The Unseen (24 page)

“Ouch.” Kent reached for his ankle and rubbed, then turned toward where she’d been standing. “Why did you do that?”

Her captor ripped the night vision goggles from her head. Now she couldn’t see anything except blackness. Her throat tightened with fear. She hoped Kent would notice she was missing. If he didn’t, she’d never stand a chance. The man dragged her further and further into the underbrush. She winced as the elephant grass sliced into her bare calves. Once they got out of earshot, the man knocked the powder from her hand. “I’m being rather rude for not introducing myself. My name’s Dan.”

Rebecca longed to thrash him in the nuts. But he had her so restricted she could barely move, and the gag prevented her from screaming for help.

“I noticed you people picked up lots of those rocks today. I need for you to go get those for me. Now I’m going to remove that gag from your mouth with the understanding that if you scream, I’ll blow your fucking head off. Are we clear?”

After Rebecca nodded, he yanked the cloth from her mouth.

“So are you ready to go get me those cave rocks?”

“Why should I?”

“Because if you don’t, I’m going to fuck you right here on this ground. But I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you. I saw the way you spread your legs so eagerly for Kent.”

One of the first times Rebecca had made love to Kent out in the jungle, she’d heard noise in the bushes and wondered if someone had watched them. The fact that this man had seen them intimate together made bile rise in her throat. She took a deep breath to stop from vomiting. “You bastard.”

“Yeah, I watched you two fuck like rabbits. I had to jack off, watching you two got me so damn hard.” He reached out and clutched at her breasts. “But I’d much rather fuck you myself than watch you do someone else.”

She saw a flash of green light and saw the man sitting at the space ship console.
“Find a way to get him to take more of the powder,” said the echoing voice.

“Fine. I’ll go give you the rocks. But first, I want to swallow some more of the powder. It makes me much lighter on my feet. I need that so they don’t hear me approaching and so I can go invisible again.”

“You got some of the stuff on you?” Dan pulled out a flashlight and pointed it straight at her face.

“Yeah. Right here. “Blocking the light with her hands, she reached in her pocket and pulled out the vial.

He snatched it from her hand. “I’ll take it all. Then it will make me even more powerful than I am now.”

“But now they’ll be able to see me,” said Rebecca.

“Yeah, and so can I. Your tits are amazing. I’m already getting me a good hard on. If you don’t start walking, I might just decide to fuck you right now.”

Rebecca jumped away. “No, I’m ready.”

Dan pushed her through the forest with the nose of his gun. Without the aid of her night vision goggles, she stumbled over roots, rocks and uneven ground. She intentionally made more noise than necessary.

“Stop making so much goddamned noise,” said Dan.

“It’s pitch black in this forest and I can’t see where I’m going without my goggles,” said Rebecca.

“Fine,” he hissed, slapping the goggles into her hand. “Wear the suckers. But don’t make another sound.”

She put them on, feeling she’d gained a little ground. As she walked, Dan grabbed her waist and slid his hands down her pants. She whirled around and faced him, anger burning in her gut. “Stop right now or I won’t get those samples for you.”

He reached for his crotch, which bulged from his erection. “I’m thinking maybe I’d rather have you than some stupid rocks anyway. That powder made me hornier than hell. Now take off your pants and get down on that ground like a dog before I cut them off with my switchblade.”

The man started to slur his words. She hoped he was overdosing on the powder. “I won’t.” Rebecca planted her hands on her hips.

He cocked his gun at her temple. “Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely positive.” She’d rather die than let the vile man defile her. “You can kill me and fuck me after I’m dead.”

“That wouldn’t be any fun at all.” He punched her hard in the stomach.

She crumpled to the ground gasping. The man tore her pants and she tried to push herself to her feet, but he kicked her hard in the ribs, dropping her again. She groaned.
Is it going to end like this?
But a sudden surge of empowerment flowed through her veins.
The pain’s gone already.
You’re strong and resilient. You can come through if you keep fighting.
Feigning overwhelming pain, she moaned and rolled on the ground. “Okay, please, don’t hurt me again. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Take off your pants and kneel like I told you to.”

By now his words were barely intelligible. He sounded like a drunk about ready to pass out. She tried to bite back a gag as she removed her pants and dropped them beside her before crouching on all fours. When she heard Dan’s zipper slide down, she clenched her teeth and held her breath.

“It’s about time you gave in to your desire for me.”

As he lowered himself toward her, she rolled over on her stomach, pulled back a leg and launched her heel straight into his groin. The power behind her kick felt amazing. The man flew ten feet in the air before landing in a crumpled heap. He got up and staggered back toward her. His crazed eyes glowed eerily through her night vision goggles. He pointed the gun straight at her crotch. “You stupid bitch, now you’re going to d—” He fired.

Rebecca dropped onto her belly and rolled as fast as she could through the mud and leaves. Bullets hit the ground instead of her midsection. But she thought for sure she’d heard more than one shot. She slowly sat up, looking around her. An eerie silence enveloped her. She didn’t dare move.

“Bec, are you there?”

When she realized it was Kent, she jumped up and ran toward his voice. “Yes, Kent, I’m here.” She dove into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Wow, that’s the kind of hug I like.” His gaze took in her naked form and he licked his lips. He consumed her mouth with his, tasting her lips from every angle as he entangled his fingers in her hair.

“Oh, Kent. I’m so glad you’re here. I was so scared. Is that guy dead?”

Kent’s short, lusty breaths subsided. “Yeah, I think I got him. And Rich’s men and the soldiers are combing the area to make sure there’s no one else in the vicinity. But what the hell happened to your clothes?”

She told him about how the man planned to rape her.

“Oh, no, Bec.” He kissed her again and pulled a bandana from his pocket to brush away some of the mud that had stuck to her face and shoulders. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head and reached for her pants. As she slipped them on, she felt fabric brushing her bare back.

“Here, put this on.” Kent handed her his shirt. “I wish you had stayed in the tent.”

“Yeah, I know. But you knew I wouldn’t.”

He gave her another fervent kiss and then flipped on his flashlight. “Let’s make sure that bastard’s dead. And then let’s go back to camp and get you washed up.” A minute later, Kent’s flashlight beam found her attacker. Kent’s shot had hit him dead center in the chest. And blue liquid dribbled from his mouth.

“Who’s there?” said a voice.

Kent recognized Duc An’s accent. “It’s Kent and Rebecca. I shot one man dead, but Rich is down. They’re bandaging him up now.”

Duc An and his men stepped in closer. “We killed one more man and paced out the whole area, but didn’t find anyone else. Hopefully, they’re all dead. Now, let’s head back to camp.”

* * * *

Rebecca waited for her heart rate to drop before telling Kent about her recent visions. “I have to tell you what else I know about the origin of those stones.”

“Really? And what’s that?”

“First, I wanted to ask . . . did you see any flashes of light when you ingested the powder?”

“No, but that’s because I never got to take it. I was in too much of a hurry.”

“Kent, I’ve been having dreams and hallucinations about the people who brought those rocks here. I think some of them live here on Earth.”

Kent’s eyes flashed with interest and his lips curved into an amused smile. “Really? Roberta seemed to think aliens were involved, too. Why do you think so?”

Despite the skepticism she saw on his face, Rebecca told him about the brilliant green planet with purplish oceans and how spaceships had left before it was destroyed. “I think those people left their planet to come here.”

Kent bit his upper lip and ran a finger over his forehead. “Interesting. But we all have off-the-wall dreams sometimes. Why do you think they’re real?”

“Because they began the night I ingested the powder. And it wasn’t just the dream. Images flash in front of my eyes sometimes, too.”

Kent scratched the side of his face. “Hmm. That is strange. Why do you think that’s happening?”

“I’m not sure. But I think we should keep this information to ourselves. We have no physical evidence these people even exist, let alone are a threat to anyone. If word reached the general public that aliens might be walking loose, someone might hurt them out of sheer panic or want to capture them.”

Kent pursed his lips and nodded, holding his chin between two fingers. “I see your point. Okay, we’ll keep it quiet for now. But I’m worried that the powder might hurt you.”

“Don’t worry, Kent. I’m sure that’s not the case. I haven’t suffered a single ill effect. But I have another little theory.”

“Oh, no. Why is it that I’m getting scared?” Kent teased.

Rebecca smiled. “This whole experience has been mind-boggling. I thought I’d never escape that department store job once I was laid off from my outdoor adventure job. And you gave me the chance to explore the largest cave in the world. Who could have imagined I’d also find rocks brought here by aliens from another solar system? But it’s my theory that they landed near here and intentionally chose the collapsed cave roof as a location to stash the rocks.”

Kent reached toward her, skimming a finger over her cheek. “Why do you think that, Bec?”

The doubt she’d first seen in his eyes had transformed to admiration and love. Sharing what she’d pieced together with the man she loved felt freeing. She felt connected to him, as if part of her body and mind continued on through his. “I think they were looking for a remote place with plenty of water. Did you notice how that blue mineral grows like a plant?”

Kent dropped his hand onto one of her shoulders and massaged her tight muscles with his fingertips. “Yes, I did notice that. Those alien rocks seem to be reacting with the limestone.”

“Exactly. I suspect they want to propagate more of those rocks in the cave so they’ll have more when they need them.”

Kent drummed his fingers on a cheek dimple and frowned. “Wow. If the U.S. military found out about this stuff, it could become a huge security issue.”

She grasped his nervous hand and pulled it away from his face. “But it shouldn’t create a problem if we keep it a secret. You stick with your story about finding unusual rocks in the cave and omit to mention the invisibility properties and the fact that the rocks latch onto other substances.”

He turned to face her, bringing his delicious swollen lips close to her face. “But how will we keep the others from talking?”

“We’ll ask everyone who knows about the invisibility properties to keep that quiet for security reasons and keep this additional bit of knowledge we just discussed to ourselves.”

“I like your plan. I’ll draw up some confidentiality paperwork once we get back in town and get everyone to sign it.”

* * * *

Rich’s agitation had jumped off the charts when Kent had run off in the dark looking for Rebecca, unwilling to wait for backup. Minutes later, more gunfire had erupted in the forest. “What the fuck is going on out there?”

“Hey, easy there. You need to hold still so you don’t start bleeding again.”

Rich fought off David’s grasp. Lying idle during an emergency wasn’t his style. “Goddamnit, I don’t want someone getting killed out there while I’m sprawled out here on my back.”

Roberta’s shrill voice rang out in the darkness. “Are you causing trouble again?”

Rich raised his head to see Roberta walking toward him, her hair tangled, wearing nothing except a T-shirt and boxer shorts. She looks like hell, he thought, as his cock twitched in disagreement. “I’m just annoyed I can’t do a goddamn thing while my men are out there fighting invisible forces.”

“You’re going to bleed to death if you get up.” She knelt down and surprised him by twining her fingers around his, compassion registering in her blue eyes.

The woman had one nice bone in her body after all.

“We’re going to have to get the bullet out,” said David. “It would help if you could calm him while we work.”

Roberta snorted. “Hey, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best. Why don’t you give him a damp cloth to bite down on? It will help him cope with the pain and shut him up.”

“Thanks a lot,” Rich grumbled, before Roberta stuffed the cloth between his lips.

“Just try to relax.” She rubbed his arm soothingly and said kind, encouraging words from time to time.

After cutting off blood flow to the wound and pouring whisky on it, Seth fished around to remove the bullet. Rich clenched his teeth, feeling dizzy—the pain was so excruciating, he felt like he was going to lose consciousness. But he didn’t utter a sound. The last thing he wanted was for his rescuers to think he couldn’t handle it.

Roberta patted his hand. “You’re doing great. They got the bullet out. The worst of it is over. They just have to stitch you back up.”

Rich pulled the cloth from his mouth and tossed it on the table. “Who said anything about pain?” Rich was surprised to hear the strain in his voice. He turned his head toward Roberta and wrenched his lips into a smile.

“You can’t fool me, you old fart. Your face is so red, it looks like you’re trying to pass a watermelon.”

Rich grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Who’s calling who an old fart? You aren’t any spring chicken yourself.”

“Maybe I’m not. But I’m very wise.” She blinked twice and raised her nose a little higher in the air.