I had nowhere to run.


    For one thing, I was up in a tree, on the middle bus seat between Billie and Holly. It was starting to rain a little harder, but it didn’t seem to bother the sleeping professor. She was the closest to the tree trunk, and so she had the most protection.


    “Shush, Billie,” I warned the cheerleader. “Don’t wake her up. Besides, you can’t be spying on people.”


    “You can’t be kissing everyone, Sid. First the huntress, and then Professor Kroft. You think I’m next, don’t you?”


    I was so tired, and I’d been so relaxed. This was bullshit. I had to fight to keep my anger under control. “Billie, you’ve made it clear you don’t want to cheat on your boyfriend.” I didn’t tease her about forgetting she was with Scott. Or was it Mike? I’d forgotten myself.


    She opened her mouth to talk, but I cut her off. “And Holly isn’t going to have sex with me. She was feeling vulnerable. She needed a kiss. That was it.”


    Billie snorted and rolled her eyes. “That was a super-hot kiss. And you were totally grinding on each other. Did she suck on your tongue? I mean, I’m pretty sure it was that kind of a kiss.”


    I leaned forward, maintaining eye contact. “I’m literally not going to kiss and tell, Billie. And don’t worry. You and I are never going to kiss.”


    “Why not?” Billie asked in a hushed voice. “Because you don’t think I’m good enough for you? Well for your information, Mr. Marshall, I wouldn’t kiss you even if you begged me.”


    I was about to throw her out of the tree, or leave myself, when I saw how scared she was. This was just her lashing out, because she had been thrown into a crazy situation that she never could’ve planned for.


    All her plans for her life…with Mike or Scott…or whoever had all gone out the window. Her white picket fence dreams had been destroyed.


    “Billie,” I said quietly. “I know you’re scared. I’m not sure what you heard me say to Professor Kroft, but we’re going to be fine. I’m not planning on kissing anyone.”


    “What about your slutty huntress?” she asked.


    It was funny how much Billie wanted a fight. “We don’t know if the huntress will come back, so no, I don’t have plans to do anything with the huntress. I didn’t plan on kissing the professor. I told her no, but she begged me.”


    Billie licked her lips. “I heard that. You were nice. You weren’t just some horny asshole. I was surprised.”


    That made me laugh a little. “Thanks.”


    That seemed to break whatever bitchy spell Billie had been under. “No, it’s sweet. Really. It just shocked me is all. I really thought we weren’t going to be doing anything with each other, and then you and Holly get all kissy, and I felt…”


    She didn’t finish.


    I finished her thought for her. “You felt left out. One more time, you were the outcast, like you were in high school. And you swore college would be different, and so you positioned yourself to be successful. And you were. You played college well.”


    Billie smiled shyly. “You were listening to me.”


    “Every word. Say what you will about me, but I’m focused.” I playfully punched her arm. “I get why you wanted to marry Mike Westa. You wanted security, and I get that, especially now.”


    Billie blinked at me. “You don’t think I’m shallow?”


    “It doesn’t matter what I think,” I said. “You’re a survivor, and when you’re a survivor, you look for safety and shelter. Isn’t that what you and I are doing now?”


    “Yeah,” she said in a quiet voice.


    “So you can help with that,” I said. “Tomorrow is going to be a huge day. You do know that everything has changed, right?”


    She didn’t respond. Her eyes were far away, as she sat there, on the bus bench we’d lashed to the tree. She toyed with the end of the rope.


    Finally, she shook her head. “What’s changed?”


    “We have the name of this place. We have an A.I. who may not be 100% accurate, but she is a wealth of information. I don’t think many people have been able to escape this place, but I think we’d have a chance if we had her help. At one point, the professor said we couldn’t give up hope. I think that’s right. We have to believe in ourselves and each other.”Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    “And embrace our destiny.” She gave me a little smile. “See? I listen to you as well. I’ve thought a lot about that. Maybe we are here for a reason. I like that idea. I like that you’re a good guy, Sid. I really do. A lot of guys would get all pissed off, or they would whine and cry, and you’re not doing any of that. You’re focused on keeping us alive. Thank you.”


    “You’re welcome,” I said. “I should probably get some sleep. I have to use my body to power my chainsaw tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll find more power crystals.”


    That made her laugh a little. “Did you ever think you’d be trapped on some idiotic alien world with two crazy women? Sorry I keep being a bitch to you.”


    “So stop,” I said. “It doesn’t help. You can see that, right?”


    She dropped her gaze. “Yeah. I know. But it’s like you said. I had all these plans, and now, I don’t know what is going on. I’m pissed off one minute, super horny the next, and terrified all the time. I miss talking to my mom. She would kinda keep me on track.”


    “Would talking to the professor help?” I asked.


    “I’ve tried,” Billie said with a sigh. “But she’s like the opposite of my mom. Professor Kroft is all logical and strength and a little cold. My mom is all heart and warmth. Besides…”


    She glanced over at Holly, to make sure the professor was asleep.


    Then she leaned in close to me. “With the professor, I keep thinking about how she brought her hot girlfriend to campus. She was like an Instagram influencer, or something, who was in Moab and came to visit. I saw them kiss once, in her office. It was hot. I think about kissing her myself, Sid. So yeah, I guess I was both shocked and a little jealous.”


    These girls would be the death of me.


    What could I say that wouldn’t piss her off?


    I tried to make a joke. “Well, Billie, if our professor kissed me in a moment of weakness, I’m sure she’ll let you kiss her.”


    “No,” Billie said. “It would be weird for us to kiss. But what about me and you?”


    I squinted one eye closed from the emotional whiplash. Not ten minutes ago, she told me, outright, that any kind of smooching would never, ever happen. At that moment, I was pretty sure Jack or Reggie, the moldy armored T. rexes had a better chance with Billie than I had.


    Billie only smiled. “I know what I said but come on. It’s only fair that we kiss. I still think about that first night in the bus. It’s what I use when I’m trying to…when I’m at Privacy Rock. I felt so crazy and free and wild.”


    Remembering that night, I felt myself getting hard.


    “Okay,” I said. But then I wanted to make something clear. “Don’t fuck with me, Billie. If this is some kind of trick, I—”


    She hurried to push a finger against my lips, cutting off my words. “No, Sid, I would never. That would be fucked up. I might be an emotional trainwreck, but I don’t want to play games like that. Ever. So…please.”


    “Please what?” I asked, finding it hard to breathe.


    “Kiss me,” she whispered.


    I slid over onto the seat. I brushed her hair away from her face.


    Was I really sitting on the same bus seat with Billie Lynn Kidd? And how did she get that name anyway?


    But there I was, with the popular girl, the cheerleader, and the college’s best CrossFit instructor. It was all happening.


    She was so beautiful and smelled so sweet.


    Her hair was a little rougher than the professor’s, but I didn’t care. I was so lost in the moment, so lost in her eyes, so incredibly moved by her beauty. She was this perfect woman—perfect on the outside at least.


    I felt like I was under a spell.


    Billie licked her lips. “Please, Sid. Don’t tease. Kiss me.”


    I leaned forward. That morning, I’d kissed the huntress. That night, a few hours before I’d kissed Professor Kroft, and now I was kissing Billie Lynn Kidd.


    Our lips met, and we both gasped at the intensity. My heart pounded in my chest. Before I knew it, I felt her tongue brush my lips. Her tongue was smaller than the professor’s, but then physically, she was smaller. Her lips were thinner as well, but I loved her taste and smell.


    She was moaning into my mouth, and I wanted to feel more of her body on me.


    It was like she could anticipate that.


    Before I knew it, Billie was straddling me. It was perfect. I felt the warmth of her crotch against mine. We were both sweating, gasping for breath, and it was like I could hear both of our hearts beating.


    Her breasts were so much smaller than the professor’s, but I could still feel some squish. She had me wrapped up in her arms, and it was like our bodies were perfect for each other. The kiss was hungry, animalistic, and I found myself growling.


    I’m not sure what would’ve happened if the monsters hadn’t come right then.


    Billie and I were kissing, and I was wondering if I could ask Opal to strip me naked immediately, when Billie leaned back.


    “Sid, I hate to break this up, but do you smell that?”


    Sniffing, an awful scent hit me all of a sudden. It was awful, wet and murky, like rotting meat in a mosquito pond. We heard a whistling sound as well, and at first, it was hard to tell where it was coming from.


    The roars under us though? That was easy. Jack and Reggie had come calling, and I thought the smell was coming from them. But no, that had more of a moldy, lizard smell. The scent in the air was far wetter and nastier.


    Holly was wide awake in an instant. “Good gravy!” Her voice cracked. “What is happening?”


    Billie leapt off me. She clung to a tree branch and pointed. “There. Oh my god. There. What are those things?”


    At first, I couldn’t find them in the silvery light.


    Then. Yes.


    Dozens of things glided down into a nearby tree. A second later, we heard the strangled cries of the big crows being decimated in a cacophony of squawks and cried.


    That seemed to spark Jack and Reggie into frenzy. They were roaring, and growling, and yes, even jumping. I could feel the impact as they came slamming down onto the ground. It made the entire forest shake.


    Those flying things left that tree and went soaring through the skies toward us.


    I had to blink a couple of times. I felt my whole world tilt because what I was seeing was impossible. Well, if we could move through the sectors, so could other types of things.


    We were being invaded…by flying frogs.