“I will tell you one thing.” Jack said. “You got lucky. It could have been way worse.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking about it. And maybe it was lucky that it happened. Maybe it was a good thing, me getting electrocuted. I’ve been wondering if maybe that accident ‘fried’ those nanobot things.
“Maybe that accident saved my life...”
Chapter 5
November 5, 11:45 A.M.
Jack was toweling off in the boy’s changeroom. He was the last one in there, as Keith and Ethan had walked out a couple of minutes ago. Jack heard the door opening around the corner and figured that one of the guys had forgotten something. It was quite a shock when a female voice called out instead.
“Jack?”
Jack quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. “Christine? Is that you?” His guess was confirmed as the young woman stepped around the corner. Her eyes lit up as she saw the half-naked young man, and she confidently stepped up to him. Jack tried not to blanch at the attention.
Christine wore an army-issue t-shirt. Her bosom strained tightly against the white material, and Jack was hard-pressed not to stare. He raised his eyes to Christine’s face. The percipient look on her face and her seductive smile did little to stem the rise in his blood pressure.
“I wanted to catch you here. Alone.” She spoke softly. Without hesitation, she stepped in closer and drew Jack’s mouth to hers. It was a long kiss. Jack didn’t have much experience in kissing, but he felt his body responding. He pulled back in shock when Christine’s tongue penetrated deeply into his mouth.
“S-Sorry,” was all he could stammer.
The brief flash of annoyance Christine showed was quickly replaced by another confident smile.
“It’s all right.” She looked down, her eyes following his chest and abdomen. Jack had a slender built with clearly defined muscles. She put her hand slightly above his nipple.
“You’re new to this, aren’t you?” she asked, the tone of her voice indicating that she already knew the answer.
“Um, I ...” Jack tried to come up with something that didn’t make him sound inexperienced. Christine slowly lowered her hand, running her fingers across Jack’s nipple. Jack responded with a sharp intake of breath.
“Don’t worry, Jack. I will take good care of you.” She let her hand drift down his chest, feeling his ribs and finally the slight delineations of his abdominal muscles.
Jack stood frozen in place, as her hand reached the edge of the towel he had wrapped around his waist.
Christine’s eyes met his, and they stood like that for a moment. She felt an increased pressure on her hand as Jack moved forward. She couldn’t keep the smile from creeping onto her face. Christine withdrew her hand and took a small step back. “Not here.”
Jack’s face dropped in a mix of confusion, embarrassment, and disappointment.
“Hey. Don’t worry. Soon.” She left the promise hanging in the air between them.
She turned and walked to the end of the lockers. “Maybe you can help me clean up the clinic. Say, around two in the afternoon?” Christine asked over her shoulder as she stepped around the corner and out of sight.
Christine carefully left the boy’s locker room, making sure nobody was around to see her.
Poor kid. He has no idea what hit him. Christine grinned mischievously as she reached the stairs and started ascending.
She would have some fun with him. She would let him have some fun too, eventually. But for now, she had a plaything. An eager and willing puppy. And she knew just how to handle puppies.
Chapter 6
Dean
November 5, 2:45 P.M.
It just stood there, waiting. It had been a middle-aged man. Almost bald except for a fringe of dark hair that started just above the ears and clung to the back of the skull like a climber hanging in desperation off a cliff. The creature sported a significant beer belly and rather spindly legs. It was only dressed in boxer shorts. Calvin Klein’s no less. Dean figured it for a sports fan.
Not a sportsman.
Dude probably attended a baseball game or two. Maybe I should go give him an autograph.
Dean had watched and learned over the last couple of days. If one hears or sees you, and another one is within a radius of forty yards or so, then that one will come running too. If there are any within forty yards of that second one, they all come running too. They had some unseen way of communicating.
He’d learned his lesson.
Why. Why learn lessons? What are you going to do without her? Or are you just a coward? Afraid to die.
Dean pushed those thoughts out of his mind. They didn’t help. He lived. She didn’t. And now he was here, watching Sports Fan.
He sat in the afternoon sun, soaking up the warmth. He sat perfectly still. He had to, or Sports Fan would react. And others would follow. And then he would have to start all over again. Dean wasn’t sure he had it in him. So, he sat, and waited. He knew that, eventually, Sports Fan would jerk into action and waddle away. They all did.
The aches and pains were making themselves known to him. Over the last few days, he had been bitten, tackled, kicked, scratched, and punched. Dean lowered his eyes to the palms of his hands.
And burned.
Against his will, his mind started to drift back in time.
Chapter 7
October 28, 3:00 P.M.
They had resigned themselves to death. Sophie’s suggestion of taking Jamie’s poison had driven the fight out of Dean. The couple sat on the floor in Jamie and Sam’s study, petting Nuggets. And Nuggets loved it. Every time Dean stopped petting the dog lying between him and his girlfriend, it would whine quietly and scoop his nose under Dean’s hand.
Don’t stop. I need love.
It would make Sophie smile every time. Occasionally she would respond with an “Awww” which drove the dog to increased efforts at getting love.
They had spent at least an
