Earth 2408: Prequel to The Alpha King Part III

Traven watched Joshua leave as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. Shaking his head at the fact that his man had gotten so distracted by making love to him that he'd forgotten about his nightly run, he began to straighten up the coffee table and the cushions on the sofa. He blushed when he noticed some of his come on the edge of the coffee table and the floor. How the hell did it get there? Sighing in frustration and feeling his face burn red in embarrassment, he went into the kitchen to grab some paper towels and some Pine-Sol and set about cleaning the wooden coffee table and scrubbing the wooden floors in front of it.
Traven felt his mind wander as he cleaned. He didn't know why Joshua's nightly runs were so important to the other man. He only knew that it was. Joshua was apparently very passionate about staying in shape and after all of these years it was only just now starting to bother him. Why couldn't Joshua run in the morning like other people? Why did he only run at night, when it was really dark and no one could really see him? That was dangerous. Ignoring the prickle at the back of his neck, Traven pushed away the sudden thought that perhaps Joshua was cheating on him.
"That's ridiculous," he said, his voice starling him in the stillness of the house. Sitting back on his heels, he looked around the home that he shared with the very man that he was beginning to suspect of being unfaithful. The living room had a large fireplace on one side, with a granite face and a maple wood mantle that was covered with pictures of the two men in different stages of their relationship. In front of the fireplace there was a large, black bear skin rug. Traven shook his head as he remembered the day that Joshua had brought the rug into the house. He'd held up the rug to Traven's shocked gaze and had grinned broadly.
"Look what I got!" he'd stated proudly. Traven had merely shook his head and directed Joshua on where to put it. He'd smiled affectionately at his man when Joshua had stood back and looked at the rug as if he were the mighty animal that had hunted it down. They'd made love on the rug that night. It was the first night that he could ever remember hearing Joshua growl. That had been two years ago.
Turning his head Traven let his eyes take in the rest of the room. The large, 64-inch, flat screen plasma television that was mounted up on the wall above the bar. The maple wood coffee table which held their magazine subscriptions to Out, Advocate, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, TIME, People, and Playgirl. He looked at the wooden floors, the dark blue seating furniture that surrounded the room. Turning his head to the left towards the kitchen, Traven debated whether or not he should take a shower and then get dinner ready or if he should wait for Joshua to get back from his run and then shower with him.
Smiling almost lecherously, he decided to wait until his man got back and stood up from the floor and walked into the kitchen. He fought with himself internally as he struggled not to look out the window towards the place where he knew that the spaceship sat. What did the aliens really want? He didn't believe that they were only there to help the humans improve Earth. There was something else going on here.
Opening the refrigerator, he smiled at the picture of him and Joshua in New Orleans. That had been a crazy night. They'd ventured into the French Quarter and gone to a nightclub called Lafitte's. It had apparently been a special night because the bar which was purported to be for gay men exclusively was filled with screaming, drinking women. Joshua had walked up to one of the women and asked what was going on, he was told that they were all in the city for a gay romance readers and writers retreat. Joshua had come back and relayed the information to Traven and as the two men looked on they'd found themselves chuckling at some of the women's antics and also very interested in what kind of books were out there that catered to the gay community. When some of the women had invited them to join them in doing body shots off of the go-go boys, they had both chosen not to. Traven had only done so because of the menacing growl he'd heard rumbling up from Joshua's chest. They had both just chosen to watch as woman after woman licked the dancing boys, grabbing their asses and shoving bills in their g-strings. Of course one of the best times of the night was when they'd been able to talk to some of the authors who, through a drunken haze, had told them all about their books and where they could be found online. They'd both immediately gone online as soon as they got back to their hotel and had looked up books in the gay genre. They'd both become instantly hooked to the books. He wondered if the group would be having another event. It sounded like a blast. He'd have to ask Joshua what the name of the conference…retreat was. Something like Gay Rom….
Pulling out the bottle of apple juice with his name on it, Traven smiled in fondness. His partner was very attentive. He constantly made smoothies for Traven, filled with vitamins to help keep him healthy. Joshua even made food for Traven and had gotten him on a very strict daily vitamin intake. He had originally been offended that Joshua felt that he needed to take vitamins and drink more juice and eat more vegetables, but it was almost as if he could feel his body becoming stronger, becoming more fit. His hair wasn't graying as it should have been. If he didn't know better, he'd think that the vitamins that Joshua was giving him were actually making him younger rather than older.
Pouring a glass full of the apple juice, Traven opted not to put the juice back into the refrigerator, instead placing the jug on the counter. Lifting the glass to his lips, he took a large gulp of the liquid and felt his parched throat almost sigh in relief from the hydration. Lowering the glass, he sighed and glanced over at the clock on the stove. Joshua hadn't been gone that long, but it seemed as if he'd been gone forever. Rubbing at the back of his neck and sighing in frustration at his own "desperate and depressed without her man" damsel in distress attitude, Traven lifted the glass to his lips again when he heard the pounding on the door. Turning towards the door in shock, he placed the glass on the counter and opened the hidden drawer underneath the counter. Joshua had told the contractor to put the drawer there and had told Traven that he was hiding a gun there for him to use whenever he needed it. Traven hadn't understood why in the world he'd need a gun in Auburndale, but he hadn't questioned Joshua about it, he'd merely nodded and told himself that he would never need to grab the gun.
"I need to start asking more fucking questions," he mumbled to himself as he grabbed the gun and started to walk towards the door. "Who is it?" he called out as he stopped in front of the door. Their house was located right off of Berkeley Road and Saddle Creek Road, they were not exactly in the middle of town and their house was set back closer to the woods. So anyone that was there, was there with a purpose, and Traven had no idea what that purpose could be.
"We're looking for Joshua Roughshire," the dark, menacing voice of the uninvited stranger on the other side of the door floated through the wooden door and clutched Traven's heart. He didn't know why this man made him so nervous, why he didn't want to open the door to him, but he absolutely had no plans to open the door for this man.
"He's not here right now. Come back in the morning," Traven yelled towards the door as he took a few steps back, his eyes trained on the door. The sound of the local news station breaking into the middle of a program, momentarily distracted him and he turned towards the television screen, his eyes widening in shock.
"The Queen of England had sent up a distress call to the world leaders only moments after the grounds surrounding the palace opened and seemed to almost pull in cars and pedestrians that walked outside. Over the last few days there have been a number of strange deaths ranging in hundreds of people dying from sinkholes opening under schools, churches, auditoriums and sports stadiums. Earthquakes happening in places where earthquakes have never occurred before and seemingly healthy and firmly planted trees, abruptly falling on top of homes and killing entire families. The President of the United States had just received the call when he was told that a tornado had appeared in California and had taken out half of the state," the reporter stated, the black woman's eyes filled with tears. Traven's left hand flew up to cover his mouth as he felt his eyes widen in shock. What the hell was going on? It was like the Earth was turning on the humans and killing them off in droves. Traven watched as the reporter put a hand up to her ear to hear a word from her producer before she gasped and gave a small cry in dismay. Moving on wooden legs Traven stepped closer to the television, the next words causing him to sink to his knees in horror. "We've just been informed that the entire state of Texas has been wiped out. A massive tidal wave…a tsunami has hit the state and while we are not yet completely sure at this moment, it seems as though the entire state was affected and that buildings, cars, houses, schools…every building and living creature has been wiped out…" Traven watched as the reporter lifted her eyes to stare directly into the camera, "There are no survivors as far as we can see. Texas is no more."
Pushing away from the television and crawling backwards to the couch, Traven pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his bent knees. What the hell was going on? What was happening? And where the fuck was Joshua? He needed Joshua.
When the front door splintered open by the massive force of it being run into, Traven screamed and scrambled for the gun that he'd left in front of the television. He never made it. The hulking mass of man that wrapped his arms around him prevented him from getting away. He squirmed and fought against the man's hold, desperately grabbing onto the counter of the bar, grabbing the television and pulling it down, all to no avail. He felt the room spin around as he was jerked towards the source of the earlier voice.
"You are Traven Versuthion? Joshua's mate?" the man asked, his blue eyes looking amazingly similar to Joshua's. Traven felt himself being calmed slightly as he man stared at him, how the hell was the other man doing that?
"I don't know about his mate, but I'm his partner yes," Traven heard himself answer. The other man nodded, looking almost sad as he nodded to the other man.
"I'm afraid that you're going to have to come with us. Joshua will know where you are and he will no doubt come and rescue you. It is imperative, however, that he come to us soon. Your planet and your people are doomed. They did not heed our words, they did not accept our assistance and for that they will experience a destruction so profound that they will cease to exist," the other man explained to Traven as he led the way out of the door, ignoring Traven's screams and pleas to his neighbors to save him.
"SILENCE!" the other man bellowed and Traven shut up immediately, instantly afraid of this man whose eyes now flashed fire. The man was broader than Joshua, though their skin tone was similar, they both had black hair and both seemed to barely be holding back some almost fierce animal inside of them. Which was absolutely ridiculous…right?
"We are going to save your life by kidnapping you and forcing Joshua to reveal all to you. Your body has already changed. Even now you will be able to survive living on another planet, but if you want to live…we must go now."
Traven opened his mouth to protest when he saw the other man nod to the large mountain of a man who held him and then he knew nothing at all.