Page 58 of Alien's Luck
She jumped.
CHAPTER 18
CARLA
“I am baffled by your thought process,” Ari said.
She landed unharmed in a jumble of elbows and awkward angles on Ari. He lowered her into the freezing hip-deep water.
Her eyes adjusted to the dark, just in time for her to see him grab a snake from the water and slam it into the stone wall, smashing its skull.
Carla flinched. That was… something. Gross and violent, mostly.
“The power’s out, the zombies are out of their cages, and something touched me,” she said.
“A pit filled with water and snakes seemed like a better option?”
“Yes, it did, because you were there. Any option with you is the better option,” she snapped.
He made a noise that sounded as if his ego had been appeased.
A snake fell on her head—her head! Ari grabbed it and bashed it against the stone wall with a stomach -churning squelch. She might have grown up in the country, but she was a wimp about these things.
“Do you have to kill them? They don’t want to be here anymore than we do.”
“They are venomous. Yes,” he said.
Fair enough. Still gross.
“Do you have a plan to get out of here?” she asked.
“I was climbing until someone fell on me,” he replied, sounding irritated.
Sounds of fighting from above cut off her reply. Instead, she asked, “Can you fly up?”
“It is too narrow, and my wings are bound.”
“Let me.” Carla fumbled her way down his back, feeling the leathery warmth of his folded wings and, finally, the strap holding them down. It was a simple knot but in a place difficult to reach. “There.”
“Thank you.” Ari rolled his shoulders and looked up, studying the stone walls.
“Hey.” Carla reached up for his face, guiding him to look at her. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried.”
“Finding you was my only concern.”
She stretched up on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips. That was enough to make her forget she was soaked, cold, and high on adrenaline. Any option with Ari was the better option, even being stuck in a pit filled with frigid water.
“Now, how do we get out of here?” she asked.
“It is a puzzle. I believe I have worked it out. Climb onto my back.” He leaned forward as far as the tight confines would allow.
“Do I just grab?” She reached for the base of his wings. That didn’t seem right.
“Lift yourself up.”
“Umm, is there another way?”
He huffed, then grabbed her and lifted her up until she could scramble across his shoulders and clung to his back like a baby koala.
