Page 14 of Caveman Alien's Heat
Then I remember where we are.
The saucer hums softly around us. Its floor still lies tilted against the ice that holds it trapped in the glacier crack. Pale blue light glows from the viewing walls.
Riley sleeps in the furs beside me. During the night, she moved close again and again whenever the cold crept into the ship. Each time, I let her press against me. Each time, I wrapped an arm around her so she would not freeze. Now she lies with her backagainst my chest, her hair brushing my chin. One of her hands rests lightly on my forearm, as if she took hold of me in her sleep.
I remain still for a moment. Her warmth seeps through the furs into my body. Her breathing is soft and steady.
“Sweet Ancestors,” I groan softly. She’s very nearly irresistible. That sweet scent…
Yet Riley is under my protection. She lives among our tribe now, and I have sworn to Korr’ax to protect the women of the tribe. To not abduct, to not take advantage of them. It has never been hard. Not until now.
The warmth of her body makes it difficult to remember such oaths. Korr’ax is far away. I may never see him again. He may never know what I do now.
I take a slow breath and force my thoughts away from that path.
Something moves outside. The glow of the saucer’s viewing wall catches my eye. A shadow passes across the white ice beyond it.
I raise my head.
A shape stands outside the ship. A large one.
I shift carefully so I do not wake Riley and look more closely.
It’s a Big. But not one I know. The creature stands beside the saucer, with its heavy body leaning against the curved wall. Its skin is thick and grey like weathered stone, and matted for hangs from all over it. A long tail sweeps slowly across the ice behind it, spiked and deadly.
Its head is strange, too. Wide and heavy, with bony ridges above the eyes and long horns that curve from the sides of the skull. When it lifts its head, I see rows of thick teeth inside its mouth.The beast presses its weight against the ship, making a low scraping against the hull.
That isn’t good. If the creature pushes harder, it could drive the saucer deeper into the ice.
The Big turns its head, and one long horn hits the side of the saucer with a deep ‘bong’.
Beside me, Riley stirs, stretches, and opens her eyes. For a moment, she looks confused. Then she follows my gaze to the glowing wall. Her eyes widen. “What is that?” she whispers.
“A Big,” I tell her, since I don’t know the name of the thing.
She studies the creature for a moment. “A dinosaur?”
It’s the same word she used before, so I understand the question. “A Big,” I confirm. “But I haven’t seen this kind before.”
Outside, the creature lowers its head and sniffs along the hull of the saucer. Its breath fogs the cold air.
Riley pushes herself up on one elbow, furs wrapped around her shoulders. “Is it dangerous?”
“We always assume an unknown Big is dangerous. We’re usually right.”
She watches the beast lean harder against the ship.
The hull groans again.
Her eyes flick to me. “Can it break the saucer?”
“I don’t know. It’s big enough to, if it steps on it.”
I study the creature. If it keeps pushing like that, it may wedge the saucer even deeper in the ice. That would make flying againimpossible. Or perhaps it could push the ship far enough that it falls down onto its bottom again.
But the beast stands on the wrong side. If it pushes harder, the ship will only tilt more, then fall with the wrong side up.
I rise slowly from the furs.
