Chapter 16 #3
“Yeah, but he handed everything over to Aquarius.” Grayson typed on his phone, and a few minutes later, as Leila chewed on her pizza, her computer dinged.
Leila scooted her chair over. Her screen displayed a pop-up message from Aquarius.
Here’s the images Pisces got of a meteor in the wilds of Australia. Checking to see if any of the other impact zones had videos or pictures taken.
Attached, several images.
Grayson strolled over and leaned against her desk, eating his fourth slice.
“Have you seen these yet?” Leila asked as she loaded the files.
“Nope, but Pisces described what he saw, and I do believe it will answer your question of how does an alien grow.”
A clear impact crater appeared in the first image, the ground around it scorched, and in the center, pieces of rock, the petal shapes quite clear, as well as other debris.
“Looks like it broke up on impact.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Check the next pic.”
She clicked, and a new image loaded, a zoomed-in view that focused on the broken-apart meteor cluttered with...
skeletons? Judging by their size and shape, she’d wager mice, although she did see a larger ribcage mixed in.
“Seems like some curious critters came too close and the alien seeds managed to feed.”
“Why would they approach, though? Scorched earth and rock don’t usually draw vermin. Notice how the skulls are smashed.”
At his remark, she frowned and looked more closely. Indeed, the craniums all appeared cracked, teeth too.
Grayson murmured, “Aquarius said it reminded him of a monster he fought a while back that oozed some kind of pheromone that made its victims go mad. They would bash themselves in the face until they literally died.”
“You think the aliens somehow managed to call to the local wildlife and convince them to suicide themselves in order to feed?” She couldn’t help but sound skeptical as she chewed her lower lip.
“The pictures seem to indicate it.”
“A great theory except for the fact the samples I had in the lab never caused my mice to go wild with a need to reach the alien, nor did I, for that matter.”
“Those were cast-off chunks. You called the ones in the meteor seeds.”
“Because the flesh was encased in a membrane.”
“And what if that membrane oozed some kind of pheromone? I mean, these aliens obviously had a plan. Why else send an asteroid full of them here? Seems to me like a no-brainer they’d have a way to attract what they needed to ensure they could hatch and start terrorizing.”
Given the evidence, it made sense. “How did I not think of that?”
“Most likely because you’re exhausted. I think it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“But—”
He drew her upright so she faced him. “No buts. You’ve done enough for today.”
“I still have to—”
“You can tackle the rest tomorrow. Get some sleep. Refresh that brilliant brain of yours. While you rest, I’m going to feed that little bugger in the other room so it and its clone can grow big enough to test.”
Last time she peeked, Blue was the size of a small dog, and still just as mean. As for the lump, it had grown a pair of arms and could propel itself.
“You need sleep too,” her last argument.
“Bah, I can nap in between feeding the monsters. Let’s go. I’ll tuck you in.”
Grayson meant that literally. He held her hand as he led her across the hall to her apartment. Shooed her into the bathroom so she could refresh herself. She emerged in less-than-sexy cotton pajamas to see he waited by the bed, sheets turned down, ready for her to crawl in.
He patted the mattress. “In you go.”
“You’re being awfully bossy,” she grumbled.
“Think of it as being caring. You need to be at your best because tired people make mistakes.”
She countered with, “Speed is of the essence.”
“Unless you’re planning to head to Toronto to test the water on a rampaging full-sized alien, you’re going to need to wait until Blue gets a little bit bigger.”
“I hate it that you’re right,” she grumbled, crawling into her bed.
“Ah, the words I rarely hear,” he teased, pulling up the blankets to her chin. “Nighty night. Hopefully, by morning, I’ll have a proper-sized alien for you to test the water on.”
“That would be helpful,” she stated with a yawn. “I still don’t like the fact you’re giving up your sleep to help me, though. Maybe we should both rest, maybe catch that sunrise we spoke of.”
“While I would love nothing more than to spend the night with you, we both know there wouldn’t be much sleeping.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“You can barely keep your eyes open,” he chided, a valid point since her lids sat at half-mast. “I’d like you to be awake when we make love.”
“You sound awfully certain that’s going to happen.”
“Are you, the scientist, denying what is bound to happen?”
Her lips curved. “All evidence points to it being a foregone conclusion.”
“And I’d like for that first time to be memorable and not have me doubting my prowess if you suddenly fall asleep during a crucial moment.”
A soft giggle escaped her. “Very well. No sunrise this time.”
He leaned down to place a soft kiss on her temple with a murmured, “Soon, though, because a man only has so much willpower.”
And with that promise, she fell asleep.