My alien mate (Alien planet , #1)

Hanna POV - The cave

We walk following the wall, leaving the hut behind us. No signs of animals, or dinosaurs, or whatever lived here. Or maybe they were all dead because there was no water, and we die as well.

After we walk for what seemed two hours, or more because there was no way of calculating time here we see that the wall curbs to the right, like in a U shape and we continue walking, having the wall ar our left.

And we walk for what seems forever.

Occasionally we would see the entrance to some caves but we never entered because it smelled bad. Trees or bushes were not very abundant but they provided a little shade from time to time.

Every time I swallowed it feel like I had thousands of thorns in my throat. Walking was living torture.

I was starting to see my mom, my dad, even Ethan.

"Don't stop, keep walking" I heard from time to time in my head.

And again, the wall turned to the right in a U shape. I was ready to give up, fall to the ground and wait for the Goddess to take me home.

"Just a little more, my child. Don't give up." And there it was again, that voice.

And I kept walking pushing Seth even farther as I see him slowing down.

-We can't stop now, just a bit more, I say dragging him after me.

The sun was now setting and as the air was cooling I knew creatures will come out. We had to find shelter.

And true enough a very ugly like-crocodile creature appears almost out of thin air. Yellow, big a huge long mouth, and long legs starts running towards us. I scream because this thing was fast, and big, and scary, and...

-Hanna, throw me a rock, Seth tells me.

While I got busy looking at the creature Seth put a but distance between him and me.

-What? I ask nothing understanding what he wants.

-Throw me a rock like you are a baseball pitcher.

I do that and to my amazement, he hits it with his spear. The rock hit the creature between its eyes. The creature starts stumbling and moments later it falls to his side. I cry with relief and hug Seth.

-Where did you learn to do that, I ask him?

-I love baseball and I was the best hitter in my pack, he tells me, his eyes shining.

-You just saved both of us.

After the moment passes I see a cliff, at 2,5 -3m above the ground and a big rock beneath the cliff, that can help in getting up. I feel that we have to get up.

-Seth, you are not going to like this, but we need to get up there and point to him the cliff.

He looks at the cliff and shallows hard. And when I think he will say no he nods slightly.

-Got it, I tell him.

I get up the cliff first and then help Seth up.

We take a minute to compose ourselves. After a few moments, I take a look around me and see that the cliff stretched along the mountain.

-This is a long cliff, I say to Seth. How about we continue walking along the cliff and hope it will take us somewhere?

-Sound fine with me, Seth says, finally composed.

We walk for a while without talking. I was ready to pass out from thirst.

-Hanna, look! I hear Seth say. I could tell he was shocked.

-What is it, more creatures? I can't run anymore, I might as well die.

-Three moons, Seth says.

- Three what? I ask because I think I didn't hear him right.

- Three moons, he tells me again.

I look behind me and high in the sky there are three moons. One big and two little ones. Beautiful!

-Seth, we are not in Kansas anymore.

He laughs.

-And I also see a cave.

-A what? I ask.

-A cave. Look, right there.

And I look to where he is looking and without a doubt, I see the opening to a cave.

-We should be careful, we don't know if there is something in there, I say.

I start sniffing but I don't smell anything or anyone else. I have to walk a few feet in a tunnel until I enter the cave. And I freeze. I have never seen as beautiful as this. All over the cave, there are veins of purple, green, and blue color that produced a faint light. The cave wasn't very big but neither small. No trace of any sort of creature. I take in a deep breath. In the far end, I see a small waterfall and a pool of water. Water. I am so relieved I burst into tears.

-Hanna, I hear Seth, his voice a bit panicked. Is everything alright?

Seth, you have to see this. This place is amazing.

I hear Seth gasp behind me and I chuckle.

-Do you think it is safe to drink? Seth asks.

-Just one way to find out.

I approach the pool and with the help of Artemisia, I sniff the pool and look for any creature. It looks empty and not very deep. Don't have any type of smell and looks like Earth water. So I drink. Fells fresh and cool.

-Seth, we can drink. You...

He doesn't wait for me to finish because the next second he is drinking from the pool.

After we drink and fill our water recipients we chill around the pool talking

-So, I ask, were you in a baseball team back on Earth?

-Yeah, I was a hitter. A good one too. But my family is from a small pack. I only played in small mystical tournaments. What about you?

-I loved to hunt and hike with my dad and weave baskets and chairs with my mom. But they are dead now. The UGE killed all my pack.

-I am so sorry.

-Me too, Seth. I wish things were different. So, Seth, I say while at the pool, how about we take a bath?

-I would love that.

So we strip in our underwear and go in the pool backs turned to each other. The water is cool but not very cold and I start scrubbing my skin and washing my clothes as best as I can with only water.

-Hanna, how old are you? Seth asks from behind me.

-Twenty.

- Do you still have any family, friends back on Earth?

-No.

Seth seems to think for a moment.

-But how are we going to pass all those creatures?

-I have an idea but I want to wait until morning.

After we get out of the water we go to sleep.

In the morning we realized that there is another passage next to the pool.

- We should explore that one but first I want to check something.

So I go in the direction we came in yesterday with Seth behind me and peer outside.

The Sun is up and hot outside and no creature outside.

-Yeah I thought that.

-What? Seth asks.

-I think the creatures are nocturnal because of the heat. So I think we are safe during the day even if we will melt. Let's go check the other tunnel.

The tunnel is not very wide but we can walk side by side. We see crystals that glow in the dark and so we see around us. The tunnel seems to go down to the base of the rocky wall and we walk a good amount of time. Maybe 30-45 minutes. When I am about to say we should turn back I see the exit.

-We are almost there, I see the exit, I say.

- I am so glad, Seth says. I thought this will go on and on.

When we go outside the air feels cooler and we find ourselves surrounded by trees. Tall, big, amazing trees. Some with green leaves, others with purple, pink, and even white leaves. I could hear birds singing and smell flowers. Sure the smells were not like those of my forest, it is different. It is amazing. So beautiful. And we look amazed at the trees. I turn my back to Seth to see better other threes and I hear something fall. I turn to look where Seth but he is gone.

-Seth? Where are you?

-I am down here. I think I broke my leg, I hear Seth's voice coming from somewhere. I look and see a big hole in the ground. Branches and leaves were covering it, a pit trap. The spear that Seth had was on the ground, next to the pit trap.

I get closer to see Seth and I gasp, his left leg is twisted at a weird angle and I could tell he was in pain.

-Oh sweet Goddess! I will get you out. Give me a sec to think, I tell him.

-Fine with me, I am not going anywhere, Seth tells me.

I take a step back to see if I can find something useful but nothing catches my eye.

-f**k, Hanna, think. There must be something useful.

From behind, I hear a growl. I freeze. I have the bow and the quiver on, the spear was on the ground a few feet away from me.

With a quick move, I grab the bow, and arrow and turn.