Happy Holidays! Sorry for the delay, I was so busy yesterday! Please enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Bella was still sleeping when I got to the infirmary. Dad had tucked her into the pod and turned it onto the low heat setting. She looked rather cozy, bundled up in the pod while slowly rubbing her face against the soft blanket.

My sour mood disappeared as I watched her. I reached out and gently took her hand in mine. After a moment, she squeezed. I smiled gently.

"She's rather cozy, isn't she?" My father said. "She kind of reminds me of a baby. Small, fragile, in constant need of attention."

I chuckled. "Yes, she is certainly something."

He patted my back. "She mumbles in her sleep. She's said a few words."

"Like what?"

"She says mother a bit, but she says your name the most. Well, she says eat the most, but don't take too much offense to it. She's been starved the passed several years." He chuckled.

"At least I'm in second place," I said before sighing. "I'm just sad I have to leave her. I'm afraid she'll worry."

"She probably will, but Alice and I will take care of her."

"And if she panics too much and has a heart attack?"

"Don't worry, we will make sure she doesn't have a heart attack," He said, squeezing my shoulder. "She's going to be fine. She'll probably sleep most of the time now that she's feeling less of the effects of mating."

The corners of my mouth turned downward.

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"Maybe a little." I sighed. "But it's like you and Alice said. I can't really do anything about the mating urges. She's just… to fragile. And unknowing."

"Well, maybe that'll change with time, Edward." Dad said. "I'm actually fairly positive it'll change with time. I think with the appropriate care and help, Bella is going to excel. Her brain scan shows rapid growth. We already know she has vocal capabilities and that she can comprehend. I think she's going to make rapid growth from here on out."

"Thanks." I said as I stood. "Please take care of her. And call me if she freaks out. Just so she can see my face."

"Or you could see her face?" He grinned.

I rolled my eyes and walked passed him.

Vehicle Dock

When I walked into the docking area, I found that Jasper and Emmett had indeed gotten the men together for me. There was a rather large group, and whether they were here to truly help those humans who need help or just to get it all over with, it didn't really matter.

"An excellent looking group," I nodded at everything. "Thank you for volunteering. We are at a disadvantage. We have absolutely no idea what kind of hostiles wait for us out there. You are each to be armed, but please, keep in mind, that we are not going out here to kill everything. If you see something moving, wait until it makes a threatening posture. We are not killing everything that moves. We're here to help the humans, not harm them. Understood?"

"Understood." Most of them said in unison.

"There might be other hostiles lurking. You are only to engage if threatened." I slowly looked around at all of them. "The things out there are going undetected by our scanners. Step lightly, be careful. I want all of your mates and your offspring to see you when they're awoken."

The men let out a loud whoop and broke into their designated groupings. I looked my group over before nodding once.

"We're taking the east section, Jasper take the south, and Emmett, take the north." I said. "We do not come back until every inch of your section has been searched. Make a camp, keep in contact with your group. All of the basics from survival training. Stay safe. Come home."

"Stay safe. Come home." They repeated; I had to fight the urge to smile, our people's chant ringing through my chest with pride.

I got on my vehicle while everyone loaded in their different vehicles. Jasper and Emmett were riding on vehicles like mine, since they were leading their groups. It allowed them to move quickly, however, it left them unprotected. It was a double-edged sword.

I lead my group up to the mountains, where I had found Bella. Or, should I say, where Bella had found me. I couldn't move as fast as I liked since the vehicle carrying the bulk of the group moved so slowly.

I hadn't gone beyond the mountains so whatever hid on the other side was new to all of us. Once I got to the peak, I came to a stop and looked out.

"Do you see anything commander?"

"No. But this is where I found the human."

He looked out over the mountains. "I don't see any sort of nesting ground."

"I'm not so certain a nesting ground is going to be obvious. There are other creatures on this island that hunt and eat the humans. They have to stay hidden."

"And these other creatures, how lethal are they?"

"I'd say very. They're human killers. Human is in our DNA." I said as I scanned the area. "Send the drones ahead of us. We'll go through the center; they'll scan from the sides. We'll be covered from there."

"Sounds good Commander." He said before going back to the vehicle.

I let the drones get several yards ahead of us before I tore off.

The terrain on this side of the mountain was even worse. I was worried my vehicle would tumble or I'd fly into the air because of a large rock. As I drove over it, I imagined the smooth stone of my home world and how I longed to feel that stone again. Now, in light of discovering humans, I wasn't sure if that was going to be possible.

Seven Earth Hours Later

The east area was completely desolate. There wasn't a sign of life anywhere. It was eerie, the lack of life this once vibrant, thriving planet held. The thought of humans actually using the weapons of mass destruction to completely obliterate each other was hard to understand.

The sun had started to fall passed the line of tall mountains when I stopped the group.

"Make camp," I hollered out. "We will sleep here for the night. Everyone will sleep in shifts, at least five men awake and watching every two earth hours. Everyone takes a turn. Once the fire gets going, we'll eat."

I was the first one to have my yurt up. It was the biggest one, but not by much. I let out a heavy sigh once I sat on my sleeping bunk. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as my sleeping pod, and Bella wasn't here.

Even though we had only slept together one night, I missed her like crazy. I knew my blocker was wearing off, so Bella not being here was going to take its toll on me. After a moment of sitting, I picked my watch up to call the base.

"Hello Edward," Alice said in a very unenthusiastic voice. "We just settled Bella down."

"She's awake?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "Why didn't you call me! How is she?"

"She's fine," Alice said. "Well, she was, but now she heard your voi—,"

"Edward!" Bella said, shoving Alice's face aside to look at me through the camera. Her eyebrows scrunched. "Edward where!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her disapproving tone. "Edward safe."

"Edward go Bella now!" She snapped.

I chuckled again. "Bella I have to find the others. I can't leave them out here alone. They need help."

"No Edward James bad!" She snapped. "Edward go Bella!"

"Thanks so much Edward," Alice groaned, her face coming back into view. "Dad and I had her all settled in for her muscular therapy, she was eating dinner, and we were working on her vocal strategies. Do you know how long it took us to get there?"

"You'll be fine," I told Alice. "Now, could you give me and Bella a minute?"

Alice sighed before leaving the view. I smiled at Bella.

"Bella good?" I asked her.

"Edward," Bella frowned, her nose scrunching. "Where Edward?"

"Edward safe," I said softly. "Bella safe. Bella safe with Alice and Carlisle."

Bella's head cocked to the side. "Alice and dad?"

"Dad?"

Bella lifted her head and looked pointedly at something across the room. "Dad." She repeated.

"Sorry Edward, we tried to get her to say Carlisle, but she's not ready for such vocal strains. She cried when she couldn't produce the appropriate sounds."

"Well don't stress her out to much, please. Everything is still a lot for her and I'm not there to comfort—,"

I stopped midsentence when I heard a loud screeching. The hair on the back of my neck stood and my nostrils instinctually flared.

"Edward go Bella now!" Bella practically screeched. "Edward no safe! Edward no safe!"

I heard my father and Alice grab Bella; they muttered something about calling back later. I wished I could've told Bella goodbye, but I was quick to get to my feet.

I stormed out of my yurt to see my men all standing in a defensive position.

"What was that?" I demanded.

"Calling the drones back now, Commander," the young man on the computer said. "I just… can't seem to locate them."

I growled. "Everyone stand guard with your weapons. Something is out there." I grabbed my own weapon and started scanning the entire area.

I couldn't see anything, nor could I hear anything. All was eerily silent. My senses were on high alert, my instincts told me there was danger, I just couldn't see or hear it. I felt like I was both blind and deaf, which was just absolutely agitating.

"Commander—!" I heard someone yell before the earth erupted.

I was thrown backwards as the ground beneath my feet split apart. A loud screeching noise pierced my eardrums as I fell backwards. Above me stood a large, reptilian creature, its red eyes locked in on me.

I rolled out of the way just as it dove, teeth first, at me.

"Commander!" Someone yelled before more of the earth split apart.

I looked around to see more reptilian creatures breaking the earth's surface. I could hear my men yelling out before the horrible sound of choked gurgling cut them off.

As I jumped to my feet, one of my brother's blocked the reptile from taking a chunk out of my shoulder. I turned, holding my weapon up, and shooting it at face-to-face range as it bit down on my comrade's arm. Its head blew off and its lifeless body fell to the ground.

I ran to where three of the reptiles had my men cornered. I aimed at their hindlegs, knocking them off their balance before my men took the opportunity to take them completely out.

One of the ugly reptiles let out a horrifying screech and they all retreated back under the earth, digging through the top layer with ease.

I was panting as my instincts calmed. I knew the creatures had retreated back to wherever they had come from.

"Commander, what in the goddess's name was that?"

"I'm not sure," I said gruffly. "But they could come back. We're going to have to send drones and retreat. It's not safe—,"

"Commander!" Someone yelled from the far-left corner of the group.

I quickly ran over and found that the youngest of my brothers, a newfound warrior who had just been proclaimed a man before leaving our home world, was laying on the ground and writhing in obvious pain.

I got down onto my knees, "Where does it hurt?"

"M-my—ahh!" His teeth chattered before he threw his head back and yowled in pain. I looked over his body and found that half of his tail was missing.

He wasn't bleeding profusely from his tail, in fact, it looked as if the wound had been burned off somehow. It took me a moment to realize that he had been injected with some kind of venom and it was now burning him.

"Call for a lift, immediately. He needs my father's attention," I said, grabbing his hand. "Just hang on Seth, I'm going to help you."

"I-I f-feel—," He head lulled to the side. I pressed my ear against his chest and found a weak pulse.

"Everyone pack up!" I hollered. "We have to leave, now!"

"What about the other groups!"

"Send an air drone to warn them! We must get back to base!"

We packed up most of our things and the men loaded into the armored vehicle. I waited with Seth as an air lift arrived and attached him to the lift before sending it on its way. As I got into my own personal vehicle, one of the older men stopped me.

"Commander, you cannot return on your own. You have to get into the armored vehicle with us."

"I will be fine."

"Commander I insist," He snapped. "It is clearly dangerous out here. And you cannot—,"

Just as he was speaking, the ground started to rumble once again before splitting. I was quick to step to the side just as my personal vehicle fell through the crack. I growled and shook my head as I watched my vehicle fall.

As it fell, I noticed something shining brightly in the dark. Before I could make out what it was, a small, pale hand reached out and took it.