Текст книги "The Alien’s Bond"

Автор книги: Kira Quinn

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

CHAPTER SIX

Darla was sleeping, but it was a shallow slumber. Barely napping, really, which, given the strange environment she had found herself in, made perfect sense. But nevertheless, she was more exhausted than she might have originally realized. So much so that the first rumble coursing through the ship failed to rouse her from her contemplations.

She was still in the zone, lingering in that in-between state where dream and reality’s edges began to blend together as her subconscious mind attempted to reconcile all the impossible events of the day, and it was quite possible she’d have stayed that way.

Then she banged her head painfully on the bunk wall when the ship abruptly shook violently, throwing her to the side.

“What the fuck?” she blurted, rubbing the sore spot as she lurched to her feet.

The ship bucked again, making her grab the bunk edge for balance while it knocked several people not fortunate enough to be near something to hold on to straight to the deck with its intensity.

Darla felt her stomach churn from the motion, but it was a weird sensation. It seemed almost as if there was something else going on in her belly besides the ship moving in directions it really shouldn’t be. A disruption the likes of which she’d never felt before. One that moved to her very core. Not even after the most ridiculous bender for her friend Allison’s bachelorette party had she felt like this.

This was different, and the feeling of unease in her gut was growing as fast as her worried curiosity. This wasn’t normal. Something was going on. Something big. The question was, what?

The initial event had upended Victor, but he quickly scrambled back to his feet, racing to the far door in a flash. He took up a position against the wall to one side, a murderous look in his eye.

“Maureen, what’s he doing?” Darla asked, pointing at the thick-necked man lying in wait.

Maureen steadied herself and turned to look. “Oh, shit. This won’t be good.”

She looked as though she was about to do something to keep Victor from making their situation worse and possibly getting them all killed, though she didn’t exactly know what, when an alien-shaped blur flew across the compartment. Heydar had crossed the space in an impossibly short time, stopping face to face with the normally imposing human.

Next to the much larger alien, Victor suddenly seemed a lot less frightening than before.

“What do you think you are doing?” Heydar snarled.

“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m waiting for those bastards to come check on us. And when they do, Pow! I’m gonna take them down and get the hell out of this place.”

“You realize you are aboard a Raxxian ship, do you not?”

“Obviously.”

“And you would overpower a pair of guards and do what, exactly?”

“Make a run for it. There’s got to be an escape pod or something. And if not that, I don’t know. I’ll make a go at the command center.”

Heydar shook his head as if scolding a child.

“Do you even know how to fly a vessel such as this?”

“Well—”

“In fact, do you know how to pilot any spacecraft? Or even an airborne vehicle, for that matter?”

“I mean, no. But how hard can it be? Computers run everything these days, right?”

Maureen let out an exasperated sigh. “Typical man. He probably wouldn’t be willing to admit he was lost in space and ask for directions either.”

Heydar glanced her way. “Are all males on your planet this way?” he asked, shaking his head.

“The stubborn ones are.”

Victor cast an angry look at her.

“Don’t stink eye me, Victor. You know I’m right.”

Darla stifled a chuckle and kept her eyes on Heydar, still fixated on the tall alien suddenly taking command of the situation with such ease. It was quite a shift from his earlier demeanor. For a moment there, he seemed like a natural leader.

The ship rocked and bucked, shaking hard. A wave of nauseating power flooded the compartment, making even Heydar look a little queasy. Darla and Maureen managed to keep their meals in their stomachs, but at least half of the humans were not so lucky, including Victor.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up tall by sheer force of will, locking eyes with Heydar once more.

“I’m getting us out of here with or without you. Are you going to join me, or do you like being a Raxxian pet?”

Heydar shook his head but was clearly processing the options. “Do you even know what that was?” he asked.

“Felt like something blew up on the ship.”

“That was a Grommix attack pulse, and at relatively close range. And this craft? It is a transport ship.”

“So?”

“So, that means it is decently shielded, but lacks both the speed and firepower needed to combat so formidable an adversary.”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is, we are in a holding cell. Raxxians keep livestock in central, windowless compartments as a rule. They are designed to be able to be interchanged with other units from other ships if needed.”

“Great, we’re in the middle of the ship. That doesn’t change anything.”

“But it does. This is a safe place. At least, as safe as one could hope for in such an encounter.”

Victor puffed up his chest in a display of bravado. “You may be worried, but I’m not about to give up this chance to play it safe. I’m not worried about my safety.”

“Clearly not.”

“And I’m not afraid of these Raxxians. And I’m sure as hell not going to sit here cowering when we could be using this diversion to escape.”

“All you will do if you engage them is get people killed.”

“It’s worth the risk.”

“To you, perhaps, but the others should decide their own fates.”

“Why do you care? I thought we were nothing more than livestock.”

“To the Raxxians, yes. But my people have been at war with them since before I was born, and I am no supporter of their brutal ways.”

“So you’ll help me then?”

“I did not say that I would—”

The door abruptly slid open, cutting their argument short just as another blast hit the ship. The two Raxxians fell through the doorway, knocked off their feet from the violent impact. Victor did not hesitate.

He jumped on top of the nearest guard, latching himself onto his back where the Raxxian’s long claws and sharp teeth couldn’t reach him. His hands fumbled for what he believed was a weapon on the alien’s waist, but he was unable to pull it free. Victor looked to Heydar with panicked eyes. The Raxxians were getting back to their feet, and he had failed in his attack miserably.

The aliens were far, far tougher than he’d bargained for, and his frantic blows failed to so much as faze them. The other guard grabbed Victor and pulled him from his comrade’s back, flinging him to the center of the room. Both were fixated on the human who dared attack them. It was clear who would be their next meal.

Heydar’s shoulders sagged for just a split second as he weighed the options. Weighed them and came to a decision.

His meaty fist reached the first guard’s neck even as his boot-clad foot was swinging into the abdomen of the other guard, sending the first to his knees, gasping for air as the second doubled over from the brutal impact.

Unlike Victor, it seemed that Heydar had more than enough strength for this engagement.

In a flash he moved between the two Raxxians, his deft hands having no trouble drawing their weapons from their belts and using them against them to great effect. The wicked blade taken from the smaller of the pair opened up a trio of wounds, any of which would have been debilitating, before lodging firmly in the alien’s neck. The Raxxian dropped in a heap. Darla saw it was clear he couldn’t have called for help if he wanted to.

The other managed to block the first of Heydar’s follow up attacks, but an elbow caught him in what must have been a vulnerable nerve plexus of some sort. Heydar didn’t hesitate, shoving the guard’s pistol-like weapon flush with his torso and squeezing the grip, discharging its energy right into the Raxxian’s body. Heydar squeezed again, the weapon smoking as it cooked his target’s insides.

Heydar let go, the smoldering corpse dropping to the deck. He looked at the weapon in his hand in disgust and threw it aside.

“Why are you tossing that away?” Victor asked in disgust, rushing to retrieve the gun.

“It is not meant to be used in such close proximity. The power cell overcharged. It is useless now.”

Victor didn’t care, tucking the weapon in his waistband then retrieving the other guard’s functional unit. He turned to the other prisoners.

“Come on! This is our chance!”

“Do not be a fool. Your ill-conceived attack has already placed this group at great risk.”

“So we make the most of it,” Victor replied. “I’m not wasting this one chance. You said it, we’re livestock and dead meat anyway. At least this way we might get lucky.”

The other prisoners muttered amongst themselves. Some rushed out to join him, while others remained frozen in place. Heydar looked at the group and made another difficult decision.

“I will help,” he said. “But I do not think this will end well.”

Victor merely nodded and took off out the open door, followed by more than half of the prisoners. Heydar saw the fear in the eyes of the remaining livestock.

“Close the door behind us,” he said. “If the ship decompresses you will be safe.”

With that he stepped outside. Maureen moved to the door to close it, but Darla hurried past her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to see about getting out of here,” Darla said. “Look, I’ve got to do something. Thank you for all your help. Be safe.”

Maureen paused a second, nodded to her, then hit the control panel. The door slammed shut in her face.

Darla turned to Heydar.

“Okay, big guy. Now what?”

“Now we catch up with the others. This way.”

The large alien hurried through the corridors as the ship bucked and rocked from more Grommix attacks. The frequency of the blasts was shortening. Their ship must have gotten a lot closer in the time it took to escape their holding cell.

Victor and his group had spread into a ragged column far ahead, eager and motivated, but not terribly organized. And with the ongoing attack, the men and women were being tossed side to side with every blast.

Heydar closed the distance as fast as he could with Darla following close behind, but the ship was being bombarded with ever-increasing ferocity. He stopped, cocking his head, the tattoos behind both of his ears seeming to churn under his skin, as if amplifying sounds inaudible to the normal ear.

His head whipped around in as close to a panic as Darla had seen him. He roughly grabbed her by the arm and lunged for the nearest door, keying it open and shoving her inside, closing it behind them in an instant, holding on tightly. She couldn’t help but notice just how hot his skin was. They were in luck at least. The compartment was empty. Another holding area that was currently without inhabitants.

“What the hell do you think you’re—” she began.

The lights flickered as a massive explosion shook the ship, followed by two more. The violent bucking threw them both to the floor in a heap. Heydar scrambled to the wall and grabbed on tight, pulling Darla close to him, placing his body over hers, his weight pushing her against the floor and wall, his mass creating a protective cave of sorts.

The lights flickered again then abruptly went dark as another blast shook the Raxxian ship. Faint emergency lighting kicked in, but only barely. Darla was grasping for words when the world went upside down and the distinct tearing sound of shearing metal rang through the craft’s hull. Loud pings of heat shielding burning off followed a moment later as the Raxxian craft began burning up as it hit what had to be atmosphere.

“What the hell—?”

“We must be close to a planet,” Heydar interrupted. “The ship is breaking up.”

Despite his heat so close to her, Darla felt her blood run cold. They were out of the frying pan and very much in the fire. Literally, it seemed, as more heat shield panels melted and broke free.

Heydar drew her even closer, pressing himself down against her.

“Hold tight.”

“Why? What’s going to—”

The ship tore apart, the constituent parts flung far and wide across the atmosphere as the Raxxian ship ceased to be. Weightlessness came and went as they plummeted toward the surface, but Heydar held strong, pinning them both in place. Then, just when she was sure they were done for, a rumbling thrust drove them both hard into the deck as emergency landing jets kicked in, slowing the falling wreckage in a painful instant.

Darla struggled hard against the Gs but her body was simply no match for the abrupt pressure forcing all the blood from her head. She caught a final, brief glimpse of gold-rimmed eyes staring at her curiously in the dim light.

Then she slipped into unconsciousness.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Darla didn’t know how long she’d been out, but when she came to, it was abrupt. She jerked up, smacking herself against Heydar’s rock-solid chest in the process. He looked down at her calmly and moved aside, rising to his feet and towering over her.

“We have arrived,” he said, his voice low and rumbling in the silence of the downed craft. “In one piece, I would add.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” she replied with as much snark as someone who just narrowly avoided a fiery demise could muster.

The emergency lights were still on, but Darla noted there was an additional source of illumination. Daylight. The hull had been breached at some point in their crash landing. That meant the air she was breathing was alien air.

She sucked in her breath and held it in a panic, her eyes wide with fear. Heydar chuckled.

“Do not fear, little one. If this was a hostile atmosphere we would have met our end long before now.”

He stepped to the compartment door and pulled hard, his girthy arms flexing hard, the muscles rippling from the effort. His forearms were massive and his fingers lengthy and strong, but despite his strength-enhancing tattoos, the door nevertheless refused to budge.

“Hmm,” he muttered, stepping back and pulling open the panel beside it.

The formerly hidden seam was now visible as the metal had buckled from the impact of their landing, and the internals were unlike anything Darla had ever seen before. No wires anywhere, for one, and nothing that remotely resembled any sort of tech she had ever come across.

“Are we stuck in here?” she asked.

“Not necessarily,” he said, then carefully opened the little pouch of tattoo implements on his hip, withdrawing a fine tipped needle.

Carefully, he pressed it to what seemed like any of the other utterly alien bits in the panel. Satisfied it was in place, he gently pushed it in deeper, penetrating the Raxxian tech until it was fully inserted. Slowly, he wiggled it in place, testing the resistance against his hand. A little grin crept onto his face.

“Be ready to move,” he said quietly, his eyes on the door as he pulled the tool out slowly, the tip grazing the upper indentation he’d inserted it into. The lights flickered a moment, brightening bit by bit, then without further warning the door slid open, straining hard against the warped frame.

He tucked the needle back into its case, not taking his eyes off the opening, then stepped towards it, muscles tense and ready for a fight. Heydar set foot outside, the sun illuminating his skin far more than the artificial light ever had. Darla felt her breath catch in her throat. In the sun’s warm light he was absolutely radiant.

What’s more, his tattoos seemed to gently pulse under his skin, absorbing the energy from the sun’s rays. He turned back to his companion, his shoulders relaxing slightly. The gold rims around his violet irises were gleaming in the sunlight.

“It is safe to come out. But watch your step. The landing made something of a mess.”

Darla pushed up to her feet and clamored out of the ship onto the upturned soil. He had certainly gotten the mess thing accurate. Clumps of dirt and rocks were mixed with fallen trees where the segment of the Raxxian ship they had been in somehow managed to land without breaking apart. It seemed the emergency deceleration system had worked. They’d survived. Living to see another day.

All they needed now was to stay that way.

“This way,” Heydar instructed, leading her from the wreck along a narrow strip of relatively passable soil.

Darla followed in a daze, knowing she should be freaking out but having short-circuited her panic response over the last day. One thing was for certain, she was glad she’d switched to her trainers after the party. Had she been abducted in heels, this would have been an utterly miserable experience. More so than it already was, anyway.

They walked for a minute then stopped. Darla turned back and looked at the piece of ship, seeing the alien tech from the outside for the first time where it lay amid the shattered trees and their scattered burgundy leaves.

The compartment was scorched to hell and back, with big chunks melted away. The bottom had blown out the ground where it landed, its thrusters using every last bit of power to stop their descent. As Heydar had said before things had gone utterly tits up, the ship had broken into multiple segments as intended, each designed to keep its cargo intact. That much she could tell from the relatively uniform edges of the section.

How many of the others had managed to land in one piece, and where, for that matter, was anyone’s guess. In any case, being treated as cattle had very likely resulted in their survival. The lack of windows and central location had allowed this piece to survive the attack. It sucked being an abductee, but at least this one thing had gone her way.

“Say what you will about those Raxxians, but they built a pretty solid ship,” she mused, a hint of adrenaline trickling back into her shocked system at the thought of the brutal aliens.

“A terrible race, but yes, they do possess ample skill both in design and construction. Better than most, in fact.”

“Then why did it crash? I’d think they’d be ready for attacks if that’s the case.”

Heydar shook his head. “The Grommix have been fighting the Raxxians a long, long time. They have learned their weaknesses and know how best to exploit them. In this case, they managed to disable the craft by targeting the drive systems and command center while layering focused attacks on crucial linkage systems.”

“How do you know? You were locked in with the rest of us.”

“Because it is what I would have done. That, and the flow of Grommix pulse ram energy flowed into the deeper elements of the ship. Clearly, they forced the shielding to fail and exploited the weak spot to break the connection points. Look there. Do you see the scorch marks?” he asked, pointing with his elongated digit.

Darla looked where he was pointing. “The whole thing is scorched.”

“No, look closer,” he said, leaning in and resting his forearm on her shoulder so her eyes lined up with his pointing finger. The heat of him was distracting, but he achieved his goal. She actually did see what he was talking about now.

“The dented part, where the metal looks pushed in rather than melted off.”

“Precisely.”

“But why so precise? Why not blast away?”

Heydar stood tall and surveyed the area around them once more. “Because this appears to have been a rescue attempt.”

He turned and started walking. Darla hurried to catch up to him.

“Hang on. What do you mean, a rescue attempt?”

“I mean exactly that. The Raxxians are well known for taking prisoners of war. If the Grommix learned the location of one of their officers aboard this vessel, it is quite possible they thought a rescue attempt would be worth the risk.”

Now it was Darla’s turn to look around. Another alien race could very possibly be lurking around out there, and she had no idea if they were friendly. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all of that, still held true, but what if you were no more than a snack to them?

“Are we safe here?”

“There is no way to tell for certain. I do not know where the other sections touched down. Regardless, I must move from this location quickly. Raxxians may make an attempt to retrieve their cargo, and I would be well served to not be here if they do.”

He began moving at a quick pace, forcing Darla to scramble after him.

“Hey, wait a minute. Where are we going?”

“We?”

“Yes, we. You just saved my life. You’re not seriously going to just leave me behind, are you?”

“You are free now, so pick a path and follow it. As for mine, you will just slow me down.”

“Oh, hell no. I can keep up.”

“You say that now, but you are small and weak. I cannot afford to be hindered by the likes of you.”

“So what? You leave me to the Raxxians?”

“The Grommix may come first. They will treat you well enough. You can hide in the wreckage and determine if it is safe to come out when they arrive. Small as you are, there are plenty of places to conceal yourself.”

“While you run away.”

“I am not running away. I am heading up onto that rise to discern where exactly we have landed. And once that is achieved, to evaluate what threats may be lurking on this world. On top of that, I must then attempt to find food and water in the process of planning a proper escape.”

“So, you are running away. Just with a few stops on the way. Well there is no way I’m staying here like a sitting duck while you put distance between yourself and the most likely place the Raxxians will show up.”

“If the Grommix do not arrive first.”

“Yeah, whatever. The point is, I’m coming with you.”

“But—”

“Don’t even start with me. I’m tired, hungry, filthy, and stuck on some God forsaken world. I am not being left behind,” she said with a fierce glare.

Heydar considered refusing her demand then thought better of it. The noise this human female had proven herself capable of making was more than enough to draw additional attention to the area, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Very well. But remain quiet and keep up. I am not slowing my pace for you.”

“Whatever. Can we just go, already?” she grumbled.

The towering alien’s jaw flexed as he sized her up for a long moment. His eyes were distracting in this light. Almost sparkling as the rays illuminated the gold ring circling the luminous violet. He let out the slightest of chuckles at the tiny woman’s fierce resolve. Then, without another word, he shrugged, turned, and began trekking away at a healthy pace.

Darla scurried after him, covering the ground with a fast and agile step where his long legs simply strode over the debris.

Good thing I’ve been doing those kickboxing classes, Darla mused, glad her lungs, legs, and booty were up for the exercise.

They cleared the crash site a minute later, heading into the lush growth surrounding them. Looking at the verdant alien trees and shrubbery, Darla was sure they were close to a water source. All those years camping with her family in her youth had taught her that much, even if the outings had been more glamping than camping, thanks to her mother.

She followed close behind the muscular alien as he evened out his stride now that the ground was level. From this vantage point she couldn’t help but admire the rather impressive round, sculpted ass walking before her. Say what you would about the rude alien, he certainly hadn’t skipped leg day.

Mind on the task, Dar, she chided herself. And remember the pledge. No more emotionally unavailable douchebags.

Given Heydar’s pleasing physique, Darla couldn’t help but wonder if other alien races were so well put together.

I guess I might very well find out sooner than later, she thought as the distant hum of a flying craft reached their ears from afar.

Someone else was out there. The question now was who?

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