by Ivy Sparks
Over the hours, Sophie told me more about the Ixol. Their breed was different from the three contacted alien races, who looked similar to us, but more godlike. Instead, the Ixol were red little cretins, the weakest of the documented space-faring species.
No one knew their planet of origin, or if they even had one, but one thing was certain: They abducted humans, selling the most valuable ones to other aliens breeds, while eating the rest. Abduction was primarily a sport for them than a monetary venture, which meant there’d be no negotiating with them.
I looked around the cold docking bay. Everyone was either sleeping or crying silently. A woman in front of me was looking directly into my wandering eyes. I recognized her as the woman who sat across from me who looked to be in her late thirties.
“We need t-to run,” she stammered.
There were no Ixol in the bay at this point. They all had left for the bridge once they realized there was no risk of us escaping our restraints.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Nora.”
I nodded at her, then nudged Sophie who was asleep beside me. She grumbled and wiped her drooling face on the floor.
“This is our chance,” I whispered to her. “If the three of us work together, we can get one of us free. Then we can look around for a weapon—”
The spacecraft jolted, waking up everybody and eliciting startled gasps and whimpers. Sophie, still making sense of the situation, replied, “Where are they?”
“I’m not sure. Probably on the bridge. That, or they’re in the galley, making alien gravy to pour over our roasted bodies.”
“Wait, what’s that light?” a businessman asked, his gaze locked on the only window in the docking bay.
All eyes turned to see that we were speeding through what could only be described as a silver tube.
“We’re in a warp hole,” Sophie started, and I sensed she had worse to say.
“And?” I prodded.
“And now we’re properly fucked. There’s no tracking us through this thing. Any chance of rescue is out the window.”
One of the passengers broke into tears and started crying hysterically while another scooted up to console her. Another passenger very unhelpfully declared, “We’re all going to die!”
I snapped, yelling, “Yeah, you’re definitely dying first, pal, if you don’t shut the fuck up!” Somebody gasped as if my cussing were the worst thing to happen to them today. I wiggled around to make sure I was facing everybody before I continued my impromptu rally speech from the ground, “We need to keep our shit together, got it, people? If we’re too busy freaking out, we might miss an opportunity to get the upper hand.”
I got a very unenthusiastic, “Yeah…” from someone in the back. But at least I had stopped the hysteria before it started really boiling over.
As much as I wanted to start crying and lamenting my horrible fate, I wasn’t about to give in that easily. Fucking pansies.
I was going to survive this shit, then I was going to make life my bitch. I didn’t take the huge step of getting on this spaceship to give up at the first sign of difficulty.
I had been complacent for too long. All it took was being kidnapped by little red aliens to knock some sense into me.
It had been around eight or nine hours since we had discovered we were in a warp hole, and little progress had been made in loosening our hogties. As re-energized as I was after my speech, I had come to realize that the Ixol knew how to tie one hell of a knot.
By now, the crying passenger was finally quiet, half of us were sleeping, and the other half were staring at the walls and boxes of cargo.
“Sophie,” I rasped, craning my neck to look at her. I had no energy left in me. I needed food and water. The numbness in my hands had traveled all the way up to my shoulders at this point, and my limbs were throbbing from poor circulation.
Sophie replied with a cracked, “Yeah?”
“Do you think I’d make a good snack or a better slave?” At this point I would have welcomed being tossed into a boiling stew. At least then I might have a bite of something to eat before I died.
Before Sophie could answer, the Ixol marched in. They stormed directly toward me, Sophie, Nora, and another woman, dragging us into a corner where we were clearly being divided into a new group.
Whether or not this was a good thing, I couldn’t begin to say.
The Ixol released the hogties, shoving us up onto our wobbly feet, where they retied our hands behind our backs. The larger group, which included the captain, was being retied in the same fashion by the rest of the Ixol.
They forced us to stand in two queues in front of the docking bay doors, just as the spaceship jerked and finally came to a standstill.
We had landed, but where?
Chapter Three
Claire
The Ixol prodded us with the blunt end of their spears to force us down the docking bay ramp and onto the unfamiliar planet. I squinted, my eyes tearing up from the blindingly bright sky. We appeared to be on a desert planet, the land a barren wasteland in all directions. The sky was a hazy pinkish blue, and the heat of its two suns pounded down on us.
An Ixol pirate tied a long rope up to one of the women behind me, connecting it to her bound wrists before tying it to Nora’s bound wrists, then mine, then Sophie’s. With that, the biggest Ixol, most likely the pirate king, pulled at the tether, dragging us forward through the sands. Besides the pirate king, two other Ixol flanked us, while the rest of the Ixol pirates took the other hostages in the opposite direction.
Why we were separated from the others, I didn’t want to guess. We were all women, so whether or not I wanted to accept it, it was obvious what we were being herded off for: the sale of our bodies.
I walked in a daze for a few minutes through the soft dunes, the sand getting into my shoes, when Sophie suddenly stopped and I bumped into her. I looked up to see the Ixol king standing in front of her, yanking at the rope as he shouted, “Takek!”
I rolled my eyes. Takek your ass.
The air whistled around us. I looked back to see the stolen ship was now a dot on the horizon. We were way the fuck in the middle of nowhere.
Did Earth not seem so bad now?
Big fucking yes.
The pirate king sniffed the air then eyed his two men, lifting his spear. The two other Ixol readied their spears too. They seemed on the lookout, but for what?
“Bedrow!” one of the lesser Ixol ordered Sophie.
“I don’t know what that means,” Sophie replied slowly, as if speaking low would help them understand her.
The Ixol shoved her forward and it wouldn’t take a genius to understand what he was trying to say. “He wants you to move your ass, Sophie,” I said. “Something’s got these assholes spooked.”
Sophie put her bound wrists up in the air and said, “Fine, fine, I’m walking. Stop pushing me.”
And there we were, walking again, to God knows where. My lips were cracked and I still couldn’t feel my hands. My legs felt like they’d collapse at any moment after having been tied up for so long. The cruel assholes hadn’t even offered us water yet. Didn’t they know humans needed it to survive, or did they not care?
“Why didn’t they just land wherever they’re taking us?” I whined in Sophie’s direction. “I can’t walk any farther.”
“Because of…” Her voice broke as she almost tripped, her legs as tired as mine. “They can’t land just anywhere because of magnetic storms. At least, that’s my guess. A lot of planets have limited safe areas to land.”
“What the fuck’s a magnetic storm?”
“It’s when the solar wind’s magnetic field interacts with the planet’s magnetic field and transfers an increased energy into—”
“Okay, I get the point. It messes with their sensors or whatever.”
A loud shriek forced us to turn around. My eyes widened upon seeing a horror worse than the ugly mugs of the Ixol.
Emerging from the san
ds was a massive praying mantis—at least, that was what it reminded me of. The size of a damn horse, the creature dug its two massive claw arms into the last woman in line, trying to drag her away with it.
The Ixol charged toward the creature, but its back legs redoubled its efforts to pull away, dragging the woman farther, and with her, dragging the rest of us, our arms all interlinked by the rope.
Nora fell unconscious, becoming dead weight as Sophie and I tried our best to pull away from the creature. Whatever that monster was, it was a greedy little bastard, because it went after Nora with its other arm, clawing her leg and slicing it wide open.
Finally the Ixol got their wits about them and stabbed at the creature with their spears, but still, it continued dragging us away.
“Somebody cut the rope, for fuck’s sake!” I yelled as Sophie and I both fell onto a rocky portion of sand, giving me instant scrapes and bruises.
The pirate king finally slashed at the rope between the last woman and the rest of us. The creature scurried away, the dead woman still hanging from its claws.
As soon as we were free, Sophie clamored over to me and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I rasped, before we both looked at Nora. She was alive, but her leg was bleeding pretty badly. Thankfully one of the lesser Ixol had the sense to wrap the injury with a spare rag he had around his neck. Probably not very sanitary, but it’d slow down the bleeding.
I let out a huge breath. Never had I come so close to death before.
The Ixol wasted no time, forcing us to walk again. We moved in a complete daze now, and much slower on account of Nora’s injury. Our eyes darted around us in fear of another one of those mantis bastards.
I almost didn’t realize it when an oasis emerged from the horizon, out in the middle of this wasteland. A weak gasp escaped my cracked lips as I wondered if the worst of it was over.
Chapter Four
Claire
The sight before me was a paradise. Verdant meadows stretched out for miles. The surrounding air was crisp and refreshing. The pirate king led us through a small footpath, the ground flat and comfortable, unlike the miles of sandy dunes.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the Ixol leader finally spoke, barking, “Takek!” which I assumed meant stop, as he stood in place with a scaly hand held up at us.
We stood in front of an enormous metal gate, the fence creating a border that spanned as far as I could see on either side. Two guards stood in front of the gate with crescent bladed weapons in their hands. They were of a different race, tall and surprisingly human-like, aside from the tiger-like markings down their muscular shoulders and arms. Their torsos were bare, though they had armor around their waists and legs. They watched the Ixol with ferocious yellow eyes.
After a brief verbal exchange between the pirate king and these guards, they nodded and opened the gates, waving for us to pass through. There was enough familiarity between them that I figured the Ixol have done dealings with this race before.
Great, so we weren’t even much of a surprise. Did this barbarian race just burn through women, with fresh ones delivered daily?
The Ixol prodded us through the gates, into a separate checkpoint where six broad-shouldered men soon greeted us. These men wore more armor, with some padding around their shoulders. They looked to be of much higher station than the men at the gate.
The tallest one, a man who no doubt was a seasoned warrior judging by his battle scars, stepped forward to tower over the pirate king. His eyes glowed yellow under the shadow of his powerful brow, and his face looked chiseled out of stone. His dark auburn hair was fit for the cover of GQ despite the jungle climate.
My stomach fluttered at the thought of him having his savage way with me.
He spoke, intoning three words in an unfamiliar language. His voice was like silk being brushed against my cheek. From his expression, he was definitely not pleased by the Ixol’s arrival.
“Ryker,” the pirate king said, stepping forward and pounding his fist on his chest as he lowered his head. I assumed ‘Ryker’ must’ve been the hunky alien’s name.
The other two Ixol’s pulled us by the rope to make us stand in a vertical queue as the Ixol leader motioned at us like a shopkeeper displaying his wares. Though I knew it had been coming, I still couldn’t believe that I was standing here like a slave ready to be sold off.
Ryker swept his eyes over Sophie and Nora, before settling his gaze on me. A smoldering fire ignited behind his eyes, but he quickly blinked it away, as if getting a hold of himself. His expression turned to a glare as he faced the pirate king again.
One didn’t have to know Ryker’s language to understand that he was pissed. But was he mad at the pirate king’s audacity to try to sell him slaves, or was he simply displeased with what was on offer?
The pirate king replied back in a snarky tone, and soon the two of them were exchanging verbal blows in what must’ve been a heated negotiation. I watched Ryker closely, wishing desperately to understand what he was saying so passionately. Knowing my luck, he was telling the Ixol to fuck off with us back into the desert, where we’d undoubtedly die of exhaustion.
I was surprised to find myself hoping, almost wanting to yell at him, “Please, please buy us.” Part of it was just how much more handsome and civilized this new race seemed compared to the Ixol. But another reason had to do with the way he had looked at me moments before.
I wanted him to look at me like that again, with that primal intense fixation that I had never seen in a man’s eyes before… and aimed at me of all women.
I noticed then that the other men in this warrior group had dark vibrant markings, but Ryker’s appeared lighter. Was this why he was the apparent leader?
“Xekis,” Sophie said beside me, giving me a nudge with her elbow.
I looked at her, confused. Was that word supposed to mean something to me?
She continued in a whisper, “This is a Xeki tribe. They’re not well known, but they’ve also done nothing yet to get classified as a hostile race. That means our odds are better in their hands than with these Ixol.”
Nora whispered to Sophie, “So we’re not being sold for food?”
“Doubt it. Maybe breeding stock though,” Sophie replied. She then shrugged. “That’s all I know really, is that they’re not classified as hostile. And that they’re just as hot in real life as they are in the textbooks.”
I glanced back at Ryker and his expression had changed from one of anger to one of unwilling acceptance. It seemed he was going with whatever deal the pirate king had proposed, but he wasn’t happy about it.
Ryker glanced at us again, his eyes locking on mine for yet another split second before looking away. His very gaze made heat rush down between my legs.
I needed to get a hold of myself!
Ryker gave an order to the Xeki warrior standing behind him, who came forward and paid the Ixol in purple stones. The three Ixol bowed and took their payment, leaving before anyone could have second thoughts.
Great. Now we were bought and paid for. Sure, I had wanted that, but part of me was hoping Ryker and his men would realize how easily they could kill these Ixol pirates, taking us for no payment at all. Seeing the pirates get rewarded for their horrible deed made it all the more worse.
Still bound in ropes, the three of us watched wide-eyed as the six Xeki men surrounded us. They cut our binds, then motioned with a grunt that we follow them deeper into their territory. With Ryker positioned behind us, we walked forward.
We trekked for a few more minutes, starting to see signs of a village among the jungle. A mountain towered over the treetops, and a river ran through the land, emanating a pleasant babbling sound. Young kids stopped playing and looked at us as we passed by. Smaller Xekis, both men and women, started sticking their heads out of their wooden and canvased huts, murmuring to each other.
I glanced behind myself to see Ryker’s eyes fixed on me yet again.
I swear his yellow cat-li
ke eyes pierced into my soul. The way he looked at me made me feel almost naked despite my tattered clothes still providing decent coverage. My breath quickened and goosebumps ran up my arms.
This time I was the one who looked away.
Chapter Five
Claire
Three Xeki warriors took us into a stone castle that climbed up the hill of the mountain. It definitely wasn’t an impressive or elaborate castle like the ones I had seen on Game of Thrones, but considering how quaint the village was, I could appreciate that such a small tribe managed to make something of this size.
We entered through two large cathedral-like doors and walked down a long corridor, with Ryker following us from behind. I swear I could still feel his eyes on me, and despite myself I kept wondering how my ass looked in my tattered jeans. I probably just seemed fat to these muscled warriors.
Ryker spoke softly but with power, saying a single word: “Haji.” The three of us stopped, and he walked past us, motioning at two guards to allow us into the next room.
This door was carved out of stone, and I watched as the two guards used every ounce of their strength to push it open. Ryker waved at us to continue, and we shuffled through the entryway into what looked like a king’s grand court.
At the center of the room sat a Xeki, more impressive than all the others. His throne all but suggested he was the king of this small village. He and Ryker had a short dialogue. Something the king asked made Ryker hesitate, then he turned to us and spoke a few words, but none of us understood.
After sighing, Ryker stepped forward, pointed at himself, then said, “Ryker.” He motioned at the king, saying, “Kali.” Then he pointed at me, his eyes searching mine for a response. He must’ve wanted my name, but I was frozen in place.