Base Zero, page 18
part #2 of Captured Earth Series
They blink at me, their eyes still wide as they look back at Ga’Var.
Billy turns away and runs a hand through his hair as his shoulders shake with the release of a pent-up breath.
“If they couldn’t save their planet, what makes you think they can save ours?” For the first time, Lily speaks. She’s glaring in my direction, pain and anger in her eyes.
I open my mouth to answer her, but Ga’Var beats me to it.
“Because now we know how to kill them.”
Lily stares at him for a few moments before her gaze falls back to the dead Gryken’s withering body.
For a moment, no one speaks and then…
“Do you…” Lily sniffs and uses the back of her hand to wipe across her face. “Do you honestly think we have a chance at beating these things?”
When she rises her gaze again, gone is the anger, all that’s left is pain.
I see myself in her eyes, all the death, all the heartache of everything I’ve experienced since that first day the Grykens arrived.
I stand beside Ga’Var, take his hand in mine, and I meet her gaze.
“No,” I reply. “I don’t think we have a chance.” There’s a collective breath before I continue and Ga’Var twitches beside me. I can sense when he turns his head to look down on me and can imagine the look of pain in his eyes.
He thinks I don’t believe in him.
“I don’t think we have a chance,” I repeat. “I know we do.”
I feel when he relaxes, like a wave going through him that’s transferred to me. A warm embrace of sorts without being pulled into his arms.
“From the very first day they came, they’ve been working non-stop to develop weapons we can use to fight. It’s all hard to explain. They’ve been working hard, and they’re almost ready.”
I meet each of their gazes. “The question now is: do you want to be a part of the fight or do you want us to leave you here?” They blink at me before glancing at each other. “I can’t promise any of us will live through this, but I’d rather die trying to kill these things than be caught in one of their machines ever again.”
Jillian straightens, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
“I knew there was something about you ever since that asshole kicked you out of that camper.”
“Kicked?” Ga’Var growls.
I have to hide the warmth that bubbles inside me at his tone.
“I’m ready to fight. Whatever it takes,” Jillian says.
“Mom,” Lily whispers, her eyes wide. “Don’t you see that thing?” Her wide eyes point back at the dead Gryken and I just know she will see its image in her dreams for many, many nights.
“I’ve lived a full life.” Jillian keeps her gaze on me. “I’m not afraid to go out with a bang.”
“Stay out here, I’ll probably die. Go with you, I’ll probably die. Heck, whatever, I’m in.” Billy turns back to us, a shadow of a smile on his face and growing awe in his eyes as he regards Ga’Var.
Ga’Var growls, and Billy’s smile falters.
“You all speak of death as if it is nothing. My brothers and I will not have the death of females on our hands. That is dishonor.” He looks down at me, eyes piercing into mine. “You will not fight.” He glances at Jillian and Lily. “None of you will.”
His gaze pierces mine again. “Today was an anomaly.”
Oh, I’m going to fight. That’s just something we have to discuss later.
“Um, so,” Billy fidgets, “what about the death of males?”
Ga’Var growls again and Billy’s eyes widen a little.
“We protect females,” is all he says.
Billy does finger guns and a tight smile. “Gotcha. Noted.”
I release a breath as I study the three of them. Lily is finally standing upright, her shoulders stiffening as she now glares at the dead Gryken.
“I’m in,” she says and I smile.
“Now,” Jillian pipes up, “where’s this safe place you told us about?”
“Oh, home.” I smile.
“Home?”
“Yes,” Ga’Var adds. “We call it…”
“Base Zero,” we say together, and I grip his hand tighter.
Chapter Thirty-Two
GA’VAR
Sa’am moves toward the three hyu’mans as I step closer to the dead Gryken, inspecting it.
Her blade went all the way. Straight through the feeding orifice and right through the center of the creature’s nervous system.
It might have been pure luck, but deep down, I know it was more than that.
She had her ba’clan…
My gaze slips to her, clad from neck to feet in her own symbiotes.
Her wild curly hair whips in the wind as she tells the others more about Base Zero.
I wonder if she realizes yet.
That the “suit” isn’t a suit at all…
That I have no control over the ba’clan that has now bonded with her…
That they are her own, her very own colony, and that they are my ba’clan’s mate…that she is my mate.
How she instructed the ba’clan to make a blade to kill the Gryken in the first place…
Even that is extraordinary.
But now, it’s all making sense.
The fact I couldn’t call them back to me when they were melded to her leg.
The way she moved so quickly from one spot to another while trying to save the young male hyu’man…
The change had begun a long time ago.
I should feel…joy…happiness…
Instead, there’s growing anxiety within me.
Sa’am did not choose me.
Even though I shared in her warmth, she does not see me as a mate.
What will she do when she realizes we are stuck together now?
Just days ago, she was frowning and sticking her tongue out at me.
Memory of the little pink thing almost makes me groan.
“Ga’Var?”
My head snaps up to find her standing above me.
There’s a little smile on her lips and I want to think it is because of me.
“You killed this.” I search her gaze and her shoulders rise and fall.
“To be honest, I don’t know how.” Her brows furrow in that strange elastic way that they do. “One moment I saw that thing trying to kill you and I went mad. I don’t remember much, just that…”
I cannot breathe. So I don’t. “What?”
“Just that…” She meets my gaze. “I couldn’t lose you.”
Finally, my lungs work again. She didn’t want to lose me.
I want to ask her if she cares about me, but the other hyu’mans are near us. It is something I have to leave for another time.
The redness growing in Sa’am’s cheeks tells me that decision is right, and my ba’clan pulse with warmth for her.
“We have to find Dey-jah,” she says.
“Yea, we can’t leave her,” Jil-eeyan adds.
I study the group.
I can find their hyu’man. Hunt her down. But there is no way I am leaving Sa’am on her own again.
Bad things happen when I do.
“We will have to head back to base first. Send a party to come find her.” I stand as I say this, noting the surprised gazes as I rise.
“What? No, we can’t leave…” Jil-eeyan trails off. “Can’t we go look for her now?”
I glance at the forest. “We can. But we don’t know what we might encounter.”
And I am not at my best performance state.
I leave that part unsaid, but I know Sa’am understands, because her face sets, her mouth forming a thin line as she turns to face the other female.
“It’s not wise. If we let Ga’Var leave us to go find her, we’re vulnerable. Another Scrit could appear and without his guidance, I’m pretty sure we’d get caught. Worse, another set of Gryken could come strolling through the forest. We’re weak, tired, and injured. We should go back to the base first, get a rescue party, and head back out.”
Jil-eeyan’s throat moves a little before she nods. “I guess you’re right.”
Sa’am nods too. “Come on, I have a tray around here somewhere. We should pack up and head out. We’ve delayed too long as it is.”
The group walks behind me as I lead the way, Sa’am at my back.
Now and then, her palm braces against me as I walk, and it makes my lips twitch with pleasure.
I like her little touches…
Hyu’man females yearn for contact, much more than Vullan females do.
It is a difference I relish.
Yet, I cannot help the anxiety building within me.
We are heading back to base and I wonder if everything will return to normal.
Will Sa’am go back to sleeping in the tunnel with the other females, avoiding us…avoiding me…or will she join me in my quarters on the ship?
Will she forget the intense mating we shared?
A groan rumbles in my throat at the memory.
I will rekking not.
But I cannot force her to be mine.
The gods doom such matings.
Sa’am will have to want me…as much as I have grown to want her.
Someone’s breath hitches, pulling me from my musing and I glance behind me.
This is another thing about hyu’mans.
They are so very loud even without meaning to…noisy even.
I pause, and the entire group stops at the same time the cart halts by my side.
My gaze lands on the female with the eyes like Jil-eeyan.
Li-lee her name is.
Her eyes grow wide as the seconds tick by, her hand flying up to plaster over her mouth as she shakes her head.
The others lift their gazes to look at what has caught her attention and I almost feel the air change as their fear scents rise.
I do not turn.
I already know what they see.
But there is no escaping it.
Sa’am gulps and I see the reflection of the Scrit in her eyes.
It is still standing there.
Its pilots are dead. There is nowhere for it to go.
Sa’am meets my eyes and jerks her chin almost imperceptibly before she steels her gaze and turns to the group.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. We just have to go past it.”
I’m not sure if they hear her. Their eyes are all plastered on the shiny, metallic bits of the machine that catch the light through the trees.
“It’s empty,” Sa’am continues, then glances back at me just to make sure.
She turns back to her fellow hyu’mans, but not before I catch the sliver of fear that runs through her eyes.
Still, she is being brave, putting her trust in me…for them.
“There is none inside.” I say it with as much surety as I can.
If Gryken were inside, my ba’clan wouldn’t be this calm.
They are on edge, bristling at the sight of the Scrit itself, but my hackles are not rising.
Sa’am rolls her shoulders in a strange way, as if her own ba’clan are bristling, and she frowns a little at the sensation.
I need to speak to her about this…soon.
“Let’s go.” Ji-leeyan grabs Li-lee’s hand. “I trust you guys.”
Sa’am nods and smiles up at me.
Again, her trust in me warms something deep. Something only she has touched.
I turn and continue walking and though I do not glance behind me again, I am aware of every single member of our group.
How Li’lee has to pull her legs as if they are stiff and every fiber of her being is telling her to turn back. How Bi’lee glances behind him every few feet, as if he expects the Gryken to rise from the dead and appear behind us at any moment. And how Ji-leeyan’s heart is racing despite the bravado she displays.
Hyu’mans are curious, strange creatures, but the most curious of all is my Sa’am.
Her aura is calm.
As she walks behind me, any fear I picked up slowly dissipates from her.
She braces her hand against my back to steady herself, and I feel her ba’clan greet mine.
They pulse against each other and I feel Sa’am’s warmth.
It is welcoming.
There is surety in her steps.
Confidence…
And when we step into the clearing, below the huge machine, only then does this confidence wane.
“Oh my God,” Sa’am whispers.
It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before.
Red veins spread from the Scrit’s legs outward, networking over the ground, strangling the plants beneath.
“What…what is this?” someone asks.
I stare at it, trying to understand. “I am not sure.”
This is something different. It’s why the Scrit stopped.
Whatever is happening here. This is the reason.
I step forward and a hand grabs my arm.
Sa’am steps with me, then stops. “I don’t think you should get too close.”
Her concern for me has warmth growing in my belly that I have to ignore.
I have to focus…but nothing around me causes alarm, even though what I am seeing before me is a strange phenomenon.
Taking another step forward, I crouch in front of one of the veins.
A faint pulse goes through it as I stare at it.
Lifeblood.
As I stand, my gaze rising up the Scrit, I follow the network of veins crawling up its legs.
This wasn’t here earlier.
These veins are a recent occurrence.
“What is it?” Sa’am whispers.
“Lifeblood.”
“What?” someone asks. “Did he say blood?”
“Oh my God,” someone else says.
Sa’am freezes, and I take a few more steps before I realize all the hyu’mans have just…stopped.
They stand by the edge of the clearing, looking up as if transfixed.
Sa’am’s chest heaves and for a moment, I lose contact with her.
That invisible string that is between us…it breaks.
Her eyes glaze over as she looks up, and I can see the terrors playing behind her gaze.
Horrors from before.
From before I arrived.
Sa’am…
I’m beside her in an instant, her face between my hands as I search her gaze.
“I am here.” My voice comes out much deeper than I intended, choking on emotion that I have swimming deep. “Come back to me,” I whisper. “I am here.”
Sa’am shivers and blinks.
“You’re safe now.”
Her shoulders rise and fall in quick succession as her gaze finally focuses on mine.
“Ga’Var…” Her eyes grow wet.
I cannot bear to see her like this. Frozen in fear because of that vermin. That scourge.
“We can turn back. Find another way.”
She is already shaking her head. “No.” She gulps. “No. We have to go this way. It’s the fastest way back. If we deviate, we may get lost, or worse.”
She swallows hard again and sets her shoulders.
Tilting her head into my hands, she wipes the water from her eyes.
“I’m fine.”
Even I know that is a lie.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
My nostrils flare a little and when I do not move, she tilts her head up to smile at me.
Her mouth moves, but her eyes are still terrified and sad.
“Really,” her smile grows wider, “I am.” And then she turns to the others. “Guys, let’s go.”
They nod and glance at each other, but it is clear to me it wasn’t Sa’am’s fear that had them halting at the edge of the clearing, either.
It was their own.
Sa’am slips out of my grasp and begins walking toward the Scrit.
Her steps are cautious, careful, as she makes her way through the network of veins.
As she moves away, it hits me how incredibly small she is.
Against the backdrop of the enemy, she is so…vulnerable.
Something builds inside me as the other hyu’mans brush past me and follow Sa’am’s path.
I can never leave her alone.
And…I do not want to lose her.
Sa’am is mine and when we return to camp, I have to let her know one thing as a fact.
Wherever she goes, I follow.
I am never letting her go.
Chapter Thirty-Three
SAM
We walk underneath the towering machine, the hairs at the back of my neck standing on end, the dark suit covering me bristling against my skin as if it can sense the danger around us.
I try not to look at it…but not looking is hard when the enemy is so monstrous.
One leg planted in the earth is like a huge cell tower and as I pass it, another wave of terror runs through me.
These veins are thick. A hue of red so deep it’s almost black.
Blood, Ga’Var said.
I gulp as I step over them, my mind going in circles, trying to understand why they are here.
To think that once, I was stuck in one of these things…waiting.
Waiting for the day it would pull me even farther inside itself and implant its young in my womb.
Those days, I did not know what the Gryken were.
I’d accepted my fate.
Death had been coming. It had been right at the doorstep. And I’d been ready for it.
That was…until Ga’Var.
I glance back at him, trying not to let the fear behind my eyes shine through, and I’m startled when his burgundy eyes meet mine.
He’s been watching me the whole time, walking silently behind us all, but with his gaze on me and me only.
I can see his suit bristle the same as mine does as he nears the huge, still structure, but he pays the sensation no mind.
His eyes are only on me, and I realize at this moment that we are leading a revolution.
I’m in front, him behind the group now, and between us are the people we have to save.
My shoulders set as I trudge on.
I keep my gaze forward, not looking up, not looking to the side, just forward.
