《The Alien》


 Chapter 1 — Found

    I could tell by the way he looked at me. He was afraid.


    I was totally alien to him. And I guess, he was totally alien to me, too.


    His skin was pale. His hair was fairly short and a rich, deep brown. His eyes were mostly brown, with a little black circle in the middle and white around the outside. That was weird. But as far as the shape of his body went, he was okay. Well, maybe more than okay ¡ª for an alien. I mean, he was a carbon life form with two arms, two legs, one head, and a whole lot of muscle under those primitive clothes.


    He stared at me, his back rigid and his face a mask of forced calm.


    This was a dangerous situation. I was on an unknown and possibly hostile planet with an inoperable ship and had been caught red-handed sleeping in this alien¡¯s animals¡¯ quarters. And all I could think about was how well-muscled he was.


    I must¡¯ve hit my head a lot harder than I thought. I was losing it. How could I be attracted to an alien? I mean, I didn¡¯t even know if our species were compatible. Agh! Why was I even thinking about this?


    Get it together, Lilliana.


    This was serious. I needed to focus. What was his next move? One hand held a lantern, but I couldn¡¯t see the other one. He could be hiding a weapon.


    I had a laser pistol on one hip and a stunner on the other, but I didn¡¯t want to use either of them if I could help it. I needed this alien, as much as I hated to admit it. There were no other dwellings in the area, and I was cold and hungry and nauseous. I¡¯d eaten the rations I¡¯d brought with me before I¡¯d fallen asleep. There were more in my ship, but I couldn¡¯t limp back there tonight. I might just pass out on the way.


    ¡°Greetings,¡± I put my hands up, palms out. ¡°I am not your enemy.¡± I wondered if he spoke any of the languages I knew. Probably not. I was way out in the rocks here. I tried a few just in case, with no luck.


    His eyes widened and he said something, but I didn¡¯t recognise the dialect. Great.


    I took a step forward as my head became fuzzy. ¡°I am peaceful. I need food and warmth.¡± I mimed putting food in my mouth and rubbed my upper arms to show I was cold.


    He responded by showing me the weapon he¡¯d been hiding. Just what I needed.


    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly.


    I didn¡¯t want to hurt him or scare him off; I just wanted to try to communicate enough to get the things I needed. I moved my hands so that they were slightly raised and away from my body, so he could see that I wasn¡¯t going to try anything. ¡°I don¡¯t mean you any harm, but I cannot let you hurt me. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    He said something else and pointed the weapon at my chest, which made me look at his chest. It was broad and I could see the muscles bulging a little under the clothing he wore. I cursed under my breath. I was crazy.


    I had to try to focus through the fuzziness. How could I remove the weapon without freaking him out? This would take some doing.


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    If I knew how it worked, I could disable it. He wasn¡¯t going to show it to me, so I¡¯d have to feel for it.


    I reached out with my mind, stretching out invisible tendrils until they reached the weapon.


    Huh?


    It was so primitive. Just a simple projectile weapon. Easy to fix. I started by teleporting the powdered substance from all of the projectiles inside it to a place on the ground nearby. I really didn¡¯t want the whole thing to explode and blow his hand off. That would be disastrous. And a damn shame. He would be damaged. And I liked looking at him the way he was.


    Stop it!


    He said something else, but I had to keep my attention on the weapon. I concentrated on the barrel section and focused my mind. I created some heat in the right place, but I had to keep it localised so he wouldn¡¯t feel any heat in his hand.


    I relaxed once it was done. I¡¯d fused the projectile to the barrel. It wasn¡¯t going anywhere. He wouldn¡¯t be able to remove it to load any other projectiles into it either. Good.


    Now I needed to focus on him. I needed to gain his trust somehow. I slowly reached for my laser and he tensed up, holding the weapon out further from his body. The awkward way he held it told me he was a novice shooter and I could tell he didn¡¯t really want to use it, but he would if he had to. Fair enough.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Words escaped me as I nearly lost my balance.


    My head hurt. Using my mind like that wasn¡¯t such a good idea. The dull ache I¡¯d been feeling turned into a full-blown headache of migraine proportions.


    I gritted my teeth against the pain, pulled the laser pistol out of its holster and held it by the butt with two fingers. I lowered it to the ground and stepped back. Then I did the same with the stunner. Maybe that would help.


    Oh, no. Bending over like that was not a good idea. I fought to stay conscious as I straightened up again.


    He seemed pleased that I¡¯d relinquished my weapons and he stepped forward cautiously and picked them up. I managed to smile at him.


    How could I make him understand me? My stomach gurgled and growled so loudly and his eyes widened almost comically. I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. Now that I was focused on my hunger, I felt so much worse.


    He looked into my eyes and made a hand gesture as if he was eating something. I nodded vigorously, making the same movements. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m very hungry. Can you help?¡±


    I immediately regretted nodding my head like that. My head throbbed even more. This was not good.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if I could eat the same food as him. The ship¡¯s computer hadn¡¯t been able to provide enough information about this planet before it died. I knew that it had a similar atmosphere to home and carbon-based lifeforms and a few other details, but not really anything about culture or food or more detailed anatomy.


    That got me thinking about the alien¡¯s anatomy again. I was really messed up.


    Pain shot up the back of my head. Yep. I must¡¯ve hit it pretty hard. I¡¯d treated my leg injury and not checked out my head. That was a dumb move.


    I could just hear Laith now, giving me a lecture on the correct procedures in an emergency. My chest tightened. Did he know I¡¯d crashed?


    I gingerly touched the back of my head, toward the right side, and found a large lump. The pain spiked and my legs wobbled a bit. When I pulled my hand away and looked at it, my fingers were covered in blood.


    I looked up at the alien; he looked concerned. That was weird. He held a weapon on me and he was worried about me. Go figure.


    Wait. Something was wrong. I didn¡¯t feel right. My head tingled. The tingles spread all over. The room tilted and blackness clouded the edges of my vision. This was so not good.


    I had no idea what the alien would do to me if I fainted¡­


    Oh¡­ no¡­


    Blackness washed over me.

 Chapter 2 — Alien Boy

    Somewhere in the blackness, I heard a voice. I felt movement. Why did I feel like I was in a boat? And what were those clunking noises?


    At one point, I felt my face leaning against something warm and hard, and I felt comforted by it. I thought I saw someone I knew, looking down at me. The face was familiar, but I couldn¡¯t place it. Was it my brother? No. Too pale.


    I floated. I saw stars. The vastness of space. I saw some ships approaching mine. The lights came closer and closer. They blended together and swirled and formed patterns in front of my eyes. I laughed. Well, at least I think I did.


    The swirling stopped and everything was black again. More floating...


    A bright light hit my closed eyes, but I couldn¡¯t move. I tried to put my hand over my eyes, but I couldn¡¯t feel my body. Where was I? What was happening? Why couldn¡¯t I move or open my eyes?


    Nothing made sense. But then I felt warmth. I felt safe somehow. And that didn¡¯t make sense.


    I drifted back into blackness.


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    I slowly became aware that something wasn¡¯t right. This wasn¡¯t my bed. I wasn¡¯t in my ship. And I was lying on something soft.


    My eyes shot open and I could see a wooden ceiling above me. The room was warm and dimly lit. My eyes travelled around the space, over the bedside drawers next to me, the dresser with a large mirror and a lantern with the flame turned down low, and a chair near the foot of the bed with an alien sitting in it, tense and alert. And then I remembered what happened.


    Maybe I should¡¯ve found the fact that Alien Boy was watching me sleep a bit creepy, but I didn¡¯t. I could understand his need to keep an eye on me. Those strange eyes stared at me and despite the weird colours, I liked them.


    I moved my arms and legs slowly, expecting to be tied down. I wasn¡¯t. That was a relief. The fact that he wasn¡¯t pointing that primitive weapon at me again was also a relief, but I suspected that it wasn¡¯t far away. Probably within easy reach.


    I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in my head had me groaning and lying back down. The alien jumped up as if he wanted to do something to help me, but stopped himself. I laid there watching the muscles in his arms twitching, warring between caution and helping me. He wore short sleeves, so there was a lot of muscle to look at. I gave myself a mental slap.


    Get it together, Lilliana.


    I had to focus. Clear my foggy mind. I had to be alert.


    I couldn¡¯t believe I¡¯d passed out in front of him. He must¡¯ve carried me to this room. I remembered movement and leaning my face against something warm. His chest?


    My cheeks heated.


    I felt around under the blankets. I still had my utility belt and it felt like I was still wearing the same clothes as before, but my boots were gone. My chest tightened, but I told myself not to panic. Of course he would¡¯ve taken them off to put me in the bed.


    A shiver ran down my spine. What else did he do while I was out? All sorts of horrible scenarios played out in my head and I had to stop thinking like that.


    Alien Boy was starting to relax a little, but still stood in the same place, halfway to the bed. I opened my mouth to speak, but my stomach growled again ¡ª even louder than before. I was already hungry before my brain decided to shut down on me, and if I didn¡¯t get something to eat soon, it might just eat itself.


    He moved over to the dresser and picked up a tray. I couldn¡¯t see what was on it until he brought it closer, speaking softly as he approached. Food of some kind.


    The smell was intoxicating. My mouth watered and my stomach gurgled. I tried again to sit up, slowly this time, and managed to inch my way up and lean against the headboard on the wooden bed.


    He smiled and brought the tray closer, carefully placing it on my lap. I grabbed it to keep it steady and thanked him, knowing he couldn¡¯t understand, but hoping he would guess what I was saying. It was the first time I¡¯d seen him smile and it was intoxicating. His teeth were straight and white. Maybe the aliens on this rock weren¡¯t as primitive as I¡¯d originally thought.


    The food smelled amazing. I hoped that it would taste as good as it smelled and that it wouldn¡¯t make me hurl. That was the last thing I needed.


    My head went a bit fuzzy again as I picked up a piece of food. It looked like some kind of fruit. I sniffed it and it smelled good. Really good. I took a bite and savoured the taste as the juice burst into my mouth. So much better than ship¡¯s rations. I hadn¡¯t tasted fresh food for months.


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    I ate slowly and carefully, even though my stomach was demanding I just shove it all in. I had to take it easy. The drink he¡¯d given me was nice, too. Sweet. There was only one thing on the tray that I didn¡¯t like, so I left it behind. Alien Boy didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    I thanked him again and smiled. He returned the smile as he took the tray away and I couldn¡¯t help noticing how well his pants hugged his butt.


    Stop it! Focus! You¡¯re still in danger.


    I needed to stop thinking about his muscled body. I had to stay focused.


    And I couldn¡¯t keep thinking of him as the alien or Alien Boy. I needed to know his name.


    One of those problems couldn¡¯t be fixed, but I could tackle the other.


    I put a hand on my chest and said, ¡°Lilliana.¡±


    I pointed at him.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to work it out. ¡°Jarath.¡±


    ¡°Jarath,¡± I repeated. ¡°Lilliana.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°Lilli-ana.¡±


    He might have been primitive, but maybe he was smarter than I¡¯d given him credit for. Maybe we could somehow make this work.


    ¡°I thank you for the food and for helping me. I just wish I could get you to my ship so I can get a couple of translator chips.¡±


    His smile faded, and he pointed to my head. Was he asking how my head felt? It had a dull ache and I wished he hadn¡¯t drawn my attention back to it. He pointed at his eyes with two of his fingers and pointed to my head again. He wanted to have a look.


    The question was; do I let him?


    Another was; could I trust him?


    He hadn¡¯t hurt me so far ¡ª well, that I knew of. And I had to admit that I wasn¡¯t going to be able to see the wound, let alone treat it by myself. I nodded as I said yes, hoping that he would understand the gesture.


    I moved the blankets aside and swung my legs down onto the floor. He stepped closer and leaned over cautiously, but stopped. I looked up; his brows were drawn together. He probably couldn¡¯t see much with my jet-black hair that was probably a matted mess. He¡¯d need a strong light.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get upset. I¡¯m just reaching for my torch.¡±


    Slowly, I reached down to the left side of my belt and unclipped my mini torch. He jumped back as if I¡¯d drawn a weapon and I quickly pressed the button and waved it around to show him what it was. The look of relief on his face was almost comical.


    He took it from me, looked at it for a few moments, then shone it on my head. It hurt when he moved some of my hair out the way, especially since some of it was stuck to my head, but I stayed silent. I wondered how much blood I¡¯d lost with that injury and the one on my leg.


    I needed to know how my leg injury was healing, but since it was a large gash running from my left hip to my knee, I wasn¡¯t about to check it with Alien Boy watching.


    A piece of straw fell from my hair and fluttered to the floor. There were probably many more sticking out of it everywhere. I must have looked a sight. I probably looked more primitive than the alien ¡ª than Jarath.


    He gasped and I cringed. How bad was it?


    I didn¡¯t need this. I needed to get out of here. I had to get back to the ship and the medi kit. I had to convince him to take me there somehow. But how?


    My head started to feel fuzzy. Well, fuzzier. Like it was reminding me that I wasn¡¯t going anywhere right now. I¡¯d have to recover first, then find the ship. My hand automatically went to my belt. My fingers found the ship¡¯s locator still in place and I blew out a breath.


    I managed to sit still while Jarath bathed my head and treated the wound. He put some narrow strips across it to keep the sides together, but I suspected that it needed more than that and I doubted they would stay in place properly with so much hair around the wound. I assumed that he didn¡¯t have anything as advanced as the medical supplies I had stashed in the ship. With the medi kit, I could¡¯ve shown him how to seal up the cut and spray some Skin-Grow on it. But I¡¯d have to settle for what he had to offer.


    Once he¡¯d finished, I had to lie down again. The pain was becoming unbearable and I felt sick. I needed the energy that the food gave me, so I couldn¡¯t let myself throw up. Besides, it would be humiliating.


    I turned my head to the left as I sunk down onto the pillow. I couldn¡¯t let anything touch that lump now that it was pounding like it had its own heartbeat. Jarath stepped forward and helped me pull the blankets up to my neck. He smiled and I couldn¡¯t help smiling back. I noticed a small dimple made an appearance in his left cheek when he smiled. There wasn¡¯t much difference between our races when it came to little things like that.


    I was doing it again. And he¡¯d caught me staring at him. I had to stop myself from groaning.


    My whole head pounded along with the lump and I wished I had some painkillers. There was no point asking Jarath for anything. Even if he could understand me, it would be too risky to try to take whatever medicine he might have that was made specifically for his species. It could kill me. So I would have to wait until I could get to the ship ¡ª which could be days. I groaned and Jarath stepped forward. I tried to tell him I was okay, but he didn¡¯t back off.


    After a while, he relaxed some more. His voice was soft. As he spoke, he put both hands together, palm to palm, and placed them beside his cheek and closed his eyes. He was telling me to go to sleep. Cute. Only, I didn¡¯t know if I could sleep with him watching me. Last time I didn¡¯t have a choice. Now I was nervous.


    Jarath moved back slowly and sat in the chair again. He kept his eyes on me. I couldn¡¯t just relax and go to sleep. Not with him staring. And not with me feeling so wide awake and alert.


    I suppressed another groan as I realised that I couldn¡¯t lie on my right side because of my head wound and I couldn¡¯t lie on my left because of my leg wound. I just wanted to scream. I hated sleeping on my back. This wasn¡¯t going to work. I couldn¡¯t sleep like this.


    A few minutes later, a feeling of total exhaustion swept over me. Maybe I had a concussion. His face faded from view as I faded into sleep.

 Chapter 3 — The Viper

    Two days went by before I felt I could travel. It had been interesting trying to learn about Jarath and the way he did things. Frustrating didn¡¯t even begin to describe how I felt about the language problem, especially when a quick trip to my ship could solve that problem almost instantly.


    The lesson on how to use the toilet had been more than funny, with Jarath doing the motions with a red face and me trying to keep a straight face. It wasn¡¯t as primitive as I¡¯d feared. At least they used water to flush with. It wasn¡¯t too different from what I was used to. Thankfully.


    Until I could get to the translator chips, I had to resort to some crude sign language and trying to create little scenes and act out what I wanted to say. I was hopeless at it and wouldn¡¯t be signing up for a career in mime any time soon.


    Now that I thought I could actually walk the distance, the most important thing I needed to do was to get Jarath to help me find the ship.


    I grabbed one of the small models of crude flying machines that he kept on a shelf in his living room. It would make my little scene easier to convey. I also grabbed two little bottles from his kitchen; one contained a white powdery substance and the other a brownish powder. He sprinkled them on our food sometimes.


    I sat him down at the table and tried my best to play out my ship crashing with the flyer, pretending the brown bottle was me. I made it crash on the table, made the bottle stay with the ship for a short time, then made it stagger away. I grabbed the other bottle and tried to act out me bringing him to the ship.


    Finally, I pulled the ship¡¯s locator from my belt and held it out in front of me. I pretended to walk around looking lost, then slowly brought the locator to the flying machine. I hoped I¡¯d made it clear enough.


    He seemed to be putting it all together in his head. I pointed at the bottle of brown powder and pointed to me. Then I pointed at the white one and pointed to him. I followed up by making us walk up to the ship again.


    I could see the moment he understood. It clicked in his brain and our eyes locked. He asked me a question, and I could only guess that he was asking me where the ship was. I wasn¡¯t really sure. It had been dark and I was injured. And a little out of it, too.


    I held up the locator again, hoping that he would understand that it was the key to getting there. I was fairly sure it was understanding I could see dawning in his eyes.


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    Walking was hard on the uneven ground. My leg still hadn¡¯t recovered. Pain radiated from my hip to my knee and I wished that I¡¯d been able to take the medi kit with me that night, but it was too heavy to carry, even if I hadn¡¯t been injured. The frustrating thing was, my injuries would be almost non-existent now if I¡¯d been able to keep up the treatments. I sighed. No point in worrying about that now.


    The beeping sound increased in speed and pitch on the locator. We were heading in the right direction.


    I inhaled deeply, loving the smell of the grass and the trees and the damp earth. I was so glad to be out of that house. I knew I had to keep out of sight ¡ª there was no blending in with these natives ¡ª but it had been getting to me.


    We¡¯d been walking through the woods for about half an hour and it seemed like we were still on his property, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. As we followed the signal to our left, the trees thinned out and I worried that I might be seen. I pulled Jarath¡¯s cloak tighter around me in case we ran into some local aliens. They would know right away that I wasn¡¯t one of them. My hair and skin colour would give me away instantly.


    I wondered if they were all as pale as Jarath, and if they looked as good as he did. Were they as well-built, or was he more of a rarity? What did the females look like? Were they all tall, or were there shorter ones? Were any of them as short as I was? If I laid low at Jarath¡¯s house until I could be rescued, I wouldn¡¯t be able to find out first-hand. I¡¯d have to ask Jarath ¡ª once we could understand each other.


    Where was the ship? I had to get some painkillers and I had to get off this rock.


    The thought of going home made me feel warm inside, but when I thought of leaving Jarath, of never seeing him again, it felt like a hole had opened up in my chest. I frowned. Why would I feel like that about a stranger? An alien? It was weird. But he wasn¡¯t such a stranger anymore. We¡¯d been together for the last two days and although we spoke different languages, we still seemed to be able to communicate enough to get by. Kind of.


    Jarath wore a cloak, too, so I wouldn¡¯t look so out of place. Pity. I couldn¡¯t watch his fluid movements as he flexed all those muscles.


    I know. I was pitiful. He wasn¡¯t even the same species. But he was eye candy. I couldn¡¯t keep blaming my head injury now that it was on the mend, but I liked looking at him, and I liked him. He¡¯d taken care of me and given me a safe place to stay, even though I was an alien on this planet.


    The locator started to beep faster and the pitch changed drastically. My heart sped up to match. We were close. Really close. The surroundings didn¡¯t look familiar. Nothing looked the same in the daylight.


    We reached the top of an embankment and saw the mess I¡¯d made when I¡¯d hit the ground.


    My stomach clenched. ¡°Ah, hell.¡±


    Laith was gonna kill me.


    Jarath let out a string of words that were probably curses.


    Trees were torn up by the roots. Some had been burned, some of them shattered. The earth was churned up into jagged mounds of dirt, rocks, and grass.


    Now to find the ship amongst it all.


    We walked around a fallen tree and over a mound of dirt. I turned to the right and the locator went crazy. I slowed down. It was right here.


    Jarath kept walking and I grabbed his arm. ¡°Whoah, there, Alien Boy. Take it easy. You¡¯re gonna hurt yourself.¡±


    He turned toward me with a puzzled look, so I thought I¡¯d help him out. I moved forward until my hands made contact with the hull, then I knocked on it. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. I was right. He hadn¡¯t seen a cloaked ship before.


    Before Jarath could close his mouth, I hit a button on the locator to decloak my Viper 8000 and saw the excitement and awe in his eyes.


    It was only a small ship ¡ª just a two-person speeder ¡ª but it was a good one. It had seen better days ¡ª even before the crash ¡ª but it was reliable and it was mine.


    My brother, Laith, would not be impressed to see what I¡¯d done to it, but I couldn¡¯t do anything about that now. And I wouldn¡¯t be in this predicament if it wasn¡¯t for my own stupidity.


    I¡¯d found a G-Class planet on my radar and wanted to see it up close. While I was preparing to join its orbit, a piece of space junk hit my starboard engine, causing it to burn at full capacity. I couldn¡¯t shut it off so I cranked up the port engine to try to match it and level out before I lost all control. By the time I¡¯d stopped spinning, I¡¯d travelled too far into the planet¡¯s atmosphere. I tried to pull up, but the engines cut out as the fuel tank reached empty.


    I was going down, so I did what I could to slow my descent and change my trajectory so I could survive the landing.


    I guess I¡¯d done a pretty good job ¡ª I was alive. The Viper had skidded along and finally nose-dived into the ground and was sitting at an odd angle, but it was in one piece. Well, mostly one piece, if you didn¡¯t count the engine parts and wing fragments scattered around the place.


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    I pressed my thumb to the lock beside the hatch and it opened upwards, then a small set of steps extended to the ground. I climbed into the ship, heading straight to the cockpit. I could have cried with relief when I saw that the homing beacon was still active and still sending a signal into space. I closed my eyes and held back the tears, hoping that Laith was on his way.


    I went back to the hatch and called to Jarath. I couldn¡¯t show him my baby and not let him get in and feel what it was like to sit in the pilot¡¯s seat. His face lit up and he didn¡¯t hesitate. Once he was sitting in the undamaged seat in the cockpit, I watched his face as he looked around him. His people had achieved flight ¡ª if his model flying machines were any indication ¡ª but they definitely were not equipped for space travel.


    My eyes were drawn to the other seat ¡ª the one I was sitting in when I¡¯d crashed. A shiver ran down my spine when I saw the piece of metal that had caused the gash on my leg and I realised how bad it could have been. How close I¡¯d come to losing my life.


    A sharp pain shot down the side of my head.


    Okay, enough messing around. I needed the medi kit.


    I pulled the kit out of its compartment behind Jarath¡¯s seat and set it up on the small bench above it. All the things I¡¯d need were there and were thankfully undamaged. I sighed. At last I could get some real relief.


    Now for the embarrassing part. I needed to get at my leg.


    I removed my cloak and threw it over the back of the seat. I¡¯d opted to wear the clothes that Jarath had given me ¡ª one reason was to blend in, but the other was because my shipsuit was a one-piece. I would have to strip down almost completely just to get to my leg. At least this way, he¡¯d only see my underpants.


    I pulled my left leg out of my pants and grabbed some antiseptic spray. Jarath was trying not to look, but I didn¡¯t have time for good manners; I used hand movements to convince him to watch me. I needed him to know how to do this so he could treat my head wound.


    Next, I applied the muscle regeneration spray, followed by some Skin-Grow. The gash was already sealed, mostly, but the Skin-Grow would make sure the rest of the skin was sealed and would prevent scarring.


    I waited for the sprays to dry, which was only a minute or two, then quickly pulled my pants back on.


    Now for my head. The lump was gone, but the wound was healing sooo slowly. I put each spray bottle on the shelf in front of Jarath and sat down in the co-pilot¡¯s seat.


    There was no need for my trusty little torch: the lights in the cabin were bright enough. I pointed to each bottle in turn and he sprayed them onto my head. When he¡¯d finished, I thanked him and smiled.


    Oh, that dimple of his was going to be the death of me...


    Focus!


    Now for the translator chips. They were the next thing on my list but I didn¡¯t know how to even start that conversation. I could think of no hand movements to convey the right meaning, but I had to think of something quickly.


    I decided to start by injecting one into my head first.


    I looked in the medi kit and I found the injector gun first, then I eventually found the chips in a little side compartment.


    Jarath¡¯s face had gone white. I had to admit the injector gun looked like a weapon. Poor thing must¡¯ve thought I was gonna blast him now that I¡¯d found my ship. I smiled, but that probably wouldn¡¯t have made him feel at ease.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I gave him the thumbs-up sign that we¡¯d worked out meant that something was good. ¡°Good. Yes. Good.¡±


    He watched cautiously as I loaded a chip into the gun. I¡¯d never done this to myself before. I¡¯d had one inserted a few years ago and had it removed after my missions were over. And I remembered that it hurt. A lot.


    And after the two days of pain I¡¯d had, more pain was the last thing I wanted.


    But I had to do this.


    I braced myself. I had to make this look easy and not too painful while Jarath watched me. I kept telling him that it was alright as I turned it toward my head and placed the tip behind my ear.


    Jarath¡¯s face was a mask of horror and he leapt out of his seat. I kept smiling and before he could pull the thing out of my hand, I pulled the trigger. The clicking sound was horrible and the pain was worse. It hurt a lot for something so small, but it would be worth it.


    I smiled up at Jarath and he looked like he wanted to kill someone. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I wish you could understand me already. I¡¯m okay.¡± I gave him the thumbs-up sign again and reached for a painkiller spray and sprayed it behind my ear. I followed it up with the antiseptic and the Skin-Grow. It would heal up in no time.


    Jarath didn¡¯t look convinced. He was talking, but it still sounded like gibberish. I had to wait until the chip started to do its thing. It would work things out soon enough.


    I showed him how small the injury was and kept reassuring him.


    Then it happened. His words changed to something I could understand. ¡°...You do that to yourself? I can¡¯t understand you. I thought you were treating your injuries, not giving yourself new ones.¡±


    I felt my eyes go wide. It was so wonderful to be able to understand him at last! I couldn¡¯t help smiling at him and he stopped talking. How could I tell him I understood?


    I opened and closed my hand as if it was a talking mouth then touched his lips. I brought it across to the spot where the chip was, making my hand talk the whole time, then pointed to my ear. I had no idea how else to tell him.


    He frowned. ¡°What are you trying to tell me?¡± Then his eyebrows went up. ¡°Are you trying to say... that you understand me?¡±


    I nodded vigorously and put my thumbs up for added emphasis.


    ¡°Really? You can understand?¡±


    I nodded again.


    ¡°Because of that thing you stuck in your head?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    I reloaded the injector gun and pointed at him. ¡°Your turn.¡±


    ¡°You want to do that to me?¡±


    I nodded and put my thumbs up. ¡°Yes.¡± I could see his hesitation, but I think he wanted to be able to understand me as much as I¡¯d wanted to understand him.


    He nodded slowly. ¡°Okay.¡±


    I motioned for him to sit back down in the seat. He turned his head and leaned forward so that I could reach. I lined the gun up carefully and pulled the trigger, cringing at the loud clicking sound.


    Jarath swore under his breath. I didn¡¯t blame him. There are so many blood vessels and nerve endings on the head that it wouldn¡¯t matter where you injected the chip, it would still hurt like a bitch.


    I followed up with the sprays from the medi kit, then flinched as I remembered he was an alien. What if these medications did more harm than good? I cursed myself for being so stupid and hoped that he¡¯d be okay; there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it now. Even if I washed them off, they would¡¯ve already penetrated the skin.


    His frown lines disappeared, so he was probably feeling some pain relief. That was a good sign, wasn¡¯t it?


    I kept talking to him while we waited for the chip in his head to communicate with mine and download the vocabulary for his language that mine had already built. Both chips were already programmed with every word in my native language, as well as every other known language in the universe.


    His eyes lit up. ¡°I can understand you! I can¡¯t believe it! This is amazing!¡±


    Finally. ¡°Yes. It is.¡±


    His smile was infectious. ¡°This is just so unbelievable!¡±


    ¡°It is one of the reasons I wanted to come to the ship.¡±


    That dimple looked like it was here to stay. ¡°There is so much I¡¯ve been dying to ask you!¡±


    Well, me too.


    We talked for a while and I found out that he lived alone ¡ª which is what I¡¯d suspected. We were still on his property, and that the town nearby was called Carnavon. All members of his race were as pale as he was and I definitely would not pass for a local.


    ¡°Well, there are some races in other countries that are darker in skin tone than me, but there¡¯s no one on the planet who looks like you. No offence.¡±


    ¡°None taken. What about height? Are you tall compared to your race?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just average.¡±


    So I would be a little tall in comparison.


    I let him ask me about the Viper and where I was from. I couldn¡¯t really explain where exactly in the Universe I was from because of his limited knowledge of any solar systems or galaxies outside of his, but I did the best I could.


    I started getting restless. We had to go. I¡¯d left the ship visible for too long. It was too easy to see, even with its nose in the dirt. I found a bag and shoved all of the sprays I¡¯d need from the medi kit into it, plus a few extra things. I replaced the spare translator chips and the injector gun and closed up the kit.


    After putting my cloak on and my hood up, we climbed out, closed up, cloaked and headed back to Jarath¡¯s house.


    We talked on the way and I couldn¡¯t help feeling elated. Things would be so much easier now. There was no barrier between us and it felt freeing. Like I¡¯d been locked up and gagged and now I¡¯d been let out.


    As we approached his house, I couldn¡¯t help thinking about my poor ship. There was nothing I could do to fix it. Laith was the expert, anyway. It needed a bucket-load of work done ¡ª if it was even salvageable.


    I didn¡¯t know what I was going to do if Laith couldn¡¯t find me.


    I couldn¡¯t let anyone here see me. I looked too different. My skin was too dark. My hair was too dark. My eyes weren¡¯t the same. I¡¯d have to hide out in Jarath¡¯s house for now. Luckily, I liked the scenery ¡ª him being the scenery.

 Chapter 4 — Understanding at Last

    I stopped out the front of the house. Being stuck in there again would be difficult, but it would be a whole lot more interesting now that Jarath and I could understand each other.


    My vision clouded and I sucked in a breath.


    Oh no.


    The hood pressed against the wound on my head and I became light-headed. I¡¯d been okay up till now, but I¡¯d overdone it. The Viper was further away than I remembered.


    I needed to get inside.


    As my foot touched the bottom step, the world tilted sideways and I grabbed the railing. Jarath caught me around the waist before I face-planted the steps. ¡°Hey, I got ya.¡±


    I opened my mouth, but couldn¡¯t form any words. I needed to lie down.


    ¡°Are you okay? Can you walk?¡±


    I nodded. Bad idea; my head pounded in response.


    Jarath helped me up the steps and toward the front door as my hood slid off. ¡°Let¡¯s get you inside and out of sight and lying down on something.¡±


    I tried to walk into the house, but my legs didn¡¯t want to cooperate. Once we¡¯d stumbled inside, Jarath carried me to a lounge chair and pushed some of my hair behind my ear. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    No.


    As he carefully put a cushion under my head, I blinked to try to focus on his face. He was genuinely concerned about me. It seemed strange that an alien would care when I knew so many people of my own race wouldn¡¯t give a damn.


    I took some slow, deep breaths and felt better. ¡°I think I¡¯ve done too much walking. My head... It¡¯s too much.¡±


    His features relaxed a bit. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯ve gone overboard on your first outing.¡± He smiled and I couldn¡¯t look away from that dimple. ¡°But I can understand why you did it. It¡¯s so much easier now that we can communicate.¡±


    I watched his mouth form the words and it was disconcerting that the movements weren¡¯t in sync with what I was hearing, but I¡¯d get used to it. That was always the weird thing about using translator chips, but it was either that, or not understanding him at all. I went back to watching that dimple as I smiled back. ¡°It makes things a lot easier.¡±


    Stop checking him out!


    ¡°Can I get you anything? Do you want a drink? Something to eat?¡±


    I shook my head and regretted it as the room spun. I closed my eyes. I needed to stop doing that. ¡°Um, maybe I should have a drink.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡± He left quickly and returned from the kitchen with a cup of water.


    I sipped the liquid and sighed. ¡°It seems I¡¯m always needing your help.¡±


    I bit my lip. This wasn¡¯t like me. I was always the strong one, always helping others.


    It was frustrating, but needing help always meant being closer to Jarath and I liked that. I liked the way he felt and the way he smelled of cologne and a hint of smoke from the fireplace. Being close to him made my heart race. I just wished I could be close to him when I wasn¡¯t on the verge of passing out. That way I could enjoy the closeness.


    Alwyn¡¯s tear-streaked and terrified face flashed into my mind and it was like a punch to the chest. I pushed it away as fast as I could.


    Part of me knew that these thoughts about Jarath were a bad idea. He was from a different planet. Hell, a different solar system! I couldn¡¯t be having these thoughts right now. Or ever. I needed to get my head on straight.


    My priority was to get off this rock and back home. I needed Laith to fly in and take me away, to rescue me like he always did ¡ª every time I got myself into trouble. I seemed to be really good at that. This time, though, took the cake.


    I closed my eyes and although I thought I was too wound up to sleep, I drifted off fairly quickly. Maybe I should have been worried about that.


    ©¤©¤©¤ ??¡î?? ©¤©¤©¤


    After I¡¯d slept the rest of the day away, we sat together on the lounge talking about our home planets and their cultures.


    Jarath turned to face me. ¡°In your culture, what does a guy do if he¡¯s attracted to a female?¡±


    ¡°Well, if he really likes her, he has to wait until the Seventh Day Parade, strip naked, run through the streets ahead of the parade, and profess his undying love to his intended.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The look of horror on Jarath¡¯s face was priceless and his voice kind of squeaked.


    I burst out laughing. I couldn¡¯t help it.


    ¡°What? What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t answer right away. Once I was able to speak, I said, ¡°I¡¯m just messin¡¯ with ya. That doesn¡¯t happen.¡±


    His face visibly relaxed and I chuckled.


    ¡°You¡¯re mean,¡± he said.


    I smirked. ¡°I know.¡±


    Talking to Jarath was so easy. We seemed to be able to talk about anything and he made me laugh. I hadn¡¯t had that for a long time. It made me drop my guard, the one I¡¯d built around myself after losing my mate on an exploration mission in the Rookwell Quadrant.


    It was a small planet covered in jungles and swamps and little else when it came to usable land. We¡¯d been exploring an area that was particularly dense, but found no evidence of the previous civilisation that was rumoured to exist about fifty years before.


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    In the early afternoon on the third day when we were heading back to our ship and I was looking forward to a nice cool shower to rid myself of the sweat and mud and leaves on my skin, Alwyn gave a shout and disappeared from view.


    My heart was in my throat as we rushed to him. ¡°What happened?¡±


    My blood turned to ice as we reached him and saw that he was chest-deep in mud.


    Laith put his arms out to stop anyone else falling in. ¡°Get back!¡± He turned to Alwyn. ¡°Hang tight and don¡¯t move. We¡¯ll get you out of there.¡±


    Darx handed Laith a rope and Laith tied a loop in it in half the time it would have taken me.


    I watched in stunned silence and it was an effort to breathe. This could not be happening.


    Alwyn sank a little deeper.


    No.


    Laith tossed the rope to Alwyn. ¡°Put this around yourself and we¡¯ll pull you out, okay?¡±


    Alwyn nodded and as he put the rope around under his arms, he slid down further.


    My hand flew to my mouth. ¡°No!¡±


    His eyes snapped to mine. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Babe. You guys will get me out of here in no time.¡±


    He tried to smile, but he wasn¡¯t fooling me. I could see it in his eyes.


    I tried to return his smile, but my bottom lip started trembling, so I bit it so he wouldn¡¯t see.


    The three guys in our group had started pulling on the rope before I registered that they¡¯d even moved and I stared blankly as they grunted with the strain.


    Their feet slid in the leaf mulch and the mud and they almost joined Alwyn a couple of times. I looked back at him to check how far they¡¯d managed to pull him out and sucked in a breath. He was actually in up to his neck!


    ¡°NO!¡±


    Why wasn¡¯t it working?


    I grabbed the rope and Hallie joined in too. We pulled and Alwyn even tried digging the mud out from around his body.


    Nothing worked.


    ¡°Lilliana?¡±


    I looked into his eyes through my tears. His head was the only part of him that was visible now.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He turned to the others. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can stop. I¡¯m not getting out of here.¡±


    There were protests and more pulling on the rope.


    ¡°Stop.¡± Alwyn sighed. ¡°Just stop. It hurts too much.¡± Everyone stopped. ¡°Lilli? I love you, Babe. I will leave this universe with love in my heart. But I want you to promise me you¡¯ll find someone else.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡±


    ¡°Yes. You need to. Not right away. But one day. Don¡¯t be alone forever because of me. I want you to be happy.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    My voice was barely audible and I stood and sobbed. I couldn¡¯t even hold him.


    ¡°Promise me.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Please. You should be happy. You deserve to be happy. Promise me you¡¯ll be open to love again.¡±


    His eyes pleaded with me and I finally nodded.


    He actually smiled through his tears. ¡°Thank you. I love you.¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± My breath hitched. ¡°I love you, too.¡±


    He started to sink faster and as his face went under, I screamed, then sobbed until there was nothing left in me and the mud had settled and he was truly gone.


    The hardest things I¡¯ve ever had to do ¡ª besides leaving that jungle ¡ª were telling Alwyn¡¯s parents and attending his funeral service without a body.


    I sucked in a breath.


    ¡°What? What is it?¡±


    I looked at Jarath as his words ripped me from my memories. ¡°Oh, sorry. I was just off in another time and another place.¡±


    His eyebrows were pulled together. ¡°Wanna talk about it?¡±


    I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn¡¯t bare that wound. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I¡¯d tell him one day. I just shook my head.


    Ouch! I¡¯ve gotta stop doing that!


    He didn¡¯t push it and the relief washed through me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just check on the oven.¡± He pushed up off the lounge and headed out to the kitchen and I realised that my cheeks were wet.


    ©¤©¤©¤ ??¡î?? ©¤©¤©¤


    After Jarath had cooked us a delicious meal, I asked him to show me the injection site for the translator chip. I was still worried about how he could react after I¡¯d carelessly sprayed the medications on it without thinking.


    He smiled. ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±


    He moved closer to me on the lounge so that I¡¯d be able to see behind his ear. I was suddenly fully aware of how close he was and how good he smelled. I took a deep breath and willed my heartbeat back to normal. It wouldn¡¯t obey me. I needed to concentrate on what I was doing. Focus! Be professional. This is a medical thing.


    He pulled his hair aside and I hesitated. I¡¯d have to touch him to pull his earlobe out of the way so I could see.


    Just do it.


    His skin was warm and he sucked in a breath as I touched him. I couldn¡¯t tell if that was a good thing or not. Was he repulsed by me? Was I too... alien? Or was it just that my hands were cold?


    Focus!


    I inspected the entry point. It looked good. Almost healed. A sigh escaped me as relief washed over me.


    ¡°Well? What¡¯s the verdict, Doc?¡±


    ¡°Doc?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. You know. Doctor.¡±


    I grimaced. Of course. ¡°Oh. I see. Yes. It looks good. It¡¯s healing well.¡±


    I must have sounded like a complete idiot.


    Jarath turned to me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯m an idiot who didn¡¯t think before she acted. ¡°I used the medical sprays on you without thinking about whether it would be safe for you. So I was worried that it might¡¯ve had some bad effects...¡± And I need to stop staring at you like this...


    ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if¡­¡± Alwyn¡¯s face flashed into my mind and my chest tightened.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s okay. I get it. No harm done though, right?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t really sure what to say after that. In the silence that followed, I straightened up to put some distance between us. My face was hot. I needed to keep my thoughts clear. Thoughts of Alwyn raced through my mind. I couldn¡¯t get close to someone yet¡­ or maybe not ever. My heart couldn¡¯t take it right now.


    I couldn¡¯t look at him. Things were getting a bit awkward.


    Jarath cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you, how did it happen? I mean, how did you end up crashing your ship?¡±


    The heat spread down my neck to my chest. Crashing because I did something stupid was so embarrassing and I was dreading explaining it to Laith and the others, but I thought I might as well be honest with Jarath.


    I took a deep breath. ¡°It was my fault.¡±


    His eyebrows rose. ¡°How?¡±


    I explained how I¡¯d flown too close to this rock and paid the price for it as I squirmed in my seat.


    He listened intently, which didn¡¯t make me feel any better.


    ¡°I treated my leg,¡± I continued, ¡°but didn¡¯t realise how bad my head was, probably because of how bad it actually was. The trip from the ship to here is just a blur. I don¡¯t know how I even made it without passing out.¡±


    He gave me a lopsided smile. ¡°That must have been¡ª¡±


    We both froze at the sound of something crashing to the ground outside. Jarath sucked in a breath, then sprang into action and grabbed his pistol. The pistol that I¡¯d disabled the night I arrived.

 Chapter 5 — Mae

    As he grabbed a lantern and headed toward the back door, I darted forward.


    ¡°Stay here,¡± he whispered.


    I cringed inwardly. I couldn¡¯t let him face whoever or whatever was out there with a broken weapon. ¡°I have to tell you something first,¡± I whispered.


    He frowned. ¡°Now?" His eyes darted to the door and back. ¡°Can¡¯t it wait?¡±


    ¡°No. It can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± His eyebrows inched up higher on his forehead. He was poised to rush outside, but thankfully, he stayed to listen.


    ¡°Um... The night you found me in the barn, you had that gun...¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°I... umm... made it so you couldn¡¯t shoot me with it.¡±


    ¡°You what? How?¡±


    ¡°I used my mind to remove all the powder and fuse the projectile to the barrel.¡±


    ¡°What? How can you¡ª I¡¯ve never heard of anyone being able to do anything like that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something I can do. I had to protect myself.¡±


    He ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to shoot you.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that at the time. You¡¯re an alien and I was trespassing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an alien.¡±


    He had a point. I sighed. ¡°Well, I guess. Alien to you. Alien to this world...¡±


    ¡°So now that there¡¯s a noise outside and I urgently need the gun, you¡¯re telling me this?¡±


    I bit my bottom lip. ¡°I forgot about it till now.¡±


    He rolled his eyes and sighed. ¡°Okay. I have another gun.¡±


    He stalked over to the room he slept in and came out a few moments later with a longer gun in his hand. ¡°Now wait here.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°No. If it¡¯s a person, they¡¯ll see you...¡±


    Oh. Yeah. Duh. I nodded. He was right. We couldn¡¯t risk it.


    I was trained for this sort of thing, though, so I felt useless letting him go alone.


    He placed the lantern on a small table near the back door and crept out silently without it. I figured he¡¯d come back for it if needed.


    A few moments later, I heard quiet footsteps on the back verandah. Probably waited till his eyes adjusted to the darkness. I wondered if his species could see well in the dark.


    I waited, frozen in place. My heartbeat the only sound. Well, it was pounding so hard that it seemed like I could hear it.


    I tried to imagine the yard and the barn, but it was difficult. I¡¯d only been out there once in the dark and once in the daylight. And a few peeks out of the windows.


    Was he at the barn now? Could he see well enough? Would he shoot someone if they were spying on us or robbing the place? I didn¡¯t think so, but I really didn¡¯t know him well enough to make that call.


    Every now and then I could hear a faint noise out there. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. And even then I could only manage shallow breaths. What if something happened to him?


    I jumped as a loud crash split the silence. Oh my stars! What happened? What should I do? I need to go out there. I need a weapon. I need my pistol.


    I looked around the room frantically as if the pistol would magically appear and I could grab it.


    Maybe I could use something else as a weapon...


    I quickly darted around the room, but I couldn¡¯t find anything suitable.


    Charging out into the night without a weapon or a light would be too dangerous. And really dumb. I¡¯d probably get shot by Jarath in the darkness.


    No. Don¡¯t try to be a hero. Just wait a little longer. Then, But what if he¡¯s hurt? What if¡ª? An image of Alwyn¡¯s face as he sunk down into the boggy sludge invaded my mind.


    ¡°No!¡± I shoved the image from my brain. I needed to calm down. I needed to slow my breathing. I had to wait a bit longer. If Jarath didn¡¯t come back soon, I¡¯d find my pistol, grab the lantern and venture out.


    Just as I was starting to get my breathing under control, the door handle started turning. My heart leapt into my throat and my hand went straight for my pistol ¡ª only it wasn¡¯t there.


    My eyes automatically searched for a weapon again, but before I remembered that there was nothing here I could use, the door opened and Jarath popped his head in. ¡°It¡¯s just me.¡±


    I was so relieved it was him and that he was unhurt that I rushed forward and hugged him. He tensed, but put his arms around me.


    ¡°Hey. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m okay. I think it was an animal. I couldn¡¯t find anything or anyone out there.¡±


    I could feel his taut muscles under his shirt. What am I doing?


    I came to my senses and stepped back. ¡°What was that loud bang?¡±


    He gave me a sheepish grin. ¡°I tripped over the end of the plough.¡±


    I tried to imagine it. ¡°But why was it so loud?¡±


    ¡°I landed against some empty tins that I use for grain for the chickens. Knocked them all over me.¡± He chuckled.


    I couldn¡¯t help the grin that spread across my face. And his dimple was back.


    Oh, that dimple¡¯s gonna ruin me!


    He grabbed the lantern and turned to head back outside. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything out there, but it¡¯s pretty dark, so I¡¯ll just double-check.¡±


    ©¤©¤©¤ ??¡î?? ©¤©¤©¤


    The next morning was clear and bright. We talked over breakfast and I had trouble looking away from Jarath¡¯s eyes as he spoke.


    Once we¡¯d finished, I stood and glanced out the window. The urge to rush outside and take a walk in the forest was so strong, I had to hold on to the table to stop myself. I needed to get out of here. I needed to go to the ship. I needed to check to make sure the homing beacon was still working and there was still a chance Laith was coming for me.


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    I needed a distraction. I looked at Jarath. At his handsome face. Yes. It was handsome ¡ª even though it was so pale and so different from my own kind. I couldn¡¯t help it. I was hopeless. And today I couldn¡¯t blame it on my head injury.


    Jarath must have read something in my eyes.


    He frowned. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Yeah. I just... I¡¯m thankful for your help but... I can¡¯t... I need to go. I need to get home.¡± In frustration I ran my fingers through my hair and sucked in a breath when my fingernail found the edge of the scab on my head. ¡°Ow! Damn it!¡±


    Jarath jumped up. ¡°Let me have a look.¡±


    I took a deep breath and nodded. I sat back down and handed him my torch. I felt my hair being moved to the side.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I murmured.


    ¡°Not a problem.¡± Pause. ¡°It¡¯s bleeding a little, but it looks okay.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    After dabbing at it with a cloth, he handed me the torch and sat beside me. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how you must be feeling. I can only try to help you.¡±


    I looked into those unusual eyes that were making me feel warm inside. Why was he helping me? How could he just accept me so easily? Was he being truthful, or did he have an agenda? Maybe he¡¯d contacted the authorities and was just keeping me occupied until they arrived...


    Where did that come from? I had no idea. If he was going to turn me in, he would¡¯ve done it before now.


    My eyes wandered to his lips and then slowly down to his chest.


    He chuckled. ¡°Are you checking me out?¡±


    My eyes shot to his face and I felt my cheeks flush. That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯d been doing. ¡°I... Um. No. I wasn¡¯t. I was just... Oh, don¡¯t be putting tickets on yourself, Alien Boy!¡±


    Oops. That just slipped out.


    His smile grew. ¡°Alien Boy?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    He dissolved into a fit of laughter and it was a struggle not to join in.


    I waited until it had died down. ¡°Are you done?¡±


    He wiped the tears from his eyes. ¡°Yep.¡±


    The dimple was there in all its glory. I had no words. He just smiled. Oh, boy...


    He was suddenly very close to me and I realised I¡¯d leaned closer too. His scent was intoxicating and...


    And I couldn¡¯t do this. I pulled away. I couldn¡¯t give in to my attraction to him. He was an alien. We were too different. And I was leaving this rock as soon as Laith arrived... If he arrived...


    I stopped myself. When he arrived.


    Alwyn¡¯s face flashed into view and he was telling me to find someone new.


    No!


    I couldn¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t.


    There was a noise outside. A low rumbling sound. Not again! Not now.


    This time, Jarath leapt up and rushed to the window, but didn¡¯t go looking for his gun. The noise was getting louder by the second.


    I sprang to my feet, automatically reaching for my pistol. I found nothing and cursed. I needed that thing back.


    Jarath, however, didn¡¯t look alarmed.


    I tried to slow my pounding heart as he turned back to me. ¡°What is it?¡±


    He could see my fear. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lilliana. It¡¯s only a car. A ground vehicle used for transport.¡± I took a deep breath to try to calm down. ¡°But you¡¯ll have to hide.¡± He looked out the window again. ¡°It¡¯s Mae. A friend of mine from town.¡±


    Mae? A friend? Male or female?


    Why was I wondering about that? Maybe to assess how dangerous they might be. Yes, that was it¡­


    Jarath took me to the hallway where he pulled a cord and a ladder extended from the ceiling.


    ¡°You can hide up here,¡± he told me. ¡°I will not betray you. I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡±


    I nodded and climbed up, then watched as he pushed the ladder back up and disappeared from view.


    Anxiety gnawed at me as I listened to the voices below. I could hear them exchanging pleasantries from my hiding place. Definitely a female¡¯s voice ¡ª unless there were males of his species with high-pitched voices.


    The fact that it was a female down there piqued my curiosity. What did the females look like? Was she as pale as Jarath? I had to know. Surely it wouldn¡¯t hurt to just take a peek. I could be stealthy and silent when I needed to be.


    It took a while to work out how the ladder thing worked. I lowered it slowly and grinned stupidly when it didn¡¯t make a sound.


    I crept down and padded across the floor, following the sound of their voices. They were in the kitchen. I stood to the side of the doorway, wondering how I could get a glimpse without being seen.


    A door on the cupboard with the glass front was sitting open. It reflected the image of Jarath and a busty female sitting together at the table. She was attractive in an odd sort of way, but only because I still wasn¡¯t used to their pale appearance. She was lighter than him. Long pale hair and pale eyes. Curvy figure. Pleasant smile.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see you in town on market day.¡± Her voice was sweet and light.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t need any supplies.¡±


    That was probably a lie. Her tone had implied that it was unusual for him to not be there.


    I felt guilty. Would he run out of supplies because of me? I couldn¡¯t let that happen. I¡¯d have to insist that he goes into town. And soon. Even if it was just to keep the appearance of normalcy. I would talk to him about it as soon as Alien Girl left.


    I had to stifle a chuckle at my own joke.


    ¡°I¡¯m worried about you,¡± she continued. ¡°All alone out here. It must be hard to run the farm all by yourself.¡±


    He shifted his weight awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I manage quite fine by myself. I know your brother needs the work, but I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about my brother.¡±


    It hit me in the gut. I knew exactly what she was talking about. She was looking to be his mate, to live here with him and help with the running of the farm. She placed a hand on his arm.


    Heat rose in my chest and it took a few moments to recognise what it was. Surely I wasn¡¯t jealous? Come on. I couldn¡¯t be. We weren¡¯t even from the same part of the universe!


    It was completely logical that he would be attracted to someone of his own species and someone he knows well. He might even have feelings for her already.


    Now that thought caught me off guard. I knew it was stupid, but I couldn¡¯t help the way I felt. I quickly retreated to my hiding spot before I made a noise and ruined everything. Jarath would keep my secret, but I doubt anyone else would.


    I waited impatiently for him to return. When he did, he looked relieved to see me still up there. Where else would I be? Well, that was a dumb question, considering I came out and snooped around.


    ¡°She¡¯s gone. You can come out now. Sorry it took so long.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡±


    Was it? No. Not really. How many times was this going to happen? Would I eventually have to stay up here permanently? I hoped not. It was dark and dusty and the air was stale.


    I climbed down and turned to look at him. ¡°She seemed to like you a lot.¡±


    ¡°How could you tell that from up here?¡±


    Whoops. ¡°I...¡± Might as well just tell him. ¡°I peeked.¡±


    ¡°You what? Are you crazy? Do you know what she would¡¯ve done if she¡¯d seen you?¡±


    ¡°I was curious. I only looked at her through the reflection of the glass in the kitchen cupboard.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. She could have walked to the doorway and seen you.¡± He ran his hand through his hair. ¡°Lilliana. You need to be more careful.¡±


    My hands went to my hips. ¡°I only wanted to see the female of your species. I didn¡¯t get caught, so just calm down.¡±


    I stomped off to the room I¡¯d been sleeping in and slumped down on the bed. I was no child, but right now I was acting like one.


    Jarath followed me. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to be found out, that¡¯s all. Do you know what they¡¯d do to you if they caught you? They¡¯d dissect you to see what makes you tick.¡±


    My stomach dropped and I looked up at him. He was serious. My people wouldn¡¯t be so barbaric, but there was a time in our history when that¡¯s exactly what they did. I kept forgetting how primitive it was here.


    I looked down at my feet. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We just have to be careful, okay?¡±


    I looked back into his eyes. ¡°Okay.¡± I sighed. ¡°You know, she does really like you.¡±


    ¡°No. Not really. Not as anything more than just a friend.¡±


    ¡°Oh, now that¡¯s where you¡¯re mistaken, Alien Boy.¡± He raised his eyebrows at the nickname. ¡°She likes you and was hinting at a union.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯ve got it all wrong. She was just concerned about me working out here alone. She thinks I can¡¯t handle it. A lot of people think I can¡¯t. I¡¯m out to prove them wrong. I¡¯ve been going great.¡±


    ¡°But you haven¡¯t been out of the house since... since I got here. That couldn¡¯t be good for the farm.¡±


    His shoulders slumped. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You need to go into town.¡±


    His muscles tensed. ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°You have to. You have to get supplies, and you have to act normal, so no one will get suspicious.¡±


    He opened his mouth to protest, but he knew I was right. ¡°Okay. But when I do, you¡¯ll have to hide up in the attic again. My brother sometimes drops in unannounced, and if I¡¯m not home, he comes in and makes himself at home till I get back.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay.¡± The thought of spending hours up in his attic by myself didn¡¯t sound appealing, but what choice did I have?


    Hurry up, Laith!

 Chapter 6 — Costumes

    Only one day had passed and I was heading up to the attic again. I cringed inside at the thought of it.


    Another car had arrived, this time with two strangers inside. That couldn¡¯t be good.


    Did Mae see me after all? Did she tell someone? It didn¡¯t seem likely that she would have seen an alien in Jarath¡¯s house and not bat an eyelid. I pushed those thoughts away as I climbed the ladder once again.


    There was a knock on the door just as Jarath closed the attic¡¯s hatch. I moved silently toward the front of the house in order to hopefully hear what was said.


    I could hear the door open and then a male alien¡¯s voice as he greeted Jarath. If I put my ear to the floor, I could hear more clearly.


    He told Jarath that they were from the government and introduced himself and his partner, then asked if Jarath lived alone.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just me here.¡±


    The alien cleared his throat. ¡°I see. What do you do here? On this property.¡±


    ¡°I breed horses. Working horses. I also run some cows and chickens.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    He asked a few more routine questions, then got down to business. ¡°Has there been anyone staying with you or have you seen anyone in the area recently?¡±


    My heart rate accelerated. They knew something.


    ¡°No. Why?¡±


    ¡°We have reason to believe that a group of youths have been stirring up trouble on the outlying properties.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I strained to hear them better.


    ¡°Well, they have been dressing up in costumes and scaring the public.¡±


    What the? What¡¯s that got to do with anything?


    ¡°What kind of costumes?¡±


    ¡°Alien costumes.¡±


    Oh no. Not good. Did someone see me? Did they find the ship?


    Jarath chuckled. ¡°You mean, they¡¯re dressed like little green men with big heads and bulging black eyes?¡±


    ¡°Not quite. More like blue body paint with black spots all over, and long black wigs.¡±


    My stomach sank. No.


    Jarath laughed. ¡°Wow. They sure have an imagination.¡±


    The man ignored him. ¡°Have you seen them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    My heart pounded in my ears.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m pretty sure. I wouldn¡¯t forget an outrageous costume like that.¡±


    They exchanged a few more words that I didn¡¯t really pay attention to, and then the man left. I felt numb.


    It was a long time after the sound of the car¡¯s motor had faded before Jarath dared to open the hatch. He looked worried. ¡°They¡¯re looking for you,¡± he breathed. ¡°They¡¯re trying to make out like it¡¯s some local kids dressed up so no one suspects anything and panics about it, but their description was dead on.¡±


    I tried to calm my breathing as I climbed down, concentrating on one rung at a time. It didn¡¯t work. My breathing was shallow and I felt sick. ¡°Yeah, I know. I heard them.¡±


    He sighed loudly. ¡°What are we gonna do?¡±


    ¡°Um, not panic?¡±


    He ran a hand through his hair. ¡°But what if they find you?¡±


    I tried taking a deep breath and let it out slowly. ¡°They won¡¯t find me. I just need to lay low a little bit longer.¡±


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    ¡°How can you be so sure?¡±


    ¡°Because I think I¡¯ll be outta here very soon. Did you hear what he said? A group of kids. It wasn¡¯t me that was spotted. I think my brother is here looking for me.¡± The irony of using the word spotted wasn¡¯t lost on me as I looked down at the black spots of varying sizes on my arms.


    There was a flutter of excitement in my chest as I thought about being rescued. But then it turned to pain when I thought of leaving Jarath. I¡¯d kinda gotten used to having him around.


    His face became expressionless. Was he panicking about more aliens being here, or was it that he didn¡¯t want me to leave? Or maybe he was worried about getting caught harbouring an alien. It was hard to tell. He may just want his life back. He might want to be with Alien Girl after all.


    I couldn¡¯t read him.


    I¡¯d come to think of him as a friend. Maybe more than a friend, but I couldn¡¯t go there. Alwyn told me to move on, but Jarath was an alien. And I wasn¡¯t ready.


    I didn¡¯t want to say goodbye, but I couldn¡¯t stay here. I didn¡¯t belong here. I couldn¡¯t keep hiding out in this house. Sooner or later, I¡¯d be found. Their government probably had people watching the house right now. That meant that I couldn¡¯t go back to the Viper. I stepped away from the window.


    How was I going to tell Laith where I was? If I¡¯d had a portable homing device, he could be here picking me up right now. We were between missions, so I didn¡¯t have any of that gear with me. That was also why I didn¡¯t have a translator chip in my head. They had to be removed after a certain period of time, so we¡¯d normally give our bodies a rest from them for a week or so and get another one implanted for the next mission.


    I¡¯d make sure I was more prepared next time.


    What was I talking about? Next time? I didn¡¯t plan on ever doing this again.


    I followed Jarath to the kitchen and he started making us both some tea. Tea would be nice. I needed something to help calm my nerves.


    Sitting at the table, I had a view of the back yard area through a small gap in the curtains. I started looking further out to the tree line. Laith was out there somewhere. He was looking for me. He was coming for me. The feeling I¡¯d had the day before returned. I wanted to rush out there, calling Laith¡¯s name and waving my arms around like a crazy person. I wanted off this rock.


    I looked at Jarath¡¯s back as he busied himself while waiting for the water to boil and I felt a pang of sadness. I¡¯d miss him, but what else could I do?


    What would it be like for him once I¡¯m gone? How could he go back to life as usual once he¡¯d discovered that there was life on other planets? Nothing would be the same again. And worst of all ¡ª he couldn¡¯t tell anyone.


    If it was me, I¡¯d have to tell someone. I couldn¡¯t stand keeping something that big to myself.


    ¡°We have to have a plan.¡± That just came out of nowhere. But we needed to work out what to do.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he agreed. ¡°Any ideas?¡±


    I went to run my fingers through my hair and stopped before they hit the wound. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the house is being watched.¡± He nodded. ¡°So we can¡¯t go to the ship or set up some kind of sign for Laith and the others to let them know I¡¯m here.¡±


    He nodded again, deep in thought.


    ¡°They will have equipment with them that will detect my presence, but it only works at a short distance. He¡¯d have to be outside in the yard, pointing it straight at the house, so maybe he¡¯ll try each of the houses under the cover of darkness. We¡¯ll have to be ready in case they show up. Starting tonight.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    There wasn¡¯t much we could do in preparation, and there wasn¡¯t anything to pack. I needed my shipsuit. ¡°My shipsuit. Do you still have it?¡±


    A smile crept across his face and the dimple magically appeared. ¡°Yep. I¡¯ll get it for you.¡±


    Why was he smiling like that? It was only an item of clothing. No big deal.


    Once he walked back into the room and handed me the garment, I quickly worked out what the smile was about. He¡¯d sewn up the leg for me. Now it was my turn to smile. ¡°So, you¡¯re not just a pretty alien face. You can do useful stuff too.¡±


    He laughed out loud at that.


    I looked up at him. ¡°Thank you. I appreciate it.¡± I could have kissed him. But that would¡¯ve been a bad idea. How could I stand to leave him behind if I did that?


    He bowed low and added a little flourish of his hand. ¡°I live to serve.¡±


    My eyes stung. Oh, I was going to miss him.


    ©¤©¤©¤ ??¡î?? ©¤©¤©¤


    After yet another tasty meal, I put on my shipsuit and waited impatiently for darkness to creep in.


    Every noise had me on edge. It could mean Laith was out there, but it could also mean that the people from the government were back. I was a complete mess. I stopped myself from pacing the floor and sat down on the lounge chair.


    Jarath sat next to me and took one of my hands in his. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be okay. You need to slow your breathing and try to think about something else. Do you want to do something to keep your mind occupied?¡±


    I frowned. Like what? My mind went to a few places that I knew it shouldn¡¯t, but yeah, it didn¡¯t care. It went there anyway.


    ¡°I could teach you how to play cards.¡±


    I nodded dumbly. Anything to keep from thinking about everything. And from thinking about making out with an alien.


    Then he gave me a smile that showed his dimple.


    Did he read something in my eyes? I hoped not. I didn¡¯t want to give away what my traitorous brain had been thinking.


    It turned out to be a simple, but interesting game. The cards themselves were primitive, but charming. Kings and queens adorned the cards. I liked the jokers and was disappointed when they were cast aside so we could play. Once I got the hang of the game and the rules, I liked it.


    ¡°Take the deck with you when you go,¡± he told me.


    ¡°The deck?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. The whole set of cards is called a deck.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Okay. Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I can buy some more next time I¡¯m in town.¡±


    I smiled up at him. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    And that¡¯s when the front door burst open and Laith came barging in, laser pistol in one hand, stunner in the other.

 Chapter 7 — Found Again

    I jumped up out of my seat. ¡°Laith!¡±


    My first instinct was to stand in front of Jarath.


    ¡°Lilliana!¡± His eyebrows drew together. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Making sure you don¡¯t shoot first and ask questions later.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yes, you would.¡± I didn¡¯t have to remind him of the Roxette incident. ¡°Jarath is a friend. He helped me after the crash.¡± I could feel Jarath standing behind me. Could feel the heat from his body. Could hear him shift his weight to the other foot.


    Laith stepped into the room, followed by two other members of our team, Darx and Kahzidar. My heart leapt. They were really here. I was getting off this rock.


    Laith didn¡¯t lower his weapon and the others had theirs drawn. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking for you. Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Your medi kit was used. What are your injuries?¡±


    ¡°You found the Viper? Good.¡± Relief surged through me. ¡°I, um, I hit my head and cut my leg pretty bad.¡± I turned so he could see the stitching up the leg of my shipsuit and he cringed. ¡°But I¡¯m okay now. The medi kit sorted me out.¡±


    He looked skeptical.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I repeated. ¡°Can you put your weapons away? This is Jarath.¡± I stepped aside so I was only blocking half of their view. ¡°He found me the night of the crash and helped me. I was woozy with the head injury and passed out. He¡¯s had many chances to turn me in to the authorities, but hasn¡¯t done it. He¡¯s looked after me and fed me and I¡¯ve been staying here waiting for you.¡±


    I watched as they lowered their weapons one at a time, but no one put them away. Fair enough. I wouldn¡¯t have either.


    The tallest of our group took a step forward. ¡°Hey, Wildcat. Ready to get outta here?¡±


    ¡°Hell, yeah! Where¡¯s the ship, Darx?¡±


    His smile widened. ¡°Not far away. Hallie is on standby.¡±


    My heart pounded as my smile matched his. They were ready to rock and roll. ¡°Good. I¡¯m ready when you are.¡±


    I noticed that Jarath was now standing beside me.


    ¡°Hello,¡± he offered. I was impressed. They towered over him and were heavily armed.


    I looked at the others. ¡°Do you guys have translator chips?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Kahzidar said. He was the science-y one on the team. ¡°The Viper reported two missing, so we stuck some in. They work on him?¡± He waved a blue hand at Jarath.


    ¡°Yeah. I had a hard time getting him to take me to the Viper before we could communicate. It shouldn¡¯t take long for your chips to pick up on their language. He said hello.¡±


    They all acknowledged his greeting.


    I looked at Laith. He was getting antsy. He wanted to leave. I could see it in his eyes. I agreed. We should be moving. We could talk about all this once we were out of here.


    He met my gaze. ¡°We need to book it.¡± He frowned. ¡°What were you thinking? How did you end up crashing the Viper?¡±


    Now I just felt stupid. ¡°I wanted to have a closer look and got pelted with a piece of space junk. Hit the engine and made it do a full burn. Straight toward the planet. By the time I got straightened out, it was too late to pull out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. I know you¡¯re against it, but you¡¯re getting a permanent sub-dermal tracker. I¡¯m not going through this again.¡±


    Kahz spoke up. ¡°We should all get them.¡±


    Laith sighed. ¡°Yeah. We should. But right now, we need to get going.¡±


    I looked at Jarath and my heart plummeted to my stomach. I didn¡¯t want to say goodbye. ¡°I wish you could come with us ¡ª just for the ride. Just for a while... We could show you around the universe.¡±


    Laith turned to me. ¡°Are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You know it. But he¡¯s been good to me. Fed me and kept me hidden whenever someone came to the house. He deserves to have some fun and learn about the world outside of this small rock.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°We can bring him back in a couple of days.¡±


    I felt a pang in my gut thinking about that, because I¡¯d still have to say goodbye. I was just delaying the inevitable.


    Jarath¡¯s frown smoothed itself out. Was he really considering coming with us?


    Darx turned toward the front door. ¡°We got company. Someone¡¯s out there.¡±


    I froze. ¡°Hallie?¡±


    ¡°No. She¡¯s got orders to wait till we give her the signal to come get us.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t good.


    Darx quietly shut the door and crept to the window. He pulled out a night vision scope and peered through the curtains. ¡°Aliens. Lots of ¡¯em. I¡¯d say they know we¡¯re here. They¡¯re taking up positions around the house.¡±


    ¡°Damn! We shoulda booked it! Now we¡¯re stuck in here!¡± Laith looked at me with a scowl.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t blame me!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who got yourself stuck here in the first place!¡±


    I opened my mouth to reply, but closed it again. Arguing with him wouldn¡¯t help. We needed a plan.


    I turned to Jarath. ¡°I¡¯m assuming they¡¯ve got the house surrounded. Is there another way out of here?¡±


    He gave me a half-smile. ¡°Yes. The previous owner was paranoid that the government were going to take away our rights and invade our farms, so he dug a tunnel.¡±


    ¡°Whoah, seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yes. He was delusional.¡±


    ¡°Thank the creators of the universe for crazy people! Where does it lead?¡±


    ¡°To the stables. He thought it would be a quiet getaway.¡±


    ¡°He had that right.¡±


    Darx came back from his position at the window. ¡°Okay, so how are we gonna do this? We need something to distract them while we split.¡±


    ¡°Wait here.¡± Jarath rushed out of the room and came back wheeling some kind of fake person. ¡°My mother has been tailoring some clothes for me using this mannequin. We could put it near the window and pull back the curtain enough for it to be seen. Maybe that will at least make them think we¡¯re still here.¡±


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    Not much of a distraction, but better than nothing. We didn¡¯t want any movement or loud noises. We didn¡¯t want them to think we were being aggressive.


    ¡°That will have to do,¡± I told him. ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    We all moved away from the window while Jarath pushed the mannequin into position. He stopped to scoop up the deck of cards from the table and put the pack in his pocket. ¡°Come on. This way.¡±


    He led us to a dark room behind the kitchen that had shelves on the walls and a large trapdoor in the middle of the floor. I flicked on my torch as he opened it up and we descended into the darkness. Jarath pulled the trapdoor shut behind us and I shuddered.


    I hated the dark. Yeah, I know it¡¯s pretty dumb when I spend half my time zooming through the blackness of space, but total darkness underneath the ground is different. Very different. It¡¯s oppressive and smothering. And creepy.


    I handed my torch to Jarath. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    He sidestepped everyone and started off down the tunnel. The roof was low and Darx had to hunch forward. The walls were as creepy as I¡¯d imagined with all the tree roots sticking out and cobwebs stretched between them. I guess there¡¯s spiders in some form all over the universe.


    We seemed to be walking forever when Jarath announced that we¡¯d made it. I looked past all the bodies in the small space and saw a ladder extending upwards. Jarath extinguished the torch, climbed up, and pushed the trapdoor open. We followed him up and were greeted with the smell of what I assumed was horse manure.


    I¡¯d smelled the same odour on the breeze while staying with Jarath and I¡¯d seen the animals grazing in the fields around Jarath¡¯s property. They were powerful, majestic creatures. We had similar animals back home, so I hoped that these were just as easy to ride.


    Jarath rushed around in the dark, grabbing riding gear for us. ¡°Do you know how to ride?¡±


    ¡°Yes. We have something similar to your horses on our planet,¡± I told him.


    I could see his smile in the darkness. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get going.¡±


    He put bridles on five of the horses and gave a quick explanation on how to direct them and we mounted up.


    Jarath checked that we were all mounted. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    He led his horse over to the door to the stables and pushed it open. He mounted swiftly and kicked his mount into a fast walk. I wanted to go faster, to put distance between us and the aliens back at the house, but we needed to be quiet.


    I looked back and could see the outline of the house in the darkness, with some light shining through some of the windows, but couldn¡¯t see anyone nearby. They were well hidden.


    My heartbeat picked up. This was taking too long. The trees were getting closer. They would conceal us. Our hoofbeats were too loud. Someone was bound to hear us.


    We kept up our slow pace in silence and I kept shooting glances over my shoulder, expecting to see people running toward us, but there was nothing. No movement. No sounds.


    I looked forward again. Nearly there. Only about fifty metres to go.


    Suddenly, it wasn¡¯t so quiet anymore. A shout rang out in the night. ¡°Over there!¡±


    We¡¯d been found out.


    Jarath looked back at us. ¡°Go!¡±


    He kicked his mount and took off at a fast pace and we followed without hesitation. It took me a while to get used to the movement of the horse and even though we were in danger, I couldn¡¯t stop the feeling of exhilaration as we flew through the darkness.


    I could hear Laith calling Hallie to meet up with us. Could still hear shouting, but it was difficult over the noise of the horses'' hoofs on the hard ground.


    Then I could hear weird popping sounds. What the? Is that their primitive weapons?


    As soon as I¡¯d finished that thought, Jarath¡¯s horse stumbled and fell, throwing him onto the ground and screaming in agony. My heart stopped and started back up again and it took a second or two to remember how to stop the horse and turn it around.


    Laith looked back. ¡°Lilliana! What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Jarath fell. I need to help him.¡±


    ¡°But we came here for you! You can¡¯t put yourself at risk!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving him!¡±


    Laith gave a groan of frustration and I could hear them turning back as I slid off my horse and raced to Jarath¡¯s side. Please be okay. Please be okay.


    My mind played the scene with Alwyn sinking into the mud over and over and it was like a knife in my chest. I couldn¡¯t stand it if I lost someone else I cared about. The knife twisted at the thought.


    He moaned and put a hand up to his head and relief flooded my veins.


    ¡°Jarath! Are you okay? Are you hurt?¡±


    He mumbled something and I looked him over quickly. ¡°Can you get up? We have to go!¡±


    I helped him to his feet. ¡°My horse...¡±


    I could see the outline of the poor beast in the darkness. Its chest wasn¡¯t moving. ¡°I think he¡¯s gone.¡±


    Jarath made a choked sound in his throat. ¡°He was one of my best...¡±


    ¡°We have to go. I¡¯m sorry. They¡¯re coming.¡± I could hear more shouting. I thought I heard someone say something about them taking us alive.


    Jarath seemed to come to his senses and he stumbled to the horse and managed to get up. I jumped up in front of him and took the reins. ¡°Hold onto me. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    We wasted no more time. ¡°Laith! Where¡¯s Hallie?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s close!¡±


    ¡°Tell her to hurry!¡±


    I was leading the group through the trees, but had no idea where we were going.


    A minute or two later, I turned to my brother. ¡°Laith?¡±


    He grinned back. ¡°Any second now...¡±


    I felt a small echo of relief, but we weren¡¯t out of there yet.


    ¡°Okay, stop! Now!¡± Laith shouted.


    We all pulled up on the reins and dismounted.


    ¡°Jarath. Get down! Quickly!¡± I called.


    Jarath looked down at me. ¡°What are you doing? They¡¯ll catch up to us!¡±


    I smiled at him. ¡°Just trust me. Get down here.¡±


    He dismounted and walked over to where we were standing.


    I stepped away from him. ¡°Now, stand still and don¡¯t touch anyone. Hallie is going to pick us up. We need to stay separate or things will end in disaster.¡±


    His eyes widened at that, but then I felt the familiar tingle of the transporter beam. It consumed my vision till I could no longer see. Next minute, we were in the transporter room aboard Laith¡¯s ship.


    Hallie¡¯s voice came over the com system loud and clear. ¡°Everyone aboard?¡±


    Laith didn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°Yes. Book it!¡±


    I felt a slight pull as the ship ascended toward the stars and I let out a giggle. We¡¯d done it. We were going home.


    I turned to Jarath. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    He grimaced, but I didn¡¯t think it was from any pain he felt. It was the horse. I knew it. He said he was okay, but showed me his scraped knee and elbow. I guess that could be classed as ¡®okay¡¯. They were minor injuries.


    I smiled. ¡°We can fix that.¡±


    I heard a groan and spun around. Kahz was holding his side and blood oozed between his fingers.


    I darted forward. ¡°Kahz! Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not okay. I¡¯ve been shot!¡±


    ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    Laith stepped in front of Kahz. ¡°Report.¡±


    Kahz stood a little straighter. ¡°There seems to be an entry point and an exit point, so I doubt there¡¯s anything in there. Just can¡¯t stop the bleeding with only my hands.¡±


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get you fixed up.¡±


    Laith made him lie down on a nearby bench and I pulled a medi kit from its station on the wall. It was tense, but soon we had the bleeding under control and he¡¯d been given the works with all the healing sprays.


    I sighed as Laith applied a bandage. Kahz would be okay.


    Jarath stood beside me. ¡°Your medicines are amazing. Your friend most likely would have died back on my planet.¡±


    Laith walked up to us. ¡°What are we gonna do with him?¡±


    I looked up at Laith. ¡°¡®Him¡¯ is standing right here. And we can¡¯t take him back now. He¡¯ll be in all sorts of trouble.¡± I turned back to Jarath. ¡°We¡¯ll try to come back soon so you can get a message to your family so they know you¡¯re okay and so someone can look after the farm, but you¡¯ll have to stay with us for a while. At least until things calm down. We¡¯ll work something out.¡± The smile fell away from my face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve messed up your whole life.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? I mean, I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m worried about the farm, but I¡¯m probably the first of my kind to ever go to space.¡±


    I smirked. ¡°You¡¯re probably just as crazy as I am.¡±


    ¡°The Creators help us,¡± Laith moaned.


    The door to the transporter room swished open and Hallie strode in. ¡°We¡¯ve left orbit and we¡¯re on autopilot¨C Whoah! Is this the alien? He¡¯s... He¡¯s so pale...¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re all like that. Weird, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yep. But not in a bad way.¡±


    Darx walked over to us. ¡°Are you finished?¡±


    Hallie smirked. ¡°Are you jealous?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡±


    I smiled. Of course he was. He had a thing for Hallie.


    While I listened to their banter, I looked over at Jarath. He¡¯d just spotted the monitor that showed the stars outside the ship and the look on his face was priceless. Maybe he¡¯d enjoy his trip to outer space after all.


    I didn¡¯t know what would happen between us, but almost losing him had changed something in me. I thought it would push me away from him because of what had happened to Alwyn, but I felt closer somehow. There was something there that I didn¡¯t want to lose. He made me feel things I hadn¡¯t felt in a long time. Awakened something in my heart. I wanted to explore it further.


    I didn¡¯t know if we could be together as a couple, but I wanted to see where things would lead.


    Laith would tell me I¡¯m crazy, but maybe¡­ just maybe¡­ he¡¯s right.


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    The End


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