A Soldier in Love (24 page)

***

Michelle
had showered and curled up into bed. She felt a wave of sleepiness come over
her.

Where is he?

She
rose to her feet and went to the kitchen but it was empty. The cookware and
other utensils were neatly put away. She checked the cockpit thinking that
maybe he was doing some sort of navigation or chartering. She looked, but again
he wasn’t there.

Then
it hit her. He was in his own bedroom, not her room.
Her room
, she scoffed at herself.
The guest room, you mean?

“Serik?”
Michelle called out softly.
 

“Michelle?
What are you doing still awake?” he said turning on a dim light.

Michelle’s
cheeks reddened. “Well, you didn’t come in. Is something wrong?”

“No,
I just thought…” he began.

“I’m
sorry… I’m bothering you. I should let you rest. I’ll see you in the morning,”
she interrupted him trying to hide the embarrassment in her tone.

“No,
no it’s OK. Don’t go,” he grinned gently pulling her on the bed.

“I
haven’t been touched or held by anyone in so long, too long. Well, before you,”
she added quietly.

“I
haven’t ever touched anyone like this… it feels good to have you in my arms,” he
whispered gently into her ear.

“
Mmm
,” she murmured as he slipped his muscular arms around
her pulling her small body close to his large one.

Too good, baby, too good
, he thought of holding Michelle akin to having one
bite of a delicious meal. He was still hungry for more.

He
placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head as he tried to shake his intense
desire for her

She
looked up at him in the dim light.
 
“Serik?”
she questioned quietly.

“Yeah?”
 
he
replied.

“You
wonder from place to place without really having a home besides this shuttle?”
she asked. Her voice was soft and unsure.

“Yeah,
baby. I do.”

“Usually
when you do that it’s because you’re looking for something? What is it you’re
looking for?” she asked in a small voice.

She
paused looking to him, her eyes sad and unsure.

Tell her you love her, tell her,
his mind raced but his mouth just would not comply
with his request. He thought for a moment she could love him that she could
accept him. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and he wanted to tell her
the truth but something just held him back. The words wanted to come out but
they just wouldn’t.

“I’d
be a fool to try and change you,” she added softly.

“Well,
you’re the prettiest little fool I’ve ever met,” he replied.

She
smiled. “I know we haven’t known each other that long but it feels right. I
sound silly saying all this don’t I? You must think I have a bad case of post
traumatic stress disorder.”
          

“It feels right because
it is right,” he pulled her closer to his chest, feeling her small body relax
against his.

“I’m real happy, Serik,”
she said sleepily.

“Me too, baby, me too.
The happiest I’ve ever been,” he replied.

“Really?”
Michelle asked.

“You’re the best thing
that has ever come into my life,” he replied as he watched her drift off to
sleep.

Too happy, I love you baby but I know you’ll change
your mind once you see your kind again. If you knew the truth, surely you would
hate me.

He enjoyed the
sensation of her warm body against his for a few more moments he wanted to
memorize the way she felt in his arms for all the lonely nights he would have
without her.

Michelle looked on the
viewscreen to the planet they were drawing nearer to. It kind of reminded her
of Earth but it was much, much more blue and a lot smaller. She had never imagined
in all of her life that she would be floating above and looking down at other
planets. She felt a pang of nervousness in her stomach.

There might be
human
s,
Serik’s words had stuck in her head. She could only hope it was true.

“What’s Sora like?” Michelle
questioned.

“Kind of like your Earth
except more water,” Serik replied not looking up from the control panels.
 

Michelle felt strange
looking down to the blue planet. She was just glad it wasn’t Redex.

“Strap in, were going
down soon,” Serik ordered.

Michelle began to strap
herself in. She felt the familiar pull as the shuttle lowered. It was getting
bumpy.

“You OK?” Serik looked
over to her.

Michelle nodded and
closed her eyes as the pull became faster. She felt her stomach protest but
somehow held down her food. She hated being flung around through different
atmospheres.

The shuttle slowly came
to a halt as Serik landed it in the docking bay. Michelle relaxed against the
seat. She already knew what he was about to say.

“Decompress for a
minute,” he instructed. “Let your body get used to the atmosphere.”

“I knew you were going
to say that,” Michelle said with a grin.

After decompressing, Serik
led Michelle out of the shuttle. She slowly fumbled forward as her body got
used to the different gravitational pull. As she looked around, she was
instantly reminded of Earth. The docking zone was near a large body of water.
It was a pure blue, untainted by pollution or the inhabitants. As they followed
a trail, she could see woods all around her. There were many trees that stood
tall. Her eyes wandered from their bases upwards to their limbs that tried to
reach the sky. It looked remarkably similar to those of Earth.

“You!” a voice called
out.

Michelle turned around
to see a man about her age. There was no doubt about it; he was human. As he
moved closer she could tell he was dark haired and dark eyed.

“You, you are an Earth soldier?”
he shouted excitedly.

Michelle nodded bearing
her Earth Army tattoo to him as if her uniform wasn’t enough. She had put it on
that morning for the first time in a very long time but it felt right to do so.
If there were others like her, she would still be a soldier.

He grabbed her hands
and looked into her eyes as he squeezed them tightly. “You are appreciated
here, soldier.”

Michelle felt awkward
in his embrace.

Serik gave a stern
glance to the male who was touching his mate.

Not your mate. You have to let her go. Do what’s
best for her… don’t let her hate you
,
Serik reminded himself.

“I’m Ethan,” he said
with a smile.
His dark eyes were filled with both excitement and
confusion.

“I’m Michelle,
A3343Z,”
she said looking to Serik.

“And I’m Serik,” he grumbled.

“Is this, is he… is he your mate?” Ethan questioned.

Before Michelle could answer Serik growled, “More
like her body guard.”

“Well, I don’t know what your plans are but there
are some others from Earth that I know would like to meet you. I saw your
shuttle coming in and I ran over. I feel like I’ve been running forever to get
to you guys,” Ethan beamed ignoring Serik’s roughness.

Michelle looked to Serik and he nodded.

“Are you sure it’s OK?” Michelle whispered to Serik.

He nodded.

“Sure,” Michelle replied warmly. As much as Michelle
had enjoyed spending time with Serik, she wanted to see other humans. She
wanted to see if any of them had any information about the Earth wars. She
wanted to go to a place where she wouldn’t be the alien, where she would be
normal.

“Great, it’s not too
far from here,” Ethan said as he led them down a paved path.

Michelle and Serik
followed him in silence.

Michelle watched as a
small dark haired woman came running up to them.

“Look, see I’m not as
small as you think,” Michelle whispered to Serik and grinned.

He grinned back and
shook his head.

“Who are they?” an
older man pointed with a sneer.

“Michelle and Serik.
Michelle is an Earth soldier,” Ethan replied warmly.

“We have to throw her a
party,” the petite woman exclaimed loudly.

“Uh, wait,” Michelle said
as she waved her hands up in front of her chest in an effort to protest.
 

“Yes, yes we have to— you’ve
been out fighting for us!” the petite woman cheered.

“No, no it’s really
OK,” Michelle stammered.

Michelle was a little
uncertain about why the small woman that stood in front of her was so

peppy
. She really didn’t understand why she wanted to
throw her a party. The whole thing made her uncomfortable.

“Nonsense!
You are American? I can tell from your accent,” the
petite woman continued.

“Well, yes,” Michelle
began.

“Great! We will have a
barbeque, just like we did back home. You deserve it. Only a few of you guys
made it back,” the woman interjected. Her voice was high and excited.
 

Only a few made it back?
Michelle’s mind raced.
Almost everyone healthy on Earth was an Earth soldier, what did she
mean only a few made it back?

Before Michelle could
ask, Serik spoke up, “Michelle does deserve it. I saw her risk her life to save
her fellow soldiers. She is strong, loyal, and fierce.”

“You are truly hero,
soldier,” Ethan exclaimed. The others cheered in response.

I didn’t even kill any Cabaka, what is wrong with
these people.

Michelle shot Serik an
annoyed glance.

“Why did you tell them
that?” Michelle quietly hissed to Serik as the woman and Ethan began to chat
excitedly about the party plans.

“Because you did and
you deserve it,” Serik whispered back and shrugged.

“I’m only going if you
go,” Michelle said with pleading eyes.

Serik sighed. “Baby, I
can’t I got business.”

“Serik, please.
I don’t deserve a party I didn’t kill one Cabaka,
not one.”

Serik shook his head.
“No, it’s your party, with your people. You do deserve it and I’ve got to leave
once I get you somewhere safe.”

“But you’re coming
back, right?” Michelle felt her heart suddenly race.

Serik was quiet for a
moment then nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be back, baby.”

Just then Michelle was
surprised to see they were coming up on about twenty other humans a long with a
few children.

The petite woman came
forward. Upon getting a closer view she could see the woman’s swollen belly.
She was pregnant.

“Do you want to stay
with me?” the woman offered.

“
Uhm
,”
Michelle stammered.

“The Baat can stay with
us too. My husband is Baat as well. I’m sure he’d love it,” the woman smiled.

“Mom,” a voice called out
at the woman.

To Michelle’s relief
the woman turned around and focused her attention on the young boy.

“I can’t stay at their
house. Especially if her mate is Baat, he will think
it’s
bad luck. I’ve got to make this deal. I’m sorry, baby,” Serik forced
himself
to say. His heart raced as he felt nervousness wash
over him. He was going to have to force himself to walk away. He put one foot
in front of the other and did exactly that.

Michelle’s stomach sank.
“But…” she stammered.

“Go be with your people,”
Serik said as he turned around.

Michelle watched as Serik
began to turn around and walk the other way. She was torn. Part of her wanted
to chase after him and part of her wanted to see her people; to find out what
was going on with the Earth wars.

A pat on the shoulder
suddenly tore her internal turmoil away. “Welcome home, soldier,” a man with
graying hair said with a smile.

“Thank you, sir,” she
replied as more people surrounded her. One by one, in what seemed like a whirlwind,
they encircled her and introduced themselves. She guessed she was where she
belonged although it felt wrong. But how could it be wrong to be with your own
kind?

Michelle felt like she
was going to get dizzy as Ethan introduced her to even more people. She knew
she wouldn’t be able to remember their names or faces. It was all a blur.

“So, you will stay with
us?” the petite pregnant woman smiled as the crowd finally thinned out. Her
dark hair was neatly piled on her head. As Michelle got a closer look, she
could see the woman had a thick application of makeup. It wasn’t a bad look or
gaudy, no, the woman was very beautiful.

Michelle nodded. “Sure
but I never got your name?”

“I’m
Rina
,” she replied extending a small well manicured hand.

“Michelle,” she replied
shaking her hand.

“Well, I hope you won’t
mind my mess. Things have been kind of crazy with my son and then this little
bun in the oven,”
Rina
smiled as she led the way to
her house.

Michelle knew it wasn’t
real but the street, the houses, the area it all reminded her of the suburbs. It
seemed like a quiet little place. Not that the suburbs could really exist on
another planet but it was definitely a family community, mostly human. Michelle
could see a basketball court in the distance.

I don’t care if I am a grown woman, I’m going to the
basketball court when I get a chance,
she
vowed eyeing the outdoor court.

Michelle studied
Rina
as they walked.
Rina
had
been quiet and for that Michelle thankful; she was too tired to do any more
talking. She was thankful when they did talk that
Rina
carried the conversation. She wasn’t used to being with anyone except
Serik,
it was strange to be the center of everyone’s
attention. Suddenly,
Rina’s
neck caught Michelle’s
attention. She had some sort of strange mark. It looked kind of like a bug bite
or maybe even a hickey, a very painful hickey. Michelle shook her head. She
hoped there weren’t giant mosquitoes on this planet.
 

Michelle smiled as a
brigade of children swarmed past her yelling and laughing. Her heart leaped for
joy. They were the ones she was truly fighting for all this time. Everything
she did was so that they could have a better life.

Upon on further
examination, Michelle noticed that not all of the children were well human.
There was a boy who looked remarkably similar to Serik. His skin was the same
color with hazel eyes. Michelle’s heart grew heavy again. She imagined that if
her
and Serik were to have a child, a boy, it would look
similar to him.

He’s gone. He never wanted me. I was just a burden
on him,
Michelle realized.

Michelle took a deep
breath as she pushed down her sadness. These people thought she was a soldier,
a real soldier, not a broken crying one. She had to be strong like she had been
before. Somewhere she had lost her strength but she had to pretend to carry it
here. These people idealized her.