“Are you okay in there?” Chax said.
I almost slipped and fell over.
“Huh? Wha?” I said.
“I thought I heard you scream,” he said.
Had I?
I’d been so engrossed in my fantasy I hadn’t checked to make sure I wasn’t making real-world noises. I cursed myself.
“Uh, no,” I said. “I’m fine. It just… feels so good! I’m screaming with joy!”
He didn’t say another word. I shook my head.
I was such a dumbass.
The whole point of doing this was to reduce my pent-up sexual energy. Not make it worse!
But I knew nothing would happen between us. How could it? He didn’t feel the same way toward me that I did with him.
I took the opportunity to glance at his package after he gave me that stupendous massage. There hadn’t been so much as a peep out of the little guy.
I cleaned myself up and continued with my shower.
It would remain a fantasy, nothing more.
Chax
The water felt fine. It was hot and soothing and eased my aches and pains.
All but one.
The one that really mattered.
Maddy.
She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on. And lately, I’d seen a lot of them.
They were each charming and charismatic but they lacked something. And the moment I saw Maddy, I knew there was something special about her.
Something different.
Something indescribable.
She was even worth the high price I had to pay to get here. Not that I had much choice in the matter.
I was walking through the woods near my parents’ farm when I saw the light. It turned the world so bright I could barely open my eyes.
Great columns of silhouetted trees swung around like spokes in a giant wheel as that light swung around in an arc across the sky. First one and then many.
I knew what they were right away.
Everyone living on a Titan planet knew what they were.
They were trouble.
Bad trouble.
It came in the shape of alien creatures called Changelings.
They liked to attack Titan settlements. They tended to steer clear of the larger, more powerful planets and moons in the Titan empire. They were simply too well-protected.
Unlike the outer rim planets like mine. We were but humble farmers and didn’t have family or contacts in the upper echelons of Titan society. We were not considered high enough value to defend properly.
All Titans knew to look away when the lights came. We were taught the same lullaby at school:
When the bright lights come from the trees,
Look away, my child, or you’ll be taken from me.
I ran home and found one of the Changeling ships hovering over my parent’s farmhouse. The pulsing light from its undercarriage pulled the windows open and sucked the curtains up, fluttering in an invisible breeze. Other items floated up to the ship but not the most valuable things in the house.
My family.
Soon, my parents and little brother and sister would be lulled out of their beds and into the bowels of that ugly ship.
They would be frozen in place, unable to move a single muscle. I had to defend them.
I ran into our old barn and dug my father’s old blaster pistol from under the bench where he kept his tools. He thought I didn’t know about it, and I didn’t, not until I went looking for a hammer to build a cage for my little sister’s fluffy new pet.
I scooped it up and checked the plasma power pack. It was half empty.
But it was enough.
Chances were good I wouldn’t live long enough to use it all.
I ran to the doorway, planted my feet shoulder-width apart, and took aim at the ship.
My little brother began to rise through the window feet first. The moment he was clear, he would disappear in the blink of an eye as the tractor beam picked up in strength and sucked him into its cargo hold.
I fired.
Once, twice, three times—
A single blast from the ship’s underside blew the barn sky high, knocking me to the ground.
I rolled onto my back and braved a thousand shards that rained down on me. Many pricked my hands as I shielded myself. They weren’t the real threat. The huge lumps of timber were—like the one heading for my head right now.
I turned to one side as it thudded into the soft earth where I’d been a moment before.
I got to one knee. It was no use getting to both feet as I would be too unsteady to aim. I opened fire again—this time aiming for the spot where the earlier blast had come from.
It was a successful shot, and the ship wavered unsteadily to one side. I fired again and again.
The ship’s tractor beam flickered and began to fade. I could see what was going to happen.
It would switch off and my brother would fall the twenty feet he floated above the ground. It was a big fall for a child of his size.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.
I covered half the distance before the tractor beam flickered off and my brother entered freefall.
I couldn’t make it in time, so I leaped, hurling myself forward, and threw my arms out to wrap around my brother’s fragile frame.
I missed. I swung my arms too early.
I was still falling when my brother landed on my back. I broke his fall. It winded me but I was thankful for it.
I was on my feet in an instant to pick my baby brother up and clutch him in my arms.
He blinked in confusion at me, still feeling the effects of the bright tractor beam. He was going to be okay.
Then the ship appeared above us and the tractor beam illuminated us like we were onstage.
It would be a tragedy.
“Don’t look,” I said to my brother.
The Changelings had decided they would take someone from the farm. If I had to make the choice, I would prefer it
