Read Online Survivor Planet III by Juliet Cardin - Free Book Online Page A

of sight only to distort and retreat. Voices sounded in my head calling another name that wasn’t mine. Sitting up in bed I grasped my head and pulled my knees up to my chest.
    Please stop…please stop…
    Invisible hands were on my shoulders shaking me gently. “Amanda, wake up now. Come on sweetheart.”
    â€œNot Amanda,” I cried softly. “Leave me alone.”
    Shadows loomed all around me. The lines of reality blurred and were replaced by visions of a place I’d never been, and faces I didn’t know. I swung my arms out in front of me trying to push them away.
    â€œIt’s Ayres. You remember, baby. Come on now, let go.”
    Ayres?
    The name I’d called when I was afraid. But the voice didn’t sound in control. It sounded impatient, almost frantic.
    Something’s wrong.
    The grip on me became stronger. So strong I feared it would rip me from this world. Was it true what Cade had said, that I was reliving my abduction? It made sense—to a point. If it were true then why would I call to Ayres for protection—the very man who seemed bent on tearing me away? Had he been my abductor perhaps? And could I be experiencing some twisted sense of loyalty, like Stockholm syndrome? Expecting the person responsible for my fate to be the one to save me? The only one who could save me? And yet, I could not deny the deep bond I felt with this man. Though his means of defending me were strange, and intrusive, he had at least come for me.
    The pain I felt was more mental than physical. Like I was about to fall over a cliff and the hand linking me to the edge was slipping. Fear of the unknown was the worst part. What would become of me if I allowed myself to drift into the void?
    â€œI don’t want to go,” I cried. “Please, leave me alone.”
    The door to my room suddenly burst open. “Lara?”
    Cade! I’d disturbed him again. And now he would see what was happening to me. I couldn’t stop it. Even now as I saw him coming toward me—slowly as if in a dream—the hands on me were Ayres’. Pulling, ever pulling.
    â€œCome now , Amanda!” he begged.
    â€œNot Amanda,” I asserted through gritted teeth.
    â€œLara! What’s wrong? What is happening?” That was Cade, his voice sounding from the distance.
    â€œAyres, taking me away.” The whispered reply was all I could leave him with. In the next moment I felt my body go completely limp. Blackness surrounded me.
    But not for long.
    Creeping out from the edges of my psyche were those visions I vaguely remembered. A dove, a forest, a bright light. Then more quickly; deadly laser bolts flashing from steel weapons, strange human-like creatures, some with wings. Death.
    Hands were on me, urging me to sit up. But I was already sitting up, wasn’t I? Hazy faces materialized before me. A sharp pin prick in my arm.
    â€œWe need her up. Now!” a man said sharply.
    â€œAmanda! You need to wake up. We’re under attack.” That was Ayres.
    Attack? From who? Why would Ayres sound so concerned? Wasn’t he a warrior?
    I shook my head, fighting the nausea and dizziness. My hands reached out and came in contact with a huge, hard chest. I felt leather beneath my hands and clung to it.
    â€œThey’re practically on top of us. They must have seen our ship,” the other man said.
    Slowly my mind began to focus.
    â€œRoamyn?” Ayres demanded.
    â€œI can’t tell from here. I’d have to go up to the surface. It’s only showing me three small ships. They’ve fired on our ship though.”
    â€œDamn it!” Ayres again.
    I scrubbed at my face with my hands trying to force myself to revive. There was trouble. I needed to wake up. A strong hand went around my waist helping me to stand.
    â€œThey’re landing.”
    Though he kept merging from one image into two, I focused on Ayres. “I’m out. Damn, what a mind fuck that