by Rebecca Pond
After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a strange looking grey vehicle. It didn’t have any wheels and it hovered several inches over the ground. It didn’t resemble anything she had ever seen before and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“What is that thing?” she asked as she cautiously approached it.
“This is my vehicle. It is a kind of hover craft. Come on, and get in.” Brylon pressed his hand on a small pad that was on the door which caused the top to slide back and disappear and the doors to pop open.
Emma went around to the left side of the vehicle and stuck her head in to get a better look. Inside, the seats were covered in a tan material that felt like leather, but had a warm feel to them like she imagined she would find in a luxury car with fancy seat warmers built in them. The dashboard was all lit up with all kind of gauges and symbols, but she had no idea what they were for. On the opposite side of the vehicle, Brylon had slid his large frame into the awaiting seat then beckoned for her to do the same.
“Well Nana, I guess this is the first ride for both of us in an alien car.” She slid into the seat and was startled when the door started to close all by itself. There was a very quiet purring noise that seemed to come from the craft as Brylon started to move the vehicle out of the parking area. Once they were out of the garage into the fresh air of the planet she would now call home, Brylon let the vehicle pick up some speed.
Much to her disappointment, Emma wasn’t able to see too much because it was so dark outside. What she did see were massive trees that stretched further than she imagined from Brylon’s description. The vehicle rounded a corner that just happened to have a large open area unblocked by the large trees that allowed her a glimpse of the night sky.
“Wow,” she said to herself mainly, but was overheard by Brylon. The night sky was aglow with the two moons of Theron. Each moon happened to be in a different phase which gave the night sky a two toned appearance. The larger moon was so big that it seemed as if one could reach out and touch it, while the smaller one sat further back in the larger moon’s shadow.
The view of the two moons was gone all too soon. They were hovering over a gravel road from what Emma could tell, with gigantic trees lining both sides of the street. Every now and then she would get a glimpse of a figure standing near one of the trees or a light that shone from a window within one. Brylon turned the vehicle so many times that Emma pretty much figured she would never find her way back to the landing station if she tried. She felt the vehicle slow as Brylon turned the vehicle into a driveway then came to a stop. The vehicle doors popped open as she watched the lights start to illuminate the rooms within the tree.
Emma slid out of the vehicle and stood by the car waiting for Brylon. Nana softly purred in her hand as the both of them took in their surroundings, at least what they could see of them. A soft breeze blew through the canopy of leaves on the trees and insects could be heard chirping and whistling all around them. The largest flowers she had ever seen lined the side of driveway in every color of the rainbow. The gravel crunched under her feet as she took a step toward the flowers, but just as she reached out to touch one of the blooms, Brylon came up beside her to lead her into the house.
“Let’s go inside, and I will show you around.” He brought her to the front door of the tree house and pressed his hand to a panel adjacent to the door. Once inside, the rest of the lights came on all at once.
Emma was again left speechless at the sight before her. They stood in a large circular room made entirely from the center of the tree. The floor was a rich walnut color and highly polished while the circular walls were the color of dark pine wood. The furniture in the room was just as impressive as the room. An extremely large hunter green colored semi-circle sectional sofa dominated the large area, while two cream colored chairs sat at angles near the window. In front of the sofa was a long coffee table that matched the walls and had several books scattered about on top. A beautiful rug lay beneath the coffee table in colors of red, green, cream and a slight hint of blue. On either end of the sofa was an end table with a lamp. The walls were covered just like any home on Earth with pictures of family, landscape portraits and other art.
“Do you like it?” Brylon asked quietly as he set the few things that he brought along with him down on the coffee table.
“Brylon, it’s beautiful. I would have never thought that your home would look like this. It is absolutely incredible to have made a home inside of a tree.” She walked forward into the room taking in everything.
“Would you like to see more of the house?”
Shaking her head in earnest she replied, “Oh most definitely.”
He led the way to a stair case that she had not seen until now. It was up against the circular wall and curved upwards to the next level. This level contains the kitchen and another smaller living area.
“I use this level the most. I mostly use the bottom level for when Zeb and Zane come over or if I have a party,” he told her.
The kitchen reminded her somewhat of the kitchen on board the mother ship just a lot bigger. Part of the circular wall was covered in cabinets that matched the color of the walnut colored floors. An island separated the kitchen area from the smaller living area. Six large cushioned barstools stood on one side of the island what was obviously used as the main table because she didn’t see any other table. The smaller living area also contained a sectional sofa, but it was a miniature version of the one downstairs. This one was dark brown with off-white pillows scattered haphazardly upon it. The sofa was facing a large oval window that showed a wonderful view of the two moons that hung in the night sky. Off to the side of the window was a set of doors that opened onto a porch.
“Can we go out on the porch?” Emma asked biting her bottom lip.
“Of course you can,” Brylon smiled at her and opened the door for her to go out. She was eager to see the two moons again.
Emma slipped out the doors and onto a porch that looked like something out of a fairytale. Huge branches of the home tree draped down making a natural overhang for protection from the rain and sun. Vines with small yellow and white flowers climbed everywhere on the railings and up the tree itself. The lights of the two moons lit up the area below the porch, and from where she stood she could see a small stream as it meandered its way through the forest of living homes and out of her view. More of the large flowers grew near the bank of the stream along with several other plants and flowers. Movement near the opposite side of the stream caught her eye and she gasped at the sight of the small animal that drank the crystal clear water from the stream.
“What is that over there by the stream?” She squinted her eyes in order to get a better look at the creature.
“That is a musson. They are nocturnal animals and come to the stream every night. They feed on berries and nuts that they find in the forest. They are very plentiful in the forest and are a vital part of the planet’s ecological system.” She continued to watch the furry creature drink from the stream. It was such a beautiful sight. She could get used to living here.
Brylon stood near Emma as she watched the small musson. “Emma…” he started to say something, but when she turned to the sound of his voice, his body took over. He jerked her close to him and crushed her lips with his, in an unwavering kiss. He ran his tongue along her lips forcing them to open to let him in. He moaned into her mouth as he deepened the kiss. He pulled her body tightly against his so that his desire for her was obvious. He knew that she would be able to feel the hardened bulge in the front of his uniform. His cock was already straining against the fabric to be released from the confining space of his pants. He slipped his hand up under her shirt, grazing the skin from her waist to her chest as his hand came to rest on the sensitive skin of her breast. The sound of surprise that escaped her mouth was muffled by his unrelenting and deep kisses.
Her hands were pushing hard against his chest to try to let him release her from his passionate embrace. He had her trapped agains
t him and she was beginning to panic as she felt as if she was being slowly suffocated by his attentions. The wall of steel didn’t give her an inch as she continued to try desperately to twist her mouth away from the onslaught of his kisses. No matter what she tried, it was no use. Flashes of her former foster father was being relived as the images of his attack that she long tried to forget passed before her eyes. Her foster father had her pinned against the wall just like Brylon was doing now. His hands were groping for any part of her body that he could access. She remembered the distinct taste of alcohol as he forced his unwanted kisses upon her, as he assaulted her and she struggled with all her strength to get away.
She was starting to feel the symptoms of a full fledge panic attack now. Her gut instincts took over. She tried to scream as loud as she could and started to kick her legs at any part of the bastard’s body she could hit. She finally succeeded in landing a kick on the shin of the man who she now believed was her foster father. The assault on her mouth quickly ended as he pushed her away from him.
“What the hell, Emma?” Brylon was out of breath and rubbing the spot where he had been kicked. “Emma?” He stared at her as she backed away from him. “Emma, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” he started to explain, but was immediately cut off by a dazed looking Emma.
“Get away from me! I am going to tell your wife when she gets back!” She shouted loudly at him.
Brylon shook his head in confusion, “What are you talking about Emma?”
“I will kill you if you ever touch me again! How could you? You are supposed to be taking care of me, not trying to rape me! I told them not to put me here and they didn’t listen!” She was talking nonsense now to Brylon.
Brylon tried to move closer to her, but was halted when he realized that her eyes were glazed over and she suddenly seemed to be in a different place. He was a bit worried. This was unusual behavior, even for her. He couldn’t help but notice that she was trembling from head to toe, “Emma, it’s me Brylon. I am not going to hurt you. I am sorry for kissing you like that. I don’t know what came over me. I lost control,” he explained as he took another step forward.
She backed up as far as she could until she hit the railing, “No, stay away from me. I am not going to let you do this to me!”
The only thing that Brylon thought to do was move forward quickly, grab her by the shoulders and give her a nice hard shake to bring her back to reality. “Emma!” He shouted into her face.
“No!”
He gave her another hard shake. What would he do if he couldn’t get her to realize it was him? “Emma! It’s Brylon!” Another shake and she closed her eyes long enough for the glazed look to have disappeared when she reopened them.
“Brylon,” Emma said quietly as the fog surrounding her brain cleared. She shook her head to rid it of the horrible man’s face.
His eyes looked down into hers, full of concern and regret, “Are you okay? Please tell me you are okay.”
“Why did you do that?” He watched as a tear slid down her cheek as she looked at him.
“I don’t know what came over me. I am so sorry, Emma.” He tried to pull her to him, but she resisted his touch.
“Please don’t touch me. How could you do that to me?” she asked again. “Can we…can we please go back inside? I would like to go to bed now.” She moved around him, keeping a distance from him, and went back into the house. She waited for him to show her where she was supposed to sleep and was really grateful when he walked past her without saying another word. He led her up another curved flight of stairs to the level that contained the bedrooms for the house. He walked down a short hall then opened a door to reveal a large master suite.
Emma walked into the room and didn’t even bother to take in the breath taking view of the room. All she saw was the bed that sat in the middle of the room, the bed that she wanted to crawl into and fall into a deep sleep. Maybe, she could fall asleep and bury the wounds of her past, deep inside where she put all the other bad memories of her childhood.
“I am tired and I want to go to sleep now if you don’t mind.” She walked past her mate, straight to the bed where she sat to remove her shoes. Without removing any of her other clothes, she slipped under the covers on the bed, rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes.
Brylon watched as his tiny mate moved like she was in pain. It wasn’t a physical pain, but something more than he could understand. He watched as she crawled into his bed and faced away from him. He had been dreaming of this night with her for so long. Now, it seemed that he pushed her too far and ended up screwing the night up royally. He could kick himself in the ass for his insistent desire on the porch. His actions had caused her to retreat into some kind of living nightmare. It was a nightmare in which she didn’t even recognize that it was him that was with her.
He turned the light off, and left her alone in the room. He went into his office, which was right next to his bedroom. Closing the door softly behind him, he went over to his desk where he had a bottle of foa and couple of glasses to serve to his guests. He poured himself a glass and downed it in one swift gulp. The foa burned the entire way down until it hit his stomach. He poured another full glass. This time he did not gulp it down, but instead took a mouth full and swished it around a bit in his mouth before swallowing it. He sat down in his office chair and spun himself around in the direction of the window. The two moons of Theron were high and were at their brightest light in the dark night sky. He didn’t understand why this was happening. Things had been going so well for them up until twenty minutes ago. How could he have allowed himself that moment of weakness? He had scared the crap out of her, but he really didn’t understand why.
What the hell had happened to her in the past that would have caused such a violent reaction? She said she was going to tell his wife, and that he was supposed to be taking care of her. What was all that about? Was it the secret that he had been searching for all this time? Could it be the secret that was behind her mistrust of others that caused her tendency for self-seclusion? Was this why she wouldn’t let him in her life? He sat there berating himself for his actions, when a thought suddenly became clear to him. If anything good came of her reaction tonight, it was the fact that he had managed to unintentionally break through one of the sturdy walls that she had built around her heart.
Chapter 9
The small fighter had only just barely managed to escape the atmosphere during the onslaught of the cooperative attack by the Therons and Pernmocks on the Drylon base located on the surface of the nearly dead planet, UV-49. He and one other Drylon soldier made it to the one and only remaining intact Drylon fighter on the runway, and had escaped the inferno in the nick of time. The only problem was that he wasn’t quite sure how to fly the damn Drylon craft. In his haste to escape from Zeb, who had arrived at the base looking to retrieve his mate Avery, Lars bullied the Drylon soldier that he found abandoning the base at the same time and forced the soldier to allow him accompany him. Once they were safely off the planet and had their course set for the planet Drylon, Lars was finally able to realize the magnitude of Hano’s betrayal.
Lars couldn’t understand what had changed. He and Hano had been friends for years now, and even though at times they quarreled, they always had each other’s back, or so he thought. Lars killed his friend in cold blood, during a moment of pure anger and didn’t feel any regret for his actions. Now, the only option he had would be to try and seek asylum from Emperor Gatton on the planet Drylon. The only rub in his plan was that there was no doubt in his mind that the Emperor would think that Lars had betrayed him, and in doing so, led the Theron warriors to his location at the recently reoccupied base. It didn’t matter how he spun his story, he had no choice but to head to Drylon and see where his fate lied. If he went back to Theron, his fate would be unquestionably death.
Slowly but surely, the small Drylon fighter was able to complete the long journey to the planet Drylon. When they began their approach to the domed city,
the Drylon pilot radioed in to inform the Emperor that, of the remaining soldiers stationed at the base on UV-49, he and one other person were the only survivors to escape. The Emperor would now know that the base was now completely destroyed. Immediately, they wanted to know the identity of the other survivor. The pilot glanced in Lars’ direction then replied back in the Drylon language that the survivor was a Theron warrior, who assured him numerous times on the voyage that he was working directly for the Emperor. A few minutes later, the pilot was given instructions on where to land. When they touched down, they were both to remain in the small fighter craft until someone came to meet them. If they made any attempt to leave the craft before then, they would be shot without question.
Lars nervously watched through the window of the space craft as they descended through the atmosphere and through the opening of the domed city. Numerous soldiers were swarming over the landing strip, stationing themselves in a circular pattern that completely surrounded the fighter as it touched down. The pilot switched off the engine then sat completely still awaiting further instruction. This confused Lars.
“Open the hatch, you fool!” He shouted at the pilot.
The pilot turned his body slightly in his seat until he was face to face with the big Theron warrior, “I have my instructions Theron, and I will not do a thing until I am given further orders. I refuse to die today, for a Theron scumbag like you. Now, sit down and shut up!”
Lars was taken aback at the way the Drylon pilot spoke to him. Lars was much larger than him and could crush the little fragile pilot’s neck with a simple grip of his hand. “You will not…” And, before he could finish what he was going to say, the pilot spoke into his communicator and popped the hatch to the fighter.
Outside the window Lars could see as the soldiers moving in, forming a very tight ring surrounding the craft. Obviously, from the looks of it, the Emperor wanted to see Lars immediately. Lars jumped out of the hatch and climbed down to the ground in one fluid agile movement. Several of the soldiers moved in closer to him, and another soldier actually jabbed the barrel of his weapon into Lars’ back.
