With a roar that rattled the rocks surrounding us he ripped one creature off and threw it against a tree. The crunch of bone against wood was beyond chilling and I didn’t have to look to know the creature was probably dead. Then the alien fell backwards, crushing the other hyena between his weight and the ground.
The remaining two hyenas prowled around us as the warrior alien pushed the boulder aside revealing an entrance.
“Come!” he motioned for me to move inside, and I obeyed as quickly as my feet would carry me.
The male slid inside after me and rolled the boulder back, blocking anything else from entering the small cave.
Chapter 2
Julie
Heavy breaths escaped his lungs as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. Blood dripped from multiple wounds, forming a small puddle under where he stood.
I turned to see where the light was coming from and found a crack in the ceiling of the cave that was just big enough to let the bright light of the moon illuminate the space.
The cave wasn’t very big, but it was safe. It had no other entrances other than the one now covered by the boulder. And there was water trickling down the wall, which I hoped was safe to drink.
A loud thud sounded behind me. I whirled around to find Mr. Bear on the ground. I rushed to his side, giving me a close-up view of his injuries, and just as I’d suspected, the biggest one was the gash on his lower leg.
He grunted at my touch. “I’m alright. It is good that I have two legs, yes? If not we’d be in trouble.” He chuckled at his own joke then sat up against the wall to inspect his wounds more closely.
As he did, he frowned and remarked, “I dothink I should bandage these up, though.”
“Do you have any bandages in your pack?” I asked as I pointed to the satchel that was still draped across his shoulder.
He pulled the bag off, wincing as the strap brushed against the bite wounds on his back.
I expected him to search through his bag but instead he just laid it on the floor.
“I did not pack any bandages.”
“What do you mean you didn’t pack any bandages? You live on a planet with beasts like this,” I gestured to the entrance, “and you don’t carry any medical supplies?”
“There wasn’t enough room,” he shrugged and then winced with the pain that action caused.
“Let me see that.” I held out my hand for the bag, which he freely offered to me.
I named the contents aloud as I pulled them from the satchel.
“You have three pouches of dried berries, two pouches of dried meat, one pouch full of nuts, one blanket, and a large water skin. Did you really just pack snacks? You don’t even have a weapon in here.”
Shock didn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling. How had this male survived to adulthood packing his bag like this? I didn’t even leave my house without my phone, charger, chapstick, water bottle, multiple granola bars, pepper spray, keys, wallet, earbuds, and more.
“My weapons are right here.” He held up a clawed hand that still had hyena blood on it.
I must have had a strange look on my face, because as soon as we locked eyes he suddenly got very apologetic. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to see my claws.”
And as if this night couldn’t get any weirder, the half alien, half bear man closed his eyes and I watched in amazement as his fur receded into his skin, his paws turned into feet, and his claws retracted into his fingers.
“What the hell is going on? What are you?”
He raked a nervous hand through his hair, causing blood from his arm to trickle down onto his vest.
“Don’t do that.” I scolded him. I needed this male to stay alive if I wanted even the smallest chance of surviving on this planet. Hell, I needed him just to leave this cave. It wasn’t like I could move that boulder on my own.
I sighed and silently acknowledged that maybe asking someone what they were wasn’t the most polite thing to do. It wasn’t like I ever appreciated it when customers asked me what nationality I was or where I wasreallyfrom.
“Here.” I ripped off the bottom cuff of my sweat pants and dipped the fabric into the pool of water in the far corner of the cave. Wet cloth in hand, I walked back to the now fully blue, furless, horned, alien and started to clean his wounds.
