Hero

by Richard Mann

  Only a week ago she was taken from her village by Roman soldiers in Gaul and sold to the slave trader, who now smiles at his potential customers. She can see a woman, looking at her with long black hair and piercing blue eyes, she is beautiful, she has something of the wild beauty of the desert travellers. The lady is wearing a purple silk dress; her hair is made up, and she wears a gold necklace. Jennifer brushes her long brown hair and smiles at the lady. Then their eyes meet and she smiles back. ‘I want that one with the brown hair,’ the black haired lady beckons to the slave trader.

  ‘She is free from disease?’ she asks. The trader nods eagerly as he unlocks the cage and brings her out. The lady looks at her, runs her hands through her hair, over her body, stares at her, smiles, then puts some coins in the greedy trader’s hand. ‘What is your name girl?’

  ‘Juliana.’

  ‘I am now your domina—your mistress. I own you. Follow me.’ They walk from the centre of Rome, past the forum, and through the streets, filled with people in a hurry. She is bombarded with scents, smells, sights and sounds she has never known before. She looks at her mistress, and she returns a smile. They walk through a market then up a hill; she can see a villa there and a guard stands outside. She enters the villa and is taken by another slave to a bath pool. She washes away the filth and grime from her long journey, enjoying the new experience, then she gets out and is given a robe and a brush as she brushes her long brown hair. She never expected such good treatment as a slave—for that was what she was. The other slave points to the garden, she walks past flowers and herbs to a seating area, under the sunshine. Her mistress is sitting there, drinking wine, and eating grapes. She looks so beautiful under the sunshine.

  ‘You must be hungry,’ her mistress smiles at her. ‘Come sit with me,’ she says patting the seat beside her. Juliana sits down and helps herself to roast lamb, grapes and other fruits, and smiles at her new mistress, her cheeks turning red, as her mistress gets closer to her, and touches her long brown hair, running her fingers through it.

  ‘Thank you domina,’ she can feel her heart beating faster.

  ‘You are very pretty, like a Greek goddess. You are from Gaul?’ Juliana nods. ‘It must have been a difficult journey.’

  ‘Yes mistress,’ the tears flow down her cheeks, as her mistress places her head onto her breasts, comforting her, brushing her long brown hair and kissing her head. Juliana can feel her heartbeat as her head rests on her soft warm breasts, she can smell her perfume, as her mistress pulls her closer, and kisses her head again.

  ‘Come rest,’ says her mistress. They walk together through the garden to a bedroom. There are white sheets and drapes; she lies on a soft bed, next to her mistress. She is nervous; she looks at her mistress, her long black luscious hair, and soft blue eyes, lying next to her. Her perfume is evocative. Juliana is excited, and her heart pounds as they both undress, and they smile at each other as their red lips meet and they kiss passionately. Juliana can feel her mistress’s tongue in her mouth, and her strong hands on her bottom.

  ‘My name is Lucia,’ she whispers, then kisses her on the lips. Juliana feels the heat on her back from the warm sun outside, and the pleasant smell of herbs and flowers, as she lies on top of the woman, moving her hips. They join hips, and moan with pleasure, as they writhe and kiss, their tongues locked together.

  Then she hears a man come into the room, behind her. It is the husband of her mistress. ‘Husband, join us,’ smiles Lucia. He takes off his toga and her heart skips a beat as she feels his manhood on her round bottom, his hard muscles gripping her and his soft kisses on her back. She moans as he kisses her neck, feeling his manhood grow harder. Then she gasps with shock, then pleasure, as he enters her. After all, it is her first time.

  Chapter 55

  Terror in the Forest

  CALIFORNIAN REDWOOD FOREST

  A boy and girl in their early twenties were hiking with backpacks through the Californian Redwood Forest. They walked up a path between two huge redwoods. The sun was shining, and they were laughing and joking as they came to the top of a ridge and admired the view. Nearby, a sparkling stream trickled its way down into the valley.

  ‘We’ll camp here,’ said Gregg.

  After setting up the camp, Gregg fiddled with a fire stick, tinder and twigs trying to get a fire going.

  ‘Why don’t you use matches?’ said Anne teasing him.

  ‘Because this is how hunters and survivors do it,’ grunted Gregg as he watched the sun go down.

  They ate their meal of beef stew by the crackling campfire, warming their hands, and smiled at one another as the air grew cooler in the dark night. Gregg handed Anne a Budweiser, and they looked up and gazed in wonder, as the stars came out, a brilliant tapestry of light.

  Dazzling and magical.

  But Gregg noticed something odd as he looked up and pointed at a section of the sky.

  ‘What’s that?’

  A large object moved across the North Star.

  ‘Where?’ replied Anne.

  ‘Just below the North Star, it’s moving for Christ’s sake. Is it a meteor?’

  ‘Oh yes, I see it. I wonder what it is?’ said a curious Anne.

  ‘I wonder how big it is?’ Gregg stared with his mouth open.

  Anne yawned, ‘anyway, I’m going to bed.’

  ‘Be right there. Meteor? No, too slow, too regular, too large,’ Gregg muttered.

  ‘Hurry up Gregg, it’s getting cold, and I have a job for you.’

  As Gregg went into the tent, smaller objects left the main one and headed towards Earth, like stars shining in the night sky.

  Gregg and Anne woke up, wriggled out of their tent, and looked up at the sky. Gregg rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Anne, recalling the object he had seen the previous night.

  ‘Good morning, Beautiful.’

  ‘What’s that up there?’

  ‘Where?’ asked Gregg.

  ‘There, look you idiot!’ said a frightened Anne. Gregg shielded his eyes from the sun.

  ‘It’s heading this way. Can’t be a helicopter, it’s too fast. What is it?’ As the object became closer the realization slowly dawned on him.

  It was not terrestrial.

  ‘Christ, it looks like a UFO, run for it!’ shouted Gregg.

  The object moved towards them at lightning speed and landed one hundred yards away. Tall, gangly beings in Narzuk uniforms walked awkwardly out of the craft, their features disfigured by mutations and sores. One of them pointed at Anne and two alien dogs leaped after her. They were on her in thirty seconds and had her pinned to the ground. Gregg hovered near the dogs, which bared their teeth at him, growling, but did not attack as he waited for an opportunity to rescue her, his gold crucifix necklace glistening in the sun.

  ‘Leave her alone you alien bastards!’

  He watched helpless as they dragged his love, Anne, screaming onto the ship, her eyes wide in shock, mouthing something to Gregg, the tears streaming down her face. Her arms reached out to Gregg, begging him to do something. Another Narzuk stepped towards Gregg. He looked at the alien, then at Anne, uncertain.

  As the alien stepped forward, it hesitated when it saw his crucifix, a look of fear in its eyes. Gregg ran towards Anne, but it was too late, as thirty seconds later, they were gone.

  Gregg screamed at the fast disappearing spaceship, ‘Anne!’

  Chapter 56

  Terror in the Whorehouse

  NEVADA WHOREHOUSE

  The two Sumeri Narzuk officers, wearing smart black uniforms, medals gleaming in the sunlight, walk into the run-down building. They look more healthy, more lean and muscular than the average Narzuk, for they are Narzuk SS, the Emperor’s own fanatical elite.

  ‘Bael has smiled upon us, we shall have some fun today brother,’ says Lord Grim-Uk, smiling to his brother Himm-Uk, as h
e toys with a black figurine around his neck. Their Sumeri women may be barren, but there is nothing wrong with his libido.

  ‘It has been a long journey, let us taste these human women,’ replies Himm-Uk clapping his brother on the back.

  They look patiently at an elderly lady standing behind a wonky wooden desk. She is wearing bad makeup and cheap clothes and has uncombed hair. As she looks up, her brain tries to make sense of what she is seeing, then she screams in horror. The Narzuks ignore her, and take red-coloured pills. Their black eyes turn reddish as the veins stand out, like their swastika armbands. They smile with pleasure as the old lady shakes with terror.

  ‘My god, don’t hurt me, please!’

  She hides behind the desk, then peeps over as they adjust their translation devices.

  ‘Most of our girls have run off, but there’s Jane available.’

  The maid points in the direction of Jane’s room upstairs then hides behind the desk again. The tall Narzuk, Grim-Uk, leads the way up the creaky wooden stairs, and they search the rooms for females. Grim-Uk looks in one room and sees an African-American woman, lying on her bed, in a black nightie, red curtains on the window. He turns up his nose, then without a second thought, shoots her, the blast making a clear hole through her chest. Some blood lands on his face, but he doesn’t wipe it off. He looks at her cold lifeless eyes then walks out.

  Purebred. The human females must be purebred, said the Emperor, shouting hysterically, pointing at his copy of Mein Kampf. ‘No African-Americans, no Jews, no disabled, no DNA flaws for our new master race. White women only; kill the rest.’

  He is simply following orders after all. It is for the greater good, his emperor has told him.

  If he had a soul he would have a conscience, but of course, he doesn’t have a soul, and his mind is clear. He has turned his back on God, for he worships another entity, more diabolical and evil than Hitler ever was.

  The bloody alien walks along the creaky wooden landing. There is a room with a sign, ‘Jane’ on the door.

  A skinny, unshaven man, with unkempt hair, smelling of body odour, walks out of Jane’s room, the door half open. His trousers are undone and he is wearing a dirty singlet. He runs down the stairs as he sees the alien, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

  ‘Bye, Handsome, come again,’ Jane calls after the man.

  Grim-Uk walks into Jane’s room to see a beautiful brunette with a Rubenesque figure; the Narzuk grins.

  ‘Ohhh Gud tuk.’

  Jane is terrified, as the alien walks towards her. ‘Ahhhh! What are you going to do with me?’ Grim-UK starts to remove his black uniform. He is disobeying orders of course, he is supposed to capture and transport selected females for further testing, and if they pass, they are to be inseminated surgically. But hell, who would know? And he was the chief, after all. Perks of the job, and he wants his fun.

  And he wants it now, as he climbs onto the bed, his sharp teeth chattering excitedly.

  Jane screams. ‘Don’t hurt me, please!’

  Jane hides under the blankets. ‘What are you? Are you human or some kind of alien? Please don’t hurt me!’

  After a few moments, Jane pokes her head out.

  ‘Are you an alien by any chance? I saw it on the TV.’ Then Jane’s mood softens. Compared to the last client, this alien wasn’t too bad looking. ‘You’re quite handsome for an alien I suppose. A bit smelly, though, aren’t you going to take a shower?’ she asks, holding her nose.

  Grim-Uk takes off his undergarment and grins again.

  ‘No money no honey. I don’t care if you are an alien. We have rules.’

  Grim-Uk ignores her, grins wider, grunts and drops his undergarment to the floor. He swallows another pill, which takes immediate effect, and Jane puts her hand over her mouth as she looks at his member.

  Grim-Uk’s eyes glow red with lust.

  ‘Oooh, you’ve got a big one! What are you going to do with that?’

  The Narzuk climbs on top of her, studying her anatomy.

  ‘Oh, not that one silly, this one here.’

  Himm-Uk walks into a door marked ‘Bathroom.’ In the bathroom, a woman is having a shower, singing to herself. The door opens and shuts, but the woman does not notice as she soaps her body, singing a Dolly Parton song. “Stand by your man...” she covers her mouth as a horrible stench hits her. She retches.

  ‘Oh, what’s that stink?’

  She sees a dark shadow outside her shower curtain. She freezes as she looks at the shadow; it doesn’t seem human, and the naked woman is terrified.

  ‘Who is that?’

  She starts shivering, as the shadow grows larger and darker against the curtain. She hears a grunting noise and heavy breathing.

  ‘This is not funny!’

  The curtain opens, and she sees a tall, ugly, evil-smelling green-fleshed alien, its large eyes glowing black in its angular head, red veins standing out, its long incisor teeth chattering in excitement as it gets closer, drooling saliva.

  She cannot move, her eyes are wide with terror, and she shivers uncontrollably and then screams as Himm-Uk goes to grab her, but there is no-one to rescue her.

  Chapter 57

  Terror in Virginia

  VIRGINIA

  In an isolated pine cottage in the woods of Virginia, a man in his mid-fifties is reading last week’s newspaper. His young, attractive wife, Susan, is nagging him about doing some DIY.

  ‘I wonder why there’s no power. I can’t watch TV,’ Fred complains.

  ‘Get off your lazy ass and do some painting!’ Susan replies.

  ‘I’m retired now, that’s why I am sat on my ass!’

  ‘Get up and do something!’

  ‘Oh get ye to a nunnery woman! Get ye to a nunnery, and leave me in peace!’

  A Narzuk SS Stormtrooper walks silent and unseen past the kitchen window as Susan is doing the dishes, still talking to Fred, from the kitchen.

  ‘Honestly, this kitchen is such a mess. If I didn’t do the dishes, who would?’ she nags. Fred has his head buried in his newspaper ignoring her. The alien walks into the kitchen, and Susan looks up from her dishes, but too late, as the alien puts a small device to her head, to silence her.

  She opens her mouth, but no words come out, as she falls to the floor, half-asleep. The Narzuk struggles carrying her out the door, where a robot carries her off through the woods. She falls asleep as she is kidnapped. Fred is oblivious as he reads the Sports column.

  ‘Ah, peace and quiet at last,’ as Fred sighs, looks up, then resumes reading his paper.

  Chapter 58

  Traitor Uncovered

  SIRIUS HQ COMMAND BUNKER - VIRGINIA

  President Wilson was pacing up and down.

  ‘Have the nuclear launch codes been changed?’ General Scott wipes his brow. Professor Picard winced as he drank a coffee and nibbled at a croissant.

  ‘Yes I did it myself at this end, but I am hoping the verification process still works for our subs. I’m not sure the National Military Command Centre still exists. We cannot do it electronically, we will have to use the old telex system. General Schmitt, do we have a telex machine here?’

  ‘Yes.’ General Scott picked up a call from Chip at US Space Command.

  ‘Sir! I have found a device in Grimbald’s office, it looks alien, sir, some sort of transmitter. It has a list of messages, some in English and some look alien, sir.’

  The professor looked up. ‘Take a picture of the messages!’

  General Scott’s eyes grew wider as he looked at President Wilson; he spoke in hushed tones to his nephew.

  ‘Chip, try and retrieve the English messages if you can.’

  ‘There’s one here, sir, it’s just a series of numbers and letters, four sets of four characters. Shall I read them out?’ President Wilson and General Scott gathered a
round the phone, a look of anxiety etched on their faces.

  ‘Yes, please do,’ spoke his general, trying to maintain his composure.

  ‘9A3E 2F7Z 1Y4D 301A,’ spoke Chip to silence at the other end, The general scribbling down the codes.

  As Chip was reading the message from the alien device, it started smoking, then went up in flames, as Chip dropped the blackened remains to the floor.

  ‘Jesus Christ! They sound like...’ General Scott, shaken steadied himself on a table.

  ‘Oh my god, they’re the gold codes!’ President Wilson’s eyes water and his hands start to shake. Then he composed himself and got out the card that was kept on a chain around his neck. The President broke the plastic biscuit covering the card and read the codes, gesturing General Scott to do the same.

  ‘The code is third from the top, Bill.’

  General Scott nodded and read the codes on his biscuit, checking them against the codes on the piece of paper. He went white and had to sit down. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, his voice a hoarse whisper.

  ‘I think I’m going to be sick.’

  ‘When were the codes sent?’ asked President Wilson, pale and ashen, now sitting down, sweating, breathing in gulps as his heart pounded.

  ‘Chip, did you hear that?’ asked General Scott.

  ‘Eight hours ago, sir, just before General Grimbald went missing. The alien device has self-destruct. But I took a picture as the Frenchman suggested. Will send now.’