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“Hey there,” she responded quietly, watching around us and positioning herself behind a few things that would block the Vakarrans’ view should they come out of the ship.
“They’re all inside the ship, right?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Good. My name is Nina. I take it you’re not exactly a willing captive here,” she said softly, and I shook my head.
“No. I’m not,” I answered.
“I want to help you,” she began.
She handed me a piece of paper.
“Here. Hide this and make sure they don’t find it. There’s a group of us, men and women together surviving in the city. There haven’t been any Vakarrans that ventured here until the group that took you, so it’s taken us a little off guard, but we’ve been planning for something like this to happen sooner or later. We’d like for you to join us. You’ll be safe. My friends stole some parts out of the ship and that should delay your abduction into space, so it’ll give you some time to get away and escape. We’ll post someone at the location indicated on the paper for at least a week, if not more. They’ll be hidden though. If they see any Vakarran or anyone other than just you, they’ll disappear and consider your rescue a failure. Got it?” she explained, all the while keeping her eyes flipping from me to the entrance of the ship.
“It’s safe there? For women?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said quickly.
I studied her. I wondered if I should say anything more. If they would let me go back into the forests where I’d once been safe. She looked honest. I wanted to trust her, but it was hard. I didn’t know her like I did my sisters.
I decided then not to mention my family and our band of human survivors living in the cave system I’d found. I didn’t know enough yet. I had to know more before I really trusted them.
“Fuck!” Morgn yelled loudly, followed by more cursing under his breath.
Nina curled into a smaller crouch, meeting my eyes.
“I don’t know when we’ll be able to meet again but try to get away. When they’re sleeping or busy. Whatever you need to do. Here. If anything, use this. It’s rumored Vakarrans are susceptible to sleeping meds, puts them right out. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s worth a shot, right?”
She slipped a small bottle into my hands, which I quickly hid in the hidden pockets of my dress, with the paper. Looking around, Nina moved backwards, making sure to stay under cover.
“I hope to see you soon,” she whispered, her eyes sad with empathy.
“Me too,” I replied.
She waved, before scampering off, exiting the factory in no time. I was alone once again. The piece of paper in my pocket felt like a burning ember. I wanted to take it out and read it, but I was nervous that the men might come out. I chewed my lip. What to do…?
After a few minutes, I saw movement around the ship. Morgn and Davon had come out and were looking at something underneath the massive vessel. They climbed inside, and I felt a small sense of relief. There was no sign of either Ryder or Aarom, meaning they were probably still in the ship.
I scooted backwards, so that I still had a line of sight to where my captors were, but my body was covered. They’d still be able to see most of me, so they wouldn’t come looking if they weren’t able to see me.
I took a deep breath and checked my surroundings once more. It looked safe. None of my captors were even looking my way.
Slipping the piece of paper out of my pocket, I opened it slowly, careful not to create any suspicious noises with the crinkling of paper. With one last look around me, I dropped my eyes down to the note.
The first page was a map. It looked like the streets of Atlanta. Studying it further, I began to recognize some locations. The town hall cloud storage center. Businesses. And at the center, what looked like an urban center comprised of mainly apartment buildings. Off to the right was a big X, right over the old shopping mall. Folded into the paper sack, along with the map, was a note.
It was addressed to me, or at least, a human woman.
Dear Captive Human Female,
We’re the Resistance. We’ve been living and surviving among the urban landscape of Atlanta now for ten years. Now forty strong, we’re a group of men and women surviving under the oppression of our Vakarran captors and they are none the wiser. We have our freedom and they will never take it from us. If you join us, you’ll be safe, respected, and protected as a woman in our ranks. If you wish to do so, you can volunteer in our small military faction. We’ll treat you as humans are meant to be treated, not as a Vakarran decides.
We hope to see you soon.
Sincerely,
The Resistance
