by Ruby Ryan
Come on! I felt Kerix shout in my head, though he was not speaking to me but to his opponent. They circled one another slowly, waiting for the other to make a mistake. As the Wolvae's face came into view I could see discoloration on his exposed fangs: they looked like metal rings circling the teeth, almost crackling with electricity. I wondered what one of those would do to the alien Karak bodies.
And then the Wolvae saw me.
In that moment I could sense all the worst instincts in the world: hate, and bloodlust, and a foreign fury worse than anything I thought a human could feel. It leaped into the air and Kerix slid out of the way, but the Wolvae wasn't jumping at him.
He was leaping toward me.
As he made his terrible arc in the air, I felt my death coming for me.
8
KERIX
Keeping the Wolvae at bay was nearly impossible without being fully charged.
It was even more difficult protecting the human.
I dove out of the way of the Wolvae's miscalculated leap... and realized too late that it was not miscalculated at all. As the beast descended on Brandi I changed positions again, shooting forward as fast as my body would allow. I shift-changed the air before me into a shield similar to Tyrix's but smaller, and charged forward in desperation.
My shield-thrust caught the Wolvae's back legs just before he landed. It sent him twisting, and his jaws snapped loudly into open air. But the weight of its body crashed into Brandi, and she flew backwards in the air and struck the hull of our ship, body making a terrible noise before falling to the ground in a pile.
She did not move.
I screamed and struck the Wolvae again, knocking it to the left away from the human. It moved with incredible speed, spinning around to attack me with its jaws, but I readjusted my energy into a beam again and fired just as it opened them wide.
The beam struck it in the roof of its mouth, snapping the entire head back roughly. It slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Brother.
I whirled to Tyrix. He'd managed to bull-rush the other Wolvae away from the ship, but it had regained its footing and was pulling back to regroup. The first two Wolvae I'd struck at the beginning of the battle were slowly rising as well, and although their legs were shaky I knew they would not be for long.
And my energy was quickly waning, each beam slightly less powerful than the last.
We must go, I said, moving to Brandi's still body. We had to protect her at all costs. That need overruled all other thought.
And strangely, it wasn't only my Karak consciousness deciding so.
There is no time to prepare the ship and leave, Tyrix insisted. They will charge any moment, and rip our ship to shreds!
I know. We must retreat with the human.
But where?
I reached out with my shifting and touched Brandi's body. It was in pain, and severely wounded, but her brain had closed itself away from the pain.
I shifted, manipulating the atoms of her body at the same time as my own. One by one our bodies split apart, dividing again and again until there were only the base atoms remaining.
At the speed of light, I carried us past the Wolvae to the other side of the clearing, and into the woods. Tyrix followed behind, disapproval heavy in his consciousness. I re-formed our bodies next to a dead tree, and quickly whirled to face the clearing as Tyrix appeared.
With their fang augmentations, the Wolvae knew where we had gone: they stuck their snouts into the air like they were catching wind of a scent, then slowly turned to face us.
They will be here in moments, Tyrix said, materializing next to me.
But the Wolvae didn't give chase; they moved to our ship, just as I had hoped they would. A modern Karak Fighter Aircraft was a greater prize to them than killing two Karak and a human; especially with an entire planet of humans to soon kill once the invasion began.
Come, I said, shift-transporting another hundred feet into the woods.
*
We leap-frogged through the woods until reaching a hole in the mountain that was deep enough to conceal us. If the Wolvae had followed immediately they would have sensed our trail of shifts to this spot, but their delay would provide us with a place to hide.
I shifted into my new human form once we were at the mouth of the cave, and then carried Brandi's limp body from there. Between the battle and the retreat, I was weak with exhaustion. Being in this human body helped reinforce my strength.
I savored the way Brandi's body felt in my arms, her skin against mine. Her ponytail brushed against my arm and swung back and forth as I strode into the cave.
"Leaving the ship was a mistake."
Tyrix followed behind, in his human body as well. His eyes clung to Brandi's body as I lowered her gently to the cave floor.
"We had no choice," I said. "You said it yourself: if we had retreated to the ship and tried to take off, they would have ripped it to shreds before we could."
"We could have fought them longer," he said stubbornly.
I gave him a weak look, then returned my focus to Brandi. I didn't have time to indulge his regrets just now.
I pressed my palm to Brandi's forehead and reached out with my Karak consciousness. A cracked skull, with minor internal bleeding in the bundle of nerves that comprised the human central processing center--the brain, the word slid into place from the information dump we'd received before our journey. She also had several broken bones along her torso, and blood trickled down her leg.
"How... how is she?" Tyrix said.
"Alive," I said simply. "But not for very long unless we heal her."
"I will help you."
We removed her clothes methodically, first the garments covering her lower body and sex, then the ones covering her torso. Judging by the way my human body reacted to the sight of her, she was a beautiful woman. Lithe and lean, with a wonderful swell of breast. The adrenaline pumped through me, making my chest heave and my pupils dilate. These human sexual urges were so strong, and I could feel Tyrix thinking the same thing...
I pushed it out of my mind and focused on the bruising along her side.
Tyrix began at her feet, running his hands along her skin one slow millimeter at a time to scan her body. When he reached the top of her thigh he paused, then began along the next leg. While he did that I ran my palms along the side of her chest, from the shoulder down across the bumps of her ribs and then to the hip. Seven fractured in the skeletal structure, as well as muscle tearing that made it difficult for her to breathe.
But that could wait: if I didn't heal her head wound soon, nothing else would matter.
I placed my hands on her and began my work.
9
BRANDI
The last thing I remember was the Wolvae pouncing on me, jaws open with evil intent.
And then I was dreaming. I knew it was a dream because I was floating in that way you did in dreams, weightless while the world moved around you instead of the other way around. Kerix and Tyrix were there, I could feel but not see. Their presence was comforting, and kept me from panicking about the Wolvae.
My dreams turned dirty; the three of us were on a soft bed, and they were removing my clothes while I sighed into the sheets. Their tender touches caressed me all over, teasing me, making me moan and squirm, and as consciousness pulled at me I didn't want the dream to end.
I opened my eyes, and realized it was no dream.
Kerix knelt over me, eyes furrowed with concentration while his hands touched underneath my left breast. Beyond him someone else was tracing lines on the inside of my thigh, moving closer and closer to my wet sex.
That's when I realized I was naked.
"What..." I tried to say, but my throat was raw and ragged.
"Just relax," Kerix said in a deep, commanding voice. "Let us work."
I wanted to protest, to demand my clothes and privacy, but I was too weak to do anything but lay there. And besides, I actually felt comforted by their touch. The last thin
g I'd remembered was that Wolvae, and here I was in a dark, safe place.
My ribs ached painfully as Kerix ran his fingers along them, causing me to inhale sharply. But then a warmth spread from his touch, and the pain subsided like he'd rubbed ointment all over me. I sighed, and a smile split his gorgeous face.
His fingers moved along my belly, just below my navel, and wherever they went warmth followed. His fingers brushed against my tuft of pubic hair, but I didn't tense. It felt natural to be touched by him, the weight of his fingers against my skin and bones.
Tyrix's fingers moved up my thigh, agonizingly slow. I closed my eyes and without thinking I spread my legs, only a fraction of a degree, but I knew I was opening myself to him, surrendering to these men who weren't really men, but just then I didn't care at all.
"Ohh," I moaned as his fingers moved closer.
"Does that feel good?" Tyrix asked.
I couldn't answer with words, so I opened my legs wider, knowing that I shouldn't but unable to stop myself. Kerix studied my face while he touched my midsection with his magical hands, creeping upward. Oh my God it had been so long I was dying for him to move higher, to touch my breasts and squeeze them between his thick fingers.
And as if my thought had instructed him, he did.
The warmth beneath his hands spread over my breasts, cupping them gently, appreciating them while his thumbs brushed against my nipples. "Yes," I moaned, spreading my legs further, waiting for Tyrix to go farther too. "Ohh yes, please..."
"I want her," Tyrix said, to his fellow Karak and not to me.
Kerix was breathing rapidly while he devoured me with his eyes. I reached up with a hand and ran it over his shirt, pressing against the hard muscle of his chest.
"I do too," he whispered in a voice like thunder.
I ran my hand down his shirt to his pants, and felt his huge bulge there, and that sent me over the edge. I moaned loudly, my strength returning with a tidal wave of lust, and spread my legs as wide as they would go.
Tyrix's fingers moved higher, to the place where my thigh ended and the rest of me began. He caressed around my lips, testing the way I felt, and the heat inside of my sex was warmer than anything coming from his touch. Kerix squeezed my breasts harder, a wonderful ache that sent shivers through my body and made me tremble on the cave floor.
I got Kerix's pants opened just as Tyrix finally felt the wet slit of my sex. Only a fingertip, running up and down the entrance, but that was enough to send waves of pleasure through my body. I pulled down the zipper of Kerix's pants and there it was, his cock stiff and hard and massive. His eyes widened as I wrapped my fingers around it and began stroking, hoping Tyrix would increase his pace accordingly.
Kerix's chest rumbled in a moan.
And then Tyrix was touching my legs with his lips, driven by impulse more than thought. He traced a wet trail up my inner thigh, warmth spreading the way it had with his fingers, and I could feel his breath on my sex and it was too much and I squirmed on the ground and stroked Kerix faster.
His lips finally pressed against my sex, a gentle kiss.
"Yes," I moaned, voice echoing in the cave.
Kerix leaned down and kissed me on the lips, warm and strong. My tongue found its way into his mouth and he tasted wonderful, and I wrapped my free hand around his head and into his dark hair to make sure he didn't stop, all the while stroking his cock faster and faster.
And then Tyrix's tongue was rolling like waves against my sex, up my steamy entrance and across my clitoris. Up and down he went, faster and faster, and soon I was thrusting with my hips to urge him on, and his tongue found my clit and stayed there, swirling in a tight circle while his hands held my legs open.
Kerix broke our kiss to stare into my eyes, his breath coming rapidly now as he squeezed my breasts. And the pleasure on his face mixed with the sensation of Tyrix's tongue was incredible, it was too much and it had been too long, that I felt myself yanked over the edge of my sudden and unexpected climax, shocked and sudden breaths that made my entire body shudder and gasp, and I arched my back so high I thought my spine might snap while Tyrix sucked on my clit, not letting go.
"Oh Brandi," Kerix moaned, and I sped up my strokes and saw the shock and ecstasy on his face as his cock spasmed, shooting his warm love into the air, onto my arm, each rope I felt was an exclamation point on the entire thing, and his hands gripped my nipples so tight while he came I thought I might scream with pleasure.
When I finally opened my eyes again he was staring down at me with a lazy smile on his face.
10
KERIX
It was immediately apparent why Arix abandoned his duties to remain on this planet.
The lust I felt while admiring Brandi's prone, nude body was overwhelming, and seeing her writhing with pleasure was more than I could possibly handle. Even if she had not touched my erect member I suspect I would have orgasmed simply from observing her own.
That was incredible, Tyrix said, rising from her pelvis and letting his fingers linger on her legs.
Indeed, I said.
Brandi fell asleep immediately from the cumulative exhaustion of our healing and the sexual pleasure. Digging into the data we had downloaded prior to the trip, data provided by the other scout to have returned from this planet, I shift-created layers of blankets and pillows, and then moved Brandi to them and covered her body so she would stay warm.
Humans mate in pairs.
I eyed Tyrix, sitting on his haunches next to Brandi. He brushed her hair out of her face, tender and caring.
They do, I agreed. Yet Brandi enjoyed both of our presence at once.
A curious species, he said.
This body was intoxicating. Even immediately after orgasming, I still felt immense desire for Brandi. I wanted to do more than what we had just done; I wanted to feel my sex inside of her, filling her with my seed. Squeezing her in my arms, her skin pressed tight against mine.
Tyrix nodded with me.
It was easy to allow ourselves a momentary reprieve while we were healing Brandi, but it was time to return our focus to the issues at hand. With no small amount of regret, I shifted back into my Karak form, sighing at the feeling of my atoms in their proper places.
We Karak received and stored energy from stars. Such power was constantly at its maximum while on our home planet due to our binary stars, but here on earth we had only one source of photon energy. Well. That wasn't entirely true: we also had the batteries on our ship to charge us as needed. But that was now lost to us.
I moved to the entrance of the cave and tilted my gaze up at their star, a small yellow dwarf. It would take hours for our energy to charge from such a star, especially with the nitrogen-thick atmosphere of the planet blocking many of the photons.
Tyrix moved next to me, also in his Karak form. We pulsed together, savoring the energy being absorbed into our bodies.
Losing our ship was a terrible defeat, he said.
I replied, It will be a more grave failure if we allow them to leave the planet with it. The Wolvae fleet was numerous, but outdated; they still used technology from 20,000 years ago, when the Rabid Wolvae Exodus began. Getting their paws on a modern Karak Fighter was a disaster.
We must recapture it before they can leave, Tyrix agreed.
We shared a mutual analysis for the Wolvae. It would likely take them hours to reconfigure the electronics in the ship to allow them to control it. Possibly even a full day. Our greatest fear was that they would return to their Wolvae ship--wherever it was--and return to the Wolvae Fleet to trigger the beginning of the invasion at once, but now that seemed unlikely. They would almost certainly protect their new-found prize at all costs, potentially even abandoning their Wolvae ship in the process.
With that in mind, we had no fear of them returning to the Wolvae Fleet until they possessed control of our ship.
Tyrix twisted. "She is awake."
Worrying about her state of mind after so much trauma, we shifted back into o
ur human forms and went inside.
11
BRANDI
My two alien escorts were above me when I opened my eyes.
They sat next to me, calm and quiet. I held their entire focus as I blinked and took a deep breath.
"What do you remember?" Kerix asked.
A goofy grin spread across my face, and I could feel the heat of my cheeks blushing. Tyrix broke into a smile too.
"I mean, before that," Kerix said.
"The Wolvae. Being attacked." I shook my head. "That's it."
They shared a look.
"Our situation is not ideal," Kerix said slowly. "We have lost our ship to the Wolvae. It is imperative that we take it back, to keep the technology out of Wolvae hands."
"Okay," I said. "How do we do that?"
Tyrix rose, blond hair swaying around his face. "I will scout the site. We need to examine how they have laid out their defenses, if any. This will also allow us time to regenerate our energy before the attack itself."
Kerix put a hand on his arm. "Be safe, brother."
"Always."
And then Tyrix was striding out of the cave, and disappearing into the forest beyond.
Cave. I looked around and realized that's where we were, inside a shallow cave illuminated by two unnatural balls of light near the rocky ceiling. And as I sat up the blanket over me slipped down, uncovering my breasts. I grabbed it and held it tightly to my neck.
"Wait," I said. "Blankets and pillows? Where the hell did you get these?"
"I shifted them into existence," Kerix said. I waited for him to elaborate, but he just stared at me with those gorgeous caramel eyes. If I stared too long...
I waved it off. Focus, Brandi. "So, let's back up a step. Shifting. What does that actually mean?"
"We Karak can manipulate the atoms of our bodies, reorganizing them into any form we wish." He paused. "Well. Not any form. Any form that we have scanned previously, or have downloaded from prior research."
