Crashed on Alien Planet: A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance (25 page)

I had to find a way out of this and make sure that my actions did not come to the light of day.

“What the hell… happened?” I lay down beside Gemini and waited patiently for Landon to wake up from his own unscheduled nap. “My nose is bleeding. Did you just attack me and Gemini?” I stayed silent, acting like just another victim. He crawled over towards me and looked into my eyes. He shook me and I pretended to flutter my eyes open in his direction.

“Who was that? A saw this blur of a red armor and then there was nothing but black.” I could’ve told him the truth, but I had this funny feeling that the armor wasn’t going to allow me to do that. It wanted this to stay a secret and if I were to try to say anything, I believed in my own mind that Landon would be dead before he knew it. “It moved with a speed that I didn’t even know was possible. Perhaps Shari found out that we were coming for him and decided to make a preemptive strike.” This sounded better than the alternative. This way, I could turn Landon’s attention towards something that wasn’t me.

He was now kneeling over Gemini “She’s not dead.” This was a bit of a shock. She’s not opening her eyes. I think that we’re going to have to get her some kind of help.” I could feel the armor wanting to act on my behalf again. It took everything I had to stop it from killing Gemini. On one side, I was glad that she wasn’t dead, but on the other, I really wanted to see her pay for her attempts at killing me.

Chapter seven

We brought her back to the Black castle and I could see that Lord Baden was a bit suspicious. He questioned us vigorously, but we both had the same exact story about somebody in a red armor attacking the both of us. I pointed in the direction of Shari. I wasn’t quite sure that he believed me, but he didn’t try to detain me for the attack on Gemini.

Landon and I were on our way out to find Shari and he stopped and looked at me sternly “I really did think that it was you that attacked us. I could swear that I said something to you.” I had to get his mind off of reliving the ordeal. If he had time, he might see something and that would be the last thing that he ever saw in his life.

“I can see the reason why you would think that, but it wasn’t me. I think somebody was making it look like the Red castle was trying to make a play for the power. If I were to guess, I think that Lord Vadam has everything to gain. If the Red castle became something of a threat, then he could easily have them all disqualified from the rest of the tournament. That would mean that myself, Braden and even Nicholas would be out of the competition. Essentially, it would come down to the white and black castle dueling it out to the end. That would mean that it would be you against his prize creation, Gemini.”

“I just can’t believe the condition that we found Gemini in. Her armor was completely destroyed and she was left a broken doll. They found that she had several cracked bones and her cranium had almost been caved in. They don’t even know that she’s going to survive the night. Even if she does, they doubt that she’ll be able to continue in the competition. This will mean that the White castle or the Red castle will finally be able to have a chance at that power. We’ve all known for some time that Gemini was the major stumbling block. With her out of the way, things can become more equal in competition.”

I was secretly happy that he was not trying to question me further on the fact that it was me. I think that deep down he probably knew, but he wasn’t willing to voice his concerns. “I think that we should concentrate our efforts on finding Shari.” Suddenly, an image of a brick building with smoke coming out of the roof came into my mind.

“I saw what you did to Gemini. I actually enjoyed seeing her get her just desserts. I just didn’t think that you were capable of something like that, Shana. You seemed like the kind of person that would turn the other cheek. You not only attacked her, but you left her for dead. You are dangerous and I think that I did the right thing by throwing in with you. I really did think that it was going to take more time for you to get that killer instinct. After all, she was the one that was going to kill you first. You just acted quicker than she did.”

Falla didn’t even know what had happened. She really did believe that it was my doing and had nothing to do with the armor itself. Whatever magic she was, she didn’t have enough of it to fully absorb what had transpired. I was still trying to piece these things together myself. I just knew that the armor was acting on my best interest. It had found a way to take control of my body and use the images and secret fantasies in my mind to make them become reality.

I really didn’t think that I had that much animosity toward Gemini, but apparently it was deeper than I thought. I guess I could feel it seething in the corner of my consciousness, but I never allowed it to get much further than that.

I had no idea how I was going to tell Landon what I knew of Shari’s whereabouts. I soon found out that I didn’t have to. This old man hunched over and walking slowly was now saying something underneath his breath.

“Shari is there… Shari is everywhere… Shari is nowhere. He hides in plain sight…he hides from your eyes…he knows where you are. He works at the bend where no one will find him. He works tirelessly to destroy everything that we hold dear. He feels slighted…he feels power…he feels that he has been overlooked.” Landon grabbed him and shook him, so violently that his head was now bouncing back and forth independently of his own body.

“How the hell do you know this?” He had just the whites of his eyes showing and then they became a liquid blue.

“Unhand me young man. I don’t need this.” His voice was not the same, but he did tell us what we needed to know. I already knew it, but now Landon was finding out that what the old man had said was basically a road map to where Shari was now hiding out. “I don’t know what you want. Take whatever I have.” The old man was feeling victimized. You could tell that he was scared out of his mind. His hand was shaking, so badly that it looked like he was going to have some sort of attack. “I just want to be left alone. Please, just take this and leave me alone.” He had a gold coin, something that he had probably hidden for his golden days.

“I don’t want your money.” Landon was visibly upset. He was holding onto the old man, until I finally wrenched him free and allowed the old man to walk away shaking his head.

“Landon, I would say that somebody is looking out for us. If we can find Shari and shed some light on what’s happening with the Dragos, then we might be able to put all this to bed… I mean behind us.” There was no point and using words from my own world. If I did that, I could easily be found out. I had no interest in fielding questions that would make me look complicit in everything that had been going on.

“That was very strange.” My mind was constantly bombarded by images of what my armor had done to Gemini. I think it was making me relive it over and over again, because I was feeling such joy at her pain that it was actually feeding off of it. If I didn’t know any better, I think that it was having a little bit too much fun. It was almost like a child awakening for the first time and taking its first steps.

“I agree, but I don’t think that we have a choice. We have been looking for him and that old man may have not known that he was doing it, but he gave us a way to find him. I have no idea what he means by the bend, but I have a feeling that maybe you do. I don’t come from around here.”

“I’ve heard the story of where you came from, but it makes no sense. That being said, I really don’t care. My only concern is finding out who killed all those people. If Shari is responsible, then he will feel the wrath of my energy whips. People have said that he can fight, but I don’t think that he can handle somebody like me. There are even rumors that he was a warrior back in the day. That he killed the first Dragos. I’m not sure that I believe it, but I think it’s the main reason why people are trying to stay away from him. They really don’t want to contend with his wrath, but unfortunately we have no choice. We have to confront him one and one.”

“The only way that we can do that is to find him, Landon.”

“I know exactly where the bend is. If he’s hiding there, then there has to be a reason for it. The people of that small village would never condone his actions. He’s probably hiding there under an assumed name, just so that he can keep one step ahead of us. I know what he looks like. It doesn’t matter what disguise he wears, I will be able to see through it.” I knew what he look like to, but only because of the sources invasion of my mind. It was even possible that him doing that had been the final straw that opened up the pathway between the armor and my mind.

“How far is it?”

“It’s not that far, but it’s not the distance that I’m worried about.” He looked hesitant to go in the direction that was needed. “My father went this way one time and was never the same again. He rocks back and forth in the fetal position drooling like an idiot. I have been tempted to put him out of his misery, but his age of majority is upon him. This time next year, he will give the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the many. It has been widely known for some time that death is only one part of the journey. We do not mourn those that pass. As you know, we celebrate their lives and give them the sendoff that they deserve.

“Landon, I don’t think that we have much of a choice. This is the only way towards the bend. By your own admission, it’s the quicker root. If we try to go around, it would detain us for at least a day. If that were to happen, then we would be out of the competition.

“I can’t allow that to happen. I know that I’m risking becoming what my father became. This is the reason why Shari has taken refuge at the bend. He thinks that he’s safe and that he’ll know when somebody comes looking for him. The villagers of the bend do not take kindly to strangers. They’re very caustic, suspicious and downright mean. If we’re going to do this, then we are going to have to be very careful where we step. There are many pitfalls and we’re really going to have to keep our wits about us.” He took a few steps into the path and then he stopped like he knew that something was wrong. His foot was poised over an area and then he moved it to the other side. He reached down and picked up a rock and placed it on the exact spot where he was about to put his foot.

The rock disappeared like it had been swallowed up by the earth itself. “That was pretty damn close. What made you think to step to the other side?”

“Shana, you can see the discoloration of the ground. It’s very subtle, but if you were to pay attention, you would see exactly what I see.” I concentrated and there was something, but it was very hard to see with the naked eye. Maybe these aliens had a better form of eyesight than I had. I couldn’t admit this to him, or he would turn on me in a second. I was just going to have to do my best and hope that I wasn’t going to fall into any of these holes. I didn’t even know what to call them.

I decided to stay behind Landon. Since he was a man, he thought it was his obligation to keep me safe. I could’ve done that myself, but right now his assistance was much appreciated. I followed him like I was marking my path with his footsteps. I did not deviate and even when I stumbled, I was able to right myself before I fell victim to one of those holes.

“I’ve heard of several people taking this journey and only a few, including my father came out on the other side. I guess his ramblings are paying off. Those that live at the bend know this area like the back of their hand. I’ve seen them walk with confidence and avoid every one of those holes. The speed in which they do it is amazing. I can do it, but it’s at a snail’s pace and not exactly in the lines of somebody that should be patient. That is one thing that I’m not, but in this regard, I have to be. You also have to be, but I see that not very many things shake your confidence. That’s good and maybe I have looked at you the wrong way.” I was glad that he wasn’t trying to pull at that string about what had happened. If he had, he might have uncovered his memory of seeing me hurting him.

If that were to happen, then he would know that I was not to be trusted. It was a tightrope to walk and one wrong step and I would’ve found myself on the receiving end of one of those energy whips.

There were times that I was actually holding my breath and wondering when that final death knell was going to sound in my name. It was not a nice feeling to have the unknown over my head. The truth of what I did was out there and it was just a matter of time before I was found out.

We came to the end of the path and pushed through to the other side. It consisted of a town. The buildings were not as remarkable as the three castles. They were modest with straw covering for roofs and what look like mud made for the exterior surface.

I walked up to one of these houses and placed my hand in the mud. It sunk in and came to something that was very hard. I scraped away the surface and found myself looking at what looked like granite. It was very strong and I think that the mud was there primarily to protect it from the elements.

“I think I see what you mean, Landon. These people are not exactly trusting.” They were all standing there looking at us, their mouths open, as if they were in shock to see warriors in armor. A man with ruffled blond hair, a clean shaven face and an open white shirt with black pants stepped forward.

“We know why you came and we suggest that you turn around and go back the same way you came. We have given our word to give him sanctuary. This is not something that we take lightly. If you try to take him, then we will have to intervene. If you plan to talk to him, then we have no problem you staying in this town for a little while. I would suggest that you don’t overstay your welcome. There are those that are loyal to Shari that will feel that you are a threat. They will want to deal with you personally in his name.”