Page 12 of Exiles on Earth
She still stares at me. On my knees, my head’s level with her shoulders. The female trembles, but whether with cold or fear, I’m not sure yet.
Now the pure surge of Gerverstock strength has left me in the aftermath of battle, clarity returns to my mind. I gasp. In the heat of the encounter, I ordered a female around.
I press bloody knuckles to my forehead, chain links clinking in the sudden silence. How am I going to explain that?
I say, “You did well, striking where it was needed to disable the bot. I… should have realized you would.”
I drop my eyes to the muddy ground. Perhaps her men will beat an apology out of me, once they catch up to her. In the silence that wraps around us both, I sneak a glance again at her face, in case it’s my last chance.
She takes a shuddering breath, tucking the wild strands of her long dark hair out of her face. It’s the color of the rare Milagrove tree that only grows in one ecosystem on Oloria, most of it contained in a single rope.
“You’re bleeding,” she says. Clearly the nanites have finally grasped her variation of trade standard and can translate. “Of course you are, you just crash-landed in… in a spaceship.” She turns in place, gaze captured by the twisted hunk of metal ground into the mud. She scrubs her face despite the rain continuing to stream down her forehead and cheeks, then stares again, as if she expects it to change any second.
Arture’s gotten free and released Arik, the latter shaking himself. Dom and Nevare twist in their straps, and Arik goes to free them. Arture moves on to Gara, who has an ugly bruise turning his scales black on the left side of his right leg.
I get to my feet in one smooth motion. “I have to see to my crew,” I inform her in her dialect.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” She wrings her hands.
“Unless you require me here?” She’s unguarded and unprotected. I’ll discipline her men once they catch up with her, because they weren’t here to defend her. Scanning around, I see no further immediate threats, but my crew are hurt and they need my leadership.
“Are you safe here?” I ask her, scanning the rain soaked surroundings, the grey clouds on the horizon. “I’m going into the ship. I will return.”
“Okay, yes, cool.” She watches Arture as he staggers out with Gara lying limp on his back. “I’ll call someone. Ambulance.” She fumbles in her pocket for something. A weapon, maybe. Although I know we would die before we hurt her, she might feel threatened by our sudden precipitous arrival.
Careful not to turn my back to her in disrespect, I hurry to my crew. Gara groans, and my attention locks onto him. “Gara, report!” I order. Perhaps a command will make him snap his scales into place.
Gara lifts himself upright, fighting the weight of his chains. I grab his chin and peel back one eyelid, and Gara fights weakly, tossing his head.
My heartbeats slow slightly. He’ll survive. “What of the others?” I ask the pilot.
Arture blinks slowly, blue eye dim. “Minor wounds only. Dom tanked re-entry for them, but when he fainted, they all passed out.”
We survived. Thank the All-Mother! Even though we’re still in manacles, we survived, and we’re on a planet with a breathable atmosphere, solid land, and at least one female.
“Um, hi?” A soft voice says.
I turn to the female, who is nudging the smouldering bot with her toe. Tucking her soaking hair behind her ear, she looksup at me and bites her lip. The sight of her perfectly white, flat teeth pinching the pink of her lip makes my scales shiver, tightening across my chest as my hearts pound.
Until a screaming instinct intrudes. The bot is smoldering. A shutdown sequence is required to power down the bot; otherwise, systems overload.
It’s going to explode.
I sprint for her, scales hardening on my back. A whine reaches my ears as metal superheats, and she backs a step away from the bot. Not enough. An explosion rips the bot apart just as I reach her, sweeping into her and scooping her to my front, curving over her. Momentum rolls us over as we land, and I lock out my arms and shoulders to prevent crushing her underneath me. Heat flares behind me, and my scales thicken, dulling the pain.
We come to a halt on my side, and I pull her underneath me as flames rush over us. I duck my head to protect her as debris pings off my back, cocooning her small, wet body with mine. The scales on my front haven’t hardened as much, and I can feel every single one of her gasping breaths, short and fast against my chest.
I hover on the edge of consciousness, a blissful state free of pain. She shifts her legs and now my body lines with hers. Soft curves press against my bare chest, her hips under mine, and it feels so natural to mold to her, cradling around her. My nostrils flare as her warm scent reaches my brain, rich with the smell of the earth surrounding us, as if she’s part of this peaceful place.
“Are you Okay?” she whispers, her voice reaching deep inside me. That strange name again.
“For you, I will be,” I reply, slipping into darkness.
FIVE
ELLEN
Oh fuck.
