Page 40 of Alien's Challenge
“Do you wish me to retrieve your cycle or not?” Perrigaul did not wait for his response and the vessel dipped to the bottom of the gorge.
“He’s been a burr under my scales ever since.” His tail twitched in amusement, despite the grumble in his voice.
Alice
Alice stretched out on the bench. Little more than foam over metal, her back would pay the price.
Lying on her side, she had a clear view of the manacles bolted to the floor. They rattled and slid across the floor as the ship moved. She couldn’t look away.
Faris told her this planet had been a prison. The reality of that fact remained an abstract concept to her until she saw the manacles. This was a transport ship for prisoners. Those manacles were meant for prisoners.
Most important, who did Perrigaul steal this ship from that they felt it was important to keep the manacles?
She should sleep. Her eyes felt gritty but her mind would not quiet.
Faris sat in the front with the other guy, Perrigaul. The drone of the engine nearly drowned out Faris and Perrigaul’s conversation, but she caught most of it. They bickered with a warmth that spoke of years of friendship. She was glad he had a friend in this place. This planet seemed the sort of place you needed friends.
“Is it the fever?” Perrigaul asked.
“Of course, it is. Do not touch me,” Faris snapped.
Alice lifted her head to look at them. Perrigaul had one hand pressed to Faris’ chest. He made a clicking noise and pressed his palm to the other side of his chest.
“You are bonded,” Perrigaul said.
“I am not. It is the fever.” Faris knocked his hand away.
“What have you done?”
Faris said nothing. His lack of response worried Alice.
Bonded?
Chapter 12
Alice
They stopped for fuel at a trading post. No longer in the mountains, the trading post was on an open plain. Patchwork buildings clustered around an airfield. As far as Alice could tell, the main attraction was the wind. A cold wind slapped her in the face, watering her eyes, and slicing through her clothes.
“Refuel. Alice requires supplies, and I require a meal,” Faris said to Perrigaul.
“I don’t need anything,” she said.
“False. Humans are intolerant of the cold. You require proper outfitting.”
Well, true. “If you don’t mind spending the money.”
“What else is there to spend it on?” His tone implied that it wasn’t a question, but she knew the answer anyhow. Perrigaul had droned on for ages about all the things he could not do or purchase because Faris “needed to rescue a human.”
Their first stop was a stall that sold massive bowls of noodle soup. They ate at a rickety table in a sunny patch.
Alice poked at the pieces of vegetables and what she assumed was a hard-boiled egg. The broth had a rich, savory flavor. She couldn’t finish the entire bowl and pushed the remains to Faris. She nibbled on a thick slice of buttered bread.
“Is it not to your liking? You require more nutrients,” he said.
“No, it’s really good, but I can’t eat all that. It’s huge.”
“My metabolism is still overactive,” he said as he drained the last of the broth from his bowl. Then promptly started on hers. “It will return to normal levels.”
