Terror on Arrival: An Apocalyptic Science Fiction Novel

“I feel lighter,” Alexi said, as they moved from the supply closet.

“That’s called atmospheric pressure.” Jayde said. “At least you weren’t in the ocean. You wouldn’t feel strange, you’d feel crushed.”

Alexi knew he could brave many obstacles, but this one was menacingly new.

They hurried through the mess hall, and deeper outside, towards the outer edge of the barracks. Jayde pulled out her I.D. She showed it to a military cadre.

“We need the submersible!” she told the cadre.

“The Iron Seahorse is ready and waiting for you, Lieutenant Farrow. Doctor Chalet radioed and said you were coming,” the cadre said.

“Thank you, Senior Airman.” Jayde turned to Alexi. “Let’s go, Doshmononov.”

Alexi followed her to a deck in a hangar.

“You have to get dressed in a wetsuit. What size are you? Oh, never mind.” She motioned to an Airman. “Give him a men’s, extra-large.”

“Yes Lieutenant,” the airman answered. “This way, Mister.”

Alexi followed the airman to a changing booth. The airman reached into a cabinet, and pulled out an extra-large wetsuit. He gave it to Alexi.

“Change in there, Mister,” the airman said.

Alexi took the wetsuit, and went into the changing booth. He closed the door, and began to disrobe.

He felt strange, and called out, “I have never changed into a wetsuit before!”

“You have to strip to your birthday suit in order to don that wetsuit, Mister!” the airman called back.

This, definitely, was a new experience for Alexi. He stripped naked before he put on the wetsuit. At least the suit had protective padding for his package. He walked out of the changing booth, and Jayde was waiting for him.

“I feel like I am wearing a condom,” Alexi complained about putting on the wetsuit.

“At least when I stripped, and put on my wetsuit, it didn’t show my panty lines,” Jayde said, to try to lighten the urgency. “Are you ready?”

“I have read about Malaya class submarines, but I have never deployed in one. Do you not need training for this?”

“Have you ever been a passenger in a car before?” she asked.

“Of course I have,” Alexi said.

“Unless you go outside of the submersible, it’s exactly like that. Just don’t roll down your window,” Jayde said, as she opened the hatch.

“I take it you would drown if you went outside of the submersible,” Alexi assumed.

“With the pressure we’d deal with down there, you’d be crushed too quickly to die from drowning,” Jayde said. “Don’t worry. If that ever happens, you’ll never have time to think about it.”

Alexi hesitated. He was the proverbial fish out of water, venturing into water. Then he thought of his duty, and Jayde’s expertise.

Screw it, he said to himself, and dropped into the hatch.

“I thought the big bad Russian bodyguard was about to chicken out on me,” Jayde told Alexi, as she strapped herself in.

Alexi mimicked her, and fastened his five point harness. “Spetsnaz have no fear.”

“Yes, but Spetsnaz know when to avoid impossible situations,” she said.

Alexi thought about what she said. “No, not really.”

That was when Jayde knew whatever they found, it was going to turn out to be a wild ride.

“Lieutenant Farrow, are you ready to launch?” the intercom blared at Jayde.

“Affirmative Control. Ready to launch. Your communication is five by five,” Jayde recited into the com.

“At your discretion, Lieutenant,” Control said.

“All right Alexi, you ready for the log ride?” Jayde asked.

“If you mean, am I ready for execution, yes,” he said.

“Ready to deploy, Control.” She reached up to a switch. “Don’t freak, the first drop’s a bitch.”

She clicked the switch. Alexi surprisingly felt his stomach drop once more. They fell from a harness, into the ocean. The water resisted them for a second. It caused Alexi to regulate, immediately. That jostle was more violent than the stomach drop.

It began with the aqua blue of the ocean. They began to descend. The sunlight was robbed by the insidiousness of murky darkness. There was a ping that adamantly kept sounding, like a monotone metronome.

It began to get darker in the cabin. The lights from the computer panel had their chance to shine. It was only for a second, before Jayde robbed them of their glory by turning on a dim interior light.

Alexi was in an eerie area. He was in a claustrophobic tin can that constantly beeped, and pinged.

“We’re at optimal depth, Control. Turning on the flood lights,” Jayde announced into the com.

“Acknowledged Seahorse, engage,” Control announced.

Jayde turned on the flood lights. Many ocean creatures were accompanying them on their journey to the depths. When the floods instantly bathed the immediate area in consummate, halogen light, they felt savagely exposed and quickly scurried away. All, except the killer whale that swam beside them.

“The rest of them scattered like roaches, when you cut on the lights. I guess Orca’s keeping us company,” Jayde said.

Alexi felt nervous with their companion. “I do not like fish that are the size of a bus.”

“That’s not a fish, silly. That’s a killer whale. That swimming behemoth is a mammal. It doesn’t want to eat you, unless you can morph into an otter or a sea turtle.”

“My Mat’ told me a long time ago, ‘If it has teeth, an appetite, and is larger than you, it can eat you.’” Alexi laid out the wisdom from his mother.

“That’s amazing. Spetsnaz commandos do know fear,” she said.

“Fear is the respect for something that will harm or kill you,” Alexi said. “It is sanctioned to fear that thing!”

Jayde had a smile behind her eyes. “Aww, don’t worry Alexi, I won’t let the big ’ole bad killer whale get you!”

“That is not funny, Jayde. My surroundings are new, and I do not know of these things. I would think you would be compassionate of my situation,” Alexi said.

“I am compassionate. If there was danger, witch there isn’t any, I’d tell you immediately!” Jayde defended herself.

“Yes, but you are making jokes at my expense!” Alexi said.

“I’m sorry, I thought Spetsnaz had tougher skin,” she said, sarcastically.

Alexi was getting upset. He never wanted to let a woman put him in that position. He believed changing the subject would benefit him.

“Are we almost there?” he asked.

Jayde knew he had given up. She mentally celebrated her victory.

“The shelf is near. Prepare yourself, there’s going to be much ocean debris strewn about,” she warned him.

They were about five minutes from the shelf. She checked the gauges, and their pressure. Everything was working the way it should.

“We’re almost there, and everything’s kosher, considering this can was constructed by the lowest bidder,” she said.

“I thought these were government vehicles,” Alexi said.

“The government aren’t nautical engineers. They have to contract these things,” Jayde explained. “The funny thing is, the government doesn’t like to pay for what we need. They pay for all their parties, and hookers. Then, they buy $kilo00 hammers to balance the books. We just use, and fix what they give us,” she explained.

“...And America is the lone superpower,” Alexi scoffed.

“Remember, that’s for your ears only. If that information gets out, they’d call me a conspiracy theorist,” she said.

“I am Spetsnaz. What is said between us, stays between us,” Alexi told her.

“You sound like Las Vegas,” she said.

“How do I sound like one of your demographic regions?” he asked.

“Never mind, Alexi, it’s an inside joke,” she said.

They were very close to the shelf. The sonar was pinging back, faster. That indicated they were about to touch down on the ocean shelf.

Jayde grabbed the intercom. “We’re about to hit the ocean shelf, Doc, illuminate us.”

“I zee jour lights, Jayde. Eet iz going to be bright,” Chalet responded.

Chalet shined the spotlight. Jayde was too busy setting down to see the desolation of the ocean floor.

“Bozhe moy!” Alexi expressed, and pointed outside.

It wasn’t like walking on a darkened soccer field with a flashlight. It was like someone turned the power on.

Jayde looked at Alexi’s stunned face, and followed his pointing finger to the outside of the submersible.

The ocean floor looked like it belonged to a kid who just got an aquarium, and just put the sand into it, before he started decorating! There was... nothing! No plants, no fish, not even a wayward octopus, nothing!

“Oh my God,” Jayde was amazed.

“That is what I said!” Alexi agreed with her. “I was prepared for debris. I was not prepared for, just sand!”

“Believe me, Alexi, I wasn’t prepared for... absence ofeverything!” Jayde was still shocked.

“Eet luukz like ze garbage men ov ze ozean cleaned jour reev,” Chalet transmitted from the intercom. He didn’t know how right he was.

“Track me higher, Doc,” Jayde said. “I have to acquire some samples, to find out what happened here.”

Jayde began to ascend, slowly. “I wonder if it’s this devastated deeper down.”

“I thought we were on the ocean floor,” Alexi said.

“We were on the continental shelf. The actual ocean floor is several fathoms deeper. We don’t have the technology to get that deep,” Jayde explained.

“We are in this submersible. Why can we not go deeper?” Alexi asked.

“The reason we can’t go much deeper, is because the pressure would crush this submersible like a soda can under your boot,” Jayde said.

They ascended far enough to see plants. Jayde grabbed the intercom.

“Stop right here, Doc,” Jayde said.

“I cannot go too much farzer. I cannot even zee jou,” Chalet said.

“Just hold it there, Doc.” Jayde was implementing the mechanical arms of the submersible.

She clipped some of the plants, and netted some of the fish. She placed her specimens in a container on the outside of the submersible.

“Okay, Doc. Retract the spotlight. I have my samples,” she said.

The spotlight returned to its original area. It turned to seat itself in its position. Jayde and Alexi tracked the light, to see if it would seat properly. The light shined at something that looked like a strange looking humanoid, on the continental shelf, only for a split second.

“Did you see that, Jayde!?” Alexi asked.

“I haven’t the slightest idea what it was,” Jayde said. “Let’s go down there, to find out what it is.”

Just then, an alarm chimed. Jayde looked at the panel.

“Damn,” she said, and began to ascend. “That was the oxygen alarm. Whatever that was, we won’t find out today.”

They began to ascend topside. The killer whale was replaced by a tiger shark.

“Now, that’s a fish that will eat you,” she said.

Alexi looked apprehensive. “That fish does not know how to pop a hatch, does it?”

“We’re the top species on this planet. We’re the only deductive ones that have opposable thumbs,” she said. “We’d be crushed way before you felt its teeth, anyway.”

“Just get to the surface,” he said.

They were seeing glints of light from the sun in fifteen minutes. They were almost ready to stop breathing recycled air.

“What do you think that thing was, moving on the shelf in the ocean?” Alexi asked.

“Well, it was humanoid, and it seemed like it was moving freely. My official answer, Alexi, is... I have no idea,” she said.

“There is only one thing that looks human, and can move, freely on the bottom of the ocean. It had to be a mermaid,” Alexi said.

“I didn’t know Spetsnaz were trained in cryptozoology,” Jayde said, sarcastically. “Maybe she’s hanging out with the Abominable Snowman, and Bigfoot.”

“Then what was it?” Alexi asked.

Jayde was at a loss. “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a mermaid! They don’t exist!”

“Prove they do not exist,” he said.

“Prove they do!” she challenged him.

Alexi pointed out the window, to the ocean floor. “What did we just see?”

Jayde got upset. “I’m an aqua-horticulturist! I’ve mapped every ocean inhabitant in this pond, and I’m confident in saying, that wasn’t a mermaid, Sergeant!”

Alexi realized she was getting angry. He decided to back off. “All right, Lieutenant, we have no idea what that was.”

They surfaced, by splitting the waves in the hangar. A crane attached itself to the submersible, and hoisted it to the launch pier. Mechanical arms protruded from the dock, and secured the Iron Seahorse. They popped the hatch, and both climbed out.

Jayde grabbed her samples from the outer compartment. She put them in research bags, so she could carry them to the lab.

She went to the control room to radio Doctor Chalet. “Doc, this is Jayde, over.”

She waited a few seconds, then she heard Deveauxn. “Dis iz Chalet. Over.”

“I’m about to bring down my findings. Get a team ready, over,” she spoke into the intercom.

“Zee team iz ready and vaiting Jayde, over,” Chalet transmitted.

“Over and out, Doc,” Jayde concluded.

She exited the control room, and walked up to Alexi. “Get changed, we’re going back down to the laboratory.”

“Give me a minute. I have never peeled off a wetsuit, before,” he said.

“It’s easy. Haven’t you ever taken off a condom like you said you felt like you were in before? Just think of your wetsuit as being naughty, and you’ll peel it right off,” she said, while walking towards the changing station.

Alexi gave her a strange look. Then he walked to his changing station.

It only took a few minutes for them both to get changed into their BDUs (battle dress uniform). Again, Jayde waited for Alexi.

Alexi came out of the changing area, walked up, and pointed to Jayde. “You have been doing this change much longer than I have. That is why you have beaten me.”

Then Jayde looked at Alexi strangely. “I had no idea we were racing, Alexi.”

Alexi realized his juvenile, mental competition was futile, and decided to lock away his desire to be first all the time.

He changed the subject. “Do you have all of your samples?”

She wanted to get back on task, also. Their pointless volley was wasting time. “They’re right here. Let’s hit the lab.”

They headed out quickly to the supply room door, and entered into the cubicle.

They began to descend, and that was when Jayde spoke. “We have to drop these samples off, quickly. The hurricane’s coming with urgency, and we have to get those Belize natives in the shelter.”

“Why do they not just enter the shelter themselves?” He was curious.

“They think they’re as tough as a Spetsnaz. They think ‘riding it out’ is logical,” she explained. “You’ve never been in a category 3, let alone a hurricane before.”

“What is a category 3?” Alexi asked.

“That’s a hurricane with winds up to 210 kilometers an hour,” she said. “All large trees and street signs are blown down. There’s roof damage, and huts are destroyed. It’s not a fun time,” she explained.

“And that is what is coming!?” Alexi asked, desperately.

“If it doesn’t pick up to a category 4 or 5 in the ocean,” she said.

“I am afraid to ask, how fast are the winds in a category 5?” he asked.

“The fastest wind speed ever recorded on the Saffrin-Simpson intensity scale has been 315 kilometers an hour,” she told him.

“What happens at that speed?” he asked.

“We just call a category 5 ‘Armageddon’. See your ass? Just hope you can bend over, and kiss it Do svidaniya.”

Alexi knew the gravitas of the situation. “We have to get those people in the shelter!”

Jayde looked at him with an obvious look. “You think, Sherlock?”

“Who is this Sherlock person?” he asked.

“Never mind, Alexi. Let’s just say,I agree,” she said.

They made it to the laboratory. Jayde looked at Alexi. “Wait here.”

Jayde stepped out of the elevator, and met Doctor Chalet. She gave him the bags.

“Some of these plants look like a half-eaten burger, and these fish are wounded, Doc. Check the residue around the bite marks. I want to know what is the garbage disposal in my ocean,” she said.

“Eet veel take zeveral days, Jayde. My team iz eevicient, not vast,” Chalet said.

“Don’t worry about speed, Doc. We have to go topside and weather the storm. It’ll take us several days to clean up. Take your time. I would rather you be right than fast,” she said. “See you in three days, Doc. ‘Several’ does mean ‘three’ to you, right?”

“Go rescue jour catz from zheir treez. I veel zee jou in zhree dayz,” Chalet said.

Jayde jogged, quickly back to the elevator. She pressed the return button, and the door sealed shut. They returned, quickly, topside.

They left out the supply room door, and went outside of the barracks. The sky had a darkened, reddish look to it. The wind was picking up. They heard thunder in the distance. It was go time.

“Look Alexi, I know your job is to wear my uniform with me, but we can corral these natives quicker, if we split up,” she said.

Alexi looked into the ocean, and felt how coarse the wind was getting. “If those pirates sail right now, they would drown. I believe you would be safe enough for us to split up.”

She looked at Alexi and smiled. “Okay Alexi, you grab them from down the coast, and I’ll take the village. We’ll meet near the airstrip, over there.”

“I know we are not in a race, but this wind is firing the starter’s pistol. I will meet you, with the natives, with speed,” he said.

“The wind has already fired. Beat you to the shelter!” She broke towards the village.

She is on my playground, now, Alexi thought, as he sprinted down the coast.

They both became the proverbial shepherd. They quickly rounded up all the men, women, and children. There were a few errant people roaming aimlessly, and some that didn’t want to move. They showed their military authority, and they gathered them all.

They ended up at a building in the front of the airstrip. All the natives entered the doorway of the shelter. Jayde and Alexi felt a sense of accomplishment. It was the first task they had completed since they set foot in Belize.

“We have to get all the soldiers in the shelter, also,” Jayde said.

“What about the scientist in the laboratory?” Alexi asked.

“As deep as they are, they’re safer than us,” she said. “Let’s get the rest.”

This took longer to execute than the natives. The lower ranks were no problem, but telling the upper brass they had to drop everything, and follow a lieutenant and a Russian proved a slight difficulty.

As the wind began to show who was in control, Jayde sealed the shelter doors. Everyone was secure.

“Well, in the military, we have a saying. Travel the world, and gain new experiences. Welcome to the hurricane experience, Alexi,” she said.

“Is it still a category 3?” Alexi asked.

“I’ll check the Armed Forces Network to find out the status,” she said.

They walked down the stairs, to a radio. Many soldiers were already listening in.

“This hurricane officially has been named Tristan,” the radio reported. “It turned into a category 4 in the Atlantic, but then it slowed down to a category 3 when it ravaged Brazil. It is in Honduras as we speak, and will hit Belize in half an hour. Everyone should batten down. The winds are at 123 miles an hour. It’s embedding twigs in tree trunks. Do not, I repeat, do not go outside. Find a shelter.

“Well, we’re right where we need to be,” Jayde told Alexi.

It took around twenty minutes before they began to hear the wind whip, and the heavy doors start to shudder. Tristan was coming with a vengeance.

“This category 3 sounds like the beginnings of Armageddon,” Alexi said.

“Everything you’ve ever read about hurricanes will not prepare you for what you are about to witness,” Jayde said. “These are just the preliminaries.”

“They built this shelter to withstand a category 5?” he asked.

“Those storms are rare, but why would you build a shelter, if it couldn’t withstand a category 5?” she answered him with a question.

“So, no matter what sort of Hell is happening outside, stay put,” Alexi deduced.

“What did I say about being where we’re supposed to be?” she kept answering him with a question. He thought her western snark emanated in stressful situations. If you asked her, she wouldn’t know what you were talking about. Western snark was too natural for her.

A lightening flash lit the entire shelter in overexposed white, for a split second. A shocking, uproarious, booming thunderclap followed immediately thereafter.

“That thunder following that lightening so quickly means it’s right on top of us!” Jayde announced to everybody. “And some of you natives thought you were going to ride out the charge of the four horsemen? Aren’t you glad we strongly suggested you to come down here?”

Their silence answered Jayde with a resounding YES!

The storm battered them for a while. In the middle of the onslaught, Alexi wanted to see the damage a category 3 could do.

“You know clean-up after this storm passes will feel like it’s going to be insurmountable,” she told Alexi. “You’re being bit by the curiousbug, and you want to see the devastation in progress. If you’re that curious, go upstairs, nobody that knows what a hurricane can do will be there, and look out one of the security doors. Do not go outside! Well, once you’ve witnessed the devastation, you won’t want to go outside, anyway.”

Alexi almost felt as if she were daring him. He wasn’t going to back down, plus he wanted to see what was happening. He decided to walk upstairs.

She was right—no one obstructed his upward journey. They were, actually, looking at him, as if to say, he can’t be from around here. Alexi ignored those bizarre stares, and continued to ascend the stairs.

When he was in front of the security doors, the howling wind and the pelting rain showed how torrential Tristan was.

When he looked outside, a picnic table introduced him to the dynamism of Tristan, by brutally slamming itself into the doors. The doors held, but the crashing impact was startlingly raucous.

He looked outside as panels from the roofs of huts tore themselves away, and swirled in the renegade gusts. The watercraft on the pier were getting themselves relentlessly rocked, like toy dinghies in a raucous toddler’s bathtub. That was when he saw a piece of a billboard fly by. Its course was unknown.

The ’hurricane experience’was new to Alexi. He walked back down to where Jayde was. His perspective on human achievement and destruction had completely changed.

“So, how did it look, Commando?” she asked.

“A... billboard, you know, the thing that advertises on the highway? A piece flew by, like a scrap of paper,” Alexi said, with astonishment.

“That should tell you a category 3 doesn’t play around. Every once in a while, God lets us know who’s in charge,” she told him.

“That also tells me, the Earth can shake us off, like fleas from a dog,” he agreed with her.

The deluge commenced for a few hours. The only thing unaffected by Tristan was the AFN broadcast. It stayed very informational. Once the wind died down, they announced its passing, and began to play classic rock. As Mick Jagger complained about acquiring satisfaction, Jayde was getting ready to police the devastation.

“It’s still raining. I’ll grab some ponchos, and we’ll get moving chop-chop,” she told Alexi.

“Did you even realize that last statement you just said was racist against the Asian community?” Alexi asked.

“I never said anything racist!” she was offended.

“What is the definition of chop-chop?” he asked.

“That means quickly, or with haste!” she explained.

“Did you get that definition out of the dictionary, or did you hear it somewhere?” he asked.

“I never looked up the definition for dog, but I know what that means!” She was getting heated.

“I am sure you do, but there is one difference, the word ‘dog’ is not racist,” Alexi capped off his argument.

Jayde looked at Alexi. “You have to win every argument you start.”

“I am like an attorney. I never ask a question I do not know the answer to.” he said.

“You’re a special kind of bodyguard, Alexi,” she said.

“I am Spetsnaz. You did not buy me from your Mom and Pop store,” he said.

She knew he was victorious in the exchange she never realized they were in. The clean-up was more important. All Alexi could’ve asked her, was not to say that. The funny thing about her was she would have listened.

“As I was saying before, I’ll grab some ponchos, and we’ll get moving… expediently,” she augmented her statement.

She went to grab the ponchos. Alexi saw all the soldiers organizing. The brass was delegating tasks for the lower ranks to accomplish. Some were tasked to escort the natives back home and to record repairs that had to be done, and others had to begin the cleanup. This military did more than defend their country. They helped people who were in dire straits. If they were delegated to watch over a continent, they didn’t shirk their duties.

Jayde walked back with two ponchos. “I guessed you wore an extra large. Don’t worry about our size discrepancies. I know you had concerns about that when you put on that wetsuit. This poncho won’t fit like a surgical glove.”

She gave him the poncho, and put hers on. Alexi mimicked her actions. It felt like putting on a plastic tablecloth, with a hood in the middle. Once the poncho draped over his BDUs, they were ready.

“You look like a camouflaged, ruffled napkin,” she told Alexi. Then she had a disturbing revelation. “Wow, do I look like that!?”

Alexi smiled. “No, you belong in a military fashion show.”

Jayde knew placation when she saw it. “You’re a commendable bodyguard, Alexi. You not only protect me, you’re pretty good at protecting my feelings, as well.”

Alexi had that ‘you got me’ look on his face and said, “Let us walk upstairs, and assess the damage.”

Jayde threw up a casual salute. “Affirmative, Sergeant.”

They walked upstairs and outside.

The area looked like a tropical dystopia. With everyone cleaning the debris, the area looked overcrowded. With the coast in disarray, it portrayed squalor. The natives who lived there were in an oppressive, miserable state. Tristan definitely did a number on Belize.

Alexi began to pick up all the misplaced items, like that splintered picnic table, Tristan had flung, and cracked it as if she had a personal vendetta against Alexi, as if she were saying, “You don’t belong here, Snow Boy! Go, and shovel a driveway somewhere else!” Tristan was a scornful woman.

Jayde saw all the devastation. She felt for the inhabitants of Belize. The inhabitants were fine. Hurricane Season was that of any other season. Siberia couldn’t avoid winter. They had already been through it, since they were born. They literally grew up with annual hurricanes, like a northerner grew up with a fall. They didn’t know a year without torrential wind and rain. It was their lot in life. Jayde should not have been worried, the natives weren’t.

It took until twilight to police the area. It was at some semblance of order when the daylight waned. They looked at their list of repairs for the next day. It was going to be a bit of work, but basic training was a bit more work, and all the soldiers got through that experience, so repairing the village was just going to be a field trip. At least they thought of it that way.

Jayde felt as if she were clocking out from a factory job that evening. She just needed a good meal, and some chamomile tea for relaxation.

Alexi thought ordering out for pizza was a college thing. He was a closet chef. He decided to treat Jayde to Russian cuisine.

He went to the mess hall, to see what ingredients they had. Since they were on the coast, fish played an integral part of their diet. It seemed as though another food staffer was a chef. He found a bevy of vegetables and spices the soldiers weren’t graced with. He had everything he needed to complete a masterpiece. He decided to cook a cocktail herring with fried potato garnish.

He started with ruffling an onion. He placed it on a dish and covered it in vinegar. He put that in the refrigerator for later. Then he put the herring on a cutting board to bone and clean. He fileted the herring and baked the fish. He didn’t think she would like it only pickled. Then he sliced the potatoes in quarters and fried them.

After the fish was done, he took out the onion on the dish, and placed the fish, potatoes, and chives on the dish. He made the meal look as if it were made at a gourmet chef’s restaurant.

He made the chamomile tea to top off Jayde’s dinner. He walked a tray to Jayde’s room, and knocked on the door.

It took a few seconds, and then he heard her. “Who is it?”

“I felt that a pizza would be inappropriate for all that work you did!” he yelled through the door.

She was wondering what he was talking about. As she was opening the door, she said, “But I like pizza.”

She saw a spread. It looked good enough to surprise her.

“You cooked this?” she pointed at the herring, and asked him.

“What would your doctor say? Oh yes... Voir La!” he said to her.

“You look like an Adonis, you can beat up anybody that gets fresh with a woman, and you can cook? Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” she asked.

“One, I do not, usually ‘beat up’, I kill, and two, being a soldier is my girlfriend, and women do not like to share,” he explained.

“That looks scrumptious. What did you cook?” she asked.

“Cocktail herring with fried potato garnish,” he said.

“So, a hamburger was out of the question?” she asked. “I’m kidding, thank you for making dinner exotic.”

“I have your chamomile tea, also,” he added to the meal. “Did you want sugar and lemon?”

“Squeeze some lemon in there. Tea doesn’t need sweetness, it needs flavor,” she instructed.

“I know you wanted chamomile, but Earl Grey accents this delicacy perfectly,” he instructed.

“Come in, Alexi. That delicacy is getting cold in the hallway,” she said.

Alexi gave her the teacup, and ushered in the dinner. They enjoyed their meal. She loved what he did for her. He didn’t have to cater to her nourishment. If he called for a pizza, she would’ve been fine. She also would’ve been ignorant to the fact Alexi could cook, and the exquisite flavor of cocktail herring. He was becoming much more than a bodyguard.

Alexi unscrewed the top on some bottled water. He didn’t ask her where the beer was, nor did he have a snifter with vodka. He didn’t smoke anything. It seemed like he didn’t have any vices. He was what she called a ‘prime cut’.

What was her problem? She knew he wasn’t attached to her, carnally or otherwise. She liked things he did. He was a fit, attractive Adonis. Why did she hesitate?

She hesitated because you needed two to tango. Alexi tolerated her. That was a long way from affection. How would she, or even could she proposition him on anything? Not to even think of how her father would feel about a white guy, not to even fathom his thoughts on a Russian! They would have less than nothing in common!

That was when her female consciousness cavorted with her. Out of nowhere, she thought, Opposites attract.

Where did that come from!? Mind, stop playing with me!

“What are you thinking of?” Alexi asked.

Now, what was she going to tell him? That she wanted to lick pudding off his biceps? That would’ve been a speculated disaster!

“I’m wondering who kicked my reef,” she lied.

“Well, I am wondering what was moving on the shelf,” Alexi said.

“I do believe that’s an argument neither of us will win,” she said. “I’m not even going to say it wasn’t a mermaid. We can just label it as unknown.”

“We can agree on that,” he said. “We never met that mermaid.”

She looked at him with peculiarity in her gaze. “You’re a stubborn Russian, Alexi.”

“Eat your herring, Jayde.” He eschewed her determination.

She drank her tea. “This chamomile has some beneficial properties,” she said.

“I know it stops muscle twitches, and insomnia,” Alexi reported. Why did you need it? You don’t jitter like a Chihuahua in 80 degree weather, and that cleanup should have made you exhausted.”

“It doesn’t matter how exhausting the cleanup was, and I don’t shake like that restaurant dog. Witnessing my cleaned-out reef is tearing my mind apart. A scientist lives for a succinct answer, or a valid hypothesis. I’m in the unique position of not knowing; a paradox for a scientist. My mind would keep me up, constantly, without a little aid,” she said.

“I better leave, that stuff kicks in about forty five minutes from now,” Alexi said.

“I said I needed a little aid. That chamomile is a good starter,” She said.

Alexi found himself in a weird position. “W-what are you proposing?”

He looks like a frightened mouse. It’s time to grab him like a hawk! she thought.

“I need another form of protection. Bodyguard, your job is to guard my body.”

Alexi thought, I wanted to avoid the inevitable ever since I smelled her perfume. Like I said before, do not fight a battle you cannot win.

“What is it that you need?” he asked.

“How about a little company? Only until I fall asleep, though. Then, you can crash in your room.” The switch was flipped.

“Well, I am your bodyguard, that does mean guarding your body,” he said.

The man is stoic! He wasn’t repulsed at the suggestion! Either they are thinking the same way, or he’s placating. The ball is in her court now. She better roll the dice, and all those other gambling analogies, like playing her cards right.

“All right Alexi, you pull commander of quarters duty, and I’ll don my sleepwear,” she instructed.

“You are lucky a Spetsnaz does not sleep,” he said. “You will be safe. I will watch you.”

“I’ll go change,” she said.

“I will take the dishes back to the mess hall, and wash them,” he said. “Do not worry, I wash fast.”

They both went about doing their respective tasks. Alexi gathered the dishes and trays, while Jayde grabbed her sleepwear. He left for the mess hall, and she went into the bathroom.

Jayde looked in the mirror as she let her hair down. She went to the shower, and turned on the water. She stripped and stepped under the nozzle. The shower was relaxing. It was something she was able to do, because Alexi was washing dishes.

She got out of the shower, put on her sleepwear, and looked at herself in the mirror.

What are you doing girl? she thought, as she spritzed a hint of Shalini on her wrists and neck. With this crazy gesture, I need all the help I can get.

Alexi took everything to the mess hall. He took off his jacket, turned on the water, and put the dishes in the sink with soap. There was a dishwashing machine next to the sink, but he wanted to think while he cleaned.

Why did you say yes, soldier? he thought. She is going to think I want to get into her pants! That is not professional! Women are evil that way! That perfume made me say yes. My sense of duty made me say yes. Her being a smart, athletic, ebony princess had nothing to do with it! Yes, and if I believe that, I have some ICBMs in my pocket, and those intercontinental ballistic missiles are for sale. Look at me. That woman is making me ramble. I am just going to do my job, guard her body.

Just then, he thought how perverted that sounded. He was an upstanding soldier. He did upstanding soldier things. The notion of kissing her inner thighs was put out of his mind. Temptation was another challenge for him. He always took challenges head on. He was going to conquer this one as well.

He knocked on her door again. He brought her another cup of chamomile tea.

“Come in!” Jayde yelled through the door.

Alexi opened the door. She was wearing her PT shorts and a t-shirt that said, ‘I’m not looking for trouble. I’m looking for you. I’m trouble!’

“I brought you more tea,” he said, and offered her the cup.

“Oh, thank you Alexi. Or should I say Spacibo?” she asked.

“I know ‘thank you’. You do not have to speak Russian, until you become fluent.” He handed her the cup. She was wearing that damned perfume! This challenge punched him in the jaw, bounced back dancing, and said, ‘Come on!’ She wasn’t playing fair!

“I brought you the cup of tea to help you sleep,” he said to defuse his thinking of her heavenly scent.

“I’ll drink it in bed,” she said, and placed the cup on the nightstand.

She got into bed, and turned on her CD player/clock radio. Mary J. Blige rang out.

“I hope that music doesn’t offend you. It helps me sleep,” she apologized.

“That music does not offend me. She sounds like Yulia Nelson!” he expressed.

“Who’s Yulia Nelson?” she asked.

“Hold on, I will be right back.” Alexi went next door, to his room. He came back with a disc. “I think you may like her.”

He put the disc in the CD player. “This is a song called “I Run To You.””

He tapped play, and a soulful sound graced her ears. It had a Neo-soul rhythm. She expected Mary J. Blige, or Angie Stone to begin to sing. Instead, she heard angelic Russian emanating from her speakers. When did Russians get that funky?

“I know it is in Russian, and you do not understand a word, but the music is universal,” he said.

“Begook teebay means I run to you?” she asked.

“You are close. She is saying begu K tebe,” he corrected her. “Here, let me write it down.”

He picked up a dry erase marker from her board, and began to write.

“Begu K tebe?” she repeated what he wrote.

“See, Russian is not that hard,” he said.

“Yes, but contractions, for you, must be,” she joked. “I’m kidding, that Slavic accent is kinda sexy.”

“I learned in school years ago. Contractions were not in the lesson plan,” he defended himself. “If you do not mind listening to Yulia, we both can enjoy music.”

“So, you’re just going to sit over there, and watch me sleep?” she asked.

“That is my job, body guarding,” he confirmed.

“Now, I don’t snore, so, call me gently. If I don’t answer, that means I’m three sheets to the wind.” Then she thought about her Western colloquialisms. “I mean asleep, and you can go next door.”

“I will know when you are sleeping. I will leave when you have three windy sheets,” he said.

“You’re a card, Alexi,” she said, clicked on Yulia, and pulled up the covers. “Could you get the lights?”

“Do not worry, I can see you in the dark,” he said, as he walked to the entrance, and turned off the light. Having him there was nice. It was so nice, she fell asleep immediately.

The alarm was loud. It woke her from her slumber. It was kind of hard to get up with Alexi’s arms draped around her… WHAT!?

She was lying in bed, with Alexi!? What on earth happened last night? She checked her sleepwear. Nothing was in disarray. She checked Alexi, while he was getting up. He wasn’t wearing BDUs! He was in his pajamas! When did THAT happen!?

Alexi stretched, as if he was in his own bed! “Dobrey utro Jayde.”

“I’m guessing you said good morning to me,” she said, with startlement. “Two questions. Why are you in my bed, and why are you in your pajamas?”

“I believe that cleanup was taxing. I was beginning to fall asleep while monitoring you. I did not want to disappoint you, or your doctor friend. So I had to get closer to you. Waking you would be stupid, and lying in your bed with BDUs on would be as well. So I changed as not to disturb you. I figured you would be safer in my arms. Unfortunately, we both fell asleep listening to Yulia. I set the alarm, so we would not miss our village repair,” he explained.

Well, he did answer. She thought he must have prepared that last night. He didn’t want to stumble this morning. At least she knew they did share the same intention. Nobody’s placation was that strong.

“Don’t you have to take a shower, before we get moving?” she asked.

“Yes, but I left my BDUs next door, in my room,” he said.

“Let me embellish my question. Don’t you have to take a shower in your room? I have to take one in my room,” she clarified.

“T-that is what I meant. We will be much faster if we took showers in our own separate rooms,” he agreed with her.

She got out of bed, he followed her. He walked out of her room, briskly.

She knew she was rather forward with him. In every gambling analogy, it looks like she won. She should have thrown her dice in the first place.

They both got dressed, separately. They had their little excursion—their ‘outside the box’ vacation. It was time to get back to work, however, since many of their questions were answered, well, more so inferred through evidence.

As she was squaring herself away, Alexi knocked on her door. She straightened her collar, and walked to the door. She opened it, and Alexi was waiting for her.

“I hope you are ready. I trust you had a good sleep?” he asked her.

“Oh, my sleep was stupendous,” she said. “That chamomile tea really did the trick.”

She must’ve killed his expectations on purpose. They both were sweet on each other, just not vocally.

They went outside. Everything around the barracks was as if Tristan avoided them. The village was a different story.

Their area looked like a napalmed village from the Vietnam War. Jayde and the rest of the soldiers took the natives list, and began to work on the village. The soldiers felt like they got their side of Belize clean. It took all day, with a lot of their crew chiefs dabbling in carpentry, but they completed all their tasks. The natives were thankful. There were many a ‘gracias’ given to the soldiers.

They nourished themselves with meals ready to eat packages, called MREs. Some of the soldiers joked and said MRE stood for meals rejected by Ethiopians, but everyone ate them.

Twilight caught the soldiers, again. It was another hard day. That was a major reason they did PT (physical training) every day, well, when a hurricane didn’t come to town.

The soldiers decided to turn in. They had PT in the morning. Tristan was gone.

Jayde went back to her room. Alexi was stuck in a quandary. Does he go to his room, or does he knock on Jayde’s door? Did he read the signs correctly? Was she really interested in him? What to do?

Just when he decided to go to his room, Jayde’s door opened. She came out, and looked, sultrily, at Alexi. Then she returned to her room. What was that about!? Why did she come out of her room, into the hallway, and give him that look? If she walked back into her room, why hasn’t she closed her door?

Just then, an arm wrapped around the outside of Jayde’s room door. Her hands motioned a ‘come hither’ gesture. Well. He couldn’t disappoint a lady, and he wanted his questions answered. He went into Jayde’s room, and got a little more than his questions answered.

Today was the day. They were going to find out who, or what wiped out the base of the reef.

They were descending to the laboratory. It took a while to reach the lab. They were alone, together, in the cubicle.

“So, Alexi, how was last night?” Jayde asked.

“I will show you exactly how I felt about last night,” he said, walking close to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. He began to kiss her, taking her breath away.

Jayde was apprehensive about their coupling last night. She wondered if he felt they did the right thing. With him being her bodyguard, and the two of them having a professional relationship, intimacy was highly inappropriate. They both decided to throw caution to the wind.

They finished their heat before they arrived at the base of the laboratory’s entrance.

“We have to act like we don’t know each other carnally,” Jayde instructed.

“I just know you as that American scientist I am ordered to protect,” Alexi said.

“It’s going to be tougher playing it off with Chalet. After all, he is French. He can smell love, like being able to witness the process of the Grand Canyon erosion. No matter how slow it seems, he can pinpoint it, with ease,” she warned.

“I am Spetsnaz, with a top secret clearance. I have kept nuclear launch codes secure. The Doctor will not be a problem,” Alexi said.

“All your training won’t matter. He probably already knows,” Jayde said. “Please, try to keep it concealed.”

They arrived at the entrance of the laboratory. Everyone turned in their acknowledgment.

Deveauxn walked up to them, and said, “I ’ave zomezink to zhow jou.”

He looked at the two. “May I zpeak to jou first, Zergeant, in private?”

“What happens to be the problem, Doctor?” Alexi asked.

“Eet iz a nashonal zecurity conzern. I zink ze phraze iz ’mumz ze vord’,” Chalet said, and walked towards a research room.

“I will lock it away in this vault,” Alexi tapped his head, and followed Chalet to the research room.

They both walked into the empty room, and Chalet closed the door.

“So, what is this national security concern, Doctor?” Alexi asked.

“’Ow long ’ave jou und Jayde been intimate?” Chalet asked.

Alexi was thrown. They weren’t in the lab long enough for him to slip enough for Chalet to know! He decided to play it off.

“What are you talking about, Deveauxn!? I am her bodyguard, nothing more!” Alexi exclaimed.

“Do not try to fool me, Zergeant! I ’ave zis zpeshal power. I am French! I can zmell her perfume on jou from ze meeddle uv ze room! Jou deedn’t ’ave to do anyzink!” Chalet accused.

They were busted. He should’ve known the doctor would have this French ability to know. His misdirection had never been found out. What was he going to do?

“Do not vorry, Romeo. I vil not tell anyvon, not even Jayde. I zuzpect zhe told jou not to tell me. Ze zilly girl zinks I von’t underztand love? She needz ’er ’ead examined. Jour zecret iz zafe vit me.”

“Spacibo Deveauxn, I will make sure no one else knows,” Alexi said.

“De rien Alexi, and vun more vavor, call me Doctor Chalet out zere. Jou can call me Deveauxn in ze veight room,” Chalet said.

They both shook hands in agreement, and walked out to Jayde.

“I’m not even going to ask,” she said.

“It is best you do not,” Alexi said.

“So, what did you find, Doc?” Jayde asked Chalet.

“Vollow me.” Chalet walked to another research room. The two followed him as he came up to a microscope. “Check ut ze vindingz.”

Jayde bent down, and looked into the microscope. “What is this, Doc?”

“Eet iz a zilicone bazed residue,” Chalet said.

“So, whatever ate my reef isn’t carbon based, it’s silicone!?” She was surprised.

“Jez, eet iz a zpeciez jou ’aven’t mapped jet, and zince eet iz zilocone bazed, eet could be an ozer vorld livevorm,” Chalet said.

“Are you saying an alien ate my reef?” Jayde asked, surprised.

“Everyzing ’ere iz carbon bazed. Zience iz ztating zis iz zilicone bazed. Vhat iz jour hypothezeez?” Chalet asked.

“First, Alexi thought he saw a mermaid, and now, you’re saying we may have been invaded by alien lifeforms? I truly don’t know, Doc. This is looking all X-Files around here,” she said.

“Vell, ve ’ave zee rezearch. Now, all ve need to know iz vhat do ve do now?” Chalet didn’t want to believe science, but its failure rate was zero. That was the scary part.