Chapter One
Elise
Love is sweet. Love’s a bitch. I’ve heard it all and living in a post-takeover world where humans hide in the recesses of society away from the command of the Vithohn alien race—I believe both statements to be true.
My name is Elise Norvoth, and I am part of the Ninth Sector Militia. We’re a secret group of humans that escaped death by the Vithohn alien race when they took over our planet twenty-five years ago.
The aggressive species sent us into the dark corners of the world, hiding out in trailer parks and abandoned high-rises, hoping to raise enough of an army that we could take them down. Fight back.
The alien race was known for their ruthless killing and disregard for humans. Their DNA made them violently aggressive: mindlessly so. They were like wild beasts let loose on us.
Yet, some sought out human females like a lighthouse to a ship. Ridiculously single-minded.
Rebecca Downes, one of our sharpshooters, was a female one of the Vithohn had sought out. She was nearly forty and had mated with a creature named Daxarus.
He was tall and muscular, yet lean in form. He had deep brown, scaly skin and large tentacles that hung from the back of his head like oversized dreadlocks.
“Be careful, my love,” Daxarus said smoothly as he cradled my friend in his arms.
They stood by the gates of an abandoned luxury hotel we’d been squatting in.
“I will be,” Rebecca cooed, reaching her hand up to his face.
I wanted to wretch at the sight of them together. Not because he was a Vithohn alien, but because they were so sickly sweet it was giving me a major toothache.
“Yeah,” I breathed—sarcasm seeping through my tone. “It’s a real jungle out there.”
Daxarus looked me over with a sly smile, taking his attention away from my friend. The two turned their bodies to me, and Daxarus laughed.
“Any luck out there today?” he asked.
“Nah,” I said with a shrug, twirling my gun around my pointed finger before holstering it.
He was asking, politely, about my job. My place in our little militia is as the watch commander and hunter. I scout new areas for possible human camps: for Vithohn bases to avoid. I hunt for game and help keep us fed, and I stay up watching for any signs of enemies.
When you’re in a rebel army, it helps to be a multi-tasker.
I also happen to sleep with Vithohn, if I run into them. I do this to trigger a biological reaction in the alien make-up that releases their aggression. Make’s ‘em sane. This is a rare position I’m put in since the Vithohn aggressively seek out females on their own. But if I ever have the opportunity to subdue one, I take it.
“Hope you’re not fallin’ asleep on the job again,” Daxarus teased me.
“One time… one time!” I said, exasperated.
Rebecca laughed, and her man followed suit.
“I’m pretty sure that’s all it takes,” Daxarus smirked.
“Yeah, yeah,” I waved him off, circling the happy couple with a big, sheepish grin. “We survived, didn’t we?”
Daxarus offered me a playful shrug and then focused his attention back on Rebecca: her eyes far off.
“How’s it going, ‘Bec?” I asked, noticed her far off stare. “You’re quiet today.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes at me and without speaking, we all began walking in the same direction: up towards the still-working elevator of the hotel.
“She hates that,” Daxarus reminded me of my nickname for her.
“Yeah, well, I hate eating squirrels,” I bristled. “But that’s lunch.”
“Not the same thing,” the Vithohn said with a long finger to his mouth.
He fit in quickly with our militia: passionate, sarcastic, a born fighter. Daxarus was so friendly that it made it hard to remember why we were supposed to fear the Vithohn.
“How’d your hunt go?” Rebecca said, finally.
“Actually, not bad,” I said slowly, dragging out my words thoughtfully.
“Here I thought you didn’t find anything worthwhile?” Daxarus prodded.
“I didn’t find any Vithohn,” I corrected. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t find something worthwhile.”
We reached the elevator and popped in, setting off to the penthouse. It was one of our common areas: where our people gathered. With a loud DING, the doors opened, and Daxarus set his hand over the area between the elevator and the penthouse to keep the doors from closing on us.
“You gonna keep us waiting?” the Vithohn asked as we stepped out.
“I found a mech,” I said, speaking of the pilotable robots that the Earth had once used as weapons. “Could be pretty damn useful if I can get the thing running.”
“You’re kidding!” Rebecca cheered. “That’s amazing!”
Rebecca used to be part of another sector of the human militia, but she left to start a new camp a year ago. Now she has us, and we've all been like family ever since. Like a mother to me in a way.
No, not a mother. More like a fun aunt.
As a militia, we have a vague idea of where other humans might be hiding. If we could just get everyone together, I hoped, we could really have a chance at making an alliance with the Vithohn: for getting Earth back.
“Don’t celebrate just yet,” I warned. “Those things are hard to get going, right?”
“Oops,” Rebecca shushed me suddenly and pointed to the far end of the room. “Bossman’s coming.”
Liam Broderick. Our crew leader. Bossman.
“My ears are burning!” Liam said in his smooth voice.
Liam was in his mid-forties with blond hair: icy, like mine. He had white blond stubble that covered his face with sparse red highlights and a thin nose. If life were different, Liam would have been some sort of English gentleman with a bowler hat and a monocle. Refined, somehow. Yet, in the confines of our hidden militia, he looked like any other dirty soldier we had among us.
“We’re saying good things, I promise,” I said with a wink, raising the corner of my cheek until a clicking noise sounded from the right side of my mouth.
“Did you find anything out there, Elise?” Liam asked, leaning against the wall and looking my body over like I might have something hidden on my person.
“Nah, no, not today,” I mumbled, trying to feign disappointment.
Rebecca darted her brows together and then gave a laugh, shaking her head at my lie.
“Damn,” Liam swore, snapping his fingers. “We thought we had a pretty good lead on some Vithohn. I have another crew set out.” He shrugged. “Maybe they’ll have better luck.”
I nodded and leaned forward, perplexed and trying not to show it. “Who’d you send?”
“Jack, Levi, Tanner,” Bossman listed off, counting on his fingers.
I hated when he did that. I hated not being his number one to send out scouting.
“Not gonna have good luck seducing the men, I’m thinkin’,” I snapped.
“No, but they’ll be able to take them down,” Levi said quickly.
My eyes darted to Rebecca and Daxarus, who looked pointedly uncomfortable. “Not the point, I thought?” I stammered. “We were supposed to get the Vithohn on our side, not kill them.”
“We do what we must,” he replied, noncommittal. “You find anything out there, you let me know,” Bossman continued with a snap of his fingers. I nodded to him, confused, and watched as he made his way toward the elevator.
I was just about to stick out my tongue like a petulant child when Liam turned around and offered me a charming smile. “Elise,” he called. “Come to my room tonight. I want to talk to you about something.”
“Sure thing, Bossman!” I said with a mock salute and watched as the elevator doors closed behind him.
“I hate that guy,” Daxarus said with a pointed eye roll.
“You took the words right out of my mouth,” I breathed.
“Hey,” Rebecca defended, as she often did. “He brought in half of our army and made an alliance with a couple stray Vithohn. He’s an amazing leader. He just also happens to be a bit of a jackass.”
“We do what we must,” Daxarus mocked with a hilarious facial contortion.
The three of us made our way to some old hotel chairs that were placed in a circle and took our familiar spots.
“Yeah, D,” I teased, “He can’t help it if his bedside manner sucks. Animals can’t control their manners!”
“Why didn’t you tell him about the mech?” Rebecca said, suddenly lecturing.
“Because,” I drew out the word, “if I tell him, he’s going to send another crew to go and get it and I want it. It’s mine!”
“Okay, little girl,” Rebecca laughed.
“Yeah, not childish at all,” Daxarus added.
“So what do you think that was all about? Rebecca began, changing the subject. “Asking you to come to his room?”
“New mission?” I hoped out loud. “Maybe he found some weapons or has some Intel on—”
“Please!” Daxarus interrupted with a laugh. “He wants her!”
“What?” Both Rebecca and I exclaimed at the same time.
Daxarus crossed his immensely long, armored legs and leaned back in his chair, laughing yet annoyed. “Oh, come on! I hate this. I don't understand you females at all. You are flirtatiously confident to the point of being infuriating but then as soon as a man shows actual interest you, you act like you're completely blindsided.”
I too leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, sinking down into the worn padding like a child. “You need to reign in your man,” I pouted to Rebecca.
“He doesn’t like her,” Rebecca chuckled, waving off her lover.
Daxarus offered a charming grin and pointed in my direction. “Get back to me tomorrow, and we’ll see who’s right,” he said knowingly.
I sat with the couple a while longer before I started to feel the weight of the day on my shoulders. My eyes got heavy and burned with the cry for sleep. I made my polite leave from them and got all the way to my bedroom before I remembered I was supposed to go and see Bossman.
With a sigh, I spun on my heel and took the stairs to a floor directly above mine, walking to his door with a slow stride.
I knocked twice and watched as Liam’s head appeared in the crack of the door. Upon seeing it was me, he flung the door open and invited me in.
“Elise!” he said enthusiastically and hurried me into the room.
I sat at the unused office desk and kicked my boots off, taking in a deep breath. “What’s the news, Liam?”
He smiled and came up to me, kneeling before me. “I’ve been thinking about you,” he said slowly, setting his hands on my thighs.
I looked down at him in surprise and cursed Daxarus for being right.
“Uh-huh,” I said in a high-pitched drone.
“You’re insatiable. To do what you do,” he said, slipping his hand further up until his fingers entwined with my belt loops.
“Liam,” I protested. “I don’t think so.”
“Why?” he asked, not sounding offended nor acting pushy.
“Why?” I repeated with a laugh. “Just not feeling frisky, I guess.”
Plus, he repulsed me.
I shrugged. “It’s just not a good thing for us.”
“Besides,” I breathed, and Liam went to protest, but I set a flirtatious finger across his lips, kissing my finger and parts of his lips. “Then you’d just fall head over heels in love with me, and we can’t have that. You’re my boss.”
“Right,” he said with a laugh, standing up from between my legs. “You’re right. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
He frowned and shook his head. “No, really, Elise. I’m so sorry. That was horrible of me.”
“Really,” I repeated with more compassion this time. “Don’t worry about it.”
He shook his head. “I get so lonely.”
In truth, it might have felt nice to be with someone, if only for a night. Even Liam.
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand his cry of loneliness. I hadn’t been in a relationship for years, and sometimes the need for a warm body was so strong, it became a consuming thought.
It sounded twisted in my head, but I liked being a gateway for the Vithohn. I liked the way it felt to be possessed by something so sexually driven: to feel cared about and held, if only for that moment. Yet, looking over at Liam, in some strange way I knew I couldn’t go back to that. I’d been with Vithohn, and nothing else would compare to that now.
My friends helped, of course.
Daxarus, Rebecca, and I referred to ourselves as the three amigos. We often spent our nights playing cards and sharing life stories: talking about the alliance the three of us had become obsessed with. How to get more Vithohn on our side; how to retake the Earth and rebuild it to what it once was.
Half of our world had lost power since the takeover, and the Vithohn were still figuring out how to run our resources.
I enjoyed my time with the couple. It made this world seem less desolate. It was a preview of what humans and Vithohn working together could look like. But the truth was, I was so jealous of Rebecca and Daxarus that I could barely stand to be around them some days.
My body was used to make the Vithohn sane, not to make them fall in love with me. But I desperately wanted one. Someone.
“It’ll get better,” I said to Liam and made my way to the door. “Promise.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” he said with a sad laugh.
I offered him a quick hug, and we said our goodnights.
No harm done, I hoped.