Calira said goodnight to them all and left it to the three men to tell the others their tale of adventure. She was tired, mentally exhausted from the trauma they’d gone through and physically from their explorations, so she hurried to her quarters. But sleep wouldn’t come easily. They were lost, stuck on a planet seemingly populated by savages who couldn’t help them.
* * * *
When morning came, she still felt tired. It was as if she’d not slept at all. She wished she could take a shower, but that was now impossible. The ship was dead. The rest of the crew were already up and in the mess hall. She saw a pile of the yellow fruit on the table and some other round fruits. That was their breakfast. Their own food unit had been destroyed in the crash. Fortunately, a good supply of water bottles aboard had survived the crash. Greedily, she drank a full bottle of it.
“I gather you’ve told everyone about our exploration of the planet?” she asked Opek.
“Yes. We were just talking about what we’re going to do. The ship is beyond repair. Kekese and Plutmo did a thorough diagnostic. There’s nothing we can do to fix it. I think we need to hide the ship the best we can with vines and leaves, pack everything we can carry and go find a place to settle. Hopefully a place near water.”
“If we travel as humans, we’ll have to be very careful. I saw a lot of strange creatures yesterday,” Tuk said.
“We’ll take as many weapons as we can carry. At least they still function. I suggest we head north and hope we don’t come across any more savage tribes,” Opek said. “If everyone has eaten, let’s attend to Darek’s burial first. It looks like we’ll have to make our home here.”
The crew’s faces were gloomy. They were probably thinking about their families back home, just like she was. Calira hurried to her sleeping quarters and stuffed as much as possible into a large backpack. Before she put the crystal containing her family’s images in her pack, she turned it on for a moment. Tears soaked her cheeks as she listened to their voices, watched the little holo figures waving goodbye and wished them a safe and speedy journey. Would she ever see them again? The way things looked, more than likely not. Right now, they were probably mourning her. She shut it off resolutely, put it carefully in one of the side pockets, and strapped the backpack on. It was heavy, but she wasn’t about to leave anything behind.
When she joined the others, they carried more than just backpacks. They had cases in each hand and handed her two to carry. Opek stuffed weapons into the loops of her backpack. She took one last look around before following them through the exit chamber and through the outer hatch. She was leaving behind the last bit of familiarity, her last link to home, and heading into a strange new world. She couldn’t feel a sense of new beginnings, of adventure, not with sadness overwhelming her.
The ceremony for Darat was short but powerful. Each of the crew said a few words in his honor. Opek was last to speak. He dedicated Darat’s soul to the God of Light, their Creator. A few moments of silence followed as they stood in a circle around the body bag, arms crossed and hands linked. As one, they broke the link and Opek stepped forward, the cinerator gun pointed at the body bag. He fired. Within seconds, there wasn’t even a sign that anything had lain there.
Calira wiped the tears off her face and picked up the cases she was to carry. “Opek, did you remember to engage the emergency signal? You never know if any of our ships will venture into this galaxy.”
“I managed to fix it, so yes, I did. I doubt any of them will enter this galaxy, but anything is worth a try.”
“We don’t even know which galaxy we’re in,” Calira muttered.
“And no way to find out, either,” Opek said. “Let’s get moving.”
After hiding the ship by covering it with huge leaves and various branches, they set off in single file, the thick vegetation making it impossible to walk in pairs. Several times, they had to kill. One creature that attacked was a long slithering animal, its body thicker than her thigh. It wrapped itself around Henke who started to turn blue in the face until Opek shot the creature’s head off.
Just like the previous day, the furry little animals followed them, mimicked them, swinging through the trees beside them and above. The larger species weren’t quite as curious and seemed more hostile than the small ones.
* * * *
It was nearly nightfall by the time they came upon a small clearing just below a mountain ridge. A waterfall cascaded down from the mountain into a good size pool that turned into a narrow river at the far end. It was a beautiful scene, except for the dense bank of moisture high above that hid most of the sky from them. Surrounded by lush foliage, fruit bearing trees and shrubs, and the giant trees, it was more than picturesque.
“I think we’ll stop here. This looks like a good place to set up camp. What do you all think?” Opek asked.
“I agree, Commander. It’s beautiful and there’s plenty of water,” Shana said.
“And I see trees with the yellow fruit and some other trees bearing fruits. I like it,” Calira told him.
They all agreed they would settle there and dropped their backpacks.
“There’s a cave just beside the waterfall. Might be a good place to hide everything. I’ll go and explore it first, make sure it’s safe. Could even be good shelter for the night.” Opek took off toward the cave entrance.
He came back quite fast. “It’s not a deep cave, and it’s very cold, too cold for us to sleep there but good enough to stow our bags and equipment. We can block off the entrance with some nearby boulders.”
After they’d stripped and stored their backpacks and other gear inside the cave, they blocked off the entrance. They shifted and headed for the trees.
Calira lay on her branch deep in thought. Tomorrow they’d start a new life, build homes for them to live in, make plans.
Tomorrow would be a new beginning for her and her crewmates of nine men and five other women. That made her think—nine men, six women. How was that going to work? If they were to procreate, some of the women would need to take on two mates, not unheard of on her planet. A thrill ran through her at the thought of having two mates, two men in her bed. Not all of her crewmates had spouses on their home world. She pictured the men. Henke wasn’t bad looking. She really liked him, but he had a mate at home. If no help came, maybe in time he’d become interested in her. Plutmo wasn’t half bad either. He was slated for the mating ceremony at home, but that wouldn’t happen now.
Calira thought about her prospective mate, handsome Kandala. Her hormones went into overdrive. Kandala really turned her on, as a human female, but even more so as a cat. She suddenly felt Henke’s eyes on her. Meeting his gaze, she read interest in his blue eyes and it caused her to come. Her juices flowed over the branch and dripped steadily to the foliage below. She noticed Henke sniff, watched him lick his chops and shift uncomfortably on his branch. Inwardly, she smiled and closed her eyes. Purring softly, she dozed, her ears perked for unusual sounds.
Tomorrow…a new life, a new chapter for them all.
Chapter One
Tirzah was restless. Many years had passed since the elders had crashed on this planet and they still wouldn’t allow any of the younger generation to venture beyond the boundaries they’d set when they first settled in the valley, not even as cat. Too dangerous, they kept telling them, and they’d listened time and again to the stories about the primitive savages, the flesh eaters, the cannibalistic tribes who lived beyond in the forbidden zone.
They obeyed. Opek had instilled enough fear in them to ensure they wouldn’t dare go beyond the boundary. There had to be more out there, Tirzah was sure of it. Exploration was in her blood, inherited from her parents, Henke and Calira. Though her mother had two mates, Henke and Kandala, as did several of the other first settler women, Torzo was able to tell them who their father was through a test. None of her siblings had the urge for adventure, but some of her friends agreed that there had to be more territory to explore, more discoveries to make. The elders to
ld them without proper equipment, further exploration of the planet was impossible and surely, if there were a more advanced species, there would have been evidence.
The elders had become apprehensive. For some years, they’d seen strange crafts in the sky—seen only during the short times when there was an opening in the mist bank above. Just a few days ago, they’d seen another craft high above. They said it resembled nothing like they’d ever seen before and they feared invasion by aliens.
“Maybe they’ve already invaded the planet and what we’ve seen are their transporters. The crafts don’t look as if they’d survive space travel,” Opek said. “They resemble giant silver birds.”
“Some of them have wings that rotate,” Tirzah said. “Even if it’s an alien race, maybe they’re friendly and they can help us find our people.” Then she added wistfully, “That’s if the rest of the fleet found a suitable planet.”
“Tirzah, don’t interrupt when the elders are in discussion. You know better than that,” Calira admonished.
“Sorry. Everyone seems to forget that we have opinions, too,” she mumbled. “We’re adults now. We’re not children anymore.”
Opek smiled patiently. “Tirzah, you’re young, inexperienced, and impulsive. You have no idea how vast the forest is. Believe me, when we first settled here, we explored often, sometimes for days, and there seemed to be no end to the forest and mountains, and only more savage tribes.”
“If aliens have settled on this planet, there must be more beyond the forest.” She dared to speak now that Opek had spoken to her directly. “Surely the whole planet isn’t made up out of forests?”
“Why are you so eager to leave? Are you that unhappy here? Our life is good.”
“Our life might be good, in a sense. But I long for normality, for cities like the ones you’ve told us about, for clothing like I’ve seen in the pictures, for music, and lots of other things. So do many of my friends. We might be civilized, but our life is almost the same as the savages that occupy this planet. The only difference is we don’t eat human flesh.” How could she tell him she longed for a mate, but none of her friends were to her liking. Sure, some of the young men chased her, but she always rejected their advances. How was she ever to mate if she couldn’t find someone among her own people? It was as if he’d read her thoughts—and he probably had. She had such a bad habit of leaving her thoughts unguarded.
“You won’t find another species like us on this planet. We’d have picked up their signature years ago. Yes, there are the black cats, but they’re merely cats. They don’t have the ability to shift. You have no choice but to find your mate here, among us,” Opek said, a stern expression on his face.
Tirzah glanced at the faces of her people, young and older. Children played nearby, some of them her siblings. Her parents were more prolific than any other couple. Over the years, her mother and her two mates had produced eight litters. What had started out as a group of fifteen, had increased to fifty-six. Tirzah couldn’t even remember the names of her siblings at times. “Our numbers are increasing. Because of our lengthy life span, our village will soon be too small to house everyone. We don’t have the equipment to clear the forest, or materials to build more houses, so where is everyone supposed to live? I’m sorry, but when I find a mate, I don’t want to share a house with two or three dozen others.”
A soft murmur of agreement came from some of her friends.
“Tirzah, we will find a solution. And now, to other matters. The Festival of Light is approaching and…”
Opek’s voice faded into the distance as Tirzah’s mind rebelled. She blocked her thoughts. If Opek or anyone else read her mind, they’d be shocked out of their wits. It was forbidden to venture beyond the boundaries. If she did, what would they do to her? What could they do? Disown her? Cast her out? What if you can never find your way back, a small voice in her mind nagged.
The meeting was finally over and Tirzah wandered to the waterfall to freshen up, followed by her two closest friends, Senki and Taran. The three laughed and splashed while they stood under the cold water. When they were done, Tirzah walked to the side of the falls and sat on the rock plateau to dry off in the warm sunlight filtering through a small break in the mist bank, her legs dangling over the side. She gazed down at the water, at the small children at play on the banks, one of them sporting a large leaf with a pink flower on her head. Huge leaves with flowers on top of them floated on the still water. They never swam in the lake because there were predators, long scaly creatures that lived in the river but sometimes ventured into their territory.
“Are you still thinking of leaving?” Senki asked as she sat next to Tirzah. Taran stood beside them, tossing pebbles into the water.
“Yes. I think I’ll go tonight. I made up my mind during the meeting. You can come with me, if you want.”
“No. I’m too scared,” Senki said, pulling a face.
“I don’t dare,” Taran agreed. “Aren’t you scared?”
“A little bit. I feel excited at the thought.”
“It’s dangerous to go into the forest at night. If something happens to you, we’ll never know,” Senki said wistfully. “The elders will come after you in the morning when they find out you’re gone.”
“Maybe. Half the time my parents don’t know where I am anyway. They have too many others to take care of. Mother is expecting another litter any day now and Father leaves early to help find suitable material so they can build new houses. As long as you two keep your mouths shut, they won’t realize I’m gone until I’m far away from here.”
“How will you know where to go?”
“I don’t. I’m going to follow the river. And swear on your lives you’ll not tell anyone. Please?”
“So you’ve made up your mind. I swear I won’t tell,” Senki said. “Please be careful.”
Taran nodded. “I swear.”
Tirzah noticed tears in Senki’s eyes. “Aw, don’t cry. I’ll be back. I promise.”
A gong sounded. “Dinner,” Taran said. “We’d better head back.
“You won’t be here for the Festival of Light,” Senki said as they entered the compound.
“It’s the same all the time. I’ll be with you in thought. So are you and Taran going to mate?” she asked as she watched Taran sprint for the tables.
“No. He hasn’t made any advances. Tirzah, what’s wrong with me? Why doesn’t he see me as a woman?”
Tirzah looked at her best friend. There was nothing wrong with her. She had a beautiful body, breasts that were larger than most, firm with dark pink nipples. Her face was sweet, her eyes innocent and large. She was really quite pretty.
“Hon, you’re lovely. I don’t know why Taran doesn’t notice. Maybe it’s because we all grew up together as friends. Show him that you’re a woman now.”
“How?”
“Entice him. Open yourself to him. Allow him to smell your heat. Next time, when you stand under the falls with him and you sit on a rock to dry off, open your legs to him and allow him to see your heat, your most private parts. Let your come flow freely so his hormones get kicked into action. Try it.”
“I’m too shy for that.”
“Don’t be silly. If you want him, then go for it. When I come back I want to hear that the two of you are ready to join.”
“That’s if you ever come back,” Senki said wistfully. “We’d better hurry if we want some food.”
Many were already sitting down for dinner that usually consisted of fish, fruit and nuts, occasionally some roasted fowl. “I’m going to miss you so much,” Senki said softly.
“Hush, someone will hear you,” Tirzah told her.
“How can we say goodbye?” Taran had caught up to them.
“You can’t. Please don’t say anything else? And make sure you keep any thought about me blocked.” Tirzah sat down on one of the logs they used as seating at a metal table made from panels from the crashed ship. The elders had demolished almost the whole ship and used mo
st of the materials to build their houses and to make household items, including the long dinner tables. They always ate dinner communally outside, unless it rained unexpectedly. Sometimes the torrential downpour drove them into their homes. It rained almost every day and not a little bit, either.
Tirzah spent time with her two friends before they headed home to bed. Senki stepped toward her and held her arms out, obviously to give her a hug. Tirzah stepped back. “No. Don’t. People will find it strange. I love you and I’ll be back. I promise. Now go,” she whispered but loud enough for Senki to hear. She waited until the two had entered their respective homes, then scanned the surroundings. She stood outside alone. She ran toward the tall wall made of smaller tree trunks the elders had built around the compound to ward off unwanted creatures and predators. Scanning the water for any sign of reptiles, she determined it was safe enough to step into it to get to the other side of the fence.
As soon as she was across, she shifted into her cat and climbed a tree. She’d travel high during the night if there weren’t a riverbank to follow.
After a while, she saw sandy banks and quickly went down and loped along the riverbank. She didn’t stop, not for hours, not until she came to a fork in the river and had to decide which one to choose, which way to run. Follow the river—that was her goal. She turned toward the direction she judged, took the right fork, and ran for a while. Beside her, the river became wider.
The sounds of the forest didn’t scare her. She was used to them. She ran into one of the black animals that resembled her only once. It was half her size and afraid of the big white cat. The black cat growled at her, wrinkled its nose and hissed, then slunk into the forest. She continued her journey until dawn broke.
It was time to take to the forest and hide in case the savages were on the hunt. It was also time to rest. She was sure she was far beyond the boundary now. If they sent a search party out looking for her, they’d just be leaving. That was if anyone even noticed she was gone. It could take all day before her mother realized she was absent. She made herself comfortable on a branch, took on its color, and closed her eyes.
TirzahsAllure Page 2
