by Tracy Lauren
Alien Ascension
Tracy Lauren
© 2018 Tracy Lauren
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Author’s Note
Glossary of Characters
Chapter 1
Vivian
“Hope you’re hungry,” Reagan says cheerfully, sitting down cross-legged next to me and passing me my serving of tonight’s meal. Her smile is tentative, careful. She’s afraid she’s going to do or say the wrong thing and set off another one of my crying bouts. I hate that everyone thinks I’m on the verge of meltdown. I hate that they’re right.
“What’s on the menu?” I ask, trying to make my voice sound light.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretending mine is a chicken pot pie,” she tells me.
I peek over at her bowl. “I wish I had your imagination. Looks more like green jello in soggy mashed potatoes to me.”
“They seem to like it.” She motions toward the alien men dispersed throughout the room. They’re all dark eyes, claws, broad muscular shoulders, and sharp fangs. I startle when I notice one of them is watching me. I look back at my bowl and try to suppress the tremor in my hands.
Reagan and I sit surrounded by the others in our party, all crowded on the bridge of the now defunct cargo ship that rescued us from slavers a few short weeks ago. Light from the waning sun shines in through a gouge in the metal hull. I poke at my bowl of microwaved mush with a tight jaw. I don’t look up again, not at the aliens, not at the other humans. I don’t want them to see the tears welling in my eyes. There’s nothing to cry about, yet here I am, on the verge of tears. Well, there’s nothing to cry about save for the fact that I’ve been abducted by aliens and I’ll never see Earth or my old life again. My sad, pathetic little life that I left behind. Do I really miss it? a tiny voice in the back of my head asks.
The other humans, Reagan, April, and Clark, all talk and laugh with our alien rescuers, easily acclimating to this new life. Kate and Allison have run off, traipsing around this wild and unknown planet doing God knows what. I mean, seriously, what are they doing? It’s dangerous here! Why am I the only one that seems to realize that?
Just look at everything that’s happened so far. We’ve been abducted, nearly raped, shot at, chased by bounty hunters, attacked by corrupt alien police, and now we’ve crashed on this…this…death trap! And everyone is just laughing it up like they don’t have a care in the world.
I set my bowl down and rub at the spot where only days ago my bones were broken, holding a silent vigil for the danger we are in. Someone has to.
Chapter 2
Dax
I watch Vivian all through dinner, like I always do. When she looks up at me I venture a smile, but she startles and looks away quickly. This will not do. Without hesitating, I stalk over to her and the human called Reagan.
“Mind if I join you?” I ask the females.
“Yes,” Vivian mumbles.
“It’s a free country, or whatever, right?” Reagan tells me. Her voice drowns out Vivian’s. If I am not mistaken, it almost sounded like Vivian denied my request, I realize with a smirk.
“How is your translator functioning, Vivian? Seems like it still has some bugs to work out. It almost sounded as if you do not wish for my company during dinner,” I say, crouching beside the fearful human. “And I know that cannot be the case.” I beam my most charming smile at her, the one that females cannot resist. Vivian practically recoils.
“Maybe we do need some space?” Reagan ventures, but it is a question, and she eyes Vivian to see what her answer will be. The humans all protect this one. They coddle her. It is unhealthy.
“Nonsense. The country is free, like you say.” I wave away her concern. “It does not appear that you are enjoying your meal,” I mention when I notice Vivian’s discarded bowl.
“I’m not complaining. It serves its function,” she replies, not meeting my eyes.
“If it would help, I could always feed you,” I offer playfully.
“That won’t be necessary,” she huffs angrily, and I laugh, enjoying the rise out of her. It lets me know there is a spark of life still inside her somewhere.
“I admit, the ship’s MRE capabilities are not the best. Tell you what, come down to the galley with me and we will see if I can find something more to your liking.”
“No thanks,” she says suddenly, jumping to her feet. “I think I’m just going to go to bed early tonight.”
“But it is daylight outside!” I protest, motioning toward the sun still shining in through the torn hull. When I look back at Vivian she has vanished. I turn in time to see her walking numbly down the corridor.
“Sorry,” Reagan apologizes for her friend. “She’s just having a rough time. It’ll get better soon.”
I grunt in response, watching Vivian disappear down the hall. “It seems to be getting worse.”
“Yeah, you noticed that too, huh?” Reagan says with a frown. “If only she hadn’t been injured when the ship was attacked. I think it really spooked her, even worse than she was already spooked, that is. Still, I want to say thanks, Dax. I know she doesn’t respond much, but we all appreciate the way you try and lighten the mood. You’re the only person that’s been able to make her smile since we’ve been here.”
“It has been many days since I last saw her smile,” I point out unhappily. I really must do something about that. “Excuse me,” I tell Reagan, and I hurry to chase Vivian down the hall. Maybe I can convince her to go for a walk with me, explore this world a bit.
I see her just before she reaches her room. “Vivian!” I call. “Ayo, Vivian! Wait!” But the female is like a ghost. She continues onward and ducks into her room without looking back.
Chapter 3
Dax
I have had my eye on Vivian for some time now. Perhaps since the very first day we brought the humans aboard. She captivates me in a way I cannot begin to unde
rstand. Something about her both enthralls me and bothers me.
The poor creature is like a flower kept in the dark: slowly wilting away. I know I should be focused on the ship, this new planet, learning more about my people… any number of pressing matters, but all I can think of is stealing Vivian away. Someone must bring her into the light, before she loses herself.
I pace my room, my mind already setting a plan into motion. The more I allow myself to consider abducting her, the more I rationalize it as a valid option. Tennir, Kellen, Bossan… they are all here, they can care for the other females. Nothing about the beacon is so critical or urgent that I must be here to offer assistance.
Vivian, on the other hand, every day she recedes further inside of herself. While every day the other humans seem to acclimate that much more. She walks the halls in a daze, and more than once now, when I call to her she does not respond to her own name.
This female is not thriving here, and the humans only continue to coddle her. Wallowing in sadness and fear is a poison to Vivian, and it seems I am the only one who sees it. As a matter of fact, I think I am the only one who knows what she needs to cure her disposition. What she needs is an adventure. Something without a safety net. This way she can learn to trust herself and to find her own happiness in life, even if she may never go back to her home world.
If I could only steal her away, I could help her in ways the others won’t. The idea is entirely too appealing to me. She would be safe with me, of course, but she would not have to know that. I could show her how exciting a little danger can be… and how sexy.
I think of her wide eyes that always seem to be shining, and the way she parts her lips when she does not quite know what to say. Then I imagine her cheeks flushed with excitement. And just like that, I decide.
I grab a bag and fill it with enough rations to get us to the nearest planet or space station, then I slip out of my room and into the darkened halls of our ship.
Most of the ship’s systems are down due to the crash, door-locking mechanisms included. Even if they were still functioning we would not be using them. There is simply too great a danger of malfunction considering the extent of damage we experienced. Last thing we need is a bunch of scared humans locked inside their sleeping quarters.
Without the locks, I slip easily into her room. She does not wake.
I stare down at her on the bed, watching her sleep for a moment before I crouch down close to her. She is fitful, scared, even as she slumbers. It steels my resolve. I am doing the right thing. Carefully, I slip my hand over her mouth. She stiffens, and I muffle her scream.
Poor fearful Vivian. Her eyes are so wide with terror and intensity that I actually worry over her health. I do not want to scare this small and fragile human to death.
Chapter 4
Vivian
A warm hand slips over my mouth, rousing me from my restless slumber. I try to scream, but the hand muffles my terror.
“Shh, shh, shh!” It’s a man’s voice. He’s trying to soothe me. My eyes adjust and I can see his shadowed silhouette. Wait, he isn’t a man at all. Both the arch of his horns and the charcoal gray of his flesh are apparent to me now, even in the dark. This thing in my room with me, it’s demonic, beastly, a gargoyle… alien. It’s Dax.
I scramble to sit up in my bed, scooting away from him and tucking my legs up under me, but he follows. He’s so close, one hand covering my trembling lips and the other wrapped around my body, ensuring I can’t get too far. My heart races. I know these “men” saved us, but I can’t help it, I’m still so scared of them—of everything really.
“Wuhmpf eff eet?” I try to speak through his fingers.
“We are leaving,” he whispers. “Promise not to scream?”
I nod and he pulls his hand away. Standing at his full height, he towers above me in the bed.
“Is something wrong?” I ask in a hushed voice, my terror escalating.
“I will explain later. Now it is time to go,” he says, still not raising his voice above a whisper. I try to read his face to get an idea of what is going on, but it’s so dark and honestly, I’d do just about anything to get the hell out of here.
“Okay,” I breathe out.
He stays there, frozen for a moment, waiting for I don’t know what. Maybe for me to change my mind, to scream, or cry, or even to try and run from him. But I do nothing. Finally, he grabs an empty rucksack, tossing it to me.
“Take only what you can carry. Hurry.”
I fumble around in the dark, tossing in the few extra clothing items I have before I pull on my pants and boots. “I’m ready,” I tell him. My voice quivers.
He nods to me and grabs my hand, pulling me out into the hall. His claws feel dangerous against my skin, but I’m more concerned with the hidden horrors that lurk in the darkness.
Exercising stealth, we sneak through the ship, Dax leading the way. He motions for me to stop now and then, listening for any sign of danger. I can’t bring myself to care about why we are leaving or to worry about the wellbeing of the others. All I want to do is escape, to run and run and run and get as far away from here as possible.
Massive sections of the outside hull are damaged, torn open by our crash landing. Light from one of the Elysian moons spills in, casting an eerie glow into the abused ship. Eventually, we reach a gaping hole, large enough for us both to fit through. Dax doesn’t hesitate. He hops through the ripped metal, turns and reaches for my hand, hoisting me up and out next to him.
Suddenly, there’s no doubt about it. I’m on an alien world. I can hear the sounds of the rainforest around us and the creatures that occupy it. I tremble in the face of the unknown while Dax slips down into the knee-deep swamp our defunct ship lies in. He motions for me to jump, and I respond by shaking my head vehemently, no. He waves his hands again, more urgently this time. Nope. I shake my head, resolved to not step one foot into that dark and murky water.
I can see Dax’s frown in the moonlight. Then, he reaches up so quickly I don’t have time to guard against his attack. He grabs my ankle and yanks me down onto my butt, pulling me off the side of the ship. I fall into his arms.
“Will you walk?” he asks, still whispering. His face is so close to mine.
“Please don’t make me,” I beg. I can’t even bring myself to consider stepping into the sludgy water, and I try not to think of all the monstrous creatures lurking just beneath the surface. But I do anyway and I shiver at the thought. Dax pulls me close against his bare chest, misinterpreting my cowardice as a chill. I want to bury my face against his neck, to hide there while he carries me like a frightened child, far away from this place. But my cowardice is a double-edged sword and leaves me frightened even of my rescuer. So, I don’t nestle in against him. Instead I shut my eyes tight, allowing him to carry me, but simultaneously trying to come in contact with as little of him as humanly possible.
I feel the difference in his gait when he steps up out of the water. I’m eternally grateful that he doesn’t offer to put me down. Instead he just keeps on walking into the dark night.
Chapter 5
Dax
After I calmed Vivian and told her we were leaving, I was shocked to find that she did not argue, fight, or even lose herself in a fit of tears as she is so often prone to do. No, as a matter of fact, she almost seemed eager.
We walk for much of the night… or at least, I do, all the while carrying the fragile goddess in my arms.
She sits bolt upright, with her eyes clenched shut. I do not know if she is trying to feign sleep, but if she is, she is utterly terrible at it.
When dawn begins to creep in on us I finally set her down on the twisted limb of a tree. She claws at my neck as I do, struggling to remain attached to me, but she says nothing and her eyes remain shut.
“I suppose this is normal behavior for a sleeping human?” I tease.
She scowls and slowly peeks at me with one eye. “Are we safe here?” she whispers.
“We are safe for no
w,” I reply. Surely, she will ask now why we fled the ship and what has become of the others. My mind works to fabricate an interesting story to tell her, one that offers some level of fear, mystery, and intrigue… but to my surprise… she does not ask. She does not even ask where we are headed.
I find her silence curious. Why did she come with me? I decide to not offer her any information, not until she asks. I am too interested in her reasoning and I want to see how this plays out.
“Drink,” I say, handing her a pouch. She takes a few tentative sips. Without looking at me she thrusts it back in my direction.
“The sun will be rising soon; do you feel comfortable walking?”
Her frightened eyes go even wider at my question and I see her feet unconsciously recoil from the forest floor, as if the ground were a snake waiting to strike at her. She nods an affirmative, but wet tears fill her eyes.
“Do you have a flashlight?” she asks with a cracking voice. I pull a small handheld lantern from my belt and pass it to her, ever curious.
“Okay.” She slides from the branch carefully and points the circle of light at her feet. “Which way?” Her voice is so uncertain.
