Re: Finding Family, Finding Home (UC, AU, Adult) Chapter 11
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:29 am
AN: Hopefully some answers are cleared up here, Carolyn!
Enjoy! SOrry it's a bit late, the computer at work hates me.
Chapter 11
Liz sat down in the booth of the dark bar, placing a frosted glass on a coaster and settling into the plush cushions. Looking around the room she noticed that it was darker than the last time she’d been here; but not terribly so.
There was a football game on the TV over the barista’s head. She didn’t remember the flat screen being there, but smiled that she’d at least have something to do while she waited.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
Liz turned to see Michael, dressed just as he had the first time she’d seen him here. Her insides melted as he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss against her cheek and sat down on the other side of the table.
“Not at all,” she smiled, feeling heat rush to her face. It was always so nice to see him, especially with that air of confidence around him that drew her to him like a moth to the flame.
“Are you excited about tonight?” he asked, reaching across the table.
“Of course,” she said, allowing him to take her hand. The rough skin on his thumb rubbed the back of her hand sending shivers through her body.
He took her hand and pulled her from the booth. Liz glanced down to see her outfit change into a slinky deep red ball gown, draped over her body like it’d been made for her. He pulled her close, flush against his chest and led them through the room in a dance.
“Liz!” a sharp yell echoed through her mind and Liz turned to see Michael, dressed in little more than athletic pants and a wife-beater.
She glanced back, her Michael still pulling her along the dance floor.
“What?” she panicked, pulling away from the body that had warmed her.
The Michael in the workout clothes raced across the room and pulled her tightly into his arms. His cologne immediately enveloped her, warming her very soul. Liz caught a hint of that faintly masculine scent that lingered after he’d worked out.
He’d managed, somehow, to actually visit her in her dream state. Shock rippled through her body at that thought.
“I’ve been looking for you for so long,” his voice cracked. “Are you hurt? Where are they keeping you?
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I don’t have time to explain,” he said, pulling away from her.
“I know you’re an alien,” Liz said, carefully looking at him. He looked human, how could she have known that first day that he wasn’t anything but normal?
He nodded, not looking particularly surprised that she’d admitted it. But Liz noticed the grimace in his face before he continued speaking.
“You need to tell me where you are,” he repeated.
“I don’t know,” she cried.
“What do they look like?” he asked.
Liz forced herself to remember, but all she could think of were the doctors and nurses who’d covered everything but their eyes.
“I need more, Liz,” he begged.
“I don’t have,” she started. Then she remembered and pictured the man who’d come to her, trying to intimidate her through his uniform.
Michael cursed.
“I’ll get you out of there,” he promised. “You have to be strong. Just a few more days.”
Liz nodded and Michael disappeared.
Liz bolted up in her cot, her fingers digging into the thin mattress they’d given her. She struggled to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
Since they’d stopped giving her the sedatives, Liz had been sleeping in the room they’d fashioned into an old prison cell. She didn’t know where she was and had no natural lighting because there weren’t any windows that she could see.
Thinking about the nightmare she’d just had, Liz wondered if it really had been Michael visiting her in her dreams. Could he really be the alien that the others insisted he was? If so, what had she gotten herself in to?
She missed the house on the estate and the friendship she was building with Serena. She wondered briefly, but pushed those thoughts away, if Maria and her family knew she was gone. She missed that feeling of intense happiness and lust she got when Michael would walk into the room, even though they never acted on it. At least not until the night of the blizzard and she’d run from the house as though he’d stolen her innocence.
As her breathing calmed, Liz knew in hindsight that she’d over reacted that night but it seemed like her current nightmare of being captured would not end. She couldn’t wake up and be in her four poster bed at the estate.
The unlocking of a heavy metal door sounded outside of her room, and Liz pictured the manila folder in her mind. Though it wasn’t enough to stop the forced mind reading they did, whatever mental block she’d been able to form with it helped them keep out of her most immediate thoughts on this side of the bars.
“Good morning, Liz,” the red-haired alien said, placing a tray of food on the small opening in the bars.
“Is it really morning?” Liz snarled back to her captors. No clock, no windows, not even a calendar at her disposal, Liz wouldn’t have been surprised if it was 8 pm instead of 8 am.
“Now now,” the alien scolded. “Is that any way to treat your friends?”
“You are not my friend,” she spat, still thinking of that folder.
“I think we could be great friends,” the woman lilted. “If you’d just give us what we want.”
“I don’t have the seal,” Liz insisted.
“You know enough about Michael and his powers to block your thoughts with that silly folder of yours,” she intimated, leaning against the far wall. “The information we need doesn’t even concern you. Why don’t you just give it up and we’ll let you go.”
“I’ve told you before. I don’t know about a King Zan or the clones or the granolith. I don’t know about these aliens.”
“But your work in The Second’s labs proves otherwise.”
“I was working on brain tissue samples for a cure for autism,” she said. It was the truth, at least in some part. The stem cell research she did for Michael had been the truly classified experiment. Truth be told, Liz now wondered what the stem cells had to do with these aliens. Had she been working with alien DNA without knowing it?
Liz covered her thoughts with a brick wall this time and glanced at the woman. They’d spoken about clones and betrayal and rightful heirs. She couldn’t process any of the information they seemed to think she was privy to.
The alien never once let on that she’d realized what Liz had accidentally thought. Maybe next time, Liz mused, she’d build a metal wall.
“Very well,” the alien sighed. “I had thought about offering you a shower if you cooperated, but now, I’m not in the mood.”
She walked away and Liz heard the door slam behind her. What sounded like metal gears clamped shut and she sighed. Even if she ever did get out of the cell, Liz knew she wouldn’t be able to manipulate that door.
He’d promised just a few more days.
Liz felt like weeping. Until the moment he’d appeared in her dreams, she’d had no clue that what her captors said was true. Without any proof other than their abilities, Liz couldn’t believe that Michael was different. Sure he was rich and elusive and so incredibly good looking; but a being from another planet, she just didn’t believe.
Until she’d smelled his familiar cologne when he’d hugged her tightly. Not even dream Michael had smelled like he should. But the Michael with bags under his eyes and hair that looked unwashed for days had immediately proven to her that he was different.
She thought back on the experiment in the Guerin private lab. The cells she’d seen there had been unlike any animal she’d known. His story was that the samples had been a previously unknown animal they’d discovered in the rain forest. It hurt that he hadn’t told her the truth; but if they were looking for cures for diseases on Earth, she knew that the media would be in a frenzy if they found out about the ‘alien’ DNA.
Who was she kidding? Liz scoffed at her own thoughts.
They’d been close to cloning that DNA in the hopes of replicating a drug reaction that the proteins had. It could potentially reverse the effects that UV rays had on skin. Liz sighed. Of course the alien race had immunity to the radiation of the sun. She smacked the palm of her hand on her head.
They weren’t cells from any known animal, they were cells from whatever Michael Guerin and his people were.
Liz felt like a good and proper idiot. But that brought up another thought that she’d repressed. If Michael really was an alien that meant there really was a King he was protecting. Liz knew then that she was in way over her head. Her captors spoke of the clones and she wondered, originally, if they knew of her experimentations; but they’d mentioned the cloning of Michael and his King in person. Did they have the ability to clone humans too?
As time passed that day, Liz started going over the memories she had of working in the lab. What pieces of information she could reevaluate with the realization that those things out in the hall were right. She wanted to figure out what exactly Michael had her doing.
Eventually one of the nurses returned with another meal tray and Liz sat quietly picturing the manila folder in her mind. She didn’t want to chance them seeing the revelations she’d made over the last few hours nor did she want them to know that Michael had visited her dreams.
“You’ve been quiet today,” the woman practically snarled under her face mask.
Liz shrugged, acting defeated.
“Maybe you’re ready to give us the Royal Seal?” she asked.
Liz shrugged again.
“Giving up?”
“Hardly,” she spat out.
“Very well.”
She placed a plate of tasteless food and a bottle of water in the opening.
“Enjoy your meal. It may be the last you get for a while.” The woman turned and stalked out of the room.
Liz sighed and walked over to the tray. She saw the familiar sandwich and apple sitting on the plate. Pulling the plate off the tray, Liz snatched the apple and put it at the foot of her bed with the other fruit they’d brought her.
With no proof that they had cameras on her, Liz had been storing the fruit and rolls that they’d give her, in case they stopped bringing her food. The fruit would last her a couple days, especially the oranges. The apples, she’d decided, would have to be eaten first, too delicate to survive for long outside of the cool fridge. What rolls she’d managed to pilfer were starting to go stale and she’d eaten one before going to bed last night. It had filled her up, but Liz knew she wouldn’t be able to hold out for long if indeed they did stop feeding her.
That ‘afternoon’ Liz concentrated on the image of the wall she’d built. If she could, Liz wanted to make it as strong as possible, though she didn’t know how. It was likely that the aliens who’d captured her were going to interrogate her again and read her mind. If she was able to, Liz hoped that this block she was imagining would stop any further explorations into her psyche. She did not want them finding out about Michael’s clandestine visit.
Enjoy! SOrry it's a bit late, the computer at work hates me.
Chapter 11
Liz sat down in the booth of the dark bar, placing a frosted glass on a coaster and settling into the plush cushions. Looking around the room she noticed that it was darker than the last time she’d been here; but not terribly so.
There was a football game on the TV over the barista’s head. She didn’t remember the flat screen being there, but smiled that she’d at least have something to do while she waited.
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
Liz turned to see Michael, dressed just as he had the first time she’d seen him here. Her insides melted as he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss against her cheek and sat down on the other side of the table.
“Not at all,” she smiled, feeling heat rush to her face. It was always so nice to see him, especially with that air of confidence around him that drew her to him like a moth to the flame.
“Are you excited about tonight?” he asked, reaching across the table.
“Of course,” she said, allowing him to take her hand. The rough skin on his thumb rubbed the back of her hand sending shivers through her body.
He took her hand and pulled her from the booth. Liz glanced down to see her outfit change into a slinky deep red ball gown, draped over her body like it’d been made for her. He pulled her close, flush against his chest and led them through the room in a dance.
“Liz!” a sharp yell echoed through her mind and Liz turned to see Michael, dressed in little more than athletic pants and a wife-beater.
She glanced back, her Michael still pulling her along the dance floor.
“What?” she panicked, pulling away from the body that had warmed her.
The Michael in the workout clothes raced across the room and pulled her tightly into his arms. His cologne immediately enveloped her, warming her very soul. Liz caught a hint of that faintly masculine scent that lingered after he’d worked out.
He’d managed, somehow, to actually visit her in her dream state. Shock rippled through her body at that thought.
“I’ve been looking for you for so long,” his voice cracked. “Are you hurt? Where are they keeping you?
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I don’t have time to explain,” he said, pulling away from her.
“I know you’re an alien,” Liz said, carefully looking at him. He looked human, how could she have known that first day that he wasn’t anything but normal?
He nodded, not looking particularly surprised that she’d admitted it. But Liz noticed the grimace in his face before he continued speaking.
“You need to tell me where you are,” he repeated.
“I don’t know,” she cried.
“What do they look like?” he asked.
Liz forced herself to remember, but all she could think of were the doctors and nurses who’d covered everything but their eyes.
“I need more, Liz,” he begged.
“I don’t have,” she started. Then she remembered and pictured the man who’d come to her, trying to intimidate her through his uniform.
Michael cursed.
“I’ll get you out of there,” he promised. “You have to be strong. Just a few more days.”
Liz nodded and Michael disappeared.
Liz bolted up in her cot, her fingers digging into the thin mattress they’d given her. She struggled to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
Since they’d stopped giving her the sedatives, Liz had been sleeping in the room they’d fashioned into an old prison cell. She didn’t know where she was and had no natural lighting because there weren’t any windows that she could see.
Thinking about the nightmare she’d just had, Liz wondered if it really had been Michael visiting her in her dreams. Could he really be the alien that the others insisted he was? If so, what had she gotten herself in to?
She missed the house on the estate and the friendship she was building with Serena. She wondered briefly, but pushed those thoughts away, if Maria and her family knew she was gone. She missed that feeling of intense happiness and lust she got when Michael would walk into the room, even though they never acted on it. At least not until the night of the blizzard and she’d run from the house as though he’d stolen her innocence.
As her breathing calmed, Liz knew in hindsight that she’d over reacted that night but it seemed like her current nightmare of being captured would not end. She couldn’t wake up and be in her four poster bed at the estate.
The unlocking of a heavy metal door sounded outside of her room, and Liz pictured the manila folder in her mind. Though it wasn’t enough to stop the forced mind reading they did, whatever mental block she’d been able to form with it helped them keep out of her most immediate thoughts on this side of the bars.
“Good morning, Liz,” the red-haired alien said, placing a tray of food on the small opening in the bars.
“Is it really morning?” Liz snarled back to her captors. No clock, no windows, not even a calendar at her disposal, Liz wouldn’t have been surprised if it was 8 pm instead of 8 am.
“Now now,” the alien scolded. “Is that any way to treat your friends?”
“You are not my friend,” she spat, still thinking of that folder.
“I think we could be great friends,” the woman lilted. “If you’d just give us what we want.”
“I don’t have the seal,” Liz insisted.
“You know enough about Michael and his powers to block your thoughts with that silly folder of yours,” she intimated, leaning against the far wall. “The information we need doesn’t even concern you. Why don’t you just give it up and we’ll let you go.”
“I’ve told you before. I don’t know about a King Zan or the clones or the granolith. I don’t know about these aliens.”
“But your work in The Second’s labs proves otherwise.”
“I was working on brain tissue samples for a cure for autism,” she said. It was the truth, at least in some part. The stem cell research she did for Michael had been the truly classified experiment. Truth be told, Liz now wondered what the stem cells had to do with these aliens. Had she been working with alien DNA without knowing it?
Liz covered her thoughts with a brick wall this time and glanced at the woman. They’d spoken about clones and betrayal and rightful heirs. She couldn’t process any of the information they seemed to think she was privy to.
The alien never once let on that she’d realized what Liz had accidentally thought. Maybe next time, Liz mused, she’d build a metal wall.
“Very well,” the alien sighed. “I had thought about offering you a shower if you cooperated, but now, I’m not in the mood.”
She walked away and Liz heard the door slam behind her. What sounded like metal gears clamped shut and she sighed. Even if she ever did get out of the cell, Liz knew she wouldn’t be able to manipulate that door.
He’d promised just a few more days.
Liz felt like weeping. Until the moment he’d appeared in her dreams, she’d had no clue that what her captors said was true. Without any proof other than their abilities, Liz couldn’t believe that Michael was different. Sure he was rich and elusive and so incredibly good looking; but a being from another planet, she just didn’t believe.
Until she’d smelled his familiar cologne when he’d hugged her tightly. Not even dream Michael had smelled like he should. But the Michael with bags under his eyes and hair that looked unwashed for days had immediately proven to her that he was different.
She thought back on the experiment in the Guerin private lab. The cells she’d seen there had been unlike any animal she’d known. His story was that the samples had been a previously unknown animal they’d discovered in the rain forest. It hurt that he hadn’t told her the truth; but if they were looking for cures for diseases on Earth, she knew that the media would be in a frenzy if they found out about the ‘alien’ DNA.
Who was she kidding? Liz scoffed at her own thoughts.
They’d been close to cloning that DNA in the hopes of replicating a drug reaction that the proteins had. It could potentially reverse the effects that UV rays had on skin. Liz sighed. Of course the alien race had immunity to the radiation of the sun. She smacked the palm of her hand on her head.
They weren’t cells from any known animal, they were cells from whatever Michael Guerin and his people were.
Liz felt like a good and proper idiot. But that brought up another thought that she’d repressed. If Michael really was an alien that meant there really was a King he was protecting. Liz knew then that she was in way over her head. Her captors spoke of the clones and she wondered, originally, if they knew of her experimentations; but they’d mentioned the cloning of Michael and his King in person. Did they have the ability to clone humans too?
As time passed that day, Liz started going over the memories she had of working in the lab. What pieces of information she could reevaluate with the realization that those things out in the hall were right. She wanted to figure out what exactly Michael had her doing.
Eventually one of the nurses returned with another meal tray and Liz sat quietly picturing the manila folder in her mind. She didn’t want to chance them seeing the revelations she’d made over the last few hours nor did she want them to know that Michael had visited her dreams.
“You’ve been quiet today,” the woman practically snarled under her face mask.
Liz shrugged, acting defeated.
“Maybe you’re ready to give us the Royal Seal?” she asked.
Liz shrugged again.
“Giving up?”
“Hardly,” she spat out.
“Very well.”
She placed a plate of tasteless food and a bottle of water in the opening.
“Enjoy your meal. It may be the last you get for a while.” The woman turned and stalked out of the room.
Liz sighed and walked over to the tray. She saw the familiar sandwich and apple sitting on the plate. Pulling the plate off the tray, Liz snatched the apple and put it at the foot of her bed with the other fruit they’d brought her.
With no proof that they had cameras on her, Liz had been storing the fruit and rolls that they’d give her, in case they stopped bringing her food. The fruit would last her a couple days, especially the oranges. The apples, she’d decided, would have to be eaten first, too delicate to survive for long outside of the cool fridge. What rolls she’d managed to pilfer were starting to go stale and she’d eaten one before going to bed last night. It had filled her up, but Liz knew she wouldn’t be able to hold out for long if indeed they did stop feeding her.
That ‘afternoon’ Liz concentrated on the image of the wall she’d built. If she could, Liz wanted to make it as strong as possible, though she didn’t know how. It was likely that the aliens who’d captured her were going to interrogate her again and read her mind. If she was able to, Liz hoped that this block she was imagining would stop any further explorations into her psyche. She did not want them finding out about Michael’s clandestine visit.