Survivor Planet Series 2-Book Box Set (10 page)

Yeah, fuck you.

Behind the cover of the trees where we'd slept I took a moment of privacy, all the while my teeth grating over the sound of Jane's bantering voice in the distance. Dropping her off somewhere no longer made me feel guilty.

We continued on our journey, trudging across the hot, glistening, multi-colored sand. Shade was practically non-existent, and finding food and water an even rarer occurrence. My body grew weak after several hours. My braid hung damply and my skin felt hot. The only satisfaction I had was seeing Jane just as miserable. Ayres walked first in our line, followed by Jane, with me taking up the rear. Ayres turned around several times, grilling me with his eyes, and gestured for me to keep up to him. God forbid anything happen to his sidekick. Several bubble viewers floated along with us later on our trek. At first I thought I was seeing a mirage, but when it registered what they were I gave one the finger and stuck my tongue out at another.

“What the hell are those things?” Jane asked.

“Ayres said they're like little cameras used to view us. Seers, he called them.”

“Oh.” Jane primped before one, suddenly aware she was being watched.

Ayres stopped when half a dozen more of the things showed up. “Something is happening,” he said, waiting for us to catch up to him.

“What? Why do you think...”

“A—caw, a—caw!” came a scream from overhead.

All three of us froze and tilted our heads up to the sky. Jane gasped in fright. “What is it? What's that noise?” she cried.

Overhead a sudden swarm of large bird-like creatures with wide feathered wings gathered.

“Dregers,” Ayres fumed. “Bloody hell!” He swung off his scythe and took up a battle stance. “Stay close.”

Jane pushed herself up against his back. Irritated, Ayres shifted away from her. “You must make a run for it,” he said to her.

“But you just said to stay close to you!” she argued.

“No. You need to run...now!” He gestured toward a cluster of high, sharp rocks about a hundred yards away. “I will draw their attention.”

Jane looked unsure, but seeing the intent on Ayres face, she finally took off at a run. Then he turned his gaze on me. I looked back at him stubbornly.

“I'm not leaving you,” I warned him.

A brief smile touched his lips and his eyes flashed. “Of course you're not.” He turned his eyes back toward the fleeing Jane and his mouth returned to a grim line. Her sudden sprint caught the attention of the Dregers and several of them screamed out and soared after her. As they whipped past us, lowering toward the ground, I could see them more clearly.

“Oh my God! They're people. Bird people.” Though their arms were covered with feathers, their heads and faces definitely resembled the Varlings I'd seen earlier—who appeared to resemble primitive Earthmen. Some of them were females; telltale breasts poked out from their chests. They wore no clothing. All of their lower regions were also feather covered. Their hands had sharp talons for fingernails.

I watched in amazement as the rest of them, seeing their comrades race after Jane, flew after her as well. Jane, hearing the screams overhead, slowed her pace and stared upward. She cried out as two of the largest bird-men swooped down and snatched her by her arms.

“No!” I cried. I began to race toward her, but Ayres stopped me.

“Stay still,” he warned.

Jane continued to struggle, but once her captors had her high up above the ground she stopped. Her head dropped forward and she hung completely still. Fainted, I surmised. We watched as the swarm flew off becoming small dark specks in the sky.

I turned on Ayres, yanking free of his grip. “You set her up!”

He shrugged. “Would you rather they had taken you?”

I didn't know what to say. But as he turned away and resumed walking across the barren land, his weapon still in his hands, I realized something about my companion.

He could be a cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch when he needed to be.

So the problem of finding a safe place to ditch Jane was no longer an issue. Part of me, I must admit, felt a little relieved when those bird-men flew off with her. A bigger part of me felt guilty for feeling that way. At least I didn't have to contend with her flirty laugh anymore. Also there'd be no more worrying if Ayres would decide he liked her better and leave me to rot in this place.

I eyed Ayres critically as he and I sat by a small fire surrounded by tall trees. The forest we'd entered a couple of hours ago—I estimated—seemed so much like one in Graneden it made me feel homesick. The night sky was lit up with zillions of twinkling stars, and the rustling of small animals all around reminded me of the nights I'd spent with Uncle Mick at the cottage. I refused to even think about alien Aunt Erin—the traitor.

Ayres had caught some kind of large rodent and roasted it over the fire on a stick. The smell of it cooking made my mouth drool. Disgusting, but I was starving for something substantial to eat.

“Those things that took Jane, the Dregers, we don't have creatures like that on Earth,” I said.

“I know.”

Of course he did. “What'll they do with her?”
Please don't say they'll eat her.

“Depends. From what I know, they will probably breed with her. I have heard they prefer to capture alien females because their own have trouble giving birth.”

A vision of those sharp talons flashed in my mind. “Will she be okay, do you think?”

He stared into my eyes. “A worse fate could have befallen her here. She is better off with the Dregers.”

“You mean there are worse things?”

“Far worse. We have been lucky to not meet up with giant wild beasts or smaller, but more ferocious tribes.”

“More ferocious than the Varlings?” I didn't even want to consider the giant wild beasts.

“Far worse,” he repeated.

“Do you think the other competitors have gotten far?” Lissa's Oro was a tough alien. Hopefully they were still in the game.

“Two are out so far. That only leaves one against us.”

I hoped our paths wouldn't cross. Ayres and Oro were both huge and strong. I wouldn't want to see them battle each other. The thought of Oro coming for me made me shiver.

Ayres reached out his hand to me. “Are you cold? Come sit by me.” I shimmied over and curled up against his side. He gripped the stick again, needing both hands to slowly turn the cooking meat. “After we eat, we'll sleep.”

“Oh.” I'd been hoping, now that we were alone, he'd want to love me again. It'd been a while. Well, only a couple of days, but still...

We ate the rodent and then lay out side by side. The warm glow of the fire made dancing shadows against the trees. I reached for Ayres' hand and took it in mine. The strength and firmness I felt made me antsy for some attention. His eyes were closed, but as I rolled to my side and put my hand on his crotch, they opened. He allowed me to stroke him to hardness through his clothing before he sat up and pulled off his shirt. When he looked at me, I was pulling mine off as well.

“Anxious?” he asked, his lips curled into a sarcastic grin.

“Don't you want to?” Maybe he was too tired? Or he could be thinking about Jane?

He looked down at the outline of his hard cock straining against his pants. “What do you think?”

“That looks uncomfortable,” I said innocently. “You should take them off.”

“As you wish.” He got to his feet and lowered his pants; his cock sprang free. When he would have sat down again I scooted over and took hold of his prick in my hand, stopping him in his tracks. In Lindove, I'd heard the older women talk about having a man in their mouth. I'd already acted out this scenario with Ayres dozens of times in my horny Episodes, so the reality should be a piece of cake.

Gently, my tongue flicked out to lick his tip. When he groaned, I took it as a good sign. Growing bolder, I swirled my tongue around his rim and sucked the head of his cock into my mouth. Deep I took him, as far as I could without choking, praying all the while I wasn't making a fool of myself. By the movement of his hips and the growling noises he made, I figured I was doing okay. When he could stand it no more, he gently pushed me back and lowered me to the ground. He made a grab for my ankles, and after yanking off my boots, he pulled off my pants in one swift movement and tossed them aside. Then he was opening my thighs wide apart with his hands as he settled between them.

I felt the head of his cock push against me, causing me to lift my bottom and welcome him. He plunged deep inside me with one thrust, as he had the first time he'd taken me. But this time, he didn't wait for me to grow accustomed to his size. Seeing as I was no longer a virgin, I guess he didn't feel the need to go slow. He began to pump right away, causing me to cry out in delight. This was the man he really was—the warrior, the man who would take without mercy.

He continued to thrust inside of me for a long while. Quickly at first, only to slow his pace just as he sensed I was about to come. My body twitched in agitation. No matter what I did, be it squeezing my thighs or my passage, he soldiered on. I arched my body and scratched his back, all to no avail. The look on his face was one of pure concentration. Perhaps he wasn't as immune to my charms as he pretended? I couldn't stand it anymore. He'd brought me to the brink several times, only to tease me with the promise of fulfillment.

“Damn it, Ayres!” He reached down to squeeze my boob, ignoring my plea. I was a mass of horny hysteria before he finally took mercy on me. He sank deep inside me with a mighty thrust and stilled his movements. Sensing he was near completion, I squeezed tight and took my pleasure, crashing into wave after wave of ecstasy. It was several moments before I realized he'd gone the same time as me.

“You're an asshole.” He rolled off of me and I snuggled against his side. Though I didn't look at his face, I could practically feel his superior grin. He may have made me writhe and beg this time, but next time, I determined, I'd be the one who would make
him
squirm.

We awoke to the sound of chirping birds and it surprised me to find Ayres still on his back beside me. Usually I awoke last and he had to urge me to get up and get moving. His eyes shot open suddenly, probably feeling my lingering gaze. He sat up and ran a hand over his shorn head.

“So, what's on the agenda for today?” I gave him what I believed to be a sexy smile, hoping he may forgo our journey for an hour or so.

No such luck. He got to his feet and I watched his backside in regret while he donned his clothing. I got up and dressed as well. “We are over half-way. The next trek will be difficult.”

“More difficult than the scorching desert?”

Seeing my glum look, Ayres reached out and brushed a stray hair from my face. Such a tender gesture for a deadly man. “Where we go next will be mountainous and very cold. I will have to hunt for furs to protect us from freezing to death.”

From boiling to freezing.
This trip just gets better all the time.
“Hunt what? Those giant beasts you spoke of?” I didn't like the idea of that. But I disliked the idea of freezing even more. “Isn't it dangerous?” I asked when he nodded.

“There were several tracks on the trail. The Daeodon, I believe. Should be large enough to provide a warm fur for each of us.”

“What is it?”

“The Daeodon is actually an ancient relative of Earth's wild boar. It lived in North America and went extinct about 18 million years ago, or so I was told. We named Taleon's beast as such because of its striking similarity.”

Modern day boars on Earth were deadly animals. Huge and powerful with those dangerous tusks, able to gore a man or other animal in seconds. I couldn't imagine what an ancient relative of it would look like. Probably even bigger and meaner, as most of the ancestors of Earth's animals were.

“So do we just carry on until we spot one?”

“I was hoping we'd come across one last night. The fire must have kept it away. They usually hunt at dusk, so tonight we'll set a trap.”

“With what?”

“I'll snare a couple of sways—the furry creature we ate last night. It has to work, or we won't keep to our time frame. We must reach the cold land by mid-morning tomorrow. But without furs for protection...”

“We'll freeze to death.”

He nodded. “We can bring the meat along as well, as there'll be nothing to eat.”

We followed the trail through the forest, stopping along the way at streams to refresh ourselves, and picking weird berries to eat. Ayres allowed me to strip naked and splash around in the water for a few minutes, which was a delightful treat. I had hoped he would join me, but always the warrior, he stood guard and only rinsed off his face and neck. When the sun began its descent, Ayres hunted a couple of sways and laid them down as bait in a clearing, where he'd ambush his prey. He made me scale a tree while he took to hiding behind a thicket to wait. Soon enough we heard the telltale rustling and snorting of something large coming our way. From my high perch—over Ayres' hiding spot and to his left—I spotted it first.

“Shit,” I whispered. It did indeed resemble a huge boar. Its thick furry head was about three feet long, and it must have been about six feet high at the shoulder. Its body was covered with brown and black spiky fur. When it lifted its head to sniff the air, I noticed it didn't have any tusks, but its mouth was shaped like a huge dog's, sporting giant, razor sharp teeth. It was bigger than a polar bear. I watched Ayres swing off his scythe and position himself to move.
Was he actually going to take that thing on?

The boar moved cautiously toward the sways, no doubt smelling our scent as well. The animal turned around in a circle a couple of times and then slowly moved in to snuffle at the ground by the bait. Satisfied, it began to eat. The snap and crunch of bones drifted up to my ears. My gaze flashed to Ayres who was ready to spring. Everything seemed to move in slow motion in that moment.