Adamonde. Benjamin Vance

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СКАЧАТЬ his misgivings with a strange detached rambling logic, “I think we should take some blood at a minimum, and I’d love to check out that poison on her barbs, plus I’d like to do a fecal if you could bring me some. She has traits … you have traits of reptiles and birds, Adamonde. They’re both beautiful species of animals on our planet, and your world too now, I guess. I sure wish I knew where you came from.” Linda, still nude, but apparently chilly or embarrassed, donned a long lab coat, leaving it partially unbuttoned. She puttered around her laboratory talking to them both. She stared at them, seemed to get her bearings again, turned and asked Adamonde if she knew where she came from. The Earthlings were both shaken when she nodded her head.

      Adamonde went to Linda’s desk and secured a piece of typing paper and a pen. She put the paper down on a work surface of the lab and drew a perfect rendition of a tubular Mobius Band. She pointed at Linda and Jonathan and made a point on the tube. She pointed at herself and made a point on the same lateral plane, but on the opposite side of the tube. She smiled and squeaked her pride at their understanding; she came from another universe or dimension.

      To dispel any doubt, she made another dot on the Mobius far from the previous two and distorted her face into a grimace. Then she pointed to her dot and at herself; pointed at Earth’s dot and toward Jonathan and Linda. When she pointed to the distant dot she mimicked the sound of an explosion and used her hands and arms to emphasize an exploding planet. They both felt a loss when she transferred the emotion. Then both partially naked other people in the room exclaimed “Another galaxy; she came from another galaxy!” Jonathan asked, “Baby, what happened to the other planet?”

      Adamonde looked at the floor and whispered, “Gohhnne, haall gohhnne!”

      “Well, how many planets are left in their galaxy which the beings could have gone to?”

      Adamonde held up her two thumbs and index finger into her rendition of a zero, but didn’t utter a sound. A chill went up Jonathan’s spine, but he asked the question anyway, “Adamonde, how many other planets in your galaxy have intelligent life?”

      She held up her fingers in the same manner … zero!

      Jonathan could not ask the next question, so Linda took over, “Sweetie, are there any more planets in our galaxy which have intelligent life?”

      Adamonde slowly shook her head and a single pink tear formed in her left eye. Linda and Jonathan decided not to ask any more galaxy questions at that time.

      Linda finally subdued her own racing mind and asked, “Sweetie can I take some blood to check your species? It may hurt a little, but not much if I rub with alcohol. When Adamonde smelled the alcohol, she recoiled and would not let Linda come close with it. Linda then went through an exhaustive smell test, trying every smell of topical sterilizing liquid and gel in the clinic, and Adamonde finally settled on an odorless clear yellow antibiotic surgical gel. The venipuncture was simple and painless. Linda took two vials and put on a colorful animal band aid, which Adamonde promptly removed and displayed to Jonathan with a smile.

      After the venipuncture, and somewhat successfully deterring Adamonde from admiring and comparing the weight of each other’s breasts, Linda checked Adamonde’s temperature with a human forehead thermometer and checked her heart rate and blood pressure. Her temp was 102 degrees Fahrenheit, but her resting heart rate, sounds and blood pressure were about the same as human. After the superficial exam, Linda wanted to document everything with photos, but Jonathan forbade it, citing possible government interference and confiscation of Adamonde. Linda understood, but then asked if she could do radiographs of Adamonde’s chest and pelvis. They conferred with Adamonde and she popped onto the X-ray table and lay down with a chime, a smile and a suggestive pelvic thrust toward Jonathan.

      The radiographs were astonishing. Adamonde’s bones appeared as dense as steel and just as opaque. Her lungs were dramatic, almost like a continuum of air chambers, and her pelvis and abdomen revealed no obvious reproductive organs or kidneys. She only had eight pairs of ribs, and Linda was relieved she had digital radiography so she could study Adamonde’s physiology on DVD at her convenience. The blood would be sent to the lab the next morning, and results would be back by the next evening. They did not try to X-ray her feet and ankles for obvious reasons.

      It was almost 11:00 p.m. when Adamonde and Jonathan left. Jonathan was partially clothed, Linda was marginal, and Adamonde was not. The two ladies hugged, but Adamonde did not attempt to “monkey” Linda. Linda hid behind the door holding her lab coat closed as Jonathan and Adamonde departed. Still in a marginal afterglow before they left, she couldn’t understand why she felt so profoundly alone after their SUV pulled onto the highway. Adamonde tinkled, chimed and looked back toward the Vet clinic. Jonathan said, “I know, Baby, I know. Maybe we’ll see her tomorrow.”

      A flushing toilet woke Jonathan the next morning. He lay in the bed and received flashes from Adamonde while she tinkered in the kitchen. She was attempting to fix breakfast and it alarmed him. Although he got assurances from her confirming she could handle it, he was worried about popping grease and bare skin and something else … lightly veiled. When he reached the kitchen, there was Adamonde, wearing only an apron; with two eggs and bacon frying and a spatula in her hand. She whispered, “Sheee?” Jonathan relaxed and kissed her on her bare shoulder and neck. She tinkled her delight and he registered his via a grumbling tummy. He asked, “Since when did you start cooking?”

      She said, “Teeeveee.”

      He simply smiled and said, “Oh, the Cooking Channel; your whispering English is getting better.”

      “Yeessss, praacktuuusss, khyyoo.”

      “Oh, so you think I’m getting better at listening, huh?”

      She tinkled and chimed with a small Earthly giggle at the end that surprised them both.

      He mocked her with a smile, “Well, sounds like it isn’t just mhheee.”

      She put down the spatula, turned off the stove top and poked him in the ribs; first with one hand’s finger, then with the other. He laughed and became defenseless; knowing quite well what was ahead if he didn’t stop her. Between fits of laughter he managed to fib, “Your breakfast is burning … you beautiful, mean alien!”

      She stopped and looked him in the eyes, hers dilated, but not fluctuating and whispered, “Luufff khyyoo!”

      He sobered quickly, but was left with a big smile, “I love you too, Beautiful. How’s my Baby feeling this morning?”

      Surprisingly, she responded with a strange mix of mental and audio notes suffixed with, “eeeeuwwww!” and held her left hand over her abdomen.

      A million confirming and conflicting flashes ran through his mind, which her attempts to soothe and slow down only confused. Adamonde finally squeaked loudly and then grunted her disapproval to stop him. Eyes still locked on him, she turned her head sideways, put her pulsating hands against his cheeks and whispered, “Ihhmmee Ookaaa … ooookkaaayyyy!”

      “Yeah, you say you are, but there’re a million things you’ve been exposed to which could harm you. You probably have no immunity to many germs and we have no immunity to whatever commensals you carry.” While he was talking, Adamonde was shaking her head, smiling and interfering with his thinking. When he finished she thought for a few seconds, shook her head again and faultily formed, “knooo deeeseeesees fruuumm mhheeee!”

      “How does that happen? How can you be sure?”

      She stared at him and tried to engender soothing thoughts, but he only got more agitated. Suddenly her eyes got wide in recognition, СКАЧАТЬ