Life in Fusion (13 page)

Wade’s bad behavior anyway?

Buck stared down in disbelief; he’d never

actually seen one in person. Things just got a hell

of a lot more dangerous than he’d been led to

believe. Simple snatch and grab, my ass.

Twelve clicks.

“What is it?” Gostric asked. “Did you find the

Halo?”

“It’s a human,” Buck said, already feeling the

effects, being in such close proximity.

“A what?” Gostric asked. “I’m sorry, for a

second I thought you said a human?”

“You’d better have the fucking ship into

position, asshole, or so help me if I survive this I’ll

blow your scrawny ass out of a missile portal.”

“I’m almost there, Captain, just tell me when

to release it.”

There was a reason he kept far away from the

slave trade. Trouble. The fact that it was a human

made this the worst kind of trouble. Fucking slaves

were useless, and those of the sex trade variety,

such as the one before him now, were usually the

worst.

88 Ethan Day

Buck could feel his desire growing as he

walked toward the unconscious man whose pale

skin had turned pink from the heat. His thick, damp

golden locks of hair gleamed in the bright light

that poured forth from of an old lava tube. He was

shackled to the wall. The so called Halo was thin

in build and he was strikingly handsome, even

near death, as he surely had to be in this punishing

environment.

None of this made any sense. “Why would

anything this valuable be kept in such a place?”

It was disheartening that there were so few

humans left, though they really had no one to

blame but themselves. Still, Buck hated the thought

that an entire species could be wiped out of the

heavens.

The pheromones humans produced were

like a drug, an aphrodisiac that drove most other

species of red-bloods to distraction. He knew now

that this was the real reason they were paying him

so much for this mission. Voldaireians were one

of the few red-bloods who could maintain control

while in their presence. Not that their scent had no

effect, Buck thought, feeling his erection straining

against the fabric of his trousers.

He licked his lips as his eyes ran over the

Life in fusion
89

naked flesh, which looked firm yet supple. It too

glistened in the light as he was covered in sweat,

which only made the pheromones more potent. He

reached out to touch…

“Captain? You still there? What the hell is

going on?” Gostric snapped over the com.

Eight clicks.

He lifted the blade, cursing himself for

succumbing to his lust, and easily sliced through

the Moranite chains. The human slumped further

down the wall, but was mumbling in delirium, so

Buck knew it wasn’t a complete lost cause. Despite

the fact that a dead human was still potent, as their

organs could be harvested, meant they were still

valuable, but a live one was practically priceless.

That didn’t mean Buck wanted to see the life

die out of the beautiful male that he now picked up

and slung over his shoulder.

“Gods Captain, where the hell are you?

You’re running out of time!”

Six clicks.

“Always there to state the fucking obvious,

aren’t you Gostric?” Buck growled, rounding the

corner.

Buck ran as fast as he could down the

90 Ethan Day

cavern. He knew the effects of the dead Darten

were wearing thin. He could once again hear the

screeches off in the distance behind him. He could

tell he was getting closer to the opening as the

corridor got wider.

Four clicks.

Their battle shrieks were getting louder and

Buck knew there was no way he could outrun the

beasts in a foot race. It was all going to come down

to luck and he prayed that timing was on his side.

“Release the grappling hook Gostric!” Buck

screamed over the com. “And I pray to the gods

you’re there.”

Two clicks
.

Buck rounded the corner, able to see the

massive opening of the shaft that led to the canyon

below. He had one shot. If Gostric was off by even

a fraction of a centient both he and the human

would plummet to their deaths.

He ran as fast as his legs would carry him,

but the shrieks were now so loud he felt they

were already upon him. All he could do was keep

running despite the fact he could now hear the

large padded footsteps of the Dartens slapping

against the stone floor behind him. He jumped over

Life in fusion
91

the lifeless carcass of the beast he’d slain and with

the last bit of renewed vigor, sprinted toward the

ledge and leapt off.

He felt the harsh wind on his face as it blew

the goggles completely from his head. He grinned,

grabbing hold of the cable while tightening his grip

on the soul he had dangling from his shoulder.

“Gostric you stud whore, I could fuck you

senseless, you gods damn sweet assed mother

fucker!”

“I take it you’re gonna live?” Gostric asked,

laughing.

Buck looked back as the cable stopped,

having swung out like a pendulum, only to begin

swinging back toward the opening. His eyes

widened. Two Dartens stood at the edge of the

ledge, swinging their long thick arms out in an

attempt to grab hold of Buck and his new cargo as

they got closer.

“Take the fuck off Gostric! Go! Go! Go!”

Buck felt the claw nick the fabric of his

trousers. He swung his blade, slicing through the

arm of the beast that shrieked in horror. He grunted

from the violent jerk that yanked them away from

the opening to the cavern and up into the air.

92 Ethan Day

Buck laughed, yelling out a cry of victory. He was

invigorated by the near escape and happy to have

gotten another piece of the filthy fuckers. He could

tell the cable was now lifting them and glanced up,

able to see the bottom of his ship.

He was surprised to discover his erection

had also managed to remain intact throughout the

entire ordeal. He smiled, another wave of relief

washing over him. “You are a potent little fucker,

aren’t you?”

Once they were finally lifted up inside the

loading dock, Buck waited, straining to hold on to

the cable until the bay doors were completely shut.

He groaned, letting go, and landed on his feet. His

body was weak, and he crumpled, falling to his

knees. He carefully placed his newest acquisition

onto the cool metal floor, listening to the young

man moan as if in great pain. Buck collapsed onto

his back, out of breath and weakened from the heat

and exertion.

He lifted his head and looked around, hearing

the quick, repetitive knocking sound. “Do not come

into the docking bay, Gostric!” Buck ordered.

Buck looked over to hatch door and saw no

one standing on the other side of the viewing pane.

“Who the fuck is knocking?” Buck asked,

Life in fusion
93

shaking his head in disgust. “Fucking writers. You

gonna get that Boone? I’m sort of busy here at the

moment.”

q q q

“Damn it!” I said, hearing the rapid knocks on the front door.

Every time I get on a roll with the writing I get interrupted
. I frowned,

looking back and forth from my laptop to the front door. The

rapid fire knocking resumed, followed by someone trying the

doorknob to see if it would open. I could tell it was the twins

from the sound of their arguing. I closed the Word document,

saved the changes and signed off the computer.

“I’m coming!” I yelled as loudly as I could since the rude rap-

tap-tapping had yet to cease.

“Well hurry up, bitch!” Lonny yelled back as I ripped open

the door.

Both his and Donny’s irritable expressions simultaneously

morphed into sweetness and light as they smiled up at me.

“Kisses!” They both sang out, pushing past me to get inside

the house.

“Ouch,” I said, getting shoved from one side to the other.

“Do come in.”

“We’re already in…hello,” Lonny said, making his way toward

the kitchen, or to the booze, I should say.

“But thanks,” Donny added, as usual providing what little

manners one could expect to receive from either of them.

Gabe stepped up and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a big

squeeze before handing me a bottle of wine. I winked at Tommy,

who was standing in the background, where he always seemed

the most comfortable. He smiled and stepped forward as if he’d

been waiting for my acknowledgement before deciding it was

okay to make a move toward the entryway. I pulled Gabe further

inside so Tommy could pass, finally relenting and letting loose of

the boy. Gabe stumbled off into the house and I took in a deep

94 Ethan Day

breath. I exhaled slowly before closing the door behind us.

Tommy Russo was tall like me, though just under my six feet.

He was attractive, in that stable-partner sort of way. He screamed

dependable. He was thin, almost skinny considering his height,

with black hair and that same beautiful olive toned skin with

which Gabe had been blessed.

Tommy owned the computer repair shop where Gabe worked,

and had been in love with Gabe since the moment he’d found

out the boy was gay. Combined with the fact Gabe was nearly as

computer savvy as Tommy would have been enough in and of

itself. But the fact Gabe was also Italian made him almost too

good to be true—the trifecta of perfection, if you will—at least

in Tommy’s world. He told me once that his grandma, who often

told him he was going to hell for being a queer, usually followed

up her bigotry by adding that it was still no excuse for Tommy to

settle for anything less than a nice Italian boy.

Unfortunately for Tommy, Gabe wasn’t ever going to be that

nice Italian boy. I knew Gabe well enough to know he would

never love Tommy, not because there was anything wrong with

the man. They were simply too much alike. Tommy couldn’t

seem to give up for whatever reason. Maybe he thought Gabe

was the only other gay Italian computer nerd out there—if not

in the world, then perhaps at least in Albuquerque?

“Where the hell is Wade Walker?” Donny asked, lifting a

throw pillow as if to look under it.

“He certainly wouldn’t fit under that,” I said, taking Tommy

and Gabe’s jackets to hang on the hooks next to front door. I

wondered momentarily if all computer techs wore the same

thin cotton windbreaker type of jacket. Was there some secret

orientation that took place behind closed doors? A secret society,

perhaps? I could write an expose, instead of
The DaVinci Code
, I

could call it
The Alphanumeric Code
.

I shook the ludicrous ramblings out of my head as Lonny

came back into the living room with two frozen raspberry

margaritas, for himself and his other side of the same coin.

Life in fusion
95

“Wade had to take a later flight,” I said, heading toward the

kitchen since the sight of those cocktails now had my mouth

watering. “He should be here anytime, though.”

The twins looked at one another and pouted, followed by

a shrug letting everyone know they’d already overcome their

momentary, life shattering disappointment.

Lonny and Donny Campbell were most often described as

adorable. They looked like expensively wrapped candy, sort of

glossy and sweet—always perfectly put together. They made

quite the striking entrance wherever they went, and they knew

it. As a matter of fact, they made it their mission in life. They

were fun to be around, and funny. Together, they could prattle

on every bit as fast as I did, though it took both of them to do it.

They each kept their dirty blond hair perfectly coiffed and

parted to the side. They tanned more than anyone in this day

and age should, but their dark complexions complemented them

well. After a few too many cocktails, they loved to demonstrate

their flexibility, showcasing their slim, tight build.

The twins also enjoyed sharing conquests and liked to refer

to themselves as the New Mexican Wonder Twins—kind of like

a Vegas sex act that traveled around the Albuquerque gay circuit.

They were from a wealthy family; their father was a surgeon and

one of the hospital big wigs. They didn’t rely on their daddy’s

money, though. They were both nurses, working at the same

hospital I did. You either loved them or you hated them. There

was no in between, and they didn’t give a damn as to which side

anyone happened to fall, which was pretty cool, in my opinion.

The best thing, for me, about being friends with them,

was they had a way of making me seem less outrageous, hell,