Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1) Read online

  With his curved ungue claws bared at the tips of each finger, and the spiked clavum on each forearm extended ready to strike, Viper moved stealthily through the underbrush, his skin shifting to match the ruddy brown and green tones around him.

  Although he wasn't so concerned with the human inhabitants, Viper still had to be cautious of the other wild creatures here. The animals hadn't lost use of their senses or their ability to hunt as the humans seemed to. One of the large feline's he and Mamba captured had been a master of stealth, a worthy adversary.

  Although Viper was an adept hunter, he was alone at the moment, and knew better than to let his pride be his downfall on this unknown planet.

  Viper sensed something was near. His gums tingled where the two procudit fangs extended. Even the osteoderms along his spine trembled as he walked the unusual forest landscape ready to do battle if necessary.

  Viper stopped in his tracks. Unconsciously blending with the natural backdrop.

  "What is that smell?"

  A musky floral scent permeated the air of the forest floor. To this point he had smelled nothing but the ocean and the creatures they'd tranq'd. This smelled similar to one of the sentient beings but different.

  Viper carefully broke through the tree line at the edge of a rocky hill and peered into the clearing.

  Stopped on the road ahead was one of the crude metal vehicles these people operated. One of the homo sapiens sat with its head on the circle they used to navigate the vehicle.

  Viper wondered if it was injured since this didn't seem the best place to sleep. He moved in cautiously. The enticing smell wafted from the lowered glass barrier of the vehicle drawing him closer.

  The human had pale long hair. These people had silky strands of hair that hung straight or curled in various colors and lengths. Viper's people had something entirely different. Beyond the hair on their head it seemed the humans were hairless, not possessing pelts like some species. The exception being that the males sometimes possessed fur on their faces.

  This human appeared female and certainly smelled it. His senses bristled with the awareness. The distinctive feminine hormone held the same sweet notes as Anguis females. This human was also slight of form, not bulky like many of the Homo sapien males he'd seen images of. Although the human males tended to be a head shorter and not nearly as broad as the average Anguis.

  Viper didn't smell blood or any indication of injury, just sadness and fear radiating from the female. It was pungent overpowering the scent of the pines.

  "It can't be fear of me. She has yet to notice my presence." Viper considered as he stood blending into the tree line.

  She'd undoubtedly witnessed what had happened to her people.

  2 Something Wicked this Way Comes

  Hope

  Hope just needed to rest a minute. She pulled into the spot at the side of the road. The park map showed there was a camp site a half hours hike along the path through the trees ahead, but she had to take minute to get herself together after the nightmare she'd witnessed. It was too horrific to even imagine.

  Hope didn't really know what else to do. Every motel, gas station and restaurant she passed had been inundated with people fleeing the bay area. She had five days worth of supplies in the trunk. The best plan Hope could come up with involved doing what she originally came here to do, camp till the worst of the panic among the local population subsided.

  Hope didn't really know what else to do. Her cell failed to work, and she only had half a tank of gas left. She had played the radio as she looked for a campsite, listening for emergency instructions, but there was nothing but static on all stations.

  So here she was.

  Hope pulled her head off the steering wheel, sighed and pulled back her hair into a ponytail. She rolled up the windows, glad it had stopped raining, then grabbed her tent and supplies from the trunk. This hike would have sucked if it was raining.

  Hope left a note on the dash in case someone found the car and worried about the missing occupant, then started up the trail.

  The trees towered over her as she traversed the narrow incline. The air still smelled intensely of the ocean rather than of cedar. The trail wasn't too taxing, which was a bit disappointing since she could use the distraction.

  She wasn't hot in her tank top, khaki capris, and tennis shoes, but moisture still poured off her since the air was so humid. At the fork in the trail Hope took a left as indicated on the trail map.

  If things had been different, she might sing a tune as she hiked, but her mood was too morose. So instead she listened to the sounds of nature. Strangely the birds were quiet, but that was probably because she'd disturbed them, or they too were freaked out by the carnage nature had wrought. At least the trees rustled peacefully in the wind.

  Though the sky had been obscured with meteor debris, enough light filtered through the forest to still make camp if she didn't dawdle.

  Half an hour give or take and Hope made it to the clearing marked by a wooden post. There was a flat spot, a log and an iron ring for building a fire. She quickly set up her tent and rain fly, then went about collecting firewood, though much of it was damp. It took another half hour search just to locate enough dry material to start up a decent fire.

  Viper

  He'd gotten distracted following the female as she wound her way along the path through the woods. She moved with a bounce in her step that was indicative of this species, and far less fluid than the movements of his own kind. It reminded Viper of a small long eared furry hopping mammal which flourished on Anguis. So that's what he called this intriguing human female, Lepus.

  Lepus stopped at a clearing and unpacked her bags as Viper sat on a lower branch of a nearby tree watching. Only once had she glanced about then dismissed him when Viper made too much noise moving from tree to tree.

  Viper observed as the female set up some kind of nest-like shelter made of fabric then began searching the surrounding forest. Her skin was smooth and pale with a slightly pink tinge. He even got a good view of her determined eyes, the irises were blue, with round, black pupils. They darted about as she collected brush.

  The hike had raised her body temperature, so that the scent of her filled the clearing. Moisture clung to her skin soaking parts of the clothing covering her torso. The white shirt with small straps, covered two large mounds on her chest. Viper wondered with such large mounds if she had young somewhere. The females of his species only had breasts when they were required to feed young.

  His people had evolved a bit differently than the humans. The species on this planet that was the most similar to the Anguis did not nurse their young. In fact most of them still wallowed around on their bellies in the sand as he imagined his very ancient ancestors did. The differences and similarities between the humans and Anguis fascinated him.

  The human female was so small, she'd only reach Viper's chest. Lepus's body was curvaceous, narrowing at the waist then flaring out again at her posterior. Though it was clear she had muscles, she wasn't as lithe as Anguis females. Her rounded figure bounced a bit with each jaunty step.

  Viper watched her and wondered about what it must be like for the human males to procreate with such a lush ass and thighs to cradle their hips. He could certainly see the advantage. Viper's fangs descended unbidden as he thought of the little human mating.

  Lepus moved to make a fire and Viper realized it was past time to tranq the intriguing creature and get her safely back to the ship.

  "Prognatus Viper, the other generals have been delayed." The comm crackled.

  "Dammit Canebrake." Viper winced.

  There was no way the human female hadn't heard that.

  "I should've remembered my comm-unit would be too loud at this close range." Viper groaned under his breath.

  Lepus' head whipped up to stare into the trees.

  "I'll be returning soon Imperator." He whispered then turned the unit down. "Well I guess it's now or never."

  Hope

  "
I wasn't wrong!" Hope thought as the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

  It had felt like someone was watching her. Now she was pretty sure she heard a strange sound at the edge of the clearing.

  "Hello?" She hesitantly said.

  "Please don't let it be a mountain lion instead of another fleeing hiker. Then again please don't let it be someone looking to take advantage of the situation. That would be almost as bad a getting mauled." Hope prayed.

  "I know you are there. Please come out." She spoke up hesitantly.

  She wasn't sure if she heard a growl or a voice.

  Hope watched as a portion of the tree separated from the trunk. The brown variegated bark and green underbrush shifted awkwardly as it pushed away from the base of the tree. Hope expected to see someone emerge, but it was the plants themselves that moved. As it did, she could clearly see the shape of a camouflaged man. A very large man.

  As it moved closer, she sat frozen. Someone was wearing a very impressive disguise, except something wasn't right. This didn't look like any hunter's disguise she'd ever seen.

  Hope's eyes widened and her heart kicked into full gear.

  The colors morphed into a more bronzed, earthy tan as the figure stepped fully into the clearing. She would've thought this was some Special Forces dude if it weren't for all the other features that came into view. The man or creature was at least seven feet tall with well-built legs and a massive broad chest. He wore short, tight-fitting pants that matched the forest. She said he because that was apparent from the way his clothing clung to the bulge in his crotch.

  The man swayed as he walked like some kind of sleek predator, which was how she'd describe him, in part. His hair looked like the dreads sported by the movie monster, the Predator. The strange tendrils looked almost like extensions of his skin and were pulled back away from his face.

  His facial features were not human, and yet not frightening like the movie monster. As frightened as Hope was, she didn't run screaming into the forest because his visage was more like a man than killer reptile.

  The ridge of his nose and eyebrows were well defined, perhaps a bit harsh. He had green eyes that appeared to be rimmed in charcoal with a thin lipped mouth that looked more serious than jovial. Although the man didn't have any facial hair Hope was reminded of the character Drogo from the Game of Thrones.

  Giving him a name was easier than admitting what she knew was true. This was an alien. A giant freaking alien!

  It was almost hypnotic the way he undulated slightly as he walked ever closer. The stealthy swagger seemed counter intuitive to his hulking stature.

  "First the meteor now this crazy shit!" Her mind railed.

  Hope could see Drogo held some sort of device casually at his side. He appeared to have the same number of fingers and toes on his bare hands and feet, but they were a bit more elongated than hers.

  Hope realized her mouth was hanging open when she almost ate a fly. She snapped her jaw shut, and she thought she heard the creature chuckle.

  "At least I hope that's what the deep rumble in his chest was." Hope thought.

  Drogo's forearms had five maybe six sharp spikes projecting out, from his elbow down to his hand by his pinky finger. They looked like wicked weapons.

  Hope started to back up while still crouched on the ground.

  The creature held up his hands. It looked like he was trying to signal that he meant no harm so she paused her retreat.

  Drogo stepped over the log then sat down on it. He looked calm and non threatening as he struck a casual pose.

  "Perhaps he's here because of the meteor."

  Hope stared at him for a moment before she gained enough courage to open her mouth. She cleared her throat several times before finally finding her voice.

  "Are you here because of the meteor?" Hope stammered.

  He nodded his head yes.

  "Why?"

  When he spoke his voice was a breathy bass tone, but she didn't understand what he said. The man stopped and shook his head since the language barrier was obviously a problem.

  Curiously he could understand her but not the other way round. Well at least he seemed to get the gestures right.

  "Maybe I could play the twenty questions game if Drogo is willing. Why not? It's not like my day could get any weirder." She mused.

  "Do you come in peace?"

  He nodded yes. Well of course. Wouldn't that be the answer even if he meant to flay her alive? You wouldn't want to spook your prey. Duh!

  "Okay. Was the meteor your ship?"

  No, was his reply. That would have to be a pretty rough way to land, but what did she know about space travel.

  "Are you here to study us?"

  The man seemed to consider the question before hesitantly nodding yes.

  "Well great! So we're one giant petri dish." Her mind screamed.

  It made sense. Hope believed life on other planets existed. But she never expected in her wildest dreams to meet the alien species that came to study them.

  Hope crouched on the ground staring at him as she took it all in.

  Something made a faint beep and Drogo spoke into a computer on his wrist. It must have been his communicator she'd heard earlier. As he spoke in his deep rumbling voice, Hope noticed the man had long canine teeth.

  "Oh shit he has fangs!" Hope repressed a gasp.

  She did her best to not freak the fuck out. Drogo was being incredibly calm and hadn't done anything to threaten or frighten her yet. Unless you count spying and looking like a predator.

  Drogo finished speaking then looked back at her. He seemed a bit annoyed, at least that's the impression Hope got by the way the muscle in his jaw flexed as he sighed and stood up.

  Apparently he had to go. It was probably for the best. This was enough crazy for one day. Shit it was enough crazy for a lifetime!

  Viper

  The female watched him closely. Her pungent scent of shock and fear had overwhelmed the sweeter musky smell that originally drew Viper in. He was glad that the acrid odor subsided as he sat, attempting to answer her questions. Her fear had made him unreasonably jittery, almost angry. The irrational angst wasn't directed at her, it made Viper want to do battle with some fictional foe.

  Viper attempted to keep his cool since he didn't want her to fear him. For some reason Viper found himself glad little Lepus wasn't struck with terror. More often than not that was the first response they were greeted with on these missions.

  Little Lepus was inquisitive instead. He wanted to smile at the expressions her face made as she considered him and her next question. Her blue eyes sparkled with intelligence, her face round and pale with slightly pink cheeks. Her nose was small and delicate as was the rest of her body.

  Now that Viper was close to her, he found himself wanting to confirm his earlier impression, that she was soft rather than overly muscular and firm. Lepus' lips were the color of the cactus fruit native to his planet. He imagined they were just as sweet.

  Viper's admiring thoughts were interrupted by his comm.

  "Go ahead." He nearly growled into the comm then stopped himself lest he scare the female.

  "Viper we need to load up and head to our next location. I fear the Morbo are emerging from the water faster than we expected. I don't want to loose the group of refugees we just rescued by potentially introducing an infected one."

  Viper sighed at Ophidian's news.

  "On my way with one more." He replied. "It looks like our meet and greet is going to be cut short." Viper mused.

  Viper hesitated to tranq the female. Something inside him bristled at the thought of shooting anything at Lepus. He also didn't like the idea of leaving her unconscious in one of the hibernation berths with hundreds of others. It seemed wrong somehow.

  "The question is how to get her to come with me?"

  Their scientist had reported that the Anguis' venom could be used to subdue these people if used sparingly. Perhaps he could lightly nick her skin then carry her out of
here without too much incident. Only one way to tell.

  Hope

  Drogo held out his hand. It seemed strange to shake his hand but Hope supposed they studied human gestures and greetings before coming here, so she extended hers. She didn't want to offend him and unwittingly start some sort of war.

  When Drogo took Hope's palm into his, she noticed a small diamond-shaped pattern covered his tan skin. It was similar to how when you look closely at your own skin you see fine lines and creases. The texture was smooth though, not scaly. The man reminded her in so many ways of a reptile and yet not. He was warm to the touch, and although his face was alien, it was similar enough to a human's. In fact despite his differences he was actually attractive. If it wasn't for his arm spikes, odd dreadlocks, fangs and patterned skin he could've passed for a rather large well built man.

  "Then again maybe not."

  Hope watched his tan skin coloring shift subtly. She remembered his unique ability to blend into the surrounding environment. Drogo was like a male version of the X-men character Mystiqe. It was really kind of cool. Hope wondered if he was capable of turning blue too?

  Drogo lifted her hand and shockingly she watched as he pressed his firm lips to the back of her knuckles. This was not the hand shake she'd expected.

  When he let go Hope noticed a small scratch on the back of her hand, which started to tingle.

  Hope quickly looked up at him in shock as the sensation spread up her arm. A warm languid feeling overcame her, and she opened her mouth to accuse Drogo of foul play, but couldn't voice her displeasure. Hope's legs suddenly gave way but Drogo caught her around the waist. He cradled her in his arms as he took off into the forest.

  "I'm being abducted by aliens. SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! I come in peace my ass! I am not some freaking lab rat!" Hope silently screamed as she sent daggers up at Drogo.

  The trees whipped by as the man moved at an incredible speed. Eventually he stopped.

  Hope couldn't move her head as it lolled against his bare chest. At least he didn't stink. Actually his musky earthy smell was kind of calming. Too bad he was going to get a piece of her mind once she regained the ability to speak.