by Maia Starr
I stared at it for a moment, disgusted and in awe, before finally remembering Alice. I scrambled down from the tree, letting out a startled bellow when the branch I stepped on cracked under my weight and left me falling heavily to the ground.
I laid in the dirt, dazed, before finally struggling to my feet and running back to the area where the shelter was still ablaze.
“Alice?” I whispered, afraid of attracting any more commotion. “Alice, where are you?”
The human was suddenly clinging onto my body, her face buried into my chest. She was trembling violently, and I held her close to my body, turning her away from the gruesome sight of the Grechen’s corpse.
This was no land for humans. The Petchuvians who had deposited them here had been unthinking and cruel. If I ever made it back to my own planet, I would speak with the Federation and propose a rescue mission for the humans that had been trapped here.
But until then, I had to find a place for us to sleep for the night. The human was not safe out in the open, and despite the fire raging from the shelter I had made, there was a deep chill in the air. There was danger ever present, and until I found my crew, it was just us against the world.
***
Ever since the incident with the Grechen, the human had been withdrawn and quiet. I had seen these sorts of effects on men in battle after witnessing the horrific violence common to such situations, but because the Raithers were peaceful and kept to themselves, it was rare that we were driven to violence.
Still, it happened, and I had been trained to deal with combat as effectively as possible. The human, however, clearly had never been exposed to such a vicious attack, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It had been my fault it had happened; I had panicked and shouted her name and begun a pointless argument that had drawn the many-eyed monster right to our doorstep. It was a mistake I hoped never to repeat again.
“Sit, human. I will fetch you a meal.”
For the first time that day, Alice looked at me with wild eyes and spoke.
“No. I am not going to let you leave me alone anywhere.”
“All right,” I said, shifting uncomfortably. “You could help me then.”
She nodded, turning her gaze back toward the ground. We walked silently, following the sweet scent of fruit to the next carefully tended orchard, my mind mulling over what I might say to help the human feel better.
“I want you to hold your breath,” I said finally.
Alice looked at me dubiously. “How is that going to help us to collect fruit for lunch?”
“It’s not,” I said, raising my brow at her. “This is for something else. I’m about to tell you something that I had to teach to my crew. An exercise all Raither warriors use after a stressful attack. Are you ready?”
Alice shrugged, then gave me a reluctant nod.
“Now hold your breath. Let us count to threg.”
She inhaled deeply and watched me as I counted in my native language. “Hocha, rechu, klempa, brava, threg. Now release your breath as slowly and easily as you can, thinking only of the air as it passes through your mouth and nose.”
Alice did this, her eyes closed, and her petite brow slightly knitted as she focused.
“Repeat this three times,” I said. “I will count for you again.”
Again, Alice held her breath, listening to my voice as I counted for her. by the third time she released her breath, the knot in her brow had receded, leaving her forehead smooth and her features delicate and relaxed.
“Let’s go get something to eat now,” I said, relieved that the technique had worked.
The human looked at me, her oceanic eyes clear and pleased.
“Okay,” she said, the light-hearted smile returning to her face. “I’m hungry.”
***
“I love these ones,” Alice said, plucking a little round berry off a tree as we made our way through the foliage.
“You had best eat your fill,” I said. “It looks like we are coming upon the edge of the forest. I don’t know what we will find up ahead. It may not be quite as forthcoming with the edible plants.”
Alice frowned and took off the long-sleeved jacket she was wearing. She gathered a large amount of the berries she liked into it and bundled them up. When she was finished, she grinned.
“There. In case we don’t find anything tomorrow.”
I nodded approvingly, and we went on our way, the trees opening up and revealing a grassy plateau. The grass didn’t extend very far, however, and soon opened up into a sandy, desert-like wasteland. I exchanged a look with the human, who seemed reluctant to proceed. I, too, had a bad feeling about it. Without the proper supplies, it could mean the difference between life and death. Especially for a human, who was so pathetically reliant on water as a life source that being stuck in such an environment could easily kill her.
“Let us explore for the day, and see if there is anything to find. If these conditions are too harsh for you, then I will return back here with you and continue on alone.”
“What?” the human asked, her beautiful face alarmed. “You would just leave me here alone?”
I sighed.
“I told you already. I must find my ship. My crew could be in dire need of help, and I cannot risk losing our only way out of here.”
“Our?”
I was caught off guard by the deep, powerful emotion roiling beneath the surface of her beautiful oceanic eyes. There was something there; something that brought my insatiable desire to claim her and keep her as my own to the surface. I nearly took her right then and there; I would have if not for the discomfort of being out in the open after so long hidden in the brush of the forest. That, and she clearly despised me. She viewed me as nothing but her captor, and a despicable one at that. And yet, that look in her eyes…
“Well…if possible I will put a good word in for your group. What happened wasn’t fair. Humans should never be subjected to Hexa. This is the most dangerous of all the prison planets. If anything, you should have been deposited on Texa. That is the mildest. You would have a fighting chance there. This was pure malice on the Petchuvian’s part.”
“Or laziness,” Alice sighed.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
We continued moving slowly forward, heading into the intimidating dunes. We would have to watch our step here, as there were many alien races that lived underground and preferred areas like this to make their homes in. And the types that would probably be found living on this particular planet were bound to be excessively fierce.
“It was convenient to them. They were talking about executing us, but the commander said instead to drop us off because we were nearby. That’s how we came to be here.”
“Unbelievable,” I said. “It would take little fuel to drop you off on the proper planet! They should have known better. I will see to it that they pay.”
“If we find your ship, you mean,” Alice said dubiously. I was beginning to get the impression that she didn’t even believe there was a ship and a crew, and yet she had not dared to suggest such a thing to me. Perhaps she was afraid.
“We will find the ship. At least, whatever may be left of it. Even if that means I have to take you all the way back across the forest to deposit you with the humans so I can find them myself.”
Alice was quiet for a moment, considering this, and then looked at me, her eyes large and round.
“I don’t actually like being around the other humans all that much,” she confided. Her voice was soft and sweet, and again I had to resist the urge to claim her body as my own.
“If you do not like humans so much, then why are you mourning the Earth?” I asked. This did not make sense to me. Most races who had a hard time living among their own kind were able to be happy and find new purpose exploring new lands and making new connections. This human though seemed obsessed with returning to a planet where, apparently, she wasn’t even happy.
“I may not get along well with the people on my team,
but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love my home!” Alice exclaimed. “Would you want to live on this godforsaken planet for the rest of your life? I highly doubt that.”
“Well, I get along with the others on my planet. Have you ever considered that there are other planets out there upon which you might find happiness?”
“No, because I don’t want another planet. I want Earth. Earth is my home. I would never be happier anywhere else; I just know it. And nobody should expect me to be.”
I considered this a moment, a plan—an awful, evil, selfish plan—forming in my mind. If I could convince the human that I was going to take her to Earth, and then bring her to my home planet of Yala instead, I had a strong feeling that she would begin to understand what it was that I meant about being at home in a strange new world, and adapting to the life that suits you most.
“What if I did take you to Earth with me, human? What would you give me in return?”
It seemed extra despicable to ask her for a favor in return for my deceit, but I had to make this lie as convincing as possible. If I claimed her and brought her to my home planet, then I was sure that she was going to be able to see the beauty of it, and my claim upon her would be official. It wasn’t safe to take her here, not on this planet where anything or anyone might be lurking in the shadows and waiting for its chance to strike, but in the safety of my own home, a home I could open up to the human and share with her for the rest of our days, I would be able to make her mine.
“In return?” Alice asked, her features startled. “You mean you would be willing to take me to Earth?”
“I have considered it, yes,” I said, reluctant to lie any more than I had to. I had considered it and decided against it. But there would be no other way to get her on my ship to save her from this ghastly planet and provide her with the safety and security of a home that had been free of war and famine since its formation.
“What would you want me to do?” she asked, her eyes steady upon me. Again, I sensed the pull of that deep-seated emotion that brought back my animalistic longing for her; my need to claim her intensified.
“Perhaps something could be arranged,” I said, clearing my throat and turning away from her. “For now, let us just try to survive the night. We will see how far we can go and if there is no opportunity for food or shelter, you must return to your group. I will find you again once I have the ship ready.”
She didn’t seem to like this idea, but there was no other option. If the ship had crash-landed in this desert, it would be even harder to locate it. Sandstorms on many planets could reach winds so high that a vessel even as large as my ship could be covered in a matter of hours. And if the crew was trapped out there with no food or water, then the issue was now more time-sensitive than I had imagined.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said decidedly.
I glanced at her, amazed by the fierce look of determination on her beautiful face. If anybody would have told me that this human didn’t know how to fend for herself in the wild, I would have had a difficult time believing that.
“All right human,” I said with a slow nod. “So it is.”
Chapter 5
Dr. Alice Tanner
“How are you doing so far, human?” Kecha asked, turning to me, his handsome face creased with concern. “Humans are too frail to be stuck in this type of climate.”
“You think you know everything about humans, do you?” I asked, sizing him up. “Well, it just so happens that there are plenty of humans that thrive in desert conditions. We are resourceful and find a way.”
“All right,” he said, turning away from me. We continued on in silence as if he were insulted by my words. I had noticed that he had an abnormal body of knowledge about the creatures we had been encountering, something that, when I had mentioned it to him, he had shrugged off and attributed to an extensive education as a preventative measure to avoid war.
It seemed strange to me at the time, but it didn’t matter. Humans did a lot of research too, and felt more secure knowing that they were going to be prepared should a foreign threat from space come after us. It wasn’t surprising that other races in the universe did the same.
“Are you thirsty?” Kecha asked after another half an hour of trudging through the desert sands. I wasn’t thirsty, but my legs were aching, and the hot suns were beating down on me to the point where I felt like I was going to pass out. “Drink, human. Your system is not built for this.”
“I don’t care what you think about humans or what our systems can handle!” I exclaimed, swatting his canteen of water away and throwing myself on the ground in exhaustion. Kecha’s eyes widened, and he stood in front of me, blocking the heat of the sun from my body. He looked up at the sky above me and sighed, before offering me the canteen again.
“We are turning back.”
“No!” I shouted. I was feeling pissed off now: irrationally, irrevocably pissed. The anger was completely out of proportion to the situation, and a sudden surge of nausea overpowered me.
“Human…what is that look on your… Ew!”
Kecha stared at the puddle of vomit before him in horror, the look on his face almost comical enough to make me forget the irrational anger long enough to smile.
But before I could, I felt my body become weightless in his arms, and I was being cradled against his broad chest. I couldn’t help but think to myself just how good he smelled: a little bit like the berries and fruits we had been eating, but also with a twinge of something more. A rugged, masculine scent that aroused my senses.
My head was heavy with fog, clouded over by the crippling and sudden illness that I was suffering from. As he carried me, Kecha dumped the remaining berries from my jacket and placed it over my body to shield me from the sun. I felt better by a small amount, but when I closed my eyes, and my breathing became shallow, Kecha’s deep voice rumbled in his chest.
“Do not sleep. We must get you into the shade. When we get there, you are to drink your fill of water and rest. Do you understand me?”
I sighed, nodding weakly against his chest, and Kecha grew silent, carrying me with ease and urgency until suddenly, the atmosphere was noticeably cooler, and I took a deep breath, grateful for the moisture in the air surrounding the foliage.
“All right, human. Sit here and stay still. Drink.”
Kecha sat me against the trunk of a large white tree and gave me his canteen full of water. I drank my fill for the first time since we had departed; I hadn’t wanted to be greedy and waste water if we weren’t going to find any in the desert. But my plan had backfired, because now here we were. I was slowing him down.
“Go on ahead,” I said, thrusting the canteen back at him. “You need to take care of your crew. If they’re out there, then…”
“If they’re out there then they may be lost already,” Kecha said grimly, looking down at me with his handsome brow creased. “It would do me no good to lose you too.”
My heart filled with warmth at the sound of his words, and I looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. He was so unbelievably beautiful; a creature flawless, almost as the illustrations of magical beings I had seen during childhood were flawless. And yet there was something I just couldn’t trust. No matter how much I wanted to.
“You don’t have to do that for me,” I said, shaking my head. “I think that you should take care of yourself first and foremost. You don’t owe anything to me.”
Kecha said nothing and turned his back on me. I watched, confused, as he disappeared into the woods, only to return a short time later with a full canteen and an excessive amount of fruit.
“How did you do that so quickly?” I asked, taking the canteen he was offering to me. I waited for him to answer, taking another long drink of water.
“Actually, the Raithers can move at astonishing speeds,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s just that with a human to protect, I have slowed my pace down.”
I felt another wave of nausea strike me all of a su
dden, but this time it was caused by emotion rather than the heat. I had been holding him back all this time from finding his crew. He probably could have had half of this entire planet scoped out by now, but he had chosen instead to babysit me and see to it that I didn’t find myself in any trouble.
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” I whispered, staring at him in disbelief. “Why didn’t you just leave me where I was so you could go and find your ship? Your crew?”
Kecha was silent for a moment, his deep, mysterious eyes impossible to read. Finally, he smiled, a small but striking smile that made all of his extraordinary features light up.
“Because I will protect you,” he said simply. “And nobody else on this planet will.”
I gaped at him, unsure of what to say or how to respond to this simplistic logic, but before I could figure out what I was supposed to say that might make a difference, Kecha grinned at me again and disappeared into the forest. When he came back, he was dragging another huge palm leaf behind himself and laid it down in front of me.
“Sleep now, human. The sun took its toll on you, and it is time for your body to heal.”
I laid down automatically, unable to believe that this man had been willing to give up so much. It was almost too much for my mind to comprehend, and with the misery my body was in, it didn’t even give me the chance to try. Soon, I was lulled into a deep, restful sleep, and none of the rest of the world seemed to matter in the least.
***
“Are you all right now, human?”
The deep, gentle rumble of Kecha’s voice reverberated my body, and I closed my eyes, desperate to hang on to the soothing comfort that his presence provided me as I lingered on the edge of sleep and wakefulness.
“I do feel better,” I said finally, allowing myself to let go of the warm heat his voice elicited in my body and sitting up slowly. “Thank you.”