3. The Hive
Chapter 3
The Hive
Isabella
I sa hated that she felt like a bunny trapped by wolves as she tracked the slowly approaching trio. There were dark purplish-gray markings in the middle of their chests. The alien in the center had a diamond, the boxer possessed a vee, and the wiry one had a chevron. The symbols were intermixed with the other striations on their skin, reminiscent of the stripes on a tiger. Were they natural or tattoos? She didn’t dare study them for long, concentrating on their unusual intelligent eyes instead, trying to gauge their intent. The other aliens had fled from these three. That couldn’t be good.
“Please, I don’t know what is happening,” she blurted as they came ever closer, tears slipping down her cheeks.
Could they even hear her since they didn’t appear to have ears? Not that they’d understand her if they did.
What is happening? She was desperate for answers.
One moment she’s hurtling toward a planet that was supposed to be uninhabited, the next she’s in the middle of a naked cuddle puddle, amidst some truly scary looking beings.
The alien in the center paused. Diamond, she would call him because of the symbol on his chest. His companions, Vee and Chevron, also halted at the edge of the shallow pool.
Oh no. I should’ve kept my mouth shut! Her heart hammered faster.
Diamond’s head tilted and he stuck out his tongue. Her eyes widened at how absurdly long it was as he flicked it in the air like a snake. It had to be at least a foot long. The other two aliens did the same.
What are they doing? She trembled harder, terrified by the frightening expression. Was this the preamble to them attacking?
Isa screeched when they abruptly moved, and she scrambled backward. Except they dropped to their knees and tucked their heads, their arms extended palms upward. They weren’t attacking her at all.
What are they doing now? Her brow furrowed in confusion.
The trio were deathly still as they knelt. With the way their purple skin blended in, they almost looked like the stone benches lining the far wall. It was yet another creepy detail about this alien race.
Maybe this is my cue to get out of here!
Her gaze went toward the entrance, where the other aliens had fled. The light quickly faded beyond the exit, leaving a pitch-black corridor. She’d instantly be lost in the dark. Even if it wasn’t dark, who knows where the passage led? The aliens would undoubtedly stop her and drag her back here.
Dammit! Isa frowned as she realized escape wasn’t an option.
Not to mention the fact that if she made it out of this cave there were new challenges. She had no clue where her pod was, what the wildlife was like on this planet, or where her fellow crashed colonists were. Her chest ached at the thought of her friends. Were they alive? She hadn’t known Audre, Elizabeth or Reina long, but they were the only people she knew. If this was Tellus, she’d been in stasis for over a hundred years and everyone else she’d known back home, family, friends, everyone, were long dead. The reminder gutted her.
Stop! Isa shook off the notion. There was no sense thinking about Earth. And her colonist friends, though closer, were also out of reach right now. She needed to figure out what these aliens wanted with her.
Logic kicked in, her education pushing past her confusion and fear. She’d studied cultures and ancient civilizations. Yes, these aliens looked frightening, possessing the features of a predator, and the ability to change shape, which added to their lethality. But these people obviously brought her here, when they could’ve killed her in her pod.
They haven’t actually done anything that screams ill intent.
The aliens’ mass petting party was a far cry from a traditional Earth greeting. The notion almost made her laugh. Everyone she knew back home would be mortified. Even she was stunned by it, and she was the rebellious, unmarried daughter with questionable morals. It was probably a good thing she couldn’t return home, because participating in the cuddle orgy was enough to get her jailed for lewd acts.
Well, I’m not on Earth anymore and the morality police are not around!
The sad truth was that she didn’t miss her father or her brother. According to them, she could never do anything right, no matter how hard she tried. As devastating as that day in jail was, in retrospect it wasn’t surprising. She loved her mother and sister, though, and worried about them now that she was gone. More tears fell from her eyes.
Isa rubbed her eyes and shook off her spiraling thoughts, again focusing on the nude alien men kneeling in front of her. The point was, although in her culture their reception was highly immoral, this wasn’t Earth or her culture. From a certain perspective, they’d been very, very welcoming.
Okay, okay. Isa took several deep breaths, working to calm herself and let logic win over.
As she was pulling herself together, the three alien men kept casting her surreptitious glances, though they didn’t move from their deferential position. Maybe they understood she was scared.
“I’m sorry. I was frightened,” she nervously stated the obvious.
She needed to find a way to communicate, because this was clearly the established sentient species on this world. That meant she and her people were here at their mercy.
As Diamond looked up at her, she recalled something she’d learned about communication.
When in Rome, do as the Romans.
She was already on her knees, so she quickly bowed, mimicking their posture.
It’s a leather mattress, she noted as she pressed her forehead to the bottom of the shallow pool. I think this is actually a type of bed with sides. It made sense if the aliens slept in their strange gooey plasm form.
A huff of indignation came from the men. It sounded in triplicate, so she’d apparently offended all of them.
Dang it. Isa cringed. Maybe the aliens had exacting customs for bowing that she’d somehow screwed up. I hope I didn’t make some unforgivable faux pas.
Isa glanced up to see how her posture compared to theirs.
“Oh!” Her eyes widened.
Diamond was now a few inches away, inside the unusual bed, reaching for her. Vee and Chevron had joined him. They’d been so quiet, she hadn’t heard them approach. Isa gasped when Diamond’s hand plunged beneath her chest. Despite his claw-tipped fingers, he didn’t claw her as he eased her off the mattress. Diamond remained kneeling by her side, one purple hand on her shoulder, the other gently stroking her back. His eyes were wide with shock as he gazed at her. It was the same for the other two alien men, kneeling nearby. Their eyes were already oversized, so this only added to their dramatic expressions.
“Did I do something wrong?” Isa grimaced. It was more of a rhetorical question. She’d obviously done something wrong.
Shit! I’m already offending a new bunch of people. She seemed to be good at that. Always the black sheep. Her shoulders slumped and she hung her head.
Diamond released her shoulder and gently eased her chin up. He brushed the hair back from her face as he urged her to look at him. She was reticent, but didn’t resist. As close as the alien man was, she could see his eyes weren’t all-black, like she previously thought. The sclera and iris were deep purple and only his pupil was actually black. She followed his gaze. He was studying her forehead.
Someone brushed her left hand and she glanced over to find it was Chevron. He lifted her hand and examined her wrist, slowly flexing it, while Diamond gently prodded her forehead. The memory of her hand flying loose in the poorly designed stasis capsule as it careened toward the planet returned. She’d whacked herself in the forehead just before passing out.
“You healed me,” she murmured, studying her wrist. It wasn’t even slightly swollen.
Not only had the aliens not killed her when they found her, they’d healed her.
“Thank you,” she sobbed, a new flood of tears falling from her eyes.
Gratitude for their help, the trauma of what she’d been through getting to the planet, and the uncertainty surrounding her future all bubbled to the surface at once, overwhelming her.
Diamond pulled her against him, one large hand spanning her back, the other cupping her cheek. His brow furrowed as he wiped the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. His muscular chest rumbled, vibrating beneath her palms. The texture of his skin reminded her of a dolphin, but she was more distracted by the way he was growling at her. Except there was no malice in Diamond’s eyes. Even though he was alien, she knew malice when she saw it. She’d been looked at with hatred and disdain her whole life, since simply being born a woman was a sin. On the contrary, his eyes reflected concern, and his gentle touch was comforting. So, what was that sound?
He's purring! It dawned on her.
She pulled in a relieved breath, grateful he wasn’t angry. Diamond smelled like vanilla; sweet, creamy and slightly woody, with a hint of something masculine. That too was surprising and pleasant.
Vee began stroking her hair, while Chevron rubbed her shoulders and back, both also purring.
They were trying to soothe her, and she deeply appreciated it, yet it only made her more despondent. The fact that the kind, affectionate treatment was coming from aliens, absolute strangers, had her sobbing even harder. She pressed her head against Diamond’s chest and clutched his shoulders as the tears streamed from her eyes. Her own people hadn’t been half as kind, throwing her away. Her flesh and blood had sneered at her. Her father disowned her. It was overwhelming to be comforted when it had been absent for so long.
Who knows how long it took, but their gentle caresses and rhythmic purring eventually calmed her.
I’m okay. I made it this far, not just on this voyage, but also in life . I am strong and have dealt with adversity before. I will survive!
Diamond eased her away from his chest and tilted his head quizzically. Embarrassed, Isa wiped her tears off his firm chest, praying it was only her tears and no snot or slobber. He patted her hand, wordlessly conveying not to worry about it.
“Thank you.” She sheepishly smiled at him in appreciation.
When she turned to smile at Vee and Chevron, there were surprisingly five more aliens. They’d come in while she was distracted with her breakdown and were sitting patiently on the rim of the unusual bed. Their dark eyes reflected a similar expression as the original trio, which she was interpreting as concern, but was probably pity.
“Hi,” she murmured, feeling doubly embarrassed.
One of the new aliens held a large bowl, another had a pitcher and cup, and three held purple glass bottles. It was these last three that intrigued her. They had matching patterns on their chests and faces. Though she was new to differentiating members of this race, they had to be triplets.
Chevron took the cup from the alien holding the pitcher and offered it to her.
“Thank you.” She accepted the drink and readily took a sip. It was cold water with just a hint of something fruity, and very refreshing.
Isa finished her sip and Chevron took the cup from her. Diamond shifted behind her, his legs flanking her. He reached around and put pressure on her shoulders, gently urging her to lean back against him.
“Wow, um, okay.” She hesitantly gave in, briefly bracing her hand on his thick muscular thigh, then instantly removing it.
This was supremely awkward since they were all naked. She could no longer delude herself this was a dream. Clearly these people had no trouble with what she considered intimate contact. And though they didn’t seem to mean her any harm, it was very disconcerting considering she was the only woman in the room.
Well at least he doesn’t have a hard-on. She allowed herself to relax against Diamond’s chest.
Isa awkwardly smiled at the eight aliens seated around her, making her the center of attention.
I’m obviously a novelty. She attempted to imagine what would happen if an alien landed in her back yard.
Vee pulled her from the musing when he took her left hand. His hands were oily as he began massaging her palm. The heady vanilla scent wafted toward her. It was pleasant and soothing. His hands were rougher than Diamond’s. The callouses hinted that the large alien man was used to doing labor. But despite his robust size, he was surprisingly gentle, and the attentive way he stared at her was unexpected.
“Oh!”
She startled when one of the triplets took her left foot and urged her to uncross her legs. He rubbed her calf while gently palming her foot. One of the others straightened her right leg and began to do the same. The third triplet poured the oil out of the flask into his palms then started to massage her right hand. The fragrant purple oil felt luxurious as it slid over, then sank into her skin, except this situation was odd. Even Diamond at her back began gently rubbing her shoulders with his giant hands. Utterly befuddled, she didn’t resist, smiling awkwardly as she panned from one alien man to the next. She’d never been given a massage by one man, let alone five naked men at once.
Maybe this is some sort of welcoming custom or a part of some traditional medicine. Her people believed massages were sinful, but during her studies she’d read where it was once used to treat strained muscles.
As Isa was processing that the aliens were massaging her, what looked like a blue strawberry appeared in front of her face. Isa blinked in surprise. She followed the hand with the piece of fruit to find Chevron holding the large bowl which happened to be full of tasty alien morsels. They were kindly sharing their food with her. Her eyes misted as appreciation again swelled inside her. They didn’t have to do any of this, and yet they were.
Isa attempted to pull her hand away from Vee to take the morsel, but he didn’t release her hand.
“Um.” Her brow furrowed when she attempted again, yet still, the robust alien man didn’t relent. He was built like a boxer so there was no way she could force him to, either.
Chevron appeared amused as he lightly tapped her bottom lip with the berry, urging her to open her mouth.
Oh! They’re actually going to feed me, too. Her mouth opened mostly out of shock.
The alien man eased the berry into her mouth. The way he stared at her lips as he fed her the fruit somehow felt naughty, but it was quickly forgotten as she tasted the treat.
“Mmm,” Isa moaned as she chewed.
The fruit tasted like a raspberry and it was the best thing she’d ever eaten. That may have been an exaggeration. She was definitely hungry, though, and this was her first bit of food after being in stasis for a hundred years
Chevron held up the cup of water, offering her another sip.
“Yes.” She nodded.
He must’ve understood because he brought the cup to her lips and expertly tipped it up, pouring just the right amount into her mouth.
Diamond resumed rubbing her shoulders and she couldn’t help the sigh that came out as she relaxed further. This was the definition of decadence, a bevy of naked muscular men massaging her with fragrant oils while hand feeding her.
“You guys take your welcomes very seriously,” she practically moaned.
Being pampered was the last thing she expected when she was hurtling toward the planet in a glorified coffin.