Dredge

by Lula Monk

Dredge gave her a look that made her feel like she was the center of the entire universe. His universe.

  Her guilt reared its ugly head.

  Breath in. Breath out.

  “I enjoy being around you,” Dredge said slowly, hesitantly, as though he were unsure of himself.

  Oh shit. This was not something Samantha had considered. Could the Glim have feelings for her?

  No way.

  But as she looked into his eyes and felt the intensity of his gaze, her chin quivered.

  Maybe he did have feelings for her. So what if he did? Would that even change things?

  Once more, she had to steel herself.

  No, any feelings Dredge had toward her couldn’t change anything. There were too many Earth women on the Hub, too many people who needed her help.

  Samantha placed her hand protectively on top of her abdomen. Even this thing growing inside her needed her help. So what if the thing was part alien? Samantha would be damned if she let Dredge take any offspring of hers back to Brillar to become the breeder for the entire fucking planet. Her baby deserved more than that.

  She broke away from Dredge’s gaze. “Food. Now, please. You know . . . pregnant woman’s hungry.”

  Dredge gave her one last, sweet look with those damn gorgeous eyes of his.

  Once more she observed the way he placed his palm to the metal.

  “Hey,” she said, stopping him from exiting the room. “Just an afterthought question: how do you do that? Make portals appear?”

  Dredge gave her a dark look. “That’s not something you need to know.”

  He stepped through the portal and closed it behind him, leaving Samantha sitting on the bed alone.

  Chapter 20

  Dredge

  Dark thoughts clouded Dredge’s mind as he worked his way to the food court. He was pleased Samantha was so protective of their offspring, that she was ready to take care of her body in both exercising and nutritional requirement. But what he was displeased with was her constant curiosity about the Hub and the way in which Galactic Continuity ran its business.

  He had second thoughts about allowing her to wander the Hub, but he quieted them. If he was with her, there was nothing she could do, no harm she would encounter that would endanger her or their Glimling. Dredge could keep her safe, keep her contained, and he could give her what she thought was freedom.

  As he lifted his card to be scanned for the produce he was purchasing, the creature behind the counter asked, “Did you hear about the Earth woman?”

  Dredges teeth set on edge. “What Earth woman? What happened?”

  The creature scanned his card. “Self-extermination.”

  Dredge took in a deep breath. “When? Who?”

  “Not long ago.”

  “How did happen?”

  “She threw herself into the Pit.”

  Dredge’s gut wrenched at the thought of the vile creatures living in the bottom of the Pit.

  “I had not heard.” Dredge’s gut twisted again. “What sector?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t their sector, the Breeding Sector.

  “Entertainment,” said the creature, bagging his produce and handing it to him. “They go so quickly there. Doesn’t really matter though. They get used up pretty fast.”

  Dredge tasted bile at the back of his throat. The thought of this creature talking about a sentient being used up and worthless made him disgusted. His disgust was heightened even further by the realization that, had he not bought Samantha, she very well may have ended up in the Entertainment Sector. She could have been like one of the women who threw themselves in the Pit, her body half-eaten by monsters before being launched into the void.

  An image flashed into his mind – Samantha, the day he’d purchased her, her face covered in blood. He shivered.

  No. That would not be Samantha. He was kind to her. He treated her well. He did everything she asked. Surely, she would not have the desire to take her own life.

  Once more, her request to wander around the Hub came into his mind, and he felt hesitant again.

  It was a bad choice, a bad idea, and he knew it. But she said that she needed to stay happy. Her happiness was his primary concern. If you keep her happy and healthy and sane, she won’t do what the other woman did. She won’t throw her body into the Pit, killing herself and your child.

  No. Not child. Glimling.

  The Earth woman was rubbing off on him, her vocabulary becoming his vocabulary. Dredge was getting too close, and he knew it.

  Samantha was supposed to be a product, something Dredge could use to meet an end, to save a species, to help his planet thrive. But she wasn’t just a product to him anymore. She wasn’t just some random sentient being.

  She was Samantha, his Earth woman. And while he did legally physically possess her body, he wanted to possess her heart and mind, too.

  When he got back to their room, Samantha was in the hydro chamber.

  “Dredge,” she called out. “Is that you?”

  He chuckled. “Who else would it be? I’m the only one who can get in the room.”

  Oops. Unintentional revelation of information.

  The water in the hydro chamber turned off, and Samantha peeked her head out of the cubicle. “So that’s how the wall works? Only you can open the portal?”

  Dredge put the produce on the table. “Yes.”

  Water dripped from Samantha’s nose onto the floor, and he could just spy the tip of her bare breasts beyond the edge of the hydro chamber. As if suddenly aware, she covered herself and eased back into the cubicle.

  When she was out and in her sundress, Dredge offered her the produce he had acquired.

  “Thanks,” she said, absentmindedly chewing what she called ‘chocolate berries.’ She was thumbing through the pregnancy book, her eyes skimming over the pages.

  “So, two months, huh?” she said chewing another berry thoughtfully. “Not long.”

  “Not long at all,” said Dredge. The look in her eyes disturbed him.

  “Best be starting on that exercise sooner rather than later,” she said slamming the book closed.

  The sound made Dredge jump. “You just cleansed in the hydro chamber. Why would you want to go forth and perspire now?”

  Samantha shrugged. “No time like the present.”

  She plopped another berry in her mouth and winked at Dredge. His heart fluttered.

  “There’s another Earth expression for you,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

  Dredge narrowed his eyes at her. “You are being rather precocious. Is something amiss?”

  She gave him a wide-eyed look that did nothing to allay his fears. “Nope. Just want to be healthy for the baby.”

  “The Glimling,” he corrected.

  Samantha huffed and rolled her eyes. “You might as well get used to me calling it a baby, because I’m going to keep doing just that.” Another berry in her mouth. “Besides, the little thing will be half me. Half human. Ergo, half baby. I win.”

  “That is not how genetics work, Samantha. It is very unlikely that our offspring will be precisely fifty percent Glim and fifty percent human. There will be some variance in its genetic construct.”

  Samantha nodded, thoughtfully assessing the berry in her fingers. She plopped it into her mouth, giving him a large grin.

  “Good point.” She licked her fingers – a gesture that made Dredge’s sex organ stiffen – and smiled at him brightly. “Ready to go?”

  He was not ready to go, not in the slightest. He would much rather keep Samantha and his Glimling safe in their locked room where there were no monsters or pits or numerous other potential sources of harm.

  He watched her hair flounce around her in great cascading waves as she bounced on her heels. She looked eager, excited to be venturing out again.

  “Ready?” she asked again.

  With a heavy heart, Dredge put his palm against the cool metal. The usual green glow permeated out, and as the portal opened, he addressed Samantha. “N
o mischief. Agreed?”

  The corners of her mouth rose almost imperceptibly.

  “Agreed.”

  Chapter 21

  Samantha

  Instead of guiding her back to the core of the Hub, Dredge turned in the opposite direction.

  “Where are we going?” Samantha asked.

  “To get in your exercise, as you requested.”

  Samantha scanned the blank walls of the corridor as they walked. If only there were actual doors in this place . . . maybe then she could get some solid idea of how many breeding rooms there were. And how many women.

  “Is there another part of the Hub down this way?” she asked to break the silence. She stared more shrewdly at the walls, trying to see if there was some seam or anything noticeable to distinguish a section as a portal. Nothing.

  “Just the Rim,” said Dredge. “I have determined that the Rim is the best place for you to exercise. The view is pleasant, and very few creatures use it, which is ideal for me. Fewer creatures means fewer opportunities for interacting with others.”

  Samantha smiled at him. He was a funny thing, her Glim mate. So wise, so kind, and he hated people. Her cheeks warmed. They were alike in that last part, at least. Back on Earth, Samantha had hated crowds unless she was intoxicated. But that wasn’t a good gauge. Alcohol makes everyone friends.

  They emerged from the corridor onto a metal platform that ran in the very center of an enormous clear tube. Samantha looked left and right. The tube seemed to continue, stretching quite a distance in both directions. “This is the Rim, huh?”

  “Yes,” said Dredge. “It runs the entire perimeter of the Hub.”

  “How far is that?” asked Samantha. She had yet to see a map of Galactic Continuity’s space station. Add that to the list of revolutionary to-dos.

  Dredge furrowed his brows. She knew that look. He was running calculations in his head, figuring distance in a unit of measure he understood and then translating it for her. “Approximately five Earth miles,” he finally said.

  Samantha lifted her eyebrows. “Geez! That’s . . . pretty far.”

  Her blood was flowing from their walk through the corridor. She tried not to look too tired. Dredge needed to think she wanted to do this exercise business. “So how far have we already walked? How long is the corridor?”

  More furrowed brows. More calculations. “Approximately .5 Earth miles.”

  Oof. The knowledge hit Samantha like a blow to the gut.

  A lot of rooms could be squirreled away in a corridor that size. Definitely more than the four hundred and twenty Galactic Continuity supplied for auctions every two weeks. Thirty girls a day, fourteen days straight.

  Samantha repeated the figures in her mind like a mantra, or a prayer. Thinking about all those women was the only thing that was going to keep her on track.

  “Are you alright, Samantha?” asked Dredge. Worry marred his otherwise handsome face. His jaw was tense; his eyes narrowed, scrutinizing her. “Are you weary already? We can return to the room.”

  Samantha grabbed his hand, giving him her best smile. Her heart ached when he immediately squeezed her hand in return. “I’m fine, Dredge. A little overwhelmed at the size of the Hub is all.”

  He gave a brief nod then surveyed their surroundings. After a moment, he steered them to the right. They stepped out onto the metal platform, and Samantha looked at the path behind them.

  “Why not go left?” she asked.

  Dredge shook his head. “We are going right.”

  “Obviously,” Samantha laughed. “But why not left?”

  “We have no need to go left.” His tone was hard, unyielding.

  Samantha glanced behind them once more. There was something in that direction Dredge did not want her to see. And she had a burning desire to find out what it was.

  They walked for a long while, hands clasped together.

  The stars around them glittered brightly in every direction. She tried not to think about the fact that they were walking on a metal platform with nothing surrounding them but the clear barrier and then miles and miles of empty space. To their right, past the barrier and an impossible distance away, was the core of the Hub. She could just see the entrance to the corridor they had emerged if she looked to the side and back a bit.

  The trail curved subtly to the right, and she and Dredge continued to walk in silence. His hand was warm in hers, the texture of his skin now a welcome feeling against her palm. The Glim stared straight ahead, and she peeked up at him from beneath her lashes.

  He really was a handsome creature, even if he wasn’t human. Sure, he looked for the most part like a human, but his countenance revealed his otherness plainly.

  Just like the texture of his skin, though, Samantha had grown accustomed to the strange way Dredge spoke and the adorable way he processed figures and new ideas in his mind, weighing everything she said as though they were the most important words he’d ever heard. He made her feel valuable and important.

  The glow from her abdomen increased in intensity. She put her free hand over it, masking the light.

  Of course she was important to Dredge. He needed her to save his species. That’s all their relationship was, and that’s all she needed it to be. Anything else, anything more than a matter of convenience, would make her betrayal that much harder.

  At long last they arrived at another corridor. The text above the entryway read ‘Triage and Knowledge Sector.’

  Dredge looked down at Samantha. “I believe this is enough of the Rim, for now.”

  She didn’t want to admit it, but she was getting tired.

  “Okay,” she acquiesced.

  Dredge went to turn around on the platform, but Samantha stopped him. “What are you doing?”

  “Turning back to the Breeding Sector.”

  She jerked her thumb at the gaping entry way in front of them. “Can’t we just go this way?”

  Dredge crinkle his nose in disgust. “I would prefer not to do that.”

  “Come on,” she said, pulling at his hand. “‘Triage’ as in medical bay, right? The food court should be on the other side. You can show me what kinds of things Glims like to eat.”

  Dredge did not budge. “There are no foods from my home world here, Samantha. I must insist we turn back and return the way we came.”

  “Oh, come on Dredge.” She gave him her best pleading look. “I want to see things! I get so bored in the room.”

  “We must walk quite a distance along the Rim to return to the Breeding Sector. You can look at the stars.”

  Samantha groaned. “They’re just random points of light. They all look the same. I want to see new things, different things!”

  Dredge looked offended. “Each point of light is unique in its own way, Samantha.”

  She shrugged. “They all look the same to me.”

  Dredge deflated, his shoulders slumping low.

  Shit.

  She’d temporarily forgotten he was a light being. No telling what kind of insult she’d just given him. He pulled at her hand, leading the way into the Triage and Knowledge Sector.

  * * *

  “So, why’s it called ‘Triage and Knowledge,’” asked Samantha as they walked down the corridor. Like the Breeding Sector, this corridor was plain, with no visible doors or decorations or flaws. No landmarks at all that she might be able to use later to navigate on her own. Great.

  “The libraries,” Dredge said dully, as though he had grown weary of explaining things to her.

  Samantha stopped in the middle of the corridor. This was perfect! There was bound to be something in the library she could use. Blueprints to the Hub would be too much to ask for, she knew, but information on the Intergalactic Council might be within reason. “I want to see them!”

  “No.” His voice was hard again. The power behind that single word sent a chill down Samantha’s spine.

  “Okay,” she said softly.

  Dredge's fingers flexed between hers. “Perhaps on a di
fferent day. I do not want you to tire yourself.”

  “A different day . . . like tomorrow?” she asked excitedly.

  “Sure,” said the Glim smiling down at her. “Tomorrow, I will take you to see the libraries.”

  They continued to walk.

  “You mean libraries plural, right? Like more than one?”

  “There are three.”

  “How big?”

  “About twice the size of our room, each.”

  Samantha’s heart fell into the pit of her stomach. That would not be room to hold much at all. Definitely not enough room for her to ditch Dredge and sneak away to find what she needed. As if he would let her out of his sight to begin with.

  This was stupid. She had to think of a better way to do this, to get the information she needed. If she could just figure out the layout of the Hub, she could find a way to gain access to the other women on the space station. She needed to know where they all were so she could get them all on the same page. Then there were the transport vessels to figure out, and the way to communicate with the Intergalactic Council. And there had to be an armory of some sort . . .

  Dredge doubled over in the corridor, violent coughs racking his body.

  Samantha’s eyes widened in shock. Not knowing what else to do, she rubbed his back as another coughing fit took hold of his body. With every fitful exhalation of breath, the crack at the base of his skull pulsated with light.

  He stood erect suddenly, gasping for air. Bright, shimmering clear fluid shone from the corner of his lips.

  With a shaking hand, Samantha reached up to wipe the stuff away. “Is . . . is this your blood?”

  “No.” The Glim wiped his mouth angrily. He took her by the hand and began dragging her down the corridor.

  She resisted.

  “Dredge, stop! Something’s not right! You’re sick!”

  He turned on her, his gargantuan body towering over her own. His breaths came in short, ragged bursts. “I’m fine.”

  Samantha cowered before him. She’d never seen this side of Dredge. He looked furious, feral.

  Alien.

  “The healer isn’t far, if you need–”

  “I said NO!”