Roy looks back and forth, from the Captain to me. He pieces it together faster than I thought he might.
“You didn’t,” he says.
“I don’t know what that’s supposed to insinuate,” I say.
“You befriended the alien,” Roy says, appearing to know it all. “I mean, how else would you be here right now? It’s either that, or you killed the beast, but I highly doubt you’d take that route.”
“And why would you doubt that?” I ask.
“Because you dropped your gun back there. And I know you, Naomi. I know what happened to you. You aren’t a killer,” he says.
Rage. Sadness. Pain.
I’m getting hit from every direction. My love has been taken from me, forced into torturous submission by Zakar. All of this is just a little too much to handle.
I’m trying.
But it’s breaking me.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out.
All eyes focus on me. Even the Captain is staring with his mouth open.
Roy steps away from me. “You’re… what?”
“Pregnant,” I repeat, staring at the ground.
The night is a warm blanket I wish to drift and disappear into forever. If only there was a way to turn back time. But then I wouldn’t have found him.
Hugh sharply exhales. “Whoa, boy,” he mutters to himself. “Why on Earth would you let something like that happen?”
“Who said I let it happen?” I growl. “Who said I didn’t fight him off? Listen, guys, we’re not on Earth. We’re on Avalon. Things happen. Missions go wrong. But we have one last task to finish. We have to find that fuel and get back home.”
Roy shakes his head. “You’re infected with it,” he says. “You’re infected with a bio-weapon.”
“You don’t understand,” I say.
They close in on me. “No. What are you doing?” I ask.
Roy grabs my arms. Hugh blocks me from behind.
Halloway takes out his pistol. “I don’t want to use this,” he says.
Fuck. Turin was right. All of them have turned on me.
“You’re making a big mistake,” I say. “Turin is the only one who can save us.”
“Shut your mouth,” Roy says.
Quickly, they sweep me off my feet. They take me deeper into the jungle, eventually reaching a trail. “You’re taking me to Discovery Base?” I ask.
“I said, shut up,” Roy mutters. “I can’t trust you. Can’t trust Fassbender. It’s just the three of us on this one, and you know what? I’m okay with that.”
I beg. “Roy, I came to save you.”
“That’s exactly my point. You came to save us, knowing full well you were having that savage’s kid. You’re more harmful to this crew than you know. I can’t trust your judgment anymore,” he says.
It feels like my brain is going haywire.
Error. Can’t compute.
Is this really how it ends? I got to experience love, and that’s that?
“God, my skin,” the Captain groans.
Both Roy and Hugh stop, still bracing my body over their shoulders.
Roy clicks his tongue, confused. “What about you, Captain? What’s on your skin?”
The Captain backs away, but trips into the mud. “I must have brushed against some tree sap.”
“Ain’t those kind of trees out here,” Roy says, gruffly.
I bite Roy’s shoulder, and he drops me to the ground. Rolling away, I back against a bush. “He’s compromised,” I shout.
They stand over me. “There are two aliens. The other sprayed him with that stuff,” I say.
“Two aliens?” Hugh mutters.
“One is good. He was designed as a weapon, but he can feel real emotions. Empathy, Roy. I’m telling you, he’s on our side,” I say.
Well, he’s on my side. But if I can get the others to help save him, maybe he’ll repay the favor.
“You know how crazy you sound?” Roy asks.
“I’m not crazy. I know a hell of a lot more than you,” I say. “On the other starship, there was a tape.”
“You went to the other starship?” Hugh asks.
“I’ve seen the video footage. The entire mission is a sham. But it’s not just Fassbender you have to worry about. It’s the entire government. They’re trying to colonize space, Roy. They’re building an army.”
“An army you are bringing back to Earth,” he says. “What makes you so sure this isn’t the reaction they planned for.”
“He loves me,” I say.
All three of the men groan. Turin was right. All humans do is think about themselves. They can’t stop to think that maybe love could actually transcend all boundaries.
“I’ve been fucked with for too long out here. I can’t take this anymore,” Roy says.
“I say we take both of them,” Hugh mutters.
Roy glances at the Captain. “Something is wrong with him,” he says.
The Captain scratches the boils on his skin. “It really itches,” he says, nails cutting through dense blisters.
He twists, and I glance at the bubbles that have formed over his flesh. One pops, and he lets out a shrill whimper. “I’m going to die out here,” he cries.
No one can deny how alarming he looks. He’s injured, but without Turin, I won’t be able to help him. It’s pretty clear Hugh and Roy are against me, so all bets are off.
I just hope Turin can find me before Zakar or Fassbender.
Roy bends over the Captain to get a better look, but he quickly darts his nose away. “Jesus, you smell like death,” he says.
Halloway groans and pulls out a pistol. His eyes shift, turning a dark red. His mouth tremors, teeth growing inches.
“He’s turning into one,” I say.
“I’ll kill you if you touch me,” he growls, body mutating.
I stand and put my hands in the air. “Let me go. I’m not here to hurt you,” I tell them.
He twists his head in agony. His ligaments pop and extend over his growing set of bones.
He’s turning into a monster, something far worse than Zakar.
“You all left me to die,” he shouts, voice echoing throughout the forest.
“Guys!” I yell. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”
The monster fires his weapon, but luckily, his aim isn’t too sharp because his hand has started to… grow.
I grab Hugh’s wheelchair and push. “Follow me.”
One more shot rings out, and I feel the chill air whip as the bullet rockets near my ear. I keep running, but I brush my face to see if I’m hit.
“Everyone good?” I call out.
“If good means alive, I’m good,” Roy says.
Hugh exhales and looks up at me. “I’m sorry for turning on you back there.”
My feet hit the ground, mud splashing across my pants. “Are you sure you aren’t going to do it again?” I ask.
Roy cuts across the trail.
“Roy,” I say, attempting to stop him. “Swear on your life that you won’t turn on me if I get you out of this mess.”
He wags his head. “Honey, do you think I have a choice? Captain is one of them, and I can’t fly worth a damn to get us off this rock. I could kill you, but it wouldn’t do a damn thing for me.”
“Hey, you went to flight school, right?” Hugh asks.
I grab him and pause. “Guys, I can’t fly one of those things. It’s nothing like the old rockets. The entire system control panel is different.”
“Exactly,” Hugh says. “You won’t have to work as hard. The new systems are a piece of cake to operate.”
I think back to the car crash. Suddenly, I feel the wind whip through the open windows. I can see the steering wheel shift toward the curb of the freeway.
We’re moving too fast.
“Mom!” I scream.
We’re flying through the barrier.
“Dad!”
Our car doesn’t have thrusters. There are no rocket engines attached to this hun
k of metal. We’re going down, and it’s nothing like the videos they show in school.
It’s nothing you can imagine.
When our car hit the concrete, my life didn’t flash before my eyes, but the talcum powder from the air bag did.
And then there was the screeching metal, the crash that blasted like a cannon against my eardrums. I felt all of that.
It became a part of me.
I remember expecting to hear screams or sirens, anything to shoot my adrenaline into the sky. But once it was over, I just sat there with my seat belt on.
I looked straight ahead at the damaged seat in front of me. Blocking out all of the bad, I found a way to become numb. I acted like nothing happened.
I’m not going through that again.
“I can’t fly our starship home,” I say.
“Why the fuck not?” Roy asks.
“Because I…” I take a deep breath and exhale. “I’m not strong enough.”
Roy bites his upper lip. “Well, I will need you to be strong for me. Otherwise, we die.”
I’m falling back into that numbness again.
“Naomi? You hear me?” Roy asks.
Ever since I left to help the crew, everyone has expected the world from me. I have been questioned, held against my will, and interrogated by my own people.
Yes, Turin took me. But he saved my fucking life.
I miss him more than I’ve ever missed someone before. Maybe even more than my family. It’s hard to quantify. I built a bond with Turin. A real bond.
I nod, but I’m not sure I can fly us out of here. Not without fuel. Not without proper training. If Turin doesn’t find a way back to me, I’m not sure I’ll want to leave.
I’d stay for him.
“You’ll do it?” Hugh asks.
“Sure. Whatever you want,” I say.
Peering in the dark entrance of Discovery Base, a strong feeling guides me in. I didn’t understand why we’d ever need to come back to this place again, but I think I get it now.
The sun will rise in just a few hours. In the light, we’ll be an even easier target, but that’s okay with me. That’s what I want.
This is the way I win.
This is the way I get my love back.
Twelve
Turin
In the starship, Zakar crouches, eyes analyzing for a moment of weakness. His pupils are as wide as coins, and large veins protrude against his skin. It has been some time since I have seen him act this way.
His tongue flails as he talks. “Bow your head to me, brother.”
“I am not your brother,” I growl.
A soft and cunning chuckle comes with a threat. “I could have taken her,” he says. “I gave her to you. I let you have her first. You should be kissing my feet.”
We both circle the opposite ends of the room. “I can’t do this anymore, Zakar,” I say.
“You have no choice,” he sneers. “We are connected to our pain together.”
“Maybe you feel that way, but they have blessed me with faculties I never knew could exist,” I say. “I am different from you. Much different.”
“You are weak.”
“Empathy is stronger than your systemizing brain can handle,” I growl.
“You are weaker than her,” he continues. “You have let a woman control you. A whore. You let her convince you that humans are docile, innocent creatures. That they would do anything to give you a better life is a storybook lie.”
“Maybe they wouldn’t. But she would,” I say.
“You will never have a better life, Turin. This is your blessing. Avalon. But if we work together, we can get to Earth,” he says.
If we work together. I’ve been hearing him say that for a long time. Listening to him has gotten me nowhere.
I raise my voice. “She will get me there.”
“She will destroy you. Do you remember what happened to Doctor Grubber?” he asks.
I circle around a large beam, hoisting myself up to the second floor, away from his attack span.
“What about him?” I ask.
I remember Doctor Steven Grubber. He was one of the scientists who experimented on me. Before we escaped, he promised me my freedom. He told me he realized the error in his ways.
He told Zakar the same, but it was all a lie, a betrayal of the highest order. It was a test to see how well we could see through a lie. Zakar tested positive. I tested negative.
He has hung that over my head since it happened.
“You remember,” he says.
Zakar killed the doctor as the man was begging for his life. If I can recall, he had a wife and children. A family.
Zakar was filled with so much rage that he carved the word, “betrayal” over his bedpost.
Those are days I dread thinking about. Naomi put those memories out of my mind. Zakar is forcing me to relive them.
“We are what they did to us. We always will be,” Zakar hisses.
One by one, the memories flash through my eyes.
There was my birth. I don’t remember everything. Just bits and pieces. I floated in a large tank, sustained by the nutrients floating through a plastic umbilical cord.
I remember my body growing. A great pain consumed me. I roared and screamed, and tried to pull out my tubes, but the scientists remained calm. They took notes. They gave me sedatives to keep me docile when they needed, and they gave me other drugs to induce rage.
It took me three years to grow to my full size. It takes humans an average of eighteen.
As soon as they pulled me from my tank, I knew the humans were weaker than me.
I thought of a plan to escape Discovery Base, but they moved us to a second facility.
Suddenly, I could move freely. They let me stay in the small observance room.
I waited. I watched. And I learned their habits.
There were others, but I don’t remember them anymore. I can’t recall the sounds of their voices. I can barely remember their expressions or reactions. They are like ghosts to me now.
When they made Zakar, the perfect alien specimen, it was all over for everyone. He was the one weapon they thought they could count on.
He was pure carnage.
It took them a month to harness him in. He resisted most of their drugs. And when given any amount of pain, he took it in stride. All of the abuse just made him stronger.
When they tested on us, I avoided him at all costs. I wouldn’t even look him in the eyes.
The truth was I used to hate everyone. Humans. Aliens. Every damn thing that lived was an enemy, as far as I was concerned.
Eventually, the pain from their treatments weakened me. It was evident I wasn’t like Zakar. I could only withstand so much.
Once that was out in the open, Zakar knew he could take advantage of me. He used my weaknesses to persuade me to team up with him. He was going to get us out of there.
Of course, I had to follow him. But I shouldn’t have trusted him.
Now, I need to find a way to beat him.
I run through the long corridor, lights flashing around my face and body, throwing me off balance. I grab the railing and suck in a large breath. I have to keep moving.
I can’t stop thinking about Naomi. She could be in danger, and I can’t do a fucking thing about it.
It’s tearing me apart.
“I don’t give a damn about the doctor,” I yell.
I can hear his footsteps following mine from below. “They are all the same, programmed to lie for their own good. Programmed to enslave.”
I jump up to a third level, ignoring his words as much I can. “Where have you put the fuel barrels?” I ask.
His laughter reverberates throughout the ship.
“What have you done, Zakar? Tell me,” I say.
I turn left into a second, smaller corridor. I bend and crawl inside. At the end of the tunnel is the escape hatch.
“I dumped the barrels into the ocean,” he says.
I keep crawling. H
e has to be lying.
“You fool. We won’t be able to leave,” I say.
And then the truth hits me. This was his plan all along. The games he played with the crew led me to follow Naomi. Once I had her, it was game over. He had me cornered.
He knew her pussy would lock me in, and he used it against me.
He never wanted to leave planet Avalon.
“You bastard,” I mutter. “You got rid of the fuel because you want to keep us here.”
“You weren’t playing by the rules,” Zakar says.
I’m close to the escape hatch. Reaching out, I can almost touch the metal bar to the outside. I’m so fucking close.
Nearby, a red emergency lever catches my eyes.
Zakar continues. “You were doing everything she told you to do because you couldn’t get enough of that addictive sweetness.”
“You’re a monster,” I grunt.
I throw my weight toward the escape hatch. I grab the metal and start to twist, but it’s so rusted that it feels locked in place.
“And you’re too stupid for your own good,” he says, voice coming from the platform below me.
He knows this ship like the back of his hand. He’s coming to get me.
Using all my strength, I turn the bar. It moves an inch but seizes up again. “Come on,” I growl.
“Earth Federation will not let themselves lose this fight so easily. There will be a third starship. And if that mission yields no endowment to our cause, then we will wait for the fourth,” he says.
He’s coming closer. I can hear every footstep grow louder.
I bare my teeth and twist another inch. It loosens, and the rust chips away.
I push harder, throwing all of my weight into it. It turns a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
“Come on,” I scream.
Finally, it turns the entire way.
I unlock the hatch door, and the morning light pours in.
He’s right behind me now. I can feel his hands hit against the corridor as he ducks inside.
Zakar leans forward, teeth glistening against the light. He says, “Eventually, we will make it off this planet, and when we do, we will be unstoppable.”
The fuel we had been storing for years was so important. I never thought he’d be so stupid as to toss that into the ocean. I should have known he’d sabotage everything.
Alien Breed: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 10
