Page 13 of Stranded with the Alien

Eight

Her body ached. Every single muscle was sore from bending and lifting. Her thighs and glutes were on fire, her shoulders a mass of pain. She rolled her neck, trying to ease the tension.

She knew the Vraxian must be feeling it too. He was lifting boulders muchbigger and heavier than she could manage. Say what you would about the snakes, they were way stronger than humans. Of course, he had those extra limbs to help him.

She eyed them surreptitiously. At some point he’d thrown off his flight jacket to reveal a sleeveless tunic beneath. The tentacle-limbs grew from his upper back just below the line of his shoulders on either side of his vertebrae, and were almost as thick and muscular as his well-defined biceps.

Her gaze drifted to his arms. Scales shimmered from shoulder to wrist. Their default color seemed to be a pale blue but she noticed they shifted to a mottled greyish tone when he was among the rocks. She wondered if the color change was an autonomic response, or if he had to consciously make it happen.

It was grueling work. At first she’d amused herself making quippy little remarks but he’d maintained an icy silence. At least he’d let her drink. In fact, he’d made sure she was hydrated and had forced her to eat a rations pack halfway through the day. Obviously didn’t want the slave labor to pass out.

Now she worked as wordlessly as he, all the while trying to figure out a way of escaping. So far, she’d come up with zilch. The alien had hung theyashakremote round his neck, a constant reminder that he held all the cards.

He bent down to lift yet another boulder, this one the size of a small car. Kara weighed a rock in her hand and wondered if she could smash his head in before he pressed the button.

But a tingling round her neck and down her spine reminded her the collar was rigged to respond to any violent intentions. It didn’t need the alien to activate it. She threw the rock to one side.

As the hours wore on, she sensed the Vraxian casting her glances every now and then.He’s expecting me to fold from exhaustion,she realized. Well, screw that. Humans had just as much stamina as snakes.

She worked doggedly, refusing to admit how tired she was. And so it continued, until the suns had passed their zenith.

“Halakt!”

The alien straightened, rubbing his neck. They’d managed to clear a space revealing part of the hull. She saw most of the vessel had been crushed by the rockfall but parts of the cockpit were still intact.

Kara guessed he was trying to get into the wreckage to recover the beacon. Without it, he had no chance in hell of getting off this planet.

She wondered if he’d foundherbeacon. It was in a hidden inside pocket and it was possible he hadn’t found it when he was going through her stuff. If she could just grab it and get away from him, she could set it off.

For a blissful moment she imagined the look on his face when a rescue party turned up – and it was human.

“Alekt.”

His command stirred her from her reverie.

“All right, all right. I’m coming.”

They made their way back towards the cave mouth. But when they neared the hot pools, the alien stopped. He pointed at the water.

“Dakath?”

It was clearly a question, but she had no idea what he meant. Impatiently, he mimed washing under his arm-pits. Watching a seven-foot alien doing charades should have been amusing, but Kara stepped back in horror.

“Bathe? Here? With you? You must be fucking joking.”

The Vraxian shrugged. Then, tugging off his tunic, he waded into the water. Kara tried not to stare.

The waning light of the suns reflected off his scales, highlighting his pecs, his deltoids, his abs, and the smooth line of his dorsal muscles until they disappeared under his combat trousers. His whole body shone as if it had been dipped in blue oil.

Damn, he’s ripped.

She realized her mouth was open and shut it hurriedly. What the hell was happening to her? He was a Vraxian, a grotesque scaly monster.

Thank God the alien hadn’t noticed. He was luxuriating in the hot water, eyes closed.

Actually, that did look pretty good. The exertion of the past few hours had left her filthy. Every inch of her was covered in sweat and grime. She must smell like a bear’s butt.

Checking again to make sure the Vraxian had his eyes shut, Kara hurriedly stripped off her trousers and boots.

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