Clara's lifeless body lies buried in the tall grass of the plains. Anna's tears drape her cheeks, and she whips around violently as the Gerkis take control of her.
I growl and swing at the Gerkis. "Get. Off. Her."
They shock me with prods, but I can't feel a thing. I keep moving toward her, and she reaches out to me. "I love you," she whispers.
I take her hand. Suddenly, everyone is pulling me back, but I refuse to let go. "I love you, my human," I say.
It's a tender moment, but it's cut short.
Anna's eyes widen. "Watch out!" she yells.
I turn and see one of the Gerkis raise the butt of his rifle above my head.
"Oh, shit," I mutter.
As the butt of his gun juts through the air to crack my head, I see where we need to go. It's a bright star. A fascinating star with one perfect planet.
"That's the planet we'll settle on," I say.
Thwack.
Anna
"We'll get through this," he says.
A shallow laugh escapes my lips. I can barely think, let alone feel.
"How you holding up?"
I raise my eyes. Ax holds my hand, delicately. His face is caked with blood, and his eyes still waver from the blow. Still, he’s there for me. He’s trying.
"I'm not sure I can answer your question properly. I just witnessed my best friend die," I mutter.
His hand does not let go. "I am sorry for Clara, Anna. For everything," he says. "Of every scenario imaginable, I never thought it would be the Gerkis finding us."
There is no need for apologies. It's not his fault. He warned me about the risks. I was too cocky. I didn’t think we’d actually get caught.
This planet seeks to snuff out the light of our love. And no matter how hard we fight for it, we are cast aside and abused.
I can't help but take on all the guilt for this. I was the one who snuck out and toyed with the radio. It was my grand plan to get Clara to transport us back to the base to escape to the stars. All of this was my fault. Now, she's dead.
We have been traveling for hours, and I can't stop wondering how we will get out of this one.
They have chained us together. They shackled our ankles. They strapped weights to our necks to keep our heads bowed. This time, my protector cannot save me. Though our bond is stronger than ever, we are both powerless.
Outside the vehicle, there are no mountains. No trees. No buildings in sight. Large dunes of red sand meander around the horizon, and the air is so hot that desert oases appear to be everywhere.
This is a land of tricks. The life that exists here has adapted to cruelty and oppression. I wish we never left the sanctuary Ax created for us.
We roll through a hill and I see a small military settlement. There appear to be no humans, but the aliens that greet us at the gate are wielding Earth Federation weapons, hand-me-downs from past battles.
"Welcome to the Red Sands," Ax says. "Once we're out of this vehicle, keep your mouth shut and your head down."
"So this is the Red Sands," I say. “I always imagined it differently. Larger.”
"It’s small, but the Gerkis have free reign. They are reptilian scum. They were the first to sell out their own kind to the human invaders. I can't say that I'm thrilled to be here," he says.
A group of guards pull us out of the cramped rover, forcing us to walk in a straight line up a nearby hill, toward what I assume is their processing units.
The units are a group of round, clay buildings, each one slightly bigger than the next, forming a large circle in the perimeter. Lining the area are alien bodies pierced with multi-layered spikes as a warning to outside intruders. They bake in the sun's heat, and the smell is disgusting. In the center of the small village, other aliens burn on a large pyre. The town is nothing but a place of judgment.
They scan our eyes. They take our DNA. They are rougher with him than they are with me.
As long as we are together, we can get through this. We'll find a way out of here.
After hours of deliberation, they bring us to another large clay building. Only, this one is different. It is painted black.
"What is this place?" I whisper.
Ax looks worried. "The Gerkis are speedy with their trials," he says.
We filter down the large stone steps until we reach the lower level of the building. Scattered plates of bones, meat, and utensils are everywhere. Four fat toad-like aliens sit, smiling hungrily.
"The giant frogs. Who are they?" I ask.
"The Zelfon. Bureaucratic toad-tongues without a brain to help them. Look at their pitiful bodies. They didn't fight Earth's invasion, but if they had tried, they would have been killed off in an instant."
They wear white wigs and black, button down outfits that are far too tight for their stomachs. One burps. Another drools onto the table. The other Zelfon aliens choke on more food.
"They are ridiculous," I say.
"They wield a lot of power. Bow your head and plead forgiveness. They are quick to judgment," he says.
The blind Gerkis bounty hunter is waiting for us in the center of the room. He raises his arms and gives his opening statement. "Council, I come here to collect my bounty. I have found two fugitives. The alien is a Kurrek, from the lost tribes of Elysa. The woman is an Earthling. She is his mate. He has bred her illegally."
The Zelfon alien in the center lazily leans back and chews loudly. "She was purchased and registered?"
"At a Syndicate auction, sir," the Gerkis bounty hunter says. "I have transported her here so that she can return to her home and people. The required DNA tests have been submitted. It is now up for your approval."
Another Zelfon alien points at me. With his greasy fingers, he motions for me to come hither. "And you, precious Earthling doll. What do you have to say about this?"
I feel every limb lock. I look back at Ax. He whispers that it's okay, but I'm terrified of their judgment.
"With respect to the council, he is lying," I say. "This alien killed my commanding officer. She was on a rescue mission to save me."
The Gerkis guards gasp. One shouts, "Impossible!"
My face turns hot. "Did you not shoot her in the back? Is she not lying face down in the grassy plains where you found us?"
The toad slides a sliver of wet meat into his mouth. "Order," he grumbles. "There will be order in the chamber of justice. Bounty hunter, how do you respond to such spinous accusations?"
The blind and bloody bounty hunter bows. "Council, I beg of you to listen to reason. Look at the damage they have inflicted on my body. Her friend was a defector. She was helping them escape," he says.
The Zelfon swallows. "To which region?"
The bounty hunter smiles. "We think she was attempting intergalactic travel, sir. Possibly Earth."
Upon this reveal, the Zelfon can hardly sit still. "There is to be no space travel unless one gets proper clearance," he says. "Where is the officer's body?"
The bounty hunter paces the room. "We left her to decompose in the fields outside of Ryuka. Her body will serve as a warning to anyone willing to stand against the rules of the Zelfon chambers."
The Zelfon alien at the west end of the table yawns as he bangs his gavel. "Very good, bounty hunter! They are guilty. It's clear," he says. "The evidence says as much."
"We must take a unanimous vote," another says.
Another burp. "This is cutting into our day. Verdict is guilty."
I choke, shocked by the quick decision. "W-W-What?"
Ax clenches his teeth but bows his head. "Council, can you judge without hearing my side? She is with child. I ask the court for mercy."
"With child, you say? We will show her mercy by removing the growing alien from her body," the center Zelfon says. "Then she will be the Earth Federation’s problem."
I feel my legs turn to jelly, and my heart pounds against my chest. My body turns cold. This can't be happening. This has to be some fucked up nightmare.
"Split them up,
" the Zelfon orders. "Take her to the physician’s ward for surgery. They will transport her back to her military base tomorrow morning."
"Don't you fucking touch her," Ax growls.
The Zelfon laugh and get back to eating. "And you, a Syndicate Kurrek. Did you not predict your luck would run out? We will burn you with the rest of the treasonous filth. By the end of tomorrow, your body will be reduced to cinder. You have been sentenced to the judgment arena!"
"Bastards," Ax curses.
Guards come from both slides. Ax lunges forward, but they quickly prod and beat him into submission. I scream. I cry so hard I have to force my palm over my mouth.
Bloodied, he crawls and tries to get back onto his feet. The bounty hunter steps on the center of his spine and prods him one more time.
He falls limp.
The Gerkis pull me toward the open doors faster than I can scream his name. There are no tears anymore. There is only anger, and I hold on to it like a burning sword.
If there is one thing that I know, it's that I should have never left the darkness. So I carry it with me in my heart instead.
If they kill my child, I will unleash it on the world. No one will survive.
Am I okay?
In the last forty-eight hours, I watched my friend get shot down by reptilian bounty hunters. We were taken into custody, chained, and abused. Giant bureaucratic toads found us guilty for treason. I've gone over what happened at least fifty times.
Now I'm waiting in a physician’s ward, bound to a surgical table where I am forced to stare at the rows of indecent medical tools that sit in a locked, glass shelf. These tools will be the ones to open me up, I reckon.
No, I am not okay. I am far from okay.
The door opens, and a young Gerkis alien walks inside. He grabs the medical tablet from the wall, hits a few buttons, and sits down to examine whatever crap my file says about me.
Although the physician is alien, there's something off about him. For one, he lacks the scales that the rest have. Two, his pupils are like mine. They are round.
He doesn't look at me, but I can tell he has a lot of opinions. "You're a very unlucky woman," he says.
I actually laugh. "You're telling me."
"They want me to force you to strip," he says.
"That seems to be the standard protocol," I say.
He nods and twists his jaw, possibly in thought. Maybe he didn’t expect me to be so careless with my responses, but I’ve been through too much to care.
"They want me to operate on you,” he says.
My eyes gloss over. "They want a lot of things, including my baby," I mutter.
This planet wants to take it all away.
"Correct," he says.
He turns and grabs a needle. Promptly, he plunges it into a bottle of liquid. I bite my tongue and prepare for another round of abuse.
He says, "I don't know if you know this. Your face is everywhere. A lot of people are looking for you."
"Why are you doing this to me? Do you get off on torturing innocent people?" I don't waste time on his small talk. I don't care how many milk cartons I've been on. I just want to get back to Ax.
"That alpha… Ax… He took you. Stole you from the Earth's Federation. That's a crime," he says. "I'm obligated by law to follow orders."
"And what if the law is wrong?" I ask.
"The law is never wrong." He looks at me coldly. His circular eyes showing no clear emotion.
He hits another button on the tablet and mumbles something about Xygo fever.
"How can we reason with you?" I ask.
"Our race has to be cautious. Think of what we have been through," he says.
"He saved me from the Syndicate. I would have been sold to a monster," I say.
"Give me your arm, please," he says.
Without flinching, I put my arm out. He sticks my bicep with a long needle. I watch as the sharp edge plunges deep into the muscle. I feel every drop flow into me. Nothing hurts anymore.
"What did you just give me?" I ask.
"It's a minor sedative. You will start to feel it activate soon," he says. "Don't worry. It'll help you relax."
I look away. My vision begins to go hazy, and I have to blink my eyes rapidly to keep awake. Suddenly, all my worries drift away. As the drug calms my nerves, I smile.
"He and I were made for each other," I whisper.
Slowly, he unlocks the medical drawer. He picks out the sharpest blade of the bunch, but to my surprise, he doesn't cut me with it. Instead, he cuts my bindings with it.
"Not all of us signed up for this. Some of us didn't have a choice," he says.
"You're letting me go?" I ask.
"When I was a newborn, my mother defected. She married and moved to Ruyka, hoping to find a job as a book clerk or librarian," he says.
"She was a human?"
He nods. "She died in the bombings. She shielded me from harm," he says.
I don't know what to say. With his blade, I am hopeful of an escape.
He turns around again and pulls out another vial from the drawer. Inside is a small parasite that whips around the liquid violently. "This is what they give to women that taint the gene pool."
"What does it do?"
"Makes you infertile. Feeds off of a pregnancy like no other. For hours, it wreaks havoc on your system. Many humans cannot live through the process," he says.
I slide off of the surgical table. "Cut to the chase. Are you going to give it to me, or are you going to let me go?"
He lets it drop to the ground. The glass shatters, and he hastily stomps his heel against the wormy body, flattening and smearing the parasite. "I don't believe in killing the unborn, especially if it is a hybrid. They are special beings. They hold the power to bring us together," he says.
My heart flutters. Is there hope after all?
"On this planet, nothing can be brought together," I whisper.
“You have to try,” he says.
He hands me a small GPS unit, and a backpack full of supplies and water. "Fifty miles to the west, the sand turns to red stone mountains. There, you will see the palm trees. That is where you will find the Kalyx River. A boat will wait to transport you back to the Elysa jungle," he says.
"Back to my base," I say.
"Precisely. It won't be easy, but once you arrive, maybe you can reason with your race. This might be your only chance at finding safety," he says.
I laugh in disbelief. Reason with my race? It all sounds too good to be true. Lately, I've had enough false promises I could fill an entire book.
"Sounds great, but I have one question. Where will Ax meet me? The Kalyx River is mostly unguarded, but the military will have eyes on every inch of that jungle."
His gaze falters. "Ax cannot come with you," he states firmly.
I shuffle back. "Excuse me?"
"His bounty is too large. His crimes, too inexcusable. He is partly responsible for the disappearance of thousands of women."
"And he has done his best to save some of those women, including myself. The Zelfon cannot judge an alien for crimes he is forced to commit," I say.
He looks at me like I'm crazy. “They can do whatever they choose. Our courts can judge an alien or person however they want. They have full reign. Besides, we're in the deadliest desert known to this planet. Even if they weren't allowed, who is going to stop them?”
"I can't leave without my mate," I say.
"Ax will be forced to fight in the judgment arena. If he loses, he dies," he says.
"What happens if he wins?"
"No one wins. If you want to stay, be my guest. The Gerkis will be here to collect the fetal tissue shortly," he says.
It's hardly a time for celebration. They took my mate from me. They tried to kill my child. I won't forget this. None of it.
I won't forget how they chained me, broke me, and tried to split me apart. They will rue the day they took advantage of my family.
I pocket the blade he gave me.
"Thank you," I say.
He unlatches a back door and points to a long hallway that leads to an underground passageway.
"Be careful," he says. "If you get caught, it’s is all over."
I walk into the darkness with nothing left to lose. I’m in exile, ripped away from love.
I have to think of the life growing inside of me. But I will return.
This time, I will be the one to save him.
Ax
Chained to the walls of a strange, dark room, I wake with a splitting migraine and a few missing teeth. I twist and feel the bruises on my back swell. The Gerkis fucked me up, but no matter how hurt I am, I won't stop fighting for Anna.
It's difficult to open my eyes. So much of me is swollen. "Where am I?" I ask.
"You are in the judgment arena," a voice says.
I roll my head and let out a painful moan. "The... what?"
When I get my eyes open, I can see just how fucked up this mess is. I'm inside a giant arena, surrounded by Gerkis alien race traitors. They roar with applause.
"Criminal 43829. Are you ready to fight?"
How can an alien make his case when he has spent his entire life acting as an outlaw? These aliens want me dead. They want me to suffer in the worst possible way.
I ask for mercy, but words fall on deaf ears. I am treated with extreme barbarity, cruelty, and vulgarity; another boot to the stomach as Gerkis guards unchain me; another shock prod to the back of my neck. They give me a muscle paralyzer injection when they can't tame me, and a swift punch to the jaw as soon as I talk back.
It does not matter what other punishments they think to give me. I'll take them all. I would go through Hell to protect my mate and child.
My objections to violence fall on deaf ears. They bring in a young halfling soldier, and they toss him to his knees. They throw me a small dagger. It's nothing against the sword of the halfling, but he is far weaker, and I am unafraid.
The crowd screams insults. Saliva sprays from their lips into the sky. I'll give them some credit—they are an impassioned bunch of aliens. But I am going to piss them off when I kill this twerp.
"Fight to the death!" The announcer’s voice echoes above.
Alien Mate: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 9