by ML Guida
“How?” Tash demanded. “You can barely stand. You don’t even know where the hell we are.”
“By her.” Ysam didn’t look at her. “She’s my mate. I could find her anywhere. Keep her safe.”
“Didn’t know I smelled. What exactly do you propose to do?” Kathy whispered.
“Burn them with dragon-fire.”
“We’ve tried fire.” Tash glared. “It didn’t even phase them.”
Ysam looked between them. “Nothing burns as hot as dragon-fire. If we run, they’ll pursue us, and locate your hiding place.”
Kathy slowly stepped away. Sweat shined off her face. “You could be killed. Why are you doing this?”
“I don’t like bullies… In any form.” He tilted his head. “Now, go. Before it’s too late.”
Tash grumbled under his breath, “Idiot.” But he did as Ysam and dragged Kathy away from the approaching Gogs.
Ysam quickly transformed into a dragon. His right wing lay useless at his side. Adrenaline steamed through him. He panted, breathing in and out, stirring the fire inside him. His chest burned and he roared.
The trampling stopped for the first time.
Ysam held his breath, curled backed his upper lip, and crouched, his tail twitching behind him.
Obviously, chasing bears had been easy as pie for them, but he wasn’t a bear.
Rustling and grunting started up again. Large hairy two-legged creatures moved in between the trees and vines. The Gogs were twice the size of any Arian. They had a single glowing orange eye in the middle of their forehead and dragged their arms on the ground.
Five of them busted out and surrounded Ysam. They reached for their long silver eruptors around their waist. Before they stunned him, he exhaled, blowing a hot, fiery blaze. Their fur burst into flames. They howled and jumped around. Smoke and the stench of singed hair filled the jungle. One of them reached for his weapon. Ysam flicked his tail, and the creature sailed through the trees. Leaves and branches flew into the air. The other four fled into the jungle, screeching.
Suddenly, a red beam shot out of the jungle and smacked Ysam in the chest. Searing pain melted his scales as if they were butter. He collapsed on his stomach, and his limbs went limp.
Trampling footsteps rushed toward him. Dragon strength pumped through him. Ysam lifted his head slowly. The Gogs had razor-sharp spears over their heads but skidded to a halt.
He narrowed his eyes and sucked in air, then released another stream of fire. Once again, flames danced over their fur. The creatures jumped around, dropped their spears, and retreated.
Ysam moved, but every muscle and every bone was rigid. He panted hard, his nostrils flaring, inhaling strange sweet and sour smells of the jungle floral. But one stood above all the others.
The scent of freshness, of a new beginning––Kathy.
He gritted his teeth and clawed and clawed and clawed. Talons dug into dirt. He pulled himself. Sharp pain tore into his shoulder and his throbbing gut.
Keep going.
One thing he knew for sure. A dragon was the only shield between the bears and Kathy, and their complete annihilation.
He would survive. No, he had to survive.
The Gogs were bullies and he would make sure these bullies didn’t win.
Chapter 8
In the last twelve hours, Kathy’s life had gone from bad to worse. Losing Lisa had nearly killed her. She had been desperate to pick up the shattered pieces of her life by burying herself in her work.
But Ysam had changed all of her carefully laid-out plans.
He’d kidnapped her and then she woke up in a space ship––faster than any rocket on Earth. Asteroids smashed into his ship, and he was forced to land on this savage planet. She was stuck in a cave, hiding from the Gogs. She covered her face with her hands, wishing she was dreaming, but when she dropped her arms, reality hit her. She was trapped in a cheesy scifi movie––complete with bear-shifters and flesh-eating aliens.
The strangest thing was she could understand the Arians, because they had been born with a communication gene that automatically picked up other languages perfectly. They didn’t have to take second language classes or use Rosetta Stone to understand people. She wondered what would have happened on Earth if humans possessed this gene.
She sighed. She’d no way to contact Earth. Her head pounded, and she rubbed her thumping temples. Even if she could contact NASA, what could they do? She was light-years away from Earth, and even if they wanted to, NASA didn’t have a craft that could reach her.
She was on her alone.
Kathy paced back and forth from one end of the cave to the other. It was as wide and deep as a small barn. The Arians had dug out fire pits throughout the cave to keep them warm. The light flickered off the pink, purple, and blue walls. It was as if she stepped back into the tie-died sixties. The cave would have been beautiful if her gut wasn’t busting with worry.
The Arian Bears had been kind and led her to safety, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Ysam. She twirled the unicorn bracelet around her wrist to keep from going mad. She should be furious with him for kidnapping her, kissing her brutally, practically raping her, and then stranding them on this barbaric planet, but all she could think about was how it felt to dance with him––the vigorous way he looked at her, how masterful he’d been, how he’d mesmerized her. And how gently he’d removed her restraints and brushed his thumb over her flesh, sending tingles up her arm.
God, stop it. What was wrong with her?
He’d used her passion to seduce her. She needed to concentrate. She ran her trembling hand through her hair. Without him, she had no chance of returning to Earth. The Arians’ ship, the Intrepid, was disabled, and the Gogs guarded it. Even if the Arians could repair their ship, they couldn’t get near it.
But maybe a dragon could.
She leaned against a wall that was near the entrance and sighed. Tash had dragged her away from Ysam wounded and alone to face the Gogs. She knew there wasn’t anything she could do, but leaving him to fight her battles went against everything she believed in. She wasn’t a helpless woman.
The Arians huddled together discussing their next move. They’d gone from over three hundred crew down to thirty. Their auras were all shades of muddy blue. They feared the future and speaking the truth. Could she blame them? She feared the truth, not wanting to face what happened to Ysam, what would happen to her.
She stuck her trembling hands into her back pockets, wishing she knew where Ysam was, or if he was even alive. She never should have left him. He was her only link to Earth.
Vaughn, Tash’s younger brother, walked over to her. Within his blue aura, a stream of orange and yellow flickered close to his body––a man of intelligence. He handed her a cup of clear liquid. “You need to drink something.” His thick brown hair flipped out the nape of his neck, which had ugly claw marks.
She shuddered, thinking of the pain he must have endured. “I can’t stop thinking about Ysam. Do you think he’s alive?”
“I don’t know. Tash said the Gogs surrounded him. If he’d been an Arian, he wouldn’t have survived. But he’s a Zalarian and a dragon. There’s a small chance he lived.”
“Oh,” she replied, as she stared down at the cup of water. Her hope crumpled. “He’s my only hope of getting back to Earth.”
“You don’t have much faith in us?”
“I do. I don’t think humans would have lasted as long as you have. So, can we go and look for him?”
He shook his head. “The Gogs like to hunt at dusk. The jungle will be crawling with them.”
She bit her lip and wiped away a tear. Even though he had kidnapped her, she couldn’t help but admire Ysam. He attacked the Gogs, giving her and Tash time to escape.
Vaughn clasped her arm. “I’m sorry.”
She nodded, her throat closing up like a hung jury.
“Drink.” He motioned toward the cup.
She eyed the water suspiciously. “I’m not thirsty.
”
“Don’t worry. It’s safe for humans and Arians to drink. I boiled the water and ran the enegerizer over it to kill any dangerous bacteria.”
“What’s an enegerizer?”
“A device that rearranges matter. In this case, the energerizer changed any dangerous molecules into electrolytes, which on this hot planet we need.”
She sniffed the cup and couldn’t detect anything foul. Her mouth drooled at the freshness and her parched throat begged to be refreshed. “Here goes nothing,” she murmured and drained the cup. The liquid was tasteless, but immediately doused the drought in her throat. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. That’s pretty.” He gestured toward her wrist. “Is that a bracelet?”
She nodded. “It was my sister’s. She loved unicorns, ever since she was a little girl.” Her voice turned flat.
“Where is she?” he asked curiously.
“She was murdered.” Kathy’s voice choked, and she put her hand over her tightening chest.
“I’m sorry.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Death, especially murder, is never easy.” He dropped his hand and sighed heavily.
“Thank you.” She followed his gaze.
“The jungle’s unique and beautiful, and normally I would have loved to study the trees and animals here.” His eyes darkened. “If it weren’t for the damn Gogs.”
“I’m really sorry about your crew.” She shivered. “That must have been horrible.”
A vein trembled in his cheek. He turned his head. “We drained our eruptors trying to take them out, but there were too many of them. For every five we killed, ten more would appear. We tried to protect the women, but the Gogs seemed to prefer them.”
Bitterness and sadness echoed in his voice.
“Tash tried to save a nurse, but she was ripped right out of his arms. He fought back viciously, but two of them jumped him. He barely escaped alive.”
“Is that how he got the slash on his face?” Images of Ysam’s handsome face being sliced turned her worry into a gnawing fear.
He nodded.
She fell against the wall. “There’s no way to get off this planet.”
He shook his head. “For such a primitive species, they have a shield generator that prevents any form of communication outside the planet. The shield doesn’t impact our telicators, so we can communicate with each other when we’re on patrols.”
“But Ysam said they were no cities built here. How did they build the energy shield?”
“I suspect the Kamtrinians provided the shield.”
Fear drained any warmth she had in her body. She wrapped her arms tight around her waist. “Why wouldn’t the Gogs eat the Kamtrinians?”
“Because the Kamtrinians’ biology is based on calcite, which is marble. The Gogs would break off every single tooth.”
“So, there’s an alliance between the two of them?”
“I believe so. As long as the Kamtrinians provided them with fresh meat, the Gogs have no objection of them cultivating this planet.”
The sun sunk behind the jungle and the air in the cave turned chilly. Tingles broke out all over Kathy, leaving goosebumps on her arms. She couldn’t stop trembling. Not just from the cold air, but the thought of the Gog’s ripping out her flesh.
She rubbed her arms. “God, I feel like I’m on board the Indianapolis.”
He frowned. “What’s that?”
“In World War II, the U.S.S. Indianapolis was a heavy cruiser that sank in the ocean. It happened so fast no communication signal was sent. Over a thousand men went into shark-infested waters.”
“What’s a shark?”
“Sharks are huge, powerful fish with razor-sharp teeth, but unlike the Gogs, they swim in the ocean. The men of the Indianapolis were stranded in the ocean for days before help arrived.”
“How many survived?”
“Three hundred out of eleven-hundred men lived.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
He gently put his hand on her shoulder. “I fear if we don’t find a way to either get off this planet or shut down their communication interference, we will suffer the same fate of your Indianapolis. But at least some of them survived––we won’t.”
She stared out at the purple dusk that would have been pretty if they weren’t in moral danger. “But we have something the men of the Indianapolis didn’t have.”
He frowned. “What?”
She stared into his troubled eyes. “A dragon.”
“Kathy,” he said softly. “We don’t even know if Ysam survived.”
Her mouth went dry. “I can’t believe that. He can’t be dead.” She pulled away from him, tired of doing nothing, of worrying, of trembling. “Where’s Tash?”
“He won’t agree to go looking for Ysam.”
“Then, he’s a fool. Ysam just might be the key to your survival. Have you ever thought having a flying dragon might be an advantage over a walking beast?”
“Well, yeah. But…”
“No, buts. I’m finding Tash.” She stormed away from him determined to save Ysam. She had no intention of hiding in a cave and wait her turn to be dinner.
Vaughn slid in front of her. “Tash is busy.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Doing what?”
He glared. “What do you think? Fortifying the cave.”
She pointed toward the jungle. “Your best fortification is a dragon.”
“Captain!” A man rushed past them. “There’s movement in the jungle. Something’s coming. The Gogs are preparing to attack.”
Kathy stared at the shuffling trees. Her pounding heart chased away her steel nerves as she took a couple of steps back. God, those things were coming.
“Do you have a weapon I can have?” she whispered, afraid the Gogs had super hearing.
“Our weapons have proven to be useless,” he said. “They only seem to irritate them.”
“What are you using?”
He didn’t answer but stepped in front of her.
His silence terrified her. They were defenseless. Someone was about to die. If it was her time to go, she hoped she died quickly. Having those things rip her apart piece-by-piece scared the living daylights out of her. Lisa’s face flashed in her mind, and she cursed herself for her yellow streak. Maybe she deserved this. Her sister had died a long and painful death. Paybacks were hell.
She looked around the cave for something to defend herself and snagged a thick branch. As if the branch were a baseball bat, she practiced swinging it across her shoulder.
Men rushed past her. Vaughn joined their ranks, and they formed an indefensible line in front of the cave. Several of the women fanned out around Kathy. They were taller and more muscular, but like her, they had weapons. Some had thick branches, others had sharpened sticks into spears, some had bags of rocks. Like her, they were ready to fight.
“Shades!” Tash ran down the stony bluff, sending dust and stones flying into the air. “It’s Ysam.”
Adrenaline surged through Kathy, and the heaviness in her chest lightened. She bolted and burst through the line of testosterone. She skidded to a stop and covered her hand over her mouth. Her lungs squeezed tight. A red and orange dragon covered in mud and leaves had left a trail of smushed brushes and trampled flowers, and laid at the bottom of the steep, rocky ridge.
Tash swerved next to Ysam’s still form. He put his hand over his nostrils. “He’s alive.”
She exhaled in relief, but when the trees rustled behind them, another stream of adrenaline blazed through her like a forest fire. “Tash, look out! They’re coming!”
He whirled around, snarling and growling.
She raced down the hill, pumping her legs and hanging on to her branch, ready to bash one of those things if they tried to hurt them.
Someone grabbed her arm that held her weapon and dragged her back up the craggy slope.
“Let go of me.” She formed a fist in her other hand and swung hard, determined to get to Ysam.
“Hey!�
� Vaughn ducked, but managed to hold on to her. “You’re not going anywhere.” He ripped the branch out of her hand and put her in an unbreakable bearhug. It was as if two bolts of steel had wrapped around her.
“No!” Her chest heaving, she stomped on his feet and slammed her head backward as hard as she could, hoping to knock him out, but she hit his chest rather than his stubborn head.
Tash motioned with his arm. “I need help down here.”
Regardless of the approaching danger, five men ran down the hill then surrounded Ysam. They bent down and put their hands underneath the dragon’s belly.
Ysam released a low moan as if he were in pain.
“Vaughn, let go of me!” Kathy twisted again.
“Stay calm,” Vaughn growled softly. “This could be a trap.”
Kathy immediately stopped struggling. A sleek slate of sweat gripped her as she gasped to breathe. She couldn’t take her gaze off the thick jungle. Dusk had grown darker, but she could make out the Gogs’ gorilla-sized forms. Their orange eyes peered through the murky forest watching, waiting for the first sign of weakness.
Tash nodded. “Lift.”
She blinked in surprise. Straining and snorting, the Arians lifted Ysam, who was unconscious, and inched their way to the cave. Their deep red auras glimmered with their strength. Sweat dribbled down their grim faces, and their muscles bulged and beefed up against their shirts. Their feet shuffled across the dirt. Not even a hundred men would have been able to lift the dragon––forget moving him.
But these weren’t men. They were aliens––Arians.
The ten men grunted and groaned louder than a herd of rutting elk.
“They need help,” Vaughn whispered in her ear. “Will you promise to stay here?”
“Yes.” She nodded, never taking her gaze off those glowing orange eyes.
He released her, then hurried to help the other men. They edged up the rocky terrain, their backs to the jungle, their concentration only on taking one step at a time.
The Gogs’ heavy footsteps stomped on the ground. Pebbles and rocks rolled down the embankment. Trees and branches rustled. The hanging vines draped over the heads of the massive creatures with only one single orange eye.
