Page 3 of Her Alien Beast
Chapter 3
VLANN
A growl escapes my throat.For three rotations, escaped convict Flanz P’Rinza has given me the runaround over the mountains. The reward for information leading to his capture is set at twenty-five thousand galactic credits, and though I could simply tip the Marryyn Enforcers off, reveal he’s hiding out in the La’tkk Mountains, and allow them to capture him, I can’t permit myself to take the easy way out.
I always bring convicts in myself, even if I must track them through the wilderness for days on end. Not only is it safer that way, but there is no satisfaction in collecting a reward not fully earned. I plan to earn those five figuresfair and square, as the human settlers would say.
My pack is heavy, weighed down with a small tent, nonperishable foods, and enough water to carry me through another week in the mountains, if required. P’Rinza isn’t prepared for such a long stay in the wilderness. No, P’Rinza will soon grow desperate. And desperate criminals are the easiest to catch—and the most dangerous. I’m not afraid of him though. I’ve tracked down wanted men far more violent than P’Rinza. As a retired Enforcer-turned-bounty-hunter, P’Rinza doesn’t stand a chance against me in a fight. I simply need to find the male first.
The forest echoes with the melodies of songbirds, and I don’t hear any footsteps nearby, but I’m certain the escaped convict isn’t far ahead. I soon discover small footprints sealed along the hiking trail, leading down…toward civilization.Fluxx. Leading toward the winding road and the welcome center frequented by human hikers, as this mountain borders the largest human settlement on planet Marryyn.
Flanz P’Rinza is no doubt hungry and thirsty after being tracked for three days over the mountains. The convict is heading towardpeople, and with nothing to lose but freedom, the murderer likely won’t hesitate to take another life for something as simple as a hiker’s lunch.
Moisture hugs the bottom of my boots as I navigate through the thick underbrush. The rising sun casts streams of warm light between the tall trees. Already, I know the day will be hot and humid, but at least there’s no fog this morning. I climb over a series of large rocks between the hiking trails, taking a shortcut, with my gaze constantly sweeping through the trees for any sign of P’Rinza.
My spirits lift as I discover a fresh footprint below, the same small size as the others. Today will be the day I catch Flanz P’Rinza. Along with twenty-five thousand galactic credits. Not a bad payday for a retired Enforcer.
Not that I need the galactic credits. In the four years since my retirement from working as an Enforcer, I’ve captured so many wanted criminals on planet Marryyn that I’ve amassed a small fortune. But I’m not content to sit around and do nothing with my time, and I have no plans to quit bounty hunting anytime soon.
Besides, I care about this planet which I settled on as a child. When I found myself an orphaned refugee during the Third Interplanetary War, the Marryyns took me in and gave me a home and an education. I want to help keep the planet and its inhabitants safe.
I’ve been tracking Flanz P’Rinza, who was recently spotted trying to hitchhike near the La’tkk Welcome Center, for the last three rotations. And, truth be told, lurking through the forest following the trail of a criminal isn’t so bad. It beats the places I usually end up: dark alleys, seedy bars, houses of ill repute, and neighborhoods crawling with drug dealers and thieves.
Out of breath, I pause for a swig from my canteen. The water is cool going down, and I take a long swipe at my mouth afterward, still listening for sounds of the criminal I’m tracking. Just as I fix the canteen back onto my pack, a scream pierces through the forest noise. A human female’s scream—straight ahead on a lower hiking trail.Fluxx.
My protective instincts kick in, and I bolt down the mountain, jumping over fallen trees and peeling through the underbrush. Someone is in trouble, though I suspect it’s only a hiker, probably suffering from a snakebite or a twisted ankle.
But the screaming only intensifies, and what I see when I finally spot activity ahead prompts me to run faster. “P’Rinza, you bastard!” I shout. “Leave the female alone!”
On the trail below, the criminal is trying to rip a backpack off a struggling woman. She falls face down in the dirt, yet continues clutching the straps of her backpack while trying to crawl forward. Clearly, she doesn’t want to give up her belongings. I don’t understand why she doesn’t just surrender the backpack. All P’Rinza probably wants is food and water.
When P’Rinza realizes I’m closing in, he stands up straight and stares at me, his huge orange eyes bulging for one moment before he turns and bolts through the woods, heading for the winding road that cuts through this part of the mountain.
I pause over the woman, and she looks up with terrified eyes. “Are you all right?” I ask, kneeling down. Her eyes widen as she peers at me, but I don’t blame her. She’s probably never seen a Kaxxloran in her life. From what I’ve heard, only a few of us survived the war, and as far as I know, I’m the only Kaxxloran who has made this planet my home.
She coughs and touches her throat. Anger flares inside me when I notice angry red marks circling her neck. P’Rinza must have tried choking her. Thatfluxxingbastard. When I get my hands on him, I will make him wish he were dead. I won’t kill him, but I’ll pummel him bloody before handing him over to the Marryyn Enforcers.
“I–I’m alive,” the tiny human woman says hoarsely, though she makes no move to stand. Clearly, her ordeal with the escaped criminal has left her shaken and exhausted. My arms ache with the urge to wrap around her and offer her comfort, but the urge is nearly as alien as the woman in front of me. I’ve never experienced tender feelings for a female on this planet before and I’m taken aback by the odd warmth coursing through me. Half the females I’ve met on Marryyn are repulsed by my appearance, while the other half are frightened of me. As a result, I’ve made a point to avoid them, certain that I’ll spend the rest of my life alone and unmated. I shake such thoughts away and focus on the female before me whose dark brown locks are gleaming in the sunlight that’s filtering through the trees.
“I’ll be back soon. Stay here,” I order, shrugging off my own backpack to race downhill through the woods. P’Rinza is still within visual range, and I’m a fast runner. I withdraw my blaster from my hip, though I don’t have a clear shot yet. I won’t aim to kill, but I won’t hesitate to wound the criminal in order to capture him.
My target jumps over fallen trees and rocks, but I quickly gain ground. The welcome center nears, and I hope P’Rinza doesn’t bother anyone else in the hover lot. That poor human female along the path is probably still scared out of her mind.
But the hover lot is closer than I thought, and P’Rinza sprints across it…and straight into a trap. Enforcer hovercars zip through the lot, surrounding the criminal from all sides. The law enforcement officers clad in black body armor jump out of their vehicles and aim blasters at the wanted criminal.
With a snarl, I stand at the edge of the forest and watch as Flanz P’Rinza goes down without a fight, hands held high as he peacefully surrenders.Fluxx. I place my blaster back in its holster on my hip.
At first, I’m annoyed. Twenty-five thousand galactic credits just slipped through my fingers. But I quickly remind myself I don’t need the money. What’s important is that P’Rinza is now in custody and he won’t hurt anyone again.
Thinking of the human female, I turn and retrace my steps up the path. But when I reach the path, not only is the girl missing, but so is my food and water supply. My pack is sitting open on the ground, the compartment where I kept such necessities now empty.
I can’t help but smile at the irony of the situation. I had stopped long enough to make sure the girl was all right, allowing Flanz P’Rinza a head start, only to be robbed by the very human female I had saved. But my smile fades as I consider the situation further. No ordinary hiker would steal food and water, not with the welcome center and civilization a short walk away. This human female must have needed it badly. But, why?
With growing concern for the girl’s safety, I follow her obvious trail up the mountain. As I track her footprints, I call Owen, my ex-partner’s son, on my wrist comm. The young human male has a talent for locating sensitive information quickly. I pay a fair price for his services.
“Hello, Owen?” I keep my gaze trained on the forest as I speak.
“Boss! What’s up? Catch that P’Rinza guy yet?” Owen sounds overly enthusiastic, as usual.
“No, I didn’t. Someone else got to him first,” I admit, feeling the bitterness creep back, though I’m not certain why. Perhaps I’m just anxious to locate the female. “Owen, I need some information. Send me everything you can find about any recent missing human females in the area of the La’tkk human settlement. Young females, ages eighteen to twenty-five. Wanted criminals, runaways, missing persons, anything.”
“No problem, boss! I’m on it!” the excited voice replies.
After thanking Owen, I end the call and resume following the girl’s path through the waking forest. Her footprints are half the size of P’Rinza’s. She couldn’t have gotten too far ahead on those little feet of hers. To my shock, the footprints continue along the hiking trail. Apparently, she doesn’t know well enough to escape into the trees, or perhaps she thinks I won’t bother chasing her.
It’s not long before my wrist comm buzzes. Owen is one fast human. The first information he provides is about a missing nineteen-year-old with golden hair. Definitely not the right girl. The second set of information is a twenty-four-year-old redhead wanted for questioning in an armed robbery. No, still not the right girl.
But the third set of information my wrist comm displays is a notice passed between local Enforcer stations, meaning the information about this particular missing girl isn’t public knowledge yet. The family who had released the notice means to keep the missing status of the human as quiet as possible while still trying to find her. Interesting. I study the notice, staring at the beautiful dark-haired young woman named Amira Swan, along with the words “Missing Human Female: Ten thousand galactic credit reward for information. A private family matter. Confidentiality requested.”
My heart almost stops. The girl who stole from my backpack is considered a missing person. She’s probably a runaway. Again, that odd urge to wrap my arms around her and comfort her resurfaces. But before I can decide what to do with her, I must find her. I run faster along the trail, determined to capture the pretty little human.
