by Iaz Grant
She reached for the large bath towel someone, Cora, she thought, had left hanging on the bathroom hook and wrapped herself in it. There was a smaller one which she used to wrap her hair. She exited the bathroom and entered the room prepared for her. Her languid feeling evaporated on seeing Cora.
This wasn’t just a relaxing bath. It was her first bath in this place that was a prison to her.
“Do you feel better now?” That was Cora, addressing her.
“Yes, I do, thank you very much.”
“So, I brought you some essentials; clothes, underwear, body products, sanitary wear and other stuff. If you need anything, be sure to let me know, my room is two doors before yours.”
She nodded her head and tried a smile, after which Cora took her leave, giving her privacy to dress up.
She quickly dressed herself up in proper underwear and a knee length satin nightgown that looked like it was comfortable after which she walked up to the window and looked out. The previously clear sky was giving way to dusk. It would be night time soon. Against her will, memories of other nights buried her in their avalanche.
How she enjoyed sitting in the recliner on her verandah back home between this period of dusk and nightfall. The kaleidoscope of colors had never failed to enchant and make her smile. And then, they were other nights when it was just her and Zebb, talking far into the evening about even the most inconsequential things, watching movies, playing games and just generally being children again. She missed her friend, and she hoped he didn’t blame himself for not being able to save her. Knowing him, he might be doing just that, beating himself up for something that was not in any way his fault. Zebb wanted to save the world, and it was a bitter pill to swallow when he found out that he couldn’t.
The tears coursed down her cheeks unchecked. She wasn’t even aware they were there. Her mind drifted to the station that was home to her and had been her entire life. She wondered how many people had been killed that unfateful day the slavers attacked their station; she wondered how a home was. How was her father, and how was he taking the news of her disappearance. And all of the destruction, the carnage was for what? For more money, more fame? It broke her heart how meaningless life had become in the face of ephemeral material things.
“Ma’am”
Helena jolted back into awareness, her head turning sharply towards the unfamiliar voice. Her brain registered absently that it was already fully dark outside. When had that happened? The room radiated a blue night from one of the three light sources it had.
Before she was a man who looked to be three, maybe four years older than her. His hair looked like it was black but then, she couldn’t tell as the overhead blue light was distorting everything. He was probably a little over 6 feet, just a few inches taller than she was. Even with the lighting, she could see that he was well built, the way the soldiers at home were.
“Yes, what can I do for you?” it was silly of her to sound so regal, she knew, because she would have to do whatever he wanted her to do. But she promised herself that whatever happened, they would not break her and moreover, he sounded like an okay guy.
“You are being summoned.” She sighed. She didn’t want to push her luck and ask the obvious question of who was summoning her. She did not wish to risk incurring his wrath and at the end, he was just doing his job.
She picked up a shawl and he stood aside to let her pass. They walked through the same foyer she had walked earlier that day with Cora. The man took her through another passageway before rapping on a massive door.
“Come in,” a voice, the voice grunted.
The man who escorted her opened the door and gently pushed her inside after which, he closed it behind her.
The room was dimly lit, and it smelled heavily of incense. Her eyes were drawn to the huge bed that took up half the room. The ceiling was high, most likely to accommodate the occupant and still have space.
“There she is, my prize.” That voice again. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of being covered by him, no matter what.
He was in a corner of the room that was even dimmer than the rest. She turned to face him, feigning strength that she didn’t feel. Her eyes were getting adjusted to the lighting of the room, and she could see that he was naked. She wanted to gag. If anything, he looked even more repulsive to her. It appeared that he had taken a wash, the only reason she thought so being that his face seemed to be shades lighter than it was previously making his eyes stand out starkly. How could something so despicable even exist in the form of a being? What kind of cosmic imbalance had contrived to allow that to happen?
He moved towards her and she shivered against her will. She could see that he was enjoying her discomfort. She was the race in this race of cat and rat, and he was relishing the moment when he would gobble her up.
The thought of that slimy skin against hers and those claws on her body made her want to vomit.
She wanted to die. Anything would be better than this.
He advanced toward her and made sniffing sounds like he smelled her and was inhaling in the smell of her. She could feel goosebumps stand out on her arms and legs. Suddenly, without warning, he pulled her away from the door and threw her forcefully on the bed. She yelped as her body connected with a solid mass.
It was a woman, completely naked, and sprawled on the bed.
The poor, dim lighting made it impossible to make out any distinctive features, but she had the impression of a tall woman with a lot of hair.
It seemed like the beast had a type of human women too.
The woman made no reaction to being suddenly slammed by Helena’s body, and she wondered if maybe, she was asleep. She doubted it; nobody would be able to sleep with this thing in the same room.
Did he plan on having a threesome? She thought, her heart beating like a caged bird in her chest.
“It is my time of the month,” she blurted out and watched his eyes and become even sharper if that was possible. She didn’t know if it was fear that had pushed her to announce the “news” in that manner. Not that she had rehearsed any particular way of saying it but she wished she could have managed it with less fear and more certainty infused in her voice.
“Is that so,” he said, not exactly a question. He was advancing towards the bed, with one clawed hand lazily stroking himself.
“I’m not lying to you. This is not something I could lie about”, she hurried on, anything to keep him away from her.
She didn’t even see it coming. His hand snaked out and jerked her to her feet. Before she could gather her wits, he tore the satin nightgown she had on in one quick swipe and pulled her underwear down.
“Albeit, it does seem like you are telling the truth.” She didn’t respond; she couldn’t even if she had wanted to. She had never felt so humiliated and degraded in her life. Not even her experience with Xander, humiliating that it had been, could match up to this.
Rage swelled within her. This was personal, how dare he invade her like that. But her rage was impotent and ineffective against him. Blinking back the tears in her eyes, she hurriedly pulled up her underwear and held the torn part of her clothing to her body, all the while feeling his eyes on her.
“You are going to watch then; it would be an excellent initiation rite for you. And maybe if you are a good student, we’ll even let you play”.
His face was creased into something she suspected was intended to be a smile, but didn’t even come close. It looked like a snarl and made his face even more beastly than it had been, not that she had thought that was possible.
He moved to the bed and flicked a switch on the wall. Filtered white light filled the room and made it more visible. He then sat down and roughly pulled the leg of the lady on the bed. It didn’t seem like she had been sleeping, as she came up immediately.
Like a well worked out routine, she got on her kneel in front of him and pressed her lips to his inner thigh. Helena recalled the shock she had felt when Xander had freed his manhood in h
er face, but the shock of that was nothing… nothing…compared to this. She stood transfixed; she had never seen anything so huge in her life. It was long, like every other part of him and it seemed to have a life all on its own. The lady, whose back was to her, was fondling him with her tongue, as well as hands.
And he was responding. Boldly.
She watched, unable to look away as he gripped her breasts in his hand and started squeezing in rhythm to her fondling. She sucked in her breath, that had to have been painful. There was no delicacy whatsoever in the way he was squeezing and rubbing them against each other.
She felt so defiled. Oh, why did she have to watch this?
She supposed she should be grateful, and she was. That could have been her, she knew, but she thought he must be a man who liked his pleasure uninterrupted from start to finish.
As if he could sense her thoughts, his head came up and his eyes bored hers, holding her gaze captive over the woman’s head.
“Watch. And learn”. He said, his voice thick.
He drew the lady up and with his legs slightly apart, positioned her over his dick. Then, he was inside her and they were moving, the repeated sound of colliding flesh resounding in her ears.
Again, his eyes drifted to hers. “Watch. And learn”, he repeated his voice a whisper.
Heat mounted on her cheeks. The whole room was charged, throbbing with erotic sights, sounds, and scents. Her chest was so tight, she could hardly breathe. She staggered towards the wall and slid to the floor, her head held in her hands and her eyes closed.
She couldn’t take this. She would die if that filthy thing did anything with her. The thought of it alone threatened to shut down her process of reflection. In four days, her flow would cease and she would be done. What then? Her mind drifted to the scene she had just witnessed. That was going to be her, she thought, the despair she felt so great it went beyond tears.
This was not the image she had in her head whenever she imagined how her first time would be. It was going to be with the man she loved, her forever mate and they would come together in a joining that was as much of souls as it was of a body. Not this soulless mating with a beast.
This couldn’t be her future, not after preserving herself and remaining undefiled even when her mates were taking men. She had known what she wanted and had never regretted her decision. Was this now what was supposed to be the culmination of her years of discipline?
Zebb, where are you?
Chapter Seven
Lieutenant Dave felt a deep sense of satisfaction at being on this mission.
He had been confused when he had been told to report to the general’s office. He was in the square, coordinating the removal of the corpses and trying to ensure that people did not get rowdy and law and order were maintained.
He had lost his younger brother, Jamal, to this rash, senseless massacre. He had been on the other side of the station and had learned of the infiltration only when it was too late. He should have been there.
Rage and hurt bubbled within him. He wished there was something handy to break. Maybe it would provide an outlet for the emotions that were competing for space with him. He should have been there for Jamal, protecting him and keeping him safe from harm. That was his job, and he had failed at it. He needed to scream, shout, anything that could give vent to the different emotions coursing through him, but he didn’t have that luxury. He was a soldier, and his people needed him. That took precedence over his personal grief at the moment, so he bottled up the anger and pain and concentrated on the task at hand; making sure the dead got a befitting resting place. It was the least he could do.
He would find the bastards responsible for the attack on his home, he vowed to himself. His brother and all the others would not die in vain. He would avenge his death, no matter the cost.
He had gotten to the general’s office and had been briefed on the task at hand.
“You are aware, Lieutenant, of the happenings today,” the general started, “well, it has led to another development.”
Of course he knew what had happened, everybody did. He listened intently to the general tell him about Captain Zebb and the purpose of his mission. He felt good that the opportunity had come much earlier than expected to do something about the bastards who had come into his home and attacked his family.
Though he wasn’t friends with the Murdock woman –he couldn’t remember ever having a conversation with her- she had seemed like a nice enough lady and then, there were the two other women who had also been kidnapped. Add to that the fact that Captain Zebb, a soldier he had immense respect for was on the field with little or no backup, as the general had explained, and he was raring at the bit to get moving.
“Is there any other thing you require, Lieutenant?”
“No sir.”
“Lois will provide you with the information we have. Blessed be, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He exited the general’s office. The general had appeared stressed. Then again, they all were.
Lois provided him with the present location of Zebb’s ship. It seemed to him like they were slowing down. There was no time to waste. After collecting a miniature of a tracking device from her, he proceeded to assemble his men for the mission.
He was going to war, and he was a man who knew that war had no guarantees. Some days were for you while some were against you. He was going to die someday- we all are- what better way to die than in the fight for a cause he truly believed in.
It seemed a day for surprises; the general was outside as they boarded their vessel ready for departure.
Lieutenant Dave raised his hand in a salute, the general returned it and soon, they were on their way.
Chapter Eight
“We need to find a suitable landing space, Captain.”
Joyce had been so good on this journey, as had been Karliah and Tyler. Even the brakoni woman they had rescued off Polentia had been good so far. As the day progressed and was tending towards dusk, he had hoped unrealistically, that they could keep going.
But where to? They had no idea where to go and hadn’t had the chance actually to draw a workable plan. Add to that the fact that he knew Joyce must be tired; she had been flying all day, from the peace mission they had come back from that morning and almost immediately after, in pursuit of Helena’s kidnappers.
Had it been only that morning that everything was right with his world, it seemed like a lot of time had passed since then.
He supposed he could take over flying the vessel and relieve Joyce. Not even close to Joyce’s skill but he was adequate at the helm. He dismissed the idea almost immediately it crossed his mind. It would be more productive to settle down and come up with a plan. And anyway, it was getting dark.
“There is an open space right ahead that would be suitable,” she went on, “and it is devoid of any activity, human or alien.”
He should have known she had already sighted a place before suggesting they land. That was Joyce, dependable and efficient.
“Alright, let’s land her.”
She deftly maneuvered the Juliet Seven and brought her to a complete stop few minutes later.
Stillness. No flashing lights on the dashboard or thumping sounds from pressure encountered. It was eerily quiet.
“So, what is our next course of action?”
The question came from Joyce, and while she didn’t direct it to anyone, in particular, he knew he had to be the one to answer.
“Since we have no read on her possible location,” he began, his voice brisk, not betraying any emotion, “Tyler…” the lad snapped to attention. It was obvious he was exhausted, but he had not uttered a single complaint since they took off. Zebb was beginning to rely more and more on him. He would be able to handle more responsibilities, with guidance, when they got back to the station. He had all the makings of an excellent soldier.