Page 90 of Stranded with the Alien

After that it was just a question of pushing off rocks until she could move her legs and shove herself off the ledge.

She dropped straight into a pile of bones and rotting fur.

This time she did vomit. Her stomach heaved and she threw up on the corpses in a violent gush.

You’re wasting time. Stop being a wimp and get the fuck out of here.

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she made for the entrance. Cautiously, she peered out. No sense getting this far only to run straight into the mutant grizzly. But all she could see was the rain pelting through the tree branches.

Good. The downpour would cover any noises she made, and might even hide her scent.

She slipped out, all her senses on alert. At first she glided silently from tree to tree, keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of the creature. But her iron control started to waver as she got further from the lair.

Before she knew it, she was running flat out through the rain, trying to put distance between her and the charnel house she’d woken up in.

Her heart pounded out a mantra with every step.

Vahn has. To be. Alive. He has. To be. Alive.

She traveled a fair distance before she heard the roar of outrage echoing through the trees. The monster had discovered its dinner was gone.

Forty Two

The hound was speeding up. Vahn followed, pushing through shrubs and bushes, leaping boulders and tree roots. When he heard the howl of theviramecreverberating through the forest, his heart stuttered.

He tried not to think about what he’d do if Kara was lost to him.

He began to slip and slide in the mud, finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with Rocky. The pulse blaster was soaking; he prayed to Ayanlesh that it wouldn’t seize up if he had to use it.

It was only when his sensitive hearing picked up something else, something other than the creature, that he dared to allow hope to kindle.

Footsteps. Light, swift. Coming towards him.

“Kara!” He roared into the rain, repeating her name over and over. “Kara!”

And then she was there, bolting through the trees.

And theviramecwas right behind her.

He saw her terrified face and in that moment was taken hold by a deep and penetrating rage. She was scared. And hiskalehshawas never scared.

He wanted to tear the planet apart. He wanted to rip trees out by their roots and use them to smash down every foul demon that inhabited this cursed land.

But he would start with theviramec.

When Kara reached him, she hurled herself against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He registered the coldnessof her body, the moisture of her tears as she pressed her face into his chest. He curved his serpetri around her protectively.

But he didn’t turn to look at her. He didn’t speak at all as he took aim at the monstrous beast now charging towards them.

It was moving fast, weaving among the trees, partially obscured by the heavy rain. Even without adrenaline coursing through his veins, it was a difficult shot to make. And he had only one chance.

In a moment of perfect clarity, he let his warrior instincts take over. He could hear a myriad of sounds; Rocky barking, the creature snarling, Kara’s soft cries, the beat of the rain.

He shut it all out. Slowed his heartbeat. Cleared his mind. And with ice cold precision, he shot theviramecthrough the head.

The pulse blast took the left side of its skull clean away. It began to fall, the momentum of its run dragging it forward several steps even after death. Blood exploded in a geyser, showering the nearby trees in red.

The animal collapsed to the ground and slid to a halt at Vahn’s feet. Its one remaining eye stared up at the clouded sky.

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