First Contact

by S. J. Sanders

  That was until the point Ehmhy decided to scout ahead. He frowned thoughtfully at the river, his arms crossed over his thick chest and his ears shifting toward the various sounds of wildlife. Frustration seemed to flow off him in waves. His whiskers twitched and finally he glanced down at where she sat.

  “Stay put. I am going to scout further down the river,” he said. Ehmhy wandered down the length of the river, his dark fur blending with an unnerving ease into the landscape.

  “Hey! Watch for gators!” she shouted, but she wasn’t sure if he heard her. She certainly hoped he didn’t run into any, that would be a nasty surprise. She immediately began to worry as he completely disappeared a few feet away from her.

  For hours, she waited. She amused herself for the first few hours with songs she knew by heart. Then, when he hadn’t yet returned, she got up and began to pace the few yards of riverfront before her. Her anxiety didn’t start to really kick in until the light began to lengthen as evening approached. She nearly leaped into the brush to hide when she heard a motorboat roaring toward her, but with a glimpse between the reeds she saw Ehmhy at the stern. He made quite a picture with his fur ruffling in the breeze, his dark mahogany braid whipping around him, and his eyes squinting against the low position of the sun.

  She couldn’t believe it. He’d pilfered someone’s boat.

  Brushing the dirt off her ass and thighs, she wandered down to the river’s edge.

  “I’m not sure how it works with other species, but you do realize stealing is illegal here, right?”

  Ehmhy smirked at her, brushing a hand across her cheek as he replied, “Stealing is illegal in most places, Geree. But do not worry. I did not steal it. The owners were not present to accept my offer, but I did leave a generous number of gems to reimburse them for their boat. More than I suspect it was worth, but it seemed best to be generous in a situation like this.”

  Pressing her lips together, she shook her head at her alien. “Yeah, I don’t think that counts as buying. I’d say that’s still somewhere in the territory of stealing, even if it’s polite,” she chuckled. His smirk widened into a full smile. She was happy to notice the sight of his sharp teeth and fangs bared no longer caused even a twinge of discomfort. His had been the only face she’d seen for a couple of days now and it had grown familiar.

  “Semantics, female,” he scoffed playfully.

  Before she could think of a witty rejoinder, a movement beside the boat sent up a red flag in her mind. Whipping her head to the side, her eyes widened as a gator slid out of the water heading straight for Ehmhy, its blunt snout opened malevolently.

  Ehmhy, who’d been tracking her movement, turned his head seconds after she gasped in horror. He wrapped his arms around her waist lightning-quick and he leaped away, hissing at the gator’s rumbling moan as it pushed itself up the embankment, its muddy green body whipping in a frenzy to arrive at the spot they’d been standing only moments ago. Panting in horror against his shoulder, Gerry didn’t realize until that moment just how far Ehmhy had been able to jump. It must have been eight or nine feet. But it had still been a close call.

  “What is that thing?” he demanded. His fur was fluffed out like an angry cat and his whiskers quivered with adrenaline, although his ears were flat against his skull.

  “That,” she panted as she worked herself down from mindless terror, “is an alligator.”

  His eyes widened. “That is what you warned me of? Why didn’t you tell me such monsters inhabit your rivers? Forashual has its fair share of river predators, but I had no idea I would encounter such a thing here.” He paused as if admiring it. “It certainly is magnificent.”

  “I did try to warn you,” she repeated. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the gator slowly retreat as it lost interest. “Alligators tend to come out after a storm. And what do you mean it’s magnificent? It’s ugly as sin.”

  He shrugged. “It may not be attractive, but every line of it is powerful and ancient in appearance. Just look at those teeth,” he said with fascination.

  Gerry looked at him skeptically. “Are you sure you’re a trader by profession and not a thrill-seeker?”

  His eyes sparkled with silent laughter. “Among the Forad, there is little distinction between the two. To be a trader among and outside the Intergalactic Union often requires a thirst for the unexpected. Besides, being a trader gives me the opportunity to indulge in my pleasures. Alien fauna is fascinating. Especially the more deadly creatures.”

  “Oh, sure. That sounds perfectly logical,” she muttered in exasperation. “Looks like our friend may finally be gone. I say let’s get in the boat and get moving before he decides to wander back this way and attempts to score an easy meal again.”

  After sniffing the air for a couple of minutes, his flexible whiskers moving, his arms finally relaxed and he carried her to the boat. Once she’d been deposited on the plastic seat, he climbed in after her. Several feet away, Gerry could just barely make out the snout of their scaly friend. She was grateful they were leaving. Let him go find another creature for his supper.

  The boat peeled away from the shore with a loud roar, making Gerry clutch her seat as they pulled away. She had to shout to be heard over the engine.

  “Just so we’re clear, this is way beyond the scope of helping you find your nephew in New Orleans!”

  His husky laughter was barely audible as he replied, “True, but at least it is not boring!”

  “Never that,” she agreed with a roll of her eyes, but she couldn’t keep the corners of her mouth from quirking up. She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but being with Ehmhy was like a grand adventure. The kind she never suspected she’d want but knew she would miss when it was over. And it would be coming to an end soon. She mentally edged away from that thought and tilted her head back in the wind, smiling as a couple of pelicans flew overhead.

  The sky was painted with hues of orange and red by the time they saw land at the other side of the river, and Gerry suppressed her laughter at the sigh of relief that came out of her companion at the sight. They passed under the highway bridge and she had the feeling that they were heading for an area just outside Slidell.

  Ehmhy slowed the boat as they eased around a number of cypress trees pushing out of the water as they neared land. The swamps around the area were a popular tourist attraction, and he was as properly awed as any visitor. The area was teeming with wildlife as they eased their way through until they finally came to a dock along a marshy embankment.

  There were no gators lurking nearby, but the dock didn’t look like it had seen much use in recent history. It was almost as if it had been built a great number of years ago and then forgotten. As it happened, that suited their purposes perfectly. An unused dock would garner a lot less attention, even if it meant they might have to travel further on foot.

  The boat rocked dangerously as they stepped onto the rickety dock. Gerry sucked in a breath, daring not to exhale lest everything come down beneath her. Despite the wobbly boards and a terribly ominous creak, it held together, and they were able to step onto dry-ish land. Consulting the tracker on his comm unit, Ehmhy wasted no time leading her through the thick forest.

  Slapping yet another mosquito, Gerry tugged on his arm until they came to a stop and she pulled out the bottle of bug spray from the bag on his back and coated them both with a fresh layer. Ehmhy drew his ears back with annoyance but did not complain. No doubt his thick fur kept him better protected from the flying vampires, but it proved to be less than a foolproof deterrent.

  When it became apparent that they wouldn’t make it any further before nightfall, they broke out the flashlights and continued on for as long as they dared. Eventually, Ehmhy found a thick tree that he declared suitable for the night and scrambled up the side with Gerry swearing all the way as she clung to his back. Once he found the gnarled limb he was after, Ehmhy leaned back against the trunk of the tree and settled her between his thighs, his arms and tail wrapping around her. There they fe
ll asleep to the sounds of frogs and the hum of insects.

  HIS UNCLE WAS NEAR; Ferikal knew it. He didn’t dare activate his comm unit to look at the tracker when the humans were milling around outside his cage again, but his fur shivered with anticipation. Ehmhy couldn’t come soon enough. They were disciplining her again, his Suzee. Even at the distance he was kept at, away from the house, he could still hear the vicious cracks and her whimpers and cries. He whined low in his throat as he shifted in the small confines.

  His heat still ate at him, but it was no longer an uncontrollable frenzy. Suzee had done that for him. As far as he was concerned, although they were both too young to mate, she was his. He refused to allow her to remain with the humans who abused her. His uncle would listen to reason and they would all leave Earth together. He’d become a great trader like his uncle rather than work security like his father had, and he would have Suzee with him to have great adventures together. They had spent the previous night whispering about all the different things they could do and the places in the universe he would take her.

  She wanted to go with him. Ferikal had almost preened with pleasure when she told him.

  He winced when her cry broke through loud enough to send birds scattering from the mass of low-hanging tree branches. He growled and a potato was lobbed at him, clanging against the bars of his cage. George, the eldest of Ruth’s sons, leaned back in his chair and smirked.

  “Don’t be making a fuss. You mind yourself and behave now. Suzy is just getting set straight. It ain’t right that she’s out here so much with you. Mama will see to it,” he said as he leaned back again into his chair.

  Ferikal’s tail swished against the floor of the cage as he hunched forward, his eyes focusing on the male without blinking. He promised himself that soon as he got free, never again would such a thing happen.

  Chapter 12

  The human dwelling stank; that was the first thing that came to Ehmhy’s mind. It smelled of spoiled food and waste from the strange bins and the acrid scent of sweat mingled with traces of blood. He didn’t want his female anywhere near the place, but she had refused to hide amid the copse of tall trees bordering the small human territory. She lingered just behind him, close enough that he knew where she was but out of any direct harm that could approach from the front.

  It unnerved him not having a brother or cousin at his back as the Forad usually would do to protect a female among them, so it was with great caution that he approached the smaller of the two buildings from which he could detect his nephew’s scent.

  There was something different to the smell—a new layer to it—and he realized with horror just what caused that change. The scent had altered with Ferikal’s first heat. His worst fears had come true. His nephew had suffered through his heat alone among humans. Ehmhy’s fur stood on end with agitation as he slinked toward the building, not unlike the one he’d taken shelter in with his female their second night of travel.

  A human male sat at the front, and not for the first time in so many days Ehmhy cursed his lack of a weapon. He would have given anything to use a blaster, even if only on the stun setting. No doubt when the armory was recovered, the humans would be enamored with his small collection. He swallowed a groan of displeasure as his eyes tracked the rocking movement of the male teetering back in his chair. Ehmhy stilled as he felt Geree bump into him from behind. Instinctively, he reached behind him and pressed her small form against his back so she had no opportunity to get around him.

  “Ehmhy, what’s going on?” she whispered in his ear.

  He tipped an ear back toward her and whispered, “A human male is blocking the entrance.”

  “Is that all?”

  His ears flattened. What did she mean, ‘Is that all?’ Wasn’t that enough?

  “Yes,” he hissed.

  She let out a rough snorting sound and pushed against him.

  “Let me go first. I can distract him while you knock him out.”

  He did not like that idea and growled to demonstrate that fact. She huffed irritably behind him and shoved with a little more force.

  “Quit being pig-headed and let me help. It’ll be fine. The longer we stand here, the more likely we’ll be caught.”

  He still didn’t like it, but he couldn’t argue with her logic. With reluctance, he released her from the cage of his arm. She pushed away from him to stand at his side and further mussed her clothing. She then winked and headed toward the male with a gait that Ehmhy recognized as a sexual signal in its resemblance to the roll of her hips during their mating. He choked back the possessive snarl, but his claws carved deep notches into the wall of the shelter. His tail twitched aggressively as she watched her glide over to the male as a seductress.

  His female. His.

  Ehmhy blinked back his fury and willed himself to focus. It was all an act; he knew that.

  It took longer than he would have thought for the male to notice her. The way he nearly fell from his chair in surprise would have been comical if it weren’t followed by a leer and a reeking cloud of sexual interest poisoning the air. Ehmhy flattened his ears, his lips pulled back from his teeth as he waited. He was close enough that he could make out the exchange.

  “What’re you doing here, girl?”

  Geree smoothed down her shirt and looked beseechingly at the male.

  “I’m sorry... I hate to be a bother, but I wrecked my car just a little up the way and yours is the first place I came across. Do you have a phone I could borrow so I can call for a tow?”

  The male’s eyes skittered over her with appreciation.

  “I just might. Shame for a woman as fine as yourself to be alone out here.”

  “Oh, I would appreciate it.”

  Ehmhy stiffened as he heard a loud growl come from the building and even Geree seemed to still. He knew now without a doubt exactly where his nephew was. Geree’s voice rose with feigned trepidation.

  “What was that noise? Do you have a panther or something caged up in there? That’s awful dangerous. You must be very brave,” she purred.

  The human puffed out his chest and grinned with a conspiring wink.

  “I have something way better than a panther in there,” he said in a low voice. “Do you wanna see it?”

  Geree made a high-pitched squealing sound and clasped her hands together. “Really? You’ll let me see it? What is it?”

  “It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” he replied with a flamboyant wave of his hand. Ehmhy clenched his teeth at Geree’s impressed gasp. Yet he didn’t move his eyes from them. His female darted a sly smile his way as she turned with the human toward the entrance, giving him the necessary opening. He crept up behind his unsuspecting prey, bunching his muscles and whipping his tail as he calibrated his attack and leaped upon the male, drawing him down at once with a sharp snap of the neck.

  Geree moved to his side, her eyes wide and her chest moving with quick breaths as she attempted to regain control. She swallowed and stepped around the body as she followed him inside. As he slipped in, he didn’t fail to notice the musky smell permeating the air, mingling with smells of urine and filth. His eyes widened in horror as he caught sight of his nephew sitting in his own waste in a cage of all things—like an animal! Not even a well-cared-for animal.

  A small human female sat beside his cage, no doubt one of his tormentors. Rage flooded his veins and he roared, leaping forward in two paces to snatch the female away from the pen.

  She cried out helplessly as he held her in the air with one hand, his lips pulled back from his fangs. He was only distantly aware of Ferikal banging on the bars of his cage or Geree’s alarmed shouts for him to stop. He would not spare anyone who’d abused his nephew. His female yanked on his arm, drawing his attention to his surroundings. The voices in the background finally reached his ears, both the younger male and his mate shouting for him to stop. His eyes shifted questioningly to them, though he didn’t yet choose to lower the small human female.

  �
�Uncle Ehmhy, please stop. Don’t hurt Suzee!” Ferikal cried out. “She is mine. Please. I am claiming her. She helped me through the worst of my heat and has been caring for me as I have waited for you. I know we are both too young to become mates right now, but I won’t allow any harm to come to her—or for her to be left behind,” he rasped. “She will be my mate. Please, Uncle.”

  Ehmhy hesitated and narrowed his eyes on the pale female in his grip, sniffing at her for any hint of deceit. Although her eyes were full of fear, she didn’t struggle against his hold but surrendered trustingly to him. He didn’t think that one who meant his nephew harm could truly do so with such an imminent threat upon them. It was that which finally settled the matter for him, and he lowered the female to her feet.

  With a polite nod, Suzee rushed past him to join Ferikal as he pushed out of the cage just as Geree unlocked it. His mate fell back with a loud exhalation when she hit her backside on a mound of straw, but she was all smiles as the young ones flung themselves into each other’s embrace. Even Ehmhy had to admit his heart warmed a little at the sight.

  He noticed the pronounced sour smell enter the abode a moment too late. He swung around to face the intruders as a long, narrow weapon clicked ominously at them. It appeared to be some sort of projectile weapon, although its form was similar to a blaster. Perhaps an archaic form designed to expel ammunition? He recalled hearing of such items as an artifact of his ancient culture. Whatever it was, it was certainly capable of harming him.

  A thick female with a dull gray braid of hair held the device on her shoulder as a lanky male stood behind her with a scowl.

  “Kill him, Mama,” the male demanded. “He killed George. It’s only fitting that he receives the same.”

  “Hush, Lucas,” she scolded her offspring and Ehmhy felt nothing but contempt for the male. He was clearly an adult and yet hanging onto his dam like a fashi-mu. “He’s bigger than the little one. I’m betting we could sell them both for a lot of money once we get our phone lines running.”