Chapter 52
Survii
The sun was rising over the island, banishing the last of the late night chill. The harsh scent of smoke and ash still lingered in the air. The house had burned for hours. Survii had been able to see the flames licking in the darkness even after they were far away.
They were still being chased.
The island was large enough to get lost on, but not large enough to stay lost on.
He had spent a few days exploring it with Alanna, but he hadn’t been paying much attention to his surroundings.
And they had only the knife Tuvo had given them and his claws as weapons.
They couldn’t even send out a call for help.
Surely, their security team would come to check on them though. They knew that the others were being attacked. It would only make sense that they make sure the two of them were okay.
But the sun was up and there was no change.
Which meant their security team was hurt.
Or their security team was compromised.
And since all of them had been attacked at the same time, in a coordinated and effective strike across the globe, Survii was forced to assume the latter.
Therefore, he had to assume there was no rescue. No one was coming – at least not anytime soon. They couldn’t call for help. They were trapped.
And he was angry.
The trees on this island weren’t suitable for climbing as he would have preferred. The tall palms closer to the beach gave no place to hide. The smaller ones further inland weren’t thick enough and their trunks were too small to support their weight.
The lack of a vertical escape to safety put Survii, a naturally climbing species, at a disadvantage. As if there weren’t already enough of those.
Before the sun rose, he had found a small crevice between some piled boulders.
He cleared it of detritus and insects before pushing Alanna inside.
He checked the area, then came back and squeezed his body in after her.
His skin changed to that of the stone, and he wedged himself close to the entrance so he could see but, from outside, the crack seemed much smaller.
Alanna had fallen into a fitful sleep a couple hours before dawn, but Survii remained awake and tense – ears and eyes pricked.
Fortunately for him, the humans that had attacked decided to wear black, which made them easy to spot.
Even in darkness. The shadows of night were dark blue, not black, and the difference was easy enough for his eyes to differentiate.
But it was daylight now, and their ability to hide was completely gone. They were also loud. Survii heard them moving near their hiding spot at one point, but they didn’t come around to the rock face where he could see them.
At least, not yet. Survii didn’t doubt they’d be around soon. They were likely making a broad sweep of the island. Depending on how many there were, it might be possible for Survii to still sneak around their attempt and find their boat.
They had to have a boat. There was no other way to the island. Even if they brought it here, anchored it off coast, and swam the rest of the way, they had to have a boat. And likely that was the only way that Survii was getting Alanna out of here.
She was his only concern at the moment.
They would be able to hide in this hole for only so long.
Just because Survii was blocking most of the entrance with his body – which blended in perfectly with the gray stone – didn’t mean that a particularly sharp-eyed human wouldn’t be able to spot them.
Furthermore, Alanna would need to relieve herself at some point. She’d need food. Water.
He needed a plan.
But for all the thinking he had done last night, he couldn’t come up with one.
Survii was a voice, he talked through his problems. He hunted for fun only occasionally and kept up his training just because he didn’t like to lose badly when he fought with others.
He wasn’t the weakest domini on the council, but he was easily in the bottom half.
Havali, Tuvo, or Atem would all be able to fight their way out of this no problem.
But Survii was stumped.
How did he get Alanna safely across the island? How did he find their boat? How did he avoid the humans? How did he confront them?
That last one was easy enough to answer. The first chance he got, he’d begin draining their blood – feeding and strengthening himself as he killed them off.
But he was one male, and he knew, from what Alanna described, that there were at least three males that torched the house. Those were only the ones she had seen, however. He would guess the real number was no less than five or six.
He needed to pick them off one at a time. That was the only way to-
“Survii?”
Alanna’s soft whisper pulled his attention from his musings.
He looked back to find her wiping her eyes, adjusting her position from the cramped ball she had curled into.
This space wasn’t large enough for her to lay down, and it wasn’t even technically flat.
The small crevice was rounded in the middle, coming into a point above, and a very shallow bottom below.
She had slept curled up probably leaving her cramped.
“Did I fall asleep?” She muttered, failing to find a comfortable position and just kind of slumping back into her previous one. “How could I fall asleep?”
“Because you know you’re safe with me,” he said, smiling despite their situation. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find a better place.”
His mate deserved more than a cramped hole in a stone wall.
Even when she assured him that she was fine, guilt still gnawed at him.
When they got out of this, he would start a more rigorous training schedule with Tuvo or Havali.
Atem, if he could. He was sure First Domini would make time for the males protecting his sisters.
Alanna shifted again, seemingly to find a better position. She looked so uncomfortable.
“We’re not staying here,” he said as she tossed a rock that had been poking into her back.
“Huh? We’re not?”
“No. We need to figure out a way to their boat.”
“They have a boat?”
“They have to.”
“I’m sure our security team-”
“We can’t assume that they’re going to help us. They’re compromised one way or another. And the humans chasing us won’t give up easily. Not when they know we’ve got no way off the island. We can’t stay here forever. You’ll need water sooner or later.”
He would be fine without both for longer than her.
If he was alone, he would put his back to the hole in the wall and just remain still until help eventually came.
And it would. The Jutiron Stor would hear about this eventually.
And even if they did not, if no one checked in after a couple days, they would send help emergently anyway.
But that would still take days.
Alanna would need water within hours.
“Okay,” she mumbled, shifting again. Her position already uncomfortable again. “So, what’s the plan then?”
“I’m not sure.” He growled, hating to admit the weakness.
Alanna put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. Let’s think of one together.”
He grinned. “Yeah? Any ideas then?”
“Sure. I didn’t have any dreams.”
“Ah. That’s a good omen, yes?”
She beamed, nodding.
“Well, then. What’s your plan?”
“So, you think they have a boat?”
“Yes.”
“But we didn’t hear a boat approaching, and there’s only one dock. And they blew it up last night. So, they likely parked the boat offshore since we didn’t hear an engine, and while they might bring it closer, they can’t actually dock it now. It’s still going to be free floating.”
“So, we’re going to have to swim. But we don’t know where.”
“True. But the island is only so big. We can probably find it easily just by circling around.”
“But we can’t do that without being spotted.
“I can’t do that without being spotted. You on the other hand…” She let her voice trail off, looking at him with a smile.
But he only scowled. “Absolutely not.”
“Why? I mean, the swim trunks are yellow, so it’s not perfect camouflage. But don’t act like you’re not willing to go fully nude in order to hide perfectly.”
“I am not leaving you trapped in a rock hole.”
“You have to. I’m not going to blend in like you, and I can’t be silent like you.”
“But if I leave you behind, you’re in danger.”
“I won’t leave the hole.”
“They can look in and find you.”
“That’s still true now,” she gestured to the crack his side and arm only partially covered.
“I’ll stay here. I’ll stay quiet. You can even put a rock in front of the crack to hide me.
But you have to go out and circle the island.
Find the boat. See if you can find out anything about the guys attacking us.
Wreak some havoc if you can. But then come back and we’ll make plans based on what you find. ”
Survii hated that she was right. No part of him wanted to leave her behind. But they couldn’t do anything until he left to check. And they’d have to leave eventually. Even if the Jutiron Stor sent a shuttle down now, they would need to risk themselves to go to it.
It would be better if they had an escape plan ready. And the only way to do that was to get information on what they were dealing with.
He was the only one who could do that.
And he hated it.
Though it was uncomfortable, he leaned across the crevice and kissed Alanna. Pouring all his desperation and guilt and determination into it.
“Be safe,” he begged. “I’m going to block the exit. Don’t leave. Don’t make a sound.”
“I’ll be fine,” she promised stroking his cheek. “You be safe, too. Okay? Don’t let them catch you. Don’t do anything risky.”
He grunted in affirmation, and, though it hurt deep in his chest, he pulled away from her.