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.
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.
