Page 73 of Kryxis

He waited, crouching in the dark. Beyond the metal grate, he could see the supply room, dark until the lights flickered on. His eyes narrowed as footsteps entered the room and stopped. There was a small noise of surprise as a man came into view, picking up the shiny bracelet with a dial at its center off the table where Kryxis had left it. Dani called it a watch.

“I thought I lost you,” the man said, smiling as he fixed the watch to his wrist. He lumbered about the room, gathering items, until eventually he disappeared. Satisfied, Kryxis maneuvered his body in order to crawl his way back through the small tunnel, the bag at his side swinging.

Only a few more items to go. He tried not to feel too disappointed each time he put one back. Dani made him understand they belonged to others. Little possessions like the kind he used to collect down on his home world which they called X110.

He understood that Dani had felt sorry for him, that it was not her fault his home was destroyed. In truth, he feltoddly detached. Yes, the city was all he knew, but those fuzzy memories that sometimes pained him told him it was not his true home. He’d become complacent about the things he’d done before Dani came. He knew of nothing else but to hunt, to take, and to dominate.

He thought he had been a king. But he had been a king of lost things, of discarded things, of worthless and broken things. A king of no value. Once Dani arrived, and he saw her for who she really was, it became clear to him. He’d have burned it all himself if it meant having only her.

Did a part of him feel sorry for the others who shared his domain? Yes. But many of them suffered in their existence. And many of them would have destroyed it all in the end just for control. The insects only wanted to infest and kill. There was no other drive in them. The others were mindlessly wandering the ruins of that forgotten place, with nothing but hunger and animal instinct to keep them going. He felt a dull ache for the beautiful plant room Dani loved, but it had been a miserable existence, a lonely one. He saw that now that he had what he didn’t realize he needed.

A mate.

And she was perfect. His hearts swelled just thinking of her and of that one word he didn’t believe he’d ever hear escaping her lips.

She had said yes. She had lain with him, and he saw that look in her that he had seen back in the plant room, that glow. It was beautiful.

As he came upon a cross section of the tunnels, he climbed his way down toward the lower levels. He wanted to shower her with more gifts, but since he couldn’t take from the others, he would have to be satisfied with what he’d given her already. Seeing her wearing his creation on its silver chain filled him with pride enough for now. But he wanted to give one last giftto celebrate their joining. He had an idea already, something he valued more than some object, even one that he created.

But first he had to return what he stole. From what he understood, she would allow him to continue what they started in her den when he was finished. And he was hungry for more, heat and anticipation filling him at the thought. He wanted to know more of her in that way, feel her, touch and explore her to his heart’s desire. He was not even distraught by the idea of having to keep to her den if it meant joining with her again and again.

It was sweet how she worried for him, afraid he would get caught and wanting him safe in her home. He had explored much of the ship already and didn’t find anything more exciting than her anyway. Of course, there was still that instinct in him to hunt, but he could very easily set that aside to mate instead.

Dropping down into a small room with a large fan revolving slowly to one side, he made his way down another tunnel. He could hear people talking nearby, their voices becoming clearer the closer he got.

“I’m telling you I saw something,” one said, fear in their tone. Kryxis slowed as he passed by another grate and peered through to see a group standing inside some sort of workshop. The one speaking was a human male, but there were others of another kind, one that looked like the same species as Dani’s crewman, the one called Sheek.

“Down in the lower decks?” another asked. Kryxis was beginning to understand their language better now from the many conversations he’d heard throughout the ship. He could also make out their tone. They were nervous.

“Down in the engine bay,” the man answered. He wore a red suit and carried a bag like the one Kryxis carried now. He had some kind of tool in his hand which he gripped tightly, pointing it at the others. “It was big.”

“Did you get a good look at it?”

“It was too dark. I just saw its shadow. But I know what I saw. It moved quick.”

“You sure you didn’t just take too much bluum or something?” another asked, and they all laughed.

The man frowned and shook his head. “I told management. They sent security to check. But I’m not going down there and none of you should either. Something is up. I think that team sent to X110 brought something back with them.”

Kryxis listened a little longer before he moved on, silently making his way to another section.

He’d been certain he hadn’t been seen. But maybe he was wrong. He would have to do better. As fun as it might have been in the beginning, he wasn’t looking to give Dani more trouble. He left again only so he could return the treasures like she asked. She said she was going to help him, to talk to the leaders of the ship. Hopefully she could convince them that he wasn’t a threat.

He found the next spot he was looking for and peered through the slit in the grate to make sure the room was empty. Using his talons, he pushed open the grate and slipped out, setting the metal piece aside. The room was larger than the others with rows of slender metal compartments, all filled with random items, from clothing to weapons. There was another room attached with a long table and a console with monitors. Kryxis snuck inside and took the ring out from his bag, turning it in his fingers. It reminded him of the ones he had tied to his person to impress Dani. It was too bad he couldn’t keep it. He set the ring down on the table and left.

As he made for the vent, he heard voices coming down one passage. Quickly, he crawled inside and moved the grate back just as a group of armed security came into the room.

“Nothing. Waste of time,” said a furry-looking guard with similar features to the creature in Dani’s room that she calleda cat. They went over to one of the metal compartments and opened the door. “They probably just got spooked because of the outages.”

“I don’t know. Two engineers claim to have seen something now,” said a burly human, sitting down on a bench as they shrugged off a shoulder pad. “Unless we got some carbon monoxide leak making people’s brains go all screwy, I say we should maybe take another look around.”

“There was nothing on the feeds,” argued the furry one.

“That we saw,” chimed in another as they unlatched a weapon from their belt. “Outages took out some of the cameras too. What do you think, Garret?”

Kryxis glanced over and saw the male he had helped save in the labs. Garret took off a chest piece, setting it down on the bench. “We should scan the area again, this time with trackers. I also know someone with a garometer who might be able to help.”

“Is that someone a woman named Dani?” asked the burly one.

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