David and Troy yelled. “Get up! Get up! Run!”
Kyla got to her knees and glanced over her shoulder. The monstrosities circled for another attack. She ran until her heart threatened to burst from her chest. David met her at the edge of the forest, threw her on his shoulder, and ran deep into the trees. The flying creatures screamed their frustration at their thwarted attempt to capture her.
David set the trembling Kyla on her feet. She massaged her head. “The bastard yanked my hair out.” A lone tear trekked down her face. “Creations, I’m an idiot.”
“Yep, that you are.” He shook his head and glared at her. “Next time I tell you to move, move, damn it.”
Glancing at Troy, David asked, “Did you see the twelve foot long desert lizards on Ronyan?”
“Yes, but they did not have wings.” He stared through the treetops. “Watch it; they are circling overhead. Not only do they have the colorful wings that so enthralled Kyla, they appear to have a secondary pair kept tucked to their belly.”
“I didn’t notice that.”
Troy’s attention remained on the sky. “The one that almost caught Kyla, began unfolding the under pair as if it planned to scoop her up with them.”
“Why don’t you two stop blathering,” Kyla said, “and let’s hide in the rover.”
David grimaced. “Not to worry, those wings are too wide-spread to get in these trees.” Lengthening his stride, he said, “Come on. I need to see if I can reach the Adventurer.”
Without further incidence, they came to the craft and Troy boosted David through the hatch.
Waiting outside for him to check the communication system, Kyla dropped to a soft bed of pine needles and leaned against the rough, resinous bark of a massive tree. She watched Troy pace, expecting steam to come from his ears. “Hey, friend, take it easy, you’ll overload that big brain of yours.”
Troy settled on the ground beside her and she sensed his tension leach away. Or was it hers? Relaxed, they listened to David bumping around in the rover.
After a long silence, he turned to Kyla. “Despite giant flying colossi, something in the air gives one a sense of tranquility and well-being. If it could be bottled to sell on-ship, a fortune could be made.”
Kyla stared through the small openings in the foliage above into the bright sunlight, mesmerized. I have to see those angel people again. Something about them stirred up feelings I’ve never experienced before. She jumped to her feet, grabbed Troy’s hand, pulled him up, and began running toward the meadow.
Troy ran to keep up with her. “Kyla, slow down. If you think I am going to go out and let some monstrosity bite off my head, you are a raving lunatic.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll check first. After what happened to me—if I can go out so can you.”
“Just make sure none of those flying creatures are out there.”
She stepped from the trees and surveyed the sky. “Come on, Troy. It’s clear.”
They walked out into the edge of the meadow. She turned to him and said, “Pick a flower.”
“What?”
“Come on Troy—humor me. Pick a flower.”
He snorted but bent forward to break off a fragrant bud near his foot. “Now, what?”
No angel people appeared. Kyla, holding her breath, waited in disappointment. She looked at Troy. “Smell it.”
“I really shouldn’t do this.” However, she bunched her jaw muscles and glared at him, and then he brought the flower to his nose. “Ah, a very distinctive odor. Pleasant, it seems to affect my . . .” He staggered sideways.
Kyla, desperate to bring the unusual people back, turned away from him and called out, “Cymry! Eiddyl! Awel! Come back.”
The words had no more than left her mouth when Troy jerked her around into his arms. His mouth descended to hers and his long arms held her tight against his tall lean frame that pressed against her body. Startled, she jerked her head back and looked up into his face. Eyes, heavy lidded over glittering agate irises, stared at her with a consuming hunger. Although his expression did not enlighten her, the press of his pelvis told her more than she wanted to know. Her heart raced and her face became numb.
His hands traveled down her spine and cupped her buttocks, drawing her up hard against his stirring body. Pelvis to pelvis, her feet dangled above the ground. Her breath stammered. She pulled her arms free and pounded his chest with her fists. “What’s wrong with you? Put me down! Are you out of your mind?” She kicked his shins. “Troy, stop it!”
Kyla fought to control her panic. He didn’t seem to hear or sense her alarm. Leering, his body’s movements against hers became frenzied and erotic. Her heart pounded and blood rushed to her head. She had no experience with sexual advances. The insignias on her uniform had always protected her.
He’s out of control. Son of a bitch—adrenalin coursed through her body. An automatic reflex: She hooked her leg around his knee, slammed her hands on his chest, and pushed with all her strength. He tumbled to his back. She dropped to her feet and stood over him glaring, her legs shaking. He looked up at her, tears glittering.
“What in Creation’s wrong with you, Troy?”
Troy held his hand out for assistance, but she frowned and stepped back. However, not far enough—he wrapped a long leg around her knees and jerked. She toppled. He caught her, rolled on top of her body. Held her wrists above her head and ravished her neck with hot kisses. Darkness edged into her peripheral vision. No, damn it, fight!
Advances from a neutered monk could not have shocked Kyla more. As he reached to unzip her slippery, tylon suit, she jerked her hands free, grabbed his hair, and pulled his head back. “Troy, stop!” Shocked by this usually gentle man’s intentions, she yanked his hair again and screamed, “Think of Jason!”
The passion on his dark face dissolved into shock. He rolled off her and sat up. Putting his face in his hands, he moaned, “My God. What happened to me? Kyla, I am so sorry. That was inexcusable.”
“I feel like killing you. You scared me senseless.” Her voice rose to a screech, and she struggled for breath and control. “Damn it, you know I’m not equipped to handle stuff like that.” She leaned against a tree and cautiously watched him as she regained her composure. Troy sat still, his head hanging.
After her heart slowed to regular rhythm and after some thought, she said, “I think it explains why Cymry slapped the flowers from my hand. A vicious aphrodisiac must be in the pollen. Sorry I asked you to smell it, but I hoped to bring those people back so you could see them. I believe they came to warn me about the effects of the flowers.”
Troy dropped his hands and met her eyes. “You’re very kind to find an excuse for me. Maybe you can find some honor in the fact you’re the only woman I’ve ever kissed.”
“By Orion’s dust, you scared me silly.” Kyla couldn’t help it—she laughed. “We better get out of these flowers.” When he stood up, she cautiously brushed Troy’s clothes, while remaining ready to run, if necessary. But, she continued to chuckle. “Anyway, you gave me a nice kiss.”
Troy released a shuddering sigh of relief against her neck as he brushed pollen from her back. “Shut up. Hey, we are stirring this stuff up into our faces. Come!” He raced toward the river with Kyla giving pursuit.
She yelled at his retreating back, “What’s going on? What’s so interesting about the river?” Kyla stopped at the edge of the water, breathless from the run, staring as Troy jumped into the water and submerged.
His head came into view flinging water. “Come on. You need to get that stuff off your clothes. If I could not resist you, think what David, our lover boy, will do.”
His words propelled her forward. She dove headlong into the water and came up beside Troy, sputtering. “Creation bless, this is cold.” She laughed, splashed water in his face, and swam to shore. “Why am I doing this; those flowers can’t affect me.”
&nbs
p; Kyla brushed the water from the jumpsuit. The tylon saved her from being drenched, but still, she shivered from the cold. She squeezed as much moisture as possible from her hair.
Walking back, Troy cleared his voice, hesitated, and then said, “Please, Kyla, I will give you a year’s credits after I get paid if you will promise not to tell anyone how stupidly I behaved.” He took a deep rasping breath. “Jason would never forgive me if he found out. We’ve been together too many years to let today’s ziggy behavior break us apart.”
“Don’t worry, my friend. It wasn’t exactly my proudest moment. It’s forgotten, gone from mind, lost forever.”
His lip trembled and he bit down, stopping it. “You still consider me a friend after my barbaric assault?”
“Of course, Troy. After all, you couldn’t help it after sniffing the flower. Let’s forget it.”
“Thank you, but I have to check out the properties of the flower for the sake of science.”
Kyla rolled her eyes. “Please warn me if you do—I’ll make myself scarce.”
Troy chuckled.
On reaching the wooded area, she spun to face him and grinned. “I have the most delightful idea. If David comes out here, let’s get him to take a sniff.”
With a straight face, Troy said, “I really don’t think I can outrun David.”
Kyla laughed. “Troy, you made a joke!”
David stomped from the trees muttering curses. “What’s so damn funny?”
“I’ll never tell,” Kyla replied. She lowered her head to hide a smile, saw a patch of flowers by her pant legs and stepped away.
He stood, feet apart, hands on his hips, and snarled. “Well, I’ll tell you something that’s not funny. The magnetic field around this planet is weird. Reconnaissance must have kept their vessels too far above the disturbance to notice. Long story, short—we’re stuck. I can’t reach the ship.”
“Somebody will miss one of us or the rover soon,” Troy said, “and it will become apparent we are off-ship. It is only logical to conclude we are here.”
“Without any way to send a signal, it’ll take days to find us. Remember, this is not the only planet within reach of the Adventurer. They could waste days searching the wrong planet. We have plenty of water, but we didn’t expect to vacation here—there’s no food. What do you think we’ll live off? Love?”
Kyla looked at Troy and they broke into laughter. David snarled, “What’s the matter with you two? Be serious. We’ll be oiling gears and sanitizing toilets on the Adventurer—if we get back.”
Troy’s face returned to his usual serious expression. “I suppose the thing most worrisome to me is not what we’ll eat—but what might eat us. Those flying creatures certainly must have a big appetite.”
Lips pulled into a straight line, David glared at them. “And here you two idiots are out here in this field tempting those critters to take a bite out of your asses.”
She ignored David, but Troy’s words caused Kyla to frown. “I suppose if people are around us we can’t see until they decide to make their presence known, it’s possible other living things can do the same. How can we defend ourselves against invisible monsters?”
David rolled his eyes at Kyla and shuddered. “Ohhh, spooky. Next, you’ll want to make a campfire and tell ghost stories.”
“Before we leave, you’ll eat those words, David.” She glared at him over her shoulder and marched toward the rover.
“What makes you so sure Troy and I will join in your hallucinations?”
Near the ship, she turned her back on the men and kicked up a mound of pine needles. She dropped down and scrubbed her ankles and shoes with dry leaves to get rid of pollen, causing a cloud of pine scent to rise around her.
“Look at her, what’s she doing?” She refused to respond, and David turned to Troy. “Hey, Troy.”
David’s tone of voice caught Kyla’s attention. Troy leaned against a massive oak, his face vacant. He stared into the distance.
“What’s with you?” David’s forehead crinkled and he rubbed his nose.
Troy blinked. “Come here. Put your hand on this tree.”
Knowing how stubborn he could be, it surprised Kyla when David strolled over, placed his hand on the tree, and looked at Troy.
“What?”
“Wait a minute and be still.” Troy’s eyes became unfocused.
After a few seconds, David removed his hand. “It’s a tree. What of it?”
“You did not feel or hear anything?”
Kyla held her breath and waited for David’s response.
“No. Should I? Did you?” With a cynical twist of his mouth, one of David’s eyebrows cocked.
“You will probably think I am crazy, but I received the distinct sense the tree communicated with me.”
A flurry of dry leaves and cracking foliage came from nearby underbrush, as if something tumbled around. They heard a coughing, barking sound. An animal dashed into the clearing. Another gave chase. Troy jumped behind the tree, but David stood, glued to the ground. The animals were fox-like but covered with long curly black hair. They scampered around his feet, impervious to his presence. One jumped over Kyla’s legs and, she yelped, bolted for the rover, and stood by the hatch watching. The animals disappeared into the brush as quickly as they appeared, leaving nothing behind except their excited sounds.
Kyla smiled as a beautiful sleek animal with long, slender horns streaked past. Two more followed behind.
“What the hell was that?” David scrubbed his hands over his face.
“I do not know what they are,” Troy said, “but I have a good idea about their intentions.
“What?”
“Trying to mate.”
David grinned. “If that’s the case, I give the old boys five stars for effort. But something’s wrong. It’s unlikely a wild animal’s mating habits will overcome its sense of survival to come near humans.” His eyes widened. “Maybe they haven’t experienced humans.”
Several more strange animals ran past them, and Troy jumped from the tree, grabbing David’s arm. “Get into the rover. Now!”
Troy’s words held such urgency, Kyla did not hesitate—she moved. Troy was faster. He scrambled up into the vehicle and turned to pull a confused Kyla up as David hoisted her. Once David leaped inside, Troy slammed the door and leaned against it, his breathing fast and rasping.
“Are you zigged out of your mind? What happened?” Kyla stared from one man to the other.
David said, “Better ask Troy. I have no idea what happened.”
Troy looked from David to Kyla and shrugged. “The tree said ‘danger’ and I reacted.”
Kyla felt her eyebrows reach for her hairline. “The ‘tree said!’ Bless Creation. And you thought I was out of my mind when I told you about those people talking to me.”
David grinned. “Troy really believes a tree communicated with him.”
“Well, not exactly in words. More like a feeling being transmitted.”
“Like those people related to me.” Kyla, with a feeling of validation, turned toward her seat. David stared at her, a dazed expression on his face. Before she could react, Kyla again found herself wrapped in the arms of another man nuzzling her neck. She jerked away. “David, please get your hands off me. I’m not one of your frisky conquests.”
He jumped back and stood staring from his hands to Kyla, his face slack with shock.
Kyla noticed red pollen on David’s lower legs and feet and pointed. “Troy, look!”
Troy wrenched his suit top down and pulled off his wet undershirt. He knelt in front of David and began wiping the pollen off. David tried to move away. “What the hell?”
Kyla stood and grabbed his arm. “Be still, David, let’s clean you up. We found out this pollen is dangerous, and it’s why you’re going all ziggy on me, with the touching and stuff. Here, Troy, you missed a spot.”
&n
bsp; David stared from one of his friends to the other. “Why are you wet? Go skinny dipping?”
Troy glanced up at him, frowning. “We swam to remove the pollen.” He removed as much pollen as possible. “Let’s open the hatch and throw this thing outside.” Even before Troy opened the hatch completely, a raging wind yanked the shirt from his hand and sucked it out into the air. It took both men to get the door closed and latched.
Wind rocked the vehicle. From the window, a red mist swirled around the vessel, becoming thicker until darkness descended. Kyla cried out, “The rip in the back!”
Troy and David grabbed a spare crash balloon, dashed to the back, and crammed it in the opening. Once inflated, it sealed the hole. They went to their individual seats, pushed collapsed collision bags into a semblance of beds, and stretched out.
As the rover rocked and settled with shrill scrapes, Kyla trembled. “What’s happening? What is this?”
David replied, “Simply a storm, what the weather does on some planets.”
Troy peeked at him from under his covering. “Cataclysmic. This experience is completely different from weather I have studied. It is frightening. Can it hurt us?”
“Some storms get violent, especially in plains below large mountains, like here. This isn’t too bad because the trees break much of the wind. Seems frightening to you because you’ve never lived in natural atmospheres. This rover can take anything nature hands out.
“I sure hope that’s true,” mumbled Kyla. “It’s wilder than I ever thought weather could become.”
“Relax. The best sleep a person can get is in a storm, especially in a nice rainfall.” David muttered, shaking his head. “Red pollen storm, invisible people, dragons, and talking trees. What have we gotten ourselves into?”
The rover rocked and a tree branch banged against its hull. Kyla covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping this storm would soon stop. The next thing she knew, a horrible screeching sound erupted from outside the rover by her head. She bolted up and stared out the window at the most horrible, unbelievable sight she had ever seen.
She screamed.
“Damn, girl. What is it now?” David scrambled out of his bedding.
Troy reached her first and looked to where she pointed. Large golden eyes, each two hand spans across, peered through the window. The vicious wind blew smoke coming from the creature’s nostrils past the window. A hooked claw screeched across the rover's plas surface.
David snatched Troy back, and pulled Kyla into a protective hug. “Oh, holy shit!”
Chapter Four
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