Coalescence (Camden Investigations Book 1) (17 page)

She grabbed
his wandering hand. “It
was
—very observant, for a scientist.”

“So we’re
together now?” Mitchell asked.

“Of
course . . .” She squinted, but it wasn’t because she was
without her glasses. “What are you getting at?”

“I mean,
besides being a couple. Are we together on what we need to do at Chaco?” He
made a fist about her thumb.

She still
wasn’t sure. But she had felt emotion for this man since they first began
investigating The Dial. The sex confirmed this. “I will be with you.” She felt
it best to minimize her answer. If she went into depth, she would again raise
many doubts and suspicions about Galloway. She felt ill at ease with Galloway
and his plan. She didn’t doubt Mitchell’s integrity, however. She felt he
believed his cause to be just.

He smiled.
“I am very happy you will be with me. And the rest of your team. I assume by
their voting, they will be joining us as well.”

She nodded.
“We’re a package deal.” She began to run a hand through his hair. “Okay, I’ve
given you something, now give me something.”

“A very
polemic statement,” he said, cupping a hand around his chin. “What on Earth
could you mean?”

Her heart
began racing. For a minute, she pictured herself outside her body. She was
viewing herself and Mitchell from above the bed. It was as though she was back
in Galloway’s mind where she learned to communicate by images via the
subconscious. She feared her next thought. Mitchell would become the stranger
impersonating himself to be a human, just as she saw in her dream vision. But
he remained in human form, toned and fit; totally a man, totally someone she
would remain attracted to.

“Where did
you go?” he asked. He pulled her back on top of him.

“Sorry. I
was thinking. But you’re not off the hook. Out with it. I want to know your
first name. Better yet. I also want to know your middle name.”

“This sounds
serious.”

“It is.” Her
hair fell into his eyes.

“I can’t
see.”

“You don’t
have to
see
to
know
your name.”

She began
tickling him. On top of him, he was nearly powerless to stop her.

“Okay. I
will tell. I will tell. It’s . . . Thaddeus Ambrose.”

“Oh, God, no
wonder . . .”

“Hey, hey,
it’s not
that
bad.”

“It’s not
that
good,
either.”

They laughed
for a long moment. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody. Especially not Kassidy,”
Iris said. She giggled as her hands began maneuvering along his sides, upward.

“You’ve got
me in a compromising position. What can I say?”

Her mind
flashed again. She saw the alien in her dream vision.

“Can you
tell me something, without laughing at me?”

“Oh, I see.
Only I can be laughed at.”

“I’m
serious, Mitch. I need some clarification. I know I’ve dismissed anything and
everything you’ve said about aliens. But if they do exist, I need to know what
they look like, when they’re not impersonating humans.”

“Well, let’s
see. There are several varieties. Greys being one, another would be a reptilian
like race—”

She grunted.

“Did I say
something wrong?”

“No. I’m
sorry for interrupting. You were saying something about Greys? What do they
look like?”

“They’re
essentially gray. They also have huge, bug-like eyes. No mouth. No
ears . . .”

“Wait, I’m
sorry to interrupt again.” She caressed his face. The image of the alien in her
dream vision was different. He wasn’t gray skinned. He did have big eyes, but
not exactly bug-like. He had a mouth. He also had a greenish tint. “So tell me
about the Reptilians.”

“They have
big ridges over their eyes. Their face is V-shaped . . .”

Mitchell
kept speaking but she had heard enough. The alien in her dream vision fit the
reptilian description. He, or she, was the traitor among them.

She let him
finish his thought, this time. “So, which is worse? Which one would be the
enemy alien that Galloway speaks of?”

“I would
think you already knew that: The Greys.”

“How would I
know?” She whisked her hair away from his face.

“I thought
you saw.”

“I’m lost,
babe. Fill me in.” She kissed his chin.

“Galloway
showed us.”

She stopped
kissing him. What had Mitchell seen that she apparently did not? If what he now
said was true, he might have been able to interpret images better than she had.
They had been communicating in a different means than she was used to. It
wasn’t exactly psychic in the mainstream sense, that’s if psychic communication
could ever be classified mainstream. They had been shown images from Galloway’s
subconscious. And who knew how Galloway’s alien brain differed from theirs,
especially when it came to the subconscious? If Mitchell had been open to more
interpretation, it was quite possible he saw even more than whatever Galloway
had willingly given DJ.

Mitchell
explained the enemy was the Greys. He was certain of it. They hovered in ships
above the world they had morphed. What was once bountiful had become depleted;
they ate resources. If this were so, then the Reptilians—like
Galloway—were the so-called good guys. Maybe they were defending Earth,
albeit for a selfish reason; their only satisfaction would be to watch the
Greys wither and die along with them. They really didn’t care about humanity.
But was that truly the case? Iris wondered. If a Reptilian was guising itself
as a human, and it wasn’t Galloway, it might be a hybrid. Maybe Galloway lied
or had been incorrect. He had blamed the enemies for spawning babies with humans.
Yet, what if some of the Reptilians did this as well? Maybe it wasn’t part of
some sick agenda, but a means to keep enough members of their race alive to
continue their quest: to stop the Greys from taking Earth.

Only it
disturbed Iris in a manner that not only frightened her but angered her. If she
had failed to see the ships in Galloway’s mind what else might she have missed?
Again, what kind of leader would she make when her oversights might cost her
team their lives? And now, she had more people to worry about. Mitchell’s team
was also her concern now as well.

She had to
break her train of thought. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Do you really believe we exist outside our bodies?”

Mitchell
laughed, but it was soft, not harsh or in ridicule. “That’s funny coming from
you. You believe in ghosts.”

“I mean,
when we’re still in a living state. I’ve thought quite a bit about what Evan
said. I had to. I was worried sick when you guys were gone.”

“You mean
you didn’t have any psychic vibe to tell you we were okay?”

“To be
honest, I did not. It’s not always switched on. I often can read my
sister . . . but lately . . . even that’s
been—”

He kissed
her. “Wait a minute. Slow down. I think I’ve already proved we can be tuned in,
at least some of the time. I mean, I’m not psychic. Yet, I seemed to hook into
Galloway’s mind—with help, of course.”

“But you
were linked with his subconscious. That might be more of a dream state.” She
shook her head.

“Is it? Are
dreams and what we perceive as reality really two different states?”

She laughed.
“You know I’m not qualified to answer that. I don’t have any degrees.”

“Then you
have quite an investigative mind for someone with no training.”

“Seriously,
Mitch, do you think there is some kind of field we can tap into, or will tap
into? If this rapid evolution event were allowed to happen, just for argument’s
sake, would we be able to exist outside our bodies, communicate in ways even a
traditional psychic might not imagine?”

“I like to
believe in Evan’s theories. Look at it this way. We can’t disprove it.”

“I know
lives must be saved.” She held a stop sign hand in front of his face. “I’m not
going to argue that one. But should we prevent evolution? Look how hard it’s
been for us to share ideas, thoughts. I’m just saying that if we did evolve and
were to exist in different planes, what might we achieve? As a scientist, I’m
sure that intrigues you?”

“It does
intrigue me. But scientists must also behave like humanitarians. Every life
counts.”

“So we go
on? Muddling in our limited existence. How will we ever really ever communicate
with one another?”

“Oh, we’ll
manage.” She felt him slip back inside her. He began rocking into her. The
pleasure was too encompassing, and she moaned.

As a few
minutes passed, some of her ecstasy waned. Of all times! She was experiencing a
dream vision. Only she was awake. At least, she thought she was. But what if it
was her subconscious mind signaling her? Was she really awake? How could she
tell anymore?

She felt
Mitchell continue his thrusts. She moaned again. She had to be awake. But the
vision of the reptilian alien filled her mind’s eye, fighting her pleasure
center. It was maneuvering along a steep passage. The surrounding area was clay
like, nearly red in color. It must be Chaco. What would lie ahead? Or more
accurately who would lie ahead for them?

She shook
her head back and forth. The vision seemed to be important. It appeared to be a
real premonition. She continued her ride because she didn’t seem to have any
other plan at the moment but sticking together—with Mitchell. Her union,
at the very moment, seemed beastly, prehistoric and devolved. But if this was
what humankind was at heart it would have to sustain them. It might be their
defense. So as crazy as it seemed, she continued rocking, allowing the man
inside her to get even closer. It seemed their union would be their best
defense, because in the end—it would have to be.

S
HE
LET MITCHELL
sleep for a few hours after their love making. The man
certainly deserved it. She was texting Rachel they would be gathering soon to
plan a supply run. Mitchell grunted.

“Ooh, sorry.
I didn’t mean to disturb. Go back to sleep.”

“No. We’ve
got to get going. What were you doing?”

“Just
texting the team about what stores we’re going to . . .” She
turned the phone to him. “See, it’s my new toy, a birthday gift from Dad.”

“Wait a
minute.” Mitchell struggled to sit upright. “Your father?”

“Yes.” It
then dawned on her. Like a ton of bricks. She felt the blood rush from her
cheeks. “Oh, no. How could I be so stupid.”

He lifted it
out of her hand and deactivated it. Then, he flipped it open to retrieve the
battery. “I’m sorry about your phone. I know it’s a gift and you love your
father . . .”

She placed a
hand on his cheek. “Thanks for being so understanding. You really could have
torn into me.”

“If this was
before I released my pent up sexual tension, I may have.”

They kissed.

D
AN
CAMDEN
had felt nauseated ever since the MUFON scientist’s lab
had been burned to the ground; he knew who was responsible. He was.

Dan had to
admit that the only way the arsonists could have known what was at stake in the
lab was because of him. It was his phone surveillance that not only allowed him
to keep tabs on his daughters, but others as well. In the back of his mind, he
realized all this. But it didn’t stop him. He cared about his daughters. He
wasn’t eavesdropping on them to glean some cold, hard facts about a yet-defined
otherworldly artifact. Not this time he wasn’t. He was doing it to protect his
family. To maybe, finally learn the secret of what it might take to get his
daughters back into his life. He had known it all along. But he had always
pushed it away when it surfaced. It was sacrifice. He just had to flip
priorities around. This time he wouldn’t be sacrificing family for the
Organization
.
He would be sacrificing the
Organization
for the family. He had given
enough to the
Organization
. He had let them take away his gift by
implanting a chip in his head to control when he could and couldn’t use it. He
had secured countless artifacts to give the powerful their shiny, new
cutting-edge technology.

And now, someone in the
Organization
was
prioritizing things against him as his reward. They had listened in on his
family as well. The fact they knew about the super corn confirmed this. If they
would burn a lab it was only a matter of time before more horrendous crimes
were committed. They would leave no loose ends. His daughters, they surely knew
something about an artifact. But fortunately, they hadn’t given the location of
it. This may have kept them alive—for now. But if Dan had learned about
the upcoming expedition to Arizona, he was sure his colleagues had as well. And
even if the colleagues did secure their prize, they would not stop at quieting
all civilians who knew of its existence. Dan Camden was sure of it. He had
given his life to such a cause. Now it was high time that sacrifice came to an
end.