Morning came and went, and Liz, John, Grayson and Cade had left on their mission already. Bastion paced anxiously until we decided it was time for us to begin scanning the nearby area.
I walked out of the caves gaping my mouth slowly, checking behind the corners first. Once I saw it was clear, I signaled for Kaylee and Bastion to follow me. We walked out of the cave and split up. Kaylee went left, Bastion right, and I went straight into the forest ahead of the cave where I had seen the dark figure.
I felt drawn to search for the figure, determined to find out the identity. I walked through the forest as straight as I could, keeping an eye on the cave so I would not stray too far or get lost. I could see Bastion looking around some bushes and Kali down towards the ground examining something.
I walked carefully, trying not to make too much noise, though the crunchy dead leaves made it a difficult task. I scanned the area around me, noticing Bastion, Kaylee and the cave were all out of sight.
I walked back a bit to make sure my straight line would bring me back to the cave. I knew I was clear when the cave came into sight directly in front of me, peeking over the slight hill. I nodded to myself and continued my walk.
A ways down I stopped by a rock to rest. I had found black and raspberries, which could be a good and bad thing. Bears are common this time of year, and they would be attracted to the sweet smell of the berries. Other than some poison ivy, I did not find much else.
As I sat on the rock, examining the knife I had brought along, I heard a slight snap behind me. I whipped around, holding my knife in a defensive position, ready for whatever was there. I stood shocked to see the man, or shall I say alien, from my dreams.
He stood, looking at me at first, but as I took my attack position standing in front of the rock I was sitting on, holding my knife accordingly. To my surprise, he stepped back holding his hands out.
"Wait! I mean you no harm!" he stated, his eyes shimmering a beautiful purple as the sun hit them. His voice was deep and masculine, but in a comforting peaceful way, almost as if I could feel safe by just hearing his voice. I was quick to push those thoughts out of my mind, though.
I glared my emerald eyes at him, staying in my position waiting for his attack. After I got my head away from those distracting eyes and handsome voice, I quickly squatted down, grabbing my second knife from my boot and standing up just as fast. He flinched and stepped back another step. I ran through the reasons in my head as to why he moved back. Did I actually threaten him, or was he playing to make me comfortable with him?
I gripped my knives as I stared him down, fire burning in my eyes. All I knew was his species and probably he as well had killed people. My friends, family, anyone I'd ever met besides those who remained from the hiking trip could be dead right now. I was not going to let him get any closer, let alone let my guard down.
His arms were still in front of him, his hands out as if he were trying to tame a wild beast. He pulled his arms back, bending them at the elbows but keeping his hands in place.
"Please. I'm not here to kill you or anyone of your kind," he said, keeping eye contact with me as well as my knives.
I moved slightly away, keeping my knives in front of me waiting to be attacked. I began to walk away backwards, swiftly keeping my balance but also myself protected. I saw his eyes change, they looked a bit darker and maybe even turned to a bluish color and a fragment of hurt washed over his face. Was he sad that I did not want to trust him?
I kept my eye on him as I continued to move away. In a flash, I turned and began to run as fast as I could, plunging my knives into its holster and the other into my belt. I ran for just a few seconds before I was tackled to the ground. My heart began to race as horrifying thoughts burst through my mind. Was he going to kill me?
I was flipped over, my hands held above me firmly but not painfully. A few tears built in my eyes as I kept angrily looking at him. I screamed and fought but he was much stronger and bigger than me.
"Please calm down, I'm not going t-" he was cut off by one of my feet connecting with his face. I had managed to slip one through his arms and kick him in the head as he tried to apparently make me calm down.
He stopped talking and his face went hard, his eyes going pitch black. It was only then did I show any fear towards him. He swiftly moved, pushing my leg down and pinning them both down with his strong legs. He let out a low growl that seemed to come straight from deep within his stomach. I froze, a flash of fear went over my eyes.
I tried to press myself back into the ground as much as I could until I felt my flesh being broken by a stick which I had landed on. As I felt a warm tingle of blood begin to warm my skin, his face changed. His eyes went back to the beautiful shiny purple and a look of concern came over him.
"You're bleeding," he stated. I furrowed my brow, confused as to why he cared and to how the hell he even knew. "If I let you go, will you stay and let me see where you're bleeding? I can fix it," he asked softly.
Knowing this would be a perfect escape plan, I nodded gently. He slowly released my arms, standing up above me. I kept my eye on him, as I slowly began to stand. Swiftly I pulled my blade from my pocket and held it in front of me, before taking off once again.
This time, I was grabbed from behind. I tried to stab at his leg with my knife, but he quickly grabbed it from me, throwing it down. He pushed me up against a tree so I was facing it. He held me firmly against it, holding my hands with only one of his with his other arm pressed against my upper back. I grunted, glaring at him. He looked into my eyes, and I could have sworn I saw a flash of red.
"Don't scream. I've tried to be nice, twice, and this time I'm not going to be so gentle. If you scream, and someone comes, I will end them. Understood?" he said firmly, his eyes darkening slightly. I felt a heaviness swell up in my chest, and a tear fell from my eye. I nodded silently and kept my eye on him, the fear for my friends' lives holding me back from doing exactly as he instructed me not to.
He stepped back while holding me so he could look me over. He looked at me from head to toe and finally stopped his gaze on my lower back where the stick had pierced through my skin. He looked up at me, making eye contact once more. I knew he could tell I was scared, and he probably knew I wasn't alone now as well.
"Now. You're bleeding. I'm going to slowly let you go. You're not going to run and you aren't going to scream either. I'm gonna fix your wound then I'm going to talk to you, understood?" he said keeping eye contact. I nodded again, biting my lip.
He slowly released my arms and knelt down behind me. I watched his every move, as he did mine. He slowly reached his hand over my bloody wound and a warm light came from his hand. It felt so good, almost soothing. Seconds later the stinging feeling from my wound was gone, and so was the blood. I felt my back, feeling that it was no longer there.
I turned towards him amazed, my mouth open. He smiled as he stood up in front of me. It was then that I realized how tall he actually was. He has to be at least six foot seven inches, which compared to my only five foot five inches was massive. He looked down at me with a small smile.
"Can we talk?" he asked with a small light in his eyes. I straightened my lips and looked at him. I remembered what he was. He saw I was angry and scared and his mood visibly changed.
"I really don't want to hurt you. I just need to talk to you," he said seriously, his smile fading. I sighed and nodded.
"Quickly," I said firmly, causing his smile to come back. He nodded and began.
"You're in danger," I rolled my eyes, and before I knew it my typical sarcastic comment came flying out.
"No shit, Sherlock, tell me something I don't know," I said with a snarky tone. He growled down at me, causing me to step back into the tree. He quickly saw his growl had scared me, and his face softened.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just need to warn you and I want you to be safe," he said.
For some reason his statement infuriated me. He wanted me to be safe? Just me? What about my friends and family? Did they not matter? All these thoughts flowed through my head as my chest began to burn with rage. I began to scream at him, tears streaming down my face as a flurry of emotions began to swell up and pour out.
"You want me to be safe! You don't know me! You and whatever the fuck your kind is killed everyone! They killed my friends! You are all monsters! I hate you and your kind! I hate you!" I yelled, letting my emotions that I had held back with my friends run wild and spill out of me.
I kept screaming until the tears were too overbearing and I crumbled. I fell to the ground sobbing. I felt him kneel down next to me, not saying a word.
"Why? Why do I get to be safe and not Bex or Dylan or Maddie or Garret?" I asked between tears as I looked at him. His face looked apologetic as he spoke.
"I can't tell you why you'll be safe yet, but I can promise I will be the one to keep you safe no matter what," he said. I looked at him confused.
"You need to leave that cave you're in," he said before I cut him off.
"How do you know we are staying in the cave?" I asked.
He looked away before saying, "I've been watching out for you. I've seen everything you and your friends have done for a few days now," he stated as if it was nothing. I looked at him shocked, but then my curiosity got the best of me.
"Do you know what happened t-" I was cut off.
"Maddie and Dylan are gone. I'm not sure about Bex, but Garret is gone too," I looked down. I couldn't believe it. They're gone.
"Was it you?" was all I managed to get out. He shook his head. More tears came, but I knew I should heed his warning and warn the others as well.
"Where should we go?" I asked after a short moment of silence.
"I'm not sure where the safest place is right now, but I do know that the deeper into the forest you get the better. I'm sure I passed another cave system somewhere in these woods. It probably connects to the one you're staying in now. I'd go there," I nodded at him before collecting myself.
I stood up alongside him. I was unsure of how to handle the situation now. I was thankful he was here to warn me, but I could not help the skeptical thoughts that ran through my mind. Somehow, in my heart, I did trust the alien man.
We stood in silence for a moment before he did something unexpected. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me in a warm hug. I was startled for a second, but his comfort made me hug him back.
"Please be safe, I'll be nearby watching," he stated, and for some reason knowing he would be watching me gave me a sense of comfort.
I looked at him curiously before asking, "Why don't you just come with me?" I'm not sure what possessed me to ask him but it definitely caught him off guard. He looked at me with a smile and a slight laugh.
"I would but I have some things to take care of too. I need to make sure the others don't know there are humans around. I'm a scout, I'm in charge of telling the others where humans are located for termination. Before you ask, it was not me that told them where your friends were. They ran into gunmen themselves," I nodded.
We ended our embrace before I asked a final question.
"Do you know my name?" I asked quietly. He nodded.
"Yes, Morgan, I know your beautiful name," he said with a smile. His comment made my cheeks blush.
"My name is Xenophon," he said before turning away from me. "Go, you need to get back to your friends, I'll be around," he said as he walked into the forest.
I stood in awe for a moment before turning and going towards the cave.