Fallen from the Stars Read online

  “Yeah.”

  Vasil had done so much for her already — despite her distrust of him, despite the way she’d treated him. The fruit he’d left this morning was only the next item on a growing list.

  She slipped a wedge of fruit into her mouth as she moved to the rear of the pod, pausing as the sweet juice flowed over her tongue. She tilted her head back. “Oh my god, Kane. I swear I don’t know how I’ll be able to go back to that artificial crap they serve on the ship.”

  “Not to be a downer, but…there’s no ship to go back to, so I guess you don’t have to worry about that.”

  Theo sighed as she unfastened the straps holding her toolbox in place and slid the metal container closer. She ran her fingertips over the name etched on the lid — M. VELENTI.

  “There’s always another ship,” she said quietly. “I got away with the important things. My toolbox and you.”

  “How sentimental of you,” Kane replied. “You know that you are more important than either of those, don’t you?”

  “Aww, Kane. I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve said to me in a long time.” Theo grinned, opening the door of the storage space to which she’d returned the food. It also contained first aid supplies, various tools, spare universal power cells, and extra clothing. The supplies were enough to last her a few weeks if she was smart — even longer if she supplemented with foraged food.

  “Don’t get used to it.”

  Theo chuckled as she pulled out the pair of automatic-filtration water containers from the bottom of the storage space. “I won’t. And to answer your question from earlier, the plan, for now, is just to survive. Not much more we can do.”

  “Fair enough,” Kane replied. “I take it we’re going back to the stream?”

  “Yep,” she said, closing the storage door and stepping back. She hurriedly finished the rest of the winefruit, clicked the holstered pistol into place at her hip, and felt for her knife before exiting the pod with the containers.

  Setting the containers aside for a few moments, she gathered the fruit off the leaves and moved it into the pod for safe keeping.

  Kane’s orb projected from her wrist when she finally walked into the jungle. The scents of moist vegetation and rich earth quickly replaced the beach’s salty breeze. She remained alert, unwilling to be caught unaware as she had the day before.

  Who would’ve guessed a plant — a plant — would be so high on the dangerous predator list?

  What other surprises awaited her on this world?

  She was grateful for what Vasil had taught her thus far. He had earned some of her trust — much more than she’d given him. Yet part of her knew she needed to remain on-guard, that she had no reason to feel guilty for protecting herself.

  “Do you want me to highlight the route back to the stream?” Kane asked aloud, his orb pulsing gently with his words.

  “I think I remember, but…it’s hard to be sure. Everything looks the same.” She ran her gaze over the trees and the thick vegetation covering the jungle floor. “Am I at least on the right path?”

  “Close enough. I’ll inform you if you stray too far.”

  “Any sign of carnivorous plants?”

  “I don’t see anything within my limited range,” he replied, “but who’s to say what other dangers lurk out here? Just be alert.”

  She continued forward, twigs and plant stalks snapping beneath her boots. The hot, muggy air soon had sweat rolling down her back, trickling between her breasts, and beading on her forehead and neck. Even her hair dampened with perspiration. All at once, her jumpsuit felt too constricting. It clung to her skin uncomfortably and chaffed her most sensitive parts. She’d never encountered this problem in the controlled atmospheres of interstellar ships.

  Theo paused when a new sound joined the jungle ambiance — running water. She pushed through leaves and vines until she finally broke into the clearing along the stream’s bank.

  “Finally.” She sighed in relief, stepped to the edge of the water, and set one of the extra containers down beside her. The opening in the canopy allowed the sun to shine bright and hot atop her head, adding to her discomfort. “This planet is going to be the death of me.”

  “I refuse to be stuck in a rotting corpse until my backup power cells die,” Kane said. “It would take years.”

  “You won’t have much of a choice, will you? And do you really think my corpse would last? You’d likely wind up in the belly of a beast before getting shat out—”

  “Fill up your damned bottles so we can get out of here, Theo.”

  Theo laughed as she opened the first container. “Did I cross your wires?”

  “I’ll not have you insult the sophistication of my components by suggesting I have anything as crude as wires, thank you,” he grumbled.

  “Boy, you are touchy today.” She bent forward and dipped the container into the stream, holding it firmly so it wouldn’t be carried off by the current. Once it was full, she lifted it out, replaced the cap, and pressed the button to begin the filtration process. She stared at the water as she filled the second container. “You see anything in there that I don’t?”

  “Looks clear,” Kane replied, “not that it made any difference yesterday. Why?”

  She sealed the second container and activated it, placing it beside the first. “’Cause I stink to high hell, and it’s hot.”

  “Every time I become wistful and long for a physical form of my own, you remind me why it would be a terrible thing to possess. Thank you, Theodora.”

  “The human body is a disgusting thing.” With a smirk, Theo stood and kicked off her boots. She unbuckled her belt and laid it, along with the pistol, beside her footwear. Raising a hand to her collar, she released her jumpsuit’s seal. The material sagged as the front seam opened. She peeled the suit off her body, pulling her arms out of the sleeves before shoving the whole thing down her legs, leaving only the under suit she wore beneath her outer garments. The touch of air directly on the skin of back, arms, and legs brought immediate relief from the heat.

  Sitting in the grass along the bank, she drew her knife from its belt sheath and pulled the jumpsuit into her lap. She carefully used the sharp blade to make a few alterations that would make the uniform more comfortable in this unforgiving climate.

  “Where do you think Vasil went?” she asked as she cut off one of the sleeves.

  “Maybe he was eaten by a plant,” Kane said.

  Theo shook her head, smirking. “You saw how easily he tore that other one apart. I doubt it.”

  “I will note that we’ve not witnessed him eating yet, and his…dental situation suggests a more protein-rich diet. Perhaps he’s hunting?”

  “Maybe we just haven’t been around him long enough to see him eat. He might’ve eaten some of the fruit he gathered for me, for all we know. But you’re probably right.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth and carefully sliced through the material around the jumpsuit’s waist. “You don’t think he’d just…leave, do you?”

  “Honestly, Theo, I don’t know.”

  The thought of Vasil leaving was strangely unsettling to Theo. She had Kane, but what did he know about this world? He’d kept her from losing her mind several times in the past when the silence and solitude had become too much, but to go the rest of her life without meeting anyone else seemed…frightening. Before Kane, she’d had Malcolm — her tutor, her protector, the man she wished had been her father from the start. It had been so many years since he died that she’d forgotten what it was like to have someone near. Someone she could look at, touch, feel.

  She was alone here without Vasil. What did it matter if he was a kraken? He was still…alive.

  There were always other people on IDC ships, but her time around them had always been fleeting. She’d never made any lasting friendships, especially after enlisting. What was the point? Most people only wound up betraying you eventually, and those who didn’t always left sooner or later — IDC crewmen were constantly b
eing reassigned and shuffled around the universe.

  She thought back to the few times she’d attempted to get close to others, to get intimate; each experience had left a sour taste in her mouth. Theo had been nothing more than a conquest, an easy fuck. In her desperation for human contact, she’d allowed herself to be used, all under the delusion that she could have more than a physical connection. And she couldn’t bring herself to be angry about any of it — none of those men were at fault for failing to meet her expectations, which had always been vague even to Theo.

  After a short series of disappointments, she’d simply distanced herself from everyone.

  Theo sighed. She set the separated pieces of her suit aside and leaned forward to sheathe her knife. Why did she have to be so fucked up? She hated letting people close, yet she craved intimacy like she needed air.

  She stood up, removed her under suit, and kneeled at the stream’s edge. She scrubbed her clothing to wash away the sweat and dirt before spreading them out in the sun to dry.

  Tossing her long hair back, she walked into the water. Her bare feet traversed slick rocks and soft mud, a welcome relief from wearing boots all the time. The cool water was wonderfully refreshing against her heated flesh.

  “Keep an eye out for giant, predatory fish, would ya?” she asked, wading forward until the water reached her waist.

  “This is a stream, Theo,” Kane replied, “not the ocean.”

  “Kane, I was almost eaten by a plant yesterday.”

  “Just do what you need to do so we can get back.”

  Theo shook her head and dipped down to submerge herself up to her shoulders. She spread her arms to the sides, relishing the feel of water flowing over her skin. “Don’t rush me. I’m in no hurry to get back to the pod and stare blankly at the sky until bedtime. If you’re bored, go to sleep.”

  “I can’t go to sleep,” he said, “because you want me to keep watch. Please, feel free to take your time. It’s not like I can go anywhere.”

  “Why thank you,” she snickered.

  “My pleasure, madam.”

  Vasil rose from the water and dragged himself onto the beach. He felt replenished. He’d not been in the water since pushing Theo’s pod ashore the night before last and had forgotten how strange his body felt after prolonged periods in open air. The humidity helped, but it would never be enough; kraken needed the sea.

  He carried his catch — a pair of meaty, long-bodied fish — in one hand, fingers hooked beneath the fish’s gills, as he moved toward the pod. The humans he’d lived alongside ate many plants, but they all included meat in their diets whether it came from land or sea. He doubted the odd, tube-like containers she sometimes ate from contained any sort of meat; hopefully, she’d enjoy fresh fish.

  “Theo?” Vasil called.

  She did not answer, and nothing moved within the pod. He called her name again. The gentle wind and rolling waves provided the only sound.

  Ignoring the scratchy sand clinging to his tentacles, he swept his gaze around the immediate area. The soft ground around the pod was cut through by chaotic tracks created by feet and tentacles, too jumbled for him to make any sense of.

  A boulder coalesced in his chest and sank into his gut.

  He hurried to the pod and raised his torso on flexed tentacles to peer inside; Theo was not within. As he lowered himself and spun around, he noticed the leaves upon which he’d left food for her were bare. Vasil rushed over and ran his tentacles over them, seeking any unfamiliar tastes or smells. All he detected was sand, fruit, the leaves themselves, and the faintest hint of Theo.

  His hearts thundered, and his mind raced. If some beast had attacked her, there would’ve been a lingering scent, would’ve been some sign of struggle — blood, torn cloth, unfamiliar prints in the sand. Something.

  The signs, however few in number, pointed toward her having left of her own will. Had he pushed too far the night before? Had he done nothing but give her real reason to fear him?

  I shouldn’t have been so aggressive. I should have…

  No, that was wrong. She needed to understand what was at stake for Vasil and his people. The kraken had spent generations expecting the IDC’s return, and Vasil’s interactions with Theo, though brief, had been enough to confirm what he’d long suspected — human technology had only become more advanced in the years since the IDC’s departure. The kraken would not survive if the IDC choose to reignite that old conflict.

  Whether she’d fled in fear or not, he had to find her. He had to know she was okay.

  But where might she have gone?

  He set the fish down, wrapped them with the leaves, and surveyed his surroundings. No fresh footprints led along the shore in either direction, meaning she’d likely gone into the jungle. Why? He’d left her fresh food, and she knew now how dangerous the jungle could be.

  Vasil ran a palm over his scalp and looked to the sea.

  Why go if not to escape him? She wasn’t used to kraken; she likely saw him as a monster.

  The morning had dawned clear and sunny, leaving the ocean a mix of vibrant turquoise and teal beneath an azure sky. Gentle waves rolled onto the beach in an endless back-and-forth, claiming an infinitesimal bit of land each time the retreated.

  Water.

  Even having seen the humans of The Watch drink more times than he could count, he still seemed to forget so easily. Humans needed to consume water to survive. She may well have gone to the stream they’d discovered the day before to obtain fresh water.

  Swept onward by an unexpected surge of excitement and hopefulness, Vasil plunged into the jungle. If Theo had left evidence of her recent passage, he was not skilled enough to pick it out amidst the dense foliage and layers of decaying vegetation covering the jungle floor. He used the landscape as his guide back toward the stream. Though the jungle was little more than a living, chaotic mess of green, purple, and brown to him, he’d committed to memory a few of the more unique features along the path — a large fallen log propped against another tree, a trunk with a huge cluster of pale blue fungus growing on one side, a curtain of vines sprinkled with red-orange blossoms.

  Theo likely would’ve used the same markers to find her way, and if that failed, she had Kane. Vasil didn’t doubt Kane had the ability to map Theo’s location and guide her along the right path, just as Sam could through the diving suits.

  But none of that provided him much assurance. His hearts did not ease, and the weight in his gut did not diminish. His skin felt overly warm and itchy, sparking a primal, unsettling urge to claw it off for relief. He could not forget the snatcher, and his imagination suggested other dangers lurking in the greenery too numerous for him to fully comprehend.

  Why should she be so important to me after barely two days when I have gone years without approaching the youngling I sired?

  The answer that resonated in his mind was too quick, too confident, too final.

  Because Theo is mine and mine alone.

  Ahead, the vegetation thickened, and through it came the muffled sound of trickling water. The stream was close. Vasil cast away all other thoughts. Finding Theodora was the only matter of any importance, and the way he felt about her had no bearing on that task.

  He shoved through the foliage and emerged on the bank of the stream. With no barriers to dull the sound, the stream’s burbling was loud and clear, but it wasn’t enough to drown out his thumping hearts. He swung his gaze from upstream to downstream and sucked in a relieved breath.

  Theo was downstream, submerged up to her shoulders in the widest, deepest part of the stream with her back to him. The tension in his chest faded as he moved toward her.

  She tipped back her head. Her light blonde hair spread around her, floating on the water’s surface, as she ran her fingers through it. When she was done, she stood up.

  Vasil halted. For an instant, nothing moved within him — not even his hearts or lungs — and all the world’s sounds vanished.

  Theo was naked.

&nb
sp; Rivulets of water cascaded over her pale skin, trickling along her spine, her flaring hips, and the tantalizing curve of her backside, the latter of which was just visible above the water line.

  Without conscious thought, Vasil moved into the nearby foliage and eased closer to her. His skin altered its color to match his surroundings. He could not remove his eyes from her. There were stark differences between the human and kraken form, and while he found beauty in both, there was an undeniable allure in the sensuality of human females.

  She turned, making her way back toward the shore, and Vasil inhaled sharply. His attention was called in a dozen different directions; the black markings covering her left arm and side would have consumed his curiosity in most other situations, but her body above her mid-thighs was bared to him now. His gaze went to her firm, rounded breasts and the hardened nubs of her pink nipples, upon which droplets of water glistened, before dipping along her stomach. More of the black markings — lines and circles, lacking any discernable pattern, that reminded him, somehow, of machinery — ran over her belly toward her pelvis.

  He held his gaze there even as she entered shallower water and more of her graceful legs emerged. She was hairless save for atop her head, and that confused him. He’d heard that humans all had hair covering their sexes — not that Theo was like any human he’d met. The top of her slit was just visible between her thighs, and for a moment, Vasil envisioned her legs spreading to reveal the delicate petals of her sex, pink and glistening with want — for him.

  His cock throbbed, straining against his slit. He held it back only by force of will — and that hold was tenuous at best. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides. The sting of his claws digging into his palms offered no distraction from the sight before him. Perhaps it was because he’d been without sex for so long, but his want for Theo was so immense at that moment it caused him physical pain.

  She reached the grassy bank and stepped onto land. Tilting her head to the side, she gathered her hair into her hands and twisted it, wringing out excess water.