They must or they wouldn’t have invaded, she thought angrily. Surely they wouldn’t treat a species they considered equals like they had?
Honesty compelled her to reconsider that assessment, though, when she thought about all the wars humans had waged between themselves.
Was it a territorial thing, then? The typical ‘you have something we want and we’re stronger so we’re going to take it’ thing that humans did to one another?
“Get back,” Aidan said, breaking into her thoughts.
Anya stared at him blankly since she didn’t understand what he was saying, but he moved back, repositioning himself, almost as soon as he said it and she backed off instinctively to get out of his way.
Bracing himself with his hands, he lifted his legs and began pounding at the grate with his feet. Anya covered her ears since the noise inside the small tunnel was painfully loud. Thankfully, it didn’t take him more than a few minutes of pounding before the grate came loose and fell through the hole.
Picking up his light, Aidan extended it into the area beyond and discovered that it was far larger than the tunnel they’d been following. The bottom dropped several feet from the pipe where they were. Scooting to the edge, he dropped, straightened to his full height with a sense of relief and turned to the female. He saw she’d followed him and was peering down from the tunnel.
It was ingrained courtesy that compelled him to offer to help her down and yet when he’d caught her against his chest, pulled her from the pipe, and lowered her until her feet touched the bottom he was far more aware of her as a woman than he wanted to be. She didn’t feel like an alien female of another species. She felt like the women he was accustomed to.
That made it hard to view her as nothing more than a specimen he’d collected as proof of his theory.
Frowning, he let her go, trying to ignore her as she sat down to tug the sleeves of his jacket off of her legs. It would’ve been easier if he hadn’t gotten a really good look at her genitals as she did. That image seemed to burn itself into his brain.
Dragging his gaze from her with an effort as she began trying to struggle into the jacket again without unfastening the front closure, he lifted the light and examined what he could of the space they found themselves in. The larger tunnel seemed to go on for miles. He didn’t see any way out, any choice for them except to continue to follow the structure.
It was evidence of a higher intelligence in and of itself, though, not nearly as impressive as some of their technology would be, but certainly worth recording. Lifting his arm, he used the camera on his computer to collect some images, frowning when he saw there wasn’t enough light to record as clear images as he’d hoped. Still, he reminded himself, he thought they’d be able to make out the regularity of the form and see that it wasn’t a natural cavern but one that had been designed and constructed.
He still needed that damned satellite! That was key to proving the species that inhabited this world was technologically advanced. No one could dispute that they were higher life-forms if he took something like that back!
If he could get back.
The onboard computer had indicated that it was still capable of controlling the crash landing, though. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any damage that couldn’t be repaired.
He decided there wasn’t any point in worrying about that, now, though. He needed to focus on collecting whatever evidence still existed to prove his theories. Then, if he had to, he thought he could hang on in these underground tunnels until the colonists came—somehow.
That could take years, though, and didn’t bear thinking on. Even with the acceleration of the evolutionary process, it still took time to complete the cycle.
He was sorry now that he hadn’t paid closer attention to just how long that process took, but then again it differed with each planet they terra-formed. Some, like this world, were already habitable—just not particularly comfortable.
Of course, now he knew that the poor air quality and excessive levels of methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide were due to the inhabitants’ poor husbandry of their world. Or he suspected that was the cause. He didn’t know that for a fact—there were natural explanations for the poisoning of the world—but they’d nearly destroyed their own world in their wastefulness before they’d wised up and cleaned up and developed less wasteful and destructive ways of living. He thought it was a good guess that Anya’s people had done much the same—used up resources as if they were infinite.
It hit him abruptly as he turned to look at Anya again that he’d been so focused on his own concerns that he hadn’t considered what the terra-forming meant to Anya and her people.
It was the nanites’ job to break everything down to enrich the soil and air. He’d never considered what they might do to anything manmade—or unnatural. He didn’t think anyone else had either, but it seemed obvious that they were going to erase any evidence of her people’s civilization long before his own people arrived to colonize.
That didn’t bode well for Anya’s people. He didn’t know how he could’ve been so focused on collecting evidence without actually considering the other side of why it was important to gather it while it was still possible, but he couldn’t deny that that had been the case.
Not that there was anything he could do about it that he could see—not for Anya and her people. If he survived and managed to get proof back, it might help others on other worlds, but Anya’s civilization would be gone and the biggest majority of her people with it if any survived the terra-forming at all.
They’d never stopped the process that he knew of. Could it even be done?
Chapter Five
Anya was ready to drop by the time Aidan stopped to rest. She’d muttered complaints for a while—for all the good it did. She doubted he would’ve paid her any attention if he’d been able to understand, but since he didn’t the complaining served no purpose at all beyond relieving some of her frustration.
Like the cussing.
She wasn’t prone to it. She rarely let her frustrations get the better of her. Somehow ‘shoot’ and ‘dog-gone-it’ didn’t seem powerful enough to vent the sort of emotions she’d been experiencing lately, though.
She was still uncomfortable that she’d used the ‘f’ word and he’d picked up on it—partly because she was worried that he might be really pissed off if and when he ever figured out what that word was.
Beyond taking her captive, though, he hadn’t seemed threatening. She still thought it would be wise to ditch him at the first opportunity. She didn’t know what his plans were for her after all and she didn’t think it would be anything good considering his people had invaded Earth.
She was keenly aware of not being equipped either physically, mentally, or otherwise to survive on her own, though. She didn’t have a weapon, any supplies—like water and food or even clothing that would protect her from the elements. And beyond that, she hadn’t seen a living soul, of her own kind, since she’d seen the people that had been in the cars heading for the hills.
Well, actually, the flatlands because the hills were the other way.
For all she knew she was the last human left.
She didn’t believe that. She couldn’t believe that. There had to be other people out there. She just needed to find them.
On foot, particularly since she was barefoot, that seemed an almost impossible feat. Even before the bug-things that seemed like they would eat everything and the monster bugs and the huge monster beasts, if she’d been stranded in the woods like she was now, she could’ve wandered for days or maybe weeks without finding another living soul. With all those things out there and nothing to eat or drink or protect herself with—when everybody that was left was probably hiding—she didn’t think her chances were good at all.
It occurred to her that there was one surefire, or maybe surefire, way of getting Aidan out of his clothes, but she wouldn’t be a lot better off with his clothes and boots and the little bit of rations he had in his
pockets. And that was assuming he wasn’t in any condition to fight her for the stuff afterwards and she didn’t see how she could count on that without making some kind of plan to bash him over the head or otherwise incapacitate him.
It dawned on her abruptly that, as far she knew, he didn’t have a weapon of any kind on him.
What kind of invader invaded a place without weapons?
Was she completely wrong about his purpose in being here?
But how likely was it that those things would arrive and start destroying everything and an alien from another place would arrive at the same time?
Maybe he’d expected everything and everybody to be wiped out before he landed? Did that really make any sense, though? Surely, he’d have to be familiar with the weapons and would’ve known there hadn’t been time?
It occurred to Anya when Aidan nudged her and handed her a piece of the nasty rations he was carrying that there could be other explanations to what she’d been swept up in. She’d only explored one possibility—well, sort of fixated on it. The problem was, as certain as she was that her life could well depend on figuring it out, it was a puzzle that seemed beyond her ability to sort into any kind of order.
She was very much afraid that she was leaning more and more toward trusting Aidan, though, trying to come up with reasons why she should, because she needed him for survival.
Exhausted, emotionally and physically, she dozed off almost before she’d finished eating and swallowing. Aidan nudged her again and handed her the water pouch. That revived her a little, but she discovered she’d reached the point where she didn’t want to try to fight sleep. She wanted to embrace it.
Aidan said something. She was sure he was trying to get her up and moving again, but she ignored him, shifting in an attempt to find a more comfortable position to sleep. “I’m tired,” she muttered. “Just a little nap, ok?”
He bumped her again, rousing her slightly, but when she realized he was curling up next to her, she drifted off once more, huddling a little closer to the warmth he exuded.
Aidan didn’t actually intend to doze off. He wasn’t certain how he had. The hard surface was damned uncomfortable and he was chilly without his jacket—to say nothing of the fact that curling around Anya for warmth made him far too aware of her sexually to be particularly comfortable. He did doze off, however. Waking a little later with a jolt of consternation, he checked his wrist computer. It was a relief to discover that the nap had been a brief one, but it didn’t particularly ease his conscience. “We have to keep moving. Time isn’t on our side,” he murmured as he shook Anya awake.
She groaned, trying to snuggle closer as he tried to ease away from her. The effect was harder to dismiss that time. His body reacted on a purely primal level. The urge to ignore everything beyond her effect on him was strong, so strong it made him dizzy. Gritting his teeth resolutely, he gripped her small shoulder and pushed her gently away. “We have to get that thing and get to my ship. The gods only know what’s happening up there, but I guarantee it isn’t pretty.”
Anya had roused enough by that time to begin to feel the beginnings of embarrassment. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she could’ve pretended she was clinging to him as a pretext to seduce him to her will. She’d been too far gone—and she was certain he knew it—to salvage her pride in that way, though.
Straightening, she struggled with her discomfort and the aftereffects of fatigue and too little sleep while the alien got up, turning in first one direction and then another as he studied the device on his wrist with frowning intensity. “Ned go dat vay,” he said finally, frustration evident in his voice as he studied the pipe that lay before them, neither end of which seemed to be pointing in the desired direction.
She didn’t like the way he was studying the situation. It seemed to her that he might be considering finding a way to the surface. Well! If he was he could damned sure count her out! No way in hell was she going back out there with the things roaming around that she’d seen!
If that wasn’t distressing enough, it was really unfortunate that his choice of words had struck a chord. She needed to go! All he’d had to say was ‘ned go’ and right straight her bladder had begun to complain!
What the hell was she going to do about that?
She was still struggling to figure that out—or blank her mind to the need—when he stepped away from her, unfastened his trousers and dragged this huge thing out that looked a lot like a dick—except bigger! She gaped at it, feeling heat blast into her cheeks when he began to urinate.
Almost worse than the fact that she’d followed him—naturally enough since she didn’t know what the hell he was doing!—was the effect him emptying his bladder had on her bladder.
Realizing that was the end of any possibility of control, she hurried away and squatted with her back to him to relieve herself.
It felt absolutely orgasmic! She hadn’t realized just how desperate she was.
Well, great while it lasted. Damp when it was over. Cap that with the fact that the asshole had come to stand over her and it just made her day!
“Go?”
She sent him a drop dead look as she straightened. She thought he looked amused, but she told herself it must be just her imagination. His mouth did curve upward slightly at the corners, making him seem to be on the verge of smiling all the time. It heightened the feline appearance and gave him a pleasant sort of expression except when he was pissed off. Then that shadow of a smile made him look all the more unnerving, kind of demonic, to her mind.
If he was amused it didn’t last long, though. He set off at a pace Anya had trouble keeping up with. The impression was that he was making up for time lost while they rested. Anya just couldn’t figure out what the sense of urgency denoted.
It struck her, though, as soon as that popped into her mind that she’d felt that from the beginning. He wasn’t just running in a random flight to find a safe harbor. He had a goal and a purpose and apparently a timeline.
“Where are we going?” she asked a little breathlessly as she hurried to catch up to him.
He glanced at the wrist thing when she spoke and then shook his head. Not enough data to respond. He wasn’t even sure that the computer had translated her question, but the tone certainly suggested a question. “Go-ning were ting.” He stopped, frowning and finally just used his hand to simulate something falling.
Anya frowned, trying to put that together and then felt a surge of excitement. “Your ship?”
He looked completely baffled so she tried some pantomime herself. She wasn’t sure if he got it or not. Just about the time she began to think he was getting the idea, though, it occurred to her that she was an idiot for jumping to that conclusion. Surely he’d left his ship somewhere around where she found him? She’d heard something crash close by. Of course that might have been another of those things.
She saw that he was shaking his head, but then he frowned and stopped moving.
“Shit! You’re right! That’s what comes from being too damned focused!” Aidan muttered. “I need to forget about that satellite. Probably a lost cause in this amount of time anyway. We need to get to the ship. It’s the only chance we have of stopping the genesis.”
Not that he believed there was any real possibility of stopping the process anyway, but he had to try before her and her people and their entire civilization was wiped out by the terra-formers.
He glanced at Anya and saw that, naturally enough, she hadn’t understood one word he’d said, but he didn’t have the patience to even try to explain. “Yes, ship. Go were ship fall.”
“But that isn’t what you were talking about before, is it?” Anya said, more confused than ever since he seemed in as big a hurry now that he appeared to have changed his destination goal.
But then maybe she hadn’t figured it out?
She was abruptly sorry that she hadn’t attempted to learn a little of his language. It went beyond frustrating to have no idea what he was saying!
> Between the low light levels and their hurry, neither of them had the faintest idea that they’d found water until they fell in it. The shaft they were in widened abruptly—in every direction—they stepped out and found water instead of the hard bottom of the pipe—very cold water! Anya sucked in a sharp breath as the cold enveloped her and strangled. Fortunately, it wasn’t deep. She surged upward to escape the torture of icy water as quickly as she found the bottom, but she was coughing so hard and so shocked by the abrupt dousing that she couldn’t find her bearings.
Aidan grasped her upper arm and hauled her to the edge where they found a narrow ledge just above the water line. She was shaking so bad her teeth were clacking together by the time they managed to hoist themselves out. Aidan’s teeth weren’t chattering, but he was shivering with the cold.
And he was still more interested in that thing on his wrist than anything else. He seemed to relax after a moment and looked around. “Dis place?”
Anya had been wondering about that herself—with a good bit of dread. She realized she’d sucked in a sizable sample, however, and she could pretty well dismiss the horrible possibility that had first entered her mind. It definitely wasn’t a sewage treatment pool!
Well, she thought it was probably just rain runoff until her and Aidan had taken a piss a couple of culverts back.
She wished to hell she hadn’t thought about that because she was damned thirsty!
She shrugged. “Something to help prevent flooding, maybe?”
He frowned, clearly confused. She went back to the pantomime, fluttering her fingers to try to give the impression of rain. “Rain water runoff.”
He began digging around in his pockets after a few moments and finally pulled something out that looked like a narrow tube—or a very big drinking straw. He removed the packaging, examined it and then leaned down to put one end in the water.
Anya was torn as she watched him. She hadn’t had more than a few sips of water in hours and hours—she didn’t even know anymore. But as thirsty as she was, she was still very reluctant to drink from the mud puddle.
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