Page 13 of Guardian's Heart

Confident that even if it flooded, it wouldn't do it rapidly, so I would have plenty of time to get out, I inspected the area more closely and decided this spot would do for a while. It didn't matter that the spot gave me the heebie-jeebies; it was only unsafe in my mind—in reality, it was easy to protect.

Ever since the gator took me into a similar spot underwater, tight spaces weren't my friend. It hadn't helped that Daddy and Uncle Boon decided that it was a good idea to lock me into the crawlspace of our house to help me get over my nightmares.

"Nothing like combatting fear with fear, Angel," Daddy had called before he put the trapdoor up. That's when I learned to control my fear.

After that, Daddy and Uncle Boon went up into the woods to make moonshine and forgot about me. Three nights later, Tucker let me out when he returned home from a camping trip with his friend's family. Had he not come home when he did, I would have died of dehydration.

Even now, sometimes nightmares come to me, but I’ve learned not to cry out because it was useless and nobody would hear me anyway.

Buckle up, buttercup, I told myself as I filled the small cave with moss to make a semi-comfy bed for myself; all the while, I was boiling more water.

I decided that over the next few days, I would begin to explore my surroundings, but first, I needed to set up traps. The nuts—which I had brought with me—sorry, Mr. Mouse—seemed to be okay, but I couldn't live off that forever.

I studied the stream, but I didn't see any fish. "Would it have been too much to ask for crawdads?" I complained out loud.

The trees with their tangled roots were actually easy to climb, and I wanted to get a better view, but I realized my life of leisure this last year or so had cost me quite a bit of muscle mass. Where I would have easily climbed a tree like this before, my biceps and thighs were burning like hell, and I was huffing quite a bit when I reached the last branch I trusted to hold my weight. At least it was high enough.

Far in the distance, I made out the spaceport, still too close for comfort. Everything else was just trees and large mountains further ahead. I took a deep breath of air, marveling at how clear it was. The scent of woods was different from what I was used to, but still, I felt a trickling of excitement inside me to explore this place.

I had always liked being by myself; it had never bothered me. My Rhett had complained that I was one of those,it is as it is, people. He predicted that those would be my last words to him if we ever got a divorce. Just to prove him wrong, I told him,C'est la vieright before I took off in the boat. I don't think I'll ever forget his baffled expression when he watched helplessly as I drove off.

It is as it ishad reminded me too much of Missy, who interestingly had taught me to live by this mantra:Never let anybody hurt you. Always be prepared to be alone. You don't need anybody. It turned out she was right. It hurt my pride more than anything when Rhett beat me unconscious. I should have left him the first time he got drunk and hit me, but stupid me needed another year, before I realized that I was better off by myself

I had forgotten how amazing it was to be alone with Mother Nature—was it Mother Nature on an alien planet?

Missy also taught me the easy life, and I had liked it, forgetting about the swamp and everyday survival—until now. Something silver caught my eye, interrupting my musings. No, that couldn't be, could it? I squinted to get a better look, wishing I had binoculars.If wishes were candy and nuts, Missy popped up in my head again. That man, er, alien, just didn't know when to give up, did he?

There was no way he could track me without the tablet, right?Not unless he's a tracker. It had been a long time since I heard Daddy's voice, but he was right.

I had walked partially through the stream, just on the off chance silver hulk would keep stalking me, which apparently he did. And he was coming from the right direction. Damn him.

I could have probably vanished further into the woods, away from him, but for some reason, I doubted he would give up.Well, damn, challenge accepted, silver giant!

ZAAREK

My entire body hurtwhen I woke the next morning from sleeping on the hard ground. The finger the little starbane had broken throbbed despite the makeshift splint. I suspected that I had set it crookedly and that I was in need of a healing wand.

Strange dreams kept waking me throughout the night, but with the breaking of dawn, I couldn't remember anything aside from a longing residing deep inside me. For what? I didn't know. But it was strong enough to make my heart heavy.

Unbidden, part of the dream came back to me. I saw myself running through a forest similar to this, feeling free and alive.

I shook my head to clear it, washed with the cold creek water, and then wasted part of the day following the stream, as it turned out, in the wrong direction. I didn't realize that until suddenly her tracks stopped and I had to backtrack until I found them again. Once I was on the right track though, there was no stopping me. I even found the spot where she had exited the stream. I hoped to catch her soon enough to make good headway returning to the city. I followed her steps and spentvaluable time looking for more when I lost them—again. The realization that she had tricked me struck me like a jolt. I wasted another hour figuring out how she had done this until I came upon broken leaves from a bush. From there, it was harder, but eventually, I made it back to the stream.

I had no idea where my tracking skills came from because it was nothing I had been trained for. I had been trained in shooting any weapon ever invented, hand-to-hand combat, digging through data to find my prey, and moving through the most deprived places imaginable, but never out in open nature.

For some reason, however, I felt more alive than I had in… I stopped and cocked my head. Ever?

I settled on a long time.

And all that because of the little starbane. Still, I was going to wring her puny little neck the moment I found her. Swearing, I kept going. Again I came upon tracks leading away from the stream. Another trick? Who by the seven abysses was this female? She should have been scared and whimpering, cowering by a tree, praying I would find her. Instead, she was sending me on a chase I hadn't had in a long time.

I grinned.Challenge accepted!

A few hours later and a branching off-stream, I had to concede that I was lost. Not lost as in I couldn't find my way back out of here, but lost as inwhere in the seven suns is she? My pride wouldn't allow me to admit it, but finding her was like trying to locate a star in a nebula. There was no way I would give up now!

Dawning darkness made it painfully clear that I would spend another night in this forsaken alien forest. Venting my frustration, I cursed out loud while I set up another fire and found another little critter to kill and eat—wondering when I had acquired the skill to find their hiding spots and how to clean and prepare them. As far as I was concerned, food was delivered to me on a plate. No matter where I was.

I mulled this over for a bit, but then a slight headache distracted me. Cold water from the creek quenched my thirst and relieved the headache. Even if it was contaminated, it wouldn't make me sick. The Ohrurs ensured that our bodies were immune to any kind of poison imaginable, including natural contaminants.

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