War Games (Alien Instincts) (10 page)

“I wonder if it is over consuming its prey and hurting the ecosystem of the planet.” Markar said, still staring into the fire. Rae shrugged her shoulders as she concentrated on shoveling as much food into her mouth as possible.

She quickly finished her meal and set it aside. “Either way, the planet looks like it’s still doing pretty good.” Rae stood and walked over towards Markar. He had been so silent since they had seen the pterodactyl-like animal. She placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to offer some comfort. “Hey, don’t worry about it too much. You can’t protect everything.” Markar smiled up at her, but he didn’t look too reassured. “I’m going to go wash up a little by that lake.” Rae added as she made her way to the water source.

Since they were still higher up in the atmosphere of the planet, the air was cool and Rae hadn’t worked up much of a sweat despite the long hiking. She wanted to brush her teeth, wash up a bit and then head back to camp. Nightfall was beginning to darken the land, and everything seemed more malicious in the shadows.

Stooping down, Rae scooped some water in her hands to wash her face. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a stream of bubbles burst from the depths of the lake. It startled her and she dropped the water she was cupping in her palms, but Rae rationalized the incident away in her mind. Even so, she went through her nightly cleansing ritual a little faster than normal.

As she stood up to return to camp, Rae turned away from the lake and felt something slip around her ankle. Her momentum from her hurry to get away from the strange body of water carried her forward, but the vice around her ankle tugged her back towards the lake. With a loud thump Rae fell to the ground. The sudden impact stunned her for a moment, until she felt her body being dragged backwards towards the dark lake. Rae struggled to flip onto her back to see what was attacking her. Kicking her legs in vain to try to remove whatever was on her ankle, she finally turned around to see the dark waters of the lake. What had emerged from the lake, and was dragging her insistently towards it, was a monster unlike anything Rae had ever imagined.

Screaming, she tried desperately to remove the strange fin gripping her leg. The fin was attached to a large scaled horror protruding from the lake. Its jaws were opened impossibly wide as if waiting for her to enter. Rae only had time to widen her eyes in dread before her body was dragged fully into the dark waters. It felt like an eternity as the water rushed over her body like a tidal wave and the surface of the lake began to dim. Something snapped in Rae, and she strained her muscles to move against the overwhelming tide to reach towards her waist and grab onto the hilt of the long knife Markar had given her.

In the blackness of the deep she couldn’t see where to aim the strikes of her blade, but she could still feel the pressure of the creature gripping her leg. Hacking frantically at the thing dragging her, Rae could feel the impacts of the knife on the appendage attached to her. She could tell the instant she was free from the monster as the water suddenly stopped rushing around her. The painful weight on her leg was gone and Rae began to swim frantically towards where she thought the surface of the water should be.

She was surrounded by blackness. In her frenzy to escape the creature of the lake, Rae couldn’t be sure in which direction she was swimming. As seconds ticked by she could feel her body burning for air. Rae only had one choice, to reach the surface of the water, but she couldn’t even see a glimmer of light one way or another.

If she could have used sheer will to reach the shores of the lake, she would have made it, but the monster had dragged her too far into the cavernous waters. Rae’s desperate swimming eventually gained her a sliver of light that indicated the water’s surface, but it came too late. Her body needed oxygen now, and there was nothing she could do to help it. Rae held her lungs in suspension as long as she could, but they demanded one final breath. As her body forced Rae to inhale, she could feel water rush painfully through her air passages. Coughing uselessly while still trying to move towards the glimmer of light, Rae began to give up hope.

Her last sight was of blackness overtaking the small point of light that she had spent the last moments of her life swimming towards. Just like the grip on her ankle, something latched onto her wrist and began to drag her, but Rae’s body had run out of oxygen, and she finally submitted passively into unconsciousness.

-

Ever since Markar had seen the strange flying animal that spewed fire onto its prey, he had begun to think that the planet they were exploring was more dangerous than it had first appeared. Usually, when he had such thoughts it would be just one more obstacle to overcome in his search for intelligent life, but this time felt different. He felt fear. This fear was not for himself, but for Rae.

Staring into the campfire, he debated the merits of foregoing his mission and returning to the ship. He had never before failed to complete his directive, and Markar was hesitant to return. Instead, he had begun to focus his entire being on protecting Rae. He didn’t follow her to the lake, but he could hear every footfall she made, every breath she took. Therefore, the instant he noticed a change in her breathing pattern, his eyes leapt from the flame before him and moved unfailingly towards her direction.

Standing, Markar angled his head to better listen to the far off sounds, uncertain whether he should interrupt Rae or not. When he heard her sudden intake of breath a second time, Markar began to race towards the lake. Even over his pounding feet he could hear as her body made sudden impact with the ground. Racing onward, her scream pierced the night. After her cry ended, Markar could hear nothing over the frantic beating of his own heart.

He arrived just in time to see Rae’s body being dragged forcefully into the lake. Markar didn’t hesitate in his stride as he continued on to the edge of the water. Diving into the depths, Markar swam relentlessly onward, always with Rae just out of reach.

Eventually, her downward momentum stopped, and he began to make more progress in his quest to reach her. The water around them was black as night, but Markar’s vision could still see perfectly in the gloom. He watched as Rae began to swim up towards him and his heart began to fill with hope. But as time wore on, Rae’s movements began to slow, and he could see the pained look on her face as she struggled towards the surface.

Still Markar continued swimming downward. He watched in surprise as he saw the human begin to take in a breath. Rae’s body jerked as she coughed up the water she had just taken into her lungs. Markar reached out his hand for her, but Rae’s arm moved away from his, and then he looked into her eyes. He could see her perfectly, even in the darkness of the waters. She was mere inches away from him, and Rae’s eyes were empty of life.

A Dream

When Rae came back to life, it was only because of a great pressure on her chest. The sensation of being crushed made her body jerk convulsively, while the water that had invaded her lungs was forced out of her. Opening her eyes a fraction, the first blurry vision she had was that of Markar. Blinking rapidly in order to purge the dirty lake water from her eyes, Rae was able to finally see clearly the man who had saved her.

Markar was leaning above her body, which he had placed on the shore of the lake. His long wet hair hung loosely around them both and small droplets fell from the dark strands onto her. Markar’s eyes frantically searched through Rae’s, and continued to delve beyond the surface towards her soul.

“Are you all right?” he spoke in a haggard whisper. Markar’s chest was still heaving, as if with great exertion.

Rae tried to speak, but only ended up coughing up more water. After she removed most of the liquid from her lungs, she tried to answer again. “Yes.” The single word came out in a croak.

Markar then dived towards her, clutching her body to him in a tight embrace. His grip was almost crushing, but Rae had just awoken from death and didn’t have the energy to protest the awkward hold. His head bent down towards the crook of her neck and Rae felt as if Markar’s larger body was enveloping her. She was glad to have his warmth pressed so closely against her because her wet skin magnified the cool air of the night that much more.

Rae looked up into the night sky and was startled at the amount of stars cluttered in the deepest purple velvet she had ever seen. The planet had no visible moon, and the absence only made the stars that much more glorious. Scattered in the night like dust, they gave off just enough light to get by, but not enough to make Rae feel safe with the shadows that surrounded them by the lake. Her body began to shiver from the cold and her uneasiness over still being near the pool of water that had almost been her grave.

In response to her movement, Markar leaned back to look down at Rae, and she met his curious stare straight on. In the gloom of the night, his predatory eyes glowed like two fallen stars. She could not be sure in the dark, but his face appeared sad to her. Lifting her up into his arms, Markar carried Rae back to their camp and only set her down once they entered the tent.

Rae wrapped her arms around herself and shivered at the loss of Markar’s body heat. She watched him look through their belongings for a dry set of clothes for both of them. His movements were full of suppressed anger. After shoving some items under Rae’s nose, he proceeded to strip out of his own wet clothing right in front of her. Taking the items reluctantly, she glared at his naked back before turning around and peeling off her own soggy garments.

“We are returning to the ship first thing in the morning.” Markar proclaimed in a tone that was hard to argue with.

Despite that, Rae wanted desperately to argue. She scrambled to put her new shirt on before turning around in shock. “What? But this may be my only chance to ever see an alien planet!” She couldn’t help but stomp her foot in anger. Rae knew Markar was essentially the commanding officer while they were in foreign territory, but she craved adventure. Sure, she had almost died, but that was the price to pay for the sights she never would have imagined in her wildest dreams. “I don’t want to leave!” she yelled like a petulant child.

The tent was not well lit, so Markar’s strange eyes continued to glow as he turned around to face Rae. Her body was frozen, caught in the eerie gaze of a wild animal, and Markar did indeed look feral. Fury radiated off of him, but his movements were controlled and silent as he stalked closer to Rae. Her eyes widened in alarm as the tall man was suddenly standing directly in front of her. She swallowed nervously as she looked up at him only to see Markar glaring down at her. Rae’s eyes moved downward to gape at his bare chest. Droplets from his damp hair moved slowly over the exposed muscles and Rae felt as if the sensuous fall of the water over his skin put her into a trance.

“We are leaving.” he said in a low tone, and was all the more intimidating for the silence that seemed to envelop him like a cloak, his mood darker than the shadows by the lake had been.

Rae panicked when she couldn’t think of any way to change his mind. She could fight him, but ultimately they would just end up hurting each other, and neither one would really come out victorious. As their staring contest continued, Rae began to feel desperation overwhelm her.

Despite the tension that Rae could see in Markar, he slowly reached out one hand and trailed a calloused finger along her jaw line. His touch was gentle, but his hand trembled slightly as he lifted her chin so that she would look up into his eyes. “I will not lose you.” he stated. His voice had deepened and the gruff tone sent a thrill through Rae’s heart.

She didn’t even notice stepping towards him. Rae felt as if she was moving in a dream. If she had awoken, she might have retreated and put more space in between them. As it was, there was no more personal space, their bodies so close they were practically one entity. Rae’s head was still craned back in order to see Markar’s eyes. “I don’t want to end this.” she responded, but her anger had left her and her words came out as a plea.

Markar’s face contorted into one of anguish and he placed his hands on her waist as if he was afraid she would flee from him at that very moment. Before he could deny her again, Rae raised her arms and placed them over his broad shoulders. She lifted up onto her toes, but still it wasn’t enough to match his height. In frustration, she leapt the last couple of inches in order to latch her mouth onto his. Markar’s eyes opened wide in shock, and his grip on her waist tightened to an almost bruising hold.

Rae couldn’t quite think what else to do. She was desperate to keep what she saw as her only chance at true adventure. She didn’t want to return to Earth just yet. She could think of no other argument to convince Markar to keep her with him, especially after she had almost just died. Her mind was fragmented and desperate, and in a dreamlike state she had attacked his mouth with hers. When his grip had tightened on her waist, she expected at any moment for Markar to shove her away from him in anger at her outburst.

Instead, he held her aloft with her feet dangling towards the ground, his eyes widened in shock, and then he took control. His arms wrapped around Rae and crushed her against him. He groaned into her mouth, and his face contorted once again into an expression of pain. Rae tried to retreat, thinking that she had hurt him somehow in her desperation, but he refused to release her. Keeping one arm around her waist, his other hand moved to cup the back of her head and held her in place as his lush lips descended back towards hers.

It was Rae’s turn to be startled at his reaction. She wanted to distract Markar from his decision to take her back, and she seemed to have accomplished her goal. Her body was awoken out of the trancelike state it had been in and then Rae’s iron control snapped.

Rae had been forced to surrender herself to death in the water. She had taken her final breath, and it had not revived her. Now she craved to feel alive again. When she felt Markar’s tongue breach her mouth and his potent drug enter her system, this time she welcomed it.