Wexxon the Great Alien Warrior - Juno Wells Page 0,6
this specific alien didn’t make me feel like running for my life. And as far as things were going today, not having the immediate impulse to flee to save my ass felt like a huge win in my book.
The alien seemed to be carefully observing me, too, like he was sizing me up in his head. And then, a noise that sounded a lot like a laugh moved past his lips.
“You are so incredibly small for a warrior,” he said, laughter catching onto his every word. “For Radpor to be vanquished by someone as small as you? History will mark it down for future generations to read. His name will be synonymous with great shame.”
“…Wasn’t Radpor like one of your friends?” I guessed, confused by his reaction to the alien’s death. “I mean, you two knew each other, right?”
“Radpor was yet another warrior that I trained with and nothing more,” the stranger answered before he tilted his head to the side. “What is your name, little warrior?”
“Rachel Waters,” I quietly murmured as I looked up at him. “What’s yours?”
“Wexxon the Great,” he said, confidence lining his tone. “A name I have earned through every battle and scar. I have never been defeated at the arena.”
“That’s…good? I guess?” I didn’t know how to respond to his casual brag. “Well, look, Wexxon—”
“Wexxon the Great,” he corrected.
“Wexxon the Great,” I corrected myself now, too. “All I want is to get back home, okay? I don’t want to fight you. I don’t want to fight anyone.”
“I’m sorry, Rachel Waters,” he replied. “That is not allowed in our code of combat. In fact, if your interest is to be excused from our fight in the arena tomorrow, I am now supposed to end your life on this sand. That is the only valid response to such cowardice.”
“It’s not cowardice! It’s just—” I felt my eyes welling up with tears for the millionth time. “Please. Look at me, Wexxon the Great. I’m not a fighter. I’m not like you. If you go up against me tomorrow, you’ll kill me.”
“Not if you have more of your secret weapon.” He grinned. “I don’t think my face would be able to withstand whatever chemical you’ll be sneaking into the arena from your far-off land.”
“Please. Please. There has to be another way,” I begged. “Please. If you could just let me go—”
I stopped myself short, my words suddenly falling away from the conversation. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, not while my body seemed like it was now on fire, a burn that felt like it was reaching all over me, wherever my clothes were wet with water from the purple river.
“Fuck! Fuck!” I yelped in pain as I started pulling off every inch of my clothes, not caring about being fully naked in front of an alien on an alien planet. I just wanted the burning to stop. I needed the burning to stop before it made its way right through my skin and into my bones.
And when all of my clothes were finally resting in a pile by my feet, I let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the freedom from the burning water. There was still a sense of a slight burn on my skin, but it didn’t feel as heavy or awful, something I was convinced would go away with a little time.
“Sorry. I just—” I turned to look back at Wexxon. I brought my hands over my chest, trying my best to cover what I could with my palms. “The water. I think it was having a reaction with my skin—”
“You’re a female,” Wexxon remarked, his eyes going wide as he spoke.
“…You didn’t know that?” I quietly pressed.
And Wexxon shook his head. “How would I have known such a thing? You don’t resemble the females on Xelxar.”
“Oh. Right.” I nodded in understanding, my hands still covering my frame. “Wait. Does that change the rules, then? Is this the part where you tell me that males and females can’t battle in the arena?”
“No. The rules do not change,” he replied. “Males and females have engaged in combat in the arena since it was formed.”
Wexxon then paused for a moment, his eyes clearly taking me in as they moved up and down my naked frame. “But…there is a code of combat that might interest you, if you truly do not wish to earn your glory tomorrow in battle.”
“What? What is it?” I impatiently asked, my heart racing with excitement at the possibility of not