cosmicshifts (8 page)

“That’s…easy…for you…
to
sayyy
!”
His words turned into a howl. At first he jerked away from
Alika
and gnashed his teeth at her, not recognizing her. It was always like this when he changed because it took him a minute to orient. Each night the beast in him seemed to steal away another shred of his humanity. Phillip wondered if he would one day succumb to the beast, and he would cease to exist. The animal sensed something about
Alika
, something like kinship and something else. Something of an ownership that Phillip could not quite understand. As he stared into
Alika’s
eyes, he saw her lips moving and tried to speak, finally pushing the animal out of his mind and back into his cage. He then was able to focus on the woman before him.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He stood up and stretched, feeling the power coursing through his body.
“
Yes. I am okay now. Thanks.”

“Why do you fight your transformation?”

Anger welled up in him, and he could not grab a hold of it. He turned his claws into a fist and slammed it into the wall, showering dust over them. He
bared
his teeth and placed his other hand on her cheek. When Phillip touched her, a sense of calm washed over him. Being close to
Alika
helped him concentrate when he was hairy, and he was not sure why.
“I fight it because I always have. This was never a gift given to me. Your wolf shape seems to be your natural state. It’s not that way with other humans. We don’t share your ability. This form is my punishment.”

“For the one who lies under the stones?”

He nodded.
“
Yes.
For her.
So that I’d know her father’s pain of losing her.”

“There are places on my planet where the night does not fall. Surely your curse wouldn’t follow you if there is no night.”

“Correct. There was a time when I traveled north and found a place where the sun did not set. I was a man for as long as the sun was up. It lasted a couple of months and allowed me to cross the ocean. I slept and woke as me. My plight is associated with the rising and setting of the sun.”

“Maybe you should think about going back there or maybe coming with me.”

Phillip shook his head.
“
Come on, we need to get through the rest of these tunnels.”

Alika
tried to respond but he walked past her, stopping to pick up the light, not wanting to think about the road ahead or the glimmer of hope that lived inside of his heart.

Chapter Eight

Alika
sensed the conflict inside of Phillip when she mentioned him coming with her, but she did not bring it up. Instead, she concentrated on where she stepped until they finally emerged from the darkness into the night where the stars seemed buried within the thick clouds. She smelled moisture on the air. It would soon rain. She hoped it would happen quickly so she could wash some of the grime off. It was good to be outside in the cool air. Being underground, it seemed that the walls were coming closer and about to collapse on her. Even though the cave was underground, there were holes in the ceiling to see the stars, and it was spacious enough to feel as if she were still free. Phillip led her through the forest until they were at the edge of a human settlement. It was difficult to concentrate the longer she was around Phillip. Her mind should have been focused on the implements she needed to create the communication device she had to assemble. Mainly, she needed a power source and some other tools.
Alika’s
thoughts lingered on their coupling and how magnificent he had made her feel with his hands and his tongue. It was one of the most satisfying experiences she had ever had with any lover, and she yearned to have him again.

Time passed, and the town came into view. At last, the shadows seemed to be long enough that Phillip motioned for them to get going. They stayed to the dark part of the streets and flattened against buildings in case someone drew near. While she was close to Phillip, she sensed some power around him that she could not explain. When she pulled away from him, she saw that it was darker around him; the shadows concealed and almost made him blend in so it was harder to determine that he was there. It was an interesting trick, and she wondered if she could master the technique.

They got to the rear of a building, and Phillip stood by the door.
“
Do you know what you’re going to get?”

“I have an idea of what I need. I just need to see it.”

“
Stay here. I will disable their alarm system.”
He walked around the corner. The light blinked off. Phillip returned and opened the door.
“I don’t know how much time we will have, so we have to be quick.”

“That was my plan anyway.”

He ducked inside of the building.
Alika
followed behind him. Inside were all kinds of wares that distracted her. Labeled cylinders with pictures of what appeared to be food lined the shelves. She shook herself from her daze and found that Phillip had taken a bag. He went to a tall black case with beverages inside of it and placed them inside of the bag.

“
We’ll need more water. The electronics are here. There isn’t much, I’m afraid. This is the general store and has only few things.
This way
.
”

He led her to an aisle that had some things she might need. She spied a large bag that was similar to what Phillip had lost and took it. She glanced around and saw a primitive-looking battery she might be able to use. Something reflective caught her eye.

“
You have a battery for a power source and a space blanket. Do you need anything else?”

She quickly ran through the ingredients she had in her bag.
“Wire.
I think that might be it.”

A large crash echoed where Phillip moved to. She figured that something had fallen. He reappeared with a spool of copper wire and threw it into her bag.
“
You look around and see if there’s anything else you want. I’m going to get more water and some food.”

Alika
nodded and quickly hurried through the store, coming upon a shelf that had several of those dark brown-labeled bars that she had enjoyed before. She scooped what she could into her bag and then added a few more just to be on the safe side. They might not be considered food, but they were heavenly. They would make a great birthday gift for
Elarna
. She glanced around and saw some garments. Phillip appreciated having her clothed, so she took some of those too.

Outside she heard shouts arising from the street. Peering out the window, she saw figures approaching with lights bobbing, running toward the store. They must have realized that they had entered it.

“Phillip, humans are coming. We have to get out of here.”

“
I know. Follow me.”
He tapped her shoulder.

She had not even realized that he was behind her.
Alika
moved with him through the store, clutching her full bag. They made it outside in the darkness, and the voices were getting louder. They were inside the building. Phillip pressed her back against the wall. The power emanating from him also enveloped her. One of the humans rushed past them, and he did not see them.
Alika
held her breath and quieted the beating of her two hearts. The male took a moment and then returned out of breath.

“I don’t see anyone,” he called to someone inside of the store.

“They have to be around here somewhere.”

“
Yo
, Donald, you’re not going to believe this! Come in and take a look at the size of these footprints!”

The man stared straight at them.
Alika
just knew he would see them, but he did not. Instead, he slipped into the shop and did not come back out. She still held her breath as Phillip took her hand and led her through the darkness back to the mine. They heard footsteps and twigs breaking as they neared the entrance to the mine. Phillip held her against the trees. So far they were hidden, but she was not sure how long that would last.

“They found us,” she whispered.

Phillip glanced at her and put a finger to his muzzle. She glanced at the stars and thought she saw something moving, floating above the foliage. Footsteps ricocheted through the night, but did not draw closer. Who or what was it? Phillip gestured that it was time to move, so she did. They made it to the entrance of the mines when a large light appeared out of nowhere from the sky and shone down on them. Both of them froze.

“Stop where you are!” a voice commanded from above.

Alika
glanced up and saw a man leaning over the edge of the flying machine with a rifle pointed at them, hovering very close above them, and she had not heard them. They must have had some stealth technology. This planet was surprising her more and more. She glanced at Phillip. “What do we do?”

He growled and dropped the bag, moving her behind him.
“
Whatever happens, stay behind me. If I get hurt, I will heal.
When you get the chance, run into the mines.
Make it back to the caves. Build your machine and get out of here.”

Alika
realized that he was going to sacrifice himself for her. He touted that he was immortal and no matter what injury he got he would heal, but she did not know that. There was no way she was going to let him put himself in harm’s way. “No.” She jumped out from behind him and pushed him back. “I’m not going to let you do anything. You can hide yourself from them, can’t you?”

“
Yes, but I’m not sure whether they can see me or not.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re in this together. I’m faster on four legs than two. If you can carry my bag, we can distract them. I’ll run them off in another direction. They won’t suspect it.”

He growled, showing her his teeth.
Alika
sensed that he wasn’t happy about the plan, but before he could say anything she shoved her bag at him and stripped off her clothes. The light was still on them. She did not care anymore if they saw her shift.
Alika
stared into the light and caressed her breasts because of the males she had met; they all seemed to be fascinated with that part of her anatomy. The light moved a little and followed her. Her bones moved and popped, but she welcomed the shift rather than fight it the way Phillip did. It flowed through her until she was down on all fours. Then she took off into the woods. Phillip howled in frustration. The light did not follow her.

She slunk into the shadows and ran toward the mountains. Not sure of where she was going, she raced away from town and human habitation. It was better for all of them. As the elevation rose higher, she caught a familiar scent. It was the faint scent of exhaust from her ship and the aroma of charred earth. The tops of the trees were burned away where her ship had sheared them and made a clear path, giving her a trail to follow.
Alika
tried to stay far away from it but still follow it, until she came to the place where her ship had crashed. There was no human presence to speak of. The army had moved off. It was almost as if they had not been there at all because they had left no footprints. The area was empty except for the grass and the trees. They had cleared out and gathered all of her ship parts. Taking a minute, she sniffed the air and did not sense any humans. Carefully she went into the crash site and nosed around in the dirt, hoping to find something left of her vessel.

After finding nothing,
Alika
went in the direction where she was thrown. She prayed she might find something of her ship near the rocks where she had headed after the crash. While she scoured the ground, she saw something glint from the starlight.
Alika
transformed back to human form and pushed the rocks out of the way. Down in the hole, she pulled out the very thing she needed. It was the size of the cell phones Phillip had taken for her case. It had been on her belt when she had left the ship. After that
Alika
did not remember what had happened to it or her clothes, just that she had transformed. Her body had tried to keep itself alive, and she had gone into shock.

She opened the pouch and prayed that it was still working. When she touched the silver screen, it blinked on. A sigh of relief flooded through her system. It was more than just a communicator. It contained preloaded star charts just in case the main computer went down in the ship; she would be able to use it in a pinch, and there was a long-range communicator built into it too. In the distance, she could see the light from the flying machine that the military had. That meant that Phillip had led them away or they had broken off their search for him and decided to come looking for her. She glanced at the darkness and knew that the entrance to the caves was not far off, but she did not want to chance it in case the military remained. Instead, she thought about getting higher. It would have been nice to have had a form that could take to the air, but her kind only had one animal form. Sometimes they were flyers, but most of the time they were four-legged.

I can’t stay here. I really need to get back to the caves we were at before, and I don’t know how to do that. If I can get to the gravesite then, maybe there is someplace there that I can hide. I have to risk it
.
Alika
placed the device on the ground and slipped back into her
canis
form. Then she grabbed it carefully between her teeth and followed her nose. She caught Phillip’s faint scent still clinging to the grass and ran along it until she was at the gravesite again.
Alika
did not smell any other humans that had disturbed the area, so she assumed that it was safe. Back in human form, she pressed a few buttons on the communicator and it whirred to life. She tapped the screen to open a star chart that showed
Rovan
. An image of her planet popped up.
Alika
tapped a few more places on the screen, and a loud beep issued from the device. It was sending out the signal. All she hoped was that it would get there.

It was not going to happen overnight, but she could wait. And with the tools they had gotten, she could boost the signal. It would work. It had to. She took the communicator and held it against her chest.
Alika
found a niche in the mountain wall and sat with her back against the stone. The hardness kept her anchored. If the message did not reach
Rovan
, then she was going to be stuck on Earth. She certainly could not do it as a woman. Maybe as a wolf she could find some unpopulated wilderness and settle down. But if she could live with Phillip, then she could deal with her life on Earth.

The sun rose, streaking across the horizon in various shades of gold and pink. It was very different from the deep purples and crimsons that accompanied the dawn on her world. Small flying creatures began to tweet in the bushes around her. The chill of the night had worn off, and she felt the warmth of the dawn on her skin. Phillip had not returned. She was worried and prayed that nothing had happened to him. After waiting for several more hours, the shadows were no longer concealing her. The only place for her to wait was in the cave. Hopefully, the military had not set any traps in the cavern. She remembered the path to the backside of the cave and slid inside of it.
Alika
did not smell any human presence as she walked toward the main cave where she and Phillip had first stayed. Human scent permeated the small space. Everything that had been sacred to Phillip was scattered about and other stuff was removed. What would they find in his books and clothing? She found a torn-up sleeping bag and curled up in the remnants of it. From there, she found sleep.