by Josie Walker
No joke, I’d dreamed of owning a spinning wheel since I was ten years old. Yup, I was a craft nerd all the way back then, in the days before I knew what cellulite was. But they’re as pricey as a high end sewing machine, so I’d never been able to justify the expenditure. That didn’t mean I still didn’t really, really want one though!
I tugged a couple of trash bags away to free the wooden wheel and, with every inch I exposed, my hopes rose a teeny smidge higher. I was growing impatient with the whole process and my thighs were massively protesting about all of the bending and squatting. With all the extra walking to the grocery store and squats, obviously I was never going to need a gym membership at this rate.
As the burning in my thighs increased from seriously uncomfortable to downright agony I knew I had to put an end to the physical torture. A sane individual would have just walked away. But at the risk of repeating myself, I’d just turned thirty and I’d wanted a spinning wheel for two decades, so defeat wasn’t an option.
I let go of my cautious perch and gave the whole thing a big old tug, which did succeed in freeing the antique machine from the trash. I had just enough time to squeal, “It is a spinning wheel!” before I was toppling backwards off of the dumpster. I was too shocked to respond and I’d merely continued my white-knuckled grip on the wooden apparatus as I tumbled backwards, my body flinching reflexively as I waited for the harsh slap of concrete against my frame. But the pain never came.
It was as though time was no longer governed by reality, and the fall stretched on and on interminably. I was enveloped in a hazy cloud of darkness, and I felt disoriented and dizzy as though all of the air had been sucked out of the atmosphere with a giant vacuum. It was like an out of body experience, but I hadn’t taken any fun hallucinogens to explain it.
For a brief moment I felt as though I was surrounded by an enormous bowl of Jell-O, and then the lights came back on and I was able to breathe once more. I drew in a frantic gasp of air and let loose the loudest scream I’d ever uttered as the spinning wheel and I crashed down hard on top of a moss covered log. Where the hell had that come from?
Where was the unrelenting smack of concrete as it split my head open like a melon? Why wasn’t I dead? I was still gripping the wooden wheel as I turned my eyes in a slow disbelieving circle. Nothing I saw made sense.
Gone was the dumpster and the back of the strip mall. There was no sign of my car. It was just me and the antique spinning wheel in the midst of an enormous forest the likes of which I’d never seen, not even on the nature channel.
It wasn’t a normal forest. It was like something out of a kids cartoon. All of the colors were wrong. None of the plants were shaped like anything I recognized or could name. It was really, really weird and I began to question just how hard I’d hit my head. Was my brain oozing out onto the concrete? Was I dying?
Before I had time to analyze things further, a loud hiss captured my attention. I spun to stare in wide-eyed terror at the alien creature before me.
“What the hell is that?”
CHAPTER TWO
CHRISTINA
I’d never seen anything like the creature, but it didn’t take a degree in animal sciences for me to discern that it wasn’t friendly. I had a sinking suspicion that it would like nothing more than to have me for dessert. I was trying frantically to remember if I had a candy bar in my purse, or if I’d left that in my car. Because, seriously, who doesn’t love chocolate?
It was crouched down on all fours. It was muscular and looked as though it had a prehistoric origin. Its hide was gray and leathery like an elephant’s, with strange armored bumps protruding from its back. Its mouth looked like two claws pointing at one another, and it had a disgusting pink tongue lolling out one side.
My eyes darted around wildly, but it was like I was trapped in some kind of crazy stoner dream. To my right was a purple lake and the plants growing out of it represented every color of the rainbow. Something dark red slithered by my side and it looked like an upside down octopus, complete with tentacles and all. The claw-mouthed creature let loose a dry hiss. I blinked my eyes and willed myself to wake up.
“This is a dream,” I said, as I stared down my own personal nightmare vision. I heard a strange clicking sound from behind me and that’s when I realized that claw-mouth had friends, five of them to be precise. I would have been terrified if I hadn’t already moved on to my new coping strategy.
Through sheer blind stubbornness I had managed to convince myself that nothing I was seeing was real. This was all just a dream, likely due to indigestion. I never should have had eaten that candy bar. It was probably expired!
Painting had never been my favorite medium, but I was going to have to give it another whirl whenever I woke up because this was the most vivid dream I’d ever had and I wanted to commemorate the experience. I added some blank canvases to my mental shopping list. I couldn’t decide between watercolors and oils. They both had their merits.
The claw-mouthed creatures kept edging closer and I reminded myself once more that they were nothing more than a figment of my imagination. There was nothing to get worked up about. Of course, my body didn’t seem to agree and the hair on my arms began to stand on edge.
A giant, armored tail whipped past me, and for a moment it was all surreal, and then came the pain. When I felt the hot acidic burn slicing through my thigh I released a blood-curdling scream. Dreams weren’t supposed to hurt!
I was in freaking agony. Like a twenty on a ten point pain scale. I couldn’t pretend anymore. As impossible as it might seem, I was facing off with a pack of monstrous prehistoric beasts and they were vicious.
Scant hours before I’d been melting down over hitting the big three-0, but in hindsight that was a cakewalk. I was going to die. Talk about the worst birthday ever! If I could have, I would have raced into my mother’s judgmental arms lickety split. Hearing her tell me what a failure I was would have been heaven compared to how my day was shaping up.
Incredulity arched my brows as I spun around to keep the creature from cutting me again with his razor sharp tail. I’m far from athletic, so at the risk of sounding redundant let me just state for the record that I’m not in great shape. I didn’t have a gym membership, and it’d been one heck of a long time since I squeezed in some cardio. So why was I still kidding myself that I might somehow be able to outrun them?
That left me with only one alternative. I was going to stand my ground and fight like my life depended on it. That wasn’t going to take a lot of imagination on my part because I could tell that it did. I braced my weight on my good leg and took in a deep breath because that seemed like the right thing to do.
The spinning wheel wouldn’t have been my first choice of weapon, but it was the only one on hand so I thrust it out in front of me. Maybe if I got really lucky I could manage to stab one of them with the pointy spindle part. If I was even luckier, it would turn out that this was actually Sleeping Beauty’s spinning wheel, and the spindle had been cursed by Maleficent. The pathetic thing is that I was so delusional by that point I was actually hoping that might be possible.
The claw-mouthed creatures continued to creep closer. As the circle around me shrank inwards I knew my time was about to run out. I couldn’t help but feel a little pissed about the fact that this was such a sorry ass way to go out. Did I really have to die?
I had so many things I hadn’t gotten to do. Damn it all. Deep down I’d always thought that somehow, some way I would still manage to stumble across Mr. Right in time to pump out a baby or two. Defeat began to pull me down. That, added to the pain in my leg, was enough to bring a fresh flood of tears to my eyes. I blinked to clear my obscured vision.
And then a deafening sound shattered the weighty silence. It was too primal to call it a yell, too powerful to label it a scream. I turned my head towards where the noise had originated, and took a step in that direction, which was a
mistake.
The moment I moved it my leg protested so violently that it felt as though I’d been stabbed all over again. My poor leg felt like it was on fire, and the powerful poison was rapidly working its way through my system. I was beginning to feel a tad bit loopy, so couldn’t trust my eyes at that point.
Then a man dropped down from a tree above me. He was naked except for an itty bitty scrap of leather that I suppose you could call a loincloth, although it wasn’t big enough to hide much. Even as injured as I was I still couldn’t help but think, “Yummy.”
His body was so muscular that he would make professional bodybuilders weep. I was instantly attracted to him, which was insane because I’d never reacted to a man like that ever. And this man, well, I wasn’t entirely sure he was even human.
Was he all decked out in cosplay gear? Or did he really have yellow eyes that glowed like the end of a flashlight? And then of course there was the blue skin that looked more like it belonged on a reptile than a man. Couldn’t I even have normal sex fantasies? Seriously, what’s wrong with me?
My leg was seeping something nasty and I didn’t care enough to look down and discern if it was puss or blood. I pressed the back of my hand to my head only to discover that it was slick with perspiration. Great, now I was feverish and dizzy. And evidently I was completely lacking in survival instincts because instead of coming up with an escape plan I was trying to remember if I’d put on makeup or not because I wanted him to think I was beautiful, or at least not a dog.
The sexy warrior let loose another fierce battle cry, and a shudder went through my body that was a tiny bit afraid, and a massive bit aroused. I’d like to blame the strange poison, but I’d hate to lie. I was so distracted by the blue hottie that I didn’t even see what happened next.
But I felt it. Oh God, I felt every bit of the white, blinding, awful pain. And then, there was no more pain because whatever poison laced the claw-mouthed creature’s tail dragged me down to oblivion and I crumpled to the ground in a graceless heap.
TROG
I was out checking my snares when I heard a sound I’d never heard before. I cocked my head to the side and focused my full attention on it. Someone was in trouble, and that someone sounded female.
There was stark terror in the scream, and something twisted sharply in my gut. I knew I had to intervene. Only a coward would ignore a female in peril.
The thought crossed my mind that it could be a trap and I knew full well that I should proceed with caution. But then another scream sounded and there was no more time to reason through the situation. There was only time for action.
So, I stopped wrestling with logic and just started running. I heard the distinctive hiss of the Barvoks, which at least gave me a heads up as to what beasts I was about to tangle with. Barvoks were one of the more serious threats of the forest, but I’d faced them before and would likely do so again.
I slowed as I neared the clearing where the beasts were crouching. It was a large pack. I easily counted six of the creatures, which meant more of them would be hiding somewhere out of sight. Barvok packs always attacked together, which was partly why they were so deadly.
Standing in the midst of the ruthless hunters, I bespied a strange sight. My breath caught in my throat. This was something new, something other. Battle lust thrummed through my veins, but there was yet another kind of lust flooding through my loins. She was indeed female.
Pale flesh protruded from a colorful body covering, and there was a strange hump jutting out of the creature’s back. A long mane of red hair flowed all around her as bright as a raging fire. Then the figure spun suddenly and I saw her perfect face, and the fear in her eyes.
That look changed everything for me. Something burned inside of me and I snarled and roared as I leaped into the fray without a care for my own survival. From the moment I laid eyes on her there was no questioning it . . . I would gladly die for this female.
The Barvoks should have fled on sight but they did not want to release their prey. They must have been hungry. They would not feast on this day. No creature would be allowed to hurt her, not so long as I drew breath. For she was mine;, I knew it in an instant.
Rage rattled inside of me as I launched into attack mode. I thrust my spear towards the Barvok nearest my female, plunging it deep into one of the few areas not protected by its thick, protective shell. The Barvok hissed and shuddered as my blade sliced through the soft flesh beneath its belly.
I was outnumbered, but, with seeing one of their number perish, the animals’ survival instincts resurfaced. They fled instead of seeking revenge for their fallen companion. Cowardly creatures at their core, they do not fight battles they are not certain of winning.
They had picked the wrong fight. I steered clear of the fallen beast. Barvoks’ tails are laced with a wicked poison, and I couldn’t afford to be weakened. I moved closer to introduce myself to her, and to reassure her that she was safe now.
I couldn’t hold back the growl when I discovered that my female was not as fortunate in evading their tails as I had been. I needed to tend to her wounds quickly. She had crumpled to the ground and passed out while I’d battled with the Barvok and had not moved since.
She was curled around a strange collection of things, and I could only assume that whatever they were, they were of great value to her. So I did my best to gather them all up to bring them along. I threaded a bit of rope through one of the many holes in the strange large wooden object and slung it effortlessly over my shoulder. I had never seen such things as the strange female possessed and I looked forward to studying them closely at a later time.
My curiosity for her belongings was nothing compared to my interest in the female, however. I ran a finger across the delicate arch of her cheekbone and wished I had time to admire her beauty further. But I knew I must hurry to move her. Staying put wouldn’t be safe. I couldn’t have been the only one to hear her screams.
I pulled her into my arms, and when I felt something wet I leaned in and took a deep breath. She was bleeding. I studied the wound briefly, and decided she must have been mauled by one of the Barvoks. This explained why she was unconscious. Barvok venom is very powerful, and without the proper treatment it would prove fatal.
No. I would not allow that to happen. She would live; I would see to it that she was properly tended to. I made swift strides in the direction of my home. All the while I kept my eyes peeled for a Fargen Bush. I would need its leaves to make a poultice to help draw the poison from her skin.
Perspiration beaded along her face and I could only hope that I wasn’t too late to save her. The thought tore loose something primal inside of me and I bared my teeth in anger. No! I would not lose her. She was mine. I did not even know her name, yet that part of me that guided my greater path began to heat up inside of me. She was my mate. I would not lose her, not now that I had finally found her.
I spied a Fargen Bush. Fortunately, its bright orange foliage made it stand out. I hurried to strip several fronds from the plant. Knowing I would need my free hand to climb up to my home I improvised. There was an intriguing gap at the top of her strange, brightly covered chest covering. It was something I planned on studying at a later time. But not until I was certain that she was safe.
I wedged the orange fronds in the tempting gap between her flesh and the colorful covering and pushed them down far enough that I needn’t worry that they would fall right back out. I gripped her tightly to my side and made my way carefully up the broken tree limb that served as the initial step to my home.
My dwelling was at the top of a large sturdy tree and I was lucky to have it, for it kept me safe from the dangerous creatures below. I reached for a vine and tested the strength before committing our combined weight to it. Then I swung across the expanse and easily maneuvered the rest of the way to my home.
Once there, I laid her down gently on my bed of furs. The strange
hump on her back put her at an uncomfortable looking angle so I tugged at the leather skins until at last I managed to free her arms and pull off the hump. I set it to the side, not understanding what it was, but relieved that she was now able to lay down flat.
I was a good hunter and therefore there were more than enough hides to cover us both. Although, I would happily have given them all to her if only she would open her eyes again. I refused to consider that I might have arrived too late to save her, for the thought was untenable. She would live, and we would have many, many moon spans together.
At long last I had found my mate, and I would not relinquish her, not even to the relentless hands of death. I unslung the strange wooden contraption and set it down. Then I crouched down beside her and studied the strange garment obscuring her limbs. I knew I had to remove it so I could tend to her wounds. But I did not understand how it worked. Everything about her was equal parts strange and wondrous.
The colorful skins rose a little when I laid her down, and I was encouraged by the bit of ankle I could see poking out from below the strange colorful hide she wore. If I could see her pale flesh, then surely the strange clothing was not part of her actual body!
I began to tug the covering up, just as I had worked to remove the strange hump on her back. I was hopelessly entranced as I revealed more and more of her delectable body. I did so one small span at a time, scarcely remembering to breathe as I studied her pale perfection.
Her legs were foreign compared to mine, but that didn’t make them any less desirable. Her pale skin was as smooth as a Narfin’s hide and it was all I could do to refrain from stroking her to see if she felt as soft everywhere else on her body. When I reached the nasty gash on her thigh I hissed wildly, grieved by the sight. I shoved a piece of the orange plant in my mouth and started chewing vigorously.