The changes don’t end there, either. Once Kest’s appearance becomes stable, the rippling effect spreads outward, engulfing the room entirely. Walls, floors, furniture, the window—all of it shimmers and dissolves, reforming into an almost entirely different place. The room expands slightly, lengthening and taking shape. I’m surrounded by metallic bulkheads, glowing holographic displays, and banks of equipment I don’t recognize. The interior resembles a small laboratory, except for the windows at the far end: considering the instrumentation consoles beneath them, I’m guessing it’s a cockpit.
Finally, the process ends at my bed, which blurs around me until it’s become a table and a series of long metal restraints. I try wiggling my fingers, resulting in a slight movement that gets better the more I work at it. At least I’m not paralyzed.
“What are you going to do to me?” I ask. Stay calm, I tell myself, exhaling slowly. If I want to escape, I can’t afford to panic. I need to get him talking, and to learning everything I can: who is he, where are we going, and what are his intentions?
“For now, I’m going to let you recover from the effects of the stun.”
How valiant.
“I thought you said you would help me.”
He looks at me curiously, cocking his head. “I did. Those men were going to kill you.”
I sigh, not wanting to admit he’s right. “Thank you. Now, wherever this is,” I say, scanning my eyes back and forth, “I need to go.”
Kest shakes his head. “I’m really sorry, Haley, but no. I can’t let you leave.”
“Why?”
Instead of answering, he sits down in a reclining seat by the windows. A holographic display of the stars appears in the air, and begins to move, seemingly zooming in on one region after another. Kest mumbles to himself in a language I don’t understand until one planet has been singled out in the hologram. The computer chirps and an electric churning shakes the room.
“What were you saying?” I ask. “What’s going on?”
Like his accent, I’m dumbfounded not to at least recognize the language he’s speaking. It sounds nothing like any I’ve ever heard—not even close.
“Talk to me, Kest. Where are you from?”
Still he ignores me. That’s fine. I’m not even close to being done.
“What kind of a name is ‘Kest’ anyway? Is that short for something? Is it your last name or first?”
He turns to look at me and raises his finger up to his lips for quiet.
Not gonna happen. “What was that weapon you used? Do you work for the government? Are you a spy or something? Were you investigating Thorpe, like me?”
Kest grunts, getting up and marching toward me. “You wouldn’t know the language, I’m from somewhere far away, Kest is my full name and it was an energy weapon. I work for a government, but not yours, and I don’t know your Thorpe. Now let me make something clear, Haley: when I ask you to be quiet, don’t test my patience. I’ve been wanting to punish a cute little human for a very long time. I’ll spank your ass so red, the heat signature will register for a week.”
A shiver creeps through my body; I try to bury it away, but blood rushes to my cheeks before I am able.
Kest grins, possibly sensing my distraction, but doesn’t say anything else. I realize his threat has, at last, left me speechless.
He takes his seat again and presses his palm to a polished black surface at the end of the chair’s shoulder rest. The room shudders slightly, and then I feel it: a soft sense of lifting. Out the window I see rows of building’s windows descending and ending, revealing blue skies and pillowy white clouds.
Oh, my God, we’re flying.
“This is crazy! Kest, please let me go.”
“I can’t.”
Layers of clouds disappear beneath us; we’re ascending faster than any plane I’ve ever ridden.
“It’s so fast. Is this a… Is this a private jet?”
Kest laughs, shaking his head.
“Where are we going? Where are you taking me?” I practically scream. “I demand you set us down now!”
Struggling against my restraints, I try to free my wrists, but the bands are too tight. I feel glued to the table; all I can do is wiggle my fingers and toes, and twist my neck. My wrists, ankles, and body aren’t going anywhere. Cursing under my breath, I keep trying anyway, despite the futility of the effort.
After several minutes of straining and fighting, I blink rapidly, refusing to let there be any tears. Yet, with nothing else to do, I can’t help feeling my spirit fall. This day has gone from bad to worse: even with Thorpe’s goons chasing me, I felt grounded. I could make a plan and follow it. Now I have no idea what to do.
Making matters worse, I almost feel as though Kest has drugged me, because the arousal burning between my legs hasn’t gone away. Fighting against my restraints has only made it worse. What’s wrong with me?
Don’t cry, I tell myself. I was strong in the face of certain death back in that alley, I’m not going to give up now. I’ll find a way out of this.
“I know you’re scared, Haley,” says Kest, walking over to me slowly. “If it helps, this wasn’t my plan. I wasn’t going to leave yet, but I don’t have a choice.”
“What does that all mean?” I ask, my despair forgotten.
“You’ll find out soon. You’re going to be safe with me, I promise. Certainly safer than you’d be if I left you behind, with those men after you.”
Maybe he was right. There’s nowhere I’d really be safe from Thorpe, at least not in the immediate future: he’s too powerful and his reach is truly global. I doubt Witness Protection would even be enough. And that assumes I don’t get blamed for the deaths of those two thugs, which I might. “It would have been kinda hard to explain how they died,” I say, finding the idea morbidly funny.
Kest chuckles too. “That’s the spirit.” He pats my head, brushing back a few hairs that had fallen across my eyes and cheek. “Now hang on, pet.”
Very funny.
Sitting back down, Kest again places his hand on the black panel. I don’t know how the device works—it doesn’t light up or appear to have a screen, but somehow he’s controlling the vehicle. Despite the sudden acceleration, I feel next to nothing.
“Is this some kind of spy plane?” I ask.
“Not exactly,” Kest replies. “By Earth standards, I guess it would be. It does have a cloaking device.”
Earth standards?
I’m still wondering what that means when the craft lifts higher in the air and the sky changes, darkening. Then I see the stars.
“Are we in fucking space?”
“Haley, relax.”
“No, stop telling me to relax! We’ve left the planet! We’re in orbit!”
Kest sighs. “We’re in space, yes, but not in orbit.”
“What’s the difference?” I snarl.
“Well, when you’re in orbit, you’re going around something. We’re not going around Earth, we’re leaving it.”
Ice surges through my veins, and my stomach pulls into a knot. “Take me back, Kest. Take me back take me back takemebaaaaaack!”
Something inside the ship hums to life, powering up. I feel a lurching motion, and then the stars merge together, streaking by.
Holy shit.
“This isn’t real,” I mumble. “It’s not real, I’m dreaming. Or hallucinating.”
“It’s real,” says Kest. “Very real.”
I don’t respond, letting his words echo in my head.
Very real.
If that’s true, then I’m in very, very deep trouble.
Chapter Three
Watching the stars go by hypnotizes me like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It’s beautiful, but also terrifying. How many lightyears am I from Earth now? Every second is carrying me farther and farther away, and I have no clue how to get back.
Kest, whoever or whatever he is, doesn’t seem impressed by the view, but he does appear preoccupied, working his way through seve
ral holographic screens. I don’t pay much attention until the displays cut out, only to return in the shape of a man. Dressed in some kind of black military uniform, he moves as though he’s really in the room, and speaks in a deep, rich voice. ‘Kest’ is the only word I catch.
Kest and the hologram converse in a serious, clipped tone. I’d heard it plenty of times: the sound of official business, of a subordinate giving a report. The language may not be translatable, but everything else about it is.
Though the man in the hologram is as handsome and buff as Kest, what really impresses me most is the quality of the hologram itself. If not for a slight sheen of light around its edges, I’d have thought he was truly standing here in the ship. His movements are fluid, the sound of his voice crisp and clear.
“Hey, whoever you are!” I shout at him. “Kest kidnapped me! Please, help me!”
He turns to look at me for a second, then turns back to Kest, who keeps going with his report.
“Please, he’s dangerous! He killed two men right in front of me! He won’t let me go!”
“Haley,” Kest snaps. “As your people say, I’m on the phone. Be. Quiet.”
“Screw you!” I shout. “You don’t get to tell me what to do!”
The hologram man laughs and says something I interpret as a wisecrack. Kest nods, heading toward me.
“I’m an American citizen; I have rights,” I continue, hoping to appeal to the hologram’s authority. “You can’t just keep me here!”
Kest opens a panel along the wall and takes something out, some kind of flat white oval.
“What is that? What are you doing?”
Ignoring me again, Kest runs a finger along the edge of the device, causing it to lose its structure and hang limply like a cloth.
Oh, shit.
I figure it out just as Kest presses the object against my lips. Though I don’t feel or smell any kind of glue, the device clings perfectly centered above my chin and below my nose, sealing my lips as tight as a second skin. Kest runs his finger across the length of it, then lets go, leaving me unable to open my mouth. I try yelling through it, but no sound comes out at all—I can feel the vibration, but that’s all.
“Next time I won’t ask you nicely first, pet,” Kest warns. “This is what will happen.”
All I can do is glare at him and shake my head.
The two of them speak for another few minutes, and then the hologram fades out. Kest rubs his hand over his forehead and takes a deep breath. A hologram of Earth appears, followed by various notations pinned to locations across the planet. Many of them look connected to major cities, but not all.
I have a million questions for Kest, but with the gag device in place, I still can’t speak. No matter how much I try to process—we’re in space, this man is an alien—I only end up with more questions. Now I understand why I don’t know his accent or language, but how does he know mine? Where did he come from, and why was he visiting Earth? Is he the first alien to come to Earth? Why did he leave? He said he didn’t have a choice—but why? And why did he take me with him?
It takes Kest nearly an hour to finish his task, but when he does, he comes back to me.
“Haley, I don’t expect you to be mentally prepared for everything that’s about to happen. I’ll do my best to help you, but that means correcting your behavior.”
He runs his finger along the gag, causing it to release. I lick my lips, but they’re not dry like I expect. His eyes move to the restraints locking my body to the table, and after a moment they retreat, sliding away silently. Relieved to be free, I sit up, pulling my knees to my chest. I want to leap out and attack Kest, but I don’t see what good it will do. I doubt I’d get the upper hand on him, and even if I did, I probably won’t be able to get myself back to Earth on my own.
“Where we’re going, disruptions like that won’t be tolerated,” Kest continues. “Inferior species are expected to behave.”
Inferior? I want to snarl some colorful invective, but I hold my tongue.
“I’m going to have to teach you a lesson.”
Before I can even react, Kest sits down next to me and pulls me over his lap. He moves so fast he’s just a blur, and in half a second he’s got my arms gripped in one of his hands and pinned behind my back. With his other hand, he pulls down my skirt and panties, revealing my ass.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” I squeal, trying to shake him off, but he’s too strong.
Feeling the cool air against my exposed skin, I blush in embarrassment. My heart leaps inside my chest, and my senses heighten to the point that every detail burns in my perception. Drops of sweat rapidly form across my brow as I attempt to slip from his grasp. His hand grips my arms like a steel shackle, his skin rough and unrelenting.
Okay, now you can panic!
He grunts with pleasure as my clothes fall to the floor. “You can’t properly apologize if you’re fighting to escape punishment, pet,” he muses, running his fingers across my glistening folds. “Taming you is going to take some work, for sure.”
Taming me?
“Listen to me, you asshole,” I start, but before I can finish, I hear a heavy slap and a wave of pain erupts from my bottom. I shriek, writhing in Kest’s grip, but I can’t escape. Unable to break free, I’m forced to endure the scorching ache, which lingers like an echo in a vast cavern. All I want to do is rub the skin and try to soothe the pain, but I can’t. Even when I stop fighting, Kest waits a little while longer to be sure I’m done.
“I’m sorry, what were you going to say?” he asks.
When I twist around to see him, he’s smiling, very amused with himself. Fury burns in my chest; he didn’t have to add insult to injury. Does he actually enjoy humiliating people?
“Screw you,” I mutter finally, not wanting to my fear to show.
I instantly regret it. His hand smacks against my bared cheeks again, waking fresh pain. Gasping, my jaw hangs in shock. This one hurts even more than the last, reigniting the pain of the first spanking. My skin throbs, and the ache gnaws as it grows.
“Where we’re going, defiance is not going to be tolerated,” says Kest. “You will be tightly bound and spanked hard, in public. My people will laugh as they watch you suffer, and it won’t stop until you beg for mercy. Is that what you want?”
“No,” I mumble. Don’t cry. Don’t let him have that power.
The thought of such punishment fills me with dread, but I can’t bear the thought of showing him weakness. I may be powerless to stop his brutality, but he can’t take away my resilience.
Can he?
“My people demand obedience, Haley. You can fight if you want, but you will be disciplined each time. I will not tire from the task, or show sympathy. And if you refuse to learn your lesson, I promise, you will not enjoy the consequences.”
He stares at me a moment, observing the rage I’m struggling to suppress, then he swats my rear. Throughout a series of quick slaps, he makes sure to strike spots that have yet to feel his hard touch. When I think he’s finished, he launches into another short series, this one harder than the last. Each impact makes my breath catch in my throat, as sparks seem to dance across my skin and harsh heat radiates outward. His oppressive grip on my arm never weakens the entire time. Even when I try to shift my rear to throw off his aim, he somehow never misses, anticipating my every move.
When he finishes, my eyes are squeezed shut and I mewl softly. “Please,” I moan. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I swear!”
Kest rubs his hand across my tortured backside. “It’s easy for you to say that, pet. But how will I know it’s true?”
“I don’t know,” I reply, wincing as his fingers caress my bruises.
He pauses a moment, and in that span of time I let myself exhale, thinking the ordeal is over. Maybe because I answered honestly? Is that what he wanted? Then he delivers a harsh smack, causing me to writhe and howl in fresh pain.
“There’s only one way to discourage disobedience, and that
’s making the punishment cruel enough that you won’t want it repeated,” Kest explains. “Do you understand, pet?”
“Yeah, I think I get it,” I snap, cheeks flushing. I’ve never been so humiliated in my life, or felt so powerless. The torment of his spanking hurts like nothing I’ve ever felt, and I want so badly for it to be over. Yet, I can’t hold back my instinct to rebel.
That’s probably why you’re being disciplined, I realize.
Kest takes my comment as an invitation to continue punishing me, peppering my rear with one slap after another, making sure not to miss any part of my round pink cheeks. True to his word, Kest does not stop, either from fatigue or in response to my tormented wailing. Turning back to see his face earns me a cruel, hard pair of swats, and all I see in his expression is a determination to finish what he’s started.
By the end I’m blinking away tears, so sore the slightest movement refreshes the agony nearly as strongly as the actual spankings. I only know it’s over because he lets go of me, allowing my body to come to rest, my bottom sticking out in the air.
“I could apply a treatment to take away the pain right now,” he says. “But I think you could probably use a lasting reminder of the punishment for disobedience.”
I nod slightly to acknowledge him, still trying to maintain my composure and hold the remaining pain at bay.
“I’m doing you a favor, Haley. Better you learn now, from me, in private.”
“Yeah, sure,” I mumble.
He claps his hands, making a sound so similar to a slap that it causes me to flinch. “What do you say to show your gratitude?”
“Thanks.”
Kest shakes his head. “Say it properly, the way you’d address a superior.”
“Thank you,” I say after taking a deep breath. As the pain begins to fade, I’m left with a sensation I don’t understand. As the raw ache subsides, in its place I feel an undeniable hunger. My pussy clenches fiercely, desperate to be filled. I find myself savoring what’s left of the pain, holding onto it. I shouldn’t want to keep feeling it, but I can’t deny enjoying the woeful throb. Despite the torment Kest has inflicted, when I look to him, I recall the power of his grip, as well as his restraint. Surely he could have really hurt me if he wanted to—keeping his true strength in check must have required a great deal of skill.
His Human Captive Page 2