by Lia Nox
I had never seen a specimen like her before, one so physically underprepared for the hardships of this planet, and I found myself confused about her presence. She was slender, much shorter than we were, and her supple breasts and hourglass figure gave her away as a female.
Had the Masters sent her? If so, why? It didn’t make any sense. Our mission didn’t mention anyone like her, and the Masters were never vague and careless.
There was something wrong with the whole situation, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. I disliked being left with questions, regardless of how beautiful the form of the question took.
“There are more of them,” Kern growled, laying one hand on my shoulder. Looking away from the woman, I returned my attention to my brothers-in-arms and joined them at the entrance of the building. The sky was clear outside, and the strong scent of the ocean and seaweeds was being carried by a gentle sea breeze. It was a peaceful scene, except I knew it wouldn’t last. Out here, it never did. The coast looked serene, a spot heaven sent, but there was more to it than met the eye. My chest swelled as I readied myself.
“What the hell is going on?” The woman, Erin, insisted. The translator implant lodged in my brain did its job, turning her voice into coherent words I could understand, but either the implant didn’t fully recognize her dialect or it had been damaged during our long sleep. Her speech sounded coherent to me, but I struggled to understand the way some of the words sounded.
“We fight,” I said, looking back at her over my shoulder. If she had no implant, we’d have to find her a translator. But that would have to wait. For now, I’d have to hope she understood enough. “Stay here.”
Standing straight, I pushed my way outside and let the sunlight caress my face. It was a beautiful day for a fight and, after being asleep for so long, I needed the workout. With Kern standing to my right and Talos to my left, I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath, tasting the tension in the air.
The wild animals had fallen silent all around the abandoned outpost we had been exploring, and only the steady sound of the waves lapping at the shore made itself heard. That and the barely noticeable scurrying of whatever lay outside the outpost walls. The creatures from before enjoyed moving in separate packs, with the most forward one responsible for scouting, and so I knew there’d be more killing before the day was done.
“There,” Talos grunted, pointing at one of the walls. Perched on top of it was one of the new beast creatures, hunched and poised to attack. It moved like an arachnid, but its muzzle was one of something way more ferocious. A yellow liquid dripped from its long fangs, beads of it falling down to the ground and splattering on the dirt below.
In a matter of seconds, more and more of the creatures appeared, lining the upper surface of the walls as they surrounded us. Cracking my knuckles, I took one more step forward and spat to the ground. I thought of reaching for one of the guns we had hauled here, but we needed to be careful with ammo. More than just that, I didn’t want to waste my first real workout with something as impersonal as a gun.
I wanted to crush these beasts with my bare hands.
“They come,” I said as the first ones jumped down from the wall, landing with a kind of odd smoothness, their hunched bodies somehow helping them move with a kind of gracious agility. I greeted the agility of the first creature with the heel of my boot.
Its bones turned into powder under the impact, and I pressed down hard until I felt its skull break. The others retreated for a fraction of a second, bared their fangs, and then jumped on me. Moving fast, Talos and Kern swooped in and slapped them away with their fists, a grin spreading across their lips as they joined the fray.
There were more than a dozen of the creatures, but we dispatched them all under a minute, time slowing down to a crawl as we moved. Our movements were brutal, but I had never known a dance more elegant than that of a battle. I needed a fight more than I needed breath—it was the only way I knew I was alive. I had been engineered to conquer and dominate, and that was my true design in life, one I followed with the diligence of a monk. A very violent monk.
Standing in close formation, we punched and kicked our way through the vicious pack, breaking limbs and crushing skulls with each of our blows. By the time I snuffed out the life of the last standing beast, my forearms were covered with a kind of yellow bile, one as sticky as it was disgusting. I shook it off my arms with quick movements, knowing that it wasn’t corrosive, and wiped the rest against the fabric of my pants.
“That was easy,” Talos said, scanning the corpses that littered the ground with a kind of disinterested curiosity. He prodded one of the corpses with the tip of his boot, turning it on his back, and kneeled down next to it. “There’s something wrong here.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “This place is rotting.”
I couldn’t exactly put my finger on whatever was wrong with the planet, but I felt it deep in my bones. We had been awakened many times before, fighting and killing at the Master’s pleasure, but this time there was something different.
The atmosphere felt heavier, as if the planet itself was tensing up and readying itself for something.
And then there was the woman.
She didn’t belong in a place like this, and yet here she was, a fragile and vulnerable creature in a world as merciless as the Masters. Stepping inside, I found her with her back pushed against the wall, her eyes were wide with shock.
Clearly, she hadn’t enjoyed the show. This one didn’t relish violence and brutality. So tender a flower needed gentle handling. . .even if she might have a few thorns of her own.
Was she a prize bestowed on us?
No, that was impossible. The Masters’ kindness only extended so far, and they would never reward any of the teams with something so. . .exquisite.
A lost traveler, perhaps. Although none of the Masters’ guests had ever roamed unsupervised. Unguarded.
“What do we do with the woman?” Kern asked, scratching his chin as if he were bored. He looked straight at her, then smiled. The woman hesitated, but then she raked one hand over her face and finally mirrored Kern’s gesture. With slow but firm steps, she followed us out of the building and joined us on the small courtyard.
“She’ll have to stay with us,” I said the moment the first rays of sunlight tumbled over her. She had milky white skin, and her movements were gracious and elegant. I took in every detail of her, enjoying the way her flesh showed under her torn clothing, and found myself wanting to do more than just glance. Yes, there was no doubt about it: whoever this woman was, she had to stay with us.
I breathed deep, allowing my decision to sink in. My heart raced, a rare occurrence. Only the most violent of battles were enough to raise my heart rate, but this tiny little woman elicited the same reaction.
Good.
I liked that feeling. That was when I was at my best. Put me in front of something demanding to be conquered, and I would only stop when I stood triumphant. Much like I had done to multiple enemies before, I wanted to dominate and conquer. I wanted to make her mine, and I wanted her to know that she was mine. Prize or not, it didn’t matter.
“Please, I. . .I’m confused,” she said, looking at the three of us. “I have no idea what the hell’s going on.”
A note in her tone that made me pause. She wasn’t just an obstacle to conquer, a person to dominate and bend to my will. Far more precious than anything I had ever had, I must use different means to conquer the challenge she presented.
Most delicate things were like that. Handle them too roughly, and you’d find them broken in your hands, sharp edges clawing at your own skin.
Relaxing, I gave Erin my undivided attention and moved toward her. A little gasp slipped through her lips, however she didn’t cower from me.
Good.
Erin
The tall one, the one with one broken horn, stepped towards me.
Roth, I told myself, his name is Roth. I think.
He reached towards me, his massive h
and sliding around the curve of my hip, then pulled me towards him. I stumbled for a moment, surprised, then his other hand moved faster than I could imagine, steadying me.
He bent down over me and my eyes widened in shock.
Surely he wasn't going to. . .
Whatever I'd thought flew straight out of my mind at the sensation of his breath on my neck.
It was like he was breathing me in, deeper with each inhalation, his nose and mouth both millimeters off my skin as he took in my scent.
I trembled, my heart racing, held up only by his strong hands.
“Nethor.”
With no further warning he broke away, heading back into the building. My knees buckled but before I could hit the ground the other two had taken his place.
Kern, I remembered. Or Talos. They held me between them, their hands careful, almost gentle. But the expression on their faces was anything but.
You don't know what they're thinking, Mouse, I chided myself. They’re aliens. Have different facial expressions than you do. They have horns, remember?
Not like I was going to forget the horns. Or the blue-gray skin. Or the dark black eyes. “I'm all right now,” I stammered. “I can stand up.”
But neither let me go. Maybe it'd only been wishful thinking, thinking that they could understand me.
The one at my front, Talos, I think, bent over me, sniffing at the same spot Roth had been so fascinated by, then moved further down my shoulder,
The other, Kern, stood behind me, and slid one hand a little further around my hip, as if turning me more towards him.
I should step away, but I didn't want to.
I should want to.
A sharp string of words from Roth had both the other men stepping back smartly as he re-emerged from the building.
He held something in his hand, like a thickly chained necklace with a diamond shaped silver pendant. Roth pointed at it, pointed to me.
“It's very pretty,” I said, mind racing, “but I don't need any presents.”
He rolled his eyes.
Good to know that was a constant everywhere.
Unless here that meant he was mortally offended and would have to devour me to avenge his honor.
Dammit.
Roth snapped out another command, and Kern ran one hand up my back, his fingers on the skin of my neck sending shivers through my spine. He lifted my long fall of hair away at Roth stepped forward.
I wasn't afraid of him. Not anymore. I wasn’t sure if I’d even been.
Then why was my heart racing as he reached to slide the thick twisted chain around my neck?
The silver pendant lay heavy on my chest.
Roth stroked my neck, then my collarbone, then squeezed the curved outline of the pendant, the edge of his finger lightly brushing the swell of my breast.
Oh. That wasn’t fear.
This was definitely something else.
Before I could think any further a strange noise seemed to rise up from the ground.
“Guys? Do you hear that sound?” It was a low humming. I whirled trying to pinpoint it, but it seemed to come from everywhere.
The three of them stood still, watching me silently.
“Really guys, there's something coming and. . .” the sound grew louder, filling my brain with the hum.
My legs gave out again and this time it was Roth that caught me, pulling me towards him as he sat on the ground. I closed my eyes as everything went wobbly for a moment and then the humming was gone.
“Can you understand me now?” he growled, the shape of his mouth somehow not quite matching the words I heard.
I nodded. “I think so?”
Or, I'd lost my mind. Which was beginning to seem more and more likely.
“Good,” he answered, bringing me with him effortlessly as he rose to his feet. “We should leave.”
Talos and Kern immediately moved back to the building, emerging within seconds carrying large heavy bags.
“Where are we going?” I asked
“Next station,” Roth said shortly before we headed away from the building, deeper into the forest.
I've never been in the woods in my life, such parks and preserves that remained in our overcrowded world had been set aside for the use of the wealthy few.
From the top of the tower I'd grown up in, I’d been able to catch a glimpse of a sea of deep green, wondered what it would be like to stand under those branches, thought it would be paradise to walk in the cool shade.
I'd been wrong.
Nature sucked.
It was hot. And there were bugs that bit at me through my clothes. And now that we were on the move my escort had turned silent. Roth shut down my few attempts to gather information with a quick diagonal gesture of one hand. They moved in formation around me, the corners of a triangle with me at the center. Though they were massive, they stepped through the undergrowth silently. I didn't know what was going on, but it seemed that each of them had every sense stretched to the maximum.
Listening. Waiting.
But for what, I didn't know.
The day wore on, and though they showed no signs of slowing I was beginning to have trouble keeping up. I'd had half a packet of the foul brown goop before I'd left to go scavenging that morning. But surely whatever sustenance I'd gained from it had been long burned off racing from those monsters.
Come on Mouse, I told myself. This is just like another scavenge, you don't know what you'll find out here. How are you supposed to scavenge in a forest?, I argued with the stupid, perky part of my brain. Even if there were things out here, I wouldn't know what they were, wouldn't have a place to sell them, couldn't. . .
Trapped in my head, arguing with myself, I tripped over the root of some dark purple tree.
Roth, having taken the point of the triangle for the last hour, spun back, but it was Kern who caught me. He held me tight to his chest while Roth and Talos approached.
“Are you injured?” Roth's voice sounded like gravel.
I shook my head. “I don't think so, just turned my ankle.”
With a quick lift of his chin, Roth signaled to Kern, who lifted me in his arms.
Roth moved to my feet, strong hand carefully checking over first one ankle, then the other. For a moment he stopped, his hand on the inside of my calf, and our eyes met. Heat pooled in my belly as his hand moved slowly towards the inside of my knee.
Then he jerked away.
“Bring her. We’re almost the next station.”
Kern didn't argue, instead held me tighter to him, and if it seemed like he took advantage of our position to smell my hair every few steps, well, I wasn't arguing.
Maybe this was just how they made friends?
Or, thinking about Roth's touch, how much I'd almost wanted him to move higher, stroke the inside of my thighs, maybe friends was what I wanted, too.
Just a few hours ago, I'd been scared, terrified and alone.
And now I wasn't.
I was hungry for touch.
For their touch.
Kern
More, my whole body demanded.
Carrying her through the forest, breathing in her scent with every step, was more difficult than any battle. An eternity passed before we reached this sub-station. Once Roth and Talos checked it for traps, I set her to her feet, unable to resist picturing bending her over, grabbing those curved hips.
I stood before the woman, hard as I had ever been, and every single cell in my body seemed as if it were on fire. My heart kicked and punched against my ribcage, and my lungs were working overtime to keep the air flowing in. Even my mind, which I always counted on to be sharp and ready, was now muddled by thoughts of wicked lust.
I took one step toward Erin, ready to satisfy the demands of my body, but I stopped when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. I looked back to see Roth standing right behind me, expression unreadable. I cocked one eyebrow up at him, curious, and he just shook his head slightly.
“Not yet,” he told m
e, his voice leaving no room for a protest. Even though I needed more of this delicate creature’s body, I didn’t dare go against one of Roth’s orders. His words were law, and both Talos and I knew it. “She’s tired. We have to be careful with her. She’s different.”
“Yes,” I muttered, taking a closer look at her. “I’ll be careful.” Her petite body curved deliciously, but there was a certain delicacy to her. Every time I touched her, I had to be careful not to break her, as if I were handling glass. And yet, I knew that she didn’t want to be handled with care.
“Check outside,” Roth continued, and I obeyed immediately. I turned back and headed toward the door. Roth didn’t need to explain his reasoning. The presence of the woman had distracted us, and we all knew that this planet rewarded even the slightest of distractions with unforgiving brutality. “Just a quick sweep of the perimeter. Don’t take long.”
“I won’t,” I grunted as I stepped outside, squinting my eyes as the burning last light of the sun hit my face. It was unusual for us to become distracted, and I just hoped we wouldn’t have to pay for it.
We’d been distracted enough for someone with ill intentions to creep up on us, that was for sure. With all my senses on high alert, I paced the courtyard briskly. Certain that no one had slipped inside the station undetected, I then headed out through the gates and shaded my eyes with one hand.
This was a smaller sub-station, two small rooms enclosed in a courtyard, really more of an outbuilding to the larger station just a bit further away. We’d stopped here hoping that whatever disaster had ravaged the larger buildings might have missed this tiny location.
No such luck.
The woods lacked life, as quiet as death. Whatever was tearing this planet apart was becoming worse by the day.
Wildlife was abandoning the region, and it seemed like the wild beasts that roamed the woods knew something we didn’t. It was unnerving, but I tried not to let that affect me. I’ve been in many life-or-death situations before, and I knew that to worry about things didn’t help. If anything, it just hindered progress. I had to trust Roth to guide us through whatever was happening.
