by Maia Starr
"Stay close,” I heard him say.
"I need some privacy,” I said, trying to make him think I had to use the privacy of squatting behind a bush, but I did not. I just wanted to get away from him. I walked cautiously on the thick forest floor. In my mind, I was repeating all the hurtful words that he had said to me. It was driving me insane, but it was also forcing me to not pay attention to my surroundings.
I heard a rustle in the bush. I turned towards it. “Jedrian?”
There was no answer. Great, he was still ignoring me even though I was a bit frightened by the noise. It got louder. Suddenly I realized that it was not Jedrian. It was something else. It was moving fast through the bushes, and it was moving toward me. I froze. I could hear a loud grunting sound. It was breathing loudly.
"Jedrian…” I said quietly.
Boom!
Suddenly a very large brown grizzly bear burst out of the bushes directly in front of me. I wanted to scream, but I could not. I was completely frozen. It stood up on its hind legs and growled at me. I looked at the chunk of cheese in my hand and realized that I had attracted the bear to me. They could smell food from miles away. It looked hungry. It looked deadly.
Then it came down from its towering height. It had all four paws on the ground. It took one step and then another toward me. It was showing me it's large white teeth. They were pointed like daggers and saliva was coming off of them. It was very fierce looking.
I took a slow step backward, and then another, knowing that I should not run. That would be the last thing to do in a situation like this because it would only chase me and catch me within a second. But I didn't know what else I could do. I was about to die. The bear was about to eat me.
It growled. It startled me because it was so loud. It was like a roar that seemed to echo off of every mountain rock wall around us. My heart fell to my stomach.
"Trish!” Jedrian shouted as he jumped in front of me. He was now between the bear and I. Jedrian faced the bear and put his arms out protecting me. “Get out of here, Trish. Go and hide."
"No. It will kill you,” I whispered to him.
"Do as I say. Walk backward slowly until you are completely out of sight of this creature. Then run and hide. Do it.”
I took a few steps backward but I was not going to leave him. Then the bear roared and charged him. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Crash! Jedrian fell to the ground with the bear. They rolled across the forest floor.
It was then that I noticed that Jedrian had a knife in his hand. The same knife he had held to my neck. He was stabbing the side of the bear, but it didn't seem to do any harm to it. The bear's snapping jaws were trying to get him. Jedrian dodged them.
I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I knew this was not a good thing considering that the Earth military was hunting for us in the forest. But I could not control myself. I realized in that moment that I loved him. I loved this Corillion warrior that had thrown himself in front of a bear in order to save my life. I did not want to lose him in the same moment that I realized this.
I was frantic. I looked around and picked up a heavy branch. I wanted to do something. I wanted to hit the bear over the head with it, but they rolled across the forest ground so frantically that I could not get in a good swing, even if I wanted to. I could hit Jedrian instead.
"Go! Go!"
"I can't! I can't leave you here!” I shouted and cried. I was in hysterical tears. I did not know what to do.
"Don't let me die for nothing!” he shouted at me through heavy breathing.
He was right. I wasn't doing him any favors by staying here where the beast could get me after it got away from Jedrian. He was doing all of this for me, and I was being disrespectful toward that.
I turned, and I ran, but I did not know where I could possibly go. Then I heard it.
Bam! Bam!
I stopped cold. Those were the sounds of blaster guns. “Jedrian,” I whispered.
I turned and ran back toward the bear. I ran fast and hysterically until I came across the large brown bear lying on top of Jedrian.
"Jedrian!” I shouted as I ran toward him. But large, heavy hands grabbed me and yanked me back. I was shocked and surprised. I looked at the hands and up into the towering physiques of Corillion warriors. They had shot the bear. Jedrian groaned underneath it.
"Get that bear off of him,” a deep voice said. I turned to see a large Corillion warrior with long blond hair and green eyes standing with a blaster gun in his hands. The other warriors, four of them, obeyed this warrior. They let go of my arms and moved over to the bear. They lifted it off of Jedrian and pulled him out from under it.
I ran to him and knelt down beside him. “Are you all right? Where are you hurt?” I asked him.
"I am fine. I think I am fine. I am just a little bruised, maybe a few scratches,” he whispered.
"Jedrian Glomerorum, who is this human female? What are you doing here?" the warrior asked.
"Cultan. I have come seeking the safety of the secret hideout. It is a long story," Jedrian said as he got to his knees.
I was glad to see that he was able to get up to a standing position on his own. I was completely surprised that he was not gutted. There was not one bite on him, or a slash of a claw. He had fought a large grizzly bear and kept an equal footing. I was impressed and in shock from it all. I had not expected to find Corillion warriors helping him out here in the middle of the woods. He said something about a secret hideout, and suddenly his mission to find this lake made sense to me. It wasn't the lake that he was looking for, but this secret hideout. He had not been completely honest with me. I had not been honest with him, and yet he had just risked his life to save mine.
"You are close. We were on patrol when we heard the noise here. But we were surprised to find you, and this human female,” the warrior that Jedrian called Cultan said.
"This is my human female," Jedrian said quickly.
Cultan looked at him with suspicious eyes and then looked at me. His eyes looked at me up-and-down, as though devouring me. Although he was a very attractive warrior, there was something menacing about him. He had just been told that I belonged to another and yet he was taking the liberty to look at me in this way. I could tell that Jedrian did not like it because his body tensed up.
"We should get back to the safety of the hideout. It is not safe out here,” Cultan said. “Follow us, Jedrian Glomerorum, and your human female.”
Jedrian grabbed my hand and led me along with the warriors. I noticed that he did not tell them that we were being hunted, and I knew that I should keep my mouth closed as well. Something told me that although these were her Corillion warriors, we were not in friendly company. It was the way Jedrian changed his demeanor.
"Are you sure that you are not hurt? You must allow me to look at you as soon as we are in a safe place,” I said to him quietly, but not in a whisper. I wanted the others to hear. I did not want them to think we were conspiring.
"Yes, you may look me over once we are in a safe place. But I do feel like I am fine. But it could just be the shock of fighting that bear,” he said.
"Thank you. Thank you for fighting that beast for me. It means everything,” I said to him. He looked at me and gave me a slight smile. It was the first time he’d smiled at me since he’d found the notebook, and I felt relieved. It took fighting a large grizzly bear for him to forgive me, and it took a large grizzly bear for me to admit that I loved him. We were really messed up.
We walked in the direction of the lake. I was expecting a standard mountain lake, but I was wrong. As soon as we entered the clearing, the lake in front of us was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was a crystal-clear blue, almost like a swimming pool. Behind it, the mountains and everything looked like a magical fairytale land complete with massive dragonflies and the buzzing of nature.
But that was not the most stunning part. From where we stood, the lake was above us. It seemed a phenomenon had taken place here. We stood fa
cing a rock wall about 7-feet high, and beyond it was the lake.
"This way,” Cultan said. I looked at Jedrian, and he nodded. I followed Cultan and the other warriors with Jedrian at my side. They walked along the rock wall until it suddenly split into a long crevice. They docked there are 8 foot tall frame under the rock and inside the crevice. I looked at Jedrian with wide eyes.
"It's all right; don't be afraid,” he said to me quietly.
I followed along and suddenly was submerged into darkness. The air grew colder. I could only feel Jedrian's hands on my arm, but otherwise, it was dark. Then there was light. I could not believe what I saw in front of me.
"Where are we?” I asked Jedrian.
"This is where I've been trying to take us. This belongs to the phone," he said.
I looked around to see that there were 20 warriors in a large underground chamber. It had everything you could possibly need. There were many beds; there was a kitchen area. There was a very advanced corner full of technology. I could not believe that this was real.
"How is this here?” I asked Jedrian.
"It is the leak. The water provides the perfect cover above us. It blocks the Earth military scans that might be searching for a Corillion place on Earth. It is the water that lets us be here,” Jedrian said to me quietly.
I was astonished by the secrecy and the fact that there was a Corillion secret base right under the noses of Earthlings. I wondered just how many of these were dotted all along the surface of the Earth. Then I noticed that the warriors that had been escorting us had diffused into various parts of the chamber. Now Jedrian and I followed Cultan to the back of the chamber.
"Is that what I think it is?” I said looking toward a small spaceship.
"Yes, it is,” Jedrian said.
I could not believe that all of this was here. But why? Why would they want to be here?
The blond warrior Cultan moved a cloth curtain and stepped into a small area that I could only describe as his office. There was a long table. He gestured for Jedrian and me to step in and then he pulled the curtain behind us.
"Jedrian, we were expecting you months ago,” Cultan said.
"Yes, but as you may know by now, my ship was attacked. It was a very strange thing. The attack came out of nowhere, and considering how stealth my cargo ship was, it is a very suspicious for the Earthlings to have been able to find us," Jedrian said.
Cultan gave him a grin, but he did not speak any more of it. Instead, he looked at me. He looked at me up-and-down again and said, “I see you have kept yourself busy in the meantime.”
"This is my human female. She helped me escape from the Earthlings.”
"And how much does she know? Why would you bring her here to this space?” Cultan asked.
"As I said before, she is mine. Where I go, she goes,” Jedrian said sternly. I didn't understand why he had to keep claiming me. I was not his. I did not belong to anyone but myself. But something told me that it was best to just stay quiet at the moment. Perhaps he was claiming me so that this other warrior could not do the same thing. By the way he was looking at me, it seems like he would jump on top of me at any moment.
"Understood. So am I to understand we are still in the same situation? You are here, but your ship is not. We have no way to transfer the cargo back to the Corillion galaxy?” Cultan asked.
"Yes, that is the situation. Unless in the three months you have come up with another plan, perhaps contacted another Corillion leader to lure here to Earth,” Jedrian said.
Cultan grinned again. “No. After you did not show with the cargo ship, we decided to do things a little differently. We have been making our departure from here little by little. We planted smart escape pods all around this forest. We have stolen Earth spaceships and modified them to our travel needs. It has been the perfect plan. We leave once a week, one ship at a time, and the Earthlings do not suspect a thing when they see their own ship. The problem is that only a few of us can leave in this manner. So I have to stay here overseeing this project until the job is done. A leader never abandons a project,” he said in a condescending way.
I could see Jedrian growing tense. He did not like this warrior Cultan. Then Cultan made things worse.
"You were attacked by that beast out there in the forest,” Cultan said. Just as he was speaking, another warrior entered. Cultan looked at him.
"This is our medic. Go with him he will see to your wounds and scan for internal damage,” Cultan said.
"I am fine. I have said this before,” Jedrian responded.
"I insist,” Cultan said sternly.
Jedrian tensed. “Come, Trish,” he said grabbing my hand to leave me out.
"The human female can stay here. She looks exhausted. I will make sure that she is fed and given water. You will only be gone a short time,” Cultan said.
"I prefer that she come with me," Jedrian said.
"Jedrian, you must know that this space is mine. I am the leader here. What I say is a command. If you want to stay in the shelter of this space and hitch a ride home, then you must understand that,” Cultan said.
Jedrian flinched. I thought that he was going to punch Cultan. I squeezed his hand, trying to get him to calm down. He looked at me. “I will be right back.”
I nodded my head yes to him. I was nervous, but I did not want to cause any trouble. I could see this was a very delicate situation.
"Let's hurry this up,” Jedrian said to the medic warrior as he followed him out. Then I was alone with Cultan. He was still looking at me with a smile. He was a very attractive warrior, but it was obvious to me that he was dangerous.
"Please, Trish, sit down. You look exhausted. I apologize that Jedrian has been dragging you through the woods. That is no place for a lady,” he said, turning on the charm.
I sat in a chair at the table far away from him. “Thank you,” was all I said. I did not want to ignore him and be rude. I could tell that he would not take that lightly.
He walked over to the curtain and pulled it back a little and shouted, “Food! Water!”
Then he walked around the small space looking at me. “Did Jedrian tell you what we were doing here? Why he came here?”
"No. He told me nothing,” I said to him.
"He came here as an arrangement. I have a cargo that needs to be delivered back to my planet. I was going to give him half that cargo to use his ship. But he never appeared. Why do you think that is?” he asked.
"As he said, he was attacked," I said to him, now rolling my eyes at him in anger.
He walked behind me. The hairs on my neck stood up. I did not like him standing behind me. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and started to massage them.
"I can see why he picked you over his own mate waiting for him here," Cultan said.
I turned my head up and looked at him in shock. “What do you mean? Who is waiting for him?” I said, trying to hold back my anger.
"Oh, I see he did not tell you. It was smart of him. You probably would not have mated with him if you knew,” Cultan said as he stepped away from me and laughed.
"What are you saying?” I asked.
"I am saying that the cargo that we were going to split was 50 human females. Jedrian was to get 25 of them, and amongst that 25 was his chosen human mate. Surely he told you this much?” Cultan said.
I held back tears. What a freaking jerk. No, he had not told me that he had a human female waiting for him in the secret base. No wonder he wanted to get to it so badly. So what was I? He had just used to me. He had used me to escape from the research and then used me to have sex with him so that he could live. What was worse was that I was finding all of this out from this condescending asshole.
Just then a warrior walked in with food and water and placed it in front of me and then left.
"Please, eat, drink. You will need all of your strength,” Cultan said. I looked at the fruit in front of me. I was hungry and thirsty. I drank and bit into a peach.
"I can
see why he would want to you. you are more striking than any of the 50 human females that we have here. Now Jedrian will have two. He is very lucky,” Cultan said.
I looked at him and narrowed my eyes at him. I was angry, but I was not angry at Cultan; I was angry at Jedrian. He had fooled me. I had been a fool. I was absolutely filled with rage.
"If you were mine, you would be the only one. I would not have a need for two wives. I can see that you are very special, Trish. I wish you luck with this Jedrian. But I warn you not to trust him. I will leave you now. Please do not hesitate to ask me for anything. You shall have a comfortable bed here and bathe in the lake in privacy. No other warriors will bother you, or they will have to answer to me,” Cultan said with a bow before walking out.