Yahn: Paranormal Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Alien Mates Book 4)

by Ashley L. Hunt

  “I’ve been using my resource scanner to see where the supply of food and game is most plentiful. The mountains to the south seem to be our closest bet,” I said as we shared the dwindling supply of our meat around the campfire.

  “How long do you think it will take us to reach them?” Jessie asked as the night winds blew her beautiful hair into her face.

  “It should only take about a day’s hike according to my calculations,” I said.

  “Once we are there, we should find plenty of food for ourselves. Enough to last as long as we need.”

  “That’s good to know. Yahn, I have to tell you- I’m homesick. As much as I love you and as beautiful as this place is, I think about home all the time. I wish there was some way for me to relay a message to my mother and father just to let them know that I’m alive and well.”

  “I know what you mean,” I said, clutching her hand. “I feel this homesickness too, but I have also come to terms with the fact that I have no home to go back to. I get the feeling that you may yet have the opportunity to see your homeland again,” I said, optimistically. From time to time, I would get premonitions about the future that would often turn out to be true. I felt strongly about the prediction that I had made, but I also sensed that it would be a challenging situation if we were to find ourselves visiting Earth.

  The next day, we turned our attention to packing up camp and heading into the interior. It was a little emotional because we had grown attached to our green pasture in the midst of the forest. The field was beginning to bloom with all sorts of red and purple flowers, some of which towered above our heads. We said goodbye to our temporary home and headed off towards the mountains in the south. The trek was a steep one once we reached the mountains. The vegetation was lush and thick on the mountain slopes and the mist hung in large pockets above the treetops. We reached an overlook and gazed back at the clearing far below.

  “What a beautiful view. Look, you can see our clearing from here,” Jessie said, clutching my hand.

  “Yes, the view is quite nice,” I said, looking at her. We kissed and then continued until we reached the crest of the mountains. The trees gave way to an alpine meadow where we decided to set up camp. There was plenty of fruit on the journey up to the top, so we gorged on fruit that night, filling our bellies. The night air was chilly on the mountain top, so we huddled in close around the campfire, enjoying the warmth of each other’s bodies.

  “So strange that we have this whole planet to ourselves, other than the animals and plants of course,” Jessie said.

  “Yes, I do pick up a slight higher reading for life forms, but it is only that. When my parents would take me here, they would tell me about the Padureans that lived on the far side of the planet. They told me there were tribes of beings that lived deep in the forest that had green skin. They apparently could blend in so well with the greenery that they could be standing right next to you, and you wouldn’t even be able to see them. These tribes would war amongst themselves and form allegiances with others. Their lifestyle was very primitive. They would wear very little clothing and live at one with the forest instead of destroying it for their own purposes as they have done on many planets, including your Earth,” I said.

  “So what happened to them? Where are they all?” Jessie asked.

  “I have no idea. Maybe our journey will reveal some answers. Maybe we will find some ruins or some evidence to fill in the blanks for us,” I said.

  “Look!” Jessie said as she pointed to the sky. I was amazed to see three moons visible in the night sky. One of them was full, the other was a crescent and the third, hanging lowest in the sky was a half moon.

  “Gorgeous,” I said as I clutched her hand. Soon the fire died and we began to fall asleep. I was awoken by a strange chanting noise coming from behind the tree line to our south.

  “Jessie wake up, there’s someone in the forest!” I whispered, shaking her.

  We both jumped up and armed ourselves with our laser cannons.

  The sound of the chanting was otherworldly and eerie. We attempted to run back towards the north, but soon we could hear the chanting in this direction as well.

  “Who are you?” I asked, turning on my language decoder so that I could make out the words they were chanting in the darkness.

  “Revenge will be ours!” The words of the chanting creatures became clear and chilled us both to the bone.

  Soon the creatures came into view. They were transparent green creatures, somewhat like humans, but taller with long arms and bulbous heads. Their eyes were much larger than a human’s and glowed in the dark. They hovered above the ground and closed in around us.

  I tried to use my powers to keep them from moving closer, but I was unable to affect their motion in any way. It was quickly becoming apparent that these Padureans were no longer living. They were phantoms, destined to walk their planet seeking revenge for some fate that had been foisted upon them.

  “We mean you no harm!” I said.

  “Revenge will be ours!” they continued to chant, only louder this time.

  “Quickly, this way!” Jessie shouted as she grabbed my hand and led me off towards the east. There was an opening in that direction, although their ranks were quickly closing in an attempt to surround us.

  We ran as fast as we could through the forest, as the chanting grew fainter. However, they were following us, shortening the distance between us. We came to a cleft in the mountain and Jessie’s flashlight soon revealed a wooden door in the side of the mountain.

  “Look there, a door! I say we knock on it. The ghosts are getting closer!” Jessie said.

  “Ok, it’s worth a try, I hope the person living inside is friendly,” I said.

  Jessie knocked on the door as we looked behind us and saw the phantoms growing closer and closer.

  “Hello? Please let us in!” Jessie said. The door abruptly opened and a bearded human looked out at us.

  “Quickly, come inside!” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.

  We went into his house and he quickly shut the door. He was wearing a grey cloak and sandals. He turned to us and gave us a greeting.

  “Welcome, my name is David Hopkins. You will be safe here until morning, but then you will be on your way.”

  I looked inside and saw a fire with a cauldron on it. The smell of a fragrant stew reached my nostrils and reminded me that I was still hungry.

  “Have a seat and tell me who you are and what your business in Padure is,” he said as he went over to the cauldron and scooped out its contents into two wooden bowls. We sat down on stone chairs and I began to tell him our entire story.

  “That is quite a tale. I must admit the last thing I expected to find at my door this evening was a human girl and a male Karkastian,” he said with a laugh.

  “We are only too grateful for your hospitality. Will we be safe from the phantoms here?” Jessie asked him.

  “Oh yes, as long as you don’t venture out there before dawn, you will be alright. The ghosts that you see are all that remains of the Padurean tribes that used to exist all throughout these vast forests. The Sarceastians killed them all some time ago. Now these restless spirits walk during the night, seeking revenge for the deeds committed against them.”

  “I should have known. The Sarceastians will never rest until they’ve destroyed the universe,” I said.

  “Their reckless slaughter will one day be their undoing,” David said.

  “So how did you come to be here?” Jessie asked.

  “I was once a member of an Earth expedition crew just as you were,” he said to Jessie.

  “I was asked to kill a Karkastian and I refused. They told me that I would be exiled for my disobedience, so I took an escape pod and came here. I have been living on my own ever since that time. You don’t know how pleased I am to have company,” he said with a smile.

  “It is so sad that there continues to be such conflict between our people,” I said as I looked at David.

  “Ye
s, it is a shame. I knew that Karkastians were not evil creatures. The deeds of a few cannot be used to judge the many,” David said. “How do you like your stew?”

  “It is the most tasty thing we’ve had in a while,” Jessie said. “We were beginning to run low on our food supplies. That’s why we ventured over the mountains and into this area.”

  “There is enough food and game in these mountains to last you a lifetime,” he said. “But the spirits of the Padureans will always pose a threat until they can have their revenge. When a Sarceastian sacrifice is made to them, the curse will be lifted and they will finally be at peace. Until such a time, they will walk the planet with an insatiable bloodlust.”

  “If I had my way, I would provide them with a whole army of Sarceastians. I too crave revenge. They killed my entire family and most of the inhabitants of my planet,” I said.

  “That is very sad to hear, but as I said before, it will be their eventual undoing,” David said. “I have a sixth sense about such things.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Yahn

  We chose to stay with David for a while and thought about setting up our own place nearby. There was plenty of food and game in the area to the west, and everything seemed safe enough as long as we stayed away from the haunted valley to the east where the cursed Padureans haunted the forest. I woke up early in the morning as Jessie slept, and decided to go on a hunt to the west. David was already up drinking coffee when I began to set out.

  “Good luck on the hunt. There are golden stags in this forest and their meat is a delicacy if you are quick enough to catch one. They are speedy devils,” David said.

  “Yes, thank you. I will keep an eye out for them,” I said.

  I began to walk through the sun-dappled forest, listening to the sounds of the numerous bird species in the trees above my head. The color of the trees was beginning to change, indicating the oncoming fall. The forest was ablaze with dazzling reds, oranges, yellows, and even blue colors. I heard the sound of hoofs in front of me, so I broke into a run to try and catch up with them. As I climbed a ridge, I saw a herd of golden stags retreating. I tried to get a shot off at one of them, but I missed. The herd disappeared from view. I climbed to the top of the ridge where there was a small rocky clearing. I looked around the surrounding ridges to try and spot some more game. What I saw instead, made me feel slightly alarmed. There was a Sarceastian ship landing in a nearby clearing. I saw several of them coming out of the ship and walking in the direction of David’s house. I gave up the hunt at that point and began to run back towards the cabin. I had to warn them so that we could figure out what to do about our new visitors.

  When I got back to David’s cabin, Jessie was sitting on the front porch enjoying her coffee. She seemed surprised to see me running back towards the cabin.

  “Is everything alright?” she asked.

  “Now it’s not. The Sarceastians have landed in a nearby valley and they are heading this way. Come on, we must tell David,” I said. We went inside to tell David. He opened his closet and began to hand each of us a laser cannon.

  “We mustn’t stay here. We must wait in the forest and try and ambush them. They will pick up on our presence with their life detectors and will likely be here at any moment.”

  We exited the got out of the cabin and took up positions behind the large trees. David hid on one side and Jessie and I hid on the other. We didn’t have to wait long before the Sarceastians came walking towards the cabin.

  “Are you still picking up on life forms?” one of them asked.

  “Yes sir. According to my readings they are very close.”

  “Let’s surround the cabin. That is more than likely where they are holed up,” the leader said.

  We waited until they were in firing range just in front of the cabin. David fired first, disintegrating the leader. The others turned towards the tree where David hid and soon the tree was engulfed in flames. David had to run and hide behind a rock. Jessie and I began to fire on the rest of them from the other side. We managed to hit four of them, but there was a fifth that managed to escape into the forest, firing back at us as he ran.

  “Quickly, after him! We can’t let any of them get away!” David shouted. The three of us ran through the forest. The Sarceastian was running for his life towards the east.

  Finally, we came to the boundary of the haunted valley of the Padureans.

  “We should stop here,” David said.

  “Are you sure? He’s getting away!” Jessie said.

  “Yes, just watch,” he said. We were up on a hill overlooking the haunted valley. We could see the Sarceastian off in the distance running for his life. Then, all of a sudden, the phantom Padureans appeared in a circle around him. He turned and ran in the opposite direction as if he would rather take his chances against us. He had no desire to do battle with these creatures from beyond the grave. More Padureans came in to surround him, and soon he was completely encircled by them. The Padureans moved in and soon we could hear an awful shriek being given off as the Padureans attacked the lone Sarceastian. Soon, there was nothing left of him. The Padureans began to hold their arms up towards the sky as one of them spoke in an eerie voice.

  “Now the curse has been lifted. We have been given a sacrifice to avenge the dead. Now we can go to our eternal rest!”

  One by one, the Padureans disappeared into the air until none of them remained. The only thing left was the cloak of the Sarceastian.

  “Now they can be at peace. The curse has been lifted!” David said.

  “What about the Sarceastians? Do you think there are any of them left?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. If I know the Sarceastians, it’s likely that they have left someone behind to guard the ship. We must make sure that none is left alive. Then we will need to communicate with their leaders to make sure that no more are sent as back up,” David said. So, we began the long trek down towards the valley where the Sarceastian ship was located.

  “Let’s make sure that we are cautious. The last thing we want is for the remaining creatures to be alerted of our presence. We need to be as stealthy as possible,” David said. We split up again- David approached from the west and we approached the ship from the east. When we reached the small clearing, there was no sign of life anywhere near the ship. We got as close as we could while still trying to stay behind the trees in order to give ourselves some cover. It wasn’t long before a door slid open from the side of the ship and a cloaked Sarceastian began to descend the ramp.

  “Hello, Hermitis do you read me?” the creature spoke. “Jermitonis, are you there?” He held a laser gun in front of him and proceeded to walk within feet of where David was hidden behind the tree. In a flash, David shot his laser gun and the creature shrieked as it disintegrated into thin air.

  “Come on, we have to see if there are more of them on board,” David said quietly. David led the way and we followed close behind him as he walked towards the ship. All of us had our weapons ready just in case there were more of them.

  David cautiously boarded the ship. He could hear voices coming from their communication radios from their home base.

  “Sargost, do you read me? I said, do you read me?” the voice said over the radio.

  We walked all around the round perimeter of the ship and found no remaining Sarceastians on board.

  “That seems to be all of them. I will try to talk to their commanders and convince them that the life forms they are looking for have been terminated. I just hope my language skills won’t fail me. It has been a long time since I tried to speak in Sarceastian,” he said as he made his way back into the front room of the ship. He picked up the headset device that lay on the ground as the voice from the commander came over the radio again. I had my language decoder device switched on so that I could understand what was being said.

  “Sargost, if you don’t answer soon, we will dispatch a backup expedition. Sir, I’m not hearing from any of the crew. I think something must have gone w
rong,” the voice said.

  “This is Sargost reporting in,” David said.

  “Sargost, you sound different. Is everything ok down there?” the commander asked.

  “Yes sir. I have caught some sort of virus down here and it has affected the sound of my voice. A few of our radio transmitters are malfunctioning, which is why you aren’t hearing from the others. We have terminated the life forms and will be returning home shortly,” David said.

  “That is good to hear Sargost. Have you extracted the minerals and fuel from the surface of the planet yet?”

  “Negative. We are in the process of amassing the resources now. We wanted to make sure that our progress wasn’t hampered by the life forms that we detected.”

  “What were the life forms? The Padureans are extinct so we were quite surprised to find a life reading that wasn’t a wild animal,” the commander asked.

  “It was two humans and a Karkastian,” David answered.

  “The Karkastian and humans were together?” the voice said.

  “We believe the humans had captured the Karkastian,” David said.

  “Hmm, that makes more sense. Are you picking up on any more life readings? We can send back up if you require it.”

  “Negative sir. Our life readings are registering at zero. We believe that we have taken care of the threat,” David said.

  “That is good news, Sargost. We will check in later to see how the mineral extraction is going.”

  “Thank you sir, over and out,” David said, switching off the communication radio.

  “Whew, my Sarceastian language skills are better than I thought they would be. It seems to have worked,” David said.

  “So what should we do now?” Jessie asked.