by Rena Marks
She looked at him with those exotic eyes like he was the beautiful one. Did she truly enjoy his storytelling that much? Or was there perhaps something else present between them? He couldn’t wait to find out.
It was wonderful to watch everyone eat their fill. To eat until they couldn’t any more. After the bags were empty, he helped Everly gather up the waste. He knew they would be taken to the recycling area.
Finally, the parents gathered their children to their own tents, giving Everly some time with him.
He helped her clean up the rest of the camp, noticing that only a few people thanked her. The rest behaved as if it was her duty. He found that puzzling.
“Are you happy here?” he asked.
“As much as I am anywhere.” She smiled. “I love being around the children. And the parents here on this side are families, so they need some help.”
She looked around the camp, making sure the little ones were all properly taken care of.
“Are you ready?” he asked. Shyly, she bit her plump bottom lip and gave him a nod. He sent a quick telepathic communication to Renegade, who he’d arranged to have help from earlier.
Renegade. Can you grab someone and meet us at the location?
Yup. It’s me and Steele.
Okay. We’ll start heading that way.
“Where are we going?”
“I have some buddies meeting us along the wall. I’ll give you a boost up, and then one will help me up. They’ll continue on their patrol, and you and I will walk along the wall to the main gate for entrance.”
“A boost up?” She looked up at the wall dubiously.
He smiled. “You humans are light for us. Trust me?”
He didn’t have to ask. He could have phrased it as a statement and demanded her compliance. But he wanted to put her feelings first. She took a deep breath and then nodded again. He felt the smile light his eyes.
“Good girl.”
He felt her intake of breath at his smile. His smiles…impressed her. Would she mind being kissed by him? He raised a hand and tucked a lock of her streaked brown hair to tuck behind her ear. It was soft…like her.
She broke eye contact.
Not wanting to push his luck, he began to walk forward. It was a companionable quiet until they reached the spot of the wall where she plugged her refrigerated lock box to the wall. Renegade and Steele already waited on top.
She stared up at the height of the wall dubiously.
“I’m going to pick you up and toss you,” he said softly, wanting to keep her calm. “I’ll be right below you to catch you if something goes wrong. Once you’re in the air, raise your hands for Steele to catch. You saw how I was able to jump pretty high and grab a hold of someone?”
She nodded.
“I can throw pretty high, too. Much higher than humans would be able to. And Steele and Renegade have just as much strength as me.”
“More,” Renegade called out from above them, grinning as he flexed his biceps. “Much more.”
He ignored the thump on his back from Steele, who tried to shut him up.
“You’ll be amazed,” he whispered, glaring at Steele over her head.
“Okay,” she said softly.
He leaned forward and scooped her into his arms, bride over the threshold style. “Are you ready?” he whispered against her forehead. He caught the fragrance of her sweet skin and couldn’t resist pressing the lightest touch of his lips there. She’d never know.
“Yes,” she said, her voice breathless.
He caught Steele’s eye…and tossed her. She did just as he instructed, straightening her body so Steele could catch her upraised hands.
Steele caught her hands and lifted her easily, standing her on the wall with him with an arm around her to let her acclimate to the height. She looked impressed at how easy it was.
With a running jump, Thane caught Renegade’s outstretched hand and used his legs to run up the wall. Normally, they had a light current running along the bottom half, which is what Everly plugged her box into. It also kept humans from trying to climb. But a person standing on top of the wall broke the charge for that section. Humans just didn’t need to know that.
He came to Everly’s side, taking over from Steele and ignoring his smirk at Thane’s show of possessiveness. Renegade had a wide grin on his face also.
The two Xeno Sapiens were buttheads. And he only used that word because he planned to spend more time around the human children.
“All right then. We’ll just continue on patrol this way, and you two can make your way to the front. Unless you need us to help you down once you reach the main gate?”
“No,” Thane said, wanting them to move along quickly. Damn the two of them. They knew he could jump. All Xeno Sapiens could.
“Are you sure? We could catch Everly. With our strong muscular arms.” No doubt about it. There was no missing Steele’s grin as he flexed his biceps again.
“No,” Thane gritted, catching Everly looking at the muscles of Steele’s arms as he posed.
“All right,” Renegade said, pushing Steele along. “But we’d like to be there for Everly.” His voice ended on a sing-song.
“I knew I should have picked someone else,” Thane sighed, turning his back on their retreating bodies to block her view of the idiots with his chest. Better that she had that in her view anyway. He ignored their snickers behind him.
“Are they always that weird?” Everly smiled. “It’s okay, if you were wondering if I’m okay with slower…intelligence. I’m used to working with kids.”
His laughter was a short bark. “They are always that weird. I don’t know how their mates can stand them. Some women have the patience of a saint.”
He took her hand as they walked along the wall, the way he’d seen Sunny and Beast do. He wanted her to get the idea that he was safe and that she was his. He wanted to make it very clear. He was ever so interested in the amazing woman.
“Everything looks so different from up here,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
He looked around, trying to see things through her eyes. But most of the beauty shone through her. His hand tingled where hers touched.
“We’re walking to the main gate,” he said. “Once there, they’ll have to check you in using your DNA.”
She bit her lip, frowning slightly.
“It doesn’t hurt,” he assured her. “The DNA test is transdermal.”
She smiled, though it seemed like it wavered a bit. “What will we do when we’re inside?”
“More walking to show you the grounds. Or I can have someone bring a hovercraft. In fact, I think there’s one in the garage of the twins’, Jett and Brax.” He suddenly wondered if she was tired. Hell, she walked all day, every day.
“There are real twins?”
Oh. She remembered his story. “Uh, yeah. I kind of stretched the truth a little bit.”
She threw her head back and laughed. The line of her slender neck seemed elegant and kissable. He licked his lips and tried not to stare. “I can’t imagine they’re going to enjoy knowing that.”
“We’ll keep it between us.” He winked.
“Your secret is safe,” she said, squeezing his hand.
He loved how comfortable she was with him.
Once they arrived at the main gate, he waved at Sam, the human on duty at the gate. Thane turned to Everly. “Remember how easy it was for me to jump?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to jump down now. And then I’d like you to jump into my arms.”
Her tiny pink bow mouth opened and closed. “I—I—uh, that is…”
“If it’s too challenging for you, I can call another Xeno to the gate so I can lower you into his arms.” He couldn’t help himself. He reached out to wrap his large hand around her slender neck. His thumb caressed her cheekbone. “Remember how easy it was for Renegade to pull you up? Our strength is much stronger than humans. It’s so easy for me.”
“You won’t let me fal
l?”
“No, beautiful Everly. I would never let you come to any harm. Trust me.” This time it was a statement, because she was ready for it.
She nodded slowly. “Okay. You don’t need to call anyone else. I’ll jump for you.”
“Good girl.” His voice was warm. He was so proud of her. She was so brave. So trusting. And maybe, just maybe, she didn’t want anyone else’s arms around her.
“Just leap off like you’re pushing from the wall. And then close your eyes and curl your body a bit. I’ll catch you the same way I tossed you—like you’re my bride.”
Her breath caught. She nodded shyly and he dropped his hand.
He stepped backward from the edge of the wall, softening his knees upon impact. Then he looked up at her and held his arms out. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and leapt.
The thud she made when she landed against his chest was the best feeling, ever. He held her to his pounding heart, a little too long, a little too close. He swayed a bit with her. “I got you. You’re safe.”
Her arms had been crossed over her chest, but she slowly released them and wrapped them around him, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. They stayed melded together for long moments.
No doubt about it. She felt the same way toward him as he did toward her.
A throat clearing behind them had her jerking away. He looked over his shoulder at Sam with a scowl. The man had a wide smile.
“You must be Everly.”
“Um…yes. Yes, I am.”
“I’m Sam. One of Thane’s friends.” He smiled wider, ignoring Thane’s scowl. “I brought a shuttle over while I was on break earlier. I thought you two might like to drive in it.”
“Yes,” Thane said, forcing the scowl away. “Thank you.”
“Everly, if you’ll read these documents and affix your thumbprint in the depressed well, you can both be off. Walk through the scanner so we can check your clothing for any devices people might have slipped on to you.”
Everly blinked, not bothering to read the documents as she pressed her thumb in. “Do people do that?”
“You’d be surprised,” Sam said. “We find cameras in unusual places.” He laughed at her expression. “Have a great evening, you two.”
Chapter Three
The shuttle had large tires that ate the miles as they sped through the city.
“A lot of Xeno Sapiens don’t wear shirts,” she said to Thane.
Oh, Lord. Did she just let on that she was thinking about his chest?
He winked. “Is that the first thing you noticed about me, Everly?”
She stammered. “No, I mean, yes, but I mean, that was the second—”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “I’m teasing. Yes, a lot of us go shirtless. It’s a show of solidarity, of exposure. You see, some of us didn’t get a lot of human traits. They’ve taken to hiding themselves from the public eye. Not volunteering to work the gates, and now, not patrolling the outer zones of the camps. So we go shirtless to show more skin that may not be human-colored. To take the focus off our brothers who choose to not have eyes on them.”
“If they wish to remain private, will they resent you bringing someone from the outside world in?”
“No.” He smiled. “Everyone will love you, Everly. We’ll probably see a few of the less human looking today. Jett and Brax are the twins I weaved a tale about. They’re usually in the woods, making some artsy creation. More than likely, we’ll park and run into them.”
“I’d love that.”
There was a small crowd of people at a caged in area. Thane waved his arm at several people as they passed by, but continued on. “Those are our gladiator pits. We have arm to arm combat training there, but usually a lot of us like to test our newly discovered skills that crop up as we age.”
They rounded several buildings.
“This is some of the housing. Single apartments and larger for families. Of course, those are empty,” he joked. “Robyn thought larger homes were necessary in case Xeno Sapiens wanted to pair up. But we’re used to solitude, and most live in the one-bedroom suites.”
The shuttle turned the corner. “One of the medical wings. It’s housed by a couple of human doctors that were brought on.”
Past the buildings were a grove of trees. He parked the shuttle near the edge. “I thought we could walk a bit. Stretch our legs. Unless you’re tired?”
“No, not at all. Walking would be nice.”
He hopped out of the shuttle and came around to her side to help her out. It was so sweet, so gallant and chivalrous. She couldn’t help but smile.
And she couldn’t help but notice how he kept his hand looped with hers as they walked.
“I brought you along this way because there are lots of things to see. We have a grove of trees, some art made from the wood—then the further we go out, you’ll notice a clearing. We have a man-made beach beyond the clearing.”
“It’s all beautiful. You’ve done so much here.”
“Robyn said she’d picked the location for its raw beauty. But it took months of clean up to prepare the soil, create the lakes and ponds, build the wall.”
“It was worth it. It looks nothing like the rest of Earth-Ground. I imagine this is what old Earth looked like. Once. Maybe.”
“Robyn says the skies used to be blue.”
“I’ve heard that. Can you imagine? But our skies are pretty with all the rich colors. You just have to pretend you don’t know it’s from damaged air.”
“Is that why the floating cities were created?”
“Yes. The people once believed they could avoid the diseases caused by the poisoned air. But like anything, we’ve adapted. Sure, the chemtrails cause cancer. But cancer has become curable. So now the cities have become more of a status symbol than a safety net.”
He stopped her at a beautiful rest area in the trees. Branches were somehow curled into an overhang, cradling a seating area of a carved wooden swing.
“It’s so gorgeous! Will it hold us?”
“Of course,” he said. “They’re completely functional.” He sat on the swing and pulled her onto his lap.
There was no use pretending it didn’t feel wonderful. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder and his arms clasped around her waist as they rocked gently back and forth.
“This is marvelous.”
“This is a new one. The seating area that was here before has been shipped off to one of the floating cities. The one with a fancy art school. Because of that, the twins, Jett and Brax, had to get working on a new collection.”
“You’re lucky you get to live here, Thane. Never take it for granted.”
They enjoyed a few moments of silence, listening to the birds flutter in the trees and small animals she couldn’t even see chatter among themselves.
“It feels like we’re the only two in the world.”
“Xenia is a big city. Plus, it’s Tuesday. A lot of people stay in one spot on Tuesdays. It allows the human workers time to get around, get apartments cleaned, stuff like that.” He sighed. “Actually, it allows us to avoid the humans. It’s a funny thing, being different. People either stare at you in horror, or they avoid looking at you completely. It’s like you don’t exist if they pretend not to see you.”
“Humans have evolved to believe you should all look the same. Blend in. No one should stand out.”
She got up off his lap and pulled him up from the swing. He led her further through the edges of the trees to where a clearing began.
“But surely there’s got to be a Xeno somewhere to introduce you to,” Thane said, looking around. “I guess I never noticed how much we hide out on Tuesdays.”
She giggled. “Knowing it and seeing it are too different things, I guess.”
He smiled at her. “I wanted to give you some fuel for stories. I hoped you’d meet a couple of people.”
“Hey, I have enough for stories now,” she said. “I’ll just exaggerate Steele and Renegade for the k
ids.”
He snickered.
“I’ll call it Steele and Renegade’s Escapades.”
Thane was staring off into the distance.
“Over there,” Thane said, narrowing his eyes. “There’s one of my friends. I wonder what he’s doing just sitting under that tree?”
They approached closer though the seated individual never acknowledged their approach. The man was rather odd, one eye staring at them and the other closed.
“Ho! Zee! Come meet the most beautiful human in the world. Everly.”
She blushed at the attention Thane was giving her.
The Xeno Sapien slowly lifted his arm and waved. He was dark skinned. Slowly, he rose and then beckoned for them to come closer. His movements didn’t seem normal; instead they were slow and theatrical. With no others around, she felt like she was in a long-lost episode of the Twilight Zone.
Goose bumps rose on her body, though she had no idea what that reaction was about.
Thane seemed oblivious. “Come on,” he said, striding forward, unaware that she hung back. She shouldn’t be feeling wary at meeting another Xeno. Hell, she’d met more than most people had with the one who’d brought the canopy, the two on the wall. But this one—this one felt wrong. Like a predator.
And they were the prey.
The next moment happened so fast it was a blur. The ground just two steps ahead of her, where Thane stepped, crashed into nothingness, dried grass and twigs flying. As he fell, he pushed her away from the danger.
She landed on her knees.
“Thane!” she screamed through the wafting dust that choked her.
He lay at the bottom of a small ditch, his leg at an odd angle.
“It’s all right, Everly. Everything’s fine,” he assured her, through gritted teeth. “Just stay back. Zee can help—” His voice broke off as he tilted his head up to look at the Xeno Sapien who approached. “Zee? What’s going on with you, man?”
“Just laying my traps. Traps for prey, traps for mates.” His voice sing-songed, and chills ran down her spine. A fear like she’d never felt feathered along her nape, and Everly refused to look up, as if by not noticing him directly, she could make him go away.
“Something’s not right with you.” The two of them seemed to stare at each other for long moments. Almost as if they communicated without words.
