around in a circle: Vinn, knee in a brace, Nicole on the other knee. Silverback and Dee, and Vicki sitting alone as Jack remained the only one standing up.

    ¡°So¡­what the hell are you, Jack? WHO are you?¡± Dee asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s complicated but explainable. Short answer, Human. Long answer will take some time. As far as you know this habitat is one of the first 3 selected for population relocation both in case of the inevitable destruction of Earth, and the integration of humans to the rest of the universe.

    This isn¡¯t the first wave of human habitats. The first ones were mostly trial runs to see what worked, and for ethical reasons they used prisoners for the experimental habitats. One in particular was self governed, Amenthis, they just let the prisoners build their own society of crime to see wherever it went, and you can imagine it went to hell.

    My father was one of the prisoners, selected as a guard to keep things under control from the inside. They called them Surgeons: Killers running the government by a code. The guards got privileges if they played by the rules and the rules bred some rather efficient killing machines. My father was the best, they say. Roman Blue, AKA the Roman, AKA Caesar himself.¡± He said holding up the bloody coin. ¡°If you got one of these, you were about to meet your hero or your maker. They say you never actually retire from this business, it either pulls you back in or hunts you down, so one way or another it kills you some day¡­you either die operating or you die unexpectedly from a bullet to the head from a thousand yards.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re still¡­ ¡®Operational¡¯ then¡± Dee asked.

    ¡°Semi-retired, more of a special occasion player. When you have a boss like Gizzy, you can¡¯t really get away from it. She knows how to draw you back in. Not even with threats, just facts, reminders, hints that you still owe a debt. The prisoners were supposed to be sterilized on entry but on a rare occasion it didn¡¯t work, so a few system bastards like me, got born into hell and raised there. She got me out of that prison when I was little, gave me a chance at a better life than constantly being hunted and facing the worst monsters ever to be called human. She gave me a home, a job, some surrogate parents, adequate but hardly genuine, but something in me just wasn¡¯t happy whittling wood and making furniture. I joined the military at 16, and when she saw my scores she knew I may have been raised a civilian, but I had the Roman blood in there still working its magic. I wasn¡¯t happy unless I was defending something worth fighting for. She called it the red knight syndrome. A white night who craved being the hero and fighting for the good guys, but soaked red with the blood of his enemies with a lust to kill. Before long you don¡¯t even need to know why you¡¯re doing it, or who the target is. You just learn to trust the orders. Gizzy always had a plan and a reason and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever known her to be wrong about a target. Some ultimate good always comes from it. So I just¡­stopped questioning it.¡±

    ¡°You really trust her entirely.¡± Vicki confirmed.

    ¡°I have to. She gave me a life. She healed my medical defects and made sure I was the peak of human perfection, top doctors, immaculate nutrition, constant training, fitness, latest in health technology. Every opportunity to be what I wanted and I chose this, one way or another. She pulled my ass out of countless situations, some my fault and some ¡®shit-happens¡¯ ones. She¡¯s the closest I have to a real parent and we¡¯re not even the same species. I got tired of it, retired from it, decided to travel and took a job as security and surveillance, 2 boring years back and forth, shore leave on Earth fronting as an HVAC repairman and that¡¯s when I met Vicki¡­ desperate girl with a broken AC. Knew she was different, fell for her immediately and when I realized she had cancer and the only treatments available were offworld, well¡­I just had to call ¡®mother¡¯ and beg for a favor. You know how curious and uh, good Dee is at keeping secrets. The secret got out, and needed to be contained, so the deal was simple, move the whole business, the 12 people running it, the whole house, just move it here where Gizzy could filter and control communications, ensure no leaks compromised the security. The occasional favor, in exchange for packing up your life and business, she gave you all everything you asked for, money, healthcare, protection, special privileges, occasional trips to Earth with restrictions, and basically the promise of a better and longer life than you could have back on Earth.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Damn. One hell of a reward for a security breech.¡± Vinn huffed.

    ¡°Favored human pet privileges. Any other Surgeon, retired from Operations or not, would have been taken out for the security breech, and the problem contained through a series of erased memories, cover stories and fabricated events that would cost far less than moving a house of 12 humans 19 lightyears away to a bigger, better home with constant special care. Money isn¡¯t free, favors are even less so, and mistakes cost you. Everything was on my shoulders. So you rack up a debt bigger then you can pay off with someone you already trust and owe your life several times over, so when she calls and says there is an operation only the steadiest of hands can perform, I don¡¯t argue.

    ¡°Wild.¡± Vinn nodded.

    ¡°Her insanity always ends up looking a lot like genius in the end, and you learn to stop looking for the flaws and risks in the plans. Sometimes even the most brilliant plans either have gaps, flaws or known risks, and occasional sacrifices to be made. She owns me, but I don¡¯t even regret it. Her highest prices are always still worth the value.¡± He said looking at Vicki as she leaned her head on him. ¡°And you assholes too I guess.¡±

    ¡°Yay for Jack.¡± Vinn whispered.

    ¡°So yea. I¡¯m a broken toy, a polished weapon, a scary, dangerous bastard who¡¯s willing to barter anything to keep what I love safe and happy, and that does not turn out well for those who cross her or me. You should be glad I¡¯m on your side, but don¡¯t you dare think that makes me perfect or beyond failure as a person. Vicki accepts that, and loves me for some reason. She may not like or trust Gizzy but she understands how the cost of things work, and even when she is not thrilled about it, she doesn¡¯t fight me. Or make shit worse by running her mouth when it¡¯s a bad time.¡± He said staring at Dee.

    ¡°So when I run my big stupid mouth, you have to clean up the mess. And if I screw up big time, they¡¯ll just wipe my memory of it, and you¡¯d have to go kill someone to fix it?¡± Dee asked, feeling sick.

    ¡°Oh you have, twice now.¡±

    ¡°So 2 random people are dead because of me?¡± she said in shock.

    ¡°Think of it this way. Two people would have died regardless, there¡¯s no blood on your hands, and no shortage of Surgeons routinely operating full time. But your antics have changed my weekend plans from a little vacation with Vicki to performing emergency ¡°surgery¡± somewhere, and the blood that would have been on someone¡¯s hands ended up on mine. Relax, it¡¯s a drop or two in a bucket and it gets easier every time, but it¡¯s never what I wanted to do on a Sunday evening. So next time there¡¯s a situation you think is so far beyond fixing and we¡¯re all screwed, and Vicki tells you Jack is handling it¡­maybe just assume it¡¯s handled and sleep easy knowing someone you know can get the job done. And is willing to forgive you.¡±

    ¡°Yea I¡¯ll just do that now. Thanks Jack. I owe you an apology and apparently¡­like a lot more.¡± Dee cringed.

    ¡°The apology is enough, consider it even, and please keep it that way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m scared to even ask this but I gotta know, bro.¡± Vinn asked. ¡°If Gizzy never told you to take the shot, and I didn¡¯t have it in me to kill Kraken¡­would you have taken the shot anyway and paid for it, or just let me die so everyone else could keep living the good life under mommy¡¯s protected hand?...claw.¡±

    ¡°Honestly I ask myself that now and then. My heart says that I¡¯d take the shot for a friend, my training says to follow orders. I¡¯d prefer to never know myself.¡±

    ¡°Yea that¡¯s fair, kinda preferred you¡¯d lie and say you¡¯d just take the shot, but It¡¯s cool. I believe you would have, and we¡¯re not gonna ever test that again anyway to find out. I¡¯ve killed too now, I have nightmares. That¡¯s plenty for me. How do you sleep, like at all?¡±

    ¡°Badly, usually medicated, in short intervals and often with nightmares.¡± Vicki yawned. ¡°And he wakes me up with that stuff.¡±

    ¡°Oh, fun.¡± Dee smiled.

    ¡°Yea it¡¯s fun for both of us.¡± Vicki smiled back.

    ¡°So what now?¡± asked Vinn. Jack shrugged.

    ¡°Well, now we go back to building free human housing and odd jobs, You heal up here in the cave with your wife, and finish up this potentially nice home, and hopefully the only thing I pull the trigger on is a nail-gun for as long as humanly possible. Things around here are about to change for the better, and Nicole¡­please don¡¯t go spelunking anymore.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to. I found myself down there, and she¡¯s stronger then I ever thought. And Just a little bit of a monster all along.¡±

    ¡°I always knew it.¡± bragged Vinn.

    ¡°So¡­¡± Vicki sighed deeply. ¡°We still doing game night and pizza?¡±

    ¡°Thought you¡¯d never ask.¡± Vinn said ruffling Nicole¡¯s hair. ¡°This time, different pizza place. Delivery driver really gave me the creeps.¡±

 Chapter Zero

    An ominous pair of glowing blue eyes blinked slowly, dimming the dark room from ¡°hard to see¡± to pitch black and back. A pale almost translucent pair of hands, with manicured nails sharpened to a point, seemed to shift slightly and lengthen as she stretched and popped her knuckles. The nails swiped and moved the virtual screen tabs as a window labeled ¡°Subject 0021¡± opened, and a smaller figure leaned in from behind, eyes glowing a softer green.

    ¡°Nicole Alekseev¡­one of the humans you brought?¡± said the figure behind the one typing, in a soft, gentle tone. ¡°Gizzy dear, she¡¯s just a young one. No bigger than Menace. Why her?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s complicated.¡± Gizzy said, a dark smoker¡¯s voice and almost villainous tambour. ¡°She¡¯s ready for Phase 2. I can¡¯t explain why, but I have a feeling she¡¯s different. There¡¯s something in her eyes. I saw it the moment Jack introduced her on screen.¡±

    ¡°Is she the one? The reason you approved of that illegal transfer? I thought it was a favor for Jack and his little lover.¡± Whispered the background voice running similarly claw-like nails over Gizzy¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Vicki? No, Vicki is not the target. She¡¯s convenience, an excuse. You can¡¯t just abduct humans from their world, they have to agree to go. Otherwise, it causes a lot of problems and risk, Leena.¡± She said, looking back and smiling, a silvery sheen to her long canines.

    ¡°Oh bullshit, you thrive on problems and risk, and the rules never stop you. You just have a heart¡­metaphorically. You can¡¯t bring yourself to steal humans, just bribe them with incentives. You¡¯re a softie inside.¡± She joked. "That''s why I married you."

    ¡°Hence the subdermal armor plating below the skin. I really hate to say a human with cancer was an opportunity, but¡­here we are. Vicki¡¯s cancer free and Jack is happy, and you can¡¯t tell me it doesn¡¯t feel like fate that a bonus tag-along just happens to be perfect for Phase 2. Look at the data files, honey. Tell me that looks normal.¡± Gizzy said, scrolling past Nicole¡¯s profile ID photo and into the medical scans.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what any of that means, I just trust that you do. I don¡¯t like the Fear Project, but you always have a reason, and if you think she¡¯s the one, I trust your instinct. Jack never seems to let you down. Just don¡¯t tell me the sad details. You know I hate watching the humans suffer.¡± Leena sighed with a pout.

    ¡°Suffering is part of the human experience, the goal is to reduce it for the multitude, but someone has to be the lab rat. Nicole¡¯s tougher than she looks, I can tell. I just don¡¯t know the angle yet on how to sell this insane idea. It has to be done delicately and correctly. Thankfully, with the memory wipes, I get more than one try. Let¡¯s just hope I get it right in less than 3. I hate repeating myself over and over.¡± She growled.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°What about the boyfriend? Anything you can do with that?¡± Leena asked.

    ¡°Absolutely. Any girl brave or stupid enough to date a Delmarian would be brave or stupid enough to agree to this experiment. And she¡¯s not stupid. Insane, maybe, but aren¡¯t we all down here?¡± she smirked devilishly.

    ¡°Just be careful with her. Humans are fragile things. They break so easily. Just a little fall down the stairs can hurt them.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯ve spent millions on guard rails inside this fucking moon. Do you realize how many safety rails we had to have put everywhere before moving humans here? I spent 2 million dollars alone on welded iron safety rails, idiot-proofing the place, and they still get hurt constantly. Thank the gods we can just clone the dead ones back. If only we could get the Delmarian to approve cloning, we¡¯d have this mining moon turned into a resort. Can¡¯t even get them to consent to brain scans on the dead ones. Superstitious Space Jackelopes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so sad that in order to pull a population out of the dark ages, you have to inject more darkness and fear, and pull some of them deeper in. I wish there was another way. A nicer way.¡±

    "They¡¯re primitive creatures, Leena. Both humans and Delmarian. Like pets, but dumber and with smartphones. We¡¯ll get there. The council is getting pliable and broken down, the humans are blissfully ignorant for the most part, and the tunnels are finally ready for large scale testing. Give me time. Give HER time. She¡¯s in for a hell of a ride, but I think this one is the kind that looks for bumpy rides. There¡¯s a dark streak in her, don¡¯t let the cute exterior fool you. This one likes to play in the dark.¡± She whispered, minimizing the window and relaxed.

    ¡°Well, take a break for a while. You¡¯ve been at it for hours and I ordered steaks.¡±

    ¡°Real or synthetic?¡± Gizzy asked.

    ¡°Synthetic, unfortunately, but the place downtown has a good spice blend. You¡¯ll barely notice.¡± Lena assured.

    ¡°Fine. But I swear, the next shipment of beef that arrives, I¡¯m pulling executive order and confiscating the entire cargo hold. I¡¯ll just say they tested positive for infectious¡­bugs or something.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ we don¡¯t want people thinking we fly in contaminated food. You know how easily humans panic when there¡¯s the littlest contamination. Just take your cut off the top and enjoy it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just so ironically frustrating that we bought part of a moon populated by hoofed animals with horns, and yet we can¡¯t get a fucking cattle industry going down here. I¡¯ll be done in 10 minutes, go ahead and set the table. Get Menace a femur. At least she can¡¯t seem to tell the difference between real cow bones and 3d printed from home."

    ¡°See you in ten, sweetie.¡± Leena smiled cheerfully, sashaying out of the dark room.

    ¡°Alright Nicole¡­what exactly are you made of?¡± Gizzy sighed.