Treasure Ch. 01

The Treasure

The following story is going back to my beginning in Sci-fi. I have no idea how long it will be. Or if there may be more chapters. I just have no idea. I was up at 3am and an odd half-woke dream decided to stay with me. Now you are forced to read and hopefully enjoy my twisted mind.

All humans and creatures are over 18 years of age. All humans and creatures are figments of my mind and are not meant to represent any creatures that walk our earth. If one does, please send me an email.

Finding Treasure

Drew walked along the rock-strewn beach with his head down. This was his second date with Belinda (who names their child Belinda after the date 1910?). 'They" decided that for a second date, a trip to the beach to look for sea glass would be fun. It was the hunt for her 'treasures' that was her side passion and hobby.

Admittedly, Drew was not enthused. He had spent multiple years living near Newport Beach CA when he was a teen. He was by far the poorest child in his Jr. HS class. But it was his mother's dream (after his divorce from his father) to live and hobnob with the rich and famous. He did learn to surf, boogie board and view the young women in tiny bikinis as he stumbled into puberty.

He had his own quirks and quickly earned his first phobia, beach sand. The crap gets everywhere.

His first sexual experience was at a bonfire at the beach with a girl two years older than him, fingering her while she jacked him in his shorts. They both bled for days. Not bad bleeding, but his dick looked someone had run a belt sander over his wood while it was hard.

So fast forward 40+ years and his vans (slip on boat shoes to those of you NOT from California) were full of sand granules. He was balancing on the rounded, hand sized rocks as he wandered from water's edge to the edge of the exposed rock field. He picked up small and large pieces of the sea glass 'treasures' wedged between the wave exposed rocks and tucked them in to his grab bag.

All to suck-up to his date.

Three days of storm had created the perfect hunting ground for her "treasures" to be discovered and claimed. He was more than one hundred feet in front of her now. She had a keener eye, but he was willing to shift and move large or small rocks to get the bounty. He had been smart enough to bring nitrile gloves, so he did not have to spend days getting the grains from under his fingernails.

As he swung back towards the water on his methodical search for treasure, he noted an odd white line in the sand. It was located right at the transition of the field of exposed rocks and the wet packed sand being lapped at by the surging and retreating waves.

Being the good suck-up, he did not waiver from his search for treasure. He walked with head down, sweeping eyes back and forth over rocks and cervices that lay in his search path.

Finally, he ended the short leg of his search and stood over the white line in the sand. If he had to guess, it was only a quarter thick and eight inches long. As he reached down and grabbed hold of it, he realized that it had 3 or 4 inches buried in the sand. It also had more weight than he was expecting.

He quickly presumed he had found someone's white cell phone that had been lost on the beach. So, he pulled it up and shook the gloomy sand from its surface. The shaking cause sparkles to streak along the surface of the presumed protective case. It seemed odd to Drew, since the sun was cloud covered and no sunlight peaked down.

Drew knew he was going to regret his next move, but since his feet were already soaked, he walked out towards the soft waves. He bent and swished the 'treasure,' in the lapping water to clean off the last elements of the clinging sand.

He was looking at the object in the muted evening light as he walked back to the rock-strewn field.

Drew was confused, it was not a cell phone or at least one he had ever seen. It was white on all sides. He could feel faint texture but to Drew, it was just a white slab of some dense material. It had rounded corners and edges like a cell, but again, not a cell.

"Did you find treasure?" Drew heard from over his shoulder. It startled him and he jumped. Not a norm for Drew to be snuck up on, even with his aged hearing.

He turned and smiled at Belinda, "Found something, but hardly treasure." He commented and then slid it into his back pocket.

"More an enigma that will be explored tomorrow, back home, where I can get a closer look." He commented while smiling at her.

Her return smile was infectious, and she commented, "let us get something to eat and take it up to my place. I have wine I would like to share with you."

***

Drew made it back to his house after a quick morning sexual bout that left her face down on the bed moaning and him proud that the 'old man' still had it.

He was saddened though, at the overall experience. He was finding that women in his demographic (50's into 60's) were angry and had turned more conservative. Belinda had gone this route last night. Talking about politics and the desire to return to a fictionalized version of the 1950's rhetoric. All Drew could do was nod and hope she did not actually ask him to respond.

While the women in his demographic enjoyed periodic time with a different sex, there was the negative downside. Drew was expected to open doors and pay for all the dates cost. While he had been trained correctly by his father regarding his responsibilities, he had started to contemplate the inequality.

Last night was a good example. He paid for the food, and they walked up to her small apartment. He uncorked her wine and poured two glasses, while she went to get into something 'more comfortable.' He was walking back to her bedroom when she stepped out with an old college sweatpants and sweatshirt on.

He was taken aback.

While they had been intimate before, he was expecting a little more of her dressing up to be sexy. While he did not expect quid pro quo, he was hoping that her amour had blossomed in her search for treasures. He had just spent the last couple of hours sharing in her passion for discarded trash that had been ground smooth by wave action (sea glass).

For Drew, their intimate moments were tepid at best. She loved oral for her, which Drew happily accommodated. Oral for him was something she did not enjoy performing, and it showed. Missionary was typical and doggy for her was adventurous.

Do not go anywhere near her back door, which was a mistake he had made during their first encounter. Her reaction was...interesting. That is where Drew found out about all the 'perverted' things her Ex had tried to get her to perform.

To say the least, plain, boring vanilla sex was like eating his normal yogurt in the morning. It was good for you but brought about irking feelings at best.

Once home, he emptied his grab bag in the utility sink and did a quick rinse of his grab bag. He pulled open his gym bag and emptied pockets before carefully shoving his clothes into the washer. He was very careful to make sure all that stupid sand went into the washer and not on the floor.

The stuff breeds.

He settled into his normal weekend routine. He had set the white 'slab' on top of the pile of bills he needed to pay and wrote his lists for the day.

During his more boring duties he kept looking at the white slab and wanting to explore it. He kept promising himself that after responsibilities, comes fun.

Finally, his chores complete, he reached for the slab. He had already wiped it down for the third time (damn sand) but had another cloth ready. He had placed it on his art table and swung his chair around from his work desk. Turing on his art desk lamp and his lighted magnifying lamp he settled in.

It seemed heavier than it should. It was a slab of stone, but it was not. He clicked on the magnifier and swung it over the object. There were sparkles of reflected light, or were there?

There were circular patterns on one side reminiscent of places to put your fingers. But then he noted he would have to grow a sixth finger to fit the pattern. On the other side was a swirling circle that was like one of those meditation circles you hear about or a symbol for infinity.

He laid a towel down on the glass surface of his art table. He placed the slab 'face up' as he had mentally decided. He took the fingers of his right hand and placed the tips on all the lightly textured circles.

He took his left index finger and moved it to fill the void of the 'sixth' circle.

He was feeling a lot of trepidation. He did not know why, but he was feeling an irrational concern over his 'treasure.'

He finally placed the index finger down and...nothing. Absolutely nothing happened.

He then tried tapping his fingers down. First, he was soft, then he slammed his fingers on the white surface.

Nothing happened.

He flipped the slab over and traced the lines from the center of the spiral out to the edge of the slab...nothing.

He repeated the action from outward-in...nothing.

Drew started to chuckle.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." He stated only to himself.

He spun his chair again and placed the slab in the upper right-hand corner of his work desk where piles of papers and other curiosities languished until he had free time to take up their cause. The morning light coming in his large windows made the slab sparkle a bit. It was like mica embedded in the structural body of the slab. He had not found any when he had looked under the magnifying lamp, but the slab sparkled just the same.

He went off to other chores for the day.

***

Drew's week went along as normal. Working for a governmental agency is a testament to how quickly an organization can cloud and obstruct a simple concept like 'get r done.' He had avoided Belinda's calls and finally responded to her texts. He was pushing off the inevitable, but he admitted to himself he was a coward.

He used his annual February 'work on his financials,' as an excuse. He had finished that the previous week but was not going to admit it.

So, Drew sat at his work desk and started to organize the orphans that cover the top right corner. He shifted the slab over and noticed it was warm, warmer than the surrounding air on a dark Friday night. He realized that he had placed it in a location that received sun all day long...so that should explain the added warmth.

Drew went to work. One pile for immediate filing, one pile into the tax folder. And a small one to be paid.

It was easier to stomach with a glass of wine in his hand, so Drew was imbibing. He was doing his version of multi-tasking.

Paying bills and feeling sorry for himself because he did not have someone he desired in his life.

After the filing, paying, and sorting was complete he sat back satisfied. He had to admit, he wished he had a partner in crime to go out with to a restaurant or bar. Belinda would never be that woman. Dropping a hundred plus dollars for a simple dinner and a few drinks, banal discussion, then lackluster sex just did not draw him in.

Drew again reached out for the slab and realized it was still warmer than the surrounding surfaces or air.

He spread the towel on the glass top of his art desk and like the previous exercise he placed the small white slab 'face up.' He placed his fingers at the different spots and then reached over with his left hand to infill the sixth node.

Since his last try he had shaken all the trepidation of playing this odd 'treasure.' He was about to place the sixth digit down when he received another text from Belinda. He picked up the phone, forgetting the white slab and seeing that Belinda had been called out of town for two weeks. She noted that they needed to talk when she got.

Drew typed in "Stay safe and we can talk when you are back."

'Thank god,' thought Drew, 'A coward's two-week reprieve.' He placed his phone back down and tried to focus.

He reached back to the slab and set the fingers in place, His left index finger landed on the appropriate location and then...

***

Drew woke on the floor below his Art desk. His view was fuzzy and pixelated. He was lying on his right side. In front of him was the slab but the image was confusing. He could see the white slab. It was within reach but made no sense. And his head was ready to explode from an intense headache that was growing to migraine proportions.

Somehow a TV sitcom was being beamed above the slab within some type of holographic projection. There was some type of 1960's absurd alien honking and pointing at him. Drew rolled just a bit and reached for the white slab.

The alien projection had stopped honking as Drew reached to grab the slab. His hallucination had quieted and watched his progress. He slid his hand through the projection and grabbed the white object.

His mind flooded with images and raw information. He seemed to synchronize with other information that he appeared to already possess.

"Who are you and how did you come to possess the &%$#@ you have?" rang in Drew's head.

'Fucking great,' he thought, 'I am losing my mind."

There was a muted honking in the background, but he heard a different version in his mind.

'No human, you are not yet losing your mind. And these are not false images created in your own awareness.' Drew heard but chuckled and assumed he had a stroke or something.

'Where did you find this device?'

Drew knew it was the alien creature asking again.

'At the edge of the ocean in Cayucos, California USA,' he stated and could feel the images of that popping out of his memories and being shared. The disorientation of this transfer gave him vertigo, and so he laid on his back and placed the white slab device on his chest.

The migraine was just getting worse.

He finally rolled to his knees and grabbed the edge of his art desk with his right hand. His left hand still holding the white slab landed harshly on his work desk surface. His thumb inadvertently brushed along the circular pattern on the 'back' of the white slab.

There was a blinking or shift and Drew was struck by vertigo and had to hold on to both desks, so he did not end up back on his butt on the floor.

The 1960's alien screeched and honked. Drew was so tied up in staying vertical that he ignored the screeching.

When the vertigo slipped away, he finally turned his head to look at the continuing projection of the creature.

"I'm sorry were you trying to tell me something...my silly hallucination?" Drew commented.

"Stop it! Stop it!" screeched the creature. "Do not touch the controls! You have no right to destroy the experiments!"

"Experiments? What experiments?" Drew questioned.

"We are watching the multiple timelines of several humans. They are humans of note and have the potential to change the human existence, for good or bad." Drew could see that the creature was becoming agitated. At least from a human point of view it was growing agitated.

"You are not in our study model. You were not deemed worthy of study. But now you are destroying our work, at least the ones in this parcel of your world." The alien commented as its antenna waived back and forth.

Drew received and image of an African male elephant trashing a native hut.

Drew smiled and commented "At least get the idiom right you stuck up creature," and sent back the image of a big bull in a China shop. He was not sure if he could send it, but the resulting tantrum showed that it made it through. Alien arms and antenna waived all about as the honking and hissing rose in volume.

Just then Drew heard a noise in his house. He released the slab and it clattered to the tabletop. The holographic image vanished. He slid into his office chair for stability.

He turned his head as a beautiful redheaded woman looking to be in her 40s walked into the kitchen. She was just wearing one of his t-shirts. She was tall enough and her breasts large enough, to provide a sexy view. Her breasts held the t-shirt high, so that her bare mons and lower lips were protruding below the shirt edge. He could also see parts of her delectable bubble butt exposed.

"Morning baby!' she commented in a slightly sleepy voice, followed by a yawn. His dog came running over. The beautiful apparition bent to scratch the pup's head.

"Were you talking to someone over the phone?" she asked as she went to the coffee maker...he did not own and went to the fridge and pulled out a cartridge... he did not have in his kitchen. Yet here she was getting things ready in his kitchen he did not recognize.

"You want a cup?" she asked.

His mouth hung open, "Michelle!" he thought and wondered. He was distracted because her large, unfettered breasts with her huge erect nipples kept moving and jiggling with each movement or breath.

He had spent many a night buying drinks and flirting with this younger woman. He never had a chance with her, yet she was standing in his kitchen essentially naked.

He was getting hard and reached down to adjust himself without thought. She saw his predicament and smiled.

"Didn't get enough last night lover?" She smiled again.

"My, that tongue of yours did me three times and the pounding you gave me has me sore. But you never took my ass last night." She looked over her shoulder and did a little hip wiggle. She then turned, giving him the full-frontal view. Her breasts swayed with the turn of her body. Her large erect hard nipples creating a lovely visual show in the t-shirt.

Drew had to admit she was the poster vision for one of his sexual fetishes.

She sashayed over to him (and that woman knew how to sashay). With Drew still sitting in the chair, she bent and gave him a short but smoldering kiss.

"Let me do my morning routine, drink some coffee, and let us take a shower together. You can take me there and then we can ride to work.

Drew watched as she walked down his galley kitchen and then towards the master bedroom. She was one of those magical women who seemed to have an extra joint or bone in their ass so there always was an extra 'bounce' in their walk. He always loved to watch her walk away.

He sat contemplating his ongoing delusion. If he was going insane, a hallucinogenic romp with Michelle was not a bad way to start out the morning. The thought of getting his hands on the Rubenesque body and finally being inside some portion of her...made his dick throb.

He picked up the white slab and could hear a type of light keening. There was no visual that immediately popped up.

He looked at the swirl pattern and placed his thumb on and slid 'backwards.' After a minor flash of vertigo he was sitting in the same chair, in his dining area by the kitchen. Gone was the coffee machine. The dog stuck its head around the corner and torqued its head about looking at what was wrong with 'dad.'

"Stop, please stop," he heard muttering in a very low tone.

Drew hoisted himself up and started to walk down the long corridor to the master suite. He rolled his thumb 'forward' and stumbled as the twisting of his mental and physical presence rocked him. He stopped and held the wall by the hallway restroom. He then moved forward and heard a shower running and Michelles voice singing to herself.

He looked down at the slab, placed his thumb, and rolled again 'forward.' He was learning as he leaned against the door frame. He came through the spinning in a few seconds.

"No!" came a screech and Drew looked down to the holograph that floated above the white device in his hand. "Leave this timeline, please leave this timeline now!" The 1960's alien screeched with seeming terror.

His queen-sized bed moved, and Drew looked up in shock and a type of horror.

Two huge golden eyes watched him from the bed. They were embedded in a sleek, black furred face. The creature slid effortlessly out of bed on the opposite side. This movement uncovered a second body, which mumbled and did a light honk. It was the same alien, or same type of alien that was shown in the Hologram. He noted that the alien within the hologram was weeping and muttering to itself.