Madness Unbalanced

by ML Guida

  His heart beat wildly and air sucked out of his lungs. His eyes fluttered shut, and he whizzed toward an orange and blue planet, powerless to stop falling or protect his mate.

  7

  Chloe slammed onto the grassy ground, knocking the wind out of her. Her hair tumbled onto her face. Her thundering heart threatened to jump out of her back. God, she was on an alien planet. Her thoughts were scrambled.

  She hyperventilated. Calm down. Calm down.

  She inhaled sweet and spicy smells and the air was cool. A breeze brushed over her and she shivered. Crap, she was still wearing her white shirt over her swimsuit. She’d been so busy tending Drake’s wound that she’d never gotten to change. Great, she got to go to war in a one piece. But at least, she still had on her rugged sandals. If she’d been wearing flip-flops, she’d really be in trouble.

  She lifted her head up and scanned her new environment. As far as she could tell, she was in a meadow on thick purple grass. Pink, red, and yellow trees surrounded the meadow. At least the sky was blue, but there were two suns and one moon. This was too much.

  She dropped back down onto the soft grass and clasped it tight, trying to hold onto her sanity. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing this all a wacky dream. The last twenty-fours had definitely skinned off her reality. First, she was kidnapped, not by a human, but by a silver dragon. Next, she was flying through outer space and now, she was on a Dr. Seuss planet forced into some kind of death-match, wearing a one-piece.

  Something landed a few feet from her with a loud thud. She jumped and scooted away on her hands and knees, terrified it could be one of the three-eyed Kamtrinians that reminded her of evil mannequins.

  “Chloe?”

  She stopped and turned around.

  Drake was slowly sitting up. His hair was hanging in front of his face, and his breathing was ragged. He only had on his trousers and a pair of shoes. Her gaze was quickly drawn to his injuries, but she didn’t detect any drops of blood. At least the stitches and bandages appeared to be intact after his fall. “Are you injured?”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t…think so.”

  He rolled onto his feet and swayed. He took a step toward her and grimaced.

  She pushed herself off the grass and walked over to him. “Your hip is bothering you?”

  “Yeah.” He scanned the clearing and narrowed his eyes. “We need to move.”

  “And go where?”

  He stretched out his hand. She hesitated, but then clasped her hand around his rough one. “We have to search for weapons.”

  “You think there’s a weapon factory on this planet? As far as I can tell, it’s a jungle.” She frowned. “What planet are we on anyway?”

  He shrugged. “Damned if I know. We could be anywhere.” He pulled her closer then rested his large hands on her slender shoulders. “Listen to me carefully, Chloe. Somehow the Seps are preventing me from transforming into a dragon. If I can’t transform, then I’m no match for a Kamtrinian.”

  Her knees went weak and wobbled. Goosebumps broke out across her arms. “Because you’re wounded?”

  “No, they’re stronger than us. Kamtrinians are not carbon entities. Their genetic make-up is based on calcite, which is like your marble on Earth.”

  “We have to defeat aliens made out of rock. How is that possible? What are we going to do?” She gasped for breath as if the atmosphere had just gotten thinner. Her vision turned into a tunnel.

  “Chloe, Chloe. Stay with me. You’re turning white. Look at me.” He gently patted her cheeks. “Come on, don’t pass out on me.”

  Drake’s handsome face went in and out of focus. Chloe held up her hand. “Just give me a minute.” She bent over, put her hands on her knees, and concentrated on breathing.

  “Do you feel better?” Drake rubbed her back. He was being amazingly patient, which wasn’t his style.

  The ground stopped being blurry and her lungs stopped acting like they were starved. She stood up and met his serious gaze.

  “Are you ready?” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Not really. I don’t see how we can destroy aliens made out of rock.”

  “We don’t have much choice. Kamtrinians are not invulnerable. They’re just harder to kill.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “And how do you suppose we damage a rock?”

  “You’ll have to trust me.”

  She frowned. He seemed like he was holding his breath, but she wasn’t ready to jump and down for the Drake team just yet.

  His shoulders slumped when she didn’t answer. She shivered again and goosebumps broke out all over her.

  “You’re cold?”

  “I’m only wearing a white shirt and swimsuit. What do you think?”

  He winced.

  She wrapped her arms tighter around her mid-section to try and stay warm.

  “I wish I had a shirt to give you.” He looked up at the suns that were sinking toward rugged looking mountains. “It’s going to be dark soon. To stay warm, we’ll have to use body warmth.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Chloe, close body contact is the best way to stay warm. I’m not sure if we should start a fire until we know the lay of the land.” He scowled. “Unless you have a better idea?”

  She sighed. Yup, her angry dragon was back. “No, I don’t.” She lifted her hand. “Lead the way.”

  He clasped her hand firmly, not allowing her a chance to jerk back. “Come on. The Sep said there would be weapons. We have to find them before the Kamtrinians do.”

  He headed toward the thick jungle with bright colors that looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie. She just prayed there wasn’t anything in there that thought humans were a tasty snack.

  When they entered the jungle, she tightened her grip on his hand, too scared to let go. Drake was a big man, taller and more muscular than most men on Earth, but the Kamtrinian had looked at least a foot taller than him. And the Kamtrinian wasn’t wounded. Drake was walking at a slow pace and limping. In hand-to-hand combat, he’d have a devil-of-a-time defeating a marble statue.

  Once inside the lush jungle, the heat turned up. The colorful leaves blocked out the sun and trapped the warmth and humidity inside the lush bush. Sweat trickled down her back and down her chest. A mist hung in the forest, dampening her skin.

  What looked like birds flew overhead and chirped, but these creatures didn’t have feathers. It looked as if their wings were made of skin, but they were colorful and they sang like the birds back home. Other creatures made strange noises.

  Eeck. Eeck. Eeck.

  They must be like crickets or something.

  A creature bounced around in the trees screaming, and it reminded her of monkeys, but this thing was completely hairless and blue. It stared at them with huge orange eyes.

  The Seps said there would be weapons on this planet strong enough to defeat each other, but as far as she was concerned, the Kamtrinians had the upper hand. Unless phasers or guns or torpedoes dropped out of the sky, both her and Drake were totally screwed.

  Her sandals were sinking into the jungle floor and mud seeped in between her toes. “Where are we doing?”

  “We need to find shelter, water, and food. Those are our priorities right now.”

  As if forgotten, her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in the last eleven hours. But this was a foreign planet. How would they know what to eat and what not to eat? They could bite into a poisonous planet and immediately die. Damn it, she didn’t want to be here. Camping had never been high on her to do list, especially an alien planet filled with God knows what.

  He stopped.

  “What?”

  “Quiet,” he snapped.

  Her senses went on red-alert and she scanned the thick jungle. Vines hung down and branches overlapped each other so it was hard for her to see anything two feet in front of her.

  “Get down.” His urgent voice sent chills down her back.

  She immediately kne
lt on to her knees and edged closer to him.

  “Stay still.”

  She nodded silently. However, her heart didn’t get the message to be quiet, and it pounded so hard she was sure whatever was out there would hear.

  Drake released her hands and moved around a bush. He looked over at her and put his finger up to his mouth. He disappeared around a thick bush, leaving her alone. Her lungs shriveled up again and she couldn’t breathe. Adrenaline spiked through Chloe like a lightning bolt. He left her! He left her! How could he do this?

  She turned around on her knees, twigs and rocks scratching her flesh. She still couldn’t hear anything. Anything. Not Drake’s movement. Footsteps. The eecks stopped. The blue-monkey thing ceased screaming. Everything went completely still except for her thundering heart.

  Oh, God. This was bad. Really bad.

  Something rustled behind her. Vines and branches were moving. Heavy footsteps were getting louder and louder. She crawled closer to a flower bush, trying to hide behind it, but thorns stabbed her flesh. She crouched lower to the ground.

  A slender white hand pulled back a branch, then the tall male Kamtrinian appeared. His three eyes reflected the jungle vegetation, reminding her of spiders. “They went this way.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Hurry, Ifea.”

  “Are you sure?” Ifea stood next to him. She was at least five inches shorter than him and had ruby red lips which were a sharp contrast to her alabaster skin.

  “Yes.” The male pointed toward the ground. “One of them is hurt. It’s the male. He’s limping, and it gives us an advantage.”

  “But what if the Sep is wrong and he can still transform into a dragon?”

  Tingles swept up her fingers. No. No. No. She went limp. She rose from out of her body that laid motionless on the muddy floor and hurled toward the male Kamtrinian.

  She descended into him like she would a human, but this was different. His body was hard and smooth, and she was squished tight. Like with humans, his soul was shoved back into his mind and she could peer out of his eyes.

  He looked down at the muddy footprints and crushed leaves as if looking for clues. He examined a broken branch and smugness swelled inside him–then evil. Evil, horrible plans of ripping Drake and her to pieces flashed in his mind.

  Just as suddenly that she went inside, she swooshed out of his body into hers.

  Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.

  Her heart was in overdrive and she’d thought she’d start bouncing up and down like a jack hammer. He was a hunter and would definitely find her if she didn’t hide under the thorny bush.

  Where the hell was Drake? Damn, him. How dare he leave her alone to be ripped in two by an alien!

  She gritted her teeth and forced herself to hide under the bush. Thorns tangled into her hair, tore her shirt, and ripped her flesh. Tears formed on the back of her eyelids, but she refused to cry. A sob might draw attention of the two creatures. She’d no idea their hearing ability. Maybe they had super hearing or super smell.

  She turned her head and clenched her fists tight, waiting to be ripped apart. A loud thundering made her open her eyes. The ground rumbled as if angry. She froze at the sound of breaking branches, twigs, and screeching animals.

  “Move!” The male Kamtrinian yelled.

  She turned her head and gasped. A huge boulder like the one in the Raiders of the Lost Arc rolled through the jungle, crashing everything in its path, chasing the Kamtrinians.

  “Chloe, Chloe, where are you?”

  “Drake?”

  She crawled out from underneath the thorny bush. A strong hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her out hard. Thorns ripped her flesh and clothes.

  “Drake–”

  “We have to move now!” He dragged her through the jungle. Leaves and twigs slapping her.

  Pain throbbed through her and she tried not to cry. “What happened?”

  “The Seps were right. I spotted a boulder up on a hill and used a log to roll it down on the path that the Kamtrinians were tracking us on.”

  She dug her heels into the mud and yanked on her arm hard. “Let go of me.”

  “Chloe, we don’t have time to argue.”

  She beat on his steel arm. Her body was hot, swore, and bleeding. “How dare you leave me there? Why didn’t you bring me with you?”

  He released her hand and she stumbled.

  He seized her shoulders. “Because the boulder was on an exposed hill. If my timing didn’t work just right, the Kamtrinians would have come after me, leaving you alone.”

  “You were trying to protect me?”

  He dropped his hands. “Yes.”

  She jammed her finger into his chest. “You need to work on your communication. Leaving me alone is totally unacceptable. Don’t do it again.”

  “Did you hear me?” He put his hands on his hips. “I was trying to protect you.”

  “I don’t care. This is not a one man show. You need to let me know what’s going on. Got it?”

  His face turned a slight shade of purple and shot missiles at her with his eyes, but he managed not to go ape shit on her.

  “Fine, I’ll work on my communication. Starting now. I found a place where we can stay.”

  “Really?” She cocked an eyebrow. “How could you do all this? You weren’t gone that long.”

  “It’s one of my gifts. Not all dragons have them. Mine is speed.”

  “Even with your hurting hip?”

  “It’s a nuisance, but I can still move. Just not like I normally do. Can we go? Before the damn Kamtrinians come back.”

  She motioned with her hand. “Won’t they just follow our trail again?”

  “Probably, but if you come with me, I’ll show you my plan.”

  She threw her hands up in the air. “Fine. Show me.”

  He led her deeper into the jungle until they came to a roaring river. A rickety rope bridge seemed to be the only way to cross. “Come on.”

  She rolled her eyes and followed him across the wobbling bridge.

  “It’s safe.” He walked across the planks that groaned underneath his feet. “Don’t worry.”

  “Yeah, right. Famous last words.” She shook her head, not believing she was about to walk across a bridge that seemed older than dirt, but her choices were slowly unraveling. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to walk across the bridge. The fast-moving angry river crashed into rocks. Droplets of water splashed onto her throbbing feet. If the river hadn’t been so angry, she’d like to have washed her wounds. But then again, she’d no idea what lived in the river. For all she knew, a dinosaur could be hiding in there.

  When she got across the river, Drake stood next to her, panting hard. His hip must be bothering him again. She wished she could ease his pain, but there was nothing she could do. He took out a sharp rock that looked like he’d whittled it down. He sliced one thick rope. The bridge creaked and tilted to the side. He cut the other bindings and the bridge crashed into the angry river.

  “It will take the Kamtrinians some time before they can cross it.” He reached for her hand, but she put both hands underneath her arm pits and gave him a superior look.

  He sighed and kicked a rock. “Follow me.” His quiet voice echoed with disappointment.

  She put her hands behind her back. She wasn’t ready to play Camp Fire girl with him yet. He’d done one too many things that put her in jeopardy of becoming the Kamtrinian’s first victim.

  He led her deeper into the jungle. The thumping of water mimicked the sound of her heart. Mist sprayed around her face. The painful scratches and stabs on her back, arms, and legs throbbed. All she wanted to do was rest, but Drake hadn’t slowed his pace. Even with a limp, he was much faster than her.

  He pulled back some thick vines and branches to reveal a dark path. The overhead trees blanketed it and the stones were wet, which were probably treacherous. She didn’t want to twist or sprain her ankle, not with the psycho couple after them.

  He gestured for her to m
ove. “After you.”

  She furrowed her brows. “Is it safe?”

  He shrugged. “Safer than out here.”

  She glanced at his frozen face that didn’t give her a hint of what his plan was, but she was too tired to argue. She’d no idea where this led to, but her options weren’t many. Maybe if they could ditch the Kamtrinians, she could rest and they could come up with a better plan to defeat them.

  She carefully walked across the slippery path. Drake followed behind. He held a branch in his hand and he walked backward, brushing any trace of their footsteps away. He was smart. She had to give him that, but as far as she was concerned, he was a lousy kidnapper.

  The path led behind a waterfall and into a dark cave. Mist swirled around, and she shivered. She hesitated as she walked inside, because caves were not usually empty.

  “It’s safe. I promise.” Drake brushed passed her with his branch. “I’ll make a fire for you, but we need to go deeper into the cave.”

  She reluctantly followed him, rubbing her arms, trying to stay warm, but she was done being with the meek little captive and she wanted answers. Like why the hell had he taken her in the first place?

  Drake led her deeper into the cave. The light grew dimmer and dimmer. He led her around corners then up and down a tunnel. The outline of his muscular body was in front of her, but with his long legs, she had to hurry to catch up with him. She didn’t want to get lost in here.

  Darkness covered his body and the only the sound of his heavy footsteps showed her which way to go.

  “Drake?”

  “I’m here. I won’t leave you. It’s just a few more feet.”

  She blinked twice and then openly stared. She gasped. “Oh, my God. This place is beautiful.”

  He smiled and puffed out his chest. “I thought so.”

  A stream of white light pierced the blackness. Drake stopped and put his hand on his lower back, then maneuvered her into a huge cavern. Light came down from a small hole that provided enough illumination for her to admire the stalagmites that hung down from the ceiling and reflected off a pool.