Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Cube: The Sci-FI Alien Invasion Romance (Books 1-5)

by Ashley L. Hunt

“Why...why are you awake? You shouldn’t be awake,” Dale says, mumbling.

  “It doesn’t matter now. Tell me, is there a way out of this mess? Can you find us a way out of here?”

  Dale looks around him and sees Zan snarling at the door, the morphed Silver into her fence form and me, still seated on the armchair in the back. To be honest, I don’t even dare move a muscle. Maybe this is all a dream, and if I move, the spell will break, and it will end up turning into reality.

  Oh, who am I kidding? The zombies are real!

  “I...well, there is a way out. But we have to get to the stairway down the hall. It’s the only way.”

  His voice sounds shaken but optimistic. His survival instincts start to kick in.

  “It might be possible, but we have to work together. What do you need, doctor?” Jay says.

  “Wait! Wait a minute. I’m still processing the thought. Maybe, after all, the stairway isn’t such a good idea. It might be better to use the elevator.”

  I’m confused. I still don’t know what he has in his mind, but I’m afraid that it won’t be enough. Us, five random people, one of them recently recovered from a serious injury and the other a Chronicler’s assistant, are we going to be able to make our way through all those dead bodies alive?

  I’m ready to express my concerns about this plan when I suddenly stop. Seeing them work together, Jay trusting another human except me, suddenly gives me hope. There is still a chance for us to get back together if we manage to get out of here alive, but that won’t happen if I don’t help them.

  Damn. Look at me, daydreaming. It’s impossible to get him out of my head even amidst a crisis.

  I stand up; I quickly realize that my feet are trembling. I don’t want to get closer to the door. I’m afraid. Right at that time, something wakes up inside me; I’m in shock as well.

  After seeing all these people dying two weeks ago, I’ve started being afraid of everything. I’ve spent a lot of time in the hospital trying to cope up with my feelings of guilt towards those that died in our stead in the Great Embassy, but it seems that it was all for naught. Now, facing a true crisis, I’m useless.

  Two Originators, both of them my friends; one of the guards of the Great Embassy being at the wrong place, the wrong time; many people that we don’t know anything about them. All of them died because of my research. In a sense, it’s my work that brought all this death and destruction; I brought chaos everywhere I went. Jay was just my luckiest victim to date, that’s all.

  “Okay. So, here is the plan. Jay and I will be your vanguard. We’ll stay in front of you and push the zombies away creating a path to the elevator. We’re going to have to use the elevator to get three floors down and then the stairway to get to the parking lot of the hospital,” Doctor Dale suddenly says.

  “Why don’t we use the elevator all the way to the parking lot? It would be faster and safer,” I hear myself saying.

  “The elevator of the hospital is programmed to stop at every floor and open the automated doors so that no one will get trapped inside by accident. It’s a safety thing, but if we don’t get off on the first floor, we’ll get attacked by over a hundred corpses in the morgue. Yes, you guessed it right. We have to pass through the morgue to get to the parking area. And no, I don’t know who designed this building.”

  Dale is babbling, trying to make sense of an improbable situation. He seems kinda cute amidst this crisis.

  Damn. Stop doing this Eladia. You sound like a horny teenager.

  “Okay. There’s no time for second guesses. On the count of three. One--” Jay says.

  But it’s too late.

  Silver suddenly runs out of power. Slowly, she transforms into a tiny ball the size of a marble. It’s a black, metal ball on that falls on the floor, letting us stare straight into our deaths. In the moments it takes us to get in line and start pushing the zombies, I manage to get a better look at them.

  All of them are human with pale skins and white eyes. The color of their irises has been washed away and now they have two white eyeballs devoid of life instead of eyes. In the middle of their forehead, there is a round, flashing button, something resembling an on/off switch. I wonder if that is the thing that powers them up.

  Jay and Dale stand in the front, both using their hands to push the dead corpses away. The empty bodies gurgle when getting pushed backward. I want to run, but I know that getting freaked out now, of all the times, won’t help the others get to safety faster. Even so, we’re moving at a quick pace, making a good time to the other side of the room.

  It’s only after we have moved a few feet into the zombie-infested hallway that I notice that something seems off. This whole operation is way too easy. It’s like the monsters allow us to push them out of our way. At the same time, Jay seems way too passionate about kicking the corpses out of the way.

  I have a bad feeling about this.

  I check around me to see if there is any kind of weapon, something we can use against him if he changes, but it’s hopeless. All I can see is dead humans walking around guttered bodies lying the floor.

  Oh, my god, this is a massacre.

  Dale has slowed down now, watching Jay rage over the dead men from a distance. He seems confused. We all are confused as we watch him and try to see signs of his dark self, emerging, but there’s nothing.

  Right then I realize that his overly violent behavior is all him, no parasites taking over, not the need to protect someone. Jay just needs something to kill.

  That man, the one not able to control himself, it’s not the same man I met. Jay has changed, and I’m not sure I like what he’s become.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Chapter 6

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Jay

  You have to remember everything. For our sake, a voice whispers in my head.

  Or maybe not? Do my deepest thoughts emerge and talk to me? Or maybe I’m just getting crazy?

  I see my hands moving, but I don’t control them. I see my feet walking, but I don’t move an inch. My fists are full of blood, but I’m not the one using them. I’m a slave to my own body, and I can’t do anything but keep on hitting the dead, emotionless corpses. Every punch is a liberation, a small victory.

  I feel like when the last time I inhaled Timedisol, only that blood and adrenaline got me drunk this time.

  And I want more.

  I push some of them to the floor and start kicking them, them never resisting or making a move.

  I’m ready to take all of them if needed be when I turn my head and suddenly see the dark brown in the doctor’s eyes. He looks straight into my eyes, but I can’t stop in time from hitting him. It’s only a moment later that I see him falling to the floor, almost passing out. He’s a delicate human being after all, and I’m a mighty Esuh.

  An Esuh of the Two Faces.

  When these words appear in my mind, I snap out of my confusion. In a fraction of a second, I realize that I could have stopped if I wanted. Only that at the time, I didn’t.

  “Dale!” I hear Eladia yell.

  The motionless corpses now seem dead, although still standing. I watch the man trying to get up, but the force of my punch must have been way too strong for him. He’s just another victim of my wrath.

  Eladia slowly squats over him and after checking that he’s alright, he rises again to her feet. She now watches me straight in the eyes and almost whispers:

  “Enough Jay. Just...enough. I won’t let you harm another person anymore.”

  Don’t listen to her! Kill her! Get on with your rampage, I hear my voice command me, but I choose not to listen this time.

  For some reason, while watching her deep-set eyes condemn me, everything makes sense. My memories might still haven’t returned, but my other self, the one that Eladia talked to me about, is starting to come to light.

  I move past her and head straight for the fallen doctor. I stretch my hand and wait for him to grab it. When he does, I pull him up on his feet and then walk a
way. Eladia was right all along. The only thing I did was push her away because she lied to me. Maybe it was better not knowing the truth after all.

  I’m dangerous when I turn to that monster, a monster I can’t control.

  I’m trying to find something to hold onto, some sort of sentiment that will sort out my thoughts, but it’s not easy when you’ve forgotten how to feel. I walk in, before the elevator doors close, and push the button next to them. I wait, but no one follows me.

  It figures; they’re afraid of me. The only one that dares come closer is the human doctor, his cheek swollen from my all-out punch.

  Hit him again, this time in the chest. It’ll shatter his heart in pieces, the voice inside me instructs me again, but this time, it’s hopeless.

  I turn and watch at him, only to see him smile in a twisted, crooked way. He’s in pain, I can tell, but he’s the one that tries to cheer me up.

  “Don’t worry over this. I’m a doctor. I can fix it as soon as we get on the shuttle.”

  Was it something in his voice or the sound of the elevator ascending from the lower floors? I’ll probably never know. But, as soon as he spoke, the corpses started moving again, this time, faster than before. They almost grab Zan and Eladia, but they manage to get away from them just in the nick of time.

  For a moment, seeing them almost getting captured by those monsters, I feel despair, even fear, filling my veins. I don’t want them to die because of my stupidity, that much is apparent. But Eladia...Eladia I want to see her smiling at me again, seeing me for what I truly am: a man deeply interested in her.

  We fight them for what it seems like half a minute when finally the elevator arrives. We all get inside at once, never looking back. Everything happens really fast from that moment on. The elevator gets us closer to our destination, but as the doctor correctly guessed, the morgue below us is crowded with zombies.

  Dale leads us to the stairway, and we quickly find our way to the parking lot. Passing just outside the cold room, I can hear the hollow cries of the undead. It’s a haunting melody, one that I will remember for the rest of my life. The dead keep howling as we make sure to stay silent and walk as fast as possible without making a sound.

  Our shuttle is located all the way to the other side of the lot, but we manage to get there fast, fast enough for the corpses not to be able to keep up. Outside of the building I can hear a recurrent sound, accompanied by a blue-and-red light. Deep in my memories it kinda feels like I’ve heard that sound before, only that I can’t quite place it somewhere.

  Either way, we all get aboard. Eladia and me first, and the doctor and Zan later. Silver is still in her low-function mode, but as soon as Eladia links her up to the system, her voice returns, merry as ever.

  “Finally! It took you long enough to get here. Is everyone aboard?” she asks.

  “Yes. Set a route for Space Station 1. Planet Yaerus is not safe anymore,” Eladia says.

  I agree with her, but I never say a thing. Even though I’ve forgiven Eladia for all the lying, I have no way of connecting with her anymore. That’s a bridge I burned myself.

  And something inside me tells me that she feels the same way about me.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Chapter 7

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Eladia

  The trip to Space Station 1 is awfully quiet. The only sound comes from the engines that thrust us upwards in a slow and nonchalant rhythm. A constant vibration comes from the engines that would usually lull me to sleep. Today though, the atmosphere’s way too tense inside this small, metal box to allow for a tranquil trip.

  “Shuttle 2214, can you please confirm your ID?” A feminine voice suddenly comes from the radio.

  Silver quickly takes over and sends our identification signal. A moment later, a green light flashes from the main console of the shuttle. We’ve gotten a pass.

  “Thank you C.A. 12K4. You can use gate four to enter Space Station 1. Also, I must ask you to be patient while entering the station since we just encountered elevated activity due to an ongoing crisis on Yaerus. I hope you have a good journey.”

  A buzzing sound signals the end of the comm link. The lady couldn’t have known that we were in the middle of this crisis, and we’re running away from it as well. Either way, it’s too late now to say something.

  Having approximately half an hour to arrive at the gate, I turn and watch Dale and Jay. They are sitting two seats behind me, both of them looking skeptical in their own little way. Dale turns and smiles at me, but his grin never reaches his eyes. His cheek is still swollen from Jay’s punch.

  Jay, on the other hand, seems totally detached from reality, looking down and gloomy. I can’t help but feel a sudden pinch in my chest right below where my heart is. I turn my head away from him and look through the central window of the shuttle.

  The space station is slowly getting bigger, a sign that we’re getting closer. An enormous construct, one that can fit over 20.000 class 3 spaceships—which amounts to a lot of crew members—has all its main gates open. Countless vehicles surge out of there like wide rivers of metal. I spend a moment guessing what must be going on in Mosa, but I quickly dismiss those thoughts.

  There is nothing we can do to stop the crisis, except maybe continue our investigation. I’m not sure yet, but deep inside me, I feel that everything bad that happened these last weeks has something to do with the cube appearing on Mosa.

  I sigh and get on my feet. I need to walk it off, to leave all this stress behind me. I move to the vacant driver’s seat. Silver is still inside the charging hub, but that doesn’t stop her from meddling in.

  “Are you okay, Eladia? You seem a bit troubled,” she says.

  I know she means well, but sometimes I wish she could stop announcing my feelings up loud.

  “I’m fine. And also, you don’t have to talk so loud. Everyone can hear you nice and clear either way.”

  Silver doesn’t reply immediately since she’s in the process of recalibrating our route. The traffic is hell and the half an hour ETA can easily become an hour if we’re not careful. Thankfully, Silver is the best pilot.

  “I meant to ask you too, Eladia. Are you okay?” Dale’s the one that asks the question now.

  Frankly, even a total stranger seems more interested in my feelings than Jay. I’m starting to wish his dark self was here now; at least he always has something to say. I decide to mislead them by bringing up another subject.

  “Well, I’m a bit concerned. We don’t have a plan about what we’re going to do next, and the cube hadn't reacted to anything since that night two weeks ago.”

  “The cube? What cube? What are you talking about?”

  It’s one of those rare moments where I admit to myself that I’ve kinda screwed it up. I only had to keep one secret, and I kinda ended up spilling the beans. Honestly, this whole thing with Jay has messed up my brain.

  “The cube’s active,” Jay suddenly mutters.

  “What?” Silver and I say at the same time.

  Jay finally turns and looks at me. I can’t shake off the feeling that something has changed inside him, a vital part of his personality. Only that now his eyes are not empty like before. There’s concern in there and a feeling I can’t quite place in his limited palette of sentiments.

  “As you heard, the cube’s active. It pulsates for some time now, especially when I point it towards the sky.”

  Okay, that’s new. I meant to avoid answering their questions, but now I have a million questions myself. But, there’s only one that seems to matter now.

  “Why didn’t you say a thing before? We’re in here for an hour now, and you didn’t say a thing. We could have saved some time coming up with a plan or something.”

  Jay looks me straight in the eyes. “Because I didn’t want to say something. Also, I didn’t know if we would get out of that place alive. Take your pick, whatever makes you feel better.”

  Damn you, Jay. He still thinks I’m just a human trying to patr
onize him. But I have no time to play family with Jay anymore. The Nusae Artifact has become a priority now after zombies and men with demon masks started appearing.

  I crease my brows and turn to face the main console of the shuttle. From that moment on, I start thinking out loud. “The cube pulsating must mean that it transmits some type of signal to somewhere, leading us to the next piece of the puzzle. Before, Silver was able to find the receiver of that signal.”

  “Eladia, can I make a suggestion?” she suddenly says.

  “Go ahead.”

  “I can use the data I’ve collected from the cube and visualize the signal into some sort of a light beam. By using the spaceship’s holographic projectors, we can have a visual of the energy signal as soon as we embark.”