Page 61 of Wanted By the Alien Warden

I was afraid that I would never be happy with “for now.”

I was afraid – maybe more afraid than I had ever been before – that what I really wanted was forever.

19

TASHA

When I woke up, I was both relieved and disappointed that Tenn had already left the tent. It was nice not to start my day with the utter humiliation of having tried to fuse my body to his in my sleep.

But there was an acrid emptiness left behind. The punch of that loneliness that I’d felt last night when I’d asked him to come into the tent. I rolled onto my side, facing Tenn’s side of the tent.

We’d kissed last night.

And now he was gone.

Ugh.

I kicked off the bedding, rebelling against this annoying, creeping sadness. Tenn was just outside the tent. If I wanted to go see him right this second, I could. Judging by the quality of the light, it looked like it was already another beautiful, sunny morning on Zabria Prinar One.

A wonderful day to get to work.

“Good morning,” I said as I emerged from the tent and shoved my feet into my boots. Thank goodness I’d at leastbrought appropriate footwear if not enough clothes and other supplies to sustain my stay.

“It is a good morning,” Tenn said, rising from where he’d been crouched on the ground, unpacking food for breakfast. “Clear skies. Not much distance left now. I anticipate today will be our final full day of travel. We will reach Warden Hallum’s province tomorrow. I have sent him a message confirming this.”

“Oh, wow. That was fast!” I said, taken aback.

Tenn flicked his tail. I noticed with a shy warming in my belly that he wasn’t wearing his belt with the hook today. Without the hook to hang itself on, his tail seemed like it was at loose ends and looking for things to do.

“Not any faster than anticipated,” he said, flicking his tail again. “I told Warden Hallum it would be two or three days of travel after a day or two to prepare.”

“So we’re right on schedule, then.”

“Yes.”

That should have been great. That should have satisfied me, made me happy.

But it didn’t. Instead, it reinforced the ache of that loneliness I’d felt before. Which was silly, considering we were about to meet even more men. I’d be surrounded by people. Loneliness made no sense.

Unless it wasn’t loneliness at all.

Maybe it was simply missing Tenn.

I’d grown used to this little bubble we’d created together on our trek. Just the two of us, riding the slicer and sharing the tent. Tomorrow, that would end.

But he still has to take you back to his province, I reasoned, fighting panic.You’ll get to repeat this journey with him on the way home!

On the wayback. Not home.

Home was Elora Station. Wasn’t it?

“I’ll be right back,” I said, hoping he couldn’t read any of the confusion on my features. I hurried into the treeline to go pee. But once I was finished, I still didn’t feel quite ready to return to him yet. I knew I’d have to soon. I had a job to do and we had kilometres of distance – or spans, as Tenn said – to cover yet.

Instead, I started to walk.

I’d never gotten the chance to explore a real forest before. The only trees I’d ever seen on Terratribe I were leafless stalks of black and grey. There were indoor gardens and various biomes to explore on Elora Station, but I hadn’t visited any of them yet. I’d told myself that I would do so – that I’d do all the fun, touristy things on Elora Station – when I had someone to do them with.

Water from the cold creek nearby burbled merrily. I was surprised to find myself assigning such emotions to a simple natural phenomenon, but I couldn’t think of any other way to describe the subtle optimism of the water making its way over the land and the rocks. The sun spilled down through the thick, green needles and leaves of the various tree varietals, dappling the forest floor. Even the dusty dirt, which had been such an annoyance on this trip so far, took on a quality I could appreciate. It created a soft carpet beneath twigs and fallen needles, hushing each of my footfalls and softening my path. Even the air brought me pleasure, making my silky pyjamas flutter with the kiss of its breeze. It wasn’t too hot yet, everything comfortably warm and clear.

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