Banished To Earth Book Two 3

 

Chapter Four

    The words shift portal popped into his head. That’s how she came here, and that’s what dropped him into this wood. For the first time in his life, he knew who he was: a Hunter, chosen and changed by unseen overseers to rid his world of creatures like her.

  “They gave, but they won’t get.” He grunted when he smiled down at her, which didn’t seem that far, even though she was a full seven inches shorter than he was. “Rapist drew you. And you drew me. But I’m not.” He paused and cupped her chin in his right hand, “I’m never going to hurt you, and I’ll happily kill anyone who comes to finish the job I was supposed to do!”

    With that he stepped back and traced a wide oval in the air with his right index finger, making use of the timely bit of knowledge she had just gave him. The moment his finger plowed through the air molecules an ovoid of distortion shimmered into view.

    “We are going home but not quite. I’m betting they can trace these, right?” He asked stupidly.

    She smiled again. He was funny. She thought she had forgotten how to smile. He had given her another gift, that and an unexpected subtle psychic connection.

   But there was more. Something distant dark happened long ago. But it was a feather on the breeze, at least for now…

   Just as she could sense his essence. he could now sense the presence of other Hunters. The wood was calm, even comforting, devoid of any unnatural threat. But that would not last. He was not sure how he knew this. More forgotten memories making their way up from the muck of forgetfulness, he assumed. But there was something else struggling to surface. Dark and huge, the size of a planet, the size of Earth…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter five

11

    A half mile from Chase’s beach house, lay a stretch of muddy black sand. This is where they went when they ducked into the shift portal and were instantly transported to what Chase hoped would be a safe distance from his home. They would walk the rest of the way, letting the sliding foamy surf wash their footprints into the sea.

    The sun was low, the sea breeze chilling. Chase noticed she was shivering again so he put his arm around her. Her lively hair rippled up and caressed his back and shoulders.

    She stopped when she realized what it was doing and smiled when he didn’t flinch or push it away. Was it revealing something new, unexpected, another gift?  She blushed and turned to watch the crashing waves, hiding her red cheeks.

    ‘…big falling water…’ she thought. She had never seen anything like it.

   “You like the sea?” He asked knowing full well she could not understand him.

   She mewed, not unlike a cat.

    “Sounds like a yes to me. Getting late, maybe we better get going.” He said stepping forward when he spoke.

    His words meant nothing to her, but his tone and actions spurred her on…

    The sun was a broken egg on the horizon spreading gleaming yellow yoke across a shimmering sea of flaming red, azure, pink and burnt orange when they finally reached his house. The alien girl could not take her eyes off it. Her face was beaming.

   Chase wanted to get her inside, out of sight, out of danger he hoped. But the moment they turned toward the wooden ramp leading up to his elevated deck, he noticed how transfixed she was by the brilliant display.

  “You like that huh? He said softly, his voice was barely audible over the crashing waves.  “I do too, but…” He looked out over the fiery sunburnt surf and did not bother to finish his sentence.

   She did not appear to hear him and could not understand his words anyway. He shrugged and looked around, saw no one.

  “Okay, we can watch it set, then we go in.” He looked down at her. Her beaming face was perfect and innocent. Had she never seen a sunset? What must her world be like, nothing like Earth he guessed…

 12

   He had spared her life when she wanted to die. Now he was making her want to live. She wanted to thank him, but he would never understand her language. She must touch his mind, sink into his memory, just like the sun sinking into the big falling water.

   He was Hunter. He was strong. That much she had learned from the Transit Authority, they who govern and regulate all shift portals, like the ones on her planet Phastanar. The same ones who govern the galaxy, who judge and decree, spare and ‘refine’.

   They sent her here, prey, for the Hunters, just as they had chosen genetically pliable humans to mutate into Hunters.  Such an interest in his world could not be good.  She must speak to him deeply, deep enough to end him? She hoped not.

   He was not the weak human he had been just a few short hours ago. Surely he could survive what her father could not. Besides, she needed only to pierce his brain, not mingle their essence. She did not want a baby from him, just conversation.

   All he had to do was trust her and remain still. She would follow him inside and wait for the proper moment to puncture him.

   Dropping her gaze after the sun finally slipped behind the distant purple wall of water. Everything was shadowy gray now, everything but her eyes. When she looked back up into his face, he saw a couple of all too familiar glowing white dots looking back at him. They were just like the eye lights that haunted his childhood.

   He jerked back. Then felt stupid for not knowing what they were.  He grinned and realized she was seeing the same thing. Their eyes were shining in the dark, just like animal eyes. For he too was now nocturnal.

    Surprisingly, the world was even more brilliant and colorful to them than before. 

   “Well, this is nice, weird but nice. Wonder what other upgrades I have?” It never occurred to him that racing through bough and brier without a scratch was something new.

    When they reached his sliding glass door, he opened it and out of sheer habit, switched on the living room light.

   Suddenly blinded and shocked by this new thing. She bolted away and slammed her forehead into the door jam. Her body went limp and fell back into his waiting arms. He

   checked her forehead for blood, then gently ran his fingertips over her nose and face. Nothing broken, but he felt a goose egg swelling on her forehead.

  

13

   Surprisingly, the hair that had so easily shredded her assailants to bloody ribbons, slid harmlessly up and down his back and shoulders, trying in its own way to help him help her. 

    He took little notice as he rushed her limp body to the couch easing her tiny frame down unto its’ Afghan covered cushions. As he brushed her stubbornly helpful hair out of her face and his way, she opened her eyes and groaned. Despite her throbbing head, she smiled at the sight of her hair gently wrapped around Chase’s arms.

   He smiled back, “I’m so sorry,” he said nestling down beside her, “I didn’t know electric light would scare you, guess you don’t have that where you come from. Forgive me.”

   The sincere tone of his voice warmed her heart like sunshine, if not the rest of her body. She pushed herself up to let him know she was all right. She shivered again, her chin quivering, as she hugged herself to keep warm.

   “That, I can fix. Sit tight,” he said just before he struck off to his bedroom to get a blanket. Upon returning, he remembered she was barefoot. After removing the damp hoody and covering her in his blanket, he turned his attention to her feet. He chuckled. She was already wearing socks, dirt socks that went almost above her ankles. “No wonder you’re freezing.” He disappeared again, returning a few minutes later with a metal basin filled with warm water. A bar of soap floated in it. A wash rag hung from his back pocket and a white towel swung from his bare right shoulder.

   He sat the tub down by her feet then gently placed them in.

   She studied this strange gentle man as he tenderly washed the cold grit from her dirty feet, marveled at his humility and at how wonderful his fingers felt caressing her bare skin. 

   A tingling wave coursed through her body. What was it? She did not know. Maybe she would discover its’ cause later, but now was not that time.

   His head was almost level with her chest as he kneeled, removed her feet and dried them with the towel.

   He would be carrying the basin away soon and her opportunity to ‘access’ his brain would be lost. He lifted the basin and turned away.

   She grunted. He set the basin back down but out of the way.

  “Yes.”

    She grunted again then jabbed her finger at the empty place beside her

14

“You want me to sit,” he asked placing his hand by her finger.

   She grunted and nodded toward the couch.

“Okay.” Sitting down beside her as he spoke.

   Reaching up with both hands she clasped his face and stared into his eyes. Grunting again, she pulled her hands away and chopped the air then locked them in place inches from his face.

   Her eyes were pleading, dark and somber.

   He knew something was up, something scary. She hadn’t killed him yet. So why would she do it now? No reason, no reason at all. Maybe she just wanted to kiss him, yeah sure, that would be all right, a sweet bit of gratitude, no problem. Then he saw the shimmering strand of white hair lift from her head.

     Her eyes bore into his, still pleading, insisting.

  “Do not move.” The words blossomed in his mind. He did not know from whom or where they came. He did know he would die if he disobeyed them.

   He remained motionless, even as the silvery filament snaked through the air curved up to his right temple and stopped just short of touching his skin. A glassy bead slowly formed at the end of the hair strand. It was a lubricating anesthetic, but he could not see it, so he had no way of knowing it was even there.

  Her shoulders, arms and chest were completely covered with his sky-blue blanket. She looked like an angel especially with her hair rippling and swaying about her head like an iridescent halo.  

   She bore the mantle of one much older than her years. But he had only her appearance to judge her age, by that alone she was maybe in her early twenties. Her eyes, however, looked much older, world worn, tired and drooped with deep sadness.

   Her delicate features betrayed not the slightest hint of malevolence, but there was something preternatural, unsettling about her face, especially her eyes, hypnotic soothing yet laser-like in their intensity and depth. 

   It was clear she wanted something from him, not blood, but him. She wanted to know him, learn from him. At that moment her silver thread pierced his skin, bore through bone and coupled with his brain.