by Starr, Maia
Then he suddenly stopped. He stopped kissing me abruptly. His head shot up. Did he realize his mistake?
“I'm sorry, I didn't—”
“Shh... Did you hear that?”
I suddenly became tense. He didn't stop kissing me because he had made a mistake; he stopped kissing me because he heard something outside. I grew increasingly scared and worried. There was a loud hissing sound. He scrambled to his knees and grabbed his blaster gun and aimed it at the entrance. Suddenly opened. Claw-like nails ripped at it. I screamed. He shot his blaster gun; it fell away. There was silence. Then the entire tent came down on top of us.
“Ah! Ayre!” I screamed. I was frantic and terrified. I couldn’t see anything. I could hear hissing. I could hear the sound of claws scraping against the salt ground, running.
“Karina!” he shouted.
Then I was suddenly freed of the fabric. I was yanked to my feet by strong arms; I knew instantly that they were not Commander Ayre's hands. I screamed as I looked into the face of my captors. There was a creature standing in front of me holding me with one set of four hands coming off of its body. The head was snake-like, like a cobra. A tongue slithered in and out. There were ten of them around us; they all seemed to be speaking this strange language. I looked around and saw Commander Ayre being held down by three of them. He was struggling and fighting them. My heart fell to my stomach. Now I would never see Imuna; these creatures were definitely going to kill us.
“Manha, what do I do?”
“Nothing; don't fight them. They might hurt you.”
“What are they? What did they want?”
“I don’t know. I have never seen anything like them. I don’t speak their tongue. If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it already. Just don’t give them a reason to hurt you, promise me,” he said.
“I promise.”
Then the snakemen began to speak louder to each other. Suddenly they began to move. The one that held me yanked me hard as he began to walk, forcing me to follow. His hand squeezed my arm; it hurt. I looked over and locked eyes with Manha; it was the only thing keeping me from freaking out. Yes, I was a trained warrior, and I had even taken on General Mez, but this had me terrified. The long claws on their fingertips look like they could rip me open with one slash. I didn't have a weapon. I didn't have a sword or a blaster gun. I knew that my fist and kicking would not be a match for these creatures. I had to keep my wits about me. I would do as Manha said: stay calm and do what the snakemen wanted. They moved us away from our small camp, and in the opposite direction of the jungle. We didn't know where they were taking us, only that when we got there it was possible that they would kill us then. I was terrified. But through this long walk through the night, I looked up at the massive blue moon. It was beautiful. It reminded me that there was an entire galaxy out there, and this was just a small moment in that galaxy. At that moment, I thought about the kiss I shared with Manha. If we had not been so rudely interrupted, I wondered how far I would have let him go. It was possible that at this moment he would be inside of me. Perhaps it was best that we were captured. At least it kept me from making a very stupid mistake. One that I would deeply regret for the rest of my life. We continued walking; it was then that I saw a massive wall in the darkness; that was where they were taking us. We could see a dark cave-like opening. I looked over at Manha; he was looking at the opening as well. It seemed that these snakemen were cave dwellers… just great.
Chapter Seven
Commander Manha Ayre
I was pissed off. I was filled with rage. These snakemen didn't know what they had coming to them. I would kill them all for hurting her. The way she looked terrified in the dark of the night made me even angrier. No one was going to touch her like that. These filthy creatures seemed to be all muscle and no intelligence. I would overtake them; I just needed time to figure out how. What pissed me off even more was that they had interrupted us, a moment of desire. I was about to satisfy the hunger that had been growing inside of me since I had first set eyes on the human. Then to be so rudely interrupted by these snakes. The anger was overflowing inside of me, and that was good because I was going to need it. I was going to need that energy to help us get away from them.
As soon as I saw the giant rock wall and the entrance to a cave, I knew what these creatures were. I didn't know what they were called, or where they came from, but I knew that they were cave dwellers. Cave dwellers meant one thing: they were sensitive to light. This was probably why they were out at night. I should have been more careful. I didn't understand what the snakemen were saying to each other, but they definitely had a language.
I could see Karina being pulled in front of me by one of the snakemen by the forearms. She was doing as I had said, just going along with it. We entered the cave. It was so black, I couldn't see anything, I couldn't even see Karina in front of me anymore. It would take some time to let my eyes adjust to the darkness, but it was just so damn dark.
“Manha…” Her voice was a weak whisper trembling with fear.
“I am still here. It is all right. But that is good we can hear each other,” I said.
“What do we do?”
“Wait for my signal, then run as hard as you can toward the entrance. I will be right behind you,” I said. Hearing her voice made me ache somewhere deep inside. I didn't know why exactly. She had grown on me. It was no longer just my mission to get her to Evex Ein; it was more than a mission. I had to keep her safe because I wanted to, not because it was my orders. I felt that deep inside of me. I knew that something had changed since the moment I first took her from the ship of General Mez. I didn't like the idea of her being held by one of these snakemen, their clawed hands around her arm. I had to get us out of there. I had to get her out of there.
“I can feel them loosening the grip. He is letting go,” she said calmly.
“They are sensitive to light. Do you have one?” I asked her.
“Yes.”
“Wait until I turn on mine and come toward it,” I said.
Just as I said it, one of the snakemen let go of my right arm. In the darkness, I slowly moved to my tool belt around my waist. I slowly opened a compartment and pulled out a high beamed flashlight. I turned it on. I turned it on directly in the face of the one that still held me. It let out a high-pitched screech and ran from me, letting me go.
“Now, Karina. Now, and come towards me,” I said.
Just then I saw a second light turned on. I was moving the light around me pushing off the snakemen coming toward me as though it was a sword instead of a light. They screeched and moved back. I could see her light doing the same thing as she came toward me. She reached her hand out for me, and I grabbed her hand in mine.
“Get back to back with me,” I said maneuvering myself against her until I felt her back against mine. I held on to her hand with one hand and the flashlight with the other; we both created a circle of light around us, moving from left to right with our backs to each other.
“Step toward the entrance,” I said. “Slowly. If we rush, we could drop the lights.”
“Okay. I got it. Okay…” she said in a shaking voice.
Soon we found ourselves at the entrance. We backed out of it, pushing the light inside the entrance. The snakemen stayed far away from it. We couldn't see any of them anymore as they had retreated deeper into the caves, afraid of the light.
“What now?”
“Give me your light,” I said.
She handed me her light. I handed her mine to continue to shine on the entrance of the cave. I looked around on the ground and found two large rocks. We stepped a few yards in front of the entrance. I set down her flashlight between two rocks aiming it at the entrance. It was far enough away so that they couldn't easily knock it over. They would have to venture out very far in order to do it.
“How long will this charge last on this light?”
“Ten hours,” she said.
“Good, hopefully the sun will be up b
y then.”
“Now, let's get out of here.” I grabbed the flashlight from her, aiming it at the entrance until we were completely out of sight. I grabbed her hand and ran for it. I kept my flashlight on for some time; it was risky. It would keep the snakemen away that weren't inside the cave, but it was alerting other creatures to our presence. It was a chance I was willing to take. We ran hard and fast. I took smaller strides so that Karina could keep up with me. I was relieved that she was freed from those snakes. It was a very big sense of relief.
“Where can we go? They will track us,” she said breathlessly.
She was right. We had to throw them off our trail. It was then that I heard the sound of rushing water. I led her toward it. Soon we were at the banks of a small stream.
“I am not going in there. Remember what was in the lake?” she said.
“Yes, but it is the only way to throw them off our tracks.” I shined the light in the water, looking at it. It seemed to be crystal clear in the salt flats. It was only about knee deep.
“Here, hold the flashlight.”
I gave her the light. She held it, and then I scooped her up into my arms.
“What are you doing?”
“Shine the light down at my feet, in front of us. So I can see where I am going. We only need to go about half a mile down this thing. Look, you can still see the lights from the village. We must head in that direction.”
Then, I entered the water. It was nice and cool. She shined the light in front of me. We stayed quiet as I walked quickly, taking very large strides, trying to put distance between us and the snakes. I walked for half an hour in the water until I felt that there was enough distance. Then I climbed out of the stream on the opposite bank from when I had entered. I set her down on her feet. I grabbed the flashlight from her and scanned the area. There was a structure far off in the distance.
“Thank you, Manha.”
I looked at her surprised. That was the first word of gratitude that she had given me for anything that I had done for her.
“You are welcome.”
I turned off the light. We wouldn't be needing it now; it would only alert others to our presence, and from this distance, the snakemen could see it. I grabbed her hand and led her toward the structure that I saw far away.
“We need to hide. Come with me. There seems to be some sort of structure.”
“We've been running for so long, you must be tired. You carried me all that way,” she said walking alongside me as I held her hand. Guiding her.
“I am a soldier. I can handle it,” I said.
“I am glad that you can. What were those things? They were terrifying.”
“Yes, they were. I don't know what they were. I have never seen anything like them or heard about them. But it seems that they are just brute creatures, not very smart. I am glad for that. And glad that they live in the dark so that I could use the light.”
“Yes, that was quick thinking.”
We walked in silence for a little longer. Finally, we came to the structure that I had seen. I was surprised to see that it was a ship, but it had been crashed many years before. There were shrubs growing around it.
“Let me check it out.”
I yanked open the door. I didn’t think it had been opened since whoever abandoned it left years before. I went inside shining the flashlight around it. There was nothing inside, but it would provide shelter for the rest of the night. I turned off the flashlight.
“It is safe. Come in.”
She crawled into the ship. I closed the door behind her. We both sat down on the ground.
“What if they find us? What if they come back?”
“I am going to stay awake. If I hear them, then we will do the same escape. Flashlight to the face and run. But I don't think they will find us. The majority of them will not come out of that cave until that light goes off. A ten-hour charge is plenty of time from now.”
“You’re going to stay awake?” she asked crossing her arms and rubbing them up and down her arms. I realized she wasn’t wearing her sweater because we had been taken. All our supplies and her sweater were back in that tent.
“Yes, I am. I will stay awake and keep watch. How is your arm? Did it hurt you? Cut you?” I asked.
“No. Not cut, but I think bruised. I will see in the morning,” she said.
“Lay down. Get some sleep,” I said.
“I am not sleepy just yet. I can stay awake a while longer. Too much adrenaline, I think,” she said.
“Yes, me too,” I said looking at her.
Then, all of a sudden, she kissed me. I was completely surprised. I wasn't expecting it. Maybe it was the adrenaline that was pushing her to do it. I wasn't going to argue against it, however. I kissed her back. I put my hands on her shoulders, partly because I wanted to touch her but also to warm her up. I was hotter than she was and my body heat could keep her warm if she would allow it.
She put her hands on my chest and pressed her body against mine. I kissed her harder. My cock grew hard. I hoped that we would not be interrupted again, because I didn't think that I could hold back this time. I wanted this human female; I wanted her badly. Her soft tongue rolled around mine. Her moaning was driving me crazy. Her hands were rubbing all over my chest and turning me on. There was going to be no stopping me.
Chapter Eight
Karina Nolin
The snakemen were the worst creatures I had ever seen. In truth, this is what I thought the Ition would look like because the Ition had such a ruthless reputation for invading and conquering. These snakemen scared me to death. I had never been so scared of anything in my life, not even facing down General Mez. There was something about these creatures that bothered me; you couldn't talk to them. You couldn't use logic to escape. They were basic creatures, and that is what scared me the most. But hearing Manha's voice in the dark of that cave reassured me that I wasn't alone. It let me know that he was still there, that he was still going to find a way to protect me. It changed the way I looked at him. I didn't know what was happening, but something was changing between us.
Now, as we settled into the safety of the abandoned ship, I couldn't help myself. His words touched me. He said that he would stay awake and keep watch. Just so that I could rest and sleep. His touching words, mixed with the adrenaline of being chased, captured, brought something out in me. As he sat in front of me with a dark strand of hair crossing his brow, looking strong and sexy; he was my rescuer. It turned me on. I was aroused. At that moment, I couldn't help myself. I had to kiss him. And I did.
Feeling his heated body was comfortable. It was my own personal heater. I was indulging in the heat and the passion that I was getting from him. I knew that I wanted him. I knew that it was wrong, but I didn’t care. The throbbing between my thighs was growing stronger, and I wanted nothing more than to let my hands touch his blue skin. Feeling his chiseled form under my fingertips was turning me on, but I knew that what turned me on the most was the feeling of safety with this soldier. He was strong. He was smart. He had shown time and again that he would risk it all to save me, to rescue me. That was a turn on. I had never had anyone take care of me like that before, and it was the biggest aphrodisiac of all.
“Mmm, Karina. You feel so good in my hands,” he moaned as I kissed him.
“You feel good too, Manha,” I whimpered. Then I did something surprising. I pressed on his chest and climbed on top of him. I straddled him. I wanted to feel the hardness of his cock underneath me. And I did. As soon as I sat on him, I felt the long hard staff under his gray uniform. I gasped in shock at just how big and hard it felt underneath my ass. It made me kiss him harder. Then the Ition soldier put his hands underneath my bottom and rubbed his hands up and down. I moaned, feeling so turned on. I wanted more. I wanted to know what it would be like to have that hard cock inside of me. It was a thought I never thought would cross my mind, and now it was all that I could think of. He possessed my mind and my body, at least for this moment.
The more his hand rubbed my center, the more turned on I became. I felt the moisture gathering between my thighs, eager and ready for his massive cock. Then he moved his hands away and moved them over my breasts. They ached for his touch too. I moaned as he massaged and kneaded them. I was going wild with pleasure, rubbing my body against his. I was rubbing my sweet center against his waist, up and down, grinding on him. This hard alien between my legs was driving me completely wild with desire.