Too confused to wonder why, she peered about. Her breath stuck in her throat as her chest constricted enough to suffocate her. Dappled sunlight filtered through bright magenta and orange leaves, so thickly growing on branches that they almost obscured a bright aquamarine sky. It was a fairytale forest, one she’d only experienced in her imagination. That wasn’t right. None of it was.
She clenched her eyes shut, and opened them again. Sure enough, colour surrounded her. Despite the wrong colours, it all looked too real to be not natural.
She pressed her palm against the red dirt and rubbed it between her fingertips. Cool and damp. And real.
Too real.
And not Earth.
Despite the fact she was prickly hot, a chill swept through her body. “Where…” She licked dry lips, “Where are we?” Her voice was no more than a shaky whisper. She looked back at the man. “Who…who are you?” her voice ended in a squeak.
She breathed so fast she was getting lightheaded. If she had a paper bag, she’d be breathing into it. That was, if they had a paper bag, here…wherever here was. She stifled a hysterical giggle.
The not-man settled serious eyes on her, “To answer your last question first, my name is Commander Jo’Aquin Centauri – a Commander in the Galactic Federation, Commander of the Starship Starlight.” He propped onto one elbow, an awkward movement as he tried to rise. He uttered a pain-filled grunt, and a sheen of perspiration not borne of the oppressive humidity that was a part of this fantasy world broke out on his not-quite-right face.
Now that she could see him better in daylight, his skin had an unhealthy ashen undertone that fired up some preliminary warning signs. She’d seen enough sickness to know when someone was really ill. He looked around, wary. “And to answer your first question - that’s what I’d like to know, too.”
Her gaze meshed with his. “Jo’Aquin? Commander? Galactic Federation?” It sounded like she was stuck in a bad Sci-Fi movie set. She shook her head, trying to shift the throbbing and the frantic panic that threatened to consume her at any moment. “You don’t know where we are?” Of course. How could he possibly know where they were? They were in a place with pink and orange leaves for goodness sake!
She trembled. She had to grit her teeth to stop them chattering. Terror stripped her mind bare. The urge to run. To find safety.
“I…I was on the Nullarbor Plain. By myself. And then…and then.” Then it all came back in a horrible tidal wave of memory. She gasped. The light. Running. “That…lizard thing. It grabbed me. And I…I don’t know. Now…I’m here. Where are we? Tell me! Now!” Her breathing became thin, erratic, her heart beat like a wild creature.
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
She heard his words, but they didn’t make any sense in her panicked mind. She was only aware of her rising terror and her inability to do anything about it. She grappled to move heavy limbs. They didn’t move the way she wanted them to. She tried to haul her too-heavy body over the lip of the container, but she slipped and landed back on her backside. A fresh wash of panic took control of her body. She flailed about uselessly, mind and body fighting. Too weak. Too clumsy.
She tumbled over the side of the container, or whatever she was in, smacking onto her stomach with a breathless wheeze. A curse barely registered before strong arms circled her, pulling her into a gentle embrace. She struggled against him, straining to be free, but he held on, offering soothing sounds. A hand brushed up and down her back in long comforting strokes that broke through the panicked spiral in her mind.
She became aware of strong arms and the smell of muskiness and spicy masculinity that made her stomach tumble, and something started to unfurl inside, something that had been dormant for far too long.
Something that it had never done before.
“Don’t touch me!” She pushed him away. He rested on his haunches, facing her. Her heart hitched and skittered. He wasn’t trying to force himself on her. Wasn’t trying to hurt her like those lizardy things had done. Instead, he still regarded her with an edge of wariness. She guessed she’d look at herself the same way, too.
Pull yourself together, Lauren. You’re too old to act this crazy. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so…so…” She really didn’t know why she was apologising, or what she really felt, except really confused. Frightened as hell. Scared. Just shy of terrified.
He looked like he was trying to help her and at the moment, she needed any help she could get.
His lips flattened into a tense line, “After what you’ve been through, your reaction is to be expected.”
“I suppose so.” She didn’t really believe that. She was old enough not to fly into a panic at any little, or big, thing. The thing that had kept her going through the traumatic events of the past couple of years was her ability to think clearly and keep emotions at bay. She worked furiously at reigning in her terror and focussed on the man in front of her instead.
His clothing was ripped at his shoulder. Deep, almost black, blood oozed from beneath the material. He moved his arm and winced. She couldn’t believe she’d only just noticed.
“You’re hurt!” She reached for him, but stopped at the last minute, holding back, not quite sure what to do.
“Yes. Unfortunately, I was struck by the Reptile’s tail.”
“Reptile…” He kept on saying that. She thought furiously for a moment, wondering what he was referring to, “Those evil lizardy things?” A dark, sludginess shuddered through her body at the word. Whatever they were, she’d had a taste, and that was enough. It would be too soon if she never saw another one again.
He uttered a half-hearted chuckle, “I understand your reasoning. I can see why you’d say they were lizards.”
His expression grew grim as he looked about at their surroundings. But her gaze remained on him. His hair was more blue than black. It was just short of being too long. More shaggy than anything else. As though it needed a cut, but he hadn’t had time to get it done. It suited the dark stubble that decorated his jaw, though, and lent him a rugged air.
Streaks of grey lined his temples matching the lines about his eyes. He didn’t look old; more distinguished. At a guess, she thought he may be in his late forties, maybe fifty.
There was also an air of seriousness about him. An intensity about the way he held himself, the set of his shoulders, the tilt of his head. Every movement was weighed and measured.
A man of experience. Bearing. Command. A military man. He had that sort of bearing. A lean bulk that told of physical fitness, evident beneath that official-looking tunic he wore. Broad chest. Flat torso. Nothing soft about him at all.
He – Jo’Aquin – tapped his ear, “Reed. Do you copy?”
He paused before asking again. His mouth firmed into an even sterner line, if that was at all possible. His gaze found hers. “I can’t reach my lieutenant. There must be some interference through to the Starship.”
She could just about see the cogs in his mind working. He wasn’t just thinking. He was…strategizing. He moved to his knees, cradling his elbow in his palm. “I think it would be a good idea if we removed ourselves from this site. I’m afraid we could have made ourselves quite known to the natives, which we might be better off staying away from.”
A trail of fear wove up her spine, and her mouth dried instantly. He helped her stand, even though he was obviously injured himself. She wondered who should be keeping who up. That thing they’d come from looked like a bullet-shaped coffin and she quickly looked away. Nothing good could possibly come from being stuffed into something that size.
By the looks of it, nothing good had happened.
Her legs lacked any sort of strength, and she sagged against Jo’Aquin. A powerful arm came around her shoulders to steady her, but it wasn’t her legs that were now unsteady. She peered up at him. He was massive . She only came to the top of his shoulders, which were rugby player thick and solid.
This close, she could see that his skin wasn’t tan, or olive,
or even a light shade of any darker tone that could be natural. He was…golden. Tiny flecks in his skin sparkled in the sunlight. And his eyes. They were blue, but iridescent, as though they were backlit with moonlight. Silver flecks striated from the dark blue pupil.
He steadied her with a grip on her upper arms, and she hung suspended in his grasp as she stared at him. She relied on that grip while trying to find a reason for what she saw, her mind flicking through possibilities until she came to the only logical conclusion that made any sort of sense.
There was something off about him.
Because he wasn’t human .
She wasn’t in some strange Star Trek film set. And he wasn’t just a strange-looking man. Reason snapped in that strange way that made reality a very scary place to be, but it was totally irrefutable. There was no other reason for her to see–feel–remember what she did.
This wasn’t the Nullabour Plain. Or Australia. Or even Earth. This was a totally different world. She licked dry lips, trying desperately to work some moisture into her mouth. And he was a…a…
Her voice came out in a strained whisper. “What…what in the hell are you?”
5
A fine layer of perspiration tarnished his skin. His head drooped. He staggered, his knees nearly buckling beneath him before he caught himself. She clutched his forearms, steadying his balance. Why she reached for him, she didn’t know. There was such an unreal quality to all of this that she couldn’t be sure if she was bordering on insanity. She couldn’t rightfully say that she wasn’t.
“You’re not well.”
“Damned poison. It’s working its way through my system.” There was a weary sag to his shoulders. Of course, his damaged shoulder would be hurting him. How could she have forgotten about the ripped material and dark blood oozing over his uniform?
“This is what those…lizard people? Those Reptiles? Did to you?” He’d mentioned something about a tail, however that worked. Poisonous barbs. She couldn’t repress her shudder at the thought of those slimy claws on her body, let alone being torn apart by one of them. Whoever he was, he was a vast improvement over those things.
At least he wasn’t tasting her blood and shoving her into a small metal container and launching her through space into an unknown alien world. She clamped her mouth shut as a hysterical giggle fought to erupt.
He had to be the better option. Those Reptiles didn’t have her best interests at heart. Not that she really knew who this man–this alien–was, but her slim chances of survival were much better with him.
“Come on. Let’s get you somewhere safe.” She gripped his forearms and went to move him on. How on Earth, or wherever they were, was she was going to actually be of help to someone his size if he collapsed, she had no idea. But if those Reptiles came back looking for her, she’d rather be hiding than standing around the death-trap coffin they’d stuffed her into.
His mouth momentarily released its grim line and worked up at the corners, and a very human line drew between his brows. He placed a knuckle beneath her chin, tipping her head back. His gaze penetrated something within her, stirring an unknown, long-forgotten place hidden deep, deep away. “Such kindness…” His voice cracked.
“There’s no kindness in self-preservation,” she whispered, her heart thumping at the unhindered emotion evident in his voice. He sounded so…surprised. Why that should affect her so much right here and now, she didn’t know, but the quick rise of heat at the back of her throat caused her to cough a little to remove it.
She really wasn’t in her right mind, that was all. She was in the arms of an alien. A very handsome alien, but an alien nonetheless, and she didn’t know where on Earth--scratch that--where in the Universe, she was. Her head throbbed. Her body hurt all over. She was in shock. She was sure to be emotional. She’d better get a clamp on herself and concentrate on survival. She was good at that. She’d proven that time and time again. Time to hitch up the big girl panties, of which she had numerous well-worn pairs, and get to the job at hand.
A twig snapped. Huge hands wrapped around her upper arms. Her feet left the ground, and she found herself tossed around like a doll and placed behind his back. He was still as strong as an ox, hurt as he was.
However, now she was behind him, she saw the uniform on his back was shredded down to his waist, the material soaked through with blood. His skin was gashed open from one side of his back to the other. Blood welled between the ragged, torn skin. She gasped, her hand hovering over his wound, not knowing what to do. It was a miracle he was standing. He wasn’t just hurt. He was mortally wounded.
Numerous footfalls on dried leaves had her peering around his shoulder. She discovered twenty or so men. More bodies melted from the thick foliage circling around them, one minute not there, the next minute fully visible. Their clothing mimicked the same dabbled pinks and oranges of the foliage. Even their heads were covered with fluttering leaves, covering all but their eyes. If they hadn’t moved, she doubted she’d even see them, even if they were two feet in front of her. She hadn’t. Who knew how long they’d been watching.
The next thing she noticed was the wicked-looking arrows aimed directly at them in huge bows that were double the native’s height. She squeaked and hugged close to Jo’Aquin’s body, albeit carefully avoiding his wounds. He held out his palms in an intergalactic sign of peace, “We mean you no harm.”
One of the men stepped forward and gestured to the coffin, “You come in a Reptilian vessel.”
“I am Commander Jo’Aquin Centauri from the Starship Starlight of the Galactic Federation. We are lost and came to this planet following an emergency situation. We mean you no harm.”
The tip of the arrow indicated Lauren, “What about her.” She crouched further behind Jo’Aquin-- a lot of good that would do her.
Jo’Aquin paused before saying, “She is human.”
There was a collective gasp from the men, some turned to others. That statement had caused a stir. Some leaned to peer around Jo’Aquin to see her. Lauren tensed, clenching Jo’Aquin’s uniform in her fists.
She’d thought she was going to lose her mind with the Reptiles. God only knew what her mental stability would be like meeting more aliens. She was going to go into overload, that was for sure.
“A human?” the leader spoke. Lauren noticed his speech was heavily accented, almost musical. Not an accent she’d ever heard before. There was a note in his voice that didn’t exactly make her feel comfortable. More like an attraction at a cheap sideshow. She tensed at what wasn’t said.
“We’re not sure where exactly we are,” Jo’Aquin said.
There was a slight pause, and the tip of the arrow wavered. “Those who come here know what planet this is.”
“The Reptiles had taken this human. I was on a mission to rescue her,” Jo’Aquin said.
Lauren gasped, glancing up at Jo’Aquin. He’d rescued her? From the Reptiles? Was that why he was in that coffin thing with her? Judging by the open wounds on his back, he’d fought hard. She didn’t know how to process the whirlwind of emotion bubbling up inside her knowing he could have died. It didn’t make sense. He didn’t know her. Didn’t owe her anything. Why put himself in such danger? The feeling she was missing something intensified her confusion.
“That explains nothing. We don’t know who you are or where you’re from. The evidence is that you came here in a Reptilian vessel,” the leader said. “You will be questioned further to determine your honesty.”
Blood continued dripping from Jo’Aquin back to the ground. He wobbled unsteadily, before catching himself. This was just wasting time. If someone didn’t tend to his wounds, he was going to be in a bad way. A very bad way.
Motivated by a surge of anger, Lauren stepped around Jo’Aquin, “Listen here you…leaf-people. This man needs urgent medical attention. We don’t have all day to listen to you try and decide if we’re trustworthy or not. Jo’Aquin needs medical attention. He’s been attacked by the Reptiles with their poison barb
tail thingies. Now, can you point me in the way to a…doctor?” She paused for a moment. Maybe they didn’t have a doctor. They looked to be pretty primitive with their clothing and bows and arrows. Definitely no technology. “Or a hospital? A village, maybe?” Lauren crossed her fingers. Please don’t say witch-doctor, please, please, please, “Or, at the very least, provide some help while we discuss this?”
Jo’Aquin went to push her behind the protective wall of his body again, but she stepped out of his reach putting her hands on her hips and stepping toward the man who spoke to them, “Enough of this! Can’t you see this man is hurt?”
The leader regarded her for several long moments. “I haven’t seen a human in the flesh that was alive before. I wonder…”
He moved towards her. Lauren squeaked and returned to the shelter behind Jo’Aquin’s back. Why she thought it was an inexplicable safe place with all the menace going on, she didn’t know.
The leader lunged for her. She jumped away. Jo’Aquin positioned his big body between her and the man. She held onto his waist, peering around his shoulder. “Do not touch her. She is scared.”
The men tensed at a gesture from the leader and started tightening the circle around them, clearly trapping them inside a barrier of leaf-people.
“As a Commander for the Galactic Federation, I urge you to stand down,” Jo’Aquin said.
“There are no Galactic Federation rules here, Commander,” the leader said.
One of the men darted towards Lauren. Before she could move, Jo’Aquin’s fist snapped into the man’s jaw with a sick crunching sound. The man’s head jerked back, and he fell to the ground, where he lay motionless. Lauren tensed, her trembling hands rising to her mouth.
JoAquin: An Alien Abduction Paranormal Romance (A Hexonian Alien Abduction Romance Book 1) Page 3