by Amber Stuart
Up at dawn and dressed, he ate a filling breakfast and drank some crue which was the Mazlan answer to coffee and tea. He’d met some human males that hadn’t liked it much. They had said it was like sludge or liquefied coffee grounds. Razar didn’t care, he loved the stuff but if his female wanted coffee, he’d get it for her. He’d heard humans threw away the grounds but he’d liquefy them to see if it really tasted like crue. If it did, he’d just drink coffee grounds instead.
It was time to go and he rode to the check in station to receive his tracker. If anything went wrong, he could signal an official who would come and pick him or him and his mate if she was with him, up. It would not be his first choice, but he would call them in an emergency. He parked at the station, checked in, received his tracker, and headed out. The weather was beautiful at that moment but it wouldn’t last long. Already it was warming by several degrees every minute. In an hour the heat would be uncomfortable.
He’d noticed some of the hunters dressed up like they were going to a party. Maybe they already knew their mate wouldn’t run, he knew his would. A good hunt was nothing to avoid, just as long as he caught her before the time was up. It was hard to imagine any way she could escape him. The females were given a four hour lead, but he saw some of them milling around just waiting for their mates to take them. He counted twenty three females that hadn’t moved from where they were led four hours ago.
That meant twenty nine had at least gone for a walk. Razar heard the laughter of males as they grabbed their mates. Some of the females screamed like they were scared. Were they playing? If they were truly scared would they not at least have run? Razar sped up, he had caught a whiff of his mate and he could tell she was moving faster than he was. It was clear she was taking this whole running thing seriously so he’d best do the same. Once he caught her it would be all the sweeter. He doubled his pace and he was moving fast now. His focus was set on the signs and scents she left behind and it was his hope he would catch her by sundown. That’s when the temperature reversed and a chill wind swept through the desert.
Ahead he saw the first water stop and as he got closer he pulled out his bottles. One was empty so he filled it, drank some more, and topped it off. There was a facility set up for hunters and prey to relieve themselves. On Earth they called them outhouses. He didn’t know why because they were more like a room or a shed than a house. Once he was done, he headed down the trail once more.
At some point he noticed her path had shifted towards the mountains and her pace increased. It was clear she wanted to escape him. She would challenge him but in the end he would claim her. He tried to put himself in her place claimed by a stranger on a world unknown to him. It made him wonder why anyone would take such a chance to become a mate and he would ask her when he captured her. The path was now running along the mountains and he heard the animal sounds of shifted hunters.
It was something he was unwilling to do at this point even though it was clear she was better at evading than he’d originally thought. He was closing the distance and her lead was less than half what it had been.
Chapter 3
Running
It was damn cold now, probably the coldest point in the night. It was darker than she’d expected it to be in the light of two nearly full moons. The sky was beautiful but as alien as it could be with none of the stars that had been in her familiar night sky. There were two moons and another planet close enough to see and how they all stayed so near without being drawn to each other she didn’t know. She also saw some kind of colorful gaseous field in this sky that looked like a child had tried to paint it. It would be easy to get lost in examining it and forget that she needed to focus on evading capture.
Deep in the pit of her stomach she knew a hunter was drawing nearer. He hadn’t settled down for the night either because he was intent on catching her. She was intent on getting away but he had the home field advantage. This whole desert was the playing field and this was a game she wanted, no, needed to win. Had she been able to settle down for the night, this mountain ridge seemed to contain a series of caves each one slightly bigger than the one ahead of it.
Under different circumstances she would have loved to have explored them. Right now even taking the seconds to look into them was using up her flashlight batteries and probably calling attention to her but she was looking for something although her conscious mind couldn’t say what. Maybe a place to hide from the danger stalking her. A hunter was after her, maybe two, but were they both potential mates or was one a true predator looking for food?
There was no choice but to continue on at the fastest pace she could set. She would be relieved when daylight came and chased away the cold and the damnable shadows that made her jump at every turn. Before her only worry was being mated, now it was being eaten. A growl echoed through the cavern she had stopped to look in, whatever it was had gained on her and would catch her soon. Lista picked up her pace to heroic speeds, but she knew deep down it wouldn’t be enough. Whatever tracked her now was faster, stronger, and scarier than she’d ever thought of being and could even take out her would be mates without a thought.
Lista started running, there was no longer a choice. A roar tore through the night and it wasn’t far away. There was a cavern ahead and she hoped it was the one she was searching for. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a male. Her potential future husband no doubt.
“Wait up! I’ll protect you.” The male waved his hands to draw her attention but he’d best be worrying about himself since he stood between her and a hungry beast.
She slipped in the cave. Even if her way out wasn’t in here, it would save her from having to watch the male get eaten. Lista found an opening but she had to take off her backpack to fit through. It took a couple minutes but she was ready.
“Wait for me.” A male voice called. She looked up horrified as she saw a huge catlike creature reminiscent of an oversized lion only blue, stalking the male.
“Watch out!” she yelled as she slipped through the hole in the rocks pulling her backpack through after her. There was no way the giant lion would manage to get through here. The man would have his work cut out for him but he was kitty chow even now. Lista felt a shaft of sadness with a touch of guilt but without a better weapon she would have just sacrificed herself for nothing.
She continued through the narrow passageway praying that it would come out on the other side of the mountain. The narrow tunnel opened up in to a magical cavern. The ceiling was lit with what looked much like a night sky of stars but it was inside. There was a pool, also lit but from the bottom and she could see what looked like fish swimming about and something like seaweed waving at her. There was a large rock that called to her to sit down and rest a while but danger was still too close on her heels for her to heed the call.
Lista walked cautiously through the huge cavern avoiding pools, rocks, and holes that seemed to go on forever. Curiosity won out and she dropped a small rock down one of the holes and waited to hear it hit the bottom. She waited and waited some more but if it hit, it either landed on something soft or it hit so far below that she couldn’t hear it. That made her even more watchful for holes in the ground. Reaching the end of the cavern, she entered a smaller darker one. There was a small pool that looked like runoff from the large pool in the other cavern.
Tired, thirsty, and hungry, she decided to take a quick break and found a smooth rock to sit on. Pulling out her water bottle, she drank a third of it. Next she ate a nutrient bar of some kind and even though she was tempted to rest, she got up and headed out of the cavern. Noises echoed from the large cavern and she wondered if something or someone had made it through after her. It was careless but in her hurry she tripped over a rock and fell into a hole.
Her fingers hurt as they scrambled to grip something, anything so she wouldn’t plummet down into the endless darkness. Scratching at the ground, slipping a little lower, she finally grabbed something like an exposed shelf of rock. Letting
out a ragged breath, she focused on pulling herself up and her legs over onto the ground. Lying on her stomach trying to calm down, relief flowed over her. Since she’d been on this planet she had had more close calls than in any year of army missions.
The sweat on her skin cooled rapidly and she shivered now cold all over. She’d been lucky but Lista never counted on luck because it always ran out. Whatever was behind her had gained some ground while she’d been hanging over the bottomless pit fearing for her life. Jumping up, she hurriedly grabbed her backpack and took off at a steady pace watching carefully to avoid another deadly trap.
The darkness in this cavern wasn’t her friend and she felt relieved when she entered the next cavern to find that although it was even smaller, it was lighter. There was no water and the ground seemed smooth and without holes. Lista took that as an invitation to move faster. It was a huge mountain and there was no way she could even begin to estimate how long she would be stuck making her way out of here. At least she wasn’t out in the sun where she would be dehydrated and overheated in no time.
As she hit the next cavern she was amazed. It was as light as day in here and moisture hung in the air as a pool of water and a small river ran in front of her. Trees grew here on mighty trunks reaching upward toward the lit ceiling. It had to be an unnatural light yet it seemed so much like sunlight. Flowers bloomed and their sweet scents floated to her. Some kind of grass, a deep purple color, covered the ground she walked on. It worried her to touch these unknown plants but the red leaves on the trees spread out making it difficult to miss them.
Flowers in every color of the rainbow spread out in her view. Many lined the pools and the river but seemed to be reaching for the light that came from above. It was an odd way to describe plants but they reminded her of the sunflowers of Earth except for their colors. She saw something flying over her head. Some kind of featherless bird or maybe this planet’s version of a bat? One thing was certain, she didn’t want to stick around to find out. Not because she thought the creature was dangerous, but because she didn’t have any time to waste if she wanted to evade whatever was slowly closing in on her.
The grass wasn’t as easy to walk on as she’d hoped. It was uneven and clumpy slowing her pace and making her stop to regain her balance. A vine slithered across the grass and at first she thought it was a long snake. Thankfully it avoided her but her skin crawled as she stepped over it to get to the other side. Once she was past it, she moved faster. If someone were watching she wouldn’t look graceful, only nervous and hurried. There were things down here that were making her skittish and ready to leave this cavern behind. It was funny because it had looked so beautiful at the first glance. On the surface it was peaceful and beautiful but it seemed like there were hidden dangers.
The edge of the cavern was almost in view when the vine twisted around her ankle. She couldn’t break free so she reached for her knife. It was a lock back blade so she opened it and set the sharp blade against the vine just below the part that was wrapped tight around her ankle. It almost looked like it shrank away from the blade.
“Loosen up or I will cut you off.” Oh my God! Now she was talking to an alien plant. She sliced at the vine and a shriek echoed through the cavern. Was that the plant? It retracted and pulled about five feet away and almost seemed to be watching her. This whole situation was nothing if not crazy.
Chapter 4
Mates
Razar sensed the cat move in behind him just as he saw his mate looking at him. She bolted which didn’t surprise him and at least he wouldn’t worry about her getting in the way as he and the cat fought. He would try to dissuade the cat with primitive weapons, but he had an unauthorized blaster in his pocket if all else failed. This was the desert and he was no fool, he would take an equalizer with him just in case he met one of the greater predators. It looked like he had been smart to keep one with him.
He would bet money that every hunter out here had at least a blaster. If they didn’t, they were a fool. Turning slowly, he put his mate out of his mind and concentrated on the batar which was similar to an Earth lion only four times as large and a lovely royal blue. This one was a male and so striking it was a shame to contemplate killing him but Razar didn’t feel like dying either.
“Go find safer prey my friend or you’ll leave me no choice but to destroy you. It’s something I’d prefer not to do.” As silly as he felt for talking to the batar, the regal giant seemed to be giving it some thought. Unfortunately for them both, he decided to go ahead with his plan to eat Razar.
The batar growled low as he crouched in preparation of leaping at Razar. When he landed, the beast looked in surprise because Razar wasn’t under him and he had a deep puncture wound bleeding heavily in his stomach. Looking at the wound, Razar was certain the creature would still heal if he left before he received more wounds. It wasn’t to be. The batar crouched again springing much quicker this time but still landing on nothing with another wound inflicted to his other side this time. At this point whether he could heal or not was anyone’s guess.
Razar found he was angry. Not at the batar who simply followed his instincts, he was angry at the officials of this hunt who had not accurately determined the dangers. This beast would have easily destroyed several mates had he found them first. He was in the hunt zone and stalking Razar or his mate, whichever he came upon first. There was no way she would have survived the first attack. It was unacceptable and he intended to file a complaint. The batar had slowed down but he wasn’t out of the fight yet. The blood loss was making him dizzy and weak, but he was still one of the strongest animals on this planet. They rarely attacked Mazlans so this whole thing was odd.
The beast was preparing for one last attack. Razar felt sad for what he knew he must do. One more leap and it was the last. The batar landed in a heap with his chest moving rapidly as the last of his blood pumped out of his body. His eyes closed as he shivered from the cold of approaching death. It was the law of the wild, kill or be killed.
“I’m sorry my wild brother. May your spirit find a new home where you will live many years.” Pulling his communicator from his pocket, he called his brother Travlr. “I had to kill a batar at these coordinates. Please pick it up for me.” He didn’t worry, his brother would see exactly where he was calling from.
“Certainly. Have you caught your mate yet?”
“No.” He hated to be so abrupt, but he needed to go in case she got into trouble again. “I must go.” Hanging up, he rushed in the direction his female had headed.
Thank the goddess for the amazing sense of smell his people had. He picked up a strong scent and headed after her. The small opening she had entered would allow him to pass, barely. The passage was uncomfortable but he made it dragging his back pack behind him. It finally hit a huge cavern with some kind of light source in the ceiling. He’d never seen anything like it before. There was a large pool with crystal clear water and if he looked closely, small water dwellers were flitting around in the bottom. There was even some sort of plant growing in it. It was well lit and looking closely showed him there were animals that gave off light burrowed into the sandy bottom.
This cave needed to be reported so it could be explored. His people were still new to most of the area around here. They had been trapped in the prison portion of the planet until the planet their parents were from had been destroyed. At that point, the warden and the officers had released them all. Most of them hadn’t agreed with the emperor’s methods but to disagree was to be imprisoned or die. Punishment was swift and final, none who came here had ever left. They had been free over two years but their exploration was from the settlements in an outward direction and this was far from any settlements. The discovery of gold and other exports had also taken much time away from exploration.
Even though they were free it was taking them awhile to adjust not only to the planet that was their home, but to the galaxy even the universe, they were a part of. Razar thought these human fe
males would help them learn about being free and push them to explore and try new things. His female didn’t seem to have any trouble rushing in wherever she found an opening. They would be a good match because he would teach her caution, she needed to learn it. Taking one more look around the cave to memorize its beauty, he moved on to find his mate.
Carefully he worked his way through the cavern. The rock he was walking on seemed porous with large holes that would be easy to fall through. It was good when he exited the large cavern and entered a smaller darker one. His mate would have trouble seeing and he would make better time. Sniffing at the small pool which probably had runoff from the pool in the other cavern, he’d thought about washing off but an unknown smell made him rethink that and move on.
He hurried on but noticed the holes were here too. Locating a smooth rock, he sat to eat and take a drink. His nose assured him she had stopped on this rock as well. Razar knew he couldn’t stay long. Stepping up to one of the holes as he moved on he saw signs of blood, his mate’s blood. She had fallen but caught herself on the sharp ledge of rock. All signs indicated she had moved on but at a slower rate. Hating that she had hurt herself, he couldn’t help but hope it would allow him to catch her before something worse happened.
Moving on, he carefully went from one end to the other of the smaller less lit cavern. It was a relief when he moved into the next cavern which was even smaller, lighter than the last one but not as light as the first one, and had a smooth floor without the holes that had slowed him down. Feeling the need for speed, he kicked it into high gear hoping to gain ground. Even though he could tell his female had sped up too, he was catching up to her.
