Emmanuel's Seed

His back to the approaching group, Kevin gracefully hopped out of the pool and wrapped a towel around himself. "Oh!" he said with surprise, "I thought I was alone out here!" He smiled at the group; they looked at him gave a few little waves of acknowledgment, grabbed some towels, and headed toward the lounges. Kevin turned his back to the others and toweled his hair dry, smoothing it back a bit with his fingers. He picked a lounge on the other side of the pool from the group and removed his towel, placing it on the lounge. He placed himself face-down on the lounge and began soaking up the warm rays of the desert sun.

The girls were impressed by Kevin. The began giggling and commenting in hushed tones to each other. Dancer pretended to ignore both Kevin and the girls' reaction to him, sipping her drink and staring at her magazines.

The girls were waiting for Kevin to turn over, to tan his front, but it was taking too long. They decided to go in the pool. Kevin heard them laughing and splashing in the pool and looked back to see what was going on. He gracefully got up from his lounge and, in a swift, smooth, single motion, snatched his towel from the lounge and wrapped it around himself. He walked over to Bonnie and, gesturing toward an empty lounge next to her, asked if he could join her.

"Sure, Kevin, be my guest," Dancer gushed, unable to hide the fact that she was smitten by Kevin. "What did you think of the show last night?"

"Grisly," Kevin replied. "I'm glad I witnessed it but I found the whole thing really disturbing."

"I would be horrified if you didn't find it disturbing, Kevin."

"Don't you get nightmares doing this kind of work, Dr. Dancer?"

"Call me Bonnie."

"Bonnie."

"No, not really. I keep my attention focused on the good that comes from it, rather than the somewhat unpleasant means of production."

"Yeah, okay. I guess in your line of work that happens a lot."

"It does. What do you think of the other girls?"

"I am trying to pay no attention to them, truth be told," Kevin adjusted himself and looked at Dancer's body.

"You like what you see?" Bonnie smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry; was I staring? I am so sorry, Dr. .. umm, Bonnie."

Dancer laughed. "No, I meant the girls; how do they look?"

Kevin blushed. "They look fine. Are they all going to be... used ... in the project?"

"No. As a matter of fact we are only going to use one of them; the rest will be told that we lost funding – they will be returned to Los Angeles in a few weeks."

"Why?"

"Why are we not going to use them or why are we returning them to Los Angeles?" Kevin didn't reply; he just continued to stare at Bonnie. "We have decided to use the youngest one there, the blonde girl, and not let things go too far. Not like last night, I mean."

"Will that work?" Kevin asked, seeming relieved that he might not be involved in another killing.

"It should, according to our research. You know we have been testing your client a lot lately. We find that his chemistry maintains normalcy in the presence of eucalyptus oil. It stops the reaction."

"Is that why his room smells like a cough drop?"

"Yeah, we put the oil lamps around, but had to take them out a few days before we were ready for the harvest."

"So all of the horrors associated with Emmanuel could have been avoided simply by having his house smell of eucalyptus?"

"That's what it looks like."

Kevin leaned back on his lounge, allowing this news to soak in. He was thinking that he might be able to work this information to his client's advantage. Maybe Emmanuel could have some sort of medication or implant or something that would render him normal. But he knew better to discuss all that with Dr. Dancer.

"You going to swim?" Kevin asked, changing the subject and once again admiring Bonnie's body. "The water is cool and refreshing."

"Nah," Bonnie said, "I only swim at night; when the girls are out here I like to keep an eye on things."

"Well, tonight it is then." Kevin said to her, eager for her response, "I'll join you if I may."

"Sure. That would be nice," Bonnie smiled.

Emmanuel had slept most of the day, and by sundown he was hungry. He enjoyed a steak and some fries, a green salad, and a glass of beer. Then he fell back to sleep. Kevin and Bonnie had dinner in her quarters. After eating, Bonnie reminded Kevin of their swimming date. They headed out to the pool area, stripped down and swam for a while. Kevin was impressed that Bonnie had maintained her excellent figure into her 30s but was smart enough not to say so. Kevin pressed his body against Bonnie's and began to grow hard. They kissed. Then Bonnie pushed him away a bit and said that they should return to her place.

She made two Mojitos and gave one to Kevin, leading him into her bedroom. He sipped his Mojito while she went into her bathroom and showered off the pool water. When she came back to the bedroom, she tossed her towel on the floor and lay down on the bed. Kevin laid beside her and ran his fingers from her face, along her neck, and around her breasts.

"You are very gentle, Counselor," Bonnie grinned.

"Your skin is so soft; I love your look." Kevin had no idea what to say, so he decided to shut up.

Bonnie reached over and grabbed the TV remote. She pressed a button and the television burst into action. As she went down on Kevin, a DVD of First Girl's rape and torture came on the screen. A sense of revulsion threatened Kevin's hard-on, but Bonnie managed to overcome that. He tried not to watch the screen but he couldn't help himself. "Is that supposed to turn me on or what?" Kevin finally asked.

"No, not at all. It turns me on to know that you are watching it."

Kevin was disgusted but finished anyway, and turned the video off. He clicked off the TV and began to perform cunnilingus on Bonnie. He was surprised how receptive and loud she was; he got the impression that it had been a while for her. As the waves of her climax began to grow, she reached for the television remote control again. Before she could press the buttons, however, Kevin slapped it across the room and pinned her hands, with his, on the sides of her buttocks, holding her like that as she came and came again.

After sharing a cigarette with Bonnie, Kevin said that he had to get back to Los Angeles in the morning. "I do work for a living, you know."

"I know," Bonnie pouted, "When will you be back?"

Kevin was both apprehensive and annoyed by Bonnie's adolescent change of comportment.

"I'll see you when I see you, okay?" he said, being cute and charming, masking his claustrophobia.

"Okay," Bonnie giggled girlishly, "I'm going to sleep now."

Kevin decided not to wait until morning, but quickly packed his overnight bag, chewed a couple of Adderall^® tablets, and drove his car back to L.A. After showering and changing into his business suit, he drove to his office and flipped through the pink message notes his secretary had left on his desk. Most of the messages were routine and Kevin made a few phone calls to deal with the issues they presented. He saved one message for last. It was from Karen Kraft. He called her but got her machine. At first he was not going to leave a message, but then thought that she might have Caller ID, and decided just to say that he returned her call and that the best way to reach him would be on his cell phone, leaving her the number.

Within five minutes, his secretary beeped his intercom, telling him that Karen Kraft was on the line.

"That was fast; are you at home?" Kevin asked, instead of saying hello.

"No, I'm at school; I get a beep when someone leaves a message for me on my home phone," Karen said. Kevin looked at his monitor and noted the Texas area code and number. From the noise in the background, he could tell that she was walking outside and was probably calling him from her cell phone. He jotted down Karen's home and cell phone numbers on his calendar and on a small slip of paper he put in his wallet.

"Great. How's Houston?"

"Can we meet sometime real soon?"

"I'm not scheduled to be in the Houston office until later this week. And when I arrive in Houston I have to head out almost immediately to Austin. I will be there a few days; can we meet in Austin?"

"Okay."

"What's this about, Karen?"

"Can't say. We'll talk when you are here." They said goodbye and hung up. Kevin thought about the phrase, 'can't say' and figured that Karen must have wanted to talk to him about Emmanuel or experiments relating to Emmanuel and was nervous about talking about it on the phone. A wave of dread came over him. He was already paranoid about being involved in "The Project," as everyone now called it. He really didn't need Karen Kraft's paranoia adding to his own. But Karen didn't seem like a "stress-adder" to Kevin. He figured she must have something important to talk about.

The next week, Kevin and Karen met at Ruby's Barbeque on Guadalupe Street in Austin. Kevin had made an appearance that morning on behalf of the firm's client and did not have to return to Houston right away.

"Now that I am able to do the research I want at Baylor Med., I have been thinking of different ways to approach this whole blood serum thing, you know, with Emmanuel and all," Karen started.

"Okay," Kevin listened, wondering how such a great looking girl could also be so smart.

"So, what I did was take some of the serum and modify it a little, and then inject it into newborn rabbits, about a dozen of them."

"Bunnies!" Kevin exclaimed, in a childlike voice.

"C'mon, Kevin, this is serious."

"Okay, I'm sorry, please continue."

"You don't have to pout about it; just listen to me."

"Not pouting; please continue."

"So, we understand the effects of prostaglandin F2α and its analogs on plasma estradiol 19-Β and progesterone levels in rabbits, right?"

"Oh yeah, that's what I always say! Took the words out of my mouth! Look, Karen, if I could understand that shit I would have been a doctor instead of a lawyer. Just give me the big picture – you're wasting your time trying to explain science stuff to me."

Karen stopped talking and took a long hard look at Kevin. "You know you're cute, don't you?"

"Yup, adorable. Let's go back to my hotel room."

"Stop it!" Karen laughed, although the thought of being with Kevin had crossed her mind more than once. "Okay."

"Really want to go back..."

"No! Well, yeah, but the 'okay' went with giving you the big picture. See, the serum-injected, ummm, 'bunnies' possessed all of the curative traits that Emmanuel has, but exhibited none of the aggression."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!! Isn't that great?"

"Oh, my 'yeah' went with the 'go back to my hotel room' part. But sure, umm, so, in terms of helping Emmanuel, what does your experiment mean?"

"How should I know? You're the attorney!"

"We're not getting anywhere. Let's get back to the going back to the hotel room part."

"Look, if your guy can be shown not to be aggressive or a threat to anyone, then doesn't that help him out, you know, jail-wise?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The only reason he is NOT in jail is because he is 'donating' his blood for the vaccine. He says thanks, by the way." Karen shuttered.

"You don't talk about me to him, do you?"

"Can't say. Attorney-client privileged communication – what we talk about. [a beat] Sure I did; gave him your picture, home address, cell phone number... No, of course not, but everyone connected with the project, including Emmanuel, knows who you are and what you discovered."

"He's creepy."

"Really? Hadn't noticed. Seriously, 'creepy' doesn't begin to describe it. Anyway, they found out that if they keep a bunch of eucalyptus crap stinking up his place out there, he doesn't go nuts – at least not so far."

"Wait. When were you going to tell me this?"

"What?"

"About the eucalyptus thing."

"Didn't think to mention it. You're blood-girl, not control-girl."

"I have to get back to the lab," Karen said, obviously distracted.

"No, no, no. You came all the way up here from Houston so we could discuss the rabbit thing and hang out, right? Well, we discussed the rabbit thing..."

"Yeah, but you just mentioned something important to my work."

"Right. You are going to drive all the way back tonight so you can inject your rabbits with eucalyptus leaves or something. Forget about it; they're sleeping now, all in a big lump in one corner of their cage, dreaming of fluffy clouds and carrots." Karen laughed and began to relax.

"Okay," Karen agreed, "work can wait. Let's go back to your place."

"Really?" Kevin knew he shouldn't have said. Karen just laughed and downed her large glass of Merlot.

"C'mon, counselor, let's see what you got."

Karen took her purse into the bathroom and, after washing her face and gargling with some mouthwash, she inserted her spermicidal-slathered diaphragm and met Kevin on the bed and started pulling at his clothes hungrily. Kevin was surprised how passionately they made love. It seemed to be much more than just sex. "I thought doctors and lawyers weren't supposed to get along – like cats and dogs." Kevin was playing with Karen's belly button ring.

"The cats and dogs at my parents' house always got along just fine."

"So do we, so far." Kevin smiled.

"Why 'so far'?"

"You haven't seen me drunk and belligerent."

"Are you a mean drunk, Kevin?" Karen knew he was bullshitting.

"Terrible. I get thrown out of Irish bars." They both laughed, and then they made love again – and fell asleep in each other's arms.

Late one night, Bonnie Dancer had come down to the kitchen area, just outside the girls dorm area to find a green apple. She had told the staff to buy some boxes of pippins but they had bought granny smiths. She hated granny smiths, but she grabbed one to eat as she strolled the grounds, something she did almost every night. When she neared the pool area, she heard some plashing around and saw that Emmanuel was taking an evening swim. She quietly returned to her room and put on her bathing suit. Before she got to the pool area enclosure gate, a guard came up to her and said good evening. They exchanged some pleasantries and she said that she was going to take a swim. The guard said that Emmanuel would be finished in a few minutes and she could either come back then, or he would buzz her to let her know when the pool was available. Dancer told the guard that it was okay, and that she would take her swim right then. The guard had started to warn her about Emmanuel but then realized that she probably knew more about the man than he did, so he simply advised her that he would keep an eye on them while they were both in the pool.

"Good evening, Emmanuel," Dancer chirped cheerfully, "Another great evening."

"Hey, Dr. Dancer!" Emmanuel said, "It's amazing how many stars you can see out here, compared with the city."

"You grew up looking at the stars, didn't you?" Bonnie said, pleasantly.

"Yeah. It was spectacular down there, when there wasn't too much water in the air, you know, humidity makes them hard to see."

Dancer dropped her towel onto one of the lounges and went into the pool. "Do you miss it?" she asked him.

"Living there? Yeah, sometimes. It was fun growing up in a Tarzan environment, swinging from tree to tree on the vines."

"Don't patronize me, Emmanuel," Dancer teased, "I know there was no vine-swinging where you were." Emmanuel chuckled.

"I was just messing with you a bit. Hope you don't mind. I'm amazed that you are not afraid of me in the least. I know we had gone over that when I first arrived here, but it still amazes me."

"Perhaps that's because I know what makes you tick. Maybe it's because I can handle myself. Or maybe it's because the guard over there is watching us." Emmanuel strained his eyes but couldn't see anyone there.

"It's a fallacy, you know – that we psychopaths can see in the dark, fly through the air and rip people's faces off like Hannibal Lector."

"You're not a psychopath, Emmanuel."

"Well, some may say otherwise; you have to admit I tend to go overboard sometimes."

"We think that it has something to do with some sort of early trauma shortly after your conception."

"Yeah, that's what they say, but I don't remember; I was very young at the time. I can control it, you know. I don't like to admit that to everyone. That whole thing about my not being able to control it is bullshit. When I smell fear, though, I get waves of erotic compulsion that demand to be satisfied. But I can think myself down if I have to, want to."

"And the eucalyptus?"

"It works really well. How did you come up with that?"

"Laura Vade's team did the work on that."

"Yeah, she's hot."

"You like her?"

"Sure, she's great looking and really smart, like you are; I'd fuck her," he smiled.

"We don't need her splattered all over the walls, Emmanuel; she's too important to The Project," Bonnie said.

Bonnie Dancer took off her bikini top and pressed herself against Emmanuel. He put his hands on either side of her head and gently kissed her lips. She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist, feeling him start to grow hard. Emmanuel slid his hands down to Bonnie's bottoms and coaxed the garment off of her. She kicked her leg a couple of times and they floated free. She put her legs back up around his waist and leaned back until her back was on the water, her firm breasts glistening in the ambient light. Emmanuel moved the couple over to the far edge of the pool and hoisted Bonnie out of the water, to sit on the pool deck at the corner farthest away from the enclosure gate. He placed her legs along the right angle sides of the pool corner and buried his head in her groin. She leaned back, propping herself up on her elbows while Emmanuel's tongue did its work. When she was ready, she slid back into the water and guided him inside her. She pushed her tongue inside his mouth as he gently pivoted his pelvis and thrust back and forth. She could see the periodic sparkle as the light reflected off the night goggles the guard at the entrance was wearing. When Emmanuel finished, the two of them swam around a while, toweled off and said good night.

When she got back to her quarters, she collected some of the semen he had left inside her and put it in a small vial, then placed the vial in her refrigerator. Later that week, her lab technicians told her that the sample exhibited none of the "special characteristics" needed to make the vaccine. She shrugged.

7- Bonnie had decided to return all but the youngest blonde girl to Los Angeles, telling them that the funding had run out but that she would keep their contact information in case she could use them again. She told the others that Blonde Girl was going to stay with her, "to help out in the lab."

Blonde Girl was flat-chested and boyish in many respects; she had a firm, slender, athletic body, a glorious smile, and lovely sparkling eyes. She was eighteen but looked and often acted twelve. In her questionnaire, she had stated that she was bisexual, but Bonnie suspected that she was a virgin. The girl was afraid to sleep alone in the dormitory, so the second night after the other girls had been returned to Los Angeles, Bonnie decided to have Blonde Girl sleep with her. Blonde Girl told Bonnie her family had come from Russia but that she was born in New York.

Her father abandoned her mother and her when the girl was three or four, and she had no idea who or where he was; she and her mother had wandered from place to place for years, often staying in homeless shelters or, weather permitting, in the national parks and forests. Her mother had "home schooled" her in reading and arithmetic.

Her mother "entertained gentlemen" for the two of them to survive, but had always protected the girl from the seedier sides of life. One night, when the girl was fourteen, her mother did not come back to the San Antonio shelter where they had been staying. After a week had gone by, the middle-aged woman who operated the shelter told the girl that the authorities needed to be notified that the girl's mother was missing and that Blonde Girl needed to be "taken over by the state."