“How in the hell did they get this close to the colony?!” Saric raged. “They’re supposed to be kept out by the perimeter sensors…” His words drifted, and he froze.
“The perimeter sensors were malfunctioning,” he said more to himself than his mate. Duran stopped and faced him.
“Yes, recently they were, and we hadn’t had a chance to fix them. But we know where their camp is.” He placed his hands on Saric’s shoulders, and Saric met his determined gaze.
“We’re going to find her,” Duran insisted. “We’re going to bring her home. I promise.”
“And then what?” Saric couldn’t help but ask.
“And then we’re going to give the three of us a shot.”
For a moment, Saric’s anger, desperation, and panic were overtaken by hope.
“Do you mean that?”
Duran nodded. “Yes. When we get her back, we’re going to convince her to never leave us again.”
“What changed your mind?”
Saric was scared to ask, but he needed to know. Duran was ornery, and had been adamant for years about not getting close to females.
Duran sighed and pulled back slightly.
“Tonight I realized how much she means to you. I can’t be the one to deny you someone you love, just because of my stubbornness.”
Affection and sympathy washed over Saric.
“You’re not stubborn.”
One of Duran’s eyebrows rose in a dubious expression. It made a smile break out over Saric’s face.
“Okay, you are stubborn. But you had good reasons for not wanting to risk having a relationship with a female.”
Duran nodded. “I did, and still do, but I think we can make this work. I’m willing to try.”
Saric knew he loved this male, but hearing him give them permission to bring Adrianna into their lives was the best thing he could ever do. Saric closed the distance separating them and gave him a kiss of gratitude.
“Thank you,” he whispered against his lips.
“You’re welcome,” Duran answered. “Now, let’s go get our female back.”
Saric nodded, and switched back into retrieval mode.
The two males hadn’t made it far before Bilal’s voice came from Duran’s comm unit.
“Duran, Saric, are you there?”
Bilal had stayed at the colony to try to fix one of the long-range scanners. Duran lifted his comm to his mouth.
“Yes, Bilal, we’re here. Did you repair the scanner?”
“Did you find her?” Saric added into the device from his mate’s side.
“I was able to fix it, but it can’t get a precise lock on her genetic code from so far away.”
Both males’ shoulders slumped.
“What about the bandits? Can you get a lock on their camp?” Duran asked instead.
“The bandits? Let me try.” There was a long pause before Bilal’s voice came back. “I can see their camp, and… huh, that’s interesting.”
“What’s interesting?” both males asked as one.
“Didn’t we banish twelve people?” Bilal asked. The males shared a look.
“Yes, we did,” Duran answered.
“Well, there appears to be an extra person at their camp now. I’m seeing thirteen individual signatures.”
That meant that there was a huge chance that the extra person was Adi. Saric sighed in relief, but anger boiled in Duran’s chest. How dare these exiles take her!
“Do you have reason to believe that the extra person is Adrianna?” Bilal asked.
Duran answered the male. “Yes. Send the coordinates to my comm, and notify Rex and the others that we found evidence of foul play.”
“Understood. What are you two going to do?” Bilal asked.
The males shared a look before Duran declared, “We’re going to release fury on their camp and get her back.”
*****
Adrianna knew that she had a very short window for escape. The men had left her nearly alone in camp, but they were just beyond the circle of huts in the surrounding jungle setting up a perimeter. She wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed, since they didn’t seem to have a lot of extra supplies, but for the moment, they weren’t all watching her.
She needed to get free and hide before they came back into camp and noticed that she was gone. She’d have to escape into the jungle, past anyone who might still be out there, and the “perimeter” they’d established.
The good news was that her wrists were almost untied.
Using the mud she was sitting in, she’d been able to discreetly lubricate her wrists enough to slip the rope free. The other had slipped out rather easily. It’s a good thing they can’t tie knots, she thought to herself.
With that done, she sat still for a moment, listened, and raised her head just enough to look at the remaining man through her lashes. He was inside the fire’s lean-to, facing away from her, stirring something in a large pot. He was only about ten feet away, and would surely hear her if she went running into the jungle. She didn’t need him sending up an alarm to the others.
Adi couldn’t see or hear anyone else nearby, so she risked a glance around their camp. It was pitiful. The large lean-to was at the center of a circle of a half-dozen huts, which looked like they’d been pieced together with saplings, and broken tree limbs. They made her cabin look lavish. Thankfully, she didn’t see anyone else in the vicinity.
Slowly, she stood up (pausing for a moment when her head began to swim) and tip-toed towards the man. He didn’t hear her approach over the rain pounding on the roof above his head. Stacked just inside the hut, to keep them partly dry, were logs for the fire. She picked one up as she passed, and held it tightly in both hands like a baseball bat.
She couldn’t believe he didn’t hear her, since the sound of her heartbeat was deafening in her own ears.
Before she could rethink her plan, she swung the log at the man’s head as hard as she could. She heard the sickening—and sort of satisfying—crack as the wood made impact. The man hardly made a noise as he fell to the ground, and the rain masked any great risk of being overheard. She looked down at him, and recognized him as Strickland: the colony’s previous mayor, and overall dick-head.
She felt a little less guilty about knocking him unconscious, but nausea still rose in her gut. I bludgeoned a person! Adrianna forced the horrified part of herself aside. Now wasn’t the time to judge her own actions.
Dropping the log, she ran to the nearest hut and plastered her back against it. She crept to the corner and peeked around to check if the coast was clear. Seeing no one, she edged around the small building, heading towards the jungle.
Behind the building was roughly ten feet of open space between it and the nearest trees. Ten feet wasn’t far, but she could hear men’s voices nearby. The falling rain made it hard to ascertain their positions, but they were close… Too close.
For a moment, she wavered with indecision, but a shout of alarm from behind her—in the direction of the unconscious Strickland—forced her into action. She darted across the empty space, and plunged into the relative shelter of the trees. Feeling more at home amongst the jungle, she ran as fast as she dared in the dark. The storm’s thick clouds hid most of the light from the moons, making it nearly impossible to see, but still she ran.
She heard men’s voices behind her, the sound urging her to push her body. Several times she stumbled and fell to the ground, only to get up and begin running again. After yet another fall, she felt warm blood trickling down her knees, palms, and shins.
I can’t keep running blindly like this.
The voices increasingly rose in volume, and when she turned, she could see flickers of torchlight amongst the tree trunks.
Fear momentarily seized her. I’m not going to be able to outrun them!
Adrianna did her best to think clearly through her terror. If she couldn’t outrun them, she’d have to hide. There were lots of places to go unseen in the jungle, but at night, the bes
t place she could think of—was up.
She looked up at the tall trees while water droplets fell into her eyes. Hiding high in the limbs wouldn’t help during the day, but morning was still several hours away. If she got up far enough, the men’s torches wouldn’t be able to illuminate her.
Quickly deciding that it was her best option, she found a tree that had a trunk rough enough for her to dig her fingers and toes into, and only had to climb roughly ten feet before she could grasp the lowest branches and heave herself up.
I should have joined Kaitie’s climbing club, Adi thought as she reached for yet another branch overhead. Up and up she went, not looking down; afraid of what she’d see. Finally she found a decent split in the wide trunk, where she could straddle the v and lay down over the largest limb to avoid being seen.
She settled herself over the tree trunk, and finally looked down at the jungle below. She was high—much too high for her liking—but it was perfect for what she needed. Not for the first time, she was thankful for her dark coloring and brown work shorts. Her shirt was lighter, but she hoped that it was dirty enough that the light color was concealed amongst the shadows.
She rested her cheek on the rough wood, trying her best to keep warm. All she could do now was bide her time, resist panicking, and remain concealed in shadows.
*****
Duran and Saric ran through the jungle as quickly as they dared, their flashlights fanning out in front of them to illuminate the ground. Bilal had offered to replicate Arathian technology that would make their trek easier, like lights that hovered midair and followed their movements, but neither male wanted to waste time by going back to the colony to retrieve extra gear. Instead, they ran for as long as they could before stopping for quick moments to catch their breath.
Bilal had also redirected others towards the bandit’s camp, but the two males weren’t waiting for backup. If they had to fight, there was a lot the two Arathians could do with the weapons they had, and their bare hands.
They were still a good kilometer from the bandit’s camp, when Duran heard voices. He stopped, and silently encouraged Saric to crouch at his side. Hidden behind large leaves, the males watched and listened. Soon they saw handheld fires bobbing through the underbrush.
“Come out, come out,” one of the Earther males encouraged. “We’re not going to hurt you.”
Saric tensed, and Duran put a hand on his shoulder—partly in solidarity, partly to keep the male from attacking. He didn’t think the Earthers were talking to them.
Duran brought his comm close to his mouth and made sure to keep his voice low.
“Bilal, I need an update on the targets’ position.”
“Twelve are spread out in the jungle surrounding the camp. Eleven of those are moving farther away, with one stationary in the jungle. One is at the camp, also unmoving. There are three of them within two-hundred meters of you.”
“Can you tell which one is Adrianna?” Duran asked quietly.
“Negative. The scanners still can’t pick up enough details through the storm.”
Damn it.
Duran met Saric’s eyes for a moment, then his mate reached into the holster at his hip and removed his weapon. He watched him set the gun to “stun,” and nodded.
“We’ve got it under control,” Duran quietly told Bilal. “Keep an eye on the scanner, and maintain comm silence. I’ll contact you when we need updates on their positions.”
“Understood,” Bilal replied.
Duran took his own weapon in hand, making sure it was set to stun. Both males put their flashlights into their packs, and moved towards the closest torches. Keeping low and using the large foliage for cover, it was easy to sneak up on the first three males. Duran took a single shot, Saric two, and the Earthers were down.
The pair approached the prone forms, and rolled them over so that they wouldn’t drown in the mud. All three were vaguely familiar to Duran—they’d been among the bandits who had attacked the colonists shortly after their arrival. Although now they were dirtier, skinnier, with unkempt hair and nasty teeth from the years spent in exile.
Serves them right, he thought unapologetically. They’d attacked the colonists and plane passengers without mercy, because of greed. The Earthers had voted to banish the twelve men. They’d gotten off too easy, in Duran’s opinion.
“What should we do with them?” Saric asked.
“Leave them,” Duran answered. “The stun lasts for several hours—plenty of time for Rex and the others to arrive and secure them.”
Together, the males doused the torches, and moved on to the next set of people. They took out eleven Earthers this way, until there was only one remaining in the jungle, and one in the camp. Duran updated Rex on the comms, who promised he’d head their way with bonds and extra people.
“I think we should target the camp next,” Duran suggested. Saric shook his head.
“She’s not at their camp. If she was, the others wouldn’t have been out looking for her.”
He was absolutely right.
“Okay, then let’s find wherever she’s hiding.”
With Bilal’s sensor leading them in the right direction, they arrived at the indicated spot in the jungle, only to find absolutely no sign of her.
CHAPTER 8
“Where is she?” Saric asked, looking around.
He stooped to peer under large leaves, but found nothing. When he straightened, Duran was making a circle around the nearest tree, looking for her too.
Frustration mounted in Saric again. They were so close! Where the hell is she?!
“It says she’s right here!” Saric yelled.
“I know… I…” Duran stumbled, clearly feeling similar frustration and confusion. Was the sensor wrong?
Just when he was about to lose it, and belt his frustration to the heavens, a voice called from above their heads.
“Saric?”
It was a familiar, feminine voice. His heart skipped a beat. Both males looked up into the treetops, the large leaves of the tree keeping most of the water from falling into their eyes.
“Adi?!” Saric yelled.
“Yes, yes, it’s me,” she answered in obvious relief.
“Thank the Gods,” Saric muttered.
“Did you see any of the other men?” Adi asked. “They were searching the jungle for me.”
“Yes, honey. Don’t worry, we took care of them. Wait there and I’ll come get you.”
All Saric could think about was getting up the tree as quickly as possible. He shucked off the weight of his pack, and prepared to climb. Duran got out a large bundle of rope from his pack, and Saric looped it over his head and through an arm, securing it around his midsection.
“Are you hurt?” Duran called to Adi.
Thank goodness someone has a clear head, Saric thought. He was just thinking about getting up to her as quickly as he could.
“Ummm, not too badly. But I fell a couple of times while I was running through the jungle, and I think one of my knees is scraped pretty bad. One of the men also hit me in the head, and I think it might be bleeding.”
Saric had to close his eyes a moment to calm himself against the rage he felt. He could picture Adi running through the jungle—at night… in a storm!—to escape the bastards who had dared to kidnap her. He was grateful that Rex was going to take care of them, because in his current mind, his version of “taking care of them” would be rather violent… And bloody.
“Just stay there,” Duran called to her. “Saric’s on his way up to you.”
“Okay,” she answered.
Duran handed him the backpack with medical supplies, flashlight, and other items. Saric strapped it on, then planted his foot in Duran’s laced fingers to give himself a boost. It didn’t take him long to climb up to Adrianna. She was straddling an intersection of large limbs, her legs on either side.
He reached for her immediately once he was in range, pulling her cold body into his embrace. She clutched at him as she began
to shake, either from the temperature, from tears, or from the shock of the experience, he wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was safe and in his arms.
“We were so worried,” he confessed against her wet hair. “When we realized you were missing…”
“I knew you’d come looking for me,” she told him as she pulled away.
“There’s no question that we’d come looking for you. I love you, Adrianna.”
He didn’t wait for her reply, but melded their mouths together. She pulled back too soon with an expression of concern.
“Those men are going to be looking for me…”
He interrupted her. “I told you, we took care of them.” Her brows knit together.
“You did? All of them?”
“Yes. They’re never going to lay another hand on you. I promise.”
“Did you reach her?” Duran called from below. Saric pulled back to answer.
“Yes, I’m with her.”
His mate’s question reminded Saric that he wasn’t up a tree to kiss Adi. Now that she was found and his panic was receding, his eyes locked onto the dark marks on the far side of her face. He leaned forward and clearly smelled blood.
Mother fuckers! he silently cursed. They’d not only hit her in the head, they hit her hard enough that she’d bled all the way down to her shirt. He grabbed the flashlight from his pack, shined it on her wound, and was relieved that it looked like a small laceration that could be easily sealed.
“I’m going to heal her wounds before we climb down,” he called to his mate.
“How’s her head?” Duran called in concern.
“It’ll be fine in a moment,” Saric answered.
He settled himself on the branch in front of her, and got out the small medical kit they’d brought. He used a medical scanner to check for a concussion (which was thankfully absent), before using a dermal generator on her head, hands, wrists, and knees. Only when he was satisfied that she had no other injuries, did he address her again.
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