Page 83 of Bred by the Alien Prince

"I've set the course to my homeworld," Lorvian said while opening a pod and putting me inside. "They should land close to each other. Just stay with the pod, and the beacon will help me locate you."

"Okay!"

We shot off, the force slamming me into the back cushions. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the sides, praying to any damn deity that would hear me. I looked up at the small slit above. I'm sure it was meant for the passenger to see what the hell was going on outside, but I couldn't see anything as I was too short!

Good thing I used the toilet before this whole ordeal began.

And just like that, the heavy rocking ceased, and I seemed to glide smoothly. "I need to see!" I said to myself as I gathered the courage to climb the small rails until I could see out the slit. Blue skies and clouds were all I could gather. Did I make it to his homeworld? I remembered what Lorvian said about us landing near each other, but I saw no one else.

"Ouch." My ass hurt from the rough landing, and soon a blanket of darkness blotted out the sun. Dammit, I needed to figure a way out of here. I pulled at the latch until I heard a click, and the door popped open, ripping the parachute. I stepped out into the open, and all I saw was a blue horizon and open green fields. "Oh my God!" The beauty was amazing and so much like Earth! I almost felt like I was home for a split second, but our ship smoking overhead ruined that as it crashed off in the distance. "Lorvian?" I pressed the comms from inside the pod. "Cormac? Connor? Anyone?!"

I kept calling repeatedly but couldn't hear any sign that anyone was alive except me.

"Damn thing doesn't work!" I beat on the stupid machine. "At least the beacon works," I breathed, hoping Lorvian made good on his promise. The pod filled with black smoke, a fire sparked to life, and the parachute was going up in flames. I reached into the pod, grabbed the extinguisher, and, with some fiddling, put out the fire. Great, this just keeps getting better and better. Nope, the day wasn't done with me.

The beacon's beeping ceased, and once the smoke cleared, I didn't have to be an engineer to see that the burnt, split, and frayed little wires weren't going to work. "No, no, no, no, no!" I cried. "Great!"

I stepped away from the wreck to get away from the rest of the smoke. Suddenly this open field wasn't as beautiful as I thought. My heart raced, and I shivered from the cold. It wasn't freezing, but still, this was not fun... as if having to abandon ship and crash land heavens know where was supposed to be fun.

Connor, Cormac, and Lorvian were nowhere to be seen, and I was worried that they met worse fates than me. A wave of pain hit out of the blue, and I fell to the rich, muddy soil before stumbling back to my feet.

Lorvian's words played in my head. His fears of letting me come with him were biting me in the ass big time. If I wasn't here, he wouldn't have to worry about me, but I knew if he dropped safely, he would first try to locate me and come for me. But with the beacon dead, how the hell would he be able to do that?

I walked down a small hill where a riverbed lies, and I didn't know if I should take my chances and drink or not. My throat was dry from all the yelling and the smoke, but... I don't know.

Something familiar sat in the water near the shore, and I went to pick it up. It was a stone or jewel just like mine, next to the stone a small creature shifted about in the sand, turning over bits of colorful sediment. Maybe it was better to not drink this water.

The stone that Lorvian gifted me was cracked. I slipped the rock stone into my pocket and zipped it up. A small memento of this misadventure.

A voice roared further ahead, followed by the pounding of something big and heavy on the soil, enough to make the ground tremble. I swear, if a dinosaur pops up out of nowhere, I would be pissed while running away, screaming and crying.

I swallowed hard and looked up the steep hill ahead. If I could reach the top, I would get to see what made that noise.

No guts, no glory.

I gripped the lush green grass and made the climb up the hill, and down below was an impressive sight!

Hundreds or even thousands of black-armored Valisians marched on one side of the field, outnumbering the group dressed in white robes. Yet they stood their ground. Each side chanted something I couldn't understand before the charge to fight.

The ones in white were gonna get slaughtered!

It was like watching a medieval battle on TV. The soldiers charged with swords and spears, cutting, slicing, and stabbing. Black blood soaked into the field, and the white-cloaked Valisians were getting pushed back.

I felt the soil give, and before I could move back, I dropped and tumbled down the steep hill, rolling near the scene of battle. The smell of blood stung my nose, the beat of the drums rattled my senses, and I could hear the blades enter the flesh as if I were the one driving it in.

The fall knocked the wind out of me, and I struggled to get back on my feet when several men from the white cloaks were running toward me! Clutching the moist grass and digging my fingers into the mud, I tried to climb the hill, but I tumbled back, hitting my head against the ground.

They were close when I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the thick, tall trees of what looked like a dense forest.

I wanted to scream, "I'm not with them!" but I wasn't sure if they would even understand me!

Lorvian told me not to leave the pod, and now I was once again getting myself into a situation that was way over my head because I just couldn't listen.

A massive tree with a large enough hole to fit stood proudly nearby, and I did the only thing I could: crawl inside the dank little home to hopefully find some beautiful, sweet forest creature and hide.

Relief was an understatement when they ran by. I was cold, my body couldn't stop trembling from the wind which nipped at my skin, and worse, rain poured hard, beating against the thick fat leaves until it reached the forest floor.

Lorvian, please find me! I'm sorry, but I'm relying on you so much. I'm sorry I came. Just please come. I want to see your thick brow furrow with anger at my stupidity. To hear his deep, soothing voice scold me would be a godsend.

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