He slapped himself in the face, trying to keep himself awake, but the blackness threatened to swallow him.
“Xarq?” a quiet female voice asked him somewhere in the distance – Alyssa.
He blinked, his vision completely black, and realized the voice hadn’t come from far after all. His sight returned for a moment, and he saw her standing right before him, her face inches from his.
God, she was so beautiful…
He closed his eyes for a moment – just for a moment – but for some reason, the female’s voice turned panicked now, frantic even, and it started to disappear into the darkness again. He wanted to reply to her, tell her everything was okay, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t make his mouth move, or any other part of his body. His mind whirled, and he was moments away from just collapsing to the floor and sleeping.
Sleep sounded awfully good right now…
“Xarq!” The panicked feminine voice yelled in his mind, and a moment later, a hoarse cry was ripped out of him as needle-like prickles pierced through his thigh. He screamed in agony as he felt the familiar sensation of a plasma shot on his side, and now he did fall to the ground – not from drowsiness, but pain.
He could feel his skin char and his thigh burn, but at least his vision was back, although for a moment he had seen bloody stars. He glanced behind him and saw that the fight was still far away from them, the other Ezak-X struggling against the Krezlians – meaning he must’ve gotten hit by a stray shot.
Fuck… Just his luck.
But somehow, instead of knocking him out completely, the prickling burn of the plasma shot had caused another surge of adrenaline inside him, and his earlier drowsiness was gone. Blood pumped in his veins, and he could see clearly again. If not for the pain…
The pain was intense, and he gritted his teeth, trying to get his body under control. He had only been scraped by the plasma – the shot not even aimed at him – but it still burned like the flames of hell.
“Xarq!” Alyssa yelled, and this time when Xarq turned to look at her, he could see tears in her eyes. She looked distressed, no doubt worried about him – and she wasn’t moving anywhere despite the Krezlians coming closer.
The stubborn woman… She needed to run. Run and get the hell out of here.
He tried to tell her that, but nothing more than a groan came out of his mouth. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even speak. He tried to flex his toes, fingers, anything, but all he managed was a small twitch as he lay on the ground. Fuck.
“The… door…,” he finally managed, his muscles spasming with every word. He looked toward the shuttle station, hoping she would get it. Speaking was a struggle, but he knew he had to do it. He had to help her out of here. “You… have to…”
“I… I can’t,” Alyssa said, looking at him with frantic eyes, her voice high-pitched in panic.
“Yes, you can. The door–”
“No. I’m not leaving without you,” she said, her eyes not only frantic but determined.
Shit, Xarq cursed in his mind. Could she not see he was a lost cause already? She had to go. Escape. Without him.
But then a horrible thought surfaced in his mind. Would she even make it out without him? She was a rookie. This had been her first mission. Could she even fly a shuttle?
Fuck.
He realized there was no other choice. He’d have to go on. If she wasn’t leaving without him, he would have to leave with her.
Hearing the battle move closer toward them, he knew if he wanted Alyssa to get out of here alive, they’d have to move now.
His mind was cloudy and the pain nearly split his skull as he fought to get up from the ground. The nerves of his body struggled to accept his command, but slowly, he pulled himself upright. He groaned from the effort it took, but he knew he had no other choice. He had to get her out of here.
Suddenly, Alyssa was there, her tiny frame burrowing itself under his armpit, trying to hold him steady. The stubborn female…
But somehow, the fact that she was there, the fact that she didn’t want to give up on him, gave him strength. Taking an unsteady step at first, he soon found himself walking toward the shuttle station. Each step he took sent shocks of pain through his body, and he could feel his legs twitch, hardly carrying him, but he knew he had to go on. For her.
People passed them by, running toward the shuttles. In the distance, an explosion went off, and Xarq could smell fire. Krezlians howled in pain, but at least the shooting had temporarily stopped.
It seemed like an eternity, but at last, they made it to a shuttle.
She stepped inside before him, trying to pull him in behind her. He gripped the edges of the shuttle as he struggled to enter. His head swayed and his heart pounded, but with incredible effort, he managed to pull himself in.
This time, no one needed to knock him out. His body shut down all on its own as he hit the floor of the shuttle and darkness swallowed him.
CHAPTER 11
ALYSSA
No, no, no… Alyssa cursed in her mind when Xarq collapsed on the floor of the shuttle with a loud thud, obviously unconscious. Blood flowed on the floor of the small spacecraft, and somehow, Xarq’s complexion seemed paler than before.
Fear for his life settled in the bottom of her stomach. Was he still alive?
Her heart pounded in her chest and her whole body shook as she rushed to his side, kneeling down beside him. She pressed her fingers on his neck to feel for his pulse, relieved to discover a slow, but steady beat.
Alive then, she decided, letting out a shaky breath in relief. Thank god.
The fact that he was unconscious presented another problem for them though. How the hell were they getting out of here?! Although she’d had some spaceship training – minimal, but she’d had it – the whole dashboard of the escape shuttle was in Krezlian, and she didn’t know a word of those bastards’ lizard tongue!
She had to get him awake…
“Xarq!” she hissed in his ear, her eyes darting to the entrance of the emergency platform. Several Ezak-X rushed inside the platform but so far, she couldn’t see any Krezlians...
“Xarq!” she yelled in his ear, this time louder, but the man didn’t do anything more than breathe on the floor. She felt like she had already called his name a million times today – first when he’d been about to pass out outside the shuttle station, and now again.
She knew by now that trying to shake him was useless, his large body was far too heavy for her to sway, but what else was she going to do?! The Krezlians could be coming after them any moment…
Looking at the control panel, she realized there was only one thing she could do if she wanted to get them out of here alive. Her only comfort was that at least Xarq was completely inside the shuttle. If he had collapsed outside it, there would’ve been no hope at all, but with him inside…
Her palms sweated like never before, and she quickly stood up, rushing to the control panel. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked at the panel, her eyes skimming over the lines of tiny buttons, knobs, and little screens on the dashboard.
Why did the damn things have to be so complicated to fly?!
Glancing out of the windows of the shuttle, she saw other shuttles detaching around them as the other prisoners escaped. There were still some Ezak-X coming through the entrance, but the crowd had thinned out… Shit… While no one was coming after them right now, it wouldn’t be long until the Krezlians caught up.
Think, Alyssa, think.
She looked at the buttons before her – blinking lights of every possible color filling her vision. Detach... Where the heck was ‘detach’?!
Her heart raced in her chest as she went through the buttons and knobs on the dashboard, trying to find some button – any button – that would make the doors of their emergency shuttle close and send the shuttle flying into space.
Her eyes darted up from the dashboard again, and to her horror, she saw two Krezlians guards enter the platform, running in their direction.
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Oh, shit… Shit!
Glancing around, she realized they were the last ones on the platform now. The others had already taken off on the shuttles – which meant they were all the more of a clear target for the Krezlians. Like waving a red rag in front of a raging bull.
She’d have to work fast. At least… do something!
A red button blinked on the dashboard, drawing her attention. Could this be it? Strange symbols decorated the button and she didn’t have a freaking clue what they meant, but at this point, with the Krezlians approaching them fast, she might as well try.
It might either kill them on the spot or save them, but…
She pressed the button.
Missiles shot off from the sides of the shuttle, right in the direction of the two Krezlians approaching them, and Alyssa yelped in surprise.
In no more than a split second, before she even managed to even be horrified at what she had done, the whole platform blasted off in a massive explosion, flames swallowing the entrance and making the ground shake around them.
Holy shit…
Her hands shook and her heart pounded overtime in her chest as she looked in the direction of the entrance, her eyes wide. Flames rattled around the door, blocking it completely and the two Krezlians were nowhere to be seen anymore.
Okay, not that one.
At least the Krezlians were no longer a problem, and she doubted anyone could even enter through the mess of crumble and metal that had become of the entrance, but… The spaceship was on fucking fire!
No problem, burn the Krezlian spaceship… But the bad thing was – they were still inside it! If there was any time to leave the mothership, that time was now!
Skimming through the buttons on the dashboard, she tried to find the right one this time. Her breathing started to get erratic and panic threatened to take control of her. Why hadn’t she taken more courses on… Alien languages or… spaceship mechanics or whatever?! Why had she ever thought that her basic training would be enough for a space mission?! It wasn’t! Not even for a peace mission!
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her nerves as she took another look at the control panel. Several lights were blinking and the sight of them made her head swim.
Come on… One of these had to be it. Think…
In Ghelian emergency shuttles, the detach button was… on the left? This wasn’t a Ghelian shuttle though… And she wasn’t even sure if it was on the left, but finally, a large blue light caught her attention. This one?
Only one way to find out...
Her heart thumped in her chest and her hands shook as she pressed the blinking button, hoping it wouldn’t do something stupid like blow the whole shuttle up. When the doors of the shuttle closed and an escape hatch started to open behind them, she almost screamed from joy.
Another light blinked blue before her, and this time, with more confidence, she pushed it, detaching the little shuttle from its mothership and sending it off to space through the opening.
Thank god…
Alyssa let out a relieved breath when the shuttle was shot off outside the Krezlian spaceship and she could see the darkness of space and stars around her. Never had she felt such comfort in the vastness of space like she did at that moment, and she wasn’t sure she ever would again.
Her pounding heart started to slow in her chest, but after a moment of admiring the stars around her, she realized the hardest part was still before her. Finding their way home or to any friendly spaceship to pick them up.
But at least they were free now.
Looking behind them, Alyssa saw the Krezlian ship detonate. Parts of it ripped off and floated to different directions in space as it came apart, likely from the power of the explosions going off inside it.
To think that they might’ve still been inside it… She had made it just in time. Because she was sure that with the vacuum the space created inside the ship, there was no one coming out alive anymore...
As if to prove her thoughts, no one followed them as they flew farther and farther away from the mothership, floating deeper into space.
No one was after them. They were safe.
They were also completely alone and helpless.
CHAPTER 12
XARQ
Xarq woke up to a bright light shining into his eyes. His whole body felt numb and he couldn’t feel anything. Not his arms. Not his legs. Nothing. He opened his eyes but couldn’t see anything but white all around.
His heart pounded in his chest as he struggled to grasp his situation. Where was he?
“Oh, you’re awake?” a female voice said next to him, and finally, his surroundings started to form before his eyes. The white walls of a medical unit… And a Va’ii nurse before him.
Suddenly, the memories of everything that had happened returned to his mind. Being captured... The escape… Alyssa…
“Where is she?” he demanded, jerking up from the medical bed. He saw stars for a moment, but he didn’t care. He had to get to Alyssa.
The Va’ii nurse blinked slowly, as if not quite understanding his question.
“Where is she?” he asked again, more impatiently this time as he started to pull off the tubes and wires attached to his body. He didn’t have time for this.
“S-Sir!” The nurse exclaimed, rushing to him. Her eyes rounded in shock as he kept tugging at the cords, and she spoke in her high-pitched voice, “You must lay still! You aren’t completely healed yet!”
Xarq grunted, ignoring the nurse’s protests. He knew perfectly well that he wasn’t completely healed. Feeling was starting to return to his body, and none of it was pleasant. His muscles ached, and he knew that without the medicine going straight into his system, it was going to hurt only more. But to be honest, he didn’t give a fuck.
Placing his feet on the floor next to the bed, he stood up. His stance faltered for a moment and his head spun. But that didn’t matter. His condition didn’t matter.
He had to find Alyssa.
Was she even alive? Hit gut tightened at the thought. Had she made it back? How had he ended up here anyway? Questions whirled in his head, and his mind demanded answers. Although the only acceptable answer that his mind would take was: Her. Here. Alive and unharmed.
“Sir,” the panicked voice of the nurse said again. “You must sit–”
Before the female could continue her incessant protests in that annoyingly sharp voice of hers, Xarq rushed out of the room. He made his way through the white-walled corridors of the medical unit, his pace increasing with every step.
As he reached the lobby of the center, the nurse sitting behind the reception desk turned toward him. Her eyes widened as she saw him, no doubt taking in his appearance – a half-naked Ezak-X male running around in nothing but a medical gown, still a few tubes attached to his arms.
Xarq knew he wasn’t likely the most common sight at the center, but he didn’t have time for shocked questions or unnecessary inquiries. He opened his mouth to ask the nurse about Alyssa – and heard a familiar voice by the main entrance.
“You mean I will be sent back to Earth immediately?”
Turning toward the voice, he saw a small, brown-haired human female by the door – one he would have recognized anywhere, even with his eyes closed.
Alyssa.
He rushed toward her, pleased to see the expression of surprise on her face turn into a smile as she noticed him.
She was alive. Thank the gods.
At that moment, nothing else mattered to him but the fact that she was alive and safe. Away from the Krezlians and uninjured. Relief flooded his system, and he had never known happiness like he did at that moment. Staring into the bright green eyes of the smiling little human female, he finally knew the true definition of the word.
His happiness was short-lived, however, as her earlier words sunk in to his foggy brain. Sent back to Earth? What?
A Va’ii woman stood across from Alyssa, and her words crushed his heart completely.
“Yes,” the woman said, oblivious to him. “Now that you’ve been discharged from the medical center and we’ve ensured that nothing is critically wrong with you… Considering everything you have been through, we have deemed it best for you to return to Earth for recovery. You will be sent back to your home planet on the next available ship.”
“No,” Xarq growled, jumping in between them and grabbing Alyssa by the arm. He turned to the Va’ii woman, recognizing her as Lady Eneria. “She is not going.” The hell she would.
Lady Eneria noticed him too now, and she cocked an eyebrow at the sight of him. Xarq frowned at her. He knew he looked ridiculous in the medical gown, and he was well aware that grabbing a female as he had just done was completely out of line and a breach of protocol for someone like him, but…
“She’s not going,” he repeated, his voice steady. She couldn’t.
He turned to look at Alyssa now, trying to transmit through his eyes that they needed to talk. That she couldn’t just… go.
Her bright green eyes stared back at him, tears brimming in their depths, and for a moment, he froze.
He didn’t know what to think or do. He was a monster. No more than an animal and he had no right to tell her what to do and what not. He had no right to anything at all – least of all to her. But she was his. Deep inside, he knew that she was his and there was no way he was going to let her go.
Especially not now.
What he had suspected earlier… He was only more certain of now. Inhaling her sweet scent into his nose, he noticed the change in the fragrance. It was subtle, but it was definitely different from when he’d first met her – and this time he knew it wasn’t because of spending days in a dingy little cell without washing up.
Alyssa seemed to notice the determination in his eyes, and after a moment, she returned it. Her expression hardened, and she pushed back her tears as she turned to Lady Eneria.
“Lady Eneria, could you please give us a moment?” she asked.
The Va’ii woman stared at the two of them cautiously, as if not quite knowing what to expect or when the situation might blow up in her face. Her eyes kept darting to the guards by the entrance of the medical center, and the movement annoyed Xarq.
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