Chapter 10
An Ominous Silence
The shortest of the lot grabbed her ankle and yanked. Nicole screamed and reached for Krir.
“Don’t.” The tallest pointed a gun-like object at her temple.
Krir froze, but Nicole didn’t. She kicked out with her other foot as the short alien pulled, catching them in the nose. They bellowed as thick pinkish blood dripped but did not let go.
The mid-sized alien held out a strange device resembling a forehead thermometer. They pressed it to her thigh as she struggled. It stung like a motherfucker, but almost instantly, the room spun and her body relaxed. Shit, they’d drugged her.
The smaller alien released the hold on her leg and picked her up under her armpits. She was still conscious but woozy, and her body was numb and no longer responding to her commands.
“Remove her,” the tallest, who seemed to be in charge, ordered. “And no retaliation for the nose, Legionnaire.”
The one behind her grunted assent, and the alien who’d tranked her grabbed her legs.
“No!” Krir shoved off the bed, tackling the leader.
The gun skittered away as the two aliens carried her out, slamming the door behind them. A subdued shot rang out, followed by an ominous silence.
The alien holding her feet looked over their shoulder, then both sped up. They hauled her the hundred yards to a tan vehicle, which seemed as if a heavily armored Hummer had a baby with a DeLorean. The tailgate rose and they chucked her inside.
“Start the engine. I’m going to help the commander,” the mid-size alien said.
Before they went more than a few steps, the door to the housing unit opened and their boss emerged, holstering the weapon.
No. No, no, no. Krir.
Her heart sunk, and if she had any control over her body, she’d be puking up her guts.
The two red aliens glared at her and gestured to each other. A kind of smug high-five? She would spit at them if she could. Krir had been a good person, and now she was stuck with these assholes, naked and vulnerable and pissed off.
Shorty sat in the front seat and started the vehicle.
The engine hummed, the specific frequency setting her teeth on edge, but it wasn’t loud.
No wonder they didn’t hear them coming. The mid-size one strapped her in.
They fastened their own belts in a seat facing hers when the commander appeared at the open tailgate.
Without a word, without a twitch, the commander swiftly pulled the gun from a hip holster and shot the alien sitting across from her in the head.
Though the noise was suppressed using some air or electrical tech, Nicole’s ears still rang in the close quarters.
The alien slumped to the floor while the driver whipped around.
Another shot, even more muffled by the previous discharge, and a third bloody eye bloomed on the left side of the last alien’s forehead.
The commander crawled in. A red hand cupped her cheek.
“Nicole, it’s me. Krir. Here…”
He pulled out a device that looked an awful lot like the one the dead alien had jabbed her with. He pressed it to her upper arm. This time, she didn’t feel the sting right away. About thirty seconds later, sensation returned, including the stinging from both injection sites.
“Ow!” she managed as soon as her jaw worked.
“Are you all right?”
“You don’t look like Krir.”
“The genetic modifier I told you about.”
Her arms began working, and she lifted trembling fingers to his face. She stared into his eyes, which were the same as they’d always been. Bright copper, sparkling with an otherworldly light.
“Okay.” She closed her eyes, and tears slid down her face.
Krir wiped them with his fingers. “You’re safe now.”
He unbuckled her and slung her over his shoulder as gently as he could. They cleared the vehicle, and he shifted her so he carried her like a fucking princess in a movie. What a strange Prince Charming she’d found.
They entered the CHU. Krir stepped over the very naked and very dead commander and deposited her on the bed.
She grabbed the blanket and covered herself before propping her back against the wall.
After a few more breaths and another swipe at the wetness on her cheeks, she was finally able to release the tension.
“Wh-what n-n-next?” Her teeth chattered as the adrenaline bled off.
He handed her a bottle of water. “Drink this.”
She obeyed automatically, and the cool water washed the horrible taste lingering in her mouth from the fear and the dryness caused by whatever the Giuk had drugged her with.
Krir collected the clothes from the floor, and she bit her lip.
While she should feel embarrassed, she wasn’t.
What they’d shared meant far more than a quick fuck.
“Here, get dressed.” He faced the wall.
“What about, you know”—she lowered her voice, as though there was any chance anyone could eavesdrop on them—“the bodies?”
Krir glanced at her over his new shoulder, his expression colder than a Midwest blizzard.
“Never mind.” She dropped the blanket, and he whipped his head forward.
Nicole pulled on her shirt and slid into her pants.
Okay. Her scientist lover had a vicious streak he’d never shown before.
None of her previous lovers had any tendency toward violence, but she didn’t care that Krir did.
His actions had saved her—for the third time—and himself.
Survival trumped the niceties of her Midwestern upbringing, but it felt wrong to be glad they were dead.
“Why are you doing this?” She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them.
He risked another glance, and his face softened as he stepped toward her.
“They hurt you. They took you from your home, and they tried to take you from me. No more. This must stop. For you, for your people.”
“Thank you.”
“I would do anything for you, Nicole.” He sat next to her on the bed, and she flinched. “Sorry, I will return to normal as soon as possible, but if anyone is at their landing craft, this disguise could be helpful.”
“It’s fine, will just take getting used to.” After all, she was attracted to who he was, which hadn’t changed because he looked different. But her experience with the Giuk made it difficult to accept at the moment.
She finished the water, feeling much better.
Krir lifted the commander’s body and carried it to the vehicle.
They looked so similar it was like seeing someone carrying their twin.
The differences were slight. Krir seemed to be a bit taller and a little less muscular.
And the eyes, of course. The Giuk had eyes ranging from yellow to brown, but they lacked the otherworldly spark in Krir’s that always took her breath away.
The commander’s body joined the mid-sized alien in the rear.
Nicole crawled in the front and pushed while Krir pulled on the driver.
Sweat dripped down her back as this body joined the others.
She avoided looking at the bodies while Krir drove to the shuttle, which was about a half mile from where her pod had landed.
“Stay in the vehicle while I check things out. The all clear is three high whistles followed by three low.”
“Three high, three low. Got it.”
He left the door open and the engine running while Nicole huddled behind the seat. If there was anyone in the shuttle, they shouldn’t see her.
Her dad’s heart surgery after his myocardial infarction was the longest wait in Nicole’s life. This was a close second. Not for the length of time, but for the sheer terror of not knowing.
Three high whistles floated on the breeze, then three low. Relief flooded her system, and she almost was too boneless to stand and get out of the vehicle. Her legs wobbled a little as her feet touched the sand, but Krir stood at the door—hatch.
He smiled as she approached. Any last vestiges of doubt left her. The Giuk didn’t smile. Ever. Hissed, growled, spat, glowered, but zero smiles.
“There was a pilot.” He ushered her into the cool passageways of the shuttle.
Was. A vicious satisfaction settled in her belly. Vengeance for all she’d suffered the last few weeks.
“Is that it? We’re safe?”
“Almost. I need to show you something, and you need to make a choice.”
He held out a red hand, and after a beat, she took it.
She followed him through the small spaceship, which resembled how she’d imagined the Space Shuttle as a kid.
The cockpit was roomier than an airplane but not by much.
Krir pushed the dead pilot from the chair, and Nicole winced at the metallic thud.
She leaned against the bulkhead and watched as her nerdy boi alien stuck in a new body fiddled with the controls, doing whatever he could to keep her safe.
Safe. That’s what it was—she felt safe around Krir.
Whether it was careening through the dunes or fighting off the Giuk, he was her oasis in the desert, her calm in the storm, her peace.
Nicole had finally found her home. The road had been far longer than she’d expected, and more painful, but she had Krir now. Everything would be fine.