Pearl Blankenship, an autistic investigative journalist, witnesses the end of the world. Before the nuclear fallout can kill her, a mysterious being offers her a choice: come with him or stay on a dying planet Earth.
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Dumuzi, the being who offe...
CW: Sexual content, some violence, and strong language. Contains later depictions of pregnancy, may not be suitable for some readers.
Assyrians, Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians worshipped the Anunnaki as a group of deities. This story pulls from certain aspects of their mythology but is not a wholly accurate reflection of them, and certain liberties have been taken for storytelling purposes.
This is a work of fiction and is not intended to instill or display bias or be reflective of the author's personal belief system.
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PEARL
This date was tanking faster than the economy. It was my fault. Again.
The back of my neck was on fire from embarrassment, so I rubbed it, looking around the empty restaurant, hoping somebody could save me. My date was probably thinking the same thing. His eyes were locked onto my face for some reason—then I remembered.
Crap. I forgot to put on makeup to hide the burns.
When he kept staring at me, I glanced away and pretended to find the whirling ceiling fans interesting. I mean, they kind of were. Upscale. Chic. And the breeze they wafted my way felt pretty nice. A place like this was usually out of my budget, but desperate measures and all...
I was usually happy to stuff my face with whatever grease-soaked fast food I could get my hands on. But I really doubted bringing a date to a Mcdonald's was on the list of do's when trying to find a relationship.
"What happened to your face?" Flynn asked.
I cringed in my seat.
Tell him a lie. You burned yourself with a curling iron. Tell him you fumbled with a cigarette or something.
But my logical brain wasn't listening, and I blurted out the truth. Because one thing I knew among the millions of things gained in my career, was that I couldn't keep my damn mouth shut.
"Ionizing radiation burns."
I didn't even want to look at him, but I had to. I peeked at him from under my eyelashes. Yep, he was stunned, his lips all mashed into a thin line. I could see the cogs turning through his green eyes in his brain, trying to make sense of the mess sitting across from him.
He blinked, wiping his mouth with a linen napkin. "You mean a sunburn?"
Yeah, a sunburn! Say a sunburn!
"Gamma radiation."
Nice one, slick. We are going to die alone.
"You know, Pearl," Flynn said, and I cringed again. I already knew what he was going to say. "I don't think this is going to work. You're hot and all, but you are a bit... much."
