Chapter 4
Commander Kecha Thornax
The night passed by slowly, and yet I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched. There was something out there in the night keeping its tabs on us; whether friend or foe, I couldn’t be sure. Surely though, if it was one of my crew, we would have been reunited by now.
I had taken to whittling as the human slumbered, napping every hour or so for about ten minutes before rousing myself again to keep a firm watch on the camp. I wanted to make sure that both of us were prepared and would not be surprised by a sneak attack of any kind. And so I had begun carving weapons out of strong boughs that I collected off the trunk of the fallen tree.
The noise didn’t seem to disturb the human’s slumber, and she rested soundly as I scraped the bark of the branches off and then began to fashion the head of a spear-like weapon. This was the one I was going to give to the human, presuming I could trust her with my life. Even if I couldn’t, I had been trained well in combat I would know quickly just what her intentions were should she decide, for some reason, to turn on me.
I became consumed by my task, thinking about just how gut-wrenching it had been to try to find my crew over the past two days. The days on Hexa were slightly shorter than the ones I was used to on my home planet, though the human had complained about the days seeming longer than she remembered. Either way, the difference in time was disorienting to us both, and I was more eager than ever to get off this planet.
I didn’t know why I had been so adamantly against the idea of bringing the human on the ship with me. I had wanted to claim her since the moment I had first laid eyes on her. In fact, that drive had led me to such a deep desire for possession of her that I had even refused to take her back to the group of humans that she belonged with. The idea of losing sight of her had been nearly maddening. I couldn’t live the rest of my life knowing that I had let such a compelling, magnificent creature out of my life.
And yet, I had made her believe that this was exactly what I was going to do. Why? I usually lived by a code of honor and honesty, doing my very best to live up to my own expectations and ideals and holding others to the same standard. Sure, I kept my spiritual beliefs to myself, but that was to be expected. What I didn’t do was lie outright to people to conceal my own confusing motivations.
Just what were my motivations exactly? Why didn’t I want to help this human do the one thing she had set in her mind to do and return to Earth?
Once the spear was completed, I sighed and looked over at the bed of leaves I had fashioned for the human. I had wanted it to be more comfortable than the first one, as I had noticed her rubbing her neck miserably all day. She said it was because of being stuck on the floor of the Petchuvian spaceship with the other humans in her group, but I knew she was hiding the fact that she hadn’t slept well on the ground with just one leaf.
I stared at the little bed, then blinked hard, unable to believe my eyes. A chill crept down my spine, and I blinked again, hoping that when I opened my eyes, the reality before me would change. But it didn’t. The human was gone.
***
“Alice!” I shouted, tearing out of the shelter with my spear held high over my head. “Human! Answer me!”
I would slaughter any creature that dared harm a hair on the human’s head. She was mine to protect, whether she knew it yet or not, and I would fight to the death in order to do so.
“What?”
I froze, turning my head in the direction of a tall tree, where Alice was stepping toward me, that sheepish look of embarrassment creeping across her face. I realized suddenly that she had somehow slipped out of the shelter when I had been consumed by crafting my weapon.
“What are you doing out here?” I demanded. “It is dangerous! You should have told me you were leaving!”
“I thought you saw,” Alice said, clearly unimpressed by my anger. “And besides that, I don’t have to answer to you. I can come out to relieve myself without getting permission from you. You may command some obscure ship out there, but you’re not in charge of me.”
Alice strutted past me, and I gritted my teeth, turning to face her as she walked past me.
“If you know what’s good for you, then you will listen to me, human. How many times have you been off the comforting soil of your home planet, huh? Just this once, right? We all know that human females have been forbidden to leave. And yet you think you can manage everything just fine on your own without even having the wits and experience to do so?”
Alice turned to face me, fire in her eyes and a furious frown etched deeply into her gentle features. Somehow, she even looked beautiful to me angry, and I kicked myself for furthering this feud with her rather than keeping my peace and allowing it to be resolved. It was late, and it would do us no good to attract attention to ourselves.
“If I had my choice, I would have stayed on my planet. And even if it is possible that you will actually find this alleged ship and crew of yours, you wouldn’t help me or my people anyway! You’re selfish, and then expect me to sit around and wait to follow your orders? I think you’re the most deplorable, disgusting creature ever to walk this—”
Suddenly, the earth beneath our feet began to rumble, and a loud shriek sounded from behind me that made my blood run cold.
“Get down, human!”
I leaped toward her just in time to knock her out of the way of a ball of fire. It hit our shelter, and the entire thing was immediately consumed by flames. Alice’s eyes grew wide, and she stared at the wreckage, but I had no such luxury. Something was behind us. Something massive.
I whipped around to face it, my spear at the ready, and gaped at the sight of a creature I had only seen in the most horrific of storybooks. A Grechen.
Its tall, lanky body was about three times the size of my own, and it was pitch black. All I could see in the darkness was its body’s terrifying silhouette and the eerie green eyes that glittered down at us. It had several sets of eyes, all over its body, and four long, spindly arms that could reach out and crush an unsuspecting foe. Probably the worst of it all was that inside, each creature was animated by a core of molten lava: lava that could be formed into balls of fire and aimed like cannonballs at their prey through a wide chute in the center of their faces. It would be only minutes before another ball of lava would be ready to be launched.
“Stay down!” I shouted to Alice. I had no idea whether she heard me or not, or even whether she would heed my words. Regardless, my plan was simple. Go for the Grechen’s weak point with the spear, and if that didn’t work, grab the human and run like hell.
The Grechen let out another horrifying shriek, and I heard the human cry out in fear. I would do whatever it took to protect her. I had claimed her, pure and simple, and I was going to keep her to myself now and for all time.
But only if we survived this.
I could feel the heaviness of the Grechen’s gaze upon me as I ran through the brush, my brain racing as I attempted to bring to mind this particular monster’s weakness. Surely it was one of its eyes, but which?
Once I was behind the creature, I paused, gaping at its back. There was one giant eye, closed as if sleeping. It was bulbous and repulsive, spanning the entire length of the Grechen’s shoulder blades. I was going to have to find a way to reach it somehow. But how could I possibly do that without being detected?
Another fireball lit up the darkness, and I panicked momentarily, concerned for the safety of the human. I had to trust that she would be able to take care of herself until I could dispose of this monster, but until that happened, I was going to have to pick up the pace.
I scanned the area around me, my eye resting on a tall, diseased looking tree. It was the only thing close enough to the monster that I might be able to strike it with my weapon. I scrambled up the tree as quickly as I could, which wasn’t an easy task by any means. It swayed and crackled under my weight, and I soon found myself wondering whether the Grechen would be the death of me or the tree I had chosen as my launching post.
The earth rumbled as the monster shuffled about, searching for me. I raised my spear in one hand unsteadily, gripping the tree as it groaned and swayed ominously beneath me. If I missed, I would simply agitate the creature further, and quite possibly lose my weapon for the duration of the fight. The only course of action at that point would be escape.
But once a Grechen laid its eyes upon you, the memory of its vengeance was etched into it forever, and it would stop at nothing to cross you off its list of unresolved problems.
That type of stubborn vengeance seemed to be the problem for so many of the creatures confined to the prison planet. At first, because of how slow things had been, I had almost wondered if the danger was exaggerated. But now I knew that surviving in this world was impossible without the utmost caution. Maybe now the human would finally start believing me when I asked her to be careful.
A third fireball lit the sky, and I was horrified to hear the human’s voice cry out. I had no idea whether she was hurt or not and had to stop myself from saying her name. If I gave away my position, my chance to defeat the Grechen would be lost.
To my horror, it began to advance, presumably to do more damage to the human or search for me. I seized up momentarily and then finally allowed myself to let the spear fly. A piercing wail filled the night air, and the huge eye on the Grechen’s back opened, locked on me and blood red.
I watched enrapt as the beast crumpled to the ground, heaving a final, shuddering breath and then immediately deflating, a stinking green sludge oozing out of the crevices of each eye.
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.”