Page 14 of Master (The Outlander Book Club… in Space! #3)

“My knees worked fine when I was in my twenties," I snorted. "But my body was considerably older before they ran me through that machine.”

Tarook pursed his lips, taking in my answer, then asked. “What were you like—on Earth—before the machine?”

“I had the body of a sixty-five-year-old and felt every ache of it," I told him, refraining from going into detail about the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis.

“Sixty-five? That's not old.” Tarook quirked a brow at me.”

“It’s elderly on Earth,” I insisted and wondered. “How old are you?”

“One hundred and thirty-four, my last birth rotation.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Holy shit!" I wouldn't have guessed a day over thirty based on his physique. A very well-kept thirty. "How long do your kind live?”

Tarook shrugged, stepping before me as we moved into the tree line. “When a Vaktaire reaches three hundred birth rotations, they are considered at an advanced age.”

“Emmy said the healer thing extended my life span. Will I live to be three hundred?" The idea wasn't appealing… surely one got bored by, say, one seventy-five.

“We have little data on how long the healer extends human lifespan. The Trogvyk only began using the healer on humans in the last one hundred years.” Tarook paused, then led me to the left to avoid a vicious thorn.

“So far, the studies indicate that once a human goes through the healer, they physically age one year for every seven.”

“That’s like reverse dog years,” I mused.

“Dog years?”

I launched into an explanation of dogs and pets in general and the concept of dog years. It was tedious and reminded me of explaining particle mass acceleration to high school freshman. Still, it passed the time as we maneuvered through the thicket.

Tarook took care with each step, making sure I didn’t get swiped, poked, or jabbed. Curtis, thankfully, had only been into the outdoors if it came with a fairway and water hazard. Our hikes were lazy meanders around the neighborhood. I stayed in shape with tennis and Pilates.

Those two summers I'd spent with foster parents, Ed and Judy, traipsing through every forest in six natural parks were enough to last me a lifetime. I still had scars from the mosquito bites.

At least there didn't seem to be any bugs here. Of course, I was thinking in terms of Earth bugs. For all I knew, bugs on this planet grew to the size of buses.

God, I hoped not.

Honestly, the forest wasn't that bad. It was thick, but Tarook led us on what looked like a small game trail. Twin suns pushed the chill from the air without making it too warm. Overhead, the sounds of birdcall and wind-rustled branches accompanied our trek.

"Some people treat their animals like human babies?" Tarook frowned, and I wasn't sure if it was from side-stepping a nasty-looking bush or the concept of fur babies.

"Some do." I chuckled. "My husband, Curtis, worked with a woman whose dog had more clothes than I did.”

Tarook snorted, his expression plainly stating the ridiculousness of the idea. In answer, my stomach gave a loud, angry grumble.

“Hungry?” He smiled.

“Apparently so.” I gave my belly a soothing pat.

“We can stop just up ahead.” He motioned to where the husk of a fallen tree lay, making a small clearing in the surrounding foliage.

Tarook glanced around the area, then motioned for me to sit. He dropped the bags at my feet and rooted around, coming up with pouches of water and nutrition bars.

Alien water was thicker than Earth water with a sweeter taste, almost like honey and water mixed. The bars were light brown, the consistency of firmly packed tofu. Surprisingly, they tasted like a cross between a Snickers candy bar and raspberries.

“I'm sorry it doesn't taste like much, but it's filling. I think there's some neita fruit up ahead," Tarook said before cramming a bar into his mouth.

“What’s neita fruit?” I polished off my bar in four bites, hungrier than I realized.

“There.” He pointed a few feet away.

The tree stood much smaller than the surrounding timbers. The trunk, limbs, and leaves reminded me of an apple tree. Hanging at the end of each stem was something that resembled a fat banana covered in peach fuzz.

Tarook meandered over, so tall he easily plucked several fruits from the upper branches before returning to lay the bounty at my feet. The fruit felt like a peach, with a distinctly pineapple fragrance.

"Here." Tarook took the fruit from me, using his claw to split the thick outer skin to expose the inner fruit, which looked like clusters of pale pink cherries.

I popped the fruit in my mouth, moaning aloud as the tastes of pineapple, blueberries, and a hint of whipped cream exploded on my tongue.

“Good?” Tarook grinned as I downed my second mouthful.

“This is delicious!”

He picked up another fruit, claw at the ready. “Do you want more?”

My tastebuds wanted to say yes, but the nutrition bar was filling. "I'm full." I glanced covetously at the tree. "Can we take some with us?"

“Of course.” Tarook walked away, stretching to reach the fruit on higher branches. He’d removed his jacket during our hike, the muscles of his arms and the breadth of his shoulders on full display.

Have mercy!

A faint rattling hit my ears that I mistook for the sound of my ragged, lusty breathing.

It wasn’t.

A movement drew my attention to the ground near my feet. The creature was about as long as my arm, with a snake-like body that rose on two spindly hind feet. The face was a mixture of snake and rat, but the fangs, glistening with drops of venom, were all snake.

The gasp preceding my intent to scream rattled the creature, and it bowed back, eyes narrowing on my leg. It jerked forward. I screamed, anticipating the agony of inch-long fangs sinking into my flesh.

Pain that never came.

Just before the beast struck, a whoosh of movement flew past, impaling the creature and propelling it back against a nearby tree trunk.

"Are you okay?" Tarook manifested at my side, his hands running over my legs and arms, checking for injury. His touch was frantic, but oddly comforting.

"What the hell was that thing?" My voice shook. Not surprising since the snake-rat nearly bit me, something that, according to Tarook's demeanor, would be nasty.

“An alkannat. Nasty fuckers, very poisonous.

" Satisfied that I suffered no injury, Tarook rose and stalked over to where a large knife impaled the snake-rat against a tree trunk.

He jerked the knife free, wiping the blade on the grass before returning it to its sheath.

Picking up the small corpse, he brought it near his face, studying it.

“Please tell me you’re not one of those survivalists and try to convince me that thing would be good eating?” I begged, stomach lurching at the idea.

“This thing?" Tarook glanced at the limp body in his hand and shivered in disgust. "That's nasty. I just need to get it out of the way so some poor, unsuspecting creature doesn’t step on it.

The fangs can dispense poison even after death.

" He stepped back and tossed the snake-rat high into the branches.

Several birds expressed displeasure with shrill squawks.

My gaze followed the ascent of the creature, losing the limp body amidst the….

Holy shit!

“Oh my God, that’s a Ponderosa pine!”

“The tree?” Tarook followed my gaze, seeking the reason for my excitement.

I jumped to my feet, intent on getting a closer view of the rusty orange tree trunk. I imagined the dead snake-rat falling out of the upper branches and upon my head, and reconsidered.

“It’s from Earth." I let my gaze travel up the sturdy trunk and over the stout, light green needles that grew in tuft-like groupings.

“Pine is one of the more populous species of trees on Earth as it adapts to most climates.

I glanced about, my eyes growing wider as I pointed to another tree.

“That one is a sugar pine, and the one over there is—I think—a loblolly pine.” The ground shrubs were sparser here, the undergrowth impeded by a layer of shed brown needles.

When I glanced back, Tarook held his arms crossed across his chest, his face a mask of respect. "You seem quite knowledgeable. Did you work with trees on Earth?”

"Kinda," I shrugged. "I was a high school science teacher."

"So, you know about trees." He reiterated, retrieving our packs and setting us back on the path.

“Some," I said and laughed. "The curriculum touched on many subjects—chemistry, biology, astronomy, physics, geology, meteorology. I taught a little of everything. My favorite was the study of plants, a science called botany.”

"Your parents must be very proud of you. In my world, being an educator is a greatly respected.”

I liked how the Vaktaire considered teachers, but still shrugged. I would never know what my parents thought or who they were for that matter.

The path narrowed further, causing Tarook to step into the lead, cutting away obstacles with his massive knife.

Just as well, I didn't want to talk about my life in foster care.

I hated the pity that always painted the faces of those I told, and I couldn't stand the idea of Tarook looking at me like that.

And sadly, my story was better than most.

I remembered nothing of my true parents.

When I entered foster care at age two, most expected me to be adopted easily.

That wasn't the case. Even as a toddler, I found connecting with and trusting people hard.

None of my foster families were necessarily cruel.

They just didn't want to invest in a child who learned early on—the only person I could depend on was myself.

In the sixteen years I spent in the foster care system, I went through five different families.

The day I turned eighteen, my foster mother—a rather self-absorbed bitch named Leigha—met me at the door holding a packed suitcase.

She wished me luck, closing the door in my face with a resounding slam.