Stranded with the Alien (Starbound #1)

Thirty

She intended to tell Vahn exactly where he could stuff his lies but was brought up short when she found him looking at the ground with a puzzled expression. A small furry body lay at his feet, glazed eyes staring upwards in shock, neck bent at an unnatural angle.

“It seems we have another gift,” he said. Kara bent down for a closer look.

The creature resembled a rabbit though its tail was longer and its ears shorter. What wasn’t in question was how very dead it was.

“Weird. Has it been left here deliberately, do you think?”

“I doubt it is a coincidence,” said Vahn. He scanned the area. “But that would mean something has followed us from the lake.”

“That’s creepy. And at the same time helpful.”

“Indeed.” Vahn picked the rabbit up and secured it to his belt. “We had best get going. But keep a lookout for our uninvited guest.”

They ate the last of the fruit for breakfast. Kara took a big gulp of water from one of the brimming canisters as they headed off.

“Damn, I wish we had tea-bags in our ration packs.”

“Tea?”

“A hot drink, made from a type of leaf. The best thing to have when you wake up in the morning. A lot of people prefer coffee but in my family we’re tea drinkers. My mother says…”

She stopped, appalled that she’d reminded him about her mother again.

“You can talk about your family, Kara,” said Vahn mildly. “I have made peace with the fact that you were spawned from a mad, despotic, power-hungry war general.”

“Now hang on just a goddamn minute,” she began hotly, only to see his lips twitching. “Wait. Are you making jokes now?”

Laughter rumbled from his chest.

“I apologize. But you rise to the bait so delightfully. Tell me, is your temper from your mother’s side?”

“We’ve had our share of screaming rows,” she admitted. “Dad was the peacemaker in our family.”

“As was my mother. She had a calm wisdom which sadly my brother and I never inherited.”

“Can I ask what she died of?”

“One of the very few diseases we have no treatment for on Vraxos. A condition that affected her nervous system. Extremely rare but always fatal.”

“It sounds like a type of motor neuron disease. We had something similar on Earth. We found a cure a decade ago.”

Vahn glanced at her in surprise.

“Really?”

“We’re not as backwards as you think, snake-boy.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“Maybe there are things Vraxos can learn from you. It is a shame we cannot share our knowledge. Maybe one day.”

“Maybe. Perhaps when we’re rescued I can…”

“Shhh.” Vahn held up a hand. “I thought I heard something.”

They listened. Somewhere behind them came a faint scraping. Kara resisted the temptation to turn and look.

“Something’s following us.”

“Agreed. Give me your weapon. I will fall back and try to flank it.”

They rounded a scattering of boulders and Vahn tucked himself behind a small outcrop. Kara watched as his skin shaded from blue to brownish-grey, the exact hue of the rocks behind him. That’s a cool trick, she thought grudgingly.

He motioned her to carry on and she moved forward at a moderate pace, stopping every now and then to sip water. The minutes passed and she got further away from the outcrop. Maybe whatever was following them had got wise.

It was only when she heard a blood-curdling howl that she turned round and pelted back.

Vahn had something clutched in one of his serpetri, a creature with a whip-like tail and boned studs along its spine. At first Kara thought he’d caught some kind of large lizard. But as it thrashed in Vahn’s grip, she recognized the species.

One of the hellhound creatures that had nearly killed them in the desert.

Vahn pointed the blaster at the beast’s head, hoping it would stop moving long enough for him to get a clear shot. He didn’t want to waste his arak on the foul beast.

“Stand back, Kara,” he warned. “I will dispatch it.”

“Wait.”

She’d spotted something. One of the animal’s hind legs was wrapped in a bit of cloth. The same cloth as her shirt.

At the sound of her voice, the beast twisted its head towards her in surprise. Or maybe it only looked surprised because of the scar over its right eye. Realization dawned.

“Vahn, let it go.”

“Are you jesting?”

“Don’t you recognize it? It’s the puppy we found with the broken leg.”

“Impossible. That was only a few days ago. This animal is much bigger.”

“Maybe they grow quicker out here. Let it go, you’re hurting him.”

Vahn’s eyebrows shot up.

“ I am hurting him? ”

But the sound of Kara’s voice seemed to have calmed the animal. It quietened down, its eyes fixed on her face. Vahn released it and stepped back hurriedly, keeping the weapon trained on it.

The animal paid him no attention. It rolled over and showed Kara its belly.

“Oh, you cutey-pie,” she said, immediately dropping to her knees beside it.

“Be careful,” Vahn warned. “Those jaws are exceedingly powerful.”

“You don’t want to hurt me, do you? You’re a good boy. What a good boy.” Vahn watched in disbelief as Kara rubbed the hound’s stomach and spoke to it as though it was a week-old hatchling. “Have you been following us? Have you? What a clever boy.”

“Kara, I do not know much about zoology but I am fairly sure the animal cannot speak.”

“Ignore the grumpy alien. Have you been bringing us food? Have you? I know you have. Good boy.”

She scratched its head. Vahn swore the cur gave him a smug look.

“Why is it here?” he demanded. “It should be with its own kind.”

“Maybe he couldn’t find his pack. Or maybe they rejected him.” She looked winsomely up at Vahn. “Let’s keep him.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Why not? He’s a good hunter. He’ll come in useful. Anyway, how are you going to stop him from following us?”

Vahn deliberately raised the blaster again and Kara scrambled to her feet.

“No! Stop it. Put it down.”

“Fine. On your head be it.”

Muttering under his breath, the Vraxian strode past her and resumed the path up the hill. “You’re responsible for the creature, human. Don’t blame me when it turns on you.”

Kara eyed the hound.

“Ignore him. He’s a big softy really. Well, actually he isn’t but I won’t let him hurt you. Come on then, if you’re coming.”

She patted her thigh and the beast sprang to its feet. It had grown incredibly fast. It wasn’t quite as big as the ones which had attacked her but it wasn’t far off.

The hind leg which had been broken seemed to have mended well, if slightly crookedly. She bent and pulled off the frayed cloth. The hound’s reptilian tail thumped the dirt and she smiled.

“Okay, let’s go. And we’ll think of a name on the way.”