Earth Blend (14 page)

Looking at the knife on the ground, he knew
he was not mistaken. He felt he was finding out just how special
this little girl was. He stood and was amazed at how strong he
felt. He lifted Laney in his arms and felt her readjust herself as
she settled her head on his shoulder. He picked up the bloody knife
off the sidewalk and got in the car. Putting Laney in the backseat,
he drove away. Luke drove to a better part of town and got some
fast food and parked. When Laney woke up, he passed a bag back to
her. “Here I got you something to eat.”

“
Thank you.” She answered meekly,
accepting the bag.

He watched her eat through the rearview
mirror. When she ate a good amount, he asked, “How does it
work?”

“
How does what work?”

“
I'm not playing games.”

“
Neither am I.”

The staring contest continued for a few
moments. “Get in the front.” He ordered.

He watched her climb into the front
passenger seat. Taking out the knife from the attack, he pretended
to examine it. “How do you suppose this knife has my blood on it
and yet there is no cut on me?”

“
I... don't know.”

He grabbed her hand and turned it with the
palm facing up. He slid the knife across her palm and watched as no
blood seeped out and the cut closed right back up. There was no
evidence of an injury or even a scar. “How?”

“
I don't know how, it just
does.”

“
You healed me.”

“
Yes.”

“
What else can you do?”

“
Nothing.”

“
You suck at lying.” Luke put the car
in gear and drove to purchase the remaining lottery
tickets.

He then drove back to the mansion and turned
in the tickets.

“
What happened to your shirt?” Bill
asked, taking the lottery tickets from Luke.

“
I cut myself shaving.”

As time passed, Luke and Laney began to
spend more time together. He took note of her slowed aging over the
years. By the time he turned twenty-eight, she only appeared to be
about fifteen. Most of his assignments involved Laney in some way.
Everything from lottery tickets and safe cracking to horse races,
he learned how to control her behavior. The final moment that broke
her was when she managed to convince one of the new kids to help
her escape the mansion.

Luke knew she had been hanging out with one
of the new drug runners named Jeremy. He was a young boy from the
low income housing units in town. Jeremy was fourteen years old but
looked older, as he was tall and lanky. His dark brown hair was
long and hung in his eyes, but Luke could still tell how attracted
to Laney the boy was. When Laney went missing, he knew exactly
where to start looking for her.

He went to the boy's apartment and was let
in by his mother. “Where is he?” He asked.

“
He's a good boy, you leave him
be.”

Grabbing the woman, he walked to the back of
the apartment and into the boy's bedroom. He opened the kid's door
and found him sitting on his bed reading a magazine. The situation
looked very contrived to Luke and the boy seemed nervous. “Where is
she?”

“
Where's who?” The boy's voice cracked
as he questioned.

Luke took out his gun and pointed it at the
mother's head. “I don't have time for this crap. Tell me where she
is or you'll be an orphan.”

Just then the closet door opened and Laney
emerged. “Stop, Luke. I'm right here.”

Pushing the mother towards the boy, he
grabbed Laney's arm. “Did you really think I wouldn't find you?” He
shook her forcefully.

“
You are a bad man. You should leave
her alone.” The mother said.

“
You should keep your mouth shut.” He
said, and fired the gun, hitting her in the chest. The silencer on
the gun almost masked the event until the woman clutched at her
chest and fell over onto the bed.

“
Mom!” The boy cried out.

Laney tried to rush over to the
woman's aid, but Luke pulled her in front of him, restraining her.
“Oh no you don't. This is all your fault. I want you to see what
happens when you disobey me.”

Laney was crying hysterically now as Luke
held the gun in her hands. Luke raised her hands and pointed the
gun at Jeremy. The gun shook as Luke whispered in her ear. “They
die because of you.” He pressed his finger over hers and the gun
discharged, hitting Jeremy in the head.

“
No!” Laney cried out and sank to the
floor.

Luke kicked her back when she tried to crawl
to them. “Consequences, sweetheart.” He took out his phone and
called in the incident. He would have someone else clean up the
mess.

He smiled as he remembered that defining
moment in his relationship with Laney. He looked forward to seeing
her face when she saw him again. “It's gonna be a sweet
reunion.”

11. Developing Plans

Julie woke up the next morning, stretching.
Her arm made contact with a warm body as the events of the previous
night came rushing back. Sitting up quickly, she pulled the covers
tighter around her naked body. Austin stirred beside her and opened
his eyes, smiling sleepily at her.

“
Hey.” He stretched next to her and
then sat up. “What's wrong?”

“
I... just... I'm not sure.”
Images of the
previous night flashed before her
. “What happened? I mean, I know what
happened... but....”

“
Marcus was right.”

Julie's eyes narrowed at the mention of
Marcus' name. “Right about what?”

“
Blend sex is like no other. It was
different than before... before my abilities manifested. Couldn't
you feel it?”

Julie opened her mouth to respond then bowed
her head. She had felt a difference but was embarrassed to admit
it. She felt him raise her chin so they were eye to eye.

“
Don't be embarrassed.” He said as if
reading her mind.

Julie was not sure how she felt about it.
Her mind was a jumble. She needed to focus on something else. “How
do you feel?” She decided to try and change the subject.

“
Awesome.” he said, smiling as he
pulled her back down on the bed.

“
That's not what I meant.” She giggled
as he tickled her.

“
I'm sorry. What was the question?” He
teased as he nuzzled her neck.

She placed her hands on the side of his
face, raising it to look into his eyes. “I'm serious.”

“
So am I.” He said with a glint in his
eyes.

He kissed her passionately, forcing all
other thoughts and means of conversation by the wayside. Their
lovemaking took total control of their minds and bodies, shutting
out any rhyme or reason. It wasn't until afterwards, that Julie was
able to gain her senses once again.

“
It takes over.” She said, resting her
head on his chest.

“
Hmm?” He mumbled.

“
I feel out of control.”

“
It's not always a bad
thing.”

“
Too much of my life has been out of
control. I need for it to stabilize.”

“
I'm always going to be here for
you.”

She lifted her head up and looked into his
eyes and saw the sincerity of his words.

“
I'm here for you, too.” She said,
knowing he needed to hear those words. His smile was all the
response she needed. She had tried to keep her distance but now
realized it would be impossible. She cared too much for him. “I'm
hungry.” She laughed.

“
We have leftover pizza.” Austin
remembered.

“
Oh, that's right. I'll go heat it
up.” Julie quickly jumped out of bed and pulled on some sweat pants
and a comfy t-shirt. She looked back at him as he sat in the bed, a
sly smile on his face, and blushed. “Your clothes are still dirty.
I don't think I have anything that would fit you.”

“
I'm fine.” Austin said, rising from
the bed. “I actually feel better without clothes. I wonder if that
is an Earthling thing.”

“
It's definitely an Earthling thing.”
She said, turning away from him.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms
around her. “You blush very easily.” He whispered in her ear.

“
And you are a distraction.” She said,
tilting her head back against him.

“
You say it like it is a bad thing.”
He kissed her neck.

Julie was about to respond when her stomach
replied for her with a loud grumble.

“
Alright, alright. I'll put a towel
on. You need a muzzle for that thing.” he laughed. “I'll ask Marcus
to bring me over some clothes.”

“
You better know where his car is
first. He was angry about it yesterday.”

“
He does love his 'things'. You should
see his house, he has every gadget known to man.” Austin adjusted
his towel. “Better?”

“
Thank you.” She smiled and headed for
the kitchen.

While Julie reheated the pizza, Austin found
his cell phone and called Marcus.

“
Where's my car?
” Came the voice over the
phone.

“
Good morning to you, too.”

“
Cut the crap, kid, and answer the
question.
”

“
I think it's in town, I parked it
there when I went to see my dad.”

“
You think it's in town? Do you have a
death wish?
”

“
Look Marcus, I'm sorry. I had a rough
day.”

“
I don't care, I want my
car.
”

Austin sighed a heavy breath. “Look, bring
me over a change of clothes, I'm at Julie's. Then you can take the
car keys and go pick it up.”

“
What am I, a butler? Why do you need
a change of clothes?
”

“
I got kinda dirty.”

“
You dog, you. You got the ice queen
to warm up?
”

Austin laughed and looked over at Julie with
a smile. “So you gonna help me out or not?”

“
Fine, but you owe me and I mean
big.
”

“
I'm sure you will
collect.”

“
Count on it.
”

Julie noticed that Austin had hung up. “How
bad was it?”

“
Not too bad. He got in his jabs but
is bringing me over a change of clothes.”

“
Good. Now come sit, pizza's
ready.”

They made light conversation until all the
pizza was finished.

“
I have some time before work if you
want to talk with Uncle G some more.” Julie offered.

“
That's another question I have. Why
is he different names to different people. He's Uncle G to you,
Uncle Gordi to me and my dad. Marcus calls him Uncle Gregg...
what's up with that?”

“
We both still have so many questions.
I think we should focus on you for right now. I'm worried about
what would happen should the Earthlings find out about you. Uncle G
made it seem like there would be trouble.”

“
I have a real mom out there
somewhere, an Earthling mom, but still.... What do you remember
about your childhood, I mean before you were taken?”

“
I remember it just being me and my
Dad.”,

“
What happened to him?”

“
They killed him. He had hid me in the
attic and then I heard a gunshot. I never saw him again.” Julie
walked into the living room, once again reliving the moment. She
felt Austin wrap his arms around her from behind.

“
I'm sorry,” he whispered, kissing the
side of her head.

There was a knock at the apartment door.
“It's probably Marcus.” Austin said and walked over to the door and
opened it.

Julie peeked around Austin and saw Eli
standing there.

“
I'm sorry to bother you two. I just
wanted to be sure you ate.”

“
We're good, Doc. Do you wanna come
in?” Austin asked.

Eli glanced down at the towel Austin was
wearing. “No, thank you. I should be getting to work.”

“
Maybe, sometime, we could all get
together and talk. I, uh, haven't been very nice to you in the past
and I want to make up for it.”

Eli simply nodded at Austin's comment. “Have
a good day, both of you.” He turned and walked down the
hallway.

After Austin closed the door, Julie greeted
him with a smile. “I'm really proud of you. You were actually civil
to Eli.”

“
Only because I have an agenda. I
still don't trust the guy. I know he feels more for you than just
friendship. I see it every time he looks at you. I want to find out
more about Earthlings. I wanna see just what kind of abilities I
have.”

“
Austin, remember what Uncle G said.
We have to be careful and not let the Earthlings know about you. We
don't know what they will do.”

“
I'm not afraid of them. I'm a blend
too, they can't hurt me. I was stressed about all this before, but
I'm focusing on the benefits now. This could be a good
thing.”

Before Julie could respond, there was
another knock at the door. Austin opened the door once again. This
time it was Marcus.