I had to make sure she was alright though and part of doing that was feeding her first.
I walked away from the cavern, looking back one last time to ensure she was still resting. She didn’t move. She needed her rest, so I wouldn’t wake her until I could feed her. I thought she’d sleep for some time and although I was nervous to leave her, I had to take the chance.
I left the caves, sprinting off into the woods in search of the human stores of food. I ran for a good long while, my lungs never tiring, my muscles pushing me forward every step of the way. I was designed for this sort of thing. The humans had ensured I had heightened strength, endurance, as well as increased sensory overload, including sight, smell, and sound.
They had intended to use me and my brethren for military conquests. Through genetic modification, they intended to raise an army of incredible super soldiers, enforcers of their will, and using our innate ability to produce massive amounts of epinephrine to their gain. They had envisioned using my kind, forcing us to hunt down and kill their enemies at will, just like intelligent attack dogs.
Even now, the thought sickened me.
We were able to sustain very high levels of the hormone epinephrine for extended periods of time. It made us stronger and as a result, we all outperformed humans by an extreme margin. From my understanding, they had been developing the genetic enhancement for a period of time, but in many cases, it didn’t work or went horribly wrong.
Many of my brethren died. Some in utero, some as children, and even others at a late stage of adolescence. There were only a few of us that had made it to adulthood, remarkably. In many cases, the scientists had tried to enhance our fighting and hunting skills, but in a surprising twist, sexual urges were also increased and were often times completely savage and uncontrollable. In more than one case, the genetically modified aliens turned into frenzied beasts that raped and killed a fair number of scientists along the way. Their blood lust was insatiable and they all had to be put down. Every last one of them.
As of now, the only ones left were me and Saleos. We happened to be special because their latest genetic modulation experiments gave us impenetrable skin to their more basic firearms. They’d made us more powerful than ever. Fucking idiots.
Saleos had been the humans’ biggest mistake. He was an angry, raving beast that was utterly uncontrollable. The humans had tried to keep him contained, but when he escaped, it had ended in a massacre. The worst part of it all was that he still kept his intelligence through it all. He thought the human species deserved everything he’d done to them, furious at his captivity and their need to try to control him, so he aimed to kill them all.
He was consumed with revenge.
He’d had it much worse than I did. They’d always kept him in a cage, whereas they allowed me to be free.
Lost in thought, I continued my sprint down the mountainside until I came back to the central compound. I carefully wandered inside, moving slowly and trying to sense if anyone was still alive and if Saleos was still around. I couldn’t sense either and continued on inside, using the first-floor portal to travel directly to the food stores. I stuffed a nearby bag full of cheeses, meats, and breads, a few bottles of water, as well as some wine.
When I finished, I used the portal to travel back to the first floor. I sprinted back up the mountain, careful to keep my steps silent and sure. I made it back to the cave in no time at all and was relieved to see that she was still resting on the mattress I’d dragged up here.
She looked like an angel when she slept.
I got to work over the fire, stoking it up even further so that I could begin to cook some of the raw meat. There was an assortment of sliced meats that were already cooked. I chopped up some cheese, fried up a few pieces of bacon, chicken meat, and sausage and set it all out on a plate once I finished. I noticed that she began to stir once the smell of sustenance was on the air and I allowed myself to smile a little.
I was going to take care of her today. Show her I wasn’t the monster I’d been last night. Maybe she wouldn’t run from my cave screaming in horror.
She lifted her head, opened those pretty blue eyes of hers, and stared right at me.
“Hey there,” I said after a long moment, hesitant to see the anger come back in her eyes once she recognized me or worse, fear.
“Hi,” she answered hesitantly, her voice extremely hoarse.
I remembered I’d made her scream a lot last night.
“I’ve made some breakfast for you. Come eat,” I said softly, trying my best to seem nonthreatening. Calmly, she pushed herself out of bed, groaning quietly as she rose. I tried not to let my eyes drift up and down her beautiful body, but it was difficult. Just seeing her long, lean limbs made my cock harden once again. I shifted my legs to hide it, grateful for my cloth pants once again.
“I’m so sore,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Here, you should drink some water,” I suggested, passing her a bottle. She took it from me, if a bit hesitantly. She sat down on a rock by the fire, taking care not to step too close to the embers. Carefully, she brought it up to her lips and I watched her, careful to not seem too threatening.
She gulped down the whole thing in just under a minute. I wasn’t that surprised, due to what I’d put her through the night before. When she was finished with the water, I passed her the plate of cooked and cold meats and cheeses. I tried not to grin when I heard her stomach growl hungrily in response. She was definitely hungry, if not starving.
She took the plate and began to roll the meats and cheeses together. We were both quiet while she ate. I tended the fire and added a few additional logs to the blaze. I was pleased to see her eat a good portion of the food before beginning to slow.
“I’ve given you my name. Would you give me yours?” I asked.
She stilled, lifting her eyes to meet mine. I saw something there I didn’t expect. She wasn’t scared or angry, but curious. Her chee
ks flushed prettily, and she averted her eyes, hunching her shoulders and pressing her legs together in what I could only identify as quiet shame. She licked her lips, before lifting her head with a sudden boldness and sureness, her confidence returning in the span of a few seconds.
“My name is Cosima Rose,” she answered, her voice stronger now that she had water and food, less hoarse.
I tasted her name on my tongue.