Alien Romance: RETURNED: An Alien Warrior Romance: (Acarnania Warriors Book 1) (8 page)

Earth! I dropped to my knees
, hands touching the soil. Oh, it was so good to be back home. I looked up. Huge trees surrounded me, the vegetation lush and thick. Thicker than I remembered, and the trees seemed bigger, too, but maybe my perception was a little off after my time in space.

I sat for a moment, letting my new reality sink in. I was home. I wouldn't see Alrik again. We hadn't said goodbye, but I'd never been any good at goodbyes, so perhaps this was better. I was going to miss the dark, brooding alien. My eyes misted and I rubbed at the ache in my chest. My life over the past few weeks had been burdened with loss one way or another—first Myka, then all my friends, now Alrik. I wiped a tear away with the back of my hand and took a deep breath. Sitting here sooking over him wasn't going to achieve anything. I needed to get moving. I needed to get home to Mum.

I opened the backpack to take a peek at what Alrik had given me. Inside was a water flask, some food containers, something black rolled up tight, and some sort of electronic gadget. He'd given me a survival pack. A smile tugged at my lips, knowing he cared enough that I'd have what I needed to get home.

Scrambling to my feet, I slung the backpack over my shoulders, turning in a circle to orient myself. Strange—there were no bird sounds. It was absolutely silent in the woods. No wind, no animals. I couldn't see the sky through the thick cover of the trees.

“Shit.” Without knowing which way to go, I was in danger of trekking further into the forest. He'd given me some supplies, but only enough to get out of the woods, not for an extended camping trip. I needed to find the direction of home now, before I began mindlessly walking. Then it hit me. The electronic gadget. If he'd packed me a survival kit, surely he'd packed some sort of compass. He'd known I was going to land away from home, and he wanted me to get there safely.

I smiled at his thoughtfulness as I rummaged around in the backpack for the device. It was small— about the size and thickness of a credit card. I looked at it.  Now what? The transparent material remained blank. How did I work the damn thing? Examining it closely, I noticed what looked like an almost invisible oval indentation in one corner. With nothing to lose, I placed my thumb over it and laughed out loud when the screen lit up like a mobile phone. Awesome. The screen turned into a red dial indicating which way I should go. Even better that he'd pre-programmed Mum's address into it. I'd decided, when they'd asked for teleport coordinates, that Mum's place would be best.

Within an hour, I was on a familiar hiking trail, only it was overgrown with vegetation, not like the well-worn path I remembered. For a moment, I wondered if I was in the Redmeadows Woods after all. But the outcropping of rocks I passed were the same. It had to be the right place.

Eventually, the trees started to thin, and I reached the edge of the woods. I stood for a moment, transfixed. The sky looked ... different. It had a strange grey glow and I thought I could make out faint lines. What was that all about?

I was still some distance from civilization. Taking a swig of sweetened water from the bottle Alrik had provided, I continued on. I’d known it would be a long hike, and I'd felt good about it—I was fit and had kept up with my exercise on the ship—but I was beginning to lose steam. I remembered what Echo had told me, that Earth's atmosphere could make me feel tired and sick. I hoped to make it to Mum’s before any illness kicked in. I didn't need to be puking in public.

Several hours later, the terrain had levelled out and I could see houses in the distance. I was covered in sweat and my legs were shaking, but what bothered me most was not my physical discomfort. It was the silence.

By now, I should have been hearing the sounds of traffic and dogs barking, yet it was eerily quiet. No overhead planes. No traffic. No kids playing. No birds, not even the buzz of insects. What was going on?

Taking another short break, I opened one of the food packets Alrik had packed. It contained five yellow wafer-like biscuits. I took a tentative bite, ready to spit it out if it tasted gross. It tasted bland. Not repulsive, but not something I’d choose to eat, either. I assumed it had nutritional value or he wouldn't have included it. And I snickered again that they didn't serve something like this on the ship, instead of the disgusting bars we'd been given.

My feet hurt. I was sure I had blisters, but I forced myself to keep moving. I'd flag a car down as soon as I saw one and get help.

Only that didn't happen. As I got closer to the houses, I could see they were dilapidated, falling apart, gardens overgrown and the streets cracked and crumbling. Weeds had long ago pushed up through the concrete sidewalks.

“What is going on here?” I slowed my pace, taking in the desolation, suddenly on edge. “This isn't right.”

Street signs were bent and rusted. Others were missing altogether. But I was in the right place; this was the neighbourhood I'd grown up in. I'd played in these yards, learnt to ride my bike here. I knew these streets. But it was clear no one lived here now. It was abandoned. Where was everyone, and how had this happened in just a few short weeks? It didn't make sense.

My head was aching when I finally turned the corner onto Mum's street. Third house down on the left. It was still there, but it, too, was derelict. The front garden was overgrown, the driveway cracked with weeds two feet high.

“Mum?”

I didn't know why I called her name. She couldn't possibly be living here. It was instinct or reflex, I wasn't sure which. God, I hurt everywhere, and the pain worsened with every passing second. My joints felt swollen and I was having trouble drawing in a full breath. Slowly, my whole body screaming, I pulled myself up the rotting steps. The once bright and vibrant red door was now faded, the red paint peeling away. I tried the door knob. Locked. I laughed at the irony, turning to face the street again. All the houses were the same—old, in ruins, collapsed, brick walls giving way. And still silent. No sound of life. What in the world had happened here?

Remembering the spare key we always kept above the door, I stretched on the tips of my toes and ran my fingers along the top of door frame. Sure enough, the key was there. Brushing it off, I inserted it into the lock and turned. Nothing. Damn it. With more force, I turned the key and jiggled it. This time the lock stiffly turned, clicking open. Turning the handle, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It stank of dust and stale air. The furniture was gone, the house stripped. I walked from room to room. Empty. Nothing. Nothing but peeling wallpaper, rotten floorboards, and trash. Old papers on the floor, junk that hadn't been worth taking, all left behind.

“Mum?” This time I whispered her name. Where was she? Trembling now, I climbed the stairs, carefully testing my weight before each step in case I crashed through the rotting timber. Upstairs to my old bedroom. Empty. Further down the hall to Mum's room. Empty.

I went back downstairs. A sharp ache pounded in my temples and beads of sweat dotted my skin. It was hard to concentrate, to focus. I needed to make a plan, but my brain was a tangle of cobwebs. I couldn't remember what I was here for.

I stumbled into the bathroom, the tile floor spinning and making me dizzy. I studied myself in the mirror above the sink. My eyes were normally green, but right now, they were dull, flat with pain. My cheeks were red, the rest of my face pale, shining with sweat.

A wave of nausea hit. I turned on the tap to splash water on my face. Nothing. No water. Oh, God, I was going to hurl. I flew to the back door, fingers fumbling with the stiff lock. I busted through, leaped down the back stairs, and vomited onto the mass of weeds and debris that had once been the lawn.

Great. Of course the sickness had to hit now. Once my stomach was empty and the nausea had passed, I straightened up. The debris was from the garden shed, which looked like it had exploded. Pieces of it were strewn everywhere. The garden beds my mother had tended with such love were long gone; now, the only green was the weeds, which had grown waist-high in some places. I sank down on the back step and sat, dazed, unable to fathom what had happened while I'd been gone. It was occurring to my rattled brain that while I'd only been gone for a matter of weeks, a whole lot more time had passed on Earth. A lot of time. Did humans even exist anymore? Was I alone on the planet?

I glanced again at the sky. It was getting darker, yet there was no sunset. There was still a weird glow, and as the sky darkened, the lines I'd seen earlier were more apparent. A criss-cross diamond pattern webbed the sky as far as the eye could see. Could it be the interference they'd mentioned on the ship?

My headache worsened, my stomach pricking and burning as if I'd swallowed razor blades. Stumbling back inside, I flipped a light switch on the off chance electricity still ran to the house. Nope. I rummaged in the kitchen cupboards, hoping the emergency candles Mum used to have on hand were somehow still tucked in there. With no light, I couldn't see, and when my fingers poked into something soft, squishy, and rotten, I hurriedly pulled my hand back out. Bile rose up my throat again, and I raced back outside to heave over the railing.

When that too had passed, I took a swig of water and munched on one of the wafers. I thought about settling down on the back porch to get some rest, but instincts told me to stay inside. I didn't know what had happened on Earth while I was gone, and even though it appeared I was alone, maybe I wasn't. Maybe creatures that only came out at night roamed the deserted streets looking for food. Food like me.

Knowing my imagination was getting the better of me, I made my way back inside, locking the back door behind me. I felt my way to the front of the house and locked that door, too, then scouted around for a suitable place to settle in for the night. No matter where I chose, it was going to be uncomfortable, but safety was my main consideration. I finally settled on the cupboard under the stairs. It was big enough that I could stretch out fully, and the door still functioned, so I could close myself in should anyone—or anything—pay me a visit.

The thought that I was overreacting did cross my mind. After all, the house had been locked when I arrived, but I was all over the place right now, stomach heaving, body shivering and aching, and my instincts were telling me to protect myself. For once, I was going to go with instinct.

Grabbing the backpack, I pulled out the black roll. It was what I'd thought it was—some kind of sleeping bag. It was big enough that I could spread it out and lay on one half, then pull the other half over myself for cover.

A sudden cramp doubled me over, and I cried out. Breathe in. Breath out. In. Out. Gradually, the pain subsided. On a shaky sigh, I crawled into the cupboard, pulling the cover over me. I shoved the backpack under my head for a pillow and soon drifted off.

It was a long night
. I'd woken up twice to vomit, rushing outside to heave over the railing, although I didn't have anything left in my stomach to bring up. I'd had to squat in the garden to pee, and then crawled back into my makeshift bed. I was feverish and sore all over, my back aching. My dreams were vivid and felt so real. Mum was here, and my brother Daniel, but then they were dragged away by giant, masked aliens. Guns and bombs roared all around. The house shook. I cried out in terror.

“Shhh. It's okay. Just a nightmare. You are safe.” Alrik's voice soothed me and I smiled in my sleep, glad that he had infiltrated my dreams to watch over me.

Dawn arrived, filtering light through the dirty windows. My eyes flickered open. Alrik sat against the wall in the hallway, facing the cupboard door, his black eyes watching me. One knee drawn up, his arm resting against it.

“You're still here.” My voice was hoarse.

“I am,” he agreed.

“I dreamt you.”

“I'm no dream.” He moved toward me, laying his warm hand on my clammy forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Bit rough.” I closed my eyes and was out again. The rest of the day followed the same pattern. I'd dream he was with me, vivid dreams where I'd feel his hands on me, helping me take a sip of water, holding me when I vomited, tucking me back into the sleeping bag. My back was aching worse than ever and I rubbed at it.

I don't know how many days or nights passed before I started to recover. I recall opening my eyes to darkness, the next moment light, then dark again. Echo had warned me it could take a few days to shake the gravity bug. It hurt like an effing bitch, but I figured I was through the worst of it. Crawling out of the cupboard, I glanced around. Alrik wasn't there. He was a dream after all.

Pulling myself upright, I stretched, relieved that the nausea seemed to have left, but if anything, the pain in my back was worsening. Sleeping on a hard floor must've put my back out.

A footfall landing on the back porch froze me in place. Someone, or something, was out there. Before I had a chance to react, the back door opened and a tall dark figure strode inside.

“Alrik?” I said uncertainly.

“Ah. You're awake. Again. And I see we're going to have this conversation. Again.”

“What do you mean?”

“You've been delirious. Each time you woke up, you were convinced I was part of your dream. Let me assure you, I am here, I am real.”

“You are?”

“I am.”

“But why did you come?”

He shrugged, looked away, then brought his eyes back to mine. He hesitated, watching me intently before appearing to come to a decision.

“It's my job to keep you safe.”

“What do you mean?”

“You'll have noticed things aren't as you left them?”

“Yes, of course. Our house is in ruins. Everyone is gone. There's no wind, no birds, no noise. No people.”

“The people are in the city further north. We are on the outer edges, where no one lives.”

“But why? What happened?”

“Some sort of disaster. I didn't have enough time to investigate, but a good deal of Earth was affected. You see the sky, and the structure? You're under a dome. It’s protecting us from whatever has ravaged the planet on the other side.”

“All this in a couple of weeks?”

“Years. It has been thirty earth years, Sierra, since you left.”

My jaw dropped. “What? Oh my God. How could that happen?”

“Space travel can do that. As I've said, Earth is on the far edges of the fifth galaxy.”

“But then why are you here? I don't understand.”

I needed an answer. My mind was whirring with possibilities; I was unsure what to think. There was an underlying seed of worry about my family, of wanting desperately to see Mum, to make sure she was okay, but also a greater concern that Alrik had arrived because I was in danger, that somehow this new world was going to be inhospitable to me. I watched him, standing tall before me, feet planted, arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. What wasn't he telling me?

“We don't just drop rescued people and leave,” he explained. “There is a process where we communicate with the relevant authorities from the planet, make sure the individual is well cared for. We were unable to do that for you due to the interference from the dome. Plus, we're not sure Earth has the technology to communicate with us.”

“Okay. So you usually call and say, ‘Hey, we're bringing so-and-so back, is that okay with you?’ and they say, ‘Yup, that's great.’” Is that what you mean?”

“Correct.”

“But with me, you haven't been able to contact anyone.”

“Also correct.”

“So you're here because ...?”

“I have to hand you into someone else's care.”

“I'm not a child. I don't need to be handed into someone else's care.” Geez, I was disappointed he didn't appreciate my capabilities. I didn't need a babysitter.

He looked down at his boots before looking back up at me, blowing out a breath. His lush, kissable lips dipped into a frown. “I need to be sure you'll be safe.” 

I wasn't sure how to take that. Did he mean he, personally, wanted to make sure I'd be safe? That he cared, one way or another? Or did he mean he was just doing his job?

“So you think it's dangerous here?” Because that was another possibility that had been tugging at me. I'd been worried I'd be locked away if I told the authorities about my alien abduction, but what if, horror of all horrors, I was arrested for trespassing, or entering the dome illegally or, or—my mind spun with crazy thoughts.

He nodded. “There is a possibility.”

I rubbed my temple, trying to subdue a sudden ache.

“This is insane.” A ringing started in my ears, followed by a wave of pain. Sucking in a breath, I doubled over, clasping my knees to stay upright as the pain swept through me. Okay, so I wasn’t better after all. Still the gravity bug showered me with its unconditional love.

“What is it?” Alrik asked.

The pain pulsed on for another second before receding. “Oh. That was intense,” I gasped, opening my eyes. “I think I still have the gravity bug.”

“Gravity bug?”

“Echo told me I'd probably feel sick until I got used to Earth's atmosphere again. Something about the difference in gravity between space and Earth.”

“Ah. Yes, you were sick with this when I arrived.”

I whimpered as another wave of pain assaulted me. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.” I felt as if my insides were rearranging themselves, slicing me apart. That was when it hit me. This pain was different than before, when I was sick. This pain radiated from my back, where the blue aliens had done something to me. Was I mutating?

“It is strange that you are experiencing more symptoms.” Alrik frowned, placing the back of his hand against my clammy forehead.

Oh, if only you knew.

“Gah ...” I doubled over again, staggering sideways into the wall. Alrik rushed to support me, then suddenly he was moving away, taking his warmth and comfort with him. What the hell?

The pain receded once more and I straightened, looking at him. Or, to be precise, looking down the barrel of his gun.

My eyes widened in horror. I held out my hands, palms facing him in an effort to ward him off. “Stop!”

“Why didn't you tell me?” His tone was flat, as flat as his eyes.

“Tell you what?” Panic washed through me, making my voice scratchy.

“That you were contaminated.”

“How do you know I'm contaminated?”

“Your back, Sierra. It bears a mark.”

“A mark?” What on earth was he talking about? I tried to peer over my shoulder, but of course, I couldn't see anything.

“A Bellatania mark.”

“What is a Bellatania mark? I've got no idea what you're talking about, Alrik, honestly.” A shiver coasted along my spine, because I knew, in fact, exactly what he was talking about. Alien DNA had been inserted into my spine. Now he was telling me my back bore a mark.

Something had changed when I entered Earth's atmosphere. Something big. Something bad.

“Am I going to die?” Tears pooled and my vision blurred. I'd fought so hard to stay alive that it seemed ironic to be neutralised by him now that I'd finally made my way home.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, drew in a deep breath, and let my arms fall to my sides. The pain was building again, like waves lapping at the shore, not done with me yet. It registered that he hadn't answered me.

We stood in silence, both of his hands gripping his gun, arms stretched out straight, fingers clasping and unclasping. I knew it wasn't like him to hesitate. His training had ingrained in him the instinct to kill. My training had instilled in me not to friggin’ move when someone had a gun pointed at me.

Only with the pain steadily increasing, it was becoming impossible to stay still. I slumped to the floor, leaning my head against the wall, keeping my eyes on him. He kept the gun trained on me.

“You don't want to kill me,” I panted.

His dark eyebrows arched, but he didn't comment.

“You guessed, didn't you? On the ship? When you kept asking me if there was anything I needed to tell you? You knew something like this was coming.”

His lips pulled downward in a tight frown, and he regarded me silently. One hand let go of the gun, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. I scrambled backward at the sudden movement.

“Whoa. Easy.” Slowly, he lowered his hand, then very deliberately, making sure I watched him, he removed his finger from the trigger and placed the gun in its holster. He held out his hands, palms out.

There was a brief flash of guilt in his eyes, then nothing. No emotion. My chin trembled, my eyes burning with moisture.

“What's happening to me?”

He crouched, our eyes level.

“You were infected with Bellatania DNA, but for some reason it remained dormant in you. Until now. It's integrating with yours.” His features softened, completely at odds with what he was telling me.

“Will it kill me?”

“Possibly.”

“I don't want to die.”

“I'm not going to hurt you.”

Yeah. Sure. A second ago, he’d had a gun aimed at my head. The pain was messing with my thought processes. I shook my head and fought a wave of dizziness.

“You were going to neutralise me,” I accused.

I'd expected him to deny it, to tell me he never would have gone through with it, but he didn't. And that should have panicked me, but all I felt was a weary calm. My eyes closed briefly, opened, closed again, opened, and I stared at the floorboards. My remaining strength abandoned me with lightning speed.

Something almost tender flashed over Alrik’s face. Maybe I’d imagined it, maybe I hadn't. Either way, I didn't have time to think about it. My eyelids closed and a black web wove inside my mind. Later. I'd worry about it later.

When I woke, I was laying on my sleeping bag. He'd pulled it from the cupboard into the hallway. I was on my stomach and my shirt was rucked up under my ribs, exposing my back. I wondered what the Bellatania mark looked like. Did I have ridges? Lumps? Scales?

“How is the pain?” Alrik asked. He sat on the floor a few feet from me, hands dangling between his drawn up knees.

“Bearable, but still there.” I hesitated, remembering. “You didn't shoot me.”

“No.” 

“But you never hesitate. You told me that. It's Acarnania Law.”

“It sounds like you're trying to talk me into shooting you,” he accused.

“Guess I’d better shut up then.”

His lips twitched. Okay. So far, so good. It didn't look like he was going to kill me. Yet. Unless I did something to deserve it. And I didn't intend to do that.

The pain was still there, throbbing through me. It came in waves, like a contraction, giving me a small reprieve before the next wave ripped through me.

“Is there any water left?” I asked.

He dug through a second backpack I hadn't noticed earlier and rolled a silver bottle across the floor. I stopped it with my hand, rising to my knees to take a drink. I'd just capped the bottle and set it down when another wave of pain ripped through me.

“What's happening?” Tears streamed from my eyes as I fell back to the floor, unable to support my own weight.

Alrik crawled over to me. “The mark's getting bigger.”

“What does it look like?”

“It's like a picture. A design. In your skin. It's glowing white.”

“White?” I choked out. “Shouldn't it be blue?”

“I've no idea. I've never seen anything like it.”

“And it's getting bigger?”

“It was about the size of your hand at first. Now it's the size of mine.”

I let out a long, low groan, sweat dripping off me. “It hurts.” My blood heated to boiling, burning like live lava in my veins. I was weak, my body felt like it was tearing itself apart, and death was beginning to sound very appealing. “I've changed my mind. Shoot me. Now, before the next wave hits. I can't stand this, it's killing me.”