A Holocene Affair

We have protested our treatment, but unfortunately there is little we can do. You know how it is.

I write you this not only to ensure that you are not caught up in this mess, but also that you keep your own project(s) safe. Good luck and be safe. - David Jankowski

The lab itself was on the basement floor, just down the hall from my own domicile. David was a renowned and respected scientist for the University and they had given him exclusive use of the bottom floor of the Anthropology building. David, in typical fashion for him, had turned that lab into both a research facility (and laboratory) as well as a classroom. He lived science, breathed it and believed passionately about passing it on. Which was what brought me into the picture.

I still wasn't sure what David had seen in me to cause him to bring me under his wing, but the side effect had been a sort of under-the-table arrangement. There was a series of rooms on the far end of the floor that were disconnected from the main labs. When the whole floor had been built, my rooms had originated as storage area as well as a chemical safety shower (Don't ask me why). David had simply tossed out all the old rubbish and handed me the keys.

So now the entire lab was under quarantine, except for what looked like a broom closet door. Which contained the exact same thing that had gotten David's lab locked down.

Now what? Seeing David was out now. Despite being down the hall, he might as well been on the other side of the moon. In addition, it was unlikely his email was untapped either, if the government was involved. His wording had been ambiguous enough that any curious eyes shouldn't be too aroused by his letter to me.

One thing was for sure. While a respected Doctor from a major university research division might be able to prevent a seizure of research materials, it was beyond obvious that a simple post-grad such as myself would have no such power. Dem couldn't be found here or else I would lose him forever.

Not surprisingly, at that moment, I heard the door open. My luck kind of just ran that way. I grabbed the terry-cloth robe that had been hanging on the back of my chair and whipped it on.

"Dem!" I hissed frantically. "Hide!" Did he even know what that word meant? A fatal oversight in his literary education, if so. Footsteps were heralding the approaching person, who was making their way down the short hallway from the door to the kitchen.

My tentacled friend had apparently made it that far, but his interpretation did nothing for my peace of mind. He leaped from the table and latched onto my waist, sliding down until he was crotch level, then squeezing himself between my thighs and plastering his body against me like he was the world's most ungainly set of panties. I stifled an 'Eeep' and hastily cinched my waist belt.

I did my best to look totally natural as Jenna Kimura walked in. Stormed in, rather. She had set look to her eyes that spoke of a volcanic magma chamber that had just about reached its compression limit. I winced internally as I took in her expression.

Jenna and I both shared a Japanese heritage, but while I was second generation and still featured typically Asian features, her family had arrived several generations back and had mixed with the locals frequently. Jenna's epicanthic fold was barely visible and only her dark eyes, silky dark brown hair and slightly darkened skin betrayed her ancestry in any way. She was a little shorter than I was, and fierce as a tiger.

David had helped guide her as well, harnessing her energy for field work as well as her intense fascination with all things of the natural world. Jenna's passion for science was matched only by her passion in other areas, which was why we were occasionally lovers. Unfortunately, she had a temper that, when roused , was enough to make even the most stalwart of adversaries wary. Which also explained why we weren't always lovers.

Unfortunately, that legendary temper was in evidence yet again and those passionate eyes were aimed at me like gun barrels.

"Elena! Where the hell have you been? David's been trying to get a hold of you for days now. Don't you check your phone?"

Shit, in all the brouhaha, my phone had been the last thing on my mind. I picked it up off the table, trying to act casual. A quick swipe revealed that the battery was dead.

Between my legs, Dem shifted a bit, trying to get more comfortable I guess. His tentacles tightened around my waist, holding him in place, but his stubbier tentacles had nowhere to go. He tucked them under himself, which put them way too close to my orifices. I tried not to suck air in through my clenched teeth at the sensation.

"You let your phone discharge?" Jenna exclaimed. "Are you serious? The find of the century is literally down the hallway, yet you get home and lock yourself in your room with a sack and don't emerge for days on end. Have you even checked your inbox? I've heard of getting absorbed in your work but this is ridiculous."

I tried vainly to defend myself. "Jenna, I've been busy. You know how much this means to me. I can complete my doctorate on that so-called 'sack'. I've been making discoveries, too. David would have wanted me to go full-out on something like this."

Jenna just let that feeble excuse wither under her glare. "Since when did you care about a slip of paper? This isn't about a pay-bump. This is the real deal, Elena. The stuff that changes the entire field. Hell, humans weren't even supposed to be in North America that far back. We carbon-dated her, too. She's at least twenty-kay, if not older. But that's not even the most incredible part. There was an undiscovered specie with her as well. Completely off the chart. No one is even sure what branch it is. Damn thing could be a mammal, for all we know."

Oh, I was pretty sure it wasn't a mammal.

Between my legs, Dem shifted again. I surreptitiously widened my stance a bit to give him room to breath. His proximity to my sex, along with those short, stubby tentacles, which were tucked right up next to my slit, were twitching a little bit, making it extraordinarily difficult to concentrate. My body, already ingrained to respond to him, was rebelling under my tight control. Dem! Not now! I thought frantically.

"So... Uh... Should we go over and see it?" I asked naively. Of course I already knew the answer, but I needed her to get past her pet peeve and get down to business. Suddenly, I realized, I was on a timer and I had to get her out of here before Dem caused any more havoc with my over-sensitized nerve endings. With someone who didn't know me, I might be able to pass off an impromptu orgasm as a cramp or something, but not Jenna. She'd seen a few too many of mine to mistake it. Hell, even if she hadn't, Dem caused reactions in me that would cause normal people to call an ambulance if they didn't know what it was.

Fortunately, Jenna was caught in her budding rant to take much not of my sudden inward expression. "Well, we could have, you know. Earlier today, or yesterday, or any day prior to about five hours ago. We could just jaunted right over there and you could be involved in the greatest discovery since... I don't know. Anything. Ever. Just having your name on the damn literature would earn you honorary degrees from every university from here to fucking Oxford.

"Did you know the creature we found was alive? It survived being frozen since before the Holocene. Not only was it alive, it spoke. Words, Elena, words. Advanced spoken language existed in the Pleistocene. Not only that, but we just answered the age old question. Mankind is not alone. Fuck, we're not alone on Earth." Jenna crossed her arms. "So yeah, could have. But not anymore. The fucking CDC got wind of this discovery and they got it into their paranoid little bureaucratic brains that the specimen is a disease risk. They just quarantined the lab and posted a damn guard outside. They even put fucking tape on all the doors and windows."

I could see her composure, what there was of it, fraying at the edges. "Elena, David and Miriam are trapped in there with it. No one can go in or out. They sent me out for a variety of natural foodstuffs that might appeal to it, because it hasn't eaten since we thawed it out. It's fucking dying," she suppressed a sob, "and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it."

I reached out to comfort her, but at the same time, I felt Dem's stubby tentacles twitch just enough to put them right in the right spot. I felt one slide into my pussy, teasing its way into me. It was much wider than the normal ones and it filled me gloriously. I bit my lip to keep from crying out. Shit. He was going to get me off. I could feel my temperature rising with each wriggle. In addition, another tendril tip was exploring the entrance to my anus, teasing the ring of muscle sensuously. For some, that was a no-go. For me, it was sinfully exciting. Especially if I was already boiling, which I most certainly was. I closed my eyes. It was hopeless. I had less than a minute, two on the outside before I involuntarily blew my top in front of Jenna.

Dem, you bastard. There is a time and place for these kinds of things. If my tentacled invader heard my thought, he gave no sign. His assault on my probity continued unabated.

I took a breath, frantically trying to think of something, anything, to get her to leave without arousing her considerable suspicions. "Jenna," I said, trying to strike the right note. "That's incredible news!" Did my voice sound fake? Maybe not. The quaver in it was all real, but not for the reason she thought. "I can't believe I missed tha...t" My voice caught. Jenna was beginning to look suspicious as fuck.

"Elena, what's going on. Are... you okay?" Her brow was furrowed as she looked at me more closely.

Mayday! Mayday! We are going down!

I squeezed my thighs together mercilessly. Maybe that shithead would get the hint. No such luck. His silent movements inside me changed, slowing, yet becoming more powerful. My mental timer, which was inexorably counting down to liftoff, began speeding up.

I gulped. "Yeah, uh, I think I need to use the bathroom real fast."

Say what you would about Jenna, however intrusive and abrasive she could be, she was the most caring person I knew. She nodded sympathetically. "Stomach cramps or menstrual?"

I was about to lie nonchalantly as I started towards the bathroom when Dem's probing second tentacle took the forbidden step and slid a tiny way into my ass. It felt... unholy and wonderful. It also caused me to "Eep!" and stand ramrod straight and grab my buttocks.

"Oh! Stomach! You poor thing!" Jenna said. "Here, let me get the door."

"No No!" I protested. "I'll get it. Everything's fine."

T-minus ten seconds and counting.

I hobbled towards the bathroom. It was down the other hallway towards my bedroom, a converted old chemical safety shower with a toilet. Whatever, it was privacy. Unfortunately, every mincing step I took ground Dem's appendages into me even more.

T-minus seven seconds. We are good for liftoff. Guidance is internal.

Just a few more steps and I'd be okay. I was going to murder Dem! Well, maybe after I made him do this to me again a few more times in private. My legs were seizing up and I was shaking.

Five.

"Elena?" came Jenna's worried voice from behind me. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Four.

"F-f-fine!" I called back, hobbling forward.

Three.

His tentacles writhed within me. The one in my pussy was as deep as it could go and I could feel another one busily coiling around my swollen clitoris. The girth at the base felt incredible, but not nearly as much as the wriggling dance it was doing inside me. My belly clenched and I knew it was too late.

Two.

"Dem!" I shouted. "Stop! No Uesoon!"

"Huh?" said Jenna. "I've heard that word somewhere..."

One.

I buckled. "Oh shit!" escaped my lips as I fell. "Dammit Demmmm-ohhhhhhhhh!"

We have liftoff!

My orgasm overtook me as well as my ability to walk or hobble. I hit the floor, doing my best to keep my legs from crushing my tormentor on accident. I shuddered in place, my groan long and uncontrolled. It didn't help that Dem was not only able to get me off at will, but he produced the most incredible lengthy orgasms I'd ever had in my life.

Once I regained some semblance of muscle control, I twisted around until I was on my back. I looked up to find Jenna standing over me, her expression of alarm having long since disappeared to be replaced with one of incredulity.

"Did... Elena did you just fucking cum?"

My post orgasmic lassitude had my head spinning. I mustered a somewhat sheepish, "Yeah..."

"Are you wearing your butterfly? And it was on? You..."

"Not exactly," I mumbled. "Dem..."

Jenna had finally had enough. She stalked forward and grabbed the hem of my robe and brushed it aside. "Enough! I can't believe you would-AHH!"

At that moment, Dem, who had disengaged from me, was finding his feet. He turned, faced Jenna, waved jauntily with his long pod-tipped arm and said, "Hello! Elena Uesoon" Then he smiled.

Behind Jenna, the English teaching video droned on. I could hear it had gotten to the word 'surprise' and was now explaining it in detail.

Surprise!

******

A few minutes later, I found myself seated at the kitchen table across from Jenna. We sipped our tea, which I had made as part of the tacit unspoken agreement that we each needed a minute to collect our thoughts and marshal our arguments for the confrontation to come.

I glanced up under my lashes to study her face surreptitiously. Her expression was closed and more than a little shocked. When she took a sip of tea, the cup noticeably shook. Yeah. This was going to be ugly.

"So," Jenna said. "You found one, too? In the sack, I take it?"

"Yeah," I replied, keeping my tone even and flat.

"How long has it been... revived?"

I winced internally. "Ten days now."

"Ten days, huh. So, you knew about it almost a week before we did. A week. Never thought to call anyone. Not David. Not Anna. Not even me?" I could hear the hurt in her tone. Whether we were currently lovers or not, Jenna and I were close friends. It was only natural she would feel betrayed.

I still wasn't ready to commit. "Yeah," was all I said.

"Hmmm. So, you had the find of the century, too. All to yourself," She nodded knowledgeably. "Seems legit." Her expression was deceptively mild, but I was familiar with long practice that she was merely attempting to lull me into a false sense of ease before she let loose on me. I think if we hadn't gone round this patch before, I might have been intimidated. Not this time. I had a lot to answer for, but despite that, I wasn't going to cave in so easily. "I see you've figured out how to keep it alive. The one at the lab could have used your expertise." If you had come over before the lab was quarantined remained unspoken.

I swallowed another gulp of tea reflexively and nodded.

"So, on top of all that... you thought it was a good idea to sexually abuse it as well?"

"No," I replied. My tone was flat.

"Then what do you call what just happened back there?" Jenna's voice was still mild, but I could sense the steel beneath it.

"Unintended."

"So it raped you?" I could tell she didn't buy that, she was attempting to trap me with her logic.

"No, Dem didn't rape me."

"So, you just tripped, fell and landed on a tentacle?" Sarcasm, thy name was Jenna.

"Not exactly, Jenna. It's a little more complicated than that," I replied.

I could see the rage ignite within her eyes. "It generally is, isn't it? Elena, you're supposed to be a scientist! We don't go study island tribes and fuck the natives. This violates every ethical standard out there. They're going to have to invent brand new ethical guidelines just to cover how far over the line you've stepped."

She shook her head in disgust. "Even then, I'd have stood by you. But you cut me out. Cut David out! Shit, there was so much recognition to go around, you'd have made a career even if your ice-melting machine didn't work for shit. Universities would be-"

I raised my hand to cut her off and locked gazes. I could see the smoky steel in her eyes. Now it was time to show her mine. "This isn't about recognition and its not about careers."

"Taking the high road, were you? Looks like it felt pretty good up there," Jenna sneered.

"I'm not proud of that, but I'm not ashamed either. You guys spent five days in a lab trying to figure out how to feed what you found. How to keep it alive. What did you do? Tell me."

"You are not in a position to be asking me questions, Elena!"

I snapped. "Only one of us managed to keep our find healthy, Jenna. Only one of us learned how. I want to know why. What kept it from signaling you what it wanted?"

She flinched as if slapped. "Well, we... we didn't know what to do."

"Did you talk to it?"

"We tried. Their language is incredibly complex. It... it did say what you said, though. Uesoon. What does that mean? It said it a lot to Miriam and me."

"Did you ever pick it up?" I asked.

Her brow furrowed in consternation. "No. Should I have? I didn't think it was wise to let it out of its tank."

My jaw dropped. "You kept it in a tank?"

Jenna was on the defensive now. "Well... I didn't want to, but Miriam said we needed to keep it safe. A cage would prevent it from getting hurt in the lab. Besides, we needed to prevent cultural contamination. How could we know if what we were studying was something it knew from the past versus today. This is basic anthropology and methodology, Elena. Freshman stuff."

"Freshman stuff." I could feel the muscles in my jaw clenching so hard it hurt.

Jenna seemed to send she was getting the advantage back. "Elena, this thing came from an entirely different Epoch. You have to know how unintentionally lethal the modern world can be, especially to something not accustomed to it. This isn't 'Encino Man'."

"Don't you think I know that?" I snarled. "Do you really think I'm playing some game here?"

"Then what? What explains all this?" Jenna waved her hand, taking in my kitchen table, which held Dem's den; a small aquarium turned over on its side and partially covered with towels. Next to it, and between us, was a large bowl of water to quench his thirst at night. "This isn't science."

"It's not supposed to be! Science doesn't mean abandoning our humanity. Don't you understand? Dem's not some tribal relic and he isn't some endangered animal. He's a person, Jenna. He's human."

Jenna scowled, but the conviction wasn't quite what it was. "Did you fail basic biology woman? He's kind of, you know, not human. Pretty sure he's not the same Phylum."

"He thinks. He feels. He speaks. That's all it takes to be a member of the human family. With all the rights and expectations thereof. First and foremost is the expectation that, if rescued from certain death, perhaps not being caged and studied to death. Maybe the mistake is to see them scientifically, instead of humanly. Knowing unsullied ancient history doesn't matter if we sacrifice lives to do it." I stopped and took a slightly shocked breath. Was that really what my motivation was?

Jenna crossed her arms, her expression mulish, though no longer hostile. "How does that explain you having it -him- stuffed halfway up your pussy when I walked in."

"Because they're symbiotic. That is part of how they feed." It was the first time I'd really put the idea into that terminology, even in my head, yet I knew it was the truth. Dem 'ate' nothing but me.

Her expression went horrified. "What... he... feeds off of you? That's a parasite, Elena."