Stephenie jumped out of the way and joined Darcy far behind the wrestling Toxhocan.
“What do we do? What do we do?” Darcy asked, hopping from one foot to the other.
Stephenie was hardly listening. Her attention was on the big, blue alien lying in a heap on the floor. “Help me move him! He’s going to get trampled.”
“Are you serious?” Darcy stared at her in disbelief. After a moment, she sighed and nodded her head.
The two ran toward Ee-rah. Each of the women grabbed hold of one of his legs.
“One…two…three… PULL!” Stephenie cried, pulling with all her might. Ee-rah moved a few inches before they had to drop his legs to recover from the weight of the alien. They repeated the process until Ee-rah was a safe distance away from the fighting Toxhocan.
A-rec and I-ya seemed to be equally matched when it came to their fight. It was possibly the most brutal thing Stephenie had ever seen in her life. A-rec raised his fists and hit I-ya repeatedly as hard as he could, reminding Stephenie of how a gorilla would fight its challenger.
I-ya let out an ear piercing cry and dove back at A-rec, knocking him in the abdomen . They both flew backwards into the chrome wall. When they moved again, there was a large dent left in the metal. The sound of their roars filled the bridge, like animals gone mad.
“We’ve got to do something!” Darcy cried. “They’re going to kill each other!”
Stephenie slapped at Ee-rah’s face again, trying desperately to wake him. “Please!” She cried. “Please wake up. We need you, Ee-rah… I need you.” She shook his giant shoulders. Tears ran down her cheeks, landing in his short fur. She could hear Darcy panicking, but couldn’t bring herself to look away from the face of the alien, the MAN, in front of her.
What if he never woke up? Her heart ached at the thought. He did this for her. He put himself in danger to try and get her and Darcy home. And she had insulted and belittled him. The last thing she had said to him was to call him a bone headed monster. How could she have been so cruel?
The fighting between the two aliens continued on, items crashing all around them and yells filling the air. Darcy was sobbing now.
Stephenie leaned forward and pressed her lips to Ee-rah’s. He didn’t know how to kiss. Hell, he didn’t even know what a kiss was. But Stephenie couldn’t stop herself. She pressed her lips long and hard to his, putting her all into that kiss. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks, and her throat felt thick. She swallowed back her sobs.
Fuck. When had she fallen for the big guy?
She pulled back and gasped to see that his icy eyes were staring up at her. He reached upwards and cupped her cheek in his hand. The entire side of her face fit into his rough palm.
She leaned forward into his palm and gave a watery smile down at him. “You’re awake.” She breathed.
His lips raised into a lazy half smile. “It is good to wake up to your beautiful face, my Mate…but what are you still doing here?”
Stephenie’s smile melted away. “A-rec needs your help.” She glanced over to see that the older alien was being pinned down by I-ya.
Ee-rah’s eyes followed hers. He blinked for a moment, temporarily confused by all the chaos.
Then he sprang to his feet and charged at the two fighting Toxhocan.
Chapter 13
Stepheniescreamed when Ee-rah jumped on the back of I-ya, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him down to the floor as if he weighed little more than a feather.
“Stephenie!” Darcy pointed in the direction of the door, which had been opened at some point during the chaos.
Four other Toxhocan stood in the doorway, seemingly frozen in shock at what was happening on the bridge.
Darcy’s scream had drawn the attention of one of the aliens.
They said something in their language and gestured for the one beside them to look at Darcy and Stephenie.
“Oh fuck,” Stephenie said, taking a step towards her best friend. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do we do now?”
Three of the four Toxhocan stepped forward, each grabbing hold of the fighting A-rec, Ee-rah, and I-ya. The one that did not have a hold of any one stepped forward and spoke quickly in their language.
I-ya had started to reply, but Ee-rah cut him off. When he was done, he looked at A-rec, who nodded in agreement. Then he gestured towards Stephenie and Darcy.
Stephenie wished desperately she knew what they were saying. They didn’t sound happy. But was their anger directed at Ee-rah and A-rec, or were they mad at the captain who hadkidnapped them to sell for profit? She glanced at Darcy, who appeared just as clueless as she.
