AWOL

by Traci Harding

  ‘What the?’ Jazmay was confused as, still making a good show of choking her, Kalayna leaned close to whisper.

  ‘It will block your restraint.’

  At least, reason denoted that the signal from her psychic amplifier would cancel out the signal of the neutraliser. As long as these devices were functioning and close, one did not need to be wearing one for it to have effect — they emitted a signal regardless; the band design was simply for locking the device on a prisoner.

  Jazmay’s eyes flashed wide in recognition as Kalayna was dragged off her by several Valoureans — spitting, kicking and cussing.

  ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ Jazmay still appeared confused and as the Valoureans pulled her back up to standing, she had daggers in her eyes. ‘I won’t forget this,’ she threatened, as she was hauled out of the cell block ahead of Kalayna.

  ‘Do I look like I give a shit?’ Kalayna kicked out after her, but an elbow to the face snatched away all conscious thought.

  If her ex-comrades in the Valoureans felt that they were going to drive a wedge between herself and her husband, Jazmay felt they had a rude shock in store. Clearly they were going to play the emotional torture card, which she could adjust her mind-set to withstand — it was Yasper’s emotional and physical wellbeing that concerned her more.

  She was driven clear across the huge prison complex to a grand building located on the outskirts. No one needed to tell her where they were going; Jazmay was familiar with the pleasure-house-cum-seeding-stable most frequented by the Qusay’s guard. She had visited this place herself in her distant past, to use and abuse the men here, as that was a Phemorian’s idea of pleasure. She looked back on herself at that time and considered how miserable she must have been to find pleasure in the pain of another. Perhaps she hadn’t spiritually evolved too much since, as the idea of beating the shit out of the lieutenant who kept pushing her about was very appealing.

  ‘You remember this place … traitor?’ The lieutenant strapped Jazmay to the wall in one of the private torture chambers that was decked out like a luxurious bedroom, complete with restraints on the walls and all the furnishings.

  ‘Are you going to try and impress me with your sexual prowess?’ Jazmay made it clear that she found their efforts all rather droll. ‘I’m sorry, but tough chicks just don’t do it for me any more.’

  Her captor gripped a handful of Jazmay’s hair and yanked her head to one side. ‘By the time I’m done with your man whore, he won’t do it for you any more either.’ With another jarring yank, the lieutenant let her go and backed up, her expression smug. ‘I have something very special planned.’

  As much as she wanted to wipe that look off her captor’s face, Jazmay tried another tack. ‘What do you want from us? If we knew anything about Thurraya’s whereabouts, don’t you think we would have told you to save AMIE and the captain? We don’t know anything!’

  ‘Which makes you both expendable!’ The lieutenant grinned in conclusion. ‘Lucky me.’

  Jazmay could feel her blood starting to boil. ‘Harm my husband in any way, and you will not live to regret it.’

  Her captor had a chuckle at this, and then her expression soured. ‘You really love him. Sweet. All the more fun for me.’

  ‘Go fuck yourself!’ Jazmay wanted to rip her limb from limb.

  ‘Fortunately, I’ve made other plans.’ She blew Jazmay a kiss and left the chamber along with her company.

  As soon as Jazmay was alone she began testing her PK, by willing herself free. When that didn’t work, she focused on a pitcher of water hoping to make it rise off the table, but nothing — not even a ripple in the water. As a shapeshifter she attempted to turn herself to water and slide out of her bonds, but again she had no success. She realised that Powers took a little time to return once freed from a neutraliser’s restraint, but it had to be getting on to an hour since Kalayna had attacked her.

  The doors opened and three Valoureans hauled Yasper, naked and shivering, into the room — the lieutenant was not with them.

  ‘Ladies, as much as I love being in a room that is not a steady sub-zero temperature, I really have to decline the extracurricular activities,’ he bantered, and it was heart-warming to Jazmay to see that Yasper still had his humour. ‘My wife is really not going to be happy about this.’ He attempted to resist being strapped to the bed, and copped a punch to the gut that winded him long enough to secure him in place.

  ‘That’s what we are hoping.’ A Valourean directed his attention to Jazmay. ‘You chat among yourselves; our lieutenant will be with you presently.’ She backed off Yasper and left with the others.

  ‘Aww shit, Jaz …’ Yasper sounded more panicked than he had before he’d spotted her. ‘I don’t want you to witness this.’

  Jazmay shrugged, as it seemed they had no choice in the matter; that pitcher of water still wasn’t budging for her. ‘Perhaps we can just pretend it’s some sadomasochistic adventure we dreamt up for our anniversary?’

  ‘I like your thinking,’ Yasper nodded, forcing a grin. ‘But I think this is favouring one of your fantasies, rather than one of mine.’

  ‘So, indulge me,’ she said, hoping to lessen the discomfort of the situation for him. ‘I give you full consent to comply with whatever she asks of you. Don’t try to resist,’ she warned, knowing there were very painful ways to make him comply. ‘Just close your eyes and pretend it’s me.’

  ‘Jaz!’ Yasper objected.

  ‘Please,’ Jazmay begged him.

  ‘And what if I cannot?’ Yasper appealed. ‘If the situation were reversed, you would fight.’

  ‘Yet the outcome would still be the same, only far more damaging, believe me!’ Jazmay was panicked as she had some idea of what was coming; Yasper didn’t. ‘You are more than the skin you are in; she may take the vehicle but don’t let her break your spirit.’

  Yasper was stunned to hear Jazmay speak in metaphysical terms, as she never had before. ‘Okay, now I’m really worried.’ He yanked at his bonds to test their strength but they held firm.

  ‘Please, Yasper.’ Jazmay could feel her own inner panic welling into tears, which would only alarm him more, and she breathed deep to suppress them. ‘Oblige her.’

  The door opened and a lone woman entered; she had the countenance of a Valourean, but she was not in uniform. Her jet-black hair was plastered up into a ponytail that sprouted from the top of her head, and she wore a long black leather coat and matching high heeled boots. ‘Are we all comfortable?’ she asked.

  ‘I feel a little underdressed,’ Yasper offered up an answer, as Jazmay seemed preoccupied with a pitcher of water on a side table by her.

  ‘Did your wife tell you why you are here?’ The femme fatale walked over to the bed and stepped on a button on the floor which raised the bed to an almost vertical position.

  ‘Um …’ Yasper found himself face to face with her. ‘I think that is rather self-explanatory.’

  She found this amusing, and cast a snide glance in Jazmay’s direction. ‘So she didn’t confess?’

  ‘Confess?’ Yasper queried.

  ‘That she still works for us,’ the lieutenant informed him.

  Yasper was a little shocked by the comment and looked to his wife to see her reaction.

  ‘She’s lying, Yas—’

  The lieutenant grabbed his face to direct his attention towards her own gaze. ‘She’s been working for us all along … that is how we found the AMIE vessel so easily.’ She stroked his naked form as the statement cast a shadow of doubt in his mind. They had not been able to fathom how the Phemorians had managed to find AMIE. ‘She is the reason you find yourself in this happy situation.’ She slapped his thigh with her free hand, and it stung just enough to piss him off. ‘You must believe me.’ She stared deep into his eyes, and he felt irked. Even though her claim was plausible, he resisted the urge to believe it.

  ‘Yasper,’ Jazmay demanded his attention, in a panic. ‘Forget what I said before, don’t look at her!�
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  Jasper turned his eyes to his wife, as the lieutenant’s grip on his face still held fast. ‘Make up your mind, hon.’

  ‘She’s an impressionist!’

  Yasper suddenly realised that his lack of resistance to this woman’s suggestion was not his own doubt at all; she was trying to implant that doubt in him.

  ‘Man she sucked you in, didn’t she? She knows what I am capable of and is only encouraging you towards a slow and painful death to serve her own vanity!’ The dominatrix let him go, as he still refused to look at her. ‘But you had best focus on me, because your life depends on it.’ She opened wide her coat, and beneath it she wore a tight, crotchless leather catsuit that also exposed her ample breasts. But equally diverting were the needles, vials, jars and gadgets that were neatly placed in pockets and fasteners on the inside of the coat.

  ‘Oh my badness!’ Yasper was like an animal caught in headlights, as he took it all in, but her display did nothing to rouse his interest in mating with her.

  ‘Oh come on?’ She noted his lack of enthusiasm. ‘Not even a little excited?’

  ‘A bit overwhelmed to be honest.’ Yasper diverted his eyes to the ceiling.

  ‘Not to worry,’ she advised. ‘I have a little something that will firm up our engagement.’

  Yasper, curious to her meaning, looked back to her and was actually a little relieved when she selected an opaque jar from her arsenal of much nastier looking weapons.

  ‘No!’ Jazmay’s panicked appeal alarmed him anew. ‘There are other ways —’

  What the hell is it? Yasper’s eyes became glued to the lieutenant as she selected a pair of large tweezers, popped the top of the jar, and used the tweezers to lift a spider from inside of it.

  ‘Meet Phoneutria Erectis, which means murderous erection,’ she advised with glee, as she held the large spider up so Yasper could observe it.

  Brown in colour, the body of the creature was not overly huge, about two inches, but the legs on it were at least three inches each and rather hairy, which made it appear large. But the most striking feature was the scarlet coloured hair surrounding its fangs.

  ‘She is the most venomous spider to be found on Phemoria,’ the lieutenant continued the brief. ‘Her neurotoxin causes a loss of muscle control, breathing problems, paralysis and eventual asphyxiation. But aside from the intense pain, her bite causes priapism in the human male.’

  Yasper raised both brows, knowing he didn’t want to ask what that meant, but his lack of reaction betrayed his ignorance, thus the lieutenant spelt it out for him.

  ‘An extremely painful erection, that can last many hours.’

  ‘Oh.’ Yasper swallowed hard, beginning to see why his wife was so alarmed.

  ‘If not treated with anti-venom, the bite is fatal, and even if treated, there is a very good chance you will be left impotent,’ she concluded with glee. ‘Then the only thing that’s ever going to get you up again is another dose of her murderous venom. Please me, and you may live to fuck another day.’

  As the lieutenant brought the spider closer, Yasper was justifiably nervous.

  ‘Might I just have a minute’s grace to reverse the situation of my own accord?’ Yasper asked, looking anywhere to avoid eye contact with her.

  ‘Of course. I want to help you,’ she agreed far too easily. ‘Just look into my eyes.’

  Yasper looked to Jazmay, juggling his horrendous options in his mind — should he bear the physical pain of her torture, or lose all fond memory of his wife?

  Jazmay, teary-eyed, appeared as much at a loss to choose as he was.

  ‘Only a fool looks for help from the very person who betrayed him.’ The woman in black turned his attention in her direction. ‘Only I have the power to spare you this fate. Give yourself to me, look into my eyes and this shall be a far more pleasurable experience, I assure you.’

  Yasper stopped resisting her, but did not look in her eyes — his sights were firmly planted on the spider wriggling between the tweezers in her hand, and it did not look happy.

  ‘That’s it.’ She gestured with her free hand for him to raise his sights. ‘Come to me, save yourself.’

  With a deep breath for strength, Yasper kept his head bowed. ‘I’d rather the slow and painful death.’

  ‘Me too,’ she whispered with a smile as she lowered the spider down onto his skin.

  ‘Wake up!’ A boot kick to the side woke Kalayna with a start and she groaned. Still, she was quick to roll away and find her feet, her head spinning from her leap back to consciousness as she stood.

  Torches were lit all around her in a chamber that appeared more ancient than any she had ever seen in her young life. ‘Where the hell am I?’ She spotted General Prochazka, and backed away from her.

  ‘You are not on the AMIE crew, is that correct?’ the general queried.

  Kalayna wondered whether a confirmation or a denial was the correct response to get her out of here. As magnificent as the ruins were, she had prickly chills all over her that were giving her the creeps. ‘AMIE kidnapped me from the USS space program,’ she replied.

  ‘But you are not crew?’ Prochazka sought further clarification.

  ‘No.’ Kalayna stuck by her story. ‘I’m not even psychic.’

  ‘And where were you born?’

  Kalayna was puzzled as to why she should care. ‘Frujia.’

  ‘Excellent,’ Prochazka concluded happily, slapping her hands together. ‘She’s all yours,’ she announced.

  Kalayna turned a circle to see if she could ascertain to whom the general was speaking. There was no one else in plain sight, but shadows aplenty where someone might hide. Upon turning back Kalayna discovered the general absent and herself alone in the chamber.

  ‘Oh, shit,’ she uttered under her breath, only now noting how silent it was — even her breathing seemed to have an echo. Out in front of her was an archway that appeared to lead upstairs and out into the daylight, so she made a move towards it.

  ‘You’re not leaving.’

  The malign whisper of many harsh male voices increased Kalayna’s chill factor tenfold, but turning around she saw no solid figure. Strange shadows on the walls encouraged her sights to drift upwards to the domed ceiling where the shadowy outlines of many men could be seen surrounding her!

  Ghosts! she screamed in her mind, and the sound of depraved laughter made her limbs involuntarily freeze in fear.

  A wind whipped up out of nowhere, swept around the chamber, and extinguished all the torches, the chamber falling into darkness.

  ‘Show us your tits, then.’

  She felt something brush by her, and as she turned about, her hair was tugged from behind, and her jacket pulled in another direction.

  ‘Stop it!’ She was flustered as her shoulder was exposed and she felt something bite into her flesh and draw blood.

  ‘Argh!’ both Kalayna and her invisible attacker yelled at once.

  ‘Light fucker!’ the spectre hollered and the attack stopped. ‘That Phemorian bitch screwed us!’

  Kalayna recovered her sensibilities quickly, realising her psychic enhancer must have been working — and was awarding her protection. ‘Ha ha.’ She backed towards the only exit. ‘Eat my radiance, arseholes!’ She served them the finger with both hands and bolted for the exit.

  ‘You’re not going anywhere!’ The entities resumed grasping at her clothes and hair. ‘There’s still loads of fun to be had!’

  So many hands pulling her back, slowed her escape. ‘ARGH!’ She turned in circles trying to disentangle herself from them as they grabbed at her arse, her crotch, her breasts — they smelt awful and their touch was like ice. ‘Let go!’

  ‘Yes, be angry with us,’ they encouraged her.

  Inside, Kalayna snapped — damned if she was going to give them anything they wanted. She detached herself from the frustration of the moment and allowed her mind to drift to a happier time … back to working on the inter-system gateway project with Telmo Decree. It was onl
y since he’d gone missing that she realised how much she had come to adore his company, and how comforting seeing his friendly face right now would be.

  The attack on her abruptly ceased, and she was rather stunned to learn that love was the weapon of choice here. ‘I love my life,’ she stated, and there came no snide comment in response. ‘I love all things!’ She took her first few cautious steps towards the door. ‘Even those who would do me harm.’

  ‘Fuck off!’ the spectres insisted. ‘Get out!’

  Kalayna took off towards the exit, feeling a force bearing down on her as she made it to the stairs — down the middle of which a steady stream of water flowed. Sticking to a side wall, she scampered upwards towards the light. Once she penetrated the light barrier the force on her trail ebbed and dissipated.

  In the long corridor beyond, pillared down both sides, there were no windows; but a curving glass ceiling allowed natural light to illuminate the walkway where Kalayna collapsed to catch her breath and steady her nerves. Several of the glass ceiling tiles had broken over the course of time, and rain poured in streams through those spaces.

  ‘Must be still on Phemoria,’ Kalayna assumed, as it never rained on Sermetica. Frujia wasn’t this cold anywhere, and if this was pure Maladaan air she was breathing, she’d be suffocating by now. But looking around at the beautiful romantic depictions on the walls, this was certainly not any Phemorian tourist destination she’d ever read about.

  ‘Whoa …’ Kalayna boggled at the artwork as she wandered down the corridor, avoiding the small waterfalls pouring from the ceiling and the vines hanging from the gaps and flourishing in all the moisture. The end of the gallery opened to an outdoor covered balcony, and as Kalayna stepped outside to view her location she discovered this annex had rather a high vantage point.

  This was not just a palace in ruins, but an entire city — most of which had been swallowed by jungle. Beyond the crumbling city walls, way out to the horizon, there was nothing but forest, rain and storm clouds for as far as the eyes could see.

  With so much storm activity, it was difficult to tell how long she had before nightfall, perhaps a few hours? ‘Crap!’ Kalayna knew she had no hope of walking out of here, and come sundown she would be dealing with roving ghostly perverts and the probable return of the general. Shrieks, coming from the forest, promised many other challenges as well.