6. Chapter 6
There were probably worse things in the world… eh, universe, than to be carried by this mountain of a man, but right then I couldn't think of anything because I was being abducted by an alien on an alien world!
I should have been terrified, but strangely, I only felt a sliver of fear. My eyes roamed the strange landscape. I was on an alien planet! On Vandruk! The enormity of it hit me again and again the more I studied the ground with the neon orange and green rocks, the strange trees and bushes. There was no escaping this reality.
I had spent weeks poring over photos from Vandruk ever since I got the assignment to write a fluff piece on the scientist nerds. I liked to be prepared before diving into a story. But the deeper I dug, the more hooked I became—just like my nickname, Barracuda, suggested. I knew I was a damn good reporter; I just hadn't been given the right chance to prove it. But that was about to change.
I had always dreamed of being on the front lines as a reporter, and now here I was. What could be more front line than reporting from an alien planet?
My gaze locked on Weidenhof as he was dragged along, and once again, I wondered what secrets he was hiding.
There had been over a hundred Vandruks at the portal site. There was no way Weidenhof and his team had spent ten years studying the portal without ever seeing one Or at least something like an alien bunny hopping through the scenery. It seemed preposterous. They had to have seen the Vandruks or animals. Which begged to ask the next question: if they did, why keep it from the public? It would've been in their best interest to share this information—especially with the portal on the verge of being shut down due to a supposed lack of meaningful discoveries from the other side. So why hadn't Weidenhof revealed that there were aliens, ones remarkably similar to humans, on the other side?
That question had gnawed at me before, back when it was only Tzar-Than, who hinted that others existed. Now, after seeing them with my own eyes, I was certain Weidenhof had known all along.
But at that moment, finding answers was the least of my worries—because I. Had. Been. Abducted. By. Aliens!
I only had to rest my head against this man's hard shoulder to be reminded of the fact. It didn't matter that I felt somewhat secure. This was all ways of fucked up.
My mind was a jumbled mess between, holy shit, I've been abducted, holy shit, I'm on an alien planet, and holy shit, this man is hot . It was impossible for me to distinguish between the three of them because as soon as I tried to cling to one thought, the other popped into my head, or my eyes caught another one of the strange flora, bringing it back to me that I wasn't… home anymore.
Effortlessly, he carried me over the greenish-pebbled, orange sand that, in parts, looked like lava. Now and then, he had to carry me up over an embankments—still with no hitch to his breath—because the ground all around us was an uneven mess—as if meteor after meteor had bombarded this planet's surface.
Boulders and plants dotted the landscape everywhere, making Vandruk appear harsh but beautiful. The temperature was perfect—if I had to guess, I would have said seventy to seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit—not too cold, not too hot, just right. A slight breeze rustled the enormous leaves in the strange trees and felt good against my skin.
Besides us, I didn't see another sign of life. No birds in the air, no animals, not even an insect. I think that was one of the strangest things I first noticed.
Tall mountains were ahead of us and to the left; otherwise, the landscape looked as if it was the same as far as the eye could reach.
Five Vandruks followed us. Two were carrying long wooden beams heaped with bundles. Two were dragging Weidenhof with them, not giving him much of a choice but to put one foot in front of the other. A fifth moved in large circles around us. Probably making sure nothing snuck up on us. I shuddered because that meant there had to be predators here. Giving the foliage another glimpse, I could only imagine too well the kind of predator that might be roaming this planet, each one reminding me of the creatures in Jurassic Park .
The sun almost vanished behind the mountains before we stopped. Ghan-Zahr deposited me on a rock, wagging his finger in my face with an unmistakable stay put gesture. With a sigh, I decided to follow his instructions for now; I wasn't too eager to run into any trouble in the bushes, but he better take me there soon. Otherwise, he would have to deal with my wet pants. Thank God I had at least chosen a semi practical outfit. It wasn't anywhere near what I should be wearing out here, but my pants were better than a skirt. My blouse? A shirt or sweatshirt would have been better. Then again, at least it had long sleeves.
While Ghan-Zahr did whatever aliens do, I took the opportunity to close a few of the buttons on my blouse that I had opened for the interview to distract Weidenhof. I absolutely didn't want Ghan-Zahr to be getting the wrong idea here.
I watched the warriors put up tents and start a fire; meat was spread over a thin rock that was placed over the flames, and soon, the air filled with the sound of sizzling and the aroma of roasting meat.
Weidenhof was tied against one of the skinny, twisted trees. I thought about going over there and talking to him but chickened out, worried I might end up tied up next to him. That was when another fear took root in my head. I sat up straight and felt my heart flop inside my chest when I remembered Tzar-Than asking for women. I didn't recall seeing any women, Vandruk or human, with the men by the portal. This didn't necessarily mean anything since it looked like this was a male-dominated society, and guarding the portal probably wasn't the right place for a woman. Still, for whatever reason, Tzar-Than had demanded women, and now Ghan-Zahr had kidnapped me . Maybe being tied to a tree was the least of my worries?
"Are you okay?" Weidenhof called from his side of the camp.
Before I could answer, a Vandruk warrior hit him upside the head, hissing at him in their language, but it wasn't hard to imagine what he said.
Two tents were erected, furs were taken inside, and my heart began to hammer in earnest. The urge to use the bathroom became stronger, making me squirm on the rock.
"Rachel?" I looked up at Ghan-Zahr. I hadn't even heard him approach, too caught up in my need to go pee and worry about what the night might bring.
"I need to go to the bathroom," I pushed out without preamble.
I wasn't sure if he understood what I said, but if he didn't, he must have guessed right. He held out his hand. Tentatively, I placed mine in his, and he picked me back up to carry me deeper into the bushes. He even turned away from me, and with a sigh, I did what I had to do, willing to pay a thousand dollars for a roll of toilet paper or a sanitary napkin to wipe my lady parts and hands. Neither appeared, though, and it got even worse when Ghan-Zahr brought me back to the rock, only to appear a few seconds later with a piece of leaf and meat on top. I supposed I was going to have to eat with my fingers. My dirty fingers.
My stomach knotted at the idea of what would happen after the meal, but I hadn't eaten anything besides a bagel this morning and no matter how knotted my stomach felt, it still growled.
The meat was surprisingly tender and tasty—so much so that for a few moments, I forgot about all my misgivings and devoured it quickly.
"More?" Ghan-Zahr reappeared, offering me more meat on another cut-up leaf.
"I'm good"." I waved him off. He then held out a sort of waterskin, and thirstily, I drank big swallows of what easily tasted like the best water to have ever run down the back of my throat.
I handed the waterskin back to him, and he picked me up to carry me into one of the tents. My insides turned and knotted again. I threw a glance at the other Vandruk, but they didn't even look at us. It didn't appear as if they were going to follow us into the tent.
Weidenhof still sat tied to the same tree, his head hung low, making me wonder if he had fallen asleep. Unlike me, he had been forced to walk what I estimated to be a good six miles, so he was probably exhausted.
We entered the tent, and all thoughts of anybody besides me and Ghan-Zahr vanished. A pile of furs was placed on one side, and a hollow rock with a small fire burned on another. A small bundle stood aside, probably holding his spare clothes. I nearly giggled nervously but kept it at bay.
He placed me on the furs, hovering over me for a few seconds, enough to imagine him ripping my clothes off me, and… strangely, the idea didn't frighten me but turned me on. If he had wanted sex from me right then, I might have even given in to him. I leaned up on my elbows to take him fully in, his chiseled facial structure that made him look so severe, underscored by the line of his mouth. I thought if he smiled, he would have been devastatingly handsome. As it was, a temptation to do anything to make that mouth curve grew inside me.
Abruptly, he turned away from me to grab his satchel and from it, he grabbed a rope and more furs. I stiffened. I wasn't fully opposed to sex with him, but I wasn't about to let him bind me. I wasn't into that kind of kinky stuff, despite the beads of sweat trickling down my back and a familiar pulse building in my clit. I scooted back on the bed—nest of furs, whatever you want to call it—until I reached the tent wall. I might have tried to slide underneath it to get outside, even though I had no idea where I would go, but his left hand grabbed hold of my ankle and pulled me down.
"What? No!" I yelled as he lifted the rope with his right hand.
He stared at me as I shook my head.
"You're not going to tie me up, no! Not happening!"
He raised my foot and held a piece of fur against it. Then he began to rope the cord around it, and I relaxed somewhat.
"What are you doing?"
When he reached for a knife, I tensed again, but he only used it to cut off a piece of the rope before he wound it around my foot, ankle, and calf. He did the same with the other. I wrinkled my forehead. "What is this?"
He motioned for me to walk, and I finally realized that he had fashioned me a sort of pair of boots. I took a few steps, amazed at how good it felt. "Nice."
I walked a few more steps back and forth. He nodded, the line of his mouth quirked in what could have been called a smile. Okay, half smile.
"Thank you!"
Somewhere, I was aware that he had kidnapped me. That it was his fault I had lost a shoe and that I shouldn't be thankful for something that wouldn't have been necessary if he hadn't abducted me. Still… he didn't have to do this.
He nodded at me, turned, and left the tent.
Speechless, I stared at the tent flap.
He hadn't touched me—besides my foot and ankle.
Did I want him to touch me?
He didn't even try to kiss me.
Did he not like me?
He made you boots , my mind reminded me.
Yeah, but maybe only because he's tired of carrying me , I argued back.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Was I seriously debating why he hadn't touched me?
With a huff, I fell back on the bed, crossing my arms on top of me. After a few breaths, I was finally coherent enough to stop thinking about him and me and the sex we might have had to give my situation some serious thought.
I had been kidnapped.
I was on an alien planet.
I closed my eyes. I was on Vandruk.
Things like, I can't call the cops if something happens , Weidenhof is tied to a tree outside , rushed through my mind. I should go out there, see how he was doing, see if he needed food or water. I should come up with a plan to rescue him. Or maybe not. I didn't even like him. More than that, I suspected him of a lot of bad things. Yeah, but suspecting and proving are two different things , my mind added. Remember innocent until proven guilty and all that?
I told my mind to shut up and concentrated on the next step. After I miraculously untied Weidenhof.
And then what?
We'll make a run for it.
I nodded, liking that idea.
Run where?
Back to the portal . I was reasonably sure I could find my way back.
Okay, great.
Problem: Even if I managed to get us away from Ghan-Zahr and his men, we were still facing a hundred more Vandruks by the portal.
Right. There was that.
Fuck.
Not to mention the dinosaurs that probably roamed this planet. No, scratch that. Whatever roamed this world would probably make a dinosaur look like a kitten.
Fuck!