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Jesus, it’s cold.
Payton was on her knees, hunched over the rudimentary deadfall trap she desperately tried to make work. She’d made the same trap easily during her weekend at the survivalist retreat. But to be fair, it had been over a hundred degrees in the California desert, and she hadn’t had the catch or starve element hanging over her head.
The survivalist running the retreat had come by and given her pointers and tips, and afterward, they’d had lunch and moved on to the next task.
She’d never thought to try out her newfound skills in cold weather or to practice her trap setting after the retreat. The host had told her she was a natural and her traps had been so sturdy and nice.
He could’ve been lying though.
He was trying to get in my pants.
With stiff and freezing hands, she adjusted the stick under the heavy rock once again.
Don’t break. Don’t break. Don’t—
The stick cracked in half, and the rock hit the snow with a thump.
Break.
She curled her hands into fists and shook them at the sky. If she weren’t afraid of making noise, she would’ve screamed. After a few minutes of cursing in her head, she dropped her hands and glanced at Jack. “This isn’t working. All the sticks around here are too dry and brittle. They’ll never hold the rock.”
The rock itself was perfect. It was the right size and shape and heavy enough to kill or trap small game. The problem was the stupid sticks.
She glanced around. Nothing but snow and scraggly grey trees for miles and miles. The sun was so bright it made the crisp white snow blindingly bright. Normally Payton would’ve waited until after the evening alarm rang before venturing out, but she’d tried that last night, and the whipping wind and freezing cold had made her turn around and return to the cave she was calling home. Plus, there’d been howling that sounded too close for comfort, and she didn’t want to end up as someone’s meal.
She’d hidden until the wind had died down some before trying again. She’d trudged through the snow until she found a wooded area. She hated snow, but she could deal with a few inches rather than the knee-deep snow she’d had to travel through to find this place.
The wind whipped up and almost pushed her over. The cold air penetrated the snowsuit and settled in her bones. It was brutal out here. Payton hoped Yesenia was doing better than she was.
After that first night, Yesenia had ventured off on her own. Payton knew they had to split up, but also, spending another day with company wouldn’t have been so bad. With Themba gone she didn’t know when she would have company again and the thought made her...sad, apprehensive, lonely. But Yesenia had taken one look at their comlinks, saw they were synced, and insisted she leave. Payton hadn’t tried to stop her. It was the nature of their circumstances.
Her stomach grumbled. She placed her hands on it. God it hurt so bad.
If Themba were here he would have something for her to eat.
But he’s not here and he’s not coming back.
Payton’s heart felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed it.
Stop.
The sooner she forgot about him, the sooner she could move on.
Payton let out a sigh and scanned the trees. Not a monkey or bird in sight. In the last level, they’d been watching her from almost every tree limb. It wasn’t like she could scale the tree to nab anything anyway, because as she’d already discovered, the limbs were brittle. Plus she wasn’t desperate enough to climb a tree and risk falling. On a positive note, if she did fall, the snow would help with the impact. On the downside, she couldn’t delude herself into thinking she was quick enough to climb a tree and grab an animal.
Huffing, Payton accepted she might very well go hungry again today.
While she was out here starving and freezing to death, Themba was on his home planet with his new wife.
She wanted to cry, but the cold tears would only hurt her eyes.
Her stomach grumbled and burned.
If she wasn’t so afraid of letting Jack out of her sight, she would let him run wild and hope he came back with something to eat. Running wild at the dog park or in the canyons not far from her place was way different than on an alien world. Here he could run across a hunter or one of those wolf-looking things again.
If he got hurt or killed...
Payton didn’t want to think about losing him. She couldn’t do this by herself.
She hated to admit it, but she’d gotten used to seeing Themba and spending time with him. Theirs had been a cat and mouse game. She would hide, and no matter what, he would find her.
What the hell is wrong with me? Of course, he found me. He was hunting me.
But now that he wasn’t. She missed him.
I need fucking therapy. I wonder what Dr. Rebecca would say about this.
Payton pushed out a breath and grabbed the next stick in her dwindling pile. She arranged it carefully, as she’d done the other times, stuffing one end through the snow and securing it in the ground. She held up one side of the rock and positioned it.
As she worked, snot ran from her nose, but luckily it dried before reaching her upper lip. If she had a mirror, she imagined she would find dried snot tracks under her nose.
Not a good look.
But she didn’t have to look pretty for anyone. She shouldn’t have been thinking about it, to begin with. Here she was, on an alien planet, hunted and instead of focusing on surviving and winning, she’d been holed up, playing house with Themba. She’d never believed Mike when he’d told her she was dumb, but she sure as hell felt there was truth to his words today.
My ndebele. She mouthed the words mockingly as she thought it.
Those two words had made her feel like something. The man had a whole fiancée at home, and he was running around playing games with her. Who even had time for that? Apparently, Themba.
If he were here now, Payton would do more than stab him in the chest. Her knife might not be able to penetrate his thick skin, but her new machete would do the trick.
Stop thinking about that fool and concentrate.
Payton pulled back and held her breath. The stick held. Dare she hope she would have food soon?
She reached into her coat pocket and retrieved the frozen bits of the last of her Level One protein bar. She stared at it longingly and licked her lips. She wanted nothing more than to stuff the pieces into her mouth. At the thought, her mouth watered and her stomach grumbled.
But if she ate it, where would that lead her? Still hungry because what she held wasn’t filling. No, she needed to stick to her plan and use the food as bait. She licked her lips again. With it, she could catch an animal and have real meat. Then she would use the animal guts to make more traps and catch more food.
I’m so hungry!
She stuffed the bits of protein into the wedge between the rock and the ground. An animal would have to stick his head way under there to get it then—
Wham!
The stick gave way, and the rock slammed on her hand.
Payton pressed her lips tightly together and bit the inside of her cheek to stop from screaming. Tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t stop the whimper. God, it hurt. She slid her hand from under the rock. Jack pressed his body close to hers and whined softly.
Her glove remained white, which meant she wasn’t bleeding underneath it. She opened and closed her fist slowly. It hurt like hell, but she hadn’t broken anything. Thank God.
She sat back and blew out a breath. Her trap setting skills officially sucked. Payton rolled the rock out the way and scooped up the bits of the protein bar, gave some to Jack and popped the rest into her mouth. Tomorrow she would try a drag noose trap. She had the cordage, all she had to do was remember how it was done. She chewed thoughtfully.
All I have to do is figure out a way to get an animal to stick its head through my rope.
She stood, and as soon as she did, a figure stepped from behind a tree. Jack angled low and growled. Payton’s heart lurched. It wasn’t Themba who’d found her. She wasn’t that lucky.
“S-stay,” she told Jack. She didn’t want him to go on the attack.
The hunter wore a white, full-fitting bodysuit and his skin was tinted blue. His build was similar to Themba’s, but he was drastically different. His face was diamond shaped, and his ears and chin protruded at severe angles. His jaw had four points that were adorned with silver hoops. His ears had hoops as well, one in each pointed lobe. In his broad flat nose was a septum ring. His eyes, while wide and deep-set, matched his face to make it more appealing. His irises were coal black.
Run!
Her feet stayed rooted in place. She should really be running now.
The hunter took one step forward, and she took one step back.
At least she reacted somewhat appropriately.
“Don’t flee, little prey.”
While his voice sounded soothing, her mind screamed, “Flee! Flee!”
“D-don’t waste your time. One more step and I’m calling a pod. You’ll never catch me in time.”
He smirked and somehow appeared even more dangerous. “What if I told you that I can offer you a good life?”
“I would think you were lying.”
He chuckled, and it was as if a chorus of angels sang. “And you would be right.”
All types of alarm bells went off in her head. Why she wasn’t taking heed and running? She hadn’t a clue.
“I’m a contracted hunter. I’m here to secure a mate for a customer. He’s much too old and out of shape to participate in The Hunt himself, but he’s very adamant in securing a rare human mate. He has a temper, but with your...” He tilted his head at Jack. “Protector, you might not fare so bad.” He laughed again. “I should be honest. He will most likely kill the beast.”
“No, thank you.”
A smile played on his lips. “As if you had a choice in the matter.”
Payton raised her wrist and pointed to her comlink. “But I do. I still have all of my pods.”
“You’re lying.”
She stilled. How could he tell? His eyes couldn’t be that good. There was a good twenty-feet between them. “No, I’m not.”
He squinted at her. “Then leave.”
She pulled the machete that she had attached to her fanny pack belt. “Why run when I can stab you in the gut and walk away? At least that way I won’t have to use my pod.”
He lifted one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “So you’re a fighter, eh?”
Payton lifted her chin, taking that as a compliment. It had taken many years for her to grow a backbone.
The hunter let out a sigh. “I thought this would be an easy job. I had planned to be on my way to collect my fee with a human in tow by now. But here I remain.” He sounded so sad, and all she wanted to do was find a way to make him happy again. She stepped toward him. Jack growled. Her collar sent a jolt through her. Not enough to be painful, but just enough to come to her senses and stop.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Payton angled the machete in his direction and with the other hand, unzipped and reached into her fanny pack to retrieve her pepper spray. “If you come any closer, I’ll make sure to alleviate you of all your worries.”
“A threat?” He chuckled, and angels sang again. “Well, at least you’re taking the time to tell me what you’ll do to me. The other female, the mother, she’s all action.” He absently fingered a bright red line on his neck. “She tried to decapitate me.”
Miranda. She was still in The Hunt. There wasn’t time for Payton to be happy about that confirmation. If she couldn’t convince this hunter she would hurt him worse than Miranda, she would have to use her last pod, and she didn’t know how long she had to stay in this level. “I’ll succeed where she failed.”
“You’re not as dangerous as her. She was my first choice. My employer wanted a human to produce offspring. She’s perfect. But I underestimated her will to protect her children. It has been...painful.”
“What? And you don’t think I’ll be just as hard or harder to capture?”
“The stakes are different.” Something passed behind his eyes, and he looked off in thought. “Maybe I should keep pursuing her. My employer would appreciate someone as fierce and protective as she is. Or my employer may end up dead on the other side of her temper. He might also decide her temper is not worth the trouble and kill her or the children.” He shrugged. “I’m only responsible for capture and delivery. What happens afterward isn’t my concern.”
Payton’s blood boiled. How could he stand there and talk so callously about Miranda as if her life didn’t matter? Flashes of Miranda’s two kids, just innocent babies, and of Miranda’s quivering lips and panicked look she’d worn their first three days together, made Payton see red. “I just might do Miranda a favor and get you off her back.” She took steps toward him.
The alien didn’t seem bothered by her approach. “Are you going to prick me, human?”
She didn’t stop. She kept trudging through the snow in his direction. Too bad she couldn’t run to him. She was sure her struggling steps made her lose most of her badassery effect.
For the first time during their conversation, the alien seemed concerned. “What do you hold in your hand? The smell is very unpleasant.”
Payton huffed out heavy breaths. What she was doing was all types of crazy, but she couldn’t let this monster get Miranda or the kids. “How about you take a closer look?” She flicked the canister lock with her thumb. She’d bought the pepper spray a year ago and had never used it. She prayed silently and fast that it didn’t have an expiration date.
Crunching sounded. Louder and louder and faster and faster.
She stared in the direction of the sound and wanted to throw up. She could possibly handle one alien, but two? She was as good as caught.
“Mine!” Themba roared as he ran towards them.