She wanted this. Maybe not being stranded in the boonies of an alien world, but their relationship was all she could ask for. He was the most attentive, caring, protective man she’d ever met, and she was proud to call him her own.
A trio of explosions shook the ground thirty meters to her left, weapons fire erupting near the blasts, aimed up to the sky. A ship dropped down hard and fast, crushing through the trees with a sickening roar, splintering the branches and trunks like toothpicks as the mass of metal hurtled to the ground.
Before it was even down the hatch opened and a team of Gromm’s men stormed out, firing wildly at the unseen adversary. Margot ducked and ran, trying to get clear of the fight, but another ship came smashing down through the canopy, blocking her path as it opened up with its powerful cannons.
The roar was deafening, the destruction horrendous. Trees exploded from the blasts. Return fire sparked off the hull, but the ship seemed unharmed. Whether there was some kind of force field protecting it or not, she couldn’t tell. But whatever the case, the ship clearly held the advantage.
Gruff men with flat, almost noseless faces and gray skin were scattered through the trees, firing at both of Gromm’s teams. They wore armor of some sort, and all were very well armed. Better than Gromm’s men, even. If not for the firepower of the two ships, there was no telling who might come out victorious in the fight.
Margot’s Infala twinged hard as fear flooded her body.
What do I do?She was nearly in a panic, ready to handle so many situations, but this? This was not on the menu, and she had to think fast.
Margot gauged the direction of the heaviest combat and took off running, aiming for the gap between the groups. She was moving fast, but not fast enough. One of the gray warriors turned and saw her, a malicious smile forming on his thin lips. He raised his weapon and took aim at her.
The force with which the beast hit him threw the man into a tree so hard his body exploded despite his armor, his arms, legs, and head popping off, only his torso remaining in the protective gear.
The beast roared, huge and menacing, his enraged eyes glowing with a protective ferocity that made even the hardiest man hesitate. He tore into the fighters, plowing through warriors on both sides without care for his own safety or well-being. His eyes locked on Margot’s. He had felt her distress echo in his Infala. He’d felt it, and he was coming for her.
She felt a surge of relief flood her body at the sight of him. That relief evaporated seconds later when a massive explosion erupted, blasting the beast and everyone around him for thirty meters, sending them all flying through the woods in a shockwave of destruction.
“Nooo!” she shouted just as another smaller blast took her right off her feet, hurtling her into the ground with a painful impact. She’d missed the rocks, thank God, but the force was enough to leave her dazed, regardless.
Do I have a concussion?she found herself wondering, her ears ringing from the blast as she tried and failed to rise to her feet, her legs not cooperating, sending her flopping back to the soil in a heap.
She looked with bloodshot eyes as three of the gray men no more than twenty meters away charged right for her. Her limbs were like rubber, unwilling to do what they had to. Unable to help her escape.
Even in her dizzied state she clearly saw the angry looks in the ugly men’s faces with horror filling her gut. She tried to move but couldn’t. She braced herself for the worst. It was all she could do.
A series of rapid-fire bursts of some different sort of weapon rang out. Projectiles, it seemed, rather than energy beams or pulse. And it was those rather large rounds that slammed into each of the gray men’s armor, not deflecting as energy weapons did, but hitting hard, transferring all of that kinetic force into the armor itself. A novel approach to defeat the armor’s energy blast dampening traits.
The aliens flew back off their feet. The shots had been to the chest, so they were still alive. Dazed and in pain, no doubt, but had the projectiles traveled just a little bit higher they wouldn’t have had to worry about any aches and pains ever again.
Margot rolled to her side, trying to focus on the tall man towering over her. Something about the pattern she could make out was familiar. The colors. The layout. She shook her head, clearing her vision as best she could, realizing in an instant why those colors had sparked recognition.
“Rylinn?” she gasped, both in shock from the explosion that had thrown her off her feet as well as the tracker’s sudden appearance in front of her.
“Hello, Margot,” he replied with a little grin.
“You-you’re here? You saved me! But how?”
“I had to find you, simple as that,” he replied with a shrug. “I told you, I’m a rather talented tracker.”
She felt a little flare of affection for the man. Nothing sexual. Not after what had happened between her and Braxxos. But she had a soft spot for this man. The first on this planet to have shown her kindness, and a bit more than just that.
I can’t lead him on,she somehow managed to remind herself despite her concussion.I’ll tell him all about Braxxos once we’re out of this mess.
Blasts and shouting filled her ears, the sounds of battle but also more.
“The creature is over there! Get it!” someone shouted. Whether it was a gray man or one of Gromm’s team she didn’t know. All she knew was she had to stop them.
“Rylinn, you’ve got to call them off.”
“Call them off? Yeah, that’s not happening.”
He bent down and grabbed her hard, pulling her to her unsteady feet with an iron grip.
“What are you doing? You need to stop them. You need to listen!”
