Page 40 of Lover from the Waves

“Well, no, but… This is our story. And maybe, one day, someone will watch this and learn about us.”

Hera moved closer to Luke. She tilted her head to the side, arched a brow, and leaned toward his extended hand. “This makes the…holograms?”

“It does.”

She reached forward. For a few moments, it seemed like her hand was truly emerging from that hologram, and Ector was almost certain that if he and Kathryn took it, they’d end up in that distant past, right beside Luke and Hera.

Hera withdrew her hand and turned her face toward Luke. She lowered her torso, placing her eyes on level with his, and smiled. “You humans are strange creatures.”

Luke laughed, though there was a note of sorrow in the sound. “We sure are. Anyway, I wanted to record this, because…this is the spot. We haven’t had an easy time so far, but we have what we need here. There’s a stream nearby for fresh water, I’ve seen some trees with that winefruit stuff growing on it, the same stuff they shipped us from Watchpoint Echo sometimes, and there’s some of those naba stalks growing along the stream banks. Lots of animals, too. Hunting will take some time to figure out, but”—he took one of Hera’s hands with his, and their gazes locked—“we will figure it all out.”

“We will,” Hera agreed. “Escaping that place was our greatest challenge. The rest will be simple, for we have one another. Now turn off your device and see to your female’s needs, my mate.”

Luke grinned, tipped his head forward, and kissed her. Her slipped his free arm around her—still holding the device in the other hand—and she wrapped her arms around his neck. When he finally broke the kiss, he smirked. “And just what is it my female needs? Is shehungry?”

“No, mate. I want you to—”

Just as Hera was sliding a hand down his chest, toward his pelvis, the recording ended. Kathryn’s body heat increased; Ector knew it was not due to the fire. She had needs of her own, and Ector couldn’t wait to satiate them for her. But he understood this wasn’t the time. They’d come a long way, but she’d not quite accepted the claim he longed to place upon her. She’d not yet made a claim of her own. And it was late, regardless, after a very long day of travel and exploration. They both needed rest.

He tightened his hold on Kathryn just a little more; she physically couldn’t get much closer, but he needed her to regardless, needed to feel as much of her as possible.

The symbols reappeared on the screen, nearly as meaningless now as they’d been before. He knew what each number was and could even identify many human letters by their names, but he’d not learned how to put them all together to read. Ector had learned many skills during his lifetime, but reading had only recently become a possibility, and he often wondered if it was simply beyond his capabilities by this point in his life. Despite all that he did not doubt Kat when she’d said those numbers were dates.

Kathryn touched the next symbol on the list.

Once again, Luke seemed to be holding the device on his upturned palm. He looked different—the hair on his face and head was longer, shaggier, and a shade lighter than before, and he was noticeably thinner. His skin had taken on a darker shade, leaving it closer to brown. His clothing was dirtier and a bit tattered. But he was smiling, and his eyes were bright. The little shell Kat had found in the metal box—minus the chip near its narrow end—dangled from around his neck, held in place by a bit of twine.

Thicker jungle foliage crowded around the edges of the hologram, and there was a wood and stone building behind the man. Many of the logs had that pale, fresh color Ector had seen in recently hewn wood back in The Watch. There was an open doorway on the wall with what appeared to be a curtain of grass hanging down from it. Large, fresh leaves covered the roof in overlapping layers.

Ector’s eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. The structure was sagging and rotting now, and creeping plants clung to much of it, but this was an image of the building where he and Kathryn had discovered the box.

“It’s just about done,” Luke said. “Been a long year, but we finally figured out enough to keep this thing standing. Not bad for only having one knife and a bunch of rocks for tools. Probably have to fill in more of the gaps with mud, but hey”—he shrugged—“it’s been keeping us warm and dry.”

The dangling blades of grass parted, and Hera emerged from the structure. She looked much the same as she had in the previous recording save for her posture—she seemed much more at ease now. There was something hanging on a string around her neck—the wooden flower that had been in the box along with the recording device, knife, and shell.

“You are using your little device again, Luke?” she asked, moving closer to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders from behind and wrapped a tentacle around his waist.

As she leaned forward, Luke twisted slightly and pecked a kiss on her cheek. “Saving the moment. This is a big deal. We’re making it, finally doing more than just surviving. Anyway, I haven’t even recorded anything since we found this spot. It’s been almost a year already.”

“My mate has crafted me a fine den,” Hera said. She nipped at Luke’s ear.

He chuckled and tilted his head away. “You had a big hand—and tentacles, I guess—in it too, Hera.”

“As you say, it is better together.” Hera shifted her attention to Luke’s outstretched hand. “You will have to teach me to operate your device.”

“You’ll have to learn to read to get the most out of it.”

Hera’s brow furrowed. “Read… That means to make sense of those symbols your people use on everything, does it not?”

“It does. Now that we have this place, we’ll have more time for that.”

“We have been using this shelter for weeks, my mate.”

“Well, yeah, but… It was still under construction. That doesn’t count.” Luke turned to face the building, swinging the angle of the hologram around. Hera moved with him, keeping her hands on his shoulders and her tentacle around his waist.

His smile softened. “We came here with one box of supplies and a knife. I’d say we’ve done pretty well, all things considered.”

“Itisa fine den.” Hera craned her neck over his shoulder and cupped a hand over his cheek, guiding his face toward hers to capture his lips in a slow, passionate kiss.

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