by Lisa Lace
Her face softened, and she swallowed.
"If I had never met you, I never would have had all the happy moments, though, either, Dar. If I had to make the choice all over again to go or not go to that party...I wouldn't do anything differently."
Even after everything that had happened? She couldn't mean that.
"Dar? We have to keep moving. I can't be caught by them again. I might not be so lucky next time. That's twice I've avoided..."
She drew in a deep breath.
"Well, I don't want to come close to experiencing a rape attempt a third time. I'd rather die than have to go through that again."
I studied her face. She was beautiful. And smart. And capable. And her body fit mine perfectly.
"Dar?" she said, trying to understand my silence. "Are you okay? You had to do what you did. Don't feel bad about it."
She reached up and put her hand on my cheek. I closed my eyes at the feeling of comfort the small gesture gave me.
"I don't feel terrible about that. I feel awful about the problems you've experienced recently. It's all my fault." I opened my eyes to look into hers.
"Your fault? Dar. Stop being stupid. I make my choices just as you make yours. I could have decided differently, but that would not have led me to being here. Right now. With you."
I tilted my head and considered her words.
"But I didn't want to make those other choices. I want to be here with you. No matter how long it lasts. For as long as you want me beside you. Okay?"
She pulled me down to her so that she could kiss me. It was a soft kiss with just a touch of longing in it. And when she pulled away, I just wanted more. I watched her back as she forced her way through the brush, thunderstruck by the sudden realization that I would follow her anywhere.
She moved forward into the bush again, glancing back over her shoulder with a smile to see if I was coming. She beckoned to me, looking like a magical creature from the old tales, promising me pleasures unknown to mortals. I knew that there would be a price to pay for sampling those delights, but I didn't care. Wherever she wanted to lead me, I would go.
That's when I knew I was lost.
KENNA
I moved as fast as I could through the jungle vegetation, not sure what had just happened. But my heart was beating fast, and my breathing felt erratic and shallow.
The look in Dar's eyes had scared me. He had seemed dangerous and real. No one had ever expressed their feelings like that to me before.
It had been a long time ago that Gran had last told me that she loved me. And no one had said it to me since then, but I remembered how she had looked when she had said it. There had been a light in her eye and a warmth in her face. She had looked the way Dar did for a moment back there.
I wasn't sure if I wanted him to care about me. That would complicate things considerably.
But hadn't I just told him that I wanted to stay with him as long as he would have me? What had I been thinking, saying that? It sounded desperate, didn't it? I just meant that I liked being with him and wanted to be with him and would stay with him until he booted my sorry human ass back to Earth. But maybe it had come out sounding like I loved him?
I recoiled at the thought. No. I couldn't love him.
That was dangerous.
That was foolish.
That was guaranteed to get my heart broken.
I wished longingly for a machete as I stepped over the big leaves and pushed through the thicker bushes. I shook my head. No use wishing for that which I could never have — and that included Dar.
I sniffed the air that was thick with smoke now, and it reminded me of my childhood. Summers, where we lived, were always a time of danger. Forest fires had burned in my home every year of my life. Sometimes the smoke was so thick that the sun looked like a bright copper penny and people with asthma were told to stay inside.
The authorities evacuated us once. It was the year that the forests were as dry as tinder and nearly a hundred fires had burned all at the same time. Nothing had happened to our place, but many people had lost their homes that year or been forced to live in hotels for weeks because they couldn't go back to their houses.
The current fire reminded me of the past. But I sensed that the flames were a lot closer than I had ever seen before. We needed to get to the water. I wondered if there was any on this godforsaken planet. I had no idea, but I was trying to follow the layout of the land, heading downhill whenever we had the chance. Water always ran to the lowest area. So hopefully, if we kept heading downhill, we might find some water somewhere.
I had heard the story of one family who had been unable to evacuate because the fire had cut off their route. They got into the lake near their house and ducked under the water while the fire passed over. They had all survived though their house had burnt to the ground.
Wildfire temperatures could reach into the thousands of degrees. People were often burned to a crisp trying to outrun a fire, even if they were in their vehicles. I knew we had no chance unless we found water. I swallowed, looking back to make sure Dar was still coming.
He looked kind of brutal, with the black eye and the bruises on his face. His clothing was ripped and dirty from our trek through the jungle. But I knew that underneath all of the dirt and the injuries beat a heart exactly like mine. What I wondered was how he truly felt about me. I did want to be loved by someone. But I wasn't sure an alien was a good choice.
And when did the heart ever get to choose who it loved? I heard my Gran's voice in my head. Kenna, you have a chance for happiness in front of you. Take it, girl.
I shook my head. When she had first died, I had heard her all the time but it had been years since I had heard Gran talking in my head. The question was...Was she right? Should I take this chance to love, even if it was with an alien...a king...a creature prejudiced against my kind?
It seemed incredibly foolish.
And when did love ever make the wise choice, Kenna? Stop thinking and take a chance for once. I wished Gran's voice would go away, especially since I knew she was right. But I was too scared to take a chance, no matter how happy it might make me.
"Kenna, do you hear that?" Dar said from behind me. There was a crackling and popping sound, as well as a dull roaring coming from the direction of the building we had just left. I stumbled a little as the ground sloped abruptly away from me.
I stopped moving to hear better and what I heard scared me. A lot.
"Come on, hurry," I said, grabbing his hand. "It's catching up."
We ran as fast as we dared down the hill that was covered only in small trees and bushes. A minute later, we could see the edge of a small lake.
"Oh, thank God," I said.
When we got to the water, I plunged straight in, dragging him with me, until I was up to my shoulders. Because he was so much taller than me, it only reached his chest.
I ducked under hoping that the water was clean and safe. On most planets inhabited by those descended from the great race, the water was harmless. I hoped that this planet was no exception. It felt good, like water back home.
Besides, we didn't have any choice.
I looked back and saw that the smoke was getting closer. We could hear the sound of the fire louder now. I ducked under the water again, wetting my head. Then looked up at Dar, afraid of what I would see.
"You okay?" I said. He had been through as much as I had, and it was hard to process everything that had happened to us in the past week or so.
He looked into my eyes, nodding slowly.
Oh, boy.
"Yes. More than okay."
I glanced away, nervously and began to talk to avoid whatever was coming.
"When the fire comes this way it will probably blow right across the water. We'll have to wait until the last second and then take a big breath, staying under water for as long as we can while the fire burns over. I know a family that survived that way in a forest fire back home."
Dar stepped closer to me, putt
ing his finger on my lips.
"Kenna."
He took his finger away.
"Yes, Dar?"
"I need to tell you something."
I felt my breathing speed up, and I couldn't look away from his gaze. He took his hands and created a triangle, using his thumbs as the bottom part and his hands to make the other two sides.
He took his hands and touched them to his forehead. I just watched, not sure what to do. I remembered the scar that all Susohnnan had was a triangle. Maybe this was some sign of theirs. I would ask him some time...when he wasn't about to...Well, when he wasn't looking at me like that.
"If we should die in this fire, there is something I want you to know."
"Dar..." I shook my head. "You don't have to..."
He placed his finger over my lips again, stopping the flow of words.
"Yes, Kenna. I do. Since I met you, I've felt things that I never thought I ever would. Never in my life have I felt the desire to kill, the way I did today when that man was going to hurt you. I've never felt such sadness as I experienced before we docked at the space station, thinking that you might die as soon as we got there."
I looked up at him, ignoring the sound of the fire getting louder as it approached the lake. Somehow I couldn't look away from his dark eyes. They held me, and I couldn't get away. I wasn't sure I wanted to.
"And now. When we may be breathing our last breaths, all I can think about is kissing you."
He traced my lips, and I breathed raggedly. I was overwhelmed by feelings that I hadn't known were there just a minute ago.
"Dar," I whispered.
"Kenna," he said, taking my face between his hands. "I know now that I love you. And it doesn't matter that you're human, and I'm Susohnnan. It doesn't matter that we may die in a moment. None of that matters. I just need you to know."
Oh my fucking god. He had said it.
"I swore I would protect you when we made love the first time, and I meant it. I would do anything for you. I would follow you to the end of the universe. I would kill to protect you. I would die to save you. I love you, Kenna, and I always will."
He made the same sign with his hands again and then he took me in his arms and kissed me. I was crying, and I could hardly breathe — what with the smoke and the fact that he was kissing me senseless.
When he finally let me up, I called his name.
"You don't have to say anything, Kenna. If you don't feel the same, that is all right. It won't change how I feel. Nor would I take back my words. Now I can die because I have no regrets."
He looked up then at the approaching fire, then back down to me.
"One regret. I would have enjoyed loving you for a lifetime."
DAR
We could now see the fire at the edge of the forest. Suddenly it moved across the water towards us, fueled by The Three knows what.
"Get ready," Kenna said.
When it was only a few feet away, I saw her drawing in a deep breath and I did the same. We ducked under the water together.
A moment later, I felt the water become warm, then hot. I swam down deeper to get away from the heat. The fire must be right above us. I continued to hold my breath.
Finally, I couldn't hold on anymore. I had to take a breath. But then I thought that the fire might be still up there. The idea that I might emerge from the water into the flames made me hang on a little longer. When I began to feel like I was going to black out, I had to come up — fire or no fire — otherwise I was going to drown instead.
I pushed hard on the bottom, and my head burst out of the water. I drew in deep breaths of cool, clean air. When I could look around, I saw Kenna a few feet away.
"Dar," she said, swimming to me. "Are you okay?"
She wrapped her arms around me, holding me close.
"Yes, I'm all right." I said, into her neck. I squeezed her tightly, taking in her sweet scent. My mind was still processing that we had not died in the fire. It had burned past, and we were safe.
"Now what?" she said, pulling back but still shaking. "There's still the terrorists to get away from."
I noticed she was avoiding any reference to what I had said a few minutes ago. But that was fine. There would be time now to find out how she felt and to win her heart if necessary.
She had said that she didn't regret her choices, that she wanted to be with me, and that she would stay with me as long as I would let her. That had to mean something, didn't it? There was time now that we weren't going to die, as long as we could get away from the AEA. And if we could just get off this planet that The Three had evidently deserted.
* * *
Hours later, as the sun was setting, we made our way back to the terrorist base. We had returned against our better judgment, reasoning that it was the only way off the planet.
McKinnley's expectation that the explosion would destroy most buildings was nearly correct, but it missed a small cluster of buildings near the main one. Maybe the fire had jumped it. In the shadows, we made our way towards the closest one. Both of us were unwilling to go back to the main building if we didn't have to. The whole place looked deserted. I wondered what had happened to everyone.
Looking in the windows of the building, we saw computers and other equipment. Maybe we could get some information about this planet and a way off of it. We nodded at each other, afraid to make a sound. We would try to get in.
The second door we tried wasn't locked. It was at the back, and we snuck in as quietly as possible. The place was quiet but as we approached the room with the equipment, we could hear a noise.
It sounded like sobbing.
We both froze, then moved forward, and I wondered what we were getting ourselves into this time. The crying was coming from behind a door. I had never heard such a sound of desolation before. I could see the worry and compassion in Kenna's eyes, probably mirroring my sadness at the sound of that wretched person in there.
Whoever it was, we had to help them. No one deserved to feel like that. No matter what. I opened the door, and we peeked in. On the floor, curled up in a fetal position, and crying as though there was no hope left in the world, was Jared. The man who had been forced to work for the AEA. The one who had been going to go save his girlfriend when we had last seen him. I could only assume it hadn't gone well.
Kenna was already beside him.
"Jared? What's wrong? What happened?"
He looked up at us and scrubbed at his eyes, probably trying for some semblance of dignity. Kenna helped him sit up.
He was a mess. He was beaten up, and his eyes were red. But it was the desolation in them that tore at my heart. This man had been through hell and back. Somehow, I respected him the more for it. These humans were not what I had thought. They were beings that were capable of acting as nobly as the Susohnnan. They were beings worthy of great respect.
I put my hand on his shoulder.
"What has happened?" I said. "You helped us. We will help if we can."
I saw hopelessness on his face.
"It's too late. When I got there, she was already dead."
"No," Kenna said, her eyes filling with tears.
He nodded, his own eyes empty.
"They killed all the prisoners, rather than evacuate them. That's how they work. Now she's gone. I never had a chance to make things right."
He hung his head, dragged down by the weight of his pain.
"You tried. You would have saved her if you could have. She knew that. The Three have set her free, and she watches over you now, just like all the others you've loved in your life," I said. I touched his shoulder, hoping to get through to him.
He just shook his head, not looking up. Kenna looked at me.
"We are trying to escape this planet," I told him. "Do you have any idea how we could do that?"
Jared looked up, and I could see our plight was the last thing on his mind. But he tried. I could see he was attempting to shake off his troubles and despair to help us if he could.
&
nbsp; He thought for a minute or two.
"I don't know," he said. "The others are all gone. They evacuated out of range of the fire, so you're safe from them. But passage off of the planet? Good luck. I haven't a clue."
Just then, as if by magic, his communications device came to life, and we heard a voice. Jared pulled it off and was about to smash it against the wall, but I stopped him.
"Listen," I said.
"McKinnley, Commander Healey said we were to lock on to Shu'in and await his orders to transport him up here. We have a lock on the king. But I can't get a lock on the commander. What's going on down there?"
Jared looked at us, and I could see we were all thinking the same thing.
I took Kenna's hand. Jared nodded. As long as there is a transporter lock on one person, others can be taken along for the ride if they are touching the person with the lock. The transporter beam considers multiple people one body as long as they are touching.
"Hey Sean, it's all good. The commander has given orders for me to accompany Shu'in. Lock on to the two of us and beam us up. And remember we're not to hurt Shu'in, under penalty of death. Mackeye's orders."
"Yes, I remember," came the other voice. "I have a lock. Prepare to beam up."
I smiled at Kenna.
She was safe.
We were together.
We were alive.
And we were getting off this damned planet.
* * *
I felt the transporter beam and Kenna shimmered before my eyes. When I felt my atoms reassemble on the space station, she was still holding my hand. Good. We were safely off the planet. I looked at Jared, and he seemed a little more together. He nodded at me.
"What is she doing here?" Sean said. He frowned, sensing that something wasn't right.
"Healey used her and wanted to keep her as one of his consorts. He killed the rest of them earlier and needed someone for later when he beams up," Jared said, and I could see it was killing him to remain calm and seem uncaring.
The man looked unconvinced.
"You were never a true believer, McKinnley," Sean said. "Where's Healey? Did you kill him? If I can't get a lock, that means he's probably dead."
