“Are we done?” Svetlana asked in a hoarse whisper, letting go of his arms.
“Yes.” Vrateus bent over quickly, picking up her dress. She grabbed it from him, wrapping it around herself, then snatched her underpants and her breast harness off the floor.
He spotted Wyck at the entrance. Lesh was nowhere around. The errock must have chained the animal somewhere to leave both his hands free for the event. Wyck’s pants were on, however, with no green puddles around. The bulge in his pants seemed bigger than ever.
Vrateus couldn’t concern himself with everyone’s satisfaction. They all had their chance. If Wyck preferred to pleasure himself in the privacy of his own bed later, it was his choice.
He caught Wyck’s eye, tipping his chin toward the exit. It was time to get out of here, and he needed at least someone from his guard for protection on the way back to Svetlana’s room.
Wyck nodded, joining them. Vrateus wrapped his arm around Svetlana’s shoulders, leading her out of the mess hall.
Chapter 7
MY KNEES SHOOK AND my hands trembled as I walked down the corridor back to my glass room. Then the whole-body shudders started, and I was grateful for the firm grip of Vrateus’s arm around me.
I should not have opened my eyes until he had led me out of that hall. The sight of the sweaty males of various species now had been burnt into my brain. Glistening chests. Arm muscles straining as they stroked and jerked themselves off. Shoulders moving, as hands pumped... Their mouths agape, fangs bared, hungry stares on me.
Even with my eyes closed, I had not escaped their grunts and groans, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, the wet noises...
The smell of sweat...
The heavy, musky odor of semen rising into the air...
A shudder jerked my shoulders when Vrateus finally dragged me through the open doors and into my glass room.
“You did good.”
The praise felt worse than a slap on the face would have. His words set off the explosion of rage, humiliation, and disgust inside me.
“Fuck you!” I snapped, shrugging his arm off me.
What was he praising? My performance during that grotesque show of mass masturbation?
Was I supposed to be proud of that?
Centuries of civilization had just been stripped from me. All progress that humanity had made. The respect and equality I had earned because of my own work and the work of the women who had come before me. All of that meant absolutely nothing as tonight, I had been reduced to just a naked body to gawk at and be used for someone else’s slobbering pleasure.
It was easy to hate them all, but it gave no satisfaction of revenge, since the rest of the males couldn’t hear me curse at them.
It was Vrateus who’d had his hands on me. And at him, I directed my anger.
I hated him for ever coming up with this perverted idea. For somehow convincing me to agree to it.
Back in the hall, he had actually given me a choice worth considering. He had offered me a clean, quick death. By choosing to live, I had turned myself from a victim into a willing participant in what had happened.
I despised him for that, too.
But most of all, I was angry that he’d made me like some parts of that horrible experience. Nothing about his actual touch had been revolting.
And I hated him for that the most.
SITTING ON MY SLEEPING pallet, hugging my knees, I couldn’t stop the bouts of shakes that kept running through my body.
I didn’t hear the doors open and close and had no idea when Vrateus had left my room.
When a small cluster of waxy yellow flowers slid into my view, I realized he had come back. Now, he was kneeling beside me, holding the translucent branch covered with tiny blossoms in his hand.
“What’s this?” I gave him a sideway glare.
“Irsen flowers. Chew on them slowly, without swallowing. Their juice will help you fall asleep tonight.” He put the branch into my hand and watched me as I mechanically shoved the entire thing into my mouth.
The bitter-sweet juice thickly coated my tongue when I started chewing. Then a fuzzy haze descended on my mind, warming my chest. My limbs grew heavy, and I sank back into the bedding of my pallet.
“Just this once,” Vrateus murmured, tugging the covers over me.
He tucked me in as the feeling of soaring beyond the lights of the Anomaly swept me into a blissful delusion.
I did not hear when he left again.
I WOKE UP AT THIRTEEN minutes past nine the following morning. I knew the exact time because of the large, metal analogue clock left near my sleeping pallet.
Right away, I dashed to the bathroom to get rid of the nasty, sticky mess of chewed up flowers in my mouth. Spitting it out, I vigorously brushed my teeth, then took a quick cool shower, which brought me back to life.
Last night had drifted away, like nightmares always did in the morning. I had an amazing clarity of mind, and my body buzzed with energy.
Ripping a piece of cloth from one of the dresses on the rack that remained in my room, I wetted it and wiped down my bodysuit and undergarments. The self-cleaning material took care of the rest by absorbing the moisture and dissolving impurities into the air.
Fully dressed, with my hair brushed and put up in a ponytail, I sat down to eat my breakfast. It was a bowl of some grainy matter with the meaty taste of stew. Vrateus must have brought it earlier this morning, as it was still lukewarm.
Escaping this place appeared to be very executable today. Pieces of the plan turned in my head, like a puzzle about to be solved.
I could reasonably assume that my spacesuit had sustained only minimal damage during the crash. I knew the ship’s fuel cells had been designed to fit on the suit, in case of an emergency. Their power would be enough to combat the gravity of a planet many times larger than the solid mass of the Dark Anomaly.
I had to make more accurate calculations, of course. For that I needed to know the exact combined mass of the metal wreckage of the Anomaly. I’d also have to get to my ship and the spacesuit somehow with enough time to assess it for any damages, fix them if necessary, then connect the fuel cells and program the trajectory.
Then, I would need to find my way out to the surface of the Anomaly disk.
To figure all of this out, I needed information that Vrateus must have. He was the captain of this place, after all. Which meant that as little as I wished to speak to him again, I would have to.
The door swished open as soon as I finished my breakfast, making me wonder if I had been watched.
“How are you?” Vrateus entered.
His appearance in my room jolted me with a shock of awareness through my system.
He must have just had a shower. The fur on his head, hands, and tail appeared damp. The faint scent of the same soap I used drifted my way. On him, it had the added flavor of male spice—his very own unique scent.
I had been apprehensive about seeing him this morning, but the effect was even stronger and somewhat different from what I had expected.
Hoping to escape his scent, I took a step back. My eyes however kept taking in the sight of his tall, well-build body, dressed in another one of his ridiculous, wide-sleeved, crispy-white shirts that he somehow made look appealing.
This must be some lingering side effect of the flowers.
Why else would I find anything about this man appealing?
His arms folded across his chest, he drummed the fingers of his right hand against his left bicep, waiting for my answer.
I made an enormous effort not to think where those fingers had been last night when he held me so close to him.
“I’m fine.” My voice came out husky, and I cleared my throat, schooling my expression into something hopefully neutral and casual. “I’m very good, actually. Feel free to show up here with a whole bouquet of those flowers next time.”
“You can’t have them often.” He shook his head with a grim expression on his face. “If you give in to the cravin
g, the juice of the irsen flowers would eventually rot your brain.”
“Isn’t that true about many kinds of cravings?” I muttered, blankly staring at his hand.
When was the last time I had a man make love to me? Definitely not while on the mission. Relationships didn’t last long in a cramped environment of a research station. I had stayed away from the men on my team to avoid the awkward situation of potentially living and working side by side with an ex for the rest of the project if things didn’t work out.
My parents had me during the one and only assignment they had ever worked on together in space. Neither of them had planned for me to happen, and neither wanted to have anything to do with me or with each other, when the project ended.
Nearly a year of no physical contact whatsoever had made me suddenly ogle with appreciation the man who had publicly molested me just a few hours earlier.
Disgusting.
“Possibly.” He reached for the empty bowl in my hands.
I blinked, snapping back to the task I had identified for myself.
Information.
I needed him to tell me more about the Anomaly, to possibly show me as much as possible of it, too.
“I’d like to go for a walk, please.” I clasped my hands in front of me, giving him a friendly smile.
“A walk?” He stared at me as if I had just asked for something unreasonable, like going on a spacewalk in the nude.
“Yes. I’ve been here for two days now, but still haven’t seen much of this place. I’d love to learn more about everything you have here. How do you operate things to ensure your survival? Where does the food come from? The layout of the entire habitable area. How large is it?”
“You want to leave the room?”
He seemed to struggle to grasp the concept of my simple request.
“Yes, please. You can set a time limit if you wish, and I promise to return before it’s up.”
“It’s not safe out there on your own.”
As if I didn’t know that. The amount of rude behaviour I’d encountered in the past two days by far exceeded anything I’d ever faced during my entire life.
“I’m well aware of that, and I’ll be careful. I can go out at night when everyone is asleep. Or any other time of the day you’d suggest. I’ll stay out of everyone’s way.”
He shook his head, his sharp features hardening into a frown.
“It’d be too dangerous any time of the day.”
“It’s not like you have any predators around here,” I insisted.
“Yes, we do. You know that.” He widened his stance. “There are plenty of predators on the Anomaly. I’m their captain.”
“Didn’t your crew already get what they wanted?” I rolled my shoulders back, trying to hide my frustration. It was impossible to have a calm conversation with this man. Whenever I tried, he knocked my composure off within a few sentences. “You used me for their entertainment in exchange for my life and safety. That was the deal, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. But only in exchange for your life. Safety is never guaranteed around here.”
“That seems hardly fair.” I bit my lip to prevent it from trembling, feeling duped and taken advantage of.
He kept shaking his head, unyielding.
“You cannot leave this room. Definitely not on your own. I’m busy, and I have no escort to give you, either. I don’t trust anyone around here enough to leave you in their care.”
I drew in some air, trying to calm my rising frustration. An argument would not be in my best interest right now. I needed his cooperation.
“You’re not even trying to search for a better solution with me,” I said, calmly enough but not without some bitterness in my voice.
“I’ve already found the best solution there could be in this situation.”
“Keeping me locked up? Around the clock?” My temper flared, and my voice leaped higher. “Why?”
“Because this is the safest place for you!” he snapped. His own patience was obviously even shorter than mine. “Out there, someone will always want more from you than what is allowed.”
“But that’s not what has been negotiated. You said ‘once a week’ only, and I believed you...” My voice rang high and brittle to my ear. Frustration burned my eyelids with tears.
I’d gone through the most degrading experience in my life, and it bought me nothing. No safety, no freedom.
If I wasn’t allowed to leave this room, my only chance for escape disappeared.
I could not stay here forever.
“You’re their captain, aren’t you?” I pleaded. “Order them to leave me alone. That was the deal.”
“I can’t guarantee my orders will be followed, unless I personally supervise their execution.”
“Sounds like something a micro-managing control freak would say,” I couldn’t hold back the snappy remark. He was obviously making up excuses to deny my request.
He stretched his neck, his jaw tightened.
“You chose to live,” he growled at me. “Your survival is now my responsibility. I decide how it can best be accomplished.”
“And locking me in this room is the only solution?”
“Yes.”
I groaned exasperated. “Forever?”
“Until the next week’s session.”
Session? Sounded so proper and legit, it made me want to puke.
“The jerk-off fest, you mean?” I seethed with anger. “Is that all my life is now? You’ll keep me locked up in here, like an animal in a cage? Letting me out only for that pathetic entertainment you’ve invented?”
He flinched at my words but recovered quickly.
“It’s not my fault you crashed here.” He kept his voice even, but a flush of color on his bronzed cheeks and the wild lashing of his tail against his legs betrayed his agitation. “Do you understand how much disruption your arrival has caused? I’ve spent years, establishing the current order, and I have to work daily on maintaining it.”
“Well, excuse me, for choosing to crash on your neat little freak fest and to wreak havoc with my arrival!” I no longer cared about preserving any kind of diplomacy, spurred by the frustration, shame, and desperation. And fear. The cold, brutal fear that I might be forced to remain here forever. That this would be the only life I’d ever know. “Do you think I wanted to come here? This shithole is the last place I want to be!”
He huffed, leaning toward my face and fully invading my personal space. The burnt orange of his irises lit up with barely contained rage. His hot scent wrapped all around me, making my breath hitch.
“I promised you a fast, clean death,” he gritted through his teeth. “The offer still stands if you change your mind. Otherwise, you are to do what I say. Just like everyone else in this shithole.”
This was an outright threat. The heat of it made my blood boil.
“If you think that I—” I started, not even sure yet how I was intending to finish the sentence but determined not to let him have the last word.
“You’re staying here!” he bit off, his voice hard and cold like steel. “Locked in and safe.”
Pivoting on his heel, he stormed out of the room, with an angry whip of his tail against the door frame.
Asshole!
I yelled in my head as the door closed, taking him out of the earshot.
Pervert.
And a brute. Despite all his fine shirts, embossed leather, and jewellery, he was no better than the least of his crew dressed in rags—a barbarian like the rest of them.
I paced the glass floor, raging inside.
I despised them all. However, the rest of the crew were mostly just one homogenous mass of sweaty bodies and leering eyes to me. Hellfire could come and burn them all en masse for all I cared.
Their captain, however, I yearned to strangle with my own hands. I wished to have his life in my control for a change, to see something else than that calm focus in his bright orange eyes.
Spotting the fiery glow of rage in
them a minute earlier stirred something in me.
I was glad he’d left. Yet somewhere deep inside me, I wondered what would have happened if he’d stayed.
He didn’t matter.
I shook if off, bringing myself back to my senses.
Even without his help, I would get to my ship. Sooner or later, I’d be out of here. And he could stay and rot in this place, along with his crew of degenerates.
Chapter 8
THE DAY DRAGGED ON. The hours between meals felt like weeks. Vrateus would bring my food and take back the empty dishes—all without saying a word, hardly throwing a glance my way.
Fine, be that way.
I sulked, too. Sitting on the sleeping pallet, I watched the endless light show outside the glass during the brief few minutes he spent in my room each time.
The silence grew heavier with each of his visits and harder to bear. With no one to talk to, the loneliness grew. I had to speak with him, to get some information. But more than that, I just wanted to talk, with anyone.
The next morning, I showered and dressed, unsure of why I even bothered. As far as anyone in this place was probably concerned, I could have stayed in bed for the next several days. As long as I showed up to excite them during their weekly public masturbation sessions, no one cared what I did the rest of the time.
“Good morning,” I offered the greeting first when Vrateus brought my breakfast.
He froze, holding the tray with a huge metal bowl and an ornate metal cup on it. Narrowing his eyes, he gave me an assessing stare.
“Morning,” he replied tentatively, still obviously sulking.
If he were expecting an apology from me, he would have to wait for a long time. I would not apologize for demanding to be treated as a free person with dignity, even as he had deprived me of both dignity and freedom.
I couldn’t bear to sit in silence, day after day, as years passed by in the outside world—the world where I belonged.
Gravity (Dark Anomaly Book 1) Page 6