Anderson, Evangeline Butterfly Scales

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way, making him wonder if she was having some kind of a seizure. Then she was
shouting, something like, 'No, I won't help you!' but soon after she bowed her head
and started to cry again. It was obvious the Lepids were doing something to her
without even touching her and Vince didn't know what to do or how to stop it.
It occurred to him that he could go barreling down between them and break their
circle, like a kid playing 'Red Rover,' possibly disrupting the strange
communication that seemed to be holding Laura in thrall. The Lepids would sting
him again but that was just too damn bad, he'd take as many down as he could
before they did. But just as he was tensing his body, picking his spot to hurtle
through like a quarterback making a mad dash for the goal line, Laura turned to
him and shook her head.
No, Vince. The wide twilight eyes he was growing to love were soft with tears
and full of regret and some other emotion that was hard to name. A hopeless
determination, perhaps.
Laura, what...?
Vince. She put her hand on his arm and shivered, obviously making herself
stand the strong emotions blaring through his body like high decibel hyper-punk
music.
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Vince pulled gently away from her touch, recognizing how painful it must be for
her and took a deep breath. Deliberately, he counted to ten, trying to dampen his
feelings, to make them more bearable.
Laura, he tried hard to make his voice soft and low. What is it? What are they
trying to do to you, to us?
They want.... Her voice was choked but she shook her head and stood up
straight, fighting for control. They want us to generate energy for them--they
need our emotions for their swarm.
Swarm? Emotions? I don't understand. If feelings were electricity you and me
could be lightin' up all of downtown right now as pissed of and scared as we are.
What the hell else do they need? Vince demanded, feeling his fists clench at his
sides.
No. Laura shook her head. That's ... those aren't the kind of emotions they
need.
There was the low, buzzing hum again, and this time he understood it. It was eerie
and horribly alien in his ears and he realized at last that it was one voice created
from all of those hissing black throats speaking in unison.
Your fear and pain are not enough, human. We require erotic energy.
The words left a bitter after taste on the back of his tongue, dry and acrid as dust
from a thousand year old tomb. He looked at Laura, not wanting to understand, not
wanting to believe but she only nodded.
You can't be serious. He shook his head. Huh-uh. There's no way we're gonna
help them do this.
Vince we have to. If we don't they'll get someone else, someone more ...
vulnerable. You have to believe me, please.
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He couldn't believe her soft changeable eyes were actually pleading with him to do
this. Not here, not now, not knowing what it might do to her in this place where
even the slightest touch was painful. He backed away. I can't ... can't hurt you
that way.
You will. It was the monstrous multiple voice again, ringing in his ears and, in a
weird way, inside his head. Or would you prefer we find another human male to
take your place? The pressure of the alien minds surrounding them seemed to
press down, a heavy weight on his brain until somehow he was seeing a dim
vision, like someone showing old home movies inside his head. Dim but horrible.
It was Laura, still inside the circle of Lepids but there was another man with her
and he was pulling at her long blond hair, ripping open the jacket she still wore,
pushing up the tight skirt, forcing his way inside her....
No! Vince shook his head, trying to block out the stuttering footage that played
inside his brain. Stop it, Goddamn you!
He turned to Laura and saw the she had received the images as well, and probably
much more vividly than he had. Her face was white as a sheet and the twilight
colored eyes were absolutely huge.
Vince... Her lips trembled so she could hardly form the words. Vince, please. If
... if it has to happen, I'd rather it was you. Please....
I don't want to hurt you, he said, helplessly. He reached out to caress a strand of
her long hair and it broke his heart to watch her force herself to accept that caress,
to not flinch back from his touch.
I'll be fine. She stood up straight and tried to look brave. With trembling fingers
she unbuttoned the black jacket, spreading it wide to show her full breasts pressed
against the transparent white silk of the shell top she wore beneath it. Vince
recognized it for what it was-- a gesture of resignation rather than desire.
Laura--
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She shook her head. I'll be okay. Her voice shook and the nipples that showed
clearly through the white shell top were hard with fear, not need. But ... but you'll [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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