by Zara Zenia
"Hmmm... Yeah, maybe."
The Glarphs were tall and ethereal with long limbs that were almost elastic and skin that glowed a faint violet. They could choke a man with their arms, wrapping themselves around their opponents like serpents around prey.
"Glarphs..." he says while holding his hands up in front of him. "They. Would. Be. Fun. They’re so bendy."
We shared a chuckle. Picking up his pipe, he lit the end of it and passed it over to me.
"Ok, this is my last hit. I really need to start training for the fight tomorrow."
"Relax!" he slapped me on the back. "You deserve to be rewarded. You're one of the best we've got."
I sucked in the vapors of the dust and breathed out a plume of smoke. Remarrying... It almost seemed impossible. I couldn't imagine a world where I could get close to a woman again, let alone marry them. But hypothetically, I guessed it wasn't a crime to just imagine. I wouldn't pick a Glarph. Yes, they were beautiful. Yes, they were tremendous warriors, but they were also conceited and vain. They loved attention, found lying to be as easy as breathing and were often prone to temper tantrums within the blink of an eye. I would surely want to share my life with someone more grounded, someone who could also be my friend.
Then I thought about the conversation earlier and the scar down the shadow boxer's face. Nasty Natasha... Now if ever I were to find someone attractive it would be her. Humans, it would seem, were savage creatures who were cunning and wild. Yet their females were also dazzlingly beautiful and seldom seemed to care. Natasha, with her long, flowing hair and curvaceous figure, cared not for whether people looked at her or found her attractive. She just wanted to fight and more importantly, she wanted to win.
"Humans," I suddenly blurted out.
"Eh?" Davoth looked over at me.
"Human females. If ever I need another wife I’d pick a human."
"Humans! They could kill you with a look. They can make you sick by passing on viruses in the mucus inside their bodies. They are biological time bombs, not to mention they're stupid. They're destroying their own planet as we speak. They're obsessed with trouble, that's their problem. I'd stay away, buddy. Don't go messing with a human."
But I wasn’t listening to him. I was thinking of Natasha and wondering whether all other human females were as fierce as her.
I rarely left the arena. After all, it had everything I needed, a floor to sleep on, people to talk to and a grueling training regime. Not to mention my job was my life. It was everything I thought about. Now I stood in front of a building I'd never seen before and it couldn't look more different to the arena. It was short and squat, painted a pristine white and looked so...friendly. My palms were sweaty as I pushed the door open and my heart began to race when I saw a sweet, little, old lady sitting at the reception.
"Hello!" she beamed. "Welcome to Celestial Mates. How may I help you?"
"I have an appointment with a registration clerk," I said with a dry mouth.
"Brilliant!" she smiled. "Why don't you take a seat over there and she'll be right with you. Here’s a leaflet you can read while you wait."
It felt weird, really weird. I took a seat and a moment later, a tall girl in a white coat came out to greet me. Leading me into her office, she gestured for me to sit across from her desk. It was all so formal and serious.
"Ok, so... Have you ordered a mail order bride before from Celestial Mates?" she asked as she began to type on her device.
"No."
“Have you ordered a mail order bride before from any other agency?”
“No.”
"Have you been married before?"
"Yes," I hung my head. "She...passed, so did my children."
She stopped typing and looked up.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, sir."
"It's ok."
Turning back to her device, she resumed her line of questioning.
"Occupation?"
"Gladiator."
"Ooooh. My husband goes to the arena."
"Then there's a chance he would have seen me win."
She smiled and continued with her note-taking.
"I have to say, you're a very impressive man. I don't think there'll be a problem finding you a suitable wife."
I nodded and smiled politely while inside all I could think about was my first family. It felt strange and wrong and my stomach churned. Sensing my unease, the clerk reached out and held my hand.
"I can see you have some reservations," she said. "We have a lot of widowers who use our service but I can assure you one thing, your wishes will be treated with utmost respect."
"Thank you," I said and pulled away from her.
She smiled and sat up straight, smoothing her hands down her skirt.
"Now then, would you like to see the options?"
Chapter 4
Carina
The barrels were getting heavier, I was sure of it. Either that or I was getting weaker. I carried one on my back down the ramp, my legs wobbling beneath me as I struggled to carry the weight. It was bearing down heavily on my wounds, making me wince with every step. Behind me, Marco was carrying his barrel with relative ease.
"Be careful at the bottom," he said. "It's narrow."
"I know, Marco. You say the same thing all the time."
"Sorry," he whimpered. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"I'm already hurt," I moaned.
We walked in silence for a moment until we reached the bottom of the ramp. I watched as he hurled his barrel into the compression chamber then he took mine from me.
"Thanks," I said with a weak smile. "I really need the help."
He looked at my back. My clothes were stuck to my skin with dried blood.
"I heard about what happened," he hung his head.
Behind him, I could see one of the masters in the watchtower looking down at us. Another few seconds and he'd be coming down here, shouting at us to get back to work. I began to walk away back up the ramp to collect another barrel.
"Hey, come back!" Marco chased after me.
He caught up and grabbed me by the arm. I was too weak to pull away.
"I heard about what a psychopath that master was" he muttered in my ear as we walked. "They're bastards, absolute cruel devils."
"I know."
"The guard who did that, I'd kill him if I could."
"You'd do no such thing, Marco. You're too nice for your own good."
"I would!"
Reaching the top of the ramp, I suddenly felt a pain in my right side and bent over, clutching at my stomach.
"Fuck!"
"What's wrong?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around me.
"Just hunger pains," I explained. "They've been getting worse but we'll be able to eat tomorrow, won't we?"
"If we're lucky," he said. "Which we rarely are."
We continued with our work, making sure that the masters never caught us talking for too long.
"Hey, I've been thinking," he said.
"Don't do it too much," I replied. "The masters don't like you thinking."
He rolled his eyes.
"Fuck the masters."
"Don't say that! They'll hear you!"
"Will you just listen to me for a moment? Here, come hide a moment."
I was terrified of being caught but was too weak to resist. I let him lead me around the corner into the shadows.
"I've been thinking. There's a way we can have a better life."
I eyed him suspiciously.
"If we marry..."
"Stop right there!"
"I'm serious. If we marry, then they'll give us more rights. They always feed couples because they want us to breed and have healthy children. That way they can grow their workforce. Marry me, Carina. It'll make your life easier. There'll be no more whippings, you'll be fed at least once a day and you won't have to lift these barrels anymore. They'd probably send you to the other side of the mill where you won't have to lift so much."
The thought of
marriage hung in my mind but for a moment. It did seem tempting but...
"I'm sorry, Marco. I really appreciate the offer and I understand what you're trying to do but I just can't. I'll never have children down here. I couldn't bear the thought of them having the childhood that I had."
He glanced away with wet eyes and trembling hands.
"Okay, but consider it, won't' you? At least think about it."
"I'll think about it," I said. "But I doubt I'll change my mind."
Heavy footsteps began creeping around the corner.
"Quick!" I gasped. "Get back to work!"
The master stared at me but I couldn't figure out what he was thinking. As far as I could tell, I wasn't doing anything wrong and I was working as fast as my meager frame would let me. What was he thinking? As I neared the bottom of the ramp, he approached with a predatory glint in his eye.
"Carina."
I ignored him, too terrified to make eye contact.
"Carina!" he repeated. "You always were one of the prettiest ones."
I kept my head down and tried to ignore him but he stood in my path.
"Carina, Carina... I suppose you haven't heard of the program yet."
Looking up, my inquisitive eyes met his.
"There are uses for girls like you outside the mine," he said.
What is he talking about? Pushing my barrel into the chamber while struggling to catch my breath, I turned to walk away, but he reached out a leather gloved hand and pulled at the back of my shirt.
"Look into it, won't you?"
"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
He smirked and pointed to a poster up on the wall. It wasn't often that I looked at signs because I simply didn't need to anymore. They were usually propaganda-filled messages encouraging us to work faster and harder under false pretenses. But as I followed his finger, I realized this was a new one and it wasn't like all the others.
HUMAN FEMALES REQUIRED FOR INTERGALACTIC BRIDAL OPPORTUNITIES – CELESTIAL MATES AGENCY
What the hell?
"Mail order brides?" I gasped.
He nodded.
"We've joined the program," he said. "The governor liked the idea of earning a commission on every sweet piece of ass he sent into space."
I stared at it for a long while. There was a photo of a ship with a beautiful girl standing in front of it, her suitcase hanging from her perfectly manicured hand. Her smile was wide and her hair immaculately coiffed. She didn't look a thing like me.
"I can't do that," I whispered to myself more than the master.
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "You are young and ripe. A girl like you would fetch a considerable commission for the governor and of course, no more whippings for you."
No more whippings.
"And no more carrying heavy barrels?" I asked.
"You'll never see one again."
It was then that I realized this was the longest I'd ever spoken with a master.
Glancing back at the poster, I wondered if there was a chance I could ever look as happy as that girl with the bouncing curls and designer suitcase.
The master produced a piece of folded paper from his pocket.
"I've been told to give you this," he said.
I took it from him and it shivered in my quivering fingers.
"It's an application form," he explained. "You can read and write, can't you?"
"A little. My mother taught me."
My mother, what would she say about this? It was her dream to escape from here and she wanted more for me than a life of slavery and pain. I looked the master square in the eye and said:
"I'll do it."
I had been summoned to the governor's office. I’d heard tales over the years that in the outside world there were schools and if you misbehaved in these schools then you were sent to the principal's office. I, of course, had never experienced this but I thought this experience may have been the closest thing. I had the same symptoms that my peers had, sweaty palms, a jittery stomach and a sense of dread.
In all my years down in the mine, I had never once visited this area of the complex. Even when my parents died and I was ripped from my sisters, I wasn't given any sort of briefing. I was merely taken back to the water mill and told to pick up a tiny barrel.
"Carina Phillips?"
The secretary's voice was faint as she poked her head out the door.
"Carina Phillips!" she said again, this time annoyed that I wasn't responding to her.
"Yes! That's me. Sorry."
I leaped up and made my way over.
"The governor is ready to see you now."
As I stepped into his office, I was immediately struck by the splendor of the room. The ceilings were high and the surfaces clean. My fingers grazed a bookshelf as I walked in and I was surprised to see that no grime or dirt was deposited on my skin.
"Carina, please take a seat."
My previous experience of a seat was a rock in which I could catch my breath and tear my teeth into a stale piece of bread. This, however, was a deep, leather armchair that cradled me as I sank into it. It was the closest thing to a hug I'd felt in years.
The governor sat at his desk, leaning on his elbows with a pen in one hand and a smile on his face. Smiling? I thought. That’s not normal.
"Hello, Carina. So Master Wilkins told you about the opportunities."
"Yes, he gave me the form."
"And you are keen to be on the program?"
"Erm, Yes. I think so."
He started to scribble notes before turning to his computer screen.
"You've been most fortunate, Carina, because it took no time at all to find you a match."
"Really?"
His lips spread into a lecherous grin as he swiveled the computer screen around. I was confronted with the image of a blue man. My eyes widened in shock. What the hell is that?
There's no need to be frightened, Carina. This man is to be your husband."
"Husband!"
"There's really no need to be so dramatic," he rolled his eyes. "His name is Gar'zul and he is paying good money to have you shipped out of Earth to be his bride. You should count yourself lucky, he is wealthy and strong, a great gladiator. Most girls would be most fortunate to marry such a man."
"Yes... Sorry, it was just a shock. He's blue."
"A lot of aliens are."
"And he's so big!"
"His notes here say he is almost eight feet tall."
I gulped.
"So, I assume you will take this opportunity," he said.
It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes," I said.
Anything to get out of the mine.
A few minutes later it had all been processed and once again, the screen had been turned around to face me.
"Do you know what this is?" asked the governor.
It was just a wall of text. I leaned forward to read it but it just seemed like a bunch of legal definitions I didn't understand.
"This is your contract," he explained. "It was written up before you were even born."
I glared at it.
"You mother signed it as soon as the bump was showing."
He pointed to the bottom, left-hand corner. My mother's signature was an untidy scrawl like she had been in a hurry.
"But I have good news Carina. Now that you are to no longer be an employee of Kovicha-Markell Consolidated Water Inc, this contract is to be annulled."
"Does that mean destroyed?"
He chuckled.
"Absolutely!"
His deft fingers fluttered across the keyboard.
"Bear witness to this," he said.
He pressed the delete key and the contract vanished before my eyes.
"You are free to go."
He stood up and took my skinny hand between his meaty fingers, shaking it furiously as though we had just made the most lucrative business deal.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you, sir."
I was on my way back down the stairs when I saw Marco waiting for me at the bottom.
"Is it true?" he cried.
"Yes. I'm leaving."
"No!"
As I reached the bottom, he struck out to grab me but I dodged around him.
"How can you do this to me?" he wailed.
"I'm not doing anything to you."
"You won't marry me but you'll devote your life to a stranger on another planet! Why?"
"Please, I can't talk about this right now. I have to pack."
"Pack?"
"The shuttle leaves in an hour."
Going to pack. It would take about three seconds. After all, I never had the chance to own anything.
"Don't do it!" Marco pleaded as he followed me to the sleeping quarters. "I beg you. Please!"
"I'm going, Marco. It's been settled. My contract here has been annulled."
His jaw dropped and his sunken eyes grew even wider.
"I'm going," I repeated. "I can't change my mind now."
Once in the female dormitory, I saw my roommates huddled together at one end. As I approached, I saw they were sharing a small chunk of bread. They all turned to me.
"We heard the news," one of them said.
"Already?"
"Everyone knows."
I hung my head, worried that they would hate me somehow or think of me as a traitor.
"Marco isn't happy about it," I said.
"Well we are!" one of the girls chimed in.
"Really, we couldn't be happier," said another. "I'd go if I could."
"I'm scared," I said. "I've never lived outside the mine before."
"I'd rather be scared out there than scared in here," she said as she hugged me. "You're so brave."
"Right now I don't feel very brave."
I began throwing my few possessions into a sack the governor had handed me. Then it was time to go. I spent a long while staring at the mat on the floor that, over the years, had become my sanctuary.
"Goodbye," I said as I began to cry.
"Don't forget us!" called one of the girls as I walked out the door.
"I never will!"
It was time to board the shuttle.