Hunted By The Alien Assassin by Ella Maven
Twelve
Karina
We reached the docks around mid-day. The sky was overcast, and a light rain sprinkled the too-long grass that swayed in a soft breeze.
Normally I worked either at dusk or pre-dawn, when there was just enough light for me to see, but also enough dark cover to hide. We’d hid our buggy probably five miles away and walked the rest on foot. Bosa definitely took smaller strides so I could keep up, which I appreciated.
A small copse of trees provided a place to hide, and we huddled there together while we dug through the pack of supplies. Bosa shoved a meal bar in my mouth, and I mumbled around the dry brick. “Not hungry.”
“I don’t care,” he answered. “Eat something for energy. It might be a while before we eat again.”
“But this is fast by nature. You have to place the explosives and then get the hell out before detonating them.”
His jaw clenched as he pulled out the putty. “Things can happen, kotche. Eat.”
I chewed and swallowed despite my stomach protesting. Worry always caused me to lose my appetite, and although I’d been all talk to Bosa, I was nervous as hell. In the distance, one large cargo ship was docked at the station. Next to it were a few smaller cruisers.
I thought there would be more, which was a little concerning, but I recognized the cargo ship as one of Frenz’s largest. The ship was shaped like a football with landing gear on the bottom as well as docking capabilities on each end. It sat quiet and sleek, and I would have admired the technology if I hadn’t known the horrors that had occurred inside it.
I’d been in there, chained and caged like an animal with dozens of other women. I could still hear the sobs, the cries, the whimpers. I remembered one woman—a short twenty-something with short hair, crooked teeth, and large round eyes. She’d been nearly feral with terror, but her instinct had always been to fight. Every time one of the guards had tried to handle her, she’d fought like a wildcat.
She’d paid the price with a few beatings, and the others had told her to be agreeable, but she’d never listened. I wondered what happened to her. I feared the worst, but I’d never forget those large, wild green eyes.
“Are you going to eat?” I asked him.
He shoved a meal bar in his mouth whole, chewed a few times, and swallowed as an answer. “You wait here,” he said, shoving the putty into the pockets of his pants. “I will place the putty and detonate it.”
“What?” I straightened. “But this—”
“It’s mid-day, Karina,” he said, leveling me with a no-nonsense gaze. “I will blank so I can get in and out undetected. Why would we risk you when I can do it without being seen?”
I felt a little like the wind had gone out of my sails. I’d done it all alone this far, and I’d felt such a sense of accomplishment every time one of his ships went up in flames. But then, Bosa was being sensible. Why would I risk getting caught when he could get it done?
I nodded, feeling stupid at how disappointed I was. “Right.”
“Kotche,” he gripped my chin and forced me to meet his gaze. “This is all because of you. I’m only muscle here. This is your mission. Your mind. Your bravery.”
I blinked away the tears prickling my eyes. My heart pounded at his words and goosebumps lifted the hair on my arms. I let out a shuddery breath. “You’re right.”
“I know I’m right,” he grinned. His eyes glowed as he pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Be right back. And then… we’ll talk.”
I smiled at him. “We’ll talk.” There was so much I wanted to say, and I already couldn’t wait to find out what kind of happy life I could possibly have in this galaxy. As long as Bosa was at my side.
Clicks fell like rain and Bosa disappeared in front of my eyes. He’d told me his pants were specially formulated to camouflage like his scales, so with the putty hidden inside of them, he was completely invisible. I reached out and grasped his hand, squeezing with my fingers. He returned the squeeze, and I detected the faint blurry outline of his body before his hand left mine, and he was gone.
I waited, watching the cargo ship as several Gattrix guards stood watch, pacing the dock with laser guns strapped to their chests. I hated the fuckers, from their gross mandibles to their hooked feet. I shuddered, remembering the feel of their venom stinging my shoulder. The skin was nearly healed now; only a slight red rash remained.
I crept a little closer to the edge of the copse of trees and studied the cargo ship. I’d told Bosa that placing the putty near the fuel tank was the best option, as the ship would flame up in seconds once ignited. I tried to squint to see any sign of Bosa, and just when the breeze picked up, I saw the putty—his hand and body were undetectable, but the familiar colors of the putty were visible, moving through the air like magic before being placed under the hull. He must have climbed over the landing equipment to reach the spot.
I smiled, nearly giddy with excitement, until something caught my eye. There were a few port windows near the front of the ship, and I could have sworn I saw something moving inside. Was that a face?
A hand—brown and five-fingered—slapped the window and I stood up with a jerk, wishing I had binoculars. What was in there? My heart pounded, white noise rushed in my ears, just as more movement flashed in front of the large front windows of the ship. I watched in horror as a few Gattrix shoved a dozen women at the front of the glass. They huddled together, chained and trembling. Footsteps sounded on the dock as a small contingent of Gattrix marched toward the ship, led by Frenz.
I could barely see through the rage coursing through my body. This was a setup. It had to be. Frenz drew me out with the departure application, and filled the ship with women, knowing I wouldn’t be able to blow up the ship…
“No!” I screamed as I raced out of the copse of trees. My head reeled. I didn’t want to draw attention to Bosa, but from where he was on the underside of the hull, he couldn’t see the women.
I ran like my hair was on fire, knowing this was practically suicide but unwilling to look into those women’s faces and let them be burned alive in a ship with their captors. I couldn’t do it, and maybe that made me a weak human. They could take me from Earth, but they’d never take my humanity.
Bosa’s voice rang out, loud and clear. “Karina, stop!”
But I couldn’t, not as I stared into the faces of my fellow women. I knew what horrors they could face in this galaxy, but I also knew what kind of happiness they could find… if given the chance. Bosa had shown me that. I refused to let them die this way.
I waved my arms frantically as the squad of Gattrix leaped from the dock and sped toward me. Frenz remained behind, thin arms crossed over his chest, his mandibles clicking with glee.
“Run,” I shouted to Bosa, hoping he knew I was talking to him. Why had he shouted and drawn attention to himself? I took a sharp turn away from the cargo ship and ran harder. The Gattrix would catch me, but hopefully this would give Bosa time to get away…
Laser fire rang out, pinging the ship, and I looked over my shoulder, stumbling when I saw a bronze body materialize as it fell from the hull of the ship. He hit the ground with a thud, and I opened my mouth on a blood curdling scream. “No!”
How had this gone so wrong? Gattrix shrieks pierced the air, and I felt a hook tangle in my hair, tugging with a sharp jerk so that my feet flew out from under me, and I landed on the ground on my back. Above me, several Gattrix hovered. A few drops of venom dripped from their mandibles to burn my skin. Frenz’s voice boomed from somewhere behind me. “Bring them both.”
I was hauled over the shoulder of a Gattrix, and I glanced around frantically for Bosa. When I saw him being dragged by one arm, his lifeless body bouncing on the hilly dirt, I couldn’t hold back my sobs.
* * *
Now off the ship, the women were dragged away in the opposite direction, while Bosa and I were taken to a small structure near the docks, empty of everything but chains bolted to the wall. It was like they’d been waiting for us, which only made me suspect even more we’d been set up. They snapped a chain around my ankle and propped Bosa against the wall, his arms chained together over his head at the wrists.
He wasn’t conscious, and a large laser fire wound in his shoulder still smoked. I couldn’t reach him, and I ignored the Gattrix around me as I rasped around my tears, “Bosa. Bosa!”
Frenz emerged from the crowd to crouch at Bosa’s side. “Wake up, Kaluma.” He dug a leg hook into Bosa’s wound, and he opened his eyes on pained shout.
“Stop it!” I cried, hating the glassy, fevered cast to Bosa’s eyes. “Stop!”
Frenz turned to me, his antenna twitching as he wrenched the hook from Bosa’s shoulder, taking blood and tissue with it. I watched in horror as he plucked a laser gun from his holster and aimed it at Bosa’s leg. “Does this make you angry, human? Does this hurt?” He fired a shot right into Bosa’s thigh.
“Stop!” I screamed, sobbing hard as I fought against the chain. Bosa barely reacted to the shot. His body shuddered, and he gazed at me through half-opened eyes.
Blood dripping from his lips, he murmured, “Calm down, kotche.”
“I intended to make you pay by taking a limb at a time,” Frenz said to me. “But I see that hurting him hurts you more. And I never liked this Kaluma anyway. He killed a few of my soldiers.”
Frenz slapped Bosa, who again didn’t react except to flash him a bloody smile. “So, the only way you can get back at me is when I’m chained? So honorable, Frenz.”
The Gattrix stood on his back legs and kicked Bosa’s side, right in his ribs. “We’ll see if you’re still laughing tomorrow when I cut your tongue out of your mouth. I plan to make this last. It’s enjoyable for me, and painful for the human.” He clicked his mandibles at me. “Say your goodbyes now. He won’t be able to talk tomorrow.”
He motioned to his guards, who walked out of the building. I heard the solid clunk of a bolt locking into place, leaving Bosa and I alone in a dingy room with one dirt-frosted window.
Wincing as my ribs protested, I slid across the floor to Bosa’s side. I went to touch him, but stopped myself at the last minute, hands hovering over his body as I was terrified I’d hurt him more. “Bosa,” I sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”
The pain in his eyes clouded the fluorescent blue. “Don’t be sorry.” He grimaced as he sought to sit up straighter, then gave up when his leg failed.
“Don’t try to move,” I ordered him urgently. “Let me think. I have to get us out of here—”
“You get out of here,” he whispered harshly, holding my gaze even as his pupils swelled. “I’ll create a diversion. No matter what, you have to get free—”
“What are you talking about?” I cried. “A diversion? How? There is a whole army of Gattrix outside.”
He wasn’t thinking clearly, I could tell. His eyes weren’t focusing properly, and his whole body trembled with pain. Despair socked me in the chest, seizing my lungs, and for a moment I could only bury my face in my hands and cry. When had this all gone wrong? I should have refused his help. I should have run away from him. Instead of going home, he was going to be tortured—
“Kotche,” he said softly.
I lifted my head to find his lashes flickering as he struggled to remain conscious. His wounds oozed, and the skin around them was an angry red. “As long as you’re not hurt, there’s hope you can get free. It’s good this way, they will focus on me instead of you.”
“How is that good?” I hissed at him.
His lips twitched. “There’s your fire.” He struggled to sit up again, and this time he surged up enough to touch his ear with one of his chain hands. His claw dug into his earlobe, and I gasped when blood tricked down his neck. “What are you doing?”
He barely flinched when he flung a bloodied object at me. I bobbled it in my hands before holding a small round disk between my fingers, about the size of my thumbnail. “What is this?”
“You can use that to call my home. Gurla will answer. Tell her that you’re my linyx and you need to be rescued. They will send someone.”
“But what about you?”
“Kotche,” he said again, licking his lips. “Be reasonable. I’m not getting out of here.”
“Why can’t you blank?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I can’t blank when I’m in this much pain.”
“No,” I whispered. “You have to.”
“I might be able to sustain a blank for a brief time. And that’s how I’ll create a diversion. When they are dealing with me, you sneak out and run.”
The thought of leaving him made me want to vomit. “Bosa,” I could hear the whine in my voice. “Please don’t make me leave you.”
“You have to,” he rasped, clearly losing the battle with consciousness. “You’re my salvation. If I fail you, then I’ve failed everyone in my life.” His tone pleaded with me. “Don’t let me die with the guilt of failing you too. Please, kotche.”
His words were like body blows, each scoring a direct hit until the bell sounded. He won this round. He won the whole battle. I closed my fist around his comm device as a violent shudder shook my body. I opened my mouth and screamed out my rage until my voice gave out.
Panting, throat raw, I looked at Bosa. He was staring at me, eyes impossibly wide, and chest heaving. “Karina,” he rasped out harshly before shaking his head. “Wh-where did you go?”
