It was a time when memories of the old glory were cherished. It was a time when the Emperor could rely on the loyalty of his own followers to carry his dynasty forward. It was the time of the Spectre and the First Order, high ranked Xebulon officials who made terrible choices that defined the cosmos forever.
The base of power shifted over the course of several years. As one planet was eliminated, another empire rose. Another was replaced by human supremacists acting as alien imperials.
They unleashed their armory of unknown technology. Praxis was transformed into a never-ending source of division, persecution, and violence.
But we fought back and won. We took back our galaxy and iced out the Praxis separatists. We cleared the stars of the corrupt. As a symbol of our newfound strength, we unveiled a unique flag, wiping out the First Order once and for all.
But old flares came back to haunt us.
Our democracy collapsed. We were invaded again – the war wouldn’t end. And when the bombs hit, they laid out a systematic siege onto our world.
They killed my family, maimed the young and innocent, and they took me as a prisoner of war.
That’s when my new life started.
I became a chance inmate, transported to the prison dock space station far above, where I was observed and tested on for God knows how long. I played my part well, forming a relationship with the scientists.
I was naïve.
I thought I could escape.
Eventually, the test results came back, and I passed with flying colors. After my verification was completed, I was placed into one of the holding cells. They injected me with nanobots, strange chemicals, and foreign particles known to alter brain and hormone functionality.
A few weeks later, they found me guilty of treason, and my temporary sentences were to be executed or spend the rest of my life rotting in prison.
Days later, when I was given a third choice, I rejoiced and immediately agreed without hearing their plan. They ordered me to mate and return as a valuable resource to the nation.
If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to come back.
My family became a simple memory to me, something that washed away with time. Earth Federation had one plan, to test until they found a way to use my natural mating instinct to their advantage. They wanted me to breed the innocent, but I had no idea why.
Was I to replicate my species elsewhere? No. They didn’t care about using my kind as a weapon. There was another reason, but the truth was left unspoken.
I never found out why they programmed me to kill. Never found out why they trained me to fuck upon scent.
And once they were through with their torture, they put me in a spacecraft. Destination: Earth.
That’s when things got weird.
When I first landed, I tried to find another way out. But the hunters easily found me. They came up to my spacecraft and dragged me to the ground. I fought back, killing their bearded leader.
And then they killed me for retribution.
Even I can’t make sense of this, though I try every single day of my life. I thought that was the end of my existence, but I woke up again, headed for Earth. A complete replay.
And then I died. Again.
The laws of physics are different here. You can only enter. You can’t escape. At least, not through the sky.
But I keep trying.
And the citizenry, well, they’re not too keen on me. Some are easily fooled into worshiping aliens, but others are dead set on eradicating my breed.
Some of them must have been deprogrammed by Earth Federation. Infected and exploited, made to serve the nameless leaders of this planet. An entire population turned into slaves.
But the end goal is still unclear.
Knowing I was programmed to mate, I have waited for Ava for many moons. And now that she is here, I instill fear into her bones because I have no idea what either of us are capable of.
When I dream, I live out horrible nightmares. I see myself inside a glass box. Wires thread through my flesh, coiling around my bones and pulsating muscles. Ghosts of my past appear before my eyes, telling me to escape this cruel cycle of regeneration.
I wake up haunted. I pray the spirits will go away.
One might assume I have it all. After all, I can’t seem to die. I can do anything I want, but I can’t stop wondering why I keep living through these horrible moments.
I see devils, proud men that stand behind protective glass, testing me on a cellular level. Tweaking me to their liking.
They built me into something I was never supposed to become. They robbed me of a life of love and happiness. And now I must kill them all. I must take this woman to the outer edges of this world and show her the darkness that consumes my heart.
I must breed her and find a way out of this infected state.
Ava thinks this place is fake, but it’s more real than she knows. Elon – she mentioned his name multiple times. He must be that faceless entity which I dream of, a cloaked figure behind the tinkering scientists.
He was the man who stole my life from me. And she’s my ticket to finding him.
She’s been sitting inside the cage for hours, obedient enough to follow my rules. She knows she needs me. But more importantly, she knows the secrets that only Elon hides.
She has nowhere to run. She will be ready to learn my secrets soon enough.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about this place,” I say. “A lot that takes place outside of the fundamental structure.”
She rolls her shoulders back and stares into my eyes, tired. The poison has worked fast on her, but like all things evil, I stopped it from spreading to her heart. She should be thanking me.
“Like what?” she asks.
I slide my finger against the cage. My skin drags against rusted metal. “You don’t want to know.”
I don't want to keep her here, but this is the only way to condition her for the rough terrain ahead.
I blink my eyes, and I see the faint hue of bright, neon lights. Darkened hallways with metal doors. The sounds of hushed moans, the crack of leather, and other wild and depraved noises fill my ears.
There are more memories, thoughts I can’t quite put together. Paths I need to take with her in order to escape. Whatever I’m witnessing inside my head isn’t simulated. I’ve been to this place before, perhaps only one time, but I can’t remember when.
I can only pinpoint where our next destination lies.
I have lived this life alone, but with her, everything is different. If I die and lose Ava, I’ll have lost my only chance to get out of this maddening existence.
In the beginning, I was part of a simple alien invasion story. Farmers hunting the monster. A big chase before I make my way into the stars to start it all over again.
But as time moved on, I saw that there was more to this world. It was endless. Expansive and multi-layered. I became a king, a devil, a God. These were roles I never knew I could play.
But being a leader is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Earth Federation went to great efforts to make me who I am. Although I’m in control, she holds the key inside her heart. I can’t lose her.
“There are places in this world a woman should not go to,” I reveal. “Mating rituals you don’t want to take part in.”
She remains silent, but her eyes are still wide with curiosity.
I continue my thought. “Unfortunately, I think I need to bring you there in order for you to understand what I’ve been told to do.”
“Take me there,” she says. “I’m not scared.”
“This world is more twisted than you know. If I take you to this house of darkness, you may very well regret it,” I say.
I will mate her. I will make her mine. Together, we will take to the stars…
She comes to the front of the cage, hands gripped around the bars, hugging gently. Her eyes beg me to set her free, but she must know freedom here is a farce. The only real autonomy lies in trusting
me. Ironic, but true, nonetheless.
As I lean forward, I’m shocked by her beauty. All of it. Her soft skin, wavy auburn hair, her full cheeks, and her little arches give me great pleasure.
She trembles as I take her wrists and unbuckle them. She stretches her thick, hour-glass figure, opening to reveal a tuft of pubic hair, untamed and wild as the wind. The moon shines against her breasts, round and full, nipples like daggers in the cold, weapons that inspire my cock to rise in defiance. She slides her ass against the concrete, unknowingly showing off her generous but tender curves.
I take her hand.
“You said this place is real,” she says.
“It is.”
Her eyelids fold over, and she nods solemnly. “Then I have to go to this place you speak of. I need to face my fears. With you.”
With me. She is starting to trust I’m right.
I inhale her scent, draw it into my being, and I don’t look away. “Be careful what you wish for,” I say.
We both rise, her naked body trembling from the frigid winds that waft through the basement. On the floor is a solitary fur of a large earthly animal I skinned in a past life. I step around her, lifting it off the ground, carefully folding it over her shoulders.
At the end of the day, I have treated her with more respect than most here might. But I can’t trust her not to run, and that’s why I keep her chains tight.
“I’m sorry. This is the only way,” I say.
In order for her to understand this world, she has to give up everything she once knew to be true. So far, that’s meant a few items of wear, minor comforts that humans senselessly rely on. But soon, this place will call for more from her.
She’ll see…
“It’s okay,” she whispers.
I run my hand through her hair, pausing behind her ear. “Whatever happens, I will protect you. Do you believe me?”
“I will follow your lead,” she says through tight lips.
But as we exit the basement, we hit the edge of the marshes. The world is quiet, except for the sound of short footsteps over the noises of buzzing insects.
Someone is near.
My heart stops inside my chest. Instinct kicks in, and my arms coil around her. “You hear that?” I ask, voice low.
Her body turns rigid, shoulders as stiff as a board. Her eyes are like two wide voids, peering into the darkness ahead. If she raises her voice, I’m fucked. If she runs, all of my hard work and patience will have been for nothing.
Before she has time to respond, one man wades through the water with a rifle, maybe fifty feet in the distance. He’s dressed in a tan button-down shirt, a pair of muddied, wide-legged pants, and steel-toed boots that can be seen with each shallow step. Behind him, men wearing potato sacks for masks calmly crouch and follow the man’s lead.
“You sure you saw him crash around here?” one of the men asks.
“Shut up,” the leader says. “He’ll hear us if you’re too loud. We can’t lost him. You know what that man will do to us if we do.”
That man?
“Who are they?” Ava asks.
“Cultists,” I whisper.
“Cultists? Are you serious?” she asks.
“A break-away faction from the hunters inside the forest. They worship the heavens, and they believe me to be the devil. Space is not a reality to them. They do not understand it.”
They’re fucking insane.
“What do we do?” she asks.
I swallow, saliva catching against my Adam’s apple. “We wait and hope they don’t catch us.”
They wade through without locating our positioning, but even with the men in the distance, I’m careful to start moving again.
They are determined to find me and ruin my progress.
The night is peculiarly cold. The air is chilly, as though some mysterious and terrible being has iced the planet. The eerie silence thickens with the difficulty of our position. I go on, afraid to look back or peer ahead, or even to stare straight in front of me. But the worst of it is that, once they disappear, I see nothing.
They are craftier than the hunters, and not necessarily predictable. They seem to have no home, just drifting around this world like lost souls looking for salvation.
“Let’s go,” I say.
As I spring forward, a faint light flares from the opposite side. I pause, lowering the both of us back into the water with quick success.
I hear one cultist flap against the surface. “Wait. You hear that?” he asks.
Fuck.
“Hold on,” the leader growls, turning back around.
I witness him staring in our direction, and I’m not sure if he can see my nocturnal eyes shining against the glow of his lantern.
I close them and keep my mouth shut. Ava’s breathing is natural and alarmed. Before she can scream out in horror, I cup my palm around her lips.
The men turn back, heading in our direction. Everything is eerily quiet, causing me to wonder if I’m making the wrong move.
Slowly, they wade toward us, lanterns held aloft, walking between the mossy trees and hidden amphibians. I keep a tight hold of Ava, eyes creasing open to see, waiting for them to get close enough to touch us.
“I don’t see anything,” one man says. “Let’s keep moving.”
Their leader nudges him forward. “Not so fast,” he says. “The noise came from over there. Go check it out.”
“I’m not moving without you,” he says.
The cultist leader raises his rifle. “Who am I, your daddy? I’ve got your back. Now go.”
The man issues a heavy sigh and starts to walk. As he gets closer to us, a big shiver runs through his shoulders. He senses us, swinging his lantern wildly, accidentally splashing enough water to kill the flame.
He runs into my body.
The inbred stops, trembling, as my head rises from the marshes. A blood-curdling scream comes from Ava’s tiny throat as the man takes aim.
I didn’t expect a fight so soon, but I’m ready for them. I’m a beast that cannot be managed.
From across the way, the leader calls for his men. "Take his ass down," he declares.
As I stand, cortisol pumps through my veins. I issue a great roar, slashing the bastard’s throat. The two other shooters run toward the sounds of their dying brother’s choking, but I’m already on them.
My vision turns red. My muscles form into solid masses, as hard as stones. I knock out the two last cultists with a single strike, tearing their spines right from their body.
The remaining cultist, the leader of their pitiful pack, runs.
I stand, human blood running down my masculine body, draining into the water below. Ava stares in complete and utter disbelief.
“You saved me,” she says.
“I told you I would,” I mutter, heart knocking like a drum. “But that wasn’t part of the plan. Things are original with you here. This fight confirms that.”
She takes a deep breath and calms. She is visibly shaken up, and I don’t have the heart to tell her it gets worse from here.
Her actions are more surprising to me than the cultist’s attack.
“Tell me, why didn’t you scream for help?” I ask.
She looks back at the path we’ve walked. Water floats around her thighs, bits of mud drying to her skin. “Because I’ve never been free.”
“You are not free now,” I tell her.
She swallows and peers into my eyes. She is gentle and caring, but strong in a way that commands respect, while also melting your heart down like a heated candle. Her journey, whatever that may have been, is emotional for her. It may seem a little insane that she has agreed to stay with me, but it's for the better.
“You don’t know the outside world,” she says. “They control everything now. Surveillance has made people complacent.”
The outside world. More lies sprouting out of her infected mindset. There is no outside world. I am living proof of that.
“Sounds like a ut
opian fantasy,” I say.
“Are you sure you want to find out?” she asks.
I stare at her, unable to answer. The truth is that I’m not sure what lies beyond this planet now. But I know I can’t stay here, like this, forever. I want something more.
I want to feel life again. I want to feel like I’m alive, like I’m really free and headed toward some kind of dignified destiny, unknown and full of fucking glory.
Can she give me that? I’m not sure.
Maybe I should be wondering if I can give that to her.
Again, I pull on her chains. “Come on. There is more to show you here. Soon, you will come to realize your worst fears. And that’s precisely when you’ll find the courage to wake up. Just like I did.”
I remember the day my eyes were open. I saw her face, Ava’s. Once I knew the truth, I could never let go. And now I’m here, with her, and all I can think to do is bring her to the place where it all began. A place of darkness, but through that dark will come the birth of light.
It’s the place I first died. The place I first felt that impenetrable freedom of love. For the first time in my pathetic history, I felt adoration. For myself, for the world, and for her, a woman I hadn’t even known.
All of this is impossible. But I follow it like the cultist’s follow their rage. With faith, anything is possible.
Once I have my hands locked around her, she does not struggle. She behaves, walking in silence through Earth’s bitter reality.
After some time, the landscape finally changes. We come across a set of sharp, industrial metal beams that rise hundreds of feet into the air. They are nothing more than sheets of metal set on a frame, interspersed with conduits for electricity used in powering something like a city, and a smattering of storage slots.
But that’s not what it’s used for. Even to this day, I have no idea what its purpose is. But the hunters of the forest took me here. They showed me the truth. And then they killed me.
Everyone is infected, but there’s a way to fix that. A way to open their eyes.
Copper wiring bends around the entrance of an enormous building, maybe four or five stories tall. It’s as long as a transport dock, built out of strong bricks the color of the night. If I didn’t pause, she may have missed the sight completely.
Alien Beast: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 5