I got lucky, really lucky. I can’t rely on luck going forward.
The next time… the drones may not come at all. I need to know how to survive and avoid another situation like the pigs.
I’m also anxious to explore this forest and clean out Vruksha’s bunker. I’d just begun digging through his stuff and learning about my history before we left.
I want him to show me his screens again.
I want to know everything. Even if it’s hard, even if no one survives. I’ve decided it’s my job to make sure the information is protected, cataloged, and saved. So if humans do return to Earth, they’ll know what’s at stake, what we’ve lost, and that we still have so much left to lose. I’ve only just gained a little of it back myself.
I want to honor those who died.
As for the Lurker tech… I’m fine with it staying hidden until I understand more, keeping it far from anyone who might misuse it, even my own people. Because if the Dreadnaut did fire on Daisy...
Sighing, I push through the branches of a large bush, following Vruksha’s trail.
I exhale loudly, seeing a steep hill ahead of me.
Why does it have to be steep?
As I’ve traveled by Vruksha’s side, I’ve watched for the signs of the land flattening out, of the trees thinning, of the vague landmarks I’ve already come to know. But the land doesn’t flatten out like I expect. I peek up at the sky and grasp Vruksha’s tail. He hauls me up a ledge. It seems like we’ve been climbing for hours when I’m certain we should be on flat land by now. I wipe the sweat from my brow.
I had to be physically fit to work on the bridge of The Dreadnaut, but apparently I’m not as fit as I thought I am. Even after all the time I’ve spent on Earth, I’m pushing my limits every day. My injuries don’t help.
It’s getting easier though.
“I hope this is a shortcut,” I groan. “I need a bath, even if it means risking running into Zhallaix. I have a knife now.”
Come at me Zhallaix, I am not in the mood. I narrow my eyes.
“We won’t make it to the bunker tonight.”
“I knew it!” I throw up my hands. “I knew we weren’t heading there when we kept climbing.” I don’t know if I want to cry or collapse. The past month has been hard, and it needs to stop. The hardness, that is. “Where are you taking me?” I ask, wheezing a little.
Vruksha turns to me, throws his muscled limbs around my body, and hauls me into the cradle of his arms. I slump like a damsel in distress.
“We’re almossst there,” he says.
He continues the climb with me holding onto him, only using the strength of his tail. Sometimes I forget how powerful it is, as he easily lifts us both up on it, coiling and shifting its weight for his needs. I’ve taken that power between my legs… Perhaps I’m powerful too.
It’s been too long since our last time together, and I need him. But climbing all day? It really takes the oomph out of having sex. This is why I want a nice, cold bath, and some rest, because the next time it happens…
My eyes widen. I’m going to ride him. I’ll show him that human females can be full of tension too.
I even miss the dangerous graze of his fangs sliding across my flesh. Especially now that I saw what his venom did to Azsote—I know the risk.
I wish I had venom of my own. Maybe then I could’ve bitten Peter and thrown him over a mountain too. I run my tongue across my blunt teeth.
Now that I know we’re not going to make it to the bunker tonight, I continue studying our surroundings, looking across the land below, trying to figure out where we are and where we’ve been. My messy mental map suspects the bunker is far from here.
“This better be worth it,” I mumble.
“It is.”
For the next bit, I play with the scales on his chest. It’s not until the steep ledges flatten out entirely and the trees are pushed back that I realize we’re on a road, or what might have been a road. Now it’s just weeds, grass, and cracked cement stones, with the occasional stubborn tree growing through it.
Vruksha follows it until it ends, stopping at a cave-in deep in the side of the mountain we’ve been climbing all day.
He sets me down.
“What is this place?” I ask, shielding my eyes from the sun.
“You’ll see.”
He slides to the rocks and shifts a few aside. Before long, I notice the rocks he’s moving have been moved before. They’re placed differently than those that fell naturally. A door slowly emerges.
Vruksha pushes the last of the stones away and turns back to me. “It’s a hole.”
I wipe my palms on my pants. “Like your bunker?”
“Deeper, darker. Bigger.”
I suck in, staring at the door. “Is this…” I hesitate. Could it be?
“Yes.”
“The tech?”
“Yesss, female.”
I take a step forward. “You’re showing it to me?”
“You said last night that mates don’t keep secrets from each other. You have a right to know. And we made a deal once, not that long ago, a deal you have delivered on,” he says as he swipes the tip of his tail between my legs. I startle but shudder with pleasure at the same time. “Now it’s my turn.”
“Vruksha,” I gasp, glaring at him until his tailtip retreats, shuddering again. I’ve been inhaling his scent all day. “I didn’t mean…” I shake my head, trying to focus on what he
