Page 34 of Rock Hard Alien

Cairn

The car stopped. The rain did not. It hammered against the metal roof while Georgie’s heart beat frantically beneath my arm.

She was alive.

Relief weakened me for less than a breath. Then my training took over.

“Georgie.”

She did not answer.

My wing was still wrapped around her head and shoulders. Pain burned through the struts where they had struck the side of the vehicle, but nothing felt broken. I slowly drew it back, terrified of what I might find beneath it.

Her eyes were closed. A thin line of blood ran from her temple into her hair.

“Georgie.” I touched her cheek as gently as I could. “Open your eyes.”

She groaned.

The sound was more beautiful than any music I had ever heard.

Her eyelids fluttered. She blinked at me, her gaze unfocused.

“Cairn?”

“I am here.”

“What happened?”

“Your vehicle attempted to kill us.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. If she could still find me irritating, she could not be badly injured.

I hoped.

“Do not move,” I ordered.

“I’m fine.”

“Humans are fragile. I need to make sure you weren't hurt. Can you move your hands?”

She lifted both hands. Her fingers trembled, but they moved.

“Your feet?”

“I can move everything.”

“Is there pain in your neck? Your back? Your head?”

“My head, a little.” She winced as she touched the blood at her temple. “It’s only a cut.”

Only a cut. Humans were soft creatures with skin that easily split, yet they talked about leaking as though it were a minor inconvenience.

Georgie stared at me. “You look terrible.”

I laughed. “You are the one injured, not me. Let's get you out of this vehicle.”

I reached for the fastening of her safety restraint.