Roy turns and holds his nose. “Lord have mercy,” Roy mutters.
I catch my breath. “It’s been dead for a while. It’s just the last one we found,” I say. “Fassbender, you were on night watch. What happened here?”
Fassbender eyes the alien body. He doesn’t seem to know what to say.
“Hey, pal. Lady’s talking to you,” Roy says, shoving his shoulder.
Fassbender snaps out of it. “The alien is playing a game with us,” he says.
Hugh sighs. “What game is that? The one where you fall asleep on night duty and get us all killed?”
Fassbender whips around, stuttering, “He must have snuck right past me.”
“Worthless son of a bitch,” Roy mutters under his breath.
“What was that?” Fassbender replies, heated.
“You had one task to watch over the grounds. The beast could have murdered us,” Roy says.
Roy’s right, but it doesn’t change us not getting killed. Something else is at play here, but I can’t quite wrap my mind around it.
“He didn’t kill us. He wanted us to see this. He planned for this,” I say.
And that means, he must be watching us right now.
I spin, eyeing the dark green surroundings. The crew does the same. There’s nothing. Fucking nothing.
He could be hiding anywhere.
Fassbender declares a state of emergency. “Get your weapons out. Discovery base isn’t far. We have to keep moving.”
We walk until we find another trail. More walking leads us into denser jungle. Another trek toward disaster, coming right up.
Captain Halloway sighs. “Why?” he asks, out of nowhere.
“Why, what?” Roy replies.
“Those weren’t human bodies. Why would they kill their own?” he asks.
“Because they’re sick fucks,” Fassbender says. “What other reason could there be?”
In the monthly audio recordings from Discovery Base, they never mentioned anything about a group of humanoid aliens. It sounded like their stint on Avalon had been relatively peaceful.
None of this is adding up, but I can’t make a judgment call until I get to Discovery Base.
Fassbender is the first one to point out the massive structure. The jungle has grown around it, but the second story is visible. “See it? Right past that ridge.”
The laboratory is trashed. I can already see the broken windows. We’re not going to find the team of scientists there. I can feel it in my heart.
Halloway’s right there with me. “Anyone else feel like turning around?”
A strange mixture of curiosity and lingering cortisol spike keeps me walking toward the abandoned building.
Once at the sight, I can see that it’s even worse than I thought.
The front door rests near the entrance. All of the windows are broken. The structure barely stands.
With caution, we step inside the building.
Halloway steps over a large pile of glass. “Maybe the network here hasn’t been disrupted. We received those audio pings some weeks ago, correct?”
“Fat chance,” Roy says.
Someone has damaged everything, including the computers inside.
As make our way through another room, I see that the network has been disabled. Some of the wall has broken near the stairway, a perfect imprint of someone’s back. It’s lucky this place is still standing.
I examine the damage. This is not normal decay. “There was a fight here,” I say.
Fassbender nods. “I pray they didn’t get to the sample room,” he says.
The stairwell is dark and bleak. Although the building feels and looks empty, we can’t be sure we’re alone.
With my hands around my pistol, I slowly put one foot in front of the other. We arrive at the second floor. It has been ransacked.
No samples remain. The equipment has been destroyed.
I turn to Hugh, feeling my emotions get the best of me. “You were right,” I say.
His smile wilts. “I wish I wasn’t.”
“What do you propose we do?” I ask.
Fassbender lowers and opens the gear box. There are more weapons inside. “I think it’s obvious what we have to do.”
He counts the clips of bullets and continues. “We get out there and kill the thing that murdered our team,” he says.
But Roy disagrees. “I want more time to search the place. Maybe we can find some clues as to what happened.”
Fassbender is against staying, though we have all the time in the world. He says, “I don’t give a fuck what happened here. I care about Earth. And I’ll kill the bastard that did this.”
“We need to find fuel,” Halloway says. “But before we can use it, the ship is in need of repair. If we’re going to get off this planet, we need to stay one step ahead of whatever’s out there.”
This is worse than I thought. Everyone has their own ideas for what should happen. I agree with Roy. There are documents strewn across the floor. There could be something of worth here.
Roy scrunches his face and shakes his head. “With all do respect, Captain, you’re not sending me back there alone,” he says.
I have to speak up. “Listen to Halloway, Roy. Getting the fuel back to our starship won’t be easy. We’ll need the thrusters ready for takeoff.”
Roy calms. “Fine. I’ll go. But if I die, my blood’s on your hands,” he says.
The captain swallows, fearful. “The other team has the extra fuel in their starship’s cargo hold. We just need to find where they landed,” he says.
“I didn’t see it on the shore,” I say.
He nods. “I noticed that, too. It was the designated drop-off point for both parties.”
“Must have been moved,” Fassbender says.
I sigh. “It could be anywhere.”
Fassbender lowers a rifle over his shoulders, adjusting the strap. “The beasts couldn’t have moved it far. The jungle is too dense. You can’t taxi a starship through massive trees. No, it must be near.”
Roy edges away from the group. He walks with his head tall, but I can tell he’s scared shitless. “I’ll see you on the flip side,” he says, glistening with sweat.
“Be careful,” Halloway mutters. “Keep your guard up.”
“Ay-ay, Captain,” he says, saluting.
When Roy leaves, Fassbender breathes a sigh of relief. They haven’t been getting along for a while now, but they’ve reached their breaking point.
I reach out to him, trying my best to appear constructive. “Give each other a break. We need to stick together on this,” I say.
He turns to me, eyes intense. “Maybe you should stay out of this,” he mutters.
His anger surprises me.
Though I don’t need it, Hugh comes to my aid. “Fassbender, what’s going on with you? Ever since we landed, you’ve acted like this is your mission,” Hugh says. “Halloway calls the shots. It’s kind of in the job title.”
Fassbender shares a glance with Halloway. He frowns and ignores Hugh. “We’ll head back to the sleeping quarters,” he commands.
I’m irritated. “So we can get killed again?” I ask.
Fassbender groans and walks toward the door. “Don’t trust me? Fine. You’ll take first shift. Sound good?”
He doesn’t wait for my response.
Night watch isn’t what I thought I’d be doing tonight, but I need to find out what’s going on.
I’m not staying in the compound. I’m going back to Discovery Base.
I know how insane that sounds. Morally, it’s wrong to leave the crew alone.
I believe there is evidence in that laboratory. There has to be something that can shed some light on what happened.
Roy may be an asshole sometimes, but he’s right. We need to figure this one out.
So I leave. I walk miles to Discovery Base.
The darkness is not my friend. I can’t see a thing. Every few seconds, I trip over something new. As I’m nearing the fa
cility, I half expect myself to turn back to the starship.
The only weapon I have is a pistol, and I’m not a trained shot. This will be interesting.
Stepping inside the building, I immediately crunch my boots against some broken glass. The scraping, cracking noise echoes throughout the laboratory.
I pause, pulse racing. Luckily, no alien appears.
As I move further into the compound, I step into a hallway we passed by earlier. Inside, there are many doors. I open one to see a gruesome sight, something I should have been expecting to see but wasn’t.
On the wall, words are smeared in blood:
SUBMISSION
Papers are scattered on the floor, caked in a sticky, unknown substance.
“What is it?” I wonder aloud.
I pick up a sheet, holding the dry edges up to my flashlight. I read:
His sex drive is insurmountable. Yesterday, we had to separate Turin from the other scientists. The others are demanding mates. His counterpart, Zakar is no better. We fear they might plan an escape. Have we gone too far? We were just obeying orders. I think of our home every day. I wish I never left.
Dr. Grubber
April 17, 2090
I take a step back and drop the paper. I want to head back.
We were lied to. The whole goddamn program was a lie. We weren’t starting a new world. They must have known about the aliens.
Before I can run out the building, a dark, massive figure appears at the other end of the hallway. His skin has a slight blue glimmer to it, just like the corpses we found earlier.
The alien sniffs, grunting and choking on air. His eyes grow red and threatening. Quickly, his biceps swell and solidify.
I choke on fear, paralyzed and disgusted by what I see. He’s a monster, a predator with no care for human life.
“There were experiments,” he growls.
I should scream, but nothing is coming through my vocal cords. I back against the wall. Without appearing as a threat, I kneel and act docile, bowing my head.
“I won’t tell them you came here,” I say. “Just tell me where the other team is.”
His laugh is dark and menacing.
“Please,” I beg. “We didn’t come to hurt you.”
He twists his neck and roars toward the ceiling. Hatred emanates from him, and I’m all out of ideas.
I’m going to be the first to die. I should have known.
Faster than a speeding bullet, he lunges from the darkness. In that moment, everything appears to slow down.
His abdomen ripples and swells. His thighs protrude. But what’s most horrifying is that he’s naked, and his cock is bigger than the galaxy.
I close my eyes and brace for the impact that never comes. The only thing I feel is the harsh wind, followed by his breath against my ear. “Leave this planet as fast as you can.”
Finally, I scream. But it’s too late. The alien beast is gone.
I hear footsteps running in my direction, but they’re much lighter. Fassbender comes into the building, rifle aimed with precision.
He lowers the barrel when he sees me.
“Naomi,” he cries. “What happened? Where is he?”
But as much as I try to understand what just happened, I can’t. He could have raped and killed me, but he chose to let me live.
I look at Fassbender, tears building in my eyes. “I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I say. “One thing I do know is a massive wrong happened here. I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
Four
Turin
I am nothing like the humans. I am an alien, a creature unique to myself and one other. I have been betrayed, but they did not win their cruel war.
Let’s leave it at that.
I can feel Zakar’s presence behind me. The elusive brute lights a match, illuminating the starship’s dingy interior.
Moss has grown along the walls. The metal has rusted. But for now, it’s a better home than their sleeping quarters.
Besides, the smell of human males makes me sick to my stomach.
Zakar kneels beside me. I cock my head and warn him. “Don’t mess with the new recruits. Let them find their own demise,” I say.
“I’ve led them on a little chase,” he says, laughing to himself.
I don’t share in his joy. Life isn’t a game to me. It’s torment.
Humans get to love. They get to connect with one another.
Humanity handed our kind a life of torment, so I understand Zakar’s resentment. But killing them won’t get him what he craves. It won’t find him a mate, and it sure as hell won’t save our damned souls.
“I’m not interested in your games, Zakar,” I say. “I just want to know one thing. Did you find their starship, and is it in working order?”
“This is more fun,” Zakar mutters.
“We don’t have to kill them to leave this planet. We have the necessary fuel,” I argue.
It’s not that I care for the humans. I don’t.
Zakar growls and clenches his fists. “Remember what we said? Every human being must bow their heads, and the women must take our seed. That was what we were designed to do.”
“You’re fueled with a great anger. They have weapons this time. Is it really worth dying over?” I ask.
Zakar stands and grabs a bar above his head. He hoists himself to a second layer, folding inside of a vent.
His words echo above. “Ten atrocities. Ten lives they tortured and killed. Humans are evil. They smile and tell you what you want to hear, but they only look out for themselves.”
We were the survivors. We were the bastards who revolted.
I start walking through the corridors of the ship. Above, I hear his footsteps follow. “Even so, why risk captivity again?” I ask. “I do not understand.”
“There is a female,” he mutters.
I stop.
My body flushes with a strange warmth, and my skin glows. I can feel my cock harden, and a great desire washes over me.
I am a weapon, the perfect symbiosis of fuck and fight. They designed me to procreate and proliferate.
They designed me to destroy.
I saw her last night. The female bowed her head. She wasn’t violent. She was docile.
She was nothing like the others.
I tried to warn her.
“She is fertile,” he says.
I feign ignorance. “A female?”
I can still smell her, an opulent, sweet musk. I should have rutted her when I had the chance, but I heard the others coming from a mile away.
One look was enough to know I needed her.
Zakar continues. “She has the softest flesh I’ve ever seen.”
I swallow, trembling with obsessive craving. Possession of her pussy is impossible with Zakar stalking me, and the other humans pose an even more detrimental threat.
“What’s your point?” I ask.
He drops back to the lower level. “We were designed to breed with any life form of our choosing,” he says. “We’ll kill the men and take the woman. As we make the journey to Earth, we will breed her. It is better this way.”
“Perhaps.”
He continues. “Once on their planet, we will find others like her. We will mate with the entire female population. We will decimate the entire human race.”
I nod. His plan is sound, but it requires sharing the female.
I’m just not sure I can handle that.
Zakar rests his hand against my shoulder. “We need each other. We’re the only beings in the universe with perfect genetics. We are the one true alien race, destined to rule over the cosmos. Will you not join me?”
I swallow. “What is she like?” I ask, avoiding the question.
“She is the most succulent creature I have ever laid eyes on,” he says.
He will betray me if I follow him. I need to spill my seed before he does.
He points to the exit of the starship. “Go on. See for yourself at the sleeping quarters. O
nce you see what I’ve seen, you won’t be able to control yourself.”
That’s what I’m afraid of. If Zakar feels this way, he’ll try to kill me too. Once he gets what he wants, he won’t need me anymore.
He continues. “It’s in our DNA. We are by their design, so why not give in to what we are made to do?”
I walk toward the exit, listening as his snickering follows my footsteps.
“The fun begins,” he hisses.
Through the jungle, I find their sleeping quarters. An older man without all his faculties guards the compound. It’s easy to slip by him, and all I have to do is follow my pulsating cock to her.
Her pungent smell is everywhere.
I’m led to her bedside, where she sleeps like a baby. Unlike mine, her dreams must be peaceful.
As she rests, I touch her hair. I ride my lust, edging until I can’t take it anymore. Hand gripping my thick flesh, I stroke the skin tight.
I give in to my primal urges.
A warm and vibratory pressure builds between my legs. I cup my hand around my mouth as I grunt and stumble back.
A deep pleasure rises inside my balls. My cock bobs against my thumb as I spill my seed on the floor.
I can’t turn away. She’s perfect.
She’s an angel, the one I need to breed.
Five
Naomi
I sit back against my cot, eyeing the chalky-dry stains on the floor.
I can smell him. The monster was here, watching over me while I was sleeping.
He was doing unspeakable things.
Everyone surrounds me, demanding answers I can’t give to them. I shouldn’t have gone back to Discovery Base. Suddenly, I’ve become a suspect.
“What the hell was it, Naomi? Will you speak?” Halloway asks.
I try to catch my breath, but all I can see are its red eyes. The only sound I can hear is his voice, growling next to my ear. I can feel the power of his lunge.
With my trembling hand, I hold the picture of my parents. I don’t know why I have it out. I guess when I get scared, I take it out. For protection.
Alien Breed: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 3