by Laynie Bynum
“This is a punishment box. It will deliver punishment in various levels and intensities. It can also kill you,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
He pressed the button, and a high dose of electricity surged through me, arching my back off the seat and forcing my teeth to clench. Blood squirted from my nose as he continued to send the energy through my body. My heart squeezed painfully and slowed down until my blood barely circulated. Closing my eyes, I hovered on the edge of unconsciousness. Diverting my energy, I sent it to my heart to keep it beating a bit faster as darkness took me away.
After several minutes, my eyes fluttered open. I looked around quickly and saw that I was in prison. The bed I lay on was filthy and soiled with urine stains. There was no sheet on the mattress, and there was a urinal located in the corner stained with black mold and bacteria. The stench of sweat and urine filled the air, and my stomach quivered as saliva pooled in my mouth.
This was nastiest place I had ever been. Standing to my feet, I dropped to my knees, placing my forehead to the cold concrete. I said a silent prayer to Qiaris. Suddenly, I heard booted footsteps approach in my direction. I swiftly rose to my feet and lay down on the bed, closing my eyes.
It had been a long time since I had played at sleep, but I was good at it. The cell door creaked open and someone shuffled inside. After a short pause, the footsteps drew near to the bed. Cold, callused fingers rubbed across my cheek.
“Sleep well, little girl. Tonight, you and I are going to get very acquainted with each other.” The steps receded from the bed, and I heard the cell door shut.
When the mysterious man’s footsteps faded into the distance, I sat up. This place radiated pain and loneliness. Whoever the man was, he intended to take advantage of me. If that was the case, the joke would be on him.
I’m not sure how much time passed, but a red light flashed in the hallway. A stuffy voice came over the sound system.
“You have fifteen minutes to report to the cafeteria to eat.”
After the intercom went off, the cell doors opened. I listened as inmates walked past my cell, staring inside. I stood as they passed. Out of the corner of my eye, I sensed someone familiar. There was a dim figure of long jet-black hair and a dirty gray jumpsuit approaching. She turned my way then stopped walking. Her eyes widened and her lips parted.
“How did you get in here?” asked Nakatomi. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the cell.
We passed several guards with yellow and blue badges on their uniforms. I followed her until we entered a round room with approximately twenty-five tables lines up on either side. The other inmates seemed to travel in cliques and tight groups.
There were six guards spread out around the cafeteria. My senses told me that they were waiting for any sign of trouble. Walking in line, I leaned close to Nakatomi. “What is the difference between the blue badges and the yellow ones?”
She scrunched up her nose. “The yellow ones are for the mages and the blue badges are for the humans. The red ones are for the alien races, but I’m not sure why, since you can tell them apart from the rest of them.” I was able to determine color through my sensory perception.
A man dug in a barrel of some kind and scooped a goop of stuff onto my plate. It smelled like highly processed animal waste. It didn’t look edible and smelled horrible. Following her over to a table, we sat with our backs toward the guards, facing the rest of the inmates.
The fruit earlier had been tasty and filling, but I was ravenous. The guards were all built like trucks, with muscles rippling throughout their chests. The mages watched everyone with laser precision. Their beady eyes darted around the room, not missing anything.
“We have much to discuss later when we are away from here. Do you know where Miyoshi is?”
She rubbed her forehead. “He followed me to this planet then came here to the prison as soon as he discovered where I was. They keep him in isolation. He’s had four attempts on his life, so they keep him locked away in solitary.”
My eyes narrowed on the black circles marking the skin underneath her eyes. She looked like she had lost about forty pounds. Nakatomi was naturally tall and slender, so she didn’t have forty pounds to lose. Her cheeks looked hollow and her collarbones protruded through her skin.
“Are you still injured?” I picked up the bottle water and chugged it down. This place was hot, and my throat was very dry.
She nodded. “My ribs are still bruised, but they aren’t broken.”
“Where is Elon? He followed you in here, so where is he?”
I couldn’t keep the roughness from my voice. Everything that had happened weighed on me heavily, and I didn’t know how to handle it.
She looked me in the eyes, then her eyes darted toward a short human man. “Elon is over there.”
The energy in the room had shifted. It was like a hot breeze raking over your skin in a hundred-degree climate. Elon’s aura commanded the vast space. It spoke boldly, confidently, and very deadly. He wasn’t human. I might be blind, but I was vastly connected with my other senses, and he was powerful.
What is Elon Laghari? Why does he want to destroy Teletera?
I shifted in my seat. “Describe him to me. What does he look like? Have both of you spoken to each other?”
Nakatomi huffed. Then she took several sips of her juice box before placing it on her tray. “He’s taller than the humans and he has pointy ears. His body is lean and muscular looking, like the gods themselves forged it out of granite. He has long black hair that flows past his shoulders that he keeps braided in intricate tiny braided designs. Unfortunately, he is beautiful. If you saw him on the street, you would do anything to get his attention. I am not sure what he is, but I think he’s a powerful mage.”
I could feel the heat of his gaze on my face. A blast of smoldering intensity was shot my way, and I forced myself to ignore it. I wasn’t about to let him intimidate me. “What do you know about him?”
Naka shifted again in her seat. Her shoes slid across the floor as she adjusted her position. “I tried to have words with him, my shank at his throat, but he managed to rip my weapon from my hands without touching me. If that wasn’t bad enough, he forced me to my knees with energy, and my ribs snapped like twigs underneath the pressure he applied on me.”
Frowning, I digested the words she spoke. Elon had spared her life even though she had tried to kill him. This didn’t make sense. What were we missing? We were missing something.
“Why did he spare your life? What reason did he have to keep you alive?”
One beautiful thing about being a Kravonesh from Teletera was that we looked human. There was no distinction about our appearance that would make us stand out to our enemies. One of our greatest strengths was our ability to hide in plain sight.
“Please tell me you marked him?” Her silence made my stomach rock. Today was a day of many surprises, and I hated surprises.
“I didn’t even try, and now I wish I had. I was so sure he would allow me to get close to him since I sensed his attraction to me. I thought I could end this quickly.”
Despite the situation, laughter bubbled inside me. “A man would have to be dead not to be interested in a woman as attractive as you are. You are the most beautiful woman in this city.”
“You and I both know that you are the most beautiful woman on the planet, and I’m sure you feel every man’s stare and the force of their lustful thoughts.”
Chalen evidently didn’t think so. In the end, he chose status and prestige over loving me. When my father said no, he just moved on. When a man loves you, it should be an all-consuming love that can’t and won’t be denied.
I shrugged. “The men who want me are lustful and greedy for my title. It’s just that it happens to come in this package.” I waved my hand around my body.
We always carry a few TraceBio on us. These are small darts that when they find the target, they inject tiny untraceable amounts of a biological signature that a
llows us to track them. The needle was thin, like a pediatric needle, and no more painful that a Deontu bite.
“I will need your TraceBio. Be ready tonight.”
“You haven’t been here long, but you do know that this place is impenetrable. You can get us out of here, but you would have to control it because they have an iron grip on the planet and it might collapse.”
“The man who intends to rape me tonight will help us greatly.” I couldn’t help the snarky tone I had. I hated to be reminded that I wasn’t in control of my gift. I’d been trying to control this gift my whole life, and the more powerful it became, the more out of control I felt.
Sometimes, I questioned the wisdom of Goddess Qiaris in giving me this power. The powers were meant to have their chosen mate, who was also gifted with the power, an Ocilian. When two gifted people with powers found their mate ordained by the gods themselves, a lifelong bond would form that remained even after death as their souls became one. When I was little, it sounded romantic, but I was older now, and I had never met an Ocilian and I doubted they even existed.
The intercom came on and that drab voice rang out again. Our fifteen minutes were over and we had five minutes to get to our cells. Everyone stood to their feet and most of the chatter died down. We remained sitting until the large crowd of people had thinned.
Chairs scraped across the floor, the sound of trays hitting the trashcan, and the vibration on the floors as heavy boots walked toward the exit told me that the room was emptying. The guards talking loudly told me how many enforcers were still here. There were still six in the cafeteria and maybe more. You always had a few quiet people who tended to hang out with the talkative people.
Nakatomi grabbed my arm and ushered me from the room. To most, we looked like two females leaning toward one another, talking softly. We might do that from time to time, but Naka always led me like this. It was her habit. My senses were intoned with my surroundings, which let me know that most of the people never knew that I was blind.
I bent my head and whispered in her ear. “Where is your cell?”
She leaned in. “It is past your cell, down at the other end on the right.”
As we headed for the door, I turned my head toward where Elon was sitting. I could feel his presence and knew instinctively that he would be the last person to leave. The guards were protecting him, and I’m not sure how I knew it since I couldn’t see them. I did, however, feel them. Why were they protecting him?
We had almost reached the hallway. As was my habit, I had counted the steps it took to walk from my cell. This was a prison, and danger lurked all around, so I was hypersensitive of my surroundings and everyone in it.
“What were you doing, coming from the other direction?”
“Bartering with another inmate for the location of Elon’s cell. His cell is located on the third floor at the end of the hall. The mages keep him under heavy guard,” said Nakatomi.
She let go of my hand and turned down the other way, heading to her cell.
It was nighttime. All the lights were out and the cell had become drafty, as if a gust of wind had blown in from outside. I couldn’t lie in the soiled bed. Every time I did when the guards passed by, I swore something was crawling over my scalp. This prison should be condemned.
Footsteps approached leisurely, and I threw myself on the bed and steadied my breathing to appear asleep. A knot formed in my gut, and I knew that soon, I would come face to face with the man who intended to rape me. Schooling my features, I latched on to the thought that this horny man would be my ticket out of the cell. I could get myself out of the cell, but not without using my powers. The lazy guards outside my cell had fallen asleep a while ago, and I desperately hoped that they would stay asleep.
My cell door clanked and then slid open. He walked to the bed. I remained calm, allowing my breathing to remain steady. I felt a sting on my cheek with enough force that my head whipped to the side.
This jerk slapped me.
Dark energy rose inside me, and I fought to control my temper as I sat up, staring at the man who’d dared to raise a hand to me. My eyes promised retaliation.
He was an older man. He looked to be in his late fifties. He had a strong jaw that looked like he never smiled and hard, dark, black eyes. His belly hung over his gray slacks and he looked pregnant. An aroma of cigars clung to him, and his hair, what was left of it, was smoothed back to cover the huge circular bald spot in the middle of his head.
“If you tell me what kind of power she has, I will make sure to end your suffering quickly. Deny me and you will long for death,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” I sat up. I was poised to spring to my feet at any moment.
“The girl you sat with at lunch. The one who tried to kill Elon. What kind of powers does she have?”
Movement behind him caught my attention. There was a man creeping toward my cell. I couldn’t see anything, not even his eyes, since he wore platinum armor from head to toe. He had several men in armor behind him, and upon his signal, they quickly separated.
“If she had powers, she wouldn’t still be locked up in here.” I opened my mouth and spat on him.
He backhanded me across the face.
“Hey, you. What are you doing in here?” A security guard shouted outside my cell.
“My turn.” I smiled.
A puzzled look swept over his face. I concentrated on his heartbeat, then I applied pressure until it wasn’t beating at all. His face turned red as he grasped his chest. When that didn’t alleviate his pain, he reached for me and I stepped back. A second later, I grabbed his gun and shot him in the face. He collapsed to the floor and blood flowed from his mouth.
I could still feel the man’s aura outside my cell. He didn’t radiate any harmful intentions, so I tentatively walked outside my cell.
He smelled of mint leaves and the salty ocean breeze of a deep sea. Inhaling, I tried to take his scent into every fiber of my being. It was intoxicating. His height was something I had never sensed before. He was taller than humans and much taller than most aliens. I wasn’t sure what he was, but I wished he wasn’t wearing so much armor. I wanted to see him, touch him with my hands, and feel the strength I sensed beneath my fingertips.
I couldn’t go further without the assurance that he wasn’t my enemy. Normally, I wouldn’t invade others’ thoughts, but my entire planet and the lives of my people were depending on me. I reached out and touched his mind. I gasped as pleasure flooded through me.
A purple haze flooded my mind as the hard metal walls around his mind slid down. Warmth traveled down my body as I felt hot, determined, concentrated energy slide over my mind.
You are an Ocilian.
His deep voice flowed into my mind. This couldn’t be possible. I stood there, unable to speak. When I felt him touch my mind, I felt the back of my knees grow wet. His reaction to me flowed over me, and I felt like I had been hit with a bolt of lightning. The strength of it brought me down.
He grabbed my arms before I hit the floor. “Hurry. You don’t have much time.”
His hands on me felt like I had been dipped in acid. Heat surged through my body at his feather-light touch. Instead of heading toward the way he came, toward freedom, I ran down the hall, deeper into the prison. I was almost at the end of the hallway before his strong arm wrapped around me.
He pulled me to face him. “Freedom is that way.” Pointing toward the steps behind us, he let me go.
“I know.” I took off at full speed, running down the hall again.
“I’m here,” said Nakatomi. She thrust her hand outside the bars and I stopped in front of it. Before I could do anything, he swept me aside.
“Back up,” he said. He pulled something out of his armor and the lock on the cell shook.
The door rattled and swung open. A second later, Nakatomi was hugging me.
“We need to free Miyoshi,” said Nakatomi. She grabbed my arm and ran toward his cell.
The h
all was dark and goosebumps formed on my arms. She stopped at a door.
“Dang. This lock is much bigger than ours. Can you shoot this off?” asked Nakatomi.
He turned me around to face him. “Who is this Miyoshi to you? Are you here because of him?”
I wet my lips. “He’s my best friend aside from her.”
“He isn’t anymore.”
Chapter Four
Amitai
I
ran behind the women, protecting them from the rear. It wouldn’t be long before the man in her cell was discovered. We had a small window to escape without detection, but that was narrowing every moment we progressed deeper into the prison. This was supposed to be a simple extraction, but everything had changed now. This woman was my Ocilian. I’ve always thought the existence of Ocilians was a myth, but she was able to touch my mind and bypass all my mental defenses. She appeared to be human, but I wasn’t so sure. There’s something about her that made me believe she was much more than she appeared to be.
It’s strange. The guards aren’t on this floor. Where would they be?
Activating the neurocom, I spoke low so the females wouldn’t hear me. “There aren’t any guards on the lower floor where I am. Have you encountered any guards?”
“I’ve killed seven. It couldn’t be helped. Don’t worry, they will not be found until we are long gone from this place,” said Zvika.
“The mages and aliens protect their prized possession. They protect Elon Laghari,” said Uriah.
“It’s good to hear your voice, Uriah. You and I will talk later.”
“I can hear the guards on the third floor. That must be where all the guards are,” said Azrael.
“Who is Elon Laghari?” His name didn’t ring any bells, but he must be a very important person to have protection in this prison.
“He’s going with us to Elon’s cell?” asked Nakatomi.