by Ravyn Wilde
Tawnya hugged herself and rocked back and forth. “So, the alien with the pretty pink hair, and Nancy? What happened to them?”
Natacha sighed. “I believe that neither of them passed the test indicating that they could get pregnant. In the days before Lauren and Kaitlyn came on this ship, they were taken a few times to the medic. I believe he was confirming their lack of fertility.”
“Oh, dear lord!” said the red-haired human woman.
She looked older than Lauren, maybe late twenties. With bright green eyes, pale skin, and a short, kind of chubby body. She looked like she was solid though. Strong.
She gusted out air on a sad sigh. “Hi, my name is Donna. I am from Minneapolis. And I hate red, furry aliens.” It was said in a parody of someone having to introduce themselves at an AA meeting. Then she glanced quickly at the female red, furry alien sitting in their midst.
That female shook her head and smiled. “I too, hate these red, furry aliens. I am one-half Siloth and one-half something I don’t know. The fur is not on every part of me. I want to confess that I was asked to listen to your words and tell them to the guard. But I am not going to do it!” she stated adamantly.
Their red alien had the four arms. But Lauren noticed there really wasn’t much fur. Her head was rounder, not the oblong of the Siloth guards. She had light brown eyes, not the black eyes she’d noticed on the guards.
“Can you tell us your name?” Lauren asked.
The red alien sighed sadly. “I can. But no one ever can say it. It is Sisalitapertine.”
They all looked at her blankly. Lauren recovered first. “Would you mind if we called you Sissy? That is a name that means sister. It is a term of endearment. A nickname. Like I sometimes call Kaitlyn, Kait or Kit Kat.”
Kaitlyn popped off, “Or I call Lauren, Little bit. She is the youngest. I’m three months older than she is.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “We are cousins but have been raised like sisters.”
Sissy reached out her hand to Lauren, palm up. “I have never been a part of anything before. I have been hurt, pushed away, locked in a dark room. But I have never had a sister or a friend. I would be one of those to all of you. I would be honored to be your Sissy.”
Lauren took her hand and they grinned at each other.
Before they could meet the other women, the cage door opened and Nancy and Tallie were pushed in. Both fell on the floor in a heap.
Natacha cautioned softly, “Let them leave first.”
It was difficult to do. Wait for the bragging, boasting, fuck head aliens to taunt the women and go. Lauren paid a lot of attention to them. She figured if she picked out a few features, like the patch of dark red on the shoulder of one of the Siloth men, and the funky short tuft of fur over the left eyebrow of the other, she would know them when she saw them again.
Finally, they left, and all the women worked together to carefully move the two away from the door and to the back of the cage. Before they got very far, Nancy started gaging and dove for the center drain. Tallie crawled to it and both women threw up. Lauren noticed they were bruised and a little battered.
Several of the women, in all shapes and sizes, reached out and took the hand of the one next to them. They were horrified. And the burning hatred in one heart reverberated in the next, binding them all together. Lauren whispered, “Somehow.” and it was echoed by all who understood her.
They helped Tallie and Nancy clean up by using one of the tubes of water someone had saved. Then they were settled at the back of the cave with a wall of women in front of them, blocking them from the door. They quickly fell asleep.
In whispers, the rest introduced themselves. There were four alien women. Natacha who told them to call her Nat, Tallie, Sissy, and one other, who didn’t have a translator.
Nat spoke a different language to the last alien woman and then turned to give them all the information. “This is Clikastav. She said to call her Ceely, which is what her family calls her.”
Lauren frowned. She had noticed this girl. She seemed to be shy and emotional, hiding in a nest of blankets away from everyone. And Lauren used the word nest on purpose. Ceely was tall with long, thin limbs. She would say like a stork. And her body was covered with what looked like white fur. Now that she was closer to the girl, she realized it was more like down feathers. Lauren didn’t see any wings. But it raised issues.
“Nat, will you ask Ceely how old she is?” Lauren wondered.
The older alien’s gasp told Lauren her assumption might be right. Nat looked over at her and said, “She is five of her years. She isn’t a baby, but she isn’t mature. She was stolen from her mother’s nest.”
Kaitlyn looked up. “She’s a child. Maybe an adolescent. What the hell do the Siloth want with her? Surely she isn’t close to breeding age.”
After a few more minutes of talking to Ceely, Nat shook her head. “She doesn’t know. She doesn’t understand when they talk to her and I really think she is too young to figure much out. You guys finish talking. I’m going to tell Ceely our names and some things about us and see if I can learn more from her.”
Kaitlyn turned to one of the human women sitting near her. “Would you like to introduce yourself?”
The girl with the short brown with blonde highlights bob nodded. She twisted her hands together and sputtered, “I am Ashton or Ash. I’m twenty-one years old and from Houston. I am supposed to get married next week.” And she threw herself towards Kaitlyn and started bawling when Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around her.
Lauren groaned, as did all the humans, along with Nat and Sissy.
Sissy leaned into Lauren and whispered, “Is married like a mate?”
Lauren nodded and Sissy groaned again.
Lauren looked at the twins. They were identical. Both of them had short and curly brown hair, freckles, and dark green eyes. She smiled at them. “Go ahead. If I were Ash, I’d be crying for a long time.”
One of them leaned in and said, “I’m Randi and this is my sister Rachael. We are twenty-two and from outside of Dallas.”
Lauren spoke up, “Kaitlyn and I are cousins. If you didn’t hear, my name is Lauren. We are twenty-two, or I will be in a few months. The Siloth didn’t go skipping all over the world to get us since we are all from the United States. I guess that makes sense. Our older cousin Makayla, who used to be in the army, knows what happened to Kaitlyn and I. Does anyone know what happened to you?” She looked around and was disappointed when everyone shook their head no.
“Okay. We can’t count on being rescued. I believe we need to start thinking about what we can do to help ourselves. Let’s go around to each of us and say a few things about our strengths. I’ll go first so you see what I mean. I have a black belt in karate and am a psychology major. I can shoot a gun, hunt, and live off the land.”
Nat snorted. “And you have a voice that injures the Siloth. Let us not forget that. I know many languages, I am able to sometimes force calm into someone who is upset, and once in a while, I see things happen in my mind before they happen in the world around me. Oh, I also have very good hearing.”
Lauren nodded. “Perfect. Who’s next?”
Rachael raised her hand. “Randi and I are geeks. We are on a genius level when it comes to technology.” She looked up at the ship’s ceiling and all the circuit boards and wires. “Well, human technology. We are a little clumsy and aren’t into sports or physical activity. But we have had a gazillion acting classes. So, I think that should be a strength.”
Randi cut in and motioned to Lauren, “You were doing Karate katas. Slow enough I could follow them. Maybe. I want to do that, so I keep my body moving and maybe learn something about fighting. I think every bit will help.”
“Sure, that is great. We can do that any morning we aren’t being showered. Next?” Lauren asked.
Ashton sniffled and sat up. “I am a country girl. I hunt and can live off the land too. I can shoot any gun, drive any farm equipment, and am a hell of a cook.”
Her voice got stronger as she spoke, making them all smile.
A voice came from behind them. “I’m Nancy. I’m thirty-two from just north of the Texas border. I haven’t been a country girl for a number of years, but I imagine it will come back to me. Find me a gun, I’ll shoot it. I used to be a marksman and trained to shoot in the Olympics.”
“Hi, Nancy. Thanks so much for sharing with us. Kaitlyn?”
“I have won every beauty pageant I’ve been in or came second to Lauren. My talent was throwing axes and knives. At Lauren.” She grinned. “I can shoot, ride horses, drive tractor, and track.” She scrunched her face and thought for a moment.
Lauren offered, “You also have a piercing whistle. We used to have contests, who could break the most glass. My high C or your shrill whistle blast. I bet the whistle would hurt the Siloth as much as my voice did.”
Kaitlyn agreed. “Truth. Donna, how about you?” she asked the redhead.
Donna sighed. “I have a photographic memory. I read very fast and have almost perfect recall of what I flip through and scan. You find me a manual to this boat, and I can tell you how to drive it.”
They all looked at her in astonishment and she grinned.
Tallie spoke up from behind Nat where she had burrowed. “I am Tallie. My parents are ambassadors for our planet and traveled a great deal. I know about many planets weapons and ships. I can fly this one, I’m just not sure I can land it.”
Lauren grinned. The young alien with the pink hair and tail, with long pale limbs and pale gray eyes that were set close together in a thin face, who reached out to take Lauren’s hand with long, thin fingers—might be their salvation. Along with the redheaded human with a photographic memory.
Chapter Four
WHEN LAUREN WOKE, SHE had her back turned toward the cage door. Kaitlyn faced her with her eyes partially open.
She made a slight motion with her hand, telling Lauren not to move. She didn’t have to say they were being watched, as she could feel someone staring at her back. It went on for several minutes and finally Kaitlyn relaxed a bit and whispered, “It is the guard that seems to hate us. He was right at the bars, first looking at us all, then focused on you. He hates us.”
“He hates me. When the doctor said he was going to cut my vocal cords, I told him the only reason I screamed and made the noise was that the guard was trying to drown me with the water cannon. He checked with another guard who walked us to the clinic, and I got the impression that no one is happy with his treatment of us. He is going to try and figure out how to make me pay.”
Kaitlyn sighed. “He went outside the door,” she whispered. Keeping her voice down just in case there was some type of listening device. “With the knife I picked up in the med clinic, I thought I’d trim some long, thin pieces off the blankets and braid a few cords. We can use them to tie up our hair.”
Lauren snorted. “Yeah, I would love a hair tie. See if you can strip the pieces of the blanket by hand, maybe start it with the knife if you have to but strip it down by hand and make sure a guard sees. So, they don’t wonder how you did it and search the cage. Not in front of the fat one that hates us.”
Kaitlyn nodded. “Good point. I took the knife from a drawer. Hopefully, it won’t be missed. What do we do next?”
Lauren closed her eyes and thought about it. She had actually been doing that all night, so she had some ideas. “I think we try and learn about the Siloth and this ship. Talk to Sissy and Nat about the Siloth. Get them to tell us everything they can. And listen to the guards. When there are two of them, they sit by the door and talk constantly. But I can’t hear what they are saying. Maybe Nat can, she said she has good hearing.”
Just then they heard the food compartment open. All pretense of sleeping disappeared. They were all hungry and thirsty. They’d eat, Lauren would take them through the katas, Kaitlyn would make garrotes that functioned as hair ties, and they would see if Nat would change her seat for the day. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was better than nothing.
WHEN LAUREN WOKE UP for the second time in one day, she knew something was wrong. She never took naps, and this one had been a doozy. She had a headache, a dry mouth, and she was extremely irritated. Where the hell was Kaitlyn, why had she let Lauren sleep?
A quick glance around the cage and she saw everyone was asleep or just waking up. Kaitlyn started rubbing her forehead before she even opened her eyes. She groaned.
“Ceely is gone,” she whispered to her cousin.
Kaitlyn lowered her hand and softly noted, “We were drugged so they could get her out.”
“That’s what I think.” Lauren sighed. She sat up and turned to face the room beyond the cage. And sucked in a shocked breath. Ceely was strapped to a long table in the middle of the room. The burly, mean guard stood over her, smirking.
“Shit,” she responded out of shock.
Kaitlyn walked up and took her hand.
The guard hollered, “Wake them all! I need them all awake! You bitches need to realize that I am SILOTH. We are your masters. All of us. You bow to us and you shut your mouth and do what you are told. That means anything I say, you do!”
By this time, all the women were lined up at the front of the cage. Lauren grabbed the bars of the door and tested to make sure it was locked. It was. She couldn’t get out.
“Why do you have Ceely out there?” Natacha asked in a calm voice.
Lauren remembered she said she could sometimes calm people with her voice.
He paced toward the cage a few steps and put the lower two hands on his hips while the upper two waved madly in the air. “Because this one isn’t a damn breeder. She can’t be a breeder because her species lay eggs. She can still spread her legs and be fucked, her new owner bought her to be a sex slave in his “zoo.” He will have to wrap that damn beak on her face, or she will bite off his dick.” He started laughing hysterically.
Lauran noticed that Ceely’s mouth had been tied shut so her rows of small teeth wouldn’t harm the guard.
That’s okay. Somehow Lauren would harm him for her.
He started ranting again, “No one can talk to her. She doesn’t understand anything. You can’t tell her to spread her legs or open her damn mouth because she doesn’t understand. She needs a translator and I know just how to give her one.” He walked back to the table and up by Ceely’s head. He picked up a small jar and opened it, mumbling, “She doesn’t even have her wings yet. I wish she had wings. I volunteered to cut them off of her. I want them to hang on the wall in my room. You can’t let the damn bird woman fly away.”
Nat tried again. “You don’t want to hurt her. Remember that someone has already paid for her. Your captain and the others will be upset if you can’t sell her.”
The guard wouldn’t look at her. And Nat’s voice wasn’t enough to cut through the crazy.
He snorted and pulled Ceely’s head to the side. “The only thing saving her from me breaking her in—is that her new owner wants her untouched. He won’t pay us if she has been taken by a Siloth. But he only cares about what is between her legs. Not in her head. She doesn’t have to be smart.” He moved to get something out of the jar in his hand. It looked like a worm.
“What is he doing?” Lauren hissed.
Sissy gasped. “Oh, No!”
“What? What is that?” Kaitlyn demanded.
The nasty Siloth guard lowered the white thing wiggling in his hand to Ceely’s ear and pushed it in. He started laughing. “It’s a translator on the back of a mind worm. The worm will burrow into her ear and take the small translator with it. In a few minutes, if I clean her ear with the acid wash, it will make the worm back out of the ear canal without hurting the bitch. The worm doesn’t like the acid wash at all. If I don’t squirt the shit in her ear, the worm will burrow into her brain. So maybe I’ll leave it in, maybe I’ll take it out. Let’s see who can learn this lesson the fastest.”
He took out his dick and pressed a remote to open the cage door.
“You first bitch,” he pointed at Lauren. “Suck me dry and maybe I’ll save the mind of this little bird cunt.”
Nat moved behind Lauren and cautioned. “He won’t fix it. Maybe we all try and jump him and hold him down while we look for the acid wash.”
Lauren watched the creep play with his dick while they debated. He was having a grand old time.
“Do you think the other guards and the captain know what he is doing?” she whispered.
“No, but there isn’t a way for us to contact them.”
Lauren took a step back and pulled the door of the cage shut. The guard stopped pulling his dick long enough to snarl at her. She knew he didn’t intend to get the larva out. This was a lesson in obedience and degradation. Do what you are told, and I might save the life of your friend. “Fuck this,” she said.
And started to sing scales as loud and as high as she could go. She knew the screeching would hurt his ears, and hopefully keep him away from Ceely. She also wanted to attract the attention of anyone outside their prison.
When she needed to take a quick breath, Kaitlyn used her piercing whistle. Sticking her fingers in her mouth and blasting high, short burst of sound. They had already broken more glass in the room. The guard was screaming at them to stop, he’d dropped to the floor and was thrashing all over.
Then everyone started whistling, or screaming, or singing in a high tone. It was loud and when the door burst open...hopefully, it had the desired effect.
All the women went silent and Lauren started begging. “We did it because he wouldn’t put the acid wash in her ear to get the translator worm out. He wanted us to suck his dick. He didn’t care if Ceely went brain dead!” she spit out the words and jumped up and down, waving her arms to point out the alien child strapped to the table. “Hurry! Save her please!”