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  Cosmic Shifts

  Two Stories in One: Hairy & Hung and Come & Yeti

  Crymsyn Hart

  Published By Purple Sword Publications, LLC

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  ISBN: 978-1-61292-136-5

  Copyright © 2015 CRYMSYN HART

  Cover Art Designed By Anastasia Rabiyah

  Edited By Shoshana Hurwitz, Traci Markou and Jessica Glanville

  Hairy & Hung

  Chapter One

  The Bigfoot hunters whacked a large stick against one of the trees. The wooden clacks echoed through the forest. Each bang made him wince, and he felt sorry for the poor tree being beaten all because the numbnuts thought they were calling out for the Bigfoot who lived in the area. If they only knew it was pissing him off more than anything else, they might have stopped. But they did not, and he just shook his head. Stupid hunters haven’t figured out that these absurd calls aren’t doing anything more than irritating me. The loud knocks only made his headache worse. Phillip glanced at the sky and saw the sun cresting on the horizon. Splashes of reds and oranges burned the skyline, eating up the twilight blue and the few stars that still dotted the sky. He gripped the tree trunk harder and watched the stars wink out. As the fire of the sun ate up the stars, a silver streak zigzagged across the heavens. At first it resembled a shooting star, and he paid it no mind because he had seen other things like it over the years. As he watched it, Phillip realized that it was not an ordinary falling star or piece of space debris. It was coming closer.

  The silvery light emanating from the object was changing colors. It was glowing purple, and its descent was faster than it had been before. He saw a silver ship with amethyst flames licking the metal, turning into blue ones that burned the tops of the trees. The spaceship sailed over his woods, heading for the base of the mountains. If he was seeing this, then so were the hunters. So were other people if they were in the forest. A blast of wind struck him with a strength that nearly bowled him over. Cracking trees and the thundering of the craft hitting the atmosphere made him quake. He felt the disturbance in his bones. The air seemed charged and it electrified the hair on his entire body, making it stand up. The odor of burning ozone stung his nose. The treetops were ablaze where the craft had skipped along the branches. Phillip glanced at the horizon and saw that the night was ending more quickly than he liked. He accelerated his pace to arrive at the crash site while he still had the cover of night.

  The crater trail was nearly a mile long. Phillip got to the crash site only to see pieces of metal spread around the valley floor where the vehicle had skidded to a stop. A few rays of sunlight glinted off the metal that was scattered around the hillside. He didn’t have a lot of time. All he could hope for was that the hunters would not get to the crash site in the next few minutes, but he already heard the whir of the ATV engines. He picked up his pace, not caring that his footprints were visible in the disturbed earth. The hunters could cast his feet to their hearts’ content, and if they found any evidence of him it would still confound them. It helped that the general population did not believe in him.

  From the wreckage he knew that this was not a weather balloon, some military aircraft that had crashed, or whatever spin the government put on the happening. If there had been a creature in the alien spaceship, then Phillip did not want it poked and prodded the way he would be if he was ever captured. The hull of the ship had broken into two separate parts. It was not an enormous craft, maybe about the size of two motorhomes put together. One piece was submerged deep within the earth. The other half was spread out over the valley, and he could not see where all the debris had landed. Phillip poked around the buried piece and did not see anything except a few torn pieces of what appeared to be fabric. Wires were hanging out everywhere and sparking. He brushed against some exposed wiring and was shocked. Issuing a grunt, he decided that no one was inside and checked out the other half of the broken craft. There was more of the same: small explosions inside, but no life forms. Phillip sighed, walked around the craft, and saw footprints leading away from the crash site. He knelt down, examining those imprints in the mud, and noticed that they appeared to be canine, almost wolfish. However, instead of four toeprints, there were five. The wolf had an extra toe. No blood dotted the ground that he could see. He hoped that the passenger or the pilot was okay. The roar of engines crept closer. Phillip followed the footprints deeper into the forest, heading up the mountains. The stars were dying, and he would have to find shelter from the elements and the other Bigfoot hunters. The ATVs were drawing nearer and would soon catch up to him.

  He quickened his pace and followed the footprints upward. The terrain grew more difficult to maneuver for four wheels, so the humans would have to proceed on foot. Phillip raced up the side of the hill. The canine footprints had stopped and then there were a mixture of wolf and human prints, if such a thing were possible. Why wouldn’t it be possible? He was possible, so anything was plausible. He willed himself faster, to be one with the wind. One of the best things about his condition was that he had learned to tap into the elements. Phillip could become undetectable in the forest, leave no trace of his footprints or even a shred of hair.

  When he crested the knoll, he discovered the perpetrator of the footprints. Sprawled on the ground was the ship’s passenger. Phillip neared the prone form and saw a woman with light green skin and long, purple hair. What in the world? Or not from this world? Where did you come from? He knelt down and examined her. She was breathing. A dark spot marred her forehead in what he assumed to be a bruise. Her bottom lip was split open, with a plum liquid seeping from it. She was completely naked, with her hair covering her breasts. He pressed his ear to her chest and heard a double thump as though she had two hearts. He glanced at the skyline; the sun was warming his flesh. This was one of the longest times he had maintained his beastly form. Phillip lifted her up gently, held her close to his chest, and followed the mountain ridge higher.

  Her body was hotter than a normal human’s and nearly scalded his skin. Feeling her heat meant that his hair was receding. Phillip sprinted toward the cave entrance hidden behind a thick layer of boscage and bramble. He pushed through them, feeling the branches scraping along his flesh. He carefully made his way deeper into the cavern until he could no longer see the opening and then slipped through a crack in the wall. Even in his transformed state, he was able to see in the dark. Also, he knew the passageway by heart since he had lived there for so long. They emerged into a circular cavern with a pool in the center of it that led to an underground river. Most importantly, there was an opening in the ceiling that let the light shine down. Shafts of sunlight bounced off the water and also caught the mirrors he had placed strategically throughout the cave so he could have light in the other rooms of the grotto.

  Phillip laid the unusual woman down on his bed and made sure she was okay. Her breathing was even, and her double heartbeats thumped strongly. The bruising on her temple had him concerned. How was he going to tell if she had a concussion? He was nothing of a doctor, but knew some herbal remedies. However, he did not know if they would work on the alien female. If the army got a hold of her, they would dissect her the same way they would him. People assumed he was a myth and he made damn sure to keep it that way, but with the encroaching society and modern t
echnology he was slowly losing the battle. One day, he would be discovered.

  He studied the woman on his mattress. Her indigo hair had fallen to the side, revealing her darker green nipples. Phillip swept his eyes over the rest of her perfectly lithe body. She had five fingers on her hands like a regular person, had no navel, and besides her hair and eyebrows she was completely hairless. When he got to her feet, he noticed that she had six toes instead of five. Each of them had pointed nails similar to claws. There were no other visible scratches or abrasions on her that he could see. Phillip shook his head and hoped she would regain consciousness. Taking a blanket, he covered her up and brushed his finger along her cheek. Her skin felt soft, like velvet or the soft down of a bird’s wing. When he brushed his fingers together, a residue remained that was smooth to the touch. He sniffed them, but came away with no scent.

  I can’t do anything for her until she wakes up. The best thing for me is to try to get some sleep. He sighed and walked over to the pool. The calm surface reflected his human appearance. Every time he saw his male façade, he was taken aback by it. The face that stared back at him remained the same age he had been when he was a normal man, with brown eyes that had seen too many horrors and light brown hair that curled around his ears. Once upon a time he had known this man, but now he was nothing more than a stranger. The Bigfoot animal was who he had become. Phillip slept mostly during the day because his alter ego was nocturnal, but that didn’t mean he was entirely a beast either. Underneath the big feet and the hair, he was still Phillip. Now he was just flesh and bone, flesh that was covered in dirt and muck from a night’s hunting for food. He slipped into the pool and washed with a piece of soap he had pilfered from a campsite. Everything he had, he had stolen: piles of books, the clothes and towels he used, even the canned food he indulged in. His home was only one of many he had all over the country where he roamed. This was his main sanctuary because it kept him close to the woman he had loved many centuries ago. Even though she was dust, she lived inside of his heart.

  Phillip dunked underneath the water, letting the coolness chill him to the bone. When he was clean, he got out, grabbed a frayed towel, and dried off. His stomach growled, but he didn’t feel like eating. He found a pair of bright orange shorts and slipped those on. They brought him little protection, but it was better than nothing. If the woman woke up, he didn’t want her to think he was trying to assault her. He figured that when she did wake up she would be disoriented, and hell, he didn’t know if they would even speak the same language. She could chirp, for all he knew. Or maybe she was a telepath? If that was the case, what could she garner from his mind?

  I can’t assume anything until she wakes up. Although I want to be with her, the day is grating on me and I need to get some sleep. He sighed and checked on his guest one last time. When he brushed a stray lock from her face, she stirred, mumbled something, and then lay still. It appears that she’ll be okay. Glancing around, he noticed his store of bottled water. Phillip grabbed a couple of bottles and placed them before the bed. On a second thought, he laid a shirt and another pair of pants next to the bed so she would see them if she woke up. At least I can offer her something. He found an old backpack and laid his head on it. His body was shutting down. He prayed that when he woke she would be okay.

  Chapter Two

  Alika opened her eyes slowly. Her head pounded, and her entire body hurt from the hard impact. Stupid sun flares throwing off my instruments. All I wanted to do was get home for Elarna’s party. I just had to use the short route and cut by Earth because I had to find some stupid gift that she doesn’t need. What do you get the woman who has everything in the galaxy? She tried to shake her head, but it throbbed too much. Alika put her fingers to her temple and did not find a gash. She ran her tongue over her lips and tasted the sour tang of blood from the wound. She barely remembered escaping the ship when it broke apart and hit the ground. All she knew was that her body shifted into its canis form. It was instinct when the situation was dire and she dashed from the crash site, heading to the safety of the mountains until she blacked out.

  Sitting up slowly, she waited until the room stopped spiraling and then took in her surroundings. Great, I’m stuck in some underground cavern with a stinky human sleeping across from me. Gross. What the hell am I going to do to get out of this? Alika saw that she was covered with a threadbare blanket. Stashes of books were piled around the cave. Weak sunlight filtered in through a gap in the ceiling. Shafts of light bounced off a few strategically placed mirrors to give the room more light. It was a poor showing of technology, but anyone who lived in a cave had some serious issues. Earth dwellers prided themselves on cohabitating in the biggest and most flashy dwellings they could afford. They loaded their lives with material things and didn’t care enough about saving their planet. If this one lived in a cavern, then he had to be an outcast in his society.

  Maybe it was a good thing that she had woken up in a cave where no one could find her. If located, armies could capture her, steal her technology, and use whatever spare parts they could scavenge from her ship. Of course that would be after they sliced her open, weighed her organs, and garnered whatever medical knowledge they could from her dead tissue. Or maybe it was all a ruse? Maybe they really had brought her to a military facility, and this was their way of keeping her off balance? At the side of her sleeping place was a clear container with some sort of liquid in it and some folded-up fabrics Alika assumed were garments. A shiver rolled down her spine as she contemplated her situation. She wished she had woken up in her canis form. Then she could try to blend in with the indigenous wildlife. The archives on her ship had information about the canine animals on the planet, and her canis form was similar to those on Earth.

  “Yark balls,” she swore.

  Alika rose slowly and surveyed the rest of the cavern. Everything about her felt fine except her head, but she wiggled her toes and flexed her fingers. All seemed to be working. If she had a fully functioning ship, then her health was a quick scan away. It would take seconds. The same with her healing; all she had to do was stand under her medical equipment and the computers would piece her back together. Stupid, backwoods planet, doesn’t even have the right materials or is technologically advanced enough to assist me in fixing my ship, let alone build a new one. From what she could see, nothing in the cave appeared to be of any help to her.

  She did not want to wake the man keeping watch over her. It would be so easy to sneak out and determine whether she was truly being held captive. She was smarter and stronger than the humans. That was a given fact. They were inferior creatures who had barely made any breakthroughs in science that her world had not already discovered centuries before. Her irritation roiled inside of her because it was her fault for taking a shortcut back to Rovan.

  She wrapped the thin blanket around her body and walked over to the pool in the center of the grotto. She knelt down and trailed her fingers through the liquid, feeling the cool surface. Alika brought her fingers to her nose, smelling the fluid to make sure it truly was water. There was a slight aroma of sulfur attached to the liquid. She tasted a few drops and grimaced from the tang of the minerals. It was drinkable, but barely so. She guessed that the pool was used by the man for bathing.

  A snore erupted from the sleeping male across from her. He did not awaken, but she kept an eye on him. Alika unwound the fabric covering her and dipped her foot into the water. It sent a chill through her, but her body chemistry soon regulated. The bottom of the pool was sandy, and the silt squished between her toes. Small aquatic animals swam around her legs, but she paid them no mind and slipped all the way into the water. Once she was completely in, her internal temperature adjusted so that she became the same temperature as the water. Across from her was a small shelf carved out of the rock with a strange green bar sitting on it. Intrigued, she waded over to it and felt the bottom drop out from underneath her. Her head sank before the surface, and the water slid down her throat.

  The coo
lness touched her head wound, and it helped ease the dizziness that claimed her for a second. Alika came up sputtering and shot a spout of water from her mouth. It landed on the sleeping human. She held her breath. The male opened his eyes. For a moment, she was fascinated by his gaze because she had never seen anyone with brown eyes before. All those on her planet had yellow, black, or orange eyes. Sometimes a genetic anomaly occurred and there was blue or red, but never brown. He continued to stare at her and remained perfectly still. When he started to rise, she retreated to the other side of the pool, pressed against the stone wall. The jagged rocks dug into her back. Her canis self lurked under her skin. Her teeth began to sharpen, but she held back the animal and waited to see what he would do.

  The male sat up slowly, obviously trying not to spook her. When he was fully erect, he held up both his hands and smiled at her. She studied him and tried to determine his motives. He said something, but his words were guttural and connected at the same time. It was hard to make out where one word ended and the other began. Alika shook her head, signifying that she did not understand him. Her thoughts raced as she tried to categorize what language he was speaking because there was no universal dialect on this planet the way there was on hers. If only she had been able to recover some instruments from her ship. Maybe she could make him understand that she needed to get back there. Possibly she could salvage some of her equipment and contact her home planet. At least send some communication so that someone could get her off this hick rock and back to Rovan.

  The man before her pointed to himself and said a word again. He’s trying to tell me his name. At least that’s something I can figure out. What is he saying? Alika listened harder to hear the sounds he strung together and see how he formed the word.

  “Phillip.”

  Alika forced her lips to form around the strange syllables. The first part was harder for her. “Pil-lup.” His forehead creased, but after a moment he nodded and accepted what she had said. She pointed to her chest and said her name. “Alika.”