Page 28 of Stranded with the Alien

Sixteen

Kara staggered backwards in shock, the needle still sticking out of her neck. The alien followed, spouting his gibberish, and she swung a fist at him. He ducked out of reach but weirdly, he didn’t look angry. More exasperated.

She went to draw her blaster and he grabbed her wrist, spinning her round and twisting her arm up her back.

“Get your filthy hands off me!”

She struggled violently and the syringe fell from her neck. The spot where the needle had entered was itching like crazy. What the fuck had he just injected her with?

She clawed at his arm with her free hand and snapped her head backwards, catching him on the chin.

He roared a string of words she could only assume were expletives. The itch in her neck expanded to fill her whole head. The pain was blinding. It was as if a swarm of hornets had taken nest there.

Spots danced in front of her eyes. Her mouth filled with saliva and she retched, drool running down her chin. Her stomach was too empty to do any more.

Using what strength she had left, she drove her free elbow into what she hoped were his ribs. His tirade stepped up a notch.

“Zalah vaneish drek, halakt tai, fhitnil mada garsome of the most advanced technology we have so stop fighting me, you ungrateful Terran.”

Kara stilled.

“Whatdid you just say?”

“I said this microbial translation compound is some of the most… wait. Can you understand me now?”

The alien released her from his grip and Kara spun round to confront him.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“The compound is working.”

“The stuff you injected me with… that helps me understand you?”

“You have been infected with modified micro-organisms that have migrated to your temporal lobe where they will thrive indefinitely and…”

“Youinfectedmybrainwithbacteria?”

The alien frowned. The human seemed angry again. Perhaps this was her default setting.

“The microbes convert speech vibrations from your auditory senses into language which your brain can comprehend.”

“So basically, they’re translating what you say.”

“Yes.”

Kara narrowed her eyes.

“And you have them too?”

“All Vraxian combatants are given the compound. How else are they to understand the enemy?”

“So you’ve been able to understand me all this time?”

“Naturally.”

Damn. So all the times she’d called him snake-boy or threatened to kill him…

A more important thought struck her.

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