Chapter 1 #2
Despite all his alien features, he was still partially human, enough to give me pause.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected that. He was the first one I’d been this close to.
His basic structure was like mine. He had one head, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears.
He even had ten fingers, and I assumed ten toes, but I couldn’t be sure.
It was an unsettling combination.
He appraised me with those cool violet eyes, cocking his head as he watched me study him like I was the curious creature between us and not him.
His gaze was inquisitive. I’d expected him to want to reach out and break my neck at the first opportunity, but he did none of those things.
Instead, he just patiently waited for me.
Why?
His skin was a dark blood-red color. I could see the slightest hint of shadowy veins pumping beneath his skin. What color was his blood? Would he be warm or cool to the touch?
Honestly, I didn’t know. He was probably some kind of super soldier hybrid the likes of which we’d never seen before. Maybe the aliens had made him themselves and I didn’t stand a chance whatsoever.
Evolution was a funny thing, especially when you could jump it into overdrive under the guise of scientific research.
It resulted in aliens like him.
Back in the 2200s, aliens had first contacted Earth.
There was no invasion, just political talks aimed at keeping the people of Earth safe.
Many of the discussions had been academic and some had been medically related.
The visiting aliens had shared some of their advanced medical techniques and it had been good for a very long time.
They had the cure to cancer. They could stop AIDS in its tracks.
They shared technologies to quicken healing.
We made leaps and bounds in advancements for years.
The United States had been at the forefront of it all because they’d been the loudest and the pushiest.
Other countries had grown tense over those developments. It took time to duplicate such advanced technologies and before long, things grew so strained that the United Nations dissolved, and the Great World War broke out.
It was vicious. Cities bombed each other. Some places were wiped out entirely and would probably remain radioactive for the next thousand years. With alien technology, weapons development soared and so did military research.
In a volley to strengthen their armies, scientists began splicing together human and alien DNA.
They made them stronger, bigger, faster.
Their wounds healed at a supernatural pace.
They could run faster than any normal human.
The scientists ensured that their vision, sense of smell and touch were all amplified.
They made a superior race and at some point, those creations became more alien than human.
It didn’t take much longer for the scientists to lose control of their experiments. The alien super soldiers had fought back. It was the same story in country after country.
The humans lost.
The aliens took over. Completely.
Humans had become the lesser species and the worst part of it all was that it was all our fault. We’d been the drivers of our own doom.
“What is your name, little human?” the massive hulk of an alien asked. I opened my mouth once, but words failed me. My tongue was dry.
“Are you the leader of the humans here?” he continued, and I shook my head.
“No. I do not lead them,” I finally managed to answer.
“Your name?” he reminded me.
“Raiza. My name is Raiza Nix,” I replied carefully.
I kept a careful watch over him, waiting to see if he would reach out and hurt me, but there was nothing about him that even remotely suggested aggression other than the fact that he was an alien, and that’s just what they did, or at least that’s what I expected him to do.
It caught me off guard. Why were we standing here chatting? I was supposed to be killing him. What was wrong with me?
“I am Commander Talyn,” he replied. He crossed his arms over his chest, watching me warily and curiously at the same time. He didn’t quite know what to make of me and I sure as hell didn’t know what to make of him.
I didn’t know any of his weaknesses and there was nothing about him that hinted to any of them.
Without touching him, I wouldn’t be able to figure out if a bullet or even a knife could pierce through his skin.
I couldn’t test if the grenade in my other pocket would burn his flesh. I didn’t know anything.
This was just a guessing game. I was going to have to test my luck and considering the shit week I was having, I didn’t really want to do that either because I would probably lose that bet.
I had one more weapon hidden inside my jacket pocket—a needle full of hemlock. It was enough poison to put down a horse or even an elephant.
“Why did they send you, soldier Raiza? Why not send your general to meet me?” he questioned, searching my face for answers as I gave him nothing.
I swallowed hard and finally accepted what I had to do. At that point, a plan started coming together in my head. It was now or never.
“I was sent here by my people to send you a message,” I began, and his eyes narrowed with attentiveness. It felt strange to have him entirely focused on me and I tried not to let it derail me on my mission.
I was here to kill him, not to be his friend.
“And what is that message, soldier Raiza?” he asked carefully. My hand was still in my pocket, and I slowly curled my fingers around the holster of my gun.
He didn’t move or even glance down at my arm. I found that unsettling, but it was too late for me to change course or think about anything else other than the plan I’d already set in motion.
I made several assumptions that day.
I whipped out my gun and aimed. I was a decent shot at least, and I hit my targets most days. I most certainly wasn’t going to miss at this close of a range.
I pulled the trigger.
I was prepared for the recoil, but what I wasn’t prepared for was watching what happened next. I hit him dead between the eyes as he stared back at me. His gaze was dark and mysterious, but there was some sort of amusement in there, like he wasn’t the least bit surprised that I’d done what I had.
The bullet did pierce him in between the eyes, and I learned at that moment that his blood was a dark gray color, but it was multifaceted like a gemstone. I’d seen a black diamond once and this reminded me of that in a way.
Except far more violent.
I dug deep into every well of instinct that I could manage. I slipped my hand back in my pocket and took out the syringe. I let the knife I had up my sleeve fall into my fingers, and I used my mouth to uncap the needle.
He swayed back and forth, maybe in shock or just because he wanted to see what I would do. I spun toward him, using my blade to slice across his skin. It cut deep enough, and a jolt of relief flew through me.
I could slice through his skin at least, which meant that probably this next part should work.
I whirled toward him with the syringe at the ready.
The needle was thick, meant to pierce through the hide of livestock.
We’d found it on one of our supply runs somewhere upstate and saved it for a moment like this.
I slammed the needle directly into the wound I’d made with the knife. I pressed down the plunger with vicious force and his eyes widened as the poison surged into his veins.
He was part human. Humans could be killed by hemlock. I didn’t yet know if the alien parts of him could be.
A quiet rattling croak escaped his purplish lips and he swayed once more before he collapsed to the ground. His mouth opened once again, and he began to roar in pain.
I froze.
I’d shot him between the eyes. I’d slashed through his throat with a knife, and I’d poisoned him with enough hemlock to take down an elephant.
And he wasn’t dead. Why wasn’t he dead?
His screams began to rise in pitch and as I stared down at him, I realized something. The hemlock wasn’t killing him. It was torturing him.
I took a step back in horror. I’d done that to him.
My hand slapped over my mouth and a rattling surge of sheer revulsion poured over me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think.
In all my life, I’d never actually killed anyone before. I’d been involved in raids. I’d protected my fellow soldiers from harm by throwing grenades and firing off rounds into a group of aliens when they’d come and attacked us, but nothing like this before. I’d never done anything this direct.
It was horrific to watch. I hated every second of it.
His arms were shaking. His entire body was trembling as if he was paralyzed. His roaring cries never stopped, and it sounded like the hemlock was causing him mind-numbing agony as it worked its way through his body.
I froze, knowing what I should be doing and being unable to do it.
I was supposed to reach behind my back and fire the flare gun up into the air. My people would come. They’d rain fire down on him and ensure that he was dead before they moved onto the rest of the alien soldiers.
That was all I had to do.
And I couldn’t.
His yelling sounded so human and that tore into my soul. In those harrowing seconds, he seemed more like me than an alien. I should want him dead. I should damn his soul to all eternity, but his pain gave me pause.
I looked around. There was no one in the windows. Had he come alone? Had my people held back? Were they really waiting for my signal?
I swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to do. I knelt next to Commander Talyn and tentatively reached out to touch him.
His skin was so warm. It was as if he burned several degrees hotter than me.
I jerked my hand away and he screamed again. Something inside of me split open at the sound and I forced myself to slide my hands underneath his arms. With a grunt, I pulled him backwards.
He was really fucking heavy.