Page 20 of Alien Healer's Touch

The three other humans fired, but predictably. I twisted away from the energy bolts, using Martinez as a shield before tossing him aside. Their lack of coordination made them easy targets. I disabled each methodically—a precise blow to the nerves at a neck's base, pressure against the right vascular point, a sweeping kick to destabilize.

In moments, three lay incapacitated but breathing. Martinez alone maintained his footing, drawing a secondary weapon. He aimed not at me, but at Selene.

A cold fury, sharper than any battle instinct, surged through me.

Mine.

"The Commander was right," he snarled. "You've been compromised."

I moved to intercept, but Martinez fired wildly as I approached. The bolt missed Selene but struck one of his own men who had begun to rise. The human collapsed again with a cry of pain, clutching his shoulder.

The sound arrested my advance more effectively than any weapon. The healer in me responded instantly to suffering, despite the danger. I knelt beside the injured human, assessing the wound even as Martinez retreated into the forest.

"He's hit the subclavian junction," I told Selene as she joined me. "These energy weapons cause tissue damage beyond the entry point."

She nodded, already opening her medical kit. "I've treated similar wounds before."

Together we worked to stabilize the injured man, my knowledge of pressure points complementing her surgical approach. The two remaining conscious humans watched in confusion as we treated their companion.

"Why help him?" one finally asked.

I didn't look up from my work. "I am a healer before I am a warrior."

"Not how Hammond describes your kind," the man muttered.

Selene applied a final seal to the wound. "Your commander doesn't know everything he claims to."

The man's eyes darted between us with uncertainty. "So you're not taking us prisoner?"

"No," I confirmed, sitting back. "Once your companion is stable, you may return to your camp."

"Martinez will tell Hammond you attacked us," the other human warned.

"And you will tell him we saved Reyes," Selene countered, indicating the wounded man.

I watched the conflict play across the humans' faces—the challenge to their preconceptions visible in their expressions. This small moment of understanding might mean nothing against Hammond's rhetoric, but it existed nonetheless.

As they departed, supporting their injured comrade between them, the contradictions within me collided with new force. The warrior's pride in protecting Selene warred with the healer's distress at causing harm. I had chosen healing long ago, turning away from the hunting bands my father expected me to join.

Yet now, watching Selene gather our supplies again, I confronted a troubling truth: protecting her might require embracing the warrior side I had spent years suppressing. Not just protecting a fellow healer, or a valuable ally.

ProtectingSelene.

The distinction settled deep within me, troubling and undeniable.

"Martinez will reach Hammond first," Selene said, interrupting my thoughts. "We need to alter our approach."

I nodded, retrieving my healer's satchel. "We will find another way."

The distant rumble of continued seismic activity punctuated my words, a reminder that greater dangers approached. I looked to the gathering storm clouds and then to Selene, the conflict within me unresolved but my path momentarily clear.

SELENE

Dusklight burned at the forest's edge as I clutched the medicine pouch to my chest. The moment I'd dreaded had arrived—we needed to separate.

"Let me take you closer," Kavan said, the fading sunlight catching on his emerald skin. His tail flicked back and forth, betraying his concern.

"No." I touched his arm, my fingers lingering on his smooth skin. My markings tingled at the contact. "Martinez will have reported us by now. Hammond will be watching for you."

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