Nine
The next day was just as brutal. Despite the scorching heat the Vraxian made them work relentlessly. The suns beat down and though Kara saw several clouds scud across the impossibly blue sky, none of them looked remotely capable of producing rain.
This planet’s a bloody desert, she thought bitterly.
As the hours passed they uncovered most of the tailfin and part of one wing, but they still couldn’t access the interior of the wreckage.
Kara could see the Vraxian was frustrated but there was nothing he could do. Even he couldn’t rip the hull apart with his bare hands. Until they exposed the cockpit canopy, there was no way in.
She sat down heavily on the nearest boulder.
“Sucks when things don’t go your way, doesn’t it?” she said pointedly. The alien glared at her.
“Yalakt!” He gestured at the rockpile. “Scraat, hooman. ”
“Nope. I’m knackered.” Kara folded her arms defiantly. “I’m not moving.”
The Vraxian’s eyes narrowed. He touched the remote control round his neck meaningfully. Kara shrugged.
“Go ahead. I’m so exhausted, that thing’ll probably knock me clean out. And frankly, I could use the rest. So do your worst, snake-boy.” She lifted her chin. “I’m. Not. Moving.”
They stared at each other with mutual loathing. The alien’s finger moved towards the button.
Two things happened.
Kara tensed her body, preparing for the shock of pain but determined not to show it. And the boulder she was sitting on started to move.
“Woah!”
Panicked, she grabbed at the rocky surface which suddenly sprouted a turtle-like head. Four legs emerged from the bottom of a stone-like shell. The creature rose up, angry at being woken from its sleep. With a snort, it began to trundle along the ground at an alarming speed.
Kara held on for dear life as they bumped and bounced along. She caught a brief glimpse of the alien’s bemused face as they hurtled past.
“Don’t just stand there!” she screamed. “Do something!”
The Vraxian seemed to get the message. He spread his arms, trying to corral the desert beast back towards the rockface where it would be penned. Instead, it reared up on its back legs and deposited Kara on her backside in the dust.
She sat for a moment, glad to be alive. Her relief was short-lived.
With a flick of its stumpy little tail, the animal defecated on her. The foul spray hit her square in the chest.
“Oh my God!” Kara looked down at herself in horror. The stench was eye-watering. “For the love of… that’s disgusting!”
Satisfied that it had dealt with its unwanted guest, the creature trundled off through the brush.
Kara struggled to her feet, holding her shirt up to stop the vile mess dripping onto her trousers. The smell was nauseating. “I can’t fucking believe this!”
A low rumble reached her ears. Like thunder on a mountain. It took her a moment to realize what it was.
The Vraxian was laughing.
She narrowed her eyes.
“You think this is funny?”
Clearly, he did. His head was thrown back and his shoulders shook with mirth. Every time he thought he’d got it under control, one look at her outraged face would set him off again. Kara’s jaw clenched.
Okay, you bastard. Let’s see how you like it.
She scooped a handful of shit off her shirt and flicked it at him. It landed with a noxious splat on his shoulder. He stopped mid-chortle and his brows drew down. By Ayanlesh, the smell!
Kara couldn’t help herself. She giggled.
Surprised, he looked over at her. He’d never heard a human laugh before and the sound was not objectionable. In fact, it was cute.
Of course, she would have to be punished for having the temerity to hurl animal dung at him. But it was kind of funny. A grudging smile crossed his face.
There was a loud snort in the distance. He turned to see the desert beast eye-balling them from afar. Something about its affronted expression got to him.
In the next moment, he was roaring with laughter again.
And so was she.