by Allison West
“I won’t tell, but I want something.”
Of course she wanted something. They always wanted something in return for their silence. Nothing in life was free. “What do you want?” Holden asked.
“A nursery with a window.”
Holden frowned, her request wasn’t a small one, that was for sure. “Do any of the nurseries have windows?” he asked. Had Jade’s been provided a window then he would have gladly switched rooms, insisting Sierra have what she desired to keep her quiet.
Sierra shrugged. “I’ve never seen Courtney or Melody’s nursery.”
The only windows he’d seen were in the halls and the dining room. There were no windows in his bedroom either. Perhaps it was to keep the sleeping quarters as dark as possible and not allow any light to seep in?
It wouldn’t be easy for him to sneak into their room without being seen. Especially considering the warden had known Holden had crossed the hall during the night. There must have been surveillance equipment watching his every move, it was just too small to notice. He found little comfort in that knowledge as he backed away from Sierra’s room.
“I’ll see what I can do.” It was an impossible promise to keep, so he didn’t even make it.
Holden headed back into the nursery, glancing over Jade’s shoulder as she drew a picture of her home. “Poppa, why did the playroom only have four of us? There’s more little ones here, aren’t there?”
Surprised by her question, he reached for a chair, pulling it back from the table and sat down with Jade. “Yes, there’s many women in the rehabilitation process. Some are in different stages, which is why you’re allowed to interact with Sierra, Courtney, and Melody. They were all brought recently into the program. They also were involved in less severe crimes.”
Jade glanced up from her picture. “What did they do to deserve this?”
Holden sighed. That was a very heavy question for a girl who was supposed to be six years old. No part of the regression had seemed to work on Jade, though it shouldn’t have been seen as a surprise, considering she wasn’t from Adair either. Nanny Marie would certainly notice the lack of a golden rim around her irises. Would they try a second dose of the activator or expel her entirely from the project? He’d have to keep a close eye on Jade even when he couldn’t be around her.
“I don’t know the extent of their crimes, Jade, but I assure you that you’re safe with them. Courtney won’t have the stones to hurt you again. Believe me when I tell you that her bottom won’t be able to take another pounding.” Letting her play alone in the nursery would look frowned upon. The nannies and warden expected the little ones to interact amongst one another and develop friendships as children would. The end game was to fix what had been broken in childhood, often abuse or neglect, which led to the uncivilized behavior of the criminals at the prison colony.
The door swung open with haste as Nanny Marie came storming in, boots trampling over the wood floor. “There you are!” With narrow accusing eyes, she stared at Holden.
“Jade has a schedule to keep. Do not get in my way or your secret won’t be kept between us.”
Did she just threaten Holden? He had half a mind to take Nanny Marie over his knee, but he knew without a doubt she’d find a way to retaliate against him. No. He needed to play this out as any other poppa would, pretend to fit in, while he figured out how to get them out of there and back home.
“Jade, go with Nanny Marie,” Holden said.
“No! I don’t want to.” Jade pouted, her bottom lip jutting forward.
Nanny Marie grabbed Jade by the ear, her face scrunching in pain as her nanny dragged her from the room.
Holden grimaced as Nanny Marie walloped Jade’s bottom with one hand and her ear still being tugged by the other. It wasn’t his place to intervene. He’d told Jade to listen to her nanny and do as she was told. Why couldn’t she follow simple instructions every once in a while? She was only causing more trouble for herself by being so damned defiant.
Out in the hall, Damien came from the opposite end of the hall. “Wait right there.” He walked up to Nanny Marie, with two guards behind him.
Jade glanced from her nanny to Holden, probably wondering what was going on. He was at a loss as well.
Lifting a penlight, he examined Jade’s eyes before he nodded. “It seems she’s immune. Cuff her and get her ready for transport.” Damien stepped out past Nanny Marie, letting the guards secure an electronic cuff around Jade’s neck.
Her eyes flashed with fear.
He wanted to tell her it would be okay, but nothing about this situation was heading in a way he liked. Holden chased after the warden, demanding answers. He didn’t want to leave Jade with the guards but it seemed there was little choice. “Damien, what’s going on?”
“You tell me. I get word from another poppa that you’re sleeping with the prisoner. You know that’s against the rules, I don’t have to tell you that, do I?” Damien asked.
Holden wasn’t about to lie to Damien but he also suspected it had more to do with the fact there was no halo around her irises. That was the immediate threat, she could prove the system fallible, unless they admitted she wasn’t an Adairan.
“That isn’t why you’re doing this, because I snuck across the hall or you’re hearing rumors from jealous poppas.” Holden held his own, not admitting to anything.
“Sierra told her poppa that you were in Jade’s room last night. She wanted to know why he wouldn’t stay with her. I can’t ignore these accusations and to be honest the timing is right with the golden halo not having developed in your girl. She’ll be sent down to the surface of Adair.”
“What?” Holden’s heart ached and his blood boiled. “You can’t do that!”
“I don’t have a choice.” Damien showed no hint of remorse for his actions. “I can’t have an alien girl running amuck and keeping her as a little one has proved already dangerous and it will be costly. Do you know that Sierra’s poppa has contacted my supervisor? I tried to help you, Holden, but I have no choice but to send her home.”
“Adair isn’t her home!”
Damien grimaced. “I know and it’s going to be a mess but it’s not mine to clean up. There’s one more seat on the cargo transport that is taking her to the planet. You can have it.”
The warden wasn’t doing him any favors, though Damien may have made it sound as though he were. “The galactopter, it’s truly gone?” A small part of him had hoped that he’d been lied to. He could move on quite easily and return Jade to her time and her home, if that was the case. Without it, he’d have to find someone on Adair who could help him and he had very few friends seeing as how he abandoned his people and his world.
“It’s safer destroyed. Just think about what might have happened if it fell into the wrong hands.”
Without a doubt, Holden knew that Damien was right. Should the government, the men in charge that sucked the life from Earth have it fall into their hands, they could easily travel through time and destroy the planet a second time, before the first invasion. “What time does the vessel leave?” He may not have had anything to pack but he didn’t want to be late either.
“Within the hour,” Damien said. He didn’t so much as glance at his watch.
“Release her into my custody. She doesn’t need the restraints or collar.” She wasn’t an animal and yet these people, his people, treated her like one.
“That’s not for you to determine. Your vision is clouded from being under her spell, Holden. I’m doing you a favor. Maybe one day you’ll even thank me for it.”
Holden felt certain that day would never come. He headed to his room, hopeful to find something he could use as a weapon to disarm the guards while in prison transport. Escape was imminent.
Chapter 9
She’d never felt so terrified in her life. The collar that had been secured around her neck locked into the seat, keeping her from being able to move. Her hands and legs were secured next, the guard taking his time, staring at h
er eyes with a devilish curiosity. He leaned in, sniffing her hair.
“Aren’t you a pretty one?” he whispered into her ear, brushing back her dark hair.
Jade would have none of it. Maybe she couldn’t break free but she used her knee, thrusting it up toward the guard’s crotch.
His hand stretched out, slapping her across the face before he doubled over. Her cheek stung, but she had no regrets.
“Bitch!” the guard shouted as he turned and stalked toward the hanger.
Where was Holden? It wasn’t bad enough she didn’t fully comprehend what was going on, but she could make a few deductions of her own. The warden had deemed it unsafe for her presence at the prison colony and was sending her down to the surface of Adair. What waited for her there? She hoped Poppa would be there with her, to protect her. Would the warden and guards let him accompany her? Did they even have a choice? Poppa wasn’t going to just watch her go, she was certain of it. Not without starting another war between his people and him.
Boots clanked over the metal flooring. From around the corner, her poppa rushed to take the empty seat beside her. “We’re taking off soon.” He panted, slightly out of breath.
“Were you just chased?” Jade asked, turning her head as much as possible given the containment from the collar.
“Something like that. I’ll tell you about it later.” He buckled himself into the seat just as the doors to their pod shut. The room momentarily was basked in darkness until the lights flickered on overhead. His voice dropped lower to just above a whisper. “There’s four guards in our pod. I’ll need to disarm them in order for us to escape.”
Jade couldn’t do anything to help, strapped to the chair and locked in tight. “Are you sure it’s safe?” If they were traveling from the prison colony back down to Adair, wouldn’t he need to be strapped in?
“We’ll have four minutes of weightlessness before we reach Adair’s gravitational field.”
“One minute per guard?” That didn’t seem like much time, not without Jade being able to help. “Can you get my hands free?” If he could unstrap her wrists that required no key, then perhaps she could work the shackles off her ankles. She wasn’t sure how easy the collar would be to remove, but she’d try. All that sounded like it’d take the four minutes he had to incapacitate the guards. How was she going to help him if she could barely help herself?
Poppa glanced around, making sure the guards were seated and turned, ignoring the two of them. The pod wasn’t set up as a prison transport vessel. It had been created to hold cargo and there were just enough seats for the crew. The fact it wasn’t used every day for transporting prisoners made the setup easier to get away with not being watched every second of the trip. Two guard’s backs were to them and the other two sat kitty-corner, making the situation tough but not impossible.
His hand slipped over Jade’s, giving her a tentative squeeze before he worked the hook and loop fastener free. As he tore the material into two sections, the noise it made drowned as the vehicle departed from the dock.
The foggy feeling she’d had in her head slowly dissolved. The drug combination that had weighed her down was momentarily gone as they were cut off from the prison colony.
Jade realized with her neck contained by the cuff she couldn’t lean down to free her ankles. Holden ran his fingers over the cuff tight around her neck. “I need the key to break it free. The guards have one. Give me a minute.”
She wanted to tell him not to leave her. It was too risky. What happened if he got caught? She also knew that falling into the wrong hands, the two of them might never see sunlight again. Holden was a fugitive among his people and Jade, well, she was an alien. Maybe they’d seen aliens before, unlike her world, but she’d watched enough science fiction movies to know that nothing good ever came from visiting an alien world.
Holden slipped from his seat and with quiet abandon he inched toward the guards, ducking as to not alert the two that had line of sight to him.
All she could do was watch from her seat. She hated that she couldn’t help. Strapped in, her fingers fiddled with the collar around her neck but it didn’t seem to make a bit of difference. He didn’t have much time and four minutes may have seemed like not enough but once he was spotted, he’d have to fight off three guards. Those four minutes would go by in a rush.
Jade’s eyes widened as she caught sight of a clear box that held collars just like the one she wore. She pointed at the box low to the ground, so the guards couldn’t see and hopefully Holden would get the message. She couldn’t shout it to him and he was too far away to hear her whisper.
His eyes locked on the clear box and he quietly pried the lid free. Would he use her suggestion? It had to work, what other choice did they have?
Holden reached for one of their weapons that had been strapped to the wall for their descent down to the planet. What good would it do the guard to have it so far away? Only a few feet from the guard’s reach, it was the perfect way for Holden to knock the men out. The long stick, large enough to be a walking stick had a swollen bulb at the end.
Jade’s eyes widened as she grew to understand what the weapon was used for.
He gripped the shaft in his hand and pushed the mechanism that triggered a charge of electricity to flow through the device. He lurched the head forward, shocking the two nearest men as their bodies shook and convulsed. It gave him the opportunity to snap the collars on those two guards with one hand, while the other kept the electroshock stick charged and pointed at the other two patrolling the pod. As quick as he locked the guards in, Holden grabbed their keys to keep them from freeing themselves, tossing a set at Jade.
At least her hands were free. She caught the keys and worked diligently to find the slot and the right key to unclasp the collar as she struggled to break free.
The guards unbuckled themselves and were up and out of their seats, guns drawn.
Jade’s hands shook as they pointed their weapons at Holden. For the moment she wasn’t a threat to them and so they ignored her.
“Is that really smart?” Holden asked. “You’re not licensed to use those pistols during transport.” There were rules in place for a reason. One bullet missing the target could end up destroying the entire vessel. Jade didn’t have to be from Adair to understand the danger of firing a weapon in an airplane or space ship.
The collar snapped free and she breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t out of her seat yet. Her legs were still bound by chains. The guards key ring held at least a dozen keys. She leaned down, once again trying each key with the metal lock, trying to break free.
“Lucky for us, I never miss a shot,” the older guard said. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Holden. “All this for a prisoner? I don’t know why you’re trying to help her, but I suggest you hand over the weapon before you and your pretty girl get hurt.”
Jade scrunched her face in disgust. He’d been the same man that had smelled her hair.
“Don’t listen to him, Holden!” He’d already disengaged two guards though how long would the electricity keep them numb and tranquil? Four minutes had felt as though it’d passed. Jade didn’t have a watch but she knew time wasn’t on their side. The third to final key slipped into the lock for the chains binding her feet together. She turned the key and leapt out of her seat wanting to help Holden. Did she know how to help him, not really, but it didn’t stop her from trying.
Holden glanced behind him, spotting Jade. “Grab the other electroshaft.”
“The what?” Jade asked.
“The giant stick against the wall.” He nodded toward the weapon lying all alone. It matched the weapon in his grip that he held horizontal toward the two guards.
“Don’t move!” the guard closest to Jade said. He turned his pistol from Holden onto her.
“I’m pretty sure the warden wants me alive. You kill me and you’ll be tried for murder.” It was quite a gamble but Jade was out of moves. Besides if he didn’t want her alive, then he’d have killed h
er already. If anything, she expected quite a welcoming when she reached the surface of Adair and not a good one. Communication between the prison colony and the surface meant that they knew she didn’t belong and they probably realized she wasn’t an Adairan. She reached for the electroshaft and gripped it the same as Holden, pointing it back at the man holding the gun on her. This was her only leverage. Without thinking, her finger shuddered over the center grip and the weapon fired at the guard. She turned slightly, aiming at the second guard too, incapacitating him while Holden grabbed two collars and stole their keys, keeping them locked up for the remainder of the flight.
“Now what?” Jade asked. They still couldn’t get her home. Even if they could fly the pod to Earth, and she doubted they could as it was probably many light years away, they were still in a different time.
“We won’t be able to escape until the pod lands. There’s no way to reach the pilots or evacuate the vessel any sooner. My suggestion is to get strapped in because the last leg of the flight is bound to be bumpy.”
They carried the weapons with them, secured them to the nearest wall and buckled into the seats they’d been sitting in earlier. At least Jade felt more comfortable and less trapped.
“What’s the plan when the door opens to the cargo ship?” Jade asked.
“I don’t know yet.” Holden hadn’t seemed to think that far ahead. “We grab the weapons, fight our way out.”
Jade wasn’t confident they wouldn’t be overpowered. “Maybe we could hide. Let them transport us by another method.” There were plenty of storage containers that would house a body, though she didn’t know how good the air supply would be if the boxes were locked shut.
“They’ll come looking for us before they unload. As soon as they see we’re not in our seats, the guards on the ground will tear the vessel apart.”
“There’s a ventilation system,” Jade said. “Maybe we could crawl through the vents and stay hidden beneath the floorboards. When no one’s watching, we could try and slip away unnoticed.”
