by Marie Dry
“My lasers?”
“You know, the lasers your eyes shoot when they turn red.”
“I would never shoot you with my lasers.” He said it so dead serious, for a moment she thought maybe he had lasers in his eyes.
He got up, went to the console, and pressed some buttons. He grunted and she thought he might be speaking, but she couldn’t be sure. She never thought too much about his alien language before. If it was his language, it sounded like he gargled with gravel.
“What language do you speak on your planet?” Why hadn’t she asked him that before? She’d heard him grunt at the synthesizer many times.
He didn’t answer, just continued to work on the console.
Her ears still rang. She shook her head and then quickly stopped because that brought back her headache.
“Do not move.”
“You believe me, that I didn’t help the resistance?”
“Yes, now be quiet.”
“Well, excuse me for breathing,” she said. What on earth was he doing? He pressed buttons on the console, ejected another silver gadget from it, and then made it disappear into his pocket. His pocket should bulge, but it lay flat on his muscled thigh. The gadget seemed to have just disappeared.
“What about you, Frankenstein, any injuries I should look at?”
“I am a Zyrgin warrior, I do not need a human to heal me.” He ran his silver scanner over her and, before she could ask what he was doing, he’d pressed his injector against her neck again and, almost immediately, the last vestiges of her headache was gone.
“I sent out a call to headquarters before we went down, but the humans might get to us before the rescue.”
“They wouldn’t hurt me.” It was a sickening thought. Someone had placed a tracker in her bag, knowing she’d be in the shuttle when it was shot down. She didn’t want to admit to Viglar that she was more scared of the resistance, if it was the resistance that shot them down, than a Zyrgin in that moment.
“Your human resistance is not the heroes you think them.”
“At least they are making life difficult for you. Eventually, they will succeed in driving you back where you came from.” She must be injured worse than she thought, because the thought of never seeing him again didn’t make her as happy as it should.
“Your so-called human resistance has been trying to get their hands on a shuttle. They are more interested in enriching themselves with our technology than to liberate Earth from us.” He stilled and cocked his head. “They are close. I will protect you.”
“I’m human, I’ll be safe from them. I’ll distract them while you run. With your speed, I’m sure you can outrun them.”
“Zyrgins do not run and never from humans. The resistance kills any humans known to associate with us. They would make an example of you.”
“I don’t believe you.” Except she did. They knew she was on board and had fired anyway.
He didn’t answer, simply got up and stood in front of her with his legs braced. One moment he was unarmed, the next he had a sword in his hand.
“They’ll probably have guns, and you conjure a sword. Haven’t you ever heard about not bringing a sword to a gunfight?”
Madison frantically looked around for anything she could use as a weapon.
“No, I brought a Zyrgin warrior to a human massacre,” he said, without taking his eyes off the shuttle door. “You will tell me about it later.”
It was reassuring that he thought there would be a later. Maybe the rumors about their fighting capabilities were true. She picked up a piece of metal that used to support the seat and hefted it. It just might work. Viglar flashed his teeth and she was still wondering if that God-awful expression was supposed to be a smile when there was a cry from outside.
Someone started fiddling with the door and then shouts and swearing.
“They booby-trapped the door,” a man said from outside.
“We can blow it open from here.”
Again, Viglar flashed his teeth.
Madison waited, holding her breath, and, a moment later, agonised cries went up. Then there was silence, only broken by chilling moans every once in a while
“Stay behind me,” Viglar said and opened the hatch.
He walked out and stopped just outside the door. Madison stayed behind him out of sight of the door. She wasn’t going to be like the people in the movies who got into trouble because they didn’t listen and stay put. She peered out of the window.
Chapter 15
“We got lucky, it’s still alive,” one of them said.
Before she’d gotten to know Viglar, Madison had said terrible things about him and called him Frankenstein and worse, but she intensely disliked the way they called him “it.” She bit her lip to stop her mouth from getting them into trouble.
“Leave, humans, or try to face your deaths with courage,” Viglar said, extremely calm.
Madison revised her opinion on the intelligence of the resistance when they didn’t turn around and run the other way. From her vantage point at the window of the shuttle, she could see Viglar and the twenty or so humans facing off. They didn’t bring enough humans.
A young man, with blue-black hair and dark eyes burning with hatred, glared at Viglar. “You think you can frighten us with that sword, with a few traps.”
“Remember the battle at No Name Town. They wiped out a lot of people with those swords,” another voice said.
“Raiders. None of them had any decent training or equipment,” said yet another voice.
How many of them were there? Despite their bravado, they sounded nervous.
The man in the front with the black beard lifted a machine gun like the ones in the old movies and didn’t hesitate. She heard gunfire, wanted to scream at Viglar to get down. Unlike in the movies, Viglar didn’t become riddled with holes and fall down bleeding. He swung his sword and chopped off the guy’s head. He chopped of his head, she whimpered silently. Who does that? This is the second time I’ve seen him do that.
“Aren’t Zyrgins supposed to be more advanced than humans? Advanced societies aren’t supposed to chop off people’s heads,” she screamed at him, her voice carrying through the open door.
“Quiet, woman.”
“What’s the use of telling me how superior you are all the time, when you chop off people’s heads?”
“Quiet, human.”
“You’re a doctor, for heaven’s sake.”
Surely, he should try to reason with them or something. He would probably approve of her brother’s shoot first philosophy.
“He’s got a human female trapped in there,” yet another man said.
“She doesn’t sound very trapped to me. More like an alien lover.”
Alien lover was the term used for those who didn’t speak out against the improvements the aliens made. According to the resistance, it applied to everyone who didn’t actively fight the aliens.
“At least I don’t shoot down innocent people,” she shouted at them.
“Human, quiet.”
“We need to take her alive, find out what she knows.”
“Yeah, they sound like an old married couple--watch out he’s swinging again.”
Madison shivered. She didn’t think their plan was to politely ask her what she knew about the Zyrgins. She’d closed her eyes the moment Viglar blurred and, this time at least, if he did cut off someone’s head, she didn’t see it happen.
“If you harm my breeder, your death will not be merciful,” Viglar said.
“Breeder? You got a green missus in there?” one of them mocked and tried to see inside where Madison sat at the window.
From the way he squinted his eyes, she knew the window was opaque from outside. Behind him she saw more men emerge from the surrounding bushes. She was toast. If they weren’t rescued soon, these men would kill Viglar and, after he’d called her his breeder, they would kill her too. They were fanatics, and just the fact that she was in the same shuttle with Viglar would c
ondemn her in their eyes. Did she want to live if they killed him in front of her? She looked around again for a weapon, so she could help him fight, and balled her fists in frustration when she saw nothing. The pipe would be a useless defence against men with machine guns.
“Stay inside, Madison,” he said, as if he read her mind.
She had absolutely no plan to go out there. Though she would’ve loved to have a weapon.
Outside, the short lull came to an end and it sounded as if world war four had broken out. Madison crouched on the bench, looking out the window, as Viglar killed them one after the other. Once he cut of two heads with one mighty swing of his sword. She whimpered, she didn’t want to see this. Didn’t want to be confronted with the fact that her alien boyfriend had killed so many humans. Even if it was in self-defence. One of them turned toward the shuttle and tried to shoot out the window. Madison screamed and fell back. The window didn’t even crack. Madison sat up dazed and got on the bench again.
Viglar kicked the man’s weapon out of his hands. “You dare to shoot at my breeder?” Pure menace.
It was as if that was the sign for Viglar to stop playing with them. While Madison looked on, he went through them like a tornado, leaving devastation in his wake.
Viglar had the man who’d shot at her tied up, and he crouched in front of him. As she watched, he casually reached out and broke the man’s finger. She could hear the bone snap all the way here. The man screamed, and Viglar waited until he stopped to break another bone.
“Please, Viglar, let him go,” she begged. She ran to the shuttle door, but it wouldn’t open.
“Stay inside, Madison.” She heard another bone snap and put her hands over her ears.
“Please don’t torture him. Let the law deal with him.”
“He wounded you. I judge him guilty and when he tells me everything he knows, I may allow him to die.” He turned and walked back to where the resistance man moaned with pain.
Madison shuddered when the man screamed--a long keening sound of agony.
He does this without any compulsion or expression. How could he do something like that with such calm unconcern?
“Please don’t do this anymore. Didn’t you take some kind of doctor’s oath,” she said from just inside the door where she couldn’t see what he did to the man.
“I took no oath and have no plan of ever taking a human oath.”
Madison sat with her hands clutched over her ears, but she couldn’t block out the screams of pain or the man begging for mercy. At last it stopped, so abruptly, she worried he’d killed him in cold blood.
The shuttle door opened and Viglar appeared in the doorway.
“Did you kill him?” she asked. Fearful of his answer.
“No,” he said and she didn’t know if he told the truth.
“We will only be picked up tomorrow,” he told her. He pressed against the hull and it opened to reveal several silver squares and rectangles. He took a few of them and closed the space again. He went outside and she followed him.
Once on the rocky ground, she looked around, but couldn’t find the man he’d tortured. “Did you kill him?” she asked again. Defending them was one thing, killing someone in cold blood wasn’t acceptable.
He fiddled with the silver thingies in his hands. “No.”
“Then where is he?”
“Somewhere close where he cannot upset you.”
“If you lie to me about this, I will never forgive you. No matter how many times you call me breeder and synthesize coffee for me, I will consider us over.
“I do not need to lie. Now stay still, and I will put up camp.”
“Why, if your technology is so superior, can’t we be rescued now?”
“More resistance humans are coming.” She heard the sneer when he said resistance humans. “You do not need to be concerned. I can protect you.”
He made a fire and placed two small round disks on the ground next to it. They transformed into what looked like two silver cushions. “How do you do this?” She sat down and the cushion moulded to her, even supporting her back. “I have to say you guys have very convenient technology.” She looked at the shuttle and it suddenly hit her. “We’re not stranded at all. You want the resistance to find us so you can kill them all.”
“I will hunt for you.” The fact that he ignored her question said it all.
She struggled to focus on food after thinking about the fate of the resistance, of what he did to the man he captured. “What will you hunt? Most game stopped roaming free almost a century ago.” She suppressed a shudder at the thought of eating a freshly killed animal.
“We have re-introduced wildlife.”
Her stomach turned, and she had to swallow a few times before she could answer him. “You expect me to eat an actual animal. Eeew.”
He stared at her so long she had to concentrate not to fidget. Did he really expect her to eat something that walked around just moments before? She’d rather starve until they were rescued.
“I have seen you eat meat.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t real meat. It only tastes like meat.”
Everyone always complained about the fact that they couldn’t have real meat anymore, but it was more habit than a real wish for meat. Only the very rich could still afford it. She couldn’t imagine eating an actual animal. Even if she got suddenly rich and could afford it. “My brothers used to hunt, when there was still game about, but I refused to eat it.”
“I will cook the meat for you.”
That wouldn’t make any difference, but, if he left to hunt, she could help the injured man get away. Viglar would be furious with her, but she couldn’t stand by and see someone killed. She had no doubt when they’d gotten all their answers from him, the Zyrgins would kill him. They had a very straightforward attitude toward dealing with the resistance.
She looked on as he shook out a silver square and it transformed into a dome-like tent. Another one became a mattress he placed inside. The third one opened to reveal utensils and what she suspected might be their version of canned food. He set four silver disks on the ground and vertical beams came up, enclosing the camp site and the shuttle.
He pressed his forehead against hers. “Do not leave the camp.” He left to hunt with no weapons she could see.
Madison hurried around the shuttle and found the wounded man sitting against the hull on the other side of the shuttle. “Come on, I’ll help you get away.” She tried to help him up, but he pushed her back. She fell and scraped her hands against the ground.
“Alien’s inbred hoar. I don’t need your help,” he snarled and spat at her.
Madison staggered back. She was about to lay into him when a shadow fell over them. A big shadow.
Viglar loomed over them. Almost casually, he leaned down and backhanded the man. Madison cringed when she heard something crack. Again. “You will show respect,” Viglar said calmly.
He took her arm and led her to the cushion by the fire. She expected him to read her the riot act, but instead he placed more disks at each end of the shuttle. She wouldn’t be able to get to the prisoner, and after the way the man had spat at her, she was glad he wouldn’t be able to get to her if he got lose.
Again, Viglar pressed his forehead against hers and left. She sat staring into the artificial fire he’d built. She couldn’t figure out how it worked, he’d placed rocks on the ground and now flames came out of it. Even though she knew she was safe within his beams she wished he’d return. It was dark beyond the perimeter and who knew what hid there.
He returned and she’d expected him to return with bloody meat, but she was relieved to see him carry only a silver container. He must’ve skinned the animal where she couldn’t see. Her stomach turned while at the same time hunger pangs hit her.
“I will ensure your food is cooked,” he told her.
“Thank you.” She didn’t want to eat anything that used to be an animal, but at the same time she was hungry. Not hungry enough to eat a
n animal yet, but she was getting there.
When he gave her a plate she frowned when she realized he wasn’t eating.
“What about you?”
“Zyrgins prefer their food raw.” He had a curiously watchful air. As if her reaction to what he said mattered.
She shrugged. “Oh, so put some raw food on a plate and join me.”
“My eating habits might offend you.” Again she had the impression that he waited for her to react negatively.
She laughed in his face. “You should see my brothers eat. It’s enough to make you puke.” She couldn’t understand how he could be so rude, but then so meticulous about hunting for her and feeding her.
He had no compulsion about torturing that man and didn’t care that she knew, but he didn’t want her to see him eat his food raw?
He left and after a while returned with small pieces of meat on a plate.
“You know, you should stock some emergency supplies. Some canned vegetables and such. Then you won’t have to go out and hunt.
“I will do so,” he said almost meekly.
Madison looked at him suspicious, meek and Viglar did not go together. He merely ate his food with slow deliberate movements. After one look at the bloody meat on his plate, she averted her eyes, going with the same logic she used to deal with her brothers. If she didn’t see it, it couldn’t bother her.
“What are you going to do with the resistance people on their way here? Do you have to kill them? Can’t you just arrest them or something?”
“We will make an example of them of what happens when we are defied.”
Visions of Nazi-like executions went through her head. “We had people who called themselves Nazis centuries ago, then neo-fascist Nazis rose about a hundred and fifty years ago. They executed people for standing up to them as well.”