Page 4 of His to Protect
Chapter 2
Jessica
Islowly open my eyes, the bright light making it difficult to make sense of my surroundings. My body rests flat on the ground, an incredible ache running through my muscles. I turn my head to the other side. Emma's there, a few feet away, lying unconscious. I rest my head and look up at the bright sky. My eyes open wide with confusion as I fix my gaze on the two suns towering over the blue horizon. My mind refuses to comprehend how it is possible. My confusion is overwhelming.
I gather all my strength and stand on my feet, my eyes searching for anything familiar. The bluish shade of the ground gets my attention. That's not what I’d call familiar. It's so strange. I focus my attention on Emma, who's getting to her senses. I walk to her, slugging my legs in a disoriented line. I am so dizzy and so cold. I cross my arms, my back crouched, in an attempt to keep myself warm, but I'm freezing.
“Emma, are you OK?” I offer my hand and help her get up.
“I'm fine. It's just my head… It hurts so badly.” She pulls herself up, her gaze searching around. “Where are we?”
“I have no idea,” I say, my hand resting on her shoulder. I can sense her muscles shaking from the cold, her lips purple and dry.
“FUCK… We’re gonna die!” She cries and falls to her knees, palms over her face. This time I fear she may be right. I kneel beside and put my arms around her, rubbing her back. “We need to stay strong. We'll figure something out.”
The ground is bare, blue dust covering most of it. I see a few scattered trees in the distance, but nothing I’ve ever seen before. They appear to be huge, with branches twirling up. And they're blue. Blue trees! I must lose my mind. The cold must get to my sanity and make me imagine things.
A terrifying roar disrupts the shivering of my body. I draw a big breath and look both ways, my eyes searching for anything that might make such sounds. My heart beats so fast and my breath quickens. I rub the back of my neck and stand still. There's the roar again. It's coming from above.
“What is it?” Emma asks, her eyes bulging as she turns all directions, her hands rubbing together. She comes closer to me, her back pressed against mine.
“I don't know. But it's coming from above.” I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly as a moving shadow gets my attention. I look up and stop breathing, my hair raising at the sight of a humongous flying creature. Its skin, a greenish color, with scales covering its body. The head appears to have a beak-like part, the wings similar to that of a mythical dragon. It's circling us, a roar escaping the creature’s throat as it gets closer.
“What the heck is that ugly bastard?” Emma’s voice barely utters the words, her palms sweating. I squeeze tighter and desperately look all around, looking for a place to hide. This damn place is bare. The few trees are far away, out of immediate reach.
“It’s coming for us. Run!” Emma shouts, dragging her palms down her legs. Her complexion looks pale and sickly; her hands tremble continuously as she points to the imminent approach of the flying creature. The ugly monster is heading for us in a downward movement, like an arrow falling to the ground.
I run, the shakiness in my limbs making it difficult to reach any spectacular speeds. I desperately look for a place to hide. The prospect of getting eaten but a flying creature makes my stomach roll. I’m too young to end up being a monster’s breakfast. I want to find love, a family, and all the joys of life.
“Oh, Jesus Christ! The bastard is gonna get us!” I scream my heart out. I trip over, falling to my knees. I cover my head with my hands, the weight in my chest making it difficult to breathe. I bend more, my forehead touching the ground, waiting to die, like a prisoner awaiting his sentence.
“Jess, I don’t want to die like this!” Emma whispers and hides behind me.
The beast lands right in front of us, swaying its head from side to side. I cover my eyes and wait for the inevitable attack. I hear a strange whistling sound and the creature releases a devastating growl, then falls flat on the ground. Everything goes silent. I take my hands off my eyes and glance at the creature in front of me. Its gargantuan body lies motionless in a puddle of blood.
“It’s dead!” I say, trying to lift my bruised body off the ground. “Who killed it?” I glance in all directions, trying to figure out who or what killed the beast.
“Oh, thank God. I thought we would be food,” Emma says as she struggles to stand.
I help her get up and hear a buzzing sound approaching. A small flying vehicle approaches and lands a few feet away. It is like a flying saucer made of shiny metal. The size is no bigger than a van. The buzzing sound stops and the top part of the machine opens. Three humanoid males descend and come near us, pointing some kind of weapon at us.
“Get back, get back,” I shout to Emma and push her behind me. She gets behind me as we amble, taking small steps.
“Leave us alone,” I shout at the strange-looking males. There is no reaction and they continue to get near.
They are tall and of massive size. Their skin is a pale blue hue with ridges on the arms and shoulders. The one in the middle gets even closer. He’s wearing tight leather pants and some tall boots. His torso is bare, covered only by a strap going from his right shoulder to the left side, which reveals his rippling muscles. His body looks strange, but perfect. It would make any serious bodybuilder seem like a joke. I glance at his face and notice the same ridges on his nose, his eyes the most vibrant blue I have ever seen. His hair is ash blond and tied in a knot. The strangest thing is this glowing circle of light on his forehead.
“Stay away!” I shout and reach for a stone on the ground. I grab it and throw it at the male standing before me. Rippling waves of energy released from the device he is holding, deviate the stone away.
The other two males move forward but stop at the signal of the one in the middle.
“Al’akan heriba,” he says in a weird, gloomy voice. I do not understand what that means. I try to understand what has happened. We’re in this weird place, probably an alien planet, attacked by an alien creature. Now, this alien male speaks in this weird language. This is just too much to take in. I guess I was right all along. The Maya civilization had secret encounters with aliens. We must have arrived on this planet through the device in the pyramid. It is probably a portal or a teleportation device. Who the fuck knows?
“What do you want?” I shout and look straight into his compelling eyes. Strangely, I feel attracted to this alien male. This is funny because I’ve never felt this attraction before for any human man.
“Al’akan heriba,” he repeats the same phrase.
“What’s he saying, Jess?” Emma asks.
