by Lily Thomas
“Long enough I suppose.” She reasoned.
“Long enough for what, Jessica?” He sounded irritated that she was being so vague.
She liked hearing her name on his tongue. Mmm. It sounded super sexy when he said it. She’d never been fond of her name. It had always sounded harsh, not the type of name that made a man’s knees quake with need.
“Your people have declared war on mine.” She cut right to the heart of the matter.
He was silent for a moment, but his eyes never left her. “There was no rumor of that when I left.”
“Maybe your government never told you.” Jessica shrugged her shoulders.
“Impossible.” Bruyx snorted.
“Trust me.” Jessica stuck a hand up in the air. “Governments never tell their people the whole truth, not until they have to at least.”
He smirked.
Her eyes narrowed on him. He wasn’t telling her something, but she knew him well enough to know he wasn’t about to tell her anything, so there was no point in asking what he was smirking about.
“How did it happen?” Bruyx asked out of the blue. Here she thought he would’ve let the subject drop dead, not revive it. “The confrontation between our people.”
“Umm.” Jessica thought back to all the information she’d heard before being dragged her to the Hennian hunting planet, which felt like years ago. “From what I know, some human colonists decided to make their homes on planets in Sri’thaen space. Your people found fault with it, as they should have, and there you go. A war.”
He glanced over at her his brown eyes taking her in as if trying to understand her. “Not siding with your people?”
“Not when they’re in the wrong. Do I think a war should be fought over it? No, but I do believe they shouldn’t have colonized planets in someone else’s space without permission first.”
Bruyx nodded. “It was stupid of them.”
“Who knows.” She shrugged. “Maybe our governments will work out their differences by the time we get back.”
“Doubtful.”
Or not.
“Why do you say that?” Couldn’t he at least try to be optimistic? But he did know his people better than she did.
“My people aren’t known for forgiving what they see as a slight. And if they’ve declared war, they will see it through.” Bruyx guided her around a fallen log.
Jessica gulped. “You don’t know it all yet.”
“What else am I missing?”
“Well.” She wasn’t sure she should tell him the rest of the information she knew. He might turn around and kill her, but he’d had plenty of time to just let her die, and he hadn’t. So she figured she owed him a little bit of trust. “Not only have they declared war, but they have sworn to exterminate the human race.”
“I leave for a few months, and all hell breaks loose on my planet.” Bruyx shook his head sadly as he rubbed his temple with a couple of fingers. “Maybe you shouldn’t try to survive this planet. You might just die at the hands of my people when you escape the Hennians.”
“I could die any day, even if I wasn’t on this planet, and even if the Sri’thaens weren’t hunting humans. Shuttle accidents happen all the time. I’m not about to worry about the Sri’thaen race hunting me down.” She scoffed waving it off. Space was big, and it would take years to hunt down all the humans, and the Sri’thaens could still lose steam at some point.
Bruyx rounded on her withdrawing his dagger and pointing it at her. “And me? Won’t you worry about me slitting your throat in the night with this new information you’ve divulged to me?”
There was a trickle of unease dancing around in her stomach, but, “I don’t think you have it in you.” She challenged.
He continued to point the tip at her as his eyes narrowed before sheathing the blade with a flourish. “You’re right,” he leaned away from her, “but not because I don’t have it in me, but because I doubt you’ll live longer than anyone else on this planet.”
Jessica scowled at him and his lack of confidence in her ability to stay alive. “You can now see why I was confused why a Sri’thaen would save me from the Hennians when we first met.”
“Even if I knew what my people intended to do with the human race, it wouldn’t have been worth my time to kill you. I would’ve just let the Hennians take care of you.”
“You’re so sweet. Be still my beating heart.” Jessica couldn’t see him as the type of man who’d send flowers or chocolates. He was probably the hit it and quit it type, but it was also a little soon to judge him. He could turn around and surprise her. What could she say? She liked to think everyone had a heart of gold somewhere in the darkness of their soul.
“Come on. I want to get there before dark.” Bruyx urged her on.
“Or before someone else finds and raids the bodies.” Jessica tossed out. There was no time to be delicate with dead bodies. Not when everyone else was just trying to survive.
When they reached the river, she half expected to see him dart across and let her figure her own way over the moving water. Instead, he jumped onto a boulder and then offered her a hand.
Jessica just stared at the open palm waiting for her hand. She blinked stupidly at the hand.
“Do you want help or not?” He snapped, shaking her out of her confusion.
“Sorry,” she slipped her hand into his, “I just figured you would go on ahead without worrying about me.”
“So had I,” Bruyx muttered, and she knew she hadn’t been supposed to overhear it.
“Thanks.” She rushed to add before he continued to assist her across the river. And she really was thankful because she wasn’t keen on another dunk in the river water.
It didn’t take them long to reach the bodies of Jessica’s group, and Bruyx was glad for that. He was ready to search their bodies before it attracted attention from other prey that had been placed on this planet.
The first body they found was a human male. He’d landed face first in the leaves covering the ground, and he had several arrows protruding out of his back.
The Hennians had been hunting with primitive weapons then. Bruyx had no idea why the Hennians switched between plasma weapons and primitive ones. It was just their sick pastime.
Bruyx glanced around the immediate area trying to see if the man had a pack, but there was nothing around the body.
He broadened the search and found a pack laying nearby slightly under a bush. It must have slid over the ground when the human male had been slaughtered.
Bending down, he grabbed latched onto one of the shoulder straps, yanked it towards himself, threw open the pack’s fabric lid, and dug through it. There were nutritional bars, a bottle of fresh water, and a couple of smaller daggers. It was useful enough.
Once he found what he wanted, he packed the supplies into his bag. Then he made his way back to the body to find Jessica placing a cloth over the man’s face. She must have yanked out the arrows and rolled him over. He rolled his eyes.
“Wasting it on a dead body?” Bruyx scoffed by her misplaced kind-heartedness to a man who was already dead and gone.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “One cloth. It’s not like it’s food.”
“It’s of no use to him.” Bruyx pointed to the stiff corpse that was beginning to bloat and become infested with insects.
“I may not have been the best of friends with my group, but I still feel like I should do something.” She glanced at the body beside her, and her nose wrinkled up. “They weren’t bad people, and they deserve someone to respect their lives.”
“Let’s find the other people in your group.” He was eager to get out of the area as fast as they could. These dead bodies could attract unwanted attention, and he didn’t want to stick around and have another fight with random prey on his hands.
Without another glance at the dead body on the ground, he left in search of the next body.
Jessica rushed to catch up to him, her feet causing a ruckus as she scattered leaves before
her. He plowed through the forest in search of the other body.
“I think there is only one other body. Sabo, the Daen’su, might still be alive.” Jessica sounded impressed, and he wondered if there’d been a personal involvement between them.
“Was he more to you?”
“More to me?” Jessica scoffed, and he found himself dreading her answer to the question. “No.” Relief washed through him. “He was just someone in the group. Nothing more.”
“You were only using them to survive.” Realization dawned on him. The same way she was using him he assumed, not that he’d hold that against her. He’d do the same thing in her shoes. It was only logical.
Jessica shrugged, tossing her head slightly with the jerky movement. “Perhaps, but the company was also great. And I would’ve never wished any of them dead.”
“Never said you would.” Bruyx headed off knowing she’d be quick to follow after him.
“It’s sad really.”
“What is?” Bruyx glanced over at her and the misery that shined as bright as the glare of the sun in her eyes.
“That man back there,” Jessica hitched a thumb over her shoulder, “Theron, he and the woman up here,” she pointed ahead, “had just declared their love and their idea to get married. Then the next day they were running for their lives, their dreams dashed in seconds.” She slashed her hand in the air.
“This is why I’m alone.” Bruyx shook his head. “It was foolish of them to think they would be able to love another without their hearts getting broken on this planet. There’s a reason they call it the Hennian hunting planets.”
“You sound like someone who speaks from experience.”
Bruyx tossed her a carefree smile. He wasn’t about to divulge his personal life to a human who wouldn’t live long enough to escape this planet. There’d be no point and a complete waste of his time.
As they came up on the human female’s body, Jessica rushed forward before crouching down near her and sucked in a harsh breath.
“Something wrong?” Bruyx asked.
“It’s just sad. That’s all.”
The human woman had been hit several times in the back with arrows. So, this Hennian hunting party was using consistently primitive weaponry. Not that he wouldn’t suspect them of having plasma weapons on them as well. They may like to hunt their prey, but the Hennians weren’t fond of getting themselves killed.
“Grab her pack and let’s get out of here before they come back.” Bruyx glanced around the immediate area, his eyes searching for the familiar form of someone else. The Hennians were known for coming back to previous kill sites in hopes of finding more prey. He knew it was dangerous, but they also needed more supplies if he was going to provide for both of them.
He should ditch her, but he wasn’t going to do that. It confused him since he should be able to walk away, but she pulled him in despite the danger that followed close on her heels.
Jessica grabbed the pack. “Ready to go.”
He wrapped his fingers around her arm and pulled her behind him as he left the bloody scene behind them.
A few steps in a cracking sound had his head whipping around. His eyes widened. “Dammit!” He cussed under his breath as he spotted a Hennian at the same moment the alien spotted them.
He shoved Jessica behind him with a hand.
“What’s the big idea?” She accused completely oblivious to the danger staring right at them. It really did surprise him she’d survived this planet for months.
“Shut up.” He heard her suck in a scolded breath at his harsh tone.
Bruyx unsheathed his sword with a hiss as the metal blade brushed against its sheath. They might be able to outrun the Hennian but Bruyx had some pent-up anger to take out on these Hennians, and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to slaughter one of them. The hunter appeared to be alone, and he couldn’t ignore this chance to seek some justice.
“Oh my god.” Jessica breathed behind him. She’d finally caught sight of the Hennian that was currently staring at them. The Hennian seemed stunned he’d actually stumbled upon more prey, which gave his naivety away.
Bruyx marched forward. He didn’t see any plasma weapons on the man, so he was going in for the kill. There was so much built up anger at these people. They’d attacked his ship and turned him into nothing more than a primal being, and if they wanted him to be primal, then he was more than happy to slaughter any he could get his hands on.
The Hennian’s crimson scales reflected the light of the sun. Then the man reached for his own sword seeming to shake himself out of his stunned silence. Bruyx smiled. Good. This would be a fair fight which meant it would be fun.
The Hennian pulled his lips back in a snarl exposing sharp canines. Bruyx wasn’t fazed by it and continued to march forward. He would’ve expected there to be more than one Hennian, but it looked like the man was truly alone.
“Be ready to run.” Bruyx tossed over his shoulder. There was still a chance he wouldn’t make it out of this fight alive. The man versing him was well built, and he had no idea what skill this man might hold.
Bruyx raised his sword in a glint of silver. The blade came down, but the Hennian raised his sword to block the strike. Bruyx used all his strength to push down on the man, but the Hennian levered enough strength to heave back and shoved Bruyx off. He gave a frustrated growl.
They circled each other, and he caught sight of Jessica standing off to the side watching with wide eyes. She had nothing to worry about. There was only one Hennian, and Bruyx was sure of his skill.
The Hennian rushed forward his sword at the ready. Bruyx raised his sword blocking the strike and shoved the Hennian off of him. He didn’t plan on going down easy.
He reached a hand down to his side, slipped his dagger out of the sheath and threw it at the Hennian. The dagger circled around itself as it sailed through the air. The man dodged the dagger and left his left side open for attack. Bruyx moved in with a few quick steps, hoping to kill the man in one swift movement, but the Hennian recovered faster than Bruyx would’ve expected.
The Hennian’s sword came up and a sharp pain shot through his side. With a grunt, he pulled away and felt a wet spot grow on his side, but he didn’t spare it a single glance. He’d been hit, but he was still alive, and he planned on keeping it that way.
Jessica let out a yelp of distress, but he ignored her. It was a flesh wound, nothing to worry about.
The Hennian and Bruyx circled each other again. This time he feigned a strike at the man’s head and at the last second, he aimed for the legs. His sword made contact, and the Hennian let out an ear curdling grunt as he went down clutching his sliced leg desperately trying to stem the flow of blood.
Bruyx moved quickly and kicked the sword out of the man’s grasp.
He glanced down at the Hennian as he placed his sword at the man’s heart. “Your death will be quicker than it should be.” He shoved the sword tip downwards, and the man’s bones and scales were no match for the sharp tip of the blade. Blood sputtered out of the man’s mouth for a second before the light in his eyes quickly faded until only dull orbs stared up at him.
Then Bruyx yanked the sword out, and satisfaction flowed through him. He wished he could kill every single Hennian for what they’d put him through, but this man’s death would have to do.
Jessica rushed forward the moment the Hennian stopped gurgling, and she was sure he was good and dead. When Bruyx moved slightly, she found herself on a collision course with his massive body but couldn’t stop in time and pummeled Bruyx to the ground.
“What the fu?”
“Are you okay?” She cut him off as she peeled his shirt up with desperate shaky hands to get a look at his wound.
“Get off of me woman!” Bruyx shoved her off of him and stood up glaring down at her.
“I was just worried about you.” She looked up at him from where she sat on the ground.
“So, you decided to pummel me to the ground?! What a fantastic way
of handling an injured person.”
“Hey.” Jessica frowned. “I was worried about you.”
His gaze didn’t soften. “It’s a flesh wound.”
“We should still check and tend to it. You never know if it could get infected.” Jessica stood up and straightened the packs laying across her shoulders.
“We’ll take a look at it later.” He started walking away giving her no choice but to follow after.
Her eyes fell on his bloody shirt. It was his choice what he wanted to do about it, but she figured they had enough time to clean and bandage it up. They kept walking through the forest, and she just watched as his shirt become more and more soaked with blood. She didn’t need him dying on her, but at the same time, it wasn’t like she’d be able to convince him to stop.
As night finally began to fall and they were far enough away from the previous Hennian kill site, Bruyx stopped. “Time for us to seek out another tree.”
“What do you search for in a ‘perfect tree’?” Jessica watched him as he searched for another “perfect” tree.
“It needs to have two branches near each other for me to properly tie up these ropes, but high enough that someone on the ground wouldn’t notice it.”
She walked around glancing up at the branches above her, but she wasn’t completely sure what she was looking for. Eventually, she dropped behind him, hoping to see what he was looking for.
“Here.” Bruyx stopped.
Jessica glanced up at the branches overhead but wasn’t able to see what he could. Then again, did it matter? As long as he found what he wanted and took her up there, it wasn’t like she cared.
Bruyx hefted his rope over his shoulders, then with a leap, he hooked an arm over a branch and quickly climbed up leaving her on the forest floor.
Once he disappeared Jessica just stood there feeling useless as she waited for him to return. She eyed the first branch and jumped while reaching out a hand but only her fingertips brushed the bark on the underside of the branch before she fell back down to the ground. Damn. She’d been hoping to surprise him by climbing up there.