Last Call (Stranded in the Stars Book 1)

by Naomi Lucas

She returned to watch him the following several days but had never found him at the ship again. She could tell progress was being made on the repairs, the plating around the damage had begun to change and some of the discarded plating on the ground had been removed and reused on the area where the long jagged laceration had been. The worst of it was covered up now.

  The next day as the routine continued, when the ship seemed abandoned again and the man was nowhere to be found, she felt her courage return to enter the vessel. The hatch was always open and the last few days she had surveyed for several hours watching for him but he had never appeared.

  She would have time to look around and the thought of soap gave her enough courage and excitement to urge her on. He wouldn’t miss soap.

  Allie gingerly stepped out of her hidden spot within the rocks and dunes and advanced toward the sleek ship. A wave of adrenaline washed over her as a strange terrible hold squeezed her heart. She placed her fisted hand where it hurt and willed it away; refusing to acknowledge it. Today she would make her own choices.

  She entered the hatch and cautiously walked down the long glistening corridor toward the spacious circular room with the floating planet. Maneuvering toward the opposite direction from the strange white space, she found an open panel that hadn’t been there before. Listening intently, she couldn’t hear any sound but her beating heart. When she felt it was safe enough to investigate, Allie entered the new room and found a supply closet.

  The splash of colors, strange shapes, and exotic products overwhelmed her. On one shelf she saw tinted crystal tubes filled with colored liquids, large clear packages filled with brittle, grainy substances, and another shelf held disks, plates, and a myriad of strange devices.

  One entire wall was a powerful door outlined in glowing red and blue that had an intricate lock system. She wondered what could be behind such a large barrier as nothing else she had seen on the ship looked as menacing and secure as it; not even the hatch. Allie reached out to touch one of the framed glowing colors when she heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

  "What do you think you're doing?" A deep voice sounded directly behind her, stopping her hand in midair. Terrified that she was trapped, Allie couldn't bring herself to look back.

  A loud bang went off as something was dropped nearby and she jumped in surprise at the same time a large hand encased her forearm jerking her to face the man who now held her.

  Grey violent eyes filled her vision. The hand on her arm felt like heated steel.

  "I asked you a question. Can you even speak?" He demanded, looking angrier by the second. He was gripping both of her arms now and lifting her up just enough that she had to point her toes down to keep her balance.

  They stayed that way for what seemed like forever, staring at each other. Her heart had stopped. She was frightened by his eyes because it felt like he was stealing her soul. His face had darkened into a hard, determined expression as her gaze wavered to his mouth. Shivering, she wetted her lips. "Y-yes. I can speak," she whispered. He released her suddenly, and she nearly fell.

  The male moved away from her to pull out a chair from the central table. Turning it to face her, he sat down, not once looking away. "You're either very brave or incredibly stupid. Trespassing on a highly weaponized battle flyer, completely alone and from what I can tell, unarmed." He perused her body, "and barely dressed."

  "Are you going to hurt me?" She asked quietly. Had she made a mistake in coming here?

  "Yes. Unless you give me reason not to."

  Shaking to herself, she did feel incredibly stupid. There was no way this man wasn't aware of everything that was happening at any given moment. I bet he even saw me enter his ship. "Please..." she lied, "I was just trying to help. You had left your ship open and there– there are monsters here. I– I wanted to help," she broke eye contact with him, staring at the scar on his lip instead. “You never came back to your ship.”

  He laughed at her, "you were trying to help me?" The man retorted sarcastically. "Look at me girl, I need no help, from anybody. Especially from someone like you– a defenseless waif with no weapon nor sense." He said as he unbuckled his gun belt, making a show of placing the gun on the table in front of her. Feeling intimidated, Allie couldn't help but notice his hands, remembering what she had thought of them several nights ago. "What's your name?"

  Still watching his hand as he rested it under his chin, settling his elbow over his knee. She forgot the question. "What?" She asked.

  “Your. Name?” He said slowly.

  An embarrassing flush heated her cheeks, knowing that she looked like a simpleton but she couldn’t help it. He was the first human she had come in contact with in many solar cycles.

  “Allie.” She whispered.

  The man shifted forward on his chair at her answer."Hmm Allie, that sounds Earthian, are you Earthian?"

  "Yes," she said softly, looking up into his eyes again, he was still staring at her with firey intensity and his gaze was beginning to burn.

  "That's very interesting, Allie, You see this is a Trentian controlled space sector. Billions of miles off the grid and billions of more miles from the nearest Earthian colony. How the hell does an Earthian female get all the way out to the fringes, alone, on Argo?" He continued, "Where's your space ship? My scanners don't detect one. Lie to me and I will hurt you," he growled.

  "I don’t have a ship. I was on a transporter ship. Long ago. We were headed to the metropolis, Espara.” She trailed off.

  “And... that doesn’t answer my question.”

  Allie shook herself internally. “Something happened, something bad. I don't know what exactly, it was all so fast but I believe the ship malfunctioned and it was horrible, we had the taste of freedom one moment and then the next, we were on a collision course towards the planet surface– I was the only one to survive." She felt her words stumble out.

  ***

  Jack didn’t know why he cared but he could see the pain in her eyes and he wanted to make that pain go away. She needs a protector. He stared at her, taking her in, committing her to memory.

  He knew his silence was scaring her and he could tell by the pretty pink flush to her skin that his examination wasn't going unnoticed. He was frightening her on purpose and began to regret it. He had a feeling that it would be the wrong approach in dealing with her. His logical side won out, he knew this girl was not here by design, she was not here in sedition.

  What a wild looking girl he had in his midst. Her hair was long and tangled, the strands not being able to decide whether to curl up into ringlets, plastered to her skin, or to fall loosely down her body.

  It was a pretty shade of golden brown and he imagined grabbing it, forcing her to look at him, watching her large vulnerable eyes widen and her mouth making a pretty 'O'.

  The ringlets that framed her face called to him. His fingers wanted to play with the fallen curls.

  Her body was on display for him, her clothing nothing more than rags tied around her chest, waist, and feet. He knew he would have to give her something better to wear. Her waist was much too small but it did fan out nicely into curvy hips. If she would just turn around and take off her clothes he bet that ass would be a heart.

  Jack couldn't help but appreciate her shape– toned, small, with long legs. He pictured her in a dozen different positions.

  Lust speared through him, she was a dream, better than any phantom he could have ever made up. He mentally shook the thoughts away before he passed the point of no return and frightened her with his curious desire.

  She was hurt though. Scratches marked her hands, knees, and legs, from the rough environment no doubt. The girl was also constantly wetting her lips. They were chapped and red.

  I could heal her, give her something to eat, get her to trust me. If she was going to hurt, he was going to be the cause of it; deciding his next course of action.

  "I think you’re right, Allie. You can help me. I want you to take me t
o your transporter ship. I need parts for my flyer and you obviously need supplies," Jack went on, "How about we make a deal?" It was the most rational suggestion he could make and still get the outcome he wanted.

  He could tell the girl thought about it, the proposition of a deal relaxed her, she had a way out of this alive and unharmed if she were careful. Leading him to the crash wouldn’t be as bad as what he really could do to her if he had been a miscreant, a lesser man.

  Men he would gladly kill on sight.

  Wetting her lips again, "What would I get out of it? How do you know I need supplies?" Knowing full well that he didn't have to offer her anything, that he could kill her and no one would be the wiser.

  "You were in my storage unit and based on the way you look, you need something from me. Medicine..." He sniffed, then grimaced to himself, "Soap."A moment passed, "You obviously need these things and I need parts for my ship. You may have noticed by now that I'm not here by choice."

  "So,” she stammered. “If I take you to my ship, you'll give me these things?" Jack saw the girl’s anxiety turn slowly into excitement.

  "Yes, I'll supply you and if you answer my questions along the way, I'll be even more generous. I bet we can learn a thing or two from each other." He really just wanted to crack her open and discover her secrets. Maybe have a little fun while doing it. It didn't matter to him if he had to create the illusion of needing her help if he gained something out of it. Not to mention, having a traveling companion would alleviate some of his boredom. He couldn’t deny that he was drawn to her though.

  "I could do that. Would I have to enter the ship? I can lead you there. It would take several days of travel from here but I don't want to enter the place." The girl confessed.

  Jack stared at her curiously, "Fine. Don't enter. I don't really care what you do but I won't supply you until we're back here if you're thinking of running off at any point. I don't do search and rescue and I sure as hell don't tolerate deserters. We stick together the whole way, for your safety and for our deal."

  "I won't run.” She tugged at a strand of her hair in thought. “It's a deal if I don’t have to enter."

  “Good. Now why were you trespassing on my ship?” He knew she watched him as he spun the gun around on the table, twirling it into a blurred sphere. She would have viewed it as a threat if he had been looking at her as he played with it but his eyes were fixed on his hand. “Well? Are you going to answer me?” He looked back up at her.

  ***

  Did she want to admit that she was here to rob him? No. “I was curious. I wanted to see what was inside.” The answer did hold truth to it.

  Allie tried to weigh the odds of danger before she accepted the proposal he made. She didn’t entirely trust him. His dark eyes would pin her down one moment and in the next would glaze over; they were unusual and unlike any she had seen before. As long as she only had to take him there but not enter she would be okay.

  The place haunted her nightmares, everyday it played with her mind and tried to coax her back. Her heart suddenly felt heavy as if all of this was by design. Maybe this man was sent here to lead her back to the past that she had escaped?

  “Why?”

  Allie bit her lip and circled her arms around her waist. “I’ve never seen a ship like this before.”

  A short silence followed as he looked at her curiously. “How long have you been here?”

  “I– I don’t know.”

  She watched as he sighed and ran his hands through his jet-black hair and got up from the chair. All at once her fear came back as he towered over her. She found his presence so intimidating, knowing, that he could swat her weak existence out like a bug.

  The man came right up to her as if he was going to touch her but stopped short when she had backed up into the cold chrome wall. His arms pinned her on either side of her head caging her in.

  “Now unless you want me to throw you in the brig for the rest of the evening, get off my ship.” He threatened, his voice masculine and raw. “The day is fading fast and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be caught out here at night.”

  “You’re going to let me go?” She asked incredulously, trying not to focus on how close he was. Allie could stick out her tongue and it would touch the armor plating on his chest.

  “Unless you intend to stay, then yes, go.” He wanted her to leave. “Come back tomorrow if our deal still stands.” He finished.

  Allie ducked under his arm quickly without touching him, taking a couple quick steps away, needing to create some distance. When she turned around to say something more, he was still leaning against the wall but his head was forward and resting on it; his body looked equally tense and rigid but he appeared tired and choosing to stay silent, she turned and exited the ship.

  ***

  Jack felt irritable and oddly content. The girl had finally fallen for his trap and had re-entered his ship but he couldn’t bring himself to watch as she backed away from him to run down the passage, through the hatch, and into the twilight.

  Why was she so adamant about not entering the wreckage?

  He stayed there against the wall and monitored her progress across the barren landscape until she was safely back in her dwelling. Jack told himself that he didn’t care, that it was irrational to care, but he knew that it wasn’t the case. He had frightened the girl on purpose but also knew her fear was not because of what he was, a Cyborg, but because she had been caught.

  Sighing deeply and pushing away from the wall, he closed the hatch to his ship and retired for the night, choosing to wait out the evening earthquakes in his sleep.

  ***

  Allie still couldn’t believe the man had let her leave. The dangerous demeanor and dark eyes he had bored into her as if she were an object to be understood and not a human being had unnerved her and had made her skin crawl with an uneasy awareness.

  He was unlike the men she had encountered in her previous life and she wasn’t sure why. He could have hurt her but had instead had let her leave.

  She thought about the bargain they made, wondering if it was worth it. I need supplies… but do I need them bad enough to trust in a stranger?

  Allie ran for a short time until the ship was far enough in the distance that she wouldn’t be able to see it if she looked back. Still uneasy about her acquiescence in taking him to the crash site. She had vowed to herself to never return and now she was going to break that vow.

  Waiting, watching, and investigating the newcomer had made her create a bond to him that she had never intended to create. She had been alone for so long that this stranger now felt like her closest friend.

  Her last friend had died and if she was going to consider this man a friend, she would do what she could to ensure that he stayed alive.

  Allie didn't want to show unnecessary weakness in front of the male but facing her demons and confronting what she had long ago run away from, shook her to the core. And she was so starved for any company– attention, she realized, that she would actively put herself in jeopardy to prolong the contact.

  He would need her to take him to the tomb. She couldn't let a stranger fall prey to the place alone and without warning.

  He won't believe me– he already thinks so little of me, she thought as she sat down outside her cave and looked up at the darkening sky, watching the day dissolve away.

  ***

  The next morning Allie forced herself to head back to the ship, eating some roots on the walk there, arriving when the sun was at its zenith. When it came into sight, she saw the man outside standing over the area he was repairing, his hand against the metal.

  She felt her pulse quicken as she moved closer to him, taking in his large, strangely perfected form. When she was within several yards he turned around and beckoned her into into the ship, only stopping when they were back in the center around the circular table.

  She watched him disentangle his armor straps, eyeing his weapons and scars. He's
a warrior, I'll be safe with him and he may even scare away the ghosts. Maybe for good.

  She couldn't help but notice how much power he emitted. His presence filled up the room. The man never made any unnecessary movements and his eyes were constantly absorbing everything around him. I wonder what he thinks of me? She wanted him to like her, she didn’t want another enemy.

  I won't let the darkness consume this stranger. Looking at him, sizing him up, she asked, "Have you ever seen a ghost before?" She watched as he sat down and put his elbows on his knees, leaning forward in the process.

  "Why? Does your ship have ghosts?" He asked.

  "It's filled with darkness. It's why I don't want to enter it."

  He laughed. "I'm pretty fucking sure I can get rid of some ghosts for you. I'll even prove to you it's just your imagination," he continued. "They don't exist. There is no known scientific proof of spiritual activity, only hearsay. According to the intergalactic hub," his eyes looked distracted, "Ghosts are creations of the living, projections of extreme emotional states, hysteria." He finished, peering at her curiously. “Why do you think there are ghosts at the crash?”

  “Can you really prove that they don’t exist?” She asked hopefully, taking a step closer to his sitting form. He sat back in his chair and casually looked up at her.

  “Sure.”

  Allie couldn’t help the shy smile that appeared on her face.

  "We'll leave tomorrow, at sunrise, but for now we'll heal some of those cuts you have while you tell me about this planet."

  Relieved, she whispered, "You won't hurt me then? I don't know your name."

  He got up abruptly, making her take a step back so as not to collide with him. The man looked at her for a moment in tense silence before walking away to open a metal panel on the wall. A strange array of medical supplies appeared. He didn't turn back when he answered. "No I won't hurt you, at least not unless you want me to. Call me Jack. Sit." He demanded, pointing at the table.

  Allie chose not to read into his odd statement but instead followed his instructions and went to the table, sitting in the seat he just vacated.