by Mira Maxwell
Eventually I just grab ahold of the bars and start shaking them. They don’t budge so I lay back and use my feet, kicking as hard as I can, trying to crack or loosen one of the bars.
“Enough,” one of the Salthu shouts at me, pounding on the bar closest to my head.
“Let me go!” I shout back, slamming the bar in retaliation.
“We will let you go soon enough,” a different one says. “But not until our pockets are heavy. You will bring a good price, female.”
“You fucking bastards,” I say, enunciating every word. The sight of them used to chill me to the bone but now that I’m about to be sold off I know they won’t kill me. This realization makes me bold and I’m filled with defiance and anger.
“Careful,” another one says menacingly through the bars. “You’ll sell whether or not you’re covered with bruises.”
His words send shivers down my spine but I don’t look away and I won’t cower.
Eventually they turn away from me and we continue on. I close my eyes and sit in the middle of the cage, concentrating on my breathing and concocting my own plan. My eyes snap open when the cage falls forward, like we’re going downhill. We’ve entered the cave and we’re following a winding dirt path that is leading us into the belly of the planet. I blink my eyes a few times to try to adjust to the darkness. Except for a few torches on the wall of the cave as we move, it’s really hard to see anything.
We continue our descent until I start to hear noises. They grow louder and louder like we’re about to walk into a stadium of people. The sight in front of me when we reach the bottom is unlike anything I could have imagined. There are huge cages lined up down the middle of the cavernous space. Creatures straight out of fairy tales roam through the cages as casually as if they were shopping at a market.
The chains on the cage start to rattle and then the door is thrown open. “Out,” the Salthu says, stepping aside so I can jump down.
I do and land on my hands and knees on the ground.
The beast towering above me grabs me roughly by the arm and pulls me to my feet. Then once again, I’m being dragged forward. Looking at the cages as I’m dragged past, I can see they are filled with various kinds of creatures. To me, they look like animals unique to this planet. I don’t see anything else that looks even remotely human.
I’m being led to an empty cage. My heartbeat is pounding in my ears but not from panic. There’s a calm that sweeps over me and I know that this is the moment I’ve been waiting for this entire time. This is my chance to make a move or end up as someone’s pet—or worse.
The Salthu holding me stops to talk to a dirty, orange-colored alien with huge eyes bugging out of his skull, wearing a strange-looking suit. They speak to each other in a language that I don’t understand but with the way they keep gesturing toward me, makes it obvious that they’re negotiating terms.
Eventually my captor grunts and nods before pulling me forward to an empty cage. When one of his hands releases me to open the door, I use the bars on the cage as leverage as well as the hand that is still holding me to run my feet up the side of the bars. When I flip my body over him, catapulting my feet through the air before wrenching my hand from his grip, I land solidly on both feet with my hands free, shocked looks on their faces staring back at me.
I take off running back where we came from. Dodging in and out through the strange creatures, I use them to block the Salthus from their pursuit. Adrenaline is pumping through my veins, fueling me on as I run as fast as my body is able, back up the winding paths to the entrance of the cave.
The light is blinding and I pause for a moment to catch my breath and look around me. I’m struck with confusion when I see guards from the cave entrance lying dead on the ground. Their weapons lay useless at their sides, what look to be deep claw marks the cause of death. I spin around, worried that there’s some sort of Attalan beast that has attacked the guards and now I’m standing here, vulnerable, out in the open.
From above, something launches into the air. I don’t wait around to see what it is, I run. I hear the soft thud in the snow as whatever it is lands behind me.
I haven’t gone far when I hear, “Margo,” being called behind me.
I gasp and turn around, immediately recognizing that voice. “Lodyn,” I say, turning back and running straight into his arms. “We need to go, right now.” Any moment now the Salthu will make it to the entrance of the cave. I grab onto Lodyn’s hand and try to pull him with me away from the cave.
“Wait, this way,” he says, pointing above us, over the top of the cave entrance.
I let him direct me to the incline on the side of the hill leading to the top of the cave entrance. I’m able to pull myself up with his help and by the time the Salthu emerge from the cave, we’re above them, looking down. We hide back against the side to keep from being seen as they yell and search through the snow, looking for our tracks. They don’t think to check on top of the cave and a swell of pride flows through me as I look over at Lodyn and our eyes meet for the first time in over three days.
He squeezes my hand and that small gesture eases the storm inside of me. I follow his lead, my body pressed against the cliff wall, barely allowing myself to breathe. After a moment, he motions to me and I follow. We walk over the top of the cave and wind through the cliffs, the sounds of my captors growing more faint as we continue to climb.
Lodyn makes sure to cover our tracks but the snow is helping us as well. It’s falling harder now and even though it’s quickly chilling me to the bone again, I welcome the coverage. He’s leading me through terrain that is rocky and full of twists and turns. We’re following paths higher into the mountains, passing numerous caves on our trek.
I’m starting to tire the further away we get but I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining when I’m just happy that Lodyn is alive and he came after me. As if reading my mind, he says, “We’ll stop soon for the night. The caves will provide sufficient cover and protection.”
“Awesome,” I say, completely winded and exhausted from everything that has happened to me over the last few days. “I don’t want to complain, but I’m exhausted. I don’t think I’ve really slept in days. I was too worried about what was going to happen to me,” I continue, “And I was so cold I couldn’t stop shaking. This planet just might kill me one way or another.”
For the last leg of our climb, I’ve been following behind him. Now, he falls back in line next to me and takes ahold of my hand again. “I’d never let that happen,” he says.
And I believe him. I have so many questions that I want to ask him. I want to know what happened after I was taken. How did the rest of the warriors fare in the battle? How did he manage to get away? Is the ship still in one piece or am I going to have a lot of explaining to do when I eventually meet up with my crew again? But I don’t have the energy tonight. All of my mental power is going to putting one foot in front of the other.
“This is it,” he says. I look around but it isn’t obvious where he’s pointing. He walks forward and crouches down. Then I finally see it. A small opening in the rocks. “Stay here while I make sure the cave is empty.” He slides his body through the opening and then drops down into the cavern below. While I wait at the entrance, I look around. He’s right. This is the perfect spot. No one would ever notice that it’s even a cave just from walking by.
Lodyn appears at the entrance a few minutes later. “It’s safe. Slide your feet over the rock and I’ll help you down.”
I do as he says. His arms wrap protectively around me as he sets me gently on the floor of the cave. It’s dark and quiet and I haven’t felt this safe since I left Earth. We stand together, simply touching each other’s arms. Then, regretfully he steps back, takes my hand and leads me further into the cave.
“I’m going to retrace our steps and make sure our tracks are covered. You’ll be safe here while I’m gone.” He sets his bag down in front of us and starts to take out supplies. I fight the urge to beg him
to stay. At this point, I don’t want to let him out of my sight again. This experience was way too close for comfort. I don’t want to think about how close I was to being sold as property to a creepy alien.
“Here’s a blanket, it’s thin but made out of a material that will keep you warm while I’m gone.” He shakes out the blanket and drapes it over my shoulders. I pull it tight and savor the warmth it brings to my chilled body. “And, I have food. It’ll hold you over until I can hunt.”
“Oh, I can’t stomach any more raw meat. Maybe we could hold off on hunting?”
“I’ll cook the meat. For you and myself.” He lightly brushes his finger over my cheek and his touch sends tingles through my body. “But we won’t be able to make fire until we’re sure we’re not being followed.”
“Oh, thank you.” I exhale a deep breath of relief. “If I never see an animal being torn to shreds and devoured again, I’ll die a happy woman.” Trying to distract myself from how he makes me feel, I look down at the food he has offered me. “This looks good, though,” I say, looking at the mixture of jerky, nuts, and dried berries.
“Good. I have water as well,” he says, handing me something that looks similar to a canteen. “I’ll boil more for us when we have a fire so drink as much as you need. I’m sure your needs were not tended to while you were held captive.” He looks down, taking deep breaths, as if it pains him to even think about how I was treated while I was being held prisoner.
Reaching over, I set my hand on his arm. When his eyes meet mine I say, “Thank you.” It comes out as a whisper, all of the emotion I’ve been bottling up since this whole ordeal began threatening to spill out. “Thanks for coming for me.”
“I’ll always come for you,” he says, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. Before we’re swept up in the emotions flowing between us, he kisses my hand before letting it rest back on my leg and then he gets to his feet. “I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.”
He hoists himself up and over the ledge and then he disappears from my sight. The warmth that he makes me feel, physically and emotionally, remaining all around me long after he’s gone.
Sixteen
LODYN
Hours later I’m sitting in front of a small, crackling fire, roasting the terelope that I caught while out covering our tracks. Margo lies sleeping only a few feet away. There was no sign that we were being pursued by her captors and now we’re far enough away it’s extremely unlikely there’s any way they’ll find us.
Now that everything is done and Margo is settled, I finally pull off my armor to inspect my wounds from the battle. Using melted snow and a spongy material found at the hot springs, I wash the blood and grime from my body. I spend a few minutes inspecting the stab wound in my side to make sure it’s clean and free of anything that could cause an infection while it heals. The deep cuts take longer to heal, though this one should be completely closed in another few hours.
“Are you hurt?” My head snaps up to find Margo sitting up on her elbow, looking at me with sleep in her eyes and concern on her face.
“It’s healing. No need to worry.” She sits up and moves next to me in front of the fire. Her fingers gently trace my skin close to the wound. Her touch is so electrifying it makes me pull away. I feel guilty when she looks embarrassed by my reaction, tucking her hands in her lap.
“The fire is wonderful. I didn’t think anyone had a use for it on this planet,” she says, sitting close and warming her hands. “This is the first time I’ve seen one since we arrived.”
“We use it to cook food. The poorer families that live on the outside of the city use fires more frequently. The technology of the heat cube costs more than a fire.”
“Well, I’m warm for the first time since all of this started. I didn’t think I’d ever be warm again.” She gives me a shy smile and my body reacts. It was hard enough trying to fight my feelings for her when it was just the four of us on the ship. Now that we have complete privacy in this warm, intimate cave, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep away from her.
I realize that I’m lost in my own thoughts when she continues, “So what happened at the ship after I was taken? Is everyone else okay?”
“Yes, it would take a lot to kill Kjallak or Branyx. Five more members of the guard arrived, sent by our leader Mallyk. I don’t know if you remember him from the day you crashed.”
“We never officially met, but I remember his backside as he carried my team captain away.”
It probably isn’t right, but her feistiness makes my cock twitch. I like the fire in her, it makes me want to throw her down and show her how fun intimacy can be when passion is involved.
“Still,” she continues, “even with the five other members, how did the eight of you defeat the entire tribe?”
It’s strange having to think about how to tell someone outside of the guard about the specifics behind the enhancements. Maybe I’m just scared that when I tell Margo about this strange power inside of me, she’ll be scared of me or scared of what I could do if I can’t control these powers. “Something happened inside of me, after I saw the Salthu had taken you. I was trapped and couldn’t get to you and it’s like something snapped. The small bursts of energy that I’ve had before became a huge explosion of power. It took out an entire field of warriors…the rest fled back into the mountains.”
She’s looking at me with wide eyes and says, “Holy shit.” She’s quiet then and I give her time to let it soak in. “So you’re not exactly sure how your body will react from the scientific changes they’re making? Does that freak you out at all?”
“I don’t know that it’s my place to question it. Once we decide to become part of the guard, our bodies more or less belong to the government.”
She opens her mouth to ask another question and then closes it again. I could sit and stare at the features of her face for hours. The way her eyebrows pull together when she’s concentrating on something or how the corner of her mouth turns up when she’s about to laugh at something. Everything about her feels so right. For not the first time since I’ve met her, I’m so conflicted about our situation.
“I don’t pretend to understand how things are done on your planet, but it seems to me that no matter who you work for or what job you sign on to do, your life still belongs to you. Even if it can only be what you choose to feel in your heart.” The small, sad smile on her face conveys how she feels. I don’t know if she’s sad about the prospects of my future or hers, but she’s insightful in a way that tempts me to follow the storm of emotions rampant inside of me. “Sorry, I should keep my mouth shut.” She seems nervous again, something I’ve come to realize happens quite often when she thinks she has said more than she should. Or maybe it’s just her reaction under my heated gaze.
“You look beautiful when your face turns this pink color,” I say, reaching over to touch her. “You were treated well?”
“What?” she asks, unable to follow the quick change in my thoughts.
“Did the Salthu treat you well while you were their captive?” My fingers trail down her neck, inspecting the skin looking for bruises or marks that would indicate they were less than honorable with her. She trembles under my touch.
“Oh,” she says, clearly flustered by my attentions. “It wasn’t pleasant by any sense of the word, but it could have been a lot worse.”
“You have a faint bruise here on the side of your face.” I trace the bruise with my fingers, careful not to touch too closely for fear that I’ll hurt her.
“It’s nothing.” She takes my fingers in hers and relaxes, a deep breath quietly escaping her beautiful lips. “Honestly, I was terrified that I was going to be sold and no one would ever be able to find me again.”
“That would never be your fate. Besides, if you hadn’t gotten out of there yourself, I would have come in after you.” Now that I have her back in my arms, I can’t stop touching her. It’s calming to be able to feel her and know she’s safe.
“It doe
s seem that you’re my knight in shining armor.”
“What is that?”
“It means you were coming to rescue me.”
“Oh. Yes, that is true. I am your knight.”
“And now you’re feeding me and keeping me warm.”
Suddenly the air between us is charged with sexual tension. Her hand is still holding mine but her fingers are slowly rubbing seductive circles over my skin. Her touch moves through my body and awakens feelings that have been dormant since I joined the guard.
“You make me feel safe,” she continues. I can’t think straight. The boundaries that we set are becoming harder and harder to follow. Right now I can’t even remember why we decided to keep things professional between us.
In the next moment, I don’t know if she moves first or if I do but we close the distance between us. When my lips touch hers, everything disappears except for the softness of her mouth and the warm tingle that travels to my cock. I’m instantly hard, my cock straining against my pants.
Her warm tongue slides between my lips and teases me, bringing out the animal inside. Our tongues slide together, twisting and tasting each other’s heat. Without breaking the kiss I reach for her jacket, searching for the zipper. Her hands find it for me and she unzips her coat, slipping her arms out.
The image of her naked underneath me threatens to make me lose control too quickly. So I pull away and spread the blanket out next to the fire. Without hesitation she pulls her shirt over her head and unclasps her bra from behind her back.
“Now we’re even,” she says. It takes a second for me to realize that she’s talking about the fact that we’re both topless.
“I’m more than happy to lose if this is a contest.” I reach for the button on her pants and quickly undo them. She lays down on the blanket and lifts her hips so I can pull her pants down. I strip her bare and relish the sight of her beauty as she is spread before me. “Let me see your cunt again,” I say, my voice so full of want and desire that it sounds strange to my own ears.