by Sara Page
“Halt!” a deep voice calls out just as we reach the edge of the crowd.
We don’t stop though and I certainly don’t look back.
“Lexi, please stop moving. I’m trying to help you,” Jack pleads.
How does he know I’m moving? I’m blocking out everything but his voice in my head. Does he have other eyes on me? Or is he jailbreaking his way into my central nervous system?
“Stop trying to help me,” I finally respond. “I’m safe. I’ll contact you at a better opportunity…”
“You’re not safe, and your mission has been terminated.”
“I don’t care if my mission has been terminated. I’m close, very close to finding Isla, and I’m not coming back!”
Maul reaches the very edge of the crowd and only has to shove the person in front of us out of the way. With a cry, the squat, purple man goes stumbling into a stall and we step into a clearing.
I take a deep breath, feeling like I can finally breathe again.
“You no longer have a say in this. The appropriate authorities have been contacted and your retrieval is eminent.”
“The appropriate authorities?” I boggle. The Bureau doesn’t have the resources to retrieve me at this point. I’m beyond their reach. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“It means I’ve gone over your head. You no longer have a say in any of this.”
“What have you done?!”
“I’ve done what I have to do.”
“Who are you working with?”
He dodges my question, instead telling me, “I’ll do whatever it takes to bring you back.”
“Fuck you, Jack.” If he was standing in front of me, I’d slap him.
A shout sounds out followed by weird electronic chirping.
“Blaster fire,” Maul grumbles in explanation.
Before I can ask why a blaster is firing, the crowd behind us suddenly surges forward and then we’re swarmed.
I’m swept up and torn away from Maul, trapped inside the crowd as it rolls forward like a herd of frightened wildebeests fleeing in panic.
“Maul!” I scream, reaching my arms out for him but it’s too late. Dozens of fleeing, panicked bodies are now between us.
“Lexi!” Maul roars, but his deep, rumbling voice only seems to cause more panic.
Hands grab me, carrying me away. I try to fight them but every time I pry one set off another replaces them.
Bodies drop in front of me and behind me, but that doesn’t stop the crowd from rolling over them and filling up the gaps. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the sounds of bones crushing and organs bursting for as long as I live.
“Lexi!” Maul roars again, sounding much further away this time.
I scream his name back and then a hand slaps over my mouth. “Shut the fuck up, bitch!”
I thrash, fighting the arms crushing me until Jack urges, “Don’t fight him.”
I still and slowly turn my head, looking up at the one holding me in his grip.
Red eyes meet mine and a wicked smile stretches across black lips. His skin is dark, almost as black as his lips, and he looks positively demonic with the two ram-like horns sprouting from his forehead. Like the Prigs, he has two sets of arms, but unlike the Prigs, he has a great deal of bulging muscles to go with them.
“Is he a part of your retrieval team?”
Behind my ribs, my heart thuds sickly and slowly as the enormity of my situation sinks in. Who the hell is Jack working with? And what the hell am I going to do now? How do I get myself out of this mess?
“Yes, but he’s unstable. Don’t provoke him. He’s under strict orders to return you unharmed but his kind tends to solve resistance with violence.”
“What is he?” I ask, putting extra emphasis on the what part.
“They call themselves Bezos.”
The Bezo holding me grunts as someone bumps into us from behind. Without a glance back, he lashes out with his free arm and barb tail. There’s a loud crack and something warm splashes against my leg. I close my eyes and turn my face away, refusing to look at what’s left of the poor soul that bumped into us.
“And you’re working with them because?”
“Like I told you, I’ll do anything to get you back.”
“Yes, you’ve already said that, but what have you done, Jack? What have you offered them? No one works for free.”
What could a stronger race like a Bezo hope to gain from a mere human?
Jack is ominously silent, his go-to answer when he doesn’t want to answer something.
I hear Maul roaring my name again and everything inside of me wants to escape the arms holding me and run back to him.
“I’m going to fight him,” I warn Jack.
“Don’t, Lexi, he’ll snap you in half.”
“Then tell him to let me go. I’m not just going to sit here and be carried away like some helpless maiden,” I snap as more and more distance yawns between Maul and I.
There’s a dull ache in the center of my chest that I’ve been trying to ignore but it throbs and grows with each step the Bezo takes.
“Tell him!” I cry as the Bezo takes yet another step.
“I can’t tell him that, Lexi,” Jack says desperately. “He doesn’t answer to me.”
The pain suddenly intensifies and I have no choice. Squirming in the Bezo’s arms, I hit him with everything I’ve got at once. My knee meets his groin, hoping to connect with tender anatomy, while my hands slam against his ribs. I bite down on his shoulder, my teeth trying to tear into his thick, leathery skin.
With a bellowing roar the Bezo drops me to the floor.
Knowing I only have a split second of surprise on my side, I scramble to my feet and rush head first into the crowd that’s trying to run in the opposite direction.
I slam into a body and hands come out, bouncing me away. I’m shoved around, bouncing off of bodies like I’m the little ball in a pinball machine until the Bezo roars again.
I feel the floor thundering beneath my feet and watch the crowd part. All of a sudden, everyone is scrambling to get away from me.
Without really thinking, I drop to the floor, landing flat on my stomach.
Charging in, the Bezo has too much force behind him to stop his propulsion. He ends up tripping over my body when he reaches me and tumbles into the crowd.
“Jesus, Lexi. There’s no soothing his temper now. Get your ass out of there. I’ll try to get you some help—”
“Go choke on your fucking help!”
I jump to my feet just as the Bezo gets to his feet. Straightening to his full height, he huffs and his bulging red muscles seem to swell as if someone is pumping air into them.
“Big mistake, bitch,” he snarls before he cracks his neck and takes a thundering step towards me.
I don’t know what to do. He’s now between Maul and me. I can’t go forward and with the pain in my chest I can’t go back.
The only thing I can do is pray that Maul can reach me in time.
I scream out his name, “Maul!” and reach out through our link with everything I have inside me.
The Bezo drops his horns and charges me. I stand rooted to my spot, hoping he’s stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice.
Just as the Bezo’s charging horns are about to reach me, I jump to the side. Once again, he’s too big and too dumb to stop in time. He barrels on past me and I take off, running like my life depends upon it.
Which it does, unfortunately.
The crowd parts for me, alien men and women jumping out of my way with fear in their eyes.
“You’re dead!” I hear the Bezo bellowing behind me. “I’m going to snap all of your bones and fuck your skull with my big dick!”
Gee, could this guy be any dumber? It’s almost like he’s trying to win an award or something.
The pain in my chest begins to ease and though I can’t see him yet, I know Maul is close. Encouraged, I pump my legs harder. I’ve never been much
of a runner but with a big ugly beast of an alien on my heels I’m making great speed and time.
All of a sudden a foot darts out of nowhere and before I know it, my legs go out from under me and I’m tumbling to the floor. I go down, my hands coming out just in time to break my fall but my knees still hit the ground hard.
“Get up. Get the fuck up!” Jack roars inside my brain.
I shake my head and try to get my feet under me but my body is moving slower than my mind.
Unfortunately, I was running so fast, the Bezo has had plenty of space to stop himself in time. Instead of tripping over me, he stops and reaches down, grabbing me by the back of the neck.
Hauling me up, he lifts me off of my feet and looks me in the eyes. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, puny human,” he says, shaking me.
I’ve never been shaken like I’m a rag doll before and it really sucks to feel this helpless. My arms and legs flail around and my head flops from side to side.
This is it, I think but Jack somehow picks up the thought.
“Don’t you give up! I’ve got them to order him to stand down but he’s not fucking listening!”
The Bezo grins and pulls me closer.
Before he can say something else stupid, I lash out, the knuckles on my right fist grazing the point of his chin.
“Fuck, Lexi…”
The grin immediately drops from his lips and his red eyes cloud with anger. “You stupid bitch.”
His fingers tighten around the back of my neck and I can hear myself screaming before the pain fully sinks in.
Then it all just stops. There’s a jerk and I fall back, landing on hard my ass. I blink, momentarily stupefied, and then a glowing orb of light circles around me. Without really thinking I try to swat it away.
“Stop that,” Marketh says irritably.
I stop trying to swat him like an annoying bug and climb to my feet.
“Sorry,” I croak as I wipe the dirt off my knees and clear my throat. My neck definitely hurts like someone just tried to choke the life out of me.
“Apology accepted,” Marketh states as if he’s doing me a favor.
“Where’s Maul?” I ask and then have to clear my throat again. He must be close because the ache in my chest has gone away but I don’t immediately see him.
“Right in front of you,” Marketh says and I have to look closer, pushing the aliens in front of me out of the way.
Maul is rolling around on the ground in the middle of the crowd, grappling with the Bezo. From the looks of it, they appear to be locked in a hand-to-hand battle to the death. While the Bezo tries to choke the life out of Maul with two of his hands, he uses the other set to swing and connect with Maul’s head.
Maul is using his claws to rip into the flesh of the Bezo’s chest, tearing him wide open and exposing ribs. But the Bezo doesn’t stop choking him and I worry that he has only seconds before he starts to weaken.
“Fuck,” I mutter and try to think of some way to help.
I eye the crowd of aliens still trapped here and all the turned over stalls before my eyes fall upon a rod of metal that looks like it could have been used as a leg for a stall or part of a sign.
I run over to the rod, grab it, then race back to Maul.
Maul’s arms are beginning to slow and the Bezo’s upper set of hands are still locked around his throat. The Bezo appears to be mortally wounded. His skin is shredded into thin, leathery strips, and I can literally see his heart still pumping with life behind the white bones of his ribcage.
But he’s not stopping. No, if anything, his face is a mask of grim determination.
I run up to him and start hitting him in the head with the rod. I hit him over and over again, without really thinking and without actually looking.
He’s not taking my Maul with him, dammit, is all I can think as I bash his head in.
“He’s dead,” I hear someone say from far away but I don’t stop. I just keep bashing and bashing.
“Let go of him, you stupid ugly bastard!” I cry, tears streaming down my face as I ram the rod into his black, gooey brains.
“He’s dead, Lexi!” Marketh yells at me.
It’s not until Maul yells at me that I finally realize what I’m doing. “Human! You’re splashing me with his brains.”
I stop my next strike in mid-swing then look down at the carnage I’ve created. My stomach twists painfully and the sour taste of bile fills my mouth.
Did I do that?
“There’s no time to be sick!” Marketh says. “More enemies are incoming. They’ve sent re-enforcements.”
I look up in surprise, and sure enough, only a few feet away, I can see those left of the stampeding crowd being shoved around but I can’t see who is doing the actual shoving. Orders are barked out and there’s something metallic about their voices that grates against my ears.
“Call them off!” I scream inside my head at Jack.
“I’m sorry, it’s out of my hands now, Lexi…”
“You asshole. I’ll never forgive you for this.”
Maul rises to his feet and walks up to me, holding out his hand. I drop the rod I was holding and take a deep breath.
His voice is almost gentle when he says, “We’ve got to get back to the ship, little one.”
I nod my head and purposely avoid looking at what’s left of the Bezo. I’ll have time to process that later. Right now it’s more important that we survive this.
Maul takes me by the hand and for a moment everything in the universe is right again. Then we start running, pushing through the crowd and sprinting through the clearing.
“If you don’t fight, they won’t hurt you. Surrender peacefully and I promise you’ll be safe.”
“And what about Maul? Will you also guarantee his safety?”
I glance over my shoulder when someone shouts. Those pursuing us have broken through the edge of the crowd and now I can see that it’s a group of five heavily armed aliens. Shit. They’d almost look human if they weren’t so big and didn’t have so many wires coming out of their heads.
“Of course not, Lexi.”
“Then I’ll fight to the death.”
“You’re being completely unreasonable! Don’t you dare risk your life for that fucking alien.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? Fuck off, Jack! And get out of my head.”
By the hand, Maul leads me up a short set of stairs and then tugs me down a narrow hallway. I know we must be running in the right direction because the air is starting to get colder.
“How many?” he asks without looking back. All of his attention is focused on what is in front of us as we take turn after turn and run up step after step.
“At least five armed mercenaries behind us. No telling how many waiting for us at the hangar,” Marketh responds.
Maul grunts and his fingers tighten around me. He jerks me around another sharp turn and then shoves me into a dark corner when we hear shouts coming from up ahead.
“Maul, perhaps it’s time to consider a contingency plan,” Marketh says quietly.
“What do you have in mind?” Maul asks.
“We could consider surrendering. Perhaps—"
I shake my head and grab onto Maul’s robe, clinging to him. “They’ll kill you if we surrender. I’ve already discussed it with Jack.”
Maul stares deep into my eyes and then slowly nods his head. “No surrendering then. Do you have another plan, Marketh?”
“We fight to the death?”
Hearing it said out loud, even sarcastically, causes my heart to freeze behind my ribs. I can’t lose him, I can’t. Not when I just found him. There’s gotta be another way out of this, there’s gotta be.
“If I surrender, alone, Jack has promised they won’t harm me…” I say tentatively. “Once they have me, they’ll have no reason to pursue you.”
It’s an awful plan. Even if I do surrender and they take me away without harming Maul, the pain in my chest is bound to be a
problem.
“No,” Maul says forcibly. “We cannot be separated.”
“Then a fight to the death it is,” Marketh says with mock cheerfulness.
I’d tell him off if I wasn’t suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry.
“We will fight,” Maul agrees and then his bloodied hand is bumping up my chin. “But we will not die.”
“You promise?” I squeak, instantly latching on to the hope that we’ll somehow make it out of this.
“I promise,” Maul nods and then bends down, planting a kiss on the top of my head. “Now stay here, my soul, and stay out of sight.”
“Where are you going?” My grip on his robe tightens. Is he just blowing steam up my ass? Is he planning on doing something stupid? Like sacrificing himself?
“I’m going to go deal with those blocking our way,” he says while trying to untangle my fingers from his robe.
“Promise me you’ll come back,” I plead, unwilling to let go of him until he does.
Maul hesitates and Marketh seems to buzz with irritation.
“I promise I shall return,” Maul says, finally successfully prying my fingers from him. “Now stay here and remain quiet.”
Maul gives me one last lingering look and then he disappears around the corner with Marketh. I watch the tail of his dark robe lick around the edge of the wall then there’s a shout followed by the electronic chirping of blasters firing.
The steel walls rattle then the floor shudders like several things just crashed into it. I wish I could see what is going on but I have no choice but to do what I’ve been told. I know Maul needs to fight without worrying about me so we can get off this orbital, but I still feel like a coward hanging back when I could be helping him fight.
I press my spine into the corner, trying to make myself as small as possible while I wonder just how many enemies there are between us and the ship.
I’m so focused on listening to the sounds of battle coming from up ahead of me that I fail to be aware of what’s coming from behind us.
“Female,” someone says, their voice almost human but too robotic.