Zern Page 3

  I shook my head firmly. “Raither foods are best left prepared by Raithers,” I told her, taking another bite of her concoction. I had to admit that she had a skill when it came to preparing these impromptu meals, but it was nothing like I was used to enjoying at home, on my own planet. It was the food and the food alone that I enjoyed about Yala at this point. I could never rely on my company or other fellow Raithers to make my presence there worthwhile. Still, the human didn’t need to know that.

  “Fine, Mr. Picky,” Lila said, grabbing my plate from me quickly. “Try this then.”

  I was surprised when my food was replaced with a helping of leftovers from the night before. She had remembered that I liked them, apparently, and had saved them just for me in case I didn’t like her effort at cooking that evening.

  “Thank you,” I said, without meeting her eye.

  “You’re welcome,” she said, her tone slightly mocking.

  And yet there was a hint of laughter in her voice. We continued to eat quietly. It was strange how comfortable this little domestic routine had become between us, and I couldn’t help but smile inwardly. I liked this human, against all of my better instincts. We had always heard about how greedy and selfish that race had been, and although a few had made themselves at home on my planet, they were still viewed with suspicion. And for a good reason, as far as I was concerned.

  And yet, spending time with this human seemed to inspire feelings of pleasure with me, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was hard to hold my happiness back, but that was what I was meant to do. I was a Raither. A Raither was not meant to bond in that way.

  “What is it, Zern?”

  I looked at the human, who was staring at me pensively. Raither men rarely showed their emotion on their face, all but the most confident and arrogant of them, and even then, all they showed was their mirth. I had been raised to keep my emotions to myself: not to speak or express them. And yet somehow everybody seemed to sense what I was thinking or feeling without my ever saying so. It was a part of what had made me an outcast.

  “It is nothing. I am just thinking about how I am going to make sure you are off this ship in time for me to do my job properly.”

  I knew that it was a cold thing to say, especially when we had been enjoying ourselves so much during the meal. The crestfallen look on her face nearly made me hate myself. But it was my duty to make sure that everything was going according to plan. The sooner I got my job done, the sooner I could leave.

  “You really want me gone that badly, huh?” Lila asked, frowning down at her food. I wanted to say no, that I had enjoyed having her company with me throughout this time, and in a way, I was actually looking forward to seeing her succeed when it came to fixing the engine of the ship. If she fixed it, then my people would probably find my mission to be even more successful than they had originally hoped for it to be. Perhaps it would help me get back in good standing with the Raither army.

  “You already know that it is my duty and my goal to complete this task as quickly as possible. I don’t see why you are surprised about this. It is just the way that it is.”

  Again, I cringed at my own coldness, knowing that humans were delicate and sensitive creatures, whether they like to pretend they weren’t or not. This human was going to be very upset, if she wasn’t already. I was only making it worse. And to make matters worse, she was going to be cast out of the safety of the ship and left on this planet to fend for herself forever. There was no point in getting to know her or allowing myself to develop any type of fondness. She was doomed, and getting attached to her would only be a huge mistake.

  “Well, if you want me gone so badly, then I’m going to go now. You are the biggest asshole of ever met, Zern. I hope you get eaten by a Jorgan! That’s what you deserve.”

  Lila stood hastily from where she had been set to eat her meal with me and took off running down the long corridor of the ship. Her footsteps echoed from the walls and into the control panel, where I recoiled at the sound. She had made things much easier for me, as far as getting her out of the ship was concerned. But somehow, it didn’t make me feel very good. She wasn’t the only one who had been enjoying herself, and yet I had driven her away. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was an asshole.

  I wasn’t sure what to do. When I heard her finally exit the ship, my heart turned to ice. Just because she couldn’t stick around while I was trying to disassemble the ship didn’t mean that she should be so reckless and run right out into danger with her emotions at their peak. She was going to get herself killed. That wasn’t what I wanted. All I had really wanted was some peace and quiet and the opportunity to do my job and salvage my position within the Raither military.

  I hung back in hesitation, unsure of whether or not I should go after her. Was she going to come back on her own, or could I count on the fact that she had given up on the comforts of the ship as her place of habitation? That would really mean that she had done my job for me, and yet instead of feeling relieved, all I could feel was nausea.

  “Human, wait,” I heard myself saying, and rose from my seated position to follow her outside.

  If she wasn’t careful, she was going to get snatched right up by somebody who definitely did not have her best interests at heart. This planet was full of dangerous monsters, and in fact, I had been noticing that the ship we were in was under constant surveillance. Although the creatures who were observing us were not making themselves known, it was clear that they were there and probably attempting to determine whether or not we were a threat that they could take on, or if they wanted to wait until we were vulnerable before they struck.

  As soon as I reached the doorway of the ship that led to the striking outside world of the planet Hexa, I heard a piercing scream that made my blood turn to ice. It was unmistakably the human’s voice, and just as I had worried, it sounded as if she had run right into danger. Without a second thought, I threw the door of the ship closed and locked it and then took off toward the sound of the irrational human’s terror, terrified myself that I might never see her or hear her voice again.

  ***

  “Stop squirming human! You are going to regret this.”

  I halted at the sound of my native tongue and furrowed my brow, confused. What was a Raither doing kidnapping a human? I could understand if it were horrible creature, such as a Yeshaa, but why would one of my own people abduct a human?

  I crept through the tall, deep green foliage and peered out, spotting movement. There was definitely a Raither man with Lila in tow. He had wrapped a dirty cloth around her face that was preventing her from speaking, and her hands were bound and tied behind her back with one of the thick vines that grew around the powerful tree trunks of Hexa.

  Standing behind her was the broad back of the Raither. I could not see his face, but there was something about his voice that seemed familiar somehow. I had to shake the thought away. All Raither males probably sounded similar in a sense. It had been a long time since I had regularly contacted my own kind. It was probably just because this Raither sounded much like those I was used to spending the most time with, especially compared to the high, musical voice of the human female.

  “I told you to stop squirming!” The Raither shoved the human, and she stumbled forward. I had to stop myself from attacking. I had a bad feeling about the whole situation. The entire time I was following them, I could sense that we were not alone. If I attacked now and gave away my position, there was a likelihood that I would also be captured. Neither of us would have a chance to escape that way.

  “Oh, you got another one!”

  I froze, disgust washing over my body. It was a Raither that had abducted the human, but he was not alone. Just as I had feared, he was working with a group. And that group consisted of the mortal enemies of the Raithers—the Bardans.

  The Bardans were a slimy bunch: quite literally. They were lizard-like and exceptionally intelligent. Their scaly green skin excreted an ooze that made those around them all c
ompliant, unless they had been given a vaccination the Raithers had concocted before contact. They had used their quick minds and unfair biological advantage to conquer many worlds, and apparently, they had been working to conquer Hexa as well. I should have known. Bardans had a strong taste for domination, despite their small size. They reached about the height of the human’s shoulder, and apparently had something to prove to the universe because of it.

  “Yes, these humans are all over the place. But they will make a fine army.”

  The Raither’s voice disturbed me. Surely they couldn’t be considering training these women for combat? Humans were notoriously vulnerable. Whether they had sharp minds or not, the monsters of Hexa would be far too powerful for them to overcome. Sure, they could survive for a while, but humans were no match for these vile creatures. And why would they need an army anyway? Unless their plan was to escape…

  “How long does it take for a human child to be born anyway? I am excited to view my spawn. We are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with, and soon this planet will be ours.”

  Of all the places for a Bardan to want to take over, why would they want a planet where it was impossible to even use a weapon? Unless they believed that with their combined brainpower, they would be able to overcome that obstacle? Or maybe they were all just insane and had been stuck on this horrible planet for far too long. Either way, Lila was struggling ahead of them as the Raither shoved her ahead, and the sight was enough to make my blood boil and my soul ache for vengeance.

  “Human children take nine months in the womb before they are ready to greet the world. But even then, they are relatively useless. I doubt that any child that you might have conceived with the human would be ready for battle right away. It would be a hybrid, so either it would take after you or the human, or it would be a combination of the two. I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.”

  “And yet,” the Bardan said, his lips twisting into an evil, chilling smile. “If the child does take after me, and all children after that, then within this next nine to ten months, we will have quite an army.”

  The Raither sighed and shook his head. “It is a crazy plan, but at least it’s something to work toward. But you know that you have to keep this one to yourself. At least until we are sure that the master will agree.”

  The Bardan scoffed and shook his head. “Screw the master. We are going to do this whether he wants it or not. How could he object to something so powerful?”

  “Because he did not come up with it himself,” the Raither said. “You know how he is.”

  Finally, they stopped speaking and looked around slyly as if trying to make sure that nobody would see what they were about to do. They gripped the human’s arms tightly, and she lost her balance, falling to her knees briefly as the Bardan began to sniff around at the ground. He stopped suddenly, the sinister smile returning to his lips.

  I heard a sudden creak, and then the Bardan disappeared. The Raither lifted the human to her feet and shoved her forward, and I could hear a throaty gasp as she fell. The Raither followed quickly behind, and then there was another small clink. The group had disappeared entirely underground.

  I waited a few moments to make sure that the coast was clear before I moved forward to study the area where they had gone. There was a trapdoor there, and there was no way for me to know how many other creatures were inside waiting. If I went in now, I was likely to be destroyed. But if I didn’t, there was no telling what was going to happen to the human. It couldn’t just let her be used and potentially destroyed by these horrible creatures.

  It appeared that I had no choice. With a deep breath, I studied the door in the ground and dropped to my knees to open it.

  ***

  Darkness consumed my vision as I suddenly hit the ground. At first, I was afraid that I would be seized, but when I sat up, I was relieved to find myself in a long and deserted tunnel. If I listened carefully, I could hear the shuffling footsteps of the two males that had abducted my human. I stood up, mildly disoriented from the fall, and looked down at my wrist. The communications device I had been wearing was broken.

  I cursed. That meant that there would be no way for me to receive backup while I was down here in the tunnel. If they tried to contact me, they would probably assume the worst, and all chances of returning back to Yala would be gone. I would be trapped on the planet Hexa forever, a prisoner that had no business being there. Whether I was the most battle-ready of the Raithers or not, that didn’t mean that I would have a fair chance of surviving on this planet were I to be stuck here forever.

  Suddenly, I felt a surge of panic. Was the human worth all of this? Was she worth me risking my life? I could turn away; I could turn away and never look back, and pretend that I had never met the acquaintance of the brash and beautiful Dr. Lila Andrews. Maybe that would fix everything.

  But another muffled scream coming from the direction where the human and her captors had disappeared drove all thoughts of abandonment out of my mind. There was no way that I could let her suffer here, whether it meant my own safety or not. I had been chosen for this mission because of my strength, and I would just have to hope that it was enough for me to be able to survive whatever was coming.

  Chapter 4

  Dr. Lila Andrews

  “Come now, human. It won’t be long now. I’m sure that you are hungry. Doesn’t that food smell good to you?”

  I recoiled at the thought of eating. Anything that creatures like this had touched had no place in my body. I should never have run out of the ship the way that I had. It had been stupid and reckless, and now I was in a situation that there was no way out of. Zern didn’t care about me, and now, I was in the arms of the enemy.

  “Yes, she is going to need all of the strength that she can get if we are going to go forward with our plan,” the small, alligator-like man said with a sly grin.

  I shuddered. How was it possible that humans and a creature like that were compatible enough for breeding? It boggled my mind. And not only that, but it made me extremely sick to my stomach.

  “What plan?”

  A deep voice echoed throughout the chamber, and all of us froze in fear. The little alligator man turned around quickly in search of the voice, but it seemed to be disembodied until the Raither that had gripped my arm tightly in his hand for the duration of our march dug something out of his pocket that illuminated the tunnel slightly.

  “Oh, we were wondering if, when resources became scarce of course, if we could sample the humans as a food source. The people on my planet claim that they are quite tasty.”

  “Is that so?”

  The voice was louder now. “And you are sure that this has nothing to do with the little human that you managed to somehow desecrate and impregnate?”

  “Well…”

  “For the record, I think that your idea is brilliant. I just wish that you would have told me about it instead of trying to keep it a secret. We could have gotten much further by now.”

  “But sir, we need the humans to help us continue digging the tunnels,” the Raither said, stepping forward with a frown. I was startled suddenly by the cold metallic eyes that were boring into mine. It was another Raither, but he had a different look to him than the one that had been responsible for my capture. There was something dark and evil about him, as if he had survived on this planet for far too long and had no semblance of compassion left in his body.

  “What of it?” the terrifying Raither said, studying us with that cold gleam in his eyes.

  “Humans are much more fragile during their incubation phases. We cannot use them for manual labor if we intend to continue to nurture a child in the womb.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” the alligator man said, shaking his head and holding his little clawed hand up. “If they take after me and my brethren at all, then there is certainly going to be the likelihood of great strength, even in the womb. We are hearty little creatures. Nothing can destroy us.”

  “Are you q
uite sure about that?”

  The menacing Raither stepped forward, his face serious and angry. I somehow got the feeling that these two despised each other for some reason, though it was not obvious at the time as to why. All I knew was that I was right in between them and would not be able to step out of the way if anything got too physical.

  “Well, all I’m saying is that you can continue to work the humans, and if the babies die, then they die. They wouldn’t have been strong enough to help us anyway if that’s the case.”

  The alligator man spoke quickly, his voice wavering slightly at the end of his declaration. The Raither studied him silently, and then turned his back on his and took a step forward.

  “Come,” he said. “It is time for us to secure the human. There is much to be done. There is still light in this day, and you know what that means.”

  The Raither that was gripping me shoved me forward, and I tried my best not to trip over my own feet as they began to move through the rest of the tunnel. Soon, a golden light began to illuminate the walls around us, and we found ourselves in a huge open space. It was a room that was full of commotion, as two other Raithers and several other alligator men bustled around to prepare a meal.

  “Take the human in with the others and then meet me here,” the menacing Raither said, his eyes boring intently upon me. A dark wave of fear and loathing unlike anything I had ever experienced before consumed my being, and I was trapped in his gaze for an unfortunate moment as the Raither holding onto me acknowledged the order.

  I could feel the Raither’s eyes burning a hole in my back as I was led beyond this room and down another dark tunnel, where I began to hear the familiar sounds of human suffering. It wasn’t long until I saw the source. A huge group of humans, all of them members of the group that I had been separated from, were all huddled in a spacious underground prison cell.

  When they saw me, the cell burst into life with commotion as the women ran forward and reached their hands out toward me. None of us had believed that we would ever see each other again, and although I had not necessarily been friends with any of them, I could see that it was a relief to them to find that I had not actually been killed in the manner in which most of them had probably been imagining. Life on Hexa was dangerous and terrifying, and my being alive was greeted as something of a beacon of hope.