Page 59 of Alien's Challenge
So Faris let the male have the blaster. He released his grip, and the male stumbled back. A solid kick in the torso sent the male over the cliff’s edge.
The ship groaned, tilting dangerously on the precipice.
Perrigaul limped forward, favoring his injured foot. “I am smaller. I will go in and retrieve Alice.”
The remaining cliff crumbled away. The ship slipped over the edge. Metal screamed against rock, tumbling and creating a wave of noise.
His hearts sank.
He ran forward but Perrigaul held him back. “Let me go,” he ordered.
“Go carefully. There is a medical kit in the vehicle.” Perrigaul surveyed the remaining vehicles. “Perhaps more than one.”
“Alice does not have time.” She could be bleeding or unconscious. Fuel components could be leaking, ready to ignite.
“Calm your tail,” Perrigaul snapped.
Faris took a breath. Rushing in without thought would cause more harm than good. “Then let us hurry.”
Perrigaul moved slower than Faris liked, but the younger male kept him focused. They would require tools to free her from the ship. His mate would need medical attention. They would need a vehicle to bring her to a medical clinic.
All the while his hearts pounded, hoping that for once fate would be kind to an unfortunate fourth child. He needed Alice. She breathed life into his hollow existence. His hearts beat for her. Without her, they would cease.
Finally, finally, Faris climbed onto the twisted wreckage of the ship. It landed on its side. The airlock was now on the roof. Somehow, either during the explosion or the slide down the mountain, the cargo bay doors had been ripped open.
He entered there, holding onto the lip of the door and his feet swinging in empty space. Power flickered, raining down sparks. He dropped down, landing on what had been a wall. The incessant alarm covered over any cries for help Alice might make.
He sniffed the air.
Blood.
He followed the trail, scrambling over the wall, fallen debris, and down the corridor. Blaster fire scorched the walls. Bodies littered the floor. Some stirred, still living.
Faris was not inclined to help, but his mate had a soft heart. He’d return to help the survivors, if possible.
She was not in his cabin, but he detected an oily scent. Rand had been there.
He continued his search, tracking Rand’s oily aroma until he found Alice pinned under a fallen support beam in the workroom.
“Faris! Are you real?” Her eyes were unfocused. A concussion? Humans seemed frail, prone to brain injuries. It was a problem.
“I am. Remain there.”
She laughed, then coughed. “Sorry. Ow…I love you. Not sorry about that. Everything hurts.”
His tail swayed, happy at her words. “I will free you, then you may profess your devotion.”
“Ow, don’t make me laugh.” Her voice sounded tired. “I mean, I was worried that I never told you. Are you sure I’m not dead? A spaceship fell off a mountain.”
“Normally it is not an issue, but this ship has crashed before.”
“Airbags were already deployed. Gotcha.”
He wanted to clarify that some stabilizers and impact absorbers were a one-time use item he never replaced, but now was not the time. “I will return.”
The workshop was a jumbled mess, but he found an iron bar to use as a lever and a length of rope. He was able to shift the support beam enough to pull her free.
Cradling her battered body to his, Faris buried his face into her cloud of hair. He nearly lost her. Could still lose her.
