Page 28 of Master
“Hungry?” He smiled.
“Apparently so.” I gave my belly a soothing pat.
“We can stop just up ahead.” He motioned to where the husk of a fallen tree lay, making a small clearing in the surrounding foliage.
Tarook glanced around the area, then motioned for me to sit. He dropped the bags at my feet and rooted around, coming up with pouches of water and nutrition bars.
Alien water was thicker than Earth water with a sweeter taste, almost like honey and water mixed. The bars were light brown, the consistency of firmly packed tofu. Surprisingly, they tasted like a cross between a Snickers candy bar and raspberries.
“I'm sorry it doesn't taste like much, but it's filling. I think there's some neita fruit up ahead," Tarook said before cramming a bar into his mouth.
“What’s neita fruit?” I polished off my bar in four bites, hungrier than I realized.
“There.” He pointed a few feet away.
The tree stood much smaller than the surrounding timbers. The trunk, limbs, and leaves reminded me of an apple tree. Hanging at the end of each stem was something that resembled a fat banana covered in peach fuzz.
Tarook meandered over, so tall he easily plucked several fruits from the upper branches before returning to lay the bounty at my feet. The fruit felt like a peach, with a distinctly pineapple fragrance.
"Here." Tarook took the fruit from me, using his claw to split the thick outer skin to expose the inner fruit, which looked like clusters of pale pink cherries.
I popped the fruit in my mouth, moaning aloud as the tastes of pineapple, blueberries, and a hint of whipped cream exploded on my tongue.
“Good?” Tarook grinned as I downed my second mouthful.
“This is delicious!”
He picked up another fruit, claw at the ready. “Do you want more?”
My tastebuds wanted to say yes, but the nutrition bar was filling. "I'm full." I glanced covetously at the tree. "Can we take some with us?"
“Of course.” Tarook walked away, stretching to reach the fruit on higher branches. He’d removed his jacket during our hike, the muscles of his arms and the breadth of his shoulders on full display.
Have mercy!
A faint rattling hit my ears that I mistook for the sound of my ragged, lusty breathing.
It wasn’t.
A movement drew my attention to the ground near my feet. The creature was about as long as my arm, with a snake-like body that rose on two spindly hind feet. The face was a mixture of snake and rat, but the fangs, glistening with drops of venom, were all snake.
The gasp preceding my intent to scream rattled the creature, and it bowed back, eyes narrowing on my leg. It jerkedforward. I screamed, anticipating the agony of inch-long fangs sinking into my flesh.
Pain that never came.
Just before the beast struck, a whoosh of movement flew past, impaling the creature and propelling it back against a nearby tree trunk.
"Are you okay?" Tarook manifested at my side, his hands running over my legs and arms, checking for injury. His touch was frantic, but oddly comforting.
"What the hell was that thing?" My voice shook. Not surprising since the snake-rat nearly bit me, something that, according to Tarook's demeanor, would be nasty.
“An alkannat. Nasty fuckers, very poisonous." Satisfied that I suffered no injury, Tarook rose and stalked over to where a large knife impaled the snake-rat against a tree trunk. He jerked the knife free, wiping the blade on the grass before returning it to its sheath. Picking up the small corpse, he brought it near his face, studying it.
“Please tell me you’re not one of those survivalists and try to convince me that thing would be good eating?” I begged, stomach lurching at the idea.
“This thing?" Tarook glanced at the limp body in his hand and shivered in disgust. "That's nasty. I just need to get it out of the way so some poor, unsuspecting creature doesn’t step on it. The fangs can dispense poison even after death." He stepped back and tossed the snake-rat high into the branches. Several birds expressed displeasure with shrill squawks.
My gaze followed the ascent of the creature, losing the limp body amidst the….
