JESSIE

The first thing I felt when I woke up was the pain in my upper arm and the throbbing between my legs. I blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the dim light of the nest as I stared at the sky through the nest's entrance. I heard the calling of animals and the sound of light rain drizzling outside. I shivered a bit, turning to my side. Luc's wing that had been draped over me twitched from my movement, recoiling to lie as light against his back as possible.

I smiled at him, appreciating the sight of his Alien features. His bridge-less nose, charred black lips, and oddly shiny brown hair. The hairs on his eyelids and brows looked equally as artificial, I didn't pay a lot of attention to them usually — my attention was mostly always captivated by his large pupils. His chest heaved with every breath, and I noticed the white bandages I'd used to wrap his shoulder wound had a bright red patch of blood that had soaked through it. I stared down at his leg, noticing the same thing on the fabrics he'd used to bandage his foot.

I should look at that wound myself later. I thought to myself as my heart panged at the memory of the claw trap clenched to his food. The pain must have been immense, but he had fought through it to get to me — to protect me. I knew a part of me should have been afraid of the side of Luc that was capable of killing. I'd seen the dead body — the gapping hole showing the soldier's empty chest cavity. Luc had gutted him, and he would have had no doubt done the same to the red-haired woman if I hadn't calmed him down.

But...

I wasn't afraid of him. He had done that for me, and he'd given me no reason to think he would ever do anything like that to me.

I touched the bandage on his shoulder, inspecting the dressing. The wounds would take time to heal, but they would heal, and hopefully without any complications. I moved my hand to his face, running my fingers down his cheekbone. He cooed at my touch, his eyes bobbing a bit behind his eyelid as his lips parted. I moved my fingers to his lips, brushing them with my tip as I drank the look of him.

He didn't wake up for a couple more hours, but when he did he allowed me to redress his wounds. I'd taken as much of the medical supplies from the cliff with me, and I tried my best to convey to Luc that we needed more of it soon. I also spent a lot of time looking at the map, trying to decide what human settlement might be my best option to approach.

It needed to be a group that could do something with the information, and now that I also knew the primary colony was trying to capture Avians, I needed it to be a group that was somewhat sympathetic to them. I did wonder if what I had been told by the soldiers was true. They said Avians had been capturing humans — straight up plucking them off the ground. My impression over the years was that they barely went to the surface. I wondered if it was a recent development or something that only happened in no man's land and less protected settlements.

I wish...

I wished I could just have asked Luc — asked him if he knew this was happening and why.

"Jessie."

I looked up from the map, hearing my name in Luc's voice. He was sitting across from me, chipping at a piece of wood with a small knife. "Jessie. Quiet." Luc said. "Jessie... Thinking... of humans."

I smiled a little, nodding. I rolled up the map, walking over to him before sitting at his side. I rested my head on his arm, letting out a small sign. "I'm sad," I said, hugging myself. "Afraid."

Luc's churring got anxious. He dropped his knife and the piece of wood, moving to gather me in his arms. "Safe. Here," the Avian said, rubbing his face against the top of my head as he purred. My eyes watered as I pressed my face to his chest, feeling his soft plumage tickle my cheek as I listened to his heartbeat. He continued to comfort me in his own special way, purring and cooing as he ran his hand down my hair.

***

Months passed, and Luc and I fell into a domestic pattern again.

He'd started to leave me in the nest by myself again when I assured him I was alright. I used the time to read, examine the map, and look through the human gadgets I'd been collecting.

Once on a trip outside the nest Luc and I had found an abandoned camp, and amongst the items we took was a recorder. It was the exact model that had been issued as part of basic supplies, and many people used them to keep audio notes or keep a diary. The find started my mini obsession with listening to the recording of anyone we could find — going as far as changing batteries to see if dead ones would work again and sometimes they did. I sometimes wondered if the people who owned them were alright. They could have died, been "extracted" while wondering no man's land, or simply grown bored of their device and threw it away.

I got some general information from listening to them — settlement names for one, and the names of notable people. There was a 'Petrova Aronov' that came up a lot in logs. She seemed to be a leader of a settlement that was willing to take in newcomers. It sounded like her people had military and scientific know-how — there were a lot of mentions hoping she would help the person making the recording with a sick friend or relative, and recordings of needing to accrue to relay information regarding other settlements and weaponry. It seemed like there were a few people within the initial colony who were on good terms with the defector settlements. There were no mentions of particular names or stations, just number-letter combos, reminiscent of the code names the military still used.

I wondered who they were. I had hoped Josephine, maybe even some of the coworkers I'd been on friendly terms with, but if what the soldiers told me was correct, it seemed like she was leading the science arm of their Avian acquisition pet project. I couldn't be mad at her. She—we had only really thought of the Avians as at best humans in their stone age. They weren't 'people', and didn't call for the same ethical care as humans.

But I... I now knew differently.

The recordings also confirmed what the soldiers had told me. There was the occasional mention of Avians being sighted — normal, but what was abnormal were the diary recordings of someone being taken or groups being stalked. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the attacks. It wasn't specific to age or gender or a specific settlement.

With all the small hints and clues, I now had a rough idea of which one of the dozen landmarks on the map was her settlement.

I'd made Luc take me close enough to the area to observe it. Sometimes I saw people patrolling a small cave entry, and sometimes it was just a couple of dogs, sniffing and strolling about.

One day after a couple of pep talks I gave myself, I decided to make a recording.

"This is Jessie English, from the Colony Prime 1. Starship, Gallic-3. Medical team, resident surgeon in training. A couple of months ago I was exiled for administering a needed medical procedure outside agreed-upon regulations in place," I paused, thinking of what to say next. "My months in exile have been eventful. I returned to the initial crash site, and I was able to uncover a black box backup. I had a run-in with special ops shortly after. I'm looking to speak with Petrova Aronov — share what I know... and ask a couple of questions of my own. I'll retrieve this in a week, please leave me a message of your own."

I clicked the stop button, saving the message before putting the recorder away. The day after I asked Luc to take me to the location, and he did, letting me place the little black rectangle recorder within scouting distance of the dogs that were outside today. I wondered if the settlement had any way of observing me without being within my line of vision. I wondered what they thought of me, occasionally showing up with an Avian in their territory.

I hoped my recording explained myself enough, and if this settlement was willing to take the information of me... well, I would know in about a week. I turned to Luc, smiling as I closed the distance between us.

"All done," I muttered, and he cooed, gathering me in his arms before taking off.

We returned to the site a week later in the evening, and before Luc's feet even hit the ground, I noticed a box sitting where I had left the recorder.

"Wait," I told Luc, making him stop in his tracks. He churred in distress but stayed put. I gave him a reassuring smile before approaching the box ahead with caution, checking the clamps to make sure it wasn't a trigger for a fuse. I slowly placed my hands on the side of the lid, opening the metal clamps before pushing the lid upwards, and aside from the creaking the box made from the motion, I was still alive.

In the box, the recorder I had left behind was sitting on top of a small notepad I picked up both, standing up. I looked through the logs, finding the most recent recording before pressing play and putting it against my ear.

"Petrova. Year 7, Euqaino, month 8 of 14, day 21 of month 8.

This message is for Jessie English."

There was a pause and the sound of movement in the back.

"I had to do a quick background check on you before I decided to leave this. I've confirmed who you are, but I somehow have more questions than answers. Why do you have an Avian? How are you communicating with it? Are you working for it? Is it working for you?"

There was some more shuffling in the back.

"I need that information... as well as the one you shared willingly in your first message. Meeting granted. Please approach the entrance to the cave when you're ready. The dogs don't bite. Security knows what you look like already. Tell them you're here for Petrova — No weapons and your friend isn't invited... cooperate with security, do as they say, and wear the blindfold. I don't know your motivations. Don't take my lack of full trust in you as an insult. You don't know me and I don't know you.

Look at the notepad included. It's information on yourself, and some notes JSR001 wanted you to have.

End of recording—"

There was a scratching sound as the last few seconds played. When it ended, I brought it to my line of sight, I tucked it in the pocket of my pants before moving to open the notepad. I turned the pages, skimming the details — It was mundane stuff — general information about me like you would find on a colonist's records. I stopped on a page that detailed why I had been exiled. I swallowed, reviewing the name of my patient. Not once had I regretted what I'd done, but seeing notes calling me a murderer and child abuser made a rage grow in my chest. I turned the pages, raising a brow at the information detailing my interaction with the soldiers. It looked like everyone, including the red-haired soldier, had made it back to Prime-1.

There was information detailing that I could talk to the Avian and that I was with it. I bit my bottom lip, realizing that the red-haired woman had survived. She had been the only person to hear Luc talk... but her outburst about me "fucking" the Avian was oddly absent. Maybe she'd decided it wasn't worth reporting without any actual proof — who knew? There were also notes stating I was now part of the wanted alive list. I shivered at that a little, realizing that there was now an active warrant for my custody.

At the far back of the notepad were drawings of Avians, and what seemed like an alphabet of an unknown script written neatly under the English one. There were lists of words, made ridiculously long by the tonal accents and marks scattering almost every syllable and letter, and then words written right under it in the unfamiliar script.

Avian words? Written in Latin script? I wondered. An attempt at some sort of translation? The notes grew more detailed with every page, and over time it dawned on me who JSR001 must be.

Josephine.

I'd seen some of these notes before.

I closed the notepad, deciding I would take a better look at its contents before preparing for my meeting with Petrova. I turned to look at Luc who was still staying put. A couple of meters away. "All done," I informed him, walking over to him. He chirped, seeming pleased before picking me up and hugging me close. My hands and the notepad were pressed between us, and my legs, instinctively wrapped around his waist as his wings fluttered in preparation for take off.

He lunged upwards, sending us up into the air before setting a course for the nest.