“Thank you for coming, sweetie,” she whispered. “Your father…it’s been so tough, without him around.”
“I’m so sorry, mom,” he said. “I just can’t believe it. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Not now. We’ll talk about that later.” Julia pulled a couple inches back and stared into his eyes. Leon could see her pain and her strength, but something else was layered on top of it, something that looked like love. Julia leaned in and surprised him with a kiss, not on the cheek as she had so many times before during his upbringing, but on his lips.
Hot fire seemed to spread through his body as their mouths met. Julia ran her hands up his side, and Leon felt his body responding in a way that he was ashamed of. He ran his hand through her hair, and after a moment, managed to summon up the will he needed to break from the embrace.
“I’m sorry, honey,” said Julia. “I’m just so glad to see you.”
“It’s fine, mom, I understand,” he replied. He looked up and took around the dome, letting his eyes feast on the sight of it for the first time as a way from distracting himself from the guilty arousal his body had been stricken with.
What he saw seemed foreign to his eyes, as though he had touched down on a new, alien landscape. The ground was a mixture of sand and clay, pale white, almost as if the color had been bleached away. It felt strangely stiff against his feet, absent of the gentle give and sink of the regular earthen surfaces he was used to.
The dome wrapped around the science station like a physical horizon. The ring of lights he had seen on the way down were suspended in the water outside and above, and had the effect of shining light through the translucent composite shell material with a teal tint, with flowing shadows and patterns from the movement of the water and sea life being cast across the ground.
All of this made it seem as though the tiny enclosed area was all that existed, a little island of life and civilization within a broad expanse of dark nothingness. If he had awoken there without any prior knowledge, Leon was sure that he would have thought that his body had passed into another realm, where things worked very differently and the rules of existence were fundamentally altered. He realized that for the most part, those assertions were not all that far from the truth.
“Welcome to Project Cobalt,” said Julia.
CHAPTER 3
Leon followed Julia as they made their way into the area. There was a gentle hum coming from a machine installed above the entranceway he had come out through, and he assumed that it was either an air recycler or dehumidifier.
“Let me take you on a tour,” said Julia. “It won’t take long. This dome is more of a pilot project than the finished product.”
Leon had never seen anything quite like it. The shell of the dome stretched out high overhead, and he could see that the sides of it created a smooth seal with the base of the ground.
“What happens in the event of an earthquake?” he asked.
“The dome is actually a complete sphere,” replied Julia. “It was set into a hole dug out by automated submersibles. There’s only a thin layer of ocean sand and clay on the ground, underneath that we have storage space and thermal generators.”
She led him towards a large, industrial looking building in the center of the area. Overall, the dome was no more than maybe a kilometer across, maybe even less. Leon found himself thinking intently about the logistics of such a living situation. Julia seemed to pick up on his concern just from the expression on his face.
“It’s not bad here,” she said. “Your father…your father and I really enjoyed it.”
“I’m sorry Julia,” he said. “I don’t mean to stir up any bad emotions, but I have to know…dad’s body, is it…?”
It was hard for him to even get the words out. Julia stopped and turned back towards him. He could see pain on her face, but along with it, there was something else.
“I…I had him cremated. I was hoping you could scatter his ashes, if you wanted.” Julia pushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked deep into Leon’s eyes. “We weren’t that close, in the last few months. In the last few years, even. Leon, your father’s death hurt me, it hurt a lot…but so did what came before it.”
He didn’t know what to say in reply to that. Instead, he just looked up at the lights above, outside of the dome. The lack of wind on the inside reminded him of the artificial nature of the set up.
“It’s okay, mom,” he said, not knowing what else to say. Julia smiled, as though that was all she had needed, and rubbed his shoulder.
“Come on, I want you to see the science station,” she said.
The main building looked a little like a mixture between an observation outpost and a factory. Julia led him in through the main door, which was made of polished aluminum. Inside, about a dozen scientists wearing similar outfits to her own were hard at work.
“This is where most of our research happens,” said Julia. “We’re investigating everything from ocean acidity, salinity levels, to methods for extracting resources from the sea bed, and even ways to improve the sustainability of the entire operation.”
“Well I never doubted for a second that you were a hard worker,” said Leon.
“We’re actually short on manpower, always,” said Julia. “If you don’t mind, it would be nice to have some help with some of the more hands on, brute force tasks we have on our plate.”
“Of course,” he replied.
Julia led him back outside, and they headed over to a grouping of buildings on the far edge of the inside of the dome. There were two larger ones, and at least a couple dozen smaller domiciles in rows behind them.
“This is the main meeting hall and cafeteria,” said Julia, pointing. “And that’s our recreation and simulation center. It’s the only place in Project Cobalt that serves a non-scientific purpose.”
“Sounds like where I’ll be spending most of my time,” Leon joked.
Julia stepped up to the entrance of the meeting hall and pulled the door open. It was surprisingly spacious inside, with rows of cafeteria style tables and at least twenty or thirty residents eating dinner. She walked over to a kitchen counter with treys and some cafeteria workers behind it, and Leon followed her.
“Hey Jamie,” she said to a woman working in the kitchen. “Meet my son, Leon.”
“Oh wow, I didn’t realize he’d be arriving today,” said the woman. “Nice to meet you, Leon. I’m so sorry about your father. He was…a good man.”
“Thanks,” he said. “And it’s nice to meet you too.”
His mom encouraged him to load up a plate with food, and he did, feeling his hangover in remission and his hunger back in full force. The two of them headed over to a table and sat down. Leon noticed that he appeared to be the center of attention, and tried to ignore it as he began to dig into his dinner.
“Don’t take it the wrong way, sweetie,” said Julia. “Visitors down here are essentially non-existent. Give it a day or two and the novelty will wear off.”
“To be honest, I’m not complaining,” he replied.
A tall woman with piercing green eyes and short blond hair smiled at Julia and walked over to their table. She sat down in one of the nearby chairs with a confidence that told Leon what he needed to know before she had even said anything.
“You must be Leon, our new arrival,” said the woman. “My name is Elizabeth. I’m the Project Cobalt Operations Manager here inside the dome. I’ve gotten to know your mom, and your dad, rest his soul, quite well over the course of the last month.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied. “I’m grateful to be allowed down here, this is a rough time for my family. I’ll help in any way I can with the project.”
“I appreciate that, Leon,” she said. “There’s more than enough work to go around. Come find me tomorrow morning and we’ll add you into the fold.”
He nodded, and the tall woman walked over to his mom. The two of them whispered to each other for a moment, and then she walked back to
wards the table she had been sitting at before.
“What was that?” asked Leon.
“Oh, nothing honey,” said Julia. “Come on, if you’re done with your food, we should head back to my domicile for the night.”
The two of them walked outside of the meeting hall and over towards the rows of small habitats that Leon had noticed before. Julia stopped in front of one near the back, close to the edge of the dome, and unlocked the door.
“Here we are. I shared this one with your father, but he was barely ever in it. Most of the time he would just sleep at his work desk in the science station.”
She stepped inside, and Leon followed behind her. He was surprised by the efficiency of the setup, which had a small kitchen, living room, a bed, and a bathroom, almost in the style of a one bedroom apartment, except much nicer.
“This place looks great, mom,” he said. “I can see how the Blue Vision Corporation managed to get so many people to sign on for this mission.”
“It’s a small perk, but a perk, nonetheless.” Julia yawned, and sat down on the bed. She patted the spot next to her. “Come over here, sweetie. We haven’t really had a chance to be alone yet today.”
Leon walked over and joined her. His mom was silent for a moment, and she looked at him with eyes that made Leon feel confused, and hot. Julia leaned in towards her son, letting her large breasts rub against the side of his body.
“We’ll have to share the bed, honey,” she said. “I hope you’re not too put off by the idea of climbing under the covers with your stuffy old mother.”
“Mom…” said Leon. “I should probably…just sleep on the couch.”
She set her hand down on his thigh, and Leon felt his cock begin to stiffen and ache for attention. Julia rubbed her hand back and forth, letting her fingers draw closer to his package, and Leon couldn’t help but let out a soft, guilty moan.
“Baby I just want to take care of you,” she whispered. “You came all the way down here for me, let mommy do something for you.”
Her palm came to a rest right on top of Leon’s hard rod, and he almost gasped with pleasure. Julia quickly began unzipping his pants, and reaching her fingers down into his boxers. Her touch was warm, and caused a shiver of pleasure to run up Leon’s spine.
“Mom, you can’t,” he whispered. “I mean…this, this isn’t right.”
Julia ignored his appeal to logic and reason, and started to work his cock out through the flap of his underwear. Leon wanted nothing more than to let him stroke him, and bring him right to the brink and past it, but he couldn’t. There was too much guilt and shame involved in the act, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t rationalize it away.
He stood up and fixed his pants, his face blushing hot red as he looked at his mom.
“I’m sorry, mom,” he said. “This…it’s not okay. What would...dad think?”
“Honey, you don’t understand,” said Julia. “It was never like that between your father and I.”
She stood up, and stepped close to him. Leon flinched back, thinking for a second that she was going to try to make another move on him, and not knowing whether or not he’d have the willpower to be able to stop him. Instead, she brought her face close to his ear and spoke quiet words into it.
“I didn’t want you down here to just help out with the project, Leon,” she whispered. “I need emotional support. I need you to help me get through this, to comfort me, and help keep me safe.”
“Mom, I-“
“It’s okay sweetie, you’re my son, and I’m your mom, no matter what.” Julia kissed him on the lips, and the action seemed to make the words she had just spoken seem dirty and illicit. Leon wanted her, as ashamed as he was to admit it, but his confusion was almost paralyzing in its power.
She didn’t say anything else, and climbed into her bed. Leon thought about joining her for a moment, but instead, he made his way over to the couch in the living area and collapsed down on top of it. Sleep did not come quickly, that night.
Depths of Desire by Anya Merchant
Forbidden Christmas (Taboo Erotica) Page 4
