Chapter 25 Dottie
The mutated flyers noticed us the moment we dropped down low enough.
“I think they can see us,” I said nervously as one of them turned our way. One of the creatures let out a shrill cry, and the other two flying in formation with it replied with similar cries of their own.
They all turned in unison like they were controlled by a hivemind. It was creepy as fuck.
My stomach dropped to the floor. “I thought we were cloaked.”
“We are. The regular flyers have a way of spotting us even through cloaking technology. These seem to do so from even farther away.”
“Wonderful. They’ve gotten stronger.”
They called out again, and it seemed like they were communicating with something behind us. I looked at the new blinking bogeys on the screen and gasped.
“Reinforcements!” I exclaimed. “They called in reinforcements!”
More of the mutated flyers appeared on the screen in the form of little red bogeys, coming from several directions. These weren’t coming from one nest; they were coming from all over. And they were going to converge on New Franklin on yet another planting day when everyone was out in the fields.
“We need to warn them!” I fumbled the cell phone out of my jacket pocket, cursing at the zipper as it caught.
I was glad I’d kept the phone for personal use. The screen was smaller than I was used to, but right now it was going to save lives.
It only took two rings for Roger to pick up.
“Mutated flyers incoming. Several groups, from multiple nests. All heading toward us,” I shouted into the communicator, which was still in my hands. The words poured out of my mouth in rapid succession. It suddenly felt like the early days again, and we were scrambling to stay alive.
“Shit. I’ll get the hunters in the air,” Roger said.
“We will engage and give them time to get ready,” Ror’k said.
“Thank you. Fly safe, Overseer.”
I suddenly found myself pulled into Ror’k’s lap. “But I’m going to be in your way.”
“I can pilot fine in this position. You are small, and I can see over your head.”
He had a point. I was never a tall woman, but Ror’k was huge, at least seven feet tall. He towered over me, and his arms reached around me to pick up a controller that reminded me very much of one from a video game console.
“Wait! What about Her Highness and her nuggets?” They’d already survived being jostled around in a freaking tornado; the poor things didn’t need to be bounced around like marbles in here as well.
“The sleeping nook. Release them in there and engage the barrier.”
It was probably the best solution. Ror’k released me, and I did just that as he kept his eyes on the flyers. The moment the barrier was up, Ror’k pulled me into his lap and snapped the harness down over us both.
As the creatures neared, a low, droning buzz filled the air.
Shit. I hadn’t realized the external feed included sound until now. That had me imagining an entire swarm of hornets flying at my face.
“Shuttle, disengage cloak.”
I held my breath as the closest one flew in.
I didn’t get any warning as Ror’k flew directly toward it and opened fire.
It dodged the shot, moving so quickly it was creepily unnatural.
It reminded me of when Earth bugs would hover in one place and then reappear, hovering a few inches away, without ever seeming like they had moved at all.
It lashed its tail in an arc, and Ror’k swerved to the left to avoid it.
Instead of directly engaging, Ror’k flew off, forcing the mutant scourge to chase it. He flew us directly into the path of another of these creatures, and the winged beasts almost collided with each other behind the shuttle. That was a smart ploy and would have been spectacular if it had worked.
We dove through the buzz of wings, keeping them chasing us.
I held my breath every time we passed too close to one of the creatures.
But Ror’k was a good pilot. Exceptional, in fact.
He led the bloody creatures on a merry chase as the shuttle danced through the clouds like it was an extension of his body.
I couldn’t help but grow aware of firm muscles behind my back and under my legs.
There was a sudden jerking motion as one of the creatures’ whip-like tails caught the side of the ship when Ror’k misjudged by a hair’s breadth. I gasped, holding onto whatever I could, which just happened to be his thick thighs under my hips.
But he was already righting the shuttle. The flyers behind him weren’t so lucky, however. They crashed into each other, one of them getting hit in the face with the bladed whip. Talk about friendly fire! They both tumbled out of the air in a ball.
Ror’k was already chasing after them, diving down through the clouds even as he released the first blaster shot. The shuttle spun around me as the G’s hit, and I closed my eyes, hoping I wouldn’t hurl.
The horrid creatures exploded in the cloud of red, spattering the shuttle as it flew by.
“Oh god!” I held my breath instinctively.
“My shuttle will filter the air. It is safe to breathe.”
I did, taking a ragged breath. Only then did I realize I’d been digging my nails into his thighs. Oops.
Behind me, Ror’k’s chest was softly rumbling.
Not the insistent kind like when things were starting to get hot and heavy, but something light, almost like his body was trying to calm me.
It was working because as we twisted and turned through the air, chasing that last mutated flyer that was fleeing as fast as it could, my brain switched from “Holy crap, we’re going to die!
” to “Hey, this is kinda fun!” Almost like a rollercoaster.
When was the last time I’d been on a rollercoaster? Not since my ex-husband and I were dating. Wow. That was several lifetimes ago. And Ror’k was nothing like Martin!
His warrior body was rock hard behind me as he moved with purpose, controlling the craft like it was an extension of his body. It embodied confidence and capability. And it was sexy as fuck! And he was all mine!
I suddenly wanted a piece. Right now! I’d spent the last decade or so ignoring my needs, first because I was stuck in a marriage that was no longer right for me, and then because of the bugpocalypse. And it was like the past few days with Ror’k had woken it up for good.
I’d heard that some women get another spike in their libido after menopause, and I’d already thought that was a big crock of bull. But now? I finally understood. It just took the right situation and the right man. Or in this case, alien.
Screw just dating, I wanted him for real!
I didn’t have forever on Earth, and I was done letting my past limit me anymore. Swearing off men had been the right thing to do at the time but was in the past. This was a whole new chapter in my life, and I was ready to live it.
And besides, this felt different. It wasn’t like I needed him to be happy. I’d already proven that I could be happy by myself. But that didn’t mean I should deprive myself either. We could both make each other’s lives better, and that was something I could get behind.
“Ror’k!” said a hunter’s voice through the shuttle’s speakers. “We are in the air and leading the other mutants away. Get those youngsters back to the settlement. Roger wants a word with them.”
“Got it. Happy hunting.”
I waited for Ror’k to set the shuttle down in front of the buildings where we’d seen the boys.
“Keep the vessel uncloaked,” I said. What I planned wouldn’t take long, but I didn’t want the boys to disappear on us in the time it would take us to get out of the shuttle.
The second he released the harness that held me down, I jumped him.