AVREN

Vanessa bit her lip as she stared at her communicator. We were together in the lab after a quick walk around the courtyard to stretch our legs. I peeked over her shoulder to see what she thought was so interesting. The subject line of the message read: Final Results on Animal Trials.

She wasn’t opening it. She kept looking at it as a crease formed between her eyebrows.

“Aren’t you going to read it?” I put my arm around her waist and rested my hand on her hip. Physical contact between us was becoming so common that I hardly noticed what I was doing. I originally thought she needed someone to support her, but I hadn’t spent any time wondering what that might mean. I wanted her for more than sex. It was going to be painful when she left.

We were getting close to the end of the initial tests. If the animal trials were successful, we were ready to start working on Auxem subjects. Vanessa was a hard worker — we had finished the first phase faster than I had imagined possible.

Of course, I wanted us to succeed, but I didn’t want to make a breakthrough too quickly. Vanessa was a demon when it came to work, and I didn’t know how she managed to remember to eat when she was performing research. I had a feeling if I weren’t around, she would forget everything except the project.

“You might as well open it, Vanessa.” I was starting to feel impatient. “If our therapy isn’t stable, we start over. It’s not the end of the world.”

Her finger hovered over the screen.

“I can open it you if need help.” I reached over.

“No, I’ll do it. You’re right, but I’m always nervous when results come back. The future is in front of me, and I don’t know what the outcome is going to be.” She hit her screen harder than necessary and sped through the message.

“What’s the good news?” I don’t think she even heard me. Her face was glued to the screen.

Vanessa turned to me, grinning broadly. “We did it, Madellan!” She jumped up and down and threw herself into my arms.

“The gene was stable?” I couldn’t believe we had already come so far.

“They didn’t find any problems.” She kissed me hard, pressing her body against mine. I imagined I could feel the joy radiating from her.

I wasn’t going to get ahead of myself. We still had to pass the Auxem clinical trials, which was where the real problems were waiting for us.

She pulled away from the kiss and looked at me. “Aren’t you glad?”

“Of course I am. I don’t want to be disappointed, that’s all.”

Vanessa nodded and stepped back. “There’s nothing wrong with letting yourself be happy for a minute.” Her smile vanished for a moment before bursting forth again. “It’s a significant step forward, Avren. We should celebrate somewhere far away from here. I want to go out. We’ve been stuck in the palace for months.”

“Vanessa, you know we’re not allowed to leave.”

“Let’s bring a security detail with us. We can go to a nice restaurant.”

“An Auxem restaurant?” I looked at her uncertainly. She wasn’t a fan of our cuisine.

“Isn’t there one that serves intergalactic food?”

I thought about her request. “Let me talk to the head of security. If we’re lucky, they can arrange something special for us. I know a place that used to be good when I was younger.”

“Perfect!” Vanessa was practically bouncing on her toes. “I’ll get dressed. Is it somewhere fancy? You have to wear something nice too. Maybe you’ll get lucky afterward — I could never resist a well-dressed man and a night out on the town.”

“If you insist.” I leaned over and kissed her.

Vanessa was everything I had ever wanted, but soon she would be leaving me. The thought made my heart ache. I would have time to deal with the hurt later. Today I had her next to me, and that was going to have to be enough.

* * *

VANESSA

The summer palace was isolated on an estate. We had to take a trip to a nearby village to find a restaurant, but our meal tasted fantastic. After we had finished eating, we went for a walk along the seashore on the edge of the small town.

We were riding in an old gondola taking us to the top of one of the mountains surrounding the summer palace. Avren said the rickety contraption operated under a tourist license. Our security detail was in the car behind us.

I leaned over to whisper into Avren’s ear. “Do you know what I like better than sex on a lab counter?” He was looking out the window and staring at the beautiful view, but he became still while he was listening to me.

“No, but I could take a couple of guesses.”

“Sex in public places.”

“Fuck, Vanessa.” Avren pulled me onto his lap and started kissing me wildly. Something felt desperate about the kiss on both our parts. We had become too involved in our relationship, and either one of us might end up hurt at the end of it.

There was nothing to be done about it. Our emotions were already tightly intertwined.

Avren left my lips and began ripping off my shirt. He unclasped my bra and had his mouth on my already-hard nipple in a half-second. Having sex tonight was not going to be slow and sweet. Tonight I wanted it fast and dirty — that was just the way I liked it sometimes.

I slid off his lap, breaking his connection with my breast. I reached for his pants to free his cock. Avren’s eyes were filled with lust when he looked at me, and I felt myself get wet at the sight.

He lifted my skirt and ran a hand underneath it. I wasn’t wearing anything that would get in his way.

“You’re a bad girl, aren’t you?”

I put on a prim and proper expression. “I thought you might need easy access to all of my parts.”

He slid his right hand between my thighs. I grabbed his cock with my left hand and gently stroked him, eliciting a gasp which left me satisfied. Some couples couldn’t pleasure each other at the same time, but Avren and I were good at it.

I didn’t know what was different about tonight. Maybe it was the possibility of being seen, Avren’s arousal, or the knowledge that we would part ways soon, but I came so fast and strong that I couldn’t help but scream out Avren’s name.

Avren kissed me deeply to muffle my cries. He was probably afraid the security detail would hear me in the next car. I continued stroking until he came, groaning loudly.

We cleaned up quickly and put our clothes on again. Avren pulled me onto his lap and held me. I wrapped my arms around him, putting my head on his shoulder. I didn’t know why I felt sad. He had just satisfied me. I didn’t know what Madellan was to me, but I was spending a fantastic night with him, and our research was progressing without any major obstacles — except for someone trying to kill me.

In the end, I was going to have my dream job with Genetic Futures. I would accept their offer, effectively having my cake and eating it too.

Everything was going according to plan. So why did I feel lost?

* * *

AVREN

Vanessa and I stood on a mountain top, holding hands and watching the sunset. We were in a park that was free from beasts. On the other side of the mountain, wild and dangerous animals roamed free.

In spite of the pretty surroundings and success of our research, a dull pain filled my heart. I didn’t know what my problem was. Our time on the gondola had been incredible. The only thing I could imagine that would be more intense was bonding with Vanessa.

Afterward, I had been filled with sadness, and she had seemed subdued as well. We had clung to each other all the way up the mountain. Ever since we had left the car, we hadn’t said a word to each other.

The silence between us grew uncomfortable. We both knew our work was about to enter a new phase and come to an end. Was she as torn up about it as I was?

I doubted it, but Vanessa seemed to enjoy our time together. Even if she didn’t care about me other than as a friend with benefits, I thought she would be sad about leaving.

I reminded myself that we still had time together.

“How are we going to find an Auxem subject for testing?” I hated to bring up work again, but I needed to break the silence and cheer both of us up. Work made both of us happy.

“I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of possibilities to choose from if we ask around. But it’s going to be dangerous.” Vanessa stared off into space, letting the wheels in her head turn. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. Your bodies could end up rejecting the new gene. Frankly, I’m worried about whoever gets the first dose. We need to have full disclosure. Everything will be in the waiver, but even if we’re covered legally, there are ethical implications.”

Vanessa had a point. We didn’t know what was going to happen to the first Auxem subject. We would learn a lot from them, and be able to make things safer for the people who came next, but the original person would still be dead. We didn’t have any way to protect them from the unknown.

I gazed at her in consternation. “We’re never going to find volunteers if we disclose the potential risks, but we can’t lie, either.” I hadn’t thought far enough ahead. We had been too focused on the initial phase of testing.

“Maybe we could find someone who’s terminally ill.”

“They wouldn’t be a good candidate, Vanessa. We need to find some young, healthy men.”

“It’s not going to be as easy as we thought.” Vanessa began to walk along the railing, and I kept pace with her.

“Not in the beginning. Once we know it’s safe, finding test subjects won’t be a problem — they might even come to us. But the first ones?” I shook my head.

“What are we going to do?” Vanessa looked dismayed. If we didn’t find a way forward, our research would come to a halt.

The view stretching in front of us was gorgeous, and just the opposite of how I felt in my heart. If we couldn’t figure it out, everyone on Auxem would continue to suffer forever.

The sun dropped below the horizon, filling the sky with streaks of brilliant pinks, oranges, and reds. The beauty triggered a brilliant idea in my mind. We had the perfect test subject already.

I turned to Vanessa. “I’ll do it myself.”

“I hope you’re joking.” She pulled back in shock. “You’re not going to do it.”

“Hang on a second. I understand all the risks. I’m in perfect physical condition.” I ran a hand up and down my body. “Look at me.”

Vanessa cut me off. “That’s ridiculous. Don’t propose it again, it’s not happening. What am I going to do if my research partner dies? I won’t be able to publish.” She made a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s out of the question.” I couldn’t tell if her voice was shaking from anger or fear.

“Listen to me.” I took her hand and made her face me. “The project is bigger than us. It’s important for everyone on Auxem, but particularly for Allex. I would do anything to help my little brother.”

“You’re not going to do him any good if you’re dead. Don’t you think he would hurt if you passed away?” I could see tears shining in her eyes.

“Everything in life is a risk. We’re not going to find anyone else, Vanessa. It has to be me.”

“You’re crazy!” She pulled her hands away from me. Her eyes were flashing, and I thought she might lose control. “And selfish, too. Wasn’t leaving me once enough for you? Do you have to kill yourself on purpose in front of me?”

I had the feeling we weren’t talking about science anymore. “I think you’re misunderstanding me.”

“Shut up, Avren.” Vanessa pointed her finger at me. “It was your stupid idea for us to work together. You were the one who fucked me.”

“It wasn’t only my idea, was it?”

“I think you know what happened. We’re close to the end of the project. It will be hard for me to leave, but we would get over it. I would get over you. But I wouldn’t be able to cope with your death.” A tear fell out of her eye and rolled down her cheek. She furiously wiped it away.

“Vanessa, nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“Don’t say things you know aren’t true just to make me feel better.” She backed away from me.

“Hold on. Where are you going?” I moved toward her.

“I need some space.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “Just leave me alone, Avren.”

I stopped walking and watched Vanessa turn and run, disappearing around the bend of the walkway. Our guard began to follow.

I called out to him. “Give her a minute, okay?”

He nodded, walking slowly so he wouldn’t catch up with her too quickly.

I would let her calm down. Perhaps we both needed to take a few minutes to cool off.

Around me, the color of the mountains was beginning to change as night approached. The overwhelming palette of reds had transformed into blues and purples, matching my mood.

I wondered how we had reached this point. From the outburst, it seemed like Vanessa might have feelings for me, but it wasn’t a sure thing. She might feel passionate about our friendship. I had seen it before.

The only thing I knew for sure was that she planned to leave. That was enough to reveal the truth to me. She didn’t care about me. If she did, she wouldn’t be thinking about going anywhere.

I shook my head. My feelings for Vanessa were making me overanalyze everything. I doubted things were going to end well for me. But like an iron filing drawn to a magnet, there was nothing I could do to withstand her irresistible pull on me.

I began walking in her direction, determined to make another attempt at fixing things.

I heard Vanessa scream in front of me. I raced forward, but I was too late. Two Auxem men had their wings out and were carrying her away. I wasn’t going to get another chance.