Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 539(@250wpm)___ 449(@300wpm)
“Damn.”
“What?”
“Technical problems.”
A long string of symbols scrolled across his screen and his face went from mildly annoyed to concerned. The TV screen froze on opening credits.
“Ah fuck. I have to go up to the network room and take a look.”
“Where’s that?”
“In the storage zone. I’ll be back.”
“I’ll come with you, check on Chili,” I offered.
“Let’s go. I have a feeling Chili is the culprit.”
“Uh oh.”
He flashed a dark look at me over his shoulder and I threw the swimsuit coverup back on, on our way out of his room, feeling a sense of impending doom.
***
When we got to the storage room, I thought Zane was going to lose his mind.
As we crossed the threshold into the space, our ears were assaulted by noises and I took in trails of powdery and gritty substances in multiple directions on the dark floor, as if something had run through something or multiple somethings in many directions.
Chili.
There were wires sticking out of the ceiling in a small hole by the entrance. There were cables coming out of the wall by the door where the electrical panel was, and one was sparking.
The noises were a combo of the sound of water dribbling somewhere and the fact that a canister-like robot was rotating around and around in circles a few feet away with all sorts of hoses hanging out of it, as well as three ceiling claws dangling with their pincher things opening and closing.
“That little monster,” Zane grinded out.
“Chili!” I called.
Zane was at the wall panel by the door, pressing some commands on the screen.
I wandered deeper into the warehouse-like space.
“Chili!” I repeated.
“Wait, Tanya. Freeze.”
I spun around to face him, feeling panicked at the alarm in his voice.
“Let me get an incident report first. There could be hazardous materials in the air. Don’t you smell that?”
I sniffed the air. “Oh yeah. That smells like some sort of fuel.”
“Stay here. Here.” He physically moved me to against the door and I watched him as he lifted a tablet from the panel beside what must be the ‘command center’ and he carried the tablet through the space, eyes darting between the screen and around him.
“Coooo!”
Suddenly, Chili was sailing through the air at me.
As he landed on my head, I gasped.
“Okay, buddy. Here.” I held my finger up and he hopped onto it and ran down my arm until he got right to my chest. He looked up, using my boobs like a shelf to look at me and make a bunch of clicks and then a big, long cooooooo before he nuzzled against my jaw, before climbing down the front of my coverup and burrowing in between my boobs.
“I don’t think you like the storage room, do you?” I asked.
He shuffled around in there, getting more comfortable.
Zane was back and there was a look of murder on his face.
“What is it?”
“A leak. Floor is flooded with a flammable substance, spilled food supplies, and wires ripped out. There are cleaning systems in-progress, bathtubs filling, the pool is emptying, lights flashing off and on in Ollie’s bedroom, and the house system has just cooked seven more cheeseburgers. When I find that little fucking monster…”
I winced with an audible hiss.
My shirt wiggled.
Zane’s eyes were on my boobs. And not for lust, either. He likely saw pink fuzz poking through the black mesh of my bathing suit coverup.
“It’s obvious he doesn’t like being away from us.” I put my hand protectively over the bulge in my swimsuit coverup. “Ollie told me that he told you they panic when they’re not with their colony. We’re his colony, Zane.”
Zane’s jaw muscles bulged.
“Your locks were obviously not sophisticated enough, and I think he got lonely and tried to find us. He must have tried to get out and those wires got in his way.”
Zane rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.
“Where’s his little cage? If he’s in the bedroom with us, he’ll be happy,” I added.
“You and Ollie need to go next door to my father’s and stay there. Clean up and repairs will take all night.”
“What?” I asked.
“I can’t have you sleeping here, can’t have Ollie sleeping here with the fumes, with the wiring issues. I have to take the entire house offline, have the wiring repaired, and do some testing to make sure everything is safe. There were a few bottles left from today so take those and go next door. I’ll get more formula supplies. Here. I’ll wake Ollie. Grab what you need for the morning.” He hit some commands on the screen and everything went quiet. The robot stopped spinning, the claws overhead stopped their pinching, and other than the sound of that dribbling fluid somewhere, all was quiet. He walked me down a long aisle with shelving and I stood, dumbfounded, as he hauled several large crates with partitions in them off an upper shelf and set them on the floor.