Hunter’s Claim

Chapter 2-2

Jesse rolled stiffly to her knees before using the side wall to help her stand. She had been frozen in one spot for almost three hours before the lights in the other room had finally gone out. She bit back a groan as her stiff muscles protested. She wasn’t sure if the three men and one woman were ever going to settle down. The one huge guy had come out every thirty minutes to climb into the back of the van before leaving again.

She bent to pick up her backpack before releasing a sigh of resignation. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t just leave the alien to die. She had listened to the others talk about what they were going to do to him. She would just as soon shove her dad’s hunting knife into his heart if he had one than leave him to those crazy lunatics.

Straightening up once again, she drew in a deep breath behind the black scarf covering most of her face. She would release him. Well, she would release most of him if she could and leave him the means to finish the task while she ran like hell. She ran her hand over the universal key set her dad had shown her how to use. It would be a huge loss, but she wouldn’t have much choice.

Jesse set the black backpack just inside the opening that she had squeezed through before. She might have to run like hell, but she couldn’t leave the food behind this time. Her sisters desperately needed it.

Pulling her father’s hunting knife out, she glanced around the fallen debris before quietly stepping out. She let her eyes sweep the area before she swiftly jogged over to the side of the moving van. Pressing her back up against the cold metal, she waited for several long seconds, listening. Sweat beaded on her brow even though the air was frigid. She could even feel the dampness as it slid down between her shoulder blades, a testament to her fear.

She refused to give in to the terror threatening to choke her though. She couldn’t just leave him to die, even if he was an alien. No one deserved to die the way the men and woman were planning. If she couldn’t release him, the least she could do was end his life in a more humane way.

Jesse moved slowly, pausing to listen in case anyone came out to check on the van again. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she reached over and carefully slid back the bar locking the back of the van. Her hands shook as she pulled the door open just far enough for her to slip through the opening.

The silence and darkness inside the moving van caused her to start panting. She had never seen one of the aliens up close before. She had always done everything in her power to stay as far away from them as possible so she had no idea of what she was about to see.

She fumbled in the front pocket of her black cargo pants for the small penlight that she always carried. She turned it on and moved it along the floor until she saw the leg of a metal bench. Taking a timid step forward, she ran the light up along the bench until she encountered the huge boots of the alien.

She stepped forward on silent feet until she was even with his feet. She frowned when she saw the thick chains holding him to the metal bench. She moved up his body, staring at the chains that were threaded through every few inches up his body. She flashed the light down to the corners and saw that there was a master lock on each corner. She turned to look at the top of the metal bed to see if there were additional locks there as well.

She froze when her eyes locked on a pair of glowing yellow ones that were watching her with silent rage. Her hand began to shake so badly that she had to use both hands to hold the beam steady.

“I…,” she began in a muffled whisper. She licked her dry lips behind the scarf before impatiently pulling it down below her chin when she felt like she was about to suffocate. “I… oh hell.”

Jesse stared at the beautiful features of the man lying on the table. Even with the gag in his mouth, she could tell he was handsome in an exotic kind of way. He had long, thick black hair that was pulled back. His eyes were the shape of a lion or tiger’s. They were a deep yellow, almost gold color and glowed in the reflection of the flashlight. He had high cheekbones and small ridges along his nose, which was flatter than a human’s. Her eyes moved down over his shoulders and chest. He had very little hair on him, considering he looked like he was part feline. One thing stood out above all others, though. He was huge! He had to be close to seven feet tall and she had never seen any man outside of the movies that muscular.

Her eyes jerked back to his when she felt more than heard the slight rumble of a growl coming from him. That was when she realized that she had dropped her left hand down to rest on his stomach. Blushing, she pulled her hand away quickly and took a step closer to his head. She needed to make him realize she was there to help him.

“Please, be quiet,” she whispered next to his ear. “They will kill me or worse if they catch me and I can’t be… I have to leave. I’m going to remove the gag from your mouth. Nod twice if you understand what I am saying.”

She pulled back just far enough to see if he understood her. Satisfied that he did when he nodded twice, she carefully picked one corner of the tape loose. With a look of apology, she ripped it off his mouth. The moment the tape was gone, he turned his head and spit the rag out of his mouth.

Jesse almost ran when he turned his hostile gaze back on her and bared his teeth. Her eyes widened and she bit her lip in indecision. A sense of panic began to sweep through her at the crazy decision she had made. If the humans outside the van didn’t find and kill her, the alien inside it looked like he would do it without any hesitation.

“Please, listen to me,” she begged desperately, glancing at the door before looking at him again. “They want to kill you in a very horrid and painful way. I… I can’t let them do that, but I can’t let you kill me either. Please, please understand me. I can undo the locks holding you down. I’ll undo all of them but one.”

Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch his face. She needed him to believe her. She needed to know that he wouldn’t snap her neck or, her eyes moved to his sharp teeth, tear her throat out as she leaned close to him. She gently touched his jaw so he could see she meant him no harm.

“I’ll show you how to use the keys I have to undo the lock. When you are free, you will need to go to the left. There is a door on the far side of the building that will lead you outside. Ten blocks to the west are some of your people. They will help you,” she whispered looking into his eyes intently as she gently rubbed his jaw with her thumb. “Do you understand what I’ve told you?”

“Yes.”

Jesse gave him a shaky smile before she moved to one of the locks near his head. Setting the penlight down, she pulled the universal key set out of her pocket and went to work. It took her several minutes to undo the lock. Once it was unlocked, she pulled it free of the loop as quietly as she could and set it down on the floor of the van before moving to the next one. Within minutes, she had his arms free.

“Wait,” she whispered when she saw him start to pull the chains from his upper body. “We need to be as quiet as possible until I can get at least one of your feet undone. Can you lift the chain off quietly while I work on the other lock?”

“Yes,” he hissed.

Jesse nodded in relief. She was beginning to feel a glimmer of hope that maybe she would be able to pull this off and both of them could escape and go their own ways. She was more familiar with the locks now and it only took her a few seconds to undo the third lock holding him captive. She was about to explain how to use the keys when the sound of footsteps outside the van drew their attention.

Jesse looked fearfully at the huge male sitting up on the table now. Her eyes flew to the last lock. She had to undo it or he would be an easy target for them. She scooted between the wall of the van and the table and frantically worked at it. They would know something was wrong when they saw the doors unlocked. Her hands shook so badly she almost dropped the key several times.

I should have left him, she thought as the lock finally sprang open. I’ve killed my sisters and myself to rescue those responsible for us being in this position.

Jesse fell back and slid between the bench and the wall of the van as the huge male jerked the last of the chains off of him and wound them around his thick palms. She bit her lip as she watched him lean forward for a moment, as if waiting to attack. That was exactly what he did when they heard the muttered curse outside the door. All she saw was a blur of shadowy movement before the doors to the back of the van exploded outward.

Jesse didn’t wait to see what happened next. She had done what she could to save the huge alien. Now it was up to him to run back to his people. She had her own family to protect. Jumping from the back of the van, she rolled under it before sliding out the opposite side near where she had been hiding. She grabbed the black backpack and squeezed through the ripped sheet metal, ignoring the pain as it cut a deep slice across her stomach.

She ran as fast as she could away from the loud roars and the bloodcurdling screams that filled the night air behind her. She had finally come face to face with one of the aliens and it had left her shaken and confused. In the back of her mind, she hoped he survived and was able to get back to his people. Maybe he could convince the others of his kind that the Earth was better left to its own self-destruction.