Opening Move

The Alien Games: Book One

Ava York

Contents

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Emily

Ralkor

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Ralkor

Emily

Out Of Bounds: Sneak Peek

Rekker

Rogue Mate

Kazan

Emily

I crawled up the back end of the old, beat-up ranch truck and over the big dent in the tailgate. The truck squeaked, settling under my weight. I wondered how long ago we should’ve replaced the truck’s shocks for the half second it took to look around for my younger sister, Alyssa.

She stuck her head out the door of the local burger joint long enough to yell at me.

“Calm down, Emily. I haven’t been kidnapped. It’s just taking Carlos a few extra minutes to drop fresh fries.”

She whipped herself back inside the door without waiting for a reply. I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot on the layers of hay and baling wire blanketing the bed of my truck. I grabbed an empty feed sack from the flattened pile in another corner while I waited for Alyssa to stop flirting and bring out our dinner.

I grabbed handfuls of bailing wire from the truck bed and bent them into compact bundles which I stuffed into the waxed, paper feed sack. Alyssa returned just as I finished. She carried two paper bags speckled with ever-expanding grease stains.

“What are you doing up there? Can’t you just relax for five minutes?”

“I got bored while you were flirting with Carlos.”

“Carlos is a fascinating man.”

“Carlos is a very pretty, empty package you’d tire of as soon as you tried to have a conversation.”

I hopped over the side of the truck, landing heavy on my work boots. Though covered in mud, hay, and probably cow shit, I hadn’t had time to change them. We’d just dropped off ten heads of steer at the closest auction barn earlier. Five hours later, neither Alyssa, nor I wanted to cook once we finally got home and out of the truck’s seat for the night.

I crawled into the dusty cab, buckled up, and checked my mirrors with great care. I put the diesel into first gear and crawled up to second. The truck moved slowly. The trailer we hauled behind us might’ve been empty, but it was still big and awkward.

We pulled out of the parking lot, cutting over to the market road leading out of town and to the ranch we inherited from our grandfather. We rolled the windows down by hand and Alyssa looked at me. She spoke around a mouthful of fries.

“We should get a new truck, Emily. This thing’s damn near an antique.”

“It was Grandpa’s and it still runs just fine.”

“I miss him, too, but, one day, this thing is gonna finally die.”

“Hush, Aly. Don’t you listen to her. You’re a good truck. Just get us home, baby.”

I patted the dusty dash. Alyssa rolled her eyes. The truck’s power died.

“What the fuck?”

“I didn’t do it…”

“Aly! Help me with the wheel! Power steering went out…”

Alyssa grabbed the wheel, helping me correct as best we could. The weight of the trailer pushed the truck along the road, though the engine had lost power with the lights. We jerked the wheel, trying to keep the truck and trailer from rolling or jackknifing behind us.

Even with our best efforts, the truck slid to a stop nose-first in a ditch. Alyssa and I stared at each other in the darkness of a Texas backroad. No one would drive down this road again for hours. There’d be no passersby, no help…besides, even if there was someone to stop and help, I always wondered if I could trust them.

“You okay, Aly?”

“I think so. Might have a seatbelt bruise, but nothing serious.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here, okay? This thing is at a bad angle to climb out the top…”

Alyssa nodded, unbuckling herself. She carefully opened the front passenger door, and slid down onto the wildflowers choking the thick, wiry grasses. She turned to me, flashing a quick, “be brave” smile.

I unbuckled myself and contorted my body ‘til I slid out next to her. We collected our purses and Grandpa’s rifle from the gun rack behind the truck’s bench seat. I took a quick walk around the trailer.

“I’m calling the sheriff, Emily. Don’t worry. We can’t get it out of here without a tractor, anyway. What the fuck?”

I turned back to look at her. She shook her phone, pushed buttons, and got nothing. The phone refused to work. The truck’s old, steel body panels rattled. I felt a deep, throbbing vibration shake the ground under my feet.

The trailer’s inner, steel-pipe gates shook loose of their latches, slamming against the side. Alyssa and I ducked, trying to put some distance between us and the truck. A bright light shot from the sky over us, blinding me. I threw my arm in front of my eyes.

I squinted around my arm, flailing with my empty hand, searching for Aly. I felt her flailing hand grip mine and we pulled ourselves together. I held her tight. Small rocks floated around us. Our two bodies began to rise into the air.

I tried to scream to Alyssa, to tell her I loved her, but no human could hear anything over the sound of whatever hung heavy in the air above us.

Then everything went black.

Someone shoved my shoulder. I pushed them away, not wanting to wake. Then a vision of overpowering light jolted me to consciousness. Aly looked down at me, face terrified. I grabbed at her, so happy to wake and find her still alive.

“Aly! Aly, what happened?”

“I have no clue, but we’re not alone and there’s someone coming.”

Well, that was never good.

I scrambled up, crouching into a defensible position next to my sister. I looked around, hoping to gather some clue as to where we found ourselves. Little light streamed into the container around us.

The beam, which had woken me, must’ve been a fluke—sheer chance. I noticed air vents on one wall, but no windows.

Before I could notice anything more, the door opened, and my mind was taken up by other things.

Giant—things—monsters—grotesque, humanoid creatures stepped in and roared. One grabbed the nearest person—another human woman— and shoved her out the door. He looked at us and waved.

I was all about fighting back, but at the moment, all I could do was stay standing.

Heart in my throat, I held Alyssa’s hand as tightly as I dared and we followed the first woman.

Ralkor

Beady eyes, set deep under a thick brow ridge, followed my every movement. Twice my weight and two-feet taller at the shoulder than my own seven-foot height, the creature pawed the dirt with sharp, cloven hooves. Thick clumps of tough hairs stuck out from around plates of armored skin.

The beast tossed its long, flat snout, flinging drool in a wide arc. Conical teeth snapped together around thick tusks. It’s short, narrow tail swished. The creature’s thick chest muscles rippled. It charged. The heavy hoof beats thudded through the soles of my boots and up my legs.

Wait for it…

The beast dipped its head, readying a blow with its big, heavily armored skull. I leapt. The beast swiped its bludgeon of a head at thin air. I tucked my legs up high, cleared the beast’s back and landed lightly behind it, dropping into a crouch and swinging low with the full force of my body.

The sword blade I held in my hand might’ve been designed to puncture, but the edge remained razor sharp. The beast, realizing its target now stood behind, spun in place with more agility than I’d given the massive creature credit for. My blade landed just in time, slicing through the tendons on its hind legs.

The beast crashed onto a shoulder. It screamed and squealed. Its back end collapsed into the dry dust of the arena floor. I thrust my sword into the air. The crowd roared. I never took my eyes off the beast. It looked at me, little beady eyes open enough that I saw the whites ringing its iris.

Wounded, but not dead, the beast snapped its jaws at me. I leapt into a back handspring, landing on my feet. I thrust my sword into the air once more. I knew my fans loved the little athletic flourishes. Half the stands cheered. The other half booed.

The creature snapped at me one last time. I thrust my sword deep in its gullet, punching through the throat and shoving my sword into its braincase. The beast shuddered. Faster than most eyes in the galaxy could track, I whipped my arm from the dying beast’s mouth.

The poor thing collapsed at my feet. The distinct odor of piss and shit filled the air as its dying body released its bowels. I leapt atop the carcass, hoping I looked half as fierce as the beast looked when we first entered the gladiatorial ring.

Killing such a magnificent creature brought me no pleasure, but it was important to go through the motions.

I was a slave with enough skills to survive the gladiatorial pits and enough charisma and brutality to keep fans paying those who owned me. The crowd took up a chant.

“Ral-kor! Ral-kor!”

I strutted, arms raised, whipping the spectators into a frenzy. Their cries became more demanding, more brutal.

I knew what they wanted. I knew why they watched, why they bought my face on overpriced junk.

I gave the bloodthirsty bastards what they wanted. I swung my sword into the monster’s neck. The crowd cheered. I hacked into it again and again, slicing deeper and deeper with each stroke. Blood streaked from my sword in arcs.

I wish I had an ax. This sword was never designed to cleanly kill such a monstrous beast. This is nothing but carnage.

With one last overly-dramatic stroke, accompanied by the wildest, most guttural cry I could muster, I sliced through the last of the neck, grabbing the beast’s head by a tuft of scrubby hair and dragged it to the middle of the arena.

The fans shot to their feet. I could taste the crowd’s bloodlust. I felt it pumping through them like fire in their veins. Guttural and beastly, the sight of my carnage pushed them over the edge of lust.

Spectators cheered and spat. They celebrated with or fought anyone near them. Security teams rushed to the clusters of violent chaos erupting throughout the stadium. I stopped dragging the beast’s head and climbed atop it.

Triumphant, spattered with blood and dust, I cried out into the arena. I thrust my sword down into the beast’s eye. I hopped off the grotesque skull and sauntered to the Winner’s Exit. The Loser’s Exit was little more than a deep, deep oubliette from which nothing returned.

The gate closed behind me. I released a breath, rolling my shoulders to loosen them. I waited at the inner gate for my owner to claim me. Blar Nax, a Plufark, slimed my way. His sickly yellow, gelatinous body left a trail of slime as he slithered near.

He raised an appendage I liked to think of as his head, though I’d never asked what he called the slimy, gelatinous, writhing mass of tendril-like tentacles at the top of the opening of his five-foot-tall shell. Blar Nax chuckled.

“I bring great news, Ralkor. You’re more popular with the fans than ever. Nice touch with the beheading.”

The silent gate guard stared at Blar Nax. Blar Nax glared at the guard.

“No need to stare. Here are my papers, as if you don’t know perfectly well that Ralkor’s my slave.”

Blar handed the guard an electronic verification device. The guard scanned it, then scanned the tattoo on the inside of my wrist. The devices beeped and flashed green. The guard grunted, handed the EVD back to Blar. He opened the gate and I stepped through to Blar’s side. We walked back to my quarters.

“Tell me your news.”

“You’re so popular, the Snaghians have bought you from me for an exorbitant price. Congratulations, Ralkor, you’ll be a contestant on Intergalactic Love Death Match, season 34!”

“The intergalactic reality game show?”

“Yes! Good luck, Ralkor. I like you. You’ve been one of my favorite gladiators. I hope you make it to the altar and win your freedom.”

We stopped at another locked gate. “You sound like I must leave immediately.”

“Only because you must. I’m rooting for you.”

The gate unlocked with a click. Blar opened the squeaky thing and I stepped through.

“Thanks for everything, Blar.” I nodded, resigned to exchanging one cage for another.

“Goodbye, Ralkor. If we meet again, may we both be free.”

Emily

I closed my eyes and stepped from the shadowed depths of the cargo space into the blinding light of day I had awoken in. Alyssa and I clung to each other’s arms, determined to stay together as long as possible. My mind raced, processing my new reality as quickly as possible.

I blinked until my vision cleared, quickly glancing at Alyssa. She clung to me, but her gaze remained bright, eyes vigilant through the light-induced squint. We worked as a team, just as we had on the ranch for so many years. Aly scanned one side. I scanned the other.

“Em, I think this may be real.”

“I think you may be right.”

“Real aliens.”

“It appears so, Aly.”

“We’ve been abducted by big scary aliens, about to be auctioned to the highest bidder like in all those romance novellas you pretend like you don’t read.”

“Why were you snooping around on my tablet?”

“Really, Em? Does it even matter…in light of our current context?”

“Shit. Look, in those novels, the most defiant and spirited women always end up with kings and shit. Let’s just put on our Texas swagger.”

“You’re the expert.”

“I’m not an expert. I just read a couple of them, okay? It wasn’t a habit or anything.”

“Right. You know? You’re right, Em. Fuck this being scared crap. I was scared. Now, I’m just angry.”

One of the other women looked at us. By the way she twitched and tilted her head, eyes wide, I knew her mind had already broken.

I understood. If I thought about any of our situation too long, my mind threatened to rebel right there. I wished I could’ve helped her, but I doubted I could do much to even help myself.

One of the big, ugly aliens glared down at me and snarled. I snarled back at him. He looked confused, then avoided my gaze. The guards herded us to an open gate and into a large pen system.

“Definitely at a slave auction, Aly.”

“Now I know how those steers felt when we dropped them off at the cattle barn.”

“I wonder how long that’s been.”

“No idea, but we have to be a long way from home. This planet has three moons in a dusty mauve sky. This isn’t Earth. This isn’t anywhere near Earth.”

The guards barked unintelligible commands at us and banged the metallic barrel of what looked to me like a cattle prod against the pipes of our stall. I glared at it, but we all fell into line. We walked through a complex maze of pens and alleys ‘til we arrived at a door.

The door slid to the side and two little green-goblin men dressed in futuristic lab coats and loincloths walked up to the first woman in line. One injected her shoulder with a handheld device. He moved on to the next woman in line. The first woman rubbed her shoulder.

She gasped, looking around, calling back to the rest of us. “I think it’s a translator. I can understand them.”

One of the goblin men spoke to the first woman in a language I couldn’t understand while the one administering the translator injections moved onto the third woman. She didn’t like what she heard.

“Oh, yeah? Well, fuck you, too.”

He snarled at her.

“What are you going to do? Damage me and you can’t get as good of a price, now can you?”

The first goblin man grabbed my arm and shot me up. A moment later, my brain felt like it twisted. Then, I understood.

“Calm yourself, slave. Move along. Don’t make us use force to compel you. Move through the door to the left.”

The tech injected Aly, too, and we shuffled along the line through the door to the left. At the end of this room stood a line of what I decided to call pods. Another of the goblin men directed us to pods. Alyssa and I balked.

A green hand grabbed my arm. I looked down at the short alien.

“Keep moving, slave. Into the pod. Don’t cling to this one.”

“I’m not going anywhere without Aly.”

“Quiet, slave. Get in the pod or we’ll have to place you there.”

“Screw you.”

The goblin man sighed.

“The fans will love you. I, however, have no patience for this, today. Maybe, if the wife hadn’t started nagging me first thing this morning about the plumbing, I’d have patience…”

He jabbed me with a needle of some sort, and darkness crashed over me.

I woke up on the cold, dusty floor of a dark room, bars surrounding me. I pushed myself up to my elbows, looking around to discover myself alone in a metal stall.

“Aly? Aly? You here?”

“Emily! You’re finally awake.”

I sighed in relief, even if only a small one. “Good. We’re still together.”

“You won’t be for long.”

I turned my head to the new voice.

“Why do you say that?”

“Hi, I’m Charlotte. You have no idea why you’re here, do you?

“Other than being abducted by aliens?” I snarled.

“Em, be nice.”

Since when did my baby sister become the voice of reason?

Maybe when reason decided to take a holiday.

“I’ll be nice when things start making some fucking sense, Aly. Sorry, I shouldn’t snap at you.”

“It’s okay, Em. Charlotte, please explain. If you can.”

“I’m the only surviving contestant from last season.”

“Season of what?”

“Intergalactic Love Death Match—a reality show put on by the Snahgians. The five of us in these cages are the female contestants for season 34.”

Wait, what?

“That sounds terrible,” Aly said slowly, while my brain tried to keep up with the concept. “Like that series of books, where everyone has to fight to the death, just to have something to eat.”

“Mix in one of those race shows, but on a world where everything is trying to kill you, and you’re pretty close,” Charlotte explained.

That… wasn’t good.

At all.

But something else bothered me. “How’d you end up in this season, as well as last?”

Charlotte snorted. It might have been something like a tired laugh, but I couldn’t imagine laughing at anything. Not now.

“I couldn’t win because my partner died. I wasn’t in love with him or anything. He died too quickly for me to know much about him. But, since I survived on my own to reach the Altar of Freedom, the audience demanded I be given a second chance this season.”

“Partner? Survived? What are we in for?”

“The Snahgians, those little goblins, also bought five alien brutes. You and your partner are supposed to work together to survive. The first couple to touch the Altar of Freedom wins their freedom.”

“And the others?”

Charlotte shrugged, her eyes flickering blankly.

“Everyone else in season 33 died.”

Emily

Metallic whirring and clicking interrupted our conversation. I looked around, searching for the source. Charlotte’s resigned voice sliced through the cacophony of unseen mechanics.

“We’re about to be transferred to the starting points. Good luck. All of us…”

A cry tore from my throat.

“Aly, I’ll find you!”

“I’ll find you, Em.”

“I love you!”

“Stay alive!”

Solid walls enclosed my cage. I heard a whir and felt the air cycle, bringing in fresh oxygen. The entire thing bounced and rocked, then it moved. I felt my body pushed against one of the gates. The metal pipes fashioning the bars dug into my spine and the back of my skull. I whimpered, then focused on breathing.

This isn’t my first emergency. Remember when that longhorn cow smacked me into the fence with her head and knocked the breath out of me? I thought I’d die right then, but I lived. I’ll survive this. I have to survive this.

I have to find Aly.

The pressure on my body lessened. I breathed a little easier.

Shouldn’t I be more freaked out? I mean, aliens…real aliens. Thanks Hollywood, for preparing me for a world filled with aliens…

The cage slowed. I slid down to the other end. I managed to catch myself before slamming into the bars of the second gate. My stomach fluttered. I’d see the extent of my new reality all too soon. My heart beat faster.

What will he be like? Will he even be humanoid? Does it matter? Neither of us can win without the other.

The cage slid to a stop. I crouched low. Without any clue of what would happen next, but a mind full of terrible things which could happen, I decided my only move was to make myself as small of a target as I could. The cage shook, followed by a series of loud clangs.

The solid sides of the cage fell open with a bang. Light flooded in. I shaded my eyes, blinking. Cold sapped my body’s warmth. I still wore the same shit-covered work boots, a comfortable pair of boot-cut jeans, and a white, V-cut tank as the night Alyssa and I had been abducted. As my eyes adjusted, I found myself near the top of a snowy peak.

My teeth chattered and my entire body shook.

I needed shelter. The latch of one of the gates clicked and the door swung open.

Staying here wasn’t an option, but what would it be like out there?

I wrapped my arms around myself and crept out, ducking behind a boulder to block the wind while I thought.

Can’t think too long. We need shelter and warmth, and I’m only carrying a pocket knife and a pair of wire cutters in these jeans.

I heard a crunch from the other side of the boulder. I froze in place, listening hard.

Footsteps. Slow, large, bipedal. Let us hope it’s him…

A massive alien stepped out from behind the boulder. He stood tall, his back straight. I guesstimated his height near seven feet. He wore a harness around his chest and a tiny fur loincloth secured with a wide leather belt, the outfit exposing much of his blue-scaled body.

A ray of light broke through the wispy clouds, bathing him in light, like some sort of movie hero, and deep shadows accentuated the contours of the muscles rippling over his chest, abs, and arms. His thighs bulged, thicker around than my head.

Hello, tall blue and handsome!

Right. That would be the cold and the alien abduction and the shock talking.

Let’s try that again, brain, but with something less cringy, ok?

“Hi, I’m Emily. I’d stand and shake your hand, but I’m literally freezing. What about you?”

And… better. Not much better, but I’d take it.

He sniffed the air, searching the surrounding forest with his eyes. A high-pitched, buzzing whine caught our attention. A drone flew in our direction, carrying a crate. It flew up to the silent, scowling slab of muscle, dropping the crate in his hands.

The drone zoomed back into the air and flew away. The brute opened the crate. From its depths, he pulled out a thick fur hide and tossed it to me. I caught it, wrapping it around my shoulders. He withdrew a second and wrapped it around his own shoulders.

The hide trapped my body heat close to me. The chills subsided, leaving me panting for air. I remained crouched near the ground, covered in the unfamiliar fur.

“Thanks, that was quite helpful. How exactly did that happen?”

The brute shrugged.

“I’m Ralkor. I was a gladiator. I have some fans.”

“Fans?” He didn’t explain.

Tall, blue and handsome, and apparently useful, but not much of a talker.

“Look, I still have no context for any of this, so I’m going to need more than that. My sister, Alyssa, and I were recently abducted and now we’re here in some game, for the amusement of aliens we didn’t know existed until we woke up about to be sold as slaves. Help me out, here.”

Ralkor grunted.

“I, too, was kidnapped from my home and sold as a slave to the gladiatorial pits. Many years ago. My people, the Tarek, are fierce warriors. I fought to live. I fought well. My fans appreciate me. In Intergalactic Love Death Match, fans can participate in the game by sending their favorite couple gifts.”

“Remember to thank them for me, then. They just saved our lives, I think. Mine, at least.”

“Mine, too, Emily. I can’t win without you.”

“True.”

“And, thank the fans yourself. All of it’s being recorded for the broadcast.”

“Is it, now?” I turned in a circle, waving at the sky. “Thanks for saving my ass!”

“Now, to find shelter.”

I stood, drawing the fur close to me. “Well, let’s go then. I’m determined to find my sister and the best way to do that is get to the Altar of Freedom as quickly as possible, hide, and wait ‘til Alyssa shows up.”

“What good will waiting for your sister do us, since only one couple can win?”

Not happening. Not sure how I was going to fix that, but Alyssa and I were both getting out of here.

“I’ll figure it out when I get to that.”

“In the pits, losing means death. I don’t intend to lose, Emily.”

“Calm down there, Mr. Grumpy…”

“My name is Ralkor. Ral. Kor…”

“Ralkor. I have no desire to lose, either. Just try to keep up.”

I tromped through the snow, looking for a good path down.

“You don’t even know where we’re supposed to go yet.”

“Wherever the destination is, it’s not on top of this peak, is it?”

“Well, no. It’s just, on the show, there’s this intro part where they explain the premise.”

“That’s great. Since no one has bothered to tell us anything yet, maybe we should look for shelter?”

I turned and trudged away, waiting for him to answer. Looking around, I noticed rocks of gray limestone.

“This must’ve been a seabed a long time ago.”

“What?”

“The limestone. We should find a cave, considering the rock. And fresh springs. Maybe even flint deposits, if we’re lucky.”

Ralkor trotted up next to me. He had to take tiny steps to keep pace with my much shorter legs.

“I can carry you…”

“I’m not a child.”

“No, but you’re wobbling.”

“Dizzy…”

I put out a hand to brace myself against a large rock thrusting out of the ground. The world went blank.

Ralkor

Emily fell to the cold, snowy ground. The fur wrap splayed to her sides, dark against the snow like the trunks of the trees, frozen grasses crunching under her body.

I rushed to her, laying my hand on her neck. Her heart drummed a slow beat as her lungs sucked at the air.

I wrapped the blanket around her and lifted her into my arms. Her face had paled. She hung limp in my arms.

I cursed and trudged on through the snow. My eyes scanned the forest around, looking for signs of a decent shelter. Fat flakes of snow slowly drifted down through the needle-leaved branches hanging high overhead.

A loud crack rang in the air and I spun around, looking for the source, only to spot a snowy branch as it fell to the ground from a tree in the distance.

I turned back to the path I’d chosen. Birds hooted and whistled, their calls echoing from the trunks. The snow swallowed most sounds other than the crunching of my boots. A few minutes later, another drone approached, carrying a sack. It flew over my head and released the prize.

It landed in Emily’s lap. She stirred, slapping my arms.

“Put me down.”

I set her on her feet. “You collapsed…”

“I remember. Thanks for not leaving me to die.”

“Why would I do that? I need you to win.”

Her lips curved up into a half smile. “Good point. I think I can walk now. Just…slow. My body isn’t used to this altitude. Thin air.”

“You’ll be better further down?”

“I’m fine. Open that gift already.”

I nodded. I held the gift in one hand and ripped off the top with the other.

“You’re a brute. Try not to destroy everything they send us. That ribbon could’ve been useful. Stick anything that burns in a pocket or…your loincloth…for the fire to use as a firestarter later. What’d we get?”

I handed the packaging to Emily. She stowed it in a pocket. I handed her the piece of paper I found inside. She looked at it. She held it up to the horizon. She spun in slow steps.

“Ha! Look, Ralkor. It’s a map to a cave. You align the picture with the mountain in the distance, see?”

“Great, let’s go.”

“You’re not even going to look?”

“Why would I? You already have. So, lead the way.”

“What if something happens to me on the way there and you suddenly have no idea where to go or how to read the map or even where I put it?”

“Fine, show me.”

She handed me the map and showed me how to use it.

“Easy, right?”

“Yes. Now, let’s go.”

We walked the direction of our new path.

“You don’t work with other people much, do you?”

I glanced at her. Her eyes pulled at something in my chest, something long buried. I looked away and grunted.

“Not really. Not a lot of long-term teams in the pits.”

“I see that.”

To my relief, she fell quiet. We trudged along. I put my head down, focusing on my steps. The wind felt good on my face. The weather, the trees, everything about this mountain, reminded me of the home I left so long ago. Movement to my left caught my eyes. A lone bird sailed over the shore of a large lake.

I turned back to mention it to Emily. She trailed far behind. She trudged slowly, like her body could barely find the energy to lift her knees. I backtracked through the path my feet had already compacted into the blanket of snow on the ground.

“Emily, let me carry you.”

“I’m fine.”

Her wheezy voice worried me.

“No, you’re not, you’re just stubborn. You’ll never find your sister if you kill yourself on this mountain.”

She stopped, drawing in deep breaths. She rubbed her head with a hand. Her eyes looked dark and sunken.

“Fuck. Fine.”

“Have some snow, first.”

“What?”

“Eat some snow…”

“I’m not eating snow off the ground…anything could have pissed there.”

“It’s fresh. It’s fine and powdery. See? Watch me. Oh, I’m so thirsty.”

I shoved a handful of snow in my mouth. The heat melted the snow and it dribbled down my throat, clean and clear and crisp. I sighed with true enjoyment. I opened my eyes and gestured at her.

“Drink. Dehydration…”

“I didn’t get myself abducted just to hear an alien tell me to hydrate.”

I sighed heavily. “Don’t make me…”

“Don’t make you what? You couldn’t take me.”

To my horror, I laughed out loud, but Emily simply continued trudging through the snow, following the trail I’d made.

“You’re tiny. I’m a Tarek who’s survived the gladiatorial pits longer than any other.”

She shrugged. “You may be big, but I’m meaner.”

I nodded, considering, remembering some of my opponents in the pits. “This may be true.”

“You’ll see.”

Stubborn, as well. Apparently it was time for strategy on my part. “I’ll be happy to do anything you want, if you’ll just let me help you a little right now. My homeworld was much like this mountain. Cold, frozen, rocky. Different kind of rock, certainly. But we had trees and snow…”

I fell silent as grief for my lost world dragged at me.

“How long has it been?”

I grunted. Emily sighed. We walked in silence.

“Fine. You can carry me.”

“Good.”

I slid an arm behind her shoulders and swept the other up under her legs. In a swish of furs, I held her in my arms. We trudged forward in silence. Her head fell against my chest. I wondered if the entire game would be this difficult.

Emily pointed off to my right.

“There’s our cave.”

“Stay here. Let me check it out before we go in.”

“You go right on in to the dark, scary cave first. I have no complaints about that.”

I set her on her feet behind the wide, gnarled trunk of an old tree. She crouched low, watching the cave. The intelligence in her eyes impressed me.

Maybe we’ll get out of this alive. But, how can we possibly get her sister out, too?

I scanned the cave entrance for tracks, but found none. I crept closer, listening carefully. I crouched low, staring into the darkness. Before I took another step, I heard the whine of a drone and turned back to look as it dropped off a large crate.

“I love your fans. You must’ve been magnificent in the pits.”

I nodded. “It looks like they’re your fans now, too.”

Ralkor

“So, what did my favorite fans in the galaxy send us?” Emily asked, making sure her voice carried.

Smart woman, learning to play to the crowd early.

“Let me look.”

I walked up to the crate. Emily trudged over through the snow, barely lifting her legs high enough to clear her boots. Exhaustion hung over her like a pall.

Her legs must feel leaden by now, heavy and awkward. And her feet in this cold...her toes.

Trying to recall what I remembered about frostbite, I unlatched the crate and opened the lid. I grabbed a bundle from inside. Twine tied around it, keeping the material neat. A tag hung from the twine bow. Someone had inscribed unfamiliar symbols on the tag. My translator nanites told me the letters spelled Emily’s name in her native script.

“It’s for you.”

I passed her the bundle and she placed it atop a large stone slab outside the cave’s entrance, pulling at the twine while I returned my attention to the crate.

The tag of the second bundle bore my name in Tvoi, the Tarekian language. I untied the twine around my bundle. From it, unrolled a quality parka, long underwear, mittens, thick boot socks, and some sort of thermal bodysuit.

“Nice!”

I turned at the sound of Emily’s voice. She sat on the fur blanket spread out over a large, stone slab, removing the filthy, worn work boots from her feet. Her entire body shuddered in the chill wind.

Yet, she refuses to stop. Until she collapses. That kind of will to survive would serve her well in the pits. Not that I’d ever want her sold to the pits…

Emily’s bundle had also held winter clothing. She snaked a foot into one leg of her bodysuit, stuffing it back into her boots. She slid the other foot through the body suit and pulled it up over the garments she already wore. She zipped it up the front. I turned back to the crate, tying my bundle, then setting it aside, deciding to change later.

“You’re not cold?” she asked.

“I am.”

“But you’re still half naked when you don’t have to be. In the snow...”

“Tarek are from a planet much like this place. The cold may leave my muscles stiffer than I’ve grown accustomed to in the pits, but the weather bothers me little.”

“That’ll be very helpful before this is over. What else did they send? Please say a hot meal.”

“A knife. Hefty, good sized—”

“That’s not a knife,” she argued, eyes wide. “That’s a small sword.”

I considered the blade again. “Looks like a knife to me.”

“That’s because you’re gigantic. What else did we get?”

I checked the pile. “Whetstone, flint, two waterskins, a cookpot…”

“All of which is helpful. Anything else?” she leaned forward, eagerness shining through her eyes.

“No. But we can make this work.”

“Okay, well, drink up whatever’s in the waterskins so I can refill them while you go check out that cave.”

I shook my head. “Too dark in there. We’ll both need fire first.”

Emily pulled on the mittens, grabbing her blanket and the loose clothing and shoving it back into the crate. She closed the lid and latched it, then stopped to lean on the crate, panting.

“How about I gather firewood, Emily?” I offered. “Take a rest. It’s already been a hard day.”

She bit her lower lip, then nodded. “Go. I’ll clear a place for a fire.”

I sighed. “Neither of us will walk out of here if you kill yourself now. Not you, not me, and your sister won’t have your help. Just wait and rest. Save your strength to fight the cold. I’ll get us down this mountain.”

Emily just pushed herself off the crate, obviously ignoring my words.

Despite my best intentions my temper flared and a growl rumbled low in my chest.

She held up her hands, waving me off. “You sound like me talking to my sister back home. Please understand, I hate to sit idle. I promise to pace myself better. I just need a few days for my body to adjust.”

“Emily! I’m not complaining. You impress me, actually. It’ll take a few days to fully prepare to move. It’s a good time for you to rest.”

Her shoulders slumped, just a bit. “That wouldn’t be a bad thing, actually. But I do know how to help, I promise. Even right now, I can prepare a fire pit. That’s not difficult. Go, get wood. And any bones you find. Do you know what flint looks like? Good, bring any of that you find, too.”

Tiny, stubborn, and bossy. “Anything else while I’m out?”

“Meat.” She added. “You’re Mr. I Was a Gladiator. Surely you can wrestle something to death out there. Firewood first, though.”

I chuckled and gathered as many of the requested supplies as I could manage, first bringing her as much wood and stones of flint as I thought could possibly occupy Emily in my absence, then following some fresh tracks I saw when gathering wood.

The tracks led to a nearby den and with the knife, quickly killed two large animals I hoped were both edible and tasty. I returned to the soft glow of a fire ringed in stones. She stared far into the distance, past the lake shimmering on the horizon.

“I heard you walk up. You’re not half as quiet as you seem to think you are.”

She turned her face to me and smiled. Exhaustion smudged the delicate skin around her eyes as the sun set behind the edge of the lake.

“Welcome back. I wish I could say I found something helpful, but I have no way of knowing how much of the stuff around here could kill us.”

“These animals I caught smell safe. I even have hope they will be tasty.”

“My hero. Clean them up. Here, try my pocket knife. That short sword of yours is way too big for that work.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She tapped the knife in my hand. “You have to be pretty special for a Texan to trust you with their pocket knife.”

That made no sense to me, but obviously meant something important to her.

Texan. Perhaps the land of her people.

I considered the small folding blade solemnly. “Then I’ll treat it with care.”

After cleaning the animals, I put them on a spit Emily had devised while I’d hunted. I took a lit branch and quickly scouted the cave. Once I’d confirmed it was empty, I found a spot far enough inside to be out of the wind, but close enough to the entrance to accommodate a fire.

I started a new fire near the cave with some coals from the cook fire and built it up with a few more pieces of wood, transferring to the cave what little Emily and I had collected so far on our journey.

I lay one of the fur blankets on the ground, close to the fire’s warmth and Emily soon joined me, carrying a steaming, skewered animal in each hand.

She handed me one of the skewers and plopped down next to me. She opened her blanket, spreading it behind me, then she nibbled at her dinner. A drone flew up to the cave’s entrance, projecting light on the inner wall of the cave.

Two Snaghians in their traditional costume of loincloths and bits of bone in their scraggly hair “smiled” at us from the screen.

“Welcome to the 34th season of Intergalactic Love Death Match, where five lucky couples are matched and sent to wild and exotic locations! Which couple will make it to the Altar of Freedom first? Will they survive? Will they fall in love? Will they win their freedom? Will the audience help or hinder their epic struggle across the vast continent of Tikalc on the planet Garglax II? Stay tuned and find out. Now, a word from our sponsors…”

Emily

“You, too, can help your favorite team. Call now to let your team know you appreciate their efforts by buying them a nice gift!”

“Remember, your vote could be the difference between your team starving or winning. Vote now!”

“Looking for advertising opportunities? Send your favorite team a gift with your corporate logo! Representatives are standing by to take your call.”

“They’re so lumpy I can’t tell either of them apart. I already don’t like these Snaghians.”

“Most people don’t.” Ralkor said. “Unfortunately, they have a lot of money, power, and influence in the galaxy.”

Ralkor tore hunks off his dinner in big bites.

Tarek mouths must be tougher than humans.

I picked at my own dinner, blowing on it to cool the sizzling meat. A montage of clips flashed on the screen, introducing the players. My breath caught in my lungs at the sight of Alyssa. They had teamed her up with a massive horned, silver brute of an alien.

Please, let her partner be as useful as Ralkor seems to be.

Tears welled in my eyes—tears of frustration, of anger, of fear for my sister. She’d been my responsibility for so long and there wasn’t anything I could do to protect her. Guilt ate at my core.

I refused to look away, searching for every scrap of information about Aly, but the broadcast held few details. Instead, the two Snaghian announcers replayed looped clips of my earlier collapse from three different angles.

The broadcast ended. Frustrated and disgusted, I lay on the fur next to Ralkor and pulled my blanket over me.

“We can share. I’m too tired to move.”

My mind began to drift and soft words fell on my ears.

“I’ll clean up.”

I floated into a warm nothing. I woke sore and tired, but I was able to breathe a little better. Ralkor disappeared into the woods for long stretches.

He was right. I needed more time to adjust than I’d realized, and my body was going to take that time, no matter how anxious I was to get moving and find Aly.

Each time Ralkor reappeared, he brought something new—more firewood, various bones he found as he scouted, more small game for the food stores.

I happily stayed by the warm fire, cracking bones and making needles and awls. After hours of painful experimenting, I managed to crudely knap palm blades and scrapers from the flint. With great care, I wrapped the sharp tools in the hides of the animals Ralkor had brought back to camp.

We’d have to process those hides if we wanted to use them long term, but I doubted we had time. I wanted to be out of here and down this peak as quickly as possible. They’d stiffened in weather as cold as a freezer. The temperatures would preserve them until I could find or fashion something better.

I tended the fire and boiled water to refill the waterskins. When the sun began to set, I carried some coals from the cook fire to the fire pit at the entrance to the cave on a wide portion of bark. I banked up the fire and returned to dinner.

I turned my head at the sounds of Ralkor’s footsteps approaching camp. My tummy fluttered at the thought he might smile at me…

Calm down, now. So, he’s big and muscly and you’re stuck with him. Don’t forget the cameras. Jump his bones now, watch it replayed from three angles later…

He stepped into the circle of light cast by the cookfire. My breath caught in my chest when I glanced at his face. A little smile hung there. I cut my eyes away, blushing, then busied myself with packing the new tools in the crate.

He’s just being polite…

The next day dawned much like the previous. I puttered around camp, doing my best to transform what Ralkor had found into tools and supplies for the remainder of our journey. My body moved better than it had the day before. My headache had dulled but my legs had stiffened.

The long underwear, thick boot socks, mittens, and the coverall snowsuit warmed me enough to set aside the fur blanket. I wished I had a hat.

And a scarf… I suppose I could ask the fans for a scarf. But, those gifts cost someone money. What if asking for a frivolous scarf now, keeps the fans from sending something really important later?

I eyed the blanket. With a resigned sigh, I laid the blanket out flat, retrieving the flint palm blade I’d made earlier and sliced off a strip. I wrapped the strip around my neck to try it.

Perfect.

I shook out my muscles and stretched, trying to limber up my joints, scanning the area around the campfire. A couple of tough cuts of meat simmered low in a little water and some fat I’d rendered the night before. With no clue what else might be safe to eat on this planet, it was the best I could do.

I put the lid on the pot, knowing it would take hours, yet, for it to soften the tough muscle fibers. The fire was little more than a bed of coals at this point. Even with Ralkor bringing firewood on a regular basis, I hesitated to burn up more than we really needed to. It’s better to conserve now, than make more work for ourselves later.

Restless and muscles stretched, I set out for a walk. Wandering through the trees towards the lake, I followed game trails with silent steps. Feeling recovered, I stepped through the maze of trunks, roots, and loose stones with a grace born of long days searching wooded pastures for roaming herds of cattle, sheep, and goats.

I miss Texas.

I made it to the shores of the lake which sat near the edge of the cliff. A valley spread out before me. I heard crunching steps approach my location and recognized them as Ralkor’s.

I turned to the sound and smiled.

“Glad to see you feel better.”

Tall, blue and handsome, and kind. Who knew?

“I do. Thank you.” I turned back to the view, pointing out into the distance. “Conditions, food supply, and terrain will be better closer to the river.”

“I agree, Emily. I think we need to get to the river down there.”

“It looks like we’re in a bay, of sorts. I wish we had another map…”

“According to last night’s broadcast, we’re supposed to be heading that way.” Ralkor pointed across the bay to a flat-topped peak far in the distance.

I sighed.

“Maybe we can find a way across the bay, Ralkor. Going around that lake looks like a lot of work.”

Ralkor nodded. “We’ll find a way, Emily.”

“Agreed. We’ll leave in the morning. Come, I think dinner should be ready soon.”

We returned to camp, ate, and packed our things. I slept hard. I dreamed of little, green, goblin men chasing me through a maze. In the morning, we left early. In relative silence, we traveled down the peak, focusing on our steps and the sounds of the forest around us.

As the sun set, we found a new cave. We made camp and settled in by our fire to watch the nightly broadcast.

“Welcome to Intergalactic Love Death Match. Kvorkt? Can you tell us more about what the contestants might face on Tikalc? Garglax II is still a wild planet, is it not?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right, Plabz. Garglax II is a new arena. Let me tell you, this season is the wildest season yet. We have so much to look forward to. Just look at some of the wildlife our drones have caught on camera!”

A series of more and more bizarre, terrifying creatures flashed across the screen. Then the broadcast flashed a map.

“Quick, Ralkor! Memorize it!”

Ralkor

“What the fuck?”

Emily’s alarmed voice pulled me from the shrouds of deep sleep and disturbing dreams. She pushed at my arm, whispering words faster than I processed them, while somehow dressing at the same time.

“Get up, you pile of muscle. Somethin’s up and I don’t like the sound of it. Get up, already. I’m leavin’ in five minutes and you better be dressed, armed, and ready to fight. What I wouldn’t give for Granddaddy’s shotgun and a pocket full of shells right now.”

I blinked my eyes, struggling to remember and make sense of the reality in which I woke.

Emily, I remembered.

Emily, I couldn’t manage to forget even when I tried.

And something had scared her.

I scrambled out from under the heavy fur blanket and to my feet, grabbing my knife.

We both dropped into a low crouch. She pulled her knife from her pocket and opened the blade as if the move was long familiar. Each day, she had honed the blade and kept it meticulously clean, just like any warrior would.

Armed, we crept through the trees outside the cave.

A screech of pain stabbed through the crisp, early morning air. A roar followed, then a loud crack and a screeching whimper. Large bodies crashed in the dark brush.

I tugged Emily’s arm. “Let’s pack quietly and see if we can get out of here without drawing attention to ourselves.”

“Good idea. I don’t want to know what that’s all about, if we can avoid finding out.”

We moved, quiet but quick, packing as much as we could into the crate. We had left a few supplies out when we bedded down last night, but I hated to lose the blankets. Bodies crashed through the underbrush.

“Let’s get out of here, Ralkor. Sounds like they’re coming our way and I don’t want to be here when they arrive.”

I grabbed the crate’s handle and engaged the maglev. The crate floated behind me as Emily and I jogged out of the cave, hoping to outdistance whatever crashed through the trees behind us.

A dyàk burst from the brush and into the light of the fire. As tall at the shoulder as me, the dyàk’s hooves skidded on the bare rock where we’d made our camp. The beast scrambled on long legs. Heavily muscled shoulders and hindquarters bulged with the bloodied creature’s efforts.

Massive antlers, surely wider than I was tall, caught on the dirt, wrenching the dyàk’s head to one side. The dyàk’s heavy body crashed into the stone and tumbled, twisting the beast’s neck at an unnatural angle.

Before the dyàk could right itself, a fengkshá barreled through the hole the dyàk had left in the bush. I grabbed Emily’s waist and dove out of the beast’s reach.

The fengkshá reared up on its hind feet and roared. It pounced on the twisted dyàk. The dyàk kicked the air, trying to flip itself over, but the fengkshá swatted the sharp-hooved limbs away with a clawed paw.

The fengkshá’s swipe flipped the dyàk’s body back over. The dyàk freed its antlers from the ground. Massive neck muscles contracted and the dyàk swung the sharp tines into the fengkshá’s gut. The short-snouted, shaggy-coated, nine-foot-tall giant of a predator roared.

The dyàk jerked its head, digging the tines up and under the fengkshá’s ribs. Enraged, the fengkshá slapped the dyàk with a claw-tipped paw. The dyàk scrambled, trying to find its feet again. The fengkshá grabbed the dyàk by the antlers and bit the dyàk’s skull.

Thick, conical canines punched through the bone. The dyàk collapsed. Blood and foam flecked the beast’s mouth. The fengkshá panted hard, dropping to the stone below. It spit the dead dyàk’s punctured skull from its mouth and huffed wheezing breaths.

Emily looked at me, nodding behind us. I shook my head, waving to her to wait.

I leaned close to her ear, speaking in the barest whisper. “Don’t run. Stay quiet. Move very slow. Hope it doesn’t notice us.”

She nodded. The fengkshá backed off the tines of the dyàk’s antlers. Emily and I froze. The big, heavy beast shook its thick, black head. Shaggy fur had matted along its sides. It stood on all fours, its thick, leathery black nose snuffling the air.

Its nostrils flared, concentrating on the scent it detected. The fengkshá followed its nose ‘til it faced us. Eyes wide with fear and pain, the beast leapt forward with a roar, slinging blood and spittle into the air.

“Run!”

Emily turned and ran, dragging our floating crate with her while I faced the beast.

Dagger in hand, heart beating steady and true, riding the exhilaration coursing through my veins, I roared, too. The fengkshá bounded close and I leapt into the air, twisting at the top of my arc.

The fengkshá sailed beneath me and I tucked at the waist, slinging my legs into position, long perfected by years in the pit.

I landed, straddling the fengkshá’s back. Grabbing a handful of the thick, matted hair in one hand, I stabbed at the beast’s ribs, hoping to hit a lung.

It worked the last time I fought one of these. And this one is already wounded. This should be easy…

The fengkshá bucked. Triumphant too soon in my mastery of the beast, I should’ve held on better. My ass sailed up, into the air. The beast twisted its upper body and swatted me to the ground, its sharp claws raking my chest, leaving three long gashes.

After years in the pits, my own recklessness resulted in an unnecessary injury.

And worse, if could knock me aside, it could threaten Emily.

Unacceptable.

Anger at my own failure coursed through me and I roared, pushing to my feet, and charged. The fengkshá tried to follow my trajectory, but stretched a painful wound and bellowed instead.

Rushing in I thrust my dagger between the beast’s ribs. The fengkshá shuddered and fell to the ground, a long breath sighing out from its lips.

I fell to my knees against the beast, leaning my forehead into the thick fur, the fury of the fight ebbing through my veins.

No cheering crowd here.

No carefully arranged, artificial combat.

Simply a battle to protect my partner in this game.

And maybe, possibly, someone more than that.

“Those scars will look magnificent.”

I looked up into the only face I desired to see.

Emily smiled, then turned her head to the side.

“Did you hear that?”

Emily

I poked through the bush, following the trail of whimpers.

Ralkor followed me.

“What are you doing?”

“Finding out what that noise was.”

“Wasn’t finding a fengkshá fighting a dyàk enough this morning?”

“Which one was the dyàk?”

“The one with antlers.”

“The giant deer. Got it.”

I heard a crash to my left and turned toward it.

“My point was, haven’t we found enough trouble?”

I stopped short, hands on my hips, and he fell over himself in his efforts to avoid barging into me.

“Didn’t you just face down a giant bear-dog-thing?” I asked.

“A fengkshá—”

“Aren’t you the mighty gladiator?” I pressed on. “You sure looked happy to take that thing down.”

“Not happy, exactly.” He frowned. “It is good to fight, to survive.”

“And you weren’t afraid of that at all?” Personally, I’d been terrified just watching him.

Relkor shook his head. “No, fear does no good in battle.”

I tapped my finger on his chest. “Then, why are you so risk-averse?”

“What?” He looked confused.

Tall, blue, handsome, kind, and a little adorable.

I pushed the thought away. “I’ll explain later. We’re almost there.”

“But… Emily, it could be dangerous.”

“What isn’t dangerous around here?”

I pulled back a branch and two little bear-dog-things whined, yipping at us.

“Hey there, guys. How are you?”

“Back to my first question,” Relkor insisted. “What are you doing?”

I moved into the brush carefully, eyes on the critters, making soothing noises.

“Petting baby fengkshá, obviously.”

“I can see that,” he said slowly. “I think we should get as much of that dyàk as we can before the scavengers show up.”

“Good idea. Grab one of these guys and we’ll go.”

I wrapped my arms around the belly of one of the cubs and cuddled it against my chest.

“What are you…” He looked more than confused now. Poleaxed.

“Are you going to ask me that every minute?” I snapped. “If you thought I’d ask you permission before I even piss, you’ve got another think coming.”

“Fengkshá cubs are a lot different than satisfying bodily functions, Emily. Pets are a huge responsibility…”

Tall, blue and handsome, and totally infuriating.

“Oh, you don’t say. The entire time you proudly announced you are a gladiator, you didn’t once ask me what I did before I was abducted.”

Ralkor froze, except for his mouth, which opened and closed like a fish out of water.

“Not that you asked, but I dedicated my life to the care and training of animals. That’s what I do. Now, grab that baby before it crawls up my leg and let’s go process that big-ass deer out there, and figure out how to store and transport it.”

I hefted the wiggly cub in my arms up to my shoulder and stomped back to camp.

Ralkor growled, but picked the other cub up and followed me. “What are you even going to do with them?”

“Train them.” I retorted.

“To do what?”

“I’ll find a use for them, don’t worry.”

“How long will that take?”

I stopped short again. Ralkor dodged me far more quickly this time.

“Does it matter? Their mother is dead. If we leave them, they die horrible deaths. It’d be cruel to leave them on their own at this stage of their development. We either take them with us or kill them here, ‘cause I’m not leaving ‘em to starve.”

Ralkor stared at me and I couldn’t read his face.

Fine, whatever.

I sighed. The cubs wiggled, smelling us, and I turned and trudged down my path.

“They’ll slow us down, Emily,” Ralkor protested. “And they’re two more mouths to feed. I thought we were focused on getting to the Altar of Freedom as quickly as possible? Won’t these two distract us from our goal?”

I put the baby down. He snuffled the ground, finding a scent. Ralkor put the other baby down.

“Look, we don’t have to care for them long. Soon, they’ll be big enough to catch their own prey and they’ll have a chance to survive. We just need to feed them for a while and teach them to hunt. Then they can help catch game or warn us if anything approaches camp…we don’t know how long we’ll be here…”

Ralkor sighed. “Fine. I’ll see what I can carve from the dyàk. No point in letting it go to waste.”

“I’ll help. First, let me check those chest wounds.”

“They’re nothing.” He brushed me away.

“Let me look, anyway.”

“Look. They’re fine…”

The wounds had already begun to heal.

“That’s amazing…” Utterly, completely wild.

“Tarek heal quickly. It’s why we’re so often taken for the pits.”

Oh.

The whirring of drones caught our attention, saving me from having to answer.

A large shape approached, little more than a dark blob against the early gray twilight. Held aloft by six large drones, the dark mass descended onto a clear area near Ralkor.

One of the drones flew over, and a message played on its display screen.

“Congratulations on your new all-in-one, top-of-the-line, Survival Corp. camp kitchen and butchering station! For the discerning sportsperson and the family looking for some quality time in nature.”

What in the Earth?

Huh. Not the Earth. I guess that was the point.

“I love your fans.”

We set about butchering the dyàk as quickly as possible. We skinned it and I rolled the hide and stowed it ‘til later, storing the contents of the crate in the fancy, futuristic camp kitchen.

Ralkor quartered the dyàk and stripped the backstrap while I wrapped each massive hunk in butcher paper from the fully stocked camp kitchen, storing them in a refrigerated compartment.

“I think we’re full, Ralkor.”

He nodded at me.

“This thing is huge. Thanks to the fans, we’ve already got far more than we could’ve before.”

“True. We’ll wash up at the river.”

I sliced a large hunk off the remainder of the dyàk carcass and tossed it into the floating crate. I turned and gathered up the babies, plopping them in the crate, too. I stowed the lid in the camp kitchen, engaging the maglev for both kitchen and crate.

Ralkor tied the two together and we continued our trek down the mountain. The cubs gnawed on the hunk of dyàk brisket, pawing at each other and squabbling. We stopped by the lake and cleaned ourselves up the best we could in the freezing temperatures.

What I wouldn’t give for hot springs…or a travel shower… Best to not ask for too much. I’d hate to tap our fans’ funds out now. What if we need something huge, later?

“Maybe they are slightly amusing, at least…” Ralkor admitted.

“Don’t forget cute.”

“I don’t know what that is. They’re wild animals who’ll grow up into fearsome predators, like their mother.”

“And they’re still cute.”

“There’s no word for “cute” in my language.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky I taught you mine.”

Ralkor

As Emily and I descended the mountain dragging our floating supply train behind us, we passed streams and rivulets fed by snow melt. The temperatures warmed as we drew closer to the valley floor.

We descended below the snow line and the trees standing silent vigil over our trek changed from the tall, snowy evergreens to bare trunks laden with newly budding limbs.

“It must be early spring here.”

“I think so, too,” Emily agreed. “I’m just glad to be out of the snow.”

“Let’s rest for a moment,” I suggested. “This bodysuit is suddenly stifling.”

We stopped and I stripped down to my gladiator harness and loincloth, storing my cold-weather gear in the camp kitchen then sought out Emily.

She was feeding the cubs strips of dyàk she cut with her knife.

“Yes, look at you. Aren’t you handsome?” she murmured to them. “Yes, you are.”

She pulled the babies out of the crate and let them run. They bounded through the tough winter grasses, chasing each other.

“I guess, if they run away, we don’t have to feed them anymore.” I tried not to sound hopeful about the possibility.

“They won’t run,” Emily insisted. “They know their mom is dead and they know we have food. Trust me, they won’t get far.”

She stepped forward, releasing a deafening whoop, and dangled a strip of meat. The cubs raced back to her and she tossed them each a strip and petted their heads.

The cubs devoured their treats and rubbed against her legs, then wrestled each other. Emily turned her face to me, and the easy happiness lighting her features hit me like a blow.

“Ok. Let’s go,” she announced. “The cubs will follow.”

I followed her in silence, not daring to open my mouth, lest I tell her about the unfamiliar feelings she had set in motion inside me.

Feelings I couldn’t even name battered at the tough, internal armor behind which I’d protected myself for all these years.

Since being abducted, my entire life had been lived in the gladiatorial pits.

One learned quickly not to get too attached to anyone or anything—not to care too deeply. In the pits, friends became rivals and rivals became teammates on the whim of a gladiator’s owners.

Gladiators came and went as they were killed, injured, bought, and sold.

My relationships had all become shallow and fleeting—a rich matron who desired and paid well for an hour or two in the “brutal” arms of a killer or a prostitute hired for a night to “keep me in fighting shape”.

And now, there’s Emily and I want something with her I can’t even define. When did that happen? When did I start to care about her more than just as a means to survival and possible freedom?

I slowed my pace and walked next to her. “Tell me about Texas. You make it sound like a wild place.”

Emily laughed. The sound soothed my soul. I focused on the path ahead, hoping she couldn’t see how much I enjoyed her company.

“You could say that. Have you ever heard of cowboys?”

“Cowboys? Is that what you are?”

“Sort of.” Her voice lowered, became tinged with sadness.

“I really don’t understand.”

Emily sighed and told me her tale as we trudged downslope through the forest.

“Mom and Dad died in an accident when Alyssa and I were young. We went to live with our grandfather on his ranch. He raised animals and a few crops, doing things the way his own father and grandfather had taught me. That’s all he did his entire life, so that’s what he taught us to do.”

“That sounds lovely.” I couldn’t even imagine it, but it obviously meant something to her.

“It was. Every day, you knew your work was important. You woke early and worked hard and went to bed so tired you slept deep all night. There is a…satisfaction in caring for animals. Anyway, when Grampa died, Aly and I decided to keep the ranch and work it, though it’s getting harder and harder to make a profit.”

A darkness passed over Emily’s face.

“The rest of the world around the ranch changed, but that ranch, that life—remained much as it had been Grampa’s entire life. At least until Aly and I were abducted.”

“Down that path lies madness, Emily,” I warned her.

“What path?”

“The one you walk in your head, worrying about the things left behind. That was the advice of my first trainer. She taught me to focus on my challenger, on the match, on staying alive and looking good doing it.”

“Even if I put it aside, it still weighs on my mind.”

“You’re strong. You’ll bear this.”

As the words left my mouth I gulped, holding my breath in fear of Emily’s response to the compliment.

Please don’t take that the wrong way…

“Thanks.”

Emily smiled and we trekked in silence, vigilant for any hint of danger. The cubs, who’d tired and fallen into a nap in the crate hours ago, began to stir, small whimpers and little growls emanating from the box. They pulled themselves up the side of the crate by their wide paws and stuck their heads over.

With snarls and scratches, they managed to propel themselves out and tumbled to the ground. As if falling was an everyday occurrence, they bounded to their feet, stretched, and shook their hides, then began to explore all around us, running back and forth until I was tired just watching them.

Finally, we stood at the edge of the tree line. The land flattened out here and opened up. In the distance, we saw the edge of the bay. To my right, the mountain ridge rimmed the inner reaches of the bay. To the left, a body of water so salty I could smell it from here stretched to the horizon.

Directly across from us lay our path, our destination—the wide, flat summit of a tall mountain that seemed to float in the air on a cloud of mist. Disembodied, it taunted me, calling to me in silent, mirthful disdain.

A drone zoomed through the sky, coming to rest in the air in front of our faces. The Snaghian announcers, Plabz and Kvorkt smiled at us from the screen. I hadn’t bothered to remember which was which. They both looked like they needed a good punch in the teeth.

“Congratulations! You’ve reached the Bay Crossing Point Challenge!”

I groaned, and Emily looked up at me.

“What’s a ‘challenge’?”

“We’re so glad you asked, Emily! Aren’t we, Kvorkt?”

“Why yes, we are, Plabz. Yes, we are. To answer the contestant’s question—The producers challenge you to a task. If you complete the task, you’ll be provided with a very useful item or advantage.”

She glared at the screen, eyes narrowed. “Let me guess, we’re likely to die if we fail?”

The Snaghians laughed and the live editors cut in a clip of fan responses, a crowd of hundreds of Snaghians rolling on the floor of a room in glee.

After a moment, the broadcast cut back to Plabz and Kvorkt’s smiling faces.

“It’s adorable how they all think any of them have a chance to survive, isn’t it, Plabz.”

“Hilarious, Kvorkt. Between Emily’s fainting spell the first day and this precious determination she has to survive, I think ILDM season 35 might be the funniest season yet.”

Emily’s hands curled into fists at her side, her expression grim. When she spoke, her words landed like sizzling coals.

“Keep laughing. I’m not done yet. You don’t scare me. Bring on your challenge!”

Emily

A drone hung in the air before us and I silently cursed myself for letting Plabz and Kvorkt get under my skin.

Ralkor looked at me, scaled brow ridges raised.

Dammit. I had to remember that I wasn’t just fighting alone here. If I made the little goblins mad, I could make things worse for Aly.

And Ralkor.

And somehow, that had become something worth thinking about.

I reined in my temper and contemplated pertinent questions.

“She asked for it, Plabz.”

“She did indeed, Kvorkt, so let’s give it to her! On the shore just ahead of you awaits two options. Obviously, no one wants to wait for you to walk all the way around the bay, so we’re here on behalf of our beloved audience to offer you an alternative.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, giving him my most evil glare.

“Get to the point, Goblin.”

“Follow the marked path and see for yourself. I’d hate to ruin the surprise.”

“I’ll ruin your surprise. What path?”

The drone sped away, skipping over the ground. Every few feet, it released a streak of paint. It flew toward the distant shore of the bay, disappearing into a speck.

Ralkor grinned, which surprised the hell out of me.

That smile made me tingly, too… stop right there. Remember the cameras.

“Rejoice, Emily. We’re on the correct path after all.”

“Keep that up and I’ll start thinkin’ you’re an optimist.”

I whooped over my shoulder. Ralkor covered his ears, but the cubs came running. I fed them some strips of dyàk and we walked from paint blob to paint blob, following the drone’s trail. I stripped out of my snowsuit when I started sweating and stowed it in the camp kitchen, the long underwear under my jeans and tank more than enough to keep me comfortable.

The weather was much more accommodating down here, closer to what I guessed was sea level. After acclimating to the low oxygen of the peak’s higher altitude, I felt robust and energized.

I wondered about elite athletes back on Earth who trained at higher altitudes, teaching their bodies to use oxygen more efficiently.

How many of them would shit themselves in my shoes, though? How many of them read alien romance books? Would any of them even have been so prepared? If I can’t be an Olympian back on Earth, at least I can be a Texan.

I giggled to myself, then tried to focus on the moment.

“What’s so funny?” Ralkor asked.

“I can’t explain. Don’t worry, it wasn’t about you.”

A lazy breeze floated past. Birds called to each other, sailing through the sky. Small animals scurried about in tall clumps of grasses in the flat of the rock-strewn valley. Scents of the bay rode the winds, inviting me over.

I’d kill for a bath…

The cubs bounded about, digging up rocks, eating insects, and chasing everything that moved in the breeze. Soon, I saw a rocky shore, waves lapping at the edges of the bay. Someone had built a dock leading out, over the water.

A large, sleek, shiny and new futuristic speedboat bobbed in the water, encased in a cage. Next to it lay a pile of yellow rubber I recognized as the most basic uninflated Earth dinghy, but without any paddles or pump. A drone floated in the air above the dock between the two.

We left our supplies in a copse of trees back from the shore, tossed the cubs a chunk of dyàk to keep them busy and walked down the pier.

The drone’s display flickered to life as we approached. Plabz and Kvorkt’s annoying faces smiled at me.

“Welcome to Bay Crossing Point and your Challenge! If you succeed tomorrow morning, you get this top-of-the-line, fully stocked, 100% environmentally friendly, Galactic brand Wave Master!”

“And if we fail?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know the answer.

“If you somehow fail this challenge, yet continue to live, feel free to utilize the dinghy.”

“You’re too kind.”

“In fact, keep the dinghy either way. It’s so cheap we won’t even be able to sell it as a souvenir postseason.”

The broadcast cut to what looked like a shot of a Snaghian nursery of some sort filled with laughing children.

“Thanks, Kvorkt. I will. That dinghy is just what I needed, too. I really appreciate the thoughtful gift.” I smiled, sweet as honey.

“Oh! And the fans go wild! Look at those numbers, Kvorkt!”

“Plabz, I have a question for you. Have you ever heard of a cowboy?”

“Not until Emily mentioned it, Kvorkt. What is a cowboy?”

“I think that’ll be the question, Plabz. I really do. With Emily and her sister both giving us outstanding performances this season, I think we all need to research the Earth cowboy. That information alone might change all our predictions.”

My heart leapt in my chest. “Alyssa is still alive? She’s ok?”

Plabz laughed. “We didn’t say that, did we, Kvorkt?”

“No, we did not, Plabz.”

Those bastards!

“Do either of you ever say anything useful?” I snarled. “Or are you just here to torture us with those faces?”

“Haha! Isn’t she feisty? One has to love that fighting spirit.”

“Yes, we do, Plabz. Let’s hope her sister has as much fight.”

“And now, a word from our sponsors. When you think of high-performance water sports, think of Galactic!”

“Thank you, Kvorkt. We all know Emily and Ralkor can use all the help they can get if they have any hope of surviving tomorrow.”

“And wouldn’t that be upsetting? Think of what it’d do to Alyssa if Emily were to die tomorrow—”

Aly’s stricken face filled my mind. Her fear, her worry, just pushed me right over the edge.

“That’s going too far! Now you listen up, you green little piles of snot. I have a very particular skill set and I’m coming for you.”

I grabbed the drone and tossed it into the water, catching my breath.

Maybe that was a mistake…

Or maybe not.

Apparently, my tantrum looked good from at least one of the multiple cameras floating around somewhere, because the buzzing of drones suddenly filled the air and package after package fell from the sky.

Ralkor dashed about, trying to catch as many as he could. “What’s your skill set, Emily?”

“I’m obviously a badass, Ralkor,” I stomped, trying to shake the last of my temper from my blood. “Try to keep up.”

We gathered up our gifts and made camp. When I unwrapped the package containing shampoo, conditioner, and body soap, I wept big fat tears.

It wasn’t my sister.

It wasn’t home.

But it was something.

Pulling myself together, I fed the cubs and took them swimming. I washed myself and my clothes, changing into a comfortable set of pajamas.

Night fell and we rested by the light of a crackling fire, preparing for—and worrying about—tomorrow’s challenge.

Ralkor

Emily and I woke up with the dawning sun.

Today, Emily insisted I feed the cubs on the excuse they and I needed to bond. I hesitated to admit how much I enjoyed the task.

When the cubs finally lost interest and trundled off to wrestle each other, I joined Emily at the fire.

She handed me a bowl of unfamiliar food and we sat and ate. “This is a fun stage in training—the initial bonding time.”

“It is a new experience. And not entirely unpleasant,” I confessed.

“How so?”

Suddenly I felt reluctant to tell her. There was no way this could sound good. But she had asked… “In the gladiatorial pits every animal I met, I was expected to kill. I haven’t tried to keep something alive since my abduction.”

“That sounds…like an incredibly lonesome life.”

It was.

I’d just never thought of it that way.

We stowed everything in the camp kitchen, and I covered the coals with a thick layer of sandy river bottom.

Emily approached me, carrying a roll of fabric.

“One of our fans sent this little number last night.”

She held up the fabric which turned out to be a shirt.

Text across the chest read “Emily the Badass is my hero” in big, bubbly words over a giant red heart.

“That’s…”

My mind boggled.

“Make the fans happy.” Her eyebrows waggled, and I sighed.

Do it for the fans, Ralkor! It’ll be fine, Ralkor! How many times did such assurances lead to trouble in a match?

But, Emily is right. The fans will love it…

I took the shirt and pulled it over my head, struggling with the soft fabric a little.

“Don’t pull it out of shape. It’ll look weird if you do.”

“It’s a little tight…” I grumbled.

“Here, let me help…”

Emily adjusted the shirt on me, stretching it over my bulging muscles. It was a lot shorter than I expected, only covering my ribs, but not my waist.

Or I was a lot talled than the manufacturer expected… Or this is intentionally small…

“Well, I think you look great.”

Maybe I do like it.

“It really accentuates your muscles.”

My harness would easily fit over this.

I glanced at Emily. She wore a strange wide-brimmed, gray-felt hat with a band around the base of a delicately creased crown.

The sleeves of her long underwear poked out of the arms of her tight tank top. A quilted thermal vest covered her torso over a huge shiny, oval, intricately carved, silver belt buckle.

A strange four-legged creature with impossibly wide horns had been carved in the center. A sturdy leather belt cinched tight over long wide-legged dark-blue pants. The weathered tips of fine worked-leather boots poked out from the hems of her pant legs. She held a stiff natural-fiber rope coiled in one hand.

I looked up into her eyes, stunned. Emily smiled and winked at me.

“My favorite fan sent me my very own winter hat and vest, my best boots, even some of my clothes and a lasso!”

“How do you know it was your favorite fan?”

“Because they found me my hat, vest, boots, and clothes, of course.” She smiled broadly and winked. “And they sent me a note.”

I blinked.

The fans must have been remarkably impressed to track down her belongings.

And that was the unspoken rule of Intergalactic Love Death Match: what the fans wanted – and were willing to pay for – they got.

And to be honest, I’d been impressed by the spirit she’d shown, even from the beginning. I forced my attention back to the present.

“Really? How’d they get a note in here?”

Emily handed me a greeting card. The face of a species I’d never before seen—and hoped never to see again—smiled at me from the front.

I opened it and pressed the Play Audio Message button.

“We checked and your cows are fine. Woot! Emily the Badass! Woooot!”

“It’s signed—Paid for by Fans of Emily, formerly known as Fans of Ralkor the Gladiator.” I smiled at her. “I told you they were your fans, now.”

The sound of an approaching drone captured our attention. We turned to face the floating display screen. Plabz and Kvorkt smiled at us.

“Welcome to Challenge Day!”

“Yeah, yeah, get to the point already.”

“Hahaha. Isn’t she feisty today, Plabz?”

“Yes she is, Kvorkt. And no wonder. That’s part of being Texan, isn’t it?”

“That’s what we all learned after last night’s broadcast in our highlight reel: Texas, Cowboys, and Emily the Badass. After I watched it, I’ll admit, I bought a hat!”

Kvorkt pulled a hat similar to the one Emily wore from somewhere off camera and placed it on his head.

“That’s a fine hat, partner. Hahaha. Look at my boots.”

Plabz lifted a skinny, wiry leg, showing off a pair of boots.

“It’s pronounced ‘par’ner’! Stop showin’ off your cultural appropriation and tell us what this damn challenge is already, you chickenshit little gremlins.”

“The challenge is simple. To win your new Wave Master, by Galaxy, all you have to do is unlock the cage. Drones already attached to the top will lift the cage away and you can sail the bay in luxury. Galaxy, the Expert on Water Sports Equipment!”

“So, where’s the key?”

“So glad you asked, Ralkor! The key is hidden in that cenote!”

An arrow flashed on the display screen. I looked where it pointed, noticing the wide opening to a partially flooded cave along the shore.

The task cannot be that simple…

“If you die, make it look good!”

On that note, the drone zoomed away.

“Well, that doesn’t sound half as scary as facing down a charging longhorn bull,” Emily said. “But I’m wondering what the trick is.”

“Yeah, with Snaghians, things are never so simple…”

“I’ll need my blade.”

Emily shook her head. “That salt water will destroy the blade.”

“What would you suggest, then?”

She pondered. “Ever use a trident?”

“Underwater? No. In the pits, yes.”

“Good enough. It’s got to be the same sort of thing.”

“Where are we going to get a trident?” It didn’t matter what weapons I was skilled with, if they weren’t available to us.

“Wait for it…”

Emily held up her hand and pointed at the sound of an incoming drone.

“No way…” I gasped.

“We have the best fans ever, Ralkor!”

She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me.

Stunned, I froze. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, hold her, breath in the sweetness of her hair.

The desire struck me so hard, I nearly moved…

But…what does Emily want? Would my affection be welcome? Is this simply a sign of momentary excitement? Or does she know to play to the fans, to reward them for their assistance in this way?

I dared not move. Or breathe. I wanted her to hold onto me forever, but I dared not scare her.

Until I can be certain… I must resist.

She let go of my neck and pulled back. My arms missed her already. I gulped, looking away, hoping she didn’t see the fiery desire naked in my eyes. Without another word, I collected the package from the drone.

Trident in hand, I dove into the bay. I swam for the cave entrance with powerful strokes. The trident cut easily through the water. Reaching the shallows near the cenote’s rocky entrance, I surged from the water in long strides. Salty water streamed from my muscular form. My wet shirt clung to me, partially translucent.

I crept over boulders and through shallow pools. Inside the cenote, beams of light shone down through the partially collapsed cave ceiling. Leafy vines and bushy green fronds coated every possible surface, anchoring even in mere cracks among the stone.

In the center of the light floated a buoy, and bolted to the flat top of the buoy sat a sealed crate.

I crept toward the crate, my obvious goal with careful steps.

A wave splashed the rocks under my feet.

The tide had begun to rise.

Emily

I stared at the cenote’s entrance, arms crossed, chewing a thumbnail.

I paced a few steps away, spun on my bootheel, and paced back to my starting position to stare at the cenote again.

It’s been a while. Maybe I should’ve gone with him. No, he’s gigantic. He’ll be fine. I’d just be in the way.

I paced again.

Maybe the hug scared him. He is very reserved…

I chewed at my thumbnail.

Everything is packed.

We’re ready to go as soon as he returns. The cubs are fed, played out, and sleeping in the crate. The crate and camp kitchen are ready to be rolled onto the boat as soon as the cage goes up. All we need is Ralkor.

And I don’t know what’s going on.

And I’m worried.

A terrible screech tore through the air. I turned to pace some more when I heard a shout behind me. I spun to look.

Oh, no… here he comes…

Ralkor burst from the cave entrance, trident in hand. He leapt from boulder to boulder until he reached the rocky shore. He sprang from the last boulder, sailing through the air. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he sprinted toward me.

Behind him, two heads thrust from the cave’s mouth. They writhed, snapping at each other as much as trying to snatch Ralkor up in their toothy, beaked mouths.

Fucking sea serpents. Of course.

The serpents must’ve preferred water, because they slithered into the bay to chase Ralkor. Ralkor ran as fast as he could, thick leg muscles pumping and bulging. He ran far faster than any human I’d ever seen.

Ralkor ran past me, thudding to a stop against the boat’s cage. He thrust the key in the lock and turned it in one motion.

The drones whirred to life, lifting the cage into the air. Ralkor grabbed the camp kitchen and pulled it aboard. I grabbed the crate of cubs and stowed them below decks.

Ralkor adjusted the camp kitchen’s settings and it adhered to the boat’s cargo deck while I checked over the controls.

Alien, sure. But not entirely unfamiliar.

I hoped.

“Have you ever driven one of these things, Ralkor?”

“No. I’ve never driven anything…”

Right. Probably not a lot of use for that as a gladiator. “Looks like you’re doin’ the fightin’ then.”

I slid into the driver’s seat and punched the biggest button. The boat’s engine rumbled to life and we sped away from the dock. The serpents seemed to appreciate our dash into open water, catching up to us easily, butting their heads against the boat’s side. The boat listed, nearly dumping us overboard, but with a struggle I managed to compensate.

Camera drones converged on our location, tracking all the action. I swerved into the serpents, trying to smash them with the boat.

The serpents roared in annoyance, but still held on with the clawed, webbed fingers of vestigial hands thrusting out from their slick, armored bodies.

One struck Ralkor, opening the sharp-beaked, toothed jaw wide. Before the serpent snapped those bone-crushing jaws closed on my alien, he thrust the trident deep down the serpent’s gullet.

The serpent choked, coughed, and thrashed, slinging vicious yellow bile from its jaws. Ralkor shoved the beast into its pal with the trident’s long handle.

Annoyed by the interruption, the second serpent snapped at the first.

I spun my head back to the water in front of me. The serpents’ flailing and writhing bodies rocked the speeding boat, twisting and turning it against the bay’s choppy waves. I spotted the outlet of a river ahead.

These serpents are salt water creatures… That river is likely fresh water… If I can get us there, the fresh water should keep the serpents from following…

A display on the boat’s control panel flashed “Deploy Defensive Measures? Y/N”.

For a moment I wondered how I could possibly read it, then decided I didn’t care.

“Hell yes.”

I punched the Y button. Three icons appeared on the screen. I selected the fire symbol. Flames shot out of the boat’s sides. I glanced behind me in absolute surprise and gleeful delight. The only remaining serpent screeched, sliding into the water.

Ralkor and I cheered, and my shoulders relaxed a bit, falling from where they’d been crowding my ears.

Then a new serpent three times the size of the previous two, shot out of the water behind us.

Shit.

My eyes shot to the mouth of the river. We’d be there in only a few moments, but the mama serpent swam much more swiftly than the two juveniles we just killed.

She caught us halfway to our escape.

Ralkor screamed his defiance, beating his chest with his fists. The trident was gone.

He held his knife and a net, determined to fight anyway.

He’s so careful, until you give him a big monster to fight. Then he’s all, ‘yeah, bring it.’

I shook my head and concentrated on avoiding any submerged rocks. The mama serpent coiled back, preparing to strike. Ralkor pumped his muscles, setting his stance, preparing to fight to the last.

The water surged below us, lifting our boat and the mama serpent into the air. I clutched a nearby railing with one arm, using the other to steer the boat with all my might. Ralkor held onto the railing, still on his feet.

A mouth bigger than our boat opened up beneath the mama serpent. Rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth clamped down, slicing the serpent into pieces. The massive body propelling the giant mouth rolled in the air, crashing down into the water, diving back into the depths of the bay.

The splash pushed our boat toward the river’s mouth. The sharp-finned tail of the thing I decided to call a giant shark slapped the water as it passed, crunching one of the back corners of our boat. I fought the boat’s steering, trying to keep her upright.

Where’d they find that giant-ass shark?

Ralkor appeared at my side, adding his hands to the jerking wheel. We sailed into the river. The wave dissipated along the river’s banks, depositing our Wave Master squarely between a pair of jagged boulders.

For a moment, Ralkor and I simply stared at each other, panting. I heard the cubs whine below decks amid the sounds of crashing waves.

“Looks like we made it.”

“You didn’t even lose your hat…”

“Be a shame to lose it after just getting it back. Looks like we made progress at least. Look Ralkor, we’re right where we want to be.”

Ralkor

I leaned my back against the outer wall of the cockpit. The Wave Master was good and stuck and didn’t even bother to budge. The bàj, a creature I’d only seen pitted against aquatic gladiators in the pits, swam through the bay, gobbling up the bobbing pieces of the mother tshínd in its toothy maw.

May I never see another. The Snaghians must’ve imported the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy for this season of the games.

I closed my eyes and breathed. I focused on my racing heart, attempting to calm my pulse.

A cackle rang out into the air, pure and clean and joyous. Emily turned her face to me.

“That was the wildest shit I’ve ever done, Ralkor.”

“Indeed. Shame to lose the boat, though.”

“Let’s just camp in it tonight.”

“Sure. If there’s anything left after the cubs are done with it.”

Emily scrambled below decks in a cloud of Earth curses I didn’t bother to try to understand.

Emily was Emily and I adored her strange ways.

The realization slipped past all my defenses and lit up my mind.

I adore her…

Heat rose to my cheeks.

I heard yelling and banging below decks, and grateful for the reprieve from my own thoughts I moved to assist.

Emily handed me a cub, covered in some sort of…gooey, slippery, translucent, sparkling, gel substance which smelled like sweet fruit.

“What’d they get into down there?”

“Let’s not talk about it. We’re not ready for that conversation. Rest assured it is water-based, non-toxic, non-comedogenic, hypoallergenic, and rinses right off.”

I placed the first cub on deck and accepted the second. It tried to gnaw on my arm—but in a playful way. I tried to put it down, but it refused to let go. We landed on the floor and wrestled. Then the other cub joined in.

They’re a lot stronger than I expected…and a lot bigger than I remember…

Emily appeared with strips of dyàk, distracting the cubs.

“I appreciate the rescue,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

She tossed a rope ladder off the side of the boat. It fell over the boulders, creating a path down to the shore. I climbed down and she handed me the cubs.

“Take them for a walk. I’ll clean up their mess.”

I nodded and strolled along the shore, tossing rocks into the water. The cubs bounded around, exploring and splashing. I rinsed my arms and feet at the river. I needed a shower, but at least I felt a little refreshed. By the time I wandered back to camp, the cubs had calmed.

“Emily!”

Her perfect face peeked over the side of the boat. I handed her cubs and she hefted them atop the deck.

I climbed up after, drawing the rope ladder up behind me.

She tossed them a big chunk of dyàk, smiling indulgently at their antics before heading further back on the deck. “Follow me. I made dinner.”

“What’d you make?”

“Dyàk stew and biscuits. You’ll love it.”

“I’ve liked it every other night,” I assured her.

“See? Aren’t you lucky?”

I chuckled as Emily handed me a bowl and we sat in the deck’s luxury seats. We ate our food, watching the sun pass the horizon.

“A shame to lose the boat.” Although, with luck we wouldn’t need such a thing again. Not that luck was something we could count on.

“We’ll strip it of supplies. Not a total loss. Though we are running out of space in the camp kitchen. Mostly, I want to use the shower before we go. And sleep on the nice bed in the cabin. The mattress is divine. Just wait ‘til you try it.”

Even now, when she has other options, she assumes I’ll share her bed. Have we grown so accustomed to each other in such a short time? Is co-sleeping a part of human culture? Or…

I stopped my thoughts. I dared not hope that…Emily might want more.

What life can I even offer her? I am a slave…unless I win or buy my freedom. Even then, what do I have to give? I have no home, no life. Nothing.

Scrambling for anything else to talk about, I tapped the side of the bowl. “Is this your favorite meal? Stew?”

“Grandpa used to say ‘If you don’t like stew, you’re a liar.’”

“I never said I didn’t like it. I was simply curious. You seem to make it a lot.”

Emily shrugged. “It’s an easy camping recipe.”

A small smile spread across her lips as her eyes looked far into the past.

“Tell me about him,” I asked, eager to hear more of her life. More about her.

“We’d work with Grampa from dawn until dusk. He’d wake us in the morning—he had this gruff old voice—he’d say ‘Get up! We’re burnin’ daylight.’ Before the sun had even risen.”

“He sounds like a character.”

“He was. Anyway, we’d get up and drive out to the ranch all shoved together in the cab of his beat-up old truck—that’s a personal vehicle. Anyway, one day, one of the men who worked the ranch killed a deer and gave us a portion of the meat. Grampa starts pulling vegetables out from behind the seat of this vehicle.”

“People don’t usually stuff vegetables in their vehicles?”

“Not like Grampa. Oh, how do I explain pulling loose potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic out of a dusty old truck? Just trust me, it was like magic when I was six years old. Anyway, he pulls out a cast iron skillet, makes a fire right there, and made stew in the middle of a pasture surrounded by longhorns.”

Long horns? Realization struck.

“Is that what’s on your belt buckle?”

“Yes! Exactly.”

I craned my head to examine it more closely. “They look like monsters.”

Emily waved away my concern. “They’re basically big babies if you raise them right. Not that anyone does that anymore. Or that it matters, now that I’m here.”

I lay a hand on her arm, my throat tight. “It matters, I promise.”

Her eyes shown. “Grampa, the ranch, my way of life…is an anachronism—a lifestyle which died out for most people a long time ago. I just can’t imagine living a different one.”

“Don’t worry,” I soothed her, the need for her to be happy overwhelming all of my caution. “We’ll find our freedom—and a way to free your sister and the fans say they’re taking care of your cows.”

Emily was suddenly so close. She filled my vision, my thoughts, my entire reality. Her entire presence seemed to soften in front of my eyes. Her eyes grew huge, drawing me in. Her heady scent enveloped my nose. I salivated, head spinning. She spoke in a soft whisper.

“How did a big, bad gladiator get so sweet?”

I closed my eyes. My body shuddered.

Is this…the time? Do I dare? Have I misread the moment? Have I misread…Emily?

“Emily…”

My voice sounded strained to my ears, more plea than anything else. A gentle touch along my jaw startled me. My eyes flew open. My heart somehow thudded and choked me at the same time.

“Ralkor…”

Emily slid onto my lap, straddling my waist. Her eyes drew level with mine. They searched my face, as if trying to memorize every detail.

I must look much the same…I want to know every inch of her.

Her lips plumped and a blush bloomed across her cheeks. I leaned in, trembling, stopping just short of placing my lips on hers.

Will her lips meet mine? Will she accept? Does she want me even half as much as I want to be with her?

Emily

He was so close, his spicy scent so intoxicating, that I nearly threw all caution to the wind.

A small voice in the back of my head stopped me.

Remember the cameras—eh, we’ll give them a kiss and retire downstairs…

I met Ralkor’s lips and my tongue sought out his. He met me and kissed me with all the pent-up passion and desire I’d hoped for. My heart pounded—first, from the fear he’d push me away when I sat on his lap.

Second, for losing myself in that perfect first kiss.

My knees melted and my body went weak, surrendering. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I felt his cock harden in the loincloth.

Big and rigid, my pussy melted at the thought of taking him inside.

I pulled back from him. Eyelids heavy and cheeks burning with arousal, I opened my eyes to witness the aftermath of our kiss.

On Ralkor’s face, I saw only raw desire. The intensity of his gaze caught my breath, freezing it in my chest.

I feared I’d fall forever into the depths of his searing gaze. Slow, careful, with the greatest delicacy, Ralkor cupped my cheek. I leaned into his hand, hungry for his touch. Soft, passionate whispers escaped his lips.

“I was so afraid to dare hope you’d welcome my interest.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You got me a boat.”

Ralkor burst into laughter, his smile warmed my heart. His chuckles subsided and his face grew solemn.

“What is it?”

“I feel unworthy. I have so little to offer you…”

I wiggled in his lap, grinding on the shaft of his thick cock.

“Doesn’t feel ‘little’ to me.”

“No, that’s not little. I meant a life…after…”

I placed a hand on his lips ‘til he fell silent. “Ralkor, I’m not asking for all that. I mean, we just survived sea serpents and what looked to me like a giant-ass shark. We’re on an intergalactic reality show in a speed boat on top of freakin’ boulders. No one in the galaxy knows what’ll happen tomorrow or the day after...”

“So…what is this?” he asked.

“This is: you want to kiss me, I want to kiss you, the babies are napping, and we’ll worry about the rest later. Right now, neither of us are in a position to make promises. Later, we’ll figure it out.”

I watched his face, my desire laid bare, as honest and open as I’d ever been. I felt my chest had been opened like a cabinet, exposing everything inside me to Ralkor’s gaze. His eyes caressed the contours of my cheekbones, my lips, the slope of my nose. He nodded slowly.

“You’re right. Neither of us can make promises. If it’s the only time we have, I won’t spend it in fear—or with myself closed off from you—”

I kissed him. Mostly because I wanted to.

Also because, otherwise, we might never get to the good stuff. I pulled at the buckles of his chest harness, loosening the straps. He pulled at my belt buckle, trying to figure out how to unlatch it with one hand and no eyes.

Then, I remembered.

“Cameras. Take me to the cabin. We can block out the drones…”

“You’re so hot when you’re smart, Emily.”

“Mmmm. You say the sweetest things.”

Ralkor stood, carrying me in his arms to the below decks. A drone tried to follow and Ralkor punched it, sending it over the boat’s deck railing.

We quickly locked the cabin door behind us, shutting out any chance of another drone following us in.

“I hope the fans aren’t angry.”

“Why would they be angry, Ralkor? They got a hot kiss.”

“That was a hot kiss. Let’s do that again.”

Ralkor fell upon me and I threw all restraint to the wind and kissed him back with all my passion. He stumbled around the Wave Master’s compact interior. Huge, hulking, comic-book-hero-looking Ralkor, trying to navigate the tiny-home-sized cabin had me laughing half way to the mattress.

With a little fumbling, we made it through the door, throwing our clothes everywhere. I leaned back on the bed and kicked off my boots.

“I liked the boots…”

“Gotta take the boots off to get the jeans off.”

“Good point. Keep the hat, though…”

Then he dropped his loincloth. His stiff cock bobbed as he stood back up. I took a moment to drink in the sight. Even his thick ridged rod bulged muscle. The domed head finished in a small peak with a drop of precum beading the slit at the tip.

I stood and pulled my tank over my head. Ralkor stepped up to the edge of the bed. He sniffed. His eyes glazed. He licked his lips, gazing down at my wet folds. He placed his wide palms on my thighs, stroking my skin. Little tendrils of pleasure shot through my skin everywhere his fingers touched.

He slid his hands down my thighs, running a slow finger through my folds, sliding the tip through my juices. I threw my head back and moaned. My knees spread and my hips rocked, begging for more.

“I want to taste you…Your scent has drove me wild for days…”

“Well, how can I say ‘no’ to such a generous offer?”

A hungry grin spread across his face. He pushed my folds with a thumb, opening me to his gaze. I whimpered. The look of rapt attention on his face nearly drove me over the edge. He crawled onto the bed, laying next to me.

Ralkor spread my legs and dove in. He ate my pussy with as much passion as when he’d kissed my mouth. I writhed around him, whimpering and moaning. Ralkor growled, licking long strokes over my lips. I grabbed his head with both hands.

He slid a finger inside my tunnel, his wiggling explorations making me throb on his fingers. He licked my swollen clit and I gasped. Encouraged, he nibbled and sucked the sensitive nub, driving me out of my mind.

He slid a second finger into me, filling me, stretching me, drawing me closer and closer to the edge of orgasm. He slurped and licked and sucked, pounding me with his fingers ‘til I fell right over the edge, into a toe-curling orgasm.

“Please…I want you…”

Ralkor roared at my words, rising to his feet. The big head of his cock pushed against my entrance. He gazed into my eyes, face glazed with my juices. He grabbed my hips and pushed that big head past my entrance.

I gasped, throwing back my head. He pushed each cock ridge slowly in, popping each past my entrance and inside. He pushed as deep as he could, inch by inch, slow and deliberate. His fat cock stretched me to my limit. I’d never felt so full. I panted short, shallow breaths.

“Are you okay?”

“Fuckyespleasefuckme…”

My words tumbled over each other, nigh unintelligible. I tried to thrust myself against him, to feel him pounding the tight clusters of pleasure inside waiting to be burst open into fresh orgasms.

“Please! Ralkor!”

He pulled back and thrust. His perfect cock pushed me right back over the edge. Ralkor drove his thick cock into me, over and over and wave after wave of orgasm flowed over me ‘til the world faded.

With a roar, Ralkor’s cock throbbed, swelling even bigger. He thrust in so deeply I shattered again, staring into my eyes as he released.

Together we tumbled together into the dark, into the space that held only us.

Ralkor

The next morning, I watched the most glorious sunrise in the history of sunrises on any planet. The birds sang more sweetly. The air tasted fresher. Everything tasted delicious. Even the cubs made me smile, though one of them tried to drag me across the shore by my leg.

For some reason, they never tried to chew on Emily.

They think she’s special, too.

“How are we supposed to take everything on this boat? The camp kitchen ran out of room.”

“What all are you trying to take?” I asked, content to watch her plan.

“Everything, of course. Like Uncle Ricky and Aunt Darleen in a motel room. She carried the biggest purse. She’s the kind who sneaks snacks into a movie theatre and by snacks, I mean brisket and potato salad.”

“Would I like brisket?” I wondered.

“Oh Baby, would you ever. But I’d need a cow, post oak and mesquite logs, foil, a smoker, and sixteen hours.”

“Is that all?”

She handed me a stack of folded bedding. “That doesn’t even get to the rub. Or basting sauce. Figure out a place to stash this.”

“I suppose I could roll it up in the blankets and tie it to the sport railing at the top of the kitchen.”

“That’s a great idea. Ooh! I saw some rope you can use for that.”

Emily climbed into the boat, her face disappearing over the railing. A minute later, a rope sailed over the side.

“Here you go.”

“Perfect. Thanks.”

What if I like her? Like, like her like her? How am I supposed to figure it out when I don’t even understand what I’m thinking? My mind keeps dashing in every direction. I feel…squishy inside— But…but…what do I even do with squishy feelings?

Sensations I had no idea how to identify turned my gut into a gladiatorial pit. Fear had hope in a headlock while desire rattled my brains. Drifting thoughts, refusing anchor, floated past each other in my mind, traveling in every direction at once.

The sound of approaching drones caught my attention. I stopped and watched them deliver a new section of camp trailer. The drones flew away and I walked over to look at the brochure hanging from the door handle.

“Top-of-the-line, camp sanitation trailer. Compatible with our camp kitchen! Complete with exclusive SmartFollow™ technology. Simply set your camp trailer SmartFollow™ setting to the ‘ON’ position…”

I pressed the door panel button indicated in the instructional brochure. Something pricked my finger.

“Ow.”

The door panel’s small display screen flashed.

That seemed simple.

I shrugged my shoulders and returned to the boat. The sanitation trailer followed me at a reasonable distance.

“That’s awesome. How’d you manage that?”

“I read the brochure.”

Emily climbed down from the boat and we explored the sanitation trailer. It had a sink, shower stall, laundry appliances, a moderately sized changing room, and some storage. Emily stuffed it with supplies scavenged from the Wave Master.

“I think we’re ready.”

I paired the sanitation station with the camp kitchen and tied the maglev crate at the back of the train. We traveled along the southern bank of the river, moving east. A chain of mountains defined our southern skyline.

I think I do like her like her…

Since my abduction, I hadn’t had anyone in my life that I cared about and no relationship of permanence.

What should I do? How does this change things? I know this game must end…

The thought I’d now had something to lose streaked through my mind. Terror of losing Emily followed on the thought’s heels. I drew close to her, matching her moves like a shadow, determined to leap between her and any possible danger.

We came to a rocky ridge.

What if she falls? She could hurt her ankle…

“Watch your step.”

“Why? What’s up.”

“The path is uneven. A bad step and you could fall…”

“Riiight. Somehow, of all the things we’ve survived, you think a few rocks underfoot along this path will take me out?”

“No. I merely worried for your safety.”

“Uh huh.”

Emily let it go and we continued on. Some creature crashed through the brush near us. I pulled my knife and jumped between Emily and the sound. The cubs chased the creature, flushing it out into the open. They practiced chasing and pouncing on the furry thing.

“That’s good. Their natural instincts are kicking in. I bet they’re about ready to start hunting. Maybe we can train them some tomorrow. Then you can take them to hunt with you. Just think how helpful they’d be.”

“But…that would leave you alone… What if something happened while I was gone?”

“Like what?”

“What if you get hurt or another creature finds you…”

Emily stopped so quickly that I had to dodge to avoid running directly into her. She turned her face to me.

Her gaze seemed to pierce my chest.

“Don’t make me get a whip and a chair. Doing the stuff we did last night doesn’t mean you suddenly own me.”

“What gave you that idea…”

“We have sex and suddenly, you think I can’t do anything on my own…”

“I never said that—”

“You didn’t have to. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“What’s a rodeo?”

“Stay on topic, Ralkor. No one owns me, not even the Snaghians. I know they think they do, but they’re gonna learn a lesson and it looks like I’m the one to teach it. Don’t add yourself to the list of people who underestimate me and need to learn better.”

My mind crashed against Emily’s autonomy and her autonomy won.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. You’ve done nothing but impress me since we met. I don’t know why I’d start doubting you now.”

“Good apology. I’ll take it. Let’s get moving, I have a sister to save.”

Yes, I definitely like her.

I knew I felt more than that, but “like” was as close as I’d come to admitting my deeper suspicions.

Did I misread her? Did she want nothing more last night than a moment’s connection, like the matrons in the pits? Did I only see what I wanted to see in her face last night? Dare I hope there is more?

The grand goal of protecting another dawned on me. To protect was not to control, but to be available to another. Protecting her simply to keep her like a pet, to own her, was no protection at all. I wouldn’t want anyone to try to control all I did in the name of protection. Emily was right.

Fighting with her to live? Being here to help when she needed—that was protection. I vowed to see Emily—and her sister—make it out alive. Even if I failed to join them. Before, I’d only ever lived to survive one fight just to struggle to survive another.

My life in the pits had been a pointless exercise, never moving forward, never finding safety, never winning my freedom.

When had that ever been living? When had that ever been worth fighting for? When had I come to accept captivity as my life?

Emily was worth fighting for. The possible future we’d have together was worth fighting for. Clarity settled upon me and I smiled. Emily and I trekked on.

Emily

Exhausted from the long day, I’d slept curled up to Ralkor’s back. We’d set up the mattress and bedding I took from the Wave Master on the ground near the campfire. I woke underneath a pile of cubs, who must’ve decided to sleep with us sometime in the night.

I managed to belly crawl out of the pile and started my day while Ralkor and the cubs slept. I intended to start their scent training. Deciding the cubs would be most useful in helping to flush out small game, I pulled out the raw hide of one of the small game creatures I’d come to think of as space bunny and some leftover space bunny meat.

Using my pocket knife, I cut a handful of thin strips off the hide and tied the rest with some twine from the camp kitchen. I dropped the ragged hide to the ground, dragging it behind me into the small meadow near our camp site.

After I laid a good trail, I dropped a couple of small chunks of space bunny and a strip of the hide at the end of the trail, picking up the filthy hide and walking a hundred steps away. There, I dropped the hide again, making a second trail for the cubs to follow. Carefully placing their reward, I continued laying eight more trails.

As I worked, my mind wandered, trying to figure out how I felt about Ralkor.

Okay so, Ralkor is hot, but I just don’t have time to worry about a relationship right now, I’m trying to save Alyssa…

Good luck trying not to cuddle up to his warm body on the chilly nights.

At the end of the last trail, I buried the ruined hide in a shallow hole hidden between two boulders. Satisfied with my progress, I pulled a meticulously folded handkerchief from my pocket and wiped bits of hair, blood, dirt, and grasses from my hands.

When I returned to camp, Ralkor handed me a bowl of warmed leftovers and the cubs wrestled nearby.

“Welcome back. I was just about to feed the cubs—”

“Thanks. Don’t feed them yet. Let me wash my hands and I’ll explain.”

I washed my hands in the sanitation trailer, then joined Ralkor for breakfast.

“Today we start training the cubs to help flush out small game.”

“Exciting.”

We finished breakfast, threw a load of clothes into the sanitation trailer’s wash cycle, and refilled the trailers’ water tanks from the river. Done preparing camp, I took Ralkor and the cubs out to the training field.

I drew the cubs’ attention to the beginning of the first trail, waving the last strip of hide under their noses. They snuffled at the hide and the ground. I tossed them a strip of hide. They wrestled for it, rolling in the dirt.

“So, how does this training work?”

“It’s already begun…”

“Playing in the dirt—”

“Look. Here they go.”

The cubs’ noses and their natural instincts had caught the scent trail. They snuffled the ground back and forth in wide arcs. They pushed at each other with wide, clawed paws, snapping, fighting over which would follow the scent. They broke into a run when they caught the first whiff of the chunks of meat awaiting them at the end of the first trail.

“Come, Ralkor. I laid more trails. Enough repetition and they’ll lead you directly to your prey.”

The cubs caught onto the scent-tracking game faster than any dog I’d ever trained. Satisfied with our first session, we returned to camp and began the day’s travel. The sharp rocky foothills of the Central Mountain buckled the terrain over which we trudged. Scree, gravel, and small rocks strewn from mountain to shore threatened to turn our ankles.

The cubs picked up scents here and there, flushing small game from bolt holes among the larger boulders, joyous with their new skill. They caught little of the prey they found. I let them keep their first catch, so they could enjoy their success. The second and third space bunny, I collected, cleaned, and stored in the camp kitchen.

Cleaning my hands on a fresh handkerchief, I turned at the sound of an incoming drone. I dropped the handkerchief in the wash and accepted the package. I unwrapped the gift and read the label. I looked up, hoping the camera drone caught the expression on my face.

“Really? AmmoDyne lubricant? For, and I quote, ‘When you really need to hit your target, let AmmoDyne smooth your way’… Y’all, you know it can’t be sexy times all the time here, right? I’m too busy worrying about my sister and getting to the alter quickly enough…”

Several more drones flew in, depositing their packages in my hands. I opened the first, reading the label out loud.

“To my dear wife, F’alala Zekoo, I dedicate these aphrodisiac edibles. See my love, I do want to support intimacy and romance. Please give me another chance. Sincerely, Blablooo.”

I blinked, looking up at the air, then back to the edibles.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Maybe I’ll save these for later. One never knows… Could be useful…

“Okay, I get the hint. But at the moment I’m too stressed to worry about it. Maybe if I didn’t have to worry so much about survival? You do want me to survive, yes?”

A new drone arrived. It dropped a book in my hands. I read the title.

“Survivalist’s Guide to Garglax II! You DO want me to live. Thanks, fans! Hope I get a glimpse of y’all during tonight’s broadcast!”

I stashed the sex gifts under a blanket stuffed in the sanitation trailer’s storage, hoping Ralkor didn’t find them before I could explain.

What we’d done in the privacy of the ship’s cabin was amazing.

Fantastic.

And had ramifications I couldn’t think about right now.

This was a game, right? We had to survive, and for that I needed my partner.

And… anything more was simply too much for my mind to handle.

We returned to the trail and pushed hard, finally stopping at the edge of a wide open meadow. We camped and ate, then I pulled out the survivalist’s guide.

“This reads like a cross between Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, something out of Mountains of Madness, and a warning guide written in a chibi manga style.”

Ralkor scooted close, pressing his shoulder against mine. “I don’t know what any of those things are.”

I pointed to one of the pictures. “That obviously means dangerous.”

“How can you tell? He could be rejoicing.”

“I don’t think so…”

We read and talked by the light of the fire long into the night, falling asleep in the comfort of each other’s arms.

Ralkor

We began the morning early, much the same way we’d started most mornings. We woke and ate, packed our things into the trailers, and scent-trained the cubs. They picked up the known scent so quickly, Emily moved on to the scents of other game.

By mid-morning, we returned to the trail, once again navigating steep, rocky terrain. Tall cliffs with sheer sides pinned us close to the river to the south. Dense forests lined the river’s northern bank.

“The terrain on the other side of the river looks easier to travel.”

I gazed across the water running rough where the river flowed past the underwater ridges of the foothills. “If we can find a good place to cross.”

“We’ll keep our eyes open.”

That did not sound comfortable in the slightest. “I think I’ll surely need to blink.”

Emily smiled at me, shaking her head. “It’s Earth for ‘continue to look for a good place while we do other things’.”

“Oh. Then yes, we’ll keep our eyes open for a place to cross.”

The cubs, nearly twice as large now than when we first found them, thoroughly enjoyed the walk. Much faster on their feet than we were, they bounded about, smelling everything, playing with rocks, and flushing game out of hidden dens.

“It’d be so much easier with a horse.”

“I don’t know what a horse is, but if you really want one, just tell the fans.”

“No. I don’t want anyone to bring me a real horse. That’d just be cruel. Horses are large, herbivorous animals from Earth. Humans domesticated them some six-thousand years ago. Horses revolutionized entire civilizations. Horse-mounted warriors redefined combat on our planet.”

“They sound magnificent.”

“They are. If we ever get off Garglax II, I’ll introduce you to my favorites.”

“You raise these horses?”

“No, but I have a few.”

“But you don’t want anyone to bring one? If they’re so useful…”

“It’d be cruel. Horses are sensitive. They have specific dietary requirements, require specific medicine. They wouldn’t understand being on a different planet with entirely new smells. If I were settling here permanently, maybe it’d be worth all the work it’d take to start a herd, but that’s not exactly our current goal.”

“I see.”

“Now, those dyàk we’ve seen. They’re big enough mounts, even for you, Ralkor…”

I laughed in disbelief. “You want to ride a dyàk?”

“Why not?”

Why not, she asked. I started with the first objection that came to mind. “What about the horns?”

“According to the guide, only the bucks grow them. The does are still plenty big enough to carry us. Let’s catch some.”

“And tame it? Ourselves? Out here?”

“Why not? My primitive ancestors managed it and it won’t be my first large herbivore.”

I sighed. “Your ambition delights me.”

Emily smiled, her face shining. I hated to bring up anything that would dim her joy, but I still had concerns. “How would we even do that, though? Do we have time? Aren’t we in a hurry to find your sister?”

“Yeah, but a dyàk can travel a lot further in a day over this terrain than we can on foot,” she insisted. “That’ll more than make up for the time we invest in training them. I’m not saying train them for competition. I’m saying, we rough break ‘em. They’ll be harder to control, but they’ll revert to the wild better after we release them.”

“I have no idea how to do such a thing, Emily.”

She shrugged. “If you promise to listen, do exactly as I tell you and not argue, I’ll teach you.”

I wonder what other things we can teach each other…

Before my thoughts could lead me into trouble I agreed. “That sounds like an adventure. How do we begin?”

“We need to find the right place to set up camp for a few days. It must be a large, open space with enough flat ground for dyàk to run. We need to build a corral, prepare some equipment—rope, halters, saddle blankets.... Finding usable lumber will be the trick.”

“Worry not, Emily,” I reassured her, then looked into the sky. “We have the greatest fans in the galaxy.”

Emily thrust a fist into the air and released a blood-curdling whoop at her maximum volume. My ears rang, but I knew the fans would love it.

When the sun began to set, we made camp and prepared for the next day.

In the morning we pushed hard, looking for either a good place to cross the river or an open space on our side.

We saw a few dyàk high on the steep canyon walls south of the river. As this world’s sun began to set, the river valley opened up into just the place we sought. Emily whooped and we set up camp on the edge of a plain which supported a large herd of dyàk.

“We’ll start in the morning. Since we’ll be camped here for a few days, try to piss a perimeter around our camp to keep the predators out.”

“That works?”

“Most of the time.”

I shrugged. “You’re the expert.”

The next morning, after our usual duties training the cubs and making breakfast, drones arrived to deposit a new trailer.

Emily read the brochure out loud.

“Congratulations on your new Animal Training unit! A must for any prospective colonist. Everything you need to start an animal husbandry industry in a new world. Colonial Tack, for when you really need to tame a beast!”

Emily giggled, gaze flicking in my direction, but didn’t comment.

She opened the brochure, read a few pages, then entered a code on the trailer’s display. A set of fence panels detached from the side. Carried by drones, they set themselves up in a circle just outside of our camp.

Emily pushed a few buttons and the front gates opened wide.

“I think we’re ready, Ralkor.”

Emily and I closed the cubs in the sanitation trailer to keep them from scaring off the dyàk and walked out to get a good look at the creatures. After a few minutes, Emily nodded. I set my feet, ready to chase the dyàk into the corral.

Emily placed her hand on my arm and looked up at me. “What you doin’ there, Mister?”

“Preparing to catch dyàk. I thought that was today’s task…”

She widened her eyes.“Were you…planning on chasing them down?”

“Well, yes.” That seemed obvious. Wasn’t it obvious?

Perhaps not.

“Then what?” she asked. “You tackle it, drag it into the corral?”

“Um…”

She patted my arm.“We want the dyàk to like us after we catch them.”

“Oh. True.”

Emily winked at me. “Watch this.”

Emily

I pulled a handful of vegetables from my pocket. Slow and casual, putting off my best I-will-pet-you vibes, I wandered close to the herd. Several members chuffed in alarm. The entire herd looked my way.

A few, skittish individuals ran from my approach. Recognizing I’d reached the herd’s comfort boundary, I slowed to a stop.

I looked over my shoulder at Ralkor and smiled, hoping he understood to wait there and watch. I pulled a bit of vegetable from my pocket and tossed it underhanded in the direction of the herd. A few of the dyàk closest to me twitched but didn’t run. One brave individual stepped forward, stretching her head out as far as she could, trying to smell the vegetable.

After a few patient minutes, she stepped all the way up to it and gobbled my offering. She raised her head to smell me, wondering if I had more. With slow deliberate movements, I pulled another chunk of food out of my pocket. Another brave doe stepped forward. I tossed her a bit of vegetables too.

The gathered dyàk ate my stash of vegetables within the first half hour, but by the end of it, they loitered about, picking at grasses, comfortable with my presence. A couple of the more curious dyàk nibbled on my clothes, curious and explorative. With a chuckle, I turned from them and strolled back to Ralkor.

“What’d you think?”

“That’s all? I thought we were going to catch them.”

“We are. We’re just doing it in a less traumatic way than chasing them down and leaping upon their backs, which would set off all their instincts and damage our ability to build trust with them.”

“I see that. We feed them first. Like when we first found the cubs.”

“Exactly. Later this evening, we’ll return and both of us will stroll out there and make friends. Tomorrow, we lay a trail of food leading to the open corral. All in all, this was a successful first attempt.”

A smile hung on Ralkor’s mouth.

It’s good to see him happy. Especially since he started out all growly and quiet. Besides, I like his smile.

We strolled back to camp at the most casual pace we’d set since arriving on this planet.

Maybe I’ll cook something special, since we have time. Stew is just so easy when one only has a bunch of random ingredients, though…

“I never thought I’d be feeding and training animals, rather than killing them for my own survival.”

He sounded empty, like every time he spoke of his life.

“Was there anything good about your past?” I wondered, hoping for his sake there’d been something, anything.

“I…enjoyed the challenge. I enjoyed surviving. Killing the animals they pitted me against, that I never enjoyed. I did my best to kill them as quickly as possible. Some gladiators would drag out the kill to increase the audience’s bloodlust, but I never did.”

“You were in an impossible situation. Like we are in this game.”

Ralkor shrugged. “Here at least, we have a chance. To survive—to do things a different way. I look forward to tomorrow.”

Warmth bloomed inside me—a warmth which both exhilarated and terrified me. I knew falling for the first random alien I got stuck on another planet with was probably a really bad idea—

It’s not like I’m in some alien romance book. “Fated mates” is just a trope writers use… Ralkor isn’t secretly some king…

“Are you by any chance secretly a king or anything? Like, on your home planet?”

“Uh…why do you ask?”

I looked away, unable to believe I’d actually just asked that. “I’m…just curious. You don’t talk about your life before the pits much.”

“I suppose I stopped thinking about it,” Relkor answered slowly. “Didn’t do me much good to remember a place I’d likely never return.”

“Yeah, I see that. Just too painful. There are certainly parts of my past I’d be happy to never think about again.” And now we could forget that I’d ever asked such a stupid question, right?

Or maybe not.

“But to answer your question, my father was the leader of our people. We used different words of course, but I suppose I was a prince.”

So, what if he is secretly a prince? It doesn’t mean anything…

We arrived back at camp and freed the cubs. They tumbled out of the sanitation trailer’s door and ran to Ralkor. They’d grown so large, they nearly knocked him over.

They’re getting too big for all that. Time to make Ralkor the leader.

“Ralkor, don’t let them get you on the ground. Do your best to be bigger, louder, scarier, and in control. Pay attention to how they interact with each other. They communicate physically, in large part, or they wouldn’t constantly wrestle.”

“Really?”

“Do you want to lead the hunting pack, or would you rather they start thinking of you as prey?”

He blinked. “Well, I don’t want to be prey.”

“Surely you learned to read the body language of large predators in the ring.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Same thing. You’ve spent years studying animal body language. Trust the instincts you honed in the pit to remain aware of what they’re doing, and thinking of doing.”

“I’m curious as to the purpose.”

“You have all the skills to become a very good trainer. I want to develop those. We’ll have to work together to tame the dyàks.”

We both fed the dyàks as evening fell, then returned to camp. We made dinner and ate, enjoying the sunset from our little spot. Drones arrived with new gifts. Ralkor opened the packages, pulling out two t-shirts. He read the messages printed on the front.

“‘Happy Anniversary, Glopglob. I look forward to the next fifty cycles’ and ‘MegaGalacticAg, LLC – Bioengineering the Future.’”

“Those are cute!”

“They seem to be the wrong sizes…”

I studied the shirts for a minute, then snapped. “They’re for the fengkshás.”

Ralkor helped me wrestle the cubs down long enough to get the t-shirts on, and despite the ridiculousness of everything, I giggled at their cuteness. Ralkor looked unimpressed, but I was happy.

That warmth bloomed inside me again, but before I could try to decipher it, and incoming drone interrupted our evening.

We sat on the bedding we’d set up, ready to watch the Intergalactic Love Death Match broadcast, eager to catch any crumb of information the damn goblins would let slip about Aly.

Together.

Like we do this every night.

Maybe…once we get everyone out of this…

I shut those thoughts down hard, and turned my attention back to the broadcast.

Ralkor

I woke up with Emily in the early hours. After a shower and a quick breakfast, we fed the cubs and left them in the sanitation trailer to sleep.

“Bring the crate to the camp kitchen, please, Ralkor.”

I floated the crate over to Emily and she stuffed it with fruits, vegetables, and greens. First, we put a few in the corral, as far from the open corral gate as we could. We left a trail of goodies every few feet, until Emily said that was enough.

The herd wasn’t far from our location and we strolled out close to them. Emily stopped us a distance away. Some of the dyàk we fed yesterday ran up, tails high.

Within minutes, several ate right out of our hands. A simple, giddy joy bubbled up inside of me. A new feeling bloomed deep inside my soul—satisfaction.

“I see why you love this life.”

“We haven’t even gotten to the best parts, Ralkor. Follow me.”

Emily backed up slowly, toward the end of our food trail. The dyàk followed, hoping for more easy food. I backed up with her.

Once we reached the first pile of greens, the dyàk gobbled them right up. After the second pile of food, I think the dyàk would’ve followed Emily anywhere.

The dyàk startled a little when they first spotted the corral, but Emily lured them in. Once they got past the gate and saw the food stashed at the back, they walked right in.

“Do we close the gate?”

“Not yet. Tomorrow.”

I nodded. The dyàk ate up their stash of food and wandered off.

Emily smiled. “That was a productive morning.”

“How? We didn’t even catch one.”

“Oh, Ralkor. Have patience. And watch what happens tomorrow.”

We played with the cubs, laughed, joked, and read more of the survival guide. We simply enjoyed the day. I couldn’t remember simply enjoying life in a long time.

Drones delivered more food for the fridge and another large maglev crate filled with dyàk-safe foods.

That evening, we put more food out in the corral and the next morning, dyàk loitered around the corral, waiting for another easy meal. Emily put out a new batch of food. The does trotted over to it, head and ears high, tail up. We closed the gates, trapping six of the massive does in the corral.

“Not that I thought about taming animals much, but I never expected it’d be this easy.”

Emily chuckled, gazing at the dyàk. “Would you’ve preferred to run one down?”

“Not now that I see how easy it is to do this way.”

“Come on, Ralkor. Let’s get these critters some water.”

We took the new, large, now-empty maglev crate and filled it from the camp kitchen’s water reservoir, then refilled the water in both trailers. I pushed the new water trough over to the corral. Emily opened one of the gates just enough to allow me to push the trough into the corral without allowing the captured dyàk to escape.

She latched the gate behind me.

“Put it on the far side. Near the feed.”

I’m alone in a pen with gigantic dyàk I don’t intend to kill. Strange and…wonderful. After so many years of killing, caring feels profound. And…deeply satisfying.

Having set the trough where Emily suggested, I returned to the gate. Emily let me out and we watched the dyàk mill about the corral. Emily sighed.

“What? Is there something wrong?”

“No. We just need a proper holding pen.”

“Isn’t that what the corral is for?”

“Not at all. This round configuration of panels is meant to be utilized as a clear workspace, where we’ll work with one dyàk at a time. The holding pen is to house the dyàk when we aren’t working with them.”

“Well, Emily, we do have the greatest fans in the world.”

“Yes, we do. Where’s that camera drone?”

A drone flew up to Emily.

Are those things cloaked or something? They come out of nowhere…

“Hi there, galaxy!” She waved her hat at the drone, beckoning it closer. “Listen fans, I’ll make you a deal. For enough additional fence panels to make a decent holding pen, I’ll teach you how to become a cowboy. Now, I can’t make any of you Texan. For that, you’d have to be fortunate enough to have been born there, but you can learn the cowboy way of life. What do you say?”

For a long moment there was silence.

Was it not enough?

Had the fans tired of learning about cows and Texas and Emily, moved on to a new fascination?

The whirr of drones answered me as fence panels were carried in, startling the dyàk. Emily soothed them with sweet words, leading me over to set up a holding pen. We built off the existing corral panels so one of the corral’s gates opened to the holding pen, a much larger area than the corral.

Emily and I entered the corral. I pushed the water trough into the holding pen and Emily slowly walked behind the dyàk. Her body acted like a wall, her presence pushing the dyàk forward with gentle pressure without Emily ever getting close enough to be kicked.

“Jump over the fence, Ralkor.”

“Why can’t I just go through the gate?”

“You can, but it’s great practice. Sometimes, when working with animals, you need to make a fast exit. I know you’re a tough gladiator and all, but the fewer traumatic or negative interactions with these animals, the faster they’ll train and we don’t have enough time to invest in rehabilitating any of them.”

With the dyàk moved and secured in their new holding pen, Emily retrieved a long tool from the training trailer. She went through the corral using the tined tool to scoop up dyàk droppings, depositing them in a pile outside the pen.

We retired to the campsite, tired from the hard work, and yet I’d never felt so satisfied in my life.

The next morning dawned early. After attending to our normal morning duties, we returned to the pen.

Emily filled the first maglev crate we’d received with various equipment. While she prepared, I fed the dyàks. Today, they trotted right up to the fence. They stuck their noses through the fence, trying to smell me or grab the first bite of the proffered food. They pushed at and jostled each other to get to the trough.

Emily walked up with her crate of tools. She smiled at me and I thought my heart would stop.

How does she become more beautiful each day?

“Ready to learn how to become a cowboy?”

Emily

“Where are the camera drones?”

Camera drones sped out of nowhere in response to Emily’s question. The dyàk bolted, trying to flee the flying machines.

“Damnit, I don’t need you scaring the animals before we start work! Land those drones on the corral’s fence posts between the panels and don’t move them again until I say so or no one gets to learn to be a cowboy!”

Apparently, that was enough of a threat, because the drones did exactly as I demanded.

Everyone wants to be a cowboy.

I leaned my arms on the fence, making soothing noises. The dyàk calmed. Ralkor leaned against the fence next to me.

“So, when do we begin?”

“As soon as I make some major decisions.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve never worked with dyàk before. I’m trying to decide if they’ll train best like a horse, cow, or sheep.”

“How can you tell which is best?”

“I don’t think I can ‘til we get started. Let’s try horse. It’d be the ideal. They take less time to halter break.”

“Halter break?”

“Oh. Get them used to wearing something on their face. I’m also trying to decide which of the six we caught have the best temperament for this. No point in trying to fight an already dominant animal.”

“How can you tell?”

“Watch. The dominant one is the bully. She moves first. She’ll toss her head and stomp her feet the most. The others will look to her for instruction. There are only one or two dominant animals in a herd. They tell the others what to do. They lead the way. We have to become the dominant animal, the one giving the instructions. The remainder of the herd want to be told what to do. That’s why we can tame them so easily. We work with their instincts.”

Ralkor nodded, listening intently. His genuine interest and attentive listening nearly melted my heart, but I strove to stay professional. Little thrills of pleasure still raced through me, entirely ignoring my mind and logic.

It never felt this good to teach anyone anything before. Focus! We have a task. Remember, we have to save Alyssa.

“Okay, let’s get to work. Remember how I gently moved the dyàks to the holding pen last night?”

“Yes. Slow, casual movements.”

“It’s important to stay calm. They can smell your fear, apprehension, anger, everything and they’ll respond accordingly. Now, I’ve picked out the dominant doe. We’ll release her without releasing the rest. I’ll work the gate, you push them.”

We entered the corral. I stayed by the gate but didn’t latch it. Ralkor slipped in and followed the fence line to the back of the herd. They moved toward me as a unit. The lead dyàk stepped the closest. I opened the gate wide enough for the dyàk to feel comfortable enough to dash past and into the corral. I closed the gate behind the lead dyàk and latched it.

“Stay there, Ralkor. I’ll be right back.”

He leaned on the fence while I opened the other corral gate and pushed the dominant dyàk out, into the open. The lead dyàk ran at first, then milled about, unsure where to go.

“Don’t worry, she’ll find her way back to the remainder of the herd.”

I latched that gate and returned to the holding pen’s gate.

“Okay, bring me another and watch what I do.”

Ralkor circled around the back of the herd again, gently pushing them my way. I let another dyàk through, closing the gate behind me.

“Okay, Ralkor. Find a comfortable place to watch. Either outside the corral or on the top of the fence. You just don’t want to be in the corral or the holding pen.”

Ralkor climbed up and sat on the fence.

“Stay still and quiet.”

I pulled my lasso out of the equipment crate and coiled it up in my hand. I set the loop at the end, holding it loosely in my right hand while I held the remainder of the coiled rope in my left. Walking in an arc, I approached the dyàk’s rear. As I worked, I explained to Ralkor.

“These are prey animals. They’re always hypervigilant. Their instincts say when threatened, run first, fight if you have to. They have a stress point just behind their shoulders. Approach from behind the stress point and see what happens.”

The dyàk surged forward, trotting along the curved fence in a circle so wide, the dyàk brushed the fence with her side.

“Now, watch when I approach from in front of that line.”

I changed my position in relation to the dyàk, applying the pressure of my physical presence on the other side of the dyàk’s stress point. The dyàk spun on its hooves and trotted the opposite way.

“Good, good. Looks like horse training techniques will work after all.”

“This makes so much more sense now, Emily. It’s like I knew these things from the gladiator pits, but I never really thought about them.”

“That’s what I meant before. You have the instincts. Codifying them into a method is the next step.”

We worked the dyàk a few more hours. After the first hour, Ralkor joined me. He took to training faster than I’d ever seen. He paid close attention, faithfully replicating each technique I showed him. Ralkor moved with the precision and grace of a natural athlete.

I could’ve watched his body working in the sun all day.

And not just because we needed those critters tamed.

By the time I called a halt, we had halters and saddles on two dyàks and released the rest. Ralkor smiled with an inner light I hadn’t seen in him before. He moved with a confidence and clarity I knew from a lifetime on the ranch.

Later, over dinner, words tumbled out of his mouth. I could almost see his mind work, exploring the implications of the day’s experience.

“What I don’t understand is, why haven’t the cubs tried to attack the dyàks?”

“Fengkshá are matriarchal, according to the survival guide. The cubs don’t eat the tamed dyàk because they smell like me and I’m the great fengkshá mommy in their minds. So we all smell like family.”

“Interesting…”

“Besides, two juvenile fengkshás would be no match for two fully-grown dyàks. Not with that rack of antlers or those sharp hooves.”

Relkor frowned. “You think so? Even with as big as they’ve gotten?” If I didn’t know better, I would think he was insulted at the offense to his babies.

“Once the initial shock of first contact between the fengkshás and the dyàk wears off, the dyàk will easily keep the young fengkshás in line. Like a mean ol’ mama sheep with new babies. You put a pup in with her as soon as it weans. That mama sheep makes sure that pup learns respect and the pup grows up thinking it’s a sheep. That’s how you get the best sheep dogs.”

“Interesting. How do you handle them then, if they think they are sheep?”

“You don’t. Those dogs are meant to travel with the herds in open country. Mostly unsupervised. You don’t want them tame. You don’t want them nice. If they are fully tamed, they won’t protect the herd from rustlers—thieves.”

“I never thought of that.”

“So, how’d you like your first day as a cowboy?”

He beamed. “I want to get out of here alive and be a cowboy the rest of my life. Today was the most rewarding, most satisfying experience I’ve ever had. I see why you love it, why you refuse to let that life die out.”

Leaning against his side I let myself relax.

No matter where I was, no matter what happened, two things were clear.

I was still me.

And we were in this together.

Ralkor

The buzz of an approaching drone caught our attention. I started the dishes on a sanitation cycle and sat on the mattress we’d set up next to the campfire. Emily set aside the bowl of vegetable scraps leftover from our dinner, sitting beside me to watch the evening’s broadcast.

She sat so close, her arm and leg leaned into mine.

I stiffened, terrified to show how much I enjoyed the connection. She leaned her head against my shoulder and I froze, my breath catching in my chest.

Is it wrong to want her so much?

Plabz and Kvorkt chatted on the drone’s display screen, but I didn’t hear a word. The warmth of Emily’s body against mine captured all of my attention. Her unique aroma tickled my nose, tantalizing my mind.

“Look, Ralkor!”

I looked at the screen. Plabz and Kvorkt broadcasted live from some stadium and Fans from all over the galaxy stood in the bleachers cheering, fists, hooves, and tentacles raised.

And they were all dressed like Emily.

“We have the best fans,” she beamed.

“Everyone wants to be a cowboy.”

“Damn right. Can you blame them? We were magnificent today.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. Just think how great it’d be to make a living training animals in the pits, rather than having to kill them.”

“Most of the gladiatorial fans want blood. But, I can see a market for it,” I admitted.

“Must be or there wouldn’t be so many new cowboys out there.”

I smiled at the thought. “Who knows, maybe there’s a reality show on your ranch in our future.”

Emily laughed, then, she fell quiet.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you fantasize about the future.”

“Uh…”

She turned her face to me and I feared I might fall into the depths of her eyes. The warm light of the fire flickered off her face.

“And I was there? In your fantasy?”

I gulped.

What should I say?

“Well, uh…well, if we survive and win our freedom… I wouldn’t be forced back to the pits. We…uh…could be partners? Start our own reality show on the ranch. I’d like to see your ranch and a horse and a longhorn and a dog…”

She leaned closer. “Would you?”

“Yeah. Maybe you could give me a job…or something… Why are you giggling?”

As slowly as she’d moved around the dyàks she raised a hand to cup my cheek. “‘Cause that was a long way to go to admit you like my company.”

“Uhhh…”

My heart pumped faster. I felt like Emily had led me into the deep part of a river and the current might drag me away.

What’s she trying to say?

“Well, I enjoy your company, too. You’ve been pretty great this entire time.”

Her soft words settled over me like the lightest blanket. I closed my eyes, savoring each syllable. Her fingers traced over the scales of my face and I opened my eyes, losing myself in Emily’s gaze.

In the barest whisper, she spoke. “Kiss me, Ralkor.”

The dam I’d so carefully constructed in my soul cracked and desire rushed through. Body trembling, I leaned in. My lips met hers, soft and sweet and Emily’s eyes fell closed as her body melted against me.

I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist. She cupped my face in her hands. I kissed her with all the passion I’d held back for days.

This wasn’t like the hunger I’d felt for her after the battle with the sea serpants, raw need and heat.

This was different.

Softer and stronger at the same time.

Something real.

Something precious.

Emily filled my mind, meeting my passion with her own.

The world faded around us, until we heard an approaching drone. We broke our kiss to look at the mechanical interloper just in time to see one of the cubs knock it out of the air.

The other cub swatted at it. They chewed on the drone, knocking it back and forth between them.

Emily grabbed my face and pulled my head around to face her. The firelight sparkled in her eyes. I stroked her hair. She stripped off her shirt. I gasped at her beauty, the gentle curves of her body accentuated by the light of the fire.

The universe twinkled in the sky behind her, but she was all I cared about at that moment. I ran my fingers along Emily’s jawline and down her throat. I lingered along her collarbone, tracing my fingers down the swell of her perfect breasts.

I cupped one, bringing the nipple to my mouth. I licked her nipple, nibbling and sucking. Emily’s little whimpers encouraged my efforts. I loved them. I loved causing those sighs. My own growls entwined with her little cries.

Emily’s heady personal smell enveloped us, tickling my nose. My eyes glazed. My head spun. My cock throbbed, rock hard, under my loincloth. Emily pushed at my chest. I pulled back and looked at her face.

She smiled at me with arousal-swollen lips. She moved off my lap, standing just long enough to strip off the rest of her clothes. Trying to pull off a boot while standing on one foot, she fell over onto the mattress.

Giggling, she raised her legs and I pulled both those boots off her feet. Emily stripped off her pants and I dropped my loincloth. She crooked her finger at me and wiggled her eyebrows. I dropped to my knees, crawling over to her.

With another giggle, she pushed me over onto my back and climbed atop me. Her voice husky, her cheeks shiny, her pussy dripping, her face lit up in a devious grin.

“This is called the cowgirl.”

I chuckled up to the point she hovered over the swollen head of my stiff cock. I sucked in a breath, holding it in anticipation. Then she slid down over me, enveloping my cock. I shuddered and groaned. Emily cried out.

She took all of me, slowly, inch by inch. We moaned together and began to move in a perfect natural rhythm. Emily gazed down into my eyes and rode me. I thrust into her, meeting her hips, letting her set the pace.

She put her hands on my chest, looking deep into my eyes while we made love. I wrapped my arms around her waist, feeling her clench on my cock. I knew she was close. I thrust hard and deep. Emily cried out.

I watched Emily’s orgasm wash over her face. I’d never seen anything so beautiful.

“Come with me, Ralkor…”

I needed no further invitation. I roared, filling her. Another orgasm washed over her face. Time faded. The world faded.

The stupid games faded. Only Emily and I existed.

I never want to be anywhere else.

Emily collapsed into my arms. We held each other for the rest of the night, making love until we passed out in each other’s arms.

Emily

Morning dawned, shining light over our entangled limbs. Flashes of the night before streaked through my mind, free and joyous.

A smile stretched across my face. Ralkor still snored and I cuddled up to him. I felt sore all over in the best of ways.

This can’t last, a nagging voice worried in the back of my mind.

You need to get off this planet, find your sister, get back to your real life.

But what was my real life? If I knew Aly was safe, what more would I need other than this man, this alien, by my side?

Tall, blue and handsome.

And grumpy. And kind.

Ready to learn to be gentle, ready to protect me and our strange little family.

What more could I want?

Well, other than to survive this crazy game.

Finally Relkor woke, and reluctantly we rose, all awkward smiles and blushes, little giggles and reluctant partings.

Our frantic sex on the boat was fantastic, but nothing like this.

Nothing like the sharing of hearts.

Admitting we liked each other last night was one thing. Allowing ourselves to enjoy the little thrill of a fledgling relationship was another.

We finished up our chores and packed up camp. Today, I planned to get us back on the trail and moving. Then, the drones arrived, various presents rained down from them. I caught one in a long tube and read the message.

“The newly formed Intergalactic Cowboy Coalition offers Emily and Ralkor a token of our appreciation for your budding relationship.”

I glanced at Ralkor who looked mortified.

“I thought the cubs took care of all the drones…”

I giggled. Not that I was happy about the situation, but there wasn’t much to do about it. “Pretty certain there are cloaked ones flying around…”

“Can we train them to detect cloaked drones?” he asked.

“Uh…not certain how we’d accomplish that since drones fly…but the dyàk might be able to hear them. We’ll have to watch and see.”

“What did the Intergalactic Cowboy Coalition send us for…’budding’ our relationship?”

I opened the tube and pulled out the contents.

“Ooh! Looks like a map, waterproof map case, and compass! Ralkor, this is great. Now we can actually plan things.”

Ralkor sighed. “I guess…admitting how I feel for you paid off.”

Warmth flooded my fluttering stomach. “Oh yeah? Admit it again and see what happens.”

“What?” Ralkor blurted, stiffing up, entering the ‘oh, no, feelings make me uncomfortable’ position.

“Admit your feelings for me again. Obviously, the fans love it.”

A loud bang caught our attention. We looked up into the sky. A drone flew high in the air, trailing a message behind it. I read the flashing signage.

“Ralkor plus Emily equals heart emoji.”

Ralkor shook his fist at the sky.

“Stop pressuring me. This…relationship…thing is new and more terrifying than a pack of flork!”

The sign flashed a new message, and I helpfully read it aloud. “You can do it, Ralkor! Fight for love!”

“Wow. What do I even do with that?” he muttered.

“Kiss me, obviously. Then we have to get to work. Can’t camp in this valley for the rest of our lives. Not if we want to get off this planet.”

“Yeah, we still have to save your sister.”

I kissed him. Devastating thrills ran through me and I had to pull back before we ended up giving the fans a real show.

“I wonder how much of last night the cameras caught.”

“I bet we find out tonight on the broadcast.”

I laughed, taking Ralkor’s hand, and we opened and stashed all the new supplies our amazing fans had sent.

“Time to saddle these dyàk, Ralkor.”

“And today, we ride them?”

“I hope so. I mean yes. Today we ride! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.” I could only hope that our gamble in deciding to slow down, train the dyàk, would pay off.

“Let’s look at that map first.” Ralkor fitted the map in the protective case and we studied it. He tapped it. “Looks like there is a pass through the mountains east of our location.”

“Yeah. With easier terrain and better weather. I think that’s our next destination, Ralkor.”

Course set, we moved to the holding pen. I entered the pen, speaking softly to the dyàk while Ralkor worked the gate for me. I scratched the dyàk under the loose halters they wore, along their necks and chests, running my hands all over them, dislodging dust, dirt, and loose hair.

“See how I’m touching them all over? That desensitizes them to touch. Teaches ‘em not to fear the new sensations. Normalizes physical interaction. The scratches are a reward. You just have to figure out what they like best.”

Ralkor watched with rapt attention. I clipped lead ropes to the metal ring on the bottom of the halters. He opened the gate, leading the dyàk through and into the corral. I tied the lead ropes to the metal pipes of a fence panel. I chose two big, soft-bristled brushes from the supplies and we brushed the dyàk down.

“So, we brush them for the same reason? To desensitize and reward them?”

“In part. Also though, for the health of your mount, it’s essential to brush them before saddling. Loose hair, burrs, thorns, clods of dirt, anything stuck to their hides under the saddle blanket can irritate them or wear sores in their hides.”

“I see.”

“Also, the time you put into grooming and care is a huge part of the bonding process. You and your mount become a team because of the work you put in and the patience you show them. It’s like any relationship. Never break their trust in you and they’ll push themselves to do anything you ask of them.”

“That…is a huge responsibility.”

I shrugged. “We’ve disrupted their natural lives. We are absolutely responsible for them. Luckily, they started out wild, so they can return to the wild after we leave. Domesticated animals rarely fare well when set free. Too many of their survival instincts have been bred out.”

I stowed the equipment, returning with the saddle blankets. I handed one to Ralkor. Like I showed him yesterday, we let the dyàk smell the blankets, easing them atop the dyàks. The dyàks twitched the skin over their backs a little but didn’t shy. I took it as a good omen.

Saddles followed the saddle blankets. I thanked myself for adjusting the fit yesterday when we first got them on.

“Remember the order, or you’ll just give yourself problems. Front girt, flank girt, chest piece.”

“Right.”

He strapped the front girt snug behind the front legs, then carefully attached the flank girt just before the back legs. Carefully, he strapped the chest piece just under the neck and looked to me for approval. I came over and adjusted the fit.

“That’s pretty good. The front girt is too loose, though. Sometimes animals will breathe in a bunch of air so you can’t cinch it down properly. When that happens, walk your animal in a few circles, so they’ll release that air and retighten it.”

Ralkor untied the lead rope and followed my instructions. Once I saw the dyàk’s swollen belly return to a normal inflation, I stepped up and cinched it tight. I turned back to Ralkor, smiling then spoke.

“Don’t cinch it enough, you and the saddle will end up upside down under your mount. And you don’t want to be there.”

I saddled my own dyàk and we walked them out of the pen, tying their lead ropes to the camp kitchen. Ralkor punched a few buttons on the animal supply trailer and the fences stored themselves. He tied the crate we converted to a water trough to the back.

We fitted the bridles on the dyàk, leaving the loose halters on them for now then mounted and carefully rode out into the wilderness of Garglax II. Neither dyàk had any bridle training, but they were clever and caught on fast.

We rode through the rocky terrain much more quickly than we had walked, thanks to the dyàk’s nimble hooves.

The cubs followed, disappearing occasionally to hunt, but always following their noses back to the family. They brought with them yummy treats, like fish, berries, and whatever small-to-medium game they’d found.

I’ve never been happier, but I really miss my sister.

But Ralkor keeps knocking me for a loop, with every smile, every touch.

What is wrong with me?

Ralkor

I thanked my dyàk for following Emily’s dyàk without much input from me, because all I thought about was last night with Emily in my arms. I sighed, content with life for the first time since I was abducted so long ago.

Even with the dyàk barely trained, we covered far more ground than we’d ever covered on foot. We followed the river to a small lake, refilling our water stores before turning south and traveling towards the pass through the mountains.

“Stop plough reining that dyàk.”

“Huh?”

“The way you use those reins, Ralkor. You’re plough reining. Pulling hard on the rein in the direction you want it to turn. It’ll cause you problems in the future and it takes both of your hands.”

“So, what should I do?”

“Neck reining. Gently tug the rein on the side you want to turn to, but lay the opposite rein along the neck.”

I adjusted my technique.

“Good. Soon enough all you’ll have to do is apply gentle pressure and your mount will respond.”

“What’s the difference? What is the advantage of this technique over the other?”

“Plough reining applies forceful direct pressure to their mouth by way of the bit. You want to train your mount to respond to the gentlest pressure possible. Neck reining trains them to respond with much gentler pressure. It’s far easier on them. Also, it’s a one-handed technique.”

“So…pulling hard hurts them?”

“Yep. It’ll also eventually deaden their mouth and they won’t respond to your direction. Plough reining, I mean.”

“So why’d people use it?”

“They used to use horses to pull a plow through fields before Earth developed machinery. To prepare the field for planting crops. Instead of reins, they use lines. Same basic thing, but lines are far longer. Anyway, in that circumstance, one can’t use neck reining at all because lines follow the entire length of the body.”

“There’s so much to learn.”

“Yeah, but the biggest lesson is learning to be gentle.”

The thought reverberated through my mind like a rung bell.

When have I ever needed to be gentle? I was a gladiator. Being gentle had nothing to do with survival!

Being harder, meaner, more vicious—that was the only path forward in the pits. I’d always thought that’s what gave me control, that callous hardness.

Emily has shown me a different way.

Each new revelation just showed me how much of a lie all that hardness was. I never felt as in control of myself as I did now, learning gentle subtlety. None of the deliberate care Emily taught me made me any less mean or hard or capable.

No, learning Emily’s techniques of refined control makes me no less capable of killing or maiming. It makes me capable of so much more than simple, thoughtless, brutish violence.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to take a day or two to teach them reining before we started traveling again?”

“Normally. In this instance, though, we don’t have a lot of time and we’d do the exact same thing in the corral as we’re doing now. There was a risk yours would try to run off with you, but our mounts are more likely to stay together.”

Well. That wasn’t entirely reassuring. “What would I even do if it ran off?” I asked cautiously.

“Saw the bit back and forth. They’ll stop. The one instance when plough reining will help. It hurts, but only that pain will get through a panicked animal’s head. That’s part of why we’re staying at a walk. The faster the mount runs, the less it listens to the rider at this point.”

I shook my head. “So much to learn.”

“Does it overwhelm you?”

“Not at all. I’m…excited. These are all new concepts. I…actually enjoy exploring all this. Like…I’m refining my own self-control.”

Emily smiled.

“So, now you understand me.”

That thought crashed over me like a rockslide full of boulders.

Did I?

Could I ever understand her?

The open rolling hills became steeper as we approached the pass through the mountains. The sun set and the temperatures dropped.

“Emily? Let’s make camp before we get too far into the pass,” I suggested. “We’ve made great time, but I don’t know if my ass can take much more riding.”

She chuckled. “You’re in fantastic shape, but riding…at first, makes you sore in muscles you didn’t know you had.”

“Well, I now understand why you have such magnificent legs.”

A huge grin lit up Emily’s face. “Flattery will get you anywhere but be careful what you promise. I guarantee you’ll be in no condition for fun tonight.”

“You’re just trying to freak me out. I’ll always be ready for you.”

Emily laughed even harder at that and I really started to worry about what my body would do when I finally dismounted.

We found a nice spot to stop. I slid off my dyàk and nearly collapsed when my feet hit the ground. Emily laughed even harder than before.

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” I grumbled.

Emily continued to laugh as every muscle below my waist screamed at me. I’d thought I was in good shape… I was a gladiator, after all. I worked out obsessively!

I fought giant monsters!

And…none of it made the slightest difference.

“Here, let me take that dyàk off your hands. Go fall over somewhere. I’ll set up camp around you tonight.”

“I can’t even lift my legs.”

Emily kept laughing while she set up the fence panels into one large enclosure, placing it on the lushest patch of grass she found. She unsaddled the dyàk, brushed them down and fed them. As soon as they entered the pen, they ran happy circles and laid on the ground to roll in the dust.

After a few minutes, they wandered around, eating the grass. Emily put out more feed and set up the trough, then set up the rest of camp, played with the cubs, cooked dinner, and brought me a bowl.

I simply collapsed where I’d dismounted. My lower body refused to cooperate in any fashion, and before long the cubs had curled up at my side.

I barely remained awake long enough to eat before falling into the deepest, most satisfying sleep I’d ever known.

Exhausted.

Happy.

Content.

Could it last?

Emily

The next day the dyàk settled into their training well and we made good time. It felt good to be in the saddle again. The gentle sway on the dyàk’s hooves, the gentle breeze…

Which is getting colder every step we take up this mountain pass…

“I think I need to change clothes. It’s getting cold.”

We halted, taking the opportunity to nibble some snacks and water the dyàk. The cubs bounded up to us from the trees lining the pass, carrying a couple of space bunnies in their jaws.

“So, what’d I miss on last night’s broadcast?” Relkor asked.

Ah. I’d kinda hoped not to tell him. “You, falling on the ground after your dismount.”

He groaned. “From how many angles?”

“Six.”

“Great.”

“I laughed too hard to talk shit to Plabz and Kvorkt.”

“I’m still sore, too.”

“It gets better,” I promised. “ake a walk. Stretch. Drink some water. And think how strong you’ll be after this.”

“Who knew being a cowboy would be so much work…”

I laughed so hard, I nearly fell over. “You thought it’d be easy to be a badass?”

The dyàk chuffed, their ears standing straight, pointed at the trees. They danced, jerking back on their lead ropes which Ralkor and I had tied to the trailer.

“Ralkor…predator,” I whispered.

“What? How can you tell?”

“Look at the dyàk.”

Ralkor glanced at the mounts, then the cubs hunched low and growled and his body tensed.

In a split second, he grew colder, tougher, more focused, my gentle giant gone beneath the gladiator’s shell. He pulled his knife and crouched. The cubs crept up next to him.

I spoke soft words to the dyàk, hoping to soothe them, but my words fell upon ears deaf to all but the detection of further threat.

What could I do? I was no fighter, not like that.

And out here in the open, I’d just be a distraction for Ralkor.

A thought struck. Would it work?

I ran to the animal supply trailer instead and punched in a code.

The fence panels detached, configuring themselves into a ten-foot-tall cage around me and our mounts. I unclipped their lead ropes and they bolted, hugging the part of the cage furthest from the threat they sensed.

When I turned to look, Ralkor and the cubs were nowhere to be seen. Then I heard rustling amongst the trees. A deep growl reverberated through the air, a sound more felt than heard.

Well, that’s no fengkshá. Sounds…big.

Silence fell over the pass. The birds stopped singing. The insects stopped buzzing. The dyàk plastered themselves to the fence panel. They pawed the ground, throwing their heads and chuffing in distress.

Their bodies trembled, the skin on their backs twitching. Tails tucked against their hind rends, I saw terror in the whites of the dyàk’s eyes.

I tried to keep my breathing slow and steady, though my heart pounded. I heard the familiar buzz of a drone followed by a thwack.

A drone shot from the forest and banged against one of the trailers. A deep, deafening roar exploded far closer to camp than I expected. The dyàk screamed, half-mad with terror.

The creature burst from the trees, moving fast. Long arms struck the ground with massive fists. The creature’s long, shaggy, brown coat hung from its body in tangled mats. Six, yellow eyes stared from above droopy cheeks. Long canines extended down the sides of a wide-muzzled, vaguely simian face.

Oh shit. A gaych.

When studying the survival guide, I’d really hoped to avoid the fourteen-foot-tall, yeti-like creatures. Just my luck to run right into one.

What could I use to fight back?

The gaych rushed the cage. It slammed into the metal fencing, tearing at the bars, shaking and rattling them. The dyàks slammed into the fencing behind them, screeching in terror. I worried they’d break their legs or necks in their panic.

Then the cubs ran in. They rushed the gaych, snapping their tooth-studded mouths and sharp-clawed paws at the creature’s legs. The monster bellowed, turning from its assault on the fence, the gaych swiped at the cubs.

The cubs dodged. Ten-feet shorter at the shoulder than the gaych, the cubs moved far more quickly. They split up, coming at the gaych from opposite directions. The massive yeti-thing spun back and forth, desperate to catch at least one of the cubs with a fist.

Too quick to get caught, they danced in at the creature’s back, attempting to bite through tendons, muscles, and veins. On their heels, Ralkor launched himself at the gaych’s side. Knife flashing in the light, he sunk his blade into the gaych’s side then spun away.

Between Ralkor and the cubs, the monster forgot about me and the mounts.

I’ll show you to forget about me.

I made a decision I would’ve never suggested anyone else make, and tried not to think about too hard.

I punched new instructions to the gate system then ran to my mount. With the practiced ease of a lifetime of ranch work, I flew up and into my saddle, wheeled my mount around, and rode directly at the monster who’d tried to eat my alien and my cubs.

The fences mended themselves behind me, protecting Ralkor’s mount. The dyàk had no desire to ride towards the bellowing mountain of ratty hair, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

“I’ll teach you to attack my family!”

I drove my mount directly into the gaych. As tall at the shoulder as Ralkor, the dyàk slammed into the gaych at full speed until I heard ribs crunching.

Even a hornless doe could be vicious. Adrenaline coursing through my mount’s veins. Sure, the creatures would usually run, but I’d seen before they could fight.

Sharp hooves propelled by powerful kicks rained down upon the gaych. The monster bellowed and screamed, raising its hand to slap my mount away. The cubs ran in, their powerful jaws clamping on the gaych’s arm, rending flesh and fracturing bone. Sickly green streaks of what must’ve been gaych blood stained the creature’s coat.

Ralkor jumped upon the creature’s back and with a primal roar, he stabbed down into the gaych’s neck and shoulders. The monster’s bellows of outrage and pain become mere gurgles, sickly green fluid foaming at the corner of its mouth.

The cubs pulled it to the ground, and with one last groan, the creature fell. Ralkor rode the body to the ground, one hand clenched in its fouled hair. With a great crash, the gaych landed. It twitched a back leg, then released a long sigh.

One of the cubs latched onto the gaych’s throat and lay down to bleed out the kill at the demand of thousands of years of instinct.

Panting, I dismounted and released my mount back into the pen, latching the gate and running to Ralkor.

I leapt, throwing my arms around his neck and he caught me in his strong arms. We held each other ‘til the adrenaline drained from our veins.

My family.

My warrior.

Mine.

Ralkor

Emily leapt at me with such ferocity, had she been any larger, she would’ve knocked me to the ground. I didn’t care. I wrapped my hands around her and held her close. I nuzzled my face into her hair, filling my mind with her scent.

She was all I needed, all I wanted.

“Oh, Emily. I was so afraid I lost you.”

“I’m too mean to die, Ralkor.”

A chuckle bubbled up and out of my mouth unbidden. “I believe you.”

“Honestly, I was too angry to be scared. How dare that thing try to eat my family!”

My heart skipped a beat. I gazed into her eyes. “Family…are we…do you really see us that way?”

Emily’s face softened and she cupped my face in her tiny, perfect hands. She drew a deep breath and sighed.

“Yes.” Her fingers traced the edge of my jaw. “My family. My man.”

That word, Emily’s assertion that we were family struck me harder than any blow I’d taken in the gladiatorial pits. Emotions threatened to choke me and I held her to me even more fiercely.

“It’s been so long since I even dared to hope.”

I felt like I were made of glass, as if any second, I might shatter all over the ground. A ragged sigh escaped my lips.

I’ll never leave Emily—I can never leave Emily.

Her lips brushed across mine, a tantalizing taste of everything I’d ever wanted.

Slowly, she pushed away. “As much as I love this, we probably need to get going. Before the scavengers arrive.”

“This is true.”

I placed Emily back on her own feet, far from where the gaych lay in a massive, bloody heap on the ground.

A low chuckle emanated from Emily. “We’re so badass. You cubs were so good! Come!”

The cubs turned their full attention from gnawing on the gaych to Emily. They bounded over to her. She ignored the gore to cuddle and scratche them and they rolled around on their backs, happy as could be.

I looked at the gaych, then thrust my bloodied knife high in the air. I roared, triumphant, just like in the pits.

Drones sped in, dropping gifts. Fine spears, gift boxes, and more rained down around us.

Looks like the fans appreciated the show.

A drone hovered in front of my face, offering a particularly large spray can. I took it and read the label.

“Insta-Tan in a Can, the Galaxy’s #1 aerosol curing spray. Never jettison an escape pod without Tan in a Can—your only hope for survival on an unpredictable planet you never wanted to be on in the first place.”

Emily bounced up to look at it.

“Awesome. With a little work, the gaych hide will be really great to have. We’ve got even colder weather to deal with on the Central Mountain.”

“Well, I’d better get to work.”

“I’ll sort out the gifts, supplies, and dyàk. And let’s take as much of that gaych as we can fit in the camp kitchen’s cooler. For the cubs.”

“Only if I get a kiss first.”

Emily giggled. Her face shone in delight. She stretched up on the tips of her toes. I bent down to meet her and she kissed me so hard, my cock sprang to life. Then she whispered.

“Save that for later, big boy. We gotta get moving.”

I groaned. “I know you’re right, but I really wish you weren’t.”

I kissed her again.

Emily melted in my arms for a second, pushing me away. “Same. Unfortunately, that’s how it is. Save it for tonight when we can avoid the camera drones.”

“Oh! You know…I don’t really care so much about those at this second…”

Emily laughed. She stepped back, winking at me. “Get to work, you brute.”

“Yes, boss. Anything you say, boss.”

Emily laughed and walked away, gathering all the gifts our fans sent. I turned to my task. At twice my height and more than twice my weight, the gaych was huge. With great care, I began the butchering process.

I carefully separated the hide from the top side on the gaych carcass, exposing the flesh below, then carved a couple of big chunks off and tossed them to the cubs. Delighted, they lay down to chew on their prizes.

With the creature so large, I had little choice but to carve up the meat ‘til I could get what remained turned over and remove the remainder of the hide. I worked as quickly as I could, but worried the process took too long.

The longer we took, the more likely scavengers would arrive.

Emily returned. She packed the meat in paper and stuffed as much as she could into the camp kitchen’s cooler. The cubs, bellies full, lay sleeping in a pile. She helped me drag the gaych hide to the side and spread the huge thing out, hair-side down.

I read the instructions on the can of Insta-tan, then sprayed a thick coating on the raw side. Before our eyes, the gaych hide cured.

“That’s awesome.”

“Yeah. The can says something about nanites.”

“That thing is going to weigh a ton.”

“Luckily, you fell for a Tarek gladiator.” I flexed my arm muscles.

Emily wiggled her eyebrows at me, giggling.

“Other than being abducted by aliens and being forced to this planet against my will, I’m the luckiest human alive, Ralkor.”

Emily gave me a quick kiss.

“The Insta-tan says it needs fifteen undisturbed minutes to work properly. Go shower. You’re covered in gaych.”

And somehow, she’d managed to keep it off of her. Even more proof she was amazing. “You’re not wrong.”

I jogged to the sanitation trailer and got clean. When I returned, Emily had everything ready to move again. The cubs stretched and cleaned their fur with tongues the size of my fist. I looked for the gaych hide but saw it nowhere.

“Where’s the hide go?”

“I used the dyàk and some rope to get it rolled up and strapped it to the top of the animal trailer. It’s too dirty to put inside. We’ll shampoo the hair side later. No time for it, now.”

Beautiful, talented and clever.

A badass.

And mine.

I mounted up, ready to conquer whatever lay ahead.

For her.

Emily

We rode through the pass while the cubs ranged, hunting and exploring. Jagged cliffs rose to each side of our path and the temperature dropped and snowflakes fell in lazy circles to the valley floor.

“I’m so glad I decided to dress warm.” I shivered. “It’s downright chilly up here.”

“Does it not get cold where you live?” Ralkor asked.

“In some parts, but close to the ranch it mostly stays nice and hot.”

“Maybe we can find a nice cave to camp in tonight.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. Caves suddenly had taken on a very alluring air. “I was thinking the same thing, handsome.”

He grinned at me, and I knew he had the same thing on his mind. “We just need to find one close enough to the ground and big enough to get the animals in. I don’t like the thought of penning them in the open. Not after the gaych.”

I shuddered. “Same.” And honestly, I didn’t want to think about that monster anymore. “I wonder what the fans sent us. Did you look at that spear yet?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t get the chance. Is it nice?”

“Ohh, baby.” I licked my lips, happily teasing him. “It’s so nice, it’s triple-X sexy.”

“What does that even mean?” he pleaded. “That’s an Earth thing, isn’t it? Like the open eyes?”

Poor sweetie. “It’s an Earth thing. It means the spear looks very nice.” And I’d explain the rest of triple-X sexy to him later.

In private.

“We do have the best fans.”

“That, we do.” I looked at the peaks on either side. “How long do you think it’ll take to get out of this pass?”

“Guessing off the map, maybe tomorrow, considering how fast the dyàk move.”

“They’re good babies with long strides.” I patted the neck of my mount. “Perfect. And they’re coming along so well. I think mine got even fiercer, now that she knows she can headbutt monsters, aren’t you?”

“Should we name them?”

“Oooooh.” I thought about it. “If I knew we could keep them, I’d say yes. But we really don’t know what’ll happen to us next. It’ll be a lot harder to leave them behind if we name them.”

Ralkor sighed. “That’s true.”

We rode along ‘til we spotted the mouth of a cave both tall enough and wide enough to bring in the animals and supplies. Nearly sunset already, we decided it was our best bet for an undisturbed night.

We dismounted and tied our dyàks’ leads to the trailer. The cubs ran into the cave, sniffing and exploring. Were anything living in the cave, we’d know soon.

“Where’d that spear end up?”

“The shower. It was the only place big enough. We have stuff stashed everywhere else.” I ran my hands through my hair. “We’ve got to spend some time organizing it all.”

Ralkor retrieved the spear, examining it with care.

“This is a fine spear. Devic manufacture, I believe.”

“What does that mean?”

“The Devic are rampant capitalist arms-dealers. They make exceptional weapons.”

“You know, some of these gifts are really nice. Makes me almost wish I could thank the fans personally.”

“I would’ve greatly appreciated a spear this fine in the pits.” He made a few practice thrusts with it, and I could almost see the imaginary monster going down.

“Here’s hoping we have no need to use it in this cave,” I decided. “It’s been an awful long day already and I don’t look forward to finding a different camp for the night. Also, it’s damn cold and I wanna get that fire going.”

We crept in, getting a good look. I heard the bickering growls of the cub echoing from deeper side caves, so they obviously weren’t too concerned about any surprises, and what we could see of the cave in the waning light looked good. With plenty of space before us, we returned to the trailers.

I started the campfire while Ralkor arranged the trailers. He used some of the fence panels to create a stall against one cave wall. With the trailers and the remaining fence panels, Ralkor created a cage around the entrance.

He left one gap big enough for us to exit if we needed to leave, then dragged enough crates from our supplies to block the entrance.

“Let’s see the drones get in our cave now!”

I chuckled, then positioned the fire so the smoke would vent out and into the open air, but close enough to the side of the cave for the fire to warm the stone wall and floor. A few stacked stones created a nice oven.

I took a good sniff of the gaych, wondering if it tasted any good. The survival guide claimed it was edible. My nose didn’t think there was anything unappetizing about it, so I cut off a few strips and hung them over the fire to cook while I considered what I could make.

I just want a damn burger. Alyssa and I were about to have some of the best burgers anywhere when those aliens got us. I’ve dreamed about burgers since. Not that I have any intention of making buns.

I sighed. In the absence of familiar ingredients, all we’d eaten was stew. The gaych strips looked good. The well-marbled meat melted in my mouth. I decided it was good enough and tossed it in salt and what intergalactic spices I’d managed to test so far.

The cubs returned, drawn in by the smell of the food. I tossed them a couple of slabs of raw gaych and returned to my work.

Ralkor set up the remainder of camp, pushing the rolled gaych hide off the trailer. He tied a rope around it and dragged it into the sanitation trailer.

I fed and brushed the dyàks, who soon after bedded down to chew their cud. I returned to the campfire and checked on my stew.

This life. It was so strange.

But I’d so easily fallen into this pattern.

Travel, set up camp.

Do it again.

Fight monsters.

Fall in love.

“That smells amazing!”

I turned, startled from my thoughts to find Ralkor waved from the door of the sanitation trailer.

“How’s the hide coming?” I hurriedly asked, eager to talk about anything other than what I’d been thinking about.

“I just got it washed. It’s currently drying. I left it under the vent and turned on the drying cycle. I’m hoping to use it tonight.”

“Intergalactic tech is amazingly convenient and effective. I haven’t had a complaint about any of it, yet.”

“The manufacturers will love your endorsement,” he assured me.

I laughed.

“Think they already have a cloaked camera drone in here?”

“No clue. If they do, the cubs will probably smell it. I’m certain they can get a few good shots and some audio from the other side of the fence panels, though.”

I stood, walking to the fence panels and screaming into the night.

“I am grateful for the supplies! These trailers are the most helpful camping supplies I’ve ever used. Thank you, fans!”

And now, it would be nice if they left us alone.

Intergalactic reality show or not, there were some things a girl wanted a little privacy for.

Ralkor

I checked the gaych hide, running my fingers over the hair, testing for moisture, but finding none. I smiled, rolled it up, hair-side in, and carried it outside, dropping it on the least-bumpy spot I could find close enough to the fire to keep warm and unrolled it.

Emily helped me unroll and drag it out. She retrieved two combs from the animal trailer and we carefully combed the hair out. An hour later, we collapsed atop the soft, luxurious hair of our new hide.

Emily slapped my shoulder.

“What’s that for?”

“Stop rolling on our clean fur and let’s shower. I want to dive right in. Clean.”

I chuckled, nodding.

She grinned a devious grin at me. “Race you.”

She took off for the sanitation trailer and I chased her. She looked back, saw me chasing, and squealed. She ran even harder. I couldn’t help but laugh, not that I wanted to do anything else.

Besides. There was only a single booth in the shower.

The thought of how we’d both fit in there, how tightly we’d have to squeeze together, made me stumble.

Letting Emily shower first seemed the prudent thing to do, but thoughts of her naked body under the running water only tormented me.

When it was my turn I set the water on as cold as possible, and showered quickly, since the evening broadcast drone could arrive any moment.

I wondered if it would find a way in, past my barricade.

We sat near the fire so Emily’s hair could dry before bed.

I looked forward to bed. Tired from a long day, I anticipated the prospect of holding Emily in my arms.

And maybe, if we were lucky, much more.

She stacked fan gifts we’d yet to open on the hide. “Let’s see what we got, Ralkor.”

Emily tore open the first gift, and her eyebrows raised. “Wow. More lube…”

“What’s lube?”

“Uhhhh…for sex, Ralkor. In case no one is making enough…although, this stuff says it also warms up and tingles.”

My eyes grew huge as the possibilities arose. As did other things. “Oh. So…that’s what the cubs got into, earlier on the boat?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. I never even considered that…” I considered it right then.

She handed the bottle to me. I stared at it like an entire galaxy had opened up in my mind—one equal parts terrifying and fascinating.

“Oh, Ralkor…when we get out of here, I’m gonna introduce you to a whole new world. You have so much to learn.”

I smiled, scooting closer to her. “I vow to be an attentive student.”

“Mmmm. I like the sound of that. I’ll hold you to that vow.”

I leaned in for a kiss. My heart pounded as our lips met and arrows of pleasure raced through me. My body responded, promising no need for lube.

Though, the warm, tingly part intrigues me…

The buzz of the broadcast drone interrupted our moment and I groaned.

“The timing…”

“Snaghian bastards,” Emily muttered. “And they found a way into our cave.”

“Maybe it simply followed us in, under cloak.”

“Possibly.”

We cuddled up, pulling a fur blanket over our legs and snuggling close. Plabz and Kvorkt’s ugly, familiar faces grinned at us from the screen.

“Welcome back to Intergalactic Love Death Match, the most extreme show in the galaxy!”

“Thanks, Plabz, and what a day it has been! Emily and Ralkor took down a gaych today! Can you believe it?”

“One of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy, Kvorkt. Truly marvelous. Let’s watch the replay.”

Clips of our earlier fight played on the screen.

“Wow. That does look impressive. Holy crap, Ralkor! You look absolutely magnificent.”

“A virtuoso performance, Plabz. That is true entertainment.”

“That it is, Kvorkt. That it is. Too bad Emily’s sister isn’t faring as well.”

“So true, Plabz. Alyssa is certainly in grave danger tonight.”

Leaping from our furs, Emily grabbed the drone from the air.

“How is she in danger? Tell me!”

“Unfortunately, giving you any more details would ruin the game, Emily.”

Her knuckles whitened and she shook the drone. “Tell me what the fuck is happening to my sister or I’ll ruin your game!”

“Hahaha, look at that fight!”

“Truly marvelous, Plabz. Emily will just have to wait to find out what happens to Alyssa. We’d hate to ruin the surprise!”

She screamed at the drone and threw it to the cubs. One shot to its back feet, snatching it from the air. The other cub fought the first for the device. Within minutes, a cub bit down on the drone with vise-like jaws, cracking the electronics.

“I’m so fucking mad I could spit!”

Emily paced back and forth. The fury rolling off her in waves even as tears streamed from her eyes.

My heart pounded, wishing there was an enemy before me. Something I could fight, could destroy to ease her pain.

But there was nothing I could do for her but to listen.

“I’m gonna kill ‘em, Ralkor. Those yellow-bellied cowards! I’ll kill ‘em. I’ll rip off those spindly, little, green arms and beat them into a pulp!”

Fists balled, she screamed louder than I’d ever heard her speak. Sobs sucked at her chest as all the built-up worry for her sister erupted from her core.

I wrapped my arms around her, shushing her with soft whispers. She beat against me with her tiny fists, striking me over and over, as if it were Plabz and Kvorkt’s sneering faces.

“Don’t listen to them, Emily. They’re just trying to make you angry.”

I knew from long, painful experience that emotion could be a trap.

That some handlers used taunts as well as whips, to spur you on to fight.

But that wouldn’t help Emily, not now.

“Well, they sure as fuck did, didn’t they?” she cried. “Winning won’t be enough. I’ll never rest ‘til I’ve smashed their ugly faces to pulp. I’ll bring this game to its knees. I’ll bring the entire Snaghian civilization to its knees if Alyssa dies. How dare they! Who gave them the right to play with people’s lives like this?”

Sobs overcame her ability to speak and eventually, her arms grew too tired to beat against me any longer. She melted into my arms, releasing all her grief, anger, and fear into the cave. The cubs nuzzled at my legs with their wet noses. They whined and she wrapped her arms around their necks, crying into their thick coats.

“I’m sorry, babies. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. Mommy’s just so afraid right now.”

Exhausted and spent, she finally collapsed onto the gaych-hide blanket. I held her from behind, making soothing noises.

The cubs curled up close and I was glad that I could be there for her when she needed me, the way she needed home, without complaint or argument.

Tonight wasn’t about me. I understood that. Tonight was about Emily. Enveloped in the warmth of our little family, she finally drifted into sleep. Once her breathing slowed, I brushed the hair back from her forehead.

They wouldn’t break my Emily.

But if they hurt her, they’d find what it meant to truly have a Tarek warrior bent on destruction.

It would be a show they’d never forget.

Emily

I woke groggy, my head pounding with a crying hangover.

My eyes and face swollen from last night’s crying fit, I felt like the day after a fist fight. I pushed myself up to an elbow. Ralkor slept behind me and the cubs slept curled up with us.

Ralkor held me all night.

Fury-fuzzed memories of the night before ran through my mind. I fought back fresh tears, thinking about Alyssa being in danger. I got those under control, nearly crying again as I remembered Ralkor’s compassion.

How can the big lug be so sweet?

I crawled out of the pile of snoring sleepers and stumbled to the sanitation trailer. I relieved myself and showered, hoping the steam would help unglue my eyelids. Trying not to think, though my mind only worked sluggishly that morning anyway.

I left the trailer, dressing in my snowsuit. Patches of bright colors waving in the mountain breeze caught my eye. Thousands of flowers, frozen in the cold, carpeted the area outside of the blockade Ralkor had created with fence panels and trailers. I nearly cried again at the display of sympathy sent by our fans.

I guess the Snaghians got my tantrum on camera, too. We’ll see how much they appreciate it when I get ahold of their slimy souls.

The fury ignited within me last night had yet to dissipate, though I’d regained control.

They’re about to find out the meaning of ‘Don’t mess with Texas’. We don’t care ‘bout consequences for ourselves. We’ll just fucking kill you, once you get on our bad side. Better keep that nugget of cowboy justice to myself. Don’t need Ralkor getting’ his back up about the inevitable. He’ll just worry. Or try to stop me.

I went about my chores, sullen and feeling dull. I removed more of the barrier so the cubs could run out to potty when they woke, and grumbled at myself while building up the fire enough to fry some vegetables in gaych fat.

Ralkor and the cubs woke to the smell of breakfast. I tossed a couple of slabs out in front of the cave to encourage the cubs to go out of the cave to poop. They stretched and followed the smell of their breakfast outside. Ralkor joined me at the fire with the most beautiful morning wood bobbing in front of him.

Sure wish I was in the mood to take advantage of that.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Murderous. I’ve already thought of twenty-seven horrible ways for Plaz and Kvorkt to die.”

“Impressive.”

“Ralkor?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For…last night. You were really great and I wish I was in a better mood for you today, but I’m still furious.”

“Understandable. No worries. If I get ahold of those two Snaghians, you won’t have time to torture them before I kill them.”

“Feeding them to the cubs is my favorite way to kill them so far.”

Ralkor chuckled. “I’m not sure how I feel about you having a list of options.”

I turned to face him, taking his hand. “Really, though. Thank you for being there for me. I’m just livid. The Snaghians are cruel.”

He looked so fragile and spoke so softly. “Emily…if it’s within my power, I’ll always be there for you.”

My heart felt like it leapt into my throat.

Considering his past, this must be the first time Ralkor has ever said anything like that.

Both feeling emotionally delicate, we did our chores, packed camp, and saddled our mounts in silence before we continued our journey through the pass. Neither of us spoke much along the trail, but we made it out of the pass as the sun set.

In the distance, we finally glimpsed the central mountain, rising up into the clouds. The top looked flattened.

Must be a volcano. Let’s hope it’s dormant. I’m not prepared for lava.

I stripped out of my snowsuit. The temperature on this side of the mountain range felt much warmer and more pleasant, lifting my spirits. Finding a suitable campsite, we used the fence panels to create another large pen for the dyàk so they’d graze.

We unsaddled them and brushed them down, turning them loose in the pen. They joyfully ran through the lush grasses and rolled in the dirt.

“Why do they do that?”

“The saddle gets itchy and they can’t scratch themselves, so they flop around.”

“Even after we brushed them down?”

I shrugged. “I think they also find it fun, honestly. As long as they are happy and healthy, I try not to question. But, it’s one of the reasons we always brush them before saddling them.”

We fed the cubs, who brought a few more space bunnies.

I knew they had a name, but calling them ‘space bunnies’ was much easier to remember. Besides, everything else here seemed to be trying to kill us.

Over dinner, we took another look at the map.

“Looks like a caldera on top of that mountain, all things considered.”

“What’s a caldera?”

“The crater at the top where some eruption blew the top off the volcano. See the shape of the lake on the top? That happens a lot with volcanoes.”

“It exploded? That had to be huge!”

“Yeah, luckily we weren’t around when it happened.”

“Just think about it, though.”

Ralkor stared at the mountain as if imagining the top exploding into fiery, smoky chunks, then shuddered.

I returned my attention to the map. “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”

Ralkor glanced at the map. “Looks to me like a three- or four-day trek? To this land bridge.”

Ralkor pointed to the strip of land we’d need to travel to reach the mountain.

“Hmmm… That mountain is really steep. Steeper than the mountain we started on. We’ll need multiple camps on the way up to rest and acclimate to the elevation. I don’t want the Snaghians getting more shots of me fainting…”

Ralkor laughed. I smiled. Thoughts began to wrestle each other in my head.

“Ralkor, I think I have a plan…”

Ralkor

I woke to the unexpected sensation of Emily sitting on me and patting my face gently. I blinked my eyes, trying to wake enough to focus. I caught her wrists in my hands. She looked…strained, like a quivering bowstring ready to launch an arrow.

“Good morning. Let’s move. I’m determined to make it to the land bridge in three days.”

I grunted, still trying to clear my mind of the fog of a deep, deep sleep. “The only thing that makes sense right now is how marvelous it is to wake to your face, even if there was some slapping involved.”

A quick smile flashed across her face. “Ah. He speaks in complex sentences. Almost awake, then. Cubs! Assist!”

The cubs tilted their heads as if trying to work out what Emily wanted. Uncertain, they walked over and flopped atop us both.

“Oof! Don’t roll on Mommy! You two are too big for that now.”

Emily’s words devolved into giggles muffled by the cubs’ hairy coats. She managed to escape and roll away, leaving me wrestling the cubs, who seemed bigger and heavier every minute. Luckily, they saw me as their alpha, rather than a toy to chew.

“Come on, Ralkor. We’re burnin’ daylight.”

I rose, prepared to go about our day as usual. Emily, though worked faster and harder than I’d ever seen her move.

Packed in record time, we ‘hit the trail’, as Emily says. The trees hugged the mountains on this side of the range and most of the terrain opened up into gently rolling, grass-carpeted hills. The map indicated the closest source of fresh water lay south of us at another river, so we traveled southeast hoping to camp close by and refill our water stores.

Emily spoke little while we traveled, focusing her attention on the central mountain in the distance. Surrounded by snowy heights, the caldera at the top caught the melting snow, funneling it into waterfall-fed lakes feeding the rivers streaming across the land to the surrounding ocean.

Despite all the beauty, a dangerous gleam had entered Emily’s eyes. Her driven focus on the central mountain worried me.

I wanted to get to the Altar of Freedom as much as anyone, but I knew concern for Alyssa drove Emily.

Would I be any less driven, were I trying to reach Emily the way she is trying to reach her sister? No. No, I’d be no better.

I hesitated to say much, hoping Emily would calm as we continued on. I patiently waited for her to work through whatever was in her head and speak in more than monosyllabic grunts, but I waited in vain.

She pushed us ‘til the dyàks complained and the sun began to sink. We camped, going about our usual routine. Still, Emily remained quiet. She sat through the evening broadcast. She even failed to react to Plabz and Kvorkt’s taunts.

Emily was already on the move, packing camp, when I opened my eyes the next morning. I sighed, hoping a second day’s travel might calm her enough.

I knew I had days I felt the same and didn’t want to rush her—but I missed her conversation.

The second day’s travel across the rolling, green hills unfolded much like the first. I felt the loss of her companionship more keenly than the day before.

How long will it take? Maybe, when we reach the central mountain…

As much as I wanted her smile to lighten my day or her strange, cowboy quips to delight me, I chose to give her space.

She only nibbled at breakfast, and I knew whe’d tossed and turned all night. Dark smudges hung under her eyes.

I have no idea what that means in a human, but I doubt these are good developments. I smell the stress rolling off her skin.

We passed herds of dyàk grazing the plains. The cubs chased the herds, practicing hunting skills, though they caught nothing.

The dyàk still outweighed the cubs by at least a ton. I watched a bird float in the sky, diving at the dyàk herd.

It had looked so small and normal.…before it swooped, scooped up an entire adult dyàk, carrying it off into the sky.

Well, that was a lot bigger than I’d expected…

“Let’s cut back toward the mountain range and find some cover under the trees, Emily.”

She gaped at the sky, shaken out of her fog, at least for the moment. “That monster must’ve had a thirty-foot wingspan…”

We camped under the trees that night.

Emily barely ate, again, falling into a poor, disturbed sleep before the broadcast even played. Once again, she woke early, no better rested than the day before.

Unable to hold back my worry any longer, I finally confronted her.

“Emily, you have to eat.”

“I’m not hungry,” she grumbled.

I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to budge. “Yes you are, you’re just too worried to notice.”

“Of course, I’m worried.” She threw her hands into the air. “We are so close, but what if we don’t get there quickly enough? What if I bet wrong, choosing to train the dyàk? What if I’m too late to help her?”

I glanced east at the central mountain as it stabbed into the sky. The light of the dawning sun shone around its slopes. Monolithic, massive, and ominously overbearing, the central mountain loomed, dominating the land around it.

Mist hung around the higher elevations, making the caldera look disconnected, like it floated above us all.

No matter how far or fast we travelled, it stood apart, remote as ever.

I tried again. “I know you want to see Alyssa as quickly as possible—”

“What if we’re too slow?” Her voice rose, frantic. “What if she gets there first and we miss our chance?”

“Emily, look at me.” I held her shoulders, pulling her close. “We’ll find her. The question is, will you be too weak to help her when we do find her because you aren’t eating or sleeping?” Her shoulders were stiff against me, so I pressed on, using every weapon I had.

“And what about the dyàk? When we tamed them, you explained that we must be responsible with them. Are we? Or are we exhausting them with our current pace?”

Emily blew air through her lips, as if deflating. “You’re right, Ralkor. I’m being selfish. I’m sorry.”

“Never selfish, my Emily.” I kissed her hair. “But we need another plan. A better one.”

Emily

Though nearly consumed by the need to find Alyssa and figure out how to get us all out of here alive, I got myself back under control.

Ralkor was right, I needed to focus on remaining in the best shape possible.

Isn’t that what they say on all those reality survival shows?

“Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

Even if I didn’t want to.

“Well, I waited to see if you really needed me to say something, but after watching you push yourself so hard for days…”

I gazed at him and smiled. “You did good, Ralkor.”

He laughed and shook his head. “I have no idea how to have a relationship. I was so afraid I’d say the wrong thing and make it worse…or make you hate me.”

I melted, just a little bit.

This was a man who could take down the most terrifying monsters I’d ever seen, and saying the wrong words was the scary thing?

“You’re the sweetest, scaled alien gladiator brute I’ve ever met.”

“How many have you met?”

“You’re my first. Earthlings still think we’re the only complex life in the universe.”

“Really?” His brows raised. “How arrogant.”

“Yep.”

He leaned back, eyes narrowing. “So…if I’m the only ‘alien brute’ you’ve met, calling me ‘the sweetest’ doesn’t actually compare me to anyone, does it?”

“Now you’re catching on.”

“Then…was that even a compliment?”

“That’s the question.” I stuck out my tongue at him.

Ralkor laughed. “Why are you so hard to pin down?”

“Because you’re enjoying my being squirrely.”

“Squirrely? The translator doesn’t seem to understand that one.”

“A squirrel is a small Earth mammal who is very fast, whose movements are difficult to predict, and who are difficult to catch. Though Grampa swore they were good eatin’.”

“I see. It doesn’t reassure me I’m doing a good job…being in a relationship.”

I laughed.

“Oh, Ralkor, you have good instincts. You’re doing fine. You’re certainly more respectful than any of my ex-boyfriends.”

“Human men don’t respect human women?”

“I’m sure some do. I just never met any.”

“Not even your grampa?”

I sighed. “Grampa was from a generation who taught their children women were inferior to men. He loved us and tried his best, but to quote a very wise human, ‘It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men’. As much as he tried to teach us as much as he would have boys, Grampa had trouble thinking in new ways about the rest of women.”

Ralkor shook his head. “I’ve heard of species like that. It just wasn’t part of Tarekian society. That must make it difficult to find someone to love.”

“Not exactly,” I shrugged. “Falling in love is easy. Finding someone who treats you the way you want to be treated is the hard part.”

Ralkor fell into deep thought, eyes looking far into the distance of his own mind. The sun set behind us, bathing the snowy heights of central mountain in violent shades of red.

Well, that’s fucking ominous.

I glared at our destination as if it were a living, thinking opponent.

I’ll conquer you. Just watch me.

The fire of determination blazed inside, but I refused to let it control me any longer. We reached the edge of one of the lakes surrounding the base of the mountain.

“Shall we camp on the lakeshore?” Ralkor offered.

“It’d be pretty,” I agreed, “but predators are far too likely to find us next to a source of water, and I don’t see enough trees for good cover. I’d rather camp further from shore, where we can maximize grazing. We only have so many fence panels and I intend to configure them as a cage with a top after seeing that giant bird fly off with a dyàk earlier.”

“You’ve thought this through…”

I grinned, wiggling an eyebrow at Ralkor. “All part of being a responsible cowboy, Handsome.”

We retreated a quarter mile from the shore, leaving the cubs playing in the water at the lake. I knew their noses would find us once they got hungry. We camped and settled in and I ate my first hearty meal in days, plotting and planning. Pieces of a strategy fell into place in my mind.

Tomorrow, we will reach the land bridge across the lake. Tomorrow…

And tonight…

I wanted to jump Ralkor’s bones after the broadcast but had no good way to keep the camera drones out.

I had no shame about sex, I just didn’t want it broadcast to the galaxy.

And Ralkor seemed to respect that, despite our lingering touches.

Despite going to sleep frustrated, I woke refreshed and full of nervous energy. Wherever the Snaghians had transported Alyssa, I hoped quickly reaching the dormant volcano looming over us from the other side of the lake was my best chance of finding her.

Hang in there, Aly. I’m coming.

We packed up camp and approached the land bridge as fast as I dared push the dyàks. Excited at the prospect of finding Alyssa, I resisted throwing all caution to the wind.

A steady day of travel moved us closer, and all too soon the sun began to set, bathing the mountain in red. Massive waterfalls cascaded down the steep sides of the peak, feeding and agitating the lakes surrounding the peak.

Birds circled the falls, nesting in cracks and crevices.

“Do you think any of those crevices are caves?” I wondered.

“One can only hope. I thought we’d made it through the difficult part,” he studied the path before us. “Now that I get a close look at the central mountain, the hard part may be ahead of us.”

“Yeah, this is going to be something.”

“Central mountain looks colder than even I prefer,” Ralkor admitted.

I gazed at the slope again, trying and failing to get a real sense of its height. “How many camps do you think we’ll need to ascend this monster?”

“Oh, three? Maybe four? Hard to tell from here.”

Then suddenly the landmark we’d been waiting for appeared.

“Look, Ralkor! The bridge! I’ll race you!” I kicked my dyàk into a full run. Her long legs ate up the distance and my heart raced. Joy surged through my veins as I lay low against her neck, gripping her sides with my knees.

My hair streamed in the wind behind me. The brim of my hat caught the wind, threatening the fly off my head at this speed. I clamped a hand down over it, cursing myself for not having put a chinstrap on it.

I slowed at the land bridge’s threshold, entirely focused on the monolithic mountain. The narrow span of earth crossed the lake, leading us right towards our goal.

Then Ralkor shouted behind me, alarm ringing through my soul. My head snapped around to see what he made such a commotion over.

He waved at me desperately. Finally, I paid attention to the world around me, instead of the world inside my own head.

The waters of the lake churned.

And not because of any waterfall.

Ralkor

My heart stopped as Emily spun her dyàk in a circle and fled the roiling waters of the lake. Giant tentacles thrust from the water, waving wildly in the air.

Of all the creatures I’d read about in the survival guide, a fresh water slàr was the last I ever wanted to see.

Thirty-five-feet long and wider at the base than even the mama fengkshá, one of the tentacles unfurled and snapped forward, swiping at the dyàk’s fleeing hooves. Emily’s dyàk leapt fifteen feet into the air, hurdling over the slàr’s prehensile appendage.

The creature’s bulbous mantle broke through the surface of the water. Ten-foot-high waves flooded the land bridge. The slàr pulled its body up on four massive tentacles. Eyes as wide as I was tall, searched the area, looking for prey.

Tentacles slapped the water, sending another wave washing over the shore. My dyàk bucked and pitched, eyes rolling in fear. A strangled, panicked sound escaped her throat. She tossed her head and her feet danced.

I know, I know. Every cell in your body is telling you to run—and those instincts are right…this isn’t your fight.

And horribly, painfully, there wasn’t anything I could do to rescue Emily, either.

I forced myself to think ahead.

We have to get these dyàks out of here and penned somewhere safe. Those fence panels won’t survive a slàr’s tentacle, though—and being penned so close to the creature is likely to drive the dyàks half-mad.

I spun my dyàk around and rode hard away from shore, hoping Emily would understand.

Please let her not believe I abandoned her.

The cubs galloped at the slàr, growling, teeth bared. I slowed my dyàk. She fought me, dancing. She had no desire to slow down. I bellowed at the cubs.

“Come! Come!”

The cubs slowed, slightly confused, but they turned back to follow me. I silently thanked their training.

Just a little further…

We crested a hill. I ran my dyàk down the other side. The slàr disappeared from view. My dyàk relaxed and I pulled her to a stop, dismounting and tying her to a trailer so she wouldn’t run while I worked.

I ran to the animal supply trailer and punched commands into the trailer’s interface. The fence panels detached, arranging themselves into a cage around us. I stripped the bridle from my dyàk’s face, tossing it in the trailer so she couldn’t get it tangled around her legs and unclipping the lead rope from her halter.

She ran around the cage, kicking and bucking, working out the adrenaline-fueled fear racing through her veins. I pulled the spear out of the sanitation trailer and sprinted to the gate.

“Come!”

The cubs followed me through. I worried for the dyàk, but she’d have to take care of herself. The last I saw, Emily was in danger and saving her was my highest priority. I ran back up the hill, terrified I was already too late—or that Emily would never forgive me for my retreat.

I crested the hill and Emily and her dyàk ran hard at me. I dodged to the side and they pass directly through where I had stood only a split second before. I pushed myself to my feet, watching the slàr slide back into the lake.

I sighed in relief, returning to the cage. The cubs followed. Emily led her dyàk into the cage. She stripped the bridle from her dyàk’s face and unclipped its lead rope from the halter. The dyàks trotted up to each other, trembling. They rubbed their faces on each other’s necks, making small noises of comfort and distress.

She turned to me just as the cubs and I arrived and let ourselves into the cage as well.

“Well, that was…exciting.”

I guffawed. “That’s an understatement.”

“Texans enjoy a good euphemism.”

Words tumbled from my mouth faster than I’d ever remembered speaking before. “I’m so grateful you’re all right. You are all right, aren’t you? Did you get hurt?”

I held her at arm’s length, inspecting her for injuries, blood, bruises, any possible horrible consequence of discovering an unexpected slàr.

Seeing no wounds, I held her against me again, thankful to have the chance.

My body muffled her voice. “I’m fine, Ralkor.”

“Thank any god who’ll listen that you are unhurt. I was so afraid for you. I didn’t run, please don’t think I abandoned you, I just wanted to get the dyàk safe…and the cubs! They tried to come save you, but that slàr is far too big for them…”

“Ralkor—”

“I just found you. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you—”

“Ralkor—”

“I love you too much to lose you now, Emily, my light, my life—”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ralkor, your magnificent pecs are choking me!”

I let her go and jumped back.

“Sorry!”

“Calm down. It’s okay. You did good, baby. You did just the right thing. I woulda tore you up one side and down the other, had you done anything different.”

She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. She stomped over to the trailers and retrieved the survival guide. She flipped through it, stopping on the section about slàrs. She glared, carefully reading the section, then her eyes darted to mine.

“Your turn to solve the problem. How the hell do we kill that thing?”

My head spun. Terror-filled memories of seeing Emily so close to a slàr flooded through my mind. None of my thoughts slowed down, no matter how hard I tried.

“Give me a minute. All I can think about is how terrifying it was to see you in danger.”

“Aww.”

Emily hugged me and I finally took a deep breath.

“Take all the time you need. That thing is between me and my sister. I want it dead.”

Emily

“So, how do we kill it? I mean, I don’t think spears are going to work. Ever seen one of these in the pits?”

Ralkor sighed. “Yes.”

Good. That was good, right?

Except, from his expression, there was a catch.

“How’d they kill it?”

“They didn’t. They just fed things to it so the audience could watch.”

Well. That wasn’t hopeful.

I pursed my lips, thinking hard. “I wanna blow it up.”

“That…is the best idea I’ve ever heard. We’ll need—”

“Something remote controlled.”

Ralkor’s eyes opened wider than I’d ever seen. He gripped my upper arms in his big, blue hands, leaning down to stare me directly in the eyes, having to nearly fold his gigantic, muscled body in half.

“A fence panel.”

“Ralkor, honey, you are brilliant.” I planted a quick kiss on his lips. His eyes went all dreamy and his hands relaxed.

“Let me go so we can start getting this show on the road.”

“Oh! Yes, of course. Sorry.”

Ralkor stood upright and released my arms. I turned my back to him and hollered into the clear sky.

“I know you have at least six camera drones here. Uncloak! I demand to speak to the fans!”

A camera drone uncloaked directly in front of my face.

“Oh, wow. Okay. You were right here… A little creepy, but whatever. Anyway. Fans! Who wants to see us blow this slàr up? And who’s gonna help us blow this slàr up? We need explosives and a remote detonation system.”

Only moments passed before drones streamed from the sky. I pulled my hat from my head and twirled it in the air.

“Yeehaw! Team Intergalactic Cowboy! I love y’all! Y’all are the best fans in the universe!”

I leapt into the air, spun around and hugged Ralkor. He thrust his fist into the air and roared.

“Come on, baby. Let’s get to it.”

“I’ll get the fence.” Ralkor sprinted off to reconfigure the cage to free up a fence panel. I unsaddled the dyàks and brushed them down. I looked at the cubs.

“Stay here, where it’s safe. You two must protect the camp.”

The cubs rolled onto their backs, demanding I scratch their bellies.

Hard to tell if they understood a word I said, but there wasn’t time to worry about it before returning to Ralkor. He stood near a fence panel floating outside the cage, holding a device in his hand.

He lifted it in my direction and smiled. “It has a remote. I read the instructions.”

“Bless you. Let’s strap a bunch of the gaych to it. Maybe the slàr will eat it.”

A grin spread over his face, mischief lighting his eyes. “If we stretch the gaych hide over it, maybe the slàr will think it’s a gaych.”

“Damn. I liked that hide.”

“I’ll get you another one.”

“Thanks, handsome.”

We strapped explosives and gaych meat to the fence panel and stuck the remote detonation device to the panel. I tied a few chunks to the bottom with a rope, so it’d drag to attract the slàr’s attention. We walked with it back to the top of the hill.

The lake lay below, surface placid.

But I knew the slàr lay underneath, waiting for prey to fall into the trap.

Let’s see how you like this!

We pushed the panel down the hill, launching it toward its destiny. Ralkor punched commands into the remote. The fence panel wobbled and dodged like an animal wandering about.

I chewed my thumbnail, suddenly terrified none of this would work. My imagination ran wild, showing me visions of all the ways it could go wrong, each vision more terrifying than the last.

“This may be the most fun I’ve had in a battle, Emily.”

Well, at least one of us was having fun.

The fence panel reached the land bridge and I held my breath, finger on the remote detonator’s big red button. Ralkor drove the panel around like an animal hesitant to come in for a drink from the cold lake waters.

“Ugh. If it was a ‘gator, it woulda bit by now.”

“I’m trying to figure out how to entice it. I don’t know what it wants. We covered sound, smell, meat, shape, movement…”

Oh no.

“Let’s hope it’s not triggered by heat. I forgot about heat.”

Ralkor looked at me, handing me the remote. I managed to, sort of, drive the fence panel around. Then he turned to the camera drone hovering over us.

“Fellow Intergalactic Cowboys, I need a longbow and a flaming arrow.”

I drove the panel to the edge of the water, turning it around to wander in circles until a drone brought Ralkor a seven-foot-long longbow and an arrow with flammable wadding behind the long, barbed arrowhead.

Ralkor took it and lit the wadding, and knocked the flaming arrow in the bow.

“Hold the panel still for just a moment…”

A giant tentacle thrust from the water, wrapping around the fence panel like a constrictor. The slàr hauled its body up, sending a wave of water rushing over the land bridge. The slàr’s hard, sharp beak opened. It lifted the fence panel into its cavernous maw.

“I’m not wasting a perfectly good flaming arrow,” he grumbled.

Ralkor drew on his bow and loosed the arrow. The flame streaked through the air. I held my breath and watched it sail. The arrow dropped.

For a moment, I couldn’t make it out anymore.

The slàr closed its mouth just as the gaych hide bloomed into flame.

It roared, tentacles flailed and the massive beak bit down.

I hit the big red button.

The beast exploded.

Slàr parts flew sixty feet into the air.

Ralkor and I gasped. Tentacles flew through the air, writhing. Unidentifiable bits fountained everywhere. Some of the lighter bits of slàr rained down on our location. I ducked against them Ralkor curved his broad back over me, taking the brunt of the disgusting rain.

When the deluge finally ended, we dared peer out. Slàr coated everything within half a mile from the explosion’s epicenter.

I cheered, screaming my head off, leaping into the air while Ralkor roared, arms thrust high in triumph.

Gifts rained down from the sky, landing in the liquified monster that coated everything in sight.

Ralkor

“Eww. Gross.”

“What?”

“You’re covered in slàr, Ralkor. Like, I really want to keep kissing you, but…” Emily held up her slàr-covered hands.

“Right! Shower!” I picked her up by the waist and threw her over my shoulder.

She laughed as I ran for the cage, grabbing ahold of my chest harness, slapping at my ass cheeks.

“Giddy up!”

“Is that more cowboy talk?”

“Yep.”

“What does that mean? It was too Texan for the translator.”

“It means hurry up!” I ran to the gate and set Emily on her feet. She opened the gate and dashed through. I latched the fence gate behind us, chasing her into the sanitation trailer. We stuffed our clothes into the wash, starting the cycle and dashing into the shower.

Emily and I soaped each other up—all over.

Emily bubbled with happy triumph. “Ralkor! This is great! This is perfect. We’ll cross the land bridge tomorrow, after the scavengers clean up the slàr. I’m closer to finding Aly than ever. Thank you!”

“I’ll do anything within my power for you, Emily.”

“That’s exactly the right thing to say. Now, let’s finish getting ourselves clean, make sweet, sweet love, and figure out how to get us all out of here.”

Make love.

The phrase was perfect.

I stopped, wondering if I was brave enough, then plunged ahead. “As you wish, my love.”

Her mouth slackened as the import of my words hit her.

I cupped the back of her head in my hand and she bit her lip, gazing deep into my eyes. I felt, surely, she saw into my soul. She placed her hands on my chest, her features softening as she let her fierce exterior fall away.

Emily, with a will of iron and backbone of steel, too fierce to die or give in…my Emily, full of fight and fire, opened up before my eyes. I saw the soft, delicate parts of her soul, no less intense than her strengths.

How can I deny her the same?

Any need for whatever walls I still held between us faded into nothing. My vision grew fuzzy around the edges. Even the light shined softer. My heart pounded as I leaned down, my lips meeting hers. Her touch, her scent, familiar, but somehow brand new, made more intense by the very words.

My love.

The world outside of our kiss faded. Electricity flowed from where our lips pressed, cascading across my skin.

She leaned her body into me. Her knees grew weak. A gentle moan escaped her lips. I caught her around the waist in an arm. Emily gasped and wrapped her arms around my neck. Our tongues danced, slow and deep.

I lost myself in our throbbing energy, as if our souls had collided, finally slapping at the shower controls without looking. Luckily, I managed to shut the water off rather than turn it cold. I hefted Emily into my arms. Refusing to break our kiss, she clung to my neck by one arm and flailed the other in the direction of a towel.

I set her on her feet, managing to free myself from her grip long enough to dry us both—more or less. I dried Emily and tried to dry myself, but she dropped to her knees and licked my cock. Whatever brain cells I had left exploded.

My knees shook. The scent of her arousal filled my sensitive Tarekian nose. My eyes glazed. I growled, lifting her up, carrying her to the pile of bedding in the trailer’s modest changing room.

I lay her on her back. Daylight streamed through the windows set high in the wall, bathing Emily’s perfect body. I slid my hands from her ankles to her thighs. She moaned under my touch.

Emily spread her knees, opening herself to me. I stroked her glistening folds with a fingertip, circling her entrance with a thumb. Emily’s hips shuddered, rocking rhythmically. Mouth watering, I dove in, lapping at her folds.

Emily’s strong legs twitched as I wrapped my arms around her and held her dripping, swollen pussy to my mouth, lapping at her folds and running my tongue along her pubic bone. I nibbled and sucked on her clit.

Her soft whimpers and little moans enchanted my ears as much as her exquisite taste delighted my mouth. Her body writhed and she threw an arm over her eyes. Her back arched and her muscles tensed.

I slid two fingers into her throbbing tunnel. Her body gripped me and Emily released a deep moan. Her heaving chest glistened in the light. The way her breasts jiggled with each gasp fascinated me.

I slid my fingers into her, over and over while I sucked hard on her clit. She gasped, her tunnel clenching on my fingers, her back arching as she cried out.

“Ralkor…please, Ralkor…Fill me…”

I needed no further encouragement. I lifted her twitching body and lay her belly over the changing bench, lifting her ass high. She pulled her knees up and looked back at me with a look I dare not deny.

“Please…”

Dragging the head of my throbbing cock against her slick folds, she groaned, squirming against me until I held her hips still, my fingers digging into her flesh. She rocked her hips back, teasing me until I pushed the broad head of my shaft against her, until with a sudden push it was inside her.

Emily moaned deep, rocking harder against me, taking me inch by inch. Slick with her honey, my fat cock slid further into her tight heat. I leaned in slowly, stuffing as much of my thick rod into her as I could fit.

Emily had begged me to fill her and I refused to disappoint. Her body clenched around me, squeezing hard.

“Relkor!” she pleaded, shuddering as I pushed harder, finally sheathing myself entirely in her, the base of my cock pressed against her tight entrance.

A raw cry tore from her throat as I ground against her, and I pulled back and thrust, driving into her with each new clench of her core.

She cried out over and over, throwing her head back, tossing her beautiful hair. I ran my fingers through it, firm against her scalp.

Emily spoke in a gasp. “Pull it…”

I wrapped my fingers into her hair, at the base of her neck, and pulled, stretching her neck back. Emily screamed again, coming harder than ever before. The look of pure ecstasy on her face while my cock pounded her so hard and deep pushed me right over the edge with her.

“Yes! Ralkor!”

I roared as my thick, hot seed filled her, spurt after hot spurt. I gasped for breath, falling forward, bracing my hands on the bench. Emily twitched under me, waves of her orgasm squeezing the cock I still had buried inside her.

Watching the echoes of her orgasm roll over her face was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

“I love you, Emily.”

“Oh, Ralkor…I love you, too…” Her eyelid cracked open, and the sparkle of her gaze caught me again.

“And not just because of the orgasms.”

Emily

The next morning, camp packed up and back on the trail, we scouted the land bridge. The scavengers had cleared the blast radius of slàr parts and we made good time over the hard, frozen ground. We crossed to the narrow strip of land ringing the volcano’s steep sides.

I pulled out the map.

“I believe we’re almost at the Altar of Freedom,” Ralkor said. “We must determine how intercept any others who follow us,” he continued.

He was right.

I knew he was right.

And now the game had changed. No matter what the little goblins wanted, we were playing by our own rules now.

We didn’t want to reach the Altar itself.

Not yet.

“Ralkor, I think we need to set up a camp on the north side, at the base of the mountain,” I replied slowly. “At least two of the other couples will try to cross the two land bridges up there. Anyone coming from the land bridges on the south side will have to travel north, anyway, to ascend the mountain.”

“I think you’re right. We can leave a marker for anyone who follows us. I haven’t seen any sign that anyone else has passed this way, yet.”

I hugged him. That’s a great idea!”

With the assistance of our fans, we set up a booth and placed a map and explanation inside, directing them to the planned base camp site. We also stacked some firewood, leaving a crate of food, basic supplies, and a waterskin.

Maybe it’ll help someone.

Maybe it’ll help Aly.

We continued our trek toward the foot of the mountain. The dyàk’s nimble feet and the cubs’ incredible endurance allowed us to reach a good camp site by nightfall. We camped and cuddled close with the cubs to keep warm, too tired for anything else.

Ralkor and I spent the next day setting up a semi-permanent camp. We circled the trailers to create a windbreak and configured the fence panels into a cage. Ralkor harvested timber, using the dyàk to drag the logs back to camp. I stripped the logs of their branches and tied those to the top of the cage to create an A-frame roof.

This close to the mountain, surrounded by lakes and waterfalls, the temperatures dropped drastically. Ralkor and I built for cold weather, constructing a log wall to replace the panels as quickly as possible. We configured those panels to designate a space for the dyàks separate from our living space.

The next day, we stacked stones along one side of camp, creating a stone hearth, oven and chimney. We used the maglev crates and the dyàks to lift large, heavy stones in place around the chimney to create a stone wall against the wind.

Later that night over dinner next to the campfire, Ralkor and I lounged on our fur blankets we had laid out on the warm hearth near the fire’s glow.

“I think we’ve done quite well, Emily.”

“I agree. I don’t have to be thrilled about how we met, you know—the abduction thing—but I’m grateful we met. Can’t wait for you to meet Aly. She’s gonna love you. Oh! I wonder what her partner is like…”

“Probably a brute. Like I was.”

“Was? Ha. Still are. But, you’re my brute and I couldn’t be happier—while stuck on an intergalactic game show, of course. Though I’m happy to have connected with our fans.”

“I love you, too, Emily.”

I wiggled my eyebrows and Ralkor grinned.

“So, before we get distracted again, we’re running low on supplies. Tomorrow we’ll have to refill the water tanks and we’re running low on gaych. Both of those issues can be solved at the lake.”

“True. We should go to the northwest land bridge.” He trailed his fingers over my check, planning as we snuggled. “Set up an information booth while we’re there.”

I nodded. “The dyàk should be trained well enough to stay with us even without the fence panels. We can travel light. Leave the trailers here. Be back the day after. What do you think?”

Ralkor nodded. “Good plan. Now, kiss me.”

We fell into each other’s arms, giggling. We made love and fell asleep in a tangle of furs, limbs, and cubs.

It might be a strange life, but it was ours. We traveled out the next morning, leaving the animal trailer behind. I refused to leave the toilet or the kitchen behind.

We reached the land bridge and refilled our water stores, setting up another booth like we did the first. While I tended to the trailers and other supplies, Ralkor took the cubs out hunting. A few hours later, they returned with seventeen space bunnies.

“Hoo, boy. I see a lot of sewing in my future.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Those skins, plus enough of that Insta-tan spray, looks like a new blanket to me.”

We spent the evening fishing in the lake and I looked forward to a good grilled fish that night. We camped and cooked and ate and yelled at Plabz and Kvorkt during the evening’s broadcast.

Apparently intergalactic cowboys remained a hot trend and our fans seemed to love watching our industrious, domestic bliss, even if we weren’t playing by the rules anymore.

We returned to base camp as the sun began to set the next evening. A mile from camp, I froze.

“Ralkor! Tracks.”

“I see them. And they aren’t ours. Ours came from over there.”

Ralkor pointed at shallower tracks the light snows had partially filled. I pointed to a black smudge in the distance.

“A campfire. Maybe it’s Aly!”

I kicked my mount into a run and snow puffed from her hooves as she galloped toward camp, tail high.

I really shouldn’t let her run toward the unknown…but, for once, I have no patience for responsibility, do I? It’s already been nearly a month…hasn’t it? How long has it really been? So much has happened. Life before abduction hardly seems real now.

I saw two figures in the distance, standing outside the front of the base camp we set up before. One figure stood tall and wide, like Ralkor. The other…could’ve been Aly.

How tall is she? She could be Aly’s size. It’s so hard to tell from this distance. It must be Aly. I need her to be Aly.

My heart soared and I screamed Aly’s name into the air. All other considerations fell from my mind.

Surely, that’s Aly. Surely, I’ve found her. Now, I know everything will be all right. Aly, Ralkor, and I can figure out anything.

Right?

* * *

Don’t miss the next book in the Alien Games: Out of Bounds! Keep reading for a sneak peek or get it on Amazon now!

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Out Of Bounds: Sneak Peek

Charlotte

For the second time in my twenty-two years of life, I sat encased in a cage.

Solid panels outside the rolled-steel bars blocked out all light. I wanted to sit in that cage even less than the first time, but that didn’t really matter.

The cage might not have been my only hope, but it was my only option.

Well, that or die. Or…return to the slave market, and what kind of option was that? Like I’d choose more slavery over another chance at freedom.

The cage rattled to a halt. My stomach leapt into my chest during a moment of freefall, then thudded as we landed heavily on something hard. Something on the cage I couldn’t see whirred and clicked and the sides of the cage fell open.

Light flooded in, blinding me and I squeezed my eyes shut, flinging an arm over my face. A light breeze and the smell of grass filled my nose and underneath the pungent, waxy green of the grasses, hung heavier notes of dung and the musk of animals.

“I guess I should see what we’re up against this time…”

I opened my eyes to a stretch of scrubby hills and rolling plains. A mix of evergreens and the skeletal branches of a few deciduous trees cut into the skyline in the distance and I smelled the comforting wetness of a freshwater lake.

Had I not been an unwilling contestant on an alien reality show, for a moment, I could imagine I’d found my way back to Earth.

Except the grasses here come in shades of metallic red, electric blue, and iridescent green, like a beetle’s hard carapace. At least we’re near fresh water. We… I guess it’s time to meet my teammate.

I sighed, closing my eyes, and spun around. I opened them, looking past my cage to the second cage sitting behind it. I knew he’d be there.

At least, there was last season, and that was all the information I had to go on.

And there he was.

A massive alien stood tall, silently staring at me.

“What are you, like seven-and-a-half-feet tall?”

He cocked his head to the side, as if considering. “According to the measurements as I understand them, that is affirmative.”

I looked him over from head to toe. Even covered in green fur, the contours of massive muscles stood out along his back and shoulders. His well-defined abs flexed with each breath.

“Well, you look strong, so you have that going for you. How durable are you and do you always speak like a robot?”

He stood upright, expression blank. “I do not understand your line of questioning. Please citizen, direct me to your nearest governmental figure.”

I sighed, my chest tight. “Oh, boy. What’ve they saddled me with this time?” A partner who couldn’t pull his own weight would be a death sentence for us both.

“Answer unknown. Please citizen, direct me to—”

I held a hand up, interrupting quickly, thinking even faster. If he thought like a computer, maybe that’s how I needed to talk to him. “Pause query. What is your designation?”

“JZK-1754 of the 1061st Marines division, Quislikian Ground Assault Battalion A72P.”

“That’s lovely.” Quislikian. Where had I heard about them before?

The memory finally came back to me.

Hell.

Swallowing hard, I pushed the problem away. There were plenty of other things to be dealt with first.

“What about a name? What is your name—personal designation?”

“JZK-1754 of the 1061st—”

I rubbed my eyes, trying not to despair. “Riiiight. I’ll call you Jasek. The rest is too long for practical purposes.” Looking him over, I couldn’t help but notice the intelligence in his eyes. He wasn’t just a robot. I was sure of it. “Your name is Jasek. When I say ‘Jasek’, I mean you. Say it. Say, ‘I am Jasek’.”

“I am Jasek.”

Well, that was progress. Wasn’t it? “Great. Follow me, don’t die, and I’ll explain what’s going on here.”

“Thank you, citizen.”

Sort of progress. Maybe.

“My name is Charlotte. You’re now a contestant on an intergalactic reality game show produced by little goblin-looking jerks called Snaughians—”

My new traveling companion roared. “Snaughians! I must kill the Snaughians!”

Hopefully nothing too lethal was around, because there was no way they wouldn’t have heard that.

“Get in line, but I appreciate your sentiment. There are a lot of people who want to kill Snaughians, at the moment.”

“The Quislik created me to fight Snaughians. We met the Snaughians and fought, but were too many of the enemy. I was captured. Now, I am here.”

That didn’t sound great, but honestly, I’d found there were no shortage of horror stories in the big bad univers.

“Oof. That’s rough. I was happily running a footpath through the university park near the river early one morning when I got sucked into a bright light. Next thing I know, I’m on season 33 of Intergalactic Love Death Match.”

His eyes narrowed. “Season 33? These seasons, are they like battles?”

“More than you’d think,” I laughed despite myself. “Season 33 was last season. You and I have the misfortune of finding ourselves ‘contestants’ of season 34. We’re on a team. You’ve got to understand that need each other to win our freedom.”

“Then I can return to the Quislik so I may serve them another day!” He nodded sharply. “Rest assured. We will be victorious.”

“Don’t you want anything else out of life?” I wondered. “Personally, I want to go home, and pretend none of this ever happened.”

Even if it took years and years of therapy, the idea of my nice, normal life was all that had kept me going… for how long now?

Jasek shook his head. “Since leaving the gestational pods, serving the Quislik is all I know.” Slowly, he turned around, examining our surroundings. “And this situation is not something I have been programmed for.”

Biting my lip, I stepped closer, hoping he’d understand how important this was. “Listen, I’m determined to win the game and get myself out of this fucking nightmare, and I need you in order to accomplish that. I’ve survived this game once already, and you admit you have no clue what to do—so, these are your new orders: Listen, learn, remember, and please, try not to argue. Trust that I won’t tell you to do anything unimportant.”

Resolve lit his face. “Agreed. Thank you, Charlotte.”

Don’t thank me, yet.

I turned away, unable to meet his eyes any longer. “Keep up. We must find shelter, water, food, and fire. The weather seems nice enough and I smell water. Let’s try to find that. Gather wood and dry dung patties as we go.”

“I will follow you, Charlotte.” He moved by my side instantly.

Great. Now I have a green-furred, muscle-bound pet to care for.

We followed the smell of water, stepping high to clear the grasses. Well, I had to step high. Jasek was tall enough to step over the tufts in a normal stride.

“So, have you ever watched many Snaughian shows?”

Jasek gasped. “No! I’d never consume Snaghian propaganda.”

“Okay…do the Xunon make any reality shows?”

He looked confused. “No. The Xunon are troops.”

“All Xunon are troops?”

“Affirmative.”

That couldn’t be right. Maybe I wasn’t asking correctly. Like a computer. Garbage in, garbage out. I took a deep breath, tried again.“No cooks? Or…librarians? Doctors? Nurses? Lawyers, even?”

“No.” His voice was flat, certain. “Xunon are manufactured by the Quislik. We are designed to be soldiers, front-line troops.”

“Well, okay.” And here we were again, Charlotte remembers that the universe is not what she thought it was, episode seventy billion and two. “You’re clones?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Of course. “How do you learn? Is there a clone school?”

“The Quislik program our memory banks with all the knowledge they have so wisely foreseen we, the Xunon, will require to accomplish our missions.”

We walked quietly for a moment while I took it all. Waking up, knowing everything you’d ever need.

Sounded kinda nice. No more studying. No more math tests.

But no more learning anything interesting. Never to have that little spark that flew through you when you figured out an impossible assignment.

Nope. Regular, slow, old-school learning for me.

I realized I hadn’t asked an important question. “And your mission is…?”

“To kill the Snaughians, of course. And die trying!”

Of course it was.

“Well, that was your old mission,” I decided. “But now, our mission is to win this game. No dying allowed.”

Don’t miss the next book in the Alien Games: Out of Bounds! https://readerlinks.com/l/2044634

Rekker

Rekker wasn't expecting to be matched.

On the eve of being sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact, he's sent something just as enigmatic.

A human woman, lush and curved.

His mate.

Even worse, she wants nothing to do with him.

His blood burns for her, but the need to make her happy overrides everything.

He'll find a way to set her free, even if it means he'll be alone. Forever.

But when danger comes from an unexpected source, they're thrown together. And when his mate turns to him, he'll protect her.

Keep her.

Claim her.

Lila Kanes never wanted any thing but a quiet life on her family farm. She certainly didn't want to be claimed by a massive alien mate.

Thrown into the stars, she'll do whatever it takes to find a way home.

Back to Earth.

Back to her family.

She couldn't possibly want to stay with the hot, horned alien with the amazing body, who made her feel like the most precious thing in the universe, could she?

Right?

Rekker is the first book of the Warriors of Vaznik, a stand alone series in the Warlord Brides universe. There's no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA for each couple!

Click here to keep reading Rekker, book one of the Vaznik Warrior Mates!

Rogue Mate

Science fiction romance is the destination of the Rogue Star…. Hop on board!

Our rescuers are a group of pirates. Or smugglers. They're not exactly answering questions, either.

More importantly, they're giant, golden skinned aliens...

And their rogue of a captain seems very interested in the little human commander.

Me.

Rogue Mate is the first in the Rogue Star science fiction alien romance series. Click now to start the adventure!

Kazan

A mate is the last thing on my mind.

Especially one as sassy as the human female they say is my match.

Even if her lush curves call for my touch, and her fiery spirit is equal to my own.

I will endure the thirty days demanded by the Protocol.

But with every look, every word, I can feel us bound closer together.

Will I be able to leave her, even for her own safety?

Kazan is the first book of the Jorkan Protocol Mates. Click now to spend the night with this perfect steamy, funny science fiction romance escape. There's no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA for each alien warrior and his mate!

Copyright © 2021 by Ava York

All rights reserved. These books or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.