Am I really that terrifying?

I glance down at myself.

There is nothing visible of my true form. All she can see is the ba’clan.

Possibly, they scare her.

I imagine what I must look like to a creature that has never seen my kind before.

My ba’clan create a near impenetrable shield and coat every section of my body like dark fluid.

Maybe I should retract…

The symbiotes sense what I need before I can even send the mental command, and I feel them pulse against me.

I consider pulling them back from my face so she can see there is nothing to be afraid of, but I hesitate.

We know nothing of this planet except that it has water.

The three native lifeforms seem similar enough, outwardly, to Vullan-kind.

Smaller, similar, but not the same.

I do not know if I can breathe the air or if the ba’clan are the only things keeping me alive.

But as I look into the eyes of the female, the decision is easy.

I will take the chance. If anything happens, the ba’clan will prevent critical damage.

I close my eyes and send a signal to the ba’clan to retract from my face.

They do not immediately respond. Unsure themselves.

My eyes open when I feel them begin to move and I take my first breath.

I pause for a moment, waiting, but nothing happens.

Off to the side, Ga’Var clicks, pleased.

We can breathe the air. If not, the ba’clan would have moved back into place.

My gaze finds the female again but she does not move. Instead, her eyes are even wider now and I am amazed at their propensity to enlarge.

Her pupils are round and I wonder if she can see well.

Is that why her eyes are getting bigger by the second?

I retract the symbiotes from my hand, and motion to her again.

Immediately, her gaze grows suspicious.

I recognize the look in those strange eyes of hers.

She is a different species.

Emotive.

But her gaze communicates one thing.

She has seen too much pain.

I have as well.

From the corner of my vision, Ga’Var approaches.

His ba’clan have retracted too and I hear a thrum of pleasure in his throat while breathing in the fresh air.

But his movement causes the female to retreat even more and I click in annoyance at him.

I motion to her once more with my hand and her gaze drops to it.

She stares at my hand for so long that my own gaze falls to it too.

It is different to her own pale, bony one.

My four digits are longer, thicker, and it seems she is missing a joint in hers.

When my eyes meet hers once more, the suspicion in her gaze has only increased.

A click leaves my throat.

My tactic isn’t working.

She doesn’t trust us.

The little female is guarding herself with her stick, and she will not move.

She is not leaving her hiding place.

Chapter Eight

ADIRA

I don’t know what to think as I stare at the alien in front of me.

His strange skin has retracted and I realize it is not skin at all but some kind of…suit?

It seems to move without any external input from him, which is creepy enough because I am positive it was in my mouth—down my throat!—earlier.

What sort of suit can do that?

He is closer now but at least he hasn’t tried to force me out of my hiding spot.

And he is not alone.

Another of his kind is nearby. I caught sight of him with a fleeting glance.

They are large. Well over six feet tall and their actual skin is just a few shades lighter than the pitch black of their “suits.”

Their faces are…humanoid…but so, so different.

Their faces are filled with ridges.

The one in front of me, staring at me so intently with his arm still outstretched, has a set of ridges running down his forehead. They continue down his nose and another set runs along each prominent cheekbone and back toward his ears.

His ears are different too.

Longer.

Pointier.

The sides of his head are bald. Along the top runs a narrow section of thick, black locks that are secured together behind his head.

He is attractive.

Surprisingly so.

For a moment, I forget my fear.

I can only stare.

I snap out of it when the alien sniffs. His lips move a little as he does this and my gaze focuses on them.

They are thinner than human lips and there is a set of ridges running down his chin to disappear down his strange black suit.

I should be more terrified, but I feel my fear ebbing as each moment passes.

Still, I keep my arm up, the branch I found pointed in the alien’s direction.

It is the only thing that seems to be keeping him at bay. Though, deep down, I know this is not true.

He isn’t coming closer for some other reason.

I’ll take that as a win for now for he looks like he could snap me in two with one hand.

It feels like I’ve fallen from one bad situation right into another, but at least he isn’t attacking.

He’s not doing…anything.

Maybe I have seen too much horror over the last few months.

This should scare me more than it is.

My back is against tree bark. There’s nowhere for me to go.

I hadn’t expected him to find me so quickly. I’d thought he’d head farther into the trees and then I could run in the opposite direction.

Obviously, that plan hadn’t worked. He’d come directly toward my location as soon as he’d entered the trees.

As if he knew I was there.

That thought unnerves me but at least he remains frozen and a safe distance away.

He speaks every now and then to the other one.

Strange sounds. A combination of clicks, whistles, and hums.

Sometimes, there is a deeper sound that vibrates the air around them and when that sound occurs, both aliens look in my direction as if they are talking about me.

His friend has come into view now and I’m greeted with piercing burgundy eyes.

That’s the only thing that separates them visually. If not looking into their eyes, I would think they are clones.

Lava Eyes says something and my gaze shoots back to him.

He is speaking to me, I think.

He’s looking right at me, at least.

Good God…his eyes are intimidating.

It’s like staring into a fire that will engulf me if I get too close.

He says something again—a click followed by a thrum—but, of course, I cannot understand him.

He takes a step closer and I inhale sharply, my eyes darting to his friend then back.

A sharp click leaves his lips then and his friend responds with one of his own.

And then the friend is leaving.

I am alone with Lava Eyes.

I do not move.

I do not know how long I wait.

Hours maybe.

I only know a lot of time has passed when nighttime rolls in and the sky grows dark.

The alien moved from my view some time ago.

But he’s still out there.

Waiting.

Every now and then I hear twigs snap and I’m aware he hasn’t gone far.

What is he waiting for?

Surely, I can’t be that interesting.

I turn my gaze to the sky, watching the darkness swallow it, and I wait too.

It’s my only chance of sneaking out undetected.

Maybe the alien will fall asleep. Maybe he will get bored and leave.

I do not know.

But what’s worse, I do not know what he wants.

The giant walking orb was hostile. That had been clear from the very first moment when it landed.

I still remember the moment I realized that a catastrophe was beginning—when my body had been bathed in the blood of someone who’d been alive right beside me just moments before.

As I turn things over in my mind, I cannot ignore the fact that there’s a strong possibility the orbs and these beings are related.