Page 19 of Sohut's Protection

Three days since she’d seen the blue alien enter the jungle.

Three days since she’s been hiding in her cave.

It was the best place for her to remain out of reach but whenever she peeked through the vines and leaves covering the entrance to the cave, she didn’t spot anything out of the ordinary happening in the jungle below.

But that was little consolation.

Whenever she looked out, she was looking over the tops of trees.

That didn’t tell her what lurked beneath their branches.

Nevertheless, if she hadn’t seen the blue alien enter the jungle with her own two eyes, she wouldn’t have known he was somewhere within the dense growth.

Nothing seemed out of place and the thought made her uneasy.

She could have easily gone hunting for food and encountered the stranger.

Unaware of his presence beforehand, she’d have been at a huge disadvantage.

Cleo paced, her bare feet moving over the thick dried grass she’d laid as flooring on the rock floor.

She could make a run for it.

Fear was telling her to escape but there was just one problem.

Logic said she should stay.

And she was going to listen to logic.

On her shoulder, Wawa bumped his head against her neck as if he could sense her restlessness.

Living by herself for an extended period could have made her paranoid.

Maybe they hadn’t sent the blue alien after her.

Maybe he’d entered the jungle in search of something or someone else?

Maybe she was just overreacting…

But there was that niggling feeling inside her that told her she wasn’t overreacting.

He was there for her.

She was sure of it.

And what was she doing? She was waiting like a sitting duck.

If he somehow found her, she’d be caught without any defenses.

She needed to do something.

Taking a deep breath, she crouched by the small mouth of her cave and looked out.

There was a safe distance in her mind that the alien shouldn’t cross, and that was an invisible line she drew right at her water hole. If he crossed that line, then she was in trouble.

He’d no doubt find her.

It’d take him some time to do so—her cave wasn’t the easiest to spot—but she couldn’t stay in her little hidey-hole for weeks on end.

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