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  Phillip smiled and felt that some weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Alika sat back on her heels and gazed at him. “You took a chance coming here.” He glanced down and realized that from there they could see her vessel.

  She shrugged. “I was careful. Your military is too busy trying to collect the remains of my ship.”

  “You’re going to leave, aren’t you?”

  “I do not belong here. I must get the technology I need to send a distress call. Can you help me with this?”

  He sighed and glanced at the sun. There was time for him to go into town if he had transportation and the money to get her the things she desired. However, the easier way was to collect what he needed from the military. That opened up a whole other load of trouble, but it was the only way she was ever going to get the equipment. “I can try, but it’ll be difficult to infiltrate the camp. But I have an idea. You’d have to stay behind.” Phillip got up and dusted his jeans off. He went another way until he was higher up and then observed the crash site.

  The activity was not so swarming today. It seemed that it was fairly deserted. He prayed that he could get in and out. He glanced at the sky again and would have to act quickly. Phillip worked his way back into the cave. In one of the stashes he had collected over the years, he had something he hoped would be the thing. A few years ago, he had come upon an injured man who had been wearing the clothes of an army man. There had been a fire, and the National Guard had been called in to assist. He had helped the man and then taken his clothes. Phillip had gotten the blood out and kept the uniform. He stripped off his clothes and pulled out the uniform. It was just about his size, down to the boots. When he was done, he noticed Alika standing there.

  “Wow. That uniform does something for you.”

  “Will you stay here while I go?” He chuckled.

  She nodded. “Yes, but you need to get me a computer, some tools, and anything else you can carry.”

  “All right! I’ll be back.”

  When he came to the perimeter of the crash site, he saw more doctors than he did military people. He slipped closer to the plastic wall of the makeshift buildings the army had erected. His boot hit something metal. He picked it up and shoved it into his pocket. A man with a rifle strode by him and nodded. Phillip nodded back and kept on walking. He strolled by one of the openings and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. They were not, so he crept inside one of the tents. It was empty. Several closed laptops lay on the table. He spied a bag, grabbed it, and slipped one of the computers into it. Phillip heard voices coming toward the tent and moved outside quickly through another entrance. A white-coated doctor with wire-rimmed glasses and a receding hairline noticed Phillip.

  “Can I help you, soldier?” the doctor asked.

  “Just checking to make sure everything was secure.”

  The balding man stared at him. Phillip saw the questions in his eyes, but he did not waver and kept perfectly still. “Okay. Has the captain given you stricter orders to watch out for tall hairy creatures?”

  Phillip cracked a smile. “Always have to keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Have you seen anything unusual fall from the sky again?”

  The doctor laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Good man. Tell your captain to come have a drink with me later. I have some findings we need to discuss.”

  Phillip hugged the bag closer to his body and glanced around to see if there were eyes on him. Voices filled the tents behind him. He peered up at the sun and prayed that he would have enough time to get back to the cave. At the edge of the encampment, he went into another tent. A cell phone and some instruments were laid out on the table. Other medical instruments and things he had not seen earlier surrounded the gadgets he figured were also from Alika’s ship. He gathered those up quickly and put them into the bag along with the cell phone. He prayed that that would be enough for Alika. He had spent too much time in the company of men and they were making him uncomfortable, even though years before he had traveled from England and had been a captain in the Queen’s army. That was another life. What it was like to be completely human had somehow escaped him. In the early years, he had searched for a way out of his curse. He had scoured the world, traveling as a man and as a beast, but no matter who he had spoken to, wise man, guru, or psychic, they did not know how to break his curse. When he had tried to speak to other Native American shamans, they would not even see him. It seemed that they knew what he was and cursed him even more. It only made him lonelier.

  “Solider, what are you doing away from your post?”

  He froze and searched for a reason to give the commanding officer behind him. He turned slowly and tried to look official. The man before him was clearly the one in charge. “Sir, one of the doctors asked me to bring them some equipment.”

  “Why haven’t I seen you before, Private?”

  Oh shit! “I just came in this morning, Sir.”

  The captain stared at him. Phillip stiffened. The captain knew that something was wrong. Phillip could feel it in his bones. The other man studied him, and Phillip tried to stay in character. His heart slammed into his chest, and his throat went dry. All he could do was pray that he would not be discovered. The officer was about to say something when an alarm went off that blared through the camp. A blur went by his left side. Another army man ran toward the captain and stopped before him to salute and then catch his breath.

  “Sir, something’s been sighted along the perimeter of the camp.”

  “Did you see another fox again, O’Brian?”

  O’Brian’s eye twitched. He was terrified of the captain. The other man flicked his gaze to the side, and Phillip saw a series of flashbulbs going off around the edges of the camp. Where the large lights had been the other day, they had been replaced with the motion-activated kind. He saw more flashes and a glimpse of two tails. Alika was creating a diversion for him. The camp around him was scrambling. The captain stared at O’Brian.

  “No, Sir. We think it’s the creature.”

  The captain glanced between both of them. Phillip saw the hesitation on the captain’s face. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go catch it. This is what we’ve been waiting for. Go catch the beast.”

  O’Brian did not wait, and neither did Phillip. He dashed off in the same direction. Men swarmed to the perimeter of the camp. He hugged the bag closer and headed back into the forest. When he was clear, he stopped at the nearest tree and caught his breath. Gunfire erupted around the crash site. There were shouts. Alika ran toward him in the form of a large wolf. There were men following her on ATVs and gaining on her.

  He had to help her.

  Phillip jumped and heaved the bag into the tree so he could get it later. They were racing right by him. Alika dashed past him and then he jumped out in front of the ATVs. They swerved to avoid hitting him. One of them broke to the left and ran straight into a large boulder. The other ATV shot around him, still heading toward Alika. Behind them were men on foot trying to keep up with the ones on the ATVs. Phillip bolted after the one lone man left on the ATV. He came to the side of the mountain and found the abandoned vehicle where the rocks were too jagged for the wheels. A gunshot sounded in the distance. Phillip raced toward the sound. He crested the rock and saw Alika lying motionless on the ground, slowly turning back from her animal form to her human one. The army man was speaking into his radio.

  “Yes. I’ve got it. And you won’t believe what it is.” The man went over to Alika and poked her with his rifle. “Whatever you are, you are one sexy alien.”

  Hearing that angered Phillip. He skidded down the embankment and leaped on the man. It was all about saving Alika from the likes of the man trying to hurt her. A green liquid seeped from the wound. Phillip knelt down and scooped Alika into his arms. He hugged her close and glanced at the man he had felled. He felt a little guilty, but when he saw the rise and fall of his chest Phillip assumed he would be okay. Now his first priority was the limp woman in his arms. Her naked form was
enticing, but he heard shouts behind him. The army was not going to stop until they had her. He scrambled up the mountain until he came to a little-known path. It wound around the backside of the mountain and then took them out of sight. The army was never going to give up. It was settled. There was no way for him to secretly hope for her to stay and for them to make a life together. The military had pictures of her and probably of him too, but he could take care of himself.

  He wound down the path, hidden by a thicket of trees. The sun was going to be setting. Phillip had until then to tend to her wounds. She was breathing evenly, which was a good sign, but the wound on her shoulder was still seeping green blood. He came to a small opening in the cave system and slipped inside, holding her close. Darkness enveloped him. He worked his way back to the place he called home for now and rested her on the bed. Phillip grabbed an old towel and soaked it in the pool of water to clear away the blood. A bullet had grazed her shoulder. He glanced around and saw an old first-aid kit he had stolen from a hiker many years ago. The case was rusted, but the essentials were still good. Inside was a bandage and some antibiotic ointment, but he was not sure what the expiration date on it was or whether it would react with her physiology. When he thought the bleeding had stopped, he covered her with a sheet. Then he felt around her head and came away with a large bump. Hopefully, she did not have a concussion and would be able to wake up without any medical attention. The knowledge he did have was rusty, and it came from old books. The time he had to wander the earth and exist as a Bigfoot had given him time to read and see many things he would not have been able to do when he was human. However, all of that knowledge and experience could not help him save an extraterrestrial woman who had made him see that there was more to life than being an animal.

  While Phillip scoured his cave, a dark thought slid over him. There had been a lot of blood from her head laceration. The military could follow that and find them both. He could not let that happen. That meant that he had to bring them deeper into the mountains. Only one other cave was safe. It was a long journey even by himself. Although it would bring them miles from the crash site, it would also throw off the scent. He hoped. Phillip quickly gathered some clothes, provisions, and the first-aid kit into one of the large knapsacks. He also grabbed a sleeping bag. Hopefully, it would be enough. He slung the backpack and the sleeping bag over his shoulders and then glanced at Alika. There had to be some way of holding her close to him and leaving his arms free. Something in case they were following him and he needed to hide. Phillip grabbed a couple of lanterns. They would need them if they were traveling deep in the caves.

  He then took a sheet and wrapped it around himself, tying it at his shoulder to make a large sling. He lifted Alika into it and positioned it so that she was hugging him. Instinct told him that he did not have a lot of time. Phillip prayed that the army did not have any experienced cavers among them, albeit it would take them a while to catch up with him and learn the way through the caving system. There were nooks and crannies in the mountains that even the most experienced cavers did not know about. He could go back and get the computer and the other things he had stolen from the army camp. His senses told him that they were amassing already to come and find him. It would only be a matter of time. He walked toward the back passageway and then glanced at the cave he had called one of his homes for a long time. It might not have been the most comfortable one, but it was the closest one to his Kaylana. Saying goodbye to it, he was saying goodbye to the woman he had loved for so long.

  Chapter Six

  Alika slowly opened her eyes. She was aware of the world moving and swaying in the darkness and was nestled up to a very hairy male. As she inhaled, Alika realized that it was Phillip. The last thing she remembered was being chased by men with guns, trying to distract them so that he could escape. He had told her to stay put, but after he took so long she had a bad feeling so she went down to see if there was anything she could do. However, she had not assumed that they would be ready for her. The military had almost caught her on the vehicles they had used to chase her. Phillip must have distracted them because when she glanced behind her only one of them was following her. On foot she had lured the other one away, but he had wounded her. The pain had been a shock. She had lost her footing and hit her head. After that, she did not remember anything. When she looked up and saw nothing but darkness, she guessed that they were underground and that Phillip was carrying her. When she moved, pain shot from her shoulder all the way down her arm. I have to be hurt worse than I realize.

  Squinting, Alika tried to see where she was going. Her eyes adjusted so she could only make out darker shades of black. She placed a hand on Phillip’s shoulder, and he stopped.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  He grunted. “You’ve been unconscious for several hours. We’re heading to another cave where I hope they won’t find us.”

  Alika nodded. It was a good decision for them to move. “I’m sorry I brought these problems down on your shoulders.”

  “It’s not a problem. Men are meddlesome. This isn’t the first time I’ve been hunted, and it won’t be the last. How are you feeling?”

  “Okay. You can put me down now.” She ran her fingers through his pelt and over his snout. He pulled his lips back into a snarl, but she figured it was a smile. It was also apparent that he was getting aroused from his large member poking her side.

  Phillip set her down gently. “Stay close to me. We’re at a perilous part of the journey. It won’t be much longer now.”

  “Do you have any light?”

  He bellowed and then fumbled for something. After a second the sudden illumination hurt her eyes, but it allowed her to see. They were in a very tight space that her savior had to stoop in. When she looked down, they were on a very thin ledge that wound around the crag they were on. The path was about to open up in a few steps. Phillip carried a couple of items. Maybe some of them were the things he had obtained from her ship. He handed the light to her so she could examine her wounds. They were dressed. Alika felt the bump on the back of her head and the dried blood that matted her hair. The tight quarters and being so far underground were stifling. She could only imagine what Phillip was feeling in his second form.

  “Thank you. Lead the way.”

  He nodded and then squeezed through the narrow space. Alika was surprised that he was able to because it was challenging to press between the constricted passageway. They finally came to where the ledge turned into an open expanse. She swung her light around, and the darkness swallowed the illumination. The grotto seemed to go on forever. If she listened, she could hear the sound of running water. It had to be an underground river. That must have been where the pool had come from. If she had her instruments, she could easily pull up a topographical map of the area. Still, she followed behind Phillip until they came to a stop.

  “What is it?”

  “The rocks have shifted since my last excursion into the caves. I have to move the boulder, or we’ll have to go back.”

  Alika glanced at the rock. It must have weighed a couple of tons. “Are you going to be able to move it?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  She stood back and waited. He got a grip on the rock and tried to pull it out. His muscles strained and bunched under his fur, but the boulder was not moving. She angled the light to the top of the rock and noticed a few smaller stones above it. After he grunted and groaned nothing was happening, so Alika poked him.

  “Try moving those small ones.”

  Phillip reached up and plucked out a few of the lesser rocks. Dirt rained down around them, and grime settled on her skin. The big one shifted down some, creating an opening wide enough for her to squash through. It was too tiny for Phillip, even in human form. They did not have the time to wait for the sun to rise. Now would be the time for me to have stuff from my ship. Then maybe I could blast it. “Did you happen to get anything from my ship while you were in the camp?”

 
He nodded and dug into the backpack he carried with him. He handed her the pants he had on before he turned into his animal self. She patted down the fabric and found the pockets. Alika pulled out metal bits that were nothing more than pieces from the outer hull of her ship. Those were no good. There were two minute purple bits that clung to one of the metal pieces. She pulled one off and was glad that they were still dry. Explosive tamerite was one of the birthday gifts she had on board for Elarna. It was stable when it was dry, but when it was exposed to moisture it was volatile. She placed one of the dots on the large rock.

  “What will that do?”

  “It’s one of the reasons my ship is in pieces. Some coolant must have gotten on it when I hit the atmosphere. When I landed…well, I’m surprised I was in one piece.”

  “Won’t that cause another cave-in if it is so strong?”

  Alika sighed and scraped off a little bit more, thinking about the size of the rock. “I think this should be okay. You need to get back. It’ll only be a few seconds before it detonates.” She gathered the spit into her mouth, backed away a few steps, then spat onto the explosive. Her aim was off, and she missed.

  Phillip chortled behind her.

  “I like this game. Move away; I have better aim than you do.”

  He stood and used his hand to usher her behind him. He was being a hero and trying to be chivalrous to protect her. Alika peered out from behind him while he spit at the rock. It hit right on the tamerite. The faint sizzle of the explosive being activated echoed in the cavern.

  She jerked on his arm and pulled him back. They had fifteen or twenty seconds before it was going to go off. They rushed backward and hid in a small nook while he was shielding her. Alika covered her ears. The whole entire cave shook. Bits of dirt fell into her hair, and rocks pelted her. The earth beneath her shivered and she waited for it to fall away, but it didn’t. Phillip moved out of the way. The rock was just smaller pebbles, so they could pass through the corridor. She gathered up Phillip’s bag, and they moved forward.