Blood Relations

Chapter 1 - Ambushed!

Classical music echoed in Carolyn’s head as she opened her eyes. Dr. Tula was leaning over her holding her hand.

“Good morning, Carolyn. How do you feel?”

“Dr. Tula? Is everything okay? When will I finally fall asleep?”

“Asleep? My dear, you have been sleeping for over ten thousand years!”

“Ten thousand years? Oh, my God. That means we’ve made it to the other side of the galaxy! This is exciting, Tula! Where’s Eros? Is he up?” She tried lifting her head but couldn’t. “Hey, what’s going on? I can’t move.”

“Everything is fine. Your body is still under the side effects from the cryofreeze. As soon as your body finishes purging the solution from your lungs, you’ll feel much better. I know you and Eros have been together for a lifetime, but I was so touched when I opened your double-pod today. Seeing Eros wrapped in your arms like that was so sweet and knowing you had slept that way for ten thousand years, well, it brought me to tears. I wish I could find love like yours.”

“You’re a sensitive soul, Tula. You will. You have lots of time to find that special someone. Did you say Eros is with me? How come I can’t feel him?”

“You will. We’re about halfway through the purge. Let me know when you start to feel your arms and fingers.”

“How long have you been up?”

“The onboard computer woke me about two hours ago. My legs are still a little weak. As soon as I was able, I started waking you.”

“Have you had a chance to see our new planet, our new home yet?”

“Are you kidding, that was the first thing I looked at on the monitor. She’s sure different, but I think still beautiful. Here, let me show it to you on the ship’s monitor.”

Carolyn studied the wall-sized screen. “Huh? Is that her? She’s not the red planet I expected. How are we going to live on a blue planet?”

“I know. It’s going to take some getting used to that’s for sure.”

“I’ll talk to Eros about this. I think it’s a mistake.”

“One interesting thing the biosensors are picking up down there is that the planet is bursting with all kinds of exotic life forms. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”

Carolyn focused her eyes on the planet as it rotated on the screen. “Really? Like what?”

“I’ll need more time to analyze, but they are clearly not all cold-blooded down there. Eros’s father theorized warm-blooded creatures could exist somewhere in the universe, but he could never prove it. This planet is teeming with warm-blooded life forms.”

“Are you sure? I can’t wait for Eros to hear this. Maybe while we’re here, we can learn how these creatures generate such warmth and use the knowledge to help us and especially Eros. Hey, I’m starting to feel my hands and arms.” She looked down and tightened her arms around her husband. “Oh, Eros.”

“We’ll wake him next. For obvious reasons, I needed to start with you. Speaking of which, should I select a different donor from among the crew or did you want to do this?”

Carolyn could feel Eros in her arms now and loved holding him. She looked down and gently brushed the hair away from his closed eyes. “No, it’s been ten thousand years, I want to be his first.”

Dr. Tula held out her hands and helped Carolyn out of the pod. Carolyn stretched as she sucked in a deep breath. “Oh, this feels good.” She looked at the doctor who was now rolling Eros on his back and strapping his wrists and ankles to the pod posts. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping things safe, trust me.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can control Eros when he wakes.” Visions of Eros bucking her like riding a wild animal came to mind, but she knew how to control him when he came out of hibernation. The main thing was to satisfy his thirst. From there, it was easy.

“I don’t want to take any chances. If Eros got loose, he could do serious damage to the crew and spacecraft.”

“Oh, Tula, he’s not going to give you trouble. I don’t like seeing him tied up like that.”

“I don’t like it either, but my job is to bring you and the crew out of hibernation safely. Can you eat something before we start? I brought you fresh bloodroot.” Dr. Tula reached down into her cooler and pulled out a green stem, about the size and thickness of a large foot.

Carolyn took the root from the doctor and bit into it feeding on its sweet green fruit juice inside. The root has been the main food source for most of the people on her home planet for thousands of years. Not only did it provide healthy nourishment, but it also gave everlasting life to all those who drank its thick nectar. After satisfying her thirst, she prepared to bring her husband back from hibernation. She rolled the red band off her wrist and used it to tie her long brown hair into a ponytail. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Good. Let’s tip your head back so I can get a good sample.” Dr. Tula grabbed a scalpel in her medical bag and then lifted Carolyn’s chin with two fingers and with the other hand she made a small incision on Carolyn’s neck. She took her finger and wiped the trace of blood running down Carolyn’s neck and placed it on Eros’s tongue inside his mouth. She held out her hand to Carolyn. “Okay, ready? Here, take my hand to steady yourself.”

“Thanks.” Carolyn grabbed Tula’s arm and climbed back into the pod then rested herself on top of Eros. She turned her head to the doctor. “Sometimes when he comes around he holds me in his arms. It’s his way of reassuring me that he’s back. With his arms tied down, he won’t be able to communicate this to me. Also, I fear he might panic being tied down like this. Are you sure this is the best way to handle him?”

“It’s only temporary. Once he wakes from hibernation and I can see he’s settled down, I’ll remove the restraints.”

“Nothing is happening yet. Is that normal?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried bringing him back from a ten-thousand-year hibernation. Do you want me to take another sample from you?” Dr. Tula reached for the scalpel and leaned closer.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll press my neck against his lips. Uh! Ouch! I think he’s coming around. Is he biting me?”

“Oh, most definitely.”

“Eros, honey. Wake up. Eros.” Carolyn shook him while his head lifted to bite her again. “Oh, my God. I think he got me good that time. I can feel his venom racing through my veins now.” After a few seconds, Carolyn collapsed on top of Eros as he continued to feed on her.

Dr. Tula reached into the pod and pulled Carolyn off him, rolling her to the side. She shook her until Carolyn’s eyes opened.

“What happened?”

“Are you okay?” She opened a new pack of gauze and taped it on Carolyn’s neck. “You were helping bring Eros back. Do you remember?”

Carolyn reached for her forehead. “Oh my God, that was intense.” She touched her neck. “Ouch. Is this what the gauze is for?”

“Yes. I need to stop the bleeding. It looks like he punctured your jugular.”

“Oh, my God.”

“I know. At this rate, you’ll bleed to death before Eros wakes.”

“How’s he doing? He can stop the bleeding too.”

“Let’s see.” Tula placed her hands on Eros’s shoulders and shook him. “Eros, time to get up. Eros!”

“Do you think he needs more blood? Maybe I should get back on top of him.”

“No, you need to rest. If he needs more blood, we’ll find another donor. You lost too much all ready to go another round with him.”

Carolyn felt energy racing throughout her body. Losing blood did not affect her. His venom provided much more energy. “I feel fine though.”

Eros moved his arms trying to free himself. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Carolyn rolled on top of him. “Good morning, honey. How do you feel?”

“Carolyn? What happened to your neck? Are you okay?”

“A special someone needed a little help coming out of hibernation today.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Other than being tied up, I’m fine.”

“Dr. Tula thought it would be safer to bring you out of hibernation with restraints on. Do you think it’s safe to remove the restraints now?”

“Well let me think about it for a few years and get back to you. Yes, of course, it’s safe! What the heck do you two think I am!”

Carolyn and the doctor worked as fast as they could to remove the restraints. As soon as he was free, he flipped Carolyn under him and went for her throat. “Eros! What are you doing? Stop that tickles!”

“What’s with the bloody gauze on your neck?”

“It was Dr. Tula’s idea to stop the bleeding.” Carolyn felt a sharp pain as he pulled the tape off holding the gauze in place, then felt his cool tongue as he licked and healed her wounds. “I knew once you came around, you’d clean up your mess.” Carolyn held up her arms to him. “Come here, rest your head and let me hold you for a minute.”

The prince smiled then rolled under her, wrapping his arms around her back pulling her closer. “Now this is the way I like to wake up, with us wrapped tightly in each other’s arms instead of you traversing the universe.”

Carolyn brought her head lower and pressed her cheek against his then whispered, “Don’t forget, if I wasn’t a starship pilot traversing the universe, we might not have ever met. And don’t you appreciate me being here as pilot of the rescue ship bringing the Royal Family to their new home? I mean, being a pilot has its rewards. Wouldn’t you rather have me here with you than fighting those damned Scorpious back home?”

“Oh, that’s right. Our new home! Have we arrived?”

Carolyn pointed to the screen on the wall. “Did you know it would be so blue?”

“Blue? Well, to tell the truth, it was hard to see this planet’s actual color being so close to its sun. I just assumed it looked like Mira since its atmosphere was similar. Blue. I never thought it could be blue. Just more to explore, Love.”

“You can add one more thing to explore then. Dr. Tula said she sees proof that warm-blooded creatures not only exist but thrive down there.”

“Warm-blooded? If that’s true, it would be the discovery of a lifetime! Father always said these life forms were possible, but not everyone believed him. If he could only see this himself. Wow. This is history in the making, Carolyn. Speaking of history, what do you say we settle down now that we’re here?”

“Ah, as in raising a family?

“Yes, what’s wrong with that?”

Carolyn pushed herself up resting her arms on his chest. “Eros, we’ve been all through this before. I’m not ready to settle down yet.”

Dr. Tula closed her medical bag. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some house calls to make.”

Eros waved goodbye to the doctor and then returned his focus to Carolyn. “Call me old-fashioned, but I think you should start acting more like the princess you are and less the pilot you were.”

Carolyn lowered her head and kissed his lips again. “You know, you sound more like your mother every day. When the time is right, I promise you we’ll have a great big family, and I’ll be your queen and princess.”

“You know what they say, timing is everything, right?”

“Yes? Eros, what are you doing? Eros! Not now. I have a starship to fly. Eros stop it!”

“Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”

“Oh, Eros! Could not having sex for over ten thousand years have anything to do with that?” Carolyn turned to face him. “Why did you stop? Is something wrong?”

“I sense danger.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you’re still adjusting from hibernation.”

“Yes, that’s probably it, but it felt so real.”

“You’ll feel better after you’ve fed again.” Carolyn tipped her head back and to the side then pulled Eros towards her.

When his lips pressed against her jugular, two needle-like fangs sprung into her neck. Carolyn moaned as his fangs pierced her soft skin. Venom squirted from the fangs into her bloodstream as her blood rushed into him. Carolyn pulled his head deeper into her neck and moaned louder. “Oh, God, that feels so good. Feed, my love, feed. I can feel your venom racing through me. Don’t stop.”

Before Eros finished, an explosion emanating from the rear of the ship interrupted them. He lifted his head. “What was that?”