Demigod in Repose

This novella is intended for adult readers only. The content is sexually explicit and intended for mature readers (18+).

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Demigod in Repose

Claire awoke in a sunlit room. She could hear dishes rattling and water running. There was the shuffle and tap of heels on hardwood floors. She could make out someone playing a lazy song on the piano, softly without destroying the calm of the morning. The smell of smoked bacon and coffee hung thick in the air. She was so tired. With a little effort her eyes cracked open. The world was a blur but she strained to focus. There was a dark object at her bedside that she thought was a person hovering but it turned out to be a bag of saline tied into her arm...

was it saline? What was going on here? Oh shit...the religious zealots might have abducted her.

Claire had no idea where she was and couldn't remember anything. She began to panic. She went to sit up and pain shot through her body from her abdomen like an electric shock. Whatever was in that bag, it wasn't Lidocaine. She felt each and every sore muscle as it flexed. It didn't matter what was in the bag, she needed the needle out of her arm until she could assess the situation. Her fingers fumbled at the tape holding the needle in her arm.

"Hey no no no no! You need to leave that in honey," said a demanding voice from the doorway. Claire hadn't been paying attention due to her panic. The running water in the distance had stopped and the door to her room was open. The blurred silhouette of a woman stood at the foot of her bed. Was she that hazy or did this woman standing before her have some catlike stealth ability? It was probably a combination of both Claire thought. She marked the ominous figure as dangerous and moved cautiously. The blurred figure spoke again, "Claire honey it's just saline you were really dehydrated" Claire looked around again. Flashes of sex with this woman, teaching her plant care, the blank spots in her memory began to fill in.

"Mmmm...Samara I...eeehh...don't know what happened,"

Claire murmured. Her brow furrowed and she looked at the medical gear in the room, then back at Samara. Claire opened her mouth to ask a question but Samara beat her to it.

"I'm a doctor, love. I'm a doctor and a damn good one. It's why I have $100,000 lying around to buy a seed." Claire's curiosity was satisfied. She took a deep breath and exhaled. She was more than relieved. She wasn't going to die at the hands of a religious zealot mercenary squad today. More to the point, she wasn't being prepped for some holy disemboweling.

Samara walked out of the room and returned pushing a cart topped with a covered silver tray. Claire was about to say the bacon smelled great and give Samara the obligatory thank you for the breakfast speech. People bonded to symbiotic plants knew what to eat to recover from excessive plant sex however people who were not bonded to plants generally had no clue as to what food you had to eat. Still it was always appreciated because they did have the best of intentions.

Samara set the breakfast tray on the bed over Claire, and then she lifted the silver dome cover from the plate. Samara smiled, "Viola!" All that was inside was half a gallon of Caramel Swirl ice-cream with a big spoon in it.

Claire pointed at it, "Hey how did you know?"

Samara gestured with her hand, "Ooh! That was no big deal really. Your plant asked me for it" Samara smiled as if she'd just said the most obvious thing in the world.

Claire's eyebrows went straight up. ,"Um...what did you just say? My PLANT asked YOU...for ice-cream? I just wanted to clarify because it sounded like you just said some really crazy shit right there."

Samara had an introspective look for a moment then she responded, "Mmmm yep that's what happened, and he woke up way before you did. I let him sun bath for an hour. He was really upset."

Claire chuckled and shook her head trying to wrap her head around what she was hearing, "Okay wait wait wait wait. How did it speak to you? It has no mouth to speak with."

Samara thought of the best way to describe what she was talking about. After gathering her thoughts for a moment she said, "I think it used me as conduit to look at things in the room I was standing in. When I wanted ice-cream, I went to the freezer and grabbed it. I grabbed a spoon because I was ravenous for it but somehow after I took the first bite I realized I wasn't hungry for ice-cream and it...well...it happened pretty fast but I was suddenly aware of your plant. I tried to brush it off but I got another flash of hunger. Once I was able to isolate my feelings and emotions from that of the plant's, I could clearly see what your plant wanted. After that it was all very easy to understand...basically." Samara considered what she'd just laid out on the table then nodded as though it was something children would understand.

Claire shook her head and started in, "No no no no wait a sec."

Samara jumped in cutting her off, "Claire!" she said wide eyed looking right at her.

Claire stopped shaking her head and glanced up at Samara.

Looking her in the eyes, Samara raised her eyebrows and said simply, "Your ice-cream is melting"

Claire looked down and sure enough. She'd been holding the spoon poised to dig in but she hadn't moved an inch. Claire nodded saying, "Yes a fine point indeed" Claire began shoveling.

Samara smiled and sauntered happily out of the room.

Being in a particularly good mood from being the recent recipient of some really good sex, Samara went to her piano still playing a tune. The keys were pressing themselves down as the built in computer reproduced the classic song. It had a seven inch touchpanel that was inlaid to the right of the sheet music holder. Most people had more modern pianos that could speak to their owners and even strike up light conversations. Samara's piano was an antique and she enjoyed the nostalgia of having to actually push touch screen buttons. She quickly went through the menus of over two thousand songs and decided to play something from J.S. Bach. After making the selection she pivoted on her heels and went back to finish her breakfast dishes.

* * * * *

Two hours later Claire was finally able to get out of bed. Samara had disconnected her saline bag only moments ago. She sat on the edge of the bed with her shoulders hunched. Her head hung with her disheveled hair falling limp in her face. She moved her right hand up running her fingers through the unkempt locks to pull them out of her eyes. Claire glanced up at her surroundings. Her clothes were neatly pressed and hanging on the doorknob. Her shoes sat neatly below them next to her briefcase...HER BRIEFCASE!!

Her Seedco sales team probably thought she was dead or worse. People that sold the seeds were never just killed; they were made examples of. You were never supposed to be out of contact with your team for longer than eight hours during a sale. Once you check in with them to let the office know your sale has begun, a clock starts ticking and after eight hours of inactivity they mark you as missing and you must show up to the one of the main facilities to reconnect. You were in essence

"Dead to them."

Claire hurried and got dressed. "Oh damn it!" She was so completely fucked. How much time did she have? She threw on her blazer and reached into the front inside pocket. She produced what looked like a long black playing card. It was her twelve hour bio-phone. After twelve hours the phone died and you could actually bury it in your flower garden with great results. The damn thing was dead. Had it been longer than twelve hours? With a sigh she began calming herself. There was no point in hurrying now, since her people had written her off.

She wasn't sure how much she wanted to share about the crazy things she'd seen and the strange

connection

between her and Samara with her Seedco work associates. When she spoke to her superiors in the company, they liked concise information. The whole thing seemed so absurd and she was still unclear as to how much she believed herself. The human mind was so capable of playing tricks on you.

Claire exited the bedroom holding her industrial briefcase. With her broken composure, she resembled a pouty schoolgirl carrying a lunchbox. She believed she should remain dead to her employers for a while. After what transpired here earlier, well...she could really use a vacation. There was enough money in her account to live on for years if she wanted to just disappear. She would say her goodbyes to Samara, thank her for her hospitality, and make a polite exit. Samara had been a very gracious host to a stranger and she wished she could repay her somehow. That was the bullshit story she was trying to sell herself. The strange otherworldly connection to this woman was too much for Claire's mind to handle in her exhausted state.

As she rounded the corner into the den where they'd first met Samara chimed in, "Well hello, look who finally decided to rejoin the living?"

Clare looked up tired and broken. She was ashamed of how this whole meeting had gone. She looked up to see Samara sitting in a lounge chair with a glass of wine. She was wearing some blue designer jeans that seemed to fit her body a bit too perfectly. It was topped with a loose fitting dark burgundy sweater that had a very large sweeping neckline and a turtle neck collar. The turtle neck swept wide exposing her collar bones and her right shoulder. Samara's straight black hair had been combed to perfection and pulled over her left side. It swept down over her breast with liquid smoothness and continued down her front to her belly. She sat with her legs crossed holding a glass of wine, her hand wrapping the flute carelessly in the, "

I don't give a shit about the wine temperature"

fashion. The corners of her mouth curved up in a pouty smile, the right side just higher than the left. She wasn't wearing any shoes and her finger and toe nails were a slightly warmer burgundy than her sweater. She thought Samara was a picture of perfect beauty.

Claire felt drawn to her again even in her weakened state she wanted to smother this woman in kisses. Her heart sank in her chest knowing she needed to get down to business and somehow apologize for last night.

Looking at Claire, Samara gestured to the lounge chair across from her, "Shall we get to the matter of business?" The poor girl stood dumbstruck.

Claire's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She stammered, "Yea...ooh...I...eeerr...you still want to do business? After what you witnessed, all that I went through...with my crazy plant?" Samara nodded in understanding, then gestured to the seat across from her again.

She moved into the chair slowly, to not aggravate her torn muscles with unnecessary stress. Claire's eyes narrowed and she inquired, "If you don't mind my asking: you are still going through with this unafraid, why? I'm a little afraid of my own plant now. I've never seen it do that before. I couldn't blame you in the slightest if you just wanted me to leave."

Samara understood Claire's concern and the air did need to be cleared a bit she realized. She put her index finger to her lips, "Hmmm...I think there are probably two things that need to be addressed. The first question; why does your plant have a crazy interest in me? That question, sadly, I couldn't tell you. The second question; passing out on my bathroom floor after savagely attacking me...I think I can shed some light on that. When you went unconscious, your plants activity increased. It went hard again as though it had unfinished business. I took you into my back room and hooked you up to my EKG immediately. You were in a deep sleep but your vitals never wavered in the slightest. I don't believe you were ever in any real danger. I think it's a simple matter of our lack of understanding these beautiful symbiotic plants...of course I still want it. They are the greatest jump forward in evolution since mitosis. I'm not going to miss out on that."

Claire knew she was right. She liked Samara a lot more for her courage. She had no idea the girl had such grit. She had what Claire considered to be keen observations skills that were uninhibited by fear; the heart of a true scientist.

She smiled at Samara and placed her briefcase on her lap. On the outside the briefcase there was a five by seven inch OLED screen. There were no buttons. She touched all four corners of the screen in a coded pattern to activate the power up sequence. "Before we begin," Claire started as she regained her professional poise. Bringing up the screen with the waiver and liability information, she continued, "There are no refunds. What we are selling you, is this briefcase. What is inside this briefcase you take full ownership of upon the completion of the sale.

(Seed sales were illegal but there were work-around options for large businesses. There is always a way when money is involved)

I Claire Fitzburg, acting as a sound member of Seedco, sell you briefcase 15213-A...We have no knowledge of what is inside." Claire paused the audio recording of the virtual sales office for a moment. She looked at Samara with a genuine sorrow in her eyes, "I generally bring this up much earlier in my sale but...eeehh...this has been anything but a normal day for me. I feel horrible about umm..." Claire's hand went to her mouth. Her lower lip had begun quivering and she was beginning to cry.

"Not now you big boob!"

Claire thought. She shook head not knowing what to do. She felt the soft and warm hand of Samara touch her face. As Claire looked up out of her shame she saw Samara's loving eyes staring back.

Samara smiled saying, "whatever it is just say it and we'll work out the details" Claire's head nodded in fast, tiny little shakes. She tightened up her lips and sat up straight. Taking a deep breath as she looked at the ceiling, then exhaled to calm herself. Turning her head she glanced back into Samara's eyes saying, "If you bond with a seed, you will never be able to have children. This process renders you infertile." A very dark look took Samara's features. Whatever she was thinking about was not pleasant, of this Claire was certain.

Samara spoke quietly now and she spoke without any hint of emotion, "When I was sixteen I was diagnosed with cancer. It was to become the worst year of my life. There were three tumors in all. After eighteen hours of surgery, the hospital had performed the most major hysterectomy they had ever successfully completed. The hysterectomy removed my uterus completely and I had two extremely rare vaginal tumors, which were also removed. The surgery robbed me of most of my feeling. Maybe it was a careless surgeon's blade edge but the result was the same. No children and no sexual pleasure. Talk about your motivation to get into medical school. I could still masturbate but only with limited results. I could never seem to generate enough feeling to get anywhere near an orgasm. If I had never experienced one before my surgery, I would have been much better off...but I had, and I was God's new cruel joke on the world. As I was not able to effectively

'rub one out'

anymore my focus switched to training my body. It was a form of release and I was relentless at it. In a year's time my body was streamlined perfection. Because of

that,

the boys came by the droves. I was pulled in by their beauty but when it came time to become intimate, I would crush them and go back to my studies. I felt there had to be a way to get my sense of feeling back so I shot through med school at the top of my class. The boys used to call me Sam Frost. They were more right than they ever knew." Samara leaned forward and took Claire's hands in hers. "Last night I don't know what effect your plant had on my nerve endings but that was the first orgasm I've had in fifteen years" Then unexpectedly Samara gave Claire a soft kiss on her cheek.

Both Claire and Samara felt a connection that danced through their heads in a true kindred way. Neither of them could quite place the nature of it but at that moment they were just happy to bask in each other's presence.

After the sales transaction was complete, Samara saw Claire to the door and gave her a kiss on the cheek thanking her before she sent her on her way. She was excited to get the seed growing process started.

* * * * *

Samara sat in her office looking into a microscope not two meters away from the bed where Claire had been recovering. She'd put the seed on a slide in her microscope and gently set the open briefcase on the bed. The seed was about half the size of a grain of rice and easy to lose $100,000 dollars if she so much as sneezed.

It was peculiar looking. If someone hadn't told you it was a seed, you'd never have guessed. It was thin, long and seemed almost alive the way it was twisted into a circle. One of the ends of the seed came through the circle without touching any of the sides. It was stark white with a red stripe down the middle. She increased magnification again turning the dial on her microscope. She could make out the fibers now. "

Hmmm

" Samara's began murmuring under her breath in a subconscious fashion. Her brain was having trouble with some of the details.

"The fibers don't even look organic...more like...Kevlar? Well that is definitely odd."

She was excited to get started but a little nervous. She already knew there was one plant connected to Claire that was going crazy for her. What if the seed that bonded to her went wacko? She couldn't dwell on these things, she knew it wasn't healthy. The decision was made and there was no chance that she was

not

going through with it so...it was just a question of building courage.

Samara sighed, "The hell with it" she had to get moving before she lost her nerve. She loaded the seed into a gelcap to reduce the risk of losing it. Looking at herself in the mirror, Samara took a deep breath and brought the pill up smiling at her reflection and said, "Cheers." Tipping her head back, she dropped the capsule to the back of her throat, then grabbed a glass of cold water from the counter and flushed it down. She'd been told that it was in many ways the perfect pill to cure depression once it started to take root...but she felt nothing. Samara decided to go get some food. There was a quaint little Bakery around the corner called Fry's Ryes & Sourdough. A quick trip for some good quality food would be beneficial if she was going to be laid up for a while growing her plant. She had called in a favor of a friend at work and combined that with some time off she had coming; in all totaling two weeks. She hoped she could get the process behind her and back to work before her vacation time at the hospital ran out.

She grabbed her purse, stepped into her flip-flops and walked out of her Penthouse locking the door behind her. She stepped gracefully down the many flights of stairs, through the lobby and out onto the street. Outside of her building were beautiful cobblestone sidewalks. She took off toward the store at a steady pace.

The Deli was 4 blocks away and it looked like it could start raining any minute. As she walked she thought to herself, "

Maybe Claire unwittingly sold me a dud. It may even be possible that my DNA is incompatible for some unknown reason."

That she'd wasted $100,000 was the very least of her worries. For starters, the hospital that she worked at was only a couple miles from her residence. If she had complications she'd end up there, exposed. Her career would be over. Samara shook her head. That line of thought was not healthy but she'd deal with that if it happened. Slightly panicked she widened her stride picking up the pace.