Page 10 of There’s an Alien Down My Chimney

That had to be Ru’s ship, and it had people crawling all over the outside, investigating it. They had it up on what had to be some kind of huge trailer, though the front cab that had probably driven the thing, had been removed, allowing them access to the front of the ship. I saw swarms of soldiers patrolling the perimeter of the clearing, a coming and going of people from the buildings to the ship. No heightened state of alarm, no sign of Ru anywhere.

If they had him? Would I be able to tell from here? Wouldn’t they have locked him up inside somewhere? I could read the excitement among the troops and the scientists as they guarded and investigated the ship, even from this distance. Wouldn’t I see something more than that if they had captured an actual alien?

I scanned the site, counted guards, mapped movements, and tried to figure out what they were up to as much as I could. But with no sign of Ru, I had to eventually get up and climb back down the hill, would Ru have gotten back to the cabin safely by now? As I broke into a jog to heat up my body, I tried to imagine him waiting for me at home.

Chapter 7

Ru’ol

They had taken my ship to their base, I’d crawled through the woods right up to their fence and watched them crawl all over it. The Scintilla looked whole and only a little scratched from the rough landing. I hoped she had enough fuel in her tanks to get me out of this planet’s atmosphere, but with this many scientists between me and my ship, I didn’t dare use my com to ping it for a readout.

What I could see, was that they were still locked out, and they hadn’t resorted to any kind of damaging tactics yet to get inside. I hoped they never would, they might think they could fly the ship themselves if they managed to get inside it. Good luck with that, as a scavenger ship, she was built to last, they wouldn’t be getting in any time soon.

I made a careful circle of the entire perimeter, counting guards, and mapping movements. I needed to know as much as possible before I broke in and tried to liberate my ship. Their guns wouldn’t be much of a match against the personal shield I’d acquired on Strewn a while back. Enough run-ins with Yatzel had made me cautious enough to buy one, and I usually wore it when out and about on the space station.

I crouched beneath a tree, partially behind a pile of snow, blown up against the tree trunk by the wind. A cluster of humans stood nearby, stomping their feet to stay warm while they gossiped with each other. Several were smoking foul-smelling thin sticks, dangling them from between their lips. The stink those made, had me consider moving on, I wasn’t that interested in their complaints about bad food either.

Then my quiet patience paid off. “Hey, do you know if they figured out if it is a bomb yet or not?” one said, his eyes shifting from the forest to the low gray buildings in the distance. “I don’t much fancy being here if there’s a loaded alien bomb that could go off at any moment.”

The other guys laughed, but it was the lone female in the group that answered. “You’re a dumbass, Cory,” she said. “It’s not a bomb, I reckon it’s an engine or something! You saw how the white coats were in a tizzy about it. They wouldn’t be this excited if it was a bomb.” The males were agreeing with that sentiment, nodding along, then espousing their own theories on what the object could be.

I just had one thought, they’d found the strange item I’d been salvaging. The thing that had landed me in this fucking mess. That was the best news I’d had all day, with that object, I actually had a chance to return home. Touching my chest, I wondered why the thought wasn’t making me as happy as I thought it should. Then my mind filled with an image of rosy pink skin, flighty black hair as soft as feathers, and those serious gray eyes. Yeah, I liked Stella, I didn’t want to end my time with her yet.

Thinking of Stella made me realize just how long I’d been out here, sneaking around this base. I needed to get back to her, make sure she was alright and that she had had no more visits from those two agents. I’d heard her say they were UAR, and I was puzzled as to what the United Alliance of Races was doing in this time period. Had the humans made contact with the Dragnell and the Praxidar already? Was the start of their alliance a secret one? The thought that I could run into a Dragnell out here was making me even more worried for her safety.

The entire way back, slinking through the woods and avoiding the numerous patrols, my mind was on Stella, imagining all kinds of scenarios. Things like a Dragnell in full armor showing up on her doorstep, demanding that she hand me over, the monstrous alien species towering over her with their razor-sharp teeth.

I tried to tell myself that it was just irrational to think that way, I needed to calm my mounting worries. Stella was sitting at home in front of her fire, worrying about my safety, and she’d be so happy I returned that she’d jump into my arms and kiss me. Yeah, much better fantasy to entertain.

There was no smoke coming from the river stone chimney when I carefully approached the cabin, it set alarm bells clamoring inside my head. She wouldn’t let the fire go out, she’d instantly start getting cold without it, she needed that fire. So why was there no smoke? My mind flashed to the possibility that the humans of this time were secretly in league with at least two alien races. Had agents, or Dragnell warriors showed up and dragged her from her home while I was gallivanting out in the woods?

Heart pounding, my mouth going dry with worry, I scanned the surroundings, noting the single set of tracks leading away from her door. They headed in the direction of the lake, had she gone after me? I abandoned caution and jogged across the clearing, following the set of small footprints, definitely those of my feisty woman.

Her tracks got muddied when she reached the shore, the wind was blowing in hard from across the lake, filling up tracks with blowing snow. Even my own steps rapidly disappeared behind me as I walked. Scanning around, I didn’t have a clue as to where she could have gone, but I did catch sight of a human patrol swinging around the other side of the lake.

Forced to back up into the woods so they wouldn’t see me, my mind raced with the thought that a patrol just like that had run into her. Even if there were no aggressive, big Dragnell warriors down here on the planet, a bunch of humans with guns were still a threat to Stella. If they had hurt her… A growl rumbled up in my chest, vibrating in deep sub-harmonics through my body.

Spinning around I trotted back the way I’d come, desperately hoping that on my second return I’d find her at her cabin after all. If not, I’d check inside, but then I was going after that patrol. I just needed a few extra gadgets from my emergency kit and I’d be ready to bust her out.

I was halfway back to the cabin, my fists clenched, my head lowered while I kept an alert eye on my surroundings when I heard muffled sounds coming from my left. I spun towards them, pressing my body against the trunk of the nearest tree for cover, my hand on the laser-pistol holstered on my thigh. It wasn’t the patrol I’d seen, and my body literally shook with relief when I heard a familiar female voice softly curse.

“Stella!” I called out, swinging out from my hiding place and charging across the ankle-deep snow toward her. She was just climbing down from some rocks at the foot of a rising hill, her cheeks red from the cold, her soft gray eyes tired. At my voice, she lifted her head and looked in my direction, happiness spreading across her face.

She looked unharmed but I picked her up in my arms the moment I reached her, patting down her body as I did so to reassure myself that she wasn’t injured in any way. I pressed my face into her soft hair, breathing in her unique scent, and I didn’t even mind that I was rumbling in pleasure like I was a four-year-old who couldn’t contain his excitement.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she laughed, and then her arms were around my neck and she was yanking me close to press a kiss to my mouth. “I was worried about you!” she said, it was almost an accusation, as if I’d done her wrong by staying out so long. I kinda had, if she’d been half as worried about me as I had been about her… I wish I had a com to share with her so that I could have let her know, but that wasn’t part of my emergency kit.

“I was terrified something had happened to you when I realized there was no smoke coming from the chimney,” I told her, and then I leaned in and kissed her again. Her mouth was cold, but her lips heated quickly against mine. Hauling her higher into my arms, I swung us around so I could press her back against the nearest tree, caging her body against it with my own. “Don’t scare me like that!”

Her fingers were digging into my mane, the base of my skull, I could feel the sharp bite of her blunt little claws. “I scared you? You scared me!” she reiterated and then she bit my bottom lip with equally blunt teeth, it sent a sharp spike of desire up my spine, and with a groan I leaned in and domineered her mouth, needing to feel close to her, as close as I could, right now.

She was equally as passionate, her hands sliding into my jacket, under the collar of my shirt. It was only when I started to pull on the tab keeping her coat closed that I came to my senses. No matter how badly I wanted to drive my cock into her right this instant, this wasn’t the place. It was much too cold for her fragile human skin and a patrol could still happen upon us if we weren’t quiet.

“We scared each other,” I told her, smirking while I pulled back. She made a discontented mewling noise but I leaned my forehead against hers, gently petting her flanks until she gave in. “Let’s get home and warm, and then we can reassure each other some more, yeah?”

She nodded, her legs unsteady when I let her down. Catching her around the waist with one arm, I smirked when I noticed the gun strapped to her leg, matching my own laser-pistol. She was just so sexy, and I was starting to think it wasn’t nearly the disaster I initially thought it was when I crashed onto this planet. I didn’t think I wanted to go without ever meeting this particular human female.

It quickly became apparent that what was ankle-deep snow for me, was nearly up to her knees. She wore thick, warm boots suited for the terrain and weather, but it was still hard going, much harder than for me. She didn’t seem bothered by the walk, or the quick pace we’d started, but I got impatient anyway. I wanted her in my arms, so why not start now?