Hey All! I'm going to be away from the computer most of the morning, so
I thought I'd leave you with a bit of my upcoming suspense - Fertile
Ground (SCIU #2)...
ONE
The woman strolled past Adam toward the produce aisle,
the essence of her fertility wafting through the air like a perfume. He waited
until she stopped to squeeze the cantaloupes before he followed. The fruit she
fondled couldn’t be nearly as ripe as she was, but by all appearances, the
melons were more attractive.
Today she wore her hair pulled back in a tight,
unflattering ponytail, and her baggy clothing hid her as well as any
camouflage. But he saw the female for what she was. A perfect vessel he’d spent
weeks carefully choosing. Whether in this butt-ugly guise or when he’d first
seen the girl with a simple dress flowing around those shapely bare legs, the
essence of her femininity called to him. He wouldn’t need to actually look at
her. Not for long, anyway. Finding these women attractive had never been a
requirement. He only needed to get inside and plant his seed. Then he could be
done with her. For now.
Nine months down the road, she’d bear a child in his
image. They all did. And that’s all that mattered.
Seven weeks ago this girl had simply been another prey
animal passing through his hunting grounds. She’d claimed his notice then, but
he’d already had a target in mind. Since then, he had insured the other girl
would be draped over the porcelain, proving that her womb bore his fruit. Time
to move on to this next vessel.
When the brunette squeezed a tomato to test its
ripeness, he smiled. Even as dedicated to his mission as Adam was, he could
spare a moment to appreciate the irony. Most likely the girl didn’t possess the
self-awareness to know how ripe her own body had become.
Fertile ground. Like
the others. And exactly like the others, she couldn’t be bothered to keep
track of her cycles. Women never watched for the signs. They never bothered to
understand God’s rhythm or His plan for the female of the human bond.
Only Adam understood the Lord’s intentions.
“Be fruitful and multiply,” he said on a whisper of
breath as the girl painstakingly chose a half dozen apples, placed them
carefully into a bag, and gently set it in her cart. Those meticulous hands
would someday hold his son.
A soft smile crept over his lips as he imagined his
boy’s sturdy legs taking their first steps. The toddler’s smile of too-few
teeth would express the initial joy of becoming a man and leaving the life of
an animal behind.
For the first few years, children were little more than
the monkeys some claimed mankind descended from. Adam knew better. The
beginning of a man’s life amounted to a test. He could choose to crawl like an
animal or not. Walking upright signified the passage from base creature into
the greater ideals of God’s plan.
Adam’s sons would know their true place in the world. The
women could raise them through those monkey years. Time enough to claim them
once they joined the human race. Once they became men.
“Excuse me.” The shy voice was so close he jumped. “Oh! I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He steeled himself against the annoyance welling up.
Pasting on a deprecating smile, he tilted his head. “Not a problem. I was
trying to decide if I want salad for dinner tonight.”
“It’s just that… Do I know you from somewhere?”
This wasn’t the first member of his herd to recognize
him. Sometimes, he let them stumble across him on purpose. It made the hunt so
much more exciting. Gazing at her carefully, he pretended to try and place her
face. “Were you at the protest on campus a couple months ago?”
Her lush mouth split into a wide smile filled with the
perfect teeth he hoped were natural. “Right. Over at Eastern. I figured that
was you. Funny running into you here.”
“I was thinking that exact thing myself.” Enough people
populated the metro-Detroit area they never would’ve crossed paths
accidentally, but letting her think his appearance was a coincidence or fate played into his plans.
“Do you live near here, too?” Her green eyes narrowed
under sculpted eyebrows. “Weird that I haven’t seen you before.”
“I travel around the area for work. I happened to be
driving by on my way east, saw this place, and got the idea to grab something
for dinner.” The words dropped smoothly from his mouth. He’d spoken the same
lies too many times before for them to come out as anything but natural. Of
course, it helped that they weren’t total falsehoods. He did travel for work
and he was hungry.
“I live a couple blocks from here,” she said, nodding in
the general direction of her apartment. He pasted a surprised look on his face,
as if he hadn’t spent the previous night in her backyard watching her.
“Small world.” He grabbed a tomato and a bag of lettuce.
“Well. Gotta get back on the road. It was nice running into you.”
“Sure. Next time you’re in the area, look me up.” Her
words sounded friendly enough, but he knew she didn’t want to see him again. None
of them wanted to.
But they all did.
I hope you enjoyed it. I expect this to be available for purchase on
Monday, May 16th... Yep, this coming Monday. And it won't be set for
pre-order this time, so you'll get it when you one-click it. Yay!
