C.L. Scholey - Zuri's Zargonnii Warrior (Unearthly World # 2) Read online

  Cold breezy air gave the wispy tendrils of Zuri’s hair flight around her face and tickled her neck. Her bare calves became cramped from immobility and her lungs burned while trying to stifle her need to gasp in air. Zuri’d had only enough time to race from their shelter in her sleeping garments—panties and t-shirt; the nights were hot. A fire inside would roast them if one was lit. The metal shuttle retained the day’s heat, as a closed oven would, cooling off only during the early morning hours. There was barely any light inside the crude battered shelter.

  When the first noises of attack had filled her ears, it was the God-awful bellowing of massive creatures to send them scurrying in fear. Or to corral her and her ship mates. Her first sight had been glowing red eyes in the dead of night. They bobbed eerily up and down against the inky black setting of darkness as the creatures moved. A pair of those eyes had settled onto her as she had looked way up at the enormous figure. Goose bumps dotted her slender arms and she shivered with terror. Her sweat turned cold, as the fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood tall.

  Zuri and her co-inhabitants had spent a year on this planet, in relative harmony with the strange aliens who occupied the world. The creatures knew humans had crash-landed in a large shuttle some time ago, but for the most part kept their distance. The beings offered neither aid nor signs of annoyance or hostility with the new presence, in the early months. They appeared to understand the humans’ appearance wasn’t an invasion but an accident. The one time, early in the beginning, Zuri had run across one of the weird-looking beings, they had studied one another until the being slipped back into the jungle.

  The beings were human-sized, not all the same height or weight, with flat, perfectly symmetrical faces and bald, grey-white bulbous craniums. She could detect no ears on the hooded beings. The creatures’ protective covering was a dark, eerie black cape which fluttered around without the aid of wind. Their unshod feet were flat, oval shaped with four perfectly rectangular toes on each. Zuri couldn’t distinguish individual sexes, even though it was easy to see they wore nothing under the cape.

  Each alien had two, perfectly-round holes for nostrils and unclosing, sphere-shaped mouths. The large almond eyes consisted of a rolling, smoky dark fog, and when Zuri looked into their depths, she swore there were black numbers floating within. At least, that was what the symbols seemed to be; she had stared hard trying to grasp any meaning. When the being spoke, its tone was even and not unpleasant; Zuri didn’t understand its words, but the dark fog within the being’s eyes formed a string of strange shapes, including a few numbers and letters she could comprehend. Zuri was certain it asked questions needing enumerative denominators. Zuri’s calculus was pathetic, there was no way she could decipher the complex numerals to understand the sentences. She was no Einstein.

  Zuri’s hesitant, muttered, “Two plus two?” response was met with a vacant stare and a shake of a head; she was no doubt dismissed as being simple-minded and no threat. The being had floated a few inches above the land, moving at a good pace and was soon far from view, leaving her openmouthed and scratching her head.

  The planet’s inhabitants seemed content to wander the deeper, darker foliage where other strange creatures lurked. Zuri hated that part of the planet, so did the other humans. At one time, they had ventured deeper and come across the strange structures Zuri found astounding. The beings’ domiciles were shaped like two-story isosceles or scalene triangles, geometrically-symmetric quadrilateral and orthotope designs. Fascinating was such a boring word when trying to wrap her head around the designs. The layout was meticulous, put together; the tiny congregation formed a perfect octagon, housing approximately fifty beings. Their arrangement was ingenious, perfect harmony, indicating a closely knit community of family. A protective family.

  Terrifying would describe the other beings wandering around the aliens’ homes. Sphere-shaped creatures with rolling balls for feet thrust forward in an effort to spear you with unicorn points. A massive circular creature shaped like a silo rolled with a vengeance. They were guard animals of sorts meant to keep intruders out. The animal—geometric—beings avoided direct confrontation, but it was more than apparent that though the native beings would allow the humans to remain on the planet, their home was off-limits.

  Zuri and her sixteen shuttle mates who had grown close on the cramped space flight and then crash had bonded the past year. The first little while was tricky, as they had to work together and make a decent shelter from the vessel’s remains and find food. Zuri was neither a follower nor a leader; as it turned out, not many others were either. The humans made functioning smaller groups which helped in their survival, each appointing a mediator.

  They managed to search out water, or the equivalent. The only fluid substance available was a little heavier, thick, a deep blue but tasteless and cool—refreshing, akin to a watered down shake or slushy. It took Zuri some time to get used to almost needing to chew her liquids. Bathing was difficult. The substance dried like normal water, but the texture took some getting used to.

  In the beginning, food was a chore to identify. Everything they encountered had perfect shapes of different colors. Some things grew on the strange rectangle trees that boasted odd rectangular branches and circular leaves with green rectangular fruit. Other food items were root-based and pulled from the ground. Nothing tasted familiar, or looked remotely familiar. For the first few weeks, they had all lost weight with the assault to their taste buds.

  The human survivors bonded over time, watched out for one another, cared for one another and protected one another…until there were only three of them left. Their foliage-shuttle structure kept out wind and the thick rain which splatted against the roof and sides. Zuri hated the noise of the ‘rain,’ it sounded as though huge bugs smacked against the metal. There was no thunder on those nights; the wind made an eerie moaning that kept them awake and watchful as the seasons changed from rainy and cold over the course of two months, to hot and dry. There was never a happy medium. With each change of the ‘season’ came the change of different foods. They were forced to learn to survive by identifying new edibles. Another hardship that led to sickness, which they tried to muddle through.

  The survivors had weaved broad mats to place over the various holes and cracks of the broken shuttle. The perfect rectangular fuzzy reeds made adequate bedding and blankets to place over reclining seats. They were able to start a fire for warmth. When they first landed there had been a chill to the air. One man and one woman succumbed early to dysentery, unable to stomach the new food and fluid. The woman died through the cold season when they first landed, the man through the beginning of the hot season. Zuri thought perhaps it had been an allergic reaction. The loss had been a blow, and from a distance, Zuri had seen a few of the planet inhabitants watch them bury their dead during a downpour, the weather adding to their misery. Their surroundings, the survivors soon discovered many months later, were the least of their worries.

  The first assault to the humans was by a deceptive, hideous creature called a Tonan eight months after the crash. The human-type man had approached their home, bare-chested, nipple free with hip hugging grey pants. Gorgeous as sin. With open arms and a perfect white smile behind ruby red lips, he declared he had come to offer sanctuary on a planet more suited to human needs. Zuri had never encountered such a handsome, virile man. He was beautiful with his shoulder length, dark-haired, dark-eyed Greek God looks and charisma. The air was awash with sexual tension.

  She and the other women were drawn to his cheeky innuendos, quick wit, his rugged look, practically swooning when he offered them a mere glance. At well over six feet, his powerful muscles bulged in all the right places. His erection, outlined by tight fitting pants was impressive. He seemed so real and friendly, cajoling, until he turned into a grey shielded creature with a long tail, fangs, claws and talons. The creature he became murdered six men who sought to protect the four women left who had survived the crash. The warrior had sliced through human flesh
with his talons and claws easily, a whirlwind of death, killing before anyone knew what had happened. Zuri had thought they were all doomed. The Tonan creature was chased away by the beings on the planet.

  Zuri noted the area seemed charged when the planet’s natives attacked the Tonan with scientific weapons geared for interpretation. It was like an airborne warning or attack virus formed and swarmed as would a horde of bees. Letters, numbers spinning crazily into formed words. Zuri could see the sentence literally hanging in the air, numbers, fractions, common denominators. Each sentence finished with an equal sign or question mark. The Tonan roared in anger, revealing he didn’t know the answer, didn’t know how to fight the sentence. He was blown backwards by an invisible force field repeatedly, until he fled altogether, unable to gain his desired females.

  The beings had saved their lives, but the damage was done, their human number totaled only nine. Sometime after, perhaps a month previously to the present, came a loathsome alien. The Gorgano. Tall, bald creatures, standing a gangly eight feet in height, no determinant sex. Long bony arms hung to their knees where three pencil-thin fingers curled and uncurled. It was apparent the creatures were out to destroy human females first, and three of the women died, their bodies simply dropping to the ground. Leaving Zuri to fight alone. The native beings once more offered aid, but the Gorgano could answer their questions; in fact, after a few moments Zuri was beginning to understand the native creatures’ questions and she was astounded.

  The numbers began to make sense, as strange as it sounded, forming intelligent questions. It left her wondering why she hadn’t understood before; it was so simple really. The numbers in question form made letters when the answer was found, each letter formed a word. Three equals MC squared, H2O, of course there were answers with letters when dealing with numbers.

  The absolute basics were the human alphabet, the tiny little alphabet; Zuri’s head had spun. For each letter was a number, but there weren’t only twenty-six letters, there were thousands, millions, billions. So many words, so many new to Zuri, it was overwhelming, informative. Of course, she had wanted to shout. So many different languages in the universe, so many different alphabets combining. It was why there were so many numbers to coincide. Humans used so little of their brains, and Zuri’s opened to the point she was certain knowledge would spill from her ears.

  Zuri had answered the native beings’ questions as fast as the Gorgano—then faster. It was no wonder the Tonan had been blasted backwards. The planet’s beings had bombed him with chemistry questions to form explosives; it was brilliant. The native beings held back and Zuri took up the fight, the fight for all their lives. There was something primal in the way she fought; there was something Zuri was certain she should know. Surrounded by the tall creatures, she learned how to channel their thoughts—they wanted her dead, she was dangerous.

  Zuri had been bombarded with horrific visions by the Gorgano, death, mutilation. Images that hurt her soul, but the creatures didn’t realize Earth, poor torn battered Earth, saved her life that day. Zuri had seen death, destruction of an entire planet; she was already wounded. Somewhere deep inside, she recalled a vision so primitive and wise she was astounded. Mind fighting was what the destructive beings were doing. Zuri knew it, thought it, felt it and at one point in her family’s history, going back over a hundred thousand years, she had learned it. Telepathy was formed before words, before speech capability came into place. Over the years, humans evolved but paid a price. Humans wanted individuality. Telepathy was too common; each different race wanted its own verbal language, secrecy, privacy. Humans reverted to spoken word to shield others from their minds.

  The Gorgano were waging war on the humans and the creatures of the planet. It took every ounce of concentration, but Zuri channeled her thoughts.

  In total, the Gorgano destroyed six of the humans and two native beings before Zuri killed eight Gorgano with visions of bombs and nuclear weapons. She literally exploded into their minds. She could feel the moistness of their insides as she destroyed them. It was disgusting; it was empowering. When the proverbial dust settled, Zuri and two human men stood alone. And they were all alone. The native creatures kept their distance, and Zuri wondered if they blamed the humans for the attacks on their planet.

  With her newfound knowledge of mind fighting the native creatures left them to their own devices—not that Zuri would hurt one. But more than ever, the remaining humans realized they were considered intruders and a danger to the inhabitants. This notion was proven right soon after. Other aliens, the likes Zuri had never seen, came to the planet only a few weeks later. They ignored the native beings and went after only the humans. Mercenaries—Zuri knew it. Humans were about to be eradicated.

  Zuri felt the ground move with the pounding of so many huge alien beasts. Their glowing red eyes scanned the foliage in front of her and Zuri knew instinctively the beings could see in the dark. Miniature trees toppled close by; Zuri heard a scream. One of the human men, Cash or Leo, had been captured or killed.

  From the systematic way the alien intruders searched the area, Zuri knew they would never stop until she and the other human man were found. Her heart ached. She didn’t know why so many creatures found them to be a threat. All Zuri and her remaining friends wanted was a home where they could survive and possibly feel welcome. All aliens seemed to bring was death, when they had done nothing to instigate any attack. It was so unfair; first losing Earth to the terrible storms that killed the planet, and now dying on this new planet before they ever had the chance to belong. Zuri had the strangest feeling that however humans came into existence, they were placed on Earth far from other beings on purpose. To keep them as safe as possible.

  The pounding of her heart all but ceased when the massive being came into her line of vision. She had seen him outlined in the dark; nothing prepared her for what stood only inches away. He was so close she could reach out and touch the backs of his legs. The being’s head poked through the extensive foliage, allowing the few stars above to give a small measure of light. Zuri looked way up as the being stood stock still, listening.

  On his huge feet, he wore oblong boots, rounded at the toes. When he took a small step, the dirt beneath his feet whooshed at the sides of his boots as though trying to escape the un-escapable. Black shiny pants hugged thick thighs and powerful rock hard looking ass cheeks. The being’s back was to her, and his white hair flowed around his head, down to his waist where it moved as though Medusa had come to life. It was eerie.

  The broad expanse of his back was more powerful than a linebacker’s. His arms were formidable. Zuri focused her attention on the creature; she had, after all, fought and killed eight Gorgano. Her mind tried to meld with his—an odd image of Spock entered her brain. She gave her head a shake, she couldn’t do it. Maybe the creature lacked intelligence. She wasn’t certain if the thought was a comforting one.

  It appeared the Gorgano had aided her ability in a way even they hadn’t known. Instead, she pictured a great hammer belting into his torso. The being made a noise, a gasp perhaps—or a burp. Zuri suddenly felt exhausted. She placed a hand to her forehead which was now bombarded with a painful thump. She had touched him somehow; for a second they had connected, but it wasn’t near enough. These creatures fought with sheer strength, not their minds; they must be terribly primitive and animalistic. After a few seconds, the pounding in her head passed and she once again concentrated on him.

  When the being turned, Zuri couldn’t stop the shivering in her body that turned into a full-blown quaking mass of her arms and legs. A fast hand over the fist pressed to her mouth stopped the tell-tale clattering of her teeth. Whereas his broad back was void of fur his chest was covered in a thick white pelt, with the exception of an oval bald spot from his breast bone to just above his pants. There was no mistaking the outline of his thick, long cock.

  He had a hard on for her.

  She couldn’t look at his arousal anymore; her gaze shot upwards. One long, bu
shy pure white eyebrow stretched across his forehead, down the sides of his tanned leathery face and neck. Zuri could see the red glow of his eyes; they were alight enough to see the blue shade of his full lips and high cheek bones.

  From her lower vantage point, Zuri could make out the glistening points of large white-as-snow teeth, resting against his bottom lip. With his hair parading wildly around his back and shoulders, Zuri could see his head cocked in her direction. The creature had largish ears, human-shaped, deeply tanned.

  An odd noise seemed to emanate from the being and Zuri cocked her head to the side. The being was crooning a quiet melody, the noise strangely comforting. Since the attack of the Gorgano, Zuri could hear things in her mind; she could see pictures to go with words. The crooning made her think of home, she could picture her warm, safe bedroom. For a second, she could smell homemade bread baking, turkey roasting; logs aflame in the fireplace, a loving invisible hug wrapped her in bliss. Everything she associated with happiness and being welcome invaded her senses. It had to be a trick, a tactical diversion, but try as she might, she couldn’t thrust the images from her thoughts.

  The being began speaking while he crooned. Zuri searched for the translation. It was there on the tip of her memory; the Gorgano must have encountered these beings as well. But were they friend to the Gorgano? That would make this creature her enemy. Her enemy wanted her dead. A word was on the tip of her thoughts, who he was, what he was. Zargonnii. Eyes wide, her breath caught as the being looked down right at her. He had known where she was all along. Zuri was certain her heart stopped. Like a rabbit, Zuri shot from the underbrush and took off at lightning speed. The being, a Zargonnii warrior mercenary, she was positive, was in hot pursuit.