by Pixie Moon
HIDE TO STAY ALIVE
Club Release 1
PIXIE MOON
Copyright Information
HIDE TO STAY ALIVE
Club Release 1
Copyright © 2015 by Pixie Moon
First Publication: May 2015
Cover design by Pixie Moon
All art and logo copyright © 2015
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
mailto:[email protected]
DEDICATION
To my husband and children for all their crazy support. Love you guys!
A shout-out goes to writer Alexander Bettin for helping with the weapons and to Kara, Jesse and Alexander for their helpful input!
To John Alvarez for working on my tattoo so I can look good at the next convention I go to!
And to all the people who love a juicy alien story—I’m with ya!
Table of Contents
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
BLURB
Year: 5005 This is a Scifi Alien Romance!
~ Hallie Mead ~ I get the crap scared out of me when an alien lands on earth and starts chasing me. My breath saws in and out of my lungs as I run for my life. A sudden sting in my leg proves I’ve been hit. Earth is a mess, but that doesn’t mean I want to be kidnapped by aliens and taken from it.
The cage I wake up in has me silently screaming. Fear becomes my constant companion…until I see him. I’m inexplicably drawn to him. Will the muscular alien protect me from my captors? Does he desire me the way I desire him?
~ Din Zar TocGar ~ A loud commotion from the sell-block nearby piques my interest. Have these aliens captured something of great interest or is it just another fight among bestial beings?
I scan the rough crowd until my gaze lands on her. My heart pounds wildly as she gains my full attention. Passion fires my blood. I must have her. I’m not leaving this planet without the little human. She is mine to rescue…mine to protect…mine to mate.
HIDE TO STAY ALIVE
Club Release 1
Pixie Moon
CHAPTER
1
~ Hallie Mead ~
♥
Earth 5005
“Food!”
The sight of trees loaded with pecans has me dropping to my knees and kissing the ground.
I don’t kiss it for long though. The growling of my stomach has me scrambling around picking up as many pecans as I can. As I look around for other people, I quickly load the pockets of my cargo pants. I think about putting some nuts in my backpack, but the growling of my stomach has me stopping and eating a few of them.
The nutty flavor is something I savor for as long as I can. With Earth being such a mess, food is scarce. While chewing on another treasured pecan, I look around. The grove looks healthier than any I’ve seen in a long time. Okay, these trees are the best ones I’ve ever seen.
Plopping down on the grass, I let my fingers run through the thickest grass I’ve ever encountered. Sleeping on it will be like resting on a cloud.
It’s almost as if the global warming of the Earth hasn’t affected this area. My stomach slowly starts churning. This is too good to be true. Standing, I inch closer to the trunk of the tree I’m under and look around. Surely there has to be others around. Slowly, I circle the healthy trunk. Nobody seems to be around.
Needing to know more, I glance around one more time and then start to climb the tree. My pants make scratching sounds as my legs hug the tree while I inch my way up to the bottom branches. I hope nobody hears me.
Once I’m safely up in the branches, I look around. Moving from branch to branch, I thoroughly inspect the area. Not a single person is within sight. This mystifies me. Not the lack of humans because there aren’t a lot of us left. What bothers me is the fact that none of the others have found this grove of food trees and camped within it. Now that’s strange.
“Stop being a Negative Nancy,” I softly say out loud. The sound of my voice is no stranger to me. Most of my time is spent alone. After a few attempted rapes and muggings, I’ve decided that living by myself is much better than living in a camp with crude dirty males who only want to rut between my legs or steal my backpack. I’ve seen plenty of sex and violence. I don’t want any part of either one. The thought of the last yellow-toothed male leering at me makes me shudder.
Thinking of the males and some of the crazy females I’ve had the displeasure of meeting makes me look around once again. This is a dog eat dog world.
I still don’t see anybody. Not even from a distance. Deciding to be thankful for my good fortune, I lean back against a thick branch and eat a few more pecans. This is such a pretty place. I decide to stay for as long as I can. I hang out in the shade of the canopy of leaves until the sun starts to hang low in the sky.
After looking around once again and seeing nobody, I begin climbing down the tree. My bare feet and strong arms safely get me to the ground. The water I’ve been hearing draws me. After picking up my backpack, I start cautiously walking toward the sound of running water.
The half mile walk ends up being totally worth it. Clear water is lazily flowing downstream. I want to jump right in but know I can’t. I look around, put my backpack down, and then climb a tree. All I see are pretty green trees surrounded by luscious green grass. Looking down and to the right, I see nothing but sparkling water.
“Hell yeah, this place has the potential to be our new home,” I call down to my backpack. We’ve been through a lot so I can talk freely to my material friend. Sometimes I wish my backpack could talk back.
A disgusted snort escapes me. Get a grip, Hallie Mead. Your parents are gone and you have no friends. Life on Earth sucks and you damn well know it. You don’t need people to talk to, you just need food and shelter, my logical side ruthlessly points out.
At times like these, I hate my logical side. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t saved my life several times. That’s the reason I listen to her. I’m not a total fool. My parents weren’t either. At the remembrance of my parents, tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
Hide to stay alive, whispers through my mind. It’s one of the most i
mportant lessons my parents drilled into me. For them, I’ll do whatever it takes to stay alive.
I climb down the tree and slowly approach the water. The grass is thick under my feet. As I cup my hands and take a drink, I steadily look around. Even if this place seems to be free of people that doesn’t mean a hungry wolf’s not lurking around waiting for a meal. I’d make a good meal for a lone wolf and an okay meal for two or three wolves.
The warm water tastes good. Real good. I splash some on my face and then look around. No animals or people are in sight. Unable to stop myself, I step into the water and began cleaning the dust and grime off my clothes. My toes sink into sand. Joy fills me at the discovery that the river bottom isn’t made of mud. I reach down and grab a handful of the gritty stuff and then start cleaning my hair.
Once my hair is clean, I look around again. You can’t be too careful. Nobody is in sight so I begin cleaning my clothes and skin as best I can. A cloud of sand floats around me in the water. I mourn the loss of the clear water. So few things in this life are clean.
“Buck up, girl,” I tell myself in a nice firm tone. Looking around at the lovely sights that surround me, I let the stress inside me float away.
The feel of silky water gliding over my body lightens my heart. “I wish you could come in, Backpack,” I call to my only companion.
Happy for the first time in a long time, I start swimming around. The pure joy of being free settles over me. When my muscles ache from swimming back and forth across the slow moving water, I stop and begin floating. At this precious moment, I feel light and free. I let my mind go blank as I look up at the cloudless sky.
When darkness dims the evening sky, I swim to the bank and reluctantly get out of the water. Moving to my backpack on silent feet, I look around once again and then bend to pick up my pack. “Let’s go back to the pecan trees and stay there tonight.”
My clothes are no longer dripping by the time I reach the grove. Wanting to be dry, I shed my damp pants and shirt and then put on my only other set of clothes.
Feeling relaxed and a little happy, I pick up some more pecans and shove them into the pockets of my cargo pants. Better safe than sorry. If I have to run from this place I plan on taking as much food with me as I can. A pecan falls from my overloaded pocket. It feels good to have this much food. To stay on the safe side, I pick some more nuts and put them in my backpack.
Feeling satisfied with my food supply, I begin looking around for a nice safe place to sleep. With my backpack in one hand and my damp clothes in the other, I wander around the surprisingly lush area.
It seems too good to be true. Suspiciously, I glance around. Not another human is in sight or in hearing range of me. I see and hear a few birds and bugs but that’s all.
Warning bells ring in my ears causing my spine to tingle and goose bumps to pepper my arms. I slowly and cautiously head away from the haven I’ve found. Sorrow seeps into my veins but I know better than to stay in a place that sets off any bells.
Once I’m a good quarter of a mile from the grove, I start looking for a place to sleep. I look and search until I see it. A smile curves my lips. A nearby clump of shrubs have just the right amount of room for me to push under the lower branches.
Feeling content for the first time in a long time, I crouch down, push my pecan filled backpack under the shrubs, and then slide into my new home. Needing to stay hidden, I tug the lower branches down so that they touch the ground.
While resting my head on my pack, I relax and let the scent of plants and dirt lull me to sleep. Nothing too deep though. I might need to run at a moment’s notice.
CHAPTER
2
~ Hallie ~
♥
I’ve been watching the grove for seven days now.
I sit just outside my sleeping quarters. The grass here is not as soft as the grass in the grove but it’s not bad. I’ve sat and slept on much worse.
My hiding spot has saved me from a coyote and a pack of dogs. All of the lower branches of my bush are great cover. The dirt and leaves I’ve bunched up around me help cover my scent. Overall it’s looking like a safe place to stay for a while.
My stomach rumbles so I reach for my pack and dig around in it for a pecan. When I don’t feel any, I take my eyes off the grove and start searching through my pack. One pecan is all I find. Damn. The ones in my pockets have been gone since yesterday. This doesn’t bode well for me, although, things could be much worse. That’s something I need to remember.
Using two rocks, one good sized flat one to rest the pecan on and the other more rounded rock to crack the shell with, I quickly break into the nut and eat my last pecan. My stomach rumbles even though it has just been given a treat. “Don’t be so demanding,” I tell my ungrateful stomach as I grab my backpack and stand.
Getting this much food has its pros and cons. On one hand it makes me stronger but on the other it turns me into an eating machine. With the lack of food on earth being an eating machine is a very bad thing.
I puff out a breath when my stomach roars its anger. “Okay, okay, grouch-pot. I’m going into the grove to get you what you want. Are you happy now?” My wayward stomach roars again. I scowl at my belly as I hurry toward the food laden grove.
With my rocks in hand, I walk cautiously into the grove. My gaze darts around as I drop to the ground and start picking up pecans and stuffing them into my pants pockets. You never know when you may have to run for your life.
Only after my pockets are full do I dare crack open a few pecans and make my tyrannical belly happy. The taste of these pecans is still good to me. Each one is delicious. Once again I wonder why nobody else is here. Not able to pass up such a good deal, I start filling my backpack up. It’s a small pack but I’m glad to have it.
While I gather nuts, I think of the elderly lady I did some chores for to get the backpack. Neely was such a sweet person. If I could have stayed near her I would have. I shudder as I think of the male camp members eyeing my body with lust filled eyes. There was no way I was going to stay and let them hurt me with their stinking bodies.
A bird flying overhead squawks as it looks for small prey. I look around again expecting to see someone near me. I have a strange feeling I’m being watched, but there’s no evidence to back the feeling up. I keep on picking up pecans until my pack is full.
The sound of water calls to me like a siren. My gaze darts around searching for danger. When I don’t see anyone, I cautiously journey toward the water. The sight of the slow moving liquid excites me.
Since I enjoy being near water I’ve seen many good and bad things. Water sources are drying up all the time and the ones that are here can draw all kinds of animals. The future here on Earth is looking grim.
I put my pack down and then strip out of my pecan filled pants and put the ones on that are tucked safely into my pack. Never get caught naked was another lesson drilled into me.
Once again I look around for any sign of danger. When all seems to be clear, I dive into the water and clean up. With fresh hair and skin, I swim until my arms and legs ache.
I stare up into the sky as I rest by floating in the warm water. A strange cloud moves across the sky. That feeling of being watched hits me hard. I look around but don’t see anyone. Nerves tingling, I swim to the bank and get out of the water. I hurriedly take my pack under the cloaking leaves of the trees and quickly put on my dry clothes.
My breaths are ragged as I search for a place to hide. A dark hollowed out tree draws me. I slip into the cavity of the tree and make myself as small as I can. Using my faithful pack as a shield, I hunker down and focus on breathing as shallowly as possible. Long ago my father taught me to control my breath for just these kinds of situations.
Listening closely, I focus on every sound around me. A few birds squawk and another one sings a song. That’s a good sign. If the animals aren’t concerned maybe my imagination is just fucking with me. It’s happened before.
Not about to reveal myself j
ust yet, I stay hidden for a long time.