by C. Baely
Time ran fast, as did they. A scream of pain broke through the silence of the forest. Sara looked at her friend standing a few feet behind her, leaning over her left ankle, rubbing it. Her face looked torn by pain. Her eyes were shut, her lips drawn into a hard line. It looked as though she was biting her lower lip, trying not to let another cry escape her.
“Are you all right?”” Sara approached her.
“Yes it’s nothing. I just felt a sharp pain and thought I tore a muscle or something, but now it’s better.”
“Will you be able to go on?” Sara breathed sharply, looking wearily around them.
Orora looked up at Sara.
Sara frowned, her gaze searching the dark forest, worried. She squinted slightly, trying to view beyond the trees. She turned her head sideways, standing still, listening to their surroundings. Sara wondered if they’d ever find their way back, but then she noticed how the forest around them had fallen into a still, eerie silence. She felt like someone was watching them, following them.
“Do you hear that?” Maybe she was being paranoid, but at this point she figured it paid to be, at least a little.
“What? I don’t hear anything.” Orora spoke in a hushed whisper while looking at Sara questioningly.
“Exactly.”
“We don’t know this place. It could be this silent all the time,” commented Orora. “Let’s keep running.”
“I don’t know what, but there’s something strange going on. It feels like we’re being watched.” She looked around to ensure nobody was with them.
“Oh, don’t be silly. We would have heard something by now. Plus, we’ve been running for hours. Anyone chasing us would have given up by now.” Orora dismissed Sara’s concern.
Suddenly, something whooshed past Sara. She lost her balance and fell against a tree trunk. By the time she’d composed herself, her friend was gone, vanished into thin air.
“Orora!” Sara called out, but there was no reply. A deadly silence settled around her as she shivered, feeling lost and alone. All she could do was keep running, she told herself, fighting to focus her thoughts, she sprinted off as fast as she could.
Chapter 3
Sara covered a great distance before she stopped to look back. She looked behind her at the vastness of the forest surrounding her. Her nostrils flared, breathing some long-needed air to feed her pained lungs. She lowered her eyelids. Her hand drew through her long hair, trying to dismiss her worry for her lost friend. She shook her head in silence, her guilt for leaving Orora behind still tormenting her.
Sara exhaled in frustration, bringing her hand down from her head in one sharp move as though erasing the unpleasant thoughts eating her up inside. She turned to move once more. She knew running was her only option.
Pushing the feeling away, she turned to leave only to slam into something as hard as rock. She stepped back to look and saw nothing other than a wall of blue and black muscle. Two long arms then quickly enveloped her.
Sara’s breath was taken away as she lifted her head and stared into a pair of unnatural yellow-flecked eyes. The eyes stared back at her with cold indifference, yet a warmth passed through her, rushing like electricity, kicking her senses into action. She stepped back, trying to move as far away from him as possible, but to her surprise, she felt no strong sense of fear. He gently lowered his arms to his sides, and his yellow eyes observed her carefully as if anticipating her next move. His unnatural stillness kept her frozen in place, unable to move, even if her life depended on it.
He’s toying with me! Sara considered the creature’s passive manner and slow movements. It was not even possible to be certain whether he had actually stepped forward or not.
“Stop it,” she nearly shouted at him, unable to control the trembling sensation rising from the depths of her soul.
“You are mine,” he said in a low growl, with his yellow-flecked eyes fixed squarely on hers.
A bead of sweat trickled down Sara’s spine as she stared at this huge Pradorian and wondered what her next move should be. She backed away again. A sense of fear triggered her anger again, and she spat her next words at him. “I’m human! You’re a monster!” As she continued backing away, she felt, rather than saw, him move closer. “Leave me alone!”
The large Pradorian’s legs moved fluidly without a flaw. His broad shoulders spread proudly, and his defined chin jutted out with all of the confidence in the world. He looked like a tiger on the prowl. Sara turned and ran as fast as she could, but to her amazement, he was again right in front of her, standing perfectly still in the same unearthly manner as before.
“Stop running. No matter where you go, I will find you. Even if you were to elude me, this planet is alien to you. Not only would you be lost, you wouldn’t survive very long.” He seemed annoyed at her futile attempts to escape. “You are going to get tired eventually.” His voice lowered to a threatening growl. “Besides, I could keep this up all night. Could you?”
The adrenaline and strength drained from her body as he spoke. He was right. Tired as she was, she couldn’t keep this up for long, but she hoped she could at least keep him away and maybe stall him.
“You’re right. I need to rest.” She eyed him cautiously. Sara needed to think of something soon. Her feet were killing her, and her legs felt like jelly. Her heart had pounded so hard, for so long, that her chest ached, and the stitch in her side wasn’t going away.
The creature’s wild eyes watched her as she leaned against a tree. He was definitely well built she thought as she returned his stare. He reminded her of a body builder, only a bit slimmer and much taller. His hair was pulled back tightly and looked as though it had been painted on. Sara realized he was the alien that had so authoritatively dealt with the Restorians in the clearing, so she figured he was probably the leader of his tribe, or whatever they called it. She remembered how the little green creature had called him “Great Vasil.” Sara’s curiosity got the better of her. “What are you?”
The being gazed down at her and answered, the pride blooming in his voice. “I am a warrior, a Pradorian. I am the leader of my clan. You may call me Archail.”
Sara thought he was much too self-confident, so she threw a remark she thought might bring him down a notch, “If you’re such a great warrior, what do you need human women for? Don’t you have your own females to breed with?” When his chest expanded to the point of almost bursting, she regretted her comment.
“The women of your world are inferior creatures, and we don’t use them often, but not all breeding stock is suitable for us. We prefer to choose a stock that is plentiful and useless to others. Since there are very few females we can breed with. We choose which ones to keep and which to discard.” He dismissed her concerns as if he was talking about spoiled meat, explaining the difference between good and bad meat to a five-year-old child.
“What do you think we are? Garbage?” Sara spat at him. Archail couldn’t miss the blazing rage in her eyes. The semblance of a smile played at the corners of his mouth as the thought of making her mad amused him.
His posture had relaxed, but he turned for a moment and directed his attention toward the trees behind him as if hearing something. A renewed desire to escape arose again within Sara. Without giving him a chance to anticipate her, she pushed herself silently away from the tree she was leaning on. With surprising speed, she ran.
She didn’t hear any sounds of pursuit behind her as she continued running, determined to get as far away from him as she could.
While racing carelessly among fallen branches, thick multi-colored leaves flew up in Sara’s wake. Small, dark puddles almost caused her to lose her balance a few times. She approached a clearing, spurring her to find the energy to run faster. Maybe she could find a place to hide.
Her thoughts were cut short when she finally heard him closing behind her. Blinded by her hope of escape, Sara screamed and forced herself to run faster again. While trying to look over her shoulder, she failed to spot the vast lake
in front of her, at least until it was too late.
As she reached the shore of the lake, Sara tripped and went flying into the deep, dark blue waters. Her instincts for survival took hold, and she swam with long, powerful strokes, trying to distance herself from the shore and the big Pradorian warrior. It was some time before she realized that no matter how hard she tried to swim forward, she didn’t seem to get anywhere.
Her heart jumped in fear when she saw how far away from the other shore she was. She had no idea what type of creatures lived in this lake. The water encircled her in its bright welcoming embrace. It weighed heavily on her body, the pressure making her skin warm, the feeling of being dragged beneath this watery grave made her splash like a fish out of its habitat. She crushed her arms on its surface trying to move forward.
She panicked. Sara threw all her energy into swimming, but exhaustion weighed heavily before she got any closer to the far shore. It was as if she wasn’t moving. To make matters worse, a current was trying to drag her under the water.
Sara tried to escape the current, but it was too powerful for her. Her arms hurt unbearably. The sensation in her legs was momentarily lost. Her breathing came out rushed, small gasps escaping her lips mixed with water closing off her air. She tried hard to keep afloat. Her body burned from exhaustion, while splashing around, without reaching to break loose from its deadly grasp. The thought of screaming was forefront in her mind, but she couldn’t see anyone on the shore, not even her blue pursuer, Archail.
As she desperately tried to escape the current, an excruciating pain tore through her leg as a muscle cramped. She screamed for help just before she sank beneath the surface.
Sara’s body burned. It felt as if icy hands were scratching at her throat and pulling on her legs. She couldn’t breathe or move, and everything grew dim around her. A strong blue arm suddenly wrapped around her waist. With a couple of swift movements, she was once again on the surface of the lake. Being held tight to her captor’s body, she was drawn quickly toward the shore.
“What were you thinking?” Archail snapped, as soon as they were safely on the shore.
“I told you to leave me alone.” She coughed up water. Sara rubbed her leg, which still felt like it was in a vice, yet being pulled apart.
“Was it your intention to drown yourself?” Archail accused, giving her a reprimanding stare like a parent would give to a child.
“I was running away from you remember?” Sara yelled back, vexed, and continued rubbing her leg without looking up at her savior.
“You are an idiotic child,” he concluded in a superior tone.
“And you are,” Sara began, planning to say something profound, but when she looked at him, she ended up staring at his naked groin with amazement. There was nothing male there, nothing hanging before her eyes. He was simply flat there, and she looked dumfounded when she finally ended her sentence. “Naked.”
“There is no need to state the obvious.” He smiled wickedly, causing his canine teeth to look even more menacing than before. “What’s wrong with your leg?” He scowled as he watched her rub it.
Sara looked away from him and tried to steer her thoughts away from how a woman could mate with something without a penis. “It’s none of your damn business,” she spat at him like venom, but when she looked up at him and saw his annoyed and angry expression, she ended up aloofly adding, “It hurts.”
“Let me see it.” Archail knelt down and placed his hands carefully on her calf.
“Don’t touch me.” She yelled, trying to pull away instinctively.
“I am only trying to help you. Sit still.” He growled, warningly as he handled her leg with the expertise of a physiotherapist. He placed his fingers just above the sensitive area and applied a little pressure, making the pain vanish immediately. “Are you better now?” He studied her reaction closely. Sara’s reddish-copper hair ran down her breasts, wet and dripping from the unplanned dip in the lake’s waters. Her clothes stuck to her skin, emphasizing the rich curves of her youthful body and making heat creep up her cheeks.
“Yes, that’s much better now.” Sara pushed his hand away, a little confused by his interest in her well-being. Feeling his intense stare, she lowered her gaze in fear of what she would see in those yellow eyes.
“Then you best get up so we can go to my cave.” He grabbed his loincloth without giving her a second glance.
“Cave?” exclaimed Sara, “You live in a cave?”
“Where else would a monster live if not in a cave?” Archail retorted, the irony hanging heavily between them.
Annoyance flared for a moment, as she realized he was quoting her words from earlier. She stood up and waited, watching him. Her instincts were rising quickly as her ears filled with the echoing sound of a loud heartbeat racing. Her blood floated, burning warm in pumping veins, causing her body to tense. Her muscles were on the ready for quick movement leading to escape. The burden of feeling warned made the need to run hold foremost in the front of her mind. It wasn’t in her plan to end up in a cave with a primitive species. She didn’t want to just passively accept this situation, which involved what? Letting him force her to mate with him and keep her prisoner as a breeding slave? And then, he would find out the truth, she thought with fear growing in her heart.
She would have to try to escape from this planet as soon as possible. Her instincts wanted her to run now that she was on dry land again and had the chance to flee, but something in her mind held her back. Perhaps it was the memories of her past life telling her that rushed decisions were not always the best ones. Maybe if she followed Archail, she could learn something that would help her. With this last thought in mind, she followed him, though a nagging warning feeling, building within, held her in alert.
Once they left the treacherous lake behind, they walked only a few minutes before they reached a large door carved into a rock face. So much for the stereotypical cave entrance.
Archail stopped to place his long hand on the wall and made a hissing sound. The door opened in response, and a soft light shone from inside. Her brow lifted quizzically.
Archail entered and waited for Sara to follow him. She eyed the entrance for a long moment before cautiously stepping inside, jumping in panic when the door automatically closed behind her. Taking deep breathes to calm her racing heart, she walked down a dimly lit corridor. They then passed into another room that, to her amazement, held considerable beauty. As her gaze darted around the room, she noted how everything seemed perfectly arranged.
The transparent, stone floor was made from an arrangement of square-cut tiles that glowed different colors. A long table stood in the middle of the room with four uniquely shaped chairs around it. A white rug, which appeared to be made of some sort of fur, was spread over part of the floor.
Everything seemed to be comfortable enough, but she wondered why there was only one room. Where did he cook and sleep, and where was the washroom? These were all essentials surely, even for aliens. Sara imagined roasting rats on a spit outside and burying her feces with a small shovel. She shook her head to dispel the images and cleared her throat. Even though she felt embarrassed for bringing up such a personal matter, she summoned up some courage and hesitantly asked, “Do you have a toilet?” She really wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“Ah, you mean a place to relieve your biological needs.” Archail moved toward a wall. Just touching it with his hand caused another door to open, revealing a rather large room that held every form of toiletry anyone could ask for. Only the theme of the floor tiles continued into that room. The rest of its furniture was sculpted from something resembling black granite, and it shone with an amazingly soft light. Portions of the walls seamlessly jutted out to form various shelves and counters. Everything was immaculate clean and exquisitely crafted.
Sara stepped hesitantly into the bathroom, intending to relieve herself, but she stopped when she noticed there was no toilet paper anywhere. “Do you have any toilet paper?”
“No.” He turned to leave.
“Wait!” she called out, annoyed with his dismissive answer. “How do I…cleanse myself once I’ve finished?”
“As strange as it may sound to you, the unit will automatically emit a sonic beam that will clean and sterilize you, so you have no need for something as archaic as paper.” He waved a hand and the door slid shut.
Alone and hopefully with some privacy, Sara wasted no time in making good use of the facilities.
Chapter 4
Sara pounded against the door, pain running down her arms, while knocking on what she hoped was the door. “Get me out of here!”
The door slid open unexpectedly and she fell through the opening right into Archail’s torso. He gently closed his arms around her to steady her.
“Where have you been?” She pulled back from his embrace. Her embarrassment had reached new levels after being so helpless to leave the washroom. Her recent panic then turned to anger. “I’ve been beating on what I hoped was the door for quite some time now!”
“I picked some fruit for you.” A hint of amusement tinged his voice.
Sara considered retaliating with something like, You could have told me how to open the door before you left, or I wasn’t going to take that long, but she finally decided on a simple, “I see…” Looking somewhat dumbfounded by his interest in feeding her, she wondered if there was a hidden agenda behind this act of apparent kindness.
Archail moved toward the table where the fruits and vegetables lay. He picked up an orange-colored fruit and handed it to her. “Here, try some obicon. It’s good for you.”
Sara looked at the sleek, smooth fruit suspiciously before raising it slowly to her mouth. She paused before taking a bite. “Maybe I shouldn’t eat this. It could give me some kind of rash or worse.” She walked over to the table and placed the fruit back with the others.
