Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) by Craig Gerttula

then a crying man on his knees,
seeming to have heard the worst news of his life. Next to the man
in the final image stood Samantha, looking down upon him with pity
in her eyes, and a little regret...but no love.
    The visions ended abruptly. Trent's eyes
flashed opened to find Samantha staring down upon him with wonder,
his naked body strewn across the bathroom floor. He quickly
recovered to his feet, waving away the words of concern on
Samantha's lips before she could voice them.
    “This is wrong,” Trent said with the
strongest tone he could muster.”This place is strange. It looks
like my apartment, feels like my apartment...but...but I don't
think it's my apartment,” he chose his words carefully, trying to
let the absurdity of the realization he’d made settle in, while
feeling his confidence in their truth grow stronger.
    “I don't know what's going on here, Samantha,
but you lied to me and...and we broke up months ago. Why are you
here and what's going on?” he question her. No longer uncertain,
knowing full well this was wrong.
    Samantha gazed at him with a fascination that
he could not recall having witnessed before. A small smirk settled,
appearing bemused, as she grabbed a clean towel, wrapped it loosely
around her shapely curves, then proceeded to glide out of the
bathroom, beckoning for him to follow. Trent, reluctantly, followed
close behind, forgetting his towel and clothes.
    Samantha’s towel slide to the floor as she
fell back onto the bed, perching on her elbows to curl a single
strand of her long brown hair with one hand, while gesturing for
Trent to join her with the other. Trent felt himself flush, trying
desperately to hold his resolve, but the sight beyond enticing.
    “Samantha, I need to know what's going on,
this is all wrong. Tell me...please!” he begged, no longer able to
muster the forcefulness he'd shown in the bathroom.
    “Embrace me and we discuss those matters
later,” she told, beckoning him, passion overflowing from each and
every one of her sultry words. He felt himself start to give in;
being drawn to the woman he once loved with every ounce of his
being, summoning him in such a powerfully sensual way that even his
recently returned mind was on the verge of collapse.
    “No...please tell me. I don't...I don't want
to be hurt again,” Trent pleaded, the pain from the time of
betrayal returning alongside the horrible memories.
    He collapsed to his knees, all thoughts of
desire fleeing his flesh as sorrow forced it free. Suddenly, a warm
body engulfed him, followed by a sweet aroma that once existed in
his fondest memories, but now only in his worst nightmares. The
floodgates opened.
    Time meant nothing as his tears once again
tried to cleanse his soul. The embrace and warmth of another, even
the one who caused the pain, helped lessen the sorrow. Each painful
memory lingered, then vanished, as another layer of his heart
hardened. The tears eventually began to run dry and a gentle,
calming voice whispered into his ear.
    “Stay with me here and you will never feel
pain again, or move into the unknown, to never see me again. Make
your choice,” the voice was sweet, like that of an angel.
    Trent glanced up to the woman he now knew was
not Samantha, seeing love in her eyes for the first time. He gently
removed himself from her embrace, kissing her gently on the cheek
and smiled, his choice made. Everything went dark and tears once
again rolled down his cheeks as he vowed that never again would he
be ruled by sorrow.
     
*********
     
    Daniel watched the touching scene unfold with
a pity he knew was against his nature. Most of the human garbage
that stumbled upon the TSB recruitment grounds were generally
broken husks who had little to no human emotions left. In those
instances, even when they passed the first phase of the trial, they
would live out the remainder of their lives in the embrace of a
robotic automaton, not being able to leave behind a past reality
that was lost.
    The