“They are landing,” Marcus told them. “They may be trying to find us instead of destroying us outright,” he whispered.
“That or since they can’t get us by bombing from overhead, they want to find us and make sure when they shoot us,” Kirkpatrick pointed out.
Gillian felt a coldness enter her with his words; she threw up a wall of sarcasm.
“Thanks, man. I am glad you are here to keep the mood light, jeez,” she said. He looked embarrassed and Marcus laughed softly, throwing her a look. Gillian felt a little bad but ran with the other two to keep ahead of the Earth First people.
“We should have some time. They will want to search the base completely before moving on,” Kirkpatrick said hopefully. Gillian reached out and squeezed his shoulder in appreciation of the change in tone.
“That is the hope. Unless they have enough people to split formations,” Marcus said and Gillian sighed. Great, if it is not one of them scaring her it is the other. Marcus obviously felt her fear.
“Sorry, I really do think we have some time so I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said.
“I would!” She heard an unfamiliar voice as they ran into a clearing. There were five aliens standing with large weapons pointed at them. Gillian felt a sudden wish that Surveyors were equipped with weapons. Marcus had explained that no surveyors had any weapons, beyond their own strength, since they were on peaceful missions. Gillian groaned and Marcus stepped up between her, Kirkpatrick and the Earth First squad.
“So you are going to kill two sentient earthlings? How can you justify your existence as a group promoting the best for all?” He asked with a rumbling fury in his voice. Only then could she feel the pure rage he must have been suppressing. She trembled to hear it, even though she knew it was in his friend’s defense.
“Hard decisions are sometimes necessary Surveyor. If the regrettable deaths of two earth people guarantee that Earth is closed down for future exploration then it will be worth it,” The leader said.
He was a tall alien, about Marcuse’s size without his bulk. They all wore red jumpsuits and boots but he stood in the center and had a strange badge on his chest. It looked like one of the letters she had seen as part of their alphabet. She assumed he was the leader anyway.
“So you are more concerned with your own agenda and not the lives you say you do. Interesting, you can call it a hard decision but I find most of those are nothing more than people trying to justify their actions. I imagine not your entire group is behind this raid you are leading,” Marcuse said. Gillian did not like how the Earth First guys were tightening their grip on their weapons.
She felt her chest tighten and tears come to her eyes. She felt she was about to die and realized death was a thing to be feared. Her usual defenses against fear were not applicable in this case. She could do nothing except stand there and wait. She trembled and Kirkpatrick moved closer to her side. She felt a comfort knowing he was there and Marcus was doing his best to defend her. She saw Marcus tense, as if he was about to do something drastic. She could actually feel his determination when there was roaring sound and her hair was whipped around by a sudden wind. She crouched with Kirkpatrick and Marcus turned and put his arms around them both as a voice on a loudspeaker boomed.
“Everyone hold positions! This is Fleet command! All earth First operatives throw down your weapons or we will act with extreme prejudice!” The booming voice said. The wind continued to howl and Marcus muttered curses, holding her tight in his protective arms. Some of his determination seeped into her and she lost her tears and her anger and strength came back to her as the wind finally calmed down. They looked up and saw the Earth First people on the ground with their hands over their heads. Light began building around the five people, forming a dome over their position.
“Well it’s about time,” Marcus said looking up. Gillian could not see anyone but he was answered.
“We wanted to wait until they stated their intentions. It will make it easier for a conviction. Earth First will lose all credibility over this incident and cease to be a problem. I don’t know what you were worried about Marcus. We had it under control,” This time it was Gillian who cursed softly under her breath.
They could have told them that! She pushed her hair out of her face. It had completely escaped the tie and she tried to twist it at the nape of her neck. Marcus glanced at her with a wink, her anxiety begin to ease and she grinned. Looking over at Kirkpatrick she saw that he wasn’t even ruffled. How did he do it, she wondered?
Then she heard a laugh. It was a maniacal thing that made her turn back to the Earth First prisoners. One of them was standing under the glimmering dome that covered them. He had a small piece of machinery in his hands and it was beginning to glow.
“Under control do you? You are no match for true determination and conviction,” the leader shouted and began laughing as the device he held began making a strange rumbling sound. Marcus turned to them with panic in his eyes and shoved both Gillian and his butler back the way they had originally come.
“Run! Run!” Shouted and they did. Gillian did not know what that device was but she ran as fast as she could. They had maybe made it halfway back towards the hut when there was an explosion behind her that felt like she was hit in the back with a hot club. She felt herself lift off the ground and fly through the air. She heard herself scream as her shoulder slammed into a tree and blackness took her.
As Gillian came to, she could hear a conversation. She felt pain through her right side, especially her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw she was lying in the bushes. She had leaves tangled in her hair and felt like she had been beaten up. She got to her feet. Her right shoulder was howling pain but she somehow managed to push that aside. Pain just means I am still alive, she told herself grimly. She moved as quietly to the sound of the voices. One of them was a weary-sounding Marcus.
“So kill me then. You have already killed what I love, why let me live? Get it over with, murderer,” he said. Peering through the bushes, she could see Marcus looking about how she felt. Barely keeping his feet and seeming like he had given up on hope. She could not see Kirkpatrick anywhere.
The big Earth First guy was not far from where she was and she felt herself crouch. She had a picture in her mind at how she would finish this. Gillian had no idea if it would work, but she had nothing else and she refused to just give up. She was ashamed at how she had just stood and waited to be shot earlier. Not this time, she told herself viciously.
As she thought it she saw Marcus seem to frown and then his lips twitched. She did not know if he had sensed her or not but she couldn’t wait for the bad guy to know she was there. Without thinking, she burst through the bushes bending low with her good shoulder leading the way, just like she had seen Marcus taking opposing team members down. She connected below the guy’s rear, hitting him with her full weight. It drove him to his knees and he went face first into the dirt.
Her shoulder screamed at her and she rolled to the side gasping and crying out in her pain. She forced herself to remain conscious and saw Marcus pick up the weapon the Earth First leader had held and pointed it down at him.
“If you move I will kill you and not think twice about it. You killed your own people and almost killed a representative of earth. You deserve to die,” he snarled, panting. He glanced over at Gillian and she gave him a weak smile through her pain. He nodded but she could see his concern as he looked back at the now prisoner. When re-enforcements arrived, Gillian let herself go, and everything faded to black again.
Gillian stood on the sand as the sun came up. She was still exhausted, despite the sleep she had got. Her right shoulder was in a mechanical brace that healed the longer she wore it. The rest of her felt bruised but not as bad as she might have been. Marcus was talking to several of his people down by the water where a submersible craft was parked. Kirkpatrick limped up next to her. His leg was in a brace like hers.
“Do you know what you are going to do Gillian?” He a
sked quietly.
“I don’t know. I know what I want to do but… it is a big decision,” she answered. “Do you?” She returned.
“Oh yes. I have known for years. Marcus made the offer when I decided to stay with him. I have no one here to miss me,” he said.
Gillian nodded thinking the same thing. They had learned that the world thought she had died at the ranch along with the star running back and his butler. It was a strange freedom and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Marcus laughed at something the small man he was talking to said. She smiled, feeling his joy even from there. Her lover turned and walked back up the beach towards her and his butler. He was all smiles as if he had no care in the worlds. She could understand the feeling.
“They are ready for you Kirkpatrick. You can go on board now if you like. They will be staying here a few more days. The decision was that all movement on the planet should stop for a time, just in case anything was detected. No one believes it was, but better safe than sorry,” he said. Kirkpatrick had a big smile on his face.
“Thank you, my friend, I have been waiting for this for years. See you soon,” he told Marcus. He hugged Gillian and walked down to the craft floating on the water. Marcus didn’t watch him go, he had eyes for Gillian. Gillian watched her friend and butler go up the ramp and into the ship. Then she turned to her lover.
“I think I know what I want to do, but there is one thing I want more. Are you sure they can wait a day?” She asked concerned he had arranged it just for her.
“I am sure Gillian. I will support whatever you want to do. I meant what I said before. No matter what happens you have given me a great gift to hold to my breast for the rest of my days,” he told her and her eyes misted up. She felt the same and hugged him. After a wonderful moment holding each other, she broke the embrace.
“Then there is one thing I want more than to be with you for the rest of my life,” she said. He looked hesitant but smiled gamely.
“That is,” asked.
“One interrupted night with you on the beach before things start hopping again. Just one, then I will go anywhere with you!” His smile broadened and she giggled. He scooped her up in his arms and she squealed as he ran up the beach with her. She had a brief moment of reflection that it had been the strangest interview she had ever had.
THE END
Another bonus story is on the next page.
Bonus Story 6 of 44
The Moonlit Guardians
Paul ran so hard that his lungs burned in his rib cage. As he ran, his body bent and creaked, transforming from his bear form on all fours back to a man on two long human legs. His brother, Andre, had bothered a den of wolves, and once again Paul was cleaning up one of his brother’s messes. Hopefully, it would be finished before sunset. Once the full moon was high in the sky, the pack would call to any of the werewolves close by, and he and Andre would never stand a chance.
He could see through the dense trees arched over the deserted highway that the sky was painted purple and orange. Night was coming, and they had no shelter. The two brothers beat the pavement, eating up mile after mile to escape the pack of wolves racing about six miles behind them.
“We lost them, right?” Andre gasped from behind him.
Paul could hear his brother’s footsteps fade. He had slowed down to a stop. Paul’s bare, tanned feet skid against the asphalt, and he leaned with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
“Why did you mess with them anyway?” Paul spat out at his
brother.
Andre shook his long blonde hair, causing enormous drops of sweat to hit the ground.
“Answer me, Andy!” Paul said, shoving his brother backward.
“Sorry! I thought the white one was a werewolf. I was just curious, and wanted to see if she wanted to join me at the lake for some … star gazing,” Andre said, smiling.
“Well, she wasn’t. Clearly! How many times do I have to tell you—”
“I know. I know. When I look a werewolf in the eyes, there will be a crescent moon reflected back in one of the eyes. Well, to see that, I gotta get close, right? I was just getting a better look,” Andre said, pulling his long wavy hair into a high ponytail.
“The moon mark is only a wolfen sign. There are others were-creatures though. You should know this already, and you need a haircut,” Paul huffed, scanning the sky for the north star. He raked his hands through his black buzz-cut hair as the clouds shifted and groaned under the weight of the setting sun. The sky would soon be coated in an inky blackness, and they would have no shelter or food.
“Girls like long hair now, man. That wolf was into me before those other mutts showed up. God, I’m sorry. I could have sworn— anyway; that was a sweet spot back in the woods. Crap! All of our food was in there. What’s the plan now?” Andre asked, rubbing his hands together, after a slight shiver.
Paul rubbed his hands together too. Cold was settling on the road like a damp blanket. In their human form, the cold was much more noticeable. Fine goosebumps were already trailing across Paul’s broad shoulders. They were, after all, in Alaska for the salmon, and the discretion.
Paul loved salmon, and the sooner his brother’s transformation was better under control, the sooner they could return to their ruse of being architects in Olympia, Washington. They needed the cold, so they didn’t overheat during transformations. After his brother nearly disrupted an office Christmas party with his beady, black eyes and claws, Paul knew a winter sabbatical was needed.
He had to teach Andy how to control it. They were only half brothers, and after Andy had turned twenty-seven, he thought the gene skipped him. Apparently, it was just running a little late to the party.
“Hey Pauly, where did you go?” Andy asked, putting his sweaty hand on his brother’s shoulder, “You zoned off on me.”
“Nowhere,” Paul grunted, shrugging him off.
“I said ‘sorry,' bro,” Andy said.
“And I’m saying, ‘okay.’ Look, I know this world is new to you, but we only have two weeks before this little vacation is over. No messing with the other shifters, or any other animals for that matter, I mean it. Just cause we can all shift doesn’t mean we’re all friends,” Paul said. He turned around quickly, sniffing the air.
“Why? Wait, what is it?” Andy said, sniffing the air.
“Run now, ask questions later,” Paul said, diving onto all fours. His muscles quickly ripped and tore, bulging on new thickened bones. His skin stretched on the new muscle and bone. He was back to being a large, menacing, black bear. His brother followed suit, joining him in his smaller brown bear form.
*****
The brothers, still in bear form, gnawed in silence on the salmon leaping violently in the stream. Paul had no idea how hungry he was until the pink and silver morsels leaped into his mouth. Andy was doing a lot better at catching them and finally had a rhythm going. Paul jerked his big, black hairy bear head back, swallowing the last mouthful of fish. His brother still hadn’t slowed down. His body was not used to the bear metabolism yet. If he over-ate and transformed back to his human form too soon, he would feel engorged and throw up.
Paul ran out of the water, collapsing on the bank. Everything around them was black, no light, no noise. Maybe they could sleep in the open in safety.
Paul stretched his front and hind legs, shook off the water and let his body collapse back into his thirty-year-old, muscular frame.
“Oh, that was delicious,” Paul said.
Andre was still munching away.
“Easy, brother. We aren’t going into hibernation,” Paul said, throwing a rock at Andre. Andre growled at him before snatching a large salmon out of the air.
“Suit yourself,” Paul said, laying on the bank.
Paul stared up at the stars. Orion’s belt was looking back down in the clear blackness. It was peaceful. A far cry from running from werewolves. His mind drifted, thinking about his mother, and his real father. He and Andre had the same mother, a black bear sha
pe-shifter from England. When she met the man that would be Paul’s father, and later Andy’s father, that the shifter gene could be passed on. If it even was a gene. Legend was it was a curse, and so far both brothers had it. Andy’s father disappeared as soon as he found out the truth about Paul, and didn’t want to take a chance on Andy. After all, it’s hard to discipline a step-son who grows claws anytime you yell at him for breaking curfew.
“Ow! Shit, shit, shit!” Andre yelled, as his body morphed back to a man.
“I told you earlier. The food doesn’t go anywhere when you transform. Aim for the stream if you need to vomit. You have to eat slow, and eat less if you plan to switch back right away.”
Andy moaned, and his face looked pale with the strain on what should have been a sculpted six-pack stomach. It was now oddly distended, and Andy was wobbling on his feet.
“Maybe we should stay in bear form for the night,” Paul suggested, throwing his brother a shirt.
“No, man. I hate having to try and translate your growls. Still don’t understand everything yet.”
“You still can’t hear my thoughts?”
Andy shook his head, collapsing on the ground. His stomach looked like he was eight months pregnant.
“You have to focus. We share blood so you should be able to hear me. I can hear you. It’s how I knew you were in danger with the wolves back there.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Everything else is too loud. I hear everything. Every cricket, every footstep, every splash of the salmon in the river. I dunno. Maybe I hear you, and you’re whispering compared to everything else.”
Inextinguishable Love: Firefighter and Interracial Romance Page 19
