Chapter 97

4:00 A.M. SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 20

Jeff, having been awake for fifteen minutes or so and knowing he wouldn't go back to sleep, gave up and slowly began to extract himself from the pile of women. Diana was lying with a leg thrown across his leg and her upper body across his side, her head resting on his shoulder with his arm around her. Laura was on his left side in relatively the same position as Diana. The problem was Arlene, who sometime during the night had crawled on top of him and was nestled between Diana and Laura. His cock was hard at this time of the morning, of course, and it was snuggled between Arlene's legs, tight against her groin. Arlene was deeply asleep, evidenced by the drool on his chest and her slow, deep breathing.

Diana opened one eye and glared at him as he moved her to her back. "Going to go exercise," he whispered. Laura was a little harder to move, but she apparently didn't wake up. He finally managed to wiggle from under Arlene and get her positioned in his recently vacated place. There was a little mumbling as he pulled the sheet up and the women adjusted until they were all snuggled together again, but no one awakened fully.

Jeff hadn't showered last night after servicing his women. Even though they had cleaned his cock with a washcloth and their mouths, he decided to take a quick shower before heading to the exercise machines.

After the shower, he hesitated in the big walk-in closet as he chose his clothing. His Gore-Tex running outfit hung near, almost mocking him. The feather-light material, zipped up and tabbed together until the pants and jacket almost became one, would keep out the cold and hold in the heat of his body, but he had already tried running on the thin snowpack the plow left on the road. Busting his butt on the steep grades wasn't a lot of fun; the only alternative was the cursed treadmill.

Resignedly, he donned a pair of his running shorts and a light tee shirt, then sat to put on his running shoes. Treadmill, here I come, he thought as he walked back into the bedroom. Little One had elected to stay in her drawer last night. He opened the drawer, put his hand on her and mentally said, I'm going to run a few miles on the treadmill. Want to come with me?

Receiving an affirmative answer, he picked her up and pulled his collar open. Shortly, she was spread out over his shoulders and part way down his back.

He left their suite and jogged down the hallway until he reached the basement stairway near the north end of the retreat. As he stepped on the nearest treadmill a few minutes later, he shrugged out of his tee shirt, draping it on the machine next to his. Pressing the earbuds into place, then adjusting the sound level to his liking, he started the treadmill at a moderate pace to warm up. After the first quarter mile, he upped the machine to his normal pace and turned the sound up a little more, resigning himself to the boredom of running on the equipment.

A small figure quietly opened the stairway door and descended. Selina had seen the door closing as she rounded the corner in the long hall, so she was sure someone was in the basement. She knew it could be some of the women starting out to exercise early in the morning, but somehow she suspected that it might be Mr. Matthews, instead. Jeff. He told me to call him Jeff.

At the bottom of the stairs, she looked around, but saw no one. Thinking he might be in the weight room, she cautiously opened the door, but he wasn't there. At the door to the bigger exercise room, she hesitated, then slowly turning the knob, she pushed the door open an inch or so. She could hear the treadmill running, and knew the sound because of their gym at home. Odd, I can hear the machine very well, but his footsteps on it are barely audible, even for me.

Pushing the door open a little more, she peeked through the crack at the Prime that Doctor Boswell seemed to be so enthused about. I feel strongly about him, too. I feel safe when he puts his arms around me. I've never reacted that way before. Continuing to watch, she thought, I strongly suspect that Mom and Dad do not realize that Arlene is Mr. Matthews' daughter, she chuckled to herself. Probably, they think that Arlene and Diana are sisters. There is a striking resemblance between the two — well three, counting the grandmother as well. Something is going on that I am unable to discern. Why do both Diana and her mother appear so young? Dr. Boswell also? There are so many unanswered questions. What about Laura? Is she also older than she seems? My research must continue.

A moment later, Odd. Something is not right. She pushed the door open a little farther to improve her side view of Jeff. His pace is phenomenal. Her mind immediately began to estimate the length of his stride, then started counting his steps as she mentally counted off the seconds to arrive at an approximation of his running speed. Shortly, I must have made a mistake. Surely that can't be right. Again her analytical brain did the easy math. I'm not wrong. He is running at a world-class sprinter speed, maybe even faster. I wonder how long he can maintain that. Surely not very long.

Selina stood with her eye to the crack for five minutes by her internal clock. He's barely sweating and his breathing is still normal. How can he do that? And what is that on his back and shoulders? I wish he would turn a little more to the left so I could see better. Maybe it is a heating pad because of an injury to his back, or perhaps something to keep him cool while he exercises.

{{{ Selina has been watching at the door for a while now, }}} Little One told Jeff.

I didn't hear her with the music playing in my ears, Jeff thought back to the small alien. What is she doing?

{{{ She appears to be only watching. }}}

I need to get that tee shirt on without turning my back to her, Jeff thought. Then as the door opened fully and Selina stepped in. Oh, shit. Now what do I do?

Jeff turned the music off and snatched the earbuds out, trying to turn casually in her direction and step on the side rails of the treadmill at the same time, but Little One was still too high on his shoulders to conceal her completely as he did so.

Shit. She's a kid, maybe she didn't...

"What is that on your back, Mr. Matthews? Is it a heating pad you are using because of an injury, or perhaps something to keep your body cool when you are running at such a rapid pace?"

Don't move Little One. Maybe I can... but he chopped the thought off in its infancy. Lying isn't a good way to start a relationship. Those beautiful blue eyes are staring at the top of my right shoulder, straight at Little One. Selena wouldn't believe a lie anyway. She's too smart for that. Oh, shit.

"May I see it? Whatever it is, I have never seen anything like it."

Instead of turning to shut the machine off, Jeff just yanked the emergency "key" out that was snapped to his belt via a cord. The key was designed so that if someone fell off the treadmill, the key would be jerked out of the machine and it would shut down with the belt stopping instantly. Jeff stepped off the rail and stood looking at the child, then resigning himself, he slowly turned until his back was to her. Quietly, "It isn't a heating pad to treat an injury, nor something to keep me cool, either."

Selina reached a tentative hand toward Jeff's back to touch Little One. "What is..." She took a quick step back, looked down at her hand for a second, then looked back at Little One. "It ... I heard something," she said, voicing her thoughts as the intensity of the situation hit. "I ... It is alive."

With a sigh, Jeff sat down on the side of the treadmill so that he could face her and not completely block her view at the same time. Selina reached out a tentative hand again, but this time stopped just before she touched Little One.

"She won't hurt you," Jeff reassured.

Selina touched with a fingertip, then stroked gently with her hand. The word "she" hadn't gone unnoticed, though. "I hear a ... buzzing — but I feel something, too." Her voice suddenly became stronger, more assured. "Contentment. I feel contentment from whatever it is. It is alive, isn't it?" There was no fear in her voice now, but rather, awe.

Selina seemed finally to tear her eyes away, then looking at Jeff as the man sat before her on the rail beside the treadmill belt, "I've never read about, seen on TV or the net, anything about this creature. What is it? I would have read something about it. It's as though it..." She stopped in mid-sentence as those startling blue eyes locked with Jeff's. "It — she, didn't you say? She feels ... She is alien, isn't she?"

Not waiting for an answer, Selina continued, "Does she have a symbiotic relationship with you?" Remembering a science fiction movie, "Does she use your blood? Is she attached to your spine? Can you talk to her?"

"Whoa. Whoa, there my little friend." Then to Little One, Why don't you go back to your original form so you and Selina can get acquainted?

Without answering, Little One flowed up Jeff's back, and in a few seconds was sitting on his right shoulder.

"Are you sure she won't injure me? Is she some type of polymorph?" Selina asked, but she had already reached out her hand again before Jeff could answer. "May I hold her? I will be careful and not drop her."

Jeff chuckled as he handed Little One to Selina. "Dropping her would be an insult, but it would take far more than that to physically hurt her. She can be destroyed, but not easily. You might want to think of her as an AI, but actually, she is far more than that, and she is, indeed, alive."

"My parents would never let me have a puppy," Selina said as she abruptly sat on the floor with Little One in her lap stroking the small AI. "I can hear a ... buzzing and as I suspected a moment ago, it is not audible. I also ... feel ... It is almost as if she is purring, but not exactly. She likes me," she stated emphatically.

I was a fool. I've become so accustomed to not having to hide Little One here in the retreat. Shit, I never thought a six-year-old would be up this time in the morning. I'll need to talk with the General and find out if it is safe to use the blocks on someone so young. But then again, who would believe a six-year-old if she started talking about a little alien that buzzes to her. Everyone Selina tried to tell would think Little One was just an imaginary friend. Shit, how am I going to explain Little One without telling about the ship? Since Little One has nullified my blocks, I could talk to Selina about everything, but no one else here could. Shit, this is fast becoming a mess.

"Where did you get her, Mr. Matthews? Wait, she's intelligent, isn't she? She seemed to flow up your back when you reached for her. Was that instinct, or did you somehow communicate with her?"

Ah, fuck, Jeff thought.

Selina speech patterns changed as the words tumbled from her almost too fast to understand. "The buzzing. I didn't hear it — not aloud, anyway." Selina's eyes locked with his, "She's telepathic, isn't she? Where did she come from? How did you get her?"

"Selina, I can't tell you where I got her."

"'Can't, '" she quoted, her mind working faster than she could get the words out. "I saw one of those big Chinook helicopters yesterday. I'm almost certain it was military. I was looking out one of the back windows, but it didn't stop here, it went on past and landed. I couldn't see it land, but I'm positive it did. I used my laptop to bring up Google Earth. It took me a few minutes to find this building, then follow the road on to the next building. It is long and narrow and there are three clearings down the mountain culminating near the building. It's obviously a ski resort. A few minutes of searching data bases and local news items allowed me to determine that the ski lodge had been abandoned after an avalanche. But it isn't abandoned now, is it?

"The security person at the helipad wore an unusual helmet when he checked us. It is cold up here and he obviously needs protection for his head when his job dictates that he is stationed outside, but ... incorporating the military helicopter landing next door at an abandoned ski lodge, plus the fact that you sold an invention to Mr. Wainwright — my father said the military has a new type of radar that everyone is raving over, and he thought you designed it. Your choice of words intrigues me. You said you 'can't' tell me. All of this combined, plus the way you carry yourself and your posture, leads me to believe you are in some way associated with the military."

Oh, shit. Now I have two of them in the house, Jeff grumped to himself. Well, at least Helen learned tact years ago, and uses it when she takes a couple facts and extrapolates something that no one else has a clue about. Maybe she'll teach Selina to be more tactful, too, else my life is going to become even more exciting.

It didn't occur to Jeff that he did the same thing, particularly in combat, and it had saved his and his teams' lives more than once.

They sat talking for a while as Selina continue to stroke Little One. When her questions went unanswered, she frowned at him. "Would you prefer I leave and let you continue with your exercise?"

Jeff, still sitting on the treadmill, chuckled. "What I would 'prefer' is to not have to run on this thing at all."

Selina frowned as she thought about what Jeff said, "There are other types of aerobic exercise. There is a stair machine," she said, pointing. "Or you could row, or use other of the machines to keep your heart rate up for an extended period of time."

"I've used everything in here at one time or another, but I like to run on the road."

"The ice is the problem?" Selina offered.

"Yeah."

"There are manufacturers that make running shoes for ice and snow."

"I have two pairs. One has tiny chains on the soles; the other has little steel pegs. They work great as long as there is a good coating of ice or snow, but they feel odd when I hit bare pavement. The pair with the little chains tend to wiggle and feel odd. The pair with the steel pegs make my feet hurt. If one of those little spikes hits a crack just right, it hangs. I'm a distance runner. I guess either of the types would work for short distances, but my feet and ankles hurt when I get home, and they're sore the next day."

Selina looked at the man before her. He is the absolute in male anatomy. Even I can see that. I suspect that if I had reached puberty, I would be even more aware, and perhaps attracted to that anatomy.

She stroked Little One a last time and handed her back to Jeff. She sat looking at him as Little One spread out over his shoulders and back once again.

"What?" Jeff said, amusement in his voice, as Selina continued to stare at him.

"I am sure that Doctor Boswell has told you I read fairly quickly," Selina started.

"About as fast as you can turn the pages, according to Helen," Jeff added.

Selena sighed, the sigh and mannerism that of an adult. "I have read of another option. I remember the Internet address, of course. I could bring my laptop and show you. It will only take about four minutes for me to run back to my suite and bring the computer."