Off Planet

by Aileen Erin

  The locks disengaged on my cell without anyone entering a code, and the door slid open. The woman stepped into the cell like she was the freaking queen of the prison. She topped six feet easily and was thick with muscle. Her hair was buzzed into a mohawk, and she had body mods in her forehead, giving her horns. The woman probably wanted to terrify people on sight. I’d bet she achieved it for most, but I was too busy being scared of my little vial of blood getting processed to be afraid of anything else.

  The doors closed and I heard footsteps walking away, but the woman blocked my view of the officer that dropped her off. It wasn’t until she moved in closer that I noticed the sleeves of her jumpsuit were torn, exposing red geometric tattoos.

  She was a Roja. The criminal gang that the Crew fought against all the time.

  Why couldn’t I just wait alone for my fate to catch up with me? Why did I have to share my space—maybe even my last moments alive—with a fucking Roja?

  “You’re in my spot,” she said.

  Fantastic. She wanted a fight, but I wanted to avoid one. I was already in enough trouble for one day.

  “Sorry,” I said as I shifted out of her way.

  Her feet were heavy on the cement, but she wasn’t moving to the bunk to sit down. She was coming toward me on the other side of the cell, cracking her knuckles.

  Yup. This was going to be a fight, no matter what I did.

  The Rojos were all about shows of strength, not precision attacks. Chances were the she-beast would be no different. She was easily twice my weight. That counted against me. But it was probably safe to say that I had considerably more training. Even if I didn’t use my Aunare skills, I could probably finish this quickly and easily, but I didn’t want it to start.

  “You’re still in my spot.” She sneered, revealing her teeth. Fake silver canines stuck out from her mouth. I’d bet money on them being razor sharp.

  My muscles tensed. She was trying to intimidate me, but that didn’t mean I had to fight. And yet, the Aunare in me—with all the stress and fear that I was bottling up—begged me to let loose on this woman.

  But that was wrong. It wouldn’t solve anything for me. In fact, fighting her could only get me into more trouble. I forced my muscles to relax.

  This made the Roja laugh, revealing her mouth again. I took a long look at the fangs in her mouth. They were definitely sharp. Why someone would want something like that in their mouth was beyond me, but the she-beast and her teeth weren’t going to take me down. Not with how my day was going.

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s not your spot, and I’ll go there?” I tried to sound placating, but it came off condescending.

  Way to go, Maité.

  “It’s all my spot.”

  Perfect. If she wanted a fight, I wasn’t sure how I could avoid it in such a confined space. I shook out my arms, getting ready for the inevitable.

  She stepped toward me again.

  I took one step back before what she was doing hit me.

  She was trying to put me in the corner, and that was bad during a fight. Especially with the she-beast. One hit and I’d be pinned. I’d be forced to use my speed and strength, which I couldn’t do. I didn’t see any cameras in the cell, but I’d have to be an idiot to assume that they weren’t there. Getting me on video moving fast would be bad. Not as bad as the vial of blood in the lab, but still something to avoid.

  I clenched my fists and watched her shoulders. As soon as she moved, I easily slid between her and the wall without using my Aunare speed. Now she was the one in the corner.

  Before she could turn, I kicked the back of her knee. My foot found the sweet spot, slightly off center. Her knee snapped as tendons ripped, and it buckled under her. She hit the floor. Hard.

  Well, that was easier than I’d—

  “Bitch!” She snagged my foot.

  I wasn’t fast enough to kick free before my shoulder smashed into the floor.

  Damn it.

  Her fist hit my stomach, and all my air was gone.

  Gasping, I twisted on the floor and kicked her wrist, breaking her hold. I crab-walked back a few steps, before regaining my feet.

  She faltered, trying to get up, but she wouldn’t be able to. Not with the way her knee was bent, sticking out to the side.

  I slammed my foot into her face, and she slumped to the ground, less than an inch from the electric bars.

  My hands were shaking from the adrenalin rush as I sat on the edge of the cot, but after a second of staring at the Roja’s prone body, I realized I’d made a mistake. I should’ve let her win.

  Fighting in a cell looked bad. If I lost, maybe I would’ve gotten some pity points. Fighting and winning? That was so shortsighted. On the off chance that I somehow didn’t get found out as a halfer and made it to an actual trial, I’d have another mark for the judge to hold against me.

  I bent to check her pulse. It was strong. At least I hadn’t killed her.

  I leaned back on my heels. Ice it to hell. I should’ve taken the beating.

  Footsteps echoed again, and I glanced up to see Officer Perez sprinting down the narrow hallway. “You were supposed to be alone in there. Shit. I’m going to have to move you to solitary because of this.” Her shoulders slouched as she waved her finger through the air. She gave clipped instructions and then ended her call.

  “You okay in there?” she said when she was done.

  No. I wasn’t remotely okay, but she was talking physically. Pretending to be hurt was an option, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. I rubbed the ache in my stomach. The she-beast had hit me hard, and I was going to have a giant bruise. Other than that, my shoulder ached a bit from where I hit the floor, but that was nothing major. I was way better off than the Roja, who was still unconscious on the floor.

  “I’m all good.”

  “She’s twice your size. You some sort of ninja expert or something?”

  I huffed a laugh. If she only knew… “Or something.”

  Officer Perez entered the cell and inspected the Roja before she pushed the round, black button on her com again. “Medic needed in cell six.” She scanned me head to toe. “Well, you seem fine to me, but I have to ask. You need any nanos?”

  “No.” A hurt shoulder was way better than the feeling of little bugs under my skin, pinching and poking me where I should never feel anything pinched or poked. Nanos and I didn’t mix. I’d learned that the hard way.

  Officer Perez stood and stared me down with her hands on her hips. “You going to cause me any more trouble?”

  I hoped not. I didn’t want to make my situation any worse than it already was. “No, ma’am. I’m sorry about this.” I thought about telling her that it wasn’t my fault, but I was pretty sure she wouldn’t care.

  “Good. I don’t feel like cuffing you.” She waved me out. “This way.”

  I almost smiled. Almost. Maybe she realized I wasn’t a bad girl. I was just in a totally crappy situation.

  We went into another corridor. The noises of people yelling to be released, arguing with their cellmates, and more than a few people muttering to themselves filled the hallway. “Why is this one so packed and mine was empty?”

  “You were in temporary holding. That’s why there were only three cells there. After your blood processed, you would’ve been moved to one of the cells here, but now you’re going to solitary.”

  We took a few more turns and the noise of the prisoners faded. I chewed on my lip as we walked.

  If Jason Murtagh knew who I was, why wouldn’t he turn me in?

  We stopped at a solid door. This one had only a tiny barred window and a covered slot in it.

  Officer Perez opened the door. “It’s only for a little while. I hear your trial’s getting fast-tracked.”

  That was something. At least I wouldn’t have to wait long before I found out what my fate would be, but she still hadn’t said anything about the lab test. The question begged to come out, but that would be dumb. A human wouldn’t ask about
the results. They’d just assume it was fine. So I bit my tongue and stepped into my new cell.

  It was the size of a tiny closet. Only one metal pallet stuck out from the wall. This mattress was marginally more inviting than the last one. In the corner was the same type of metal toilet, although noticeably cleaner. My jumpsuit was a little dirty now from the fight, but I didn’t care. It seemed like a superficial worry. I didn’t care how dirty I was, I just wanted to get out of here alive.

  “I’ll be back to bring you some food in a couple hours.”

  Food? It must’ve been a long time since I’d eaten, but I wasn’t hungry. Not even a little bit. I nodded at Officer Perez as she closed the door and slid the bolts in place. A second later, it gave three deep beeps, and I knew I was stuck.

  Time ticked by and I stayed paralyzed on the pallet. Perez came with dinner, but I didn’t even bother getting up. Whatever was on the tray stank like moldy greens, and I had bigger issues than hunger.

  Had the test results come back yet? I couldn’t ask, but she said she should have them by dinner.

  As I sat there, I tried to grasp at any hope I could come up with. That something happened to my blood to make it not come up as Aunare. That Declan could help me even given the fact that I was now in SpaceTech custody. That Roan had gotten away and was with my mom somewhere safe. That Murtagh had no clue who I was. That somehow I’d get out of here a free woman. But the more I thought about it, the worse it seemed.

  If I was right and putting me in prison was Jason moving a pawn in this dangerous game between the Aunare and Earthers, then what was his next move? Tell my father? Use me as bait?

  Declan said that my father wanted to come, but it was too dangerous for a high-ranking official to come to Earth. It would be seen as an act of war. So, if luring my father here was Jason’s goal, then what?

  He wanted war.

  Even if it was too late to save me, part of me knew my father would come for me, and he wouldn’t come alone. He would bring all of the Aunare army. He had more than enough reason to destroy Earth after everything that SpaceTech had done to the Aunare people.

  SpaceTech would be stupid to bait my father. The Aunare army was the most feared in the known universe because of their advanced tech.

  There had to be something I was missing. SpaceTech wouldn’t draw my father here unless they had some way to defeat the Aunare.

  Had I walked into Murtagh’s hand? Did he attack me just so I’d fight back and he’d have reason to arrest me? I hated that, but I wanted to live. So I’d fight. Whatever Murtagh threw at me, I’d keep fighting for as long as I could. I was stubborn enough to never give up.

  Eventually, I lay down on the cot, trying to get some rest. I had to be ready for whatever came next, but sleep seemed impossible. Every time it came close, my body would jerk me awake, ready for a fight.

  The only thing that I knew was morning would come, and life was most certainly going to get a whole lot worse.

  Chapter Eleven

  By the time someone keyed the lock outside my cell, my eyes burned, and I was exhausted. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. In every way, I was done. A part of me was dying in the jail cell, and maybe that was for the best. I was doomed anyway. They’d come with breakfast a couple hours ago, but I’d ignored it. I wasn’t hungry.

  The door swung open, slamming against the wall with a bang. “On your feet.”

  I stood and stretched out my muscles. I wasn’t sure what was happening now, but I was in no rush to get wherever we were going.

  A woman with blonde hair pulled back in a severe bun stared at me with her arms akimbo and feet slightly apart. Her badge said Officer Hill.

  Her squinty scowl and tight lips told me she was either a fan of Murtagh or not a fan of me, the prisoner. Whichever it was, we weren’t going to be friends.

  Officer Hill didn’t speak to me as she cuffed my hands and led me through the hallways. I wondered where we were going but didn’t need to know badly enough to engage in any sort of conversation. If my test results had finally come in, then I’d find out soon enough. Delaying that as long as possible was my best way to stay sane.

  But with each step we took, my nerves wound tighter. I pressed my fists into my stomach, hoping to ease the ache there—nerves, not hunger—but there was nothing I could do except put one foot in front of the next.

  She paused at a door labeled IR 5. Interrogation room. She knocked twice before opening it.

  A man I’d never seen before sat in a metal chair on one side of a small metal table. He wasn’t in a suit, but he managed to look fancy enough in his crisply pressed button-up. His long hair was tied back in a low ponytail. Fine lines spread out from the corners of his eyes, but he wasn’t smiling.

  I was about to ask Officer Hill who this was, but then I noticed Declan standing in the corner.

  My knees started to fold at the sight of him, but Officer Hill uncuffed me, then shoved me toward an empty metal chair. “Sit there and wait.”

  I didn’t quite register her barked order before she left the room. The relief I felt seeing Declan… For a split second, I thought everything might be okay. His job was to find me and protect me. He could fix everything. But then I saw my reflection in the mirrored wall behind them. The bright orange of my jumpsuit hurt my eyes.

  Declan couldn’t fix this. Not even if I wanted him to more than anything in the world. I was about to say something but the way Declan held himself—his spine rod-straight in his navy and silver officer’s dress uniform—made me pause.

  The four cameras hanging in the corners of the room buzzed as they repositioned themselves to focus on me. They could’ve been so small that they’d have been virtually unnoticeable by the naked eye, but SpaceTech liked their presence to be known—and felt.

  I looked back to Declan. He was a double agent, which meant he had to pretend he didn’t know or care about me in any way if he didn’t want to blow his cover. Declan’s uniform and posture made a whole hell of a lot more sense. This wasn’t going to be fun.

  A dark-skinned brick of a Native American with a tribal-patterned tattoo across his face strode into the room, slamming the door behind him. His head was perfectly shaved, and from the look of him, he was older than Declan—mid-forties maybe.

  “Sit down, Miss Martinez,” Declan said. His tone was brisk and cold and nothing at all like the warm tone with a smile that I was used to.

  I swallowed down the dread. Declan had been my last hope. He was the one miracle that I thought was going to come through for me, but I wasn’t so sure that was possible anymore.

  I lowered myself into the chair—sitting as straight as Declan now was—and looked from the guy in the button-up across from me to Declan to the tattooed man and back again.

  “Shall we begin?” the tattooed man asked.

  The guy in the button-up cleared his throat. “We can. I’m Jim Waterson, your lawyer,” he said to me. “You’ve gotten yourself into a lot of trouble.”

  I glanced down at my orange jumpsuit. “Yeah. I figured that much out already.”

  I blew out a long breath. That’d come out testier than I wanted, but I didn’t like being backed into a corner, and that’s exactly what I felt like now. Declan and the new stranger shared a look that said they were about to deal me a shitty hand, and I honestly wasn’t sure how much worse it could get at this point.

  “Court-appointed?” I asked Jim. Because if he was, then I was going to have to be extra careful with what I said around him.

  “No. Jorge sent me.”

  A little part of me relaxed. That was good. At least that meant that two out of the other three people in the room were friendly. The tattooed guy was staring at me as if he’d take pleasure in gutting me, frying me up, and having me for breakfast.

  I kept my gaze on him. He was the wildcard.

  “I’m IAF Specialist Ahiga. I’m here to find out more about the attack.”

  If this was a fair room, I’d wonder what attack he
meant—mine or Jason Murtagh’s? But I was the one in jail.

  “Did you know who you were attacking?” The tattooed man’s voice held no emotion.

  “No. I was only aware of his hand inside my underwear.”

  If I hadn’t seen the tiny tic in Declan’s jaw, I would’ve thought he was angry at me. But he looked down and away, and I knew it wasn’t me he was angry with. In that moment, I was pretty sure that he hated his brother just as much as I did.

  “All right. There are some inconsistencies in your files, and they’ve set off some questions. Your blood was processed, and that checks out. But we need answers.”

  I fought to keep any shock off my face at the news that my blood checked out. I wasn’t sure how much I could say or what he wanted me to say. I was sure that this was all for show, but beyond that, I was clueless. Staying silent seemed like the safest option.

  Ahiga leaned forward and grabbed my wrist, hard. He slapped on a thin film, and my skin burned as it powered up. A little line appeared, flat and even, but when I moved, it jumped.

  “That’s a lie detector. You answer my questions. Yes or no. Answer them honestly.” Ahiga’s low, rumbling orders were said with a cold calmness that had my heart racing.

  The thin strip of tape lit up and started beeping in sync with my heart. Too fast. It was going too fast. A tiny readout of my beats per minute, along with my body temperature, appeared on the tape.

  “That’s right. You’re getting the severity of this now.”

  My gaze jumped to Declan. He stayed quiet but did a slow, long inhale, prompting me to do the same. Just like he’d taught me in the warehouse.

  I counted my breaths. Six in. Three out. Three in. Six out. Four in. Eight out. And just like that, I was calm. I could do this.

  “You live in Albuquerque?”

  Eight in. Four out. Six in. “Yes.” My heart rate stayed steady. It wasn’t a lie.