Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (33 page)

“What?” Collin barked, hearing her gasp and descending into
panic. “Wat’s up? I’ll call your ship back.”

“No!” Allie stared at the screen, her eyes moving from point
to point in search of the massive shape her ship had just detected. “I thought
I saw something. Did you see it? Did it show up on the stream?”

“I didn’t see it, Allie.” Collin sounded suspicious. “Are
you screwing with me? Is this because I embarrassed you?”

“No, I saw—
there!”

The shape was back, but this time it was behind the ship.
Allie looked up and twisted her chair around to the rear porthole, but she
couldn’t see anything. She looked at the screen again, and the shape was above
the ship this time.

“Colin?”

“Yeah?”

Allie frowned, her heartbeat accelerating. “When’s the last
time you did a test of this equipment? It seems kind of…off.”

“Really? Seems fine to me.”

Allie kept peering out the portholes and back to the screen,
but no matter how many times the shape kept moving, it was never where she
looked. “I’m freaking out a little here.”

“Want me to call you back?”

Her heart was thudding against her chest, and she could
taste the anxiety clouding her mind.  She remembered Carter calling her a
chicken, and wondered if she wasn’t just psyching herself out because she was
trying not to face her emotions. Her eyes went back to the screen, and
no
was on the tip of her tongue—but the shape was back, this time right in front
of the ship.

“Allie?”

She raised her eyes, but all she could see was a stretch of
shimmering green and white fog. Allie leaned forward, straining to see through
the odd liquid that was beginning to surround the ship so hard that the safety
straps were cutting into her shoulders. Something was moving through the cloud,
but she couldn’t tell what. The detection screen went blank then, and as the
lights dimmed, her breath quickened.

“Allie?”

 Her eyes finally started to make sense of what was
happening, and by then it was too late. A huge, luminescent white beast with
eight long, thrashing legs was sailing toward the submarine through the cloud
of ghostly ink, its massive mouth wide open and ringed with sharp, pearlescent
teeth that all looked long enough to pierce through the metal ship. It was much
larger than the sub, and it was moving so fast that she’d never be able to move
out of the way in time. Colin was screaming in her ear as she watched it
approached, too stunned by its size to move—its huge head alone was as big
across as the submarine itself and terrifyingly vivid in its expression: all
rage and lust, for blood or for bones or for whatever it was that creatures
from hell ate. The limbs dangling from its head were as long as school buses,
giving it the appearance of a mutated jelly-fish, and Allie could see that
there were shapes floating around beneath its skin, presumably organs—or maybe
half-digested prey.

I’m going to die,
she realized. Then:
What the
hell
is
that?

The next moment, everything went black, and all she could
hear was shattering glass and the shriek of metal.

****

As soon as the water started to rush into the sub, Allie
sprang into action. Her body was on autopilot as she wrenched open the
emergency compartment and fumbled for the diving suit, the remaining air in the
sub filled with the sounds of bone crunching through metal as the creature bit
into her craft. She slipped to the floor twice, and the sub started to pitch
and roll as the creature tipped its treasure, but she had her suit snapped and
fastened by then. All that was left was the helmet and the air tank.

One of the creature’s arms punched through the wall just to
the left of her head, and she screamed as saltwater sluiced down her throat and
into her ear canal. She fought to stand and lifted her helmet, bringing it down
so hard and fast against the collar of her suit that she was afraid she might
crack it. Allie twisted the enforced glass bowl to the right and heard the slow
hiss
as it sealed, and the final
snap
once the mechanism locked
into place. The diving suit looked flimsy, but it would let her survive for at
least an hour, maybe even two if she could calm down fast enough. Then her
train of thought was halted when the beast’s club-like limb whacked against her
helmet, and Allie struggled through the waters to push herself out of the
collapsed porthole, now facing away from the translucent monster.

The creature was so bent on destroying the craft completely
that Allie was able to swim for a full minute without hearing the crunching
sound pause. When it did, she looked back and was startled to see that she’d
propelled herself so far away it looked almost like a toy jellyfish was
attacking a tiny submarine. It looked so harmless at first that she felt a wave
of relief wash over her, then she watched in muted shock as the sub’s
electrical and nuclear system finally caught up to what was happening. A
muffled
boom
reached her, and she watched her sub explode in a swirling
cloud of foamy seawater and spit the creature upward, emitting a high-pitched
screech as it sailed toward the surface of the ocean.
What’s going to happen
when it gets to the top?
she wondered. Then:
How did I get so far away?

Allie realized that even though her limbs had stopped
moving, she was still travelling swiftly away from the scene.
What the hell?
Allie fought to stay calm as she looked around her and realized she was encased
in some sort of bubble that was steering itself to safety. It was almost
completely transparent, but she could tap the sides of with her gloved hands
and feel the invisible barrier there. She couldn’t stay in contact with the
sides of it, but it was still pushing her steadily forward—and she could now
see that there were other bubbles racing beside her, carrying pieces of debris
and plant life along with her. Allie saw something take shape up ahead, and as
the bubbles rolled over the sea floor, it slowly began to materialize as an
overturned Galleon, likely from the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Her heart
raced for a different reason now, and she saw huge gaps in the rotting wood
where some of the bubbles were starting to hop inside—a huge piece of her own
ship entered the ancient armada from the bottom-most and largest hole. There
was a soft light emanating from the ship, visible through all the slats and
spaces, and Allie wondered if there were rogue deep-sea divers lurking inside.
If they had the treasure, she wouldn’t stop them; they were likely armed, and
not afraid to use lethal force if they felt cornered.

But what do they have to do with these bubbles?
Allie
couldn’t answer that, and the question stirred the bile in her stomach. Her
bubble finally shot through the biggest hole in the ship—but it stopped short,
and Allie crashed against the side and went ricocheting backward. Her nose
slammed against her glass helmet, and she looked through her bleary eyes to see
that her bubble had stopped short against another, larger bubble that was
protecting much of the ship from the water around it. The space inside the
bubble was filled with what looked like spare parts from various naval ships
and from crafts she’d never seen before. There were books and blankets strewn
around the space, and the light proved to be coming from the bubble itself—the
whole dome was throwing off a gentle white light that was oddly soothing to
Allie.

Less soothing were the two men crouched over the amalgam of
parts, tinkering at the structure and talking to each other as they worked.
Their voices were getting clearer and clearer, and Allie couldn’t figure out
why—until she realized the smaller bubble was beginning to be absorbed into the
larger bubble, pulling her into the ship’s dome of protection.

“I don’t think this contrast geode is compatible,” said the
man with caramel skin and shaggy brown hair. He was wearing what looked like a
cloak, as was his companion, who was broader-shouldered and short, black hair.
“Do you think the electric system will recognize ours?”

“I don’t know, Araimeer.” The second man’s voice was far
deeper, hitting her ears like a bass drum being struck in an empty room. “It
didn’t work so well on our last test run. If we lose more time, we risk failing
this one. And we’ve
never
failed.”

“That was last time,” Araimeer said lightly. “We hadn’t
found the bio-diverter yet, and we’re better prepared for the kick-back, in
case I’m wrong. Come on, where’d all your daring nerve go all of a sudden?”

“It got knocked out when the fission drive shot out and
punched me in the gut on our last test run,” Viseer said wryly.  “Just trust
me. Hand me the light wrench?”

“You’re the boss.” Araimeer tossed Viseer a slim device that
looked very much like a novelty jumbo pen, but done in glossy black. Allie
watched Viseer tap it against part of their project, and the U-shaped part
glowed blue for a moment. He paused, then made a soft noise of contentment.

“Okay. Let’s give it a go. I think you’re right.”

“What? Just from testing the U-cycle? How can you tell?”

 Viseer turned to Araimeer and laughed. “You’re so
knowledgeable about transporters, but you don’t know the answer to that?”

Allie’s bubble finally finished dissolving, and she fell to
the sea floor with a tremendous thump. Neither of the men moved at first—they
were both too engrossed in their work— but then her eyes zeroed in on a crack
in her helmet, and she gasped in terror. The noise was far sharper, and she saw
them freeze when they heard it.

Both men spun and stood at the same time, and their eyes
fell on her at the same moment. Araimeer’s gray eyes lit up as they fell on
her, and Allie felt a frisson of longing shoot through her body that had
nothing to do with her fight or flight response. He smiled, and it warmed his
boyishly handsome features so much that her heart actually skipped a beat—then
her eyes were pulled to Viseer’s, and his outraged expression snapped her out
of the moment and plunged her back into a state of fear.

Allie clutched at her suit, too panicked to focus on their
reactions anymore.
There’s a crack. I’m going to die.
“Help me!” she
shouted, but she didn’t know what they could possible do for her; she was going
to drown to death in the hull of an ancient ship that no one would ever find. Her
heart crashed against her ribcage, and the men drew nearer to her. Then she
realized that neither of them were wearing helmets, and she remembered the
dome.

Allie looked up and to both sides of her, seeing that the
current was visible outside of the dome, but inside really did appear to be
air. The men had stopped about fifteen feet away, and she could hear them
speaking to each other in hushed voices.

“Did she come in a transpo-sphere?” Araimeer whispered.

“She must have,” Viseer replied. “She fell, I heard her
thump, just like the rest of the debris we pick up.”

“Hey!” Allie said angrily. Neither of them reacted to her
outburst.

“Well, what do we do with her? “ Viseer asked grimly, and
her heart stopped.

Araimeer frowned. “What do you mean? We send her back.”

As their eyes met again and she felt the heat in his gaze,
she realized that didn’t make her feel any better.
Who are you?

Allie was gazing at both of them as they whispered, unable
to speak just yet. The brown-haired man continued muttering under his breath
for so long that Allie thought something was clogging her ears. Finally, her
panic won over, and she couldn’t hold it in.

“What the hell is going on?”

The men stopped talking. Araimeer’s face took on a look of
shame, and the depth of his emotion was startling. “I’m sorry, we meant no
offense in keeping you in the dark. It seems you got picked up by one of our
transpo-spheres.”

“Those bubble things?” Allie asked.

Araimeer nodded. “We use them to scavenge for usable
material. They pick up anything within the guidelines that we’ve programmed
into it, and I guess you fall within the parameters.”

Allie took a deep breath, then remembered her helmet. “Can I
take this helmet off?” she asked.

“Of course!” Araimeer said, nodding his head vigorously.
“Sorry, we should have told you. We need air too, so this dome is airtight, and
the air is self-replenishing.” Viseer shot Araimeer a look, and he blushed.
“What’s your name, by the way?”

Something about his earlier phrasing was off, but she had
other questions to ask first. “I’m Allie. What were you looking for with those
bubbles?”

Araimeer gestured to the amalgam of parts they had been
tinkering with. “We need to rebuild our teleporter. It was destroyed when we
came down here, along with our water pod. Lucky we had our emergency light
dome—“

“Araimeer,” Viseer said abruptly, and the other man fell
silent. Allie looked between the two, their words tumbling through her head and
helping her form a conclusion that couldn’t be true. They were down here
without suits, using terms she’d never heard before and using strange, advanced
technology that went well beyond her knowledge, despite the fact that she’d
seen several classified weapons being used for warfare in the United States.
What had Araimeer said?
We need air too.

“What are you guys doing down here, exactly?” Allie asked,
and her voice sounded tinny and breathless to her ears.

 Viseer narrowed his eyes at his partner and sighed.
“Dammit, Araimeer. You said too much.”

Araimeer’s cheeks flamed scarlet, and he rounded on Viseer
angrily. “It’s not like we can just zap her back to the surface when we’re
ready, Viseer. She’s stuck here as long as we are, and that will be too long
without contact with her people. Look at her suit. How do you think she got out
of her ship? She didn’t just stroll away.”

 Viseer’s brown eyes widened, and he turned back to Allie.
“You met the jellyfish?”

Allie gasped. “So it
was
a jellyfish.”

 Viseer nodded. “Correct. Was.”

He seemed content to leave it at that, but Araimeer was too
excited to let it go. He crouched beside her, and Allie had the urge to reach
out and touch his cheek; she actually pulled her gloves off before she realized
what she was doing. “It was normal when we found it, anyway. Did it shoot any
beams at you? Were its teeth still sparkling? Did it have
more
teeth
than it should have had? Did—“

“Araimeer!” Viseer shouted. He put his hands over his eyes
and sighed again, and Araimeer’s face grew gloomy.

Allie couldn’t hold it in any longer. “So you guys
are…aliens?”

The brown haired man’s face sprang back into happiness so
fast, Allie wondered if she’d imagined his sour expression. “Yes! You
do
understand!”

“No she doesn’t,” Viseer said angrily, and he stood and
began pacing the floor, stepping over piles of books and extra parts as he
moved. “She’ll be down here with us, and if her people know her ship was
destroyed, they’ll think
she’s
been destroyed, too. How can we just beam
her back when the teleporter starts running again and not expect anyone to make
a fuss? How, Araimeer?”

Araimeer’s face was deep in thought as the darker haired man
spoke. “We’ll figure something out.”

Allie laughed, and Araimeer looked startled. “Sorry,” she
said. “You just reminded me of my best friend. He’s relentlessly optimistic,
even in the worst of times.” It seemed odd to be comparing the two, especially
since she was far calmer than she normally would have been, but their
similarities gave her comfort instead of the creeps.

Araimeer grinned at her, and it made his plain face
charmingly handsome. He leaned forward slightly, and Allie had to fight the
urge to plunge her hands into his hair. “Sounds like I would like this guy. I
love cheery humans.”

“You love
all
humans,” Viseer said bitterly. He was
bent back over the jumble of parts, tinkering away with an unseen tool.

Araimeer chuckled. “He’s good to have in a crisis, because
he works when he panics.” His voice was as soft as his gaze, and Allie could
see they’d been partners for a long time. His hand was right next to hers; she
couldn’t resist her urges any longer, and she brushed her fingers up against
his. There was a flare of energy between them, and he swung his face toward
her, his lips dangerously close to hers.

He smiled. “It’s weird to say it’s nice to be stuck with
someone, but…I think it’ll be nice to be stuck with you for a while.”

Allie giggled, then swore at herself internally.
What is
wrong with you?
But she really couldn’t help it— and worse, she was curious
despite herself; her Navy training had taught her to push past her discomfort
to get to the meatier parts of life, and Allie wasn’t willing to stay on the
sea floor with two incredibly humanoid aliens without asking a few questions
first—even if one did seem oddly drawn to her.

“So, why did you guys come down here in the first place?”