People live double lives. They act and privately reflect on decisions made. Maybe that doctor had a conscience. Maybe he was trying to clue me in on Zakar’s weakness.
“The servers,” Fassbender whispers near my ear. “That’s the weakness.”
I grimace. “Great. You got what you wanted. Now can you let me go?”
“Are you kidding me? We’re getting closer to what we need,” he says.
“Quit saying we,” I say.
When he gets what he wants, he’ll kill his crew. He’ll take Naomi away from me for good. There’s no formula to make a woman like her. She’ll just be… gone.
He probes my back with the gun again. “When they enter that facility, we’ll move with caution. If you even try to fuck this up, I’ll...”
But his voice fades. At first, I’m confused, but as soon as I look down at palms, I notice that I’m glowing.
My vision shakes. I feel a power growing inside of me.
Fassbender’s tone changes. He jams the gun into my back, demanding answers. “What’s going on? What are you doing?”
I hold my hands in front of my eyes. The blue glow illuminates brighter.
“You’re the one who designed me. Don’t you have all the answers?” I ask.
Fassbender scrambles back as I illuminate the entire jungle. He shoots once, but the bullet doesn’t even make it through the glow. He shoots again with the same results.
“No,” he whispers, doubling back and falling into a thick pool of mud and leaves. “This can’t be happening.”
I stand and lean over Fassbender, forcing my hand around his brittle neck. Squeezing, I lift him in the air. The more he chokes and kicks, the harder I squeeze.
Before I can crush his bones, a tranquilizer dart rockets by. It hits Fassbender’s chest. He groans, eyes drifting to sleep.
I turn and see Roy, aim fixated on me now. “Don’t shoot. I have no qualms with you or your crew,” I say.
Roy doesn’t put down the tranq gun. “I’ve heard a lot of things in my day. Been given a lot of promises that weren’t fulfilled.”
“I am not a human. I do not lie,” I say.
“This was a mistake,” Fassbender says, slurring his words. “This project should have never happened.”
I drop him to the floor.
Roy drags his heel forward. “What’s wrong with your skin?”
The glow around my skin dissipates. “I saw Naomi,” I say.
She saved my life.
Naomi steps in front of Roy, holding her arms out. “If you shoot him, you shoot me,” she says.
Roy bucks his head and sighs, lowering the weapon.
Naomi runs toward me, and I can finally breathe again. We’re not out of the muck, but I’m in it with the person I love.
She leaps into the air, colliding against my chest. Her legs straddle my hips as she kisses me. “I thought he killed you,” she cries.
“No one’s going to kill me when I have you to fight for,” I growl.
The taste of her brings me back to a special place. As I close my eyes and caress her ribs and hips, I catch glimpses of our time at the lake. Our fun inside the cave.
Breathing in her scent, I don’t want to pull away. I want to keep rolling my lips around hers, snaking my tongue into her sinful mouth.
But I can feel Roy staring a hole right through me. He hates me because I’m not his kind. Because I’m taller, stronger, and better able to pleasing a woman.
He hates me because I am what he has always denied existed. And that’s okay. Once we kill of Zakar, he’ll see my loyalty to her.
We’ll get to Earth, somehow. And when we do, we can start a real family.
She pecks my cheek as I pull away. Rude by human standards, my cock protrudes into the air, pulsating for her lust.
I cough awkwardly. “We need to do something with his body,” I tell Roy. “He’ll wake eventually.”
Roy nods. “I can’t believe I’m actually about to trust an alien, but... Do you have any rope?”
I pull out the frayed rope I found at Fassbender’s encampment. It’s not the toughest material, but it’s all we have to use. “Found this back a little ways,” I say.
Roy takes it and chuckles. “Well, he used this on us. It’s only fitting we use it on him.”
“We’ll tie him to this tree,” I say, pointing at a large and sturdy trunk.
Roy nods. “Sure, but we have to make a promise we’ll come back to him. I don’t trust he won’t escape.”
Together, we carry his body toward the thick trunk. After making sure each knot is secure, we stand back and leave.
Naomi runs and grabs my hand. Leaning her head against the side of my chest, she kisses more. “I’ve missed you so much,” she says.
Words can’t explain how much she’s been on my mind. Every waking hour feels like destiny. She is my purpose.
“Are you hurt?” I ask, eyeing her frayed clothes.
“No,” she says. “I’m okay. Did you find the fuel?”
I suck on my teeth and look at the ground.
“The fuel,” Roy repeats her words. “Don’t tell me it’s missing.”
“It’s not missing, it’s just—“
Hugh has stayed silent for most of this, but he promptly interrupts. “Gone,” he says. “The fuel is gone.”
“Maybe we can find another way,” I say, grasping at straws.
Naomi lets go of my chest. She wanders away, melancholic and distant. All I wanted was to make things right…
“We’re stuck here then,” Hugh says.
“No. No fucking way,” Roy growls.
Naomi keeps walking until she gets to the shattered doorway. Bending down, she grabs a piece of glass, staring at it. She looks catatonic.
“My entire life, I’ve tried to find someone who could make sense of me,” she says, holding the piece of glass in the air so we can see it. “Someone who could put the pieces together.”
“I’ve failed you,” I say, bowing my head in shame.
“But you haven’t. We’ll get off this planet. Whether it’s tonight or years from now. We’ll get back to Earth. I have faith.”
Nearby, the bushes sway. All four of us look as a large body rises and stumbles toward us. “Captain,” Roy says, reaching for his tranquilizer gun. He shoots his neck, but the monster rips it out with ease, roaring.
“Shit,” he hisses. “That was my last round.”
“Everyone run inside,” I growl. “Now!”
The beast leaps and swings his fist. An animalistic punch sends Roy flying into the hallway.
I drop back, but the monster is reaching for Naomi.
I lunge into the air. “Naomi, watch out!” I yell.
Naomi’s dark hair whips as she turns her head. Her lips quiver before her eyes widen with horror.
This can’t be fucking happening.
Before I get a chance at revenge, the disgusting brute takes her and dashes into the facility. A deep, blood-curdling scream reverberates from his slobbering mouth.
He drags her out of sight, into the place that formed all of my nightmares.
I don’t hesitate. I just keep following her lead.
Naomi is just too important.
Thirteen
Naomi
His hands dig into my ribcage, fingernails dragging across my skin as he drives through the hallway.
Screaming out for Turin, I look back at the entrance. Before we round the corner, I see Roy on the ground, knocked out from the Captain’s blow.
How did this happen? How did it get to this?
The Captain reaches the end of the hallway and stops, slobbering over my face. “Captain, please remember,” I plead. “I’m Naomi. I’m not here to hurt you.”
His grin widens. His eyes lower and turn inward.
Roy was right. This isn’t the Captain. He is just a body to use by Zakar’s venomous goo.
He holds me near his chest, screaming and digging his nails in deeper.
> I feel blood trickle.
He’s going to squeeze me to death.
“Help,” I yell. “Turin...”
In my hand, I squeeze the piece of glass I picked up on the outside of the premises. I can’t strike. He has my arms bound.
A second roar echoes in the distance. I recognize it as Zakar.
Hanging my head, I breathe in silence. Between the Captain, Zakar, and the missing I don’t think there’s a chance of survival. All of this has come to a head, but I never planned on dying.
I planned on coming back with the alien I discovered and fell in love with. I planned on a family.
Heavy footsteps shake the ground. “Turin,” I grunt and try to pull away from the Captain’s monstrous hands.
The Captain swings, knocking my head so hard it throws out my neck. “Turin,” I repeat.
He hits me again. This time, I feel the blood fall down my cheeks and nostrils. My sinuses swell with hot pain. “Turin, I love you,” I mutter.
I feel dizzy. My eyes are closing. In my peripheral, I can see the Captain raise his fist one more time. One last punch to knock the last light out of me.
I smile.
I smile because I see Turin run around that corner. I see the determined look in his eyes, and I sense that everything will be all right.
He dives toward us, muscles bulging like large cannonballs. Before the Captain can smash my brains in, Turin wrestles him to the floor.
“Run!” he cries.
I slash the Captain’s face and run to the other end of the hallway.
Turin takes a clean hit to the face before I turn the corner. “Just keep going. Don’t worry about me,” he shouts.
He’s right, but I want to know he will be okay. I need to know that all this is for a reason.
The server room. I’m so close. It’s just a few more doors ahead of me.
I trip and catch my balance against the wall. My muscles hurt. I can barely breathe, let alone see. I’m wet with my own blood.
But I’m not weak.
I slide around the corner and see the door. Quickly, I make my way toward it. Every nerve tightens as I twist the handle.
I open the door to see Zakar, crouching like a leopard.
Faster than my heart can beat, I slam the door against his face and run into the first room I can find.
Gently, I close the door and turn off the lights. I crouch and crawl toward a thin, blinking red light.
I can hear him, his nasty breathing. His feet slap the ground, stopping near the room next to mine.
I hold my breath and try to find another way out.
If I squint my eyes hard enough, I can make out an audio panel. It’s a large sound mixer. The only time I’ve ever seen one of these was back in college when I dated an engineer, but I recognize it almost instantly.
This must be what they used to send us audio.
I know what to use it for.
I reach behind the system and flip on the power switch. To my surprise, it illuminates.
Zakar is coming for me. Every step he takes sends a jolt through my heart. “C’mere sweetie-pie. I won’t hurt you,” he croaks.
Leaning forward, I grab the sides of a large recorder. With tears falling down my cheeks, I whisper my final goodbye.
“Hello? Testing. Testing. I have little time to speak, so I’ll make it quick. He found me, the wretched, alien beast. The alien you helped create… All of this is what you wanted, wasn’t it? Congratulations. How did you know we’d fall for your sick plan? How did you know he’d take me?”
Zakar’s footsteps grow louder.
“Oh, God. No...” I whisper and wipe the snot away from my nose.
Zakar growls and gulps, choking on air.
“Shit! He’s coming. I have to leave. I’m sorry for everything. I failed the Avalon expedition. Most of all, I failed myself. To everyone back on Earth, you don’t know what’s out there. You don’t know what they’re doing to us.”
The door creaks open. My skin prickles with goosebumps.
I swallow my fear and find the courage inside of me to face this other monster. “Okay. This is it. There’s nothing else left to lose. He has me cornered...”
I shut the recorder off and press the send key, knowing that no one will be there to receive it. The network is damaged, and with no one near to fix it, I can’t hope to be heard.
But still, if I die, and others like us are sent here, I want them to understand how bad this place is. They need to be warned.
Zakar creeps into the room. I turn and edge against the computers, heart racing. “Zakar,” I say.
His lips form into a wicked grin, exposing his disgusting teeth. “You know my name,” he says.
“I know more than I care to,” I reply.
Inching to my right, I slide behind the computers. He follows, circling around me.
I duck out of the room, back into the hallway. Not too far off, the Captain and Turin still fight.
He slides behind me, so I turn around, placing my hands in front of me. I’ve already been beaten. He must know he has me.
I reach behind my back to feel the door handle to the server room.
“You know why I’m here,” he says.
“To kill me,” I say.
I try to swallow, but my mouth is so dry that my uvula sticks to my tongue.
“To rut,” he says. “To impale you with my cock.”
With extra caution, I turn the door handle, slow as a snail.
“That won’t do you any good,” I say.
Sweat falls from my brow, momentarily blinding one eye. Zakar uses the moment to move closer to me.
He sniffs the air before my face, dropping his nose toward my chest. “And why not?”
I turn the handle and stumble onto my butt, landing into the server room.
He leans over me, fingers stretching.
I kick his hands away. “I’m pregnant,” I bellow.
I nudge against the corner of the giant black box that houses the servers. There are cables everywhere, ripped out from the backside. I try to smooth out the frayed edges.
Zakar edges his chin forward and makes a gagging noise. His entire jaw unhinges. His teeth extend outward, near my lips. “I need you,” he hisses.
I brace and reach into my pocket, grabbing some spare electrical tape. While biting my tongue with horror, I attempt to patch the thick bunch of cables.
“Need you so fucking bad,” he says.
I plug the cables back into the server.
But nothing happens. The servers don’t turn on. I don’t know why I thought they would. The lights didn’t work in the hallway. There’s no power here.
I gasp, tears and saliva flying across his face. All out of options, I convulse with fear.
My heart has broken into million pieces.
It feels like life, or God, or whatever force exists above, never wanted me to find happiness. My end, believe it or not, comes with the price of death.
And the worst part about it isn’t that I’m going to die by the hands of a ravenous alien. No, it’s what comes right before that is the hardest. It’s facing the pain and truth, knowing that the loneliness I’ve always felt in my heart will never disappear.
It will follow me until he digs his cock into my pussy, teeth latching into my neck.
“I’m going to take you and that baby of yours,” he whispers.
I close my eyes and turn my head away from him. His hot breath lingers as his hands form around my neck.
I swallow, and he grips even harder.
My throat is caught. I can’t breathe. Bucking forward, I grab his wrists and try to pry him off me, but his arms feel like concrete.
The light fades from my eyes. I twist my head, able to keep awake for a moment until dots fill my vision.
I see Turin standing in the doorway, covered in blood. He’s injured, but he looks like a warrior.
Am I dreaming? Did I already die?
“Zakar,” he says.
/> Zakar lets go of my throat and spins, hissing. He lowers his head and drives against Turin’s body. His back caves in the wall.
Turin spins away, swiping at Zakar’s ankles. He tackles him into the cement base. The facility sways from the blow, and half of the roof crumbles.
“She’s mine!” Zakar screams, scratching Turin’s face with his long talons.
Turin stumbles. Blood forms in parallel rows on his cheek.
Slowly, he heals, but Zakar rushes him again, throwing him into a pile of glass.
Falling to the floor, I latch onto my neck and suck in impossible breaths, dry heaving. Quick and hot, my head burns as my vision comes back to me.
I don’t know if I can keep doing this. I’m at the edge of what I can take.
Zakar pins him against the wall, dragging his talon across his chest.
I cry out in horror. “Zakar, let him go.”
But the wicked alien places a talon against his throat and slices, slow and methodical.
Panicking, I think of my body and the life that has started to grow inside me, and I feel the courage to scream.
“You’re pathetic,” I say.
I look down, and I still have my palm around that jagged piece of glass. My hand drips with blood, but I can’t feel a thing.
Zakar pauses.
“Worthless,” I add.
Numb, I’m ready to end this. I’m ready for anything.
Zakar turns, and I leap up to rush him. His mouth opens to bite, but he’s taken by surprise. I drive that piece of glass into his mouth, through his throat, and I make sure it cuts right through to his spine.
The alien falls to the floor, limp, but slowly regenerating.
“Naomi,” Turin mutters. “You… you...”
I collapse against him, wet with sweat and blood. I have no tears left to cry. I’m just so exhausted.
“I couldn’t get the servers to work,” I say.
Zakar twists in agony on the floor, choking on his own blood and bits of glass. As the seconds pass, his wounds heal.
“Then we keep running,” Turin says.
Hugh rolls around the corner and stops. In his hand is a small cable and power generator. “No,” he says. “Enough running.”
A smile slowly forms across my face.
Alien Breed: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 12