Authors: Natalie Frost
“Good,” he smiled at her as he pulled her close to him again. He lay back onto the ground, pulling her down with him. She let him reach down and pull off her shirt, and when she once again found herself in his arms, the feeling of his skin pressing against her filled her with a warming sensation.
He ran his hands over her body, moving them slowly up her sides, then around to her chest. The sensation of his touch filled her with a passionate longing. She let herself release all of her inhibitions—all of her fears. She gave herself to him completely, both physically and emotionally.
The experience of their bodies intertwined together was unlike any she had had before. His movements were strong and sure, but delicate and caring at the same time. The connection that formed between them at that time was one she knew she would never be able to fully let go of. He had changed her; he had made her whole. It wasn’t just being with him, but knowing that he believed in her, that he saw her for who she really was—or at least for who she had always wanted to be, but was too afraid to let herself recognize before.
When they pulled apart, she felt a cold sensation run over her, a shiver that ran up her spine and left her longing for his warm touch again. “How do you do it?” she asked, as she lay on the floor next to him, resting her head on his chest.
“Do what?” he asked, stroking her back slowly.
“How do you seem to always know what I’m feeling—what I’m thinking?”
He laughed a little and kissed her on the top of her head, pausing to inhale deeply, absorbing her scent. “It’s a secret,” he whispered.
“All right,” she said quietly. She was fine with not knowing. She didn’t need to know how he did it; all that mattered was that he did. He understood her in a way no one else ever had, and that was enough.
CHAPTER NINE
Over the next week, Nicole continued working long hours with Amias. Even though she didn’t need to, she would go back at night, and they would spend hours talking and getting to know each other. The bond that had formed between them that night in his cell continued to grow.
But one day, it seemed like something changed. It wasn’t in the way he spoke to her, or looked at her—those were the same kind, genuine actions they had always been. But, his movements were more agitated, and his body seemed to tense nervously more and more frequently.
Nicole was worried that it was something she had done. She was afraid that he was beginning to lose interest in her, or that the unspoken reality that they were from different worlds had started to weigh on him.
After a few days of the uncomfortable feeling, she couldn’t take it any longer. “What’s wrong?” she asked him nervously after she had finished collecting her sample for the day.
“What do you mean?” he asked her looking at her with a hint of concern.
“You seem different lately. It’s almost like you’re nervous or uncomfortable around me.”
“What?” he asked, reaching out and pulling her close to him. “No, Nicole. It’s not that; it’s not that at all.” He leaned back and looked at her, his eyes suddenly very serious.
“What is it?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“My people,” he said softly. “They’re coming.”
“I know,” she said, remembering what he had told her before.
“No,” he said grabbing her hands and holding them tightly. “They’re coming soon.”
“How soon?”
“I can’t know for sure, but we don’t have much time.”
“How do you know?”
He sighed and lifted her hands to his lips, placing a light kiss on her knuckles. “Remember when you asked me how it was that I seemed to always know what you’re feeling?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“It’s because I do always know what you’re feeling.”
“What?” she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
“It’s an ability we have—everyone from Zexilon. It’s a sense that we’re all born with. We can sense what people are feeling.”
“Really?” she asked, finally understanding why he looked at her the way he did. She understood why she felt like his eyes were piercing into her, reading her thoughts—because they were in a sense.
“It’s not just that,” he continued. “We have an ability to identify people. We can pick up on a sort of signature that they put out.”
“Like an aura?” she asked, scrunching up her eyebrows and trying to understand.
He chuckled a little. “I suppose you could call it that.”
“What does that have to do with your people coming here soon?”
“I can sense them,” he explained. “A few days ago it started. I can sense that they’re near.”
“So, if you can sense that they’re coming, does that mean that they can sense that you’re here?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
“Yes,” he confirmed her fear. “And they’re not happy, Nicole.”
“What will they do when they get here?”
“You’ve seen what my people are like,” he replied. “That first day you came to see me—you saw what we really are.”
“So, everyone from our planet can change like you?”
“Yes,” he replied with a firm nod of his head. “And even though your people here outnumber those of mine that are coming, it won’t matter. We’re stronger than you, and I told you before—we will use force if we have to.”
“Then we have to get you out of here!” she exclaimed. “You have to go to them, to tell them not to attack us.”
“Will you help me?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied. “Tonight. I’ll come back tonight, and I’ll free you.”
“Thank you, Nicole,” he said wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into him.
“But,” she said pulling back slowly, a sad realization washing over her. “Does that mean that after tonight, I won’t see you again?”
His eyes filled with sadness. “I don’t know,” he said softly.
“You’ll have to leave, won’t you? You and your people—you won’t be able to stay on Earth.”
He took a deep breath and squeezed her hand tightly. “I don’t think we’re welcomed here.”
A crushing sadness rushed through her. She inhaled sharply and tightened her jaw, determined not to let herself cry. “What matters now is that we get you out of here; you can go to your people, and somehow prevent them from attacking.”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “That’s what we need to focus on for now.” He pulled her closer to him and kissed her passionately.
When she pulled back, she pushed herself up quickly and headed for the door without turning to look back at him. She couldn’t—if she did she would cry. She knew she would cry. When she exited his room, she let the door slam shut, the bang echoing down the hall. Once she was alone, she let herself slump forward to the ground, and the feeling of heartbreak slowly consumed her.
What would she do when he was gone? He had changed her life—he had helped her be someone she could have never been without him. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest and let her cries come out in soft sobs.
Right there, in that moment, she realized it. It wasn’t just the feeling of being around him that she would miss. It was him—everything about him. She leaned her head back against the stone wall and sighed. “I love him,” she said to herself, tears streaming down her face.
CHAPTER TEN
Despite the overwhelming feeling of heartache that it gave her, Nicole still found herself sneaking back to the Gen-Lab facilities later that night. She had to help Amias, no matter what her feelings. This wasn’t just about her and him, this was about his people and hers—it was about trying to prevent the inevitable. What he had said was true. Even if his people didn’t want to fight, they may be forced to, to save him. And if it did come down to that, no matter how many Earthlings tried to stop them, they were still bigger, stronger, and more powerful. The results would be bad for both sides, but she feared they would be worse for hers.
Driving out to the off-site high-security holding area where Amias was being kept, she had to fight to resist the urge to let her emotions overtake her. She set her jaw tight and took a deep breath before exiting her car.
The entire place had the feeling of being abandoned, but still, something in the air felt off to Nicole. She hurried her step, wanting to get inside the building as quickly as possible. She had to jiggle her purse around before finding her key, scolding herself the entire time for not pulling them out before she got out of the car.
With a sigh of relief, she finally found them. But just as she was lifting it to slide it into the lock, something reached out from behind her and pulled her back. “Where is he?” a gruff voice demanded.
She turned around slowly to see a dozen men standing in a semi-circle all around her. How hadn’t she heard them approach? They were all large—very large. Their bodies were pure muscle, and their arms and legs were massively huge. “I…” she started nervously. “He’s in there,” she said motioning over her shoulder towards the building.
The man who had grabbed her turned to look back at the others. “I don’t trust her,” one of them said stepping forward.
“Me neither,” another added.
“I’m telling the truth!” she exclaimed. “Look,” she said turning around and trying to unlock the door again. “I’ll show you. I’ll take you to him!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” the man said pulling her back again. “We know he is in there. That’s not what we were referring to.”
“Then what?” she asked, looking up at the man, feeling dwarfed by his immense size.
“We don’t trust you in general,” he explained. He took hold of her shoulder and shoved her onto the ground in the middle of the group. “You and your kind. They’re the ones who put him in there in the first place! How do we know that once we step in that building, you won’t try to do the same to us?”
She looked up at them, scanning their faces. They all peered down at her menacingly. Their expressions filled with rage and fear. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” she tried to defend herself. “How could I possibly…?”
“I say it’s a trap,” one man said. “They knew we were coming, so they sent this one out to lure us in!”
“Yeah!” a few others exclaimed.
“They got Amias! How do we know they won’t do the same to us!” he continued.
“No!” Nicole yelled out, trying to find any way to convince them they were wrong. “You don’t understand! I was going to help him! I was going to release him so he could go to you!”
“Likely story,” the first man—the biggest and strongest of them all—said taking a quick step towards her.
“Please!” she begged as he lifted his hand and reached for his weapon strapped across his back. It wasn’t like any gun she had seen before. It was smaller and thinner. But she had a feeling that its size was misleading. The man didn’t turn the barrel to face her, but instead, let the butt of the gun land a blow across her face.
On impact, she recoiled back, dragging herself across the hard concrete ground, trying to avoid the second blow, which was quickly coming her way. One of the other men caught her by the arms and lifted her to her feet, holding her in place. The man with the gun took a quick step in her direction, ready to strike again.
Just then, the doors to the Gen-Lab building flew open. Out rushed a large, scale-covered beast in a cloud of smoke and flame. The man holding her let her fall to the ground, and the one about to hit her turned around quickly.
She collapsed in a heap and covered her face. The sight of Amias in his dragon form still filled her with a sense of fear. It wasn’t because she was afraid of him, though, simply because he was massively large and extremely powerful.
“Amias!” the largest man yelled out to him
With a flash of light and heat, Amias changed back to his human form. “Gerrit,” he said once the smoke had cleared. “What’s going on here?” He looked down at Nicole and then back up at the man who had been attacking her.
“We came to get you,” Gerrit replied. “She got in our way.”
Amias looked back to Nicole. He took a few steps in her direction, but Gerrit stepped in front of him, preventing him from getting too close. “What did you do to her?” Amias asked him aggressively.
“She would have taken us captive like they did with you.”
Amias pushed him back forcefully and rushed over to where Nicole was huddled on the ground. He knelt down next to her and wrapped his strong arms around her. “Do you really think she could have done anything to hurt you?” he yelled up at the man. “What chance would she stand against all of you?”