Alien Betrayed

by Marie Dry

  It took her a moment to figure out she was the woman without honor. “I’m not pretending. Please believe me.”

  He didn’t try to stop her when she awkwardly pressed her hands on his thighs to shift herself up. He was so much bigger than she that there was no way to do it gracefully. She grabbed a strand of red hair lying over her shoulder. “This is wrong. I may not know what I’m supposed to look like, but I don’t have red hair. And my name isn’t Marcie.”

  How long would this last? Would she go around forever with a list of attributes that didn’t belong to her, not knowing what her name was? Where she belonged? Where she came from?

  “You introduced yourself as Marcie.”

  “If you call me that one more time, I’ll scream and never stop.” She’d noticed how he sometimes touched his ears when she screamed.

  “What is your name?” He didn’t change position or show any emotion on his face, but she knew he’d turned suddenly watchful.

  “I think it may be Maeve.” She rubbed her head. “But that doesn’t feel right either.”

  “I will call you Marcie.”

  “No, you will not. I simply won’t answer to it.”

  “What should I call you? Horrible human?”

  She stared at him. Was that a joke. Were they capable of humor? “I’d answer to that before I let you call me M--that other name.”

  He merely looked at her, and she couldn’t figure out what he thought from his expression. But it didn’t take a genius to know he thought she was lying.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  The doctor, and the creature they called Zacar, and the human woman didn’t believe she lost her memory either.

  He watched her intently. “If you really lost your memory, all you need to know is that Zacar has ordered your execution.”

  She staggered back and leaned against the wall. “I don’t know what’s worse, that I tried to kill someone, or that I’m to be executed for something I can’t remember.”

  “You won’t be executed.”

  “You just said Zacar ordered my execution.”

  “I took you as my woman.” He looked down at his claws. “Zacar can’t have you executed as long as I claim you.”

  He seemed shifty. As if he kept something from her.

  “So if you dump me, I’m toast?”

  Her voice sounded like a stranger’s. High pitched and not a pleasant sound at all. His eyes narrowed, the most human expression she’d seen on his face. Somehow she didn’t think that was the whole story. Right now, she was more worried about not knowing herself.

  She sank down on the floor with her knees drawn up. “Tell me how I came to be with you. Why you think my name is Marcie. Who am I? I’m surrounded by man-reptiles--no aliens--who’ve condemned me to death. I just don’t know what to do.”

  “You will shower, dress, and join me in the kitchen.” He got up, came to crouch in front of her. “You will stop calling us man-reptiles.”

  “If you stop calling me Marcie, I’ll stop calling you man reptile.” Apparently whoever she was, she was brave.

  “I’ll call you horrible human. It would be very fitting.”

  She glared at him.

  He moved his hand to her back, rubbed it almost as if he wanted to comfort her. “I will call you Maeve.”

  “Fine, then I will call you Larz.”

  He jumped up with an agility that she envied. She doubts if this body with its big breasts and hips could be agile. He walked to the door. “Shower and dress and come to the kitchen for food.”

  Like a toddler, she still wanted to call him man reptile, to say it over and over again in his face, the urge so strong she got up and collected some clothes from the closet before she got herself into trouble. None of these aliens liked her, and she had a strong impression that it wouldn’t take much for them to kill her.

  She went back to the bathroom and avoided the stranger in the mirror. She was scrubbing herself under the shower when she realized that she’d known how to turn it on. That she reached for the washcloth and the soap dispenser in the wall without thought. How could she know these things and not know her own name? Why did she have that strange sense of something wrong whenever he called her Marcie?

  Refusing to think about that, she reached for her toothbrush and stood there with her eyes closed, freaked out to the depth of her soul. Ignoring the mirror, taking a deep breath, she brushed her teeth and quickly dressed in jeans and a shirt.

  All the clothes in the closet were obviously bought with her in mind. She was relieved to see labels on them that she recognised. That must mean they were still on Earth. Even though he’d said they were in Montana, she only half believed him.

  She walked down the corridor and found the large kitchen to her left. It was divided from the spacious living room by a big gleaming silver counter.

  Everything was done in the same dull silver color. Even the lone couch.

  “Do you make everything in silver?”

  He didn’t look up from arranging the food. “Yes, come and eat. Viglar said you are losing fat at a dangerous rate.”

  She frowned down at the too-plump body she inhabited. He’d said that before and the jeans were a little loose on her, but this body was not even close to being skinny. “I could stand to lose a few kilos.”

  He sat at the built-in island, a plate of what looked like bacon and eggs in front of him. Now that her initial fright at waking up with a monster was over, she couldn’t help but notice how well his clothes fit. How his thighs stretched the pants of his silver uniform when he sat down.

  Her stomach growled at the delicious aroma coming from the plate. “I know that bacon and eggs are a scarcity and really expensive. I don’t know how I know that, but does that mean we’re still on earth?”

  She couldn’t stop worrying about that. It had plagued her during her shower. She had to fight a panic attack at the thought of being shut in a steel cage in space. For all she knew, they could be on a space ship on their way to his planet. Or a slave planet.

  “Yes. I told you we were in Montana.”

  She gestured at the silver walls, none of which had windows. “This could be anywhere. For all I know, we’re on a space ship and you’re just telling me we’re in Montana to keep me calm.”

  He cut the bacon and didn’t seem to care about keeping her calm. “We are in the Rocky Mountains.”

  “Can you prove it?”

  “I do not have to prove anything to you.”

  Well, that was telling her. “What are you? I mean I know you said you’re from Zyrgin, but what does that mean?”

  “We are from a planet in a galaxy far, far away.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. Was that sarcasm? She didn’t think these aliens were capable of sarcasm. That was not a reference an alien would make. How long had they been on Earth to be able to use pop culture phrases like that? It was one of those sayings everyone used, but few knew where it originated.

  She knew and she had the strong sense that, if she could find out how she knew that, she’d have a piece of the puzzle in place.

  “What do you know about a galaxy far away?”

  He cut a bite of bacon and added a piece of egg. “More than any sane Zyrgin wants to know.”

  “What does your planet look like?”

  “Different from Earth.”

  He held the fork in front of her lips. She opened her mouth and chewed before she answered. She could feel her face heating.

  Having him feeding her like this was strangely intimate. The careful way he placed the fork in her mouth was almost suggestive. The intense way he looked at her added to the intimacy of the moment.

  “I sort of assumed that. Is it like Earth?”

  “No.”

  She sighed and gave up on that. “How did you get all this metal in your spaceship?” She motioned around. Literally everything was made out of the same metal. A metal not mined on earth.

  “You will not ask about our
ship.”

  She sighed again and motioned to the food. “This is too much for me.” She held up a hand when he loaded the fork again. “I can do that.”

  “I will not allow this dishonor to happen in my bloodline.”

  “What dishonor, what do you mean--mfff?”

  He’d stuck the fork into her mouth again. Tempted to spit the food in his face, she chewed and glared at him.

  “You will not lose weight and die.”

  “Why on earth would you think I’d lose enough weight to die?”

  He held the fork against her lips. “I will make sure.”

  This wasn’t about food. This alien--Zyrgin--carried a deep anger. His face might be expressionless, and she found it hard to read his body language, but she could feel the anger in him. It was as if he couldn’t leave her alone and hated her for it.

  “Why are you so angry?”

  He put down the fork and pinned her with pitch black eyes, red starting to swirl in them. “You are a woman without honor.” He said it as if he just discovered she was the worst criminal on earth.

  “What have I done? Besides trying to kill one of you?”

  The aliens who came yesterday with the human woman they called Natalie--they all despised her. What kind of person was she that all these people hated her? Surely if she tried to kill one of them, it had been in self-defense.

  “Do not play these games with me.”

  “Please, Larz, I’m not lying. I really can’t remember anything. I’m not playing games.”

  “I do not believe you. You are trying to escape the consequences of your actions.”

  “Tell me what I did that made all of you hate me. Is it because I’m different from you?”

  He slammed the fork down and she flinched. His eyes swirled, eerily hypnotic, red tendrils slowly overtaking the black depths. She looked down at the plate. The bacon and eggs, that had seemed like the height of luxury a moment ago, didn’t look that appetizing anymore.

  He stilled suddenly, grunted, and then got up. He drew her up to her feet and, holding her tight against him, pressed his forehead against hers. Maeve stood frozen. It was a strange gesture and she didn’t know what it meant. Was she supposed to do something back? “You will be safe. I have claimed you and, no matter what happens to me, the warriors will see that you are safe.”

  He went to the bedroom and she trailed behind him. “What would happen to you?”

  She blushed and turned her back when he took off his shirt.

  “You will be all right. I have to go to a meeting.”

  Did he hesitate before he said meeting? “Please don’t leave me alone in here. What if you don’t come back? I’d be buried alive.” She clutched her arms around herself. The bacon and eggs in her stomach churned at the thought of being shut in.

  “I will always come back for you.”

  The walls pressed in on her, sucking all the oxygen out of her. “Please let me go outside.”

  “It is not safe for you to be outside.”

  “You said we’re in Montana. Are we close to a raider camp, is that why it’s not safe?” Wait, how did she know about raider camps. But she did know. She knew they sprang up all around the country and that the army had been closing them down. She rubbed her head. No, not the army. She didn’t know who almost wiped them out, but it wasn’t the army.

  “You know why it is not safe. I will come back soon.”

  He pressed his forehead against hers again and walked to the living room with its lone couch.

  “Please don’t leave me alone here,” she said.

  “I will be back soon.”

  He left through a section of wall that opened when he approached it. She tried to follow him, but the wall remained sealed with no sign of a door.

  “Please don’t leave me alone here,” she whispered and sank down on the couch.

  ***

  Larz checked his ceremonial uniform and rushed to warrior central. He couldn’t take the time to reassure this strange new Marcie.

  Normally, Zacar would be the one to decide his fate, but he should’ve expected the leader of the Zyrgin territories would want to pass judgement. Natalie called him an emperor but the warriors simply referred to him as The Zyrgin. The Zyrgin had claimed Sarah as his breeder shortly after they’d rescued her from the camps. She’d be going to join him soon. The Zyrgin wouldn’t let this threat to his breeder go unpunished. It would be a miracle if Larz could save Marcie from the consequences of her actions.

  On the home world, Zacar was considered a modern thinker. Some thought too modern, with ideas about what warriors should be allowed. He’d accepted Zurian into his team when no one would give him a commission. Rumor was that The Zyrgin had a soft spot for Zurian and had ordered Zacar to accept him. Larz knew that wasn’t true. Zacar had seen Zurian’s strength and loyalty, had known he would be an asset to any conquering team. Most leaders didn’t accept warriors who also held a qualification such as medic or swordmaker as full warriors on their teams. They were treated as citizens when they joined. Zacar had accepted Zurian and Viglar and never treated them as less than full warriors. His modern thinking had gotten him two of the best qualified people on their planet.

  If he had been allowed to pass judgement, Zacar would’ve been harsh but fair. He’d bonded with his human female and understood Larz’s insistence on keeping Marcie. The same couldn’t be said of The Zyrgin. He might have claimed Sarah, but Larz suspected it was only because he didn’t want to go against the prophecy. For all their technology and advanced culture, Zyrgins could be superstitious.

  The Zyrgin probably didn’t care one way or the other about which woman became his breeder. After the death of the previous one, he’d shown no interest in any of the women paraded in front of him by governments of planets hoping for an alliance with him. Sarah was too small and weak to deal with The Zyrgin. Sending her to their supreme leader was another human tragedy in the making.

  Larz entered the cave and relaxed slightly when he found only one warrior working there. He rushed past the entrance to Natalie’s quarters on his way to Zacar’s office.

  If he was lucky he could avoid Natalie. She had an uncanny way of knowing when something was wrong with him.

  Zurian met him outside Zacar’s office. “Wait here.”

  Larz nodded and stood at attention. He was a Zyrgin warrior. No matter what they took from him, he would always be a warrior. If he could at least be allowed to live, he could keep Marcie safe.

  Zurian came out of the office and stood next to him. “The Zyrgin is on his way.”

  Larz nodded. Zyrgins were brave and those who were warrior born were braver than most. Having to deal with The Zyrgin was the one thing they all feared. It was said that The Zyrgin could force a strong warrior to his knees with his mere presence. Larz was about to find out if that was true.

  “I offered to train you. Azagor offered as well,” Zurian said.

  “Thank you.”

  They both knew those offers would mean very little to The Zyrgin. Larz would either be executed or stripped of his warrior status. He preferred to be executed. For a warrior-born Zyrgin, being an ordinary citizen was unthinkable, but then if he was executed, he couldn’t protect Marcie.

  “When my father forced my third change, I didn’t know that I would have Julia in my life. She made every insult and all the pain worth it,” Zurian said.

  Larz nodded. The door opened and Larz marched inside--ensuring that his boots rang loud, showing his respect--and saluted Zacar, his leader and the Zyrgin who’d made him. His father in human terms.

  “Reporting for judgment, my leader.”

  “The Zyrgin will join us shortly,” Zacar said and paced up and down before him. “What did you think to accomplish? I made sure we held her for you, helped you build a dwelling for her. If you had waited, I could’ve given her a harsh enough sentence to satisfy The Zyrgin and allowed you to take her punishment when you went through your third change.”

 
“For even thinking to harm The Zyrgin’s breeder, you would’ve been forced to condemn her to death,” Larz told him.

  “Maybe, but when you forced your third change you condemned both of you.”

  “I had to save her.”

  Zacar clasped his shoulder. “I know. But when you forced your third change, you interfered with something neither of us can understand. Your woman called us man lizards. Zurian’s breeder thought he was a demon. They fear these creatures, but their human imaginations cannot conceive of the kind of monsters our race can produce,” Zacar said.

  Larz didn’t answer. He stayed at attention, his hands clasped behind his back, shoulder straight, eyes front. No matter how he studied himself in the mirror, he didn’t see why she thought him a lizard. His teeth might be more efficient than a human’s, but they were still not close to resembling a lizard’s.

  He forced his thoughts back to the present, to what was about to happen. On Zacar’s insistence on talking about what he did.

  “All Zyrgins are born with the knowledge that a warrior doesn’t force his third change and doesn’t claim a breeder until he has gone through his final changes.” Zacar still paced in front of him. He was known for looking after his warriors. He’d even interceded with The Zyrgin once or twice on their behalf. This time he was helpless to do anything and Larz knew that would grate on him. “Each of us are born with our knowledge and customs imprinted on us.”

  “I know this.”

  “You were born knowing it is forbidden to force your third change. It is one of our biggest taboos to force any change, but for forcing the third change, you may be condemned to death.”

  “Why is it forbidden? I went through the third change without any side effects.”

  No matter the punishment, he had to endure. If it saved Marcie’s life, he’d do it again.

  Zacar speared him with a look. “That we know of. Only The Zyrgin knows why it is forbidden. He blocked the reason from all our minds.”

  Larz was one dead Zyrgin. What would happen to Marcie if The Zyrgin condemned him to death? “He can do that?” Sometimes he wondered if one Zyrgin should have that much power.