Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,3

any I’ve ever seen. And clearly extremely dangerous.

I clumsily shoulder my backpack, limbs still not obeying me. “Did he miss his ride?”

“I don’t think he came with the Bululg,” Gabrielle says urgently. “I think he’s a poacher. Come on!”

She grabs my hand again and drags me with her. I can’t run fast, only barely walk after the hard shock from the implant. And after two steps, I fall on my face again.

“Just run, Gabby,” I urge, struggling to gain purchase on the dry grass so I can get up. “Get away!”

She’s in doubt for a moment, but the alien is very close now and his looks could make anyone’s skin creep. So she does the only right thing and runs.

I get back up on my feet, and the alien keeps coming.

He’s very big. Seven or eight feet tall, wide as a barn door, muscles from here to Mars. As red as a fire truck, but not as shiny and with more scales. Small ones, smooth and hard, like a reptile. Wearing only pants, tight and smooth and black. A silver upside-down Y on his chest, looking like a part of his skin.

I’ve heard of poachers. They follow in the Bululg’s footsteps, swooping in where the slavers have just left, to abduct girls they missed. Selling them on like the Bululg do, except on the black market. The Bululg don’t like it, because from their point of view, it’s like going to someone’s orchard and stealing apples. Or poaching deer.

Everyone thinks that being abducted by a poacher is worse than being harvested. The Bululg sell to the highest bidder in a highly organized process, and they have a reputation to maintain. At least you can be sure your buyer is rich and probably wants to breed you. But nobody knows if the poachers have any standards. They might just sell you to criminals or to actual space monsters who want you for food or to alien scientists that want to vivisect you.

If this guy is one of them, then this could turn really ugly.

My body won’t obey me. I curl up on the ground, hiding my face in some kind of childish reflex. Oh, just let him pass me by…

He walks right by with long steps, booted feet swishing on the grass and the ground resonating like a drum under him.

I hold my breath. Keep going…

Then he stops, and I get the feeling that he does a double take.

Yeah, he’s definitely standing still.

I don’t dare to breathe.

The other aliens were creepy and ugly. This one is beautiful by comparison, but he radiates danger and menace like I imagine a nuclear bomb would. Except this guy is less predictable and could probably cause more damage.

I open one eye and peer out between my fingers.

Shit. He’s looking right at me with big eyes, blue and bright like searchlights.

I find that I can’t look away. Those eyes…

He comes closer slowly.

Then he squats, six feet away.

He stares at me in the most invasive way. No eyes are supposed to be that big and crystal clear.

Then his tongue shoots out. It’s forked and bright green and as long as my forearm.

Oh my God, this guy is a total freak.

“Excuse us. We’re just leaving. Come on, Averie!” Gabrielle is there again, grabbing my hand and dragging me away.

I manage to get back on my feet and run stiffly along with her, thighs still numb but holding me up.

Throwing a glance behind me, I see the alien still there, looking at me. He doesn’t seem to be following, and that’s fine with me.

We get to the parking lot before Gabrielle slows down.

“I think we lost him,” she pants, as she ducks between two cars to be out of sight. “God, that’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. Were those fangs?”

“Didn’t have time to check,” I reply, trying to catch my breath. “I only saw his eyes.”

Gabrielle stretches her neck and looks around nervously. “This college is turning into alien central. Now I don’t think the Bululg are misunderstood at all. They’re just pure evil. Fuck, I’m creeped out.”

I clumsily plop down on the dirty, chewing gum-specked asphalt and lean my back on a random car, all of me shaking and my heart beating crazy fast. “Poor Donna. I hope she’s okay.”

“Yeah? She wouldn’t have said the same about you if you were taken.”

I shudder. “Nobody deserves to be abducted by those assholes.”

Gabrielle wipes a scared tear off her face. “I’ll never feel safe here again.”

“I’ll never feel safe