Miah

The ground rushes up to greet me. I’m barreling towards the planet’s surface at a breakneck speed. I yank at the control stick, I frantically push every button on the display, but nothing seems to help.

“This is your fault,” the lifeless body of Otto barks at me. Somehow.

“I’m trying!” I yell. “I’m trying!”

I awake with a jolt, covered in sweat.

It was a bad dream. A nightmare.

Nothing more.

I blink a few times and rub the sleep from my eyes, but it doesn’t help. The world is still dark.

Then it hits me.

Of course.

We’re in the cave. The crash, the trek, the Zoran… it all comes back to me now. I try to sit up straight, only to notice an arm is draped across my chest, holding me in place. Beast.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispers, pulling me in close.

A jolt of pain makes me whimper. The cave’s rocky floor is far from comfortable.

The Zoran pulls me on top of him and wraps his powerful arms around me.

“We have to share our body heat,” he says.

“Okay,” I stammer, my heart racing, as I rest my head on his naked chest.

Much better.

I’m too tired to argue. Instead, I close my eyes again, and let his rhythmic breathing soothe me back into sleep.

Right when I’m on that fine line between sleep and wakefulness, I feel Beast’s lips press against my forehead.

“Good night, Miah.”

Did he just…

Did the alien warrior just whisper my name? And kiss me? And wish me a goodnight?

No.

I’ve got to be dreaming, I think to myself, right before I fall asleep.

Yet, it felt so real…

I have another dream.

Luckily, it’s not a nightmare this time. No crashing ships, no talking corpses. No, this time I’m back on Earth. With Abby. And Beast.

Although, I don’t call him Beast. No, I call him by his Zoran name: Egon.

We’re strolling through Ikea, looking for a new bed for our apartment, except he’s too tall for every king sized bed they have. They do have one bed that is his size, but it’s a single, not a double.

“You’ll just have to sleep on top of me,” he growls. “Like in the cave.”

“I can do that,” I laugh.

The last thing I notice before I wake up is the massive rock on my finger. Are we getting married?

I open my eyes — and see absolutely nothing.

Of course. The cave.

Instead of Beast’s warm body, I feel the hard, rocky floor jab into my back. I fumble in the dark, reaching out for him, but he’s nowhere to be found.

Instantly, panic grips my heart like a vice.

Alone, I will die for sure.

I will starve.

Or stumble into a crevice and fall to my death

Did he wander off? Abandon me? No, I can’t imagine he’d do that.

Then again, how well do I really know him? He’s a Zoran after all. A wanted criminal at that. The Butcher of Pazar, they call him.

Or did some underground monster snatch him? If those sand-worms were anything to go by, then the cave could be filled with monsters as well…

“B-beast?” I stammer, my voice echoing back at me. “Egon?!”

“What did I tell you about using that name, Onyx?” a deep, heavy voice rumbles from right behind me. “Don’t.”

My heart skips a beat.

“You scared me,” I say, my hand resting on my chest, relief washing over me.

He chuckles, a low sound that I feel deep inside my chest.

“Good. Now eat,” he says sternly as he throws a fish down at my feet. “We must move. It’s late.”

Now I know for sure that yesterday was just a dream. He didn’t kiss me. He didn’t wish me a goodnight. I imagined it all. He’s a Zoran, a warrior, a criminal.

Right?

We eat in silence. I’m too hungry to care about the taste of raw fish. Once we’re done, Beast pulls me up to my feet. We head deeper into the caves, but it’s different from yesterday.

I can’t explain exactly why. It just is.

It’s like he’s angry about something.

Is it because I used his Zoran name, Egon? It can’t be that simple, right? Then again, I can’t think of anything else…

Or did I talk in my sleep?

Oh god, I hope I didn’t.

The last thing I want is for this alien warrior to think I want to marry him.

And shop at Ikea together.

I mean, he’s good looking.

Sure.

All Zorans are.

You’re not supposed to say that, but hey.

We’re light years from Earth. No one’s around to judge me.

With their hulking muscles, their imposing stature, their radiant, penetrating gaze — I fully understand why any human female would fall for one.

Before the exodus, that is.

Vinz, Koryn, Tyr, Thabo. The first Zorans who came to Earth were regarded as heroes. That was a different time. So much has changed…

Now, all of the aliens have been deported to New Exon. They’re no longer welcome on Earth. If I’d show up back home with an emerald green, seven foot tall alien on my arm…

Well, let’s just say that peaceful shopping for furniture is out of the question. We’d be outcasts. Shunned. Hated.

Then again, we’re not on Earth, are we?

We’re on… well, I haven’t named this planet yet. I guess I’ll call her Trio, for the three moons that I saw.

We’re on Trio. Crashed. Surviving, but only barely.

We might never get out of these dark caves. And even if we do; we might never leave this planet. I can’t worry about what people back home might think.

I have to focus on the present.

And right now, Beast, no, Egon, is the only thing standing between me and certain death. He’s my savior, my hero.

I don’t care about his supposed crimes. I wasn’t there. I don’t pay too much attention to the news; it’s never good news anyway.

If fantasizing about a future together helps me to keep going despite all the danger we’re in, if it helps me forget the death and the fear, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.

I’ll plan our wedding.

I’ll think about seating arrangements.

I’ll brainstorm my butt off.

Anything it takes.

Even fantasizing about consummating said marriage is not out of the question…