by Maia Tanith
“When the guard comes in, we need to overpower him. It’s our only chance.”
It didn’t seem like much of a plan. “So we’re just going to take out the guard, steal the keys, and run away to freedom?” My voice came out more sarcastic than I meant it to.
“Yes,” she replies. “But there’s one more part to the plan. We have to steal a ship to fly home in, too.”
I sigh and lean back against the wall. Crap. This day was not getting any easier. Not to mention every part of my body aches, I have an over-sized muscle man who probably weighs about a ton to carry, and I am so hungry I feel faint. Maybe I could eat one of the guards for energy.
It is a mark of how hungry I am that actually almost seriously consider this for a second.
The lizard women are talking amongst themselves now. I lean against Taark. His skin doesn’t feel so hot. He moves and murmurs something under his breath. I’m not sure what it is, but it has to be a good sign, right?
I push his hair out of his face and kiss his cheek. I can only hope he will wake up before the guard comes to kill us. We need him to help us take out the guard. And mostly, we need him to be able to walk. Even between the four of us, we can’t carry his weight out of here.
He is not the only one who is injured.
Then another thought strikes me. “Why would they bother to come inside our cell at all? They could just as easily shoot us from outside, and we would be helpless. We couldn’t do a thing to stop them.”
The lizard woman shakes her head. “No. They need to make it look like Taark lost his temper and killed us all and then himself. Right now he’s riding high in public esteem because he won the match against the odds. They need him to lose all his credibility and sympathy.”
Another of them nods. “If they simply execute him, and someone finds out, they risk making him into a martyr. They really don’t want that.”
“They will be expecting to see him riding in a victory parade. Feted as a hero. Especially because it was one of their kind against three Galgogs. There would be an outcry against an execution.”
“But a hero going rogue and murdering everyone in sight? That is the perfect story.”
I am less confident about the plans than the lizard women, but I can’t think of any better idea. “How shall we do this, then?” I plant my hands on my hips and look at the first lizard woman in the eyes. “One of us could distract him, and the others overpower him?”
The lizard women nod. One of them steps forward. “I’m hurt,” she said. “I’ll distract the guard, I’m not sure I’ll be much use in overpowering one.” She is as wobbly on her feet as I feel. The lack of rest and food is affecting us all, even if the lizard women have been getting fed more than me.
I nod. I don’t know what she’s been through out of the arena, but I have no doubt it’s not been pleasant. “Okay, you’re our distraction. Think of something good.”
She smirks slightly and dips her head. “It will be,” she replies.
Over the next half hour the rest of us discuss techniques to overpower the guards. We agree on a roster of sleep. One of us needs to be awake at all times, to alert the others to when a guard arrives. I offer to take the first watch. I hope the guard doesn’t come until later. I need sleep. And I need Taark to wake up. There won’t be much good in overpowering a guard if I’m left with a giant unconscious claw-man on my hands.
I can understand the lizard women and their desire to be free. They won’t wait around to help me carry Taark once we’ve got free from this cell. If he doesn’t wake up, I don’t know what I’ll do.
It feels like hours later, but could have been merely minutes, when Taark moves again. The others are fast asleep. They sleep silently and are completely still. It’s unnerving. I move closer to Taark’s side. “Taark? Can you hear me?”
“Little kit,” he rasps. My heart leaps. He’s talking. This has got to be a good sign that the venom is leaving his system. “Do you have water?”
I pass him the few mouthfuls I saved for him and he drinks it greedily. He struggles to sit up and I do my best to help him, although I’m so weak and he’s so heavy I doubt I’ve done much. I feel a fresh wave of anger, at the guards, and at the stupid Emperor who has us locked in here. We won our promised freedom with blood and sweat and tears, and they can’t even give us a decent drink of water.
“How do you feel?” I ask. It’s a stupid question. He obviously feels like he’s been run over by a party bus of overweight tourists.
“Like I’ve been hit by a spaceship full of Galgogs fat with their midwinter feasting.”
Huh, we have kinda similar analogies. Fancy that. I let my lips curve up into a small smile. Suddenly I want to ask him more about his home planet, like, do they have spaceships they hire out to party in? Do they celebrate dates like New Year? Do they even count years like we do, or is their time measured by something different? I mean, surely they have a sun and a moon, right? I can’t dwell on it for too long though. We have work to do. I can ask these questions later, when we are somewhere safe. Wherever that might be. “Well consider yourself lucky the spaceship pilot didn’t chuck it in reverse and hit you again to finish the job. Because we have an escape plan, and you’re going to have to help.” My voice is more confident than I feel.
“Do you know where we are?” He peers around us, his eyes narrowed as he takes in the tiny, dirty cell. His voice is quieter than usual, and raspy. It hurts to hear it. It’s how I sound after an all-nighter at the clubs and brings back memories of killer hangovers and a throat too sore to swallow painkillers.
“I would take an educated guess that we are back in the cells.” I suppose you can always fall back on sarcasm to cover your fear, right?
“Very funny, kit,” he growls back. I don’t know how he does it, but even half dead his growl sends shivers down my spine. Kinda in a good way. Kinda in a terrifying, don’t-mess-with-him way, too. “Did you see the way we came when they put us back here? It will help us to plot the escape route.”
He’s on board. Thank God. Honestly, if we can get out of here safely, I might just become religious. There’s got to be someone looking down on me if I get to safety from this ridiculous situation.
I put my hand down on the ground to help shuffle my weight around and ease the pins and needles that have started pricking painfully in my left butt cheek. My hand touches something sharp in the dirt. I lift it up and squint at it.
It’s a tooth. Ewwww. I throw it as far from me as I can, which isn’t far in the cramped room.
On second thoughts, there’s obviously no man up in the sky watching over me to keep me safe. Or if there is, he has some twisted sense of humor if he finds this fun to watch.
My train of thought is interrupted by another low growl from Taark.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m thinking. We were dragged down a corridor. Then thrown in here. It happened so fast.” My mind is having trouble focusing now, I’m so hungry. And thirsty.
“Was it a straight corridor?”
“No, twisty.” I try to think of any more details that will help. “It wasn’t very long though. We turned a couple corners; I remember because my legs banged on the corners. Then into here.”
He breathes out a low sigh. “That’s good. That means we aren’t far from the surface. They could have taken us much deeper.”
I nod my head towards the lizard women, curled up in the corner. “They told me the guards are planning to kill us. It was the plan all along, if you didn’t die in the arena. They are going to make it look like an accident so that the public don’t get upset you weren’t freed.” My voice wobbles a bit, even though I am trying to keep it together.
Taark’s eyes meet mine. His face is dirty, but his eyes still sparkle with an intensity that gives me butterflies. “I won’t let them.” His reaches out his hand and strokes the edge of my cheek every so softly. “I had a feeling they might try that. We are going to get out of here, I promise you.”
I nod. Then I l
ook away and rub my eyes. It’s not the time to get emotional.
The lizard women are stirring. One by one, they slowly wake up, blinking their wide eyes sideways at us in the way I am still not used to.
One of them speaks to Taark. “You are very strong. I did not think you would be awake yet.” Her tongue flicks out past her lips, so quickly it’s only a faint blur in my eyes. She narrows her eyes. “I can still smell the venom on you. It will be a few days yet before you are back to your usual self. But you’ve recovered faster than most.”
Taark nods at her, taking the compliment in his stride.
“So—the plan,” I interject. “We need to get Taark up-to-date on the plan.” I turn to him and gesture to the women. “When the guard comes in, she is going to cry for help. We are going to pretend to be asleep. We think he will take the bait and try to take his way with her, if he thinks we are all asleep and she is dying. We think—they think he will do it. They think they know who the guard will be.”
The plan makes me feel sick, even as I spit out the words. I hope we can kill the guard. If this plan does work, then he deserves what he is going to get.
Taark nods.
I carry on. “I will stab him with your claw.” I hold it up. “You’ll be lookout and-”
“Shhhh!” The lizard women all crouched down and froze. One of them gestured at me. “He’s coming.”
“Already?” We haven’t even covered the plan yet. I am not ready. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.
We crouch low and shuffle as fast and as quietly as we can to the corner. “You need to be on watch. I’ll take him out, because you need to keep your strength up to run.”
He glowers at me, but there is no time for him to argue.
Why do men always have to be the alpha? He is barely able to stay awake, let alone attack someone. “Just do it, okay? We had to make this plan while you were unconscious,” I hiss at him. “You block the door and keep a lookout for anyone else. Me and the others will take out the guard.”
Some of the fight leaves his eyes and he nods without making a noise.
I hope there is only the one guard. If there is more than one, we’ll have to improvise.
A lizard woman speaks, “He’s close.”
We lie down. I try to calm my breathing, to lull myself into slow breaths that would fool a guard into thinking I’m asleep. I am closest to the injured lizard woman. Closest so I can strike when he comes into the room, and he is too far away from the door to make a run for it.
It’s quiet in the cell. Everyone is still, collectively almost holding our breaths. I think maybe the lizard woman is mistaken.
Another second goes by, then I hear it.
Clomp, clomp, clomp. A rattle of what sounds like a chain. It’s getting louder. He must be right outside our cell now. The noise stops.
My eyes are closed in a mock sleep. We are meant to look barely conscious, like we are no threat.
“Please.” The lizard woman speaks. The one who volunteered as bait. “Please help me. I need water. I’m wounded, the others are nearly dead. I’ll do anything.”
I can hear the heavy breathing of the guard. “What could you do for me then, heh-heh,” he laughs. I hear him snort and spit a glob of phlegm onto the ground.
“I’ll do anything. Please. The others can’t help me, they haven’t even woken up. I’m in so much pain.” Her voice was weak. It would have been quite the performance if I didn’t already know she was doubtless in a significant amount of pain.
Please let him take the bait. Please let him take the bait.
The lizard women said that the guards often did have their way with prisoners who were weak. Suddenly I felt something prod me, none too gently either. I gritted my teeth and lay still, pretending I couldn’t feel it.
“They’re unconscious, huh?” the guard grunts.
“They haven’t woken up since we got here. I’ll do anything, let you do anything-” her voice fades.
There is a pause.
“Oh, I’ll help you, alright,” the guard mutters.
There is a jangling of keys. My heart thuds like it wants to jump out of my ribcage.
We have risked everything gambling that he will want to have his way with a prisoner one more time before shooting us. If he decides to shoot us first, we have no plan B.
Then the sound of the key scraping in the lock and the door turning. The guard stomps in, slowly, carefully. His lizard eyes will be flicking around the room, making sure we are no threat.
I lay as still as I can.
A thud. He must have kicked someone.
“Dirty beast,” I can hear him mutter.
He’s kicked Taark. He thinks Taark is borderline dead, and he’d still kick him when he’s down. I am going to enjoy the feeling of stabbing him with the claw of Taark’s I hold in my hand.
Taark doesn’t move. He’s swallowing his pride for this moment.
I hear the guard clomp across the cell floor.
“Please, give me some water,” the lizard woman says as the guard gets closer.
He hands her his water bottle and I hear her take a couple of swallows. The noise makes my mouth water. I am so parched. “Thank you. Thank you,” she mutters.
He laughs. “You’ll be thanking me soon, that’s for sure,” he replies.
I can’t see and I can’t open my eyes. I don’t know where he is standing. If we get this wrong, we will all be dead.
“You’ve always been my favorite guard,” the lizard woman says.
It’s the cue.
I leap up, claw in my hand. Taark stumbles to his feet, heading to the door. The three lizard women leap at the guard. He doesn’t have time to grab his gun. We might be weak, and tired, and injured, and hungry, but we are desperate. We are desperate to live. And our desperation gives us strength.
I lunge at the guard with Taark’s claw. The lizard women are holding him as he writhes to get away. One has her hand clamped over his mouth. He is trying to make some noise, but nothing gets past her hand but grunts.
He swings his arms and one woman flies to the floor. I don’t even check whether she’s okay. With his arm outstretched, his torso is exposed. I lurch forward and rake the claw down his middle.
My aim is perfect. His flesh parts smoothly, a long deep gash unfolding before me.
His eyes go wide and he writhes one final last time in a desperate attempt to get away.
Too late. His life blood is pumping through the gash I have made.
I jump away, bile in my throat, away from the hot, spurting blood.
The lizard women keep hold of his twitching body. The one covering his mouth does not let go until his body stops moving.
Then she lets him gently down to the ground and looks down on his now still body. “Thank you, Goddess,” she murmurs, as she bows her head.
Taark steps over and pulls the gun from his body. One of the women take his keys and the disc he wears around his neck. We stumble to the door, now soaked with a foul-smelling blood on top of the dirt caking us. We pull the door closed and a lizard woman turns the key to lock him inside. Anything that will slow down the chase for us.
Then we turn and run for the corridor.
“This way.” One of the lizard women takes the lead. She is holding her side, but whatever pain she is in, she doesn’t say a word of complaint. There will be time later to heal. When we are out of here.
The corridor is silent aside from the thuds of our own footsteps. No cries from any other prisoners. Not even a scuffle or a snore. The whole wing seems deserted.
It must have been planned that way so there were no witnesses to Taark’s murder. How ironic that their forethought and caution is now helping us to escape.
We turn corner after corner, my heart thudding like crazy thinking there will be someone around every turn. It’s dim, with the only light coming from flickering orange overhead lights that look like a fire flame, but different. The dirt floor at least means our steps are muffled
. We are in too much of a hurry to be quiet.
Then there is light ahead of us and we are at a new set of bars. The lizard women with the keys tries one, then another. They aren’t turning. There must be over ten keys on the ring, ten keys that all look the same in this dimly lit corridor.
She curses and tries another one. No luck again. Her fingers are fumbling over the keys.
A shout. Someone is coming. I turn my head to look behind me, but I can’t see anyone. The shout rings out again, and another joins it.
Shit. I thought we’d have more time before they found us missing.
The lizard woman tries another key, and it doesn’t work.
My heart is in my throat now.
Taark steps behind us all and raises the gun he took from the guard. He aims down the corridor, back towards the way we came. “Hurry up,” he growls. “I can hold off one, but if they have guns, we die.”
She hisses but doesn’t reply. She tries another key and a strangled noise escapes her throat when it, too, doesn’t turn.
The shouts are growing louder. We are like fish in a barrel, with nowhere to go. Footsteps, then more shouts. Then there is chaos.
From behind Taark’s broad shoulders I can see a figure emerge down the corridor.
Taark fires. The gun shoots a blue light down the hall and the bang reverberates around us. Time is slowing down. I see the figure raise its own arm and take aim as Taark’s finger squeezes the trigger. again. The figure shoots.
I can see Taark, his broad shoulders, his huge torso that is going to shelter us all, even if it means he won’t make it. I can’t let it happen.
I act without thinking and shove his shoulder as hard as I can.
I am weak, but he is weaker. I topple him off-balance and he falls heavily to the floor.
The beam from the guard’s gun passes by him harmlessly and hits the door. A huge bang, the acrid smell of smoke, and the locked door finally swings open.
I grab Taark and pull him to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Momentarily dazed, he follows me without protest.
The guard in the corridor is a heap on the floor still. I don’t know whether he is alive or dead. “Did you hit him?” I ask breathlessly, as I propel Taark out into the night. There is no moon like I am used to seeing, but a scattering of bright stars lights up the sky. It’s not as bright as daylight, but it’s enough.