“That's what you call it? Feeding? Sounds like you're eating people.”
“Do you have better word?”
She thought for a moment. “No I don't.”
“So if I make you forget your hunger? How is this going to solve your problem?”
“To be honest, I'm not sure. But I know you're the key to all this. I'm hoping the more time I spend around you, the less the hunger can take over when you're gone. Like my body will just forget about it eventually.”
“I still feel like I'm going crazy but okay. Let's do it.”
Epilogue
Kelly
One Year Later
“Are you sure you don't need help carrying that, Michael?”
Michael lifted the heavy toilet and strained as he began the ascent up the stairs. “No I think I got it.” His face went red and he blew out heavy breaths as he juggled the large object.
I led him up the stairs, guiding him up each step since he couldn't see over the porcelain. “You're almost there. Be careful of the wall to your right.”
“I see it. I see it.” Michael turned the corner and made it into the bathroom. He squatted down and gently placed the toilet in its rightful place. Michael craned his neck side to side and cracked it.
“Looks good, don't you think?” I asked him.
“It's a toilet, Kelly. It looks exactly how I imagine a toilet would look.”
I playfully hit Michael on the shoulder. “I mean the bathroom is finally coming together.”
Over the past year, Michael and I had been renovating my parents' house together. I had wanted to do all the work myself but Michael's curious condition changed all that.
We were together twenty-four seven. All day every day. We had tried out leaving him alone for any length of time but the hunger always came back like a freight train.
But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Michael made a lot of sacrifices to make this relationship work. He moved out of his rich loft apartment and into my parents' house. He wasn't exactly thrilled about it but it was one thing in our negotiation that I wasn't going to back down from.
We didn't need to be in the same room all the time. In fact, we would spend a lot of time apart in opposite ends of the house. It gave me the quiet time I needed and I didn't feel suffocated. I think being so close all the time made our relationship grow faster.
I felt like we were truly meant to be together. Maybe it was the fact that I had this special power over him or it was the way he made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. Whatever it was, I could really see myself spending the rest of my life with him.
Our house had gone through so much work over the year. The flooring had been refinished, kitchen remodeled, every wall painted. The plumbing needed to be fixed on multiple occasions. A leaky ceiling was just a fixture of our life for awhile.
The guest bathroom downstairs was the last room to finish. I never thought we would get to that point.
When I first walked into the house, I thought it wasn't even possible. Even if it was, it would take decades to finish by myself.
That's why I have to give a lot of credit to Michael. He was beyond knowledgeable on house repair. I don't know where he learned it all from but it was much appreciated.
Michael slapped the dust off his blue jeans. “This house is really coming together. We only have the vanity and the tub to replace. Then we'll finally be done.”
“Doesn't seem real, does it?”
“You ever think about what we're going to do with all our free time when we are finished with the house?”
“I thought we could relax and enjoy the work we accomplished. But I can't live off your dime forever. I've let you pay for too many things already, including all the renovations on the house.”
“I think we should go travel the world,” he said with that dumb smile of his.
“Yeah that might mess with me needing to find a job.”
Michael waved my comment away with his hand. “You don't need a job. We can live off my money comfortably forever.”
“Oh so we're going to be together forever now are we?”
Michael nodded. “I was waiting until we were completely done with the house to do this but I can't wait a second longer.”
I had no idea what trick he had up his sleeve. Michael was always trying to surprise me.
Michael got down on one knee and produced a ring from his back pocket. “Kelly Marshall, will you marry me?”
Tears welled up in my eyes. I put my hand over my mouth. I couldn't believe it. The diamond ring was mesmerizing. The giant stone was set on a silver band with a million other tiny diamonds around it. I couldn't breathe let alone speak.
Our future together flashed before my eyes. I imagined us traveling the world and always returning to our perfect home.
Michael switched knees. “Are you really going to leave me hanging here. A yes or no answer will suffice.”
I snapped out of my daydream. “The answer is yes.”
Michael stood up and I jumped into his arms. He swung me around the half-renovated bathroom and we kissed. I couldn't stop giggling as he put the ring on my finger.
“Can we go traveling now?”
I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheek.
Michael rested his nose on mine. “I love you, Kelly.”
“I love you too, Michael.”
He was my Mr. Right.
The End
Cosmic Bride
Copyright 2018
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: This ebook is a work of fiction. Any resemblance characters in this story may have to real people is coincidental.
No section of this book may be copied or reproduced without the author's permission.
Description
Sophia wasn't exactly planning on crashing onto an alien planet. She had dreams of living on an off-world colony. Starting all over in a place where nobody knew her. Now she was on a planet where there weren't any humans.
Tyrex is an impossibly strong warrior of the Jeorns. He has been ordered by the Council of Elders to find his Intended. When he comes across a sharp-tongued female in the forest, he knows his search is over. But can they both endure the Trials?
Cosmic Bride
Chapter One
Deep Space.
The Breach hurtled through the black void at a factor of seven on the warp scale.
The ship was built as a travel shuttle to ferry passengers from Earth to the various space stations across the galaxy. It could hold sixty-eight comfortably with only a crew of fifteen.
With its warp drive enabled, the shuttle could make the trip from Earth to Space Station 7756 in only two months.
But for the passengers on board, two months seemed like an eternity.
–
Sophia Jordan woke up in a cold sweat again, her heart beating out of her chest. She looked around in the darkness and finally remembered where she was.
“Computer, lights on,” she said.
The cabin overheads illuminated to an almost blinding brightness. Sophia blocked the light with hand until her eyes adjusted.
The passenger rooms on The Breach were tiny to say the least. A twin-sized bed, mini-fridge, and bathroom were all the comforts of space travel. If only she could've afforded one of the first-class cabins then maybe she'd have a TV.
Sophia rolled out of bed and the holo clock on the nightstand read three-thirty in the morning. After a month she still hadn't gotten used to the time difference. She dragged herself to the bathroom and stared at her sweat-ridden face in the mirror. Dark bags hung below her eyes and her short blonde hair was a mess.
She applied makeup with the auto brush that could do your face perfectly in minutes and put on jeans and a t-shirt.
The small porthole in her room gave her just enough of a view. At first, she couldn't could keep her eyes off the beauty of space. The stars were so dazzling but so far away. After awhile, the beauty faded away into lonel
iness. Now she did her best to avoid the porthole.
The nightmares never stopped. Ever since she first stepped foot on this vessel, she couldn't kick the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
Every night it was the same: a break in the hull and the entire spaceship imploded on itself.
But space travel was one of the safest ways to travel. There hadn't been a major accident in almost a century.
There were of course the occasional suicide or murder. Being cooped up in a sardine box for months at a time would make any sane person go crazy.
Sophia was as sane as they come but even she was feeling cabin fever.
Sophia found herself exploring the ship at night. Walking its pristinely white empty hallways, thinking about what a new life on Space Station 7756 would be like.
New friends, new jobs, new experiences. The possibilities were endless. Being on the edge of the galaxy meant her problems were far away.
There was nothing left for her back on earth. Sophia's parents were both dead, her boyfriend of six years broke up with her through a single text message.
She had no family or friends left.
Sophia was ready for the next chapter to begin.
–
Sophia roamed through the various bulkheads with no destination in particular. It was better than reliving that nightmare again.
She found herself on the bridge where the pilot and his crew controlled the shuttle.
A giant window looked out at the vast expanse of space. Stars stretching out as far as the eye could see.
At this time of night only one crew member stood at the helm.
McCready tried to keep his eyes open at the viewscreen. He was always on the night shift and was used to the late hours. Plus it paid a lot more. He looked straight out of space boot camp with his crew-cut hair and pristine blue uniform.
“Can't sleep again, Sophia?” he asked.
She nodded and took a seat at one of control panels next to McCready. “This damn ship is making me crazy. How much longer to Space Station 7756?”
“Computer, travel time to Space Station 7756?” McCready asked.
A female robotic voice announced, “Current travel time is calculated at six days, thirteen hours, forty-five minutes.”
Sophia sighed. “I don't know if I can make it much longer. I feel like I'm suffocating.”
“If you want I can have the doctor give you something to sleep the rest of the way.”
She shuddered. “Six days of nightmares that I can't wake from sounds like a brilliant idea.”
McCready chuckled. “Suit yourself.”
Sophia and McCready had been talking with one another every night since the shuttle left Earth. She saw the way he looked at her but she wasn't the least bit interested. Especially not after a recent breakup.
She needed to start new and not be attached to anybody.
McCready looked at his control panel that suddenly turned to red. “That can't be right.”
“What is it?” Sophia asked, leaning over to see.
“The control panel is telling me there's an error in the engine room.” McCready pushed some buttons but the red light remained.
“Aren't these shuttles supposed to be error-proof?”
McCready ignored the question. “Computer, verify error in engine room.”
“Quantum Core Two not responding. Can not diagnose.”
McCready frowned. “Computer, reroute functions to Core One and Three.”
“Unable to fulfill request.”
“Computer, elaborate.”
The female voice casually said the same thing over and over again like she was taking a restaurant order. “Unable to fulfill request.”
“That's can't be good,” McCready said. “Better wake the Captain.”
He pushed some buttons on his console and a little blue hologram of the Captain showed up. “This better be good, McCready.”
“Sorry to wake you, Sir, but the computer is telling me that Quantum Core Two is not responding.”
“That's impossible. Did you try rerouting functions?” the Captain asked.
“The computer was unable to do it,” McCready replied.
“I better get down there,” the Captain said. The hologram disappeared.
Sophia stood up. “I better go and leave you to it.”
McCready was too busy to respond.
Before Sophia had a chance to leave, the computer announced, “Power failure imminent.”
A second passed and all the lights in the control room shut off.
Crippling fear choked Sophia. Was her nightmare going to come true?
“What's happening?” she asked.
“Don't worry, back-up power should come on in a minute.”
Dim lights turned on and the whole room was bathed in red light. Sophia tried to leave but the automatic doors wouldn't slide open.
“I'm having a little trouble leaving, McCready.”
McCready looked back at her with a face full of fright. “We have a bigger problem than that.”
The female voice came on again. “Critical failure imminent.”
“If what the console says is true. You need to sit down and buckle up.” His voice left no room for argument.
Sophia hesitated for a moment, her palms sweaty. She sat down next to McCready and put the black heavy straps over her chest.
McCready punched some buttons on the console. “Computer, disengage control room. Authority code: Alpha Gamma Seven Six Eight Three.”
Sophia turned to McCready. “What are you doing?”
McCready smirked. “Saving our lives.”
The Breach was built to break apart into two separate pieces in case of an emergency. It'd never been done before.
The nose of The Breach broke apart and shot forward leaving the rest of the large shuttle behind.
Sophia felt the sudden force as she was pushed against her seat.
“Computer, put The Breach on the viewscreen,” McCready said.
The window of space suddenly changed to a view of the space shuttle. But now it was missing its nose.
Sophia wanted to leave and go straight back home. Maybe space wasn't the right decision.
“Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on around here?” she asked.
McCready didn't have time to respond. The Breach exploded into a fiery ball.
Sophia watched silently, her jaw dropped.
McCready tried to find something to say.
Hundreds of people had just been killed in their sleep. All of them looking to start a new life on the space station.
The escape pod flew further and further away from the wreckage until it was just a speck of dust.
McCready turned his attention back to the computer console. “We need to make sure we're drifting in the right direction. Hopefully a long range scanner or another ship will pick us up.”
“And what if they don't?”
“Then we die,” he replied.
Sophia gulped and clenched her hands. She already knew the chances of surviving out here were infinitesimally small. “Ever hear of stranded ship being rescued?”
McCready shook his head but kept his attention on the computer console. “Which is why we need to save ourselves.”
Sophia leaned in. “How?”
“Computer, put up a map of our location.”
The viewscreen changed to show a flat map of the star system. A green blip pinged the ship's location.
“See that planet to the right of us.”
Sophia nodded and focused on the green looking sphere. “Looks promising.”
“Very. It's uncharted but sensors tell me that the atmosphere is breathable.”
“Well what are we waiting for? Set a course,” Sophia said.
“There's just one problem. The sensors could be wrong and we land there and suffocate instantly.”
Devil's Hellions MC Complete Series Box Set Page 31
