Dark Matter: SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE

by Jessica Loft

  “I don’t understand,” Lucy whispered. “Richard, I knew about the meeting. I was going to accept the deal!”

  For a moment the thought paused him on the steps, taken aback by her response. “Well, that’s a pity,” he said, his eyes darting to her then the gun. “That makes this a little unnecessary.”

  “None of it’s necessary,” Lucy quickly replied, shaking her head. “You don’t have to do this, Richard. Just leave. I’ll sign the papers as soon as I get back and we can just pretend that this never happened.”

  Richard sighed and shook his head, clicking off the safety. “I can’t do that honey. See, I’ll never know if you’ll actually keep your word or not. Even if you would, how do I know that you wouldn’t use it as leverage for more money?”

  He had made it to the bottom of the steps by then, and was slowly walking towards her, gun outstretched. He saw the look of panic rising in Lucy’s eyes, and he had to admit, it gave him a thrill. He liked that for once, he was giving the orders and not the other way around.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be sorely missed. I’m sure everyone in the office will mourn your passing.”

  As she saw his finger curl around the trigger Lucy ducked and rushed forward. The sound of a shot rang loudly through the house as Lucy threw her entire body into Richard’s sending him sprawling to the ground. Though she was a good sixty pounds lighter than him, Lucy fought with everything she had to wrestle the gun out of his hands and onto the floor.

  “Stupid bitch!” he snarled, clocking her hard across the jaw in an effort to get her away from the gun. As his fist landed a loud roar erupted from outside, freezing Richard for a moment. Taking the opportunity, Lucy’s hand shot out and gripped Richard’s balls as hard as she could. His howl of pain sounded loudly as she easily guided him away from the gun on the floor and up to his feet.

  “Now, I’m going to tell you this one time, and one time only,” she seethed, “get the fuck out of my house!” Lucy released her tight grip on Richard and thrust him out, sending him tripping down the porch steps and sprawling onto the ground where her bear was waiting. The large grizzly sank his teeth into the man as soon as he hit the grass, and bit down as hard as he could.

  Richard’s screams of fear filled the yard as Lucy rushed to the phone to call 911. She knew that by the time she got them the address that he would be dead, but she didn’t care.

  “911 what’s your emergency?”

  “Yes, I need to report an animal attack, please. There’s a man being eaten alive by a bear outside my house!”

  ~

  Jasper put a comforting arm around Lucy’s shoulders as they watched the paramedics roll Richard’s body out of her driveway on a gurney. He had shown up right after her bear had left, and found the torn up remains of the man that tried to kill her. While they were waiting for the police, Lucy had told him everything. The bear had saved her life, and now she had sadly condemned him to death. She wept for her furry friend more than she wept for Richard, and Jasper was there to comfort her through it.

  “What’s going to happen to the bear?” Lucy asked Officer Evers after he finished questioning her. “He sa-, I mean, he probably just thought the man was invading his territory.”

  The officer, an older gentleman who was a little on the heavy side with a fading hairline and a handlebar mustache, closed his notebook and put it in his pocket. There was no more to record and from he could tell, it was a simple animal attack.

  “Well ma’am, although you might be right, we’re probably going to have to do a search of your perimeter within the next few days. If we see him we’ll have to euthanize him. Most of these wild creatures have never tasted human blood before, but once they do they become a lot more predatory towards humans, and we can’t have that. If it were up to me I’d let the poor guy in peace, but it’s not up to me.” Officer Evers turned to walk away from them, and then at the last minute stopped to add, “I’m very sorry for the loss of your friend.”

  “Me too,” Lucy whispered, thinking of her dear bear. It took another hour, but finally the police and the coroner left, leaving Lucy alone with Jasper. As soon as they were gone, he pulled her into his arms and held her close.

  “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier,” he whispered. “I could have stopped it all.”

  “Or you could have been shot,” Lucy replied, shaking her head. “No, now that it’s done, I’m kind of glad things ended this way. No one has to go to jail for murder, and if the bear is lucky, then he’ll stay hidden for the next few days until it’s clear to come out.”

  Jasper nodded his head, agreeing with her. He took her inside and locked the doors and windows to be on the safe side. When he was done, he brewed them each a cup of chamomile tea, and together they sat down on the large couch in the living room curled up with their warm beverages.

  “I have a question,” Jasper said, breaking the silence.

  “Hmm?” Lucy asked.

  “How come you never named him? The bear I mean. Most girls do that don’t they? Try to make them their pets?”

  Lucy shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her tea. “He’s not my pet, he’s a wild animal. I had no more right to name him than he had a right to name me I guess.”

  Looking up, she caught Jasper’s smile, and couldn’t help but smile back. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Because,” Jasper said, getting up to take off his shirt. “You’re an incredibly amazing woman, and I think that you can handle it.”

  Jasper turned around, exposing his scars as he stepped out of his jeans. Lucy felt a click of familiarity as she saw them, and suddenly everything fell into place. Why Jasper was never around when the bear was, why he was late getting to her, why the scars on her bear’s back were familiar.

  “You’re him,” she whispered, looking up at Jasper.

  He nodded his head, and slowly began to shift. Lucy watched, transfixed as Jasper’s muscular human body transformed into the large, familiar shape that was her precious bear. His massive size took up the majority of the living room space, but she didn’t care. Once he was fully in his other form, he walked up to Lucy, and leaned his head forward.

  Tentatively she reached out, and stroked her fingers along the soft fur of Jasper’s massive head. He made a low noise of approval in his throat, and she couldn’t help but smile as she looked over him. There was shock, but there was also awe, and acceptance. Deep down she felt as if a part of her had always suspected that it could be possible.

  After a few minutes of petting , Jasper shifted back to his human form. He stood vulnerably in front of her, waiting for her response. He didn’t have to wait long. Standing up, Lucy pressed her body tightly against his and kissed him with everything she had.

  “So, you don’t mind?” Jasper asked, breaking away after a passionate kiss. Lucy laughed and shook her head.

  “I think a part of me suspected from the beginning. But since you’ve shared your secret with me I’ve decided to share my secret with you,” she told him.

  Jasper raised his eyebrow, surprised. “Oh?”

  “Yes,” Lucy said, stripping off her own clothes. “I’m going to name a CEO to my company and I’m going to retire. And I’d like to do that here, if that’s okay with you.”

  Jasper laughed in joy and twirled Lucy around as he kissed her. He was elated that she was staying, and that she accepted him for who he was. As he hitched her legs around his waist and took her upstairs, he couldn’t be more thankful than the day he came out of the woods to be Lucy’s bear.

  Now Enjoy The Next Story Below Or Choose One From The Table of Contents

  Finding Your Way

  Chapter 1

  Mackenzie dropped her bookbag on the floor as she walked into the kitchen to get a snack. She rooted through the box of chips to find one last bag of Doritos and pulled it out, triumphant. She opened the bag and stuck a chip in her mouth, then turned. Her step-dad, Mitch, stood in the doorway, arms crossed, glaring at her.
r />   “You’re late. Where were you?”

  She dropped her eyes and swallowed. “Got a detention.”

  “Another one? That’s the third one this month. We’ve talked about this.”

  “It wasn’t my fault!” Mackenzie thought back to how Sam had shoved Sarah during lunch that day. Was she supposed to just stand there and watch?

  “It’s never your fault, is it?”

  “What’s going on?” Her mother appeared in the doorway behind Mitch.

  “Mac got another detention today. Oh, but this one isn’t her fault,” Mitch said sarcastically.

  “Don’t call me that!” Mackenzie balled one hand into a fist, the Doritos bag crinkling in the other. “Mom, it really wasn’t my fault this time. Sam and Sarah—”

  “I don’t want to hear it.” Her mother held her hands up. “This is between you and Mitch. He’ll decide what your punishment should be.”

  “Mom! But Mitch—”

  “You’re grounded. Obviously,” Mitch said. That little smirk pulled at his mouth like it always did when he was allowed to discipline her. “And I think this weekend my car needs to be washed and vacuumed.”

  “I am not washing your stupid car.” Every time he made her, it was two days of washing and buffing, and he’d find the tiniest speck of dirt and make her do it all over again.

  “You will do as I say in my house!” His hands fell to his sides in fists.

  “This isn’t your house!” she screamed back at the top of her lungs. “This was my father’s house, and he’d kick your ass if he were here now!”

  She knew she shouldn’t curse. It was an instant death sentence, but it had slipped out. The anger poured over her, making her shake with it.

  Mitch stepped toward her and his large hand came across her face in a loud smack.

  “You will not use that language in my house, and you will not talk about your father.” He was so close, she could smell the stale scent of beer on his breath, mixed with salt of the chips he always ate. He snatched the bag of Doritos from her hand. “And I think you won’t be eating dinner tonight. Or any of my food.”

  “I hate you,” she said quietly. She may have been only two when her dad died, but she was sure he had been much better than Mitch, and she missed him, despite never having known him.

  Mitch raised his fist and punched the side of her head. It caught her off guard. She stumbled, but managed to stay standing. Her ears rung and she fought the threat of tears that pricked her eyes. She would not let him see her cry.

  “Go to your room,” he said with a slow growl. “If you’re lucky, I’ll let you back out eventually.”

  She pushed past him, tears now filling her eyes, cheek hot with pain. Her mom looked away when she passed. “Thanks for your help, Mom,” Mackenzie said, knocking hard into her shoulder. Her mom stumbled, but Mackenzie kept going and slammed the door of her bedroom shut so hard, it rattled the picture frame hanging on her wall.

  Mackenzie threw herself onto her bed and let the tears flow. She had to get out of here. Out of this horrible house with this horrible man. It wasn’t the first time he’d hit her. Not by a long shot. It seemed one of his favorite things to do. But he hadn’t punched her like that before. It’d been only open-handed slaps until now. And her mother had just stood there and watched. She never stepped in, never even said anything to Mitch about it.

  Determination settled over her. She could leave. And she would.

  ~

  She waited until the early morning, when they were both fast asleep. She packed her backpack full of clothing and other things she might need, like her hair brush. Her phone sat on her bedside table. She wanted to take it. She was never without her phone. But they’d be able to track her, and leaving meant leaving behind everything.

  Mackenzie crept to the kitchen. There, she filled another bag with as much food as she could. Chips, granola bars, Pop Tarts. It wouldn’t get her too far, but hopefully far enough. She just had to find somewhere and get a quick job. Then she’d be fine.

  She walked very slowly and lightly back down the hall to where her mom and Mitch slept. Her bags waited for her by the door, she didn’t want them in the way for this. Turning the knob she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She pushed open the door soundlessly.

  Both of them were breathing hard and rhythmically. Asleep. Mackenzie went first to the dresser where her mother’s purse sat. She pulled out all the cash in the wallet. Then, she found Mitch’s wallet at the night stand and took his cash, too. She crept from the room relieved, closing the door softly behind her.

  Back in the kitchen, she counted. $68. Not much, but it was better than nothing.

  She stuffed the cash into her pocket, grabbed her bags, and walked out the front door. Closing it quietly behind her, she picked up her bike from the porch, and rode off, never looking back.

  Chapter 2

  Mackenzie rode to the bus station. She got a few strange looks, which didn’t surprise her being that it was 2 a.m. and she was only 17, but she acted like she knew where she was going and avoided any sort of nervous fidgeting.

  She couldn’t decide what to do with her bike, though. If she left it there, it would be found eventually, and her mom would know that she got on a bus and took off. But if she could hide it so it wasn’t found, maybe that would buy her more time. If they even bothered to look for her. The thought made her even angrier and more determined. She made a quick decision to ride her bike away from the station a few blocks. Not too far, since she’d be walking back. She found an alleyway and shoved her bike down it, then hurried back to the bus station.

  A lighted schedule hung on the wall advertising all the places she could go. Mackenzie watched with anticipation for a moment, trying to decide where she wanted to live from now on. Some place warmer than Michigan, where she lived now. Then she saw it. Sante Fe, New Mexico. Immediately, her mind filled with images of mountains, cowboys, and deserts and she smiled to herself. PERFECT.

  She noted the departing location and time. Then she waited. This part would be tricky. She wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to get on the bus without being noticed and without a ticket. But the idea might come to her if she thought about it long enough. Finally, she noticed an elderly couple waiting for the same bus. And she formulated a plan.

  When the bus began loading, she walked up behind the couple and stayed close to them when they got in line. As the woman at the door checked tickets, Mackenzie bent down when the ticket checker was talking to the couple about their vacation to Michigan, and snuck past. She climbed onto the bus quickly and took a seat near the back to try to stay inconspicuous.

  ~

  The bus ride took two days. Thirty hours of sitting and staring out the window, divided up with frequent stops in which she’d gaze longingly at the hot food the other passengers purchased while she ate another bag of chips or a Pop Tart.

  The mountains rolled out before her, and the bus pulled into a stop before their final destination. Mackenzie stepped off the bus in Glorietta Creek with no more intention than to stretch her legs.

  The bus stop wasn’t much of a stop. It was a small pavilion in the middle of town. She had a few minutes, so she wandered into the gift shop next store, browsing casually.

  “Hi there,” the woman behind the counter said. “Can I help you find anything?”

  “Just looking, thanks,” Mackenzie said.

  The woman grinned at her. “You look like you’ve been traveling a while.”

  “Yeah. Long bus ride from Michigan.”

  “Oh my.” The woman’s voice was full of warmth, and she didn’t take the smile off her face. “You poor thing. You must be tired. Are you traveling with your parents?”

  “Nope. Just me.”

  “Oh, well, in that case.” She went into a back room, and returned with a bottle of soda and a small foil-wrapped package that she held in a napkin. “This is a burger I made for dinner last night. It’s just a leftover, nothing too fancy, bu
t you take it and eat up.”

  Mackenzie’s eyes widened and her stomach gurgled at the smell. She peeled back the foil, revealing the steaming hot sandwich, and took a big bite. It tasted like the best burger she’d ever had. Hot and juicy with a nice thick piece of melted cheese. She ate the burger and chugged the soda, not thinking about the fact that she did this in the middle of the woman’s gift shop, which maybe wasn’t the most appropriate place to be so ill-mannered.

  She looked up at the woman sheepishly. “Thanks. It was really good.”

  “Honey.” The woman reached over and put her hand on Mackenzie’s. “Do you mind me asking, are you running away from home?”

  Without thinking, Mackenzie touched the tender spot next to her eye that had turned purple in the last days.

  “Did someone do that?” the woman asked.

  “Yeah, but it’s okay now. I’ll be okay, thanks.”

  The woman looked at her with heartfelt sympathy. “No one should have to go through what you went through. Do you have a place to go? If you don’t, my husband and I have an extra room, and we’d be glad to give you a place to stay for as long as you like.”

  Mackenzie glanced out the window at the bus, at the passengers climbing back on. Her backpack of clothes was still on her back, and her bag of food lay almost empty at her feet. There was nothing for her in Sante Fe specifically. She was going there because that’s where the bus was going. But Glorietta Creek seemed like such a nice, quiet town. Maybe it’d be better than a bigger city. If this woman was offering… she could always go to Sante Fe, or anywhere else for that matter, if it didn’t work out here.

  “Really?” Mackenzie asked hesitantly.

  “Of course! We’d love to have you stay with us. Though, I might ask you to mind the shop now and again, if you don’t mind. And, of course, we would expect you to go to school and attend church with us.”