by Catty Diva
“Glad to see you. You’ll be happy to know I’m getting the most money out of you. I’m sure Orvil will take excellent care of you.” He chuckled evilly.
She just stared at him. Donnie had learned a long time ago not to engage with Darren. It magnified the odds that he would dole out physical abuse. Maybe the next person she belonged to would be nicer. Whoever he was, he’d paid a lot of money for her.
They led the subjects onto the ship and let them sit in seats. “Everyone put on your shoulder harnesses. This is for your own safety. If you don’t follow all my instructions, you will go into the cargo hold and be placed in a cage.” A man who seemed to be in charge stated.
Donnie did as he told her. There were two guards with guns and she didn’t feel like testing their reflexes right now. These people were treating them better than she’d been treated since she hit her teens. Donnie was going to go with the flow.
When everyone was strapped in, the man went to the front of the ship. Maybe he was the pilot, she wasn’t sure. Donnie looked around and counted twenty other subjects. How did Darren believe that would go unnoticed? It occurred to her that he didn’t. One of the guards would be sacrificed, probably killed when they attempted to take him in for questioning.
She figured it would be Neal since he wasn’t usually part of Darren’s group. Donnie didn’t like Neal, but she hated the thought that he’d be killed for no reason other than to cover for Darren. Her dislike of Darren ratcheted higher. It served the lab right to be taken advantage of and cheated in this way. Darren was the kind of man that the lab liked to hire.
Donnie felt the spaceship begin to move. It zoomed off the bay and into open space. She stared along with the other subjects at the dark areas with stars spread all around. For most it was probably an everyday sight, for them it was an amazing first look at the real sky.
Even though she’d worried that she might get space sick, she didn’t. Instead, she found she couldn’t stay awake and drifted off to sleep. When she woke, her mouth was dry and she had a slight headache. Looking around she saw some of the others were still asleep and those that were awake showed signs of shaking off a recent nap. The asshole had gassed them to make moving them easier.
She had seen that on a movie the guards had watched on the wall near her cell. At the time, she’d thought something like that unlikely to be done and hard to pull off. Wouldn’t they smell the gas? Apparently not. There had been no sign of it at all and all the subjects had been distracted by their first trip in space.
Since they were all waking, she assumed they were close to their destination. Even had they been awake, none of them would know where they were. They were like lambs being led to slaughter. The world was unknown to them and they were too weak to fight effectively. No one cared about them because only those that used them knew they even existed.
A feeling of helplessness hit her but she tried to overlook it. Her body might be weak, but her mind and her character was strong. She refused to panic until there was a clear reason to do so. The ship seemed to be slowing down and Donnie feared that reason might be waiting for them.
Minutes later the ship pulled into a loading bay on a huge ship. The guy that had instructed them before came back out to them. “My name is Ricardo. I was born and bred in one of the labs that was liberated early on. I’ve had time to deal with what was done to me. The Mazlans helped me to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. This was it. I wanted to free more of the people that were still being held in labs. The ship we are on is a Mazlan ship. There are people who will help you to adjust to the new world you are now a part of. You will be given food, clothing, a place to stay, and a chance to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life. I am sorry I had to knock you out. Darren insisted on it. Don’t worry, he will be getting his soon. The door is about to open. When it does, exit the ship single file in an orderly fashion. You will be met by someone who will assist you. You will need to have a roommate so if there is someone onboard you feel comfortable with, pair up now.”
Donnie was floored. Of all the scenarios she had imagined in her mind, this had not been one of them. They were all frozen in shock for a moment before everyone burst into action. No one was doing the order but they were moving single file for the most part. A few had paired off, but most hadn’t. Donnie had been in the front near the door so she found herself being jostled forward.
As she stepped out the door and down the ramp, a pretty woman met her. “Hello. My name is Jazzy and I will help you get settled in.”
“I’m Donato, but they call me Donnie.”
“That’s a lovely name. Have you picked a partner yet?”
“No, most of us were kept isolated. I don’t know many of my fellow residents.”
“Hey, why don’t you join us?” Jazzy asked the next lady off the ship who was standing there looking lost.
“Okay.”
“What’s your name? I’m Jazzy and this is Donnie.”
“I’m Hildy. Donnie looks familiar. I was in section C. I think you were moved through once?”
“Yes, I was trying to place you. I was in section A.”
“Okay, girls. Let’s get you a room. This is a luxury ship and they will treat you good. Your room will be on the third floor, C-section. There will be two beds and a bathroom to share. There are two desk areas with laptops that will be yours for good. It’s a gift from the Mazlans. Once I sign you in to your room, I will take you to the cafeteria for your first meal.”
Chapter 6
She’s Gone
Gabe returned to work the next day. The cart loaded with breakfast trays sat where it usually did and he pushed it into his section ahead of him. After he closed the door, he pushed it to the first cell, Donnie’s. It hit him hard when he realized she was gone.
Neal was gone so there was no asking him where she was. There was no point in reporting it since he wasn’t sure that she wasn’t in testing or hadn’t been moved out of the section. Most moves happened at night. The reasoning was that subjects were too tired to cause any trouble.
That was true all the time as little food as the subjects were fed. Gabe worried as he handed out the meals and at lunch, he still hadn’t seen Donnie and no one had told him anything. Darren and his court of jesters were in the cafeteria and looking very full of themselves. Their mood was festive which was always bad for someone.
“Hey, Gabe. Come over here. I have some bad news for you.” Darren yelled. All his jokers started to laugh insanely. Dread rushed over Gabe, this wouldn’t be good.
“What did you want to tell me, Devil?” Gabe asked and he ignored the gasps from the men sitting by Darren caused by his use of the nickname Darren hated.
“Neal, the nightshift guard disappeared with twenty-five subjects including little Donato. I heard you liked her. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news and all that. The facility put a bounty on his head and reward for the return of the subjects. Who knows, someone might bring them all back.”
Gabe felt his heart freeze in his chest. He hid his reaction through the self-control he’d developed from years of undercover work. “Too bad. Kind of looks bad on whoever is in charge of the guards. Oh, sorry man. That’s you isn’t it?” Chuckling, he walked away.
Now he had to get his food and eat without showing any sign that he cared about the news he’d just been given. It was one of the hardest meals he’d ever sat through. Halfway through the meal, Darren and his buddies got up and left. Once he finished eating, Gabe went to the gym to work out. Thankfully, it was empty.
Few of the regular guards worked out, only Darren. The gym was state of the art and no expense had been spared. There was even a hot tub to ease overused muscles. Moon Hunters headquarters had a similar gym only it was packed all the time.
Moon Hunters were required to be in top physical shape at all times. It was weird the facility didn’t seem to have any similar requirements. Maybe they found it hard just to get a warm body to stand by the door. Getting people who
were fit and well trained would be harder.
Gabe pounded on the punching bag letting all his frustration and worry loose on it. “Damn, Man. What did that bag ever do to you?” Steve asked.
Gabe almost jumped. He hadn’t noticed anyone come in because he’d been focused on hitting the bag. It was a good thing it was Steve and not Darren.
“Haven’t you heard?”
“Heard what?”
“Twenty subjects and Neal disappeared last night.”
“Shit! I hadn’t heard. What was he thinking?”
“He must not have been. Maybe he was in trouble and decided to raise money the dangerous way,” Gabe guessed.
In honesty, Gabe was sure Darren was behind it all. Neal didn’t have the guts or the brains to loop the surveillance footage or carry out a complicated plan. It wouldn’t have been easy to get a pilot and not only get the subjects out of their cells, but to the landing bay. That took planning, not to mention a lot of help. Was Jameson so stupid that he believed Darren or was he in on it?
“It’s amazing that Neal managed to pull that off.”
“Still waters run deep.”
“Are we talking about the same Neal I knew? Nothing deep about that guy.” Steve insisted.
“Yeah, well I’d stay and talk, but I need to get to bed. Tomorrow is another day and all that. See you around.”
“Bye, Gabe.”
Steve went one way and Gabe went the other. He followed the hallway to his room where he showered and got ready for bed. As he lay there waiting for sleep to come, he prayed that the raid would be soon. The longer Donnie was gone, the harder it would be to track her. If twenty subjects were gone and there was no surveillance evidence, they could be anywhere.
Darren was behind it, but that Devil would be hard to break. The man was full of pride and he would hold out even when the Mazlans or the Phoenix applied their unusual interrogation techniques. They might get their answers, but if he delayed them, anything could happen to Donnie in the meanwhile.
Chapter 7
Freedom
Jazzy was a godsend. The woman not only related to them, she had been there as a child. She told them her whole story ending with how Cash had given her a job, training, support, and a group of coworkers that had become a family to her.
“Did either of you see a guy named Gabe?” Jazzy asked and Donnie froze.
“No, but I heard there was a new guy named Gabe.” Hildy replied.
“Yes, he was assigned to my section.” Donnie admitted.
“Was he alright?” Jazzy asked worry clearly on her face.
“He was fine when I left, but they were suspicious of him. They were digging into his background and monitoring him closely. They thought he may have been sent in as a spy.” Donnie explained.
“He was. Gabe is a Moon Hunter. The raid is going down in the morning and there’s no way to move things up.” Jazzy admitted.
“He should be alright. Jameson the manager told the guard supervisor to lay off him unless or until they have proof.” Donnie offered.
“Does Gabe know they’re onto him?” Jazzy wondered.
“I told him. He seemed more concerned with them thinking he liked me than anything I told him. Gabe and Darren, the guard supervisor, hate each other. Some really bad blood there after Gabe beat the shit out of him in a sparring match,” Donnie added.
“Gabe shouldn’t have done that.” Jazzy said.
“The last guy Darren fought had his neck broken. He died before the medics could help him,” Donnie described.
“The guy is a real piece of work. The call him the Devil,” Hildy declared.
“They call him that not only because he behaves like one but he has one tattooed on his head,” Donnie added.
“I guess all we can do is hope for the best,” Jazzy said.
“Are you and Gabe involved?” Donnie asked. She was jealous and she found she couldn’t help it.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Jazzy explained. “Now that we have you logged into your room and you both know how to get back in, let’s hit the cafeteria and get something to eat.”
“I’m starved,” Hildy admitted.
“You’ll like the food and you can have all you want. I suggest you stop when you’re full so you don’t get sick. The food here is richer than what you’re used to. We even have dessert so save a little room for that.” Jazzy led them to the cafeteria. They could smell good food cooking before they got there.
It was hard to imagine being allowed to pick what you ate. How would she know what to get? Since she’d had such limited choices, she didn’t even know what she liked. Once they got in line, Jazzy made some suggestions. “Get a little of everything and you can come back and get more if you want to.”
Donnie thought that made sense but a little of everything was still a lot. She found she liked almost everything. Hildy seemed overwhelmed by the choices and the flavors available to them too. “You’ll get used to it,” Jazzy said as if she realized how difficult all the new sights, sounds, and tastes were for them. Maybe she did.
Once they were done eating, they took their trays and put their dishes, trash, utensils, and glasses where they belonged. “If you guys are tired, you can go back to your room. If you’re not, I can set you up on a computer in the library. I’ll show you how to send whatever you are working on to your computer in your room so you can work there if you want to.”
“I’d like to go to the library,” Donnie said.
“Me too,” Hildy agreed.
“Just follow me,” Jazzy instructed. She took off at a good pace and they followed her.
Donnie looked around at the library. It was a large room with computer stations set up all around the edge. It had bookshelves in front of the computer stations and tables with chairs in the center.
“We have meetings in here to go over the information you’re learning,” Jazzy explained. “We get you started on what you need to know for your new lives. You’ll work at your own pace, but certain information will be given out from vids and speeches. There’s a lot to learn, but you’ll enjoy most of it.”
“What won’t we enjoy?” Hildy asked.
“I don’t know. Everyone has a subject they don’t like or struggle to understand. I don’t like calculus. I managed to get through it, but I hated it,” Jazzy explained.
“What is this calculus?” Donnie asked.
“Higher level math. It’s dry and for me hard to understand,” Jazzy admitted.
“No one is good at everything,” Donnie comforted.
“That’s exactly what I meant. We all have our weaknesses,” Jazzy declared. “Both of you pick a station and I’ll get you started.”
They sat near each other but left a station in between so Jazzy could sit. She gave them step by step instructions and the program they entered was amazing. First, they would test to see where they were academically. Donnie had learned to read and write at a young age, Hildy had learned little. She read at a kindergarten level and couldn’t write at all.
Hildy was set up at a beginning level in the program. Donnie was set up at the start of seventh grade. It was her time as a child with Dr. Maria that had given her the education she had. Otherwise, she and Hildy would have both started out at the beginner’s level.
She went through the list of subjects and the number of lessons in each. This would take her a while to do. “If Hildy doesn’t mind, I’m ready to go back to our room and get comfortable before I tackle this.”
“No, I’m ready too,” Hildy agreed.
Donnie felt overwhelmed by all the work ahead of her, but it was hard to feel sorry for herself when Hildy had a harder row to hoe.
“Do you need me to help you find your room or are you okay on your own?” Jazzy asked.
“We’ll be fine,” Donnie said with a smile.
“If you run into trouble, any crewmember can help you,” Jazzy said before she headed out.
They followed her out of the library, but Jazzy h
eaded away from where Donnie thought their room was. “Are you sure we shouldn’t have let her lead us back?” Hildy asked.
“No, but even if we get lost, we’re making our own decisions,” Donnie replied. Of course, worrying about getting lost was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Which way did you say you thought our room was?” Hildy asked with a laugh. “Hey, there’s a crewmember who can direct us to out section. He’s cute too.”
“Only you would worry about getting a date when we’re lost,” Donnie said as they made their way to the young man.
“Excuse me. Could you direct us to our room?” Hildy asked and then she explained where it was.
“I can do better than that. I’d be honored to escort you there myself. I’m Dorian,” He said.
“I’m Hildy and this is Donnie.”
“I’m pleased to meet you both. Just follow me.” Hildy stayed right behind Dorian and they chatted as he led them to their room. Donnie kept her eyes open trying to memorize the path they were taking. “Here you go, Ladies. Hildy. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night.”
“Thank you,” They both said at the same time as Dorian left them in front of their room.
“I see you got a date. I’m glad for you,” Donnie said. It made her think about Gabe and what was going on with him.
“I did, didn’t I?” Hildy giggled.
Donnie used her voice command to open the door and they went in. “I think I’ll take a nap,” Hildy said.
“Do you mind if I get on the computer?” Donnie asked. She was too excited about starting the learning program to wait any longer.
“No, knock yourself out.”
“Thanks,” Donnie said as she dropped into the desk chair and turned the computer on.
An hour later, she completed her first lesson in math. Donnie had an aptitude for math even though she found it a bit boring. She was hoping it might slow her mind down and get her in the right mood to take a nap too. She got in bed and must have fallen asleep right away. When she woke, she felt rested and it was time for supper. Hildy was still asleep so she woke her too.