Meeting In The Middle

Michael

The pods were comfortable. Had enough space for my long legs. For two days, I had been alone in the dark… In a ball, traveling down a tunnel, stopping every few hours. Juliet and Charlene weren't far behind me. I waited every time with the guards to make sure they arrived safely. When I traveled us out. I had not thought of the consequences of bringing Juliet with me, thinking that I could just teleport us back. 

Neither did I think I would meet a man who could help me with all my problems. Every time we stopped, I tried to go back to En-gannim. To Earth. To anywhere. I had tried so many times that night and the morning before we left. Nothing seemed to push me enough to make the jump. If Charlene could do it. Why couldn't I? Romero's voodoo should've worked out by then. I was getting nervous. What if we were stuck there? I would probably get another beating for putting Juliet in danger. Marcus would miss the birth of his baby and the pregnancy. All of my tantrums would have been for nothing. Louis had definitely taken charge of her care. We were done with the honeymoon phase in all our relationships. Everyone had their chance to leave. And everyone had proven themselves… but me.

I thought back on her the first night we were there. She had drunk too much. When we were in the room. She was all over me, trying to get me in bed. I just couldn't after Romero's speech. I also couldn't remember the last time we had sex. And when I did, it curbed me even further to wait. We were about to sleep together when Chris was on that thing. I should have known that night something was off. Juliet's mind wasn't there, and I didn't care. Kubra came in and interrupted us just before I would have made another mistake. She even told me that she didn't want to. Juliet had all that to deal with and still would've let me have my way with her.

She had not said much to me after our fight in her room. I had asked her not to push, and she wasn't. However, I felt a stab in my side each time I looked at her. She was stiff around the shoulders. I had driven her away for the wrong reasons. I couldn't even give her a proper intimate connection. It was all lust and sex. 

The first night we stopped and the pods were done, I felt I would go crazy if I didn't say something to her besides the words "I love you." The servants had traveled before us and set up camp by the time we arrived. Each couple had a tent. Their soldiers circled around us. Yazen and Imani were already there, waiting for us. It was strange to see no fires. Smell no meat grilling. The food packed for the last few days had been cooked or baked. I needed to eat. Charlene needed to eat.

"How about I go find us something? Will I find something?" I asked Romero. 

"Yes, I am sure there will be all sorts of beasts out there."

I stuck my hand out to Juliet to see if she would go with me. There was a slight hesitation. Her glance at Romero wasn't lost on me. He slightly bobbed his head. She was asking some stranger if he thought it was a good idea. It sent a dull ache of pain into my bones. That this was what our relationship had come to. No trust. No communication. No freedom for her to love me like she wanted. It made all those bottled-up emotions feel like they wanted to erupt. I knew I was holding back, keeping everything in the dark where my insecurities were safe. She placed her hand in mine. I picked her up, and we traveled out. I tried to stay in a circle and not go too far at one time. Only to the horizon and back to a central location like Chris had taught me. 

Juliet pointed. "I want that!"

I left her and killed as many as possible, dropping them at her feet. When I got back with the last one, she had sunk her teeth into its flesh. I sat down and did the same. We were sharing a meal. It struck a chord, and a small smile played at the corner of my mouth. It soon disappeared. I remembered why I asked her to come in the first place. I had to say something… "I am… sorry about Chris. I'm sorry I lied to you. There is more I lied about… but I'll tell you later." 

Her foggy eyes glanced up at mine, taking a bite and tearing out a chunk of meat. 

"Can you please just say it? Get it out in the open." I nudged. 

"I'm glad it was Chris and not you." I scoffed. "At that moment, I might have thought otherwise, not anymore… Chris did it because of me… for me. And his sacrifice means more than yours would have."

I felt the punch in my gut. Stared at her as I sucked my creature, tossing it in the sand. 

"Chris did it because he knows what's important."

"I get it. No need to force the subject."

She swore loudly and got up. "You're the one that told me you didn't want that kind of relationship. You asked me a question and then can't handle my answer. Throwing it in my face that I manipulate you! You're crazy!" Her fist clenched at her sides. 

My head lowered, a thumb rubbing at my brow. "Can I take it back?" I dropped my tone. She was right. It was a fight for dominance. "We didn't both agree about it anyway." 

Juliet came back to human. Her head tilted. "What is wrong with you? You don't want to sleep with me. We kiss, and you're all there. When something happens, you would and will protect me with your life. But other than that, you don't even like me anymore… I hate myself for what I'm about to say, but… You don't love me anymore." 

"Nothing can make me change the way I feel about you…." I yelled out. My attitude was back. "How many times do I have to say it. Show it." 

"F- If that's the case." Juliet came closer. Her eyes were desperate, and her mouth pulled tight on her features. "Can you please just say what you need to? If you are that unhappy with me, let me at least know what I'm doing wrong before it gets any worse… And not what you lied about. The one thing that is eating you up inside."

I picked her up and took us to a watering hole. Both our hands were in the water getting cleaned up. It was quiet, and my breathing was shallow. Juliet was waiting so patiently. I didn't know why it was so difficult for me to get it out of my system. I braced myself and said, "It's hard… to love and hate you at the same time… All I see is my black hands round your neck, squeezing the life out of you. And after I finish my fantasy… I am happy and free."

Juliet's hands slowly came to a stop as I spoke. "You know… some people do that for fun."

I did laugh a little. "I've never needed anything to get off with you." 

"Well, I'm not getting you off anymore. So we might as well try it."

My head snapped up at her in irritation. I shook my hands in the air to get rid of the water. Juliet stood up and held out her hands to me. I placed mine in hers, and she pulled me to my feet. She lifted them slowly and carefully placed them on her neck. "Then do it!"

I flung away from her. 

"I'm serious, Michael! Just do it. Don't be a coward."

Another stab in my armor, and my gut was wrenching. The fear I had been holding back wanted to explode. "I don't want to. I've never wanted to cross that line with you."

"You already have. We can't take this back… Do it, Michael! I'm done!" 

I didn't like hearing her say she was done. Like she had the right. My eyes turned to steel as I fought the urge. "Done with what?" 

She walked over and lifted my hands again. That time, I didn't let go of the soft skin under my fingers. Hesitantly, I took a step forward, closed my fingers around her throat, and pushed up her chin with my thumbs. We were so close to each other. I had sensed how desperate she had been since our kiss when we landed on that planet. I wanted her just as much. It was what she was thinking. The enticing images of her under me consumed me. I swallowed the urge to delve into her. Get that pent-up energy out of my system in one way rather than another.

"Manifest." She said quickly. "And don't you dare fight me as anything else than a vamp." 

She didn't give me a chance to think about it. I was always two steps behind her. I was thinking about sex, and she was thinking about putting me in my place. Juliet made rapid movements around me. She hit me viciously and harshly before I could even manifest. The angry emotions etched around her eyes and mouth. Once I did, my black claws hungered to get to her throat. Her maneuvers were too fast for me. I tried to counter her. We fought and fought. Through the sand. Through the water. All her blows landed. I tried to use my strength. She would disappear. I would have nothing to hold onto or be hitting into thin air. She would be behind me and then in front of me. Every time, hitting me as hard as she could, in just the right places. I got in a few scrapes and punches… I thought I did. Regardless, she was trained to perfection. 

I figured out her pattern. It aggravated me even more. She would never be that predictable. She was toying with me. The back of my mind was telling me to end it. I manifested into a Riphath, towering over her little body, and my lips pulled up, snarling. Not caring that she had told me not to. I closed my paws around her neck. Juliet had allowed me to get a hold of her. She didn't disappear, and my grip tightened at every evil thought I had. My claws dug into her skin, the blood dripping out. 

The smell made me lose all control. I wanted her dead. Then she smiled… I let out a loud roar in her face. She didn't even close her eyes. It seemed like she was enjoying it… too much, not taking me seriously. Or what I had said. Her hands were gripping onto my wrists, hanging. Feet dangling and slightly kicking the air. As a Riphath, she was nothing more than a bug. She took a deep, controlled breath and let go. I was squeezing. I could have snapped her neck. I was changing the positioning of my hands to show her who she was dealing with. It didn't matter. The pain hit me, and blood sprayed onto her face and over my paws. My fingers loosened. The hold I had was totally gone. No strength in my limbs. 

I glanced down as she landed in the sand, gasping. She had sliced through both my forearms at the same time. I didn't even know she had blades. The tendons in my wrists were cut off, and I dropped to my knees, unable to move. I turned into a vampire to make the blood stop gushing out. I was utterly useless. When I was still thinking about snapping her in half. She had made deep cuts all over my arms, severing all the right muscles down to the bone. 

She was hunched over, still coughing. My knees were buried in the sand. She bent down over me, ripped my shirt off my torso, and wrapped the material around my arms and wrists. It was so tight to keep it all together. I couldn't even feel my black nails. The adrenalin was draining out, and the pain hit me. 

She dropped down in the sand in front of me. "You forgot who you're dealing with." She whispered through ragged breaths. "I would rather kill you… than have anyone hurt me again." Her hand reached out for my face as she spoke. "And that time on Palmyra was the first and only time. I'm not coddling you because of what Ahasuerus had done to you." She sucked back a sob. "I didn't want our relationship to change. I was trying to protect what we had." She shook me slightly. "I have always had more respect for you than any one of them. I had always treated you differently. If I have to. I'll cut off your hands." She took a breath and raised her voice. "Do you understand me!" 

My head fell onto her shoulder. I wanted to cry, but nothing was coming out. Juliet wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into her. "Since you changed. I've never slept without anything to subdue you. Everything changed because I asked you to brand me. I didn't want to hurt you, and I hate… myself… for it… Look what I did to the love of my life."

My shoulders started shaking. "And if you can remember. I've always challenged you. Even at the embassy. The very first time we met. I was so angry that you didn't do anything to stop Qadir from hitting me that night… You just stood there… Just like Marcus… I should have treated you like the creature you are."

"I'm sorry," I whispered into her ear. 

"You've always been like this, Michael. You had control over me. Watched me. Took care of me under your own terms… You think you have no limits with me! Everyone, and even I, thought you loved me the most… You don't. And I'm done."

I pulled back and returned to human so my sobs could escape. "I did… love you the most. I swear I did… It's just too much!"

"Come, you have to get back! Michael, now!" She shook me. "You'll bleed to death."

With no working hands, all I could do was let her hang on my neck and drop down in front of Romero. He and Charlene jumped up when they saw us. My arms were hanging limply at my sides, soaked in blood. They were frantically calling out for help. Even as a vamp, the blood trickled and fell into the sand.

Romero knelt down. "You will have to change while I work my magic. It does not work on vampires." 

"You have to make a tourniquet first. If he goes back to human, we won't have enough time to stop the bleeding and close the wounds." Charlene ordered.

Imani and Yazen and everyone had circled us. The doctor and midwife sat down next to Romero. "It does not matter." His voice was low and calm. As if I didn't almost die. The three of them gripped my arms. The rest laid their hands on anyone who was touching me. "Now," Romero said.

I went back to little old Michael. The group's shadow circled my arm together. The different colored veins ran over me. Gold and white. There was no pain. No blood and my wounds closed quickly. They stood there for no more than a minute, and my fingers could move. After more seconds, I could feel my muscles connect, and the nerves sent jolts of sensation through my body. 

Juliet and Charlene stood off to the side, clutching each other. Juliet bit at her nails. My eyes were on her. When they were done, they all came back to human form. Their doctor checked me. My reflexes were back. He gave me the all-clear. I sat up feeling better than I had before we left. Romero's eyes drifted over his shoulder. "No wonder she is the Queen. Maybe it's time you accept that you are not invincible. If you were not here. It would have taken weeks to get back any mobility, even as a vampire. That's if the other men allowed you to heal at all… I would not have. I would have killed you." Romero pushed out through clenched teeth. 

I glanced at Juliet as the others circled her. She had cuts all over her. In her neck where my nails had dug into her skin. A blue mark on her face. Five scratch marks over her midsection. In my rage, I had not even seen what I had done. Another cord struck. The reason why she didn't want to say the words. I realized then why it would have been better if it had been me and not Chris. Juliet had lost the one person that could find her in the cosmos. The only one who would not think twice about saving her, killing whoever was in the way of hurting her. Between the four of us. Louis and Chris wouldn't have stood back for anything. Louis had even attacked Qadir that night… That second place in her heart belonged to Chris for a reason.

Charlene and Juliet disappeared into a tent with the midwife. If she lost the baby. I would have killed myself. Imani came out and nodded at Romero. Juliet's cries echoed through the camp, and I teleported away from them. As far as I could. 

The following day, I woke up with a foot pumping into my side. I lifted my head. The train of people was walking in the distance. I glanced up. It was Romero. "Come on."

He left me and started walking. I sat up, hunched over my legs for a while. 

***

Lyla

My phone was diligently telling me where to go. I had been driving for days. The old RV only went that fast, and I didn't want to draw attention. I had tried to plan my trip. Sleep at proper camping grounds each night. Lucy and I were always together. Best friends and only a year apart. I missed her. She would have loved to come on a road trip with me. 

I parked next to the road. The massive gates to the property were closed. I sat there for a while, checking and making sure there was no surveillance around. I could see no cameras. The gate didn't even seem connected to a remote. 

If I went through… and rode up that massive long path, and there was someone there. What would I have said? "Oh, hi. Someone sent me this address with a key to your house. I just want a guarantee that my sister is really dead and not taken prisoner." It was always an option in the back of my mind. That Lucy never died. Versus. Her body was completely ripped apart and consumed. She might have been bitten into and still alive while... I shook myself. I had heard of people losing loved ones to crocodiles, lions, and tigers. It was always such a horrific way to go. I couldn't even wrap my head around that idea or make peace with it. I jumped out at the thought. There were no cars on the road. It was early morning. I jogged over the street. The little dog yelped behind me. I glanced back. Gigi was standing up on her hind legs, looking out the window. I put a finger to my mouth. Not that it did any good. 

I lifted the chains that hung over the steel bars. It wasn't locked. Determined, I untangled the mess and pushed the gates wide. Double-checking for cameras in the trees or anything that would alert someone of my arrival. 

The lane up was a long drive by itself. The town wasn't far from there. If you walked out the back of the plot, it was only down a small road or across a large field. An enormous brick building came into view. It reeked of old money. Time and generations of a long line of surnames. Or one vampire who had lived there all his life. My fists were clutching the steering wheel nervously. The lane became an ash-fault driveway. It led into an archway. On the other side of the bricks was a horseshoe around a fountain. It was deadly quiet, and the place seemed deserted.

"A perfect place for a blood-sucking demon… Little Gigi… You ready to die?" I stroked the little dog on the seat next to me. "They might not want to eat you… I hear they don't like animals on Earth. Doesn't work with their systems." 

The key was somewhere in my bag. It was across my chest and over my shoulder. I rummaged through, feeling my way around at the bottom. I had let Gigi out. She was scrambling in any direction her brain could come up with. The little rocks shot into the air behind her. 

I pushed the key into the lock, relieved and surprised that it fit. I turned it slowly and pushed at the handle, opening the door. I swallowed hard before taking the first step, hoping I wouldn't be tripping some alarm. If they could teleport and be there in seconds. I would have no way out of it. Nothing happened, so I took another step. 

"It doesn't seem like anyone is here." I was talking to a dog. It was better than constantly talking to myself. Or thinking about everything Lucy and I would've said in that situation. Gigi sped through the house. I had to take a moment to take it all in. A staircase led up to a second story. A massive foyer. Never had I thought of being in a place like that. 

I turned around quickly and closed the door, locking it. I tossed the key back into my bag. "Where should we start?" I cleared the bottom floor first, going through rooms and halls. The last door was a study. It creaked when I pushed it open. There were books stacked on shelves up to the roof. Everything was original first editions. The smell was welcoming. I walked over to the desk and sat down on the leather chair. I leaned into the backrest, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I felt out of my depth, wondering what I was doing. I swiveled the chair, looking out on endless pastures. There was nothing in them. The grass was cut to perfection. 

Who's house, was it? I started going through the drawers. Everything was so normal. I couldn't think that an alien, technologically advanced species had lived there. What would Sita have wanted me to find. I still didn't know who she was. Or why her information had landed in my lap. I did know what she was. 

I left the room and climbed the stairs. I went through them all. The second one caught my attention. There was an en-suite bathroom. Two doors that led into a… I gasped. It was the size of my room at home, and it was just clothes. Women's clothes. Shoes for days and a dresser. There were pictures stuck on the side of the mirror. I sat down on the little stool. It was a man and… I jumped up to get a closer look. Juliet was in all of them… much younger… She didn't look at all like she did at that moment. Her hair was dark and long, braided, almost touching her waist. More pictures. She was at that very dresser with a scissor in her hand, cutting off the braid. In the next photo, she cried like a little baby. It ran almost like a story. Someone was watching her. Documenting a moment in a young girl's life. One where she wanted to grow up, and having shorter hair was always the first sign. Rebelling and regretting the loss as soon as you did it. 

I thought back on Lucy and me doing the same thing. I was going to college. She was in her senior year, and we decided we wanted a new look. A smile played on my lips. There weren't many pictures of the man. He was thin and had some tattoos. I didn't recognize him. Short hair.

The bathroom called. When I stepped over the threshold, I paused. It was full of medical equipment. A bed. A bassinet for a baby. What was wrong with these aliens. Not like they could go to a hospital, I supposed. If all of it had happened before, we even knew they existed.

I put off the light in the toilet and looked up while buckling my belt.