Caged And Bound

by Daniella Wright

  I walked through the forest. This was one of the few forests I rarely went down. They had too many beasts. Most plants couldn’t even live here. Constant bursts of fire, and destructive spit destroying their bark.

  I fought through every single thing, with only one single thought. I need to save Adrianna. Was this how knights in a fairy tale felt? No… I felt something stronger. I knew this woman. I loved her. She loved me.

  There were so many things that tried to kill me. I kept count of them, just to occupy my mind so I didn't use up all my adrenaline and energy on the route there. Eight giant fire breathing pythons, 6 poison spitting dragons, 3 man-eating plants, and 21 small ice-fire rats who tried to freeze and burn me so they could consume my flesh.

  When I came upon the camp, I froze. Oh no, Too many variables. Too many of everything. I was expecting a handful of workers along with Robert and a single cargo ship. There were dozens of ships and so many workers. I don’t… I don’t even think I can do this. Not the way I wanted to.

  Taking a deep breath, I decided to explore. Upon checking my watch, I saw that I had several hours left to do this. I walked around the camp, looking for something tangible. Some weakness in their defenses to exploit. Some way I can save her with minimal damage to ourselves.

  There has to be something.

  There has to be something.

  …Right?

  Wrong apparently. Hours later, and I wasn’t a wink closer to where I was when I first started. “Think Dalen, Think!” I berated myself. “You should know how to get through this.”

  All of a sudden, multiple things happened at once.

  First, the sound of commotion coming from one of the ships. A shrill screech that embedded itself into my future nightmares. The sound of a blaster being cocked. A gruff voice shouting to stay inside or bad things will happen.

  Stepping closer to investigate proved to be a good decision. Out popped my beloved Adrianna. She looked much worse for wear. Bags under her eyes, hair a mess, clear burns on her body and scratches down her skin. Oh my, how could anyone try to harm such a dear angel?

  Of course, the fire In her eyes as she sprinted away from one of her captors was, perhaps, the most beautiful thing about her. A fiery spirit that would not quit no matter what happened or who it was that sought to harm her.

  The man chasing her down behind her needed to die. I didn't like doing it, but at this point, I have really been left with very little choice in the matter. Cocking the blaster in my hands, I shot the guy right between the eyes. It was almost mercy. I felt bad for the guy because he wasn't the boogeyman, so I made sure he crumpled to the ground dead in the most painless manner possible.

  Adrianna didn't know if I were friend or foe. That was clear in the way she picked up the pace and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Maybe in the future, I'll bring up that running towards what you think could be someone trying to kill you is a bad idea. Now is not the time, though.

  I ran forward and grabbed her by her wrist. I shot a few more guys who were advancing on us as we ran. We needed to escape the situation right now. No, it’s not a permanent solution. But it is the solution to imminent death.

  Chapter 8

  We kept running until we could run no longer. Where we were, I had no idea. But the term safety probably applied. And at this point. That’s really the best I can ask for.

  "Dalen," My voice is breathless, panting for air. "What are you even doing here?" How could he have possibly found me? It's not like Robert is some absolute moron who would leave a note or something. Especially if he wanted everything to go without a hitch.

  “Robert left a note.” He drawled in response. Sometimes I hate the fucking Moro. They never really got tired. Stamina and Endurance are their best weapons and I don’t have it. He had barely broken a sweat.

  Of course, he is. I forgot how dumb Robert can be. Well, he's dumb and he makes up for it with a whole bunch of muscle everywhere else. "Oh, well, in that case, Robert probably planned to ambush you and kill you."

  “Yeah, I figured.” He replied, leaning against one of the dead trees near him. “That’s why I didn’t just come there on time. I had hoped to find a way to kill them all. I underestimated how many men Robert had.”

  Squaring his shoulders, he took a deep breath. “It is not a mistake that I will repeat.” Then he looked at me. “How did you escape?”

  “Well, I found a blaster and squirreled it away for later. When most of the captors had left to get supplies I shot at one of them. I blew his head off in a bloody way that temporarily blinded the other one.” I emphatically explained to him. “Using his momentary distraction, I ran out. And that’s when you came in.”

  Dalen held me close to him. “Let me heal you.” He whispered as he looked over my injuries. Seeing a large cut on my thigh that ran down to my leg, he pulled out his medical kit. “It’s not deep enough to warrant stitches. You’ll be better soon.”

  I hissed in pain as he disinfected the wound and sprayed the herbal spray on it, the one that made my own bodies natural healing speed up. Then he put some stem cells in the area. It healed so quickly we could see it happening.

  “What… What do we do now?” I asked him. This was his planet after all. He probably knew the best choice.

  "Robert knows where our house is," Dalen said rubbing his temples as he tried to think. "We can’t just go home and think we are safe. On the other hand,” He looked around the forest. “This forest is much deadlier at night.”

  I frowned as I looked around. “I can hold my own.” I asserted. Sometimes, he just forgot that I could fight for myself. Not that I blame him. Sometimes, I swear, he looks at me and only sees the crumpled, broken thing I was when we first met.

  “I know.” Dalen gave me a hug. “You shouldn’t have to, though.” Frowning to himself as he weighed the decision in his head he nodded. “I slew a large poison-Dragon on the way here. It should have a cave that we can camp out in for the night.”

  Poison-Dragon’s nests were, incredibly comfortable, is what I have learned. They steal the finest silks and cover their caves in them. It was san eye sore, as poison-Dragons are color blind, and thus, simply grab everything that their other senses like rather than doing anything else.

  There was a small fireplace, that we could start up. In the center of the nest, were eggs. I didn’t like having to kill something ourselves, not anymore. I used to be a bounty hunter that did awful things, but I promised myself. I wouldn’t harm any other living thing. But this is about survival. And sometimes survival meant betraying your own morals.

  "I was so worried about you," Dalen told me, caressing my cheek with his tongue while he was frying the eggs so we could enjoy our dinner. Maybe our last dinner. Our last night together. "But you are here so I don't feel so bad anymore. I know you will be okay in the end. I just know it. I love you so much."

  I frowned at the way he spoke to me. He was such a kind man. I loved him so much and even if he doesn’t even know what is even going on, he wants only the best for me. “Don’t you mean we will be okay in the end?” I corrected him as I stared into his beautiful eyes. They glittered like diamonds and I can’t even focus most of the times, as I get lost in the depth of his soul.

  “We can’t know that.” He replied tersely, brushing kisses all over my shoulders. “You will be safe. And that is all that matters to me. You will be safe and happy and you won’t have to run anymore.”

  “No!” I yelled immediately. “That’s not good enough. What is the point of anything good happening for me if I can’t have you?” I felt my eyes fill with tears at the idea that he can’t even think of a way for us both to live. For the both of us to survive and stay happy together?

  He took my hands in his, bringing them to his lips so he could kiss my knuckles. "It's not that I don't think it's possible. I would just rather you stay alive than end up trying to do too much so neither of us stays alive."

  I wanted to say something else, but then I sighed. �
�This might… might be our last night together. Let’s not waste it bickering.” I told him, delighted at the way his face lit up at my agreement.

  He doesn’t even know that I plan to sabotage his plan. One of us surviving and the other living? What kind of bullshit plan even is that? Of course, I was always an “all-or-nothing” kinda gal. Maybe that’s why I found his idea so ludicrous. He was always the sensible one, after all.

  “I love you.” He spoke once we finished eating, interrupting whatever silly thing I was saying. His voice was reverent, soft as could be. Because he loved me. So much more than he loved anything else. “I love you so much that I think if I have to lose everything so you can have anything, I see that as more than a fair deal.”

  I wrapped my hand around him. “If I don’t have you, I don’t have anything.” My lips searched for his as he doused the fire so we were in the darkness again, but we wouldn’t accidentally have the sheets catch on fire. “I want you.”

  “No.” He pushed me away with a weak smile. “If this is how it’s going to happen…maybe even for the last time.” I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. “Let’s do it right.”

  He kissed me so softly and held me so tenderly I felt like I was some kind of a goddess. Maybe that was the intention. Maybe he wanted us to go out with a bang.

  Chapter 9

  Waking up from sex with Dalen is always waking up with the most pleasant ache between your thighs, caught in a warm embrace, and feeling so happy you could just explode.

  Today, though, there was no time for basking in the glow of the most amazing thing I will ever experience. Today, is a day, to focus. Shaking Dalen awake as I checked the time, I thanked my lucky stars that I have gotten used to waking up early to kiss my lover good morning before he had to leave for work.

  Robert should still be asleep.

  “Dalen.” I hissed. “Robert can wake up any minute now if he wants to get the jump on us.”

  This was the fastest I’d seen him get up and wipe the sleep from his eyes since I woke him up with sex on his birthday. I am almost offended. Of course, that offense is silly in the grand scheme of things, so I pushed it aside in favor of actually focusing on the task at hand.

  "Robert patrols in the mornings," I informed him, I was about to continue when Dalen continued for me, saying exactly what I meant to say.

  “Then the best idea is to pick off his men one by one. By the time he realizes he needs to backtrack it’ll just be him and a few other guys.”

  I smirked at him and nodded as we set our plan into action. We finished off the rest of the eggs and shared a quick kiss. (I ached to morph it into a full blown make out session, but time was of the essence and I was no moron.)

  We were about to leave when we heard two of Robert’s men – but not Robert – calling for them. Oh good. Easy targets. We just have to get them fast enough so they are not able to radio for help.

  He took a deep breath and his eyes narrowed. "Let's go." Cocking his blaster as he walked towards the intruders, he was such a… amazing picture. I almost bemoaned the fact that I couldn't spend longer enjoying the view.

  I came in quickly and got a knife through the ribs of the first enemy. It had pierced his lungs faster than he knew what was happening. I snapped his neck as a mercy. I didn’t expect it, but watching him choke as his lungs filled with blood was too much for me to bear.

  Dalen quickly took out the other man who was attempting to radio for backup.

  It was a gruesome bloody version fo guerilla warfare. Hiding out in the shadows, before killing another one of Robert’s men. More often than not, the killings were mercy killings. The reason Moro had such good healthcare, was because it was such a dangerous planet. And one by one, Robert’s men were falling prey to the dangerous plants and animals that inhabited the most dangerous part of the planet.

  It wasn’t as if we came away scot free. A couple of the men sliced at me, I was covered in herbs and new stem cells. Dalen took the brunt of the torment, getting multiple blaster shots and stab wounds. It was okay, though. Dalen healed fast. I wanted to stop so he could rest, but Dalen kept telling me that we couldn't afford to waste a single second.

  As if I didn’t know that.

  As if Robert wasn’t-

  “Hullo Gorgeous,” I could practically hear his smirk as we made it to the camp. “Miss me?”

  “Robert.”

  Chapter 10

  You could almost taste the distaste and condescension in the word as Dalen hissed it out. Other than me, nobody in the cosmos hated Robert more than my beloved. It showed on his face, in his every movement.

  “Please,” I begged mentally to every figure in the cosmos that I believed in, even the slightest bit. “Let us win. Let us save ourselves and not be distracted by the visceral hatred he inspires in us. Please.” When I finished the prayer, I brandished my poisoned dagger.

  It was nerve wracking to watch the pair of them. I only had one shot with this, so I had to make it perfect, so I had to wait.

  Controlling myself was so hard as I saw things as if I were watching a movie.

  Dalen slashed at Robert. He was too slow as Robert was able to side-step the attack. Robert used his knife and embedded it into Dalen's stomach. Dalen made an inhuman screech, his arms going around Robert's head as Robert sadistically twisted the dirty knife inside of Dalen.

  Dalen quickly slammed Robert into the ground. He tried to stab Robert in the stomach. The knife embedded itself in the ground as Robert rolled away in time. Robert shoved Dalen to the ground and slammed his skull to the ground multiple times. I could hear the hairline fractures being made.

  Dalen’s vision was going fuzzy, clearly as his eyes were glazing over. On the upside, I finally got my shot. I slammed the knife down into the back of his neck, and sawed his head off. Gruesome, yes. But I knew about Robert’s healing factor. This was the only possible way to kill him permanently.

  I sent a blaster shot to his brain once… Okay! It was four times. I know it was superfluous. But it just felt so good. Tell me he didn’t deserve it! That’s right, you can’t because he deserved it and so much more.

  I saw a few men left, a snarl ripping from my throat. I would kill every single one of them. I would bathe in their blood and they will rue the day they ever went after me or the ones I loved.

  Seeing the nearly feral glance in my eyes, they bit their thumb. The action was the universal symbol of forgiveness. Like raising a white flag, they would never go after me again. I let them leave in their smaller ships, never to return. I glared at them. If they ever broke their promises, I would ruin all happiness in their lives.

  Death was too good for Robert. But Robert’s death was exactly what Dalen needed.

  I looked down at Dalen and tried to keep him awake, feeling my eyes fill with tears. As the adrenaline poured out from me, I could feel myself beginning to sob. “Dalen. Look at me.” I begged him. “Stay with me. Don’t shut your eyes. Don’t go to sleep. You have to stay awake.” I went through his medicine and tried to heal him. Tried to find something I could do.

  He can’t die on me. What do I have left if I don’t even have him?

  Epilogue

  Long story short, I did a crappy job of healing him eight months ago. I mean, he is mostly better now. He is blind in one eye, though. It's not fair to him. I should be the one who was hurt. This whole thing happened because of me anyway!

  He doesn't blame me, though. Says I'm an angel come to rescue him from the ‘mundanity of normalcy'. As I stared at my husband, I couldn't help but grin. He was looking at a map – trying his hardest to make out everything as best he can – and trying to find where we should go.

  We knew we couldn’t return home to Moro. Not after everything happened. It just… felt wrong. And neither of us felt safe there anymore, even if the threat has passed.

  Robert didn't need a ship anymore, though. So why not put it to good use, Eh?

  Okay, sure. There are several decent reasons
not to put it to good use, but boo on those. It’s what I want and therefore it is more than good enough. It is what we want.

  We now get to spend our lives doing everything I have always wanted to do. Explore the galaxy. Find charted and uncharted places. Feel and experience everything there is to be done.

  I held a hand to my stomach as I felt a kick. Oh yes, I almost forgot. One more thing I’ve always wanted to do. Start a family with the man who I care about more than life itself. Strangely enough, I never really wanted this.

  Well, I don’t mean it like that. If I could name a perfect life for me to live, this would be exactly the thing I would describe. That doesn’t make it perfect. I never really considered this a possibility.

  Ok, well… kinda- sorta. I mean-

  Vaguely, I did. The perfect family as you know. But until it was happening I didn’t have any actual…

  “Why?” I heard myself ask, as I felt Dalen was kissing my stomach. He did this all the time now. I think he might do it more than he kissed me on the lips. Of course, I only said that so I would get more kisses from him.

  “I just wanted to kiss my cute little daughter.” He cooed, not even hesitating to continue doing it despite my protests.

  "You've never seen her yet, Dork," I argued, snorting with laughter as his stubbly beard tickled my stomach.

  "If she is even a fraction as beautiful as you are, she will be one of the loveliest things that have ever graced the galaxy." He was so serious as he said it. I squeaked and hid my face as I blushed. How can someone be so charming? It isn't even fair. The jerk knew exactly what he was doing too.

  “I love you, My Loveliest Rose.”

  “I love you too, Darl'n.”

  Captured By The Warriors

  An Erotic Alien Abduction Romance

  Kara Nolan is on the mission of a lifetime. Sent to explore the vast depths of space and collect samples for further study, it's the first expedition she gets to lead on her own accord; at least, for the most part. She would be somewhat happier if her ex boyfriend wasn't part of the crew, but with his military background, it's obvious why he was chosen. It's also obvious that he wants to rekindle an old flame, but everything goes up in flames when their ship takes damage from an asteroid belt.