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I sealed my fate.
But before I leave this planet, I hope to take a few of the worst of us with me.
CHAPTER4
AMARA
I woke slowly, some of my exhaustion slept off, but my muscles were sore and my whole body chilled. I opened my eyes and looked around, and as my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I saw I was in a small cave.
A grillwork of cut branches blocked the opening, most of them bigger and heavier-looking than me. Vines lashed them together and piled stones held the bottom corners in place. As I got up, I saw a pair of gigantic figures staring in at me.
I knew who they were from the smell. Boran’s riding dog stuck his snout between the makeshift bars of my prison and snuffled at me, then drew back as his master approached.
Boran’s face contorted with amusement as we locked eyes. “There you go. Nice and cozy, and you can sleep as much as you want. Of course, that’s only until something big enough shows up to unwrap this little present. Then you’ll be beast food.” He grinned.
“For saving your delivery?” I asked.
He scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. You’re a bothersome female, so you’re staying here. If you’re lucky, they’ll change their mind and send me back for you before you get eaten.”
“Lucky. Like being forced into sex slavery to some four-armed alien freak is such a fun time,” I replied. Whatever else was true, at least they had spared me that fate.
“Ha!” He licked his thick lips and grinned like an orange-eyed shark. “Guess it’s one terrible fate or another for you Earthlings.” He stepped away from the bars. “Going to go back to their camp now. But take heart. You died in a noble cause, saving us time.”
His laughter kept up as he jumped back on his dog and rode away. It echoed through the forest and slowly faded until he was gone entirely.
“Fucker,” I growled, getting to my feet.
The damp cave air clung to my skin, and the muddy floor squelched under my shoes. Rough cave walls scraped my palms as I searched for handholds in the dark. I needed to get out of there. If I didn’t, if I died there, then the others had no hope. By leaving me behind, they had given me a chance to put my plans in motion. If I could somehow pull myself together and escape this cage.
That was one hell of a tall order. I stared at the mesh of tied branches and frowned.
They made it hastily, but they were stronger than me, had a higher reach, and knew this place and its terrain much better. I walked over to the bars again and gave some branches an experimental tug. The mesh was too sturdy for me to break.
Damn.But there had to be another way. I couldn’t lift it and crawl under it. I had no way to cut the vines or break the branches. The whole thing was big and heavy and propped against the cave mouth in a way that at first looked impossible to budge. I even ran at it shoulder-first, like I would have a door, and then stood back and tried to kick it several times. All I got for my trouble were bruises.
Distant shrieks of unknown creatures echoed outside, setting my nerves further on edge. I stepped back and peered up at my cage door again. There had to be a way.
They’d braced the bottom of the cage with boulders on the outside. However, they simply wedged the top against the rock-and-dirt walls, and my bashing myself against the branches had moved it a little.
Could I jump up and knock the top out of place?I frowned. It was the only loose section. I had to target it. Otherwise, I was never getting out of this fucking hole until some monster came to extract me for its dinner or until the fucking slavers came back.
I walked backward until I was as far back in the cave as I could get without stumbling into complete darkness. I took several breaths to focus myself and crush my apprehension. Afraid of being trapped forever, I repeatedly threw my weight against the barricade, my heart pounding wildly in my chest.
“Come on, Amara,” I told myself. My arms trembled with exhaustion, and I could feel bruises blossoming across my shoulders from ramming the barricade. “You’ve got to do this.”
I ran to the cage door as fast as I could and jumped high, slamming into the branches about halfway up. The top half of the mesh shook. Dirt showered down again, this time much more.
Frustrated, I clambered up to its top and started swinging back and forth, using my entire weight to push and pull as more and more dirt and small stones tumbled down. I was getting somewhere. Each time I swung back by my arms to kick it again, it moved a little more freely.
Come on. Come on.
I bit the inside of my cheek by accident, hitting the mesh with my feet again. My arms throbbed with pain from the effort. I was determined to free myself.
Suddenly, as I swung back to kick the grate again, I felt it break free on one side. An upper corner pulled away from the wall in a shower of dirt, the other followed. Relief flooded through me as the barrier crashed down, taking me with it. Rolling onto my back, I gasped great lungfuls of the humid air.
I’m free.Or at least a lot closer to it than I had been five minutes ago. I still had the jungle to contend with, the caravan to track, and over twenty women to free.
Gingerly, I got to my feet, aware of the fresh pain where my new bruises would be developing. I was limping from an ankle twisted during my fall, but my limbs all worked. I hadn’t hurt my head or my spine and was functional enough.
