Devoured

by Stone, Piper

  “What’s wrong?” Sandra asked, scanning the perimeter of the jungle before turning toward me. “You are worried about whatever that thing is. Aren’t you?”

  I had the distinct feeling that thing knew we were here and would eventually begin the hunt. That certainly wasn’t going to be anything I mentioned to Ms. Scaredy Cat. “You have to remember there are various wild animals who can seem much larger than their body mass.” I crawled into the tent, wired to the hilt. I doubted sleep would come easily and not only because of the creature. What I’d discovered in the cave would keep me awake if the heat and humidity didn’t. The colorful renderings unearthed had nothing to do with the minerals touted as existing on this outpost. I’d bet my entire career on it. If I was right, we all had the right to be apprehensive of digging any deeper.

  “I don’t know,” Sandra whispered, staring out into the sky. “Did you hear the rumors about this mission? Maybe they really are true.” She settled onto her cot, immediately tugging on the hairband entangled in her long strands.

  I shot her a nasty glare before grabbing a bottle of water, my stomach churning. My instincts were all over the place, the nagging inner voice telling me we were in danger. There was no reason for my irrational fears.

  Except my gut.

  And the growl.

  And the words I could swear he wanted me to hear.

  What the hell. Why not take the bait? “Do I want to know?”

  She darted her head from right to left, obviously making certain none of the others were within earshot. “I heard this trip has nothing to do with mining and testing.”

  Tell me something I didn’t already suspect.

  When I remained silent, merely taking another gulp of water, she cleared her throat before speaking. “Aliens. Primitive aliens. Big fuckers who are nothing but... animals.”

  I could swear another howl could be heard, vibrations sending shards of electricity throughout every inch of my body.

  I choked on the cold liquid, an entire throat full exploding past my lips. I wiped my mouth, realizing my hand was shaking.

  Find me, little human. Come to me. Come to your master. It’s time.

  Time. What the hell did that mean? I brushed my hand through my hair, my right leg thrumming on the ground. I’d always been in control of every aspect of my life, but this felt as if puppet strings were being pulled. Think rationally. You’re a well-educated woman. That much was true. I’d spent years studying, taking every internship that was available, praying for an opportunity to be selected for an outpost trip. I jumped at every chance, no matter how remote the possibility of any findings. I was driven in a manner I couldn’t understand.

  As if in search of something.

  The clicking sounds of insects were playing games with me. Nothing more.

  As if there was a possibility of convincing myself.

  “What kind of crap is that?” I managed, scanning the darkness fervently. Was it possible the creature in my visions was an actual alien? Maybe the two shots of tequila hadn’t been a good idea. I vaguely remembered some ridiculous white paper Stephen had written on aliens, his belief that several species had lived on the various outposts, many extremely primitive in nature. I also remembered that his thoughts had been so well received that he’d won some kind of award.

  Jesus.

  “I’m serious. An ancient civilization of sick and twisted monsters is supposed to be buried in the mountains of this godforsaken outpost. They were carnivorous, ravenous in every way. They were so brutal that they destroyed other civilizations, taking their women. I heard they used to keep the females in cages, punishing them for the slightest infraction. They arrived here prepared to strip the Habitable Unit, only they were defeated and locked away forever. So the story goes.”

  By what, sticks and stones? Ancient weapons? “The story? Do you hear yourself about now? Sounds like a B-rated Friday night movie. Where’d you hear that garbage anyway?” Carnivorous. I couldn’t get the word out of my mind.

  “I hear things. I get around and I read, observe,” Sandra insisted.

  Why did I have the distinct feeling she was gauging my reaction?

  Yeah, she got around all right, but mostly with a half dozen geologists. I snapped off the light, pitching us into darkness. A nagging settled into my mind. I knew all about her father, the colonel having been killed in this very jungle years before. From what I’d read, he’d been assigned here by the former president of the Earth Federation to provide security for one of the many projects the outposts were responsible for.

  I’d also heard there’d been some kind of mystery surrounding his death, accusations made, and a shroud of shame placed on the rest of his family. No wonder the poor girl was grasping at straws, but believing a barbaric group of aliens had been responsible for her father’s death was a huge stretch. “Don’t go spreading that around, Sandra. I’m serious. The others will think you’re nuts. Besides, I want to get this project finished. The area might be beautiful, but I’m tired of Stephen’s nasty attitude as well as the threat of predators.”

  “Yeah, I know he’s a bear.”

  A bear. That wasn’t the word I was searching for. Why did the nagging continue? I’d never fallen into the trap that some geologists did, seeking fame and glory. Maybe I’d need to confront Stephen, making certain why we’d been brought here. If I’d been allowed to join the project with a lie, I would kick his ass.

  “What if there really are monsters? What if they know we’re here?” she asked in a small voice, her tone full of fear.

  “We’ve encountered creatures before. We have enough weapons.”

  She exhaled, the sound rattled. “Look, I didn’t want to say anything before. I wasn’t certain I could trust you.”

  “Trust me? About what?”

  “About the reports I’ve read.”

  Now I was curious. I had the distinct feeling she’d kept some things from me on purpose. “What reports? Stephen’s crap?”

  Sandra was antsy, glancing toward the door. “Not Stephen. Actual detailed facts. I know you don’t believe I know what I’m doing but my father had access to top security clearance.”

  Whatever secret project her father had been working on before his death, I doubted he’d mention it to his daughter. However, the rumors regarding this very location now piqued my curiosity given her fascinating story. “Okay. What do these reports have to do with this project?”

  “Maybe everything.” She took another gulp of water, leaning forward and lowering her voice. “If I tell you, you can’t say anything to anyone else.”

  I tilted my head, trying to curtail my frustration. Who the hell could I tell out here? “I promise. Just our secret.”

  “Okay.” She still hesitated, finally tipping her head in my direction. “Aliens were here a little over eight years ago. They are Volkodans, true warriors in every way and yes, they are extremely dominating. They take what they want, fuck who they want. That kind of thing. If you ask me, that sounds amazing.” She was actually swooning.

  “For God’s sake, Sandra. Just give the details, not the drama,” I snapped.

  “God. Fine. These aliens came from a planet called Tretonia in another galaxy. From what my father learned years ago, a single ship actually crash-landed on this outpost. They were very peaceful in nature, but the humans assigned here were certain the Volkodans were prepared to annihilate every single person.”

  “What humans?”

  She was antsier than I was, fidgeting with her hands, her foot stomping on the ground in a nervous fashion. I could even smell her fear. “People working with my father, including the former military leader and renowned scientist sent to establish this colony. I heard the man was... insane, forced to take this command because he’d spent time in a mental institution.”

  A mental institution? I glared at her, my patience wearing thin. However, she was strong in her conviction. If what she was saying was true, there was a distinct purpose why we were all here. �
�O-kay. You seem to know an awful lot about these aliens and what happened, so please, go on.” Her story was wild, but I was forced to face the fact it could have some validity.

  “The short story is that they needed help to repair their ship. The leader of the colony immediately took them into custody. My father was sent, along with dozens of highly trained soldiers to protect the colony. My father was responsible for the weeks of incarceration and questions, tests and experiments before they realized the Volkodans had been truthful.”

  “Why do I feel like this doesn’t have a good ending?” I asked under my breath.

  “Because it doesn’t. The asshole still in charge here was cruel to them even after the president herself mandated a special project, demanding fair treatment for the aliens.”

  While I was very interested, I was shocked her father had said anything about the mission, no matter that she was family. “Uh-huh. You do know one hell of a lot. What kind of special project?”

  She ignored me, lowering her head. “Breeding.”

  “Excuse me?” I coughed several times, attempting to keep from laughing.

  “In case you haven’t figured it out, Annabella, the birthrate on Earth and all of the outposts has dropped to less than five percent of the population. Five percent. Do you know what that means to our race? We could become extinct in a matter of decades.”

  I swallowed several times, an odd feeling settling in. “Okay, let’s say that’s true, and it’s a pretty tall tale, I haven’t heard of any of the outposts doing any breeding experiments. I can’t believe I’m asking this but did they work?”

  “You can’t be foolish enough to believe with all the inhabitable planets in this solar system that a project of that nature wasn’t considered,” Sandra huffed.

  “I’m not certain of anything.”

  “From what my father reported in his papers, the project failed. However, the man running the mandated mission had something else in mind, gaining the Volkodans power. While the data is limited, as you can imagine, as the story goes, the group of aliens that arrived were wined and dined, treated like kings, but then everything went wrong. Several of their people were killed. The others were imprisoned in the mountain.”

  I exhaled, realizing that Sandra believed the story. “Okay. Why were they imprisoned?”

  I could hear her deep sigh and had a feeling she was rolling her eyes. “I know it’s unfathomable, but this monster who still lives here found something important that belonged to them, reason enough to kill the majority of them, entomb the true warriors.”

  “Uh-huh.” My head hurt just trying to process the information. Just hearing the word ‘entomb’ was enough to make me sick at my stomach.

  “My father didn’t mention why they’d been imprisoned but trust me, the aliens are real and so is the information, Annabella. As you can imagine, they would be pissed right about now. Imagine if they got free. They would... destroy us.”

  I rubbed my eyes, moving the water bottle from one hand to the other. “Your father told you all this?”

  “Not exactly.” She shifted, the thin metal on the cot creaking. “I broke into his office a few years ago right before his death. I had to know if the stories were real. I overheard a conversation he had and knew that this was my ticket to national fame. My father was a fastidious man, very careful in who he associated with and the projects he worked on. Then, a few other details came out from survivors of the project, medical professionals and scientists who’d worked alongside the military right here.”

  “Survivors? Did they talk to you?”

  She laughed. “No, but someone visited my mother, I guess trying to explain what happened to my father. My mother told me this years later. Granted, she knew very little about the details in the first place and didn’t believe a word the guy had told her. My father kept his entire professional life completely secret from his family, so she had no way of knowing if the story could be true or not. I thought if I could find out the full details, maybe I could publish an article or something.”

  Now we were getting somewhere. National fame. She wanted her name in lights, responsible for discovering the Earth Federation was mandating breeding experiments.

  “But you just couldn’t let it go. Let me guess, that’s why you’re here, fame and fortune.” I didn’t have to shine the light on her face to know her eyes had lit up.

  “Imagine if we are able to locate any artifacts or data regarding this project. Do you know what that will mean to our careers? Do you understand what this would mean for all of us?”

  I had to wonder if she had any idea how crazy this sounded.

  “Just out of curiosity, did your mother get the name of this supposed survivor?” I asked, trying to keep from laughing. The story was way too farfetched.

  An audible shudder slipped up from her throat. “That’s just it. Whoever this soldier was who’d been commissioned to work on the project was killed right after he came to see my mother. I found that out when I tried to contact him. Horrible accident.”

  I allowed the story to mellow in my brain. Were red flags raised? Yes, but I continued to believe that facts would provide the truth.

  One way or the other.

  “Go to sleep. You heard the boss. You knew exactly what to expect when you signed up for this trip and it’s not about aliens, Sandra. They are a beautiful fantasy derived from fantastic writers who want to sell books. Nothing more. We need to complete our mission in order for all of us to get paid.”

  “Jesus. You’re a bitch sometimes, Annabella.”

  I was a bitch all the time, but I had my reasons.

  I heard rustling in the darkness, the cot creaking. “Just read this when you have a chance. That’s all I’m asking. I’m not crazy, Annabella. My father was murdered and I’m here to find out why, not just to further my career. I respect everything about his work and his love of the military. If something happened to him, then the man responsible for killing him is just over those mountains. I plan on confronting him before we leave.”

  I was floored by her accusations, the change in her voice. She was firmly convinced of her father’s story and nothing was going to change her mind. I grabbed the folded paper, shoving it into my back pocket. My mind was too frazzled to read anything.

  She glared at me in the darkness and I knew she expected me to jump on this grandiose tall tale, but I wasn’t in the mood to feed off her mental frenzy. I waited until she backed away, cursing as she crawled onto the cot.

  At least she rolled over, remaining quiet, but for some reason, all I could think about was her crazy story.

  And the visions.

  And the insane desire.

  My skin tingled at the thought once again, my nipples hard as rocks.

  Aliens. Creatures with bulbous green heads and fisheyes. That’s all I could imagine.

  Except for him.

  The beast who called to me. I could almost see his face and his muscular body. Another shiver curled my toes.

  I closed my eyes, trying to control my breathing. I had to be losing what was left of my mind. I could almost feel his presence, his hulking frame standing over me ready to ravage every inch of my body, taking me in all three holes. I wiped my forehead, trying to shake off the prickly sensations. I was a trained geologist, for Christ’s sake. I’d dealt with having weapons of all kinds aimed at me. I’d been poisoned twice and almost died of jungle fever. Growling beasts I could handle.

  Think like a scientist.

  I folded my legs, rocking as I thought about what she’d said and more important, what we’d seen. There were far more inconsistencies regarding the mining site than there should be. While we had found some minerals, it was nowhere near enough, yet Stephen continued to push us, insistent he knew what he was doing. There was something off about him over the last two days, even more so than normal.

  If I had to make bets, I’d say Stephen was purposely hiding something from the entire group, but why? What the hell was really goin
g on? I stared toward the rest of the camp through the dense foliage, trying to remember everything Stephen had said before and during this excursion as well as items we’d found. If I had to admit, certain aspects didn’t add up.

  Everything was so damn dark, even the remaining flames from the fire pit only creating a slight glow in the distance. I took several calming breaths, listening to my breathing.

  Come to me. Kneel before me. Accept your place.

  I pressed my fingers over my mouth to keep from issuing even the slightest whimper. Fear wasn’t going to derail this trip. I was the badass of the group and I would remain that way, even if I had to whip Sandra into shape.

  I glared at her once again, for some reason my anger reaching an entirely new level. My sixth sense was working overtime. As I rocked back and forth, another series of images floated into my mind.

  A face.

  His face.

  But not just any face, that of a powerful warrior, the very one calling to me.

  Come...

  Chapter Six

  Annabella

  Come...

  The word reverberated in my mind several times, refusing to allow me to deny what I had to do. The struggle within was palpable, my good sense telling me I was absolutely insane.

  Yet another part of me screamed to let go, follow my instincts. I had to find out what the hell was really going on.

  I sat quietly in the darkness until there were no longer any sounds of the others. If Stephen was hiding something, maybe I needed to do a round of secretive exploration on my own. Hmmm... I knew what I was thinking of doing was risky, but no pain, no gain. A slight smile crossed my face as I darted one last look at the sleeping princess. I slipped off the cot, grabbing the light and my tool bag, heading out of the tent. I had to see for myself without Stephen’s prying eyes. We were close to a real discovery. I just knew it.

  Our camp was merely a few hundred yards from the cave opening, the fire pit able to keep the beasts at bay. When I was out of eyesight of the series of tents, only then did I turn on the light. The jungle was more treacherous at night, but the path we’d created led straight to the entrance. As I climbed up the rocks, I thought about everything we’d been told about the mission.