Colonies of U'u'kata

***Happy New Year! Enjoy this bonus chapter to help ring in 2025***

"Wake up, you idiot!"

Kovich was jostled roughly and he came to with his blade in his hand.

The camp was up in a furious ruckus and all around him, weapons were being strapped into place.

"What happened?" He asked, looking up at Lefnek, who'd been about to kick him if he didn't wake up.

"The female alien is gone! All our stupid arses got too drunk to properly welcome her to the party last night and she somehow slipped the hook. Must have found a blade in Pylan's tent that that moron Svesh didn't notice. Now, we all gotta go get her. Get up and get moving!"

Kovich pushed himself to his feet and glanced around the camp. The Tovans were enraged that the little female had escaped, but excited too. Boredom became a problem with a group of males camped out in the country for too long and bored males tended to become violent. That's what had happened to Pylan. He'd picked a fight with the wrong male and ended up gutted. He just hoped that little female made it to the tree.

He'd hesitated outside that tent last night. He'd considered doing nothing because it could jeopardize everything he'd worked for for the last few years. But he couldn't bring himself to leave her to the devices of the Tovans. They were too cruel. He just had to hope that Thenta didn't hesitate as he had.

***

Cali was on her knees, her entire body trembling from exhaustion, hunger, pain, and the ever present terror. Her feet pounded and she could feel blisters forming on the backs of her heels, turning every step into an awkward limp.

How far had she run? Was she still going in the right direction? She couldn't hear the river. How far was it? It was so dark, the forest so loud. Her mind felt dizzy and she couldn't tell if she was actually cold anymore.

Something in the forest snapped and she gasped through her nose, wildly looking around and stumbling back to her feet. She tried to run but it was more of a marionette-like stumble and suddenly the river was roaring before her and she pulled up short, nearly going over the side of a steep bank.

The sky above had lightened with the approaching dawn and she frowned in confusion. How could it have been that long? Did she lose time?

A voice calling out in the forest behind her caused her to cry out and spin around. She searched the trees but didn't see anyone.

Looking down at the water again she gulped and heard herself making frightened little noises as she crouched and tried to ease herself down the bank toward the water. If they were on to her, they would be able to find where she went into the water. But the water itself would erase any trace of her passing. Except, it might erase her too. One doesn't exactly learn how to swim when growing up on a space station. She'd been trying to learn to swim but she wasn't very good.

Still, since being taken to this alien planet she had at least learned how to float.

She held onto some roots and plants as she eased her way down, waiting for one of them to give way at any second. To her surprise, it was the stone that gave. Sure it was a good handhold she put her weight on it and it pulled right out of the bank. With a Yelp that was muffled through the gag over her mouth, Cali slid the rest of the way down the bank and into the water, which engulfed her up to her hips and threatened to drag her under with its current.

Leaning into the flow, Cali took one step forward, then another. A rock shifted under her foot and she pitched forward but threw her other foot in front of her and caught her balance, though her foot sank up to her ankle in mud.