Eden Read Online Free PDF Page B

’s eyes widened, her nostrils flared, and her lungs filled with a scream.
    He kicked the body into the grave and watched it fall with a dull thud, then rolled his head back on his shoulders in a pleasurable stretch before filling in the hole.
    A high-pitched sound caused him to whirl around. The sound was carried to him from the direction of the spaceship.
    A scream.
    He threw the spade to the ground and broke into a run, his throbbing ankle forgotten. Bursting out of the forest, he stopped short when the ship came into view. Out of the craft ran a woman - the human woman. His frown grew. He thought she had gone back with the others.
    Slowly he smiled. It was not friendly.
    Jenny fell to the ground, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her stomach threatened to over-spill her last meal, and after a few seconds she lost the battle and vomited onto the fire damaged soil.
    The alien watched, hidden by shadow. The human ’s hair was the same color as the rays that splayed from the suns. Her eyes, he remembered, were the color of the leaves that grew on the trees around him. She was small compared to his own species, but a female nevertheless.
    He frowned as he tried to remember the lessons of planet Earth and its inhabitants from his schooling long ago. It was obvious the humans had evolved much, much faster than they had thought.
    The Itor race was fierce. Competition was great, and murder frequent. The humans, with their strange mixture of violence, stupidity and compassion were, even early on in their development, a simple, peace-loving race in comparison.
    He rubbed his hairless jaw, roughened with angry scars. He wasn’t alone anymore! The sudden thought made his heart thump. He’d have to go easy with her - be kind. The notion was as alien to him as he must be to her.
    His hand moved to his thigh. He pulled out the small grey oblong gadget, secured by a length of twine around his leg, and flipped a switch.
    He spoke a single word.
    The computer flashed a word on its small screen.
    The alien spoke. Testing the unfamiliar word on his lips.
    “Wooo - man.”
    FIVE
    Jenny scrambled to her feet. What the hell was she to do now? The alien wasn’t on Taurus. Bodie and Matt had deserted her with a savage creature on an unknown planet.
    She walked forward with an overwhelming feeling of panic. She climbed the hill, slipping and sliding in the mud, and headed towards the sound of the waterfall. Maybe she could find a cave or something to live in. The thought wasn’t appealing, but at least there was the hope that Taurus would come back for her.
    The sound of the water took her towards the dark forest. The smell of decay filled her senses, but it was a natural odor of vegetation fermenting beneath the thaw. Her thick boots made prints in the soft ground, and mud and slimy forest debris clung to her feet, ankles, and splattered her legs. The wood was dim and cold as the rays of the suns failed to penetrate the thick leaves and abrasive branches.
    Jenny found a river winding through the dense wood, and began to follow it upstream. She stood at the edge and looked in, wondering if it would make good drinking water. It was narrow, but the inky blackness revealed its depth. The current was strong, catching and carrying off anything in its way. She looked up, and met the gaze of a large creature across the black water.
    It sat on its haunches and regarded her from small merciless yellow eyes. It was difficult to tell its shape because it wore a coat of matted long hair. Its over-hanging forehead was joined to a prominent, thin nose. The rest of the face was flat, the jaws wide and square.
    It grinned, its teeth white, long and hideous. Then it stood upright on two incredibly large feet, and made peculiar gestures with its hands. The fingers were long and splayed, which fleetingly reminded her of the alien.
    It lowered its ungainly arms and stood staring at her from an unblinking yellow gaze, before it began to make odd short,