Page 22 of Gentle Giant

Fear rushed through me, and I tried to peek out from Brutus’s arms to see if we were being chased, but he ran so fast that my surroundings were nothing but a blur. Nausea rose in my throat and my head spun. I shut my eyes in hopes that the sudden motion sickness would fade, and as I concentrated on his rapid but steady breaths and the softness of his fur against my face, I started to feel a little better.

I didn’t hear another shot, but Brutus didn’t slow his pace. He ran and he ran, his endurance remarkable. Water splashed us as he crossed a small river. I tangled my hands in the long fur of his chest as he carried me, my heart racing as I continued listening for the terrifying boom of another gunshot. Thankfully, it never came.

Brutus had outrun the hunter. I assumed it was a hunter, anyway, and a human one at that. One of my people. I shuddered, and I couldn’t help but rage at the idea of hunters wandering the pristine lands that were occupied by the Montikaans.

This area had once been a national park, but over one hundred years ago the government had started selling sections of it to private citizens. Most of the other state and nationalparks in the country had suffered the same fate, and the money raised had helped fund the various wars we’d gotten involved in over the years.

Brutus carried me all the way to the cabin, his steps not slowing once. He carried me inside and upstairs. Once we reached the nearest bedroom—one with a working door—he set me down and placed his hands on my shoulders, giving me an urgent look.

“You will stay here where it is safe,” he said. “Stay in this room, Hailey and lock the door behind you. I will return soon.”

“Where are you going?” Terror gripped me at the thought of him leaving. I wanted him to stay with me. Where it was safe. As fast as he’d run, I doubted the hunter would be able to follow.

His eyes darkened. “I must eliminate the threat to my people,” he said. “Stay. Here.” He growled and stepped closer, his large hands digging into my shoulders, though not painfully. He leaned down to brush his nose against mine, then he was gone, rushing into the hallway and out into the open forest.

My heart fractured.

Stay, I wanted to shout out the window at him.Please stay.

Would he kill the hunter?

An unsettling thought visited me. Had he killed humans before? And if so, how many?

I didn’t think he was a crazed murderer, or a heartless beast, but did he possess any mercy when it came to trespassing humans? I didn’t like getting shot at, and it saddened me to realize he’d probably endured gunfire before, but it only seemed natural that a hunter might aim for a big hairy creature they spotted in the forest. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t on the hunter’s side, but I could understand how it might happen.

After Brutus disappeared into the trees, I went to lock the bedroom door, only to pause. This was my big opportunity. My chance to escape. There was a dirt road that led into town. Icould easily follow it and perhaps reach civilization sometime tomorrow.

Before I could come to a decision, a bloodcurdling scream echoed off the mountainside. It was a scream of pain and terror. A human scream, and it chilled me to the bone. My legs went weak, and I stumbled backward to the bed, where I sat down and tried to calm myself. Tried to stop shaking and breathing so fast.

I’d left Seattle and come to a rural place to get away from violence. After my three-month-post-break-up-get-my-life-in-order vacation, I’d planned to settle in the small town nearby, thinking it would be safer than returning to Seattle or going to another city. So much for finding a peaceful area to call home.

I thought of Candy and New Vaxx. Maybe I should’ve joined her in traveling to the alien world. Maybe I should’ve ignored that weird pull in my gut that told me I needed to stay on Earth.

Brutus’s handsome face flashed in my mind. In the few days I’d known him, he’d managed to work his way into my heart. Even the knowledge that he was currently out in the forest killing a human hunter didn’t dampen my attraction to him. What did that say about me?

I climbed off the bed and slowly worked my way downstairs to the video comm. I shut the closet door and turned the video comm on as I pondered who to call first. Help. I needed to think logically here and call for help. I’d fallen for a jerk like Nick once. Maybe I had terrible taste in men. Maybe Brutus wasn’t as great as I thought he was, I just hadn’t realized the truth yet.

My fingers trembled as I dialed 9-1-1.

When no one answered, a relieved sob left me, and I couldn’t bring myself to dial the emergency number again.

With a sigh, I entered Candy’s comm number, praying she would be home. I had no idea what time of day it was in Starzzia right now, the main settlement on New Vaxx, but I seriously needed to see her face and hear her voice. I needed advice,someone to talk some sense into me. Hopefully she would say I was a big freaking idiot and that I ought to run back to town as fast as my legs would carry me.

Her smiling face appeared on the screen, and I covered my mouth as another sob wracked my body. “Candy,” I cried, “oh God, I’m so happy to see you.”

“What’s wrong?” She leaned closer to the screen, her smile fading. “Hailey, tell me what’s happened. Why are you crying? Are you hurt?”

I inhaled a long, shuddering breath, and tried to get control of my emotions. I currently felt like more of a wreck than I had the day I’d caught Nick in the laundry room with a younger, prettier version of me.

“I have to tell you something, Candy,” I said, “and it’s going to sound batshit freaking crazy, but I swear to God it’s the truth.”

Eyes clouded with worry, she gave me an encouraging nod. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

Chapter 15

BRUTUS

I crouched behind a bush,watching the human man who was dressed in green and brown patterned clothing. He’d leaned his weapon against a tree, and his hands trembled as he held a black object to his mouth. A communication device, I realized, as he started speaking. I’d witnessed humans using such devices before, and according to Axxon, they used them to speak with one another from great distances. In fact, Hailey had a pink one she kept in her pocket, though she claimed ithad no signal, whatever that meant.

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