by Rena Marks
Drakar starts, and I place my palm on his chest. Beneath my fingers, I can feel his heart race.
“You won’t transfer any more languages,” he says.
“It doesn’t matter if I transfer or not. I will still sleep. The damage is done unless he can fix it.”
Neo has moved to Valencia now. When his scanner stops bleeping, he turns back to me. “Good news is you can transfer without causing damage. There’s absolutely no scarring on them.”
“Okay, then.”
“Did you explain to your mate that I need to fix you?”
I nod.
“Tell him he can hold you in his arms.
But I need access to your head. And Niki, it will hurt. Warn him.”
Drakar looks at Neo as I translate and a sort of male understanding transfers between them as they stare each other down. Drakar nods and his arms hold me tight. He lowers me, so I’m cradled against his chest like a baby, but with my head dangling off his bicep. Neo runs the scanner-thing over my forehead and the lights flash in and out of my eyes. “Here we go,” he says, and then the real pain begins.
I’m barely aware of Drakar’s arms bulging as they hold me tight. I shudder and shake with instant seizures as bits of my brain are scraped away. Someone sitting next to Drakar reaches out and rubs my legs, offering comfort where they can. I’m aware of someone groaning, but part of me isn’t even aware it’s me until the pain lessens. Eventually it starts to recede, and finally it’s just a bad memory. The scanner is still working magic around my head, but it no longer hurts.
Neo clicks it off. “All done. The scarred brain tissue is completely removed and regenerated. That was the painful part,” he says.
“So I’m fine now?” I ask, as Drakar helps me sit up. “I won’t need sleep and die?”
“No. You’re as you were before the language input. But you still know the languages.”
I nod and sway, still dizzy.
“And,” Neo switches to the formal Blaedonian he knows and looks at Drakar. “The scanner picked up another issue. Stargazers have the technology to detect pregnancy much earlier than other species. Congratulations, you two. You’re about a week along.”
“Huh?”
I turn to Drakar and he looks pleased as punch. The other hunters start congratulating us.
“What?” Jezebel asks. “What’s going on now?”
“We were wrong. Apparently they don’t hatch from eggs,” I say, still slightly stunned as I rub my belly.
Jessie holds her hand up to her mouth to laugh discreetly. Neo looks shocked.
The rest of the girls look stunned. “Oh, wow. You’re going to have a little blue baby?”
I nod.
“Congratulations,” Tessa says. “You’ll be the first of us.”
“That’s something else we need to mention,” Jessie says. “The Stargazers have come to Earth not only to mate, but to protect weaker species. Obviously, you all were captured by Drurians and brought here. Take time tonight to decide and if anyone would like a ride home. We’d be more than happy to get you back.”
It’s more than we’d ever hoped for. And yet, all around the table, every girl seems quiet. Truth is, we’d already kind of planned our lives out here. Earth seems so far away, and not just in distance. It’s a completely different life, almost like we’ve died and have been reincarnated into another existence. But here, on this planet, we’re wanted. Revered. Back home, we’re just one of the busy, yet lonely, masses.
But no one wants to admit it or even make the decision.
Neo translates in Blaedonian and now our blue hunters look surprised. It’s a possibility they’d never thought of. I can’t imagine how they’d feel, to have us all in their lives and then removed just as quickly.
Drakar pulls me tighter against his chest. “Wherever you go, I will follow,” he says.
I twist around on his lap. “I’m not going anywhere. My place is here now. With you. With our family.”
He leans down to kiss me.
“I’m glad you’ve decided,” Jessie says. “But really, don’t stress over it right now.” She turns to look at all the others. “Mull it over and decide tomorrow before we leave. We have some other planets to visit and can come back if you decide. Now, are you all ready for something cool?”
“What is it?” Jezebel asks.
“Friends of ours gave us this cool little chip that allows the ship to become invisible. We’ll be able to see outside as clearly as if there were no walls. We can watch every scary animal out there from the safety of inside. You’ll be able to study them.”
“Whoa. Cool!” Jillian says. “We’ve been wondering what scary things reside in the dark.”
Valencia translates for the men and everyone looks around the room, excited.
Neo stands and heads over to the controls of the ship. He plugs something in and the entire front and side walls melt away.
While we were inside all this time, night has hit. It’s completely black outside. Yet a few of the barbarians jump, as if they can see something the rest of us can’t. Neo and Jessie are handing out sunglasses. “For night vision,” Jessie says.
The human females grab for them and we slap them on. The planet is completely transformed by the glasses. Now we can see the outlines of the creatures outside. No wonder the hunters jumped.
Because outside is the stuff made of nightmares. A giant squid-looking creature that walks around on eight legs attaches itself to the wall of the ship, showing us his pink underbelly. It sends out sucker tentacles to taste the walls.
“It knows something’s there because it can feel us, but it’s confused because it can’t see us,” Neo murmurs. A long tongue comes out to lick.
“Eww.” Cammie laughs. Jezebel elbows her.
“Look at that one,” Jillian says, from the side of the ship.
A giant, slithering beast with one eye slides up to the squid and right before our eyes, peels it off the wall and ingests it with one swallow.
Jessie jumps. “Yuck. I didn’t see one of those last night.”
A two-headed beast walks up and turns ever so slowly. What looks like a Siamese twin is attached to his back. He walks away, and the twin looks like he’s moving backward from our view. Suddenly, a worm creature tears up from a hole in the ground, and its head completely dislocates from its jaws, opening up like a giant hose. It grabs the slithering beast and tries to swallow it whole, but the beast is too big. The slither-beast pounds it, smashing the worm with jaws. The worm’s head falls off, and the jaw with sharp teeth goes clattering across the dirt, chomping away.
“It’s almost like staring into an aquarium,” I murmur.
“Right?” Jessie laughs.
“What made you two decide to travel?” I ask her.
“The pregnancy. The United States government has rules in place about Americans traveling with children, so it was now or never.”
“Does the government know about us? And the Drurians who are kidnapping Earthlings?”
“No,” Jessie murmurs. “We have force fields in place to detect others invading Earth’s atmosphere. My guess is you all were kidnapped during a fluke. A beam was able to penetrate recently, kidnapping one of our Stargazer mates named Bay. We were so focused on that, we never thought another species could invade at the same time and steal people. But the Stargazers will make it right, whatever decision you all decide.”
“I’m staying,” I say.
“I figured.”
Now a headless creature approaches. It’s a soft, slimy glob with rubbery poky things that protrude from its round body.
“Look, a headless blob,” Cammie says.
“That is a Grecyarn,” Drakar say.
“Oh! Those are our pots,” I tell the girls. “Our skull pots for boiling crab legs in.”
“Eww,” Jessie says.
“Uh, then where’s the skull come from?” Jezebel asks.
Oh. There’s no head.
“Drakar? Where do y
ou get the skull from?”
He grins. “Watch.”
Another creature sneaks up behind it and grabs it. The rubbery poky things whir round, shudder and shake. But the one who’s grabbed him squeezes and out of the mess of poky things, the head pops up through the skin. It has a mouth low on the chin, which is the opening we use to hang the pots with. The creature’s mouth opens in a scream we can’t hear from inside the ship, and then it stops moving.
“How do you get the skulls to use as pots?” Jessie asks.
“Sometimes they’re killed close to morning and the other creatures have to flee before the light hits. They’ll leave the body and the Blaedonians don’t waste. The skull doesn’t have eyes or ears, so it’s perfect for boiling a pot of water in.”
“Speaking of food, I’ll bet you’re all hungry. Why don’t I go rustle us up some dinner?”
“Want help?”
“No, hon. This is your only chance to see and study these creatures firsthand. I watched them last night. You’ll be living here among them.”
“Good point.”
“Besides, it’s easy. I just program a few commands into the auto foodmaker. We’re well stocked on food. And we’ll pick up another load soon.”
“I think the Drurians had one of those.”
Neo gets up to help his mate.
They come back into the main hall with a feast for kings. There’s pizza and burgers with fries. There’s steak and mashed potatoes. There are even tacos, which is kind of funny that the food is so mish-mashed. Rayhaan picks one up and his entire hand dwarfs it. Lucie laughs and shows him how to take a bite.
We eat like we’ve never eaten before, and Neo and Jessie continually bring dishes out for us to try. There’s lasagna and salad, and lobster tails.
“We have something like this,” Maca says. “Where we are going. But they are not red. The creature is purple.”
“It’s just the tail,” I say.
“The tail is all you eat?” He looks baffled.
“Well, yes.”
“I assume there’s no waste on their planet?” Neo asks.
I nod. “Nothing. Earth could learn a lot.”
“We’re trying,” Neo says, and his arm goes around Jessie.
“I can let you guys have whatever I want in the ship. Scissors. Silverware. Whatever.” Jessie says. “I can always replace it next time we get home.”
“Can we have the night glasses?” Valencia asks.
“Of course! Anything.”
I nod. “These will definitely help.”
Jessie gasps. “I have an idea. Ever hear of a menstrual cup?”
“Ohmigawd, do you have some?”
“I don’t need them,” she says wryly, rubbing her belly. “But, there are three or four on board for later. And, I’ll bet I can put one into the ship’s replicator so we can make more overnight.”
“That would be awesome,” Valencia says.
“I’ve never heard of that. What is it?” Gigi asks.
“Girl, you haven’t lived,” I say.
“You’ll learn to love it,” Jessie says.
“Not much choice,” Jezebel says. “There’s no other choices here, except living in the bathing pool for a week.”
We all groan.
It’s decided we’ll sleep in the main hull of the ship, where we can watch the night creatures at random. Jessie and Neo bring sleeping bags down, though we have traveling furs and our capes.
“It’s amazing that none of you miss any of the creature comforts from home,” Jessie says. “Cell phones and computers. Blow dryers.”
“None of that seems really important anymore,” Jezebel says, and leans her head onto Maca’s shoulder. Among us Earth women, we have a similar understanding.
“The Blaedonians care for us,” Cammie says. “They’ve become our people. Our family.”
I know then what decision everyone will make. We’re integrating, and it’ll be a whole new way of life for us.
Jessie seems to know it, too. “We’ll make sure no one else is taken.”
“Would you like us to give you a lift somewhere come morning?” Neo asks. “Back at your village?”
“Actually, we’re heading to the ocean to stock up on salt.”
“The ocean?” Jessie looks longingly at Neo.
His odd, fluorescent eyes soften. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we tagged along for the day, sweet.”
The End
(Of Book 1, at least.) Catch up on Lucie’s story in Book 2, Stranded.
Author’s Note:
The Stargazers series is blended into this first book of the Blue Barbarians Series. Neo and Jessie’s story is told in Book 4, The Protector, if you’d like to catch up.
Stranded
Rena Marks
Book 2 in the Blue Barbarian series.
Alien abductions are real.
I was the fourth female awakened aboard the Drurian spacecraft that specialized in kidnapping females. Their mission? To sell us to other galaxies.
Human female Numbers One and Two didn’t make it, but Niki—also known as Number Three—made it through the experiment of language implantation. I was lucky and she transferred the gift of languages to me. I’m now able to understand the sexy, blue barbarians who have taken us in on the planet Blaedonia.
Now, Niki has mated to the King of Blaedonia and Drakar has decided to mate me to his best friend Rayhaan. Apparently the barbarians are clueless to the fact that Earthlings choose their own men.
Lucky for me, I have an opportunity to travel home. Unlucky for Rayhaan, he’s forced to do my bidding to woo me.
Because now, a girl has options.
* Publisher’s Note: While each Blue Barbarian Series book is a standalone, the greatest enjoyment will come from reading them in series order.
EXCERPT:
The spaceship is crashing.
A computer’s voice drags over the loudspeakers, warning of a bumpy landing. The aliens around the table I lay on snap to attention as the lights flicker and go out, and when it’s dark, I’m dragged away, butt-naked. My arms and legs flail, but I’m careful to heed the warning from Niki and Drakar, two other caged abductees. They warned me that one of the aliens nicknamed Lech is allowed to rape anyone who screams. Apparently, the pitch in a human scream hurts the aliens’ delicate…little…eardrums.
So I’m careful not to open my mouth as I’m dragged down the darkened hallway to where the other hibernating human females are kept, and where I’d been awakened from. The emergency lights are the only available lights in the alien spaceship that contains us. The amber bulbs highlight the walls and create a dim pathway as we leave to enter the hallway. Another door swishes open and I’m hauled into the room which houses the humans, and two of the aliens keep walking through the same room to reach another door. As it opens, I see that the room beyond is the hull of their ship. I file that away for future reference.
“Lock her in the pod,” the boss-alien snaps over his shoulder at Lech, the one who drags me. While the language sounds like a series of bleeps and whistles, I’m able to understand every word, thanks to Niki and her language transference. The whole reason why they awakened me from stasis was to see if she’d be able to transfer the language experiments they’d done on her. The second alien follows him through the second door and it closes shut, leaving me to my fate with Lech.
With the smack of his hand on a switch, an empty pod folds down like a table. The rest of the glass-like pods stand upright, and there are other women frozen inside in a state of stasis.
Lech throws me on top of the pod and holds me down with one arm. He’s fumbling around and then my legs are jerked apart. His weird, two-fingered lobster claw-hand goes over my mouth and then he’s pushing himself inside me. The pain is intense, like liquid fire ripping my insides apart. He’s disgusting as he grunts his pleasure into my ear. The texture of his skin feels slimy and he smells offensive, like rotted meat. His hot, muggy breath blows across my neck an
d has the faint smell of mothballs. Gray in appearance, his black eyes are oversized in his bulbous head, reminding me of the face of a fly. His mouth is a tiny, flat slit in his intense, ugly face. When his head turns, the back is huge, with raw-matter shaped like brains.
The he squeals like a pig, and comes. His filth runs down my leg. But thankfully, when he pulls out, the pain lessens to a dry burn. A myriad of emotions runs through me. Humiliation. Anger. Helplessness. He lifts me easily and pushes me into the pod. It rises to a vertical position, lining up with the others against the wall. As he seals it, all noises are completely blocked with the soundproofing. The pod slowly fills with a sweet-smelling gas.
As I stare him down, he puts his gray junk back into his space suit and pats the bulge once it’s packed away.
Even though he can’t hear, I promise the bastard a slow and painful death.
But in this dream, I’m too brave. He decides to turn and teach me another lesson. He reaches for me again, and magically the glass of the pod falls away. My skin crawls as his cold, deformed hand grabs me around the neck and lifts me again. My feet dangle two feet above the ground.
This time I do scream, and the sound cuts through the night and reverberates off the rock walls of the caves in which we live. The shriek shatters the quiet with rage and pain, and the impotence of shattered innocence.
Footsteps run down the rock corridors. It’s Niki who bursts through the leather door of my cave. She reaches for me, but I’m in too much shock to comprehend anything real. To differentiate between the dream and…the memory.
She grabs me and holds me to her, shushing me gently. I’m shaking and my skin is clammy and cold. It’s over. That’s right. We live here now, along with the people of Blaedonia in a village made from a mountain of caves.
There’s a commotion at the door and it’s her mate Drakar, as he holds his best friend, Rayhaan, back. Rayhaan calls himself my mate, but doesn’t understand that I never chose him. It’s why I sleep by myself.