Page 4 of Claimed By the Krijese

He walks toward the settlement and through the open doorway to an as wide as it is tall, concrete brick building with a single door flung wide. Adams stops just outside of it and gestures.

“We store similarly sized containers with each other. Just stack it on top of whatever pile you find that matches.”

I nod. “You got it.”

Inside, it’s cool, despite how brightly the sun shines and warms the air around us. I find a place to put the container easily enough and nearly collide with someone coming in as I’m leaving. I jump out of the way and sneak out once they’ve gone past.

On my way back to the ship, I pass the other passengers with their arms laden with crates on their way into the settlement. When I get close to the cargo hold, voices reach me. They sound like they’re trying not to be overhead with how low-pitched they are. Too bad for them I’ve always possessed a keen sense of hearing.

“—attacked us yet.”

I pause. Are we in danger? Would I be surprised to find out we were? Not in the slightest.

“I wonder if the Tavikhi wiped them all out?” A second man says.

“Do you think it’s possible?” The first man asks. “I can’t believe the settlement is still standing or that they all aren’t dead by now.”

Unable to contain my curiosity, I close the distance between us. “Why would they all be dead?”

The two men jump apart, guilt flashing on their faces. Both of them sputter.

“For goodness sake, quit acting like your mother caught you with porn.”

They turn even redder, but finally the one who appears slightly older gathers himself. “There’s a vicious tribe of aliens who have attacked the ship every time it’s landed here. A lot of people have been killed. They’ve done the same to the settlement after we’ve left as well and more people have died. But the Krijese are usually here by now. In fact, so are the Tavikhi. Since neither are, I can only assume that the Tavikhi warriors got rid of them.”

Maniacal laughter threatens again. “Let me get this straight. There are two vicious groups of aliens on this planet that ambush and murder the humans who come here, but since neither have shown up to kill us all, then you think one group is now extinct because the other group annihilated them?”

The men exchange glances. “Well, no.”

I sag with relief but question my sanity, because I swear that’s what they just said.

“Only the Krijese are the vicious ones,” the younger of the two clarifies. “The Tavikhi have protected the humans.”

Becausethat’sbetter.

“Soonevicious group of aliens have murdered the humans, but since they’re late, all is well?” Do they not realize how ridiculous they sound?

The older man clears his throat and scratches at the back of his neck. “I mean, I don’t know if they’re late or if they no longer exist.”

Commotion outside the ship makes the hair on my arms stand and the two crew members rush around in search of…something. Finally, they grab blasters from a cabinet and race toward the noise. Do I hide? Do I try and make a run for it to the settlement? Did I finally escape from the drudgery of the bottom tier only to die on some godforsaken planet filled with aliens?

I wait a moment too long to decide when a pair of bare feet appear in my line of sight. Barelavenderfeet.Large, bare, lavender feet. Panic grips me. I’m on the verge of hyperventilating. Apparently death it is.

“Female? Are you well?”

Okay, that doesn’t sound like a blood thirsty alien hell bent on slaughtering me.

“Female?” Those large, bare lavender feet move closer.

“Babe, what did I tell you about waiting for me? She’s probably freaked out.” A boot-clad pair of feet join the bare ones. Small, almost dainty boot-clad feet. And that voice was definitely female. A female that spoke distinct, proper, most certainly from the upper tier English.

Slowly, I creep to the end of a large stack of crates and peek around them. The lavender feet are attached to a full lavender body covered in black lines that swirl in various patterns alonghis torso and arms. Golden hair flows down his shoulders, longer than mine when I have it down.

I blink at the sight of his humanoid face. Well, if I don’t count the flat bone where a nose would be or the bones angled above his eyes that sort of remind me of eyebrows but aren’t. It’s the yellow and purple feline eyes that trigger me.

“Shit, shit, shit.” I flap my arms in panic and twist back and forth at the waist while my brain short-circuits and I can’t figure out what to do or where to go.

“Hey, it’s okay. No one is going to hurt you.”

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