ALIEN SHIFTER ROMANCE: Alien Tigers - The Complete Series (Alien Invasion Abduction Shapeshifter Romance) (Paranormal Science Fiction Fantasy Anthologies & Short reads) (128 page)

Panic is threatening to snap my sanity like a Popsicle stick, and a thousand horrific deaths cross my mind as I contemplate drowning in alien blood. It feels as if I’m being squeezed along by some vile peristalsis which forces even more precious air from my lungs. There’s nothing I can do. I have to breathe and when I do, my lungs are going to fill with Acrulla’s oily blood drowning me.

My mouth opens, and I pull the blood in at the same time as I’m birthed from the thick blood tube like a chubby infant. I cough and retch, gasping air in to my tortured lungs and spitting to clear the vile shit from my mouth.

Eventually, I look up, taking in my surroundings. This part of Acrulla is coated in a thick layer of dust, unused and abandoned, a fact I’m thankful for as I’m only wearing boots. I scrape as much of the blood off my skin as I can and try to think what the next step of Acrulla’s plan was, the fear and loathing I felt at the first stage nearly blocked it from my mind. From what I could tell of Acrulla’s memories, this is where any personal items from past crew members and their commanders are put. Around me, I can see boxes and cases, bags and even some furniture. The air is warm but not as humid as other places aboard, probably to keep everything from decomposing.

I have to find Talacanthus, and this is where Acrulla’s thoughts said he would be, but it’s another vast chasm of a place piled with containers, which have left narrow alleyways in between. I feel boxed in, almost as confined as when I was inside the artery, and an involuntary shudder runs through me, making my curves wobble. As well as finding my alien, I’ll have to find some kind of clothing, even if it’s just a blanket. Even though there’s nobody else here, I feel more naked than ever before.

With nothing else to go on, I take one of the alleyways and try to make my way towards where I think the exit might be, even though I don’t want to leave. Exhaustion threatens to drag me to the floor after all I’ve been through, but the overpowering need to find Talacanthus, to make sure he’s alive and safe, drives me on. I trip over something in the semi-darkness and fall hard on my hands and knees, jarring my shoulders.

“Talacanthus!” I yell desperately, not hearing my words echo as the sounds are absorbed by Acrulla’s live walls. I get no response and struggle to get back to my feet, stumbling on towards some unknown destination. I can see lights up ahead, brighter and glowing with warmth and a spike of hope stabs through me, spurring me on. Maybe Acrulla is trying to help me by showing me the way.

I trip again and stumble forwards into the brighter area, looking up to see even more storage boxes and assorted junk. Dragging myself to my weary feet again, I scan around in the poor light, catching sight of an area where the wall of boxes has been bowed as if something heavy has plowed into it hard. Scrabbling across the top of all this crap isn’t easy, but I’m determined to make it over to see what’s made the mess.

Peering down from the top of a large, green, storage box, with the metal edges digging into my naked thighs, my eyes catch sight of a broken looking body which has been dumped at the bottom of a chute. It’s got to be Talacanthus. It’s got to be. Dropping down beside the corpse-like body, I flinch back as my leg hits the arm of this individual and feel the ice cold coming from it. Whoever this is, they must be dead to feel as cold as that.

It’s far too heavy for me to move, so I have to crawl over to the other side as it’s facing away from me. Sickness crawls over my skin wherever it comes into contact with the body, and when I finally see it
is
Talacanthus, my heart snaps, and I hear a keening wail coming from somewhere. I grasp his oddly thumb-less hand and clutch it to my naked chest, howling my loss and despair, when the fingers twitch. It must be the shock of feeling it which makes me press my fingers against his neck. Panic hits me again when I realize I can’t feel his pulse. Sense takes over when I remember his physiology must be completely different to mine.

“Talacanthus,” I call, slapping the side of his face. “Wake up or at least don’t die.” Scrabbling about, I start to clear some space around his body and look through some of the boxes and chests around us. There are a few items of clothing and some things that look like blankets which I use to cover him, hoping the warmth from Acrulla will help to revive him.

***

I feel somewhat better after having my way with Shaktee. Unfortunately, she submitted quite easily to my demands, maybe I can teach her to be a little more aggressive in future. I shall leave her for now, huddled in the corner where she can lick her wounds and contemplate how to please me better.

“Report!” I bellow as soon as I enter the command section. “Are we to resume course?” A pointed silence follows, and I can feel the tension in the air around us. “So you have failed,” I spit at them with contempt. “Supposedly, you’re the finest crew Intrellia Prime has ever assembled, and you cannot determine what is wrong with this ancient beast?” I scan them all, and not one will meet my gaze. Although...Talacrus is looking at me. “Well?” I demand.

“Commander,” he begins with less deference than I would like, “we have determined what ails Acrulla,”

“And?”

“He does not accept your command, Commander.” Talacrus tells me with obvious pleasure, and I feel rage burn through me. I manage to control it, however, and hone it into a cold determination, and a plan comes to my thought center.

“
He
does not accept my command,” I repeat Talacrus’ words coldly. “Then maybe I can alter his thought processes somewhat.” I stare into Talacrus’ dark gray eyes for a few moments. “Maybe he will begin to respect me if I cut out one of his hearts.” The shock they all feel at my words is obvious and gratifying. They probably believe I am insane, which merely increases my hold over all of them. “To your stations,” I order. “I shall return a little later.” With those final words, I turn and leave the command section, heading for the reactor chamber.

***

My eyes flicker open, but it takes my brain a few seconds to catch up, and a confusion creeps through my mind. I finally remember where I am and how I got here then turn my attention to Talacanthus. It’s really hard to tell whether he’s any better or not. The penetrating wound I found in his chest would probably kill a human, but I lay my ear on his gently moving chest, and I hear a weird thumping as if he’s got horrific arrhythmia.

My whole body aches from being squeezed through the ship, searching for my alien, and I could really use something to eat and drink, but I don’t think I’ll find much down here. I sit up, wriggling out from under the covers I shared with Talacanthus, and decide to start a more detailed search of the packed boxes around us.

A few hours pass while I manage to fashion myself a reasonable outfit comprising of a pair of leather leggings, which feel as soft as silk against my skin, and an off-white shirt that feels like it’s made from cotton. Both garments are way too big for me, being from members of the Intrellian crew, but I manage to find a couple of belts, which hold it to my ample curves.

Without searching every box, bag and case, I can’t be sure if there’s a goldmine of weapons hidden here, but I do manage to find a pair of nasty looking daggers. One is of a smooth, reflective metal and the other looks to be made from bone, but it’s the hardest bone I have ever handled and razor sharp. I tuck the knives in the belt at my waist and decide to check on my patient.

Scrabbling back over to where I left him, a thrill crashes through me as I see his eyes are open, and I pick up speed, tripping and stumbling over the cargo in my need to get back to his side.

Kneeling beside him, I whisper, “Talacanthus?” I abandoned the translator along with my clothes, so he won’t be able to understand me, but I hope the sound of my voice will be enough to make him fight for life. I watch, eagerly, for any signs of life, but my chest constricts when I don’t see anything. I decide to lie down beside him and sleep. What’s going to happen if he dies? I’ll be left here alone, to either starve or get found by that new commander and slaughtered. I can feel the fright trying to creep into my brain and clamp a door shut on it all. I doubt Talacanthus felt fear when he fought the nightmarish beast from the lake, so I won’t dismiss him now. He
will
get better and we
will
be together.

***

Word must have spread before me as there is a small gathering in the reactor chamber, the presence of which amuses me greatly. I stride forward and attempt to skirt round the edge of the few who are there.

“Commander,” this comes from Talacrus, “I must advise against this course of action. If you destroy one of Acrulla’s hearts, it will endanger the lives of us all.”

I turn to face him. “I am fully aware of that fact,” I tell him icily. “I was Chief Engineer aboard this old beast for more cycles than I care to recall, and I will bend it to my will or I will kill it.” I turn my head left and right. “And us all.”

“No,” he states flatly. “You will not.” The action is so fast I almost miss it but manage to dance backwards, barely avoiding a slashing cut which would have spilled my innards to the floor. Talacrus’ blow missing me sends him slightly off balance, and I throw my weight against his shoulder, pushing him further so I can draw my own knife.

I drop into a crouch and lunge forward, trying to stab him in the back as he spins and lashes out at me again. The other Intrellians around us back off and form a circle around us, a ring for us to fight to the death inside. Talacrus will die today, to join his bastard brother in the Hereafter. His reactions, style, even the amount of strength he can bring to bear are all far below mine, and we all know it.

“You are not your brother,” I taunt him. “I had to shoot him from afar, in this very room.” Talacrus leaps forward, his rage forcing him into making a rash decision, and I catch his wrist, using his own momentum to drive his body onto my blade. I watch as his eyes widen in agony, his breath coming in tiny gasps as I twist my dagger inside his body, tearing and cutting. His fingers loosen around his own knife, and it falls, the handle hitting my shoulder as it passes. His arm goes slack next, and then his knees buckle as he falls to the ground, crumpling into a heap of dead flesh on Acrulla’s floor.

“ACRULLA!” I scream into the room. “You will do as I command or share the fate of this weakling.” I clean Talacrus’ blood from my blade on his clothing and stand back up. “If I return to this room, I
will
spill
your
blood!”

I turn and shove my way through the ring of Intrellians before me. Maybe I will go and see Shaktee, begin her training while I tell her of the death of her friend.

***

I can feel something tickling my face, in that place where nightmares and daydreams can come from, but when I come to, I can still feel something gently tickling. I can’t wake up fully because I know this has got to be a dream, and it’ll fade if I wake up. Whatever this is – Talacanthus I hope – it strokes my right cheek, runs across my forehead and down my left cheek before making its way down to my chin and throat before working back up.

I regretfully feel my eyes open to the dim light inside Acrulla’s storage bay, and my stomach clenches. It is him!

“Talacanthus?” I ask in wonder. “Is this real? Are you all right?”

“Thanks to your ministrations, love, I am as well as can be expected.” He must be able to read the shock, which I can feel across my face, as he adds. “Is something wrong?”

“I-I can understand you!” My voice is high and choked with feeling.

“Of course. Your crew mate gave you a device.” His tone leaves little doubt as to my state of mind.

“I lost that days ago,” I tell him. “Acrulla told me I had to leave everything behind, so he could get me down here to you.” Although Intrellians have little to no ability to alter their facial features, Talacanthus looks shocked and confused.

“What do you mean Acrulla told you?” He asks.

I shrug and look into those blue pool eyes of his. “Well, exactly that,” I tell him. “I was locked in some kind of cell. One of your people,” I click my fingers while trying to recall his name, “Jonober! He came to tell me he was commander now, you were dead and I was going to be taken to Intrellia Prime to be cut up and experimented on.” I pause and look at him. “He did tell me that was your plan to begin with. Is that true?” I ask in a small voice.

“Initially,” Talacanthus admits. “Intrellian policy dictates such. However, I never intended to hand you over. I could not do that. Ever.” He strokes my face again. “I have never felt such overpowering love for anyone else before.” This revelation fills me with both surprise and warmth and I feel a silly grin swim across my face. “How did it come about that you and my ship spoke?” He demands.

“I laid on the floor, just waiting to die really, when I felt one of those tube things...”

“A proboscis,” Talacanthus tells me.

“A proboscis,” I repeat. “So I stuck it to my head, like I saw you do, and he told me some things.”

The Intrellian commander nods. “I suspect this is how you have come to know my language so fluently.” He trails off and sits in quiet contemplation.

I move in closer, and his arm makes its way across my shoulders, draping heavily over me. I could stay like this forever, pressed up against Talacanthus’ side and basking in the warmth of his love.

“What’s wrong?” I ask timidly, and he jumps a little as if I broke his concentration.