Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Cube: The Sci-FI Alien Invasion Romance (Books 1-5)

by Ashley L. Hunt

  My heart feels heavy in my chest; I didn’t sign up for this. I don’t want to die in a strange, technology-induced hell that will leave me dying again and again for years to come. Zan and Silver seem to think the same thing. Cross and Pyro, on the other hand, seem calm, composed.

  “Is that all?” Pyro finally says.

  “What the fuck? Are you crazy? We have to get there as fast as we can. What don’t you understand?” Jay continues.

  With a swift move, the man suddenly reveals a laser knife that stops mere centimeters from slicing Jay’s throat. The ashen-skinned man suddenly calms and gets ready to fight, only for Pyro to make another move and toss him to the ground.

  “If you can’t fight me, boy, then you can’t get in that place flying. It’s as simple as that. You’re weak as hell, so go get some sleep and we’ll talk again in the morning. Okay?”

  Pyro doesn’t wait for an answer; he just passes over him and gets on the shuttle’s gate. Cross follows him close behind, moving around Jay’s fallen body than over him like the other man did. I wait for them to get away before I run to his side.

  “Jay...I...”

  He pushes me violently out of his way. I hit my head on the subsided side of the shuttle, suddenly feeling a warm, acute pain spread through my whole body. “What the hell?” I shout at him.

  “You’re worthless. All the humans are worthless. I can destroy you with just a flinch of my finger, but you still think you can use me however you want?” Jay is calm while talking, but still, his words seem heavy and tired. He’s at his limit.

  I decide to swallow my anger and talk to him. “Look, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you have to change back, just for a day or so, until you recover your strength. You can’t expect to--”

  “Shut your trap, you stupid bitch. You don’t know shit about me. I’m perfectly fine.”

  He gets to his feet and walks out of the shuttle. I turn and look at Silver and Zan, both of them looking as surprised about what happened as I do.

  Soon the swelling on the back of my head holds in all my feelings of shame and regret. Did I make the wrong choice?

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Chapter 19

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Jay

  I’m not sure where I am again. I’m tired, unable to move my hands and feet. It’s just a plain, blue sky above my head and the rough, cold ground below me. I turn my eyes and see destroyed buildings all around me, but I still can’t keep the fleeting images of my memory inside my head. It’s like the longer I look at my surroundings, the more the images leak away from my mind.

  I feel cold and alone; the other Jay hasn’t said a thing for so long that I totally forgot about him. Did he exist in the first place? Was I trapped in the body of a platinum-skinned asshole for all these years or was everything in my head this long?

  I’m not so sure anymore. Right now, all I want to do is rest. Close my eyes and sleep until my power returns.

  A moment passes, and I’m on my feet, on the roof of the same cursed building from all these visions. Only that now I’m perfectly aware that I’m in a dream and not another vision from the cube. I look around me totally apathetic; I feel fear, but I don’t show it. I feel anger, but my heart beats slowly like I’m sleeping.

  Surely, there’s someone here that can help me get away from this painless dream. I want to tear my head apart to feel something, to feel alive, but all I get is an empty, white dream.

  I hear the hinges of an old door squeak behind me; it’s the same fucking thing every time.

  “I don’t understand! What it’s going on? What do you want from me?” I shout at the wind, but the only thing coming out from my mouth is a sigh.

  I’m ready to get on my knees and tear my skin apart with my teeth just to feel something.

  But then I see the person coming out of the squeaking door.

  “Lenora?” My jaw falls after I see her walking out of the building. “Lenora, is that you?” I scream.

  She turns and looks at me with the same expression on her face like the last time I saw her. When was the last time I saw her?

  Jasih...her voice echoes inside my head.

  “I’m sorry, Lenora. I should have known better,” I say. Only that I didn’t open my mouth.

  Her face slowly cracks into a faucet of pure sadness and agony. Her mouth hangs open, a perfect example of regret.

  I feel a sudden pain in my chest; it’s the other Jasih.

  Lenora! Come back! Don’t let her go. LENORA!

  But she doesn’t even turn to look at me now; instead, she walks to the edge of the roof. Without even hesitating, she climbs on the ridge and turns to look at me.

  “Goodbye,” she says out loud, and then the cube appears out of nowhere and pushes her over the edge.

  A small explosion of light blinds me, but I follow her close behind. I jump behind her in what it seems like an eternity and see her fall towards the ground fast. We’re now both falling. I close my eyes just before we hit the ground, but I don’t feel a thing. Not pain, not anything. Instead, I open my eyes again only to see her damaged body lying next to a little, black cube emitting a red light.

  I look around me and try to understand. I’m not sure that everything in my mind still clicks, but everything looks so damn familiar. I...I think I’ve been here before.

  I feel a light shining deep into my head, and then everything comes to the surface. All my decisions, everything that I thought from the day I learned about the cube, the Nusae, seemingly everything that actually took me to this exact moment.

  Lenora died so that I wouldn’t have to get trapped in the cube, and then the cube brought me back to life as the key to unlocking it. I got back to my ship all by myself and got into the cryo-pod trying to hide from everyone that would want to use the cube to destroy another civilization. And still, even though I know that I was there, it still feels that I wasn’t the one that did all these things.

  It’s because you didn’t. Lenora was my wife, and you were just a parasite unable to have thoughts back then. The Cube gave you the life it took from her!

  After hearing that last word, I wake up, dripping wet from that endless dream. I look around me and see that I’m sleeping inside a tent on the edge of the camp. Someone is still awake, but I don’t have the strength to get up and see for myself. I try to calm down, but I can’t. It’s like my heart decided it’s time to abandon me and is trying to jump its way out of my chest.

  It takes me a moment to recollect my thoughts again. Everything is clear to me now. Back in the glorious Esuh days, I had a wife named Lenora. In the last days of our empire, Lenora and I found out about the Nusae plan to use the cube to destroy us. The emperor himself didn’t know anything about the danger looming over our species, but back then we, the best couple of First Kinds, decided we were enough to retrieve it and save our species.

  Only that we were too late. When we found out that the Cube was on Primordial Earth, the chosen Nusae had activated it and chose to kill the Esuh as revenge for all the years of war that we inflicted upon them. We managed to find him, but the Nusae culprit disappeared into thin air after the cube stopped working. It was too fucking late.

  An hour after the incident, the cube came back to life and started chasing us. We run, split, did everything we could to get out of its way, but it had decided that one of us would be its next victim.

  And we knew what that would mean for the chose one; certain death.

  So, Lenora came up with a plan to save us both. At least that’s what she said at that time. She lead us at the top of a building. She gave me a kiss, and before I could do anything, she jumped from the roof. I jumped behind her, only for the cube to choose her in mid-air and save me from dying. The cube needs a key and a lock both, so she became the lock and I the key. She knew that the cube was after her from the start, so she decided to take the jump to protect me. But, what she didn’t expect was that the cube would choose her even after death, and make me th
e chosen one.

  The memories are still coming in fast. I don’t remember the details of our exchange that night, but remembering everything else is a great relief and a curse. Now I know the truth, and killing Phadh would only keep this vicious circle from never stopping.

  Suddenly, I want to see Eladia. I want to tell her everything about my dream. I use every ounce of my strength to sit on the ground. Light is coming from outside. I see two shadows standing above the humming generator.

  It’s Eladia and Cross, sitting close to each other, talking like two lovers in hiding.

  I feel my blood boil from anger and all I want is to gut both of them alive. I feel something breaking inside me, and I forget everything about the dream and my decision to save the Phadh.

  Right now, all humans must die.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Chapter 20

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Eladia

  I can’t stop shaking. I still hear his words in my head. Jay threatened me; he threatened me that if I don’t do as he says he’ll drive my whole race to extinction just to make a point. His other self wouldn’t do something like that. Never. That was the reason I fell for Silver Jay in the first place. He isn’t risky and adventurous, but instead, he’s steady and safe. And right now, I want safe.

  My mind is racing; Jay has to change back so that he recovers his powers. Pyro and Cross won’t be enough to protect us all after we arrive at our destination. Silver spend some time triangulating the position of the energy center using the cube and managed to estimate that we should be heading towards Mosa’s City Hall.

  We’re close enough to only takes us less than a day to get there, but with the news of the council initiating the Purge anytime now, everything is a big, fucking mess. And in the middle of it, I can do nothing but think if I made the right choice when choosing Jay over Jasih...or the other way around.

  “Fuck!” I suddenly utter.

  I can’t do this anymore. I just want to take a break from my life and start over. No Esuh, no Nusae, no corrupt Originators, no pressure.

  I rest my head on my hands and breath in. I’m sitting in the middle of the camp, close to the generator that Pyro set up to fuel the protective force field. It’s not something extraordinary, but it’s strong enough to keep any zombies away long enough for us to get away. The engine drones serenely, being the only thing right now showing a semblance of normality. It’s soothing in its own, twisted way.

  “You should rest.”

  “What the?” I squeak when I hear Cross’ voice from behind me. He scared the shit out of me. I would have started screaming if I didn’t see him smiling at me the minute I turn my head. “What the hell, Dale? I could have hurt you.”

  He stops smiling and looks at me with a grave look on his face. “You used my first name after so long. It’s somehow...odd hearing it come off your lips.”

  He’s right. I haven’t uttered his name for so long now. I do call him Dale now and then, but I never really mean it in a friendly way. A minute ago, though, when he scared me, I went back a year. Back then, he was just a human doctor that was trying to help us save Jay, and I was just a clueless Chronicler that thought that her life’s purpose was to untangle the Nusae Mystery. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe I shouldn’t have saved Jay from his cryogenic pod after all.

  Or maybe not. I don’t know.

  “You’re troubled about your boyfriend, Jasih, right?” he suddenly says.

  He’s still on his feet, watching the engine slightly shake while producing energy. He keeps his arms crossed before his chest. His eyes shine in the dim light of the engine. He looks stunning, as always.

  “Yes. And no. I’m concerned about this mission, too. Do you think we have any chance of going through with this? Are we going to survive? Will we manage to save the Phadh?,” I say.

  I feel calmer almost instantly. Talking about my fears to him make them real, but seeing Cross not change his attitude or get worried, somehow makes me feel stronger. These men are all miracle workers after all.

  “Maybe you’re thinking it the wrong way, Eladia. Up there, in the spaceship, there’s a young girl named Alyce. That girl, and every member of her family, all her friends, even common strangers that have nothing to do with her, will die if we don’t go through with this mission. I don’t know if we are going to survive, but if I’m going to die for something, then I’ll do it in a way that that girl, up in the sky, will get to keep her life instead.”

  Cross takes another step towards me and squats next to me. He stretches his hands and plays with the shadows the light casts on the wall.

  I’m not sure if I feel better now, but surely I feel confident. This man hasn’t changed a bit since we met. He may be the Organization’s Swamp, devoting his life to the people he’s trying to protect, but he’ll always be that doctor I met a year ago, a person mending other people’s lives.

  “You’re right, I guess. I’m also worried about Jay. You did a good job guessing back there.” I stop and look at him. He stares me back. I keep on talking. “He’s not himself anymore, and I think I may be the reason for that. I chose his dark side, and now I think I’ve made a mistake. I couldn’t choose between them, so I thought that the most fun one was the one I wanted. But back there? I don’t know. He was tired and aggressive. He was in no way funny or heroic. He acted just like a wounded animal, growling at me and showing his teeth. And I’m not sure I can live with that.”

  He listens to me patiently as I talk. His expression is softer now and against all the odds, a grin appears on his face. Is he trying to mock me by laughing at my problems? Maybe he’s not the man I thought he’s after all.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Eladia. Jasih is a troubled person. He always was and always will be. He’s the last of his race and will probably remain like that until he dies. Also, he carries inside him two personalities, both of them damaged and conflicted. Honestly, even if it was the other Jay calling the shots about the cube, I think things wouldn’t be too different.”

  Or maybe I’m just a bitch that doesn’t know what she wants. Yeah, that would work too as an excuse. Cross...well, Dale, is a wise person that I’ve met too late in my life. If I hadn’t fallen for Jay, then maybe I would have fallen for him. But now, watching him suffer in his own skin, trying to understand what’s going on with his life as well, I’m starting to feel that my problems are not so big after all.

  I smile at him and nod. It’s the only thing I can do without making a fool of myself. He gets back on his feet and turns to walk away.

  “You never talk about yourself,” I suddenly say. I don’t know what made me say that to him now, but it feels like the right thing to do. After all, I trusted him with my problems. Maybe he can do the same with his, too.

  He turns and stares at me; my heart skips a beat. “What do you want to know?”

  He smiles; I smile back at him. I don’t know why, but it feels like I’m cheating on Jay just by looking at him.

  “Do you have someone important to your life? Someone you want to protect?”

  “Of course. Why do you think I put up with the Organization if not to protect that certain someone?” He sounds like he’s having fun answering my questions.

  So, I keep firing them away.

  “So, does that certain someone has a name?”

  He cracks a loud laugh but quickly stops so he doesn’t wake everyone up. It’s really late and tomorrow we all should be rested.

  “Yes, he has. But I’m not in the mood for sharing it.”

  Did he just say he? Maybe I didn’t hear him right.

  “Also, I want to protect you as well. Does that count as enough people or not?” he says and smiles at me again.

  “I’m not sure I understand, but I’ll say yes. We’re more than enough for one man,” I say.

  He got me by surprise with that last sentence of his. He wants to protect me as well. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, and I can’t say anything in return
. It would have ruined the moment. Still, there’s something that seems relevant.

  “I want to protect you, too. And everyone in this crew. Well, your friend Pyro maybe a little less, but I would hate seeing him die in this mission. He kept Silver and Zan safe throughout this year. That much I owe him.”

  Dale turns his back on me and walks away laughing. He’s heading towards his tent, never saying a thing. He moves his head up and down, nodding from behind, but I don’t manage to get more answers from him. Dale manages to remain a mystery to me even after I’ve learned that he has people in his life he wants to protect. Who are they, except me? I really hope I get to know some day.