Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3

  Saving Verakko

  Victoria Aveline

  Copyright © 2020 Victoria Aveline

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, incidents, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover art by Mayhem Cover Creations

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Nope. Nuh-uh. Nein. Nyet. No way. There was only so much a girl could take. Lily watched as a large alien hefted Alice over his shoulder and sprinted away at an inhuman speed, leaving her and four other furious women screaming at his retreating back.

  So far, these aliens had made a crappy first impression. Being snatched out of her own backyard by disgusting, bulbous, purple creatures had been bad enough, but then waking up in a cell and being ignored by even more aliens had been infuriating. What kind of ass-backward place was this where the men felt they could lock up a bunch of women like lab rats? Lily sure as shit didn’t know, because they’d refused to answer any of her questions.

  Luckily, she’d only been fuming in her cell for a couple of days before Alice’s soft yet frantic voice had echoed through a speaker in her ceiling and outlined an escape. Lily and the four other women who Alice had freed had managed to find one another and run. They’d made it almost to the exit when their path had been blocked by their abductors.

  That was when the crazy, black-eyed alien had appeared. The wild-looking man had helped them fight off their captors and had led them out of the underground prison they’d been trapped in. She’d give him credit for that at least. But then, just as Lily had begun to trust the guy, he’d hoisted Alice over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and hauled ass. The bastard.

  As soon as the man and Alice disappeared from sight, the women began to argue. Lily remained silent and listened, trying to let her reason overcome the icy fear prickling her senses.

  “Should we go after her?”

  “Are you kidding? Did you see how fast he was?”

  “We should run before he comes back.”

  “Run where? Back into the bunker from hell? Or down into the forest of death?”

  Lily’s ears pricked at the word forest. She scanned the dark tree line to her left and quickly worked through the pros and cons of venturing into the wild. The night air was humid and warm. Hypothermia wouldn’t be likely. Even if it took her longer than expected to start a fire.

  It looks like any other forest, she reasoned. Sure, the leaves were a little odd and the colors weren’t quite right and the dense canopy blocked out a surprising amount of the bright light cast by the two moons. But it was basically a forest. And if there was one thing Lily knew for certain, it was that she could survive in a forest. She’d spent a large portion of her life doing just that, after all. Albeit not of her own volition.

  A tall woman with dark brown hair the same color as her intelligent eyes shouted, “It’s better in there than it is out here!” She threw her hands up and looked at the other women as if they were crazy. “Are you suggesting we stay here and wait for that guy to come back or worse, more of the assholes who locked us up?” They all stayed silent for a moment, and she gestured to the opened hatch in the ground. “That isn’t a random bunker. That thing was made to imprison people and be hidden. Do you really think we were able to get free without tripping any alarms? Reinforcements are probably on their way right now!”

  The hair rose on Lily’s arms, and she glanced around, searching for any evidence of an approaching cavalry. She agreed with the woman wholeheartedly.

  Vanessa, a sarcastic raven-haired woman and the only one who’d taken the time to introduce herself during their escape, spoke up. “We’re on an alien planet! You have no idea what kind of crap is waiting in the wild to eat you. You won’t make it a day.”

  She might if I went with her.

  “How do you know these aliens don’t want to eat you?” the tall woman fired back. “I don’t care what you guys do. I’m going.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Lily said calmly, drawing all eyes to her.

  Vanessa raised her brows and looked Lily up and down, studying her manicured nails and small stature. “You? You think you can survive out there?”

  Lily frowned. She was used to people underestimating her. It didn’t bother her anymore. All that mattered was that she knew what she was capable of. “Probably. We’re not going to thrive. It’ll be tough, but I know enough to survive.” She glanced back into the woods and spoke aloud, more to herself than to the group. “I’m not saying it won’t be hell. We have no tools. No food. No water. We’d have to use primitive techniques, and we wouldn’t even know if the resources we scrounge up are safe until we consume them and see what happens.”

  The tall brunette’s eyes were alight with determination. “But…”

  As if they shared a mind, both glanced in the direction the alien had disappeared with Alice. Lily muttered what they were each thinking. “But…it might be better than the alternative.”

  “We should go now, then. Anyone who wants to join is welcome.”

  Lily nodded, and they both began making their way toward the tree line.

  “Wait!” An older woman rushed over to one of their captors, who was now bound and unconscious, thanks to the black-eyed alien. A small woman who’d been silent through this whole ordeal looked on with wide, terrified eyes as the older woman rifled through his pockets and then patted down his body. Nothing.

  The small woman with deep brown corkscrew curls and wide amber eyes hurried over to a discarded metallic weapon. She rushed to Lily with the weapon outstretched as if she wanted her to take it.

  Lily eyed the silver object, a cross between a cattle prod and a taser. She wanted to take it. Boy, did she ever. They could use it to protect themselves against predators, and if the crackling spark she’d seen before still worked, she could probably also use it to light a fire. Still, she hesitated. “I would love to take that, really, but…what if more men show up? You won’t have any way to defend yourselves.”

  The amber-eyed woman frowned and tapped her own ear, then whispered, “They hurt my ears. I can’t hear you.”

  Lily’s mouth tightened. She was injured? Doubts about whether they should be separating gnawed at her but couldn’t overcome the itch to leave. They were so exposed here, and who knew how angry the knocked-out guards would be when they came to. “Come with us,” Lily said to the woman, making sure to exaggerate her words. She must’ve understood, because her eyes shot to the dark trees and she shook her head so vigorously that Lily assumed she too thought they were crazy for
wanting to leave.

  The white-haired woman joined them while both Vanessa and her soon-to-be travel companion looked on with sour expressions. The small curly-haired woman, only a little taller than Lily herself, shoved the zapper into Lily’s arms and gave her a small terrified smile Lily assumed was meant to be reassuring.

  “She’s right,” said the older woman. “You should take it. If more men come, a little shock won’t stop them. You need it more than we do.”

  “Thank you,” Lily whispered, eyeing each of the women with a grateful nod. She turned, gave a stubborn-looking Vanessa a nod as well, and jogged down toward the forest, where her new companion was already lingering.

  “You guys are insane!” Vanessa called from behind them.

  Lily caught up to her new brunette friend, who was currently darting nervous glances around the clearing, and they made their way toward the edge of the forest. Both of them came to an abrupt stop at the tree line as though the dark eeriness of the woods had turned their feet to lead.

  Lily’s heart slammed against her chest. I can do this. I can get us through until we come up with another plan. She let out a slow breath, worked to clear her mind, and straightened her spine. I can do this.

  The brunette woman peered at her, her mouth curled in a crooked, uncomfortable smile. “I’m not backing out, but I gotta tell you, the extent of my wilderness prowess involves RV camping.”

  Lily glanced at the woman and saw barely masked fear peeking through her expression. Lily assumed her face looked the same. “I have some skills. Earth skills. But what I know might not matter in there. I think I can at least keep us alive until we figure out our next move.”

  She tried to remain humble about her wilderness training. Truth be told, she could hike into most jungles back home with a machete and elbow grease and live off the land without too much trouble. The miserable annual treks she took with her parents had ensured her skills remained relatively intact but…this was different. Being too cocky would do nothing but land them in hot water down the line if Lily found she couldn’t be the self-sufficient badass she thought she was.

  “Good enough for me.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Alejandra. You can call me Alex.”

  “Lily,” she replied and gripped the outstretched hand. She turned back to the woods and stared into the darkness, limbs itching to move even as her mind urged her to turn back. This is gonna be fucking awful.

  ***

  “Motherfu—” Lily stifled a curse as yet another thorn stabbed through the flimsy soles of her flats. They were bright red, snug, and had cute leather ankle straps that chafed. She glared down at them and decided against tearing off the straps. Although painful, they at least kept her shoes from flopping off. The worst possible shoes for a daring escape. Well, maybe not the worst, Lily thought, picturing her favorite pair of strappy, royal-blue stiletto sandals from her closet.

  Their trek so far had reminded Lily why she now hated the great outdoors. City sidewalks never tore up her feet. Manicured window boxes didn’t scratch at her face or pull at her hair like these twigs. If she were back in Portland, all she’d have to do to get where she wanted was call an Uber. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve. A nice, air-conditioned Uber.

  They’d been walking for what felt like hours through the increasingly dark forest, and Lily had begun to doubt herself more and more. Everything was so different. Where she’d expected thick undergrowth, there was only damp moss. It didn’t make sense. The air was heavy and saturated, as it would be if she were cutting through a thick jungle, but their path was clear save for the trees. A crisp, astringent scent hung in the air, undercut with a sweet, minty aroma so unlike the deep, earthy scents of most forests on Earth.

  What kind of canopies overlapped like this? Lily glared up at the large, round leaves of the trees blocking most of the light. She’d been in forests all over Earth, but she’d never encountered a place like this. All the survival skills in the world would be useless if she couldn’t see what she was doing. Is it time to call it quits?

  “Maybe we should stop for the night?” Alex panted behind her.

  Lily placed her hand on her hips and turned back, breathing deeply. “I’m worried we’re still too close. If more aliens arrive and the other women tell them where we went, they might come after us.”

  Alex leaned against a tree and clutched her side. “We’ve been walking nonstop for hours!”

  “Yes, but we’ve been moving at a snail’s pace. You saw how fast that guy ran.” Lily let out a huff and took in their surroundings once again. Rustling from the treetops to her right drew her gaze, but she couldn’t make out much in the dim light. Unease lifted the hair on the back of her neck. They’d need to find shelter soon. “You’re right, though. We can’t keep trying to hike like this. Let’s just go a little farther. We need to gather dry branches and kindling anyway.”

  “Okay. Okay. Just give me a minute to catch my breath.” Alex sank to the ground and tilted her head back against a tree. “Where are you from?”

  That was always a difficult question for Lily to answer. Her upbringing had been…interesting, to say the least. She wasn’t from anywhere, not really. “Right now, I live in Portland,” she said without elaborating.

  “Cool. I’m from SoCal.”

  Lily was relieved to see Alex’s breathing slowly become more even. The rough days ahead would be a hundred times harder if she wasn’t in shape. Lily took the pause to sit and catch her own breath. She squinted to her right at an odd vine that appeared frayed at the end.

  “Do you think they did a West-Coast grab or something?”

  “Could be,” Lily answered, half paying attention. She forced herself not to reach out and inspect the vine until she could examine it in daylight. Might not be a vine at all. She cringed.

  “What do you think they want with us?”

  “No idea.” To be honest, Lily hadn’t spent too much time thinking about her abduction. Her parents had always trained her to focus on one problem at a time when in a survival situation. Expending mental energy worrying about the past, when she should be keeping her mind focused on their safety, was dangerous. For now, it didn’t matter how or why she’d been taken. What mattered was how they could make it until tomorrow.

  In the dim light, Lily witnessed Alex roll her eyes then shift until they were facing each other. “Look, I get that you’re not super chatty, but I’m barely keeping it together here. You realize we’re on another planet, right? And we’re breathing? Not crushed by a difference in this planet’s gravitational pull? These are things I can’t not discuss! If I’m gonna make it, I need someone to talk to.”

  Lily gave Alex what she hoped was a sympathetic smile. “Sorry.” She caught the woman’s exasperated look and continued, “Sorry! I just don’t talk a lot. I get stuck in my head.”

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like people. She loved people. One of her favorite pastimes was plopping herself onto a picnic blanket and people-watching. She liked to observe, though, not participate. It was the one downside of her otherwise awesome job as a hairdresser. People expected to chat while they spent hours getting their hair done.

  Alex let out a deep breath and studied Lily for a moment longer. “It’s okay. I’m just being needy.” She rose and brushed the dirt off her jeans. “Alright, Lily from Portland, what now?”

  “Now we cover our tracks so anyone following will lose our trail.”

  ***

  “Here they are,” Alex panted. “Another load of rocks for your perusal, madam.”

  Lily cracked a smile and paused her digging as Alex trudged toward her, arms full of stones. They’d been attempting to identify knappable rocks after finding a small stream yesterday and settling into their camp but had yet to find any that fractured well enough to use as a blade. While Lily had been in charge of digging a Dakota fire hole, Alex had been tasked with grunt work.

  The stones tumbled from Alex’s arms, and Lily bit her lip, recogn
izing a few gritty ones she’d already explained wouldn’t work. Poor girl would get that frustrated, defeated look in her eyes again if Lily pointed out she’d hauled some of those heavy stones for no reason.

  Alex had been working herself so hard. Harder than Lily had expected from a person unfamiliar with the physical requirements of primitive living. Normally, Lily would’ve never suggested a person expend massive amounts of energy transporting rocks from one place to another, but she needed to build this firepit, and digging in the compacted earth was about as tough as hauling rocks anyway.

  The small fire she’d kept going to keep the lurking animals at bay, stave off the chill at night, and boil the water from the stream was great, but they had yet to find a type of wood that didn’t burn incredibly fast. This type of firepit would help it last longer and reduce the amount of smoke rising from their camp, hopefully concealing their location from any aliens who may have attempted to follow them. The early stages of setting up a primitive camp were always tough, even tougher when she didn’t know the materials she was working with. Her growling stomach urged her to move faster, knowing a search for food would be next on the agenda. The few charred alien minnows they’d managed to catch had been underwhelming, to say the least.

  “Anything usable?” Alex asked, watching her sort through the collection of rocks. When Lily didn’t immediately answer, Alex plopped down and pulled out a few rocks herself. “I think these ones might be good, yeah?”

  Lily’s brows rose in surprise as she examined the proffered rocks. She beamed up at Alex, marveling at how quickly the girl caught on to everything she’d taught her. They’d escaped the bunker two days ago, and during that first night alone together, Lily hadn’t been sure of Alex. She tended to complain a lot, but Lily had soon learned her complaining was just something that made her feel better. A way for her to expel her negative energy and stay motivated. Alex attacked every challenge Lily threw at her with a determination to prove her worth that rivaled Lily’s own.

  Alex studied Lily’s proud expression. “Yeah? I did good?”