Chapter 2

When Sherri found it on one of our evening hikes, the glittering crystalline matrix fascinated her. After my sister cried out for me, I peeled myself from Skye’s lips and took my hand from her bra. Though my girlfriend moaned and tried to hold my fingers tight to her throbbing nipple, I yanked free at my sister’s shrill call. After clambering up the slope to the flat rock above the creek, Sherri handed the find to me. Beside me, Skye pulled her blouse back together as her eyes locked on the scintillating mass.

The crystal prongs were sharp. Not razor sharp, but pointy enough to be curious. Inside, a faint red shadow pulsed. And it was warm, almost hot, to the touch, while feeling much heavier than it had a right to be. We all agreed it was some kind of rock. But a very different kind of rock than any of us had remembered seeing in school.

“Show me where you found it?” I said.

Sky sighed under her breath as I tugged her upwards. I knew what she wanted, and it wasn’t a hike in the woods. But she followed us back down to the clearing at the bottom of a small sheltered draw. Everywhere, dense brush leaned close, except for one area where blackened shrubs and saplings appeared torn apart. It was only as I looked around that I noticed the deep scratch on the earth. And the fact that we stood in a slight depression recently plowed into the leafy dirt.

When I pointed out the long gouge and the circular crater we were inside, my sister blanched and took the crystal object from me.

“Space rock,” Sherri said, eyes widening as she stared down at it.

With a whimper in my ear, Skye mashed her modest, but firm, tits against my back. As she licked my neck, her hand dipped into the front of my shorts.

“Babe, I’m so fucking horny,” she said as her soft fingers tugged.

As was I; I nodded. But fixated on the slow pulsating red glow, my sister didn’t notice Skye’s pumping fist or her words. God, she had amazing hands, and I swayed with her for a minute as silence, but for the wind in the leaves, descended around us. The pulsing crystal’s soft glowing shafts of light drowned out the shine of the stars.

“Yeh,” I replied to Sherri, before panting. “A real ... A real space rock.”

It seemed that way—a magical rock from outer space. Out here in the middle of nowhere. Why? As much as I enjoyed Skye’s hand, Sherri finally noticed and gave me that look. The one that says, “Really. You want to play with her when we just found a magical rock from outer space?” As Skye’s teeth nibbled along my shoulder, I did want to play with her. But she was my sister, so with a loud sigh, I tugged Skye’s curled fingers from me.

The wind picked up, swirling the dead leaves around as I headed up the slope, wincing at my hardness rubbing against my taut shorts. And Skye wasn’t happy, either. Pouting as she walked behind me, her hand looped in my belt to help tug her upwards. But we had to do something.

So, what do you do if you find a space rock in the woods? You call the police. Except they didn’t care. We called the university. They said they’d locate somebody and phone us back. But they never did. Hell, I even called my old high school science teacher, Ms. Dunham, but she just laughed at me. Her voice was slurred as she cursed at me. Loud male voices and louder music played in the background. She always seemed like that kind of teacher you knew was a party slut after hours. But I didn’t need a party slut right then. So, I hung up on her. Never mind.

Exasperated, Sherri and I stared at each other and at the silent phone. After fucking her into an exhausted sleep, Skye was naked in my room, next door. The damn thing kept pulsing, sending its reddish glare to bounce around every shiny object in my sister’s room. What could we do? Nothing. We had tried to tell others. We shrugged, made a pinkie swear pact, like we were still teenagers, and decided to keep it. Since Sherri found it, we agreed it could stay with her. After putting down a small crimson pad—she always had just the right item, she set it atop her writing desk by the window. At night, it caught the blueish starlight, creating a purplish strobe effect across her bedroom.