“Please do, then I’ll be free to go to walk among the stars instead of being trapped.” There is a bitterness in his voice that he doesn’t bother to hide.
“Will you tell us what you know?” Because if he’s right and rescue doesn’t come, then we face the same future as him. He looks young, even though he’s been here close to two hundred years.
Around the fire everyone seems to be relaxing, as if this is a scheduled stop to burn up a bit of leave, but this isn’t an approved site, nor is there help only the push of a button away. In the trees beyond the fire there is movement. This planet is alive and teeming with animals we know nothing about—except that apparently at least one of them is delicious and I am missing out.
I pick up the meat in the bowl, hoping I don’t get sick, and take a bite. It is good and my stomach growls loudly, a reminder I haven’t eaten since my tiny breakfast.
Eskar continues to study me. “I know little about humans; you were new trading partners. New to space.”
“New to this part. Where humans come from the galaxy is barren except for Earth. We were mining the surrounding planets when we discovered we weren’t the only ones doing that.” From there it had been a hop and a jump and now there are more humans living is space than there are back on our home world. “What do you want to know?”
“What is important for me to learn?”
I take another bite and chew, appeasing my hunger and giving me time to think. “We can’t be summed up. We are all different. Some care about others, some don’t. Some like adventure, others would rather be back at home.”
“That is true of any species.”
Yeah, I guess it is. I finish my strip of meat and need more. “Will you sit closer and tell us about your crash?”
He considers me for a moment. “Will you sit with me later and tell me about your life and what has changed in the galaxy?”
I nod. That seems like a fair trade. He stands and again I’m struck by his height. I would fit neatly beneath his chin—not that I’m thinking about getting that close to him. Then he smiles, and everything inside me melts and I want him to lick me up.
I tear my gaze away. “Did you pick me because you want a mate or because you want to die?”
He sighs. “Both. I thought only of myself in those moments.” He reaches out and brushes a loose strand of hair off my face. “And because I am selfish, I do not regret it. A kinder man would have let you die.”
His hand falls away, and I miss his cool, rough touch immediately.
I watch as he walks closer to the fire, though he remains beyond its circle of immediate heat, and sits. His tail curls over his thigh. The back of his uniform is split—by design, I realize, as I see the spines lying flat down the center of his back.
I reach over and help myself to another piece of meat. The flames scald my skin, so I don’t sit in the circle made by my team, nor do I sit with Eskar. Instead, I straddle the awkward gap between. “Eskar has agreed to tell us about the crash.”
“And what did he demand in exchange,” Calloor mutters. Harding elbows him.
“Leah will tell me what has changed out there.” He points at the sky. “While I have been trapped here. That is all,” Eskar fixes Calloor with a glare that could cut through ships. “I was an engineer on the ship that was doing scientific research and exploring this system. We’d been circling this planet for a few days when it was decided that we’d come in lower so the scientists could use the shuttles to come down to the surface. The ship can be flown in atmosphere, but it’s not made for landing.” He glances over his shoulder. “The impact and the fire killed half the crew.”
“Why did you crash?” Ava asks.
“Electrical storm that came out of nowhere. The planet’s first line of defense. No one who lands ever leaves.”
I shake my head. “That can’t be right. What about the emergency beacons? People must have come looking for you?” People will come looking for us. I don’t want to be stuck here forever. I have a live that’s waiting for me. My sister will worry about me. Someone will fill my job. My apartment will get packed up, and my life will fold up as though I was never there. The realization chills me. Even my sister will move on. She has a husband and a kid, and I will become a moment of sadness or the occasional memory.
Eskar gives me a sad smile. “We had hope for the first handful of days. Patched up those we thought would survive. Sent up signals. Climbed mountains to set beacons. Nothing. If a ship came, it went by without seeing us and without getting close enough for us to see it.”
“I had a reading for thirty people just before we crashed…then nothing. I thought it was a glitch.” Calloor frowns.
Ava stares at Eskar. “Are you saying the planet is actively blocking communications?”
“This planet is doing more than that. I shouldn’t be alive. I should’ve died an old man years ago. But I haven’t aged since the crash.” Eskar leans forward. “That’s not the worst of it.”
Ava tilts her head. “The forest has gone quiet; something is out there.”
We all freeze and listen.
“Head for my ship, now.” Eskar springs up, he scoops me into his arms and runs.
Chapter 9
