The Great Weight of Time
“You just can’t get enough of me can you, Ryan!” fellow Succubus Laura joked to her former boss Regional Chief Detective Ryan Rhodes of the Cosmic Crimes Unit. She casually sat at the other side of his desk, with her legs crossed at the ankles on it.
“I, ah, I guess not, Laura,” he stated unsteadily.
“So what’ve you got for me? Another independent Potion Master drugging hapless women?” she smiled. That was the case she consulted on for him a month ago, which was five months after she resigned from the Federal Police. Because Laura was a Cosmic Detective, she was the go to consultant now, instead of Meghan or I. Though, our involvement was assumed. Regardless, even though us Succubi refused to be chained by institutions we’ll likely outlast, we all still worked to find our place in present society.
He handed over a Paper Tablet. “Back on Earth, there is an international serial killer called the Sexual Predator by the media. You probably heard of this killer. He or she has left a trail of dead bodies for the past five years across the globe. The bodies (male and female) are typically found naked in various locations, including homes and hotel rooms. There are always definite signs of sexual intercourse before or during the murder itself. Most importantly, what we’ve successfully kept from the public, is that all their Sexual Energy is totally drained out of them.”
Laura was taken aback. She placed her feet on the floor, and asked almost angrily, “Are you suggesting she’s a Succubus?”
“We don’t know, but it’s possible,” he stated uneasily. “The standard Energies Remnants Test shows the lack of that particular Energy. But, you know that only a Natural Born kills for their first sexual meal, and it’s usually just that one, and it’s always forgiven. So, another theory is that its a Witch, who likes to kill for Sexual Energy … This killer’s simply baffled us, and that’s why it’s a five year old Cosmic Investigation.”
“And, why are you coming to me with this? Is she here?” she asked apprehensively.
“Yes, we believe so, Laura. Only one kill so far. Staff ecologist Jennifer Linderson was found dead in her apartment three days ago by a technician performing standard, scheduled maintenance in the section. We’ve kept it quiet here, but we won’t be able to keep this silent for very long.”
“I assume there’s already a Detective on this case,” she stated.
“Yes. Detective Sandy Lords. If you’ll help us, she looks forward to working with you and maybe your friends as well,” he smiled seemingly innocently.
Laura was still a long way away from developing telepathy, but she could more than sense his dirty mind. “I’ll get back to you after we catch your Sexual Predator,” she smiled suggestively.
Laura later found the prim and proper Sandy in Cubare Tavern eating dinner by herself. Her blonde hair and fit, innocently sexy look effectively hid the haunted Detective underneath. Laura innocently sat next to her.
“Hi, I’m Laura Drax. You must be Sandy Lords.” Laura casually extended her hand, and they shook.
“Oh … Hi. I’m glad you decided to consult with me,” she said with a subtle shyness. Laura sensed that she wasn’t sure how to work with a Succubus, but less than secretly wanted all the help should could receive. She definitely had respect for Laura’s work before and after she left the Federated Police.
Meghan and I walked over, and casually sat at the table. Laura and I lovingly kissed just long enough to make ourselves a little hungry. Meghan then asked lightly, “So, who’s your knew friend, Laura?”
“This is Detective Sandy Lords. I’m working with her on a continuing homicide case that started back on Earth.”
“Guess that means I’m fired as a sidekick!” Meghan joked.
“Nah, there’s always room for more!” Laura said sexily.
Sandy then said, “Oh … You two must be Andrea and Meghan. Glad to meet you two. Your help’s always just as appreciated as Laura’s.”
“I sense that this is not the average case,” I said, feeling that this case had all but broken Sandy down.
“You’re right, Andrea,” Sandy stated quietly. “It’s gone on for five years now across the globe. It’ll probably be my first and last Cosmic Case …”
Not too long after more fully explaining the case, Sandy claimed to be feeling a touch of space sickness. We however knew that she just didn’t like showing weakness, and especially weakness toward her work as a Cosmic Detective.
After guiding Sandy to her hotel room, we headed to my apartment to see what information I had relating to the new case. Sure, we certainly had a strong knowledge of “life sucking” creatures, but it was generally limited to those related to the Cosmic Gods of Passion.
Laura and Meghan skimmed through the files on my Paper Tablet dedicated old texts, while I went through my library of physical books. We found very little. There were simply very few known beings that consume Life Energies, even indirectly like many Vampires, while there was no known use for those Energies outside biological organisms. However, Energy Transference was possible through artificial means. A Succubus was obviously a rare being to do it naturally, albeit usually with just Sexual Energy and Sexual Life Energy. That led to Laura’s theory that someone was syphoning the Energy to further studies on it, and they cared very little about what happened to those they sacrificed.
My door suddenly buzzed. I carefully placed an old book I was reading back onto the shelf, and answered the door. My jaw dropped, when I saw who it was. The other two sat up in equal amazement, now no longer distracted by research.
“Inna?” I asked with amazed joy.
“Yes, it is me, my Andrea,” the light brown haired woman stated in a quiet kindness. She wore a long, form fitting black dress, and had a well toned body. The distance I felt from her made my heart sink. I led her inside, and the door slid closed.
I turned back to the others, and barely said, “This … This is Inna, my Maker …”
Meghan walked up to her, and lightly touched her cheek, before saying, “You are Natural Born.”
Inna stated quietly to Meghan, “Most of us older than three-thousand are, and I’m over four.”
Teary eyed, I led her to my couch. We all sat together, with Inna at the center.
I then stated, “I thought you were dead, Inna.” I had not seen her for about a thousand years.
Inna answered in her distance, “Not long ago, I found myself growing weary of this world … I almost let go completely, but decided to hang on just long enough to see you again, Andrea.”
Sensing that Inna only wanted to be with me just then, Laura asked politely, “Should me and Meghan leave you two alone?”
“I guess so,” I barely said. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.”
While Laura and Meghan left, Inna and I lightly kissed.
“You know, Meghan, if I wasn’t a Succubus, I’d be jealous!” Laura joked in the corridor, lightening the seriousness of the moment.
Meghan laughed, and pecked me on the lips.
Laura and Sandy walked into the Chief of Agricultural Sciences office late that morning. Meghan was compiling relevant information on the station’s victim back in the Security Sector.
“Chief Larry Henderson? I’m Detective Sandy Lords. Laura Drax is consulting with me. I’m here to talk about Dr. Jennifer Linderson.”
They all shook hands, before the scientist stated with a big smile, “Oh, Laura needs no introduction!”
They sat down, while Laura smiled back at him. Laura had some fun with him a few months ago, when they first met in the Primary Arboretum. Laura asked, “How well do you know Jennifer?”
He sighed. “Quite well, actually. She hasn’t shown up for work recently, and that’s concerned me a lot … What happened to her?”
“We are trying to keep that quiet for now, Dr. Henderson,” Sandy stated impartially.
Laura knew that Sandy was a highly competent Cosmic Detective, but she did not always know how to read people very well. Not telling Henderson the whole truth would close him off. That was who he was. “She was found dead in her apartment, Dr. Henderson …”
Sandy gave Laura a shocked look. She did not want him to know.
I continued, “… Possibly murder. But like Detective Lords said, we are trying to keep this quiet for now.”
He held his head in his hands, becoming incredibly morose. Laura sensed that he had feelings for Jennifer, but never acted on them. “She was one of the best ecologists we had …” He sighed deeply, barely holding back tears. “Last time I saw her was, I think, five days ago. She was working the ecology lab. Her project is on adapting biological organisms like bees to artificial environments.”
“Did you ever see her with people you didn’t recognize, doctor?” Sandy asked.
He answered, “No, I only knew her professionally … Never did get that drink with her …” His face fell back into his hands.
Laura sensed that there was nothing more he could say right then. “Thank you for your time.” Laura then stood up, and placed her hand on his shoulder, before saying compassionately, “If you need anything, you know how to find me, Larry.”
Outside the office in the corridor, Laura asked, “Did you ever look into anyone studying Life Energies, Sandy?”
“Of course I did!” Sandy replied frustratedly. She sighed, regaining her composure. “… I’m sorry, Laura. Within the first year I was on this case, I looked into it, but that was a dead end. There’s a bunch of scientists across the globe that study Life Energies. All of them perfectly legal; all of them above suspicion. Many of them even have Succubi and Witches consulting with them. It’s all in the case file.”
Laura tenderly placed her hand on Sandy’s shoulder, and asked, “Who do you think is really doing this, Sandy?”
“I … I’m just not sure anymore.” She shook her head, glassy eyed. “I keep telling all those Regional Chiefs that it must be some crazed scientist. But, how often is a mad scientist just a regular piece of fiction?”
Dr. Henderson then walked up to them in the corridor, and stated quietly, “There’s one more thing … It’s not much … Her supervisor said he saw her with some woman in the station’s movie theater. We had a few drinks at Cubare by then, so I’m not really sure how accurate he was …”
“What’s her supervisor’s name?” Laura quickly asked.
“Jack … Jack Lindoff,” he answered.
They found Dr. Lindoff working in the ecology lab. He was bald and on the short side, but Laura sensed that he was a very welcoming person, albeit one married to his work. His eyes were glued to a microscope.
“Dr. Lindoff?” Sandy sounded.
Eyes still glued, he casually waved his had, while he stated, “Just a sec, just a sec … Ah! There they go!” He looked up toward them with a big smile. “Very happy zero-G microbes in a Newtonian Gravity Environment!”
Laura walked up to him, and said, “I’m Laura Drax, and this is Detective Lords. We’re here to talk about Dr. Linderson.”
“Oh, Jennifer?” he asked. “Have you heard from her? She left a few experiments running for too long. I had to salvage what I could.”
“She was found dead in her apartment,” Laura stated seriously. Sandy gave her an annoyed look.
“Oh …” He became very morose, taking deeper breaths. “I guess you guys are keeping that quiet … How can I help you?”
Sandy then answered, “You told Dr. Henderson recently that you saw Jennifer with a woman in the theater.”
“I did,” he raised his eyebrows. “Never saw the woman before. At first I thought she was just a friend, but the way they were holding hands as they walked out … Actually, they were walking very close together, too, almost intimately. I don’t think I told Larry that.”
“It bothered you a little didn’t it,” Laura sensed.
“Not really in the way you might think,” he said ponderously. “It was that I knew she was heterosexual, or at least, I thought she was.”
Laura then asked, “Did you notice any enticing scents?”
“No, I don’t believe so,” he answered.
Laura sighed with relief. The last thing she needed to hear was confirmation that a Succubus was killing people across the globe and now space.
Sandy then asked, “Can you give us a description of this woman?”
“Hmm … That’s not as easy as you might think. You see, Jennifer walked into the theater alone; even said hi to me. She sat a few rows ahead. Only one in the row, if I remember. There were very few there that night, actually. Not long after the lights were dimmed about ninety percent, the other woman walked past, and sat next to her. It was too dark for me take get a good look at her, when she came in, as it was when they walked out … That’s about all I know … If only I sat with her …”
Feeling the devastation the doctor was bottling up, Laura said compassionately, hand on his forearm, “We’ll find out who did it, I promise, Jack.”
They then left for the Security Sector. Meghan was waiting for them in the main security room. She could not find much relating to the case. Though, she did gather other bits of information. Not counting Sandy’s private ship after, the last ship to arrive from Earth was a commercial civilian shuttle four days ago. The majority of which were tourists. Mostly families were registered, and at least one was a graduate student in agricultural studies starting an internship on the station. None of them had criminal records.
The three of them spent the rest of the day compiling data. Luckily, the next ship to arrive was a cargo vessel in two days, and the option to lock down the station was available. The biggest issue Sandy had from the start was the fact that the Sexual Predator always picked victims and random. Many of them were just like Jennifer, who was well liked by her peers, while many others were hardly missed. Though, there was a cycle, in that at least one victim appeared about every six months. Jennifer’s death fit that timeframe, albeit slightly earlier than average.
That night, the three of them found themselves at Laura’s apartment. They sat on the couch, while Sandy was barely hiding her beaten down look.
“Meghan,” Laura said. “Could you check on Andrea for me. I wanna be with her, but you know it’s really awkward for me with Inna wanting to spend time with her alone.”
“They silently kicked me out, too, remember?” Meghan said almost lightly. “I’ll see what I can do … Good night, both of you.” She left.
Sandy was quietly drinking some water on the couch. Her emotions were betraying her. The weight of her five year investigation was bearing down on her, as it probably was for a while now. I sat close to her, and offered, “You can talk to me if you want, Sandy.”
She sighed deeply. “I’ve lost again … She, he, it is here now, but we have no clue who it may be … As far as we know, the Predator is already flying to the moon on its demonic wings …” She rubbed her eyes, failing to hold back tears.
Laura tenderly put her hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right …” Laura sensed that Sandy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown right in front of her. She felt so bad for her. Her case was every investigator’s worst nightmare. Laura then decided to give Sandy something she needed. Concentrating, Laura let loose a slight yet focused burst of her pheromones.
Breathing deep, Sandy looked at her, and stated, “What are you doing, Laura?”
“Giving you what you need, Sandy: an escape. Let me give it to you,” she said, while running her fingers through Sandy’s hair. Laura then leaned in for a passionate kiss.
“I … I’ve never …” Sandy barely stated. She may be very much heterosexual, but she knew more than most that meant very little to Succubi.
“There’s a first time for everything!” Laura exclaimed hungrily. She clamped her lips back onto Sandy’s and drank at her Sexual Energy.
“Oh, my God, please!” she forcibly exclaimed. The feel of an orgasm in anyone’s mouth sometimes broke down barriers better than controlled pheromones!
Practically carrying the mesmerized Sandy, they fell onto the bed, and shed their clothes. Laura forcibly ground her pussy on Sandy’s, while drinking large swathes of her Sexual Energy. Their muffled moans and coos were loud and true.
Laura then lifted her head off of Sandy’s, reveling in the sweet flavor of Sandy’s Energy. Laura fell back on top of the grunting woman, and licked and kissed her way downward. Laura spent extra time worshiping the woman’s aroused, firm breasts, before continuing down her fit stomach to her dripping pussy. She hungrily, anomalistically made out with Sandy’s twitching pussy, before madly fingering Sandy’s G-spot. “OH my GAWD … OH MY FUCKIN’ GAWWDD … YESSSSS!” Sandy wildly screamed and squirt in orgasm. At the same time, Laura’s body absorbed every last bit of the expelled Energy, and screamed even louder in her own passion.
After several minutes of visibly glowing and reveling in the perfect, filling feed, Laura crawled on top of the breathlessly satisfied Sandy. “Oh my God, Laura … I did need that … That was amazing …” Sandy barely said. “Your welcome, Sandy,” Laura said with big smile, while Sandy slowly passed out …
The next morning, Meghan arrived in Laura’s apartment, while the two detectives were happily sipping on coffee, and sitting on the couch. It was both cheap and genuine, it being from beans grown right on the station instead of the common artificial “cubes.” Sandy was also munching on a rather oversized breakfast with her own cup. “You look much better, Sandy!” Meghan stated lightly, not having to read anyone’s mind to know what happened. Sandy did look quite tired, though.
Sandy glanced over to Laura with a pleased smile, and stated, “I just needed to let go for a while … Not sure if my doctor would’ve recommended what we did last night, though!”
“How is Andrea?” Laura quickly asked.
Meghan sighed, “Andrea is all right, I guess, but Inna is truly at her end …”
Sandy asked innocently, “Who’s Inna? I think you mentioned her last night.”
Laura answered, “Andrea’s Maker … She’s very old.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Sandy stated, knowing what happens to Succubi, when they are weary of life.
Meghan then said uncomfortably, “There’s something else, too.”
“What?” Laura asked.
“Inna may be very distant,” Meghan answered, “but she hides some things.”
“I didn’t think Succubi could hide anything from each other,” Sandy stated confused.
“Usually, yes,” Meghan stated, “but Inna is a four-thousand year old Natural Born. If she wasn’t so distant, she’d be goddess-like.” She uncomfortably sighed, and continued, “Andrea is too lost emotionally to notice Inna is hiding anything. I’m not sure what it is, but it worried me. So, last night, I checked up on her … Prior to arriving on the station, there is very little information on Inna’s whereabouts on Earth. Though, it does seem that she traveled extensively, and disturbingly a few locations she stayed match up well with the Sexual Predator’s murders.” Meghan sat on the couch with the other two, and continued, “Inna arrived on the station eight days ago on the NASA civilian shuttle. She did very little of importance, and seemed to act like a regular tourist: promenade, agricultural sectors, et cetera. She was very good at avoiding us. Then, she was registered for a theater seat the same night as Jennifer. I checked the security feeds, and all records that would have shown Inna or Jennifer that night were erased. And, I am sure that the recordings received for the investigation were altered, because Jennifer or Inna is not seen anywhere in them. After, I checked on the security officer, who both handed over the videos and was the officer on duty the night Jennifer died. I could feel that his mind was toyed with by a master telepath …”
“You can’t be saying what I think you’re saying, Meghan!” Laura said angrily. “No Succubus has actively killed for three-thousand years!”
“Inna is over four-thousand,” Meghan reminded. “She now cares very little about anything anymore, Laura.” There was great pain in her tone.
They sat in silence for a while. It all made sense; they just did not want to accept the fact that a Succubus was murderer. All the signs were there: murders at regular intervals, victims with total loss of Sexual Energy, a next to impossible to find killer. That was exactly how many Succubi were before acceptance of the Symbiotic Philosophy three-thousand years ago, which above all else stated that no Succubus kill unless necessary, and to never intentionally kill or leave dead the fed upon being. That Philosophy ensured a strong spiritual and personal abhorrence to killing for all Succubi born after its acceptance, while it was assumed that those born prior eventually developed the same abhorrence.
The intercom suddenly sounded; it was me. “Is Inna with you?” I asked them distraught.
“No, Andrea” Laura said. “What happened?”
“I woke up this morning, and she was just gone …” I was freaking out, and hyperventilating. I wanted so desperately to be with Inna, when her end came.
“I’ll call the Security Chief, Andrea,” Laura stated. “No one can hide on a space station!”
We were all rushing down to one of the smaller, secondary airlocks. Inna was tracked down ten minutes prior by one of the security officers, but they lost contact with him not long after. The security feed showed Inna sucking every ounce of Sexual Energy out of him, and stepping into the airlock.
The moment we reached the downed officer, Meghan breathed her powerful Sexual Life Energy into him until he barely sputtered back to life. He lay unconscious, with drool dripping down his cheek. A medical team was already on their way for him.
A few feet ahead was the airlock door. Inna stood inside waiting for them. She stood naked in her ageless beauty. “WHY, INNA, WHY!” I screamed, bashing on the thick metal door. She stared right through me, while I looked at her through the glass.
Sandy quickly tried to open the door with her Skeleton Keycode, but the glass panel was inactive.
‘I disabled that panel from the inside,’ she said loudly in a distant monotone within in our minds. The transmitted voice had distinct Eastern European Tones of a long lost language. ‘I copied everything that officer knew about this airlock into my mind.’ Her head slowly tilted back and forth, while she transmitted.
Meghan and Laura compassionately placed their hands on the door along with mine. “Please, don’t do this!” I screamed.
‘I recorded a video file onto your Paper Tablet. It explains everything … Time is crushing me …’ she transmitted with a tear falling down her cheek. A look of total weakness was on her face. ‘You must let me go, Andrea.’
“No, NO!” I screamed in tears, bashing the steadfast door even harder, with strength enough to crush a Human. “Not like this!”
‘My first lesson to you, Laura, was that our destiny is ours to manipulate. What I never told you—what I did not yet fully understand then—is that our end is ours as well … Goodby …’ Inna then tapped the panel in front of her. A bright red light flashed within, and a deep buzzing alarm sounded. The airlock did not depressurize. While the exterior doors quickly slid open, she was propelled backward into the ageless vastness of space …
Laura, Meghan, Sandy, and I sat quietly in the security chief’s office. Inna’s body was recovered an hour prior by an emergency medical team. They tried to revive her, but she was exposed to the vacuum of space for too long. She had already given up on life. The chief gave us privacy, knowing the personal nature of the video we were about to watch. Sandy did not want to stay either, but we wanted her to finish this with us. Slowly, hesitantly I started the recording …
“Andrea, this video recording represents most of the will left within me,” Inna said in her quiet distance. “I hope forgiveness is possible, but I do not know … Before I start at the beginning, I just want you to know that I never lied to you. I only held back the truth that I could not tell …
“Though never uttered, we all know that four-thousand years ago many of us killed willingly and even unabashedly. I was one of them. I relished in the hunt and the kill of Humans for a thousand years before the Symbiotic Philosophy was conceived. I even made numerous thralls, which has become so rare to do. I vocally opposed the new Philosophy, but there were too many supporting it. Thus, the voices of the few were quashed.
“For the next thousand years, I forced myself to follow the will of the majority. I cannot tell you the countless times I killed my Human prey before bringing them back to life. Then, I finally met you, Andrea. I told you that you put a light in me that I could not extinguish then, and that is why I transformed you. I did not tell you about all those I killed joyously—how much I missed it, before meeting you, but you somehow understood the truth of that light. Thanks to you, Andrea, I was finally able to live in the brave new world I once fought against. Of course, time has a profound affect on those as long lived as us, and we ultimately went our separate ways to shape our own destinies.
“So many endless centuries passed until I finally began to feel the great weight of time begin to bear down on me. I felt myself growing weary. That was a century ago, now. I would not yet accept it, so I hung on ever so much longer. Then, five years ago, I drained too much from a Human, and he died. Before I breathed life back into him, I felt something that I had suppressed for so long: exhilaration. I did not bring him back. Feeling that exhilaration made me forget the weight of time completely. For the next five years, I hunted and killed Humans joyously again for the first time in three millennia!
“Yet, the joy didn’t last … I am so very old … My last kill on Earth truly felt like my last. I nearly, finally gave into my weariness, before I thought of you, Andrea. I just had to see you again one last time.
“It did take me a while to find you again; I never was much for Human technology. So, I needed yet another meal, and I found it in Jennifer. She was quite good as they go … I’ll see you one last time, as you will see me one last time through this recording … Please do not think ill of me, Andrea, for that is last thing I want engraved on my legacy.” The video ended.
Laura and I held each other tightly, while I poured my sorrows into her shoulder. Sandy and Meghan tenderly placed their arms around both of us …
Laura and Sandy stood in the corridor outside Regional Chief Detective Ryan Rhodes’ office. We were all emotionally devastated by how the case ended.
“I still don’t know what to say, Laura,” Sandy said apologetically, with her hand on Laura’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to say anything, Sandy,” she said quietly. “Not everything ends quite as we want it to, I guess.”
She nodded morosely, and turned to the Chief Detective’s office.
Laura grabbed Sandy’s wrist, before she requested entry. Laura then said seriously, “I know you’re going to resign, Sandy, but I don’t think you should … You are a great Cosmic Detective. I can see it, I can feel it. I only resigned, because of what I became. But, I still am a Detective, and maybe I always will be. I can sense that you know in your heart that you ARE a Cosmic Detective. You would never forgive yourself for letting that go, Sandy. Understand the past for all its beauty and horror, but don’t let the great weight of time cloud your judgement.”
Sandy nodded. “You’re right, Laura … All I ever wanted to do in life was to solve tough crimes, and the day I became a Cosmic Detective was the best day of my life … This is my calling, and I won’t let that go, now.” She breathed a long, purifying sigh and smiled. “You’re very wise for such a young Succubus, Laura.”
Laura looked downward thinking about the life she had and lost through sacrifice over one-hundred and fifty years ago, and how it first led to me and then to Meghan. She looked up, and said, “I have good teachers.” Laura leaned in, and sweetly kissed Sandy on the lips. Deciding to let Sandy close the case she started five years ago herself, Laura found her way back to me.