Immortal Beloved, Gen. 2: Chapter 2 (Part One)
Yes, I know. It's been a long time since I wrote a chapter for this story. I hope that all of that waiting really was worth it though! I'm back writing it and will probably post the next installment next week. I'm telling you, getting my creativity back (and actually finishing this chapter) was a great birthday present for me. ;)
Guy stared up into the sky; the bright lights from the UFO had disappeared as quickly as they had come. Tank had been sucked into the ship's tractor beam in a matter of seconds, and there was no evidence that he had even been out in the yard in the first place.
He was completely baffled, and put his own eye to the telescope as well.
"No Guy Wrightley, it is not safe for you to even take a glance using the telescope at the moment." Said a familiar, soft voice.
"Stella, I- I didn't even know you were home. Where were you? You do know that Tank's-"
"Been taken away by the space craft. Yes, unfortunately I do know. I should of known all along that this would happen..."
She looked down at the ground.
"Forgive me, Guy. I really should have kept an eye on my husband while he was peering into the telescope. He knows that it was only for my use! Something- Or someone... Yes, that is it- someone must have lured Tank to the thing."
"So you're saying that you know what's going on right now?"
"Not exactly, but I know that he will be brought home safely. Do not worry, Tank is a very strong man."
"I'm not worried about him, Stella. If my assumptions are correct, I totally have the right to be worried about you."
"DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING!" Stella snapped, "Just because I am not of this earth does not mean that I fucking know everything that is going on in space!"
She was rather shocked that she had raised her voice to her old friend like that, and covered her mouth, only for it to open up again without her thinking.
"This is a matter of my own business and I do not need a Sim like you to interfere!"
"I don't know what to say..." He shook his head, and went toward his car. Before he could go anywhere, Marina came running out of the house.
"I fucking missed it, didn't I?!" She stomped her foot, "Damn, the one time I'm not using the telescope, my dad decides to get himself abducted without me seeing it. Ah well, too bad Maxy Waxy... Looks like you've lost a bet yet again!"
She then looked down at Guy, "Hey you! Did you see my dad get taken away?"
"So you're Bunker's sister, am I right?" Of course she was, why else would she be wearing Stella's old clothes? But somehow he needed to stray the conversation away from the abduction he witnessed.
"Well, you haven't seen any other teenage alien females around here, have you? Oh, lemme guess... You're Grunter's new-"
"I'm a friend of the family." Guy said abruptly, and then looked out into the distance, where Stella was still looking through the telescope. "...Or at least, I was. But enough about me, where did your brother go off to?"
"Oh, so you can take him to that boot camp again? Yeah, I know where the old General is taking the kid."
"Yeah, that's right. So he can be trained by my husband, the drill sergeant." Guy muttered, but Marina apparently didn't hear him because she kept on going while they moved into the house to finish their conversation.
"He's probably on my computer playing SSX3. It's basically the only place you can find him, besides the treadmill and the bathtub... Shit, that reminds me. My girl- I mean, my friend wanted me to-"
"So old Tank's still uncomfortable with Sims like us, huh? Ha, my Frankie could make anybody feel that way, but loved making him feel awkward especially. He had it in his mind that your father had some "repressed military man" thing going on before I knocked some sense into him. Oh, by the way, the name's Guy Wrightley."
Sims like us...
Marina let those few words soak into her mind before she replied. Never in her whole life had she been in a conversation with somebody new without the fact that she was of alien blood coming into the discussion. A fact about her that she took great pride in.
Usually if "like us" was in a conversation she was involved in, "us" would pertain to the other person being an alien as well.
Shrugging off all the thoughts that were circling in her brain, she let out a small giggle and continued.
"Well, by the way dad acts you'd think all of his friends were straight as a board! Marina Terrano. Bet my brother didn't even bother saying I existed."
"What about me?" Bunker asked from behind, donning his athletic gear and kicking a kicky bag around.
His views on the matter were totally different.
"Oh, I was just telling your sister about the torture Frankie put you through at boot camp today." Guy snickered, and then headed to the car.
"See you 'round guys; I need to get back to the family. Please watch your mother and make sure she's alright."
Marina nodded, and then looked back at her brother, who was not paying attention to what Guy said at all.
She went over and pat him on the back, which almost made him lose balance.
"So, you didn't go to work today huh?"
Bunker let the kicky bag drop to the floor. "He told you that?"
She gave him a wide smile. "No, just a guess." She replied, and then strolled away.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To say Guy was just nervous when thinking about what was happening back at his home was an understatement.
After all, Julia was only hired to be at their house from 2 to 7, and Frances had never been alone with his sons before.
Guy wholeheartedly trusted his husband, but couldn't help thinking that Frances would be on the verge of a panic attack if kept alone with them for too long.
But as Guy quietly peeked in the doorway of his bedroom, he found out that what did happen while he was away was the total opposite of what he feared.
"Sorry I took so long." He whispered, and slowly went over to Frances, who was tucking in his son and did not notice him come into the room.
"I can see they didn't put you through too much trouble I was gone."
"Well um, actually... He was jumping on the bed and then passed out in it. Took me forever to have him put on his pajamas. I didn't want to wake him up because I was afraid he'd start another fiasco. I can handle it though, Guy. Really, I probably could."
Frances trailed off until Guy tenderly put his arm around his shoulder, and they both took a step back to admire the little family they had created for themselves.
More than a decade he had been waiting for a moment like this.
Seeing his two sons made the years of waiting and hiding their love for one another just for the sake of keeping Frances' inheritance feel like just a millisecond went by.
Now with their move to Strangetown, and Guy's teaching career, they were able to live as normal as they could possibly be (which is not a problem with all of the odd happenings around these parts) free from all worries, and in Frances' case, annoying relatives.
But there was something missing.
Coming from a rather large family, Guy felt obligated to have one as well. And as much as he loved Alvin and Sterling, there was still a void that he needed to fill.
A want to pass down his own genes to future generations.
That fateful experience of witnessing Tank's abduction made him realize what he must do.
He had heard rumors about alien abductions before. In fact, there happened to be a man living somewhere near town that had been abducted around the time Bunker was born. The consequence was him giving birth to a green son. Guy had never met the man, but read his memoirs from cover to cover many times.
There was no doubt in his mind that Tank would come home pregnant too.
If there was anybody around that would know about male pregnancy, it would be the aliens. Oh Goddess, if only Stella wasn't still mad at him. There were many questions that he would have loved to ask.
But for now, he had to take the matters into his own hands. Perhaps there was some way that he could meet another alien, preferably what this author called a "Pollination Technician".
If he could meet some face to face, one of them would probably sympathize with his plea.
He then thought of Frances. How thrilled would he be if there was a possibility of having a little girl! That would definitely give poor Sterling a break, for sure. Not that he minded him being dressed in pink all the time.
But his transition was coming up, and he wouldn't let his son go to school in something like that. Those kids could be cruel sometimes.
Okay, so he hadn't actually discussed with his husband about having another kid- but with all the fun he was having with them made him feel like he wouldn't mind. And he most definitely would enjoy one that was literally their own creation.
Plus, if the outcome did happen to be a girl, it would be like giving Frances the toy that he always wanted.
After all, if Frances wanted anything...
Guy made sure he usually got it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It was usual to see most members of the Curious family up before dawn to do their ritualistic cleaning routines. Unfortunately, this usually meant that Maxis was in the only bathroom on the main floor of the house until the sun rose completely over Strangetown.
To make it even worse, today Vidcund's twins had a special visitor over, which meant that the line for the bathroom would consist of one more body.
Well, Lydia Mace wasn't really all that special due to the fact that she was over their house almost 24/7 in the first place. But to the kids, it was a great change from the monotonous nonetheless.
However, this made Maxis stay in the bathroom longer, because it was basically guaranteed that he would get a glimpse of one of Lydia's hot sisters when it was time for her to leave.
"So what's it gonna be today, Maxis you stud?"
He needed to keep up with his reputation.
"Nah, too colorful."
Despite being such a scrawny alien with thick glasses, there was just something about him that made the girls swoon.
"Well this looks like it would be good to wear at the club... Hmm, I got it!"
"Hahaha! Too much like Lazlo."
In his mind, he had the potential to get more women in the sack than Ripp Grunt and Abhijeet Turner combined. He was well on his way.
"Too- uhh...."
In the corner of his eye he saw a round, bulbous head staring back at him that brought him back to reality. Lydia had barged in and was standing there silently the whole entire time with a book clutched in her hand.
"Read this to me." She demanded, and marched into the living area.
He groaned, and with his silly makeover that was definitely going to be changed he followed suit.
Maxis was too nice, and would let anybody walk all over him.
Lydia in particular had this down to an art form. One day, he'd have to have her pay him for every time he did stuff for her. Sometimes he thought that she would sleep over their house just so she could bug him. Shit, it was almost like she had a crush on him!
This thought made him shudder. She looked weirder than his little cousins, and they were aliens, a race that has a reputation for looking deformed. Usually he wasn't picky when it came to looks, but she was also a total BITCH in every sense of the word.
Even so, he took his glasses out of his back pocket, put them on, and began to read to her.
"And then they lived happily ever after- the end!" He said quickly after skimming through the children's book and reading only key parts.
"That's not the real story!" She mumbled, while she put her face uncomfortably close to his when she was getting up.
"It is when I tell it, kiddo!"
"I'm not a "kiddo". I'm going to be having my transition in a few days, you know."
Maxis ignored her and headed over to the computer and Lydia followed him.
"Olivia says that you have a crush on her girlfriend. Is this true?"
True? Damn right it was. Although CRUSH wouldn't be the word he would have used. If they were in the same room, it didn't even take a minute for him to start undressing her with his eyes.
In his defense, Marina was the only alien girl that wasn't related to him around, so he couldn't help but be attracted to her! Of course with her being what she was, he had no chance.
But that didn't keep him from trying!
"Of course not, Lydz. She's a lezbo. Remember what I told you about that?"
"You're lying."
Maxis scowled. "So what if I am?! There's really nothing I can do about it is there?"
Instead of answering, Lydia just stomped into the twins' room, where she found Gherkin jumping on the bed.
He shrugged, and retreated into the bathroom. He came out looking like his normal self; maybe today just wasn't the day for a makeover.
Lazlo had finally gotten up, and went straight to his synthesizer. He was always experimenting with his latest creations- which unlike his brothers, pertained to the science of music.
He couldn't wait to get the new sounds on record so he could test them out at P.U.R.E.
Upon hearing him, Maxis was immediately reminded of the last time he called Bunker. They were supposed to hang out today at the nightclub, but he hadn't talked to him all week so he didn't know if he was busy or not.
The phone rang before he could even dial his number.
"What's up, Trench? Calling to tell me you give up on that fucking bet, huh?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Umm..."
Bunker gave a look of desperation to his sister, who was sitting a the table ready to dictate him everything he needed to say.
"I HEARD THAT, MAX!" Marina shouted. "You're shit outta luck kid, I won again! Tank's been abducted before your uncle!"
"Um, she says she heard you."
"Well, how should I know that you could hear her? Okay well anyway, she won the bet."
Even from where Marina was sitting, she could hear the sound of Maxis kicking the wall.
"Sis, I think it would be a good idea if you talk to him instead."
"No Bunker, he's your best friend and you really need to talk to him."
Maxis was chattering away while Bunker just kept staring out into space. All in all, his friend was excited and was talking about the scattered memories his dad had when he went into the spaceship the night he was conceived.
Bunker didn't really know what else to do but say "Uh huh" after every few sentences.
All the details he was giving him were just making him more worried. After all, Tank hadn't come back yet and his mother was sitting on the porch awaiting his arrival. Since her bout with Guy, she had not spoken a word to anybody.
She probably didn't even go to sleep that night.
It took a while, but finally he got fed up.
"Max, how about you come over here to talk about this, okay? You know how I can't stand talking on the phone."
"Exactly what I wanted you to say in the first place, Grunter. Don't know why you didn't do it then."
Bunker ignored her, and went into the bathroom where he took a quick shower.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He wrapped a towel around himself and was going to answer it, but got preoccupied with a few pimples that appeared on his skin.
They were large and painful, but took the attention away from his black slanted eyes.
Maxis got tired of waiting for him and opened the bathroom door himself, where he found his friend applying acne cream on his face.
Something was different about him that he couldn't put his finger on, and it wasn't just the hair.
"I don't like them, Max." He finally said.
"Yeah, I don't like them when I get them either."
"You don't get them- they're always there. Always staring back at me. Big, black and soulless. That's what I think they are. I can understand why some Sims out there are afraid of us- they scare me also."
Maxis wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders. Clearly he wasn't talking about his acne after all.
Whatever happened during the past week had really taken a toll on the kid. He looked tired, and his happy go lucky demeanor had been replaced with something foreign.
He really wished he could do something.
"Get dressed." He said, after a long pause, "We're going out."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Like any loving wife, it was Stella's duty to wait for her husband to arrive home. She was used to him being out to sea so him gone was something she could handle.
But this was not just a typical work trip. She was all alone, since both of her children went out to a community lot with their friends.
She wasn't sure how she should feel about knowing what the aliens could be doing to him.
Should she be worried? Should she stay calm because she knew he would arrive home safely? Should she make preparations for the offspring that Tank was sure to be carrying?
The questions kept repeating in her mind like a broken record.
She did however know that whoever was operating the ship was taking an awfully long time to perform all of the tasks that needed to be done. Having been on a spaceship while a pollination was taking place, Stella knew that the average time it was supposed to take was just a few hours. This abduction happened in the evening, and at noon she was still left waiting for it to arrive.
While the craft finally came into view, she racked her brain wondering if the technician was one she came in contact with when she was in training.
Performance wise, most of the students back on her home planet were inferior to Stella even when she was at a young age. And if it was one of them doing the pollinating, she wouldn't be surprised if The Colony was furious with her for giving up her predestined position.
That is, if they knew she was still alive.
Yes, the operator was indeed inexperienced- either that or they were quite cruel. Never had she seen a test subject be catapulted out of the craft like that! What if they lacked the strength that Tank possessed?
Their dog Shouji was alarmed at this as well.
Despite the process taking so long, Tank felt like it had only been a few minutes. He was pretty surprised to see that the sun had already been out for a while.
For a normal Sim, this would have been a traumatic experience that would have affected them for the rest of their lives. Luckily for Tank, he would be able to quickly block out what happened to him- something that he didn't have to do since he was in his teens.
But that process would take longer than it had in the past, because the green UFO was still hovering behind him, making obnoxious whirring noises.
He really hoped that whatever happened to him while he was inside the thing did not have any long-term side effects. He was definitely going to ask his wife later, once the literal pain in his ass went away.
Guy stared up into the sky; the bright lights from the UFO had disappeared as quickly as they had come. Tank had been sucked into the ship's tractor beam in a matter of seconds, and there was no evidence that he had even been out in the yard in the first place.
He was completely baffled, and put his own eye to the telescope as well.
"No Guy Wrightley, it is not safe for you to even take a glance using the telescope at the moment." Said a familiar, soft voice.
"Stella, I- I didn't even know you were home. Where were you? You do know that Tank's-"
"Been taken away by the space craft. Yes, unfortunately I do know. I should of known all along that this would happen..."
She looked down at the ground.
"Forgive me, Guy. I really should have kept an eye on my husband while he was peering into the telescope. He knows that it was only for my use! Something- Or someone... Yes, that is it- someone must have lured Tank to the thing."
"So you're saying that you know what's going on right now?"
"Not exactly, but I know that he will be brought home safely. Do not worry, Tank is a very strong man."
"I'm not worried about him, Stella. If my assumptions are correct, I totally have the right to be worried about you."
"DO NOT ASSUME ANYTHING!" Stella snapped, "Just because I am not of this earth does not mean that I fucking know everything that is going on in space!"
She was rather shocked that she had raised her voice to her old friend like that, and covered her mouth, only for it to open up again without her thinking.
"This is a matter of my own business and I do not need a Sim like you to interfere!"
"I don't know what to say..." He shook his head, and went toward his car. Before he could go anywhere, Marina came running out of the house.
"I fucking missed it, didn't I?!" She stomped her foot, "Damn, the one time I'm not using the telescope, my dad decides to get himself abducted without me seeing it. Ah well, too bad Maxy Waxy... Looks like you've lost a bet yet again!"
She then looked down at Guy, "Hey you! Did you see my dad get taken away?"
"So you're Bunker's sister, am I right?" Of course she was, why else would she be wearing Stella's old clothes? But somehow he needed to stray the conversation away from the abduction he witnessed.
"Well, you haven't seen any other teenage alien females around here, have you? Oh, lemme guess... You're Grunter's new-"
"I'm a friend of the family." Guy said abruptly, and then looked out into the distance, where Stella was still looking through the telescope. "...Or at least, I was. But enough about me, where did your brother go off to?"
"Oh, so you can take him to that boot camp again? Yeah, I know where the old General is taking the kid."
"Yeah, that's right. So he can be trained by my husband, the drill sergeant." Guy muttered, but Marina apparently didn't hear him because she kept on going while they moved into the house to finish their conversation.
"He's probably on my computer playing SSX3. It's basically the only place you can find him, besides the treadmill and the bathtub... Shit, that reminds me. My girl- I mean, my friend wanted me to-"
"So old Tank's still uncomfortable with Sims like us, huh? Ha, my Frankie could make anybody feel that way, but loved making him feel awkward especially. He had it in his mind that your father had some "repressed military man" thing going on before I knocked some sense into him. Oh, by the way, the name's Guy Wrightley."
Sims like us...
Marina let those few words soak into her mind before she replied. Never in her whole life had she been in a conversation with somebody new without the fact that she was of alien blood coming into the discussion. A fact about her that she took great pride in.
Usually if "like us" was in a conversation she was involved in, "us" would pertain to the other person being an alien as well.
Shrugging off all the thoughts that were circling in her brain, she let out a small giggle and continued.
"Well, by the way dad acts you'd think all of his friends were straight as a board! Marina Terrano. Bet my brother didn't even bother saying I existed."
"What about me?" Bunker asked from behind, donning his athletic gear and kicking a kicky bag around.
His views on the matter were totally different.
"Oh, I was just telling your sister about the torture Frankie put you through at boot camp today." Guy snickered, and then headed to the car.
"See you 'round guys; I need to get back to the family. Please watch your mother and make sure she's alright."
Marina nodded, and then looked back at her brother, who was not paying attention to what Guy said at all.
She went over and pat him on the back, which almost made him lose balance.
"So, you didn't go to work today huh?"
Bunker let the kicky bag drop to the floor. "He told you that?"
She gave him a wide smile. "No, just a guess." She replied, and then strolled away.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To say Guy was just nervous when thinking about what was happening back at his home was an understatement.
After all, Julia was only hired to be at their house from 2 to 7, and Frances had never been alone with his sons before.
Guy wholeheartedly trusted his husband, but couldn't help thinking that Frances would be on the verge of a panic attack if kept alone with them for too long.
But as Guy quietly peeked in the doorway of his bedroom, he found out that what did happen while he was away was the total opposite of what he feared.
"Sorry I took so long." He whispered, and slowly went over to Frances, who was tucking in his son and did not notice him come into the room.
"I can see they didn't put you through too much trouble I was gone."
"Well um, actually... He was jumping on the bed and then passed out in it. Took me forever to have him put on his pajamas. I didn't want to wake him up because I was afraid he'd start another fiasco. I can handle it though, Guy. Really, I probably could."
Frances trailed off until Guy tenderly put his arm around his shoulder, and they both took a step back to admire the little family they had created for themselves.
More than a decade he had been waiting for a moment like this.
Seeing his two sons made the years of waiting and hiding their love for one another just for the sake of keeping Frances' inheritance feel like just a millisecond went by.
Now with their move to Strangetown, and Guy's teaching career, they were able to live as normal as they could possibly be (which is not a problem with all of the odd happenings around these parts) free from all worries, and in Frances' case, annoying relatives.
But there was something missing.
Coming from a rather large family, Guy felt obligated to have one as well. And as much as he loved Alvin and Sterling, there was still a void that he needed to fill.
A want to pass down his own genes to future generations.
That fateful experience of witnessing Tank's abduction made him realize what he must do.
He had heard rumors about alien abductions before. In fact, there happened to be a man living somewhere near town that had been abducted around the time Bunker was born. The consequence was him giving birth to a green son. Guy had never met the man, but read his memoirs from cover to cover many times.
There was no doubt in his mind that Tank would come home pregnant too.
If there was anybody around that would know about male pregnancy, it would be the aliens. Oh Goddess, if only Stella wasn't still mad at him. There were many questions that he would have loved to ask.
But for now, he had to take the matters into his own hands. Perhaps there was some way that he could meet another alien, preferably what this author called a "Pollination Technician".
If he could meet some face to face, one of them would probably sympathize with his plea.
He then thought of Frances. How thrilled would he be if there was a possibility of having a little girl! That would definitely give poor Sterling a break, for sure. Not that he minded him being dressed in pink all the time.
But his transition was coming up, and he wouldn't let his son go to school in something like that. Those kids could be cruel sometimes.
Okay, so he hadn't actually discussed with his husband about having another kid- but with all the fun he was having with them made him feel like he wouldn't mind. And he most definitely would enjoy one that was literally their own creation.
Plus, if the outcome did happen to be a girl, it would be like giving Frances the toy that he always wanted.
After all, if Frances wanted anything...
Guy made sure he usually got it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It was usual to see most members of the Curious family up before dawn to do their ritualistic cleaning routines. Unfortunately, this usually meant that Maxis was in the only bathroom on the main floor of the house until the sun rose completely over Strangetown.
To make it even worse, today Vidcund's twins had a special visitor over, which meant that the line for the bathroom would consist of one more body.
Well, Lydia Mace wasn't really all that special due to the fact that she was over their house almost 24/7 in the first place. But to the kids, it was a great change from the monotonous nonetheless.
However, this made Maxis stay in the bathroom longer, because it was basically guaranteed that he would get a glimpse of one of Lydia's hot sisters when it was time for her to leave.
"So what's it gonna be today, Maxis you stud?"
He needed to keep up with his reputation.
"Nah, too colorful."
Despite being such a scrawny alien with thick glasses, there was just something about him that made the girls swoon.
"Well this looks like it would be good to wear at the club... Hmm, I got it!"
"Hahaha! Too much like Lazlo."
In his mind, he had the potential to get more women in the sack than Ripp Grunt and Abhijeet Turner combined. He was well on his way.
"Too- uhh...."
In the corner of his eye he saw a round, bulbous head staring back at him that brought him back to reality. Lydia had barged in and was standing there silently the whole entire time with a book clutched in her hand.
"Read this to me." She demanded, and marched into the living area.
He groaned, and with his silly makeover that was definitely going to be changed he followed suit.
Maxis was too nice, and would let anybody walk all over him.
Lydia in particular had this down to an art form. One day, he'd have to have her pay him for every time he did stuff for her. Sometimes he thought that she would sleep over their house just so she could bug him. Shit, it was almost like she had a crush on him!
This thought made him shudder. She looked weirder than his little cousins, and they were aliens, a race that has a reputation for looking deformed. Usually he wasn't picky when it came to looks, but she was also a total BITCH in every sense of the word.
Even so, he took his glasses out of his back pocket, put them on, and began to read to her.
"And then they lived happily ever after- the end!" He said quickly after skimming through the children's book and reading only key parts.
"That's not the real story!" She mumbled, while she put her face uncomfortably close to his when she was getting up.
"It is when I tell it, kiddo!"
"I'm not a "kiddo". I'm going to be having my transition in a few days, you know."
Maxis ignored her and headed over to the computer and Lydia followed him.
"Olivia says that you have a crush on her girlfriend. Is this true?"
True? Damn right it was. Although CRUSH wouldn't be the word he would have used. If they were in the same room, it didn't even take a minute for him to start undressing her with his eyes.
In his defense, Marina was the only alien girl that wasn't related to him around, so he couldn't help but be attracted to her! Of course with her being what she was, he had no chance.
But that didn't keep him from trying!
"Of course not, Lydz. She's a lezbo. Remember what I told you about that?"
"You're lying."
Maxis scowled. "So what if I am?! There's really nothing I can do about it is there?"
Instead of answering, Lydia just stomped into the twins' room, where she found Gherkin jumping on the bed.
He shrugged, and retreated into the bathroom. He came out looking like his normal self; maybe today just wasn't the day for a makeover.
Lazlo had finally gotten up, and went straight to his synthesizer. He was always experimenting with his latest creations- which unlike his brothers, pertained to the science of music.
He couldn't wait to get the new sounds on record so he could test them out at P.U.R.E.
Upon hearing him, Maxis was immediately reminded of the last time he called Bunker. They were supposed to hang out today at the nightclub, but he hadn't talked to him all week so he didn't know if he was busy or not.
The phone rang before he could even dial his number.
"What's up, Trench? Calling to tell me you give up on that fucking bet, huh?"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Umm..."
Bunker gave a look of desperation to his sister, who was sitting a the table ready to dictate him everything he needed to say.
"I HEARD THAT, MAX!" Marina shouted. "You're shit outta luck kid, I won again! Tank's been abducted before your uncle!"
"Um, she says she heard you."
"Well, how should I know that you could hear her? Okay well anyway, she won the bet."
Even from where Marina was sitting, she could hear the sound of Maxis kicking the wall.
"Sis, I think it would be a good idea if you talk to him instead."
"No Bunker, he's your best friend and you really need to talk to him."
Maxis was chattering away while Bunker just kept staring out into space. All in all, his friend was excited and was talking about the scattered memories his dad had when he went into the spaceship the night he was conceived.
Bunker didn't really know what else to do but say "Uh huh" after every few sentences.
All the details he was giving him were just making him more worried. After all, Tank hadn't come back yet and his mother was sitting on the porch awaiting his arrival. Since her bout with Guy, she had not spoken a word to anybody.
She probably didn't even go to sleep that night.
It took a while, but finally he got fed up.
"Max, how about you come over here to talk about this, okay? You know how I can't stand talking on the phone."
"Exactly what I wanted you to say in the first place, Grunter. Don't know why you didn't do it then."
Bunker ignored her, and went into the bathroom where he took a quick shower.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He wrapped a towel around himself and was going to answer it, but got preoccupied with a few pimples that appeared on his skin.
They were large and painful, but took the attention away from his black slanted eyes.
Maxis got tired of waiting for him and opened the bathroom door himself, where he found his friend applying acne cream on his face.
Something was different about him that he couldn't put his finger on, and it wasn't just the hair.
"I don't like them, Max." He finally said.
"Yeah, I don't like them when I get them either."
"You don't get them- they're always there. Always staring back at me. Big, black and soulless. That's what I think they are. I can understand why some Sims out there are afraid of us- they scare me also."
Maxis wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulders. Clearly he wasn't talking about his acne after all.
Whatever happened during the past week had really taken a toll on the kid. He looked tired, and his happy go lucky demeanor had been replaced with something foreign.
He really wished he could do something.
"Get dressed." He said, after a long pause, "We're going out."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Like any loving wife, it was Stella's duty to wait for her husband to arrive home. She was used to him being out to sea so him gone was something she could handle.
But this was not just a typical work trip. She was all alone, since both of her children went out to a community lot with their friends.
She wasn't sure how she should feel about knowing what the aliens could be doing to him.
Should she be worried? Should she stay calm because she knew he would arrive home safely? Should she make preparations for the offspring that Tank was sure to be carrying?
The questions kept repeating in her mind like a broken record.
She did however know that whoever was operating the ship was taking an awfully long time to perform all of the tasks that needed to be done. Having been on a spaceship while a pollination was taking place, Stella knew that the average time it was supposed to take was just a few hours. This abduction happened in the evening, and at noon she was still left waiting for it to arrive.
While the craft finally came into view, she racked her brain wondering if the technician was one she came in contact with when she was in training.
Performance wise, most of the students back on her home planet were inferior to Stella even when she was at a young age. And if it was one of them doing the pollinating, she wouldn't be surprised if The Colony was furious with her for giving up her predestined position.
That is, if they knew she was still alive.
Yes, the operator was indeed inexperienced- either that or they were quite cruel. Never had she seen a test subject be catapulted out of the craft like that! What if they lacked the strength that Tank possessed?
Their dog Shouji was alarmed at this as well.
Despite the process taking so long, Tank felt like it had only been a few minutes. He was pretty surprised to see that the sun had already been out for a while.
For a normal Sim, this would have been a traumatic experience that would have affected them for the rest of their lives. Luckily for Tank, he would be able to quickly block out what happened to him- something that he didn't have to do since he was in his teens.
But that process would take longer than it had in the past, because the green UFO was still hovering behind him, making obnoxious whirring noises.
He really hoped that whatever happened to him while he was inside the thing did not have any long-term side effects. He was definitely going to ask his wife later, once the literal pain in his ass went away.