Page 3 of Rok's Captive
A shiver goes through me as his gaze slides from me to Jacqui. Only, it’s not the type of shiver that should be there. Not the one that makes my blood tingle and butterflies swirl in my gut. This shiver makes me completely aware, as if there’s a spider on my back and I shouldn’t move as those green eyes focus back on me.
“I—uh—,” I stutter. God, you’d think I haven’t seen an attractive man in years. Have I? I’ve been too damn focused on the fact that we’ve been peacefully invaded. “Is this the bus for the EXA program?” Fuck, he must think I’m an idiot. The logo is on the side of the bus, but the neurotic part of me still has to double-check.
Without saying a thing, the driver simply gives me a stiff nod. That tingle of alertness goes through me again as I force my legs to move. Flipping out my cell phone as we take the two free seats directly behind the driver, I pull up my web browser and type in ‘EXA’ again.
The search results come up. The alliance is spearheaded by representatives from the New World government and the Xyma themselves. Formed soon after first contact, they’ve done a lot of work over the past two years as Earth shifted on the fact that we truly weren’t alone.
Sliding my phone back into my bag, I shift closer to the window as Jacqui leans my way, giving space to the other people boarding the bus. I catch a few faces. A stream of women. There’s one with a cane that comes in and sits in the accessibility bay. One with her hair hiding a birthmark that covers half her face. Another strawberry blonde who catches my eyes and grins. I smile back, some of the tension leaving my shoulders.
It’s just regular people. Like me. Like Jaqs.
“Hey, you seeing this?” Jacqui whispers, her hand tightening on mine as her head tilts toward the stream of people filling the bus. “It’s all women…”
“Yeah,” I murmur. Her observation makes my spine tingle with unease. “I mean, I knew they wanted women, but…”
“Yeah? Only women? Don’t you think that’s weird?”
I squeeze her hand, but can’t quite muster the reassurance I want to give. “The job post said something about biological differences in adaptation.”
“Right…Of course.” She shifts uncomfortably in her seat before adjusting her handbag with a defeated sigh. I place mine in my lap, clutching it a little too tightly. It’s not long till the bus is full, every seat taken.
Slight nervousness makes me look over my shoulder from where we’re seated and I catch the eyes of some of the passengers. Some of them are talking to each other, some are just looking out the windows. It seems like a varied bunch, but I guess that’s what you’d get sourcing people from the city. There’s nothing strange in that. Just a regular bunch of people looking for a quick paycheck like us.
None of them look overly worried or freaked out.
Ten grand if we get in. A grand a day after. If they keep us for the month, that’s like forty a pop. With me and Jaqs that’s like eighty. That’s a good salary for a year. We wouldn’t have to worry so much for a while.
Forcing the anxiety down, I settle into my seat, my gaze shifting to the rearview mirror so I can watch the driver.
When his gaze suddenly flicks up like some hawk, I get that strange feeling again before I look away. Beautiful people are intimidating, but I never thought of myself as someone who was ever so easily frayed. I learned the hard way that life won’t hesitate to pull you down if you let your nerves get in the way. It’s why I’m taking this job. Why I have to try. But this dude…it’s like his eyes are looking under my skin.
This close, I can see the shadow of silver-blue hair cropped close to his skull. So heisXyma. How did he get his face to look so human? Probably another tech thing or maybe some other research they’ve been conducting. It’s…creepy.
Gaze shifting to Jacqui, I elbow her in the side when I find her blatantly eating up the man candy, only her shades giving her any semblance of discretion.
“Stop!” I hiss.
She grins, running her tongue over her lips for effect. “What? He’s hot.”
“He’s also obviously not human.”
She grins wider, all her apparent worry from before seeming to disappear in the presence of alien dick. “I’ve seen some stuff on the internet…”
“God, you’re gross.”
“Says the girl who hasn’t had a boyfriend infouryears.”
I elbow her again, a laugh choking in my throat. “Low blow.”
Jacqui shrugs.
As the bus doors swoosh closed, my chest rises and falls in a sigh.
“WELCOME TO THE EARTH-XYMA ALLIANCE ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATION RESEARCH PROGRAM.” The automated voice makes me jump. Jacqui lets out a surprised chuckle, head tilting as she looks around. Gaze shifting to the roof, I can’t even see the speaker where the voice should be coming from. “PLEASE TAKE YOUR TRANSLATION DEVICE AND THE PROVIDED LITERATURE. YOUR CONSENT IS REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS PROGRAM.”
My gaze flies to Jacqui’s. So…we’re in? We got into the program already? That’s…fast and not how I’m used to things being done at all.
Sister telepathy buzzing, Jacqui shrugs. “Which translation device?” She whispers.
