Page 88 of Bred by the Alien Prince

"You're not leaving your friend!" The boy cried too loud for my taste.

"There is no way all of them can come. Gather those you love most."

"I love them all."

This little bastard! He climbed the ladder and escaped through the hatch.

"I'm dying," Cormac sighed. He wasn't lying. I could smell the rot and ruin of his flesh. Even if I got him out alive, he would need meds and time to recover before he could be of any use. I knew what he was thinking; he wanted to leave the boy. Sound advice, but I didn't know how long this tunnel went on or if there were other turns or paths to take or avoid. The child seemed to know where to go.

"I left my comms on so Connor can locate us, but it's probably out of juice by now, so I don't know how much he got beforehand—"

The hatch above opened again, but this time, armor-clad guards accompanied the child.

"I'm sorry, they caught me! Help!" The boy cried.

Sending a wave of energy, I yanked the boy inside, causing Cormac to hit the floor. I gripped him by the collar of the dirty wet tunic he was wearing and dragged him and the child along, not looking back before pushing the boy to run ahead of us. I hoped the force of power was enough to stagger the guards at least and keep them off our asses long enough to make our escape.

"Guide us now!" I ordered, making no plans to return to my previous predicament anytime soon.

The boy ran ahead, and I followed while dragging Cormac, who groaned with pain, through the muddy waters and wastes.

The soldiers were closing in fast.

"Here!" The boy shouted and opened the small hatch that was large enough to crawl through.

I released Cormac. "The rest is up to you!" I shouted and turned to hold off the soldiers as they approached.

Lifting one up, I slammed him into the other, then charged with a burst of speed and delivered a solid kick. I ran for the crawl space and scrambled under, not taking another chance. The poison still raced through my body, and too much activity was a sure way of keeping the toxins active and flowing fast.

I felt the cool air and rain on me as I reached the outside. A crowd gathered outside a few feet ahead, all gazing up at the skies. It was my ship! The comms worked!

Cormac crawled toward the woods, beckoned by the boy. And I ran right for him, lifted him onto my back again, and helped him hide.

"I'll be back!" I reassured them and ran off to flag Connor down, halting in my tracks once I reached the crowd. I was a Valisian, dressed no different from their own, something I had to remind myself of as I pushed through the crowd, looking up at the sky with the same wonderment until I reached a clearing and waved, drawing the attention of the others. The ship hovered above, then darted away for the clearing ahead. I ran fast, this time with almost the whole damn lot of them chasing behind.

The cargo doors opened, and it felt like I was running toward paradise.

I ran up the ramp. "Close the damn doors! Don't let them on!"

I gathered the power and pushed out, blowing the first few back as the doors closed and the ship took off. I reached the bridge where Connor was at the helm. "I left Cormac and a child in the woods there," I pointed in their general direction. Connor took off to circle.

My legs trembled weakly as I gripped the seats. My body was nearing its limit and was on the verge of crashing hard.

The Valisians were closing in on their location, and I lowered the ramp and jumped off ahead of the soldiers to carry Cormac and get the boy onboard.

"We're on, let's go!"

Once I saw the clearing of the forest disappear, and the tops of the trees traded for cloudy skies, I dropped Cormac, vomited, and fell like a boulder, banging my head against the metal floor.

CHAPTER 35

Caspian

It's now or never. I had to make a break for it and leave this forest. Or maybe head for the ship's crash site. Why didn't I go there to begin with? I wanted to kick myself for it, trust me!

No time to cry about it now. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything. I crawled out and paused, trying to see if I could hear or see anyone coming; the coast was clear, thank god! I ran while trying to remember where I had come from. If I'm right, then maybe I can hit the hill and make the climb up with no one spotting me — and just as fast, I lost my footing, and the ground gave way, causing me to tumble helplessly into a hole.

A scream escaped as I gave in to the sharp, unrelenting pain in my leg. Something stabbed me. I reached out in the pitch black to feel what it could be, something hard, maybe wood? It was warm and moist, and I dragged my hand down to feel the burning meat of my flesh forced out by the... spike?

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