Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 11:35:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Gay Writer <gaywriter72@yahoo.com>
Subject: Earth Reborn: Chapter 4 - Life and Loss

The following is a complete work of fiction.

Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is
completely coincidental.  Please do not copy or distribute the story
without the author's permission.

Disclaimer:

The following story contains erotic homosexual situations.  If it is
illegal for you to read this please leave now.

***  This is a completely revised version of the original story...  If
you are lost or confused please read it from the beginning in its
entirety.



       Chapter 4 - The Dawn

       My eyes opened and I found myself lying in the same hospital bed
that I had been in thirteen days ago.  The smell of antiseptics as
strong as before assaulted my nose.

       "Morning Bransen" I said in my sleep slurred speech.

       "Morning Khore" he answered looking very well rested but
concerned.

       "Sleep well?"  I asked as I tried sitting up further in my
hospital bed instead making myself content by finding the button to
elevate the head.

       "Sleep Well did you ask?" the Doc snarled barging into the room
slamming the door behind him.  "Did you ask him if he slept well?"

       "That's all anyone could DO after your orgy induced escapades
from last night!  It was by sheer dumb luck that it was so late when
you spiraled that energy through the complex.  Most couples were
already in their beds, but I can tell you this much, the maintenance
people are NOT impressed with the mess that was made in Rec room!!" he
ranted.

       A giggle escaped me at the thought of it.  "How's Jason err Dusty
doing?" I smiled in my dopey expression feeling kind of drunk.

       "What the hells wrong with you!?" Doc said defeated as he crossed
the room to check my vitals and reflexes.  "He's doing very well in
spite of the workout you put him through." He finally added.

       "If I didn't know better I'd swear you were piss drunk." Doc
muttered.  "You are going to stay here under observation until I find
out exactly what is going on with you."

       "You've got til noon Doc." A silly grin planted on my face, I
blurted flopping my head to the side to look at Bransen.  At least he
wasn't yelling at me.  "Noon Doc, by then Bransen should have my
quarters assigned and ready and I will be moving there.  Have Jason
install a smaller version of the MFM device and equip it in the room so
that if this should happen there, then no one will be affected." I
continued with a burst of clarity... only feeling it cloud over again.
Nope... too hard to think right now... not going to bother.

       "Take some more blood, run some tests... show that naked video of
me dressing" I chuckled, "have a field day!"

       For the first time since Doc's entrance Bransen finally spoke up.
"It might be for the best Doc.  We can have Dusty install another MFM
and keep him away from others, at least for the moment."

       "Yep yep!!!" I quipped, "now... nap time!" I mumbled seeing Doc's
aggravated expression turn toward me in the corner of my eye.  With
that the sounds blended around me as I drifted off into one of many
forgettable dreams.

       My eyes popped open to the sound of steady heavy breathing with a
light snore escaping at regular intervals like some machine that was in
desperate need of a tune up.  Looking around I knew this room.  It was
the same quarters usually reserved for Kelay.  The grey metal walls
were darkly lit with only the stray picture hung here and there to
break the monotony.  The room was ten foot across by ten foot deep.  A
desk with connected work table filled the right wall from corner to
corner adjacent the bed with a chair tucked between its legs barely
giving enough room for passage.  In the left corner of the room on the
front wall was the entry door to the quarters, and directly adjacent to
it on the left wall was the door leading to the bathroom room that
contained a very small sink, toilet, and standing shower with room
barely for two.  A shower sounded like a wonderful idea, but not just
yet.

       My bed was a small twin that would fit two persons should the
need arise, and I didn't see any reason it shouldn't be used for that
right now.

       "Bransen..." I whispered....

       "Bransen.." I whispered slightly louder this time jerking him
from his dreams or more possibly his nightmares.

       "Huh... ?" he grunted as his eyes opened to slits and he started to
stretch slightly while pulling himself up into the chair.

       "Come here.. There is no sense you should sleep in such an
uncomfortable place.  You know how you get when you don't sleep well."
I said scooting over to the right under the woolen blanket making space
for him.  I sleep on the right, always have.  He stood and stumbled
climbing over the end of the bed to the pillow I now shoved over for
him to rest his head.

       With as much flair as a bull in an outhouse he climbed under the
covers behind me rolling onto his right side as I was.  Not knowing
what to do, or possibly more unconsciously he flopped his left arm over
me for lack of anywhere else to put it.  These beds were made for
functionality, not convenience and there simply wasn't space to avoid
it.

       I enjoyed the comfort it brought me as I heard his rhythmic
breathing almost instantly fall back into its previous pattern as his
breath tickled the back of my neck.  I pulled his arm tighter around me
from behind and enjoyed the warmth of him against my back.  I felt
safe, and dozed off with that knowledge that should anything ever
happen, he would be here to protect me, and I would be able to protect
him.

       I woke some time later feeling the best I had in days before this
entire mess with Bransen's arm still in tow as a shield holding me
close in his slumber.  Lifting his arm gently I felt him resist and
pull me in closer grinding his obviously aroused body into mine.  I lay
still as he adjusted in his sleep.  After a few moments passed again I
lifted his arm from me and quietly slid my way from his grasp and
tangle of covers out of the bed trying not to disturb him.  Finally
free from the bed, I looked back at him.  He was so peaceful looking
though his face showed some aggravation in his sleep that he was now
alone in the bed.  Shifting, he grabbed the pillow in my stead and gave
it a tight squeeze comforting himself.

       He was gorgeous after all. His blond hair spilled around his face
onto the pillow in a tangle of yellow chaos.  His body was muscular and
bore the scars of so many battles before leaving its shiny mementoes
here and there across his skin.  His eyes now closed are the lightest
blue I had seen on anyone.  It was like looking deep into the sky the
color of his eyes.

       Quietly I made my way around the bed and to the dresser on his
side of the bed.  I opened the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of black
loose pants, and a billowy cotton blue shirt with sleeves that reached
almost half way down the arms.  This would do perfectly.  I crept to
the bathroom clothes in my arms and closed the bathroom door behind me.
Putting the clothes on the sink, I lifted the toilet lid and released.
Damn that felt good.  With a few shakes I tucked myself back into my
pants and then opened the shower door and set the water to a medium
heat.  As steam began to roll through the tiny cubicle I stepped in and
did my best to scrub myself clean from the last few days of fighting
and sex.  Finishing with my hair I opened the door and pulled the towel
from the rack located on the nearby wall.  Then again.. in here
'everything' was close.  Blotting my semi curly brown hair dry I
grabbed the clothes I'd selected from the sink and dressed while my
damp curls left their mark on my collar and shoulders.  I had had bangs
before, but after the transformation and my hack job on my mane of hair
I simply combed it straight back and let it fall where ever it might,
occasionally brushing a wet ringlet of hair back from my eyes.

       I felt absolutely refreshed.  It had been the first time in days.
I gathered my dirty clothes and the wet towel and tossed them into the
tiny hamper that was wedged between the sink and wall.  I got a fresh
towel from the cabinet beneath the sink knowing that Bransen would want
a fresh shower as well and hung it up on the hook by the door to the
shower.

       Opening the bathroom door quietly I peaked out only to find
Bransen sitting up in bed looking directly at me as I was trying to be
quiet.  Well... no sense in it now.  I walked out casually and made my
way to the chair he had occupied earlier at the end of the bed.
Bransen looked somewhat perplexed and I know what was on his mind.

       Looking at his quickly wakening expression, "No... we only slept."
I had answered his question.  "You looked so uncomfortable, and the bed
had room for two, and honestly... I needed the comfort of someone I could
trust." I said with a little blush rising to my cheeks.

       "I need to shower." He said with a hint of disappointment in his
voice.

       "There is a fresh towel on the hook.  We'll talk when you are
finished.  Please help yourself to the clothing in the wardrobe.  There
should be something in there that will fit you.  I know it is policy to
keep a stock of different sizes just in case." I said to him with a
mischievous smile.

       With that he hopped out of bed and made past me.  It was a tight
fit and I got a nice view of his muscled ass as he twisted to get past.
He picked out a black pair of denim pants and deep blue short sleeve
shirt.  The shirt, we both knew would be too small, but would accent
his powerful chest and arms and make his eyes stand out like stars in
the night.  He disappeared into the cramped bathroom and soon I heard
the water running again.  I got up and made the bed taking a moment to
stop and smell the pillow that he had used.  Yeah... it smelled just like
him, fresh with the odor of sleep and his natural cologne.  I continued
about my work and then returned to the chair to wait for him to finish.

       When Bransen emerged from the bathroom I had to stifle my
surprise.  Damn he was hot.  He had selected a pair of pants that
accented how very small his waist really was.  The fabric now barely
contained what I felt the night before in my sleepy daze.  His chest
was broad and strong as it tapered into such a small V of his waist and
then bursting out again as his muscled thighs filled the legs of his
pants.  The shirt as I suspected was like a second skin and clung to
every inch of his strong chest rising and falling with his every breath
and muscular twitch.

       "Wow!" I had said not meaning to.  "You look very nice." I said
awkwardly trying to cover my interest.  It wasn't appropriate, and he
already had issues he needed to sort out with his previous infatuation
of Kelay.  I didn't need to be feeding that right now but I wanted to
rip his clothes off and run my tongue across his body.  No time for
that now... we had business to take care of.

       Strapping his wrist COM on he tapped it and raised it to his
mouth.  He has such pretty pink lips I thought to myself.

       "Doc... if you have a few moments, Khore and I would like to meet
you in conference room 3 on level 5." he said as he lifted his eyes to
me from across the way.

       "Well it's about damn time!" Doc spat across the COM.

       "Lose the attitude okay?  There are more important things right
now... Check your attitude or don't bother." He hissed into the COM as
lifted his eyes to my direction.

       "Shall we?" he asked still looking at me.

       "Certainly!" I said rising from the chair.

       To be honest I felt like a new person.  I had gone through so
many changes, but this was the first time I felt like I was me.  A new
me none the less.... I didn't know quite how to explain it.  Clinically I
knew what had happened, and feared Doc's confirmation, but we were
still on course, and I would have to explain to him what had gone on in
the last 48 hours.

       "Call the team please.  I would like them to get this first hand.
We owe them this much." I said somewhat sullen.

       "All alpha team members report immediately to Level 5, conference
room 3." I heard belt out almost as quickly as he spoke the words into
his wrist COM.

       "Okay then..." I said with a sad smile while I gazed into his eyes.
"Let's do this."

       We took the lift to level 5 and waited while Doc, Sweed, Twist,
Mike, Neek and Raven entered the room and found places at the
conference table, while Doc, Bransen and I found our place at the front
of the conference table.

       "Please call Jason too please... he needs to hear this." I said
more to Bransen than anyone else.

       Bransen spoke into his wrist COM and about 10 minutes later
Jason... whom everyone knows as Dusty emerged through the door in his
coveralls looking questioningly at me and Bransen.

       "Have a seat please." I said smiling in his direction.

       Grinning slightly Jason made his way to an empty chair beside
Raven.

       We were all here, and now I had some explaining to do.  This was
not going to be fun.  As I looked across the table from face to face I
remembered their abilities with thoughts that had been given to me from
Kelay.

       To my left was Dusty, though I often refer to him as Jason.  When
you have sex like that, it's hard to use nicknames, though from now on
I would refer to him as Dusty.  I did not want to cloud the situation
anymore than what I already had.  He sat resolute with expectation as
his eyes glanced at me; a bit of pink to his cheeks as he tilted his
curved nose and hazels eyes to stare into the surface of the conference
table.

       Beside him sat Raven.  Raven was an ominous looking guy who
appeared to be in his 27th age.  Dark black hair matched his upturned
black eyes.  It was as though he had no iris, but only pupil and when
he looked at you it was as though he could read the deepest fears of
your soul.  His mop of poker straight black hair brushed the tops of
his ears and collar with bangs nearly as long in front that cascaded
down to his chin on both sides of his face.  He was cold and quiet with
ample pink lips and a small nose.  He was the same height as I
standing... barely 5'8" but bore tight compact muscle across his body
letting you know he could make the killing move.  The sadness behind
his eyes however let you know that had done just that; too many times
in the past leaving a bruised look about him.  He is what most would
simply describe as dangerous and rightfully so, being his area of
expertise was hand to hand combat.

       Beside him sat Sweed.  The Nordic mass of a man that was more
power than he was skill, but that skill was not something to scoff at
when it came to a fight.  He was more cunning than the Neanderthal
appearance that was painted across the bone structure of his face.  It
was a deception that had worked to his advantage on many missions.  The
contrast of him and Raven side by side was stunning.  It was as though
someone had made a negative of Raven and enlarged it.  His blond hair,
blue eyes, and strong square jaw gave him the look of the Vikings that
we only know by story.  While very strong in spirit, Sweed often would
look at Raven when he wasn't watching.  It was the look of a dog afraid
you'd yell at him but with anticipation of some loving attention.  It
was a strange thing to see someone of such strength to be cowered so
easily by emotion.  They were lovers, but as it had always been, Raven
treated that love as something to be flicked off after passion had run
its course.  I could sense the love Raven felt in his heart for Sweed,
but it was bottled up and kept away from the light.  He had seen too
much pain and been hurt one to many times.  My heart went out to Sweed.
He was traveling a difficult path.

       Across the table from Sweed sat Neek, the name having been
whittled down from Sneak.  He was a small frail looking thing that
seldom if ever had daylight touch his skin.  In his 18th age he bore the
body of someone of 14th age being small boned and almost weasel like in
appearance.  His bland brown shoulder length hair hiked into a pony
tail behind his head did little to age his appearance making him
looking even younger than he actually was.  He sported wide brown eyes
atop a nose that seemed to escape from his face being slightly larger
than it should have been.  While he could hold his own in a fight, his
special skills were in communications and electronics.  He acted as
sentry to the group twisting and contorting along the way as only his
small five foot frame could do without leaving a trace.

       He fidgeted like a nervous animal preparing for slaughter.  It
was just his demeanor.  Like so much energy packed into too small a
package.  He, much like Doc, was our worrier, and when Neek worried...
there was usually a damned good reason.  Neek was a loner and we all
knew why.  His lover Chance had been killed on a mission not long
enough ago for him to forget or forgive.  I could feel it burn in him
as he looked up at me.  He was angry, he was sad, and it was my fault
though I didn't know why.

       In front of him sat Twist.  Twist was a holy terror to say the
least and known for making brash decisions in the heat of the moment
surviving death by the skin of his ass.  He was also our comic relief.
If ever there was a smart ass comment to be made at any opportunity, it
was made by him.  His specialty was weapons.  He was forever coming up
with new gadgets and items that would kill all the quicker, but he
never seemed to dwell in the death of it.  He seemed to thrive on the
discovery and mechanical science.  He was taller than most of us
standing some six foot tall.  He had the upper body muscle of someone
that always carried too much but never moved great distances; though we
all knew his stamina to be on par with the rest.  He was, to say the
least, pretty.  His sharp features, murky born eyes, and short cut
spiked hair seemed to reflect his personality; sharp and painful to the
touch.

       Rift sat in front of Twist; his skill being the use of
explosives.  Guns and bombs seemed to go together as well in topic as
in bedfellows.  Rift and twist were lovers by more than just practice.
The loved each other deeply and it was hard not to notice as they
glanced at each other.  Rift had blown shit up for as far back as
anyone could remember.  He didn't just blow shit up though... he made it
an art in only destroying what need be to get the team further to its
objective.  He mirrored Twist nearly enough that they could have been
brothers except for his wavy auburn hair.  While his jaw was more
pointed and his shoulder length loose auburn hair was a contrast; I
could not help but to look on in admiration at a pair seldom better
matched.  Being the quieter of the two, when Rift did speak, it was
usually for good reason, and it was always best to listen.

       The room had been quiet for too long and Twist broke the silence
"So... what's up Doc?" to which there was a slight snicker to the ancient
reference.

       Glancing over to the Doc, I interrupted before he could begin,
"Tell them everything Doc.  We don't have time to sugar coat this."

       "Well.." he fidgeted nervously with the test results and many
print outs he'd gathered in the last few hours.  "You are all now part
of Khore.  Khore is also now part of you."

       He raised his hand to stop any questions before they started.

       "From the blood tests, Khore has somehow infused himself into you
and by proxy also taken parts of you into himself.  He now has a DNA
make up of proportions I cannot begin to understand.  The computers
can't split it out like a normal genome.  There is simply too much
data, too much complex genetic code.  And now... from the scans I have
taken, you are all part of it." He finished looking much to tired.

       "What the hell does that supposed to mean!?" blurted out Twist.

       Placing my hand on Doc's shoulder, "Let me explain." I said in an
authoritarian tone I didn't know I possessed.

       "Surely you've felt it.  When you woke this morning." I
paused..."The feeling that you are more now than what you were before.  I
know you feel it, I can feel it in you as easily as you feel it in
those next to you."

       "I should start from the beginning.  I am from a primitive
village.  Until three weeks ago, I knew little of this world or how it
worked."   I had their attention now.

       "My fathers were Briar and Kelay", the statement seemed to stop a
heartbeat or two.  I watched as the realization gripped their
expressions and continued.

       "It was through their love that I was born.  I am now 1600 years
old though in appearance 21st age." A sharp intake of breath could be
heard from Doc.

       "Please let me continue..." I said as I turned to him.  "This was
never meant to happen, at least on the schedule we've all now fallen
into." I said now turning back looking into their confused expressions.
Taking a deep breath I started again.

       "You are now as you will always be, and what I mean by that is
this.  You will not age.  Not from this point forward.  I did not know
that this would happen so quickly.  It was not meant to occur for
another 30 years."  I explained.

       "Everyone in this complex will no longer age.  It was the only
way we could ensure our survival.  The Thorens are dying.  If by this
fact alone, we could endure.  You will be finding yourself stronger and
less susceptible to influence by Thoren tricks of the mind.  I have
given to you as much as you have given to me.  I had planned a better
time but something has gone terribly wrong.  This was never meant to
happen so immediately, and I cannot explain why." I said now looking
down at the table to avoid the looks in their eyes.

       "I can", said Bransen.

       He glanced at me letting loose a pent up breathe and continued.
"I was there during your conception".

       Suddenly my eyes blazed with their familiar white-blue light.
"What?!" I was nearly in a rage.

       "I'm sorry Khore.  I'm sooo sooo sorry." Bransen continued
somberly, "I had no idea that this would happen.  Kelay had been acting
strangely, and had run out into the woods to god's table to make love I
suspected with Briar.  They had been going each night and I was so very
jealous.  I would listen to words spoken by them wishing I was the one
hearing them first hand, but it just wasn't so."

       He called it god's table... I saw it in his mind... It was the same
place I had gone so many times with Vale.  The pain reverberated
through my soul poking tender places of pain that I wanted to forget.

       "Fourteen days and 1600 years ago I followed them to the table.
They made passionate love, but this time... something happened.  I was
pulled in from my hidden place behind the rock-face.  No... I did not
participate, but my insides were pulled outward none the less.  They
took my soul, and from that day on I did not age."

       I was in a complete rage... the white blue fire had erupted along
my skin.  "What have you done!!!!" I nearly screamed lifting him into
the air by shear force of mind and will in front of me as the rest
looked on in horror.

       "We knew...... we knew something was different that night.. " I said
glancing up at him tears brimming in my eyes.  "An extra... had joined us
in energy and we thought by chance it had been..."

       I grew cold and looked at him suspended form in the air.  "You
had NO RIGHT!"  I yelled more out of rage remembered than my own, as a
gash slid across his abdomen through his clothing in a quick upward
slash.

       "GODS!" I screamed as I fell to my knees.  "What have you done!"

       The others had risen from their seats.

       'SIT!' I forced them back into position at the table.  Laying my
hand along the slash I had just created... I sealed Bransen's wound.
Hanging my head... I released Bransen letting him fall to the floor and
exited the door running and entered the lift.

       With tears rolling down my cheeks I continued to pound the level
1 button.  I needed air; fresh air.  I needed an open sky.  I needed a
place of quiet.  Finally the doors opened and I bullied my way through
the guards freezing their muscles as I made my way into the night.

       I was atop a mountain.  It looked like the top of the world as I
gazed out at the landscape of shadow and blue lit moon light.  Working
my way to the peak of the mountain away from the access shaft I finally
found a plateau to rest.  I hung my head and let the tired tears work
their way down my cheeks.

       I hadn't expected this.  We, I or Kelay or whoever the fuck it
was never had expected this.  Three souls had brought me into being. I
laid there feeling the cool stone against my tired body.  It seemed to
soothe me as the wind rustled the fabric of my shirt.  It was peaceful
and my most favorite place.  I had never been here before, but it was
what it was.  The air smelt like wet soil as it brushed past my face
and as I gazed up into the uncountable stars as I calmed myself.  This
always was a good place.  Closing my eyes... I prayed the sun would
incinerate me in my sleep.  Just let me sleep through the sunrise and
die inexplicably...  It was sooo much easier.

       I lay there for some time when suddenly I heard a voice.

       "Khore.  Please forgive me." it begged.

       Regardless of the merge, or anything else... I was normally not a
creature of vengeance.

       I reached my hand out to touch his lips to quiet them.

       "What is done.... Is done." And I slept.


---

Per suggestions from others, and a bit of work, I have re-written the
entire story.  Much of it is the same and the changes were cosmetic.  I
have also added some more depth to beginning characters and added a few
other things.  The chapters are for the most part longer and I have
corrected some continuity problems.  I know that I have much to learn
as a writer, and would greatly appreciate any constructive criticism
regarding this story.  Please contact me at gaywriter72@yahoo.com with
suggestions and criticisms.     Thanks!