I smiled. Of course I knew him. The town’s physician had been to our house more times than I cared to remember. This being such a small town, he doubled as pediatrician, and he had put in many a midnight call as our children were growing up. I took his hand and a smile tugged at my lips. “How could I forget?”
He mirrored my smile and lifted a finger into the air. “Can you follow my finger?”
I did as instructed. After a cursory examination, he patted my hand. “You seem fine. Perhaps you bumped your head somewhere?”
I laughed at that; everyone knew what a klutz I was. “Don’t I always?” I then turned to Henry. “Can we go home?”
He cocked his head at Doc, a silent question in his eyes.
Doc cleared his throat. “I don’t see why not. Just spend some time in bed and get some rest. I’ll drop by tomorrow to see how you’re doing.”
“Thanks, Doc.” I raised myself and nodded my appreciation.
Henry stood up after me and kissed my forehead. “Come on, honey. Let’s go home.” He tugged at my suitcase. “Jesus, what have you put in here? Rocks?” He chuckled at his joke and started on his way towards home.
I stared at him for a moment, lost in sudden uncertainty. My hand traced my back with anxious fingers. There was nothing there. I sighed in relief and a wide grin pulled at my lips as a huge wave of love filled my soul. I must have been more confused than I realized. I mean, a tail, of all things? Seriously?
I let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Can you believe I can’t even remember? We’ll open it at home and find out.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I have to stop him from opening the suitcase, but had no idea why. Or how. I was not worried, though. I’d think of something to take his mind off the suitcase once we’re home. It would be just like that weekend when I had crashed his brand new car. We had spent an entire weekend in bed, while the town’s mechanic worked overtime to have it ready by Sunday evening. Henry had not even found out about it until two weeks later, when he had finally noticed a scratch on the hood, and I had come clean. My punishment had been to spend another weekend in bed. Not too bad.
A mischievous grin tugged at my lips at the possibilities. After all, I had to spend some time in bed. Doctor’s orders and all that. He laughed as I rushed towards him and took him by the arm, squishing my face against his shoulder.
The door’s soft swish interrupted the low hum of the suborbital engines; the only other sound in the spacious bridge. A wide screen showed the green and blue planet rotating gently under the hidden spaceship.
“Yes?” The captain’s hands were firmly clasped behind his back, but his stubby tail twitched back and forth, betraying his impatience. Staying too long over a planet with a space-faring civilization was always a risk. The ship might be invisible to most instruments, but there were people in orbit. People with eyes and cameras. And the slow progress of the evacuation meant that they had already stayed longer than originally planned.
The First Mate approached him, tapping a hand-held screen. “Of the one hundred and thirty Surrogates, eighteen have died in the past thirty years. One hundred and eleven are now on board. And one…” He swallowed nervously. “One is unaccounted for.”
The captain spun around to face him, one eyebrow arched. “What do you mean, unaccounted?”
“We sent the signal. She acknowledged it and indicated she would collect all surveillance equipment and proceed to the rendezvous point. Then…” He hesitated for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Then, what?” the captain barked.
“We… we don’t know. Her vitals are strong, but she never made it.” The First Mate pressed his lips together. “What shall we do? Do we send someone after her?”
The captain tapped his index finger against his chin, lost in thought. “Could she have reverted to her Surrogate status?”
“It’s rare, but it happens.”
“What about her physiology? Is there anything…”
The First Mate shook his head. “Shouldn’t be. Once the Surrogate persona takes over, she’s all human again.”
A flash on the screen drew the captain’s attention. A silver spot over the atmosphere reflected the sun’s light, like a tiny star. After a moment, it disappeared. “Their space station. That’s it. We’re out of time.” He straightened his uniform with long, nervous strokes. “How long before we’re back?”
“We’ll pick up the new group of Surrogates in thirty years.”
The captain tightened his jaw in determination. “We’ll find her then. Prepare to jump.”
The First Mate’s fingers danced on the handheld screen. The soft hum changed pitch and volume as the massive jump engines sprang to life. “Very well, sir.” He stole a look at the planet below them. It looked serene under the rising sun, like a beautiful green and blue marble. Somewhere down there, a woman just got a thirty-year extension to her undercover mission on Earth. “Have a lovely life, Mrs. Jones.”
Infinite Waters
“So… Mrs. Jones…” she stammered.
“Yep.”
“She wasn’t…”
“Nope.”
She leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Then, she rested her arms on the table and fixed her gaze into the swirling shapes inside the globe. “Give me another.”
“I’m not sure—”
“Just do it!”
Is There a Doctor in the House?
“Miss Dominique?”
A girl with a blond ponytail and a bored look on her cute face lifted her hand. “No chewing gum in the classroom, Miss Dominique,” I murmured absent-mindedly as I placed a neat tick mark next to her name.
The girl rolled her eyes in a theatrical manner. She pulled out a tissue from her bag and carefully spat into it. With a flick of her wrist and a giggle, she sent it flying. It landed on the hair of the boy sitting in front of her, like a slightly wet missile that homed in on its target. “Miss Dominique!” I tried to sound stern.
“Sorry,” she mumbled and winked at the girl sitting next to her. They stifled their giggles under my glare.
I checked the boy sitting in front of them, but he seemed oblivious of the whole incident. He ran nervous fingers through his hair, tousling them further. When his fingers caught the tissue, he stared at it with curiosity, then tossed it aside. His gaze then lifted back outside, where dark clouds were gathering fast, before checking his watch.
No wonder they pick on him. It was not just that he was a foreigner. I tried to remember where he was originally from, but the name eluded me. Somewhere in Eastern Europe. The kid spoke with a funny accent that made it even harder for the other children to like him. I had heard that his family was very rich and powerful over there, but had been forced to leave during some kind of revolt or other. They had now come here for a new start.
I swallowed a sigh. I just wished the kid did a better job at fitting in. His faraway look was one problem, exacerbated by his thick, round glasses. His long, tousled hair made him look untidy, in a prep school classroom filled with smartly-dressed children. Then, the strange things he mumbled on constantly. His experiments, as he called them. That was how he always got in trouble. As for that white lab coat he was always sporting... I’ll bet that doesn’t help with the bullying, either.
Still, perhaps I should cut the kid some slack. Losing your home and friends and moving across half the world to a new place couldn’t be easy. Plus, he had just lost his best friend. My gaze flicked over to the empty seat beside him. Ihor; the only other boy in the classroom who’d hang out with him. Probably because they both came from the same neck of the woods. A fine pair of misfits, those two. If only that boy had let go of the string before the lightning struck. Then again, what were they thinking, flying a kite during a storm? It was the new kid’s idea, for sure. Another of his experiments, no doubt.
I noticed some questioning looks, so I cleared my throat and returned to the list in my hands. Ihor Azarov. I
pursed my lips for a moment, then moved on to the next name. “Miss Foyle?”
“Here,” came the bored reply. Outside, a thunder rumbled from afar.
“You forgot Ihor.”
My gaze shot at the new kid. Children chuckled, but he ignored them.
“Excuse me?”
“You forgot Ihor,” the kid repeated.
He stared right at me and our eyes locked. I opened my mouth to speak, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I closed it again. A lightning bolt lit up the room. Its momentary flash made me realize just how dark the room had gotten. That’s quite a storm that’s gathering. Maybe it’s for the best. That way, they won’t pick on the kid during the break.
I lowered my gaze back to the list. “Mister Harry?”
“You forgot Ihor,” the kid said for a third time.
A deep frown creased my forehead as I lifted my gaze at the little miscreant again. Relax. He’s probably just hurting. It’s only denial. First stage of grief and all that, right? My fingers drummed a nervous beat on the table.
A loud thunder crashed just outside the classroom. I jumped startled. “Ihor’s dead,” I blurted out. My voice sounded angrier than I expected.
“My dad says—”
Another bolt of lightning interrupted him. A bulb exploded overhead. Dominique let out a surprised yelp. Tiny glass shards flew to the floor.
“He says what?” I stared at the kid, daring him to continue. His face looked taut, tired; yet a look of triumph burned deep in the boy’s sunken eyes.
Strange noises came from the corridor, like heavy footsteps. Thump, shuffle. Thump, shuffle. What is that noise? I threw the list onto the table and slammed my hand on the hard wood. “That is enough. What are you up to this time?”
As the doorknob rattled, a wide grin appeared on the kid’s face.
“I asked you a question!”
Instead of an answer, the grin just got wider and he stared at the door. Another bolt of lightning silhouetted a hulking figure outside the glass pane. I jumped out of my seat and threw the door open. In the corridor, the school porter was pulling on a heavy crate. “Sorry, Professor, didn’t mean to interrupt.” A second porter ran to join him. The two of them heaved the crate together.
The boy’s expression turned to one of dismay. He flicked his fingers, mumbling something. I shuffled over to his seat and leaned closer to make sense of his murmur. A strange sound—a cross between a moan and a groan—came from the doorway. The shuffling sound resumed on the hallway. What are those idiots out there doing now?
Behind the boy, Miss Dominique pushed her fist into her mouth to stifle a scream. The boy craned his head to look behind me. His gaze fell on the doorway. His face lit up like a kid who just got a chocolate bicycle for Christmas.
I let out an exasperated sigh and shook my head. “That’s it, Mister Frankenstein. Tomorrow, I want to see you with your father.”
Infinite Waters
As soon as she jerked her gaze from the sphere, I draped it with its cover once again. “That was the last one,” I said, my voice firm.
She snapped her head up to face me. “Why?”
“How much more inspiration can you want?” I asked and chuckled.
She gave me a daring look. “You don’t know much about authors, do you?”
I lifted my shoulder in a half shrug. “Can’t say I do.”
“One more. Then I’ll stop. Promise.”
I studied her pleading face for a moment, then pulled the cover with a soft sigh.
Sex and Dinner
“How about sex and dinner?” she asked, her throaty voice sending tingles to play on the fine hairs on his neck. She rubbed one fine, slender foot on her lengthy leg, to stress her point.
Her audacity caught his breath. They hardly knew each other, having met only a few minutes earlier. And yet here she was, her naked flesh provoking him into a frenzy. There was no mistaking the hunger in her eyes; the need for his body; her desire for his flesh.
He swallowed and tried to look away, to avoid her burning stare. She snickered at his discomfort as he lowered his eyes to examine his trembling fingers. Speak! Say something! His mouth obeyed the mental command and opened, but words failed him. His gaze caressed her nude body to linger once more on trim legs that seemed to go on forever. He bit his lip, his heart skipping a beat. She had him now; he would stop at nothing to slither between her mounds, to experience the ecstasy promised by her inviting, crooked smile; consequences be damned.
His determination slipped fast. With the last remnants of his strength, he made a final, desperate attempt to negotiate. To save himself. “Why not dinner first?” he croaked, a thick bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.
Her raspy laugh made his knees tremble. He leaned against a tree to stop himself from shaking. A delightful, mortified shiver travelled through his body and onto the wrinkled bark at her next words.
“Don’t be silly,” she said with a smirk. “Who’s ever heard of a praying mantis eating before sex?” She inched closer, her faceted, emerald eyes gazing softly at his smooth skin. He closed his eyes as her mouth brushed against his ear. Her hot breath tickled him, made his heart race. A long tongue slithered out of her lipless mouth to lick his slender neck. “That would ruin my appetite.”
Infinite Waters
“Not fair!” she shouted and leaned back on her chair, giggling. “That was too short!”
“You said you wanted one last story.”
“I still do! That was no story, that was just a teaser.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Fine. But be careful what you wish for.”
Would You Like Flies With That?
I let out a small groan at the number of people queuing in front of the butcher’s stall. Once again, everyone had waited until the last moment to do their Halloween shopping, and the super market was surprisingly crowded. I shuffled into the queue. A small, bald man with a funny polka dot bowtie was staring absent-mindedly at a pig’s head behind the glass. Someone had placed a Halloween piece next to it; a spooky jack-o’-lantern that flashed its toothless grin at me. The thing gave me the creeps and I took out my frustration on the little man, shoving him aside. If he wasn’t planning on ordering anything, he shouldn’t be standing there, right?
The man squeaked a protest, but a glare and a bulge of my biceps made him shut his mouth. He tapped my elbow as if to say everything was alright and shuffled away.
I scoffed and ignored him, my mind fixed on more serious matters: my girlfriend. Well, that’s not true: Lea had me parked in the friend zone for so long, I’d become a permanent fixture there, like an abandoned, derelict car gathering crumbling leaves and dust at the corner of a back street. I, on the other hand, spent every waking minute—and many a sleeping one—aching for her, longing for her to see me as anything but her BFF.
I sighed as my gaze drifted back to the pig’s head. Its eyes seemed to follow me, and I shifted my weight uncomfortably between my feet, trying to avoid its dead stare. Then, it blinked.
Sweat erupted on my forehead and I shuddered, my stomach suddenly lurching. I gaped at the head, and it met my stare with surprisingly lively eyes. Then it blinked again and a faint smile played on its thin lips. I jolted back, bumping into a butcher carrying a whole lamb from the freezer.
“Oy, watch it, mate!” he said, then noticed my pallor. “You okay?”
I opened my mouth to speak, then my eyes met those of the lamb on his back. It nodded at me in greeting. A scream caught in my throat. I must be hallucinating, I thought. Yes, that must be it. I steadied myself and drew deep breaths, struggling to ignore the lively carcasses around me. The lamb whistled a tune and the man shot me a curious glance before disappearing into the back. Pushing back in line, I stared dead ahead, hiding my shivering hands in my pockets.
The woman in front of me pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and leaned forward, only a thin sliver of glass between her nose and the pig’s snout. She tapped the glass, a smile
crawling on her face. A bead of sweat trickled down my temples as it lifted its eyes to stare at her. She cooed in appreciation and wiggled playful fingers, as if to attract its attention.
This was all too much for me. My trolley forgotten by the butcher’s, I backpedalled to the exit, my eyes never leaving the chuckling woman. When the automatic door opened, I spun around to welcome the brisk autumn air on my face. Still shaking, I stumbled towards the parking assistant on my way to my car, when I noticed a van parked by the back entrance. I stole an absent-minded look inside and froze in my tracks at the sight of a dozen calves hanging from shiny hooks, skinned and bloodless. One of them turned its head and gave me an awkward smile, as if to apologize for its state. I swear, had its feet been untied, it would have covered up itself in modesty.
Raising my fist to my mouth to stifle a shriek, I stumbled towards my car, my other hand rummaging in my pocket for the keys.
“Excuse me,” the butcher I had nearly bumped into yelled at me, as he exited the store. Why was he following me? I lowered my head and hastened my step. “Excuse me,” he repeated, catching the parking assistant’s attention. Out of the corner of my downcast eyes I caught the new threat’s shiny yellow vest as he moved to intercept me, standing between me and my car.
I bolted to the left, almost crashing into a sports car exiting the parking lot. “Watch it!” the man inside yelled as he slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt.
I yanked his door open and grabbed him. Thankfully, he was not wearing a seatbelt and in my terror I had little trouble hauling him out of the car. “What are you doing?” the female passenger screamed as I jumped into his seat.
“Get out,” I said, then noticed a bag filled with meat in her hands. She must be one of them!
“You get out!” she screamed and lunged at me. She let out a pained cry as her seatbelt jolted her back. I ignored her, my eyes glued in the mirror at the sight of the butcher rushing at the car. If he caught me, they’d drag me back to the shop, back to the… things. Without a second thought, I hit the gas. The car vaulted forward with the power of a couple hundred horses, slamming us into our seats. “What are you doing?” she cried out.
The Ultimate Collection of Science & Speculative Fiction Short Stories (Short SSF Stories Book 5) Page 10
