Alone

Chapter 13: The Mission

Alicia POV

My breathing is heavy and labored and I can hear my heartbeat throbbing in my head. I know today is important and this mission is important but that thought only makes me more nervous.

We have made our way to the back of the ship and I push the button to open the back hatch. I keep in step, immediately behind Shepherd and watch him closely for any signs for me stop or if he senses or sees danger.

The mission is clear, we just have to make it to the cave, retrieve his "important " items, and get back to the ship with out any issues. Sounds simple enough but of course I've come to learn that nothing simple ever happens when I am involved.

Shepherd silently signals ahead and I can see the opening of the cave. We begin to make our way closer to the cave and although everything seems fine, I feel like something is watching us as well. It's probably just my nerves and I'm only being paranoid.

The Captain seems to be acting normal and unbothered so it must just be my own paranoia.

We get to the entrance of the cave and Shepherd proceeds to ignite a torch that was laying just outside. It does look dark in there and considering he has been living here for 6 months, any source of electricity he did have would either be dead or soon to be. Once the torch is fully aflame, we make our way inside. It's dark, dingy, and somewhat depressing. I'm not sure how he was able to survive so long in these conditions until I came along.

I feel a higher respect for him now that I have actually seen what he has had to endure for so long and yet he still holds on to hope and his boyish charm. At this moment I am grateful he is the man that I've found and he is my partner through all this. We will have to work together every step of the way and although we may not agree on everything I do believe I can trust him and he will be able to lean on me as well.

Once we finally reach the area of the cave that looks like he was staying in he signals me to keep watch towards the entrance while he gathers up his supplies. I am very curious to know what he's retrieving but I do as I'm told and keep a look out.

I see something move in the woods outside the entrance of the cave. I'm not sure what it was or whether it was small or large but either way I know it cannot be good. I try to get Shepherds attention without making any sudden moves but he's still busy trying to get everything together.

I snap my fingers a couple times and finally gain his attention and point to the front of the cave. He stands at attention and looks in the direction of my eye line. Something moves again but is still hidden within the dense jungle, but the shrubs that slightly move with it give away its position. Whatever it is, it's stealthy and moves very quickly and quietly which means it's not a slasher. That does not mean danger is averted though. There are still many other creatures here that we or more accurately, I know nothing about.

Shepherd reaches for my hand and pulls me closer to his side. We squat down inside the cave against one of the walls and he exstinguishes the torch. He whispers in my ear, "That is not a slasher, but it's something else that could prove to be a problem."

I look at him with clear confusion and fear plastered on my face. He proceeds, "I'm not sure what to call them but they're akin to velociraptors, like from Earth. They may be small, closer to our height but a little bigger but don't let that fool you. They're ferocious and quicker than slashers and they hunt in groups of 5 or 6."

At this point, I wasn't even sure if my heart could handle to beat any quicker, it felt like it could explode at any second. "How are we supposed to get out of here, they could have us surrounded by now? They didn't show up on the scanners! If they are that quick then this is hopeless!" I know I should have faith in him, I mean he knows what they are and he has survived here for so long already but my fear level was on over load.

He took both of my hands in his and lifted my chin to look directly into his eyes, "We've got this Alicia. I'm sorry I got you into this mess but I will also get you out. Just trust me and watch me and stay directly behind me at all times. I have what we came for and I will get us both out here and back to the ship safely." With that he leaned forward and laid a soft kiss on my forehead. Usually I would feel compelled to hit him or make some snide remark but at this moment, that kiss warmed me all throughout and a sense of calm and trust fulfilled me.

We both rose up, determined and ready to make our escape. Slowly we approached the mouth of the cave and looked around for any signs of where the creatures were waiting for us.

After a few moments we didn't notice anything, no more movements or slight shaking of any leaves, the jungle was quiet...too quiet. Of course we knew they were out there, waiting for us to come out from the safety of our hiding but little did they know we were prepared for this. Afraid we may be but we were more determined to survive.

Shepherd took the first few steps with me right on his heels and holding the back of his shirt just for good measure. We were only a few feet from the entrance of the cave when all broke loose.

Two creatures emerged from the jungle on our left side and were immediately running toward us. They looked like giant deformed chickens with feathers and scales like a reptile. They possessed long pointed beaks along with spikes that flowed down their backs and ending at what was possibly a tail that was shaped like an enormous rock hard hammer. Their claws were also long and sharp and did indeed resemble that of a velociraptor.

My breath caught in my throat and even though I thought I was brave, apparently that was just wishful thinking because I was frozen in fright. Captain Shepherd was amazing though, without a second to think he shot both monsters with the sonic g*n and they flew backwards about ten yards and slammed into a huge tree trunk.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him in the direction of the ship but before we could get too far, three more creatures came speeding toward us from the dense jungle. Shepherd was able to hit one of them with the sonic g*n but the other two easily dodged his attempts. They were very quick and apparently intelligent as well. I tried to summon my bravery while Shepherd continued to try and hit them and I set up my tranquilizer weapon. I knew I was a good shot so while the creatures were distracted with Shepherd I took my aim. I was able to hit the one and within moments he was lying on his side, this only seemed to anger the last creature further. Perhaps he thought we killed his entire group but they would eventually awaken, he was only an animal though so he had no idea.

By doing this though, the final creature turned its attention to me and began speeding toward me with all its might. Shepherd was too far from me at this point to shield me from its attack so I tried to turn around and run in any direction to get away from it. The key word being tried. I immediately tripped on a root from a nearby tree and fell flat on my face and while doing so, my weapons were flung far away from me as well.

I turned over in time to see the creature almost in my face. I could feel this was the end for me and in that moment, the only thing on my mind was Captain Kyle Shepherd and how I wish I could kiss him, only once to know what it was like before I left this world. I closed my eyes and waited for my horrific end, but it never came.

The next thing I felt was a pair of strong arms wrapped around me and that kiss that was stuck in my mind. I only slightly opened my eyes to see it was definitely Shepherd, not like it could be anyone else unless the creature magically changed. Then again who knows what is possible anymore.

He pulled away and no words were spoken between us, he only reached out for my hand to help me up and we continued our run back to the ship.

When we finally reached our destination we both fell onto the bed completely exhausted and overwhelmed. We just stayed that way for a while, just trying to catch our breaths until we had to continue to the next step. Still we stayed silent and both made our way to the front of the ship and the controls.

I signaled for him to take the lead in flying the ship off this planet considering he was the professional pilot and also my nerves were still too shot to barely move let alone control a space ship. Not to mention, now he had my mind spinning out of control over that kiss. The heroic kiss he more than deserved and I could feel he needed and wanted as much as I did. Things were going to get complicated but a part of me didn't care.