Chapter 29
Disclaimer: I do not own Alien/Predator series or any characters and may not follow all customs and cultures found in Alien/Predator movies.
She didn't remember much.
The last thing she saw was Master Thu'at's foot slamming into her face and everything went dark. The next thing she knew, she woke up in the dark parts of the prison, most likely in the same building. She couldn't distinguish if it had been minutes or hours since she was there. They weren't going to heal her anyway. That was the last part of the punishment. She needed to get out of here and back to the hideout.
The bad thing is that she could still feel her head pounding. The pockets of stings ripping in her neck. It was worse than what she thought but not as bad as her broken ribs. She flinched each time she took a breath, worse to where she was lying down. A'stea tried to lift herself but a jabbing pain brought her down with a hiss. Now my back is hurting . . . Pauk.
Pushing through, A'stea managed to get herself leaning on the metal bars. They weren't the most comfortable but it's better than the cold floor. She lifted her head to alleviate her headache and closed her eyes.
She expected this to happen. It was the only way to keep their 'familiarity' in secret. If the masters found out that something was up, they'd tear it apart like it was nothing. Still, she remembered the hesitant look on Kaail's face and how he was holding back. A new side of him that she never saw. The Hish aren't the monsters they were told to be. The Amengi are wrong. That's when she smiled. Kaail was proof of it. They were more than what the Amengi believed they were.
She opened her eyes quickly when she heard the far sound of a door creaking. Were they coming to finish her off? To mock her? Or worse? What can they do? A'stea did have some idea in her mind but she was ready for it. If they were going to finish her off, they better do it quickly or she'll make it painful.
Suddenly, she heard the faint sounds of conversation but didn't know who or what they were talking about. She did hear growls of warning so it didn't sound like a casual or friendly one before a loud thud came and everything went silent.
It was dark so she couldn't see who came in when the door to her cell opened. Despite her injuries, she growled and lifted her fists as if preparing for an attack. But she lowered them when she could see the familiar white skin coming. She had to squint her eyes to focus.
"Kaail . . ?" His red eyes appearing from the dark, standing over her. "What are you doing here?"
"I . . ." He hesitated. "I . . . wanted to see how you were doing."
A'stea chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?" She raised her hands. "Feeling different from before. At least I'm still alive . . . to them."
He didn't say anything. Kaail came closer to her side and kneeled. She groaned for a second but relaxed when the pain came back. His priority was to check her wounds. The neck is what worried him a lot. The punctures he made were deep but the bleeding had stopped. Good . . . maybe.
"Does anything else hurt?" He asked.
"Other than broken ribs, my back hurting, and my head feeling like it's about to explode . . . then no." She spoke sarcastically but for herself.
Kaail sighed. He reached to touch it but her body reacted, flinching from his touch.
He reeled back, lowering his gaze. A deep feeling of despair filled him. "Why did you let me do that to you?"
A'stea tightened her eyebrows. "We did what we had to do."
But his reaction was not what she expected. His eyes grew sorrowful. She could see his body shrink in size. She didn't understand why so she kept going. "If they knew about us, then it would be much worse."
"Worse than beating you to a pulp?" He growled.
She grew serious. "I have seen what they can do. You have no idea how far they can take it."
He snapped. Kaail twisted behind and smashed his fist into the bars of the cell, frustrated. He barely felt his knuckles crack and the small drip of green blood. Does she not understand!? The resounding vibration caused A'stea to cry out. Her headache grew worse from it. He regretted it the moment he heard her. He went back to her side, seeing her eyes closed tightly in pain.
His hand reached out again but he pulled away. "I'm sorry."
It took A'stea a minute to let the pain fade a little. She scooted a little bit so her back was straight. There was some relief she got from it.
"You shouldn't be. It was my choice to attack you . . . and I knew the consequences."
"But I should have known better. You didn't deserve it. He felt a pain in his chest again when his eyes settled on her neck and saw the damage he did. He bit into the inner flesh of his mandibles and stood up, pacing back and forth.
"I don't know why but . . . I didn't want to hurt you. Something inside me screamed for me not to do it. I understand where you were coming from and why it had to be done but I couldn't stand it!" He began to roar. His pace quickened like his uncontrolled emotions.
"I have lived my entire life, believing that everything around me is weak and I have no choice but to obey! But when I met you . . ."
He calmed down a little, meeting her hazel eyes for a split second. Despite being such a weak creature, she didn't act like one. She defied everyone and stood her ground whenever anyone questioned her, even himself. Everything he was taught to know went down the drain when it came to her, broken into tiny pieces and himself trying to put it together. But to no avail. He was torn between obeying his master and questioning what is right and wrong.
He didn't like it.
Kaail crouched to the ground next to A'stea and put his hands to cover his face. His long dreadlocks acted like a curtain.
"I don't know anymore. I want to go back before all of this but at the same time . . . I don't. I can't stand it."
A'stea watched in surprise, seeing Kaail in such a position that she didn't think he was capable of showing. He was shaking, doubting himself. She felt as if she hurt him herself. But for a second, it was like seeing herself from so long ago. When the Engineers . . .
No. Not again.
Without hesitation, she reached up between his fingers and cupped his face in her hands. Kaail froze but allowed her to bring his face out of the darkness to look at her, shocked by what she did. But she wasn't upset or worried. Rather, she was smiling and it puzzled him.
"There's nothing wrong with feeling. It's who you are and you should never doubt it . . . no matter what everyone else says. It's your choice."
Kaail held his breath, seeing the determination in her soft eyes. Choice . . . A word he never considered or bothered to know until now. He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek to her hand. He let her fingers comb through a few of his dreadlocks, sending a sensation that was foreign but welcomed. It brought heat through his body that was soft and warm. The smell of honey on her skin brushed away the doubt he had in him. He allowed the sensation in his throat to emerge and it wasn't long before he purred.
Awww . . .
The vibrations of his purr resounded into her hands and her body. It was nice knowing what he felt. So different . . . A'stea releases him after a few moments, much to Kaail's dismay. She grunted as she tried to get up, getting some leverage at least. but her back wasn't having any of it and she slid back down.
"What is it?" Kaail asked.
"I need to get up." She tries again but almost ends up hitting her back against the bars. Kaail wrapped his arm to protect her, gently lowering her back to the bars.
"You're still hurt. You can't move in this condition."
"But I have to get back to the hideout. I can't miss . . . the meeting. And it's the only place . . . to heal."
Kaail watched as she pushed herself up once more. But he stopped her. With his free hand, he pressed her against the bars enough that she couldn't move. She gave a small glare but he was putting his foot down. She relented eventually, taking deep breaths to deal with the pain in her body.
"What about your friends? That female . . . Fi'ka?"
"I don't have my communicator. And she had no access to this building, not to mention the fact there's probably guards patrolling outside." She paused. "And I can't expose where the hideout is."
Kaail thought for a moment. She was too stubborn to listen to him. Knowing her personality, she'll push herself to get there, even if it means crawling to whatever location she needs to go. Good quality but one that can prove a mistake. But she needed to find a place to heal.
"I'll carry you."
"What?" A'stea blunted. "You can't be serious."
"I want to help in any way that I can. Please let me."
He pleaded with her, hoping she would listen for once. He waited for what seemed like forever until she nodded. "Fine. You win this time." She glared when she saw the smirk on his face. "Don't push it."
With Kaail's help, A'stea uses his hands to get on her feet, ignoring the aches of her body screaming to stop. She had to bite her lip just so she wouldn't gasp. He loops one arm around her back then the other under her knees. She was light as a feather to him so he swooped her up with little effort. A'stea leans her cheek into his chest, hearing his strong heartbeat through is scaled skin that drew her closer.
"Let's get out of here."
She nodded and Kaail turned around to head out.
"So you went for her?"
Both tensed at another voice so close to them. Kaail growled instinctually, clinging on to A'stea with his body. C'jit. Who followed me? He could see a silhouette leaning on the doorframe to the cell.
"Who is it?!" He roared.
The silhouette pushed itself from the frame and came walking towards them. As soon as it came close enough to see, Kaail was stunned. It was a Hish and he recognized who it was from the yellow spots all over his skin.
"Bu'at? What are you doing here?"
His friend chuckled softly, stopping a few feet away. "I followed you here, of course. Being as you are, I figured you were going for the ooman. But I never imagined it was much more than that."
Bu'at glanced at A'stea. "So this is the female you were talking about for weeks?"
She clenched tighter to Kaail. But then, she noticed he looked familiar. Another look and she realized who he was. Kaail knows him? And he told him about me? Her eyes flickered to Kaail, turning away when she felt embarrassed. Nice one, Kaail.
"Pauk it, Bu'at. Get out of the way. I won't let you stop me."
"Who said anything about stopping you?" Kaail paused in surprise as well as A'stea. "I'm here to help."
"Help?" Kaail asked.
Bu'at nodded. "I'm not one to rat on another to anyone else, especially the Amengi. Besides, I'm curious about her, especially when she held her own at the party and even against you. It wouldn't be nice if I was responsible for ending the fun." A chuckle escaped him.
"I can't let you," Kaail grunted. "I'm going somewhere no one can follow us. I can't risk it."
As much as Bu'at was his friend, he promised A'stea that he would take her to this hideout she's been talking about and he wasn't about to break it now. He extended his mandibles in a hiss, starting to walk around Bu'at in the hopes of passing through.
"I know where the hideout is."
Kaail froze and A'stea closed her eyes.
Bu'at smiled though. "I'll explain later. If we're going to do this, we need to get going. I already cleared a path for you and let a few of your friends know to meet us."
He turned around and looked back when he took a few steps. "Are you coming?"
Kaail and A'stea looked at each other before nodding in agreement. They didn't have much of an option anyway. But there was going to be some explanation . . . a lot of it.
Hi everyone!
A difficult chapter for Kaail.
He's trying to understand why he's feeling this way and I think many have been through it. In between two sides that he's still unsure which one he is. Going against everything he was told to believe along with his masters to help A'stea and the unknown cause she's supporting.
But a sweet moment when A'stea helped him, supporting him to follow what he believes in. And the purr . . . lol.
But just as he was carrying her out of the prison, Bu'at comes butting him. To their surprise, he wants to help. And even knows more than what he seems. What does he know?
And will they make it out of there?
Find out when Chapter 30 comes tomorrow! ;)
Thank you for the reviews (Anonymous-E, Mariah, lil ang3l x, and NeverNeverLady)! They are very important for me and I hope I see more readers posting as well. All opinions are welcomed. I hope you keep on reading! ;)
Happy Hunting to all! :)))))