These ones are younger hatchlings – barely eight-feet-tall, and still groggy from their landing. In deep space, the Scorp lay dormant – their protection against the vacuum of deep space. When they land on a planet such as this one, it takes them time to fully awaken.
That disadvantage will serve me well.
I brace for the Scorp attack. The barbed tail of the first Scorp darts forward, but I easily dodge the dripping stinger and lop the creature’s arm clean off – spraying hot, red blood over the both of us. Beside me, Hadone’s war hammer crushes the second Scorp with a grisly crunch – the beast’s carapace cracking beneath the Orb-end of his powerful weapon. Forn too leaps forward, his twin blades seeking chinks in the armor of the third Scorp – and then easily cutting it to pieces in front of us.
I’m covered in blood and filled with fear as a huge mass of Scorp Warrior reinforcements pour down the street. The tremors of my muted terror ripple through the Bond, to my great shame. My battle-brothers can taste my anxiety as I witness the unstoppable wave rushing towards us.
I spare a glance to my right. The two small humans, one male and one female, are looking at me with awe – as if I’m some great hero from the sagas and not a coward. Someday, I’ll have a mate who looks at me that same way.
The little girl points with a trembling hand at the wall of a nearby structure, constructed of wood and not stone.
They want to go in there.
I reach into the nook, half-expecting the children to cower away from me – yet they come closer. I scoop up the two small humans in the crook of one arm, keeping my blade at the ready in the other.
With the two small children in my arm, looking at me with hope, I feel myself becoming the person they think I am.
5
Forn
The encroaching wave of Scorp warriors is crashing down towards us as inexorably as a falling tree. Only a fool would stand against it. We’ve just dispatched three of the beasts, but I know the wave of reinforcements will spell my end.
I spare a glance behind us, and snarl as I witness twenty more Scorp rushing at us from the other side of the street.
The Scorp-venom in my blood – embedded beneath my skin as part of the ritual of manhood – surges up inside of me; and my heart pounds so hard I can barely think.
So, this is it. Face death honorably – or die like an animal.
A grim smile comes to my lips. This will be a battle worthy of all the legends. For a moment, I try to calculate how many of the beasts I might be able to take down before I’m finally killed in a glorious confrontation – and I make a promise to myself to try and best that number.
Hadone’s eagerness for battle surges through the Bond too, mirroring my rage. Then I feel something different. Something protective. I turn my head. Darok has two small humans in his arm – and instantly I know I must live.
The glory of an honorable death means nothing if it comes at the cost of an innocent life. My desire to die in combat is instantly snuffed out. I can’t embrace death and glory while these small humans need protection.
And yet, there is no hope – even the three of us cannot withstand that wave of Scorp.
“We need shelter!” Hadone yells, hefting his war-hammer in front of him.
I know, damn it all! I know!
I keep the words to myself and hold my mind steady. As leader, I must serve as an example, buoying up my triad. I look to the right, searching desperately for a way out.
There’s a large piece of wood built into the wall opposite, unlike the rest of the stone surface. It reminds me of the entrance to our cave back home. I grab at a handle on the wooden panel and pull – but it doesn’t budge.
Scorp warriors are charging towards us, getting ever closer. In desperation, I use my Orb-Daggers to cut the metal that connects the wooden pieces to the stone wall. I push, and the piece of wood moves inward. The three of us rush through the opening – Darok still clutching those two small humans.
Inside the structure is a human male – and it seems like he was waiting for us.
He’s holding a large stick that he points at me. Beside him cowers a beautiful, human woman.
The battle fades out of my mind the moment I lay eyes on her. I’m stunned. She simply looks… right. I stare at her with confusion, my heart pulsing as I witness her majesty. I can see her in such stark detail it’s as if time itself has slowed.
For example, I instantly notice a deep cut on her palm, bleeding through the white bandage she has wrapped around her hand. I observe her hair, and notice it’s the exactly the same hue as the northland plains at dawn, when the sun shines against golden grains sparkling with dew. I see her lips, plump and full, and think immediately as how they’re as red and succulent as the summer plums that grow near our cave. They’re as tempting, too - begging for my kiss.
The moment I see this vision of womanhood, I ache to take her – to press my lips against hers, and pull her body against mine.
Her eyes draw me in as I stand, stunned. They’re not the uniform grey and green of my species. They’re instead a deep blue; like a pool of water I could quench my thirst from for the rest of my existence.
I’m frozen on the spot. Instantly, all thought of glory and battle leaves my mind. If this woman exists,
