Ember

Welcome to the "Surfing with the Alien" writing event. We hope you enjoy our stories. You can expect to find stories about aliens from the outer nebulae, ghost stories, sexy fantasy creatures and just about anything you can imagine. I thank all the writers for flexing their literary muscles. I must thank my team who read my story and caught the errors that made me look stupid. Well, any stupider than I already am. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. My readers and editors are Cagivagurl, Stev2244, Hale1, SBrooks103x, and Hooked1957. Love y'all. Randi.

The whole building rocked and shook. Everything on my desk jumped and dust fell from the ceiling at that almighty thump. My first thought was that there was an earthquake, but we were Mountain View, not San Andreas, and I'd heard no chatter about an earthquake. I began to wonder if maybe there had been an explosion. People were scrambling around, rescuing things that had fallen, and She walked in.

I had never seen her before and had no idea who she was. She definitely didn't work there. She strode in like a queen. I was the boss, so I guess everyone thought I should be the spokesman.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I began. "Did you just come from the roof?"

"Yes," her voice sounded... tight, as if she wasn't accustomed to using it. She cleared her throat and spoke again. "I saw the stairwell. Was coming in like that... rude?" Her voice was low-pitched and husky. Magic dripped when she spoke.

"Well, most people come in the front door," I mentioned.

"I apologize," she said. "I shall certainly use the front door next time."

There would be a next time? I suddenly realized I wanted very badly for there to be a next time. God, she was gorgeous! She was very dark complected, I had thought of African descent, at first, but she looked... different. I couldn't quite place it. Her hair was as black as a raven's wing, flowing down in her back in waves to the middle of her thighs. It looked very thick and... almost heavy. She was very tall, probably over six feet, but it looked like nothing else was possible for her. She was slender, but oh so female: her hips swelling in a sensual curve, her breasts large and high. Her legs were about a mile long and she was wearing some sort of shimmering scaled bodysuit, hugging her like a second skin.

She appeared to have on very high heeled platform black boots that came up past her knees, as tightly formed to muscular calves as her bodysuit was to the rest of her.

I shook my head to clear the fog looking at her was creating. I ignored the way she was dressed and concentrated on her face. That was just as disconcerting. I thought I had never seen such a beautiful face. It was an elongated oval, wider at the top, a broad high forehead, very light eyes and dark eyebrows. Her lashes were the longest I'd ever seen, her cheekbones high and there was a little hollow to her cheeks. Her small ears appeared to be slightly pointed at the top. She didn't appear to be wearing any makeup, but her skin was flawless. I knew I needed to say something.

"Umm... I'm Rawlins, Rawlins Murphy."

"I am very pleased to meet you, Rawlins," she said. "My name is Ember."

"Would you like to come into my office, Ember?" I asked. "Can I get you something to drink?"

She raised one immaculate eyebrow. "What do you have?" she asked.

"Well, water, tea, coffee, pop, energy drinks..."

"I shall have an energy drink," she said.

"Wait right here," I said. I rushed away and got her a Monster. I stopped and asked Herbert, our maintenance guy, if he would mind checking the roof for damage.

She looked puzzled when I handed it to her, and just held it awkwardly. "I wish to speak to whoever is in charge of this building, then to you, personally," she said.

"Well, that would be me in both cases," I said. "Please, let's go sit in my office."

I escorted her in and pulled up a chair in front of my desk for her. She sat and looked at her Monster. "Have you a knife?" she asked.

"I have a pocket knife," I said. "Why do you need a knife?"

"To open this," she said. "I could grow claws, but it would be... messy."

The fuck? What did that mean, "grow claws?"

"No need for either." I was improvising. "Let me show you." I took her can and popped the top, handing it to her.

"An interesting device," she commented. She took a drink and it looked like she was a little shocked, but liked it. "Very good," she said.

"Umm... Ember, I hate to be inquisitive, but how did you get on the roof, and why are you here?" I asked. "It sounded like there was an explosion up there. Are you hurt?"

She giggled, and it did... interesting things, temporarily making me bereft of the power of speech.

"I am unharmed," she said. "I landed on the roof. I apologize for startling you."

"Do you have an aircraft up there? A helicopter or something?" I was floundering.

"No, I am an 'aircraft,' I suppose," she said.

She was bonkers. I had the most gorgeous crazy woman I had ever seen sitting in my office. Not that I had much experience with crazy women, gorgeous or otherwise. I would have to proceed carefully.

"I don't understand," I said.

"In my other form, I can fly," she said.

"I'm sorry, other form?"

"Yes, I am a dragon," she said. "THE dragon, you might say."

Okay, then. This was worse than I thought.

"Umm, Ember, how long have you been a dragon?" I asked, very diplomatically and indulgently, I thought.

She raised that eyebrow again, thinking for a moment, it seemed. "Well, 12,563 years," she finally said. "That is my hatching date."

"Wow, so you are an ancient dragon," I mentioned, barely holding it together.

I got the eyebrow again. "I sense that you are skeptical," she said.

"Well, I've never met a dragon before," I said.

She laughed. "No, I suppose not. I am the last dragon. Would you like me to demonstrate?"

"Well, are you going to breathe fire and burn the place down?" I asked.

She giggled again. It was very distracting. How could she be so utterly, breath-takingly, spectacularly gorgeous, cute as hell and bat-shit crazy at the same time? I suddenly had a thought.

"Oh! Ember, is this a publicity stunt? Are you shooting for a movie?"

"I am uncertain," she said. "What is a 'movie?'"

She drank the last of her Monster and her hand... changed, her fingers suddenly grew eight-inch glittering obsidian knives and she tossed the can into the air. The claws flashed faster than I could see and the can fell to the floor in two pieces, sliced cleanly.

I shot to my feet. "Please... are you going to hurt us? Please, Ember, don't hurt anyone," I begged.

She looked shocked, and hurt. "Noo, I would never hurt you or the rest of my family here," she promised.

"Your family? I'm sorry, I think I'm losing my mind here, Ember. Will you please explain to me what is going on?"

"I have... lost my clutch." Suddenly she was sobbing, tears streaming down her gorgeous face, her body shaking. "They were... I'm..."

I hurried to her chair, knelt beside her and held her shaking form, hugging her, trying to console her obviously shattering grief. I grabbed the box of tissues off my desk, patting her face, drying her tears, but they just kept coming.

"I don't understand, Ember. Please don't cry." She was breaking my heart. "You have to explain to me. Make me understand.

She grabbed some tissues, and sobbed into them for another long minute. "I apologize," she finally managed. "My clutch..." she sobbed again, burying her face in my shoulder. "They... they perished. It was an accident. I... I lost them. They were the last hope for our race. I was desolate. I wandered far, through time and space, madness nearly taking me. I passed this place and sensed you... you... had my heart, and I sensed that your clutch loves and respects you."

"My... clutch?" I asked.

"These," she gestured vaguely around. "The other humans here. I knew, you would be my people, my family. I will watch over you, care for you, Rawlins. Protect you. You will be my clutch."

"I..." I had no idea what to say. Jesus Christ! This was like waking up in some fantasy shit. Hell, it WAS some fantasy shit. What the fuck?

"You must introduce me to the rest of our people," she said. "I will protect them, as well."

"Well, I hardly know what to say, Ember," I said hesitantly. "What do you expect from me... from us."

"Love, loyalty," she said. "I will love you and be faithful to you, in return."

"You realize this is going to be quite a shock," I mentioned. "None of us believe that dragons are real. We've never seen a dragon. No one has ever seen a dragon. Everyone believes them to be fantasy creatures."

She looked puzzled. "But I have encountered humans before, when I was a hatchling," she said. "Surely there would be... records."

"Twelve-thousand-year-old records? No, Ember, we don't have any records that old. There are myths, fantasy stories. No one will believe you are a dragon. Hell, I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen... that." I gestured toward the remains of the Monster can.

"I see. We could arrange a demonstration," she said. "Can we gather the clutch outdoors, and I will show them my dragon form?"

I had to chuckle. "Well, we can, but I expect the 'clutch' will be quite shocked by such a demonstration."

"Can you gather them?" she asked. "Where is the front door?"

"Front door?" I asked.

"Yes, you indicated this was the proper entrance and egress," she said.

"Oh, right. Let me make an announcement," I said.

I got on the intercom. "All personnel please report to the back parking lot,"

We waited for a minute, then I led her out. Walking beside me, we were about the same height, and I felt a hot little hand slip into mine. I glanced at her and she smiled. "Is it okay?"

"Yes. How is it that you speak English, Ember?"

"I don't," she said. "I am speaking the dragon tongue, which all species understand as their own language. It is the original language, and you understand it, instinctively. I am uncertain of the mechanism by which I understand you. I seem to understand the language of all living things. Even beasts."

That was weird and magical shit, but then, she was a dragon. We walked out the door and around the building to the back lot. The 15 of us who worked at the observatory on our shift were standing there talking.

"Sup, Rawlins?" my PA, Elana, asked.

"Hey, guys, this is Ember," I said. "She has something she wants to show us. Now, this is going to be weird as fuck. You're going to be shocked, but please don't be afraid. She has something to show us, and tell us. You wouldn't believe the telling part until after the showing part, okay? Just don't panic. Nothing dangerous is going to happen, it's just going to shock the hell out of you. You're all calm?"

They all assured me they were. They may have been, but they sure as hell didn't stay that way. I turned to Ember. "Do your thing."

There was a shimmering, a shifting of space/time, it seemed, and she was hidden in what looked like heat waves rising off a desert. When I could see, Ember was gone, but not gone. She was huge! I would have guessed 50 feet long, including her tail and neck, and at least 15 feet tall. It was definitely her, though. She was the same shimmering blue color as her body suit had been and there was a sense of... Ember about her, and her wings...

Several women screamed, maybe a man or two, as well, and Bill, our security guy, drew his gun.

"Stop, please!" I yelled. "Bill, put that away. Ember isn't going to hurt anyone. You all told me you were calm! Everyone settle down and let me explain."

"Explain? There's a fucking dinosaur in our parking lot!" Sarah exclaimed.

"She's not a dinosaur; she's a dragon," I said. "Everyone stay calm and we'll talk about this. Ember, will you... change back and we can go inside?"

That warping of our vision happened again, and she was back to being that gorgeous creature we had first seen. Everyone started talking at once, and there was a cacophony as we went back inside and down to the big meeting room. Everyone was asking Ember questions at once, and she looked confused.

I got everyone seated and sent Alicia and Elan to get everyone a drink. Everyone was still talking at once and when we all had a drink, I stood and got their attention.

"Please, everyone be quiet. I know this is a shock. Listen, people, you know what we do. We have been listening to and watching the sky, for years, searching for some extra-terrestrial life. We are professionals who look for alien life. Maybe we never expected to actually find any, but we have."

"I am not an extra-terrestrial," Ember said.

"Yes, I understand, but what I'm saying is that you are the first intelligent being we have ever found who isn't... human."

"Ember, you're a... dragon?" Scott was incredulous.

"I am," she said. "THE dragon."

There was a hubbub again. "Quiet!" I scolded them. "We can ask all the questions we want after we figure out what's going on and what we're going to do. We need to focus here."

"Why are you here?" Debbie asked.

"You are my clutch," Ember said. "I... lost my clutch. I have adopted you. I will watch over you all, care for you, protect you."

"Ember," Dale began. "Your grace... I mean, your majesty..." She interrupted him.

"Mama," she stated firmly.

He laughed. "Okay, Mama, then, what do you mean 'watch over us, protect us."

"We will live here, I will provide for you, make sure you are happy and safe," she said.

"Umm... that is a problem," I said. "We don't live here. We come for two weeks, finish our shifts and go to our homes." She looked confused.

"I have a wife and three children," Dale said.

Ember beamed, her whole face lighting up and the shimmering of her body suit glowing. "Grandbabies!" she exclaimed.

Everyone was now as under the spell of her charm as I was, and began pulling up pictures on their phones of their families to show her. She cooed over the pictures and complimented everyone on their husbands or wives. I had to get some things clear.

"Listen, people, I don't know what's going to happen, but we have to keep Ember a secret, okay? I have no idea how, but I also have no idea how people will react to a dragon. The government might try to take her, or something. We can't tell anyone until we figure out a plan, okay?"

"What about next week when the other shift comes?" Elana asked.

"I have no idea," I said. "I'm making this up as we go. Maybe she could come and stay with me, or one of you."

"I will stay with Rawlins," she said. "How will I watch over the others if I cannot see them?"

"Umm... do you need to see them all the time?" I asked.

"Well, no," she said.

"We can do a Skype or a Zoom meeting," I said. "Maybe Facetime."

She looked confused. "Probably stuff I'll have to explain," I said.

She shot me a grateful smile.

The discussion went on until dinner, and continued while we ate. Everyone wanted to see her dragon form again, and after dinner, we went back to the parking lot. It was just as impressive as the first time, and something else kind of shocking happened. Well, several somethings.

The first was discovering that in dragon form, Ember was telepathic. She could speak to all of us, or anyone, individually. It was weird as fuck, but her voice in my mind "sounded" just like when she was in her... more human form and spoke.

She actually could breathe fire, too. We got her to burn up a bush, and it was like a giant flame thrower. She walked around and gave two of the girls a ride on her back. She could fly, and gave us a little demonstration. The blasts of air from her wings nearly knocked us down when she took off. Gliding, she was poetry in motion.

She swooped low over our heads and I heard her voice in my head. "Would you like to fly with me, Rawlins?"

"Really? You could carry me?"

"Easily," she said.

"Umm... I'm kind of afraid of heights," I thought at her.

"It is glorious," she said.

"Maybe another time."

She landed and became human Ember again. We all had rooms we stayed in while we were at the observatory, and there were three extras. We got her set up in a room with bed linens and personal items.

Everyone went to their own rooms, and I asked her if she needed anything. "Not that I can think of," she said.

"What about clothes?" I asked. "Maybe we can find something to fit."

"Clothes? I do not wear clothes," she said.

"What do you have on, then?" I asked.

She looked down at herself. "Where?"

"You have on like... a body suit," I said.

"No," she answered. "I have no clothes on."

"Can I touch you?" I asked.

"Of course," she said.

I reached out and stroked her arm. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it felt a little like when I had once held a boa constrictor at a zoo. There were differences. She was warm, for one thing, and very soft. I pinched her a little, and got the sense that her... skin, was very strong and tough.

"I had no idea," I said. "Is this always how you look when you're... human?"

"No," she said. "I can make the rest of me like I have made my face and hands." As I watched, what I had thought was a body suit began to change to the same brown shade as her face.

"No, stop!" I hurried to say.

She raised her eyebrow at me. "Why?"

"I... we... we wear clothes around other people, Ember."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well... It's hard to explain," I stammered. "It's just something we kind of like have a custom about."

"Always?" she asked.

"Well, no, but unless we're in private, bathing, with our partners, in our houses or some private place."

"This is not private?" she asked, gesturing around her room.

"Yes, but I'm here," I said. "You can't be naked... like your face and hands... shit, you know what I mean, around members of the opposite sex." Jesus, this was harder to explain than I thought.

"Do you know about, like, sex?" I asked.

"Sex? You mean like male and female?"

"Umm, no, not exactly. Like mating?"

"Ah, I see. Yes, I know about dragon mating. I have never mated as a human."

"Anyway," I hurried along, "Humans take off their clothes with their partners when they sleep or are going to have sex... mate. Hell, Ember, this is hard to explain, okay? You can only be naked when no one can see you, okay? I'll try to explain other stuff as it comes up."

"Yes, I will keep my 'body suit' except when you tell me it is acceptable," she said.

I breathed an inward sigh of relief. "Do you sleep?" I asked.

She giggled. "Yes. I know of no creatures who do not. If I am in dragon form, I do not sleep often. Maybe once a month, but then I may sleep for days."

"Oh, well, what about when you're in this form?"

"I will sleep during the darkness," she said.

"Oh, well, good," I said. "That's when we sleep, too. There are a couple of people who are on call in case anything happens during the dark. Is there anything you need?"

"I am content," she said.

"Okay, well, I'll see you in the morning," I said.

I lay awake for a couple of hours, trying to think, sort out this preposterous craziness, figure out some why to handle this situation. I got up and made some notes. I finally dropped off to sleep. My alarm woke me; it was my turn to cook breakfast.

I hadn't been in the kitchen more than five minutes when I saw Ember pass the door. "Good morning," I called.

She came back. "There you are," she said. "I was looking for you, or someone who would tell me where you were. Have you rested, Rawlins? Did you have beautiful sleep?"

I had to laugh. "I could have used a little more," I said.

"You are preparing food," she said. "May I assist?"

"If you want to," I said. "You could just sit at the bar and entertain me while I make breakfast. The others will be here in about 15 minutes."