He clicks the new transplant into my socket. Slowly, my vision comes back to me. The empty sensation goes away.
The alien lifts my head and opens my mouth. I try biting down, but it takes no effort for him to pry my teeth open. The computer analyzes my breath particles, and he swabs the inside of my mouth for good measure.
When he finishes, he smacks my ass.
"Processed. You are our property until auction. After you are sold, the deed will go to your new owner. You will become his responsibility," he says. "Proceed to the next line."
"The next line?"
Before I can finish the question, he shoves me through to another section, just outside of the massive warehouse. I cover my naked body as best I can.
I can see more of the area now. Past a giant brick wall is the back outline of a large plantation. This isn't only a storehouse used for processing people. This is an old, rundown farm, and they use every section for different purposes. I have no idea what other fucked up things they do, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to their plans.
I pass women in cages. These aliens are pregnant. Every one of them. They must be the picks for the breeding program.
As I'm pushed down the line, they hold the bars and moan with sorrow, begging for help.
"I’m sorry. I can't help you," I mutter.
One sighs under her breath. “Eat shit, Earth-Fed traitor.”
At the end of the line is a door. Blocking the door is an alien woman sitting in a glass booth. She’s the only woman I have seen working here. On her left breast is a tag that reads “Work Permit 7291.”
She presses a button, and a speaker turns on. "This way, honey-plum. Right through here."
I shuffle forward. On the wall next to the glass box is a round mirror.
"Here you go," the woman says as she presses another button.
A hatch opens below. Inside is a dress, a diamond necklace, heels, and fresh panties.
"What's this for?" I ask.
She gives me a warm smile. "Sweetheart, it's for the pageant."
"The... what?"
Her eyes twitch toward the guards. Her smile holds steady, but the stench of fear is written all over her face. "The auction, sweetheart. I'm sorry—did we get you the wrong size? They usually don't make mistakes with the measurements."
Blank stare. Maybe if I just stay here long enough, they'll let me go. Maybe that’s the key to getting a work permit. At this point, I’d do anything to have this woman’s job.
She sighs, and her smile wavers. "Oh, sweetheart. Don’t worry. We can get this settled. If you'd like, I can have a guard assist you back into the last room," she says. "They do that sort of thing all the time."
I glance over at the other guards. They grin, and I come back to my senses. If I go back into that room, I’ll just be abused again.
I take the black dress in my hand. "No need to go out of your way," I mutter.
I put on the outfit and eye myself in the mirror.
I sniff and smile. "Perfect fit."
"I'd say," the woman replies. "The alphas will absolutely adore you."
I swallow and nod my head. They will love me. But are they going to bring me back to my old life? Are they going to pick up the shattered pieces of my past and deliver justice?
Will my life ever be the same again?
Diamond necklace: on.
Heels: on.
"Don't forget the makeup, sweetie," she says.
Smile: on. Lipstick: it’s smeared, but it’s fucking on.
"Don't you cry," I whisper to myself. "Don't you dare let them see you cry."
The woman hits another button. The door in front of me unlocks. “Okay, lucky sugar. Are you ready to take the stage?" she asks.
The stage?
I hold my breath. "I guess we'll find out."
Anna
I am thrown through the door. Tossed into the center of a strange stage as alpha aliens of all races ogle me. I'm shuffled out of the shade, where the big boys play poker, watch dancing women, and eat elaborate plates of strange crustaceans. They hastily devour the seafood and throw the shells onto the floor.
The lights of the club flash green and red, and the smoke from fat cigars wafts into the air. It’s an outright nightmare.
"This way. Right here. Yes, here." An alien points to some orange tape on the floor, presumably where I am supposed to plant my feet.
The alien alphas stand and applause as saliva falls from their sick faces. Jaws twisting, they bite and howl. Tables flip, and drinks crash to the floor. The liquid spreads into the carpet, and all eyes are fixed on me.
These alphas disgust me.
Music plays. A wonky bass-line resonates deeply within my belly as it shakes the stage. I walk forward, standing in the center of that bright spotlight. I look straight into it and feel the burn of my pupils. I don’t care anymore. I’ve lost all hope.
A wormy alien with a long neck and protruding teeth slithers onto the stage. He sways around me, coiling his fingers around a microphone. "This is a rare one, folks. Anna Longdale. Born on Planet Kurrek. Settled in Earth Federation’s base near Elysa. Recently, she became an officer, and she has always strived for a top position. Let's give a round of applause for this military beauty queen!"
One alpha sniffs, holding the air deep within his lung. His arms flex as he balances on the edge of his toes. "A human?"
“Unheard of…” another says.
An alien ashes his cigarette onto the carpet. "Military cunt. Boy, such fun."
The wormy announcer taps the microphone a few times. "She may look tough on the outside, but she really is a lovable sweetheart. Her talents include ballet, alien linguistics, and won't you look at that body? She is a perfect fit for managing a family."
Ballet? Linguistics? How do they know everything about me? There’s no way the Syndicates have access to the Earth-Federation systems. Access is only possible with a general’s admission.
An alien hastily slurps a plate of oysters, tossing the shells aside. "Get on with it! Let's start the bidding!"
"The bidding starts at 1 krown, a very rare discount," the announcer says.
He nudges my elbow and pinches down on the skin until a red mark floods the surface. "Ouch!"
"Dance for them, sweetheart," he says. “Dance as if your life depends on it.”
"I'm not something to sell," I say. "I need to get back home. Earth Federation will hang you for this."
How many times will my mind urge me to say things I know will get me into trouble? I understand they won't let me go. No one in this room cares about the Earth Federation. They only hold contempt for the institution.
"Dance," he commands. "Very wealthy alphas here. The better you look, the better life you'll have. If you come across as a bitch, you’ll be given to a swine."
I hate the fact that he’s right.
The bidding begins with the men spitting and yelling over each other. Five krowns. Ten krowns. Three hundred krowns. The number keeps going up.
The worst aliens on the planet fight over me. I think about what life they plan to give me. The abuse they have already dealt is too much for me to handle, and my fever is growing with intensity. If one of these aliens buy me, I'll find a way to kill myself.
At the high point of auction, a mysterious alpha alien walks inside. The door shuts loudly behind him. "Ten Thousand krowns."
The music cuts. Everyone turns to look at the alien that jumped the bid. He walks forward, pulling down his shirt to show his slaver branding. Black tattoos; they look so familiar. And then it hits me. He is the alien who stuck me in the jungle.
The presenter coughs into the microphone. "Ax. She has already been processed. That means you have been paid your dues. You know the rules. Please, let the alphas have a chance at buying their mate."
"I found her. I take her," he says. "And if you don't agree, I'll leave the payment on your dead mother's cunt."
The alphas who were already standing and
slobbering over their plates step in front of the stage, presumably to shield him from me. One grins and takes a long pull from his cigarette. "She goes to the highest bidder."
"I found her," the slaver repeats. "I caught her. I won't let any of you have her."
The other alien scrunches his lips and holds his stare as the slaver silently walks toward him, eventually pushing against his chest.
"This is against the rules," the other alien whispers.
I back into the corner of the stage, hastily searching for a way out. There is none.
The alpha slaver nods. "I don’t give a shit about the rules," he says. "So tell me - what are you going to do about it?"
In a fit of desperate rage, the smoking alien turns and jumps on stage. All of the alphas start to yell. "I will rut her before you can," he says.
Ax, the mysterious alpha slaver pulls out a gun, a Glock-17 with some heavy-metal customization built into the frame. I've never seen anything like it, which leads me to believe he made it himself.
He fires the gun three times. As the smoke subsides, the alien falls near my feet. Blood rushes through the indents of my toes. He’s dead, and Ax is very much alive.
He walks around to the side of the stage. Using the stairs, he walks up and takes my hand, yanking me up into his arms.
"This sopping-wet cunt is mine to seed. If anyone wants to say anything about it, they can answer to my weapon as I shove it up their cock," he bellows.
Pulling me closer, he slides a collar around my neck. He leashes me and walks forward, whispering, "It's okay, baby-girl. They're not going to hurt you."
Should I be satisfied?
Every alien in the room freezes. The alpha slaver throws a wad of money onto the counter of the bar.
"Keep the change."
They eye us as we leave the building. This can’t be the last I will see of the Syndicate, but for now, I have found an owner.
Lucky me.
Thrown into a small craft, I'm taken through the upper edge of the planet’s atmosphere where we zip away from the jungle and fly above a set of snowy mountains. I'm kept chained in the back, but he allows me to look through the window and watch as we leave all familiarity behind for good.
He doesn't stick me with a needle again, but there's nowhere to run. I have lost all hope of escape.
"Almost there," he barks.
His outfit is menacing. Leather straps reach around his shoulders. Spikes protrude from his vest. In the center of his harness are multiple blades, guns, and needles. He keeps a mask over his mouth to cover possible scars. I wonder how much damage he's done to the world.
As we fly, I can make out the large industrial aircrafts that police the sky. He must have turned on a shield to protect us from getting caught. Great.
In the far distance, the crafts sit like monoliths, but every so often, an orange blaze opens up the center of the cannon. It shoots laser rays big enough to take out villages.
The explosions don't phase me like they used to. The sounds are more comforting than they ought to be. And now that he has bought me, I can't think of anything except how I wish to drop bombs all across this fucked up planet. Eliminating the aliens would be a dream.
It’s wrong, I know. But I can’t help the contempt I feel. I have been taken and abused. Sold to the big bad wolf himself. I never hurt anyone, so why are they hurting me?
There were so many of them at the farm. Alien women.
We’re taught not to empathize with them, but I can’t hold scorn for long without thinking of them. I want that facility closed for good, but I’m here, with him.
We've been here for more than a hundred years. We could have stopped the Syndicate activity, but we haven't done shit. We make rules that they circumvent, and what does it lead to? This. Slavery.
He turns the craft and slows down as we reach a mountainous region where the rocks curl like malevolent waves. We hover down into the center, and he parks inside of a small cave.
He gets out, opens my door, and holds a prod over my head.
"Out," he commands. I hesitate before he adds, “I won’t ask again.”
The air rushes around us. The soil is a deep purple, and light blue crystals cover the rocks.
"Where are we?" I ask.
"You are sick," he says. "Infected with the injection I gave you. I need to quarantine you."
It was Xygo fever. I didn’t forget. I feel my forehead with the back of my hand. It’s hot. "I'm fine. Really, I am."
He prods my neck, forcing my body into quick convulsions.
"Get the fuck out," he says.
He grabs the leash near my neck and pulls me out instead. I slide across the dirt and quickly jump to my feet. I stumble and walk in front of him.
"There," he points.
Inside the cave is a small walkway. We walk for what seems to be a few minutes before another sliver of light pokes through the back end of the cave.
"Keep going," he says. "Almost there."
As we walk through to the other side, we come to an opening. I see a water reservoir with a ladder fashioned to the inside. At first, I think to myself, "Well, at least we have access to clean water." Yet, as he stops and points at the ladder, I realize this is where he's quarantining me.
"Inside," he says.
I look down into the blackness, the infinite abyss that is supposed to be my new room. This is pure isolation. It's torture.
At least there’s no water inside.
"I... I can't do it," I say.
"Don't make me hurt you. Your sickness will ruin your faculties if we don't act fast. Do you want to die?" he asks.
No, I don’t want to die. But I’m not exactly fond of living like this either. Still, I make the decision to comply.
I step onto the ladder and lower myself down. He stands over me, watching intently as each step brings me further and further into the dark domain.
He has drained the water from the bottom of the well, but the air is freezing. A small mattress has been set. It’s almost like he knew I’d be coming here. Like he was preparing for me.
As soon as I touch the mattress, I realize it is a bundle of hay with a sheet thrown over it. Not very comfortable, but it’ll have to do. I’m too tired to protest. I’m weak and feeling feverish.
Everything about this situation is a nightmare, but it could be worse. They could have locked me in one of those cages, forcing me to breed for the Syndicate.
Another thought runs through my mind; the slaver will want to breed me, too. Will I have to comply?
Obviously, I will. I'll have to submit to his demands, over and over again.
Inside the water reservoir, I am far away from him. That's one thing I can be happy about. I'm also sick. He's not going to touch me. I could die.
Maybe there's still time to get out of here. It's possible that he bought me purely to make a deal with Earth Federation. Maybe he wants to buy his way to freedom. That makes the most sense. I have to be worth more than ten thousand measly krowns.
His silhouette hugs the top of the reservoir. "Sleep," he commands. "Your thoughts will only bring you false truths. You are thousands of miles away from home. There is no escape."
He slides the ladder out of the reservoir and tosses it aside. He then drags a cement covering over the top.
"You bastard," I scream. "I'll fucking kill you."
He looks at me for a few seconds before closing the well completely.
"Go ahead and try, bitch."
I open my eyes to darkness. I'm starving. My throat is so dry my mouth sticks like glue. It's freezing, and I have no blankets to keep me warm. To top it all off, I'm strapped down to the mattress. I don't know how long it's been, but I suspect a full day.
The fever is spreading.
I hear something move next to my ear. It's the sound of metal scraping against metal. It hurts my ears and jolts me awake.
"Hush."
It's him, the alien slaver. He's inside the darkness with me.
/> "What are you doing?" I ask.
Although it's dark, I can see my breath flow from my mouth. My tears have dried on my cheeks.
"I'm observing you," he says.
"Why?" I ask.
"For one, I am preparing to integrate you," he says. "Two, I don't want you to die."
"Integrate," I whisper. "Only aliens go through the integration process. You are talking to a junior officer of Earth Federation. If you want to make a deal with them, I can help you."
He ignores my words. "You are not used to this lifestyle, but it is suitable for you to learn how to act around here. This might come as a shock, but I am the best option you have to survive," he says.
I'm so exhausted I can't even cry. There's no fear left inside of me.
"What are you wheeling around the room? I heard something metal," I say.
He lights a few small candles. I see that I'm naked again and cover myself as best I can. Sweat clings to my body. I’m beyond sick.
Next to him is a surgical table with an IV kit and fancy tools I've never seen before. "Humans can't stay in the darkness for too long or their minds play tricks on them. We will fix you with better eyes."
I blink and press a finger against my eyelid. It feels bruised. "They already gave me another transplant at the farm," I say.
He shakes his head. He has already settled the matter. I can’t debate with him.
"It's no good using their tech. Video feed sends data. Data is not good to share these days," he says.
Oh, God. He's going to torture me again. He will serve every spoon full of medicine with a heavy dose of sadism.
He puts the IV kit together, fills the bladder with strange and iridescent blue liquids, and he fixes the chamber to the needle before nodding at my chained wrists.
"Arm out," he says.
"No," I whisper.
"Antibiotics. Medicine. Fluids to keep you alive," he mutters. “Don’t be so stupid.”
"Please. No more pain."
He knocks his knuckles against the surgical table, sending tools flying. "Pain is the very basis of our existence. Don't you know that, military bitch?"
"None of what happened during the invasion is my fault," I protest. "I was young when it happened. I joined Earth Federation to help you. I promise.”
Alien Mate: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 3