Minute by Minute - 1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: 



The fields overlooking our tiny greens farm were blooming. The rhubarb leaves were flowering open, the lettuce was rising, and the carrots were starting to peek through. The peace in the early morning light was nearly overwhelming. I wanted to let it overtake me, swallow me up in its ice blue blanket before I had to turn around and return to the shambles that was my life. 



Sighing, I placed my hand on the wet earth I was kneeling in and pushed myself up. After brushing my knees off and double-checking the irrigation system, I started the short walk back to the house. My peaceful morning solitude was over. 



Surrounded by green shallow hills and tall oak trees, the house stood out like a sore thumb. Prefab, I think they called it. The trend started right after the millennium, quick, cheap, easy to build houses made out of whatever material they could use. Ours is made out of those shipping containers that they used to use on trains or cargo ships. It looks like a bunch of big metal boxes that they cut and glued together. They started bringing the trend back when they were running out of resources to build houses for all of us Lower and Bottom born families. 



“Noah!” 


Fuck. That was my father. Officially jarred out of my thoughts, I ran the rest of the way to the house. Slipping inside the door, I immediately made my way to the kitchen. I could hear my father’s steps lumbering down the stairs. As quietly as I could, I darted through the kitchen door to the stove. The holo-clock on the wall caught my eye.

Oh no. 

No no no. 



It was almost eight thirty. I had spent way too much time outside thinking. I lunged for the cabinet and started yanking out pans. I punched in directions on the stove and rushed to grab milk and eggs from the fridge. I didn’t quite make it.

The kitchen door crashed open. My mind took in the wobbling picture frames while my eyes trained on the figure before me. My father was still dressed in what he'd worn last night, a pair of ill-fitting pajama pants, a food stained undershirt, and a shabby old robe that reeked of alcohol. Desperately I hoped that he wasn’t hung over. But as his red rimmed eyes locked onto me, I knew I was in trouble. 



“Where the fuck is breakfast?” He ground out around his yellowed teeth. They fascinated me. I always wondered how he didn’t get sick of the grimy feeling in his mouth. I knew he had a toothbrush. 



SMACK! My head whipped to side. My ears rung from the force of the blow. Blood exploded into my mouth as my teeth sunk into my tongue. I really needed to start paying better attention. Lolling my head forward, I tried to focus on what he was saying. 



“-breakfast! What the fuck are you doing? You stupid useless fucking whore!” 



His leg lashed out and I barely had time to tighten my abs before his foot caught me under the ribs and a scream forced its way past my teeth. I fell to the ground and hunched in on myself. I could feel the cold tracks of tears as they ran down my face. He wouldn’t like that. Men weren’t supposed to cry. None too soon I felt his sweaty hand curl around the collar of my shirt and yank me up. He grunted in disgust before throwing me at the stove. 



“You have ten minutes. Breakfast damn well be on the fucking table when I get back down.” 



Still in the position I had caught myself in, I slowly straightened myself out. He called me a whore. Yet he was the one who used me. Forced me. He was the one who -- Deep breath. 



Ouch. Fuck, bad idea. No deep breathing. Breakfast. Taking a shatteringly painful breath, I started scrambling the eggs. I knew my brothers and sisters were probably right outside the door. Their breakfast was late too, after all. I heard the door open again, softly this time. 



“Noah.” Sam. 



“Yeah, Sam.”

The door clicked shut and I heard his footsteps quietly cross the floor until he was nearly against my back. Tears sparked in my eyes again so I shut them tight. I felt Sam’s hand on mine, unclenching my fingers from around the pan’s handle. Suddenly all the pain I had blocked out came rushing in. I whimpered. 

My head shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. I collapsed backwards into Sam as the pain from my fractured ribs exploded into my system. I felt his hands holding me up, running a damp cloth over my face to clean the blood and salty tears away. I let my head fall back against his shoulder. Through the gray haze that was my vision I could see that his own face was wet. Why was he crying? I didn’t deserve his tears. I tried to reach up to brush the offending tears away but my side flared with fresh pain. 



“Ah!” 



Sam grimaced and shifted me so that he could hold me better. He spoke quietly, “Shh, Noah. Don’t move. God, I wish I could take you away from him. Shh. I got you. Let me help take the pain away.”

A hand brushed over my swollen ribs and pain spiked briefly before I felt the familiar warmth encompass me. My head buzzed pleasantly and I could hear a faint cracking as my ribs knit themselves back together. I was floating in a golden ocean, anchored by his arms as he slowly healed me. Sometimes I wondered if he would allow me to float here in this lambent silence forever. Maybe if I killed myself. Where else would I go? Even pitch-black nothingness for the rest of eternity would be preferable to the desolation I lived in now. Then maybe I could sleep. Dimly I heard my name being called. I tried to swim my way through my thoughts and emerge into consciousness. 



“Noah. Noah come on, we don’t have much time left. Wake up buddy.” 



I opened my eyes slowly, not quite wanting to leave my golden comfort yet. I blinked up at Sam, realizing he was directly above me. Sometime during the process he must have slipped down the wall, cradling me in his arms. I was happy to see that an amused smile now replaced the sadness I had seen before. 



“Come on kid, you gotta finish up breakfast.’ A groan escaped my chest before I could check myself, but instead of reprimanding me, he chuckled and hefted me up. 



”I know, but if you finish that up, I’ll set the plates out.” With one last affectionate ruffle of my hair, he grabbed the tableware and headed out the door. I turned back to the stove. The eggs were done and I had just enough time to throw some bread into the toaster and get out the juice. When everything was ready, I juggled everything into my arms and tried open the kitchen door without breaking anything. 



Lucas and Ally were already sitting down, chatting with Sam. As I walked in, Lucas jumped up and grabbed the egg pan. 



“Let me get that, little bro.” He grinned at me, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. I just nodded and finished setting everything out. I heard what sounded like a heard of horses thundering down the stairs, and I barely managed to back out of the way before Paul came bursting in with our littlest brother, Beckett, over his shoulder. Sounds of laughter saturated the room. 



“Paul! Lemme’ down! Paul! No!” Beckett screamed and erupted into fits of laughter as Paul began tickling him mercilessly. I couldn’t help but smile a little bit, but as soon as I did, Paul’s slate grey eyes caught mine. The smile vanished and he stood slowly. I skittered my eyes away, but I could still feel his glare boring into my forehead. 



“Beck, sit down. Ally, go make sure Chloe’s up.” Ally jumped up and shot me an apologetic glance before running out the door and up the stairs. “Breakfast was late.” 



I swallowed nervously and looked away before nodding. He took a step towards me. I stumbled backwards, nearly falling over a chair until Sam caught my arm. He steadied me and sent me a hard look that told me to stay quiet, like I didn't know that already.

“Leave him alone Paul. It’s out now, everything’s fine. Just let it go.” 

Paul huffed irritably, then glanced up at the clock. 



“Whatever. Keep him out of the way today. We have important people coming over, and I don't want his stupid fairy ass fucking things up.” 



A breath I hadn’t realized I was holding rushed out of me, but got sucked right back in as the door slammed open and our father came stomping in. He'd showered by now, his eyes considerably less red and his clothing much nicer than usual. Gone were the stained pajamas, replaced by brown cotton slacks that looked like they hadn't made it out of the closet since mom's funeral. The top was now a slightly wrinkled dingy white work shirt. My eyes widened at his appearance, but I kept my mouth shut. Whoever was coming today must be pretty important. He didn’t say anything, just sat down at the head of the table and started scooping food onto his plate. I waited tensely for Ally and Chloe to come in and sit down, then slowly lowered myself into a chair. 



I’d gotten through the morning. I could make it through the rest of the day. I didn’t even want to think about tonight. Minute by minute. 




****** 



I was working outside when they came. I heard the loud rumbling of the EFV-Heli long before its blocky metal form dropped into the front yard. I always thought they were so ugly. Government gray, it was shaped with a squarish front pod and two horizontal wings coming out of the top. The side door opened and a few officials jumped out, straightening their suits. Behind them a few URNA Marines popped out, guns at the ready. 



What the fuck? When gov people came out, they usually just brought some of the section police, not fucking URNA killing machines. 



Shit. Had they found out about Chloe and Beckett? Jerking my head towards the house, I tried to still my rapidly disintegrating nerves. They were hidden. We'd made extra sure of that hours ago. 



It didn't make sense anyways. A few Unbarred didn't warrant a whole squadron of marines, or explain why Father had gotten dressed up. What else was going on? I looked back towards the heli, and promptly dropped my shovel. The three figures now standing beside the gov officials were huge. Well over a foot taller than my five foot ten frame, they were distinctly feline in appearance. Two of them had what looked like long messy mohawks, whereas the third's hair was closely shorn. Their skin was a tawny golden color, all over. I could tell because they weren't hardly wearing any clothing. Leather straps crossed their heavily muscled chests, and each was wearing a differently colored skirt thing. 



They walked towards the house, the two with hair walking ahead of the third. Their strides were graceful, long and loping. The gov men walked beside them, introducing my father as he walked out to meet them. 



One separated himself from the group, walking over to the kale crops and crouching down. He scooped up some dirt in his large paw and lifted it to his nose. After taking a deep whiff, he pulled out a small metal canister a dropped the dirt into it. He wiped his hands on his legs and made to stand up. His head snapped up and suddenly his gaze was locked with mine. 



His eyes were stunning. The pupil was vertical like a cats, and I could see the golden iris even from here. They drew me in, demanded me to fall back and declare my subservience. My cock jerked in my pants. 



The reaction was like a splash of ice-cold water. I launched to my feet and stole one last glance at the beautiful alien. His eyes were still trained on me, his body still crouched. His forehead was scrunched, as if in confusion. He made to stand and lifted a hand towards me, his eyes now entreatingly cautious. Blood rushed to my face and I took off through the fields. 



What the fuck was I thinking? Those weren't just any aliens. They were Caoch, one of the most revered races in all of space. Their war prowess was well known throughout our galaxy, and in several beyond. And I had just been staring one down! Like I was an equal! Oh damn, I was utterly fucked. If the officials didn't throw me in prison for disrespecting a Kohar, my father was sure to punish me tonight. 


I almost preferred prison.


******

The boy was beautiful.

When I had caught a whiff of fresh jasmine, I’d jerked up and caught sight of the most intriguing specimen of human breeding that I’d ever seen. A single glance had my breechclout tightening, and as I looked longer, the more I wanted to pounce.

His eyes were startlingly green under a flop of dark brown hair. They were wide and held a hint of desire, which didn’t help my own problem. I took in the lavender bags under his eyes, the gauntness of his cheeks. His top lip was slightly fuller than the lower, giving him a tenacious air. The shirt he was wearing hung off him, and through the ragged neckline I could see starkly visible collarbones that were made for nibbling on.

My musing was abruptly interrupted when jumped to his feet. He started to turn away, then whipped around and stared at me one last time, as if he was committing my image to memory. I slowly stood, not wanting to startle him more, and held out my hand. I wanted to feel his skin on mine.

I could see the fear in his eyes, but I hoped that he would – No. Nope, he was running. He was taller than I’d expected, and his fleeing form gave me glances of skin so smooth and pale that it reminded me of that old Earth tale, snow something or other. He fled through the rows of green and quickly disappeared behind a tall oak. A sigh escaped me. I could chase after him, but that would accomplish nothing other than scaring him and alarming my father and the Earth guards.

I would have to settle for finding out about him from his family. I could see a few young men and women walking around, but they gave our entourage fearful glances and I highly doubted they’d offer up any information. The father, then.

Looking back at my father and the humans, I groaned. Though I knew that we desperately needed this land deal, it still frustrated me. Our race wasn’t exactly used to asking others for anything. Especially not humans. They were small, insignificant, exasperatingly arrogant, and all around just annoying. Which made the little discovery I had found earlier even more fascinating. I had never met any one, no race, gender, or species, who had sponsored such an instantaneous reaction. I wanted -- I needed to know more. My skin tingled, as if I could still feel those emerald eyes burning into me. Remembering the short encounter brought my cock back out of its sheath.

Kahl be damned, it had been too long since my last rut.

Shaking myself, I made my way over to father. He put his fist on my arm, letting his knuckle claws rest on me for a moment. I knew he could sense my agitation, and I felt bad for distracting him.

“Kohar, I-“

“That’s all right Adrai, we’re about finished up here.” He turned to the officials and lifted his chin. “I trust you can go over the rest of the terms without me?” When they nodded, he turned and walked away. I followed, knowing that he was offering me time to talk with him in private.

“Now, son. What is it that has got you stinking like a housecat in heat?” He flashed his fangs briefly, letting me know that he was joking, partly.

I got right to the point, “There was a boy in the fields. I think I scared him, as he ran off before I got a chance to speak with him, but I would like your permission to inquire the older human about him.”

He raised his brow at me then asked, “A human boy? What made you so incensed if you did not even speak with him? Was he that pretty?”

“He was the most stunning human that I have ever seen, father. You can smell me; he reduced me to this after just staring at me across the length of a field. And he wanted me as well, I’m sure of it.”

My father sighed and ran a hand over his face. This was an incredibly delicate situation, but I had to know.

“You have my permission to ask. But if the man refuses information, do NOT make a scene. We need this land more than you need to get your cock wet. And if he wanted you as much as you say, why did he run?

“I don’t know. But I want to find out. The officials are done with the human. I will go now, if that’s alright?”

He nodded, and turned to come with me. As we reached the older male, he looked at me with an ugly sneer that he quickly corrected as he watched my father approach as well. He walked forward and held his hand out, a human gesture of greeting. When I ignored it and lifted my chin to him, he huffed and spoke, “Adrai, is it?”

“No. You will address me as K’ loemach. First names are used only be spouses and close family members on our planet. I have an inquiry to make about a family member of yours, if you would answer it.”

His face turned red and his chest puffed out. I wondered about the reaction, but put it down to familial protection instincts.

“My family? What’s this about, did one of them do something?”

That made me frown. Maybe not instinct. Something seemed off here, but I couldn’t figure it out. I answered carefully, “No, nothing happened. I saw one of your sons in the field. Dark hair, green eyes, rather thin. I didn’t speak with him, but I would like to if I could.”

The mans face continued to get considerably redder as I spoke, to the point where I was slightly nervous that he would have a stroke. He grit his teeth and glared at me before spitting on the ground beside him and speaking again.

“That’s Noah you’re talking about. He’s simple. Don’t hardly talk at all, so it’d be a waste to bother. Why’d you wanna? He’s pretty. Lotsa people wanna know where he got those eyes of his. You want him, or something?” His eyes took on a gleam that sent chills running down my spine. I couldn’t believe that he was talking about his own offspring that way, as if he would sell him to the highest bidder if the price were good enough. Something he had said was also bugging me.

“What do you mean by simple?”

He laughed, a cruel, grating sound that had me straightening away from him in disgust.

“The boy’s stupid. He ain’t got no sense. He just sticks in his room with those stupid papers that have gibberish scrabbled all over ‘em. He’s crazy or somethin’. Here I got one in my pocket. See, he’s nuts. You don’t want somethin’ broken do ya?” He snickered again, laughing at his own hilarity. I took the paper in his hand and turned it over. The material was aged yellow and the writing barely legible, but vaguely familiar. I held it up to the light and gasped.

It was Caochi. The language was my own. Most of the characters were worn, as if the paper had been handled often, but it was unmistakable. I thrust it at my father, watching him repeat the same movements I had, with the same reaction.

He jerked his head toward the human and sharply asked, “Does the boy, Noah, understand this?”

The stupid man looked confused now. His small beady eyes were shifting between us, like he could figure out what he had missed by glaring at us.

“I don’t fucking know. He mutters a lot, somethin’ like ‘Rokey ya coll chikeenoye rokey’ or somethin’, why, it mean somethin’ to ya?”

Rokhiya Kahl, chikenowe, Rokhi. Please Kahl, save me, please.

Alarm shot through my veins. I turned my shocked gaze to my father, who was just as surprised. There were no humans that we knew of who could understand our language. None of them really tried. They didn’t even have translators for us when we came to Intergalactic meetings. They didn’t try at all, even with the other alien species. The humans looked down on us, as most of us also thought of them with contempt. That a mere boy had found transcripts from our planet and managed to learn from them, even speaking our language, was… it was amazing.

These thoughts rolling through my head, I turned again to the ignorant human.

“You said he keeps these papers in his room? May we see them?”

He immediately took offense. “Fuck no! You can’t come into my house! I’ve already let you take most my land, you can’t fucking come into my house. I suggest you leave.” He joined this last comment with a menacing step towards me, but with our height differences, it was more amusing than intimidating. There was nothing more I could do right now though, if he refused us entry.

“Fine. We will be returning though. I suggest you rethink your answer, soon.” With that, I turned to father and waited until he was walking slightly ahead of me to follow him back to the aircraft they had brought us here with.

“Father, this Noah obviously has knowledge of our culture. He even managed to learn our language. He’s clearly not the simpleton his father made him out to be. And I don’t know if you felt something off, but there is something not right with that family. I have the urge to grab the boy and take him home with me, away from this Kahl be damned planet. He asked Kahl to save him. I do not feel good about leaving him there, alone, with that man.”

Finished with my rant, I looked at father. His face was tired, the wrinkles in face becoming suddenly more distinct. If we did not handle this situation carefully, we would lose the land deal, which was vital for our planet’s continuing prosperity. Suddenly, I felt sorry for even laying my eyes on the boy. I was not the one who would have to go to our Kirahl and explain the situation. My father was Kohar, leader of our tribe, so it was his duty to go to Kirahl and beg forgiveness if this went bad. Our race was a fighting people, and if Kirahl decided that he could not forgive my father, he would be executed and our family exiled.

The pressure for me to be careful in my actions was heavy. But since I had met those wide green eyes with my own, that there would be no other choice for me. The need to protect what was mine was vibrating restlessly through my body. Noah might not know it yet, but I was coming for him. I would protect him, and he would become mine.

My father hissed slightly through his teeth, a sound of exasperation. “I understand, son. There’s no way that we can leave this alone. I’ll contact the government officials here and see if we can come up with a warrant, for the papers, and for the boy. I agree, something is going on in that house. But you will have to be patient, no rash moves, alright?”

“Yes Father, I understand. Thank you.”

Now all I had to do was wait. This mystery would unravel itself, and soon the boy would be in my grasp.