Hunting Cari (First Wave) Read online

  Hunting Cari

  By

  Mikayla Lane

  Cover Art by humblenations.com

  Prologue

  June 3, 2001 St. Petersburg, FL

  He soldered in the last crystalline chip and turned the device on. It wasn't until he knew that it was working correctly that he wiped the sweat off his forehead with shaking hands. He waited for so many years…so many decades, for this day to come. And it would most likely be many more before anything might come of his efforts. He double checked it again, before carefully placing it into its protective case and sealing it.

  Turning his head, he knew she was coming into the workshop as feelings of love swamped him. Her smile brightened the small room as she waited patiently for him to finish so they could leave. Even at her young age he could clearly see the beauty she would soon grow to become. Just like her mother, he thought, and then quickly pushed the pain of those thoughts aside.

  As he packed the small tool set and materials, he sent a quick prayer to the Father, that he could keep her alive long enough for her to mature, for help to come. So she could truly be safe, for once.

  He never knew of the man that had seen them in town. Who had followed them home one day and had been obsessively watching her ever since… and waiting.

  Chapter One

  July 9, 2013 Campbell County, TN

  Cari Lakatis glanced across the small, scarred table at her uncle Randor, trying hard to control her excitement. Her plan was perfect! Who would have thought that the most miserable place they had ever moved to would end up being her first chance for real freedom in twenty-six years!

  She peeked at him again, hoping he didn’t realize what she had planned. They had both known for days that they would have to go back into town very soon for supplies. The fierce scowl on his face was an indication that he was thinking about it as well. The fact that they were eating the last of their cereal with orange juice instead of milk made it glaringly obvious.

  Their first trip to the store in this town had been a complete disaster, and they hadn’t been back since then. In the twenty-two years, she was with Uncle Randor; they were in hundreds of small towns all across the United States. However, never had they encountered one with people quite like the people here.

  At six feet, nine inches tall and three hundred pounds of solid muscle, her uncle always stood out in any crowd. His height combined with his rich sable hair that flowed in waves to his shoulders, dark-brown eyes and chiseled features made him a very attractive man. Well, for his age, she thought, which was rather ancient if he was he to be believed. So they were used to people looking at him, but nothing like what they had encountered in this town.

  They came to this town more than two weeks ago. At first, it seemed no different than any of the other small towns they had been to over the years. The population was low, and the area was beautiful. Surrounded by large mountains, flowing waterways and what seemed like a typical small-town feel made it rather quaint. It was anything, but she thought.

  They had pulled into the parking lot of the real estate company that they were renting a cabin from, in order to get the keys and directions. As soon as they got out of their old Land Rover, Cari had to stifle a laugh. There were two older gentlemen talking outside the office and a young mother pushing a stroller on the sidewalk.

  As soon as they saw Uncle Randor, they all stopped. Just completely stopped, like time had stood still only for them. The woman was frozen, mid-stride, with her mouth hanging open and her eyes so wide you could see the white all the way around. The men completely stopped talking and were staring at Uncle Randor with fear and curiosity in their eyes. It was truly bizarre. Most people usually looked and then quickly looked away, or watched him covertly. However, no one had ever really openly and rudely just stared at him like that. And it only got worse from there.

  The very short and overweight real estate agent was rendered completely mute upon seeing him filling up her tiny office. She seemed unable to think at all, no matter how hard Cari tried to get the woman to focus on her. With a growl of frustration, Uncle Randor told Cari, “Try to get the keys and directions," and stormed out of the door.

  As soon as he left, the flood gates of the woman’s mouth opened. And she would not shut up. She had a weird southern slang way of speaking that was very difficult to understand, forcing Cari to concentrate fully on her words. However, in between the questions about Uncle Randor, she was able to get the keys, directions to the cabin and the directions to the local Wal-Mart, so they could get food and supplies for their stay.

  It was Cari’s turn to stare open mouthed as the woman invited them to her church in one breath, and then asked if Uncle Randor was “that big all over," in the next. Staring at the woman’s wedding ring, her expectant face, Cari stood up to her full five feet, ten inches and glared down at the woman.

  “That is my father you are speaking of," she lied easily. “Try showing some respect!” When the woman didn’t look the least embarrassed or even ashamed for her rude comment, Cari turned and left.

  She slammed the door to emphasize her anger, and then stopped short.

  The two men and woman were still outside, with over ten other people. Everyone was staring at the Land Rover; while Uncle Randor scowled darkly from behind the steering wheel. Even from the doorway of the office, she could see his white knuckled grip on the wheel, trying to remain calm.

  They all seemed to be talking at once, and not even making an effort to hide the fact that they were talking about him. The woman with the stroller was on her cell phone telling someone that they were driving a dark-blue Land Rover, and describing her uncle.

  Pulling herself and her anger together, she practically flew down the stairs to the passenger door. “Excuse me!” She nearly shouted, temper rising again, at the woman rudely blocking her from opening the door. When the woman finally moved, she jumped inside and quickly locked the door.

  The anger was pouring off of Uncle Randor in heavy waves. “What the hell happened?” She asked him in frustration.

  “I have no idea. I was standing outside waiting for you, and then more people started showing up; and the questions started and just didn’t stop. I finally got in the truck to get away from them. Did you get the keys?” Randor asked her hopefully.

  “Yeah thank goodness too, let’s get out of here.” Cari replied, a little shaken by the behavior of these people.

  He’d had to honk the horn several times and back up really slowly in order not to hit any of the people who gathered behind the vehicle. When they were finally away from the office and the crazy people, Cari gave him the directions to the local Wal-Mart.

  The Wal-Mart was far worse than either of them could have imagined. They had more than a dozen women of all shapes, sizes, ages and marital status following them around the store. Some blatantly falling all over themselves for an excuse to touch Uncle Randor or gain his attention. One particularly large woman even pretended to fall and grabbed his ass! The look of shock and horror on his face would have been hilarious if the crush of women hadn’t made Cari feel so claustrophobic. And the questions!

  It seemed like every one of them had thrown dozens of questions at them. Cari could clearly recall the headache she got from the rapid chatter of some mutant form of southern drawl and inbred hillbilly dialect she had never encountered before in all of their travels. It was disturbing. And poor Uncle Randor looked frustrated and near his breaking point. They had not gone back to town since that first day. And Cari knew he was dreading the thought of going back, which played into her plans so perfectly.

  Finishing her cereal, Cari pulled in her excitement and feigned a blank face as she looked at Uncle Randor. “We need supplies; we
’re out of nearly everything. And we still have another couple of weeks left here before we leave.” Cari had stated the obvious so calmly she actually impressed herself.

  Throwing his spoon into his half eaten cereal, he let out a frustrated breath. “I know honey. I was thinking maybe we should try going into Knoxville for supplies this time. It’s a much bigger city, the people won’t be so… strange there as they are here.”

  Looking into her shocked face at his suggestion, he continued. “I know it’s really against our rules to show ourselves in such a large population of people. However, in this situation we may have to go in order to avoid what happened last time.”

  Cari recovered from her shock quickly and tried to salvage her plans. “Actually, I have a suggestion that might work better.” She said getting up from the table and gathering their dishes to hide her nervousness. She could tell he was interested, before she turned her back to him and began to clean their breakfast dishes at the small sink in the cabin they had rented.

  Reining in her nervous excitement, she began the speech she’d been practicing for weeks now. “I was thinking that since the last time was so…” she paused for effect. “Uncomfortable, for both of us. That maybe I should go by myself this time. It would take a lot less time, and I don’t seem to attract the attention here that you do. And I could be there and back in less than two hours flat.”

  Her hopes were dashed as soon as he spoke. “Cari honey, you know it’s too dangerous to be out there alone. You are completely unprepared to defend yourself. Wait and let me finish,” he said as she turned around ready to argue. “Honey, I know you could probably defend yourself against one, maybe even two. However, there’s always more than that, and I can’t take the chance that something will happen to you. I promised your parents, I would keep you safe. And I love you like my own daughter.” Her anger dissipated at the pain in his voice. The pain she knew he felt every day and tried so hard to hide from her.

  Sitting across the small table from him, she grabbed his hands into her own. “Uncle Randor, I know it’s dangerous, for both of us, not just me. And I know how hard it’s been on you trying to protect me all these years. But, if we don’t start to compromise on some of these restrictions, I will lose my mind. How about you drive and stay in the truck while I go in by myself? You’ll still be close, by in case they happen to be there. But seriously, I doubt even they could deal with these people. Besides, no one will notice me at all without you there.” She hated the pleading tone of her voice.

  Uncle Randor looked at her stunned. She really had no idea how beautiful she was. Or how many men were mixed in with the women at Wal-Mart that day staring at her with rapt attention. She was as beautiful as any model he’d ever seen on one of those magazines, only more realistic. She’d been attracting attention from males of all ages since she was eleven years old and had begun the change into a woman.

  And fifteen years later she had grown to five feet ten inches tall, her shiny rich brown hair with auburn highlights, flowed straight to the middle of her back. Her eyes were an unusual multi-colored brown, which changed with her emotions like a tiger’s eye gem stone. Her skin was a creamy light tan, no matter what time of the year. He guessed her weight to be around one hundred and forty pounds, with a flat stomach, slightly flared hips and full breasts. She grabbed the desire of the men and the envy of the women wherever they went. And she was clueless of it.

  He looked into her hopeful face and knew he couldn’t deny her this one request, this one time. She’d been denied so much. He couldn’t stand not giving her this one little thing to help make her feel normal. Like a normal, beautiful girl doing some shopping. And she was most likely right. Even they probably couldn’t stand these people for long either.

  It’s not that they weren’t nice people. They were just nosey and generally rude. And they seemed far too occupied with finding out everything they could and telling everyone they knew before anyone else could. That was evident with the way they were treated the last time they went to the local Wal-Mart. It was as if the real estate lady had already told someone they were headed there and the news had spread. He shuddered at the memory of the last time they had gone there, and brought himself back to the present.

  Giving her hands a gentle squeeze, he nodded his head. “Alright, I’ll wait in the truck. But if you have any thoughts or feelings that you might be in danger, you get the hell out of there. Don’t talk to anyone unless you have to and always, always pay attention to everyone around you. No exceptions! If you feel like you’re in danger, you leave the cart, and you run, don’t walk, out of there. Do you understand and agree?” Randor tried to look sternly at her, and knew he failed.

  Cari barely heard anything he said after “Alright." Her excitement and happiness launched her out of her chair and into his arms to give him a happy hug. “I promise I will be very careful.” She agreed, squeezing him affectionately.

  Her happiness wrapped around him as he gently hugged her to him. He allowed his love and affection for her to flow into his heart and mind, so she would know how he felt.

  Giving him one final squeeze, Cari stood up, “I love you too Uncle Randor. Now let’s go!” He laughed as he watched her run from the room and out the front door. He gathered the keys and his wallet as he heard first the front door then the truck door slam, signaling she was already waiting for him. He sighed, hoping he didn’t regret this decision later; he locked the cabin door and headed towards his truck.

  Somewhere outside the Milky Way

  Commander Scaden Torenson stood on the bridge of his ship, Adaria, trying very hard to hide his boredom. He stifled another yawn and stretched his six feet, eleven inch, three hundred and twenty pound frame. Crystal blue eyes scanned the sensor readings, hoping for something, anything exciting to happen. He raked his hand through his shoulder length blonde hair, in frustration. Nothing. Not even an asteroid.

  This quadrant of space was so quiet. No planet’s with sentient life, none of their Valendran outposts to resupply or visit. Not even a minor skirmish with the Relians. He had no idea why this area was still on the ancient routes, but he hoped to change that when they got back from this voyage.

  At four hundred and twenty seven years old, he was the youngest commander of the Valendran Fleet. And if the next sixty years of his tour were going to be as boring as the first forty, he’d lose his mind. This route was much better suited to one of the older commanders. He was far too young and in his physical prime for this kind of inactivity. And he planned to make sure the council was aware of his opinion when he returned.

  He turned as the bridge door opened, and watched his First Commander, and best friend come onto the bridge. “Tell me I didn’t sleep through any excitement," Gracus Adrastor said walking to stand next to Scaden. Always happy, he loved to tease his commander and friend. And judging by the look on Scaden’s face, he knew he’d succeeded in needling him. “I will go ahead and assume your shift of the bridge was uneventful?” Gracus stated with a grin.

  When Scaden growled at him, he realized just how frustrated his friend was. Scaden only growled when he was ready to blow a fuse or really needed to vent. “How about we meet in the sparring room after my bridge shift?” Gracus reluctantly offered. Scaden’s face immediately brightened at the offer. Clapping Gracus on the back he accepted and left the bridge, to get some rest before meeting his friend in the sparring room later.

  Turning to the field of stars flying past on the view screen, Gracus hoped that something would come up that would put a stop to the endless boredom that was affecting them all. And save him from yet another body beating in the sparring room at the hands of his Scaden. At six foot ten and three hundred pounds, he was physically well matched to Scaden, but was far from him in skill, and usually ended up in the MedLab getting patched up. Which was never fun either.

  Deciding not to spend the next twelve hours pacing the bridge, he sat down at one of the control stations and set to work entertaining himself.


  *****

  Scaden was in the middle of a fantastic dream. He was in a hand to hand battle with two Relians. At least, he was in the middle of the dream, until he realized someone was not only pounding on the door to his quarters, but Gracus was screaming at him over the comm system to get to the bridge.

  “Report!” He yelled through the comm, jumping out of bed. Running around his room getting dressed, he swore that if this was another of Gracus’s jokes, he was really going to hurt him in the sparring room this time.

  “Scaden, I found something very unusual that I really think you need to see.” Gracus replied sounding serious.

  “Gracus, I am warning you now, if this is a joke….” He let the threat hang, hoping that if this was a joke, it would warn his friend to end it.

  “This isn’t a joke, my friend. Just get up here and I’ll show you.”

  “On my way.” Scaden sighed heading out the door to his quarters. Whoever had been pounding on it was smart enough to have left.

  Gracus was still in front of the control station when Scaden arrived on the bridge. “What’s going on?” He immediately demanded, walking up behind Gracus. He scanned the screen of the control station, trying to see whatever it was that had Gracus’ complete attention, but information was flying across the screen far too quickly for him to grasp what the emergency was. Gracus turned to look at him, excitement clearly in his expression.

  “I was scanning random frequencies to see if there was anything interesting in the area that hadn’t previously been noted, or that might denote recent activity, and I found a distress beacon. One activated in the last ten to fifteen years and originating from the third planet from the sun in this galaxy,” Gracus stated pointing to first the planet, then the galaxy.

  “Can you understand the language used? What they are saying? I thought there was nothing noted for that galaxy?” Scaden asked, obviously curious now.