Desert World Savages: The Complete Series (13 page)

Tracy watched the spaceship hover over the ground. She saw them toss a body out of the open hatch. With a hitch in her throat, she saw a body falling towards the unforgiving sand. The body landed, sand spraying up around it, but once the sand settled, it was easy to see an outline against the red sand. It was green.

With a sigh and a huff, she pushed her feet against the shifting sand. She worked her way to the humanoid whose arms and legs were askew. The body had several wounds dripping dark brown blood. His face was marred by black marks in his skin. Tracy watched his torso carefully and saw, to her relief, that his chest rose and fell. Anger and compassion curled around her heart. She had faced death twice within the span of a day, and that didn't do any good for a woman's mood.

There he is, she thought. The green bastard that got me into this mess.

He groaned, and her heart melted.

Tracy was on the surface of an arid, alien planet, and a big muscular man lay bleeding at her feet. At least, she thought it was blood. The brownish stuff oozing from the wounds on his green hulking frame didn't look like any blood she'd seen before.

When she had first seen him, he looked different. Human, at least. Rev's skin had been a deep brown tan, and his well-defined chest and arm muscles strained his t-shirt. His dark hair and caramel colored eyes looked ravishing. Her eyes dropped below his waist. Aside from having the most deliciously trim hips, she knew he had quite a package beneath his pants.

Tracy didn't know exactly how he changed, but he was definitely not the man she had sucked off in an alley and fucked furiously when he held her captive on the ship. The man who claimed her as his mate was not who he said he was.

He let out a moan.

Whatever he had done in the past, it didn't matter right now. She couldn't leave him here alone to die.

"Rev, are you awake?"

The alien groaned some more, and Tracy got the message. He wasn't going to be any help. She had to get him out of here somehow.

Tracy took out the parachute she saved from her high altitude jump. With a snap of her wrist, the parachute fluttered free of the cords that bound it together. She smoothed it out the best she could, and with a grunt, she rolled Rev onto it and grabbed the edge. Tracy brought the edges around her waist and tied them off.

She gave the makeshift carrier a quick tug. Heavy, but moveable.

With a sigh, she started to walk toward the rock outcropping that she had left hours before, dragging Rev's unconscious body behind her.

Tracy really didn't want to go back there after her encounter with the alien crab, but there weren't a lot of choices. Rev was in no condition to withstand the sun of the day and she wasn't sure when the sun would become a problem.

Since she didn't happen to be an astrophysicist, she didn't know much about alien planets. She DID pay attention during an astronomy class in college she took for an easy "A." One thing she learned was that the length of the day varied on different planets depending on their rate of rotation. A day on another planet could only be a few hours long on Earth. Nightfall here definitely seemed to happen quickly compared to Earth.

The only thing she knew for sure was that it was scorching hot whenever the sun was up.

Although she felt lighter here, pulling Rev was still a lot of work. When she had drag his body up one of the sand dunes she starting thinking about all the days at the gym she missed. Tracy wished she had gone to every one of them instead of just thinking about going.

If I ever get back to Earth, I'm going to work out regularly four times a week, she thought to herself.

Tracy was getting tired quickly, and her labored breathing made her lungs work overtime. One foot after another, her mind drifted back to a marching chant from her youth.

Left.

Left.

I had a good job when I left.

First they hired me, then they fired me, then by golly, I left my wife with forty-two kids on the edge of starvation with only gingerbread left.

Left.

As an adult, Tracy thought it was a gruesome marching song. It was a terrible thing to have kids chant over and over on hikes. Now, she thought it was worse.

She didn't even have gingerbread.

Tracy's back felt like it was on fire from the combination of sun and exertion. Dragging Rev was more difficult now, and she needed to take a break.

Nearby, the wind had etched a depression into the ground. It was shallow, but it faced away from the sun. She figured that she could find a way to put the parachute up over the opening and make a tent to shield them from the afternoon sun. She did not want to find a deeper cave and encounter a land crab again.

She rolled Rev into the depression and fished though the pockets of her suit for one of the fresh water packets. Tracy had intended to keep them for an emergency, but Rev needed it more. She knelt beside him and lifted his head to her knees.

"Hey, big guy," she said. She dribbled some water on his lips. At first he just laid there, but as she sprinkled water on his face, he tossed his head back and forth.

"Stop that, Tev," he said batting her hands away. She felt his skin, and it was burning to the touch. This was not good. He was delirious, either from heat stroke or a fever. He needed liquids.

She forced open his mouth and trickled more water in. His tongue lapped at the liquid. Tracy sighed with relief. All she had to do was keep giving him water until he came around.

Right?

Tracy gave him a little more water, but she needed to get the parachute up before it got too hot. There was a ridge on top of the depression. She scrambled up to the top, dragging the parachute behind her. There was plenty of rocks and sand on this planet, and she was able to weigh down the top of the parachute with them, letting the parachute dangle down like a shower curtain.

If only they had included tent poles in the survival suit, that would have been something. When they made it out alive, she would suggest it to the manufacturers.

She slid back to the floor of the outcropping and used some rocks to secure the parachute to the ground. At first, Tracy wasn't sure if this would work, but she hit on the idea of pulling out the cords that ran through the chute and tying them around the rocks. Tracy scooted back into the depression and sat next to Rev.

Rev had only been in the shade for a few minutes. Tracy had hoped it would help lower his temperature, but beads of sweat still lined his brow, and his breathing was ragged. Tracy pulled out another water container and gave him more liquid to drink.

"Leave me alone, Tev," he croaked. "Father is going to be very angry."

This wasn't good. He was delirious. Now she realized that his wounds could be infected from being dragged across the desert. She took out something that she hoped was a medical kit from her suit and examined the contents.

There were some pads soaked in a liquid. That looked about right. She ripped open the pack and started cleaning the visible wounds. Some blood she cleaned off Rev was a different color.

Good for you, Tracy thought. You killed them right back after they got you.

She cleaned him up as much as she could, but she found that his wounds were already scabbed over. There was no oozing around them that indicated infection. That was a relief.

She picked up the medical kit again and looked for anything else that might help Rev recover. There was a stick with a waxy substance. Tracy put some on his lips. This would be a small comfort measure for Rev, but his lips were cracked. Hopefully it wouldn't interfere with his physiology.

Rev licked his lips. "Thirsty," he croaked.

Tracy gave Rev more water, growing more concerned by the minute. She was in the middle of nowhere with a sick alien and no help around her. She looked again through the packages. There was some writing on the packages, which would be fantastic if she read alien.

Then she remembered about her talking space helmet.

"I need some help here. This guy is in pain and I'm afraid he is going to die. What do I have that can help him?"

One of the medical packages contains a broad spectrum anti-infection lozenge. To administer, place the entire package as it is wrapped under tongue. Do not let it slip out while it dissolves.

Tracy rummaged through the medical kid until she found the item singled out from the helmet. "Okay you," she said. "Open up." She pressed both of Rev's cheeks between her hands and slipped the lozenge under his tongue.

He tossed his head, groaning, and Tracy struggled to keep his mouth shut and his head still. He finally relaxed, and Tracy became frightened that she poisoned him. With a fear-filled chill spreading over her body.

"Why isn't he moving?"

The lozenge also contains anti-bacterial agents, anti-viral agents and medical nanobots. A mild sedative is included to calm the patient."

Whew. That was great. He was now off to lala land, and she had no idea how long that would last. If there were any more mild sedatives around, she would have taken one herself.

Tracy took out a food ration and started eating it. She drank the water from her suit, because she still had the ability to suck from a tube. She didn't take her eyes off Rev. He seemed calmer, and when she placed her hand on his head, he also felt cooler than before. He was breathing easier, which was a relief.

Still, she wondered if there was more she could do for him. She needed his help to get off this damn planet!

She was exhausted and every muscle in her body ached. The events of the past couple days piled on her. The jump, the land crab, and hauling Rev across the sand, it was more than a girl should have to do. She'd been tired before, some days delivering multiple paper routes in the morning before facing a day of paperwork and meetings. There was even a stretch where she worked eighty hour weeks. None of it compared to being abducted by aliens.

She looked at Rev again, his face looking as peaceful as a child's. She wished she could feel that carefree, but her present circumstances prevented that.

The day got hotter, and the air didn't move well under the chute. Tracy leaned her head against a rock and closed her eyes. Just for a second, she told herself. I'll let myself rest for just a second.

Rev woke up confused and disoriented. He was THIRSTY. Something smelled good. He looked around trying to get his bearings, and then he realized what scent wafted to his nostrils.

His mate!

Nothing had ever looked as good to Rev as when he saw her lying next to him. He didn't know how she found him, but she was here. He held back the urge to kiss her.

Obviously, Tracy had a rough day. She looked exhausted.

He scanned his surroundings, noting with some pride that she had figured out to use the jump chute as a covering. The emergency kit was spread out on the sand. He picked up a spent tube and a wrapper. Good, she had given him some medicine. How she figured out to give it to him, he didn't know, but if she didn't, he'd be sicker than he was right now.

She had also used the skin balm. On his lips, but it still protected him. She pretty resourceful for a human. Except for some deep bruises, he didn't feel that bad.

How long had he been out?

He tried to stretch his arms, and he was rewarded with a punishing tear of pain through his side. Clearly, he was lucky to be doing this well.

Rev looked at Tracy again. Her face was now a bright pink. Was that a sunburn? When she woke, he would spread some skin balm on her face. That was going to hurt.

The last thing he remembered was Jaal and Bris beating him, and then they had shoved him out of the hatch. Fortunately, the transport wasn't that far from the ground. The landing was hard, but he didn't break any bones.

That was a relief.

He definitely had some bruising though. That would take time for the medical nanobots to heal. It may even take the rest of the day. He was going to be recovering forever!

But then again, where did they have to go?

That was the biggest problem. How were they going to get out of here? Getting off the planet to a more civilized place was a puzzle. He could try the miners, but they weren't too happy that their wives were genetic creations, and they might have some hard feelings from being shot at.

He remembered Quam's face when he found out that his 'wife' wasn't Staukub at all.

Wait a second. Hadn't Jaal decided to kill everyone in the miners camp? Rev didn't know if he followed through on it, but he could be sure what they would find if he and Tracy were to go there.

Rev could activate his beacon. The trackers would eventually send a recovery craft for him, but when it was discovered that he had mated with Tracy, all hell would break loose.

They could hang out AROUND the miner's camp and wait for an ore transport vehicle. He and Tracy could stow away on it, and eventually they would make it to a civilized world.

Then all they would need is money, transport papers, and more money, and he had no answer for that. His previous experiences told him he didn't make a good criminal.

He gazed at Tracy, beautiful Tracy, and he felt badly to have gotten them into such a mess. He was too young. He was too impetuous, and he did all the wrong things.

It felt like his brother Tev was right next to him. He could hear his brother's voice in his ear, telling him that he was always like this. He was stubborn, never following the rules, impulsive. His brother had berated him for also joining the Enforcement Wing.

"What if," Tev told him, "something happened to both of us? What would that do to father? When mother died, it nearly killed him. Losing either one of us would devastate him."

Rev NEEDED to follow his older brother. He didn't have a choice. He wasn't about to let him go off on adventures without him. Since the day Rev was born, the two were by each other's sides. People often mistook them for twins, and if it wasn't for the year between them, they would be.

Rev looked at Tracy again. Sitting next to her, her scent in the air, nothing felt as right as being with her. She had found him, and she had brought him to shelter. She took care of him, tending his wounds with the limited medical supplies.