1
CASSIE
“Don’t do this,Sskarth—please,I’mbegging you!Don’tlet them put me outside the city gates!”
Cassie faced her husband, her hands clasped over her pounding heart, her eyes filled with tears of pure panic.Allaround her, theVisskoushissed their disapproval.Theywere a cold-blooded people—literally, since the inhabitants ofVisslickPrimewere lizard-like both in appearance and in biology.
She’d thought thatSskarthwas so handsome and exotic when she met him on theKindredMotherShip.Hehad a sleek, slim body with a swimmer’s build and his purple scales flashed with iridescent brilliance when the light caught them just right.
He had thought thatCassiewas exotic too, apparently—a prize to be won and brought back to his home world for display.TheVisskouswere a jealous people and there was nothing they liked more than having something exclusive that everyone else would admire and envy.
At first,Cassiehad been a trophy wife—a human female from another galaxy—so unusual and unique that every other male enviedSskarth.Hehad a mate unlike any other woman on the planet and everything about her was considered odd and exciting.Fromthe “silk” she grew from the top of her head to the pale, scaleless skin that covered her curvy frame, it seemed that everyVisskousmale who saw her wanted her.
That had been nice…for a while.Beforecoming to work on theMotherShipand meetingSskarth—who was visiting to establish trade relations with theKindred—she’d been married for twenty years to a husband who didn’t appreciate her.
Mitchell, her ex, had been a total misogynist who had believed a woman’s job was having babies and making sandwiches.Ithad takenCassieten years to realize what a jerk he was and then ten more years after that to finally get away from him.Shewaited until her last son was in college and then she filed for divorce and applied for a job on board theKindredMotherShipon the same day.
If only she would have stayed there, she wouldn’t be in this position now, she thought, looking around at the bad-tempered lizard people, all flicking their forked tongues at her and hissing their displeasure and disapproval.Shemight even have found a niceKindredwarrior to settle down with.Eventhough she was past 40 by then, there were stillKindredwho might have been interested.
But thenSskarthcame into the picture.Hewooed her with his extravagant wealth and promises that they would “live in a city of crystal spires together and love until the end of time.”Afteryears spent with a taciturn asshole likeMitch,Cassie’shead had been completely turned by the overwhelming romance and what she now understood was love bombing of the alien male.Shehad agreed to join withSskarthand go live with him onVisslickPrime.
And now she was regretting it because she was about to be put outside the gorgeousCrystalCityto die.
“PleaseSskarth!”she begged again.“I’myour mate!Youcan’t just put me outside the walls becauseI’mnot aVisskous!”
“But how do we know you won’t catch the disease and spread it?”one of the lizard women demanded, giving her a hard stare through her slitted eyes.Shewas distinguishable from the males only by the limp, leathery crest of skin that started at her forehead and ran down the middle of her skull like a flaccidMohawk.
“What makes you thinkI’dcatch it or spread it?”Cassieasked in exasperation.“I’mnot evenVisskous—Iprobably can’t even get it.”
“Then you won’t mind living outside the city gates with theInfected,” the woman hissed, her forked tongue flickering in satisfaction.“Sinceyou don’t think you’d be affected by theRottingDisease.”
“I never said that!”Cassieprotested, horrified.“JustbecauseImight not be susceptible to the disease, doesn’t meanIwant to be exposed to it!”
Or torn apart by theInfected, she thought but didn’t say because the thought was too horrible to speak aloud.
TheRottingDisease—also known as “TheHunger”—had first appeared onVisslickPrimea little over a year ago.Itstarted with a whitening of the eyes—a kind of film grew over the pupils and irises of the victims, giving them a dead-eyed stare that was horrible to behold.Nextcame the red streaks around the mouth and nose that looked almost like blood—hence the name “blood sign” as theVisskoushad dubbed it.
After that, theHungerappeared—a ravenous, gnawing desire for living flesh, gnawed right off the bone.Oncethat happened—once the victim took his or her first bite of living flesh from a victim—it was all over.Theybecame a mindless zombie-type creature—a walking corpse wandering aimlessly in search of living victims to cannibalize.Graduallytheir flesh became affected, rotting off their bones, but they kept on going, searching for their next feeding ground—their next mindless meal.
Cassie didn’tthinkshe’d be affected byTheHunger…but she didn’t want to find out for sure.Andshe also didn’t want to become a meal for theInfected.
“Please,” she begged again, appealing toSskarth.“I’myour wife—your mate—you swore to protect me and keep me safe and close to you.Itwas part of ourJoiningceremony vows!”
HerVisskoushusband shrugged—an oddly snake-like gesture.
“That was then—it’s been five years since weJoined.Ithink it’s about time we parted,Cassandra, my dear.”
“But not like this!”she begged.“Don’tput me out for theInfected—let me try to send a message back to theMotherShip.TheKindredwill come get me—Iworked for them.Theywon’t abandon me.”
Unlike the worthless, slimy lizard husband she’dJoinedwith, theKindredwere loyal to their women.
He sighed, his forked tongue flickering from his lipless mouth.
“Alas, my dear, the interstellar communications array is broken and the closest one is inSshiboleth, which was overrun months ago.Wecannot call for help.Allwe can do is stay behind the city walls and wait for theInfectedto die off.Butas you know, food and water are limited.”
“And precious resources shouldn’t be wasted on ugly, scaleless off-worlders,” hissed the femaleVisskous.ShelookedCassieup and down contemptuously.“Especiallythose who can’t even regulate their body temperature anymore!”
Cassie turned on her husband.
