Page 15 of Possessed By the Alien Guard
The animal darted forward as soon as I moved the boulder obstructing its path.It bleated and circled Jones’ legs a few times.
“Hey, there, Billy.It’s okay.I’m still here.”She crouched and petted it until it calmed, then looked up at me.“Where do you think its parents are?”
I almost said, “Under the pile of stones,” but I stopped myself.While highly likely, it was still speculation on my part, and there was no need to cause her further distress.Yet I also could not bring myself to utter a platitude that might prove false, so I grunted and edged into the passageway.
A scuff of sound—they followed.
I hung my jacket from a jutting protrusion so that it lit the entire space, then I crouched to refill the water bottle.After giving it a quick shake to activate the purification system, I handed it to Jones, who squatted beside me.“Finish it.”We were both dehydrated by now, not having stopped as often as we should in our drive for an oxygen source.
She didn’t protest, putting the rim to her lips eagerly and tipping back her head.Her neck lengthened as she swallowed, and I wanted to flick out my tongue and taste the salt of her skin.Away from the rock dust, her smell surrounded me in sweet musk, made all the richer by her exertions.
My zural heart pounded to life, swelling my hurvon.
Jones handed me the bottle, and I forced myself to refill it so that I could drink.The cool, clean water tasted sweet—but not as sweet as she would.I drank a second bottleful in a poor attempt to distract myself.
“We should eat.”
She nodded and pulled food blocks from her pockets.Her hands moved quickly, and her voice quavered slightly as she held up one of the silver packages.“I ate some of this one—it’s really hard to chew.”
“That is because it is a concentrated ration.We have a device we use to reconstitute them before ingesting.”
“Oh.”Then she grinned.“At least you guys don’t have super jaws, because that would be weird.”
Super jaws?My translator chip struggled to find any additional meaning for the words.It was not important.
I reached for the block.“We can use the water bottle to make a slurry.”
Jones hesitated, her eyes flicking to the animal at her side.“What about Billy?”
I grunted and dug through the rations, finding one containing porridge.“This is a simple grain dish he should be able to eat.Can you find a rock with a depression that forms a sort of bowl?”
She hopped up and walked the perimeter of the room, the small animal trotting in her wake as if she truly were its dam.Once she found an appropriate stone, she brought it to me.
I peeled the silver foil from the porridge, smashed it to break up the block, and poured water over it.“Since we lack heat, it will take a while for it to soften.”
I opened another ration of prokshu, a popular meatloaf dish, and crumbled it into small enough pieces to fit in the half-full water bottle.Then I gave it a good shake to dissolve it even further.
The goat-lope strained forward, having scented the food.Her hands wrapped around its small body, and she laughed.“I don’t think Billy wants to wait.Hold him for me?”
The small animal weighed little, but his hooves were firm as he squirmed in my arms.I pressed a finger to his tiny forehead and stroked.He was no hunting hound, but he calmed, his furred body stilling as I held him to my chest.
Jones pulled her blaster and adjusted a setting on the side.Only the faintest glow came from the end as she pointed it at the porridge and ran it back and forth.A small curl of steam rose from the beige mass, accompanied by the smell of spalur spice.
Her stomach growled even as mine gave a pained lurch.Billy resumed his wiggling.It seemed we all needed to eat.
She released her hold on the trigger.“That should do it.”
“I do not think I can adjust a varoolian blaster to such a low setting,” I said.
Her cheeks darkened.“Yeah, well, human ones aren’t supposed to go that low either, but it’s a handy hack, so...”She gave a self-conscious shrug.
When I set the animal on its feet, it bolted over to the stone, lipping at the cooked grains.
“May I?”I offered my hand.
She hesitated for only a second before placing her weapon in my palm.A frisson of shock ran through me—it was a great sign of trust.
I pointed the end into the open top of the water bottle and depressed the trigger.The blaster was a little small, and my finger barely fit, but the meaty smell of the prokshu soon filled the air as the bottle grew warm.
