Authors: Emma Taylor
Dr. Ashkin couldn't stop gazing at the lovely woman lying down next to him. He stroked her dark brown locks tenderly then leaned down to kiss her. He had never felt this attracted to any other woman except his late wife. But then again, he had never actually had any strong emotions for a human being. This was a first for him.
She looked so peaceful sleeping there beside him. He tucked one strand of her hair behind her ear, smiling as he gazed at her beautiful face. It had been a long time since he'd felt so relaxed.
I think I'm falling you,
he told her in his mind. And as he leaned forward to kiss her ear, an unexpected sight made him inhale deeply. On the upper part of her neck, hidden behind her ear, was a very small and faint tattoo--- a unique-looking star made of six tiny triangles surrounding an almost microscopic image of a crescent moon.
“The star of Imux…” he murmured in wonder, touching the hardly visible tattoo. As he did, he saw just the tiniest glimmer of light materializing on the surface of her skin. He rubbed the area and seemed to feel something solid just beneath the exterior.
Abby stirred and then slowly opened her eyes. She shifted her position so that she could gaze into his eyes. He must have looked surprised or worried because her smile immediately turned into a slight frown. “What's wrong?” she asked with deep concern.
He told her about his discovery. He explained that this was the symbol of Planet Imux's royal family, so it must have been placed there by Olven.
“Why would he do that? What does it mean?” she asked, her voice rising in apprehension. “I never noticed it before!”
“There's something solid under it,” Dr. Ashkin pointed out. “If I'm not mistaken, I think this could be the chip. He hid it here, within your body.”
Abby did not say anything. She looked confused and puzzled.
“Don't worry, Abby,” he assured her. “We'll take it out in the lab. It won't hurt much at all.”
They got dressed quickly and went on their way. Fortunately, their pod was ready to take them back to Planet Krach.
It wasn't long before they were back and settled. Immediately, Dr. Ashkin went to work. He was becoming even more excited with every moment that passed. Both Bladkov and Kyle looked on eagerly as Dr. Ashkin used a small surgical knife to take out the chip. He then covered the wound with a small piece of gauze which he taped on the skin.
“You mean it was there all along?!” Bladkov exclaimed, his facial expression a cross between frustrated anger and sheer bewilderment.
When Dr. Ashkin placed the thin piece of metal on Bladkov's hand, he couldn't help but feel emotional. His eyes filled with tears. “It's finally here,” he whispered in disbelief. “I can't believe it…”
“Enough with the drama,” Dr. Ashkin told him. “Just activate the formula already.”
Bladkov went straight to the rows of glass bottles on one shelf, each one filled with the special healing formulation that contained Kyle's DNA. He took one bottle and opened the lid. He then got a small pair of tweezers and used them to place the chip into the bottle. As soon as the chip touched the liquid, it lit up and caused the fluid to fizz a bit. Then it quieted down.
“Is that it?” Bladkov wondered. “Will this formula work now?”
“No way to find out but to try it,” Dr. Ashkin responded as Kyle and Abby looked on silently in fascination. He then took the sample and went on to the pathway leading to the special ward, with Bladkov following behind him.
Abby paced back and forth in the private library of Dr. Ashkin's humble home, her heart beating in anticipation as she and her son Kyle waited for them to come back with the results.
“Mom, you're making me dizzy,” Kyle complained. “Just relax. It's going to work. I'm sure of it!”
Abby stopped and sat down on one of the chairs. “I'm sorry, son. I'm nervous.”
“About what?” he asked with a puzzled expression.
“Uhm…” Abby didn't know what to say because she didn't know the answer to the question. She could not understand why she was feeling that way. Eventually, she answered, “So then we can finally go home!” Deep inside, though, she wasn't sure if that was what she really wanted.
Kyle also didn't seem happy with the idea. “I kind of want to stay here…” he said slowly, looking at her intently and seemingly trying to gauge her reaction. “I really feel at home here, Mom. And Dr. Ashkin has told me that I can work with him and Bladkov.”
“But this isn't our home, Kyle,” Abby argued. “Besides, you still have to graduate from college.”
Kyle suddenly grinned. He sauntered over to her with his eyes twinkling.
“Uh-oh. I don't like that look,” Abby muttered, her eyes widening. “It's a no.”
“Wait, Mom,” Kyle protested. “Just hear me out first. I've got this great idea!”
“Yeah?” Abby said in a dubious tone.
“Yeah, really,” Kyle stressed. “How about if I just do homeschooling? We can set up a computer here to connect with the Internet on Earth and then I can just study here while working too. Isn't that what college is about, anyway? Here I can start early with my career!”
He looked so excited with the idea that Abby couldn't bear to say no at that moment. She knew in her heart that her son would be very much happy here. He somehow belonged in this world more than on Earth. She also knew that his idea made a lot of sense, but she just didn't want to make a final decision yet.
“I'll think about it, Kyle,” she finally answered.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. To her surprise, he gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Mom. You're the best. You always were.”
That made her smile. She embraced him tightly until he tried to squirm free, which made her laugh. He was an adult now, after all. At eighteen he could actually make his own decisions already and did not need her permission. But he cared that much about her.
While waiting, Abby sent her friend Claire another email. She told her that she and Kyle were still traveling in Asia but they missed her and their other friends back home terribly. Meanwhile, Kyle got busy checking out his friends' statuses on Facebook. “Man, I so want to put a status on Facebook that I'm in this awesome planet helping save an alien species from becoming extinct!” he suddenly said in a half-eager half-disappointed voice.
Abby laughed at her son's idea. “Hhmmm… Well, if you put that there, I don't think people will believe you, anyway…”
“Yeah, it won't be so cool,” he agreed, grinning at her. “But how about if you upload all the photos you've taken starting with that blue light in the sky on Earth up to our adventure in Planet Cravton? That'd be the coolest!”
Abby just laughed again. She was beginning to relax now, although she still had no idea what would happen next.
An hour passed. And then another. She had almost fallen asleep in front of the computer in the library when she heard the door opening. Bladkov came in with a troubled expression on his face.
Kyle, who'd been playing hologram games on the other computer stood up quickly and rushed to the baldheaded lab assistant whom he now considers his best friend. “What happened? Tell me!” he demanded, his eyes flashing with anticipation.
Bladkov shook his head sadly and placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder. “Sorry, kiddo…” he said. Then he grinned widely and shouted, “It worked!”
Kyle's mouth dropped open. Abby was watching them from where she was seated, but was also very much intrigued now. She was happy for them and for their planet, but somehow she wasn't looking forward to leaving this place that she was now accustomed to. Most of all, she wasn't eager to leave Dr. Ashkin.
Bladkov broke into a funny dance, skipping and swaying around Kyle while singing out of tune. Abby couldn't help laughing. Kyle was also chortling and hooting.
“Come on, Kyle!” he invited. “Let's get to work activating the rest of the formulation!”
“Alright!” Kyle cheered, following him out of the room.
Abby was about to follow them out too when Dr. Ashkin came into the room. He'd never looked as happy and relieved. It was like a massive boulder had been lifted from his shoulders.
“We'll take care of the test tubes, Boss!” Bladkov called from outside the room. “And you take care of your… business!” Abby saw him wink and then close the door to the library. It sounded with a click which signified automatic locking.
She turned to the doctor who had his gentle brown eyes focused on her. She gave him a genuine smile, her heart bursting with gladness for him and his people. “Good news, huh?” she said.
He strode toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. “Very, very good news,” he agreed with a big smile. She couldn't help noticing how good-looking he seemed to be at that very moment – more than ever. It was probably the joy in his heart and the feeling of liberation he was experiencing. “You have no idea how happy I am. I've waited for this for so long…”
She wasn't sure if he was talking about the cure or about what was obviously developing between them. Her heart felt as if it was about to jump from her throat as he held up one hand and stroked her cheek tenderly. His touch made her skin tingle. “Doctor…” she murmured.
“Call me Ashkin,” he murmured back.
“Ashkin,” she said in a soft voice, her heart drumming even harder and faster. She could feel his heartbeat matching hers as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her into his body.
“I never thought…” he began, his voice bristly yet laced with emotion.
“What?” Abby breathed.
His fingers stroked her cheek again then her neck, hurling shivers down her body. His fingers then went up to trace her lips as he gazed at her absorbedly. “I never thought I'd ever find that cure… which would also heal my own heart in the process…”
She understood what he was trying to say. “I feel the same way,” she said honestly, her heart whirring with the romantic feelings for him that she'd been trying to bury deep down.
“I'm falling for you, Abby,” he confessed. Then he leaned forward and his soft, moist lips caressed hers in a sensual manner that seemed to stop time. At that instant, it was only the two of them in their own world, two hearts beating together in a beautiful rhythmic pattern, making music that held much promise.
The next few days were spent injecting the special healing formula into all those inflicted with the virus and observing and monitoring the progress of their health. They were all in high spirits as the patients, one by one, exhibited amazingly fast recovery. Even those in the latter stages who were almost nearing their death were now regaining strength. Their hearts seemed to be normalizing.
Governor Blar O' Clixton appeared in the laboratory one afternoon in his hologram form. He congratulated and thanked them. “We have yet to find out if the wonderful results will last and the negative effects of the virus will not recur,” he said in his deep, resonant voice. “But from the studies made on the formula, it seems like we haven't seen such a potent one in many years! This is definitely making history. And the entire planet owes it to you, Dr. Ashkin and Bladkov, for not giving up until you came up with the cure.”
He beamed at them as they bowed politely and smiled. Then the governor turned to Kyle. “We owe this young man too for the courage he has shown and the distinct concern and passion he has for helping us and treating this world as his own even if he is not originally from here. Thank you, Kyle.”
Kyle looked truly proud. “You are most welcome, Governor,” he answered.
“Thank you to you too, Ms. Abby Miller, for showing great support to your son and to our mission here,” the governor added.
Abby was surprised, yet very pleased. “Thanks so much. We enjoyed our stay here very much and your people had shown us nothing else but kindness.”
Governor Blar O' Clixton gave her a curt nod with his reserved smile. He then turned back to Kyle and said, “As my personal token of gratitude, I want to offer you a three-year grant to complete medicine studies here on our planet and become one of our doctors. And while you're studying, I will give you your very own laboratory and research center. You will partner with Dr. Ashkin to develop replicas of your DNA that will help boost the immune system and natural self-healing ability of all the inhabitants of Planet Krach.”
“Wow!” Kyle exclaimed. “That's awesome!” Then remembering he was talking to a high official of the planet, he apologized and laughed nervously. “Sorry, sir. I got carried away.”
“It's alright,” the governor said immediately. “No harm done. We actually need that kind of energy on our team. So is that a yes?”
Kyle hesitated. He looked sideways at his mom, who smiled with a nod. “It's a yes!” he declared gleefully.
“Great,” Governor Blar O' Clixton said, before saying goodbye and disappearing into thin air.
Dr. Ashkin turned off the hologram device and shook Kyle's hand. “Welcome, partner!” he said, patting him on the shoulders. “So proud of you.”
Kyle grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks so much, Doctor,” he said. “You're like the dad I never had.”
Abby overheard what he said. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she watched her son, all grown-up and beaming with pride and happiness. She knew that this was the first time he'd truly felt complete. She couldn't and wouldn't take any of it away from him.
That evening, Bladkov and Kyle went out of the house to meet and celebrate with some of Bladkov's friends. Injected with the healing formula, anyone was now well-protected from acquiring the virus. Of course Kyle didn't need it. He was the only one naturally immune to any infection or disease.
Meanwhile, Abby was busy reading a book in the library when Dr. Ashkin knocked and went in. “Hi,” she said in surprise, looking up from the book she was holding. “I didn't know you were around. I thought you'd gone to the hospital.”
“My work is done for the day,” he said with a smile. She then noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual lab coat and formal wear underneath. This time, he looked like an ordinary rock star in a plain gray shirt and slim-fitting black jeans. His bulging muscles were now in plain view, decorated with interesting symbolic tattoos. “I wanted to show you something…”
“What's that?” Abby asked, standing up and walking over to him.
When she was standing very close to him, he took off his shirt and revealed the new symbols tattooed on his chest. She gasped with the gesture, her body aching with sudden desire. But then her eyes focused on the two images imprinted on his skin. One showed a representation of his planet wrapped in some sort of glowing halo. He took her hand and placed it on top of that image. “All of the markings on my arms serve as symbols of milestones in my life,” he explained. “This is one of the latest. It stands for saving our planet.”
“You did well,” Abby whispered in agreement, rubbing the tattoo with the palm of her hand. She could feel her body responding to the touch of his skin, burning so badly with longing for him. But she held back.
He moved her hand to the image beside it, which showed a sewn-up heart that had been drawn so realistically. “The artist did a good job,” she commented.
“He did,” he said, his voice turning gruff and seemingly laden with desire. “This represents what you did to my heart. You mended it. You gave me new hope. “
As he pressed her hand on the tattoo with his own hand wrapped around hers, she looked up into his eyes which now appeared to be aflame with love and passion for her. “I feel the same way,” she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
He kissed her on the lips, his hunger apparent. His lips and tongue played around with hers as his hands moved, one under her skirt and the other behind her butt. He pressed her close to him as their kiss deepened.
Abby felt a throbbing in between her legs. She wanted him so badly. As they ravenously kissed and touched one another, he backed onto the large desk behind him and sat down, his feet almost touching the ground because of his height. He pulled her off him and let her watch as he took off his pants. As they dropped down to the floor, his stiffness sprang up waiting for her. He tugged her panties down beneath her skirt, making her moan in eager anticipation. She shook it off and let him carry her onto his lap, spreading her legs on either side of him on top of the desk.
“Oohh…” she groaned as her wet entrance opened to his rigid tip. But he did not push her down yet. He telekinetically suspended her body in mid-air, so that only the tip of his hardness touched her. Using his gaze to steady her, his hands were free to take off her top and cup the fullness of her breasts in a sensual massage. She seemed to explode with all sorts of pleasure as his tip circled around her entrance, sometimes beginning to push inside but not quite, and all the time while he was kneading her body and sucking on her nipples.
He repeated the motion with his hands and mouth, this time bringing her a little downward. She was bursting with anticipation and craving for his huge, solid cock to finally prod within her and bring her to the peak of her ecstasy. But he kept holding back, inching her downward very slowly, taking his time. It was killing her yet increasing her pleasure. Then without any warning, he plunged her downward hard. It made her scream from the combined pain and delight as she felt him expanding and going deep within her.
He wrapped his arms around her and this time manually thrust her up and then down again. He moaned with amazing indulgence, embracing every sensual moment, his lust escalating without control. He then lay back on the huge desk and shifted her on top of him. With eyes burning, she eagerly rode him as his eyes seemed to consume the sight of her curvy body and gorgeous face, strands of her dark brown hair cascading across her shoulders.
Even more overwhelmed by the radiating heat from her body, the fullness of her taut breasts, and the expression of sheer pleasure on her face, his carnal decadence took him soaring into high heavens until he eventually reached his climax. She too opened her mouth as she raptured in pure erotic bliss.
Later that night, they made love again – on the couch this time – and lay spent beside each other. Dr. Ashkin wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled comfortably on his bulky chest, tracing the two new tattoos with her index finger.
“Don't go, Abby,” he whispered unexpectedly. “I want you here.”
“I…” she couldn't continue. She had not come to a decision yet.
“You and Kyle can live with me,” he offered.
Abby raised her head and looked him in the eye. “Oh, Ashkin. I would love that, but I don't have a career here. My family and friends are not here. I don't belong here.”
“But you can be one of us if you want to…”
“I don't know,” Abby whispered with great uncertainty, her heart breaking as she spoke. This was the part she was dreading. They were already starting with their goodbyes. “I was thinking… Kyle might be for your world but not me. I can just visit him from time to time or maybe he'll be the one to go to Earth to see me.”
Abby laid her head on his chest and could feel the quick thumping of his heart. He stayed silent for a few minutes and she thought he'd already fallen asleep. Then he embraced her tighter and kissed her on the forehead without saying anything.