by Lisa Lace
"Thanks," he muttered. A loud burp came out of Thiago's mouth. He wriggled his legs away from her prying grasp. As he set his goblet back down on the table, a muted clang sounded from behind the closed bathroom door. He heard a quick reshuffling of objects followed by Eden's cheery voice.
"I'm okay!"
"Did you fall in the toilet again?" Thiago hollered towards the bathroom, one hand lazily cupped around the side of his mouth.
"What do you mean again? I can't get my zipper to close. It's complicated! I'll fix it and be out in a second!"
"Eden's fine. She's a big girl," said Arleda tartly. She swiftly softened, forcing herself to smile. "And a strong one, at that. I have to admit, Thiago, I sincerely admire you for deciding to accept her. It takes a rare man to treat his charity case with such respect and kindness."
"Charity case?" Thiago repeated. His voice grew wary. "That's not a term that has ever crossed my mind."
"What would you call her, then?" Arleda scoffed. She couldn't mask the scorn in her throaty chuckle. Arleda suddenly stopped twirling her hair. The silky strands of bubblegum-pink uncoiled from her fingers. "I assumed you were fucking her because she was available. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine the great Thiago Arris would have feelings at all, much less for a human girl."
"I think I've missed the part where this concerns you," said Thiago firmly. There was an air of finality to his voice. "This conversation is over. Let's move on."
"Oh, Thi-ger. I haven't upset you already, have I? You know what a kidder I am. What has gotten into you?"
"I'm not upset, but I think a change of topic would be beneficial for both of us."
"Let me rephrase things," Arleda drawled. She couldn't let the subject drop as she inched closer and closer to Thiago. He tried to move back, but sidling any further away from her would make him fall off the edge of the couch. "What I meant to say was that I think you're an inspiration for what you're doing here with Eden. It's revealing a new aspect of your personality I've never seen before. You have grown so much since we last parted ways."
"Evidently you haven't," Thiago replied coldly. The hair lining his arms stood up straight as a feeling of uneasiness stewed in the pit of his stomach. "Would you mind moving over a little? There's plenty of room on your end of the couch."
"Come on, Thiago," Arleda persisted. She sighed wistfully, her warm breath teasing Thiago's burning earlobes. "All I'm saying is, taking down Katakee was a rush. Didn't it bring back any memories of us and how well we worked together?" She slid her hand around his arm.
"Arleda, you need to let go of me," Thiago warned.
Thiago was quickly sobering up. His temples were pounding like a military drillmaster was screaming in his ears. He attempted to withdraw his arm from Arleda's iron grip, but her fingers only tightened around his wrist. Her nails clawed into his flesh, and she drew him in, smashing her lips against his. The sticky coating of her gilded gloss smeared against his closed mouth.
The timing was terrible, but Thiago heard the clear-cut clicking of the bathroom door as it unlocked. Eden's horrified face appeared in front of him. Thiago's sense of urgency overpowered Arleda's pure Arkadian strength, and he shoved her off onto the floor.
"Eden." Thiago's eyes were starting to water from the mixture of both smoke and the constant throbbing in his head. He staggered to his feet despite being dragged down by the anchor of Arleda's grasp.
The commotion woke up Hercules. The creature's eight legs teetered sloppily underneath him as he scrambled uncertainly to his feet. He didn't know what was happening, but he had gone from slumber to action in a moment. Hercules yapped instinctively in Thiago's defense as he became agitated in his nest tucked away in the corner of the living room.
"Eden, wait!"
When he finally managed to escape from Arleda's pawing hands, Thiago looked up to see the spaceship's front door sealing shut. Hercules' whimpers of confusion filled the now-silent room. The loyal creature trotted towards Thiago, burrowing his head into his brooding master's side. Perhaps sensing the Arkadian woman's contribution to the drama around him, Hercules snarled unpleasantly at Arleda when she rose from the couch behind them.
Thiago stamped on the door pedal and slipped through the doorway with Hercules and Arleda following closely behind him. Veins in his neck bulged in frustration as he paced around the spaceship. He searched all around the ship, but there was no trace of Eden.
"Let her go, Thiago. You know how emotional humans can get. If you give her a little space and some shiny things, Eden will be back to her old self." Arleda reached out to gently take his arm.
"Get out of my sight," Thiago hissed. He pulled himself away from Arleda and vaguely pointed in a random direction.
"Wait a minute, Thi-ger," said Arleda pleadingly. Her nervous laughter faded away when she saw the look of fury brewing in Thiago's eyes. "You don't mean that, do you?"
Without speaking, Thiago reached into his boot and pulled out a concealed laser pistol. He pointed the barrel of the bronze weapon straight at Arleda. Despite his intoxicated state, his outstretched arm remained perfectly still.
"I think I do."
Arleda stared at the muzzle of Thiago's gun before raising her eyes to meet his. She opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but decided against it. Whipping her hair over her shoulder, she lifted her nose into the air and complied. Trying to keep her composure, she marched away to her spaceship as her hips swayed and heels clicked into the night.
Muttering indescribable words filthy enough to make a sailor blush, Thiago threw his weapon onto the ground and returned to his ship.
* * *
"What do you know? I went all the way to the other side of the galaxy just to discover that men are still dogs over here."
Eden grumbled under her breath as she marched down the barren badlands of Glop territory. Avian squawks that sounded like a pack of wounded cats pierced through the darkening skies overhead. Glancing up at the vulture-sized, two-headed alien birds circling above her, Eden sped up her pace. She didn't know if they were waiting to eat her, and she didn't want to find out.
A chilly breeze blew past her. In the process of storming out of Thiago's ship in such a heated, mindless rush, she had forgotten to put on her coat and a sensible pair of shoes. She absently reached behind her collar in a futile search for the self-heating button on her jumpsuit, which she wasn't wearing.
Looking down at her outfit only further incited Eden's rage. She wore the designer ensemble Arleda had lent her for their party. The sleeveless halter jumpsuit patterned with pastel sequins looked better than it felt. Shivering, Eden wrapped her arms around herself, aimlessly heading north.
As she walked, she realized something unusual. There were no signs of life around her other than the alien birds patrolling the skies. All she saw was emptiness. There were no peaceful drifters, no Xorxes junkies...not even a single unrecognizable landmark in sight.
Eden's shoulders slunk down in dismay. Images flashed in her mind that she did not want to see. Her upper lip twitched at the thought of Arleda's hands wrapped firmly around Thiago's chin. She saw their lips locked together in the heat of uncontainable passion. She shook her head, flapping a hand in front of her face like she could physically remove the picture etched into her retinas.
The fact that the intimidating pair looked effortlessly beautiful together was an extra slap in the face. Did the aliens belong with each other? They had all the chemistry of a Grecian deity power couple.
It wasn't merely Thiago's inability to keep his hands to himself that bothered her. Eden was mad at Arleda as well. She couldn't help feeling foolish for believing, however briefly, Arleda was her friend. Arleda was the only female she could turn to for advice on this planet.
In hindsight, Arleda had not been subtle about her desires. It was always clear Arleda's lingering feelings for Thiago were more than "former work partners." But even though Eden had never verbalized her relationship with Thiago, Arle
da should have respected her boundaries.
As Eden gazed at the never-ending path that stretched in front of her, a wave of rationality came crashing down. It occurred to her that she hadn't given Thiago or Arleda a chance to explain themselves.
Eden thought about the lightheadedness that came as an aftereffect from the dolly grass blunts the trio had consumed. For Eden, she struggled just to get the zipper of her jumpsuit working correctly. Additionally, Thiago and Arleda had both drained three bottles of Pasquin ale in less than two hours.
Being under the influence was no excuse for their actions. But the more Eden thought about it, the gravity of their drunken indiscretion grew less severe. She wasn't thrilled with what happened or ready to forgive, but the notion of leaving everything behind seemed silly. Her brain was racing in circles, making up answers to her questions.
More to the point, where could she run? Earth was a long walk away.
Eden felt like a runaway child with an empty piggy bank and nowhere to go. She would have to make the long trek back home. She spun around indignantly, squinting in the distance. The faint tracks of her walk marked a path back to the campsite. With a sigh, she grudgingly began to retrace her steps.
"Eden!"
Eden looked up. Her ears burned red when she heard Arleda's voice. The Arkadian woman approached from the distance, her lustrous hair swishing in the wind like a shampoo commercial. The sight of Arleda brought Eden's temper rushing back. She cast Arleda a withering look before stomping away from her.
"Is this some more of your charity? Thanks, but no thanks. You didn't need to get me. I'm a big girl. I'll find my way back to the ship by myself."
"Eden, wait. Can you just hear me out?"
"About what? I'm not interested in learning the rules of alien girl code."
She felt a sharp pain in her leg. Eden's mouth went silent as she looked down to see the sharp needle of a syringe dart sticking out of her thigh. She gasped, finding it hard to breathe as she grabbed frantically at her throat. As the last drop of lime-green liquid inside the syringe disappeared, Eden's legs started to buckle under her. She crashed into the ground. Her icy limbs solidified as paralysis gradually took over her body.
Arleda grabbed Eden's cold ankle and started dragging the immobilized human to her spacecraft.
Chapter 25
A balding man wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a flannel shirt too large for his slim frame sat cross-legged upon the bank of a glittering pond. He held an old fishing pole between his legs and began to patch up the bait cast with silver masking tape. Satisfied, he looked over his shoulder, patting a vacant patch of grass next to him. A warm smile illuminated his sunken face.
"Come sit next to me, Eden."
Eden toddled over to the man using her stumpy legs. The man scooped her up just before her overexcited little legs sent her toppling over the brink of the bank. He set her down next to him, gently placing the hook of the fishing rod in her small palms. The child dug into the tub of live bait next to her. She giggled at the tiny creatures squirming against her fingers. The man took the wiggling bait from her and fixed it onto the hook.
"Are you ready, Eden?" the man asked. He placed his arms over hers, guiding her movements. "Remember what I told you. You have to flick your wrist back and then push forward."
"Okay."
"When you feel a nibble, what do you do?"
"I watch the line in the water. Then I pull."
"That's right. Go ahead. You can do it, Eden."
The tip of Eden's tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. The man removed his arms from her and allowed the child to cast the rod on her own. The tip of her rod dipped into the water with a soft splash. The bright red fishing bobber bounced on the rippling surface of the pond. Within mere seconds, her arms tugged forward at an unmistakable nibble on the other end of the line. The little girl's eyes popped wide open in gleeful excitement.
As the indicator line around the bobber sunk under the water, Eden pulled with all the giddy gusto of a young child. Water splashed around her as a thrashing fish jumped out of the surface and soared through the air, landing next to her. She glanced down at the fat rainbow trout flopping on the ground. It was nearly two feet from nose to tail. Beaming with pride, she turned around to brag about her capture.
"Dad, did you see what I just did? Dad?"
There was no answer.
Eden twirled around in panic. The man was gone. Her bottom lip began to tremble. She got up and began to look for her father. No matter how hard she tried to retrace her steps, her ruffled socks and Mary Janes only seemed to move around in circles.
Giving up, the child fell onto the cushion of the grass below her. As her eyes settled on the trout next to her, she tilted her head slightly to the side.
The shadows of an Arkadian symbol could be seen on the scales of the dead fish.
* * *
The pungent stench of sulfur blew into Eden's nostrils. She slowly woke up. It was a burden to lift her head from her shoulders. But as she sluggishly came to, numbing waves of hysteria washed over her system.
She found herself trapped in a vertical cage suspended high above the ground. A sturdy pair of handcuffs restrained her hands over her head. They were designed to impede all wrist movement.
The rusty chains dangling from the ceiling gave her a small amount of movement in her legs. A separate pair of restraints held her ankles in place. Everything was designed to keep her thrashing to a minimum. The muscles in her limbs nagged at her for depriving them of rest as she fought to keep herself standing up.
Eden inspected the walls of the cage with a sinking heart. Ominous bolts of red electricity sparked between the spaces of the black bars. She had as much chance of escaping containment as a roasted duck hanging in the display window of a Chinese restaurant.
She puckered her lips as she breathed loudly through her mouth. She tried to keep her mind calm as she studied her surroundings. The walls around her cage contained rows of capsules reaching higher than she could see. She stretched her neck forward, straining to get a better look at the mysterious vessels. They had a thick, gelatinous liquid the murky color of mucus and something Eden couldn't comprehend.
When she realized what was in the capsules, she gasped in shock. Along with a handful of humanoid captives, different races of aliens occupied the containers. The capsules permanently preserved their final haunting expressions before death. Eden tore her eyes away from the gruesome graveyard. She fought back the sour taste of bile rising in her throat.
The sprouts of moss growing from damp spots on the crumbling cavern walls suggested she was underground. As she saw dozens of uniformed Noxx officials pouring in through a doorway on her right, she realized where she was.
Bounty hunters had been on a quest to uncover the lair of the Noxx army for years. She was in the middle of it. Thiago would love this place if he could ever find it.
"Hey, assholes! Let me out of here!" Eden said in disgust.
Eden pulled back as her gob of spit bounced off the sparking cage bars and deflected back on her face. The heads of the aliens shifted up to listen to the shrieks of the human prisoner. One was startled more than the others. The bungling official struck the back of his head on a hanging wall fixture. He reeled over dizzily before another alien swooped in and caught him.
"You! You there with the lazy eye! Stop acting like you can't hear me. I know you can. Go ahead, guys, walk away from me all you want. I've got a whole playlist of horrible pop songs in my arsenal, and I'm not afraid to use them! I'll give you a fair warning. I can't carry a tune to save my life."
The Noxx officials continued as if she hadn't said anything. A few shielded their ears to block out Eden's obnoxiously shrill voice. She cleared her throat theatrically. When she started belting the tune to one of her favorite childhood TV shows, a few aliens cried out boisterously in protest.
Eden's mouth shriveled shut as the door to the central entryway opened. A Noxx d
ressed in a unique set of black army fatigues strode into the room. He was much taller than the guards. In addition to the Noxx's imposing height, there were distinctive chocolate-brown markings shaped in a lopsided V between his eyes. Before, the officials were at ease. After their superior entered, they quietly moved to form neat lines.
Arleda quickly joined him. "I'm interested to know your thoughts on the cargo, Malatov."
The pair ascended a long flight of steps leading to the pedestal on which Eden's cage rested. Eden cowered before them, burying her face in her arms as the pair leaned in and examined her. Malatov snarled, his guttural roar frightening everyone as it echoed through the space of the underground cavern.
"Look at me."
Involuntarily, Eden's head moved up from her arm. Disobeying the commanding voice was difficult. As Malatov sized her up, she couldn't stop her teeth from chattering. At this proximity, the Noxx leader was worse than she had imagined.
Malatov probed her with his fiery amber eyes. The one on his left was sewn partially shut and only exposed a sliver of a congealed, severely infected eye socket. The grayed feathers that adorned his head drooped from age. Exquisite, time-worn tattoos covered the gleaming white scales of the bowling ball-sized muscles bulging from his arms.
Arleda beamed alongside him. She sneaked a cheeky wink in Eden's direction. The Arkadian woman's hair was pulled away from her face in a sleek ponytail, displaying her beautiful chin and close-lipped smile in its full glory.
"Are you sure you've brought me the correct tramp? This one's human, for goodness sake."
"Trust me, this is the one. It looks like Thiago's got himself a new fetish for Earth skanks. The half-breed's finally showing his true colors, I suppose."