Survivor Planet III (13 page)

The last ship came into view. I hoped Kenix was having as much luck as Ayres in thwarting the enemy. Ayres gripped the control arm and began guiding the ship in intricate maneuvers to avoid laser bolts, firing his own in return when able. Suddenly, our ship took a hit, sending me careening over to the side. I would have flown out of my seat if I hadn't been strapped in.

“Damn it, we're hit,” Ayres said. “Are you all right?” His gaze flashed over me, assessing my condition.

“Fine,” I assured him. Better than our ship fared. “Will we make it?”

“Hold on,” he said. Doing an up and over loop-d-loop, Ayres flipped our ship so that it positioned behind the Roamyn's. Then he let out a succession of rapid fire, finally obliterating him.

“Yowza!” I cried, thrilled and impressed. If these were our last moments of life, than at least we went out fighting. Ayres looked over at me and winked. Reaching out his hand he took mine and squeezed.

“It'll be rough, but we'll make it,” he assured me.

I nodded, trusting him implicitly. Then I gestured at the console. “Are you gonna get a hold of Kenix? See if he's okay?”

Ayres shook his head. “He's probably still fighting his escort off. He's not quite as fast as his older brother.”

I grinned at his arrogance. “Does he know where to meet us? Where are we landing anyway? I think the White House would make quite an impression.”

“While you were under we decided to head to Graneden first. Lissa arranged to meet up with Oro there, and as much as I hate to admit it, we need him. He'll have another ship and weapons.”

He had a point. I couldn't believe we were going to have to team up with the couple that'd betrayed us and cheated their way into the winners' circle. Lucky us.

We came in hard.

If not for the cushion of several trees we may not have made it at all. The impact knocked us senseless. It was the rising sun glinting through the windshield that finally woke me much later. I scrubbed a hand over my face wincing when I felt a bump on my right temple. Tender to the touch but not bleeding, I figured it to be the reason I'd been knocked out.

“What a ride.” I unbuckled my seat belt and got wearily to my feet, happy to be alive. It was then I noticed Ayres wasn't moving. Kneeling by his side I tipped up his drooping chin and saw the large gash on the side of his head. Blood had also pooled out of his nose and dried on his face. Touching him I could feel he burned with fever. At least he was alive.

“No, no, no.” Panic twisted my guts. Every moment we'd shared rushed at me full force. Cursed tears clouded my vision. When one stole down my cheek I angrily brushed it aside. Now was not the time to fall apart. I rushed to grab a canteen and a clean rag and began to bathe his face, cleaning off the bloody gash first to assess the damage. It appeared deep, but no longer bled. A good sign. Gently, I washed the blood from beneath his nose. All the while he never stirred. Though I longed to lie him down, I left him belted in his seat fearing he would fall over; I wasn't strong enough to lift him.

“Where the hell are you, Kenix?”

I gave Ayres a soft kiss on his lips, then releasing the hatch, I jumped down and scanned the forest. I noticed we'd landed right in the thick of it and I'd no idea where we were. We'd been on course for Graneden, and I figured we'd reached our destination. Granted, it was a small town, carved out of the centre of a mammoth forest stretching several miles in all directions, of which I'm sure we now sat. I strode around the area, climbing a slight incline that the ship had come to rest beside. Nothing. No town, no cabins, no people, no lakes, and no other spaceships. As far as my eye could see, forest and more forest made up the landscape.

I made another quick check of Ayres and tried to coax him to sip some water, which mostly dribbled down his chin. I fiddled with the transceiver on the ship, but everything was dead. I decided to scope out the perimeter. Hopefully, I'd come across Kenix. I kissed Ayres goodbye and told him I'd be back soon. Then I covered the ship from sight as much as possible with bushy pine branches. They'd also help to keep it cool in the summer sun.

Though I didn't plan to go far, I took a full canteen of water, and left another beside Ayres in case he woke up. I also stashed a knife in my boot as a precaution.

The forest seemed to close in around me as I walked. The high trees offered a canopy from the sun, but also made the land seem gloomy and sinister. The bubbling sound of a stream caught my attention. I wove through some brush to locate it, then knelt and cupped the fresh water to bathe my face and neck.

The sudden sound of rustling steps and men talking caught me off guard.

“See anything?” came a deep voice.

“No, but I think we're getting close. It's got to be around here somewhere,” replied another.

They sounded young.

Weighing the pros and cons I decided to take my chances revealing myself. After all, they were correct about getting close to what it was they searched for. And I had a pretty good idea of what that was.

I got to my feet.

“Hello?” I called out.

“You hear that?”

The rustling noises stopped abruptly while the guys strained their ears. I could make them out through the brush and began to wind my way over to them.

“Hello?” the taller one called out.

“Is someone there?” said the other.

“Yes, over here,” I answered coming into their view.

Both of them stared at me for a moment or two and then began to venture closer. They appeared harmless enough. I gauged them to be about my age or a little older.

“Oh, thank God you found me,” I gushed. “My small plane went down and I've been trying to find my way out of here.” They'd probably seen the crash and hoped to find something more exciting than a plane. Hopefully they'd buy my lie and put to rest any lingering questions they may have.

“Your plane?” the tall one asked. His sharp blue gaze assessed my face and clothing, which thankfully appeared similar to what humans would wear on Earth.

“Yes, I encountered engine trouble. My radio's also dead so I couldn't call for help.”

“You're alone?”

I nodded. If they were a couple of perverts I would soon find out.

“See, I told you it was a plane,” the shorter one said, his curly hair bouncing around as he shook his head.

The tall one shrugged. “Whatever. Hey, what's your name?”

“Mandy,” I replied.

“I'm James, and this is Trevor.”

“Very nice to meet you. Hey, are we near Graneden? That's the town I was headed for. There's a runway there, out on the old Five Hundred.” A necessary lie. I knew the road and the small airfield well having passed it a million times on the way out to my cottage.

“Yeah. We're near town. Truck's parked out a-ways on the road if you need a lift,” James offered.

What a dilemma. If I said no they'd get suspicious. But going into town was worrisome. Granted it'd been a year since I'd gone AWOL from Lindove's loony bin, but what if I was recognized? Maybe it was my imagination but I had the distinct impression I was being scrutinized. I wasn't sure how much these guys had seen of our crash landing—if anything. And if they came out here expecting to find a spaceship I wasn't about to indulge them. Not when Ayres lay helpless. No. I had to think of him right now, not worry about my own ass. After these two dropped me off I could hightail it back to Aubrey Lake, which was close to town, and grab the first aid kit. It may be possible that Kenix had headed there as well considering he had been staying at my old cottage while here on Earth.

“I accept. Thanks,” I said with a guileless smile.

The guys led on, winding us through the thick woods plying me questions along the way. I remained as vague as possible and growing weary, finally pleaded a headache that made my belly sick.

“You may have a concussion or something,” Trevor said, giving me an appraising look over his shoulder. “Maybe we should take you to the hospital.”

“No. Really, I'm okay. Just a little nauseous from all the excitement I think,” I lied. Finally we made it out to the roadway. They'd parked their red pickup well off to the side. I climbed into the back seat and sat down with a sigh wondering if Ayres had woken up and was wondering where I was.

As we drove down the big hill into town I felt a jolt of nostalgia. I hadn't been here for a while and I couldn't deny the rush of being home. It didn't take long before I began to feel something else. And it wasn't an emotion I'd describe as warm and fuzzy. The deeper we got into town, the more my belly knotted. My hands began to sweat and the headache I'd lied about became real. When James pulled up in front of the police station and stopped I felt my heart gyrate.

“Why are you stopping here?”

James turned in his seat and stared at me. “Thought you'd like to report your accident?”

“Why? So more people can find out what a dolt I am? It's bad enough my dad's gonna kill me for crashing his plane.” Yet, another lie. I was amazed how well they flew out of my mouth.

“Do you want to call him?” Trevor whipped a cell phone out of his pocket. I wasn't surprised that he'd only just offered me the phone; I knew getting cell service was limited to town and a few miles south of it. He waved the phone at me, but I hesitated to take it.

“No. Maybe you're right. I'll go in and report it. But I don't want to involve you guys. I could be here for hours, you know?” I opened the back door of the truck. “Thanks so much for your help. I really appreciate it.” Before they could say anything, I jumped out. Instead of going into the station, I stood on the sidewalk and waited. Both of them looked uncertain, and when Trevor put down his window they voiced their concerns.

“It doesn't feel right leaving you stranded here,” Trevor said.

“Yeah. Are you sure you don't want us to come in with you and wait?” James asked.

“No! No. You've done enough. Really. I'll call my dad to pick me up when I'm ready.”
Now, go away!

“If you're sure?” Trevor drawled.

“Yes. Quite sure.”

“Okay then. Well, good luck,” James said.

“Thanks.” I breathed a sigh of relief when the truck began to ease away from the curb. When I saw they watched me from the rearview and side mirrors I waved and walked toward the door of the station. They were still watching so I put my hand on the door and began to slowly open it. When they finally pulled around a corner out of sight I let go of the door and turned around. Briskly, I began to stride down the sidewalk. A voice from behind made me stop dead in my tracks.

“Excuse me, miss?”

Ever so slowly, I began to turn around.

The cop standing there stared at me quizzically. “Is something wrong, miss? I saw you at the door about to go in, but you seemed to change your mind.”

Where the hell did he come from? I didn't like the way he was staring at me. “Ah, no. Thanks. I'm fine. I…I…”

“Are you all right?” He began to walk toward me, in an even, unhurried gait.

I gauged our distance and how long it may take him to catch me if I ran. He was tall with an athletic build. Just my luck.

I lowered my head and sighed, then I looked him square in the eye. “I did something stupid,” I admitted. When he continued to gaze at me I went on. “I bummed a ride into town with a couple of guys.” I held up a hand and tried to appear contrite. “I know it was dumb. Anyway, I started getting nervous so I told them I was headed to the police station to report a stolen boat. I told them I was expected, that way they'd think twice about doing anything…you know…” I let my words trail off.

“That's a dangerous thing you did. You're lucky you weren't hurt. It was smart to make up the story, though. Now I understand what you were doing here,” he said.

“So, am I in trouble?” I pouted a little and hoped he'd drop the matter.

“Did they say anything inappropriate to you? Anything to make you think you were in danger? If so, you should report them. Do you want to come in and give us their description and the make and model of their vehicle?”

“No! I think I just have an overactive imagination. They didn't say or do anything weird to me.”

“Are you sure?” His eyes bore into mine as though searching for clues.

I nodded vigorously. “Yes. I'm sure. I'm fine. They were harmless.”

He scrutinized me for another moment or two. “All right. You have a good day, then. And don't take any more rides from strangers.”

“Yes, sir,” I promised. I spun around and began to stride away, relaxing slightly when I heard the sound of the station door clicking shut behind me. I rounded the first corner I reached and mentally plotted my course to Aubrey Lake. If I jogged I could probably make it there in about twenty minutes or so. The next thing I knew, I heard heavy running steps coming up behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw that cop.

“Wait!” he hollered at me.

I started to run.
Damn it!
He'd probably figured out who the hell I was. My poster most likely hung right in their station with a big “Missing Nut” heading plastered over my mug shot. There was no way I was gonna out run this guy. If only I hadn't returned Lourde's coin to him! I sped around another corner, my eyes darting left and right searching for a place to hide.

“Amanda!” the cop yelled, confirming my fears he knew who I was.

In another thirty seconds it was over.

He ran up alongside me and grabbed hold of my arm. I tried to break free but it was useless. Behind him I could see two other cops running up. And then my hands were being pulled behind me and cuffed. There was no escape.

On foot, because it was close-by, the three of them escorted me triumphantly to Lindove. Carol, the woman at the front desk lit up like a firecracker when she saw me.