Alien Lover (A Fated Mates Story)

After Dark

I must have passed out, because the next thing I knew I was cold again, lying on my side facing away from the cave. I was still lying near the puddle of drying vomit and I scrabbled away from it slowly. I was so weak, more than I thought I should have been after just a day without food and water. The first moon was up and I could see that the alien had not come back. I was all alone, hungry, sick and I couldn't even get to my feet. More than that I didn't want to move away from the cave. Just the thought of moving further away from the alien made me feel panicky. What was going to happen to me? I couldn't last forever like this. I couldn't smell that scent anymore, or at least not very strongly, but I still felt the inexplicable need to be near the alien.

I managed to sit up and looked down at myself. My entire body was filthy at this point. My dress, once a cheerful yellow was now various shades of brown. Water stains showed from the stream and from where I had apparently sweated during the day. Grit from the rock coated my skin. I didn't even have the energy to reach up and touch my hair, but who cared. I was probably going to die out here in the middle of the forest with no one to mark my passing but the uncaring alien, if he was even still around. The shield was still in place, so maybe he wasn't gone, but at this point it didn't matter. It didn't appear that he wanted to help me.

I wondered what my family was thinking. Had they made it down to the planet yet? Were they wondering where I was, perhaps looking for me? There was no way for them to find me. I had left home without my phone bracelet. I cursed myself for taking it off to make that holo call. If I'd had it on my wrist I could simply have called for help and been rescued in minutes. There were still very few people on Avalon, but someone would have come. Instead I was facing a nearly impossible situation. Any rescue would have to be self-rescue and I was in no shape to make that happen.

Mired in these depressing thoughts, I let my chin fall to my chest and closed my eyes.

Not far away, in the trees, I heard a rustling noise. The light wasn't good, but at first I didn't see anything. Avalon had been chosen as a colony world because it was relatively safe, but no mature ecosystem was without predator species. On this part of the planet the apex predator was a medium sized animal that looked a bit like a porcupine crossed with a big cat. It had huge jaws and though the spines were much shorter than a porcupine, they were still sharp. Worse, they had a mild poison that was normally not very dangerous to humans, but I suspected would pose a threat to someone in my condition. I couldn't see what was in the trees, but I suspected this animal, nicknamed the Spiky, was what I was facing.

I told myself not to freak out. There were several other similarly sized animals living in this forest that could be nearby. Except that most of the harmless ones didn't come out at night. Spikies did. And though they usually steered clear of humans due to our size, they loved to hunt injured and weakened animals. It was their specialty.

Then I heard the unmistakable call. It was a bit like a gargled scream, distinctive and more than a little unnerving. I had heard it compared to a hyena's call, though I knew it was different, more guttural than the sound that Earth species made. It put a chill up my spine. I had already been cold, but it was only now that gooseflesh burst over my skin. One call was followed by another and another, coming from the perimeter of the semicircular clearing in front of the camp. One sounded like it was right next to me, though when I looked I didn't see anything there. More cries came, and it seemed that they were moving closer. I slid backwards towards the cave, until the I could almost feel the hum of the force field against my back. The cries got louder - and closer together. They were communicating with each other, sharing information for a coordinated attack.

To my left a Spiky slowly walked out of forest. It was only 2/3rds of a meter tall at the shoulders, but its spines, each about three or four centimeters long were puffing out from its body rhythmically, like wiggling worms. I felt my gorge rise again, but this time I pushed it down. The creature made a cry, baring its sharp teeth. A second Spiky walked forward, and then a third. Behind them I could see more eyes in the woods. Was this a whole pack of predators come to eat me? Should I feel special? They were positioned so as to cut off any escape, though I had no strength to escape even if there was a gap to go through. They'd probably eat my whole body. There would be nothing left of me. I'd become one of those stories of a mysterious disappearance you heard about sometimes, a spooky tale to tell about the mysteries of new planets.

The animals, as one, crouched to spring at me. I closed my eyes, at least not wanting to see my own end. Then one of the Spikes yelped in pain. I opened my eyes to see the alien swinging a piece of metal about a meter long. One of the Spikies lay curled on the ground several paces from where it had been standing, and as I watched the metal bar connected with another sending it sailing across the clearing.

That was all it took. The predators scattered, whining in defeat. The alien watched their departure for a moment and then turned to me with a put upon air. He handed me the piece of metal—a strut? A table leg?— and picked me up like a baby.

"Nik," he said, and for the first time I felt I understood what he was saying. I felt like swearing too.