Chapter 3
Charlie
I was so sure I was about to disappear down that huge snake’s gullet, that I struggled for a moment to comprehend what had happened.
One moment, a huge black-scaled creature had come bearing down on me.
It had its mouth wide open so I could see straight down it, see the arm-long fangs jutting from its jaws.
Shit, why had I even survived this damn crash, and my own execution, only to be eaten by this thing?
The creature had made an awful, rattling sound that had shivered through my body.
I’d still been crawling backward through the water and the mud, instinctively trying to get away while my rational mind had already decided I was toast. The growl that accompanied it was so deep, that I’d felt it vibrate through my lungs before I’d even heard it.
It came crashing down on me and I was sure I was just about to be eaten, only it fell to the left, splattering me with water and disgusting muck.
The weight that landed on my legs was crushing, and if not for the mud I was sprawled in, my legs would have been broken.
As it was, I was pinned, stuck beneath a huge black snake.
I flinched as I looked over at the massive head that had landed next to me. That monster wasn’t moving, but one baleful red eye was staring at me as if even now it was wishing me dead. A huge spear was sticking out of the back of its skull, making it instantly clear that something had killed it.
As soon as I looked, I saw it, but I wasn’t sure if I should scream again or stay still and let this guy rescue me.
While he wasn’t as big as the black snake crushing my legs into the swamp, he was still huge, and he was definitely still a snake.
Shimmering amethyst in the sunlight, glittering along lighter purple patterns that dappled his front.
His scaled body was that of a long, huge snake, but he had the torso of a man.
His human-like face had a horn jutting from his chin and his skull was hairless but held some wavy ridges.
My body remained frozen in place as we watched each other.
He was alien and terrifying, but he was also strangely human, even with the tail and the scales.
His deep purple eyes were latched onto mine as if he could see straight into my soul.
My skin prickled, and my nipples perked up until I wasn’t sure if that was a fear response or the beginning stirrings of arousal.
Maybe if I kept giving him puppy eyes, he wouldn’t eat me.
Sounds issued from his throat, a guttural, hissing, and clicking kind of language that I had no hope of ever understanding, let alone trying to speak it.
I was pretty sure my vocal cords wouldn’t be able to make some of those noises.
Yeah, no I wasn’t going to stick around.
I needed to wiggle my way out from under this damn carcass.
I really, really hated the UAR right now.
Unfairly sentencing me to death, just because I tried to protect myself from my creepy boss.
Ditching me on this hellish planet, although that was probably not exactly according to plan.
I shivered when I realized what would have likely been their plan.
I’d heard the rumors, that some UAR officers sold citizens to other alien species, to the Clade.
Was this what would have happened to me if the ship hadn’t crashed?
While the alien snake-man worked on yanking the fangs from the dead creature’s mouth, I wiggled my legs as quietly as I could.
The mud around them was soft and pliable, even if it was also sucking me into the muck, holding me fast. There was more space now, just a bit more wiggling and I could probably pull myself free.
More than just water was trickling down the back of my neck, sweat beading on my forehead from the effort.
I was so close to getting out, but that snake guy with his brawny shoulders and massive spear was getting closer as he was cutting scales off the dead snake with a freaking laser scalpel of all things.
My left leg came free with a pop, the shoe sadly staying behind.
I didn’t give a flying pig, I was out of here.
I scrambled to my feet, watching the huge male with his shimmering purple scales.
Yeah, suck it, mister. I wasn’t sticking around just so he could eat me or something.
I spun on my heel and booked it, my fingers tightly clutched around the sharp bit of scrap that I’d found.
No time to be careful, I needed to put as much distance between myself and this alien freak.
The only thing I paid attention to, was to keep heading toward those mountains.
I was starting to think he’d just given up on me.
I’d been running until a sharp stitch pierced my side, my breath rasping in and out of my lungs as my throat burned from the effort.
I was a desk jockey, I was not cut out for this survival crap.
Right now though, I vowed to take more time to get in shape if I ever found my way back to civilization.
Slowing down when I still saw no sign of the purple snake-man, I picked out another reed and more carefully started checking my footing.
With one shoe gone, I wasn’t going to risk stepping onto something sharp, who knew what hid in these swamps?
Besides huge black snakes and purple snake-men, of course.
My skin prickled and something clenched sharply in my belly, thinking of the purple alien made me feel odd inside.
Was I seriously attracted to that guy? To those scales?
He had no hair, just scales but his face had looked so human…
Okay, fine I had to admit it to myself. He had been kind of handsome, with a sharp jawline, and a horn sharply jutting from his chin.
His cheekbones cutting sharp lines across his cheeks, his slanted eyes bright and intelligent.
He’d worn leather straps across his chest that had held his weapons, and a pack on his back with more things. This man was not just some savage animal, he was at least somewhat developed… Although the laser scalpel had looked extremely out of place.
Maybe I shouldn’t have run, maybe he never planned on eating me.
I froze in place as I stared at the mountains rising up in the far distance, then I looked over my shoulder back the way I’d come.
Would he still be there with that corpse?
Should I take my chances and try and go back?
See if he’d be able to help me? The last time I’d trusted a guy to help me out, I’d ended up fighting off unwanted advances.
I winced, remembering how my boss had tripped after a good push, and fatally crunched his skull on the corner of his pompous oak desk.
I debated my options, trust a strange alien? One that I couldn’t understand at all and probably never would? Or try and make it out here on my own? I figured my odds of surviving by myself were pretty much nil. Yeah, but was trusting an alien I couldn’t talk with any smarter?
A soft noise behind me made me spin around, raising my flimsy stick and my sharpened piece of metal defensively in front of me.
At first, I didn’t see anything, but my heart was furiously pounding in my throat.
I hadn’t forgotten the moment of panic when that black snake attacked, was there another one approaching?
Then the reeds parted in front of me and the pale blue sun glinted off shiny amethyst scales.
He rose up on his long tail until he was several heads taller than me, displaying the softer lavender shades that dappled his chest and belly, down the front of his tail, in intriguing patterns.
More importantly, he didn’t have his spear in his hands or any other kind of weapon. Not that he’d need one to take me out.
I noticed my shoe dangling from his bag with some confusion, had he picked it out of the muck for me? Or was that just because it looked interesting? Was he coming after me for a matching pair? It wasn’t like he could wear them, he had no legs.
Sticking out his hand in my direction, I noticed the sharp talons that graced the tips of his scaly fingers.
They were black, and they looked really sharp.
He made some hissing noises, waving his hand in front of my face, then he looked over his shoulder and made a shrugging motion.
Was he trying to get me to come with him?
I knew I’d just thought about going back to see if he would help me but standing right in front of him that felt like a stupid idea.
He was just so freaking huge, towering over me, with wide shoulders and arms bulging with muscle.
I was really thinking I needed to get away from him, if he tried to pick me up, he’d crush me like a bug with those muscles.
Taking a single step back, I shook my head, “Sorry buddy, I don’t know you.
” As I spoke, he tilted his head to the side, his bright purple eyes remaining laser-focused on my face.
His expression was curious, maybe he was surprised that I could talk or liked the sound of my voice or something.
I took another step back and saw how his eyes flicked away from my face to a point over my shoulder.
In a blur, his long body coiled and the tail came flying my way.
One moment I was standing up to my ankles in water, the next that flexible tip was curled around my middle and I was sailing through the air.
Reflexively I yelped in fright, my fingers digging into the tough scales that covered him, trying to free myself.
With a splash, I landed behind the snake-man, his tail still holding me tight.
Water went straight up my nose, muck in my eyes.
I pushed up with my hands, and one sunk down into the mud up to my damn elbow.
When I finally managed to lift up my head and squint at the snake-man, I realized he had his spear out and was facing off with another of those huge black snakes.
Oh, shit, had he just saved my life, again?
“Go get him, tiger,” I murmured at the back of the guy, “You got this.” His whole body shivered when I spoke, down to the tip of the tail curled around my middle where it was nestled just below my boobs.
I saw how he tilted his head just a tad my way, and saw the confused look in his eye, but then the huge black snake coiled its body and struck at him and he darted to the side, swiping with his spear at the beast.
I scrambled to find my chunk of sharp scrap in the muck where I’d dropped it.
I pulled it free just in time as snake-man yanked me to the left, dragging me through a cluster of reeds.
The black snake slung a thick, muscled coil of its body and slammed down on the spot I’d just vacated.
Its tail came sailing my way as it struck again at snake-man.
With an angry growl, I swiped at that approaching tail with my improvised blade.
There was a screeching sound. The snake coiled back, yanking the tail out of my reach.
It left behind the rattle that had tipped its tail in the muck, that had been a really lucky strike.
As the giant snake was distracted, snake-man moved in, dodging the sharp fangs and striking with his spear.
It was over in seconds, the snake collapsed into the swamp with an undignified squelch and sudden silence reigned.
“Please, stop making those screaming sounds. How many Rakworms do I have to fight before you get it?” the snake-man said with a sigh of annoyance, both his hands propped up on his hips while he looked down at me. I could only gape in shock, since when did he speak my language? What was going on?
Mining zipping my lips, I said, “No screaming, got it… Can you let me go now?” I patted the tip of his tail where it rested beneath my boobs.
His purple eyes lowered from my face to gaze at the spot I’d patted, or maybe he was gazing at my breasts, I wasn’t sure.
No, I was, he was definitely checking me out.
Then I gave myself a reality check. No way was monster-man with the chiseled cheekbones looking at my boobs, he was just noticing the absolute muddy mess that I was. I really hated swamps.
“Are you going to run off again if I do? I might not bother to come rescue you a third time,” he grumped in a low growly voice.
Somewhere in the back of my brain, I knew this wasn’t what he was actually saying, but I understood every word he said as if he was talking to me in my own language.
Kind of how a translator worked, but I was still pretty sure my translator didn’t have his language in its database.
“I’m not going to run off, I realized that was stupid,” I told the male, struggling to my feet in the mud and then oddly grateful that he yanked me out with his tail with no apparent effort.
“I was actually just contemplating going back to find you…” I added under my breath, “No need to be so grumpy about it.”
There was a hissing sound and startled I looked back up at his face.
He was laughing, softly, and a little surprised about it.
He patted a hand to his chest and eyed the sparkling lavender patterns there as the sound tapered off.
“Mate,” he said, his eyes flicking back to me, “I will take you to the hot springs so you can wash.”
Okay, washing up sounded good. Even if he still hadn’t let go of me. A girl wasn’t going to complain after being saved twice; so I just nodded and said thank you.