Six on Sunday - THE RENTAL, a Sensuous Sci-Fi Romance

Six paragraphs from THE RENTAL, a sensuous sci-fi romance.

1.  A little lightbulb went off, and she reached up again to touch the band-aid. “So, what you’re saying is, this implant I have has changed everything, right? I mean, before, all you could do was observe the species on the planets from far away where they couldn’t detect you. But with this little doohickey, you can now get a full immersive experience about who and what we are. Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

2. Ta’Kall didn’t hear her as he’d removed the helmet-like device. For a long moment he continued to stare at his reflection, and then his face began to dissolve. To change. To erase itself. It took less than a handful of seconds, but she suspected he’d done it slowly in order not to frighten her. She was left looking at a blob. A formless shape without eyes or nose or mouth, but resembling a blob of glue, pale and somewhat shiny.

3. “You have to get your butt down here and do it now. I don’t know how you’re going to do that, but you can’t stay up there. The longer you do, the weaker you’re going to get, until you get so weak, you won’t be able to fly that spaceship you’re in. If they replace this chip in me, you know as well as I do we’ll lose all contact with each other, and I can’t bear to think I may be the last human contact you make before you…” Her throat closed up, preventing her from continuing. A wave of heat rose in her face when her phone rang once.

4. Unfortunately, Angie’s words of caution continued to ring in her ears. Dane had to admit she didn’t know if Ta’Kall was some guy trying to pull the wool over her eyes. There was always that possibility, and a girl couldn’t be too careful these days. What with today’s technology, how easy would it be for him to communicate with her via that helmet? And with a good computer and a CGI program, the image of him dissolving into a whitish blob wouldn’t be too difficult to achieve, right?

5. “It’s a motor neuron disease. It’s progressive, and there’s no cure. The patient’s body basically wastes away but the mind…” Mosher touched the top of her forehead. “The mind remains active. It’s like being trapped inside a sarcophagus. You can’t move. You might need help breathing. You certainly can’t feed yourself or do anything that requires physical movement. But your mind is unaffected. Hope’s case is what Rall Rentals was created for. For people like her. Hope is an adult female who’ll never be freed from her body that’s become a prison for her. But by, in effect, ‘borrowing’ your body, she can run and walk, and cook and eat food. She can hold conversations, drive a car, and go to the bathroom without assistance. She’ll be able to have sex, maybe even experience childbirth via her implant because of people like you. Because of generous and understanding people like you.”

6.  Knowing she couldn’t stay hidden in her bedroom, she first called to order her pizza before returning to the front room. Turning on the television, she lowered the volume to where she could barely hear it and parked herself on the floor, near Ta’Kall’s feet. She kept the app open on the phone to let her know when Hope signed on. She’d gotten an idea about how to handle the inevitable, and it was inevitable that her renter would see him and realize he wasn’t human. When that happened, Dane knew she’d have to reassure the woman she was in no danger. But more importantly, she’d have to plead with her not to reveal their secret. Dane wasn’t certain if Rall Rentals could tune in and see what Hope was experiencing. Hell, for all she knew they could do that now. But it was a risk she had to take because there was no way she was going to abandon Ta’Kall now. No way she’d kick him out into the world to fend for himself on a strange and dangerous planet after what he’d already endured.

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