Alien Mine (15 page)

"Put her down on the bed," Viglar said. "I'll have a look,"

***

Natalie came to on her bed, consumed by a blinding headache. She curled into a tight ball. Had the alien whacked her with his sword? Fed her some alien cocktail that left her with the mother of all hangovers? It felt like something crawled inside her brain, trying to force its way out through her eyeballs. She moaned. Whatever he'd put in her was splitting her head in two.

"She dies, you follow."

Ice scraping over rocks. She would recognize that voice blindfolded in a room full of a hundred aliens. Even now, with a splitting headache and more angry at him than she'd ever been at anyone, his voice caused shivers to tingle through her body.

Biting her lip to stop moans of pain escaping, she lifted her eyelids. Even that hurt. Zacar and the doctor, Viglar, towered over her.

The scanner the doctor pointed at her had her forgetting the pain in her head. She could barely struggle upright, but with the doctor pointing his scanner thingy at her chest, she felt way too vulnerable to remain lying down. "I told you alien stuff won't work in my brain."

Zacar helped her sit up with a hand on her lower back. "You are well?" He still talked in a rough, grating voice, but now he didn't sound like a foreign barbarian anymore.

"You can speak English perfectly now?" She should be glad but his broken sentences had made him seem vulnerable, more human.

"The translation patch allows you to understand me."

It was strange hearing him speak in whole sentences. Was she now understanding Alien or did he speak English. Trying to figure that out made her headache worse. The doctor pointed the scanner at her again and she put her hand on her head.

"Please tell him to put that thing away. It's making my headache worse."

"Viglar will heal you." He looked at the doctor, the menace in his voice conveying a silent
or else
.

Pure terror ripped through her like the wind on a cold winter's day. If he could treat his own warriors that way, what would he do to her if he considered her redundant, weak?

"I'm fine, really."

"You do not look fine." His voice still had its familiar gravelly roughness, but he sounded like a stranger to her when he talked in such complete sentences.

She inched toward the door of her tent. "I'm cured. Please, I just want to watch the cell cast," she said, trying to sound normal and healthy. She hesitated. "Never mind. I don't have any time left on the cell." With no time left, all she could watch was the news. And the last thing she needed after such a horrible day was any more depressing stories about raiders or more lies from the government.

"You do not feel pain anymore?"

"No." It still felt as if crickets chirped inside her skull but she refused to let him see. Who knew what else he would do to her brain to fix it?

Zacar led her from the tent, to the TC. He motioned to the younger-looking alien, who was fiddling with her cell. Her fear forgotten, she rushed over to where he steadily took her pink TC apart. It had taken six pay checks and careful budgeting to be able to afford that model.

"Hey, leave my TC alone. It's impossible these days to get them in from the cities."

Determined to save what she could, she lunged forward to grab the cell from his hand. Zacar growled and picked her up, moving her back with frightening ease.

"Hey, let me go. Ouch. My head hurts too much for this."

The young alien cringed away from her, as if she had some vicious disease. Keeping a wary eye on Zacar, he continued to fiddle with her cell. He took something flat and shiny out of his pocket. It vaguely reminded her of the doctor's gadget. Natalie winced when he broke her TC into even smaller pieces.

Sadly shaking her head, she sagged in Zacar's grip. She regretted moving her head when it throbbed even more. When he relaxed his hands, she walked away.

"Well, there goes my next six TC hours," she grumbled, her headache the size of Yellowstone National Park.

Zacar growled something her translator didn't catch. The doctor immediately came over and pressed something against her neck before she could flinch away. Instant relief.

She glanced back to where the young alien was dismantling her property, surprised to see her TC was whole again. The warrior put down the TC, pressed a button, and the menu appeared. One glance at the image hovering in the middle of her cave told her she had access to a lot more than she could access before.

"Yes!" She pumped her hand in the air and squealed with pure excitement and all the aliens spun around, their weapons drawn. She stumbled back. The other two appeared from outside, ready to take on an unknown enemy. The surly alien looked real interested in slaughtering her.

"Why did you scream?" Zacar growled.

"Uhh--sorry. I guess...what I mean is, I was just excited at having all those programs and movies available again." She could feel her cheeks heating and fidgeted under their stares.

"Don't women on your planet scream with excitement?" She didn't do brazen well and ended up frozen under three sets of black and one set of red eyes pinning her in place.

He didn't answer and she twisted her hands. Sheer nerves had her speaking to the young alien. "Won't you tell me your name again?"

"Why you want to know?" Zacar growled at her. If he had any kind of facial expression, it would have been pure suspicion.

"I just wondered, uh, who's the guy who fixed the TC, so I could thank him."

At last, Zacar grated, "aZzzzgr."

"Azagor?"

Zacar nodded.

She had the funny feeling that as long as he heard a Z and an R he agreed with her pronunciation of their names.

"Nice to meet you, Azagor." The poor young alien froze in place, flicking nervous glances at Zacar. "Thank you for fixing my TC," she added.

Clearly losing interest, the doctor and surly guy continued taking over her cave.

Beaming a fake smile at Zacar and Azagor, she moved to the TC lying on the wooden chest and stumbled over the homemade cushion that served as her couch. She touched the call option hovering near her face. Nothing happened.

"Can you fix the TC so I can make a call?" Silence greeted her question. Once again, if Zacar's face had been capable of expression, she knew it would've said
get real
.

He pointed to the TC, and the young alien pressed some buttons on the activated virtual display. Her call log hovered above the chest. She fidgeted. Why would they want to know whom she'd called?

Julia's number came up. She cringed when they played back a few of her conversations. Who knew the TC automatically recorded every call made?

Zacar turned to her and clasped his hand around her neck. It was not a loving gesture. "Call your friend. Tell her you are snowed in and will call later." His thumb rubbed over the pulse in her throat that beat double time.

"You'll really allow me to speak to her?" Maybe she could get a distress signal to her friend with hand signals.

"No visual," he said, as if he'd read her mind. Was that another function of the implants? "You tell her about us and I'll kill her." He said it as if killing Julia would be as easy as swatting a fly.

Natalie's knees struggled to support her weight. Would he really kill her friend if she tried to tell her about the aliens?

His thumb continued to caress the wildly beating pulse in her neck.

"Why?" She never thought they'd allow her to contact the outside world. Ever.

"No one can know about us."

"I meant, why you are allowing me to talk to her?" Could she tap out help somehow without alerting Zacar.

"She won't come looking if you say you are all right." His hand caressed her nape almost absently. Her skin came alive, every nerve ending painfully sensitive and sending sensual messages to parts of her that she didn't want alerted.

Very clever. But she wasn't going to waste this opportunity. Julia was her only hope.

Zacar pressed the button to connect the call. His hand tightened around her neck in a subtle reminder. "I am listening. Do not test me."

The TC beeped then she heard Julia's voice. "Natalie? Thank heavens. I was so worried. Are you okay?" Julia asked.

Natalie cleared her throat, very aware of the hand around her neck. "I'm fine. There's no
help
for it, I'm snowed in." Zacar's hand, still around her neck, continued to caress her while he stared intently down at her. She relaxed slightly when he didn't react to her subtle plea.

"Do you want me to ask the sheriff to try and get you out?" Julia asked.

"No, they don't need to
help.
I'm well stocked and warm."

"That's just as well. I'm afraid they'd have to come with the rover and I'm not sure they'd make it. The hovercraft's broken again. Most of our roads are inaccessible as well and the sheriff's department haven't been paid for a few months now."

"The forestry department hasn't paid me either, but there's no reason for
help
to come. What's the news in town?" She tried to keep her breathing even but she knew he could feel her pulse racing.

"A rumor is going around that two spaceships came to Earth. James swears one crashed and another one landed somewhere up on the mountain."

"Oh, that's interesting, but--"

Zacar made a cutting motion with his hand and she quickly spoke into the TC, wishing she could see her friend's face. "I think my cell is about to give out. I just wanted to let you know I'm okay, Julia. I'm prepared as I meant to stay here this winter anyway. No need for
help
from anyone. I'll try to call again next week."

"Okay, my friend. I'm a call away. Don't let your memories of Adam--"

The young alien cut the connection before Julia could finish. Maybe it was better that way. From what she'd seen, being in town wasn't much safer than living in the cave. She and Julia both knew Adam would never try to come up the mountain to help her.

"Who is Adam?"

She gestured vaguely with her hand. "Nobody important."

He leaned down. "Who?"

"He's the sheriff in town. The authority who catches the bad guys," she said, tempted to add that he caught aliens, too.

"Did you come in two spaceships?" Would he tell her the truth?

"No." He didn't try to elaborate but simply looked at her with that expressionless face of his. He leaned over and touched her forehead briefly and she jerked her head away. He stared down at her for a moment before turning away and growling orders at the others.