Page 2 of HaL

Even though my mouth is dry, I’m not desperate enough to try and drink whatever that thin, milky stuff is dripping out of that pipe yet. So instead, I sit here and give myself a second to feel sorry for myself.

Why me, and where am I? Who picks the redhead when there are much prettier options around? I mean, is this an alien ship? Have I been abducted? I know there are different species out there because of DaR’s sons, but I have a feeling the ones who took me aren’t the good guys. I almost laugh at how absurd this entire situation is. Here I am, millions of miles away from home, where people were laughed at when they told others they were abducted by aliens … only to be stolen from aliens by aliens. Hahaha. I have to laugh because there is no way I could make this crap up.

I know Vedece and KyT will have someone looking for me immediately, but the one thing I quickly realized after we were rescued from the pods launched from Earth is how vast space is and locating me will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

With that thought, I start looking at this cell differently. There are no visible doors, but if I got thrown in there, there has to be a way out. Forcing myself to get back up, I start walking the entire perimeter, trying to find some kind of seam, keypad, or something. I’m on my third trip around when I finally see a small indentation in one of the bars. Pushing against it, a red light pulses quickly before going back out.

I’m about to do it again when I suddenly hear what sounds like a door opening, and heavy footsteps start coming closer. I’ve no more than stepped back when this creature is standing in front of the bars, and without a second thought, I scream loud enough that the dead on Earth can hear me.

“Move to the back, human female.”

Shaking all over, I don’t need that ugly bastard to tell me twice. I practically throw myself against the back wall, trying to flatten myself against the cold, unyielding surface to get as far beyond the reach of those four arms as possible.

FOUR!

The damn thing has four arms!

They hang from shoulders thick as concrete pillars, each hand ending in long, blunt fingers that flex restlessly at its sides. Its chest is broader than most small cars, a wall of muscle and scarred flesh that seems to swallow what little light reaches it. Massive, tree-trunk legs carry all that impossible bulk toward me, each heavy step making the floor tremble beneath my feet.

Then the smell reaches me.

Sweat. Rotting. Animal.

It rolls over me in a hot, nauseating wave, thick enough to taste. I yank my shirt over my nose, but it barely helps. My eyes water anyway.

The creature keeps coming.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Because it already knows there’s nowhere for me to go.

I press harder against the wall until the cold bites through my clothes. My heart is hammering so violently I’m sure the thing can hear it.

Then it stops just through the doorway. All four arms go still. Its head tilts. And somehow, impossibly, I get the feeling it’s listening to my heartbeat.

I stop breathing.

The creature smiles, and I whimper when he steps closer.

He … it … okay, it must be a guy. There is absolutely no way a woman of any species could possibly look or smell this bad!

It turns its back on me, apparently unconcerned. I suppose I’m so insignificant that it doesn’t even consider me worth worrying about. Just before it reaches the wall, a small opening suddenly appears in the smooth surface.

For one precious second, I get a better look at the monster only a few feet away.

Dark blue. Bald. And wearing a loincloth that appears to be made from fur or more accurately, from some poor animal that should be grateful it’s dead and no longer has to endure being pressed against that much stink.

My eyes were already watering, but now the tears are streaming freely. I struggle against the coughing fit clawing its way up my throat, desperately trying to hold on to what little breath I have left. Still, I gather whatever scraps of courage I can find and force my mouth to form words.

“Why am I here? What do you want from me?”

It turns its head back toward me, and I wish I’d kept quiet when its beady little orange eyes look me up and down.

“Please, let me go!”

“NO go … Elder purchased human female for high bounty … acted like Korgons’ not smart enough to take from Commander, but we showed them.”