Alien Betrayed

by Marie Dry

  “No matter what he did to me, at the end of the day, I am responsible for what happened to Sarah. It will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

  “You did what Parnell programmed the artificial personality to do. No one will hold you accountable.”

  She shook her head. She would always hold herself accountable. “I still have the memory of the horrific things I did. Will The Zyrgin want to punish me for what I did to Sarah?”

  “This I promise you, never again will you be at the mercy of a madman. I will kill anyone who tries to harm you. The Zyrgin understands you had no choice but, if necessary, I will battle The Zyrgin for you.”

  She quickly covered his mouth. “Don’t say that,” she whispered. A quick look around assured her that their scary ruler hadn’t appeared to take up the challenge. She cupped his cheeks in her hands. “I love you, Larz. During all the craziness in my life this last year, you were the one constant. You always stood by me. I’ll give my life for you without hesitation if it is ever needed.”

  “You will never give up your life. I wanted you the first time I saw you in that camp. When you had ugly red hair. Not even death will take you from me.”

  Tears trickled down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away. “Don’t you see? He messed me up so much, I’m not even horrified at watching a recording of torture. Another woman, Natalie and even Julia, wouldn’t be able to watch it but I enjoyed seeing him suffer and that’s terrible. I should be shocked and ready to faint or something. What would Natalie say?”

  He cocked his head. “It would be better not to show her. She would cry and tell me that it is wrong to torture people.”

  “Exactly. It is wrong. Any normal person knows that and would be horrified. I’ve probably turned into some kind of psychopath.”

  “I do not want a normal woman.” He drew her into his arms. “And you are not a psychopath.”

  “You don’t think I’m a monster and unfeminine for enjoying Parnell’s suffering?”

  “You are exactly how I want my breeder to be. Strong and not given to crying.” His hands skimmed her waist. “Very female but strong enough to threaten to face me in battle.”

  She dried her tears and smiled up at him. “I love you, Larz, and every anniversary we’ll watch that recording, and I’ll be glad that part of my life is over.” He drew her closer, but she held him off. “Were there people in the building when you blew it up?”

  “We killed the guards and ensured everyone working there left.”

  “The box,” she whispered.

  “We found it. A small dark female was trapped inside. Zanr took her to safety.”

  Margaret balled her fists. “I almost wish he could be tortured again. How can anyone enjoy doing that to a fellow human being?”

  Something sinister stirred in the atmosphere around them. “Than can be arranged,” Larz told her with scary intensity.

  For just a moment, she was seriously tempted. Then she sighed. “That wouldn’t change anything. At least, she’s safe from him. I value that more than you can ever know, but this has to be said.” She leaned back a little, putting some distance between them. “I understand that Earth will be ruled by your people. The way things are now, we are defenseless against you. But if you oppress or kill innocent people, I will fight you. It will break my heart and eat at my soul, but I will fight you.”

  He lifted a strand of her hair, sifting it through his fingers. It was almost black now, with only a few strands of the red she hated. “We will not harm humans,” he grated. “Our warriors will take human breeders, and we will build hospitals and restore Earth.”

  He raised her chin with one claw and stared down into her watery eyes. “Why are you crying? I thought you would be pleased.”

  “I’m happy, that’s why I’m crying.”

  “Woman, explain yourself.”

  “It’s just a thing human women do when they are happy. Don’t worry, I rarely cry.”

  The TC showed replays of the battle, commentators speculating on what would happen once the army arrived. She snorted. What army? She doubted five thousand soldiers could be found in the whole country. She’d heard Parnell rage one day about their lack of defense. That he needed an army to keep things together.

  Larz grunted, set her away from him, and drew her up. “We have to go to the cave. Zacar is ready to unveil the new weapon.”

  She’d heard Julia talk about it, knew it was coming, and, still, her breath became choppy and her stomach turned upside down while her mouth dried up.

  Deep inside, she knew that Earth would never be the same again after they deployed this mysterious weapon.

  CHAPTER 18

  They stared at each other for what felt like minutes, but it could only be seconds, before she broke the pregnant silence. “What does this weapon do?”

  “Only Zacar knows. He says it’s a peaceful weapon.”

  She couldn’t imagine what kind of weapon could be described as peaceful. The only idea she could come up with was mind control, and that was anything but peaceful.

  They walked over to the cave and, this time, she only looked up when she heard the eagle scream. She’d always associate that sound with the moments in her life where things drastically changed.

  “I don’t want to fight anymore or go under cover or deal with war and death. But I will if I have to.” She prayed she never had to treat him as her enemy.

  “You will never have to fight again. You have me to protect you. You may do anything you wish.”

  “I want to design cars and shuttles. Maybe one day start my own company.”

  “You would design good cars,” he said.

  If she wasn’t so worried about the weapon they were about to see being deployed, she would’ve teased him about her designing their shuttles. She knew he regularly looked at her files. Maybe she’d put some pink shuttles in there--with faces painted on their fronts.

  “I want to make a life with you. Maybe have some odd little warriors. But if this weapon of yours hurt innocent people--”

  “You will battle us. Battle me.”

  “Yes.”

  He drew her closer to him. “My human has courage.”

  They entered the cave and found it in an uproar, with warriors rushing around carrying who knew what.

  “I will take you to Natalie. When Zacar is ready, I will come for you.”

  They walked down the corridor and into what looked like an old homey farmhouse. Through a beautiful wooden door and into a living room with bright woven rugs and comfortable chairs and couches. Paintings of the mountain hung on the wall. Any other time she would’ve marvelled at the beautiful home, deep inside the mountain.

  Natalie smiled at her, but her gaze was searching. “You really are Margaret? Our friend?”

  Julia frowned and regarded Margaret with her hands on her hips. “I know you’re Margaret and, when this craziness is over, we need to talk about everything, but it’s weird to like you. I’ve sort of gotten used to thinking up plans to torture you.”

  Margaret relaxed and smiled at them. “It’s weird to me as well. Sometimes it feels as if a part of Marcie stayed behind in my brain.” It was a constant worry, that she’d wake one morning and be trapped, helpless in her own brain while Marcie destroyed her world.

  “Not necessarily a bad thing,” Julia said. “She was a tough cookie and, sometimes, a woman needs to be tough.” She glared at the Zyrgin warrior standing guard at the door. “Especially with these stubborn Zyrgins.” She shrugged. “What we meant to say is, welcome back.”

  “Thanks,” Margaret said, uncomfortable with the women that used to be her friends.

  “We were just about to watch the recording,” Natalie said quietly.

  “What recording?”

  “Sarah,” Julia said briefly.

  Julia and Natalie sat on the couch, but Margaret chose a chair a little away from the other women. The guard at the door kept his unblinking gaze on her. She’d probably insulted him while

she’d been Marcie.

  Sarah looked impossibly small and frail on the screen. Two huge Zyrgins with black and silver uniforms stood behind her. She smiled, a tragic wobbly smile. She was dressed in what looked like long flowing scarves. They looked like they were made of sheer silk, but it covered her figure and hair. Only Sarah’s face was exposed.

  “She’s dressed like a queen or something,” Julia said.

  “Don’t worry about the guards,” Sarah said on the screen. “Apparently, I’m going to marry an emperor.” She fidgeted with scarves over her lap. “That’s why I have my own guards. You probably wonder why I’d marry anyone after what happened to me. They said I would be asleep for the whole trip and that they have the technology to make the memories fade.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I see them all the time. Feel what they did to me, hear what they said to me, and I can’t live with it in my head anymore. They said they had the technology to make it so that, by the time I land on their planet, it will be a vague distant memory. The alien emperor said he’d give me time to get to know him before we start breeding.”

  A faint smile. “I would’ve fainted dead on the spot if you guys hadn’t told me what they call you. I need to do this. Need to get away. Who knows? Maybe I can put in a good word for Earth.”

  Margaret’s stomach clenched. This fragile woman wasn’t up to marrying The Zyrgin. No human woman was.

  “Margaret, they told me what happened to you,” Sarah continued. “You’d been a good friend to me before that monster messed with your DNA. Logically, I know you couldn’t help what you did. Deep inside, I know we were both victims of that monster. But my heart cannot forgive or understand. Maybe by the time I land there, I can remember the real you, without all the ugliness coming between us.” She touched the screen with a trembling hand. “Goodbye, my friends. Please tell Charles goodbye from me.”

  They all wiped away tears. Margaret would have to find a way to check up on Sarah and make sure that the emperor guy didn’t hurt her.

  “This is unreal. Sarah’s going to be an empress,” Julia said.

  Larz entered the room. “Zacar is ready.”

  Natalie rose, looking worried. Margaret didn’t blame her. Her own stomach was one big Gordian knot.

  Larz took her arm. “We have to go. The new weapon is about to be tested.”

  Natalie turned and frowned at him. “Where’s Zorlof?”

  “He is assisting Zacar.”

  “Oh, all right.” Natalie picked up her daughter. Julia did the same and followed her to the door.

  “What exactly does this weapon do?” Margaret asked him.

  “You will find out soon enough.”

  She snapped her fingers. “I want to know now.”

  Everyone turned to stare at her. Natalie’s guard actually drew his sword and only made it disappear when Larz grunted at him.

  Margaret looked around, bewildered. Why was everyone staring at her? “What?” she demanded.

  “That was pure Marcie,” Julia told her.

  Margaret’s stomach knotted until she thought her intestines would never be the same again. “Oh.”

  Larz took her hand in his. Lifted it to his lips where he pressed a kiss to her palms. “I only see my Margaret in your eyes.”

  She nodded.

  “Margaret, don’t over react,” Natalie said gently. “It’s going to happen until your own personality reasserts itself.”

  “What if it takes over?” Margaret whispered.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll knock it right out of you,” Julia said.

  That made her laugh and remember how it used to be when she knew them before. The times she spent watching movies, doing girl talk. Cooking together.

  “It is time to start,” Larz said and steered her into the tunnel leading to the back of the cave.

  “I bet you we’re going to the room they kept locked all the time,” Julia said. “The one we broke into before.”

  Natalie was quiet and Margaret wondered if she had an idea of what was to come.

  “Did Zacar tell you what the weapon does?” Margaret asked her.

  Natalie glanced up at Zacar who’d joined them in that eerily silent way the Zyrgins had when they wished. “He told me some of it.”

  “You wished me not to make war with humans,” Zacar reminded her. “This weapon will allow us to take over without bombing and killing millions of them.”

  “I’d mention the men you killed this morning, but I can’t work up any sympathy for them,” Julia said.

  Zacar pointedly ignored her. Zurian drew Julia into his arms and away from Zacar and Natalie.

  Zacar said something in Zyrgin and the large silver door slid opened. They stepped into a room that, like the rest of the place, had no resemblance to a cave. The silver walls and floor were smooth and looked like an ultra-modern TC control room with blinking lights built into the walls.

  Margaret didn’t want to see this new weapon. Not now that she’d found herself and looked forward to building a life with Larz. “Please tell me it’s not some kind of super weapon that could wipe out the human race,” she begged.

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why would we want to wipe out the human race? We need human slaves for our work camps.”

  Her legs collapsed under her. She clung to him, but only because she didn’t want to end up in a heap on the floor in front of him. If he’d lied to her, if they were going to unleash a terrible weapon and enslave the human race, it would destroy her in a way Parnell never managed.

  Larz threw back his head and laughed. It sounded like a cacophony of pots and pans being banged by a thousand angry cooks.

  Margaret was vaguely aware of the other Zyrgins following suit, but she was too horrified by the gut-wrenching awful sound Larz made to take much notice of them.

  How could she have misjudged him like this?

  Natalie drew her a little away from the Zyrgins. “Just ignore them. They haven’t quite grasped the concept of teasing.” She frowned at Larz. “Obviously, he inherited his father’s sick sense of humor.”

  “And his ugly laugh,” Julia muttered. “Don’t shush me, Zurian. I have a right to an opinion.”

  “That was teasing?” Margaret asked.

  “Yes, weird, but true,” Julia said.

  “I’ll kill him!” Margaret lunged for Larz, but Natalie and Julia held her back. “They’re not putting humans in work camps?” She’d organise a resistance and use her inside knowledge to stop the Zyrgins if they ever did that.

  “No. Zacar promised me that humans will never be enslaved. He convinced their leader, the emperor, that it was a social experiment for future conquests. And since Sarah will marry their Zyrgin or emperor, I think we’re fairly safe.”

  “Do you believe him?” Margaret asked between gritted teeth.

  Larz was still making that awful noise. She really wanted to hit him for scaring her like this, after showing her how much he cared for her earlier, but all she’d accomplish would be to break her fist on his stubborn chin.

  “Honor is everything to them. They never go back on their word.”

  Margaret glared at Larz, still not convinced they weren’t about to bomb humans into extinction. “This is your idea of a sick joke?”

  “It is teasing,” he said.

  The way he and the other aliens abruptly stopped laughing was almost as creepy as the sound of their unearthly laughter.

  “You suck at it, so stop doing it.”

  “Yeah, tell him,” Julia said.

  Zurian picked her up and moved a few steps back.

  “We will begin,” Zacar said.

  Larz came to stand next to Margaret and she slipped her hand inside his. She’d be angry with him later.

  Six aliens stood at attention and Zacar went to stand in front of them. They all had huge packs on their shoulders and, in each arm, carried a large, steel, oblong crate.

  For the first time, she noticed the circle made up of various pieces of equipment toward the back of the cave. A kind of force field separated it from the aliens and humans. Lights mounted on high poles shone down on the middle of the circle.

  One-by-one the six aliens walked through the force field and stood just outside the circle. Zacar grunted and Margaret assumed he spoke to them in Zyrgin. She knew what this scene was all about. Whether in a human setting or a Zyrgin headquarters, sending soldiers into danger had the same ceremony everywhere, though this one lacked Parnell’s pompous self-importance. The six aliens saluted Zacar and then one of them walked into the circle.

  Azagor pushed some buttons and muttered. The alien in the circle disappeared. The Zyrgins stood waiting and then something crackled and they heard grunting.

  “Report in English,” Zacar said.

  Margaret tried to make sense of what was happening. She’d thought they would launch some ultra-modern looking rocket. Despite Larz’s reassurances, in her worst nightmare, she thought it might be biological warfare. This was like the scenes in the old science fiction movies where they beamed people to where they wanted to go.

  “Europe reporting in, one thousand warriors salute you.”

  “You beamed him to Europe?” Julia asked.

  Zurian covered her mouth with a large paw.

  Margaret opened her mouth to ask the same question but Larz shook his head, very slightly. “What did he mean one thousand warriors?” she whispered to Larz.

  He didn’t answer and the next warrior stepped into the circle and disappeared. “Australia reporting in with five hundred warriors.”

  “You beamed someone to Australi--mmfff--” Julia said again as Zurian slapped his hand back over her mouth.

  It continued for what felt like hours. The warriors would disappear, report in, and claim to have anything between five hundred and three thousand warriors at their disposal--all of them obviously loyal to Zacar.

  Zacar stood with his hands behind his back, legs braced apart while Azagor fiddled with his instruments again. Larz, Zorlof, Zurian, the doctor, and an alien Margaret didn’t know also stood in the same stance and simply waited. She looked over at Julia and Natalie and saw the same confusion on their faces.

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