by Liz Paffel
They each dropped to the floor with their backs against the lower metal cabinets. Priya opened the bottle and filled the cups. A loud clank from the hallway startled them both. Wine splashed over Alora’s cup and onto her khakis. She grimaced. Their coworkers might be returning from lunch and would find them drinking. She set her cup behind her and encouraged Priya to hide the evidence, but she just shrugged and took a drink from the bottle.
The sound came again, like a metal tray being knocked over against the wall outside the door. They looked at each other before getting to their feet. Priya downed her entire cup of wine and tossed it. A shadow passed by the glass window in the door, then another.
Prickles razed Alora's spine. Licking her lips, she edged toward the row of windows to her left. Something niggled her mind—a little voice that said they needed to get out of here.
Suddenly, the dark outline of a person formed in the door window. She made out the outline of shoulders and a broad chest. Whoever it was, was much taller than the door.
“Priya,” she blurted hurriedly. “Come over here. Let’s go.”
“Who is it?”
“Priya, please. Come over here.” Alora crept to the first window and manipulated the lock. It resisted in her grip, stuck from years of never being opened. She moved to the next window, found the lock to be the same.
The door handle turned.
“Priya. Come. Here.”
The door burst open, displaying a broad chest clad in dark brown leather, strong arms with bulging biceps wrapped in light tan fabric, long fingers, big, square hands. Her heart leapt into her throat.
Axxeon.
The alien dipped his head to enter, standing again to full height. Her brain pulsed with the memory. So tall—nearing seven feet—so strong, she could be crushed between their hands.
The warrior stepped in and scanned the room. He wore a type of communications headset with a device over his left eye. He spotted her and the device shone red.
“Alora Church,” he called out in a booming voice. Another Axxeon stepped in behind him, with a pair of what looked like neon yellow handcuffs in one hand. “You are required to appear before the King.”
She pressed her back to the next window, hands behind her butt as she worked the latch. Priya slowly opened the drawer on her desk, her eyes shifting and catching Alora’s. The window latch came free. Her pulse screamed in her ears, her chest near bursting from fear.
“Alora!” Priya tossed her something, making a half turn to grab a glass beaker from the workstation behind her and spinning back to aim it at the aliens. Alora caught the set of keys her friend threw her, just as the beaker shattered on the floor and emitted a gas cloud. It billowed and blocked the Axxeon’s view.
“Alora, run!”
She hesitated a moment, catching her best friend’s eye. Priya nodded and Alora didn’t think as she slid the window open, jumped to the frozen ground three feet below.
And ran.
Chapter Two
Priya’s SUV was parked in the lot across the lawn.
Alora raced across the snow-covered lawn to reach it, clicking the unlock button on the key fob and grabbing the door handle as she slid to a stop. Jumping in, she started it up and squealed out of there. She glanced at the window she’d just escaped from. One of the warriors was there, peering out, his expression murderous.
What the hell did they want with her? She hadn’t been among the Summoned. She was nothing to them. Unable to form a clear thought, she drove without planned direction, yet found herself on the interstate. She half expected the aliens to stop her vehicle with some sort of advanced tech, or mind control. She relaxed slightly when nothing happened and pressed the gas, gunning it down the road. Her hands trembled on the wheel, adrenaline making her jumpy and nauseous. Her bland, boring life didn’t include running from aliens, or driving ninety, or scrambling to think of how to stay alive.
Traffic was light considering it was almost Christmas and the roads were normally packed with people rushing to shop. She needed to get to her destination fast. If they were looking for her, chances were good they wouldn’t stop until they’d found her. She needed to get out of town as soon as possible.
Working her palms back and forth on the steering wheel, she focused on slowing her breathing and calming the tremors attacking her body. What the hell could they possibly want with her? So much about the Axxeon’s true purpose on earth was unknown. She didn’t trust anything the government said about them. They had no problem soliciting women to become Axxeon breeders, citing it good for interplanetary relations since the aliens were protecting humanity from something. Something that, in three years, had never materialized. The aliens had showed up with a sob story of their women infected with a disease that killed them off. Shortly after, their planet had lost its sun and fell into a deep freeze.
And boom. They were here to stay, taking females at will, the government supporting it.
It was all bullshit.
Spying the exit that she needed, Alora slammed on the brakes to slow down enough to make the ramp. She didn’t slow enough, the rear of the vehicle fishtailing on the icy asphalt. She let off the gas and corrected the car, then merged onto a two-lane road that lead to Firehouse 45 where her brother was a Lieutenant. Looking to the passenger seat where she always kept her purse, it dawned on her that she wasn’t in her own vehicle. She’d fled without her wallet or phone, or her winter wear. She had no way of letting Brandon know she was coming, and no way of staying warm in the five-degree weather if she needed to ditch the car.
Praying that he was there and not on an emergency call, she weaved through traffic and blew a red light, made a sharp left and sped into the parking lot outside the station. Her heart flipped to see three police cars parked out front.
Had something else happened? Were… they waiting for her?
She slowed to a crawl and made her way to the back of the station where employees parked. Cautiously, she got out of the vehicle and darted for the back door, putting in the keycode her brother had shared with her a long time ago, and slinked inside. The bays were dim and quiet as she made her way to the front of the station to her brother’s office.
The back of her neck crawled. Something wasn’t right. Firemen were usually cleaning or restocking the trucks, or sitting at one of the side tables, playing cards. Had the Axxeon been here, looking for her? Oh, God, what if they’d done something to Brandon?
Anger wasn’t a frequent emotion, but it flooded her now just thinking about it. They were taking Priya. They couldn’t take her brother, too. She peered into the offices, found them all empty. Urgency coursed through her. She had to get out of here, had to get far away, somewhere she could think things through. She needed to find Brandon.
Movement in the hall caught her eye. With a gasp, she darted into one of the deserted offices and pressed herself against the wall by the open door. The firm thud of footfalls drew closer. Clenching her eyes and taking a shallow breath, she forced herself a quick, small peek around the door. Her heart leapt to her throat.
“Brandon! Oh, thank God.” She darted out and threw her arms around him.
He slipped one arm around her and she swore nothing had ever felt so comforting. Her brother was her rock, the only person besides their grandfather who had ever made her feel good enough—who’d ever made her feel loved.
“Brandon, I—I need help.”
He pulled away and took her shoulders between his hands. His expression was rife with confusion and sadness. “Sis, you can’t be here right now. You need to go. I mean it, go now.”
Her forehead scrunched. She never saw her brother ruffled. “What’s wrong?”
He ran a hand through his mess of blonde hair. Ten years as a fireman had hardened him to the point that nothing much got under his skin. He had the calmest demeanor of anyone she knew. The distraught gleam in his eyes wasn’t like him. “The crew of firehouse 221 reported for duty at six a.m. and then they just… vanished.”
Her brow crumpled. “What do you mean, vanished?”
“Gone. They’re gone. Every firefighter in that house is missing and unaccounted for. Like they were snatched out of thin air. That’s why the police are here. To keep an eye on us so the same thing doesn’t happen.”
Her mouth gaped, but she didn’t know what to say. How could an entire staff simply disappear?
Brandon shook his head. “That’s not all. There’s another fire across town. Mutual aid from Freemont is handling it. But… there were reports that some kind of animal was running around inside the flames. I don’t know. It’s all so… so crazy.”
Animal? Her brain flipped into work mode, momentarily forgetting the danger she was in. “Did anyone give a description of the animal?”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“That tissue you found in the ashes. It looks almost reptilian.” It was possible the aliens had brought something with them that could withstand an inferno. She needed more information. “Where is the new fire?”
“A homeless shelter on Division street.” Brandon gripped her shoulders tighter, his expression changing as if he had just realized what she’d said earlier. “Wait, what do you mean that you need help? What’s going on?”
“The Axxeon are after me.”
“What?” The roar of his voice made her jerk. “Why?”
“I don’t know. They barged into the lab and demanded that I see their King.”
His face fell. “But… you haven’t been Summoned, have you?”
She shook her head, feeling the strength seeping out of her. “I’m going to run. I don’t care what they want me for, I’m not going. Can you come with me?”
Brandon ran a hand over his mouth and looked to the ceiling. “Look, go to Gramp’s and get down in the fallout shelter. I was there last month, and the supplies are still good. You’ll have to light the lanterns. Put your car in the shed and cover it with a tarp. Can you do that?”
She nodded. Goosebumps lit on her forearms. She hated the fallout shelter. Her grandparents had dug it in the 1950’s and decked it out. There was furniture, several roll out cots and enough food and water to last a decade. Despite the comforts of home, there were mice and creepy crawlies. Brandon had locked her inside once when they were kids as a joke, no lights, no way out. Things had crawled over her skin while she’d screamed and banged on the door to be let out. She’d never fully gotten over it.
“Don’t tell Gramps that I’m coming. He should still be at work so I can get inside before he gets home. I don’t want him to know I’m there, just in case. I don’t want to bring attention to him.”
A sudden, sharp pain stabbed beneath her left breast. With a gasp, she pressed her hand against it. She’d had the pain off and on for the past few years. It was strange and random and despite having it checked at her physical, her doctor didn’t find anything wrong. It pulsed now, deeper and more intense than ever before. Brandon moved as if to help her somehow, but she waved him off.
“Look, I don’t have my phone, so if I don’t make it to Gramp’s, I have no way of telling you.”
He gripped her arms and gave her a steady look. “You’ll make it. Just go now. Okay? Go fast, go safe. I’ll come as soon as I can.”
She understood that he was torn. He had a duty to his firefighters to look over them, but he also wanted to see her to safety. She wanted nothing more than for Brandon to come with her, to not leave her alone. But it looked like this was something she’d have to do herself.
They embraced, her brother’s strong arms cradling her as they had so many times as kids when she’d needed comfort. She didn’t want to let go. “I’m scared,” she whispered. “What if something happens to you, too?”
“It won’t. I promise. We’ll figure this all out, sis. You need to go now.”
Tears blurred her vision as she pulled away and pulled in a shuddering breath.
She needed to leave quickly before she broke down and didn’t go at all. With a last look at Brandon, she prayed this wouldn’t be the last time they ever saw each other. Her brother bristled; his eyes focused on something behind her. His body went ramrod straight, chest out as he grabbed her arm and flung her behind him.
Her throat went tight as she spotted the Axxeon warriors standing there. They’d entered quietly but right now, every alarm in her brain was screaming for her to run. Their tall, broad bodies were imposing in the dim space. Massive arms clad in the strange strips of tan fabric, their forms outfitted in what looked like tactical vests, tight leather pants with bulging thigh pockets, a weapons belt tight around their hips filled with various pieces. The second warrior’s left forearm was enclosed in metal scales, his fingers almost robotic looking.
“Release the weapon and bring it to me.” The warrior who spoke was the same with the headset she’d seen earlier. His features were remarkably human, save for the pointed ears she remembered. His oddly handsome face was nonplussed, the one eye not covered by the ocular device, impassive.
“I don’t have a weapon,” Brandon replied as he crossed his arms defiantly.
“The human woman. She is wanted by the King and will come to me immediately.”
Brandon shook his head, his tone cool and dangerous. “Over my dead body.”
The alien pulled a sleek silver weapon from the belt around his hip. “As you wish.”
“No!” Alora tried to push herself around Brandon, but he held her back. “Don’t hurt him.”
“You will come if you wish to prevent harm.”
The rush of footsteps echoed in the bay as two human officers and a handful of firefighters rushed into the room. Brandon glanced back at her and mouthed, ‘go!’
She shook her head desperately as chills assaulted her body. She couldn’t let her brother be hurt because of her. She could feel this out and see what they wanted. Maybe it was something simple and she’d be returned home in no time. The thought didn’t sit right, but she had to tell herself something, anything, to calm her nerves.
Besides, there was no way out. The Axxeon were too close, their weapons too many between them. One firehouse was already missing men. She didn’t want to be responsible for further tragedy.
She stepped away from Brandon. He cried out and tried to grab her, but she diverted him. “I’ll go,” she said with a confidence she didn’t feel. “Just please don’t hurt anyone.”
The Axxeon met her halfway, grabbed her wrists as the other warrior clamped on the glowing yellow shackles and took her by the arm. Her mind went immediately fuzzy as if she was trying to think through a thick, syrupy fog. She tried to turn to her brother… wasn’t sure if she was seeing him or hallucinating. Glancing up, she spied silver tinsel hanging from loops along the ceiling with other holiday decorations.
“I’ll see you at Christmas, Brandon. I promise.”
Suddenly she was weightless and the Axxeon holding her increased his grip. “Impossible, Alora Church. You won’t be coming back.”
Chapter Three
“You look ridiculous.”
Tryllin of Axxeon glanced over his shoulder at his younger brother, Hahn who was stretched out in a nearby chair, and held back a smile. He turned back to the full-length mirror and, hands on his hips, studied himself. He did look ridiculous. The tight jeans and patterned shirt erased any trace of fierce warrior and King.
He looked… like a weakling human male.
His brother pulled his long knife from its sheath and used the tip to flip up the hem of Tryllin’s shirt.
“Those pants are much too short for you. And what is the human’s attraction to this fabric called flannel?”
His advisors were trying to make him more presentable to human women. The recipients of the official Summons would be here in two days’ time and from them, he would choose a mate. It was time. The Axxeon were on the cusp of rebuilding their lives. He’d taken over the Kingship after his father was forced to step down, disgraced after their enemy, the Nozing, spread a virus across Axxeon 8
that infected females with a fast killing cancer. They’d all died within days. His father had ignored the signs of an impending enemy attack, too enamored with his new, young wife to be bothered. There’d been mutiny afterward and he’d been banished to a role of laborer, a surprising conceit considering he’d nearly paid with his life. Soon after, their planet lost its sun and fell into a deep freeze, forcing them to flee for sanctuary on Earth.
It was up to Tryllin to keep the peace, gain trust, and propel his race into a new life. Soon, they would leave Earth for their newly constructed home on Axxeon 9 and a fitting way to solidify the rebuilding and stake his competence as King was to take a Queen and produce an heir. A new bloodline, for a new life. He had a lot to prove, and the sooner he could produce a child and show his people they were on the correct path, the better.
Fortunately, they’d known for several Earth decades that human women were compatible for producing Axxeon kinder, infants as the humans called them. In a world as overpopulated as this one, no one noticed when a handful of females went quietly missing into the belly of an Axxeon research ship and turned into test breeders. Now, those first five kinder were growing, nearing what humans considered teenage years, and were living proof that human females could produce alien offspring.
Tryllin considered the jeans. The hems of each leg went only as far as the top of his calf muscles. He’d barely gotten the zip and button fasteners closed.
“I am unsure of this clothing, brother. It only reinforces my belief that human males are not very intelligent.”
Human women should be thankful a superior race of males had Summoned them for breeding. No wonder humans were genetically inferior. They spent more time worrying about what to wear than they did choosing a mate with appropriate genetic make-up. He’d ordered that only the most accomplished, most intelligent, and healthy females in this sector be Summoned.
