The truth was none of us were safe anymore.
Juliana hunched near the weapons lockers. They were to be used only in the case of a true emergency. If a bullet managed to break through the quote-un-quote proofed and fortified structure of the Starship T1-95 Pandorum, we’d all be fucked.
She grabbed two pistols. They were nothing fancy, but they’d do the trick. Turning her head, she looked worried, but tossed me the gun and a set of bullets for me to load into the chamber.
“If you can manage it, keep the son of a bitch alive, okay?” she asked.
“Cade? I can’t make any promises,” I said. “I’ll do my best.”
“I meant the alien.” Juliana gave me a crooked smile.
I loaded the pistol, cocked it, and felt some satisfaction when the bullet moved into the chamber. It was almost as if I’d expected to end up in this position.
All of the history books taught me one thing: exploration leads to unknown truths. There is always a high risk of madness, disease, and death. Those that went against the rules of the mission would have to face the fire of existence.
I didn’t know what to say. All I could think about was my family, about my past. Losing my brother didn’t feel real anymore. It had been years since we left, and though I could never have another family, I would always carry the sibling bond we had within my heart.
Only, now, I was floating away from it all. I was losing sight of what I once was and why I signed up to be here. All I wanted to do was find some firm ground to stand on.
“There is no sense of balance in space,” I said, securing the tactical belt around my hip. “Any ground you try to find will reject you. I am not certain we have the tenacity to finish our mission, Juliana. I’m worried that we have gone too far with our actions. What if we can’t win the inmates’ trust back? What if we were never supposed to find a new habitat?”
Juliana lowered her eyelids and breathed carefully. Then, she cocked her pistol as I had mine seconds before. “What are you trying to say, bitch?”
I looked back one more time. The prisoners. They weren’t good people, but seeing them locked inside of the cafeteria like that scared me. Tensions were already starting to rise, and we really needed to figure out a plan before they did.
“Forget it,” she said. “Let’s split up and decimate this alien. I’m sure we’ll find Cade in the process.”
“Just another manic episode,” I murmured.
“Mmhm.”
I didn’t believe it, but without any options, I went for the only plan we had. “You really think we should split up?”
The odds that one of us would get hurt were high, but if we were ambushed together, we might be completely finished. I swallowed and wished I could get a drink of water to satisfy my thirst. Sweat was practically pouring down my forehead.
“Never mind,” I said. “If shit gets really fucked up, we’ll meet near solitary. Got it?”
Two confident nods.
But as experience on Earth had taught me, the center never held. It simply crumbled under the force of something stronger. I suddenly got the feeling that whatever was inside this ship was after me.
I closed my eyes and straightened out my spine. It was time to find the intruder.
5
Talis
Her scent was everywhere. The light and flowery pheromones drifted around me, so inescapable that I found myself huddled in a supply closet, naked and fully erect, edging my cock to satisfaction.
Edging for hours, I was unable to keep down the deep lust I felt within. The thought of her bent over my lap, showing off her little pussy and rump like a proper submissive was in the center of my mind’s eye. I stroked my hard cock and felt the power run through me.
I came, spraying the walls and floor. I drooped forward, panting. I was still so hungry for her. I craved the bitch, and no one could tell me I couldn’t have her. The pleasure I felt would be nothing compared to the real thing.
Soon, the ache in my balls set in. I needed to knot, needed to feel my member latch onto her cunt, spreading seed across her insides until we became one. I yearned to see the look in her eyes as I gave her my last drop of come, impregnating her with my eternal being.
It was a fucking honor to be chosen as my mate.
If my desire wasn’t so strong, I could have found a way out by now. She was close. The fuel cells, as important as it may have been to my escape, didn’t mean shit without my immortality.
But there was a hitch in my plans. That fuck she made me let go was waiting for his chance to play cops and robbers. As soon as he heard about the intruder in the cargo hold, I was a target. She was a target.
Everyone was a fucking target.
Wherever he walked, I could hear his movements, even smell the layer of filth that resided upon his skin. Humans enjoyed giving others the benefit of the doubt, but living organisms only know the roles they are asked to play. His role was to be a killer without any honor. A destroyer of souls.
I saw him briefly, fidgeting through the ceiling, terrible at concealing himself. While talking to himself in a strange manner, he went through the computers as I had before, and slipped away into the ceiling above. For now, I was safe. Bleeding out slowly, but safe enough.
The hours passed, and I could hear more footsteps echo far above. The ship was massive, which meant I could learn more about their culture and world without feeling someone might sneak up.
Using the computer with some trouble, I scrolled through the various videos she had saved. I learned that Earth was on the brink of atmospheric catastrophe. The Earthlings were a highly volatile race of people, hellbent on misunderstanding the one evolutionary advantage that their ancestors gave them. Consciousness.
Much like my overlords, they found it impossible to understand. They vowed to live in a perpetual state of sorrow, publishing great books on how their demise would appear. They were mostly benevolent creatures, but they were ruled by a special breed of man; true predators who looked at every angle for opportunity, no matter the cost.
Had that man been in one of Earth’s great families, he’d be just like them.
Where I had come from, I was a criminal, too. But I was not like these people. I did what I had to do to help my planet. I wished my family goodbye on the outer sands of Dekras. I never once acted out of selfishness.
But all of that was gone now. One big swirl of color and beauty was all that was left of my place of origin. Someday, if the humans who managed to escape catastrophe survived, they might gaze on my galaxy and call it a work of art, a remnant of the gods themselves. If only they knew the truth. The gods were empty vessels, and this place we called space was proof.
More time passed. As I hid out of harm’s way, I stared at the directional algorithms on the screens in the room below me. I studied the automation techniques they must have designed back on Earth. “Fools,” I muttered.
They were headed toward more darkness. My planet was swallowed by its sun. No matter how hard they pushed, their navigation systems would not steer them in the right direction. They would die here, even if I wasn’t the one to do it.
Leaning against the cold metal frame, I sighed. I was in a predicament. Normally, I’d let all the humans rot. I had seen my family burn alive, right before my very eyes. I didn’t trust the other planets, despite feeling a sense of understanding with Earth’s culture.
My ship was near. I could hit the hyperdrive and escape. If I wanted to, I could get out of here and never look back.
Pain riddled my body. Glancing down at the side of my abdomen, I tried not to worry when I saw black blood ooze down my ribcage. The frayed hole of skin and torn muscle didn’t look too good. My injuries might have been a slight hindrance.
“Fuck me,” I groaned.
I tried to hold myself back, but my stomach shifted. The pain was so strong I vomited across the center of the ship, I needed help.
I looked above and saw her face again on the screen. Mia Thompson. Doctor. Smili
ng, I held my oozing abdomen. “Maybe you’ll be worth more than a quick fuck.”
Ignoring the sickening pain, I lifted my body and touched the glass screen that displayed her face and information. “Mi-a.”.
I read more about their journey. The backbone of this expedition was a government pet-project, Onyx. Researchers had found hidden energy sources on their planet, but they had failed to utilize them in the correct fashion. They were testing on their own people.
They thought they were making the world a better place. They were wrong.
The crew of inmates was like me, perhaps. It was hard not to feel some empathy, but, as I read on, I read Cade’s file. He wasn’t just a criminal. He was the bottom of the barrel, and now that barrel had started to crack.
I shook my head and tried to make sense of it. Earth wasn’t in a place to rest their fate on a group like this. Whether Mia or the captain knew it or not, Cade was in charge now.
This ship was not an ark to save their kind. It was a prison. But, soon, the prisoners would find a way out, a way to lead, and a way to get their revenge.
I would end this chaos.
Earth was a wonderful place. My planet was a mine for slaves and criminals. The smell of sulfur was strong, the sky a bright and blinding orange.
I watched her home movies. I couldn’t believe the life she lived. She had neighbors, comfort, friends, history, and a family who connected with her. Most of all, she felt love. They could love multiple times in multiple ways. An alpha had one mate, one bond to end his suffering.
I knew about duty. About loyalty. I knew a million ways to sacrifice. But fragile love was a foreign concept to me. I poured into her life, and I felt an affinity with her.
I heard a noise coming from the hallway. I ducked underneath the center console, removing the metal barrier that housed the wiring. Footsteps were coming closer, the scent of the man disgusting. I hid as best I could, ready to fight, despite my injuries.
Cade walked back into the room, dragging a metal crowbar along the deck. He was whistling a tune I couldn’t make out, one that drove my nerves wild. He was lost in his head. As he combed the area, he stopped near the broken air vent I had fallen through. A gross mixture of blood and green bile was under his feet. He lifted his shoe and groaned, plugging his nose.
He didn’t know where I was, but he seemed to sense I was close. “You’re lucky I have prior obligations,” he said, sitting down on the console itself and yawning loudly. “Look, I don’t know if you freaky fuck can speak English, but I have a feeling we’re similar souls.”
Similar souls? Negative.
There was a slight pause before he continued. “I’m not here to hurt you. I know this program is destined for failure,” he said. “Just need you to know one thing. The bitch is mine. You touch her, and I’ll derail the whole operation. I’ll make sure this ship explodes before you can get our precious fuel cells into that engine of yours.”
He stood up, tapping the console three times. I clutched my wound and sat through my quiet fits of rage.
She was my only hope. But on the off chance these were my last days, she’d at least make for a good fuck.
6
Mia
I searched the labyrinth of hallways that made up the inner corridors, but there was no one to be found.
I kept wondering about the alien. What was its purpose here?
Every step I took, I felt farther and farther away from Juliana. It was a disastrous idea for us to split up. If anything went awry, we would need her expertise. But without her, we would have no command.
All of us were split up. Some were in the cafeteria. The others were still fast asleep in the cryo, waiting to wake up at their destination. But Juliana and I were the only leaders here, and we had led everyone astray.
I glanced at the many clocks lining the walls. Tokyo, New York, London. All of the major cities of Earth were present, but the times were all off. The numbers were spinning to their own rhythm.
Taking my pistol out of its holster didn’t make me feel any safer. I spent nights studying the architecture of our shuttle. If a bullet were to hit a weak area, not only would we freeze to death, but the lack of pressure would end us all.
I crossed another hallway and stopped as I saw a small droplet of blood, black in color. I stooped down to get a better look, but it was obvious it came from someone inhuman, and I was unwilling to touch it.
Marching forward with a job to do, I wondered what his purpose was. Was he even the right word? Whatever it was saved my life. Why?
He looked similar to us. Better, but of the same.
He was trying to survive. The mess in the cargo pointed to that. He stole food, took some batteries, and looked for fuel.
As dumb as it may have been, I felt bad for him.
I found myself near the decompression room. The door was left wide open, a huge break in procedure. The only one who knew the code to get in was Juliana, so I gave a sigh of relief and entered.
The room was stark white and eerie. Empty suits hung against the walls, reminding me that we were all just vessels waiting to be flung into darkness. This ship was our new home, the suits our new flesh, and the pills we took every morning to stay sane were our new escape. At the end of the day, we were just learning how to exist in a place that didn’t want us. Maybe we’d all signed up knowing that was the case.
More blood was spread out across the floor. This time the color was a bright and alarming red. Human. Swiping my finger across the liquid, I gulped and turned to see the trail that led to the cryo-chamber.
“Juliana,” I said. As the silence took hold, I screamed her name so she might hear me and scream back. “Juliana!”
Nothing but the echo of my voice. Heart pounding erratically, I collapsed against the wall and screamed. Nothing, but I could hear the sound of rummaging. The alien was nearer than I wanted him to be.
I shouldn’t have left the dining hall. I should have stayed behind.
Feet carrying me through every octagonal hatch, I finally reached central control. It was the one place I hadn’t checked. I slowed down and swallowed, mouth parched. There was vomit on the floors, and a sticky substance lined the walls.
I held my breath and walked forward, manning the computers. “Disgusting,” I muttered.
All I had to do was punch in the security code, and the cafeteria doors would open. I could slip back in and give an update. I could fix our wrong. They would be Cade’s judges.
But as my eyes met the security screens, I saw blood.
Everywhere, there was blood. Flesh and broken bones. It was worse than I thought. As the image sank in, the screens shut off, one by one. The power to the cameras was disrupted.
“The intruder,” I cried.
The looming presence of something sinister arose behind me. I could see its shadow, its arms rising above my shoulders. “J-J-Juliana?” I whispered and shut my eyes, trying to think of a prayer to get me out of this. Slowly, I fell to my knees, but I was too terrified to turn around.
I could hear his breathing, deep and coarse. His fingers dropped onto my back and shoulders, pinching down, letting me know how easy it would be to crush me.
In the heat of his own deranged passion, he revealed a masculine voice and drew his fingers down harder. “I’ve been waiting for you to find me.”
My whole body was buzzing and shaking. I didn’t know whether to respond or remain silent. What did he want from me?
“You do not answer your new captain?” he asked.
“I-I—”
“Pathetic human. I will make you open up. I will make you worship the ground I walk on,” he growled and forced me to look at him.
“Take whatever you want. Leave us alone,” I offered, thinking back to the murderous image I had just witnessed on the screen. But he was not covered in as much blood as I expected, and, though he looked threatening, he didn’t look like he was here to kill me. I calmed down and tried to be more honest. “The fuel cells. Ou
r food. I don’t mind that you took them. I know you are just trying to survive, but my crew is worried.”
“The only one worried is you,” he said. “You are a doctor?”
I closed my eyes and took a breath. “I’m the fertility specialist here.”
“Fertility,” he growled. Clenching his teeth, his voice lowered, gruff. “On my planet, I am a breed of man called alpha. I know all there is to know about fertility.”
My heart jumped, but I quickly remembered who I was talking to. “There is nothing to know. I have failed at my work.”
“You’re ovulating right now. I have scented you over the course of twelve hours,” he said.
I swallowed and opened my eyes, breath quickening when I saw how deep he looked into mine. He was a superhuman, a full-on naked beast of a man with clear determination.
His head reached the ceiling, and I couldn’t help but stare at his perfectly cut abs. He was clearly highly evolved, but he was nothing like the movies suggested.
“I’m not... ovulating.” I choked and shut my mouth, face heating under pressure.
“Look,” he said, lowering my chin with his hand.
As he lowered my gaze, I noticed that he was... well, he was hung and growing. His balls contracted like two orbs of masculinity. He was the most perfect specimen in the universe.
He was what I had been looking for. His exemplary alien cock might have been the answer to my fertility program.
“Who are you, and where are you from?” I managed to ask.
A powerful laugh seemed to shake the room. “I am alien to you,” he answered. “And there is more that I need here.”
“You ate our food, took our fuel cells, and caused unrest with the inmate population. What else could you possibly need?” I asked.
My cheeks flushed, heart racing way too fast for me to control it. I couldn’t stop looking at his cock, piercing and pulsating into the air. It was so unbelievably massive that it frightened me, and, yet, I could not look away.
Seed: A Dark Sci-Fi Omegaverse Romance (Alpha Unknown Book 2) Page 4