by Allison West
“I think everyone will notice you in that little’s dress. Hiding isn’t a bad idea, but they’ll find us before we can escape.”
Jade hadn’t been given anything else to wear, and the clothes she’d arrived in had been taken away from her.
“Do you have a suggestion?” Jade asked, growing annoyed that he was shredding every little bit of hope she had left. They’d managed to overpower four guards, there had to be a better plan than just turning themselves over to the Adairans.
“Not yet. We have just under three hours until we touch down.”
“Are we going to fall from the sky and parachute the last of the way?” Jade had seen how return flights from the international space station landed to Earth. It looked horrifying and violent. She’d have rather died at the prison colony than risk burning up in Adair’s atmosphere.
“No,” Holden said and smiled. “Our technology is a bit more advanced and sophisticated in some ways. We can’t reverse our water crisis but we can fly our prisoners to a space colony. Go figure. Do you realize the prisoners have it nicer than most people with an abundance of fresh water and food?”
Jade didn’t agree entirely about the food. Some of it was okay, like the dinner she’d had the first night with Holden. Breakfast hadn’t been as pleasant or tasty as she’d have desired.
“What’s going to happen when we get to the surface?” Jade asked. Her fingers clutched together, her stomach in knots. She finally regretted stepping into that stupid wormhole. What had seemed like an adventurous thing to do, and quite fun, had turned out to open up a world to Jade that she wasn’t quite ready to become a part of. Alien life was a little too science fiction for her. Making it become science fact made her heart race. She didn’t want to think about it, preferring to believe that they were alone in the universe, at least for now. It was stupid to believe, considering the vastness of space, but at least that little bit of safety made her feel like she had her childhood blanket that covered her and kept her warm at night.
Holden reached for Jade’s hand and gave it a tentative squeeze. “We fight our way free.”
“More importantly we stick together,” Jade said. Freedom was great but if she was on her own, thrust onto a strange planet without a friend or idea of what to do, she didn’t think she had the courage to fit in and call it home. How had Holden done that? It wasn’t just moving across the country or zip code, it was moving to another universe. Besides she wanted to be back at home and start her new job on Monday. Would Holden be able to help her get there without being late? Time had taken on it’s own strange course while she was in Adair, making her lose track of day from night in the prison colony. They may have fed her three meals but she counted on breakfast being in the morning and dinner late at night. Who was to say that was the order of the meals or that three per day was a cycle of twenty-four hours for her? Besides did time move at the same rate of speed for her here as it did back home?
“I’m not leaving you, Jade,” Holden said. “I promise.”
She would keep him to that promise, forfeiting her own freedom if he sacrificed himself in order for her to escape. Jade hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She recognized that he was a traitor to his people and possibly even seen as a terrorist for helping Earth fight back before it faced destruction. His own people, the Adairans might die from their lack of resources, but stealing wasn’t the answer either.
The descent from the atmosphere felt like airplane turbulence jacked up on caffeine. Jade’s stomach flopped. Was this supposed to be better than free falling from the sky? The pilots were in control, right? Her insides tightened in a knot as she gripped the hand rests of both seats.
Holden reached for her hand.
Could he tell she was shaking?
“It gets better,” Holden said.
“Have you done this before?” It didn’t seem to scare him, not like how she felt. What had it been like leaving Adair’s atmosphere? Had the ride been on a rocket or was it similar to an airplane?
The bumpy nauseating feeling eased as the pod shifted and turned. Jade was glad there weren’t any windows to see what was happening all around her.
Eventually they landed, albeit jolted and rough but they were still in one piece. She unbuckled the safety belt before waiting for Holden. Jade reached for the weapon and hid behind one of the boxes to secure her freedom and not be seen.
“Do you really think we won’t tell them you’re armed?” The disgusting guard who had stroked her hair earlier said.
Jade armed the electroshaft and zapped him with a bolt of electricity, silencing him.
“Good idea,” Holden said, unfastening his seatbelt. He stood and stretched, grabbing his electroshaft and jolted the three other guards with enough electricity to keep them from talking.
“Why’d you do that?” Jade’s voice dropped to a whisper as the pod doors inched upwards like a garage, revealing the contents in the storage bay. She hid with Holden behind two large stacks of boxes. At least the guards wouldn’t give their position away.
“The guards are unconscious!” A deep burly voice shouted. “Find the prisoners!”
Jade suspected they knew of their arrival. Sure enough, they would be searching the deck for them. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Arming the weapon, she held it ready to shoot her enemy if necessary.
Boots trotted against the metal bay as armed men stormed in by the truckload.
With her gun aimed and poised, she could stop a few soldiers but not enough.
“Detain the alien girl and the traitor!” a guard shouted.
A bolt of electricity ripped through Jade’s body as the man giving the orders shot a charge from the weapon into her shoulder. The pain seared through her entire body radiating from her arm down to her toes.
“Please!” she screamed as Holden was dragged away, his hands cuffed behind his back. She hadn’t seen them shock him in the same way they’d shot her, but she heard the sizzle of electricity beside her ear.
“Let her go!” Holden tried to break free but was dragged from the bay of the pod outside under the red sky. Coughing, they led her in the opposite direction.
“No!” Jade screamed, slamming one guard in the stomach and another in the face as she escaped their clutches. It wasn’t long enough to run and she didn’t know where to go. She wouldn’t leave Holden.
“Sir?” The guard who had been overpowered by Jade approached her, the gun poised to her head. Would it shoot bullets or zap her again with electricity? “What should I do with the alien prisoner?”
It seemed everyone knew she wasn’t from Adair.
“I’m Chilton,” the man who seemed to be in charge introduced himself to Jade. “I see you’ve taken an affection with Holden. Was that before or after your time as a little one?”
Jade’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Was it that obvious that she harbored feelings for Holden?
Chilton’s round chubby face with silver spectacles he pushed back further as they slid down his nose. “You’ve no golden halo,” he said, amused by the sight in front of him, all the while smiling. “Let them stay together.”
What the hell was going through his mind?
“No!” Holden shouted, attempting to break free from the clutches of the guards who detained him, likely not hearing Chilton’s response.
Chilton’s pistol rose with his hand, holding it up to Jade’s temple. “Are you sure you want to do that, Holden? One more outcry and you’ll have her blood on your hands.”
Holden sneered at Chilton.
Did they share a past? Jade couldn’t tell if Holden hated him because of the situation or if there was more to it.
“I’ll go with you,” Holden said, relaxing his muscles, refusing to fight.
Had he done this so that Jade wouldn’t get hurt? Could he have broken free on his own? She didn’t want to be his weight, dragging him down, as though she were sinking him to the bottom of the ocean.
Defeat filled his features and J
ade followed Chilton as he led them from the pod into a vehicle. “There’ll be no escaping,” Chilton said, securing the locks on the doors in the backseat. Jade and Holden sat beside one another.
She reached for Holden’s hand, entwining their fingers together. They would survive this, someway, somehow. “Please tell me you have a plan,” she whispered, careful that no one could hear as Chilton walked around the vehicle to climb into the driver’s seat.
“I’m working on it,” Holden said.
Jade knew without a doubt he would do everything in his power to protect her, but at what cost? She wouldn’t let him risk his life anymore than he’d already done. She wanted to be strong and with Holden beside her, she felt stronger. Yet, she didn’t want anyone to use him as leverage in order to hurt either one of them.
“It’ll be okay,” he said, staring at her.
Could he see the look of fear drifting across her face? Her hands shook as did her knees, bouncing aimlessly as she found it impossible to sit still. She didn’t let go of his hand as her eyes drifted out the window, staring at the reddened sky, the dry barren land, and understood why they’d come to Earth for its resources. She didn’t agree with it or was even in the slightest way happy to know her world would be invaded, but she recognized the shortage of fresh water on Earth. Had the Adairans found a way to use salt water, which there was an abundance on her planet or had they depleted the entire fresh water supply? She had questions for Holden, when they were away from watchful eyes and prying ears.
Chapter 10
“What are we doing here?” Jade asked. She paced the length of the small room, a confinement quarter used as a holding cell prior to imprisonment.
Holden waited a long moment before answering. His eyes glanced up toward the cameras watching their every move. There was no privacy on Adair. It was one of the many reasons he was glad to leave and find a new home and life for himself. The cameras and big brother atmosphere followed far beyond these new prison walls. “Waiting.” His answer was short and curt.
The pacing didn’t cease for Jade. Given there were no chairs or any furniture, she walked the length of the room and back. Holden estimated it was maybe twenty feet, but that could have been an over reach considering they’d been locked in a pod for three hours which seemed far smaller at the time.
She headed once again for the locked door. The first four times hadn’t worked when she’d tried the handle. Jade most definitely had a stubborn streak and was persistent.
“It’s not going to open any faster by you jiggling the handle.”
Jade fussed with the handle, probably trying to break it free. She’d need tools or at the very least a key to open the damned thing.
“Tell me something I don’t already know. I hate standing around, waiting.” Her cheeks reddened and Holden reached out to brush his thumb over the warm skin.
“Are you feeling all right?” he asked. The transition from space to Adair could at times be difficult on Adairans. Holden expected no less than that of Jade, coming from a planet with a slightly different pull of gravity. It was close but not exact. He noticed the changes but his body was sensitive to certain characteristics, more so than other alien species that were human. Earth was not the only planet of similar people.
“Fine. Just annoyed. What are they waiting for?” Jade asked. She stalked toward the glass window, staring at the darkened one-way mirror. “They’re watching us, aren’t they?”
“Probably,” Holden said and nodded. He had no reason to lie to her. She’d find out soon enough, they both would.
“Why keep us detained?” She shuffled her feet, her eyes glancing down at the floor. Had the realization that she wasn’t an Adairan dawned on her? At the very least she’d broken intergalactic law by visiting a planet without announcing oneself. Seeing as how the Adairans had signed the treaty and been part of the intergalactic alliance then Holden had committed the same crime. The only difference for him was that Earth wasn’t part of the intergalactic alliance and therefore not subject to the same laws. Had it been, traveling to Earth and meeting with the military of the United States would have proved a much more difficult task. Not that he’d had any bit of it easy.
“We’re both prisoners,” Holden said.
“Yes, but why?”
“You broke intergalactic law, and you already know my crimes.”
Tears glistened at the corner of her eyes. Was she scared? He didn’t blame her, a part of him felt nervous as well. The intergalactic alliance wasn’t a particularly kind bunch. That was what she would have to face. Holden would have to come head to head with the council, the men whom he betrayed to save a planet that he hadn’t so much as set foot on before committing treason. Had it been worth it? Most definitely.
“What do I do?” Her hands shook and her bottom lip trembled.
Holden’s arms enveloped Jade, pulling her to him, offering her the best comfort that he could given the situation. He didn’t have an answer or a plan. His hands smoothed over her back, rubbing small circles in a calming gesture that seemed to do the trick.
She clung to him but the tears had ridden their course. He was met with absolute silence.
“We’re in this together, until the bitter end,” Holden said. Nothing would tear them apart. He’d vouch for her arrival, explaining to the intergalactic alliance that her presence was entirely his fault. It had after all been his galactopter that had led them to Adair. Except it meant incriminating himself, which was dangerous. Many knew of his treason but did they know how he’d done it? He still didn’t understand why he wasn’t being dragged from the facility in cuffs for treason. How many knew of his betrayal to his people? He’d thought it common knowledge, as Damien had been well aware of the circumstances but perhaps not everyone was privy to the knowledge or if they were, maybe they wanted something from Holden first, before turning him over to his death.
“How long will that be?” Jade’s voice shook and he untangled himself from her arms.
“Not long,” he said, his hands falling onto the one-way glass. He studied his reflection. Were others watching him, deciding their fate while they remained locked in the containment cell?
He ran his hands over the glass and down to the ledge. The window reached the height of his waist. His fingers brushed over the small lip where both surfaces met.
He had strength and vigor. Whatever it took. He tried to pry the metal transition that pieced the glass and wall together. Anything to break the bind, loosen the latch, and perhaps give them an exit out of there. He didn’t know if it would work and if it did, which way the glass would fall. Would it shatter into their cell? They’d have to be careful, the weight of the unit would be heavy and he didn’t want to injure Jade.
He worked the transition free, the material, inch by inch as the door to the cell opened.
“What are you doing, Holden?” Chilton asked as he came to stand by the wall, examining the damage that had been newly made.
“We weren’t sure you were coming,” Holden said. His breathing remained steady and his voice calm though he felt his heart leap into his chest. He hadn’t expected Chilton to pay them a visit, especially not after he’d thrown them into the containment cell together. What was going on?
“I’ve had to make some arrangements around here, since it’s fair to say your visit along with your friend’s, is rather unexpected.”
Jade folded her arms across her chest. She didn’t look pleased to hear Chilton’s statement and neither was Holden. What exactly was he referring to?
“We’re not here to cause any trouble, Chilton. If you’d just send us on our way, we’ll be out of your hair before sunset.” Holden wanted to provide Chilton an easy way to rid himself of the current problem. Though he wasn’t an idiot either and knew the older gentleman would probably get a pay raise and perhaps even a medal for tracking down an intergalactic fugitive.
“That’s not going to happen and you both know why,” he said. He stared at the mirror examining
himself in the reflection, fixing his tie to adjust the material to be perfectly straight. “I need you, Holden. You harbor a very special young lady who seems to be immune to our precious activator. Perhaps it’s her alien DNA but it could be something else entirely. In fact, I have advisors suggesting we replicate the process with her because there’s no permanent sign of a golden halo. Everyone could have access to the activator and gas that desires its effects.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Holden asked. “What you’re suggesting is mixing two chemicals that are known to be highly combustible. In Adairans we’ve seen the mixed reaction. Those that survive are left barren.”
“Of course. We can’t very well allow our prisoners to repopulate our planet with clouded minds and repulsive hearts,” Chilton said.
Jade remained quiet even though they spoke of her and her future seemed to be entirely in their hands. She stood perfectly still, her hands coming down to her sides. “What about what I want?”
“This is bigger than you, Jade,” Holden said, his voice short and quick, snapping at her to be quiet. Didn’t she realize he was trying to protect her and keep her alive? She needed to not open her mouth and give Chilton any more reason to detain the two of them. If anyone could help her out of this mess, it was Holden.
“You exposed me to an element that could have made me barren! I don’t even know if I want kids but how dare you take that choice away from me.” She stepped closer to Chilton, staring up into his ice blue eyes. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.
Holden slipped in between them, before Jade had time to do something regrettable, like punch Chilton in the face. He may have deserved it but so did Damien as he’d been the one to order Jade to become a prisoner of the little’s system.
Chilton showed not a hint of sweat or fear, he merely smiled down at Jade. “I assure you that the activator didn’t work. You have nothing to worry about, all that aside,” he said, waiving his hand as if to clear the air and change the subject, “you will be my guests. Anything you both need, please let me know.”