The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

So inquisitive. And right. Yes, they would have a harder time on Earth with only three lungs, but I think they would still be able to function."

"But not fight?" Colin clarifies.

"Not very hard," Sven answers and receives a nod from the professor.

"So, as you can see, the heart would be just a little above the belly button, nestled between the lungs."

He waits to make sure everybody understands before continuing. "Their digestive system is entirely different from ours. I won't go into the specifics."

I give him a thumbs-up, and he grins widely before continuing. "You just need to make sure to get a knife, or bullet or whatever, in between the ribs. Since we have no way of testing, I imagine that a wound to the intestines would be as fatal to them as it is to us. But not instantly."

He looks regretful, and I shudder again at the similarities of not only the anatomy of our two species. I don't know if the Professor would actually try to kill an alien to test his theories, but if somebody else would, he'd observe it with fascination, and I'm sure there are still a lot of other scientists around with fewer scruples.

Leading me to admit that Claire's decision to keep her baby with the Gorongiaths might not be a bad one after all. My thoughts wandered, and I missed the Professor opening the alien's cranium.

"Right here is the brain behind the forehead's thick muscles, giving them a slight Neanderthalian appearance, which would be more exaggerated if it wasn't for their huge eyes. The brain is directly behind their eyes; with no bone to protect it, this looks like your best target for an instant kill." He points at the spot with his scalpel.

This explains why I could kill Kroll so easily. I raise my hand before lowering it, embarrassed, we're not in High School anymore. "I killed one of them"

Applause breaks out before I can continue. I grin at the assembled fighters; most of the men and women haven't even seen an alien yet, let alone fought one. Their excitement is contagious. Colin nods at me approvingly, causing me to get all tingly inside.

After the applause and hollering finally stop, I turn back towards the professor. "I head-butted one of the scientists that had me tied down." Another round of applause and hooting starts, thankfully it's short-lived this time, and I can continue my sentence. "They wore some weird looking black, glass eyepatches, which broke; he died on the spot."

The Professor approves, "Yes, that makes perfect sense; they probably wore them as protection; their eyes are not only very sensitive, they're also a vulnerable entryway to deliver certain death. A splinter must have gotten right into his brain."

"We were also told the Gorongiaths are dealing with a forty percent infertility problem at this time," I add.

The professor rubs his goatee, which he has taken to growing lately. "That is an extremely high rate. It could very well mean the end of their race over just a few generations if those numbers don't improve."

After that last piece of important information, we break our little How to kill an alien 101 session, and everybody disperses to their own duties. I excuse myself from everybody and Colin. I want to take advantage of the chance of being inside the hospital and find Doctor Pheng.

Colin and I have been using condoms, but with Maggie pregnant, I really don't want to take the risk of joining her team anytime soon. Too much is happening. I do want children, just not now. The way our resources are running low, we won't always be able to rely on condoms, which is why I want to find doctor Pheng and ask her for a Depo shot.

It's easy to track her down, but once I do, she forces a full examination on me before administering the shot. Doctor Pheng explains that she has to make sure I'm not pregnant already—her words throwing me into a minor panic attack for the time it takes her to come back with the negative results. Then I finally receive the shot.

She even hands me three more to take with me to our training program since we don't know how long we'll be gone. She shows me where the shot goes and says she is confident Colin will be able to give it to me.

Feeling better about myself, I leave the office and find Colin waiting for me. I rush into his arms, and he hugs me to him. "You should have come with me if you were waiting for me anyway." I admonish.

He looks a little sheepish and insecure, a side of him I don't get to see very often, it's very un-Colin-like. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me there."

"I always want you around," I state simply.

He kisses the top of my head and pulls me even closer. "Good to know."

Chapter 2

Last night we arrived on Cenlar and spent the time getting acclimated to our new digs. The senior staff members have rooms of their own, while the soldiers bunk, depending on rank, ranging from two to ten beds per room. The accommodations aren't bad, just strange. I have it a little easier since I've already experienced most of the strange, alien environment as a prisoner on the space station. The walls have the same otherworldly glow as they did there.

Illumination comes from no obvious light sources, just the walls, which we're trained on how to use via the tablets we received the night before, also functioning as our translators with the aliens and the Russians alike.

For now, though, Colin gave orders at breakfast for everyone to leave their tablets in their rooms. Neither one of us trusts the devices. I wouldn't put it past our hosts to use them to listen in to us. Granted, they could be doing it by other means in every room, but that's a risk we have to take.

After dinner last night and breakfast this morning,