The well-developed, lean muscles of Rex’s tall frame flexed with tension as he paced in front of the boulder that was the agreed upon meeting place for him and Kendra. He anxiously scanned the trees for a sign of her approaching. The sun’s rays were barely able to push their way through the thick green canopy that blanketed the tree tops during its highest point of the day. Now that it was almost set, visibility was practically nil. Where could she be? He’d been back for well over an hour. He’d had a devil of a time finding it once he’d ventured out and wondered if she was experiencing the same problem. Adamant that he wouldn’t return home without her and certain that she’d wait for him as well and concerned with the time of day and poor lighting, he resigned himself to the fact that he’d more than likely be spending the night right where he stood.
Deciding to be proactive, he began gathering branches and foliage that would help to make his night out in the open a bit more comfortable. He’d managed to catch a few rabbits. It was his intention to take them home, but his stomach was demanding sustenance, so he created a cooking pit and prepared the smaller rabbit for the skewer that he’d fashioned from flexible, green branches.
Starting a campfire and cooking at a time of day when visibility of the surroundings was poor was a risky thing to do, but he had nothing else to eat and he simply couldn’t tolerate raw meat. He debated whether or not to prepare enough meat for both him and Kendra, but his gut told him that he’d probably spend the night alone. So, he skewered a quarter of the rabbit and placed it on a red hot rock nearest the flames while he placed the rest of his kill in a sack for safe keeping. If he was wrong and Kendra did come back that night, he’d simply cook up more. It was safer that way. Cooking meat was a dangerous thing in the unfamiliar wilderness. At least if there was two of them, one could keep watch while the other tended to the meal.
The rock that he used for cooking was close enough to the flames to absorb enough heat to cause an immediate sizzle as soon as the rabbit was set upon it. He’d made sure that the amount of meat being cooked was small enough to prevent an abundance of aromas to permeate the air, but, even with it being such a small portion, there was still enough scent wafting from it to send his stomach into a frenzy. He hovered near the meat like a half-starved waif; carefully watching it to prevent over-char while, at the same time, paying close attention to his environment with his other senses. He’d spent years surviving on his own as a wanderer. Being able to utilize all of his senses at once was an accomplishment that came from it. Now that he’d developed and strengthened his psychic abilities, he also had them to fall back on if the occasion called for it.
When his meal was done enough for him to eat, he shuffled the flames around until the fire was nothing but low burning embers that gave off a mellow glow. In an area that was practically pitch black at night, he needed some assistance seeing his immediate surroundings, but he made sure that the embers were barely glowing to prevent attracting unwanted visitors.
He’d hobbled his horse nearby. After finishing his meal, he brought it closer to him and then sat with his back resting against the boulder. The heat that the rock had absorbed during the day was in stark contrast to the moistness of the soil surrounding it. He’d arranged a bedding of pine branches to help act as a barrier between himself and the cold, hard ground, but it did little to prevent his joints and muscles from aching as the night wore on. By morning, he was so stiff that he questioned if he’d be able to stand and walk.
He hadn’t held vigil through the night in such a way since he’d wandered into Kendra’s camp over a year ago. Although he hadn’t lost the skill of resting his body while staying alert, he found it to be a bit more taxing than he recalled it being. He wondered how he’d managed to survive on his own for so many years since he’d had to spend most nights just as he did the one that just passed.
The sound of someone approaching caught his attention and he smiled. He was about to greet Kendra with a hug, kiss, broad smile, and stern talking to while he expressed the worried night that he’d just spent when he caught sight of an unfamiliar woman’s figure coming toward him. She wasn’t Kendra. In fact, she wasn’t anyone who he knew.
The excessively tall, willowy female with long, brown hair that was streaked in silver almost glided across the grass beneath her as she steadily approached. Showing no signs of fear or trepidation, she moved with bold determination.
Rex reached for his bow, but kept it at his side until he better knew the nature of her reason for approaching him. When she stopped just feet away, he stood in silence while he waited for her to speak.
“What business brings you to my forest?” she finally asked in a voice that was deep for a female and had a slight echo.
“I didn’t know this forest belonged to anyone,” he said in earnest. “My apologies.”
Rex’s tall, muscular frame exceeded six feet, yet her height was such that he was able to look her directly in her oversized aqua colored eyes that looked far too large for her long and uncommonly narrow face. She cocked her head to the side and looked him up and down with a type of arrogance that came from of a lifetime of considering oneself superior to others. “Who are you?”
Although he didn’t feel totally threatened, there was something about her that made him uneasy, so he took a moment to select his words before replying. “I am a family man seeking food, that’s all. I came here to hunt. Had I known that it was forbidden property, I would not have trespassed. Again, I apologize.”
“Where is your family?” she asked as her overly large eyes searched their surroundings.
“They are not with me,” he said as his worried mind rested on Kendra. Where could she be? Was she in some type of trouble? Did someone approach her as well about being on the land?
“Where are they?” she asked as she inched closer.
Rex stepped back and gripped his bow in a way that would make it easy to raise and load if need be. “Who are you?”
She stopped and gave him an odd look. It was as if he was expected to know who she was.
“Where do you come from that you don’t know who I am?” she demanded.
“Tell me who you are,” Rex said in a threatening tone as he backed up a few feet. Now that he thought about it, her clothes weren’t common clothes worn by humans who’d survived the apocalypse and were struggling to survive. They also weren’t anything like the clothes he’d seen on Baelil and his people. She wore a one piece jumpsuit that was made from a fabric that looked almost like rubber and her hair was held away from her face with a band that looked to be made of copper covering most of her forehead.
He hastily raised his bow and loaded an arrow into it.
She grinned at him and shook her head. “You really are not familiar with who I am.” Pointing to the bow and arrow, she added, “That is useless against me.” When Rex stood firm with his bow at the ready, she said, “Use it and see.”
He warily eyed her for a brief moment while he debated what to do. Besides the fact that she wasn’t the loveliest creature to look at and had an air of arrogance that grated beneath his skin, she’d done nothing to him. Yet, the desire to put an arrow through her chest was almost overwhelming.
“Why do you hesitate?” she asked with a raised brow, a smirk, and a smug tone. “You will not hurt me. Shoot and see.”
Her urging did the trick and he released the arrow. It’s razor sharp blade penetrated into the area of her chest that contained the heart. He gasped with surprise over his own actions as he waited for the life to flee from her. Instead, she chuckled and pulled the arrow from her ribcage. His only consolation was that the arrow gave her a bit of a struggle to pull out.
Green blood oozed from the wound he’d made with his weapon before it healed before his very eyes.
“First of all, my heart is down here, not here,” she said as she pointed to a spot in her abdomen and then back to the hole in her suit where the arrow had pierced and the wound had healed.
“You’re not human,” he said in a voice just above a whisper.
“That is correct,” she said with a smile of assuredness.
“Alien,” he said in the same voice and shuddered.
“You say that as if it is a bad thing,” she said.
“It’s not good,” he replied as he quickly searched their surroundings for signs of Kendra. The last thing he wanted was for her to walk into this mess. He had no idea what was about to happen, but, if the woman was an alien, he expected it to be bad.
“Who are you looking for?” she demanded.
“No one,” he quickly replied.
“Liar,” she hissed as she suddenly sprang into action and grabbed him by both of his wrists.
Before he could respond either physically or with his new found telekinetic abilities and free himself, she slammed her copper clad forehead head into his and the world went black.
Waiting for the drunken soldiers to finish their plans of turning Rex in the following morning had to be one of the most grueling things she’d done in a long time. She longed to run inside and warn him, but knew better than to alert them. They may be drunk, but they were still highly trained men of combat. If they decided to capture Rex, they’d find a way to do it. Superhuman strength or not.She did her best not to show her relief when Felix popped his head out of the door to find out what was taking her so long to return. The soldiers pulled him out into their drunken circle and jovially bantered with him about his future as a married man until they finally tired and the call of alcohol pulled them back inside. He was about to escort her in behind them when she tugged hard enough on his arm to grab his attention.She was grateful that he hadn’t consumed enough alcohol to cause him to lose his faculties. One look at her eyes and at
Felix noted the looks on the faces of the three people he loved with all of his heart as they joined in the reception celebration, but he and Ari were inundated with well-wishers and their toasts so he was unable to make his way to them to see what was up. Also, his beautiful bride was glowing with happiness and enjoying the adoration and complements that were flowing her way. After such a long time of being mistreated by her peers, it had to be like a dream for them to be surrounding her with laughter and marriage jokes as if they were the best of friends. He couldn’t spoil the moment for her. If whatever was bothering his family was truly serious, he was certain that they’d find a way to confer with him about it.As time progressed, he and his bride eventually managed to work their way to the table that his family sat around. They were in such deep and serious conversation that they didn’t notice the newlyweds standing next to them.
Kendra slipped out of the great hall as quietly as she could. She’d just witnessed Felix’s wedding and was filled with mixed emotions. She was happy for him, of course. It was wonderful that, after all of the misery he’d seen in his short life, he’d managed to find love. Unfortunately, the blatant happiness of the newlyweds mirrored her own misery back at her.She and Rex were far from normal in their relationship since they’d escaped the aliens; let alone happy. It was weeks since their escape and they’d yet to come together as man and wife. Nor had they sat down to talk about what they’d been through. It was like it had never happened.They could use the excuse that their days were filled with searching for information about how they might get Eugene back. Olga had even stood before the village leaders on more than one occasion to plead for his return. Sadly, she was given the same response each
They made it back to Center Land without mishap. True to his word, Jax spread the word that Trevor had been speaking garbage and that he and his men had witnessed, firsthand, the courage that the female soldier possessed. He proudly proclaimed that he’d accept a mission with her at any time and urged his men to give her the respect, consideration… and apologies… that she deserved. Although it felt good to finally be free of their taunting and ostracizing, Ari just couldn’t muster up a warm and fuzzy feeling for her comrades and she doubted if she ever could.“They love you now,” Felix said as he lay on the narrow bed and nestled his face into her bare breast.“I could care less,” she sighed. “It’s too late.”“You need to try to find the good in what we’ve been through before you become permanently embittered,” he murmured.“That’s one
It was past midnight before the camp settled down for the night. Although Rex and Kendra lay together in the make-shift tent that they’d created with the tarp from the cart, they lay stiff and separate. Kendra wanted to feel the security and love of being wrapped in his powerful arms, but she feared that he might want more from her than she was presently comfortable with.The thought of being touched in an intimate way - even by Rex- after being manhandled for so long by the guards and being forced to climb atop strange men by the aliens made her hesitate. She just needed a little time without sex to put the past behind her.Understanding that everyone was different and, therefore, had different needs for healing, she decided that if he needed the intimacy of coupling with her to bring normalcy back into his own existence, she would ignore her own emotions. She loved him and wanted things to go back to the way they were as quic
It took all three of the prepared shots before Rex was able to comfortably move about and speak coherently. At first, he remembered very little about what he’d endured, but what he did remember left his mood dark and sullen. As time moved forward, more bits and pieces of what occurred came forth, like a puzzle waiting to be put together.He quietly sat and listened to Jax and his men update him on the preparations that they were making and the precautions that they were taking in the event that the aliens sent a search party after Kendra and him.Doing his best to focus on their words, he battled memory flashes of strange naked women mounting him as he lay strapped to the bed. When his manhood began to react as erotic sensations accompanied one particular vision, he quickly forced it from his mind while doing his best to put his body in check. This type of reaction to a sexual thought had never occurred before. He assumed it was residue from the shots