Page 12 of Torn from the Alien Commander

The wreckage violently tilts to one side, spilling me sideways, jarring me and, worst of all, my agonizing wound. I can tell the ship’s gathering momentum as if being pulled towards somewhere. My vision spins and the atmosphere grows very hot suddenly.

Is this what dying feels like?

Chapter 4

Tyrxie

Drop

My heart pounds inmy chest, and my vision spins as I hurtle through the air, thrown like a bag of old tools. Before I know what’s happened, I thud against a wall. The impact snaps my head back and steals the breath from my already strained lungs. The familiar taste of acrid blood fills my mouth, and the aches and bruises now register.

What the void happened?

Groggy and disoriented, I struggle to rise, my ears ringing as the world swims in a hazy blur. Where is Xandor? Panic surges through me, forcing my eyes to dart around in a frantic search. Then, I catch sight of the corridor—or what’s left of it. A devastating force, like a titanic blade, has cleaved the interior in two. Despair seizes my heart with ruthless force. “Xandor!” Iscream, my voice raw with fear as I tear through the wreckage, flinging aside shattered gangways and debris, desperate to find him, praying against all odds that he’s still alive.

“Xandor!” I repeat, my voice growing more desperate with each iteration.Please, don’t take him from me!I plead to the uncaring void. I burn my hands, moving smoldering wreckage, but I barely notice, knowing I can’t stop until I find him. “Xandor!” Sparks, and sporadic fires force me to shield my face, forcing me backward, away from him.

No, this can’t be happening!

“Quad, bring her inside quickly,” someone says, behind me, but I only want to hear Xandor’s voice, to see his handsome face.

Powerful hands pluck me off my feet, causing me to resist in desperation. “I haven’t found him yet!” I yell, twisting and turning, but it’s no use; it’s as if I’m encased in solid arcweave. “Please help me find Xandor! Please!” I plead, tears spilling from my eyes.

“Stop wiggling, Tiny,” Quad demands. Hearing his voice, I realize that he and Hyanxa are rushing us towards the escape pods.

“No! Please Quad, you’re strong. You can move the debris!” I plead, still trying to free myself from his immense four arms. “Help me find him!”

With each step away from where Xandor once was, my heart twists another degree with anguish. “Please!” I scream, my throat growing hoarse, but I don’t care. I’ll scream until I render my voice useless if it means Xandor will come back to me.

“He’s gone!” Hyanxa snarling face screams in my face, gripping the collar of my shirt. “And we’ll join him if you don’t hurry the void up!”

No, Xandor can’t be dead!

I shake my head in disbelief, not daring to believe it, should it become reality, “No, Xandor can’t die! He always finds me.” Iglare at Hyanxa, trying to convince her to turn back. “You’ll see, he’d never abandon me!”

Hyanxa’s face turns solemn, sinking my heart and hope further. “No Tyrxie, he’s not coming back. I’m sorry.”

Tears leak from my eyes as sobs shake my body, wishing they’d just leave me on this doomed ship. The environment changes around me, but I don’t notice too lost in my despair. Quad sets me down in a cramped oval-shaped pod, where the other survivors are already seated, their faces grim and haggard.

“We’ve waited too long already. Yes?” Job states, his hand poised over blue glowing controls. The ship creaks and shudders as explosions ring out, sending shockwaves through the remnants of the hull.

“Get us out of here, Job,” Hyanxa intones, her eyes downcast, prompting my weeping to intensify. I place a hand against the oval hull of the escape pod, wishing I could see Xandor one last time before abandoning him to the void of space. My heart twists and my stomach lurches, feeling like I’ve committed the most bitter betrayal. He isn’t just a normal male, he’s a hero from a story, unstoppable and almost invincible.How could he die?

The escape pod rumbles and detaches with a violent jerking motion that threatens to force me from my seat. The low hum of the weak engine onboard follows, giving the sensation of dropping as the vessel changes course, controlled by Job and Hyanxa.

My weepy eyes search the others, but they all avert their gaze, unable to offer me any words of hope. Their silence speaks the terrible words:Xandor’s dead.But I refuse to believe it. No matter how dire the situation, he’ll find a way out. He always does.

Noroth winces, placing a hand on his mask. Angry-looking cuts and bruises cover both him and Logarn, with green blood spotting their solid armor and new dents marring it. A sombersilence stretches on, accompanied by my haggard breaths and sniffles amidst the growing turbulence from the vessel.

“If Nebians consider us a threat, they bombard us with planetary cannons? No?” Mob questions, breaking the silence, his antennae drooping.

His words should frighten me, but I don’t care. I’m lost to my shocked despair, powerless to change course and to save the male I love.Why didn’t I say I loved him? Now I’ll never get the chance!The remorseful thought intensifies my sobbing.

“We’ve no choice,” Hyanxa interjects, taking out her vaporstick. “I’d rather be blown up than die from exposure in this thing,” she gestures with a rueful sweep of her arms.

Like Xandor and Kaanus drifting in space.

I shudder at the horrifying thought, noticing Noroth removing his warvisor and banging his fist against his chest. His gaze falls to me, filled with pity that steals my breath. I dread the words he’s about to speak. “Tyrxie... Xandor has fallen,” he intones.

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