by Rinelle Grey
After regarding him for a few moments though, it grunted, and gestured behind him. Kerit half turned and looked at the shuttle, careful not to turn his back on the alien, taking a moment to check for any damage. But it looked untouched. So he turned back to the alien.
It grunted again, more impatiently this time and gestured more wildly.
Well at least that answered one question. It wanted the shuttle, not him. Not yet at least. Some of the constriction around his heart eased a little. He had time.
Not much though. The alien shoved him towards the shuttle, grunting.
Kerit pretended not to understand. “What? Yes, it’s a shuttle. What about it?”
The thing obviously couldn’t understand him, but standing here silently was starting to get to him.
Grabbing his arm, the alien pushed him roughly towards the shuttle. It gestured and grunted again.
Kerit sat down and leaned back against the shuttle.
As soon as he did, he realised it might not have been the best move. The alien towered above him, looking even taller and more imposing than it already was. But if he stood up again now, he’d look like he was afraid.
Which, of course, was the truth.
No need to let the alien know that though.
It lifted its head up to the sky, opened its arms wide, and roared.
The sound sent chills down Kerit’s spine. If it was trying to intimidate him, it was doing a good job.
But it didn’t matter how intimidated he was. He was pretty certain that Folly would have let Tyris know the situation and that his brother would have more sense than to let the shuttle dock without radio confirmation that it was him, but he wasn’t prepared to risk it. He wasn’t going to open the shuttle for that creature, no matter what it did.
What if it tried to kill him?
A chill rushed through him, but following it was certainty. There were too many innocent people on board the Resolution, or wherever Folly’s people were hiding. It wasn’t even a question. He wouldn’t open the shuttle. Not for anything.
The alien could threaten him as much as it liked. Nothing it did could change his mind.
Apparently, the alien was prepared to see how far it could push him. It reached down and grabbed his arm and hauled him up. Kerit struggled to get his feet under him and find his balance as the creature shoved him towards the shuttle yet again. It growled angrily.
As soon as it released his arm, Kerit shoved back. “You really think you can just push me around? Why should I do anything you want? You brought me here against my will and now you want to steal my shuttle. Why do you think I’m going to help you?”
It cocked its head to one side and stared at him.
Kerit stared back, trying to ignore the thumping of his heart.
This time, it gave some low, guttural grunts. Was it… asking him some sort of question?
No, the idea was absurd. It was a monster, an alien from some distant planet that until now had made no attempt to do anything other than try to kill them. It wasn’t going to choose now to try to talk to him.
Was it?
“I can’t understand you. You know that, right?”
What a stupid thing to say. He couldn’t understand the alien and it couldn’t understand him.
But it grunted back. Perhaps it was trying to say the same thing?
Either way, it wasn’t doing any of them any good. Just wasting time really. The languages they spoke had nothing in common at all. The chances that they could understand each other in any way were so remote as to be non-existent.
Kerit sighed and jerked his arm out of the alien’s grip and sat down against the shuttle again. Somehow, it didn’t seem quite so intimidating. All he had to do was buy time until…
Until what? Tyris would probably land and try to come and rescue him but without weapons, what could he do against this alien? What could any of them do, except find a chance to run?
The alien crouched down next to him and grunted in the same low tone it had used before.
“What? What do you want me to do? I don’t understand you!”
Why was the thing trying to talk to him now? Why couldn’t it have started with that, instead of trying to chase him?
Maybe it had? It had sat outside the window, making those same grunting sounds, albeit much louder. It hadn’t started to chase them until they’d run away.
Kerit shook his head. He was losing it, thinking this thing had any sort of humanity. Look at it with its shiny black armour and wings. And those claws… he shuddered. It wasn’t a nice, friendly, welcoming alien. It was a monster. Who had claws like that if they didn’t intend to use them?
Still, humouring it would buy him some time. Maybe if he could get it to let its guard down, he could escape? That was his best hope.
He sat up a little straighter and stared into the alien’s eyes. They stared back at him, dark and unblinking. They had no pupil at all that he could see, just solid, inky black. He shifted uncomfortably and looked away. Even the armour was less disconcerting than those eyes.
To distract himself, he pointed to his chest and said, “Kerit.”
The alien cocked his head, and pointed to him. It grunted.
“Kerit,” he repeated. “That’s my name. Kerit.”
“Ggeiss.”
Kerit’s eyes widened. Was that something other than a grunt?
“Gegit,” it tried again.
It was surprisingly close.
He nodded. “Kerit,” he said again, pointing to himself. Then he pointed to the alien. “You?”
The alien immediately gave a long and complex set of grunts.
He had no hope of reproducing that. He stared at the alien not knowing where to start.
It stared back. Then it gave one, short, grunt, and tapped its chest. It pointed to him and said, “Gegit,” then to itself, and gave a short grunt.
“Kugarra,” Kerit tried. It was nowhere near the sound the alien was making. He cleared his throat, and tried again. “Kugah.”
The alien gave a couple of low grunts. Were they signifying its approval, or its disgust at his attempt? Well, it was the best he could do.
It stood up, and tapped the shuttle behind him. “Igugla,” it grunted.
Of course. It was just trying being nice, to see if that would get it what it wanted. Kerit folded his arms. “No.”
The alien tapped the shuttle again, and grunted. “Ugh?”
Kerit frowned. He had no idea what it was trying to say. Then it hit him, it was trying to repeat what he’d said. And apparently, it thought he was naming the shuttle. He shook his head. “No, not no. That’s a spaceship.”
It cocked its head to one side and tapped the shuttle again.
“Spaceship,” Kerit repeated.
“Gahgip.”
It understood him. The idea was staggering. Kerit nodded. “Yes, a spaceship. And no I’m not going to open it for you.”
The alien pointed to him. “Gegit.” Then tapped the shuttle again and said, “Gahgip.”
“Yes, it’s my spaceship.”
The alien pointed to Kerit, then moved his hands towards the shuttle. His meaning was clear.
Kerit sighed. “No. I’m not opening it up for you.” He shook his head, even though he didn’t think the alien would understand the gesture any more than his words.
A few words did not a conversation make. And even if they could understand each other enough, there was no way he could trust the alien. It could make all the promises in the world, and then attack the Resolution anyway. Especially when it discovered the shuttle could barely make it to the next planet in this system.
The alien didn’t give up though. It pointed to him, and pointed to the shuttle again. “Gegit gahgip.”
“No.”
It hit the side of the shuttle in frustration.
Kerit winced. He had the urge to stand up, to move further away from the creature.
It did it for him, striding off a few steps and to stare o
ut over the plains with its back to him. He might have been reassured at its movement, except for the way its claws clicked together, reminding him that though the creature might have learned his name, it wasn’t his friend.
Suddenly, he was exhausted. A long day of climbing, walking, running were taking its toll. If only the alien had grabbed his backpack when it grabbed him, at least he could eat something.
He glanced at the alien, but it wasn’t looking at him. Perhaps this was his moment. Kerit shifted, preparing to get to his feet. His eyes scanned the buildings, several seconds sprint away, looking for the best one to shelter in.
“Gegit!” The alien whirled around.
So much for that idea.
“I was just getting comfortable,” Kerit grumbled. He shifted again on the hard dirt. Was that a rock sticking into his thigh? “I’ve been on the run all day, I might as well use this moment to get some sleep.”
It stared at him, unblinking.
Forcing himself to ignore the shiver the gaze sent through him, Kerit deliberately rolled away from the alien and closed his eyes. Not that there was any way he was going to sleep.
Chapter 13
Folly paused to catch her breath, her legs burning. Even the chilly night air, blowing across her sweaty skin, only partially cooled her.
It was all her fault.
If she hadn’t run off and left Kerit up on the edge of the crater all alone, the alien might not have carried him off. It might have taken her instead. Or at least both of them.
If only she hadn’t let her fear of losing him make her run away. She might have had a chance, even just for those few moments, to experience the hope and excitement of thinking that she just might have found someone to care about. Someone who might just care about her back. She might have had a chance to experience her first real kiss.
She reached out a hand to lean on the side of the building next to her, struggling to get in a full breath. The brick shifted under her hand and she jerked back, stumbling and nearly falling in the opposite direction. The brick tumbled to the ground, sounding loud in the silence.
Folly froze, staring out towards where the shuttle was. Had the alien heard?
Something creaked above her and her head jerked up.
Moonlight illuminated the second story of the building, its brick and concrete structure, riddled with fractures, swayed a little. All that held it up was one wall and a few remaining bricks on the other corner. One of which she had just loosened.
Backing away slowly, Folly held her breath. She judged the distance she would need to move to be out of the fall of the rubble, but knew she probably wouldn’t make it.
The building creaked again and a shower of dust fell down on Folly. She backed away a few more steps. Then a few more.
When she judged she was far enough away to be safe from falling debris, she heaved a sigh of relief. That was a close one. She needed to remember that these buildings were dangerous. Leaning on them was a stupid idea.
After allowing herself a few more deep breaths and time for her racing heart to slow to a more reasonable pace, Folly continued on. She’d made her last contact with Tyris half an hour ago now and she wasn’t game to make any more in case the alien heard her voice. Kerit’s brother had pointed her in the right direction, so she must be nearly at the ship now.
Ahead of her, the ruined buildings ended and beyond them was open plain. Somewhere along that edge was the ship, and hopefully Kerit.
She let herself slow down a little, as she crept up to the edge of the last building and peered around it. It was completely dark now, only the faint glow of the moon lighting her way, but about a hundred metres to her right she could see another glow, just barely lighting up the side of the spaceship. She squinted, her ears straining, but nothing moved.
She needed to get closer.
Moving back a street, she crept through the ruined buildings as silently as she could, hoping the creature couldn’t hear her laboured breathing or thumping heart. Luckily, Chicken was quiet, having fallen asleep from the rocking of her movement an hour ago. She glanced back over her shoulder every few minutes but nothing moved.
When she judged she had covered most of the distance to the shuttle, she headed towards the edge of the buildings again.
From the shelter of a half standing wall, she looked out again. There were only a few houses and piles of rubble between her and the ship now, but they obscured her vision only slightly.
The light came from some sort of device sitting on the ground. Crouched near it was the alien. Unmoving, his gaze was fixed on a dark shape slumped on the other side of the light.
Kerit!
The faint glow of the light reflecting off the silvery jacket he had been wearing confirmed it.
But was he unconscious? Or dead? Surely he wouldn’t be sleeping at a time like this?
She was too far away to see if his chest rose and fell and she didn’t dare go any closer. That creature would be sure to hear her and chase after her.
Retreating back until the ruined buildings obscured her view of the ship, Folly paused to think. She’d found Kerit, but now she needed a way to rescue him.
If he was still alive.
No, he had to be alive. He had to.
She just needed to get that alien away.
Well, that was easy enough. She only had to make the slightest sound and he’d be chasing her. And if Kerit woke up, he’d be able to get into the shuttle and come after her.
Stupid plan. He couldn’t rescue her if she was being chased by the alien, and if he didn’t wake up…
No, she needed a way to get the alien to come away and stay away. And asking nicely wasn’t going to help. She needed to trap him somehow.
She leaned her back against the wall, then jerked upright again. Leaning on walls was dangerous. She needed to remember that. If that last building had fallen, it could have killed her.
Killed her...
Folly straightened her back, her tiredness fading away.
It could kill that alien too. Half the building had been balanced precariously, more than enough weight to squash the life out of that buggy creature. And all it would take would be pulling out a few bricks.
For a moment, she was inspired to run to the ship and do a happy dance in front of the alien just to get it to chase her. Victory was so close she could almost taste it.
Trouble was, she could taste the failure too. It would be all too easy to get caught in the falling rubble herself. Or have the alien dodge it. She needed to plan this carefully, to make sure there was no room for error.
She couldn’t afford to make a mistake because she was in a rush.
There was plenty of time to catch her breath and think up all the possible ways this plan could fail spectacularly on the way back to the ruined building. Once there though, Folly put them firmly out of her mind and focused on the situation.
Walking around the building slowly, she looked at all the variables. Both still-standing walls were crumbling and wouldn’t take much to collapse completely. The wall she’d leaned on earlier was easily the weakest. Best to concentrate her efforts there.
In the opposite wall, the open doorframe, its door long since rotted away, was the most solid part of the building. And it was just a little too short and narrow for the alien to be able to fit through comfortably. Chances were, it would at least pause to assess the situation before following her through. That would be her chance.
Now that she’d stopped moving, she began to cool rapidly. But she didn’t have time to pull the warmer jacket out of her backpack. Chicken’s warm little body, breathing slowing in her pocket, worried her. If the alien caught her, it would catch the little skuttle too. But there weren’t too many other options. If she hid her in the buildings here, she would be safe temporarily, but there was no food here. If anything happened to her, Chicken was doomed.
Other questions kept intruding on her focus too. Was Kerit still alive? What if he were injured, and dying as she
worked? Even if she could get the alien out of the way, could she fly the shuttle? What if she failed?
She shook them off. She could answer none of them until the alien was dealt with. That had to be her focus.
Finally, she sat back on her heels and surveyed her work. It wasn’t perfect, and her mechanical mind said it would have been far more efficient with the use of a pulley or two, but it was the best she could do with the scant materials she had. It would either work or it wouldn’t.
Now for part two of her plan. Lure the alien to the building.
Her heart sped up at the thought.
It was madness, this plan. Doomed to fail in several ways, the most obvious of which was that she needed to stay ahead of the lighting fast alien for long enough to reach this building and get through the doorway.
Well, at least she wouldn’t have to wonder if this plan would work or not for much longer.
She headed back towards the ship at a jog, testing out the quickest route, looking for small areas she could duck through to buy herself some more time if necessary, kicking any small rocks that had the potential to trip her up out of the way.
At this stage, there wasn’t much point to keeping quiet. If the alien came looking for her, it would just mean a head start.
It didn’t.
But by the time she reached the shelter of the last building, it was on its feet, looking around. Folly took a deep breath. Maybe she should have walked back more slowly so she wasn’t already winded.
She waited, barely moving, taking deep breaths as quietly as she could.
The creature gave a growl and spread its wings. Something moved on the ground next to it. Was it Kerit?
She didn’t have a chance to focus, she was too busy running for her life. But the hope that Kerit was still alive sped her on her way. She had to make this work. Both their lives depended on it.
The sound of air rushing over wings behind her helped too.
Chicken woke up at the movement, squeaked loudly, then hid in her pocket. Folly’s boots slapping the cracked pavement echoed off the tumbling walls. For a moment, she thought she heard shouting behind her. But she didn’t dare stop to find out.
