Chapter 15
Jaime
Holy fucking shit. One moment, I’m contemplating ways to murder alien turtles and use their shells to boil water, and the next I’m rolling on the ground as a creature the size of a van attacks us from nowhere.
Spitting out dirt, I roll just in time to see Adam get smashed into a tree, the creature’s claws digging into his back.
It looks like a panther, if panthers were huge and had three pairs of limbs.
It doesn’t have fur, but thick-looking skin that Adam struggles to penetrate.
The panther doesn’t have the same issues, its vicious claws tearing through my poor alien like a knife through warm butter.
If I don’t do something soon, he’ll die, and I’ll be next.
The problem is I have no idea what to do, other than crawl over and make the panther trip over my limp body.
“Not a great plan, Jaime,” I murmur, my hands searching the forest floor for potential weapons. I find a stone, laughably small for the creature’s size, but maybe a distraction will give Adam an opening. “Hey!” I yell at the thing. “Over here!”
I toss the stone at it, already looking for another one when it hits the creature’s side.I’d congratulate myself on my aim, but the thing is so big it’s impossible to miss.
Besides, I was aiming at its head. It barks at me, then roars as Adam goes for its face, clearly trying to blind it.
Refocusing on Adam, the creature attacks again, the fight moving too far away for me to interfere.
Then I notice a smaller black form separate from the larger creature.
It’s a carbon copy of the big one, only about the size of a house cat.
It still looks menacing as it stalks toward me, baring its teeth.
Well, fuck.
Frantically, I search for more stones, hurling them at the creature, but my terrible aim and its agility mean it dodges every time.
It approaches cautiously, maybe intimidated by my size, but my lack of combat skills makes it bolder.
I find a stick and swipe at the creature as it sniffs at my bare leg.
Of all the times to be naked, this had to be one of them.
I probably deserve to get my cock bitten off.
Hissing, the creature dodges my stick and swipes at it with its claws, splitting it in half. Fucking fuck.
Panic claws at my mind as I try to crawl away, but there’s no way to escape the nimble creature.
As my hands scramble for purchase, I find more stones and claw at them with my already broken nails to dislodge them.
When I turn around, a cry tears from my mouth as the creature sank its teeth into my calf.
I don’t feel any pain, but terror grips me.
“Get off!” I shriek at the creature, twisting to smack it with the stone. I hit its head, knocking it off my leg. Blood streams from the wound, but I have no time to examine it as the creature hisses and lunges at me again, this time aiming for my throat. “Oh no, you fucking won’t!”
Grabbing it with both hands, I hold it at arm’s length.
It screeches and scratches at my forearms, but it’s too small to reach me with its teeth.
“I fucking refuse to be killed by something the size of a house cat,” I growl, slamming the creature on the ground.
Holding it down by the scruff of its neck, I look away as I bring the stone down on it.
It might be trying to kill me, but fuck, I still don’t like the idea of killing it back.
The creature lets out a pitiful wail that’s echoed far more loudly from the bushes nearby.
The bigger creature bursts back into view, wailing and howling, and when it heads for the smaller one, I realize I’ve royally fucked up, because this is clearly Mommy and I just smashed her kid with a stone.
Hastily, I roll as far away from the smaller creature as my limp legs allow.
Mommy crouches over the screeching youngling, her wails growing louder and more heartbreaking.
“Fuck. I’m sorry,” I whisper, horrified by what I’ve done. I barely notice Adam’s arms wrapping around me, his gait uneven as he picks me up and sprints away. Instead of the usual four, he holds me with only two arms, using the other two to stabilize himself as he runs faster and faster.
“I didn’t mean to, but it was trying to kill me. What was I supposed to do? Oh my god, I killed it, didn’t I? Fuck,” I blabber, tears blurring my vision.
I yelp as Adam’s grip slackens and I nearly slip from his arms. He catches me and holds me tighter, but I can feel how hard his arms are trembling. They’re also slick with blood and so is the rest of his body.
“Adam? Are you okay?” What a stupid question. Of course he’s not okay. He stumbles, letting go with one arm to steady himself. As I start slipping again, I throw my arms around his neck, mindful of the spikes along it, and hold on tight, desperate to be less of a burden.
Adam’s breaths come in sharp pants and he keeps stumbling, but he doesn’t stop or slow down.
My hands are covered in his blood and the wound on my calf is probably still bleeding, but there’s no time to deal with that until we pause somewhere.
Adam doesn’t seem eager to stop, and when an ear-splitting roar echoes through the jungle, I understand why.
“We pissed her off, didn’t we?” I pissed her off by hurting or killing the little creature. “Can we outrun her?”
Adam picks up speed, but his steps falter and his breaths grow more labored.
“Fuck. What do we do?” Maybe he should leave me behind. The creature is probably coming after me, anyway. Adam might escape while it tears me apart.
I don’t particularly like my role in this plan, but what else can I do to protect Adam? It’s my fault he’s hurt. If it weren’t for me, he’d be safe wherever he lives, not gallivanting through the jungle, carrying a disabled human around like a high-maintenance pet.
“Hey, Adam? Put me down.” He either doesn’t hear me or pretends not to understand me, which is bullshit because I know he understands this request very well. “Adam! You have to leave me here!” Again, I’m ignored. Then Adam suddenly stops.
Whimpering, he readjusts me in his arms and then jumps.
The impact of hitting solid rock rattles through me.
Looking up the sharp cliff he begins scaling, I tighten my hold on Adam’s neck, seeing that he will need as many free limbs as he can get.
The rock is rough and the handholds often crumble underneath Adam’s hands and feet, forcing him to move sideways in a search of a more stable path.
The cliff is a sheer drop with a slight overhang at the top, and I have no idea how we’ll get past it.
Adam’s muscles strain as he climbs higher, not stopping until we’re several dozen feet above the ground.
The panther creature reaches the foot of the cliff, still howling and wailing, jumping against the rock but not finding enough purchase to climb.
Adam must have known it couldn’t follow us here, which is why my amazing alien keeper rushed straight for this spot.
Still, it’ll all be for nothing if we fall.
“You’re amazing,” I tell him, since pep talks seem to be the only thing I’m good for right now. “Just hold on a little longer, okay? When we get somewhere safe, we’ll rest. We’ll have some more worms and just chill. Jungle-watch and chill. How does that sound, hmm?”
With another whimper, Adam starts moving again, slowly continuing the arduous climb with a literal weight around his neck.
“You’re so strong. So brave and sweet, protecting me all the time.
It’s amazing. You’re amazing. Just hang in there, okay?
We can have some fun later. I’m definitely letting you touch my cock if you still want to.
” The attack reminded me how little time I have left.
I don’t want to waste it. “I hope you’ll let me touch yours, too.
I’m really curious about those spikes. They look like fun.
Yeah, we’ll have so much fun. Just hang in there, okay? ”
I keep talking nonsense as Adam climbs, working his way around the overhang. Once we clear the top of the cliff and are a safe distance from the edge, my poor alien carefully sets me down and then collapses on the spot.
“Fuck.” I’m breathing as heavily as he is, as if I were the one who climbed the entire fucking cliff.
I stretch out my aching arms and sit up, looking around. We’re on a flat mountain plateau, surrounded by nothing but rocks. There’s no vegetation here, no water, nothing. On the other hand, the panther creature is still howling below, so I guess this is a good place to be for now.
“Adam? Are you okay?” I hear him breathing, but the amount of blood staining his scales worries me.
He lifts his head and looks at me, his eyes blinking much slower than usual.
I doubt that’s a good sign. “We’ll rest for a while, then find water and shelter.
I need to wash your wounds and—” I glance at the still bleeding bite on my calf.
Since I don’t feel the pain, I keep forgetting about it. “Yeah, I guess mine, too.”
Adam’s gaze slides absently to my leg before he jumps up. Letting out a distressed bark, he grabs me, nearly sending us both careening off the cliff, and he takes off at a great speed again.
“Adam. Adam! Stop! You need to rest. What are you doing?” My words fall on deaf ears as Adam continues his desperate sprint.
The scenery changes slightly, with grass and bushes peeking between the rocks and a faintly red water surface shimmering in the distance. A picturesque lake surrounded by mountains comes into view. It’s there, by the lakeside, that Adam sets me down and rushes away.
“Adam?!”