by A. G. Wilde
Monstrosity 2.0 was back.
Why had it waited?
She thought it had gone away.
But Crex was close to shore now, close enough to collapse in the shallow water.
As he fell in the water, Piper scrambled from underneath him.
His blood was a trail back into the deep and behind them, the monster was still approaching.
She was mildly aware of the remaining gator-guard’s exclamations and she grabbed Crex’s arms and pulled him as she tried to drag him from the water.
Surely, the water was the extent of monster-fish’s domain.
She just needed to get him out of the water.
She didn’t like the fact that the monster was still coming after them but at least that was serving one purpose at the moment—the gator-guards were too distracted to take much notice of her and Crex.
As she managed to pull him unto the sand, her heart jumped in her chest, and not in a good way.
His entire middle section was one big wound. There was so much blood.
Too much blood.
If she didn’t do something quickly, he was going to die.
She was sure even with his remarkable healing powers, he couldn’t heal himself quickly enough to escape the fatality of the wound.
A screech to her left brought her back to reality and her eyes widened as she scrambled backward.
There, lifting itself on its tentacles, the sea monster was using them as legs to walk clumsily toward the shore.
What the actual fu—
It was heading toward the gator-guards, however, and they had their shock rods ready.
Piper watched in horror as the monster shot a tentacle at one of the guards, hitting him so hard he handed at least a hundred feet away, slamming into the sand ridge.
The other guards were shouting and snarling.
One managed to ramp up its shock rod and attacked a tentacle.
The Monstrosity hissed as its form shook.
As the fight ensued, Piper turned back to Crex, pulling his upper body into her lap.
She didn’t know what to do.
He wasn’t moving.
He was bleeding uncontrollably.
Pressing her fingers against his wrist, she searched for a pulse and felt her insides go cold when she couldn’t detect one.
Bringing her head close to his face, she tried to pick up breathing.
Nothing.
Resting her head on his chest, now fighting back tears that were threatening at her eyes, she felt no movement.
He wasn’t breathing. She couldn’t even feel his heart beating.
This wasn’t happening. She couldn’t help the wail that left her lips and she pulled his limp body into her arms.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
In that moment, time slowed down and it was only her and him.
Looking behind her, the Monstrosity was still fighting the remaining guards but all that seemed insignificant.
“Crex!” She wailed, her vision blurry from the tears streaming down her face.
The sound that left her lips then as her body shook while she held him was a sound she’d only heard leave herself once.
Only once.
That time she’d seen her sister’s lifeless body.
Only then had such a torturous sound left her.
She stayed holding him for ages as the tears continued to fall. Her body shaking against his as she held him, as if holding on to him would stop the truth from being reality.
But, as time passed and her tears slowed, she had to face it.
His body was lifeless against hers.
He was gone.
Crex was gone.
The song spilled from her lips then; the words forming on their own as she rocked him against her and looked off into the twin sunset.
You told me not to love you
Not even just a bit
But the lines, they got real blurry
While going through this shit
And now I’m left with…two holes…in my heart
Maybe I should have listened right from the start…
Where have you gone? Please don’t go ‘cos I’m broken
And I don’t wanna be going through this all alone now…
I just can’t lose you too
‘Cos I love you
She swallowed as those words left her lips, but they were the truth. She hadn’t the guts to admit it before but here she was, faced with it now that he was gone and the gaping hole was growing in her heart.
I’m not telling a lie…
I’m hoping you’ll come save me
Maybe just one more time
If even, just one more night
Chapter Thirty
The beach was silent now.
The sound of fighting had ended as the remaining guards had killed the Monstrosity, but not before it had wounded them all fatally.
Her heart beat hard, matching her breathing as she stared at Crex’s gaping wound.
Blood. There was so much blood.
But she refused to believe he was gone. She couldn’t give up. Not now.
The first aid kit! She was sure she’d seen it in the sack he’d carried from the escape pod.
With renewed vigor, she rested him on the sand and darted toward the cave. Jumping over body after body that littered the beach, she finally reached it, falling to her knees as she rummaged frantically in the sack.
It was there. The first aid kit. She gripped it as if it was a rare treasure, staring at it for a second before she rushed from the cave, clutching it to her chest.
But when she reached him, she felt crippled. There was so much blood.
She was no doctor. The most she’d ever done was put a bandaid on her finger after cutting it with a kitchen knife.
She was in way over her head.
As she gulped and kneeled beside him, she clenched her fists.
She could do this.
“Come on, Piper,” she whispered to herself. “You can do this. Come on.”
There wasn’t much in the first aid it. Only a bit of gauze and what she assumed was antiseptic.
As she dabbed the antiseptic against the wound, her fingers trembled as tears flooded her eyes.
This wouldn’t do. The wound was too large. But it was all she had.
She couldn’t stop the tears as they started falling again, clouding her vision as she tried to wrap the gauze around the wound. There was so little gauze, it hardly wrapped around his torso once.
It was futile. Her efforts were futile.
Holding his hand, she threaded her fingers through his and let the tears come.
This was not fair. Why did life have to be like this? Why were things always so hard?
She stayed like that for what felt like hours and was still holding his hand when she was sure she felt his finger twitch.
“Crex?” The hope in her voice was palpable, as she wiped back the tears flowing down her face.
When his finger twitched again, the relief that flooded her was so strong it caused a fresh torrent of tears to flow down her cheeks.
She needed to get him help.
But how?
Glancing above the ridge, she realized the Tasqal fighter ship was still there.
There must be a med bay or at least first aid supplies on that thin.
But what if there were more guards up there?
She doubted it, but she needed to be cautious anyway.
Pulling Crex as best as she could toward the sand ridge, she rested him at the bottom, placing a soft kiss on his lips before standing.
She needed a weapon before she entered that ship—assuming she could get in.
She had no idea what was awaiting her and she couldn’t be taking chances.
Close by was the body of a gator guard with a sword in its hand. Prying the weapon away, she looked up at the ship.
Right then.
Here goes nothing.
* * *
> The ship was jet black against the brown stones of Muk. It was shaped like a V with an oval attached to the top.
As she approached it, the doors opened and Piper froze. But no guards came forth.
Entering the ship, she took a second to listen.
Everything was silent apart from the low hum of the ship itself.
Inside was sleek, but it reeked of what she assumed was alcohol…either that or it was gator-guard piss.
She’d think of it as the former.
Sword at the ready, she headed straight ahead, listening for any sound or movement.
The cockpit must be at the front of the ship. Maybe she could find some kind of schematic there to let her know where the med bay was.
As she came upon two more doors, she paused and was happy when they opened automatically to a room full of controls and two seats.
Jackpot. The cockpit.
“Welcome,” a voice said, causing her to almost jump out of her skin. Pointing her sword, she looked around.
“Lifeform: Homo Sapien. Common name: Human. From the planet: Earth,” the voice said.
Oh, it was the ship.
Good, it had AI.
“Lifespan: Seventy-nine years,” the ship continued and Piper’s brow furrowed.
“I need help,” she interrupted.
“Language identified. English. Would you like me to switch to this language for instructions and controls?”
Piper’s eyebrows rose.
“Yes,” she answered.
“Input language switched to: English.” A pause. “I am programmed for various forms of assistance. How may I help you?” The ship asked.
Piper cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
She was really going out on a limb asking the enemy ship for help but AI should be impartial, right?
“Are there any other life-forms on this ship?”
“Life-forms on board: two.”
Piper froze.
“Define the life-forms on board,” she whispered.
“One human. One coelurosaurian theropod. Both from Earth.”
“What?”
“Scanning,” the ship replied.
“The specific name is Tyrannosaurus Rex.”
“Oh. M’Hul,” Piper’s shoulder’s sagged, releasing a breath.
He was alive.
“Where is the med bay?”
“Is there someone who needs medical assistance?” The ship asked.
“Yes,” Piper replied.
“Should nurse-bots be dispatched?”
Nurse-bots?
Ok.
“Yes,” Piper answered with little confidence.
Nurse-bots. Well, damn.
“Scanning for injured beings,” the ship said.
Piper waited for a second, glancing around the room as she played with her lower lip. She needed to get back to Crex. Leaving him out there all alone and defenseless made her worry.
“Beings found,” the AI announced and Piper waited nervously.
“Twenty Hedgeruds: dead. One Tyrannosaurus Rex: injured. One human: injured. One unidentified: dead. One Ceqtaq—” Piper held her breath as she waited. “—status critical,” the computer finished.
“The Ceqtaq,” Piper stated quickly. “I need medical assistance for the Ceqtaq.”
“Understood. Nurse-bots dispatched.”
Without hesitating, Piper ran from the control room, retracing her steps to the ship’s exit door.
As she reached outside, she saw two boxy robots rolling down the sand ridge toward Crex. She just about caught up with them as they began treating his wound.
They worked fast and in harmony, disinfecting and stitching, then the wound was wrapped.
Next, she watched as they lifted him, hoisting him on their boxy backs as they headed back to the ship.
“Wait!” Piper shouted, but the little robots didn’t seem to have sensors on them to take instruction.
As they took him into the ship, Piper rushed behind them, following them into what looked like the med bay.
After placing him on what looked like a gurney, the robots immediately began attaching electrodes and wires to his chest and a series of machines began pumping fluid into him.
Then they exited the room.
Piper held his hand as she looked at his face, hoping to see more signs of life.
“Computer?” She asked.
“Yes?” The AI answered.
“What is his chance of survival?”
“Chance of survival: twenty-five percent and improving.”
Twenty-five percent, huh? Well, fuck that. She already knew how she felt about those odds.
He would make it. Just like she did.
But now that he was being healed, she also needed to think about their safety.
“Who owns this ship?” She asked.
“This ship is the property of the High Tasqals.”
“Are there any other Tasqal ships close by?”
“Scanning.”
Piper waited, biting her lips as she studied Crex. The last thing she wanted was for them to be in a Tasqal ship if the enemy was close. It made things all too easy for them.
“No ships close by,” the ship reported.
Good.
“Can you alert me if one comes close?”
“Alert scheduled.”
“Good,” she breathed. But a simple alert would not be enough. They needed to move from the area.
“Ship, can you take us to another location?”
“Unpiloted travel is allowed within fifty kilometers.”
Ok.
“What is fifty kilometers south of this location?”
“Sand,” the AI replied.
Of course.
It wasn’t a hard decision. If they stayed in the same spot, things could get messy fast.
“Take us there,” she said.
“Engaging engines. Shields: engaged.” The vessel shook a little as it started to move. “Cloaking: off.”
“No, cloaking on, cloaking on!”
“Cloaking: on,” the AI replied as the ship became airborne.
Great. And another thing.
“Ship? How do I lock all the doors to secure the ship?”
“Would you like all the doors, entrances, and exits to be sealed?”
“Yes. Lock all the doors. No one is to enter this ship.”
“Doors locked,” the AI replied.
Piper’s eyebrows rose for a second but she didn’t question it. It seems the Isclits, Tasqals, or whoever really didn’t think anyone would hijack their ship. Well, their lack of security worked out well for her.
As the ship moved, she let out a pent up breath.
She hoped she was doing the right thing.
Glancing back at Crex, she ran her fingers lightly over the wound in his torso.
He almost hadn’t made it.
Almost.
Now, he had a chance and all she wanted was for him to be ok.
Climbing atop the gurney, she settled against his far side, careful not to disturb his wound.
As she rested her head against his chest, she felt it. His heart.
She could feel it beating now, deep and strong, and a smile smoothed her lips.
He was healing.
Looking down at herself, she could see her entire body was covered in cuts and scrapes. She could get up and tend to her wounds, but the urgency wasn’t there.
She didn’t want to move.
This was where she wanted to be.
Right here. Beside him.
This felt right.
It was right.
Maybe the universe had been trying to tell her something from the very start.
It was unthinkable all they’d been through. The chances of everything happening had been slim. Yet, they had happened.
She’d been the one to be abducted, out of millions of women on Earth.
She’d been the one to be placed in a cell with him.
She’d been saved
from near-death only to live so she could be here right now, beside him.
Growing up, she’d never believed in coincidences. She’d learned early that such things were highly unlikely.
All this…how could it all be coincidence?
No. This was right.
This felt right.
This was where she was supposed to be.
Chapter Thirty-One
Piper.
His Piper.
The sea monster.
The guards.
Piper!
Crex’s eyes shot open to bright light and his senses were immediately scrambled.
He was about to leap upright when he realized something, no, someone soft and warm was resting against him.
Eyes dropping to rainbow-colored hair, he relaxed a bit.
Piper.
She was alive.
He was alive.
Eyes narrowing, he surveyed the room.
They weren’t on the beach anymore. They were in some vessel.
Sniffing, a snarl left his mouth as his muscles tensed.
Hedgeruds. He could smell them.
They were here. Or, at least, they had been here.
Raising his hands, he realized he wasn’t bound. Then how was he on their ship?
They’d also left the beach somehow. The smell of the water wasn’t there anymore.
Eyes narrowing, he tried to move but the pain in his side was great.
Pulling the wires off his chest, he tried to make sense of what was happening.
He couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. From what he could tell, they were the only ones on the ship.
Glancing back down at Piper, he brought his hand to her cheek and touched it softly.
She was alive. Alive and beautiful.
More beautiful than any other female he had ever encountered.
And it wasn’t just her face.
It was her. Her as a person.
She was a fighter. His fighter.
A glance down at his torso told him his body was tightly bandaged, meaning he’d been given medical assistance.
How she’d managed that, he didn’t know. All he knew was that this little soft, rainbow-haired person had saved him somehow.
She’d saved him in so many ways; she didn’t even realize.
His heart beat hard against his chest as if to agree.
Because of her, it wasn’t a hard, cold mass in his center anymore. Now it was beating, full of vigor. And it was because of her.
