by Zara Zenia
She raged against that wall in her mind, beating at it, pulling chunks from it as she stood there, rigid, unmoving. She couldn't move, she had to concentrate, had to get that wall down. Finally, something in her snapped into place and the image of herself became stronger, she held an axe in her mind's eye and swung it at that wall. A huge hole was created in that wall and she was flooded with all of her fury. She beat the wall to a pulp and then she felt her body respond to the freedom.
She reached out and grabbed Emryn, pulling her head down by her hair as Bella slammed her knee into the smaller woman's face. She dropped her and ran for the door, which Emryn had foolishly left open. She rushed through it, passing multiple doors just like the one she'd left, and she had to wonder if there were other women like her being kept in those rooms. Afterall, she'd seen those phones and purses on that storage shelf along with her camera bag, they had to belong to someone, right? But she couldn't stop though, she had to find a way out of here, get somewhere safe. At the end of the hall, she turned down another corridor and then went up a set of stairs. Everything was that dark chrome color, one hallway looking like the next. As she went up another set of stairs, and reached yet another hallway, she noticed this one did look different, as there were windows along one side.
She stopped, her mouth dropping open at the sight. Beyond the window was outer-space. Stars and darkness and planets so close she thought she might be able to reach out and touch them.
A siren sounded, bringing her out of her stupor and set her moving again. Obviously, Emryn had sent up an alarm at her escape, though now that she'd seen she was actually in space, she had no idea where she was going or how she was going to get out of this mess. She turned a corner and ran straight into a solid chest. Her eyes moved up to take in the pale features of the man. His silver hair was cut short and his eyes glowed a light yellow-green, like cat eyes in the dark. His large hands gripped her arms and she noticed he had six fingers on each hand.
He really was an alien! Her mind shut down and she blacked out again.
She woke up unable to move. She couldn't even lift her head from the pillow, it was strapped down somehow. She tried to move her arms only to find that they were cuffed to the sides of the bed, as were her ankles.
"Hello?" she called.
Her door slid open and Emryn moved close to the bed, a frown on her lips and her hands behind her back. Her nose was broken, and her eyes were black and blue. A tiny part — a very teeny tiny part — of Bella felt sorry for the girl, but the rest of her was glad she'd hurt her.
"Master is very angry with you," she said. "I am to punish you now that you are awake."
"Isn't this punishment enough? You've locked me up, you've taken away my life, you're turning me into some sex slave!" Bella bit out.
"Sex slave to one of the wealthiest nobles on Cania, Duke Behlinn Mal as a matter of fact. You are too much trouble to go to auction. Master has already arranged with the Duke for him to purchase you. I think I will enjoy this punishment of yours. You made Master disgusted with me." She pulled out a long metal rod and switched it on. Electricity sparked on it and then she pressed it into Bella's side.
Bella screamed as her body convulsed against the bed. She passed out again, but clearly it was only for a moment, because when she came to, Emryn was still standing there, the metal rod in her hand, smirking down at her.
"Fucking bitch," Bella said, her teeth gritted in pain.
"Maybe, but we are not done. Master said I was to punish you until I felt you'd learned your lesson. I do not think you have." She hit the button on the rod again and pressed it once more to Bella's side.
Bella's scream seemed to go on and on until she no longer had any breath to scream with. Her body hurt everywhere from the inside out. She finally passed out once more as Emryn pulled the rod away. She came to seconds later as smelling salts were put under her nose.
"Oh no, you don't get to check out of the pain." Emryn smirked. "You can't learn your lesson if you do not stay awake."
"Go… To… Hell." Bella glared at her.
As Emryn raised the rod again, the ship shook violently, and an alarm — different sounding than the siren that had gone off when she'd escaped — started sounding throughout the ship. Emryn's eyes grew wide and she dropped the rod. "Oh no! I must go to my master! I must protect him!" She ran off, leaving the door wide open.
Bella glanced at the door from her position on the bed. She couldn't move anything but her eyes. Not just because her body hurt everywhere, but because she was still strapped down. Her eyes tracked men scurrying past her room with some sort of weapon in their hands.
"What's going on?" she called, but none of the alien men stopped to answer her.
The only word she understood as the men spoke as they passed, was, "Pirates."
4
Bella blinked as a woman came into her cell. She had blue dyed hair and bright blue eyes. "Here to finish me off?" Bella frowned at the woman.
"No, more like we're here to rescue you and the others. Unless you want to be blown up with the ship? I can leave you if you'd like." She grinned.
Bella opened her mouth, but then closed it, processing her words. "You're saving me? You're not going to turn me into a slave too, are you?"
"No, we're not going to turn you into a slave. What the hell did you do to piss them off?" she asked as she tried to undo the strap on Bella's head.
"I escaped my room."
"Huh. Well yeah, they don't like it when you rebel. This ain't coming off, not without the proper code. I'm gonna have to cut it." She pulled out a wicked looking knife and put it next to Bella's face and pulled up with it, breaking the strap. "Now for your wrists and ankles. Sorry if I cut you, but we'll get you healed up in a jiff once I get you off this ship."
"Jodie! Hurry up in there!" a voice called from the hallway. "I've got the others! We're headed back!"
"What's your name, doll?" Jodie asked.
"Bella. Bella Chase," she answered. "Who was that?"
"That was Melody. She and her mate Devron — long story — are the captains of the Freedom. Our ship. Don't worry, you'll be safe there."
"Ow!" Bella shouted as the knife dug into her wrist. "Fucking shit that hurts!"
"Sorry, told ya I might have to cut ya to get you loose. Just need to get your ankles then we can get off this slave ship."
"What about… the alien man? He never told me his name and Emryn only called him Master like some mind-controlled weirdo."
"Grell is dead. If she's the Indian woman, she's dead too."
"She is?" Bella gasped and then nodded. "Good. She was an evil bitch."
"She was actually controlled by Grell, she had to do what he said. Once you're bonding is completed, you have no free will. Luckily for you and most of the others, I think we got you in time."
"She was still evil. She used that fucking metal electric rod on me."
Jodie nodded. "Yeah, you will probably need some major internal healing along with that wrist. Come on, we'll get you to Sina in the medbay. Oh, I should warn you, Sina is a Selithi."
"What's that?" Bella asked as Jodie helped her up on her feet, which were completely uncooperative. "Fuck!"
"Yeah, probably from that prod. Just lean on me, I'll help you." Jodie wrapped her arm around Bella's waist, and they moved from the room. "The Selithi are an alien race who also live on Planet Cania. But they are reptilian and highly intelligent. So, don't be freaked out when you see her. Okay?"
Bella nodded, unsure of doing anything else. "Okay, do they speak English?"
Jodie looked at her and frowned. "No, they speak Selith, and the Canians speak Cania, but you should be able to understand them, if you understood the Canians on this ship. Could you?"
Bella pursed her lips, thinking about it. "Yes, but how is that possible?"
"It's in one of the shots they give you when they first take you onboard."
"Fucking assholes must have injected me while I was passed out in that fu
cking cage," she muttered as they passed the room she'd been in when she first arrived. "Wait, can we look in there for my camera? It was on a shelf…"
"We can look, but Melody may have already grabbed it."
They detoured into the storage room and sure enough, her camera bag still sat on the shelf, along with the phones and purses and backpack of the others who were apparently taken. She grabbed everything she could hold, and Jodie grabbed the rest, then they went back out to head to Jodie's ship.
"Here, just up this plank and we'll be onboard the Freedom."
"So, I heard one of the men as they were running to do battle with you all say you were pirates. Is that true?"
Jodie laughed. "Hell yeah, we are. Space pirates, that's us. We go after slave ships like this one. Free the slaves, kill the slavers and strip the ship for parts. As you can probably tell, Freedom is a bit battered and now a patchwork of parts."
"Don't you get scared?" Bella asked softly. "Fighting big ships like Grell's?"
"Nah. Most of the time they aren't prepared for attacks like this." They stopped and Jodie pushed a button, opening a door. "Sina, this is Bella, she got a little electrified and then I had to cut her to get her free, can you patch her up?"
"Of course. Hello, Bella."
"Hello." Bella did her best not to stare at the alien woman as she sat on the bed near another patient.
"I'll take these somewhere safe, in case the other women want their stuff back. I'll leave your camera bag here, okay?" Jodie gathered up the phones, purses, backpack, car keys and other things, then draped the camera bag over the back of a nearby chair.
"Thanks, Jodie." Bella smiled at the older woman.
"No problem, chick. I'll come check on you after a while." She left the room.
"Now, let me just examine you and see what all I need to do," Sina said as she patted Bella's hand. "Hmmm. Yes, I think it would be best if you slept for this, all right, dear?"
Bella nodded and then Sina turned and fixed up a medicine cup. "This will help you relax and fall asleep."
Bella took the pills and drank down the cup of water Sina provided her. Within seconds, her eyelids were drooping and soon she fell into a dreamless sleep.
5
Bella woke up feeling better than she had since being captured by Grell. She sat up and stretched, looking around the room as she did so. Her eyes landed on the man in the bed next to hers. He was pale, like Grell, and had the same six fingers that he'd had as well as the same silver hair, but this one's hair was in a long braid that went to his waist, and his wrist was cuffed to the bed. She couldn't see his eyes, since they were closed, but his build was much more attractive than Grell's was.
The man's eyes opened and slid over to her, and he smirked. "See something you like, beautiful?"
Bella narrowed her own eyes and asked, "Are you one of the slavers from Grell's ship?" Because if he was, she was inclined to kill him.
"What? No. What are you talking about?" The man sat up, a look of bewilderment shining in his pale gold eyes. "I am Viscount Terrex Mal, and captive onboard this shitty pirate ship. As to slavers, I have no idea what you are talking about."
Bella crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him. "How do I know you aren't lying? You could have been one of Grell's guards, for all I know."
"If you are speaking of Grell Fanex, he is an Omega trainer, not a slaver."
"That in itself is a lie. Omega trainer, like we're some kind of trained seals to please and pleasure some douchebag Canian noble. Fuck that shit, Grell stole me from Earth, locked me in a cage and had his slave inject me with who the fuck knows what! He was going to sell me at an auction! He's a fucking slaver!"
Terrex shook his head, the look of bewilderment was still on his face. "No, that's not right… My mother is from Earth…"
"Then your mother is a fucking slave."
"She's not…"
He looked completely baffled, but Bella couldn't help but notice the set of abs rippling under his white shirt. He really was quite attractive. Good Lord, Bella, get your mind off the hot alien, and figure out how to get back to Earth, back to your life. She ran a hand over her face and shook her head.
Sina came back into the room and looked between her and Terrex. "Everything all right here?"
Bella nodded.
"Good." She moved over to Terrex and had him lie back down.
Bella couldn't see what she was doing, but she assumed it was something medical.
"There you are. All patched up. I'll have the guard come take you back to the brig. And for your sake, I wouldn't try that again, Terrex."
"Yeah."
Sina waved to a man in the hallway, who came in and uncuffed Terrex and then led him away. "I am sorry if he disturbed your peace."
Bella shook her head. "He didn't. Thank you for healing me."
"My pleasure." Sina nodded. "I have some things to do. I believe Jodie will be in momentarily to take you up to the others."
"Okay, thank you." Her eyes tracked Sina's snake-like head as she moved about the room. There were other patients there, and what looked like robots of some kind attending to some of them.
As she lay on the bed, her mind wandered back to Terrex. He'd said he was a Viscount. Did that mean he was one of the noblemen who would bid on her at auction? Had he done that before? Bid on slave women from Earth? He had seemed baffled by her saying Grell was a slaver. Maybe he didn't know? Maybe he really thought the women who came to their planet did so willingly. Not that she ever would have chosen this. No, her life was back on Earth, making her career as a freelance photo-journalist. She'd already started to make a name for herself. She needed to get back there, get those pictures out — wait! Where was her camera? She looked around and then recalled that Jodie had put it on the back of a chair. She relaxed when she saw it, hanging right where Jodie had left it.
Should have thought about it sooner and got a picture of Terrex, she thought with a grin.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Thankfully, her legs held her up better than the last time she'd stood or tried to walk. She didn't even feel a twinge of pain as she moved toward the chair and retrieved her bag. Sina could apparently work miracles.
She sat back down on the bed and opened the bag. Inside, everything looked normal, exactly how she'd packed it before Grell had beamed her up onto his ship. Still, she wanted to check it, make sure it all worked the way it should. She pulled out the camera and switched it on. She scrolled through the pictures she'd taken of the riots. They were good. Powerful even. Especially of the cop whose face was twisted with rage as he'd raised his baton to hit the white twenty-something guy who'd been throwing food at the cops. It was good work. She just wondered if she would be too late to have them published once she returned to Earth. How long had she been gone anyway? Days? Weeks? Years? Her heart raced at the thought.
6
“Hey, chick, how are ya feeling?"
Bella looked up from the camera and smiled. "Hi, Jodie. Feeling much better now, thankfully. Sina is a miracle worker. I don't even feel a twinge of pain."
"She is pretty good, isn't she." She came over and looked at the camera in Bella's lap. "So, is that what you were doing when you were taken? Taking pictures?"
Bella nodded. "Yes, I'm a freelance photo-journalist. I had been taking pictures at one of the riots, and I'd gotten some really great shots of the cops using excessive force on some of the protesters when some of the cops decided they didn't want pictures of their behavior going viral and chased me into a side street. That's when Grell's ship showed up." Bella sighed. "Now I don't even know if I'm going to see Earth again, let alone be able to actually publish them."
"Of course, you'll see Earth again," Jodie assured her. "Why don't we go up and I'll introduce you to Melody and Devron and we can check on that for you, okay?"
Bella's eyes widened. "You mean we can actually go back?"
"Sure, that's what we do, you know?" Jodie grinned at h
er. "Come on, we'll go get a timeline and then I'll take you to one of the spare rooms and show you the galley and all that."
"Great." Bella put her camera back in the bag and zipped it up. She slung the strap over her head and wore it crossways across her chest. She hopped up and followed Jodie out of the medbay.
They walked down a short hallway and up a flight of stairs to the command station. "Melody, Devron, got a minute?"
Melody pushed a couple of buttons at her station and then turned her chair. She had long wavy dark black hair and dark but warm eyes. She smiled and stood up. "Hello, you must be Bella?"
"Yes, hi," Bella replied, shaking her hand. "Thank you for the rescue, I had no idea how I was going to get out of there. I honestly didn't even believe I was actually in outer-space until I escaped my room just before you all showed up."
"Didn't Grell's appearance give the whole being captured by an alien away?" Melody asked curiously.
"I never saw him until I made that escape. Emryn was the only person I ever actually saw. When I first woke up I was in some kind of cage, and I could only see his legs. After that, Emryn moved me to the room you found me in, Jodie," Bella answered with a smile. "She had come in to give me the second to last treatment, and I busted her face and ran, but I had no idea where I was going, so I ended up running right into Grell, unfortunately."
"So that's how she ended up with two black-eyes," Melody murmured. "I thought maybe Grell had done it. I felt bad for her, but I guess I shouldn't have. She took a blaster shot to the heart for Grell, before Devron killed him."
Deveron turned and joined them, a smile on his face as he wrapped his arm around Melody. "It was a good shot, Mel, you would have gotten him if she hadn't gotten in the way."
