Indigo pulled the gas nozzle out of the tank and put it back in the dock. She climbed into the driver’s seat and gave Molly a hard look. That white girl needed to calm the fuck down or she was going to get slapped again. Indigo put the key in the ignition and turned over the motor, chastising herself for thinking so harshly about her best friend.
“How fucked up was that?” Indigo asked, pulling out of the gas station.
“I guess it’s going to be the new normal,” Molly whispered.
“Maybe,” Indigo said. She put the gun in the glove compartment as she sped up the highway. They’d be in Tahoe in a few more hours, and she could finally sleep. The coffee had barely made a dent in her fatigue, but she couldn’t stop now.
Chapter 3
Vlosh Torr stood on the bridge of the command ship in the Draconian military armada. The Draconian’s ancient enemy, the Mulgor, had somehow found out about Earth.
When they had suddenly left the Draconian solar system, the president of Draconia had sent the entire military armada to Earth. It had been a hunch, but only hours later, the mating armada had sent them a distress message.
They’d had to flee, not having the military strength to defend Earth from the Mulgor. The mating armada was not a military operation. The vast majority of the inhabitants of the fleet were civilians. The ships were not equipped with more than a rudimentary number of missiles.
As Vlosh looked out at the image of the Mulgor ships orbiting Earth, he could see that their enemy had sent much of their own military to Earth.
Because Draconian DNA favored male offspring, it was necessary for them to find planets with other races to mate with once every thousand years. Earth was one of those planets, but they hadn’t been there for five thousand years. When they had arrived, they’d found that Earth humans had evolved much more quickly than they had anticipated.
The last time the Draconians were on Earth, humans were barbaric and unsophisticated. They had worshiped the Draconians as gods. The other species the Draconians mated with were either at the technological level of the old Earth, or were somewhere close to their own level of advancement. Earth humans were in that gray area between barbarian and advanced species that the Draconians usually avoided completely.
The Mulgor had attacked right before the scheduled trip to Earth. The government had been distracted and had not performed the necessary research to ensure their interaction with Earth humans would not be disruptive to the species. Giving them advanced technology had been a last-ditch effort to salvage the mating mission. Unfortunately, that oversight had served the humans poorly, sending their entire global economy into a deep recession.
In the last few months, the president of Draconia had decided to take a more active role in the human society, attempting to right the wrongs that their interference has caused. Now their interaction with Earth had brought the attention of the Mulgor.
The Mulgor had invaded, bombing almost every major city on the planet. If the Mulgor could prevent the Draconians from reviving their DNA, they could essentially wipe them out by the Draconians’ own genetic weakness.
The Draconians had other planets they bred with, but that would not solve the problem with the Mulgor. Not if the lizard-men were willing to destroy any planet that the Draconians visited. It was a catastrophe. But General Vlosh Torr, the highest ranking general in the entire Draconian military, was ready for the challenge.
It was his lifelong mission to see the Mulgor wiped from the universe. Their single-minded hatred of the Draconians had to come to an end. Many millions of years ago, the Mulgor and Draconians had been one species. A group of Draconians had settled on another planet and mated with a species there.
Over time, the Mulgor evolved into their own species. With that evolution came a savage hatred for what they had once been. Draconians were noble, intelligent, and egalitarian in their views of society.
Different Draconians had different jobs, but no person was higher or lower than any other. While they had deep respect for authority and expertise, they treated each other fairly.
The Mulgor had a deep-seated caste system. The lowest caste were those who could still shift into dragon form. They destroyed the lowest caste, considering them unworthy of life. That meant that the entire race of Draconians should be destroyed.
They had been battling against the Mulgor for hundreds of thousands of years but had not seen them for a millennium. The Mulgor had reemerged five years ago, more vicious than ever in their attempt to eradicate all Draconians from the universe.
Vlosh could not understand the Mulgors’ hatred of his race, but that would not stop him from defending his people and defending the people of Earth. It was his most sacred duty, and he would lay his life on the line to fulfill his oath as the general of the military armada. He had been entrusted by the president of Draconia to defend their people, and there was nothing more important to Vlosh than doing just that.
“Sir,” an officer said as Vlosh sat in his captain’s chair on the bridge. “We’re receiving an incoming message from the mating armada. They have entered the solar system.”
“Bring it online,” Vlosh said to the junior ranking officer.
The window of the bridge flickered into a screen that showed the Draconian commander of the mating armada. It was Vlosh’s old friend and associate, Commander Nash Or. Nash saluted Vlosh with the traditional Draconian salute, placing his hand over his heart and bowing slightly forward, casting his eyes down.
“General Torr, we are relieved and honored by your presence here. We must salvage the mating mission, or all will be lost. There is no time to make arrangements with any other species to renew our DNA.”
“I know the urgency of the mission, Commander Or,” Vlosh said. “The Mulgor have already invaded Earth and are terrorizing the people. Our priority now is to push them back and to remove any remaining Mulgor from the planet.”
“When they first jumped into the solar system, we estimated that it was only half of their military force,” Commander Or said.
“There is no sign of the Mulgor in the Draconian solar system. The question remains, where is the rest of their fleet?”
“Are there ships in orbit around Draconia to defend our home world?” Commander Or asked.
“We have left Draconia defended. From the simulations we’ve run, we have come to the conclusion that we outmatch the Mulgor orbiting Earth. If we can at least push them back from the planet, we can salvage our relationship with the Earth humans and allow them to go on with their lives.”
“Earth has been devastated already. Knowing the Earth humans, they will accept our help begrudgingly.”
“They will have no choice. Once we have pushed the Mulgor back, we will do what we can to restore their society. We have the resources and the go-ahead from the president to do whatever it takes. But now, the priority is to get the Mulgor as far away from Earth as possible.”
“DNA samples from all the men aboard the military armada have been entered into the mating lottery system,” Commander Or stated.
“My men do not have time to be mated. We have a solar system and a planet to defend.”
“Be that as it may, sir, the president already stated at the beginning of our mission, any Draconian male who comes into the Earth solar system will be entered into the mating lottery. We must continue our mission.”
“This is why you were put in charge of the mating armada, Commander Or. You understand the necessity, even more than I do. I acquiesce to your greater expertise in that matter. But I ask that it not interfere with the duties of the men aboard the military armada. The brides will be brought to the quarters of the men aboard our fleet, and the men’s duties will always come first.”
“I agree with you, sir. But each individual man will have to take it up with this human bride. These women are… a handful.”
“A handful?”
“They may be tiny, but they are strong of will. They are demanding and expect attention.”
“Have your men performed the Earth human training?” Commander Or asked.
“There hasn’t been time,” Vlosh said.
“That could be a problem.”
Chapter 4
Indigo gripped the steering wheel, desperately trying to stay awake as her eyes glazed over from staring at the black pavement that stretched out before her. Molly continued to slumber at her side. Only fifty miles to her grandfather’s cabin, deep in the backwoods around Lake Tahoe. She prayed she could stay awake that long.
When she pulled off the main highway, she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she was nearly there. The sun had risen several hours ago, and she felt more drained than she’d ever been in her entire life. Molly roused at her side, blinking in the sunlight.
“Are we almost there?” she asked.
“Not much further now,” Indigo said. “You should call your parents and let them know where you are. There won’t be cell reception at the cabin.”
Molly pulled her cellphone out of her purse and dialed her parents’ number. She put the phone to her ear and waited as it rang. Indigo glanced to her friend and noted her worried expression. A moment later, Molly hung up.
“No answer,” she whispered.
“I’m sure they’re all right,” Indigo said. But no one could be sure. Her parents lived in a populated area east of San Francisco. If the Mulgor were invading the most populated cities on Earth, the outlying areas would be in their radar. Anything could have happened by now.
Indigo’s mind was hazy and she couldn’t think about the atrocities that were being committed at that very moment against her own kind. All she could think about was keeping her hands on the wheel and her eyes open long enough to make it to the cabin. She prayed to God that her parents were there. If they weren’t, she didn’t know what else to do.
Molly sent her parents a text message, then turned on the radio. The single station still broadcasting gave updates on the invasion. If nothing else, at least they knew something. At least there was one single voice in the darkness keeping the rest of humanity informed.
Indigo pulled off the highway onto a one-lane rural road that led out to the cabin. Only a few more miles left until she could sleep.
Just keep going.
Just keep going.
She blinked hard. When her eyes opened, Molly screamed as a deer jumped out in front of the car. Indigo slammed on the brakes and the tires skidded on the frosty road. The car began to spin. Molly screamed again. The deer bounded away, but the car slid toward a ravine off the side of the road.
When it finally came to a stop, they were tilted sideways off the road. Indigo turned the key in the ignition, trying to start the car again. If she could get the car running, she could probably pull out of the ditch. The engine sputtered and choked.
“Shit!” Indigo swore.
They were so close, so very close. She punched the steering wheel with the side of her fist and tried to turn over the engine again. It gave a disgusted choking croak and went quiet.
“God dammit!”
She looked over at Molly, who had tears streaming down her face. Indigo was so tired of being the strong one, but she reached over and patted her friend’s arm anyway.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Indigo said wearily. “We can walk from here; it’s only a few miles.”
Molly nodded her head in agreement. They climbed out of the car, carrying the backpack and the garbage bag full of food. Indigo grabbed the gun from the glove compartment and shoved it in the back waistband of her pants. After the run-in at the gas station, she couldn’t be too careful.
The air was cold and Molly began shivering visibly as soon as they set foot on the road. Indigo stopped briefly and pulled a sweatshirt out of the backpack and handed it to Molly. She put one on herself, and they continued on.
It was a three-mile hike up the road to the cabin. By the time she saw the short driveway that led to her grandfather’s property, she was dead tired. Her mind barely worked anymore. Her entire body was numb. When she saw the cabin come into view, the first tear slid down her face.
“This is it.” She had meant to exclaim, it but it came out as a whisper, her voice hoarse and choked.
“Oh, thank God! I’m so tired,” Molly said. “I can’t imagine how tired you are, Indigo. I feel like such a bitch for not helping you drive.”
“Don’t worry about it, Molly. You were way too out of it to drive last night. We might’ve crashed.” Indigo tried to brush it off as if it were funny. But the fact was, she was beginning to resent her friend. She hated feeling that way.
Molly had been a good friend, helpful, kind, sharing. She had helped Indigo pay bills more than once. She shared clothes with her and never asked for them back. Molly always made sure Indigo had food to eat. She had never asked for anything in return. She had been a truly good friend. Now that Indigo had the opportunity to repay her, she wasn’t going to resent Molly for her temperament or her upbringing. That just wasn’t the kind of girl Indigo was.
They trudged toward the cabin. Snowdrifts from an old storm piled against the trees in the forest that surrounded them. When they got to the cabin, Indigo saw her parents’ SUV in the driveway. Like Molly’s car, her parents’ car still ran on gasoline and didn’t have the new hover technology that so many of the wealthiest of humans had in this day and age. Molly’s car was a hand-me-down from another time. A girl her age was lucky to even have a vehicle at all. Middle-class families like Molly’s were disappearing more and more with each passing month.
Indigo’s mother flung open the front door of the cabin and ran out to greet Indigo. She enveloped her in her arms and Indigo began to sob. The fatigue finally set in and gripped her body and mind so tightly she could barely stand. Her father wrapped her in his arms and her parents brought her inside the small cabin.
It was a one-bedroom cabin with finicky electrical wiring and a big stone fireplace with a toasty, warm fire blazing within. Indigo slumped down on the ratty old couch facing the fireplace with a heavy sigh.
“She drove all night,” Molly said, setting the bag of food in the kitchen. Her parents had met Molly several times when they had visited the college, so Indigo didn’t bother introducing them. She just laid down on the couch and curled up in the fetal position. She was so tired she didn’t know if she could even sleep.
“We’re so relieved you made it, honey,” her father said, stroking her back.
“I have to sleep,” Indigo said. She couldn’t keep her eyes open. If she tried to talk to her parents or Molly now, she would burst into tears. Her whole body hurt and her mind had stopped working.
“Indigo, why don’t you go sleep on the bed in the bedroom,” she heard her father say. She was too tired to stand up or speak or do anything but lie there. She grunted and didn’t move.
“You can sleep here if you need to, sweetheart,” her mother said, pulling a blanket up over her shoulders.
She heard the rest of them move off into the kitchen, and she smelled the scent of bacon frying in a frying pan a few moments later. That was the last thing she remembered until she woke up many hours later, the light outside fading into darkness.
She sat up with a start, looking around the cabin for her parents and friend. Indigo jumped to her feet, her heart racing. The trauma of running from the lizard-men was catching up with her. While they had never seen the Mulgor, she knew they were out there. She knew they had invaded Los Angeles and were killing college kids.
She found her parents and Molly sitting around the kitchen table eating an evening meal. Her stomach contracted painfully. God, she was hungry. Everyone smiled up at her and said good morning, ironically. She smiled weakly and slid into the fourth chair at the table.
Her father dished her up a plate of spaghetti and meatballs and set it in front of her. She groaned, smelling the food wafting towards her nose. She swirled spaghetti noodles around her fork and shoved a bite into her m
outh.
“We hear you’re a real hero,” her father said, breaking a piece of French bread and handing it to her.
Indigo took the bread and bit off a big chunk. “Not really,” she said, her mouth full.
“Don’t be so modest, Indigo,” Molly said. “We heard over the radio that the Mulgor came into the dormitory and shot up all of the students inside. If you hadn’t forced me to climb out the window, I would be dead, too.”
“I don’t want to think about it right now,” Indigo said. She’d slept all day, but she was still exhausted. All the time running had kept her from having to think about what was happening to her planet.
“None of us really want to think about it,” her father said. “But it’s happening. We have to deal with it.”
“The news said there’s a new Draconian armada orbiting Mars. Some big space telescope found evidence of their presence earlier today. Hopefully, they’re here to save us.”
“The Draconians are the reason for all of our problems. They’re the reason your dad lost his job at the car company. They’re the reason that our economy has been in the toilet. They’re the reason the Mulgor are here to kill us all,” her mother said.
“They’ve been trying to help us ever since the terrorists attacked New York,” Molly said.
“Too little, too late in my opinion,” Indigo’s mother said.
“They’re our only hope,” Indigo whispered before shoving another bite of food in her mouth.
“Let’s hope they don’t screw this up,” her mother said.
The Draconian interference had accentuated the problems that humanity already had. Nobody knew the whole story, but what had been shared on the news had explained that the Draconians had never intended to share new technology with humans.
They hadn’t expected humans to be as advanced as they were or to refuse mating with them for nothing in return. Humans accepted the advanced technology in exchange for peacefully cooperating with the mating lottery.
It hadn’t been the Draconians who had decided to consolidate all of the wealth earned from the new technologies into the hands of just a few corporations. The wealthiest humans had only become wealthier, and the poorest humans had become more poverty-stricken. Those in the middle had slid down the ladder, and the world was in a big, fat stinking mess. The Draconians had just given humans technology. They didn’t tell them how to handle it.
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