Orange Sky, page 16
part #1 of Manasty Series
ORANGE SKY
A SCIFI ALIEN ROMANCE
MANASTY
BOOK ONE
ALY TATUM
Copyright © 2020 Aly Tatum All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact:
Email: aly@alytatum.com
Website: alytatum.com
First Edition: December 2020
Second Edition: February 2024
To the people who are battling the pandemic
and putting their lives on the line to save us.
Here’s to our happiness for now.
“It’s your reaction to adversity,
not adversity itself
that determines how your life’s story will develop.”
- Dieter F. Uchtdorf
CONTENTS
Author’s Note
Prologue
1. Brynn
2. Brynn
3. Brynn
4. Brynn
5. Brynn
6. Brynn
7. Brynn
8. Zirc
9. Brynn
10. Zirc
11. Brynn
12. Brynn
13. Zirc
14. Brynn
15. Brynn
16. Zirc
Preview of Next Book
Also by Aly Tatum
Acknowledgments
About the Author
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This book was professionally edited. Any errors are my responsibility, not the editor's. If you find a mistake and formatting issues, please email me at aly@alytatum.com. Please note that English is not my first language. Thanks for your support and understanding. Enjoy the read.
This is a why choose, reverse harem book, meaning our heroine will end up with multiple love interests who are in relationships with each other. For the complete list of content warnings, please check my website www.alytatum.com/trigger-warnings.
PROLOGUE
SOMEWHERE OVER ALASKA
“Anchorage Center, United 1549, do you have any traffic at nine o’clock?”
“United 1549, say again.”
“Do you have any traffic in front of us?”
“United 1549 negative. I have no info on traffic.”
“United 1549, ah, we have two traffic in front of us one mile about.”
“Virgin 54Z, Anchorage Center.”
“Virgin 54Z, go ahead.”
“We just had something pass over us to our left.”
“Can you describe it?”
“…(static)…”
“Virgin 54Z.”
Passengers on United 1549 saw a fire dancing along the tops of the overhead bin on the seats in front of them before a huge bright light blinded them. Then everything went black.
1
BRYNN
Ican’t move.
The last thing I remembered was sitting on an airplane to Japan, my first personal trip I’d been saving for. My first international trip. The first of everything in a long time. Am I now blind and paralyzed? My brain is alive...I feel the cold metal I am lying on, but I can’t move! I can’t even open my eyes. They felt heavy.
Did I survive? Am I in a hospital?
I remembered a bright light. I remembered the silence in the plane at seeing a St. Elmo’s fire inside the cabin and mild electricity coursing through my veins. Then the screaming began, and everything went black. I had no time to even shout.
I’d never had a panic attack in my life, yet this feels close. Why can’t I move? Twenty-nine is too young to die.
Are those voices? It calmed me a bit, knowing people were nearby. Maybe I am in a hospital. Did the plane crash?. It’s a miracle I survived. But at what cost? I concentrated on the words, breathing a sigh of relief. I understood the words. It felt surreal because I heard gibberish, but my brain could translate them.
“She seems ready,” a man said.
“Yez, can I haave heer? I have not yet tried a humaan before,” the man wheezed as if he had a cold.
“No, we cannot use the merchandise. Only Orin can. But this one looks good. She is in peak condition. She will not feel the effects for another 24 hours or even less. But when it does, I am sure Orin will not resist. He has a certain craving for female humans. She will crave his touch. Any man’s touch.”
“Yezz, that’z why I want to have her at leazzt once.”
I shuddered inside when a cold hand touched my right forearm. My God, is it possible the plane was hijacked, and I’m now sold into slavery? Which continent did we land on? Their accents sound strange.
His movement stopped when something similar to a fire alarm sounded. There was scrambling movement near me.
“We need to get out now!” the first man shouted.
“But the femalezzz—”
“No, we need to abandon them!” He seemed to be the leader of the two.
I heard a scuffle, some glasses breaking, and a movement that felt like an earthquake. The shaking was enough to make me want to vomit the pizza I ate last night. I’d been too busy packing and panicking to even cook a meal.
I realized I was strapped to the metal surface because even with the swaying movement, I did not fall off. In fact, I felt sensations from the tip of my toes all the way to my head that had suddenly become itchy. It felt like a marching army of ants travelled up my arms and legs.
I heard a whirring sound and all other sounds died out. I was trying hard not to hyperventilate; my heart rate had to be way off the charts. I cannot afford to lose consciousness at this point.
My first aid training kicked in—first rule, Do not Panic!
I tried to slowly breathe in and out. And for the first time in more than a decade, I prayed earnestly. If this was my fate, then so be it. I prayed for forgiveness and my death to be painless as my table swayed and bumped into things. Other things fell on me. I wasn’t sure if being unable to see was a curse or a blessing.
There should be life after death, right? I waited for my life to flash before me. They said it’s a sure sign that you are near death. However, all I felt was…blank. No sounds but all around me was motion. My table moving. Sliding left and right. Up and down. Like the Grizzly River Run at Disneyland.
What is going on?
After what felt like hours but surely had only been minutes, I can now open my eyes and wish I hadn’t. Everything looked fuzzy until I realized I was in a small capsulized container and sliding across the floor.
Who knew I was claustrophobic?
I found it hard to breathe.
I saw I’d been ejected from a—a spaceship?
A gigantic—Klingon? —spaceship. It looked like one of the ships I played in a video game: The Sarcophagus Dreadnought Carrier.
I knew the exact moment gravity left. It felt like my stomach went out of my body.
I was still falling away from the spaceship.
Maybe all of this is a dream.
Or I’m at Disneyland, and this is just a 3D simulation game. But Star Trek was not a Disney franchise. Maybe it was in Japan?
BOOM.
A huge explosion rocked the spaceship. Chunks of it separated. I felt the intensity all the way to my bones. The explosion pushed me farther away from it. It’s like I’m in a spinning cup. No debris went my way, which is good. Because if this is real and I was in space, then this transparent glass covering whatever capsule I’m in might shatter. All the oxygen would be sucked out, including my body.
From afar, I saw a smaller ship that looked like it was collecting small pods like mine into its main hull. Whoever they were, they used light beams to get the pods. They disappeared when the pods reached the outer rim of the smaller ship.
Maybe I’m in a nightmare and my body is stashed somewhere in a hospital?
I looked around. There were no other life pods near me! At this point, I was starting to hyperventilate again. I can now move my arms but cannot unhook the straps to my body. There is even a strap across my forehead. Try as I might, I couldn’t see or feel any buttons that would release me. Or something to attract the attention of that smaller ship. I refuse to die! There must be a way to live.
My vision blurred. Am I losing oxygen now or just losing my shit?
Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths.
I concentrated on breathing. I could still see the main ship or what was left of it. Debris flew from all directions. There were two more large ships on the horizon.
Can they see me?
They are moving farther away.
Too late, I realized that my pod had been sucked in by a nearby planet’s gravity. My pod changed direction and now pointed toward the planet. And it is not planet Earth! It has a beautiful blue ring and two moons on opposite sides.
Two. Moons.
I let that thought sink in. Before I took in the color of the planet.
Orange.
I heard rasping and realized it was me. Is the pod losing oxygen? The planet looked larger and larger. I was falling too fast. As I lose consciousness, my last vision is the edge of my pod, catching fire now. Or was it because we’re entering the planet’s atmosphere. Flames burst all aroun
The air smelled like burned cooking. All around me, everything in my bedroom is burning. I’m sitting on my bed, and flames are all around me. But I’m not suffocating and things are not burning. I looked down. Nope, my body is not on fire.
My throat feels dry though, but I cannot cough. The leftover pizza and soda are still on my bedside table. I suddenly felt hungry and thirsty. But all I can do is just look around.
The time reads 8 a.m. and I need to be early for my new job today! My heart starts to gallop a mile a minute, thinking of getting fired on my first day for being late. This is a promotional job. My former boss had encouraged me to apply for something because she believed I was ready to lead my team of engineers. That was a dream I wanted. But never thought I could have.
Movement at the doorway caught my eye. Two huge aliens stomped into my bedroom, coming from the hallway and making gibberish sounds. Aliens that looked grotesque with long arms and bulky shoulders. But their faces were blurred. I suddenly hear my next-door neighbor, Jinnie, screaming. I scrambled to get away, but I couldn't move.
Can’t move.
I can’t move.
Why did that sound familiar?
One of the aliens looked me straight in the eye and slapped me hard.
The movement jolted me, and I screamed. All too soon, I realized I’d just woken up from a nightmare. Or did I wake up to a nightmare?
A large guy towered above me. Is this a guy at all? Is he one of the aliens in my dreams? He looked somewhat human. But his eyes. They were Prussian blue with hints of metallic silver in his irises, slits like a tiger’s when there’s too much sunlight. His eyes are surrounded by a heavy kohl liner, making his glare look stronger and frightening. Judging by the way his hand was poised, I guessed he was the one who had slapped me hard. I wanted to scream again but the guy was quick to shush me by pointing a claw near my lips.
A claw…?
2
BRYNN
My eyes went wide. Aliens on this planet have claws? He pointed a clawed forefinger that was darker than his eyes.
The slap had hurt, so this was real.
Trying hard to breathe normally, I looked at this guy again. Really looked at him. I came to the conclusion that, one, I’d been abducted by aliens and accidentally ended up on this planet. And had met the first native of this planet staring at me calmly.
Two, I was still alive, judging by the pain in my body. I’m so cold…am I losing blood somewhere?
Three, I felt vulnerable because I was still strapped in the pod. All that was left of the shattered pod’s protective glass were jagged edges down by my legs.
I waited for what the alien guy would do next. He removed his clawed hand from my face and started slashing at the straps on my lower body. It freed my legs but moving proved too painful and I moaned. The guy stopped and glared at me. What did he expect me to do?
He continued to glare, then released the rest of me. He saved the strap holding my head for last. I tried hard not to breathe while he hooked one of his claws near my left ear. The snap and force of it sounded 100 times worse than it was, so I closed my eyes and tried hard to stay still and breathe slowly.
However, when he started to remove my clothes, I panicked. I tried to move away from him.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the pod. I was screaming in torture. My whole body felt like a million ants were coursing through my veins. But not just the regular ants. Big red fire ants. The arm he held felt broken.
Yet, he continued to drag me away. I was thankful my knees and feet could support me. He pushed me downward.
The lights were too bright, and I had a massive headache that was turning into a migraine. I don’t have any pills with me to ease the pain. Is this where the torture starts?
The guy crouched to my level, his knees far apart, and I tried hard not to look beyond them. He used his hand to force my chin upward.
“You are burned. I am trying to save you,” he grumbled.
I gasped inwardly. Well, what do you know, I understand him!
His words are much deeper than the previous aliens and soothing to my ears. Not scratchy. He uttered a different language, but I understood him.
“Thank you,” I breathed out. The air smelled clean, mixed with something burnt.
His reaction told me that he did not understand. Grabbing my arm tighter, I’m sure I’ll have more bruises on that particular arm, he asked rather forcefully, “Where did you come from?”
“I’m from Earth. Where am I? Who are you? Do you—”
He placed his hand on my mouth. They were rough against my lips. Before he took it away, I saw they were just regular palms. No claws, no anything.
“Stop! I don’t understand. You might be a defective Neko. One of those uneducated ones.”
Neko? What does he mean? What kind of species is that? Neko meant cat in Japanese. Maybe I’m just hallucinating, and I landed in Japan?
But no. He looked real. His face and build looked human. Well, his skin looked smooth except for some black tattoos crisscrossing his face, neck, chest, and arms. Bulky and muscled, not so that he looked grotesque. Just about right for a bodybuilder, I guess.
Looking closely, he had stripes of silver, black, and white all over his arms and torso. He wore an open vest and I stiffened when I saw weapons strapped to his belt. Some looked like phasers from the movies, and others looked like small knives. In fact, he either had a katana or a broad sword behind his back. I saw the hilt protruding from one of his massive shoulders.
I wonder what his skin feels like.
Pushing that last thought out of my mind, I realized he continued to strip me of my clothes! Or what’s left of them. My skin was almost black, with some dried-up blood along my left calf. I tried to squirm away when he grabbed my underwear. That is right after he cut off my clothes along with my bra right in the middle using his claw. Claw? His hands sprouted claws! My body reacted on auto-pilot to get away from him.
When I crawled backward, he pounced on me.
Oof, yeah, he’s heavy. I felt like one of those poor football players during a tackle. This was more like ten linebackers piled up on top of me!
“Get off!” I screamed and tried to push him off. But it was like pushing a concrete wall. My sense of preservation is probably numb because I’m not disgusted by him at all. My brain says it’s wrong, but my body says oh yeah!
He gave me some room, freeing one of my legs, but only so he could slide back and proceed to take off the rest of my undies.
He pushed himself off further, but he pinned my right thigh. I screamed when he placed a hand at the vee of my legs. What is he doing!
“You are a defective neko cat,” he murmured to himself. I heard his rumble all the way through my chest. I can only see his hair, which feels amazingly smooth against the skin he’s touching. It is mostly black but has yellow and gold highlights.
I panted and tried to calm myself again; otherwise, I would faint. It's a good thing he is not pushing his dead weight on me. I can still breathe but barely.
Just then, he inserted his finger between my legs.
“You have a hole in here,” he grumbled. Pushing his long finger inside me, I tried to stop it, but he was too forceful. “Definitely defective,” he said to himself.
I can barely move my arm because of the burns. I realized he had possibly retracted his claw because otherwise, I would have been torn up down there!
This felt like an attack as his finger seemed to dive deeper and curving, feeling me all around. My body betrayed me. Against my wishes, my insides flooded a bit. So when he added another finger, it did not hurt that much. I shivered involuntarily.
Pretty soon, instead of trying to scream, I was panting. My legs felt relaxed. At what point had I started to relax around him? Much to my horror and pleasure, he increased his pace. And in a span of just minutes, I felt that quiver. And never in my lifetime had I orgasmed so quickly and violently. My left leg, which was free at the moment, shuddered at the violence of my orgasm. My whole body felt electric, and more fluids gushed from my pussy. Three fingers were still inside me and I needed to tell him to stop!
