She discarded their trash in a nearby corner. She’d take it topside on her next food run.
Leaning back against the couch near his feet, feeling halfway content, Sydney smiled. Mike might not talk, but just having another person here made her feel less lonely. Glancing halfway over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed as she noticed the uncomfortable look on his face. Immediately, she turned around.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurting that bad?”
He moved stiffly shifting. Immediately, Sydney rolled to her knees and stood.
She helped him reposition himself, then grabbed two pillows and carefully placed them under his leg, hoping to ease the pain. He shot her a thankful smile before his eyes closed in exhaustion.
The next two days were spent taking naps, eating, and talking to him while he just stared, giving her his full attention. It hadn’t taken long for her to become comfortable with his presence and the way he looked—not that he was ugly, just unusual. At least she no longer feared him.
After eating almost all their food, they only had enough left to last another day. A minimum of three cans at a time wasn’t enough for him, and she knew it. Assuming he was anything like a Human, for a bone to heal, he needed a lot of protein, certainly more than he’d be able to get from Beanie Weenies could give him.
She needed to make another food run, and soon.
Slowly chewing and savoring her food, listening to the silence except for the occasional smacking of lips, she kept glancing over at Mike.
“You know,” she began, “it’s nice to have you here. I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be around another person.” She gulped a mouthful of water, then pointed with her fork. “I never dreamed that being so alone and not talking to anyone for months could almost drive me crazy. I often talked aloud just to hear another voice. Okay, my voice.”
And that led to another set of problems. Sydney enjoyed the company, but she knew he couldn’t stay. She couldn’t give him what he needed. Hell, she could barely take care of herself!
More than once, she would mentally run through scenarios about how to alert his people. But every idea she came up with ended the same way—leading them to her secret hidey-hole. No thank you. So here they sat, eating their meager Beanie Weenies.
The light shining through the slit from the almost- covered opening dimmed, and she knew she needed to get dressed and search for more food.
She swallowed the last bite and tossed the can to the side. Glancing over at Mike, she said, “I need to go on another food run.”
He just sat there staring, as usual. Even though she had gotten used to it, she really wished he would talk, if only to hear his voice.
Standing, she gathered her clothes, and started the ritual of getting ready.
Sydney tried to run her fingers through her hair to smooth out the tangles, but it didn’t work. Giving up, she stuffed her messy hair under the hat and pulled on the black fleece jacket.
“I’ll be back,” she threw over her shoulder before wrapping the black cloth around her face. One last glance at Mike, she grabbed her backpack, then took the steps two at a time. She only hoped he would be okay alone.
Chapter 4
Sydney
Darkness blanketed the Earth, but some light shone through the cloudy sky. The moon was full tonight. In dark clothes, Sydney blended seamlessly with the surroundings and kept to the shadows, slowly easing her way toward town. One could never be too careful.
Almost exhausting the other areas, she decided to go to a different section tonight, hoping to find more food. Different food. Not that the beans weren’t good, but Mike needed something with more protein. At least, Humans needed protein to heal.
This part of town crawled with aliens more often than not, which was why everyone avoided the area.
Sydney had been slinking around for about an hour without seeing anyone person. That’s why she preferred the night. The breeze brushed her barely viable cheeks. She closed her eyes for only a moment, enjoying the feeling. This was what she missed the most: fresh, albeit stinking, air.
Okay, eyes open.
Up ahead, she stared at the alleys stretching around different corners. This was where things got tricky; she had to stay alert.
The stench of the alleyway made her nose twitch. Scorch marks darkened the light-colored bricks. A few rats scurried and she nearly jumped out her of skin. Almost screaming, she clutched her chest, watching the rats disappear in the shadows.
When she caught her breath and calmed a little, she crept down the alley, mindful that at any moment someone could turn the corner.
At the end of the alley, she paused, listening. Words drifted in a language she didn’t understand. Quickly pressing her back tightly against the wall, chest heaving, she slammed her eyes shut and mentally controlled her breathing. Knowing her luck, every one of them had supernatural hearing.
No matter how many times Sydney saw the aliens, her body had the same reaction. Scared shitless!
Slowly—quietly, she peered around the corner. Her eyes widened, jaw clenched tight as she watched four gray aliens punch and kick a white-haired alien repeatedly.
Mike!
But this wasn’t Mike. As she watched, she noticed his hands tied behind his back. Still, his body jerked, trying to break free. It was no use.
Her heart hurt with each strike as she imagined Mike being held against his will and unable to defend himself. After the third punch, she couldn’t watch anymore. Tears glossed her eyes and a few wobbled down her cheeks. How could people be so cruel? Yes, they were aliens, but…she shook her head and gritted her teeth. In a short time, Mike had skewed her opinion, Humanizing the white-haired aliens.
Another quick glance around the corner, she watched the ugly bastards drag him inside an abandoned building—literally dragging him inside!
Sydney slid down the side of the building, landing on her ass, and tore off the hat. Why the hell did she feel the need to rush in and help the guy? She didn’t know him! There were no ties except… Mike!
Mike.
What if he knew him? What if they were family? Knowing the pain of losing loved ones, Sydney couldn’t do that to him.
Dammit!
In frustration, she scrubbed her face and dropped it into the palm of her hands, hating what needed to be done.
Patience was the key to almost everything; there was no reason to rush in, knowing the gray aliens were there. If she waited a bit, maybe they would leave, even go to sleep. Assuming they slept, of course. Worst case scenario? One guard that wasn’t paying attention. Crap, she hated this!
Images of them hitting the white-haired alien kept playing over and over in a loop. Her heart sank. If she hadn’t met Mike, maybe she could’ve ignored this entire situation.
But she had.
And she couldn’t.
And if she didn’t at least try to save him, she would never be able to live with herself.
After giving it about thirty minutes, she slowly got to her feet and blew out a breath.
Let’s get this over with. She tucked her hair back under the hat, securing the cloth to cover her face.
Scouting the building, looking for a way in, she spotted several broken windows, but nothing that appealed to her. Broken glass, blood…it really wasn’t her forte. But it was the best way in. The least expected, that much was certain.
After picking a window closest to ground level, she pulled her sleeve over her hand and tried to quietly clear the loose glass. Thankfully, most of it had fallen inside the room and there wasn’t much to rake away. Hefting herself up as quietly as possible, she threw one leg and then the other over the seal, dropping five feet to the floor.
Glass crunched…
She froze, expecting someone to burst through the door.
I really need to start working out, she scolded herself.
When no one appeared, she huffed in relief. Looking around, it was some type of office. A sideways picture hanging on the wall, a buste
d-up desk standing on one leg.
Peeking around the doorway, the hall was empty. White tile now light and dark brown with dirt, several open doors down the long corridor, she began the search.
One room cleared, then another. After about the fifth open doorway, her eyes locked with light blue cat-eyes. Her breath hitched.
Unlike Mike, this guy’s eyes held malice, hopefully for the gray aliens.
She hesitated, not wanting to get too close, her eyes constantly scanning the hall before landing back on the white-haired alien.
Sydney gulped down a hefty dose of fear. Time was getting away from her and she needed to act or leave, not just stand there.
Get this over with Syd!
Stepping inside, she noticed the dingy walls, a lone lightbulb hanging from the center of the room. It had to be a storage room, or the gray aliens had watched enough Human cop shows and stereotyped the place perfectly. Her bet was on a storage room.
With each step forward, she tried to ignore his laser- focused stare, though it made her cheeks tingle. When she finally swung her gaze to his, the feral look made her falter for a second.
Just get the hell out! her mind screamed at her, and if it hadn’t been for Mike, she would have done just that.
His hands and feet were both bound tightly, giving her an air of safety. Sydney kept a wide berth, coming in behind his chair. Close enough to touch him, she studied the rope tied around his wrist, grimacing when he sniffed loudly. Was he smelling her?
Don’t be stupid, Sydney.
With shaking hands, she reached down, her fingers working the knot loose. It took time to get it started.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she mumbled. “You can untie your own feet. Mike’s nice, but I’m not taking any more chances, buddy. Good luck.”
With the knot now loose, the rope fell to the floor. Sydney leapt back as he made a grab for her, but his bound feet held him in place.
He stared as she backed away slowly before turning around and making a run for it.
She needed to find food and get home before anything else happened.
Many of the signs were missing from the buildings, so she decided to search the ones that looked like stores. One store after another, all proved to be empty. Sydney had almost given up hope until she spotted one small building nestled between two larger ones. It was worth a shot.
She pushed open the door and gasped.
How had this store been missed? Scanning the shelves, she had the first pick!
Overwhelming giddiness—Sydney hadn’t felt that in a long time!
She scanned each shelf, not sure where to begin. If she could take the entire store with her, she would have.
She filled the backpack with as much as it would hold without busting the seams. She even found two grocery bags and filled them both. Carrying this much food could easily be the best or worst decision she’d ever made.
Aside from taking an alien home and rescuing a second one, she thought sardonically.
Heading out, she couldn’t wait to get home and show Mike. Her arms hurt from the weight, but with the adrenaline pumping, she made it back to the basement in record time.
Trying not to trip down the stairs, she smiled over at Mike, who was now sitting up a little. With some extra protein, he should heal much faster now.
With a silly grin on her face, she dropped the backpack with a thud, still beyond excited.
“I found all kinds of things tonight.” Digging into the backpack she held up the cans while she talked. “This is chunky chicken, this is tuna…”
Sydney knew he didn’t understand, but she kept on talking.
“Oh, and guess what? I saw one of your people tonight. The gray guys apparently kidnapped him or something. They beat the crap out of him, then tied him to a chair. And now that I know you, I had to do something. So, I untied his hands and helped him escape. He should be okay.”
She used the handy, old-fashioned can opener on the tuna. Mike had cat eyes and cats liked tuna, so…
“Here, try this,” she said, handing it to him.
He sniffed the can. His eyes lit up and a smile stretched across his face, which was somewhat scary. Instead of being afraid though, Sydney grinned back. He polished off one can before she handed him another…and then another. Being able to give him the extra protein made her feel useful again, which also made her happy.
As she took a bite of chunky chicken, she studied his leg. It seemed to be healing okay. The chicken hit her tongue and she closed her eyes and moaned. It tasted so good! Savoring it, she chewed as slowly as possible. It had been a long time since she had tasted any type of meat.
She chuckled under her breath. Six months ago, Sydney would have turned her nose up at canned meat; now it tasted like heaven on a fork. Talk about irony.
Chapter 5
Jakke
Takkeo had been missing for four days, and Jakke was beginning to fear the worst. His mind conjured images of torture—beatings that left his brother covered in bruises as they extracted information, or worse—sport! And then he imagined Takkeo barely breathing on some cold hard floor, wondering why they had not rescued him yet. If the Tureis had taken Jakke or his brothers, it would have been different; they were trained to withstand a lot, even knew what to expect. But Takkeo? He was too young to fathom such vile treatment of others.
“Commander?” Jakke’s head snapped up. He reached over and pressed the comm unit. “Go ahead.”
“The Commander of the Conqueror has sent a reply to your message.”
“Put it through.”
Jakke’s brother Kollin appeared on the screen.
“Jakke, we are on our way and should arrive in one day. Stay strong, brother.”
A weight lifted from his shoulders. Kollin would soon be there with extra soldiers to aid in the search. The five brothers had always protected Takkeo, and Jakke knew that Kollin would worry about his wellbeing as much as he did. It was their job to protect their youngest brother.
“Commander!”
Jakke exploded from his chair and Kavvan skidded to a halt in front of him.
Bright, excited eyes met his. “We have a lead on Takkeo. Sammie is waiting in the meeting room.”
Jakke was rounding the desk as he ordered, “Tell me!” Without breaking stride, the two of them stalked out onto the bridge.
“Sammie was taken by the Tureis. They kept him in an abandoned building, and he claims he was rescued by a Human.”
Although grateful that Sammie had been rescued, Jakke didn’t understand the urgency. Entering the meeting room, a battered Sammie sat at the table. At Jakke’s appearance, he started to rise. Jakke held up a hand.
“Stay seated.” And then he took his own seat at the head of the table.
“Thank you, Commander.”
Elbows propped on the table, Jakke noted the bruises on Sammie’s cheeks, and one eye almost swollen shut. “I was not informed that you had been taken.”
Jakke leveled a stern look at Kavvan, expecting an explanation in private.
“They did not have me for long. At least not long enough to be reported missing. I fought until four of them overtook me, and after tying my hands together, they continued pummeling me.” Sammie gestured at his face and body. “They placed me in an empty room and tied my feet to a chair.”
“Go on.”
“Someone dressed in black broke in and untied my hands. She left me to untie my own feet, so I couldn’t give chase. While she worked at the knots, I heard her mumble something about ‘Mike’ being nice, but she wasn’t taking any more chances. Commander, I smelled Takkeo on her.”
Jakke’s breath froze in his lungs until he slowly let it out. This was the only lead they had to go on, and it filled him with hope. “What did this Human look like?”
Sammie shook his head. “I couldn’t tell. Underneath the bad body odor, the Human smelled female, with a hint of trees and rain. She had a covering on her head and a cloth wrapped around h
er face, effectively hiding her features. I could see only dark brown eyes.”
Jakke turned to his 1st officer. “Kavvan, get Oberron here, now.”
Kavvan pushed up from the chair and disappeared.
Addressing Sammie again, Jakke asked, “Anything else you can tell me?”
Sammie slowly shook his head. Disappointment flared, but Jakke didn’t let it show. “Head down to medical and have Rykker take a look at your injuries.”
Oberron rushed in as Sammie was leaving. “You called for me?”
“Yes, we have some information on Takkeo.”
Oberron’s eyes lit up.
“There is a Human female who covers everything but her eyes.” Jakke scratched his chin, thinking. “She rescued Sammie in the cover of darkness, so look for her then. Tonight. Find out where Sammie is being held. I want everyone available on the ground. The more eyes and ears, the better. Tell them not to engage. Follow the Human, and she’ll lead us to Takkeo. Understand?”
“Yes, Commander.”
Oberron left, followed by Kavvan. For the first time in several days, the weight lifted from his shoulders, and he had hope.
That night, all the males searched for the unknown female dressed in black. Jakke waited anxiously as the night slowly stretched into morning. Disappointment weighed heavily on his shoulders as he went to morning meal.
Kavvan sat down, eyes weary. “Are you alright, Commander?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sleeping?”
Kavvan, his closest friend, knew how difficult this past week had been on him. Even when Jakke vented his anger and others stayed away, Kavvan had never mentioned his mood.
Finally inching his eyes up, Jakke unceremoniously rubbed his forehead. “I will sleep when Takkeo is safe.”
“Kollin will be here soon, and with double troops, I am sure we will be able to locate him.”
“But in what condition?” That was Jakke’s greatest worry. “If it had been anyone else, any of my other brothers…I need to find him.”
Jakke (The Azziarin Series Book 1) Page 3
