Chapter 8 #2
Kaden scanned the surrounding area. If something even moderately small had crash-landed at speed, he’d have thought the ground would have been disturbed.
Ten paces left.
Kaden swallowed hard when he saw the hole in the ground. Had some part of him still hoped the whole thing was in his head? Yes—just a little.
The hole was roughly a metre across and a metre deep, its edges ringed with snapped branches and churned earth.
He followed the damage upward, noting how many limbs had been broken as the craft came down.
He hadn’t known what to expect inside the crater, but it wasn’t…
this. Just a scattering of blue-grey metal fragments, dull and uneven, their colour shifting subtly when he tilted his head and caught them at different angles.
Pick up the pieces. Put them in the bag.
Kaden should have thought about bringing gloves.
Holding his breath, he nudged one of the larger fragments with his fingertips.
Nothing happened. No heat, no shock, no sudden pain.
After a moment, he picked it up properly and dropped it into the plastic bag he’d stuffed into his backpack.
One by one, he gathered the rest. The bag was heavy, but he was surprised it wasn’t heavier.
“Any sign of life?” he whispered.
It felt impossible that this wreckage had once held beings like Joe. Then again, he had no idea what Joe had looked like. Winged but…
Bend down and examine the ground around the impact site.
Kaden crouched. “What are you looking for?”
Any indication that someone has been to this area.
His heart thumped. “Is there?”
No.
“Can you be sure?”
Yes.
“Should I take some of the soil with me?”
No. It isn’t contaminated.
Kaden hesitated, a dull ache settling in his chest. These had been Joe’s people. Some had been his friends.
Some were similar to friends—those like me. But I know what the word means now. They weren’t friends. Not like you. You are a real friend.
Kaden headed back toward the road, the bag heavy at his side with alien metal and almost three thousand bodies.
A small, irrational part of him wanted to study the fragments under a microscope and he was sort of glad he didn’t have one.
Half a mile later, as he approached the road, he heard the sound of several vehicles, a much louder noise than he’d have expected.
Wait. Hide.
Kaden slipped behind a tree. He gaped in horror as he took in the line of army vehicles coming his way. He ducked back behind the trunk and clutched the bag more tightly. Was it too much of a leap to think they were coming to look for whatever had fallen out of the sky?
Army? Oh, I see.
The last vehicle passed and Kaden hurried on, keeping off the road until it joined the main road about two hundred metres further on. There were people around now, more traffic, no more army and he exhaled.
Dispose of everything in water.
Kaden winced. “Is that really a good idea? What if it does something to the river?” He tried not to think about worse possibilities. What if someone was still alive?
No one is alive. Find a lake. A river. We saw one from the bus.
“There won’t be any proof then.”
That is preferable. The ship and its contents have no value to Earth, nor do they pose a threat. They would only cause alarm. The metal will decompose. Organic remains have already deteriorated.
Instead of waiting for the bus, Kaden kept walking. It was ridiculous, but he kept thinking an army vehicle would pull up at his side and he’d be dragged into it. He moved away from the curb. As if that would stop it happening.
The craft did not fall at the speed of a meteorite. It probably triggered an alert. The other planet we investigated saw us land. Two sent their defenders. They didn’t last long.
Kaden shuddered. “Well, the army is only going to find a hole.”
We were lucky we arrived when we did.
When Kaden reached the river, he headed off the road and down the bank. As soon as he was under the bridge and hidden, he tipped up the bag and watched the contents slide into the current. The fragments vanished almost immediately.
A pang of regret flickered through him, then faded as Joe’s presence settled in his mind.
You did the right thing. Thank you.
Kaden hoped Joe was right.
~~~
Joe had something else he needed to keep from Kaden.
Gash and Lanu were now inside Harris. Perhaps they’d registered he was inside Kaden when Harris had come to Kaden’s bedsit.
Once they’d freed themselves from the culture medium and hidden in Harris’ hair, they must have decided to do what Joe had done and enter Harris’ body.
What they hadn’t been able to do was blend.
Probably because they were others and not like him.
Joe wished he’d been able to shed the medium before he entered Kaden, but he’d linked with it and had to make Kaden swallow it all.
He’d heard Gash and Lanu call him from Harris’ stomach and ignored them. They were asking how to integrate. As if he’d tell them! He was as sure as he could be that no one else was still alive, either in the building or in the remains of the spacecraft.
He didn’t like that Gash and Lanu were in Harris but what could he do? He had something more critical to worry about. Namely, slowing down his body’s urge for full integration with Kaden. He had to keep Kaden safe and once he was out of him, he’d find a way to deal with Harris’ hitchhikers.
That night, Joe worked again on the computer, Kaden staring at the screen even though he was unconscious. Joe kept making him blink to clean and lubricate his eyes. He couldn’t keep him sitting all night, so he’d have to make the most of his time.
Coming out of Kaden wouldn’t be straightforward.
It was possible that Kaden would be left with no memory of ever plucking Joe from the tank.
Joe could still claim asylum but not mention Kaden.
In some ways, Joe should wish that Kaden didn’t remember.
It was the kind thing to do, the right thing, even if it hurt.
If that was what happened, then maybe…one day…he could come back into Kaden’s life but because Kaden was attracted to him, not because he’d forced himself on him. Kaden’s choice, not Joe’s.
One thing Joe intended to do was leave a little of himself inside Kaden to ensure his heart wouldn’t fail. The organ was weaker than it should be and had been put under strain by his occupation of Kaden’s body. Joe was already supporting it.
Moreover, there was a risk to them both when Joe emerged.
If he wasn’t speedy enough, Kaden might die from lack of oxygen.
His throat would be blocked temporarily no matter how quickly Joe was able to surge.
Theoretically, he could restart Kaden’s heart and respiration once he’d come out of his body, particularly if he left a piece of himself inside Kaden, but…
What state will I be in? He had no idea how coordinated he’d be.
Being able to walk immediately seemed unlikely.
Ditto with talking. Maybe Joe wouldn’t be able to help him.
So this had to happen in a place where Kaden would be seen quickly and offered aid. A hospital was perfect.
He moved Kaden back to bed and Joe slept too.
When Kaden emerged from sleep, Joe felt the change in him as he remembered.
It was the same every day since they’d met.
In an instant, Kaden shifted from calm and relaxed to worried and stressed.
Immediately after that, he felt Kaden’s additional concern over the hardness of his cock.
But it was a natural thing. Joe liked it.
In his own form, that wasn’t— He broke off the thought. All that had gone.
Joe was torn between making Kaden come, which would be so good, or staying still and silent. He knew which he wanted. He rippled up and down Kaden’s back, and when he heard Kaden release a soft sigh, he kept doing it. I want to make you happy. I want to make you feel good.
When there was no objection, Joe reached out all over Kaden’s body, desperate to send him to the stars.
Can I? Can I? Can I?
It felt important that Kaden wanted this.
You’re so beautiful. You feel so good.
Kaden’s dick was up for it even if his mind wasn’t quite up to speed. But when Joe made it feel as though tendrils were curling around his cock, Kaden’s hand joined in.
Let me!
“Let you what?” Kaden was groaning now, writhing on the bed.
Joe licked his cock. Well, he gave Kaden the sensation of being licked there.
“Oh God.” Kaden’s eyes sprang open.
Then he licked his balls and Kaden melted into the bed.
He licked his arsehole and Kaden stopped breathing.
Breathe!
Kaden sucked in a breath. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”
Joe fucked him in the only way he could.
He knew every place to touch that would heighten Kaden’s enjoyment.
His nipples, his balls, his cock, his taint, the entrance to his body…
He could tell from Kaden’s reaction that even from the inside out, it felt good.
Joe could enjoy the sensation along with Kaden.
For Joe, still fluid, it felt like little tremors of pleasure shooting through him.
“I feel like I’m being licked and fucked everywhere.” Kaden moaned.
You are.
Kaden laughed. Every sound that he made, his reaction to each touch was winding Joe to oblivion. Kaden had no one to touch, no one to push back against, but Joe made sure it felt like he did. And when Joe finally let Kaden come, Joe felt it too and his cry of pleasure drowned out Kaden’s.
When they woke, Joe stayed silent. He could tell that Kaden was trying to keep his mind blank, but finding it difficult. He’d start one thought, then break off and begin another. He didn’t want to acknowledge what they’d done. Joe didn’t know how to help him.
“I’m going to shower.”