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I moved back until I felt the hard steel bars against my back.
Zaavyr unlocked the padlock and opened the door. He placed the plate of cheese at the foot of the cage and placed the drink on top of a bare section on the plate as well.
“Careful when you come get this. Don’t spill the drink because I’m not going to get you another one,” he said quietly.
I nodded softly. I wasn’t submitting or being obedient, I was just seeing to my basic human needs, or at least that’s what I told myself. He held up his hand, indicating that I stay where I was as he rose and relocked the cage. I watched until he nodded then moved forward slowly and picked up the drink first. I tilted the glass and felt the burning liquid wash over my tongue.
Whiskey.
I can’t remember the last time I’d had alcohol, let alone whiskey. It burned as I swallowed, and I coughed a little, but I quickly gained a hold of myself. Biting my lip, I reached for the cheese and took a bite.
Holy fuck, that was good.
I hadn’t had anything like it since I was a kid and I groaned softly in appreciation. The men chuckled at my response, but I ignored it, the food was too good to care. I tried to eat it slowly, but the plate was empty before I was ready for it to be. Curling back up in the blanket, I enjoyed the rest of the whiskey and observed the men all the while.
Predator and prey.
I was used to hunting, used to winning against any foe, but I had a feeling that these men weren’t my usual competition. My skin started feeling tingly and my eyelids began to droop. I felt myself begin to drift off to sleep and I laid down on the mat. Closing my eyes, the buzzing feeling in my veins allowed me to forget about what tomorrow might bring and I fell asleep.
Late that night, I was awoken by the sound of a feminine cry, and I blinked in the dark, squinting and trying to figure out where it came from. The woman definitely was not in the tent with me, that much I was sure of.
The sounds of some sort of scuffle happened then and I could tell it was in the tent to the right of us. The woman whimpered, and I suddenly heard a loud slapping sound, something like leather smacking flesh.
“You will never disobey me in front of my fellow officers again,” a rough male voice scolded and the female one apologized profusely, all while the slapping sounds continued. I bit my lip, wanting to cry out that I would help her, but I was trapped in my cage. The spanking, what I assumed was a spanking anyway, continued long after she was sobbing, and I covered my mouth in order to keep quiet.
Quiet footsteps slammed against the ground and a bed groaned while the woman pleaded, “No, no, please, not that.”
My mind raced.
I couldn’t see anything, but the woman’s shrieks and cries indicated the man wasn’t being gentle. My concern grew by the second and I couldn’t help but grip the bars in desperation.
The human race didn’t deserve such a fate.
A footstep scraped against the dirt in my own tent and I jumped back, only to realize Coltan had taken a seat beside my cage. He sighed and leaned against the bars.
“Kira, are you alright?” he asked, his voice laden with concern. It felt genuine, but I wasn’t sure.
“Is she okay?” I asked, still hesitant to really trust the man.
“She will be. Some of the Vakarrans here are sticklers about the rules and believe harsh punishment will solve everything,” he replied. After that, he was quiet for a long time and I moved closer to him, sliding my hand through the bars to press my fingers against his.
He startled a bit. I must have caught him off guard as he was lost in thought.
“Coltan?”
“Yes, Kira?”
“What’s going to happen to me tomorrow?” I ventured, afraid to ask but too terrified not to know.
He sighed then and warily raised his eyes to meet mine.
“Your sentence will be pronounced before all who live in the encampment. Myself, Jax, Aedan, and Zaavyr will be in charge of delivering your punishment. I’m afraid I can’t give you any more details than that,” he replied, his voice gentle, reluctant, and oddly sad.
“Am I going to die?” I asked forlornly, wondering if it was finally going to be the time I met my maker. I dragged my finger across his wrist.
I didn’t know why, but I felt some weird sort of connection to him, that I could believe what he told me despite years of hiding from the Vakarrans. I knew better, I knew the Vakarrans didn’t care about a lowly human life, but there was something different about this one.
He lifted his eyes, his copper irises studying mine. A shadowy gray mist passed over them before they returned to their usual copper tone.
