ALIEN ABDUCTION (Captured by Aliens)

by Fox, Jaide

  A short time later, Ebony sat beside Rebecca and Cassie and the other five women in the dining hall. They’d all filled their plates with fresh bread and baked fish rolled in nut flour and platefuls of steamed local vegetables. There wasn’t a lot of variety when it came to the food here, as there had been in the harem, but there was plenty to go around and nobody went hungry.

  The table was filled with intense talk and discussion about the news of their leaving for an entirely new city, but Ebony only kept to herself and kept close watch on the door.

  “Ebony, why aren’t you eating?” Cassie said, pulling off another chunk of hot bread and drizzling a little of the herbed oil on it. “It’s all especially good today--or maybe it’s because we’re leaving and I don’t know what it will be like when we arrive in New--New Chalcydon.”

  “Yes. A whole new city,” murmured Ebony. She took another bite of the baked fish with its delicious crust made of ground nuts, but kept her eyes on the doors of the dining hall. “I’m waiting for Fallon. I want to talk to him about the trip--the move--how they managed to keep all of this a secret--what the new place is like--everything!”

  Rebecca glanced up at her, and finished swallowing her own bite of fish. She was a tall and serious girl with dark red hair and orange scrubs. “I just don’t know how we’re going to do this,” Rebecca said. “The flyers are amazing--I’d love to know how they work--but I’m not convinced that all of us aren’t just going from one harem to another.”

  “Fallon said that we aren’t.”

  “And you trust him?”

  Ebony hesitated, chewing her lip as she thought it over. “So far, everything he’s said has turned out to be true.”

  “I don’t know--I don’t trust any of them.”

  “But what else can we do?” Ebony stood up in frustration and picked up her plate. “What better idea do you have? We can’t go back to Earth. We can’t stay here. Do you want to go back to the harem? Maybe your man Jerel can take you back there--if you want him to.”

  Rebecca quickly looked away.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Ebony’s mouth tightened, and she started towards the door. “You’ve got yours. I’m going to go find mine.”

  Just then Damon shouldered his way through the dining hall doors and stood there looking around.

  “Well, there he is, Ebony,” snickered Cassie. “Or were you talking about the other one?”

  “Yeah,” said Rebecca with a grin. “Back home, I think we used to call that ‘an embarrassment of riches.’”

  “I don’t care what you call it,” said Ebony, walking away with her plate in hand. “I just want it resolved. And it will be, one way or the other, just as soon as possible.”

  She walked straight up to Damon and caught his arm. “Where’s Fallon?”

  He blinked, and stared down at her as though he’d never seen her before. “Who?”

  Ebony stared up at him. “Uh--Fallon? That guy who’s like a brother to you? Your comrade in arms? Your leader? Your—”

  Damon cut her off and grabbed her arm, leading her out through the doors again, and into the enormous corridor. “Fallon is not here,” he whispered.

  “Not here? I don’t understand. With all the plans he just told us about this morning--you’re tellin’ me he’s not here?”

  Damon pushed her along the corridor by her arm, but in the direction of the gaping doorway at the entrance of the mine instead of back towards the living quarters. “You are right. You do not understand. Come with me.”

  He hurried her along to the entrance, and Ebony stepped quickly to keep up. She tried to keep the contents of her breakfast plate from falling to the floor of the corridor when, finally, they were standing just inside the enormous opening.

  Damon stopped and turned to face her. “Ebony--from almost the moment we left Auresial Palace, King Kore set Zhala riders out to find us and destroy us and take you and all the other women back to his harem.”

  She stared up at him. “Yeah. I know. We saw one while we were on the beach, right after we left. What about it?”

  “They never gave up looking for us. It’s been hard for the men here to go out hunting, and the food is beginning to run low.”

  Ebony looked down at the nearly full plate still in her hand. “But we’re leaving tonight--aren’t we?”

  “We are. But there is little left for today, and it will take some time for us to build up the stores at the new city.”

  “Then--can’t we wait until we’ve got enough supplies before we--”

  He cut her off again. “The Zhala riders grow closer by the day. We can wait no longer. Fallon and his small hunting party are bringing the last of what we need.”

  “Now--now--I still don’t get it. We’ve got flyers with the kind of firepower that Fallon just showed us, but you’re worried about those slow little Zhala riders?”

  “Ebony--the king has far more Zhala than we have flyers. They are everywhere and see everything. Or at least, it seems that way.”

  “Then why did Fallon let the pilots shoot that fireball out the cavern door and blow up a whole stand of trees?”

  “The miners and other working men here had to be shown that we truly do have a defense system now, whereas before we had virtually nothing. Showing them was necessary. But firing that shot means we must leave tonight, for yes, you are right, the king’s men will surely know about it soon--if they do not already. If we can get away under cover of darkness tonight without the Zhala riders seeing us, and attempting to engage us in a fight, it’s far better for all of us here.”

  Ebony nodded. “Yeah, I think we’ve got better things to do, too, than fight with King Kore’s men when we could be getting the hell out of here and starting a new life on our own.”

  “Come, then. I will walk with you back to your--back to the room. But we must go now. I have many arrangements to make, as do all of our men.”

  He started to take her by the arm again, but she stopped and practically dug in her heels. “No. I’ll wait here for him.”

  Damon’s hand fell away from her arm. “Here? Why here? You must have much to do to get ready to leave, and to help the other women get ready to leave.”

  “I do. But don’t worry. I’ll be ready. We’ll all be ready tonight. One hour after darkness.”

  “Then why do you want to stay out here?”

  “Because…” She glanced outside at the barren hillsides, and at the faint smoke that still spiraled up from the destroyed stand of trees after the shot from the flyer. She took a deep breath, feeling shaky inside for some unknown reason. “Because I want to see him come back.”

  Damon looked down at her for a moment, and then nodded. “But you and all the women must be ready to leave tonight. We cannot afford to wait any longer. The time is short enough as it is.”

  Ebony nodded and immediately sat down at the entrance to the great mine, leaning against the side of the opening. She heard Damon walk away but did not look back at him. She kept her eyes on the barren rolling hills down below, watching for any movement among the sparse trees and scrub bushes.

  ***

  The hours passed. Ebony had long since finished her plate of food and it sat empty beside her. Though it was very pleasant to sit in the fresh air and sunlight and look out on a natural setting, her anxiety began to rise the longer she sat here with no sign of Fallon. She scanned the skies until the glare nearly blinded her, but saw no Zhala riders, either.

  Finally the shadows began to lengthen. With a feeling of despair and worry, she thought she’d better get back to her room and prepare to leave. She would just have to trust that Fallon and his men would return safely--and then she saw a slight movement on the path, down below the entrance to the mine.

  Ebony quickly got to her feet. She stared hard down at the path, watching as the moving figures got closer and closer--and then, to her tremendous relief, she saw two men walk into sight. She recognized them as Brenzir and Kye, the men of Cassie and Pamela. They each
carried a large leather bag that seemed to be filled to the brim with something fairly heavy.

  And then, just a few steps behind them, walked Fallon. There were two large dead purple-black birds tied together with some kind of line to his belt, and he carried a furry animal about the size of a small deer over his shoulders. He had both hands on its legs where they hung down over his chest.

  The three men walked with some weariness up the long steep path to the mine opening, and as they reached the level ground in front of the opening they set down the leather bags. Fallon shrugged the heavy animal off of his shoulders and gave a little sigh of relief as the dead beast rolled to the ground.

  “Damon!” he called, straightening up and stretching after carrying that heavy animal all the way to the cave. When he got no answer, he peered into the darkness of the corridor. “Damon! Come and get this food! Give it to the women to prepare!”

  “I’ll help you carry it,” said Ebony.

  Fallon quickly turned and looked at her, and his face was very still. “Is something wrong?” he asked. “Why are you here? What has happened?”

  “Nothing has happened,” she said softly. “I just wanted to make sure you got back all right.”

  He paused, staring at her, and then shook his head a little--but Ebony saw what looked like a small smile and the beginnings of a pleased expression on his face. “I am back. And I am well. Thank you for waiting for me, but there is much to do and little time left.”

  “I’ll go with you and help,” she said again. “There are some things I want to ask you about.”

  He almost smiled again. “I should have known you would have your own reasons for offering to help,” he said, but his voice was kind enough. “Walk with me, then. These bags of nuts and this meat are all too heavy for you to carry, but I will speak with you as we carry it inside.”

  “No.”

  Fallon paused. “No?” He began to frown. “Ebony Raines, there is no time for your childishness now. As I said, our time is very short.”

  “I know it is. Just give me a minute here on the ledge. After that, I’ll finish getting ready to leave.”

  He sighed. “All right. But only a moment. No more.” He sat down near the cave door and leaned back against it, finally allowing his weariness to show. “Now, what is it that you want to know?”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Ebony sat down beside him, so that they both leaned back against the outside of the cave wall. She saw Fallon close his eyes in weariness, but he opened them again at the sound of her voice.

  “Damon told me there was danger here,” she said quickly. “Danger from Zhala riders--that they’ve been watching us all this time and would love to get hold of you--of all of us…”

  “They are out there,” he said. “And you are right. We are all wanted fugitives. We are traitors and kidnappers. My brother, the king, would give a great reward to whoever stole a part of his harem.”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s right--he doesn’t know it’s you,” said Ebony.

  “That is right. He believes I am dead, out where his men left me in the Desert of Fire.”

  “But if it’s so dangerous, why did you go out this afternoon yourself? You’re the one who’s needed most. You’re the leader here. Why not send some of the other men out to hunt?”

  Slowly he turned his head to look at her. “I cannot ask someone else to take such a dangerous task while I remain behind in comfort,” he said. “The men would have little respect for me. And at any rate, the task is done now and there is food enough for the day--and after tonight, we will be gone.”

  Ebony sighed. “Look, Fallon, I know it’s all planned and everything--but how exactly are you going to do this? There’s five hundred twenty-one people and the two flyers can only take sixty-six of us at once--that’s seven, eight trips? Round trips? And since it’s five hours one way, you’d probably have to allow twelve hours for a round trip when you allow for unloading and refueling and whatever else you have to do. That means you’ll need--how many days to get everyone out?”

  “Ebony! All is arranged. It is not ideal, but we are doing all we can. Your part of it is to be ready to leave tonight on the very first flight.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “The very first flight?”

  “Yes. We feel that the first ones will have the best chance of getting away. The king’s men are still looking for a party on foot and don’t yet know that we have flyers.”

  Ebony stood up. “Look--I almost hate to ask after all you’ve got going on here. But…”

  She paused, and then tried to start again. “I don’t know what to do about my sister.”

  He glanced over at her. “Sister? What do you mean? All the women here will be taken to New Chalcydon--all of your harem sisters. They will be as safe as we can make them.”

  “No, no. That’s not what I mean.” Ebony began to pace on the ledge outside the cave opening. “I’m talking about my real sister. Adrienne.”

  “Where is she?”

  “She is back in the City of Anetahr with her husband. She was kidnapped back on Earth the same time I was, but Captain Zeta fell for her in a big way and asked if he could marry her. I guess he was due for a bonus or something, because the first thing I knew those two were married and my sister was preggers.”

  “Your sister was--what?”

  “Pregnant. Expecting.” Ebony paused for a moment. “Adrienne and Dezec, and their baby when it gets here, are the only family I have anywhere.

  “And it hurts you deeply to leave them.”

  “Yes. It does. I think she’s safe, and at least she’s not a prisoner in the harem like I was. But still.”

  “Yes. Still.” He sat up, and took a deep breath. He scrubbed a hand over his face then looked at her. “I can only tell you that you will have to make a decision very soon--as in, the next few moments. Are you asking me to take you back to the harem?”

  She looked at him with a shocked expression. “Hell, no, I’m not asking you to do that!”

  “Are there other of the women who would rather go back than go with us to New Chalcydon?”

  “Again, no and hell no. A few of them are a little nervous about another crazy trip, but nobody wants to go back to a harem.”

  “Including you?”

  “Including me!”

  “Then what are you asking me to do?”

  “I--well, now that I know a few more details, as in, you’ve got flyers and you’ve got a brand new city on the other side of the planet--I want my sister to come with us. I’m afraid I’ll never see her again if she doesn’t.”

  Fallon nodded. “You are probably right about that. Most likely there will be a state of war between King Kore and New Chalcydon as soon as they realize what we’ve done. I am sorry about your sister, but it sounds as though she is safe where she is.”

  “We couldn’t--we couldn’t take her with us? Take her, and Dezec, too?”

  “Ebony, we have two small flyers whose only mission is to get five hundred and twenty-one people out of here and safely to the new city. I cannot and will not attack the City of Anetahr. And even if I did, we have no way of getting word to your sister about getting her out.”

  “But—”

  He cut her off from saying more. “It is too late, Ebony. We have to do the best we can with what we have, and be grateful that all of us have, at least, a chance at a new life in a new place.”

  Ebony looked away, and tried to keep the tears that were burning her eyes from running down her cheeks. Her chest felt tight, like air was trapped inside and wouldn’t come out. She swallowed, clutching a hand to her breast.

  Fallon got to his feet. “There, now,” he said, gently touching her face. “Do not cry. Never have I seen any woman so brave as you. Your sister is not in the harem. She has a husband who loves her and is soon to have a child. She is living a better life than you could have hoped to have yourself.”

  Ebony nodded, and tried to smile. “Yeah. It could be a lot worse. At least
I know she’s okay.”

  “Once all is done here, and we are settled in our new place, perhaps something can be done to get your sister, but not today. I am sorry, but it is the best that I can do.” He turned back towards the entrance. “Come in now. We must see to the last-moment arrangements. You will leave on the first flight, but Damon and I will leave on the very last--after everyone else is safely landed New Chalcydon.”

  “The last? I don’t like the sound of that either.”

  “It is what must be done. I will have no argument from you.”

  ***

  A short time later, Ebony finished packing her few belongings in the canvas duffel bag provided. There wasn’t much. An extra pair of blue scrubs, and the sheets and towels from the little bathing room, were about all she could find to take. “I really hope the shopping is good in New Chalcydon,” she muttered, and tied off the top of the canvas bag.