by Aline Riva
“I used to be a pilot a few years back – my ship was a Pharaoh, we ran into some trouble and crashed. That was what finished me off for flying. Head injury, back trouble.. I was in a coma for a long time after the crash, I don't recall us being rescued.”
“You crash landed? You were stranded somewhere, all of you?”
Mack felt awkward and slightly overwhelmed by her many questions as he gestured with his hand, waving away her demands.
“We were stranded on an uninhabited planet and it was nothing like this one. We took the legend of Shyra K-1 to our hearts...at least, Jinx did, then the others did. They survived by eating the dead, the ones who died in the crash...” he smiled and the look in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine, “I missed out on most of the fun...They made up for it later, once we got this place... We're all so close now...no boundaries. I've been fucked by my best friend and he's fucked my partner Jody and she's had both of us. Zeke was the last to join us, Jinx had to persuade him.”
“So Zeke isn't quite into this way of life like you are?” she asked, as hope sparked within her that maybe the young man in charge of the kitchen was the weak link in the chain. But those hopes were swiftly dashed as Mack gave his reply.
“Adapt and survive, that's what Jinx said. He made Zeke screw his own murder victim, a woman he'd killed for cooking. Zeke likes to fuck them cold now. He's one of us. And he's a fine cook, too.”
He smiled again, his eyes glittering with warmth as the horror of all he had just said went unnoticed, to Mack it was just another day in his own personal paradise.
“So you all eat...human flesh? All the time?”
“No, not all the time!” he exclaimed in surprise, “Would you eat meat for every single meal and have nothing else? We have fruit and vegetables, sometimes desserts... Jinx goes off world to buy everything. The house has a large walk in freezer and the ship has frozen storage areas he uses for human flesh and non flesh products. We don't have to shop very often, but he still goes off world frequently, to search the market places, he loves exploring.”
She drew in a slow breath, keeping composure as she wondered if this conversation would earn her more time to live if she had made an impression on Mack, then she asked another question.
“If you have all the food you need, why have you abducted us? Why did Jinx kill Lola?”
“We like to hunt,” Mack admitted, “And his partner died a while back and he wants to replace her... He ran into Wolf while he was off world and made a deal with him to bring over a batch of live humans so we could take our pick, you know, some for food, some for companionship... depending on what he brought back, of course.”
She was glad of the coldness and solidity of the metal bars as she clung to them, it was something to hold on to physically while she mentally fought off the urge to vomit, partly from fear, partly from disgust.
“So what do you think will happen now? Who would you like to keep for companionship?”
“It depends who wants to join us and become a part of us,” he replied, “You have to adapt and survive. If you don't want to do that, if you fight all the way, you'll end up on the dinner table.”
His gaze shifted to Harvey, who was now sitting with his back hard against the cage, shivering and shaking as his face grew pale and he remained in a state of shock.
“He'll come out of that,” Mack remarked, “As for Tyler, if he tries to put up a fight again, he's a dead man. Jinx won't stand for resistance.”
“So what happens to us now? I mean, you won't keep us locked in here forever, when do we get out?”
Mack's gaze ran over her body, his focus drawn to the slash where her uniform was cut open, showing her underwear.
“Tyler's out cold...he's going to be a wreck for a day at least after the way I hit him. Harvey should come to his senses around the same time, so you'll be first.”
“First for what?” she said in a hushed voice.
“You'll be taken upstairs and one of us – or all of us – will have a good look at you, see if you like to play... I'd advise you to try and enjoy it.”
He smiled, then his smile faded as he wondered why he was feeling drawn to Janey, warming to her...it was a feeling he had not experienced in a long while, not since meeting the passengers of the doomed last flight of the Pharaoh...
“It's been a while since I've met with strangers,” he admitted, then he ran his fingers through greying hair, pausing for thought as Janey noticed the size of the scar to his head.
“The head injury.. that's why you can't fly any more?”
“I'd get confused... forget things,” Mack admitted, “But Jinx has let me take the ship on auto control... The Princess is a beauty.”
“I bet you could fly her own your own, you just need to be back in control.”
Janey smiled through the bars. Mack met her gaze and smiled back, then his smile faded as he felt something dangerous but alluring tugging about her words.
“I think you could fly that ship, maybe if someone helped you,” Janey added, feeling more confident as he listened, “Harvey can help – he's a pilot.”
Mack studied the hopeful look in her eyes for a moment, then he silently acknowledged that she was trying to be friendly – perhaps partly out of fear, but definitely, she wanted to escape...
“Don't do that,” he said softly as the look in his eyes chilled to ice, “You won't persuade me to help you escape.”
“No! I wasn't trying to do that -”
“Shut up and behave yourself,” Mack replied, still keeping his soft tone, “If you applied that scheming mind of yours to becoming compliant instead of trying to flee, you would realise there is no way out and the only way that makes sense now is our way. I think you'll see that, after tomorrow.”
“What exactly happens tomorrow?”
He heard fear in her voice but ignored it, then he got up and walked to the door, casually carrying the rifle in his hand as he glanced back at her.
“Tomorrow you had better be willing to give your body to who ever wants it – every part of you. Have you ever been anally penetrated?”
Her eyes widened in alarm.
“You want to do what to me?”
Mack smiled.
“What about Harvey?”
She shook her head.
“I..I don't know... I don't think so...”
“I think he will have trouble with that when it's his turn,” Mack replied, “But you...if you behave, you might be selected. Better than ending up as dinner, eh? Your choice, adapt and survive - or die.”
Then he left the room and the door closed heavily behind him.
Janey let go of the bars and sank to the floor, giving a sob as she looked to the other cage. Tyler was moaning and then mumbling but showing no signs of waking yet, as Harvey sat there shivering, still in a state of shock.
“Harvey, help me!” she said tearfully, “We have to get out of here! Do something – did you hear me?”
But Harvey did not move nor look at her, his gaze stayed fixed to the wall as he shivered and all Janey could do was sit and quietly weep as the locked cage and the guarded door beyond this room ensured no chance of escape.
On board the ship, Jinx had carried Sin to the medical bay and then anxiously watched as Jody had worked, scanning the patient and then administering heavy duty drugs to fix bones and stop bleeding and speed the healing process. Twice he had snapped at her as she worked, telling her to hurry, asking why vital signs were still erratic.
“I'm doing my best here!” Jody had yelled, turning sharply and glaring at Jinx, who lost all sense of hostility at once as he held up his hands and then stepped back.
“Okay, okay... I'll leave you to it...I'm going outside...Keep her alive for me, just try, please!” he had said, then he left the room and Jody had breathed a relieved sigh to be free of his watchful intense gaze and his erratic moods as he waited to find out if he had a new plaything - or not...
Jinx had left the ship, rubbing at the
back of his neck to lose tension as he left the open hatch of the Galaxy Princess and walked away from the sleek vessel, heading back into the sunlight as he crossed the field in the direction of the house. It was on his mind that he still had the matter of Wolfe and his request to join them to deal with – his decision had been made, and he needed to make that known before he could turn his whole attention to the beautiful woman on board his ship whose survival was still in the balance.
As he neared the house, Mack gave him a wave from the doorway, then went back inside. Jinx waited at the bottom of the steps and looked up at the name etched above the entrance and smiled as he turned over in his mind how fitting it was to name this mansion after the fabled planet of urban legend.
Mack soon returned with Wolf at his side, Mack was walking now without his cane and it made Jinx feel glad to see his friend was having a good day, the cane slowed him down and always dampened his spirits but now he was feeling fine, he walked down the steps without holding on to the rail that Jinx had installed purely for his comfort, and as they reached the bottom together, Wolf smiled broadly.
“I've guarded the prisoners, Mr Jinx. Now, I was thinking...instead of the rest of my payment, perhaps a there's a place here for me?”
Jinx smiled back. He looked to Mack, then back to Wolf as he started to speak.
“You want to join us?” he pondered, fingering the necklace of human teeth that hung at his throat as he looked at him thoughtfully, “Tell me, what can you bring to our group?”
“I have excellent trade links, underground traders... “
“So do I,”Jinx replied, “I don't mean what you can offer us off world. I mean, here.”
Wolf thought for a moment.
“I'm a good shot. And I can fetch you as many live batches as you want.”
Jinx rubbed at the back of his neck, then he closed his eyes, sighing before snapping them open again and looking at him intently.
“Not off world! Here! What can you offer us here?”
“I can join you, follow orders...I'm willing to try human flesh, too. And I'd like to have my pick of the women, of course!”
Something darkened in the usually bright autumn shade of his eyes as Jinx held him in a penetrating stare.
“Who would you be working for?”
“You, of course!”
“Right,” Jinx replied blankly, then he blinked, looked to Mack and back at Wolf as he held out his hand.
“Give me your gun, I've got something for you.”
Wolf smiled as he drew his hand gun from its holster and gave it to Jinx. His smile faded as Jinx stepped back, taking perfect aim between his eyes.
“You don't work for me, we work as a team, you fucking moron!” he said sharply, squeezing the trigger.
The gun went off with a sharp crack and the bullet hole punched between his eyes as Wolf fell backwards, landing heavily, then Jinx handed the gun to Mack.
“He was a liability,” Jinx remarked looking down at the corpse, “He knew too much about this place and he was too single minded – he could never have been one of us.”
“I couldn't agree more,” Mack replied, then he stepped closer, hugged his best friend and as he pulled him close, Jinx kissed his cheek.
“I'll always be careful who we let in,” he vowed, “Don't worry Mack, I'll always keep us safe here.”
“I know that,” Mack replied, patting his shoulder, “You've never stopped looking after us since the Pharaoh crashed.”
Then Mack stepped back and glanced down at the body of Wolf.
“So that's another one for the freezer!”
The two men laughed, then as a flicker of worry filled his best friend's gaze and he paused for a moment to look back at the ship across the field, Mack felt concern to see a troubled look back in his eyes.
“What's wrong, Rik?”
“We found Sin. You should see her, Mack – she's beautiful! I still want to modify her but I'm not sure how far I should go with it – she reminds me of Cora – sort of...I mean, she's a bit like her...But she's injured and Jody is trying to save her. I don't know if she can, she's not sure yet. I really want that woman, Mack!”
“Jody is a good medic and she has access to the best meds,” Mack replied, “But you have to remember Sin was missing when the ship crashed, her injuries are probably severe.”
“Jody fixed the fractures and the internal bleeds. She's trying to stabilise her. If she can do that, I get my woman.”
“But what if Sin is...awkward?” Mack asked, choosing his words carefully as he decided not to tell Rik how sly and manipulative Janey had attempted to be – one word about that would have signed her death warrant, and he rather liked her even though he barely knew her...
Jinx shrugged.
“There are drugs that can wipe the mind of memory without destroying the basics. I think it might be nice to do that, start again, a new life and a new start with just memories of a past that I make up for her. It's sweet, don't you think?”
Mack raised an eyebrow.
“I wouldn't call it sweet but if you thinks so, go ahead!”
Jinx smiled as his eyes sparkled.
“I think I might be in love with her!”
“I hope you are,” Mack replied, “You need a new woman in your life after losing Cora. If you bring Sin into the group we will all welcome her.”
Jinx grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
“Thanks, Mack!” he said warmly, then he let go and glanced back at the ship.
“I should go, I need to know how she's doing.”
Mack nodded.
“You do that, Rik,” he said kindly, then he watched as Jinx turned away and ran back across the field, heading for the open hatch of his ship, his thoughts only with Sin.
“I hope she makes it,” Mack murmured as he watched him enter the ship, “I don't think you can take another loss, my friend...”
As Jinx returned to the medical bay on board the ship, Jody didn't need to speak as he looked to the bed where Sin was resting, a thin sheet covered up to her chest and she was sleeping peacefully. Overhead a blue light shone down, bathing her in a glow that encouraged the drugs in her body to speed up healing - the visible wounds on the surface had vanished already. Her eyes were closed, her hair was swept back off her face and as he stood over her, he paused for thought, considering how far he wanted to go with his modification of her body. She still reminded him of Cora... Jinx sat down carefully on the edge of her bed and looked to Jody, all tension gone from his expression as he spoke softly.
“Thanks for saving her for me. How long does she have to be under the blue light?”
“Twenty four hours,” Jody replied, “She's going to be waking soon but she will be in and out of consciousness for a while... You'd best come back tomorrow, she's safe here. I'll keep an eye on her and later set up a link to the house in case of emergency.”
“I'm not leaving her,” he replied, speaking in a half whisper as he turned to Sin and ran his hand gently over her hair.
“She's so beautiful,” he added, staring at the unconscious woman, “I definitely made the right choice, she's mine. All mine.”
“She might resist that notion,” Jody reminded him, “It's pretty obvious she's going to put up a fight.”
“Then wipe her mind for me!”
“I can't do that until she's healed.”
“I've got a special piece of jewellery made of alien metal waiting,” he reminded her “That piercing has to happen soon.”
Jody smiled. Jinx had said it like it was a matter of life or death to pierce Sin with a permanent ring that would be both heavy and prompt arousal and climax when activated by the programmed DNA introduced to its composition – his DNA, meaning he would be the only other person in existence who could ever cause orgasm for the wearer once the ring was set in place.
“Tomorrow,” she promised, “Not yet. By then the wounds will be healed and the piercing will take immediate effect with no lasting trauma to
the surrounding tissue. Then I can wipe her mind and you can set all the false memories in place as you wish.”
He nodded.
“It's worth waiting for,” he agreed.
“I'm going back to the house to catch up with Mack. Has Zeke finished with the corpse yet? I'm starving!”
Jinx laughed softly and it was a relief to see the sparkle back in his eyes – that look had been absent since Cora's death.
“He'd better have it sliced and diced and simmering!” he exclaimed, “Or I'll have his pants down and whack his arse with a wooden spoon!”
Jody giggled.
“Don't do that,” she said, “He'll cum over the dinner!”
Then she noticed the way Jinx was stroking Sin's hair, it was an act of tenderness that moved her, surprised her. He seemed fascinated by this woman.
“Don't worry about her,” she added, “She should be fine now, she just needs to rest.”
Then she left the room and headed for the open hatch, leaving Jinx alone at the bedside of the woman of his dreams.
Sin was slowly waking. She struggled to open her eyes as she heard a distant voice, but felt as if trapped underwater. She drew in a breath and wondered why her body felt like lead, then she recalled the ship was crashing because Wolf had sabotaged the power core. He had trapped her then hit her and slammed her against a wall when the door opened...then everything had turned down dark...
She focussed on the voice that spoke softly to her, and as she focussed she lifted heavy lids, looking up through a blue haze to see a man she did not know leaning over her. He was stroking her hair, then gently running fingertips over her cheek. His shirt was open and he wore a necklace made of a leather strap and it contained teeth that strangely looked human...
The blue haze around her refused to lift, but now she was conscious and felt as if she were floating, but she could see and hear him clearly.
“Hello again,” he said tenderly as he smiled down at her, “Remember me? I found you in the wreckage. I saved you.”
She looked up at him, a vague sense of confusion growing as she realised the man was a stranger. He was speaking kindly and looking at her intently, her first impression was that he was an attractive man – but there was something not quite right about him, in the way he stared at her, the way he tilted his head slightly as he looked down, fixating on her. He just.. wasn't right somehow...