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Before I could answer, her gaze flitted to something behind me.
Turning, I followed her line of sight and spotted the familiar silhouette of the beast I had fought.
He was in a nearby pod, just a few feet away from us.
His massive chest heaved with exhausted breaths, his brutish face pressed against the glass, blood staining it.
Not just him.
As my eyes roamed, I saw all the other alien males.
Some of which we had encountered on the Mating Games platform.
There were four in all, me being the fifth.
They all stood in their individual pods, growling, snorting, and angry.
Seeing her skepticism, I motioned toward the beast. “That’s him, Riley. The one I was up against.” I paused, letting the weight of the situation sink in. “And look around. Recognize any of the other faces?”
She gulped, taking in our eerie surroundings. “But… But how?” she stammered. “If all that was real, how am I alive? How are we backhere?”
I took a deep breath. “The Malquarans have technology that surpasses our understanding. Resuscitation, healing, even playing with our memories. If they wished, they could dominate the galaxy with their incredible tech. Instead, they prefer to use it to experiment and entertain. Remember, this is their twisted game. They want it to be entertaining. And what’s more entertaining than a surprise comeback?”
She looked horrified, her fingers unconsciously tracing the smooth surface of the pod.
Riley’s eyes darted around, lingering on each of the other alien occupants.
Her breathing accelerated. “They’re all here. Every one of them…”
She trailed off, her voice barely above a whisper.
My own heart rate increased, sensing the impending danger.
The Malquarans may have given us a reprieve, but we were far from safe.
Their cruel game wasfarfrom over.
And just as that thought crossed my mind, I saw it: the pale hue of her skin as the blood drained from her face, the shock in her eyes, the dawning realization of our dire circumstances.
* * *
The coldness of the pod felt very real, the sharpness of the light piercing through my scaled eyelids, the familiar tightness of the handcuff, and of course, Riley’s rising panic.
They were all sensations I was getting too accustomed to.
“But how?” Riley’s voice trembled. “Talan, a moment ago we were down on the platform, now… now we are here again? I don’t understand! Thishasto be a nightmare.”
She was panicking, refusing to believe what her senses were telling her.
I felt her pull away, trying to distance herself from the truth of our situation.
In this confined space, there wasn’t much room for escape, physical or mental.
“I wish it were, Riley,” I admitted, feeling the weight of the circumstances bearing down on me.
My yellow eyes met her blue ones. “There’s a lot to explain, but first, we have tosurvive.”
She looked at me, her eyes widening. “Survive? But I just died…”
