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How could these women sleep so freaking soundly after everything they had been through?
Serenity quickly snuffed that feeling. It was selfish of her to think that way. If anything, she should be happy for the other women that they had been able to find peace on this alien world.
She just wished she could find it too.
For the next hour or so, Serenity tried everything to fall back to sleep. She practiced relaxation techniques that she had used back on Earth. One by one, she relaxed all of her muscles, starting with her face and systematically working her way down to the tips of her toes. She kept her breathing slow and steady. When images came into her mind, she let them drift past like clouds on a breeze.
It didn’t work.
The darkness refused to take her back.
With a frustrated little growl, Serenity tossed off her fur coverings and sat up. Two options lay before her now. She could lie here wide awake all night, or she could get up and find some kind of distraction. What would it be?
Serenity weighed her options. If she got up and went outside now, she would be breaking curfew. The ukkur who ran the camp didn’t want the humans wandering around at night. Especially not the females. They said it was for the humans’ own safety, but Serenity wasn’t a child.
If she stuck to the shadows, she could probably avoid detection by the ukkur night watch. And even if they did catch her, she would probably only get a stern scolding and nothing more.
She decided to go for it.
Moving quietly so as not to disturb the other sleepers, Serenity rose. She was naked, but her clothing was folded at the foot of her bedding—a primitive loincloth fashioned from the scaly hide of some alien creature and a matching top that left her arms and midriff exposed. Not exactly high fashion, but it was better than nothing.
Serenity dressed herself in the dark then crept across the interior of the tent, stepping over the other human women until she reached the tent flap and stepped out into the cool of the night. After a quick glance around, Serenity headed off across camp.
She was not aware of the eyes watching her from the shadows.
CHAPTER 2: SERENITY
The ukkur encampment was quiet at this late hour. Quiet and dark. All the campfires had been doused many hours ago, but the air still carried the rich aroma of charred wood and fragrant smoke.
The encampment itself was situated at the bottom of a narrow canyon with nearly vertical walls of stone. High overhead, alien trees stretched their gnarled limbs across the top of the canyon, forming a dense lattice of branches and foliage that all but blotted out the full moon. Even during the day, when the blazing sun was at its zenith, the canyon was well shaded. It was this canopy of leaves that made the canyon such an ideal location—the camp was practically invisible to any nith surveillance craft that might pass overhead.
Even so, a smidgen of silvery moonlight did manage to filter through the leaves. It was just enough illumination for Serenity to make out the other tents.
There were over a hundred tents in all, most of them positioned near the canyon walls. They were crude, primitive structures fashioned from the hides of massive alien animals that Serenity hoped never to meet face to face. Some of the tents were large, oblong affairs just like the one from which she had just emerged. These were the sleeping tents used by the unmated human refugees such as herself. Other tents were smaller and cone-shaped, their animal hide coverings painted with simple geometric designs. These reminded Serenity of the native American tipis she had seen in historical pictures back on Earth. They were occupied by ukkur packs of three or four males, and in many cases the human women they had taken as their mates.
Serenity moved between these tents, going quiet as a prowling cat.
At one end, the canyon opened onto a sprawling prairie of rolling hills and long grass. Serenity knew there were always several ukkur guards posted at that entrance, so she chose not to go that direction. Instead, she headed deeper into the canyon, but she had no specific destination in mind. She had not planned that far ahead.
Suddenly, Serenity noticed the sound of heavy footsteps in front of her. Her heart skipped, and she quickly ducked behind one of the tents.
With her heart hammering in her chest, Serenity cautiously peered around the edge of her hiding place. As she watched, a massive shadowy form passed by, and the night breeze carried a musky animal scent. The creature was so large, Serenity could literally feel the vibrations of its footsteps as it trudged by.
An ukkur guard.
There were always a few ukkur patrolling the canyon during the night. One reason was to chase off any alien animals that might creep into the encampment. But the main reason, Serenity knew, was to make sure the human refugees did not break their curfew.
This curfew had been imposed by the ukkur to protect the humans from themselves.
Serenity had to admit, the policy made sense. All the rescued humans had been criminals back on Earth. That’s why they had been shipped to this planet. While some of them, such as Serenity, had been unjustly convicted, the majority really were dangerous criminals. As an unspoken rule, nobody asked why anyone else was here. But Serenity was certain that there were murderers and rapists in their midst.
And it was not just the men. The same thing was true of the human women. So far, Serenity had been lucky. None of the women in her tent had tried to mess with her. But she was fully aware that they were hardened criminals.
Perhaps that’s why the others were able to sleep so soundly while Serenity was still plagued with debilitating nightmares.
Serenity wasnota hardened criminal.
Far from it, in fact.
