An Alien Love Bk. 01 Ch. 17

Hi again. So this story is wrapping up. I am working on another MS right now, but I had to finish this. As soon as I get some stuff down for Octnavin I will be sharing that too.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.

~M. from C.M. Moore.

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*Chapter 17*

Calling for a Furlo.

Kicking and struggling, Murry fought the tightening hold cutting off the air to his lungs. So much for this not being painful. If Murry knew meeting Octnavin would mean his death, he wouldn't have bothered to comb his hair.

Rhylent held Murry's left arm. With his right, Murry tried to yank at the tentacle cutting off his air supply. The skin was rock hard and unforgiving. JP walked a few steps away from his siblings like he couldn't watch. Kel fought his bonds.

Murry was going to die. After all, he'd been through, who would have figured this was the end?

"Grip his right bottom tentacle." Petey sounded frantic in his head.

Murry flailed his arm outward. A gut-instinct of self-preservation shot through him fueled partly by Petey. The whisper was insistent and authoritative. How could such a small piece of silk around his arm be that bossy?

Murry snagged the right tentacle on Octnavin. With everything he had left, he held on.

Octnavin tried to shake him off and then stopped. Petey spoke in the language that Murry didn't understand.

"Very clever human, but no."

Petey spoke again as Murry became dizzy. The world narrowed to tunnel vision. The tentacle around his neck lightened the hold. Murry wheezed with a slight breath. Petey's voice was venom. The words got louder. As his brain started to ache, Murry let go of Octnavin's tentacle. That didn't help. Petey got louder and louder as his demands continued.

Abruptly, two things happened at the same time. Murry could hear Octnavin in his head and then Rhylent and JP. It was like Petey invited a party. Kel was still there but his alien was now in surround sound. Also, Octnavin let go of him the same time Rhylent did. Murry collapsed to the ground coughing. He tried to breathe but also cover his ears. The chatter was deafening.

"You are not one of us. You cannot call a Furlo." Octnavin turned to Kel. "Only a Dagerstanteen can ask for a Furlo before execution. That is the way."

JP spun around and stared wide-eyed at Murry still on the floor. "We would have to wait for Fenton to return for a Furlo."

"A what?" Murry tipped sideways on the floor.

"That is what the human wants." Rhylent crossed his tentacles over his chest. "He knows it."

Kel stopped wiggling in anguish and went perfectly still. Carefully, he knelt. "That is correct. I am a Dagerstanteen. I call for a Furlo on Murry's behalf."

"How do you know this?" Rhylent snapped at Murry and then he spun on Kel. "That is not for another species to know. You should not have taught that history to a human. That is the old way. That breaks more than one rule."

Murry was about to say that he didn't know what the hell they were talking about, but he didn't get the chance. Petey and Octnavin were at it again. Now all Murry wanted was everyone to shut up. Before he could get the demand for silence out of his mouth, Petey was talking in that foreign language faster this time and with authority. Octnavin responded in his head. The two fought a verbal boxing match. Murry's brain began to throb. Petey and Octnavin screamed at each other as if trying to talk over the other. Could a human brain burst?

Murry covered his head and whimpered. He had to escape the noise. He knew the sounds were inside of him, but maybe if he left, they would shush. Murry crawled a few feet and then closed his eyes and pressed his face to the cool tile floor.

Rhylent and JP stared an argument next. Their squabble was like a fuzzy noise in Murry's head added to Petey and Octnavin.

"The issue is not that the human knew the word. Keltrix called for it. We must honor it." JP waved a tentacle.

"We must honor rules, but Keltrix does not?" Rhylent fired back. "Keltrix has been doing nothing but ignoring rules that have been put in place for our safety and health."

"What about happiness?" JP asked.

"You are not a young unseasoned Dagerstanteen anymore," Rhylent admonished. "It is that kind of thinking that had Fenton shirking his duties and running off. Duty comes first. Rules second. Happiness is not on the list."

Rhylent and JP kept yelling and they didn't seem to notice Murry any longer. He closed his eyes as his stomach began to churn. A stabbing pain radiated from his temples pulsating and probing. Everything was too bright and too noisy. He tried to close out the words, but Petey overruled him.

Octnavin was now pointing out flaws to Petey's argument in a language Murry had never heard. The only reason Murry knew anything, was because Petey worked to keep Murry informed of what was happening. At this point, Murry felt like a baseball player joining a soccer game.

The king alien stood silently, but Murry thought if Octnavin could, he would pull out a PowerPoint presentation on why Petey was wrong.

Petey matched him word for word and defended his position. The pain intensified until Murry couldn't see straight. The room blurred. His eyes glazed over. His stomach cramped. He got to his knees and then stumbled back to the floor. Maybe if he could curl up in Kel's arms, the alien would chase away the noise and the torment.

The light of the room was too bright. The world spun. Murry vomited a blue puddle on the tiles as if he'd just gotten off hours on the tilt-a-whirl. Once more he tried to rise but only made it to his knees. He crawled halfway to Kel and then set his forehead on the floor. His head was splitting apart.

"Petey, stop." Tears began to slip down his face. He lifted his eyes to Kel. His alien had stopped struggling and was looking at him. They knew each other well enough that Kel could probably feel his suffering.

Desperate, Murry hunted for a connection to Keltrix, but the tie was too big or too small now. Petey and Octnavin took up too much room. JP and Rhylent's anger took up space as well. There was no place for Murry anymore.

A sharp whistle vibrated in Murry's head. He thought his ears would bleed, but finally, there was nothing but silence.

Murry closed his eyes and set his cheek on the cold floor. He tried to shut out the light. His head still throbbed but he didn't feel like he was being crushed any longer.

"Murry-cat," Kel's voice, calm and sure, kissed Murry's ears. "Who did you drink from?"

"What?" Murry lifted his head and wished he didn't. He almost threw up again when the room dipped and spun. JP and Rhylent stared at him. Octnavin crossed his tentacles over his chest.

"You are saying that Petey is not this human?" Octnavin asked. "Who is Petey? His command of our language is superb. His knowledge impressive."

"Who is Petey?" JP asked. "I heard him too."

"As did I." Rhylent nodded. "This name is familiar."

"Murry-cat?" Kel's voice was coaxing. "It is alright. I will not be upset. You can tell me. Did someone make you drink from them in the command center?"

"Never." Rhylent looked insulted by the very idea. "No one touched the human. I watched him."

"I only drank from you." Murry got to a sitting position. He took a deep breath. Now that he threw up, he was hungry. Starving actually.

"Now that I've called a Furlo and Keltrix backed it," Petey whispered in his brain. "We can go back to the ship and eat. Tell Octnavin to kiss your ass. The vote must be by all members of the royal family. They don't have Fenton. You will be safe until they find Fenton. If they find him."

"I'm not telling a king to kiss my ass." Murry admonished Petey. "That's Kel's family." He looked around. All eyes were on him.

"Did he say we can eat?" JP asked.

"He also said for Murry to tell our king to kiss his ass." Rhylent scoffed. "Those are fighting words. This Dagerstanteen hides like a coward behind a human."

"Who is Petey?" Kel asked again. "Ask him, Murry. He is not talking to me."

"It's not a big deal." Murry motioned to the small band of green silk around his arm. "Petey is the Nebos you gave me. Remember? I named him."

"That voice is not Nebos." Octnavin held his tentacle out and the fabric wound up his appendage. "Nebos cannot speak like that and they do not have an elaborate comprehension of our political, social, and economic system. Petey knows our history like it is in his blood."

JP walked over to Murry. Kel's sibling picked Murry up with his two middle tentacles. One appendage shoved his red tube hair from over his eye. JP held him closer to his chest. The alien wrapped his sense tentacle around Murry's waist.

"Murry is incubating. You are talking to Kel's offspring. That is why Petey said we can eat. Our history is in his blood."

Rhylent swore in his own language. Murry knew that utterance didn't come from a happy place. He jumped away like Murry was ill and he could catch his sickness. Murry's panic was raising. No. This was a bad dream. He wasn't a woman. He didn't have a womb. Murry wasn't made to carry a baby. Especially an alien one.

No.

Murry squirmed out of JP's hold and hit the floor. He stumbled away from the aliens. He had to get out of here. They were wrong. Murry was talking to Kel's Nebos. He didn't have an alien inside of him. He gulped on air.

"Release Keltrix." JP motioned to Octnavin. "Kel has to handle the human. Murry is panicking. He could hurt the offspring."

"That could have been handled better." Rhylent shook his head at JP.

"How was I supposed to know he would start to hyperventilate?"

"What did you think he was going to do?"

"I don't want anything inside me." Murry bolted. He didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do. He kept picturing a six-tentacled alien ripping apart his chest and climbing out of him. Kel's offspring could leave his human carcass on the floor like trash.

"Murry?" Petey sounded small but Murry knew he was there. He was invaded. Something lived in his mind and invaded his body. He heard Petey speaking to Kel and felt like he was going crazy. The voice had to get out of his head. This thing had to get out of him.

Murry gulped. There wasn't enough air. He ran directly into Kel. The alien scooped him up and hugged Murry tightly. Octnavin must have released Kel. The damn warrior was faster than him.

"Let me go." Murry tried to fight the hold, but the grip was too strong.

"Calm, Murry-cat." Kel wrapped all his tentacles around Murry until he was crushed to the alien. He gulped for more air.

"The human is going to pass out if he keeps doing that," JP muttered.

Murry couldn't breathe. He was going to suffocate. There wasn't enough air in the room for him and the thing inside of him. There was something inside of him killing him. Petey would use him and then discard him. The alien would steal all the air.

"Murry-cat." Kel tried to soothe him again. Kel's endearment had Murry's mind going a mile a minute. Is that what their relationship had been about? Did Kel just want to use Murry to carry his offspring? Maybe Murry was the sacrificial lamb for Keltrix. The alien used Murry's body. Kel made him think he cared, and then he left an alien inside of him to kill him. That's what he really wanted this whole time. Kel wanted to use his body as an incubator. The love had been fake.

"Take a calming breath," Kel whispered but Murry couldn't. There wasn't enough air. He wheezed and his vision narrowed to a black tunnel. He passed out.