Free Return to Eden by Kaitlyn O'Connor

was
worried that he might be really pissed off if and when he ever
figured out what that word was.
    Beyond taking her captive, though, he
hadn’t seemed threatening. She still thought it would be wise to
ditch him at the first opportunity. She didn’t know what his plans
were for her after all and she didn’t think it would be anything
good considering his people had invaded earth.
    She was keenly aware of not being
equipped either physically, mentally, or otherwise to survive on
her own, though. She didn’t have a weapon, any supplies—like water
and food or even clothing that would protect her from the elements.
And beyond that, she hadn’t seen a living soul, of her own kind,
since she’d seen the people that had been in the cars heading for
the hills.
    Well, actually, the flatlands because
the hills were the other way.
    For all she knew she was the last human
left.
    She didn’t believe that.
She couldn’t believe that. There had to be other people out there. She just needed to
find them.
    On foot, particularly since she was
barefoot, that seemed an almost impossible feat. Even before the
bug-things that seemed like they would eat everything and the
monster bugs and the huge monster beasts, if she’d been stranded in
the woods like she was now, she could’ve wandered for days or maybe
weeks without finding another living soul. With all those things
out there and nothing to eat or drink or protect herself with—when
everybody that was left was probably hiding—she didn’t think her
chances were good at all.
    It occurred to her that there was one
surefire, or maybe surefire, way of getting Aidan out of his
clothes, but she wouldn’t be a lot better off with his clothes and
boots and the little bit of rations he had in his pockets. And that
was assuming he wasn’t in any condition to fight her for the stuff
afterwards and she didn’t see how she could count on that without
making some kind of plan to bash him over the head or otherwise
incapacitate him.
    It dawned on her abruptly that, as far
she knew, he didn’t have a weapon of any kind on him.
    What kind of invader invaded a place
without weapons?
    Was she completely wrong about his
purpose in being here?
    But how likely was it that those things
would arrive and start destroying everything and an alien from
another place would arrive at the same time?
    Maybe he’d expected everything and
everybody to be wiped out before he landed? Did that really make
any sense, though? Surely, he’d have to be familiar with the
weapons and would’ve known there hadn’t been time?
    It occurred to Anya when Aidan nudged
her and handed her a piece of the nasty rations he was carrying
that there could be other explanations to what she’d been swept up
in. She’d only explored one possibility—well, sort of fixated on
it. The problem was, as certain as she was that her life could well
depend on figuring it out, it was a puzzle that seemed beyond her
ability to sort into any kind of order.
    She was very much afraid
that she was leaning more and more toward trusting Aidan, though,
trying to come up with reasons why she should, because she needed him for
survival.
    Exhausted, emotionally and physically,
she dozed off almost before she’d finished eating and swallowing.
Aidan nudged her again and handed her the water pouch. That revived
her a little, but she discovered she’d reached the point where she
didn’t want to try to fight sleep. She wanted to embrace
it.
    Aidan said something. She was sure he
was trying to get her up and moving again, but she ignored him,
shifting in an attempt to find a more comfortable position to
sleep. “I’m tired,” she muttered. “Just a little nap,
ok?”
    He bumped her again, rousing her
slightly, but when she realized he was curling up next to her, she
drifted off once more, huddling a little closer to the warmth he
exuded.
    Aidan didn’t actually
intend to doze off. He wasn’t certain how he had. The hard surface
was damned