Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 21:07:19 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Vengeance - Chapter 3 Message-ID: Chapter 3 Twenty years he had planned and schemed. Nothing seemed to work. He had tried changing history for the better and for the worse. He had waited patiently. He had tried the power of the will. He had even tried to create a time machine. But nothing fulfilled his deep hope to return to his own time. Now, twenty years older than he should be in this time, he wanted only one thing. He waited patiently in the apartment. He waited for the beautiful brown hair and bright blue eyes, for the silky skin that once quivered at his touch, for the thin yet muscular body that he once caressed, and for the incredible mind inside that beautiful frame. The moment the door opened, his heart leaped. *She's here!* he thought with a smile. Nevertheless, he stayed in his hiding place, waiting for the perfect moment. She entered the apartment, dropping a bag by the door and removing her white jacket, thus revealing a plain white t-shirt which accentuated her more notable assets. She then stretched her arms above her head, moaning slightly with fatigue. Exhaling, she lowered her arms and rolled her head, stretching her neck. He watched her, wanting her more and more with every little movement she made. He took a breath. "Genine." She froze, startled by the sound of the voice that called her name. "Oh, gawd!" she whispered, not needing any time to know who the owner of the voice was. She could feel him coming closer to her, very slowly. "Please, no." He gently caressed her shoulder. "What's the matter, darling? Did you think I would leave you forever?" Genine didn't move. She didn't know what to think. It was a dream come true yet, at the same time, it was a nightmare. She wanted to turn around and fight him yet she also wanted him to get a little more intimate in his caresses. "Genine," he said gently. "Look at me." Although his voice was soft, there was a firmness that demanded obedience. Genine slowly began to turn to face him. However, before she was halfway into her turn, he took her head gently into his hands and kissed her forcefully on the lips. At first, she struggled with him, fighting for him to stop, but she slowly succumbed to his embrace, allowing him to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly. Their passionate embrace continued for several moment before Genine pulled away from him quickly. "I can't," she said without looking at him. "I can't, Al. Everything's different now." He growled quietly. "So, you have fallen for the Admiral." She walked away from him. "Of course not. He's a happily married man." "Then why won't you look at me?" She sighed. "A lot has happened in the past seven months. I'm afraid of what might happen if I actually see you again." He huffed. "Seven months," he muttered. "What are seven months compared to twenty years?" She stood up straight at his words. "Twenty years?" she whispered. She turned around and looked at the face of the man who had suddenly come back into her life. His face was severely scarred, having obviously been burned many years ago. He was pale and sickly-looking, as if he hadn't seen the sun in years. What was more, he had no hair on his face or head, not even an eyebrow. Genine gasped in shock. This wasn't the face she had seen only seven months ago. This wasn't the face with which she had fallen in love. Something awful had happened to him and he was now older - much, much older. She walked slowly up to him and touched his face gently. "Oh, gawd, Al," she whispered. "What happened?" He placed his hands on her shoulders. "You mean you don't know?" He sighed. "Oh, darling, how could you forget what you and the Admiral did to me?" His voice grew gradually louder and, at the same time, he tightened his grip on Genine's left shoulder, causing her to cry out and slowly collapse to the floor. "What's the matter, Commander? Did you think I would forget where I shot you?" he harassed, never relenting on the pressure he was placing on the shoulder. Genine dug her fingernails into his right hand, forcing him to release his grip on her. However, as he released her, he punched her with a solid left hook to her jaw, causing her to collapse to the floor in a daze. Before she had the chance to regain herself, he grabbed her right wrist and wrapped her arm behind her back. A moment later, there was a snap and Genine screamed in pain. "It hurts, doesn't it?" he said evilly. "Not as much as I hurt when that explosion ripped through the Accelerator Chamber!" He forced his knee into Genine's back, causing another scream of pain. "Not as much pain as when I finally leaped and was irradiated by whatever radiation the Accelerator Chamber gives off!" He grabbed her left wrist and twisted it hard, causing another snap and another scream. "Not as much pain as knowing that my own wife betrayed me to that Admiral!" Genine was breathing heavily, forcing herself not to scream again at the enormous amount of pain that filled her body. She failed in her attempt when she felt her left shoulder snap as he stamped his foot hard on it. "Twenty years, Genine!" he screamed at her. He grabbed her by her hair and lifted her forcefully. By now, all the training she had couldn't keep her eyes from watering from the pain. He placed her so that her left ear was beside his cheek. "Twenty years of my life lived in the past!" he screamed in her ear. "Forced to scrimp just to have a decent place to live, just to have clothes to wear, just to eat!" He threw her to the floor. "We could have had this country as our own! Just you, me, and our children!" Genine felt him step on her leg and quickly lift on it hard. She felt it snap and screamed at the pain it induced. She screamed again as she was forcefully turned over onto her back and then struck hard on her face. "You know how I feel about traitors, Genine," he said to her as if what he was saying was just a part of a normal conversation. He sat on her abdomen, her breasts between his knees. "You're the one who's the traitor," she whispered, her eyes closed against the pain that filled her. He punched her again, nearly knocking her completely unconscious. "I'll forgive you that comment," he told her. He lowered himself so that his face was only inches away from her bloodied face. "I won't punch you again." "Are you going to rape me, Al?" she whispered. "Are you going to kill me?" He laughed slightly. "No, Genine. I'm not going to rape you. Kill you, yes. But not rape you." He took her head by her chin and turned it so that she was looking at him through swollen eyes. "I'm going to break every bone in your body." Her heart was pounding with fear. She felt an agonizing crunch in her chest and gasped, too weak to scream. She felt so helpless against his fury. She cried as she felt another rib break. She could feel her life slowly slipping away. There was a vague sound. She thought she could hear someone calling out her name. One thing she knew for certain: the voice wasn't her husband's. It was a female voice, full of concern. "Who is that at the door, my dear?" he whispered in her ear. He huffed. "Doesn't matter. But it does cut short my work on you." She felt something cold and metallic rub on her cheek and then down her neck and body. "Good-bye, sweet Genine," were the last words she heard before she felt cold steel pierce her skin. It was the last thing she remembered before she passed out.