CHAPTER EIGHT
I wake up.
I am in the stateroom of the ‘Miss T’, the gentle rocking of the waves lulling me, urging me back to the blessed slumber from which I struggle to leave.
But, I can’t, not right now.
Bone is next to me.
His smooth back is facing me, and his rhythmic breathing mimics the sound of the ocean, the quiet murmurs of his body telling me he’s living and part of my life, once more.
I turn over, and there is Karl, lying on his back, snoring like a buzz saw.
I wonder where is Stephan, and then I see him, looking out the porthole.
My beloved brothers, my superhuman men.
My lovers.
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Once Om and Moms were on board the plane, we flew away from the shattered wreckage we’d made of the compound.
I don’t know what exactly happened, but I do know that there were one hundred and four living beings that no longer exist because of what we – what I, did.
Stephan and Karl and Bone had only tried using the Melding as a weapon one time before.
It was mainly as a sanctioned test by the Old Man and the Facility.
They tried to stop a rocket with the Melding, and it was more or less a success.
The rocket fell to the ground because the motors had stopped working.
The reason for that was that all the fuel had vanished.
Organic compounds, hydrogen, and oxygen, were evaporated.
The rocket had no fuel.
It fell, and that was it.
Melding that way was painful, and also exhausting.
The three men had been completely useless for almost a month, dropping into a coma-like state that had the Facility scientists baffled.
It wasn’t like what had happened to Derek, after the Sands attack.
Stephan, Karl, and Bone were definitely aware of what was going on around them.
They just couldn’t move very much.
Almost as if their bodies were recuperating after enormous physical efforts.
And, so, they were expecting it to happen when they went off during Om and Moms rescue.
Stephan only decided to Meld at the last moment because he saw Om and not Moms.
He pretty much lost it, as much as Stephan ever could.
And, Karl and Bone would have followed him into the jaws of Hell just then.
They just didn’t account for little old me, I guess.
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When I entered their zone and began to Meld, there was a difference.
Stephan explained it to me later, in that there was a leveling effect.
For some reason, the three of them felt restrained, or that they were holding back.
But, when I Melded, they felt completely at ease with each other, and me.
We shared something uniquely ours.
It transcended the physical.
We knew what we wanted to do, and did it.
The threat evaporated, like drops of water on a hot skillet.
The men who had attacked Om and Moms simply went away.
We really don’t know to where, and, honestly, we don’t care.
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The only obvious side effect to this was that we didn’t need a whole month to recover.
This time.
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I looked at Stephan.
I knew more about him now than I imagined he knew about himself.
I knew he was questioning the whole ‘amplification’ process, OCTAVIUS, and how we all fit together.
As a family.
As lovers.
And, as something maybe even he didn’t want to think about.
As mates.
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Following our return, the Alpha Team were rushed off to the Facility for debriefing.
Derek told us that we would be under the care and protection of Black Dog, courtesy of Brett, for now.
The Old Man set aside some special time for us, to debrief separately, and planned on it occurring in thirty days, based on the rocket incident.
We all were wiped out.
The three of us stayed conscious just long enough to make sure Om and Moms were safe and in the best of medical care.
Om had been shot twice, but both had been through and through hits.
The nanobots had immediately sealed the blood loss, and he had benefited from our Melding, even though not physically with us.
His strength had quickly returned, not the least because of Moms babying him relentlessly.
She wouldn’t let anyone except Al next to them, and only then when she wasn’t carrying on around Om, making sure he was extra special comfortable and tucked in.
Moms and Om.
It’s enough to make you barf, except it’s really special, now that I know.
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It became pretty obvious to us that we weren’t going to do the thirty-day coma boogie, so Karl suggested we take off on the ‘Miss T’ and get some downtime.
Stephan agreed, for once, after telling Brett and Brian that we’d decided we were not going to use Black Dog, and that they could repurpose them.
Kim and Brian wanted to come along, but we all agreed not this time.
Derek and Megan seemed to be doing okay, now that he was back in business, and wished us well as we sailed for parts unknown.
I hope they can make a baby soon.
Or, that they can pay us a special visit.
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We have Julie, Tanya and Dean crewing for us, once more.
Three days out of port, and I am beginning to feel a bit horny.
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