The Runaway Alien (The Lost Planet 9)

“What do we do then?” she asks in a soft voice. “I can’t kill that many with this little gun.”

“Barricade the door,” I instruct. “Then I’ll try to make contact on their comms. See if we can’t somehow break through to the Facility.”

“Take Henry up there with you. I’ve got this.”

She starts to turn away, but I capture her delicate jaw in my grip. I tilt her nog back so I can look down at her pretty face.

“Galen,” she murmurs. “We don’t have time for this.”

If not now, when?

“For what?” I ask in my most innocent voice.

She rolls her eyes. “Kissing.”

Dipping down, I nip at her pouty bottom lip before slanting my mouth over hers. A small groan escapes her when my forked tongue slides over her rounded one. Her sweetness is addictive, but I keep it chaste. After pulling back, I grin at her.

“Always time for kissing, zelfyre.”

Her cheeks are pink and her lips remain parted. So beautiful. I give her a wink before scooping Henry up, blinking away another wave of dizziness. He squeals delightfully, hugging me. I’m filled with such happiness, I almost wonder if this is a dream or if I did die and this is my version of The Eternals.

Whatever it is, I don’t want it to end.

I make my way to the ship’s helm and set Henry down in the co-captain’s chair. Once I’ve sat in the captain’s seat, I begin messing with the comms, trying to find a channel that doesn’t have Kevins blabbing on. I can tell Henry is dying to push some buttons, so I teach him how to switch through different stations. I’m about to flip through one when I hear something familiar. Or someone.

“Avrell?”

“Galen?”

A bark of a laugh escapes me, loud enough Henry jolts in surprise. I run my fingers through the silky blond strands on his nog to reassure him everything’s fine.

“Are you in a Kevin ship?” I ask in confusion.

“Earth II men. Not Kevins,” Avrell states. “And yes.”

“We’ve kill—ended the two on this ship and barricaded the others out,” I explain, “but not sure for how long. We may need a rescue. Are you hunkered down as well? Have you been able to make contact with the Facility?”

“We’re not hunkered down. I’m flying it,” Avrell says in a smug tone.

“No rekking way.” I let out a whistle. “You can fly a Kevin ship? Wait until Theron gets wind of this.”

“Not a Kevin ship,” Avrell growls. “Earth II men.”

“Okayyyy.”

“Listen, we found a boy,” he murmurs. “One of their captives.”

I glance over at Henry, pain lancing through my heart at the thought of anyone holding him captive. “Is the mortling okay?”

“He’s fine. His name is…Kevin.”

I gape at the comms, wondering if I heard that correctly. A boy named Kevin? How strange. How terrible for the little mortling. Avrell mistakes my silence for disproval because he lets out an angry growl.

“He’s not evil, Galen. He’s rekking not. And I won’t have anyone using his name as though he is.”

The ferocity with which he makes this statement is thunderous. Heard loud and clear, Doc.

“Understood. Habits are hard to break, but I’ll make an effort to do better,” I vow. “So you’re flying, eh?”

“Rekk, yeah. Been trying to get to the Facility, but the place is crawling with human men. I have to get inside, though. Galen, I…”

“You what?”

“I’ve discovered a cure.”

“For The Rades?” I ask in astonishment.

“It’s the key to unlocking everything we know. Without us being prisoners in the Facility, the whole planet is at our fingertips.”

A cure.

He found a cure.

It’s a good rekking thing, too, because I’ve been exposed to the outside elements. So have Stella and Henry.

But he has a cure.

Does this mean we can finally explore all the lands around us without fear of existence-ending sickness? My mind whirls with the possibilities of discovering new plants we can use for all sorts of things. Me and Henry can go on big adventures, locating all of them. And Stella, since she’s so good at naming them, can come with us. Our family will be useful and important to our faction. My purpose will be realized and I’ll have companions.

“We need to get rid of those Kev—er—human men,” I say, excitement in my voice. I’m eager to get rid of these monsters and move on to happier times with Stella and Henry. “How do you suggest we go about doing that?”

Avrell sighs as though he doesn’t like the answer about to come from his mouth. “If you can create a diversion from the west, I’ll come in hot east. All we need is a pathway into the Facility. We’ll have to move fast, but once we’re inside, we can get everyone down into the bunker. No matter how much they try and blast, they won’t get inside. We just have to beat them there.”