Fate Unexpected (Earth Defender Book 1) (4 page)

Kylah had awakened early, before dawn, to finish preparing for her
move to the forest near the Sherman Pass Scenic Byway. Even though the Curlew
Lake State Park was only eight miles north of Republic, once off the road, it
seemed as if civilization disappeared. Instead of streets and houses, there
were waterfalls and forests of pine, larch and fir trees.

She’d decided she’d drive the short distance to the park and leave
her car in the lot in case she needed to make a run to town. That would end
once she ran out of gas. Kylah had siphoned some out of the abandoned vehicles
and had stockpiled a few gasoline containers. It wouldn’t last forever, though.
And she’d have to save enough if she decided she had to make the long trip to
the Cascade mountain range.

With everything she wanted to take with her ready to go, Kylah
loaded up her car. While at the sporting goods store last night, she’d grabbed
a six-man tent and an extra sleeping bag along with the compound bow and quiver
of arrows.

Before leaving her family’s home for what she planned to be the last
time, Kylah walked through it to make sure the windows were secure and then
locked the front door behind her. She wanted to make it harder for unwanted
guests to take it as theirs just in case she had to come back.

Kylah drove away in the pre-dawn darkness and forced herself to not
look back. It suddenly hit her that she left behind what had been the happy
world with her parents. It hadn’t bothered her when she’d prepared to make the
trip, but now that she actually did, tears burned the backs of her eyes.

She pushed them away. She’d cried more than enough in the days after
she’d awakened from her sickness. Mostly when she’d had to dig a grave in the backyard
to bury her dad. Before the illness, it would have been a monumental task, but
it’d been relatively easy for her. It was physically putting him into the
ground and covering him with dirt that had been tough.

At Curlew Lake, Kylah parked her car between two others that had
been abandoned. Since she hadn’t washed hers since the aliens’ arrival, it
blended in. If people happened to come across it, she didn’t want it to stand
out.

Kylah climbed out, then went to the trunk where she’d stored what
she’d taken with her. She took out her sword, and one of the backpacks that had
some necessities in it like a couple bottles of water and a few energy bars.
Before she lugged the rest of her things into the bush, she wanted to scout the
area and pick out a spot that would be a good place to set up her new home.

She closed the trunk, strapped on her sword and shouldered the
backpack. Kylah had been to the lake many times, and knew the area fairly well.
She started walking on one of the trails, then cut into the trees. Dawn was
about an hour away. She wanted to have a location picked out before the sun
rose. There was no telling if any of the turned had ranged that far.

Kylah bypassed the lake and headed for the more mountainous area
where the bush was thicker. She walked at a brisk pace for the new her, which
would have had someone else having to run to keep up.

She slowed, then came to a stop to hide behind a large tree when she
stumbled across a sort of clearing in the midst of the forest. Kylah peeked
around the thick trunk to get a better view. It looked as if some of the trees
had been cut down to create it. The logs lay in a pile near the edge of the
space.

It was a campsite, but not a human one. The circular perimeter was
enclosed in what she supposed was a force field. With her keen eyesight, she
was able to see the waves of energy. Inside it, there were two white
metallic-looking dome structures. Alien versions of tents? She could only
guess. Next to them were two vehicles that looked sort of like wheel-less
motorcycles.

Kylah drew fully behind the tree. An idea swirled inside her mind.
It was crazy, but it was time for the aliens to be the prey. And there was a
possibility she could get answers as to what the hell they’d done to her planet
along with why they were there.

She took a deep breath. She was going to do it. She was going to see
if she could capture one of the aliens. A single dome looked as if it could
hold only one occupant. Maybe inside them were the two she’d seen last night in
town. The spot was close enough to Republic for a basecamp.

To set her plan into motion, Kylah silently ran through the trees to
the opposite perimeter. She had to draw the aliens out. With that force field
up, there was no way she could sneak into their camp. So she caused a
disturbance they wouldn’t be able to ignore.

Kylah threw back her head and let out a drawn-out howl like one the
turned would make. She added a few loud growls for good measure. To top it off,
she let loose a shrill scream as if she were a woman who was being pursued by
the turned. At the sound of alien voices speaking in urgent tones, she ran at
her fastest to the back of the camp.

She smiled. The two aliens were indeed the ones she’d seen in town.
The furred one touched some kind of wrist device that was strapped to his arm,
then ran off in the direction where she’d been. Kylah gazed at the one who
looked very much like a human. He was the one she wanted, and not because she
still thought he was a hunk.

After a few more seconds and the furry alien didn’t return, Kylah
made some more growls to lure the other one to her. He took the bait. She hid
behind a tree and drew her sword. She’d knock him out, then get him farther up
on the mountain before his buddy returned.

She took a quick glance. He was headed right for her. As he neared
her tree, she walked around it as he passed before silently coming up behind
him. She raised her sword, drew it back, then with the flat of it, hit him on
the back of his head hard enough to knock him out. He hit the ground like a ton
of bricks.

Acting quickly, she took out two zip ties that she had in her
backpack. She’d been prepared for anything. She jerked his arms behind his back
and bound his wrists together. She did the same to his ankles. Thankful for her
super strength, she bent and managed to hoist him over her shoulder. She
straightened. He wasn’t exactly light, but she’d be able to carry him a
distance to where the other alien wouldn’t find them. At least she hoped or it
all could go terribly wrong with her being captured.

As she ran at her top speed while weighed down, the other alien
called out a single word. Rune. She bet that was the name of her prize.

Chapter Three

Rune came awake feeling as if the back of his head had been split
open. Maybe if he lay still for a few seconds with his eyes closed it’d go
away. It didn’t. He went to reach up to feel where the pain came from, and quickly
realized his arms were bound behind him. He was also bound at his ankles, and
he’d been gagged.

He opened his eyes and looked around. There were dirt walls all
around him, except for in the direction of his feet. It looked like a den of a
large animal. The opening had quite a few branches in front of it, blocking it,
and let in a small amount of light. He had no memory of how he’d gotten there.

The last thing he remembered was being awakened by the sound of a
changed human close by and the screams of a woman who’d been in its sights.
Gada had gone after them, but when Rune had heard growls from the back of the
camp as well, he’d went to investigate. There had been a sharp pain to the back
of his head. After that, everything was blank. Obviously, someone had gotten
the jump on him, and now there he was tied up like a trilig, which was
something like Earth’s pigs.

Rune tried to break what bound his wrists by pulling them apart,
which didn’t work. The material was too strong, and the more he struggled the
more it cut into his skin. Unable to defend himself, he didn’t need to have the
scent of his blood drawing any changed humans to him if they happened to be in
the area. Given how close his genes were to Earthlings’, they’d think of him as
food too.

The sound of the branches rustling at the den’s entrance drew his
attention. Some were moved aside to create enough space for a female to crawl
inside. She replaced them, then crawled on top him. Since he took up most of
the enclosed space, she hadn’t had any other option.

He looked at her closely. She had long, dark blonde hair that fell
forward and around his head as she met his gaze. She was pretty, and had the
features of a female he’d be interested in. He noted her eyes were hazel. Rune
also couldn’t help noticing her slim body fit along his perfectly. He couldn’t
stop what happened as a result. His cock hardened, and with her lying on him,
there was no way she’d miss it.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “I guess you alien dudes are
just as bad as Earth guys. You’ll get a hard-on over nothing.”

Rune forced himself to keep his stare blank as if he didn’t
understand her. He was so tempted to tell her that he hadn’t had a female since
before he’d left to come to her planet. A female body pressed to his was bound
to make his cock stand at attention. That is, if he wasn’t gagged he’d say all
that.

She stiffened at the sound of movement outside the den. She placed
her hand over his mouth, even though he was gagged, and held a finger to her
lips for him to be quiet before looking over her shoulder at the entrance.

As the seconds ticked by, Rune breathed in her scent. She smelled
clean and feminine. He didn’t detect a male on her, which he thought strange.
She was smaller than him, and he weighed much more than her. She couldn’t have
captured him alone and hidden him away in this den.

Eventually sounds of someone or something outside faded. She looked
at him once more. “You have to give your furry buddy kudos for being
persistent. I’ve led him on a merry chase, and he won’t give up. I had to
double back twice just to outdistance him so I could return here.”

Gada would eventually stop searching and then contact their ship to
let them know Rune was missing. The Xphens would send more troops down to the
surface. They wouldn’t tolerate one of their soldiers being captured. Once Gada
didn’t find Rune’s body that was what would be assumed. This female and the
other humans working with her had no idea what they’d set in to motion.

She pulled her hand off his mouth. “We’ll give your friend time to get
out of the area, then we’re moving to a better location. I hadn’t wanted to
make the trip yet, but capturing you has changed things.”

Of course he didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. She
didn’t seem to care. He had a feeling she talked just for the sake of talking,
regardless whether she thought he understood her or not.

They quietly lay there as she waited for Gada to put some distance
between him and their hiding spot. Rune’s cock refused to soften. And it didn’t
help when she’d shift her position from time to time.

She shifted again, which had his dick twitching. She sucked in a
sharp breath. “Oh man. You’re a big boy everywhere, aren’t you?” She chuckled.
“It’s a good thing you don’t understand me or I’d be embarrassing myself. Since
you don’t, I’m going to tell you I think you’re really good looking. I wouldn’t
kick you out of my bed for eating crackers in it. That big cock of yours makes me
wonder if you know how to use it. I had a boyfriend once who thought foreplay
was a race, and making himself come had to be equally as fast. I kicked his ass
to the curb after that. A girl has needs too.”

Rune could smell the change in her scent. It was now laced with an
undertone of female arousal. He had to stop himself from thrusting his hips
against her. He’d never thought of having sex with an Earth female, not until
he had one sprawled on top him. From the lessons on this planet and its people
that the Xphens had given him, he knew they were compatible. He forced his
thoughts away from that subject. Now was not the time to be thinking about sex,
no matter how good she felt against him.

She shook her head. “I should shut up. I know I’m rambling. I guess
not having anyone to talk to in almost nine months as made me a chatterbox.
I’ve been alone for too long.”

Rune almost scowled at her comment about her being alone. He still
wanted to doubt she acted by herself. There was no way she was physically
strong enough to have captured him all on her own. He was soon proven incorrect,
though.

“Time to go,” she said.

She crawled backward to the den’s opening, then quickly moved the
branches aside. After she was outside, she turned and pulled him out by his
feet. Rune blinked against the brightness as his eyes adjusted to the change in
light. He looked at her as she scanned the area with her gaze. Now that she
stood, he guessed her height to be around five-foot-six. His attention became
snagged on the sword she wore strapped to her waist. It appeared to be her only
weapon.

She turned toward him, then did something he guessed would have been
an impossibility. She bent and managed to get him over her shoulder before she
straightened. Unbelievably, she took off at a fast run.

Rune was beyond shocked. Humans weren’t supposed to be capable of
feats of strength like that, especially a female of her stature. Either the
Xphens had their information wrong or this Earth woman was not the norm of her
kind.

She ran for some minutes. The trees thinned out, and soon they were
on a manmade trail. She slowed as the growls of changed humans reached them.
She stopped, none too gently dropped Rune to the ground and drew her sword as
the first one ran toward them.

She stood in place and waited for it to reach her. As it came within
striking distance, she swung the sword and easily removed the male’s head. A
second changed charged from her side. That male met his end with a thrust
through the heart. Three more attacked, and each one soon ceased to live by her
hand.

Rune watched it play out with some awe. Her movements were almost
like a dance. Her speed was so fast he almost couldn’t track her. It was as if
the sword were a part of her. He wondered where she’d learned to fight like
that. The weapon was one from Earth’s past. The humans no longer fought with
them. The waged war with one another using guns and bombs.

Once all the changed humans were dispatched, she wiped her sword
clean on one of their shirts, then sheathed it in the scabbard at her waist.

She walked toward him. “Damn it. I hadn’t thought the turned had
come this far. I guessed wrong. It’s a good thing we’re going to the Cascades
then. It’s way more remote than it is here.”

She picked him up, then continued on her way. A few minutes later,
they arrived at an area with a few cars parked in it. She stopped at the very
edge of it for a few seconds—probably looking around to see if Gada was nearby—before
she walked at a fast pace.

Rune had to catch his balance by leaning against her after she put
him onto his feet. They stood between two of the cars. She took something out
of her pants pocket and aimed it at the smallest of the three. There was a
clicking sound, then she opened a door in the front. She wasted no time shoving
him inside, then adjusting him so he sat upright before she shut him in. She
ran around to the other side and climbed in next to him behind the wheel. She
started the engine, backed the car up and sped away.

Rune felt completely helpless as the chances of Gada finding him
decreased as more and more distance was put between him and his camp. It was
something Rune didn’t like. His interest in the woman as a female left him to
be replaced with dislike. He would somehow show her he wouldn’t tolerate being
the prisoner of an Earthling.

* * * *

Kylah glanced over at her captured alien before she focused back on
the road. They’d been driving for a couple hours, and he hadn’t even tried to
communicate with her, even after she’d taken the gag off. A half hour into
their trip, she’d stopped long enough to untie it. He’d only glared at her.

She glanced at him again. He stared straight ahead. They still had
another four hours before they’d reach the Washington-British Columbia border
where the Cascade mountain range was located. Kylah planned to drive without
stopping. They’d arrive sometime in the last afternoon or early evening,
depending on the state of the highway. So far, she hadn’t seen any other cars
being driven. There were plenty that had been abandoned along some stretches of
it. They slowed her down when she had to work her way around them.

With the thought of getting some kind of reaction out of him, she
asked, “Is your name Rune?” Kylah looked to find he’d turned his head in her
direction. That had worked. “It is, isn’t it? I heard your furry buddy call
that when I took you away from your camp.”

He stared intently at her, but still didn’t say anything or show any
emotion. He was going to be a tough one to crack. She’d hoped he’d at least
understand some English since the aliens had taken over almost a year ago, but
back in the den where she’d stuck him, he hadn’t batted an eye at the things
she’d said to him. He not able to understand her would throw a wrench into the
works when she tried to get him to tell her why his kind had come to Earth.

She tried again. “Rune.” She touched his arm. “I’m Kylah.” She
placed a hand on the center of her chest.

“Rune,” he said in a deep voice.

Kylah pointed at him. “Rune?”

He nodded. “Kylah.”

She smiled. “That’s right. I’m Kylah. There, now we know each
other’s name.”

He said a bunch of words in his alien language. She recognized the
sound of it from when she’d seen him and his companion in Republic. She might
not understand him, but from his tone she could tell he was pissed at her.

Once he stopped talking, Kylah said, “Are you done? I can tell
you’re mad, but tough shit. I have you as my prisoner, and that’s all there is
to it. You can rant and rave all you want. It won’t change anything.”

Kylah glanced at him to see him glaring daggers in her direction. If
looks could kill. She shook her head as she focused on driving around some more
abandoned cars. She didn’t have to slow down too much.

After she was clear of them, Kylah reached across and took out the
zippered nylon case where she stored her music CDs in the center consol. It was
going to be a long drive, and she’d be damned if she sat through it in silence.

Kylah slid a CD into the player. It was the newest one from her
favorite pop singer. And given the state of the world, it’d be the last. She
hummed along for a few minutes before glancing at Rune. He gazed at the CD
player. She had a feeling it was the first time he’d heard Earth music.

“If you don’t like it, too bad for you,” she said with a laugh. Out
of the corner of her eye, Kylah saw Rune look at her. “Radio stations no longer
work so we’re stuck with my CDs. We have a long drive ahead of us still, and I
like to listen to music when I’m in the car, even if it’s only for five
minutes.”

She turned her head in Rune’s direction. He still had the blank
I-don’t-understand-what-you-said stare. He shifted in his seat, stretching his
shoulders as well as he could with his hands bound behind his back.

“Sorry about that. Once we get to where we’re going, I’ll think
about taking the zip ties off. I don’t trust you right now.”

Having a one-sided conversation sucked. Kylah would have loved to
find out what was going on inside Rune’s mind, besides him being angry at her.
As she’d said to him, it’d been a very long time since she’d spoken to someone
other than herself. Right after she’d awakened from being sick, she’d gone into
town and had talked to a few remaining townsfolk. They’d been taking as many
supplies as they could before leaving. To where, she hadn’t bothered asking,
and they hadn’t been forthcoming with that information.