Esme winced. Spencer and Mary Ann were the only two who’d decided to stay at base camp. No one had heard from either of them since.
“Of course not,” Esme muttered. “But I was stuck in the lake and couldn’t think of another viable option. So I asked questions.” She shrugged. “And he responded.”
“I’m glad you found a boyfriend and all.” Payton’s sarcastic tone was easily discernable over the wristband. “But if you can’t tell us where the hell we are and how we get home, I’m logging off this party line and getting some sleep.”
“We’re on the planet Turolois.” Esme paused, her eyebrows creased together in thought. “But I forgot to ask how far away from Earth we are, but at least I confirmed we aren’t in Kansas anymore.”
Miranda’s stomach clenched. Bile bubbled up the back of her throat. She’d known they were on an alien planet, but to have a name for it was too much. She whimpered before she could catch herself.
“Mama?” Adam whispered in her ear.
Get it together. Can’t let them see me like this.
Miranda plastered a fake smile on her face, hoping it would reach her voice. “Shh, everything is fine, my babies,” she said so low that only he could hear. “It’s time to go to sleep.”
“Are you sure?” Kaylin asked Esme. “Couldn’t he be lying?”
Miranda tucked her children back into the sleeping bag. She kept the smile on her face even though her insides knotted and twisted. No matter the conversation going on around her, she would not let her children sense her panic. It must have worked because they drifted back to sleep in no time.
“I mean, he could’ve,” Esme responded. “But I don’t think so.”
“It’s time to face facts,” Yesenia chimed in. “None of this looks like anything we have on Earth, and that big planet hovering in the sky ain’t normal. We already knew this was an alien planet. We just need to know why we’re here and how to leave.”
“Let Esme tell us everything she learned, then we can ask questions afterward,” Ben said, eyeing Esme. “I don’t want her to forget anything while you guys are bickering. Go ahead.”
Esme closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Miranda sat on the extra bit of sleeping bag next to Lexi. When Esme didn’t speak for a few minutes, she whispered, “Esme?”
Esme opened her eyes, glancing from Miranda to Ben. “First of all, that alarm? When it goes off in the evening, the pods take the aliens away.”
The pods Esme talked about were something they’d learned about on the second day. By accident, Adam had touched a new icon on his wristband, and the ground opened up, and he’d fallen into one of them. Payton had also gone into a pod. She’d said there wasn’t dirt in the ground underneath their feet. Instead, there was an underground network of tracks there.
“He said they have to go back to the lodge when the evening alarm goes off,” Esme continued. “They don’t have a choice. And when the alarm sounds in the morning, they’re free to come out again, but on foot. Xrez, the alien, called it the off-limit hours.”
“Oh, goody. It has a name,” Payton drawled.
Miranda ignored Payton’s sarcasm and latched onto Esme’s words. Off-limit hours equaled safe. At least at night.
“He could’ve been lying about that,” Danny said. “Lull us into a false sense of security. Then while we’re sleeping, come and get us.”
Miranda inhaled sharply. Her gaze locked on Esme. Lying? She hadn’t thought about that. She’d been so quick to hope for safety.
Esme made sure to meet Miranda’s eyes then shook her head. “I witnessed it. The alarm rang, and he disappeared.”
Just like the aliens last night.
“What did he tell you before he left?” Min asked.
“What’s on our wrists is called a comlink.” Esme held hers up while Ben and Miranda both studied theirs. “The aliens have one too, but don’t worry, theirs is on a different frequency. We can’t talk to them, and they can’t talk to us. The comlinks have different available options. We’ve already figured out everything it does except for the one that shows what Level we’re in. I have a single line. That’s because I’m still in Level One of The Hunt.”
Miranda noticed one line on hers and checked Adam and Lexi’s as well. They all had a single line.
“The characters on the side of that are universal numbers, and it’s on a countdown, letting us know, well, if we could understand it, it would let us know how much time we have until we reach Level Two.”
Miranda had guessed the funny characters were some kind of countdown that very first day. Every time she looked at the characters, overwhelming dread fell over her.
“Wait. Back-up,” Ben said, breaking his own rule. He held up a hand and frowned. “What do you mean ‘Level One’ and ‘The Hunt’?”
“Xrez said we were taken from Earth to be participants in a game called, ‘The Hunt.’ The aliens tracking us are called hunters.” She glanced at Ben then Miranda, hesitating over the words she said next. “We’re being hunted as prey. That’s what he called us. Prey.”
Miranda gasped. “Oh, my God.”
Hunted? Prey? She started to shake, the urge to grab her kids and flee was overpowering... The only reason she didn’t was because there was nowhere to go—no place to hide. Her stomach clenched, the contents threatening to come back up.
Ben ran his fingers over his low cut buzz, then dragged them down his face. “Holy shit.”
That wasn’t reassuring. Ben usually had all the answers and plans. Miranda pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “How do we survive this?”
“We’re prey. This gets better and better,” Danny muttered.
“We have to get through three different Levels,” Esme continued as if she hadn’t pulled the rug out from under them. “Each Level is progressively harder than the first. It’s part of the game.”
“But it’s not a game. This is a hunt,” Yesenia said slowly. “Aliens are like, for real hunting us down.”
Both Miranda and Esme nodded. This wasn’t like any game Miranda had ever played. This was surreal. She was supposed to be at home in Ireland.
“Yeah, hunters come here to capture prey,” Esme said. “If they capture us, they get to keep us—for a price. The lower the Level, the cheaper we are. Right now, in Level One, my survival skill set is meager. I’m considered weak. Xrez said most of the hunters are looking to capture Level One prey for mates or whatever.”
“Hell no. I’m not trying to be anyone’s mate or whatever,” Yesenia ground out.
This gets better and better.
“No one wants that,” Esme said. “That’s why we have to survive and not only make it to Level Three but finish it. If we finish this without anyone catching us, then we’ll get freed and can go home. That’s what Xrez said, at least.”
Esme made it sound so simple. Anger welled in Miranda, pushing some of her fear aside. “And how the hell are we supposed to make it to Level Three, huh? We don’t know what we’re supposed to do, where we’re supposed to go or how to avoid those…those…things!”
“We have to survive,” Esme told her firmly. “The better at it we are, the faster the countdown and quicker we get to the next Level.”
Be good and fast? Oh, is that all? How can she be either of those when she had to worry about cloth diapers and bottles? Miranda threw up her hands.
“So how do we make that happen?” Min asked.
“The more independent we are, the faster the countdown will go. Payton’s countdown is probably going faster than mine. She’s alone and displaying proper survival skills while Ben, Miranda, and I rely on each other. Xrez said that we can still progress, but not as quickly as someone who’s going it alone, though.”
“Maybe he’s just trying to break us up,” Miranda said, glancing from Esme to Ben.
“No. I think he’s telling the truth about that,” Danny said. “Me and Kaylin met up with Yesenia and Min earlier today. Now our countdown thing is
going much slower than it was when we were by ourselves.”
Miranda grabbed Ben’s hand and compared her comlink to his. Their countdowns were going at the same pace.
Ben pulled his arm away. “It’s a good thing we’re synced, Miranda.”
If they were synced, it meant they would reach the next Level together, but it also meant she was holding Esme and Ben back. They couldn’t be independent if they were worried about helping her and her kids.
“So, we should split up?” Min asked.
Split up. That’s the only way Ben or Esme would make it out of here alive and back to Earth. She’d known that before, but now this was visible proof of it.
Without the kids and me, Ben and Esme have a chance to go home.
Miranda pulled the flap of her sleeping bag back and crawled inside to cuddle Adam and Lexi. Any one of the others could survive this on their own. But Miranda? She wouldn’t be able to do it. Not with two kids under five.
There wouldn’t be any help carrying Lexi, and with Adam walking on his own, there would be more rest breaks.
Even with those thoughts weighing heavy on her mind, she couldn’t be so selfish as to let Esme and Ben sacrifice themselves for her. She wanted to stay together, but she would do what was right.
Esme shook her head. “We don’t have to split up.”
“But if we don’t, we’ll stay in the game longer,” Yesenia stated.
“So even an alien knows I’m a burden, and you guys would be better off without me. Nice,” Miranda muttered.
Esme opened her mouth, but Miranda didn’t want to hear any of her reassurances. Miranda turned her back on Esme and Ben.
“I really want this crap to be over, but I also don’t want to be on my own,” Yesenia said.
“I guess I’ll be the first one reaching Level Three,” Payton said.
“Yeah, but you’re also out there by yourself with no one watching your back,” Esme pointed out.
“It’s not the first time,” Payton replied.
Miranda shut her eyes and focused on her own plan.
Chapter One
The evening alarm sounded, signifying the end of the day which meant prey were off-limits. Fanian Uldri, like every other hunter in The Hunt, fell into a personal transportation pod and was whisked from the active gaming arena. Every evening the pods located the hunters, tracking them via the control collars secured tightly around their necks, and collected them from anywhere they happened to be on the planet.
Any hunter lucky enough to capture prey before the alarm could call a pod that would take hunter and prey directly to the processing center. It was the only time that option was available to them.
For the second night in a row, he wasn’t one of the lucky ones. His pod propelled forward at breakneck speed, traversing a series of intricate tracks that was undoubtedly not taking him to the processing center.
The tracks were lit with glowing white lights, making the other pods with the same destination as his visible. Fanian recognized some of the hunters within the bubble like structures. They wore disgruntled expressions at being forced to return to the communal lodge for the night. None of them could venture out again until the next day.
While the hunters were sequestered in their communal lodge for the entire night, prey were able to move throughout the arena, relocating from where hunters had seen them last to another hiding spot or area. It was one of the major advantages prey had over the hunters. The other advantage was the ability to call for a transportation pod and escape a hunter’s grasp. The number of times a pod could be called was determined by which Level the prey was in.
Fanian’s pod stopped abruptly, and he lurched forward within the confined space. The top of the pod slid open, and with it, the ground above moved aside, allowing the waning sunlight to peek through. If he had to, he could jump out, easily clearing the space, but like the night before, a surge of air rushed from unseen vents in the pod’s floor, ejecting him. Fanian landed gracefully on the wet grass in a crouch before standing. The ground slid back into place as if it had never been disturbed at all.
The engineering it took to make an underground traveling pod system was something he pondered often since arriving on Turolois. The technology it took to build such a place which catered to many different species was incredible. But he wasn’t sent here to wonder about the technology that made Turolois a unique gaming planet. He had a very specific job to fulfill.
Fanian pushed the wayward thoughts from his mind. The study of science and technology was a part of his distant past and no longer relevant to his current life. With his thoughts refocused, he stared at the lodge. It was a massive structure that looked as though the surrounding jungle would swallow it up in a few short years. As he stood there, other hunters were thrown from their pods, dotting the area around him.
There were grunts and curses as they hit the ground, some awkwardly. En mass they lumbered toward the lodge’s double doors, though a few turned to stare longingly into the jungle, knowing they couldn’t return until the morning alarm. If anyone tried before then, their collars would send an electric shock directly to their spinal columns, rendering them powerless while they succumbed to convulsions and pain. He’d witness that last night.
Fanian blew out a hard breath and glanced at the jungle with the same pitiful look as the other hunters. He hadn’t planned to spend another night here. Humans were supposed to be weak and easy prey. He’d intended to catch one quickly the first day, then be on his way to his client. After failing the first day, he’d still had high hopes the second day. Now, here he was, returning to the lodge to endure another horrible night in a communal living area.
“We can’t go back,” one of the hunters said to him as he also watched the forbidden jungle.
“I’m very aware of that.” Fanian didn’t glance the hunter’s way.
“Which human are you after?” the hunter asked.
“Any of them.” When it was apparent Fanian didn’t plan to engage in further conversation, the hunter grunted and strode away.
Who he was after was Fanian’s business and his alone. Az’ud, his client, had made one request when he’d contracted Fanian to enter The Hunt on his behalf. He wanted a mate, a strong human female, to bear his children. While there were seven females left in the game, only one had caught Fanian’s eyes.
The mother.
Fanian had been able to observe her from afar. The Dar’E hunter who’d followed the group she traveled with challenged any other hunter who ventured too close. From what he could see, the mother had rudimentary survival skills and the burden of children. Without her companions helping her, someone would surely catch her in Level One. Fanian just had to make sure he was that hunter. To do that, he needed to work out an understanding with the Dar’E.
Fanian surveyed the returning hunters he competed against. Not finding the one he looked for, he balled his hands and finally stalked toward the entrance. If Fanian—or rather his benefactor—had paid for the upgraded package, he would’ve been on his way to a private executive suite with all the amenities needed to secure prey fast and efficiently.
Az’ud had paid for a spot in the expensive game and any remaining credits were Fanian’s to keep. It was the sole reason he slept on a cot and ate in a dining hall shared by most of the other hunters. The cheapest package allowed more credits staying in his account.
Fanian had been in worst accommodations. When he’d first come to this galaxy, he’d been homeless and without any credits recognized by the monetary system here. If it wasn’t for a kind-hearted merchant, he would’ve probably died. With help, he’d survived. It had taken him years to build what he had. He still wasn’t financially stable, but that would change as soon as he delivered the mother to Az’ud.
Fanian planned to retire as a bounty hunter and make the necessary upgrades to his spaceship.
As he crossed the threshold and entered the lodge, cold air draped over him. The sweat dotting his skin immediately dried.
He inhaled deeply of the clean air, knowing the smell would be much different when he reached the communal area.
Another hunter entered and pushed past him with a low grunt. Fanian narrowed his eyes on the hunter’s back. With the mood he was in, he could’ve ripped the hunter’s head from his shoulders. The only reason he didn’t was because of the collar and the pain it would elicit if he broke one of the rules. In Level One, hunters were not allowed to harm each other. That rule didn’t apply in subsequent Levels, not that he expected to stay in The Hunt that long. In and out, that’s what he hoped for.
Fanian quickly forgot the other hunter as the Dar’E maneuvered past him. One look at the Dar’E’s muscled frame, and Fanian knew he’d make a formidable opponent. The Dar’E didn’t glance at any of the other hunters. Normally, Fanian wouldn’t engage, but there was a matter they needed to discuss.
Fanian grabbed the Dar’E’s arm. The Dar’E stilled. The hair covering his face and neck stood on end. A warning bell went off in Fanian’s head, but he ignored it, sure the Dar’E wouldn’t want to end his night in a convulsing fit.
“I want the mother and her children,” Fanian said bluntly.
“Remove your hand from my arm.” The Dar’E’s warning came in a low rumbling voice.
The Dar’E was much larger than Fanian. The size of his arm alone was bigger than Fanian’s thigh. The Dar’E could hurt him, but killing him was a different matter entirely. Fanian doubted the Dar’E even knew what species he was. Givveks weren’t native to this galaxy, and with his remaining people scattered throughout the universe, they were few among many.
Fanian released the Dar’E’s arm as a goodwill gesture. He thumped a balled fist to the middle of his chest, a universal greeting in this galaxy. “Fanian.”
The Dar’E returned the greeting but didn’t offer his name. Some hunters worked in groups, but most were solitary and didn’t enter The Hunt to make friends or exchange names.
Hunted by the Alien Vampire: An Alien Abduction Romance (The Hunt Book 4) Page 2
