by Ashley West
He needed to get her somewhere that she couldn't just walk away from him. Following her wouldn't look good, and if other people were around, then it would just be worse. So somewhere remote, where there wouldn't be an audience.
Kal looked around the house. Aside from Liz down the hill and a house that looked like it might be abandoned about a half mile to the east, this place was pretty secluded. If he waited until it was dark, not even Liz would notice him bringing someone back, and Haven probably wouldn't just walk away from him in the middle of the night in a place she didn't know.
But how to get her to go with him in the first place? He drummed his fingers on the table, thinking hard.
The Hakkan didn't face much opposition from wildlife as they dug deep tunnels and mined them, but there were always Garrups and Kulaias about, huge creatures, the first covered in fur, the second in a waxy layer of blubber, that stalked the cold recesses and sometimes brought down people who wandered too far off. The Hakkan didn't like killing them, since there weren't that many left to begin with, so they had tranquilizer darts that knocked them out until the warriors or miners were done with their business in that area. The creatures woke up none the worse for wear, and went on about their business.
It felt...wrong to consider doing something like that to Haven, but... But it was important. Once he explained everything, she would see.
Plan in place, he went to bed that night, pleased with himself. By the time he had to check in with the queen again, he'd have plenty to tell her about how things were going.
The next morning, he headed down to Liz's place and asked to borrow her car. Driving a human contraption couldn't be too much harder than the transport they used on Horu, and at least the streets here weren't covered with ice.
Liz seemed only too happy to help, and Kal made his slow way to the city proper, parking a bit away from the coffee shop to watch and wait.
It took hours, but eventually Haven showed up. She was walking quickly, her hair in a long braid down her back. Kallel couldn't help but stare. It was irrelevant to the mission, but she was so pretty. Not as short as he'd expected a human to be, well defined features, and she had a softness about her that made Kal's palms tingle. She smiled at someone as she ducked into the shop, and the sight of it made him sigh softly.
"Stick to the plan," he muttered to himself, and he was glad that it started to get dark around him before Haven looked like she was going to leave.
Using the small bit of stealth afforded to someone as tall and bulky as he was, he slipped out of the car and around to the alley in the back of the shop to wait there. His heart pounded in his chest, and he held the dart in his hand, going over the plan over and over again in his head.
Get her with the dart, get her into the car, get her home, and then explain everything.
It was his mantra as he listened, waiting.
"I'm just going to dump these bags in the dumpster and then I'll head out," Haven was saying as she swung open the back door. "What? No, not until Sunday. It's March, Sheila, you know what that means."
Kal tilted his head to the side. He didn't know what that meant.
She laughed, and it was a nice sound. Footsteps echoed on the hard pavement, and he waited for Haven to swing the bags into the dumpster before he struck.
One hand grabbed her arm gently, and she whipped around, eyes wide. Before she could even open her mouth good, the dart came up and got her in the other arm, and in a matter of seconds she was sagging.
"Wha..." she said, blinking as the tranquilizer took effect. "What're you..."
"It's okay," Kal said soothingly. "It's okay, I promise."
He murmured it over and over again as she went out cold, and he braced her body against his. She was soft and warm and smelled lightly of something sharp and sweet. There was a part of him that wanted to bury his face in her hair and seek out more of that scent, but he knew enough to know that would be crossing the boundaries of what was acceptable, so he kept himself in check. The important thing now was to get her to the car without causing a fuss.
This was where being well over a foot taller than her and much stronger was going to come in handy.
Kal got her onto his back, holding under her thighs with his hands, torso tilted forward slightly to keep her from falling backwards. Hopefully it would just look like he was giving her a ride after a long day and not toting her unconscious body back to his car for nefarious purposes.
Back on Horu people would have asked what was going on, but no one here seemed to care. Several people glanced at them, but aside from perhaps a slight curiosity in their eyes, they did nothing to try to find out what was happening.
Humans were strange and self-centered creatures, Kallel was coming to learn, but at least this worked in his favor.
It wasn't hard to get her into the car and buckled in. Harder was navigating the small vehicle back to the house, since he gathered that he was meant to stay on the streets where vehicles were going in the same direction he was and not just retrace the way he'd come in the other direction.
Well, they said you learned something new every day.
Kal got Haven back to the house and then inside, laying her out on the couch with a blanket over her. He did the usual checks to make sure her breathing was steady and that she didn't seem to be in distress, and when it all checked out, he went to make something to eat.
She would probably be hungry when she woke up, and maybe a peace offering would help. Honestly he couldn't judge what her reaction was going to be when she woke up, he was just hoping to the stars that it would be good. All there was to do was wait for her to wake.
Kal had never been good at waiting. Impatience was in his blood, his mother had often joked, and he still didn't know which of his parents she'd been talking about when she said it. Either way, he didn't want to be just sitting around while he could be getting information out of Haven and securing her help.
Maybe he'd given her too much tranquilizer? He'd scaled the portion way back from what they'd give an animal, since humans were much smaller and leaner. It was even less than the dosage they'd give to a fellow Hakkan, for the same reasons. A Hakkan child could wake up in an hour from the dose he'd given Haven, and the longer she slept, the more he worried he'd done something wrong.
If there was one thing he hated, it was doubting himself. He was a Hakkan warrior, and this wasn't beyond him. Kal let out a breath and firmed his resolve.
It would be fine.
Another hour passed. Kal paced the room. Why didn't they make some kind of antidote to the tranquilizer? Why wasn't there some fail safe in place? This was-
His thoughts were cut off by the sound of a low groan from the couch, and his eyes widened. He hurried over to kneel down beside it, watching as Haven stirred. Her face was scrunched up, and she rubbed at her eyes, arching her body in a stretch that Kal couldn't help but watch. She was so beautiful.
When she opened her eyes, she looked first at him and then at the room around her and then back at him. For a long moment she didn't say anything, just blinking slowly, and then she screamed.
Kallel yelled in response, leaning back. "What?" he asked quickly. "What is it? Are you hurt?" He reached for her, and she slapped his hand away angrily.
"What's going on?" she demanded. "Why are you here? What-" Haven looked around again. "This isn't my house. Where am I!?"
She sounded nearly hysterical, and Kallel winced. "You're at my house," he tried to explain, but his words were cut off when she slapped him in the face this time.
It didn’t hurt all that much, but still he blinked and frowned at her. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" she fired back, anger and something that might have been fear flashing in her eyes. "You kidnapped me!"
"No, I didn't!"
"Yes you did! That's what it's called when you take someone against their will, you moron! And I definitely didn't want to be here in your house with you breathing over me!" Her chest rose and fell
rapidly, and she put her hands over her face. "Oh, god," she breathed. "Oh god."
"Haven. Please calm down," Kallel said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. Just...please." He reached out again, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" Haven cried, flinching back. "What do you want?"
Kal sighed and decided this might go better if he were further away. He retreated to a chair on the other side of the room. "I just want to talk to you, Haven. Please. I really...I need your help. I was trying to explain that to you before, but you wouldn't listen, so I..." When he said it out loud now, it sounded kind of stupid, Kal could admit that. But it was too late now. The plan had worked in as far as it had gotten her here, and maybe she'd be willing to listen.
He let her have several moments of silence, as it seemed she was trying to collect herself, taking deep breaths. Finally she looked up at him, eyes boring right through him.
"What do you want?" she said again.
"To talk," he said quickly. "Just to talk, that's all. If I thought you would have come with me, I wouldn't have..." He trailed off at her narrow eyed glare and then cleared his throat. "Right. Okay. My name is Kallel." Introductions seemed a good enough place to start. "I'm from...well, a place far away from here. I've come to help with the Alva problem your people are still having."
For a long moment she didn't say anything, and Kal wondered if she even knew what he was talking about. Then she got to her feet, shaking her head.
"No. Nope. No way. I am not doing this."
Kal just gaped at her.
Chapter Seven: The Start of a New Plan
The nerve. The absolute nerve of this...whatever he was. How dare he? How did he think this was a good idea? Was this how people did things on his planet? They just went around kidnapping women they wanted to talk to in the hopes that they'd give in because they were being held hostage?
Anger, fear, and disbelief were forming a rather interesting cocktail under her skin, and she wanted nothing more than to leave and run until she found her way back to the city.
Of course, she didn't know where she was at the moment, or if there were more of this Kallel's kind waiting to ambush her if she thought about leaving. She wouldn't put it past them.
Aliens. Why did everything have to be aliens these days? If it wasn't people wishing there were more, it was the hostile ones who were still hanging around causing havoc from wherever it was they were hiding.
There were stories about it on the news all the time. People still going missing, cars and houses destroyed, animals found savaged on the side of the road. They all knew who was doing it, since apparently the alien force who had come down to beat them hadn't done a good enough job of getting rid of all of them.
And now there were more. It was like it was going to be impossible for their planet to ever be free of these people from other planets, which Haven wouldn't mind if she didn't have to keep caring about it so much. Considering she had been snatched up by one (literally abducted by an alien, good grief), it was now her problem. This was exactly what she hadn't wanted.
"Who do you think you are?" she asked, arms folded. "I get that you're from another planet and humans are probably just play things to you or whatever, but really? You come here and you expect to what, use me as bait to lure out these Alva freaks? I'm a human, so I'm expendable?"
"What?" Kallel asked. "No! No, that's not it at all. Will you please just let me explain?"
She really should have just demanded to be taken home. Or at least try to make a run for it. But there was something desperate in Kallel's pale eyes, and she found herself sighing and slumping slightly. "Fine," Haven muttered. "Say what you're going to say, but you have to swear you're going to take me home afterwards."
He nodded eagerly. "Of course. I swear on my honor as a Hakkan warrior. You have my word."
Haven snorted and rolled her eyes at that. She didn't know what a Hakkan warrior was, but she wasn't going to put much stock in their 'honor'. "Go on, then," she said.
"I come from the planet Horu," Kallel told her. "Almost twenty years ago, we were attacked by the Alva. At the time, my people were not the best at defending ourselves. We would have been wiped out if not for the help of the Randoran."
Haven frowned. "That sounds familiar."
"They are the warriors who came to rid your planet of the Alva."
"Oh." She snorted. "Well, they did a bang up job."
"They did their best," Kallel retorted sharply. "Anyone else would have just ignored your pleas for help and let the Alva destroy you. But yes, there is still a problem. And so my queen has sent me."
Apparently talking badly about the Randoran wasn't a good idea. Something to remember. She eyed him up and down. Yes, he was a giant basically, and yes, he looked like he could bench press a car if push came to shove, but she didn't think he alone could take on one of those creatures. And she had no idea what he thought she could do against one.
As if sensing her thoughts, he smiled. "I'm just the first. I was sent to scout, to gather information. To explore." He seemed to take pleasure in that word. "The others will come when I call for them."
"Okay," Haven said slowly. "So where am I supposed to come in? I don't know what you think I can do against these things."
Kallel smiled wider. "A human woman helped save your planet before, you know."
She did know. A woman, someone who had been kept prisoner by the Alva, thrown in a cage no less, had joined forces with the Randoran or whatever they were called to help. "Yeah," she said. "But I don't have any information for you. I can't tell you what the Alva have been doing because I've never even seen one up close. They haven't been in Chesley. You should've gone to Valley Dale if you were looking for people to help you."
For the first time, Kallel seemed to falter. Apparently he hadn't thought about that part in this whole plan, and Haven rolled her eyes. Rookie mistake. "Have you seen a single Alva since you've been here, genius?" she asked. "Why would you think I could help you?"
"I...I just thought... The report said..."
Haven rolled her eyes. "So since it said the other guys used a human woman, you thought you had to do the same thing?" She snorted. "Oh yeah, I have so much hope for our safety now. Clearly you know exactly what you're doing here."
"I came to help," Kallel said firmly.
"And you have no idea how to even do that!" Haven fired back.
"You've been here the whole time. You...you could tell me what's been happening."
"Yeah, and so could the news. I don't know anything that every other person doesn't know. Now take me home."
His eyes were wide. "What?"
"Take. Me. Home," Haven said, voice low and dangerous. "I heard you out like I said I would, and there's nothing I can do for you. Now take me home, or I'm calling the police, and your people can find themselves another scout."
It was mostly false bravado. She had no idea if she could actually get someone from another planet arrested, but she was for sure going to try if he tried to keep her there.
Before Kallel could respond, her phone was buzzing in her pocket. She frowned. If it was just Darren calling to try to get her to come out somewhere with her, she was going to scream. Ignoring Kallel for the moment, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen. Her mother.
“This isn’t really the best time, Mom,” she said as she answered. For a moment she couldn’t hear anything, and then there was a piercing scream in the background.
“Haven?” her mother said. “Haven, there’s...oh my god.”
“Mom? Mom, what’s going on?”
It sounded like someone was destroying something made of glass in the background, things shattering and crashing and the sounds of people running and screaming. Haven could hear her mom’s harsh breathing through the speaker, and she gripped her phone tighter.
“Haven, there’s one of those things here. It jumped through the window, and now it’s...o
h my god, it just threw a man through the ceiling. Haven, oh my god.”
Her heart kicked into high gear all over again. “Where are you?” she demanded.
“At the movie theater on Plaza. There’s three of them now. I don’t know what to do.”
“Just find somewhere safe to hide, Mom,” Haven said firmly. “Okay? Just find a place to hide. We’re going to come and get you.”
“Haven, I’m scared. You were right. You were so right. This isn’t what I wanted.”
“Mom,” Haven said again, her phone creaking in her hand from the grip she had on it. “Go hide somewhere. Be safe. We’re coming.” She disconnected the call and looked up at Kallel, who was watching her warily.
“What’s happening?” He asked.
“It’s your lucky day, Kallel,” Haven replied. “The Alva are attacking a movie theater in the city. My mom is there, and we’re going to go save her. Do you understand me?”
He frowned at her. “And you’re in charge now? A second ago you were threatening to call law enforcement if I didn’t take you home.”
“Did you not just hear me say that my mother is there?” Haven snapped. “I’m not leaving her. You don’t have to come with me, but considering this is sort of the whole reason you’re even here in the first place, it seems like it might be one of those whole two birds, one stone sort of deals.”
The frown got more pronounced. “I...have no idea what that even means,” he told her.
“It’s not important. Look, you can fight, right?”
Kallel nodded. “I’m a warrior.”
“Then get whatever weapons you need and let’s go. I’m not lingering around here while my mom is in danger. Those things will kill anyone who gets in their way.”
Finally he seemed to get with the program, and he nodded firmly before rushing off. When he came back, he was armed to the teeth and there was a glitter of determination in his eyes. “Let’s go.”