Page 39 of Meteor Storm

I did not intend for us to be on Mekah long enough to get thrown into another game, but Penny seemed in desperate need of reassurance. Despite Pek-Tol’s instructions to target Sunhai, I could not give Penny any other answer than the one she wanted.

“Yes, Penny,” I said softly. “I will seek you out in the next game.”

She let out another breath as if her muscles had finally relaxed. Her tired eyes fell closed and that weak smile graced her lips one last time.

Two more rotations passed without even the whisper of another game, which wasn’t always a good thing. Pek-Tol took long breaks between shows usually to negotiate with sponsors and noble houses willing to support his particular breed of entertainment in various ways. He made shady deals left and right and after the last two games, plenty of houses were well aware that he had a human in his possession. Powerful supporters would flock to see her and likely start setting up private viewings.

My jaw clenched at the mere thought of her naked, frail body being put on display for credits she would never see, before noblemen who never had a good intention in their lives. I glanced toward her cell, but she’d been quiet for some time, tucked somewhere where I could not see her.

Waiting for a sign that my khof karr had been detected gave me plenty of time to plan our escape. I mapped it out a thousand times in my head, tracing every step from beginning to end. Then I planned alternatives for every route in case something went wrong. If one path failed, there would be another. And another after that.

All I had to do was stay focused and not let that place, or the chaos it thrived on, distract me.

At the end of a long, uneventful day, while food was being distributed, two guards stopped outside Penny's cell and peered inside. They spoke quietly among themselves, their voices too low for me to make out.

I watched them over the rim of my cup as I sipped my water, a heavy feeling settling in my chest.

When they opened her cell and stepped inside, my spine stiffened.

They hauled her to her feet, her movements sluggish and unsteady as though she were only half awake. Her head hung low, and a curtain of hair fell across her face, hiding it from view.

Without a word, they led her away.

I watched until they disappeared down the hall. The weight in my chest only grew heavier.

14: Penny

The guards held me like I was going to pull away and bite someone, but my body was as heavy as a sack of potatoes. My muscles screamed for a little aid as they dragged me down the hall into an elevator, and up to another level of the station. I vaguely remembered the details of the next floor. I’d been there before, but just like my current visit, I was hardly able to take it all in. The lights were dimmed to an ugly orange-yellow color and as I walked, I could feel the somewhat rougher texture of stone taking over the smooth slate of a metal floor.

We came to a glass door that slid open as soon as we arrived and inside, the bastard himself stood with another of the same species. He and the guards exchanged a few words before the fourth spike-headed figure moved in with a silver device in his hand. He held it close to my aching body, letting a laser of blue light skim from my head to my toes. It all reminded me too much of the first day I opened my eyes and found myself on that damn rock.

More words were exchanged and then the leader of the whole operation, Pek-Tol, waved a hand and groaned as if irritated by the whole situation. I felt dehydration chiseling away at my insides, making me feel unsteady. The rations of water they had been giving me weren’t enough. The food wasn’t, either. I had no idea what was in it, but the past week or two of eating what they gave me was not doing me any favors. Not that I could ask anyone what it was that I was getting fed.

More words were thrown about the room and escalated into some kind of argument until finally, Pek-Tol gestured again like he was trying to swat at a fly. The guards diverted me from his office and back out into the hall. Two doors down, I saw a small, brightly lit room much like the first white cell I woke up in. I struggled weakly against the guards, but they barely noticed my efforts.

“I just need food and water,” I mumbled, not wanting to go back into that white box.

For all I knew, I had an intolerance to something in the air. Maybe something in the water itself. Maybe my ankle was worse than I thought and there was some kind of infection. I was in space, after all. There could be any number of airborne pathogens or things that I couldn’t process.

The guards said nothing and instead, opened the white cell and tossed me inside. I stumbled onto my hands and knees, too weak to scream my frustration.

“Just feed me something other than bullshit,” I groaned, turning to look at the door as it slid closed.

This time, the door wasn’t just a white wall, though. It was a glass barrier that, as soon as it was latched, lit up with all kinds of readings. A yellow human figure showed up on the surface with symbols and flashing designs all around it like the whole room was reading and diagnosing me. The space was barely big enough for me to stretch out in, so I doubted it was for prolonged containment. It was a medical observation chamber. Looking down, I could see little lights pulsing on the pure white floor from my knees and from my fingertips and wherever else I touched, the same lights danced around in response. I couldn’t read the symbols on the wall, but I had a hunch they were medical terms.

I felt like a racehorse.

They needed me healthy and working. Otherwise, the next game would be a disappointment. It would be too easy. Pek-fuck would lose an investment.

“Dammit,” I exhaled, crawling to the corner where I could curl myself up against the wall.

The air was too cold. My body was too tired. The floor was too hard. My stomach was too empty.

I was an animal they didn’t know what to do with. They didn’t know my dietary needs. My climate needs. Nothing. And I had no means to tell them.

I buried my face in my folded arms, pulling my knees to my chest. The brightness of the cell was a stark contrast to the muted light everywhere else and it was already giving me a headache.

Survive or don’t. Those were my options. So, uncomfortable as I was, I just let the minutes tick by, waiting for the next uncomfortable situation to arise.