by Elin Wyn
“Hello?” she called out. “Hey, asshole!” she tried again when there was no answer. “Mother fucker!” she cursed, slumping in her cell. She should’ve just tried all of those buttons when she had the chance, to hell with the consequences. And now, instead of being halfway to her ship and comrades, she was still locked up while the creep from across the hall had made his escape. “That dick,” she spit.
Taryn listened to the silence, her eyes on the caged ceiling above her as she considered how hard it might be to escape that way, when she heard footsteps. She hoisted herself back up to her feet, glaring down the hallway as she squinted through the shadows.
Her heart stopped when a crocodile man stepped into the light.
He was bigger than the flat-face the other prisoner had just dragged away, though it might’ve just been the huge snout with dozens of pointed teeth. Taryn took a cautious step back in her cage, her eyes on the crocodile. The alien never stopped, marching right up to her cage with an eager look in his eye.
“Lonely?” the creature growled, his black tongue darting out past his teeth as he spoke. “I could hear your hiss caterwauling from fifty hiss hissssss.”
Taryn tapped her comm as it went in and out, her eyes never leaving the alien as he approached. When he got close enough, his giant snout formed a hideous grin, and he laid himself over the wall of her cage, stuffing his snout between the bars.
“You hiss delicious. Here,” he thrust a hand into his pocket, pulling out a remote. Keeping himself close to the cage, he slithered along it until he was standing in front of the door, blocking it with his hulking frame. “Allow me to join you,” he hissed, pressing a button.
Kanthi
Kanthi held back a coughing fit as the pungent smell of Thagzar suffocated the hallway around him. He glared at the legs he had hoisted up on either of his shoulders and pulled the body faster, doing his best to take shallow breaths and ignore the stench. He hadn’t been a part of the Great Rebellion when his people had overtaken the snakes, but if the smell of this one snake up close was anything to go by then he could only imagine the aftermath of that great battle.
He dragged the body for another couple of feet before he found what he was looking for. A door, unprotected by codes or keypads, hidden in plain sight just off to his left. Kanthi shoved it open with his elbow, peeking inside. It was a small closet, filled with weird clippers and polishers along with the odd undertone of disinfectant. No doubt about it, he’d stumbled upon a custodial closet.
Perfect.
“In you go,” he dumped the body inside unceremoniously. It would be hidden in there, crumpled under the crooked shelves and cobwebs. But, if someone were to look upon the lump of green closer…
Kanthi glanced about the small room. There had to be something in there that could help him, if only to disguise the body. He half-turned, his arms crossed as he surveyed the room, and did a double-take when he saw a sack of compressed towels. Snatching the bag off of its hook, he tore it open, dumping the towels on top of the scaly corpse.
When the sack was empty Kanthi tossed it aside, eyeing his handiwork. Now it looked like there had been a mess in the corner of the room, one that he was sure the next snake to come across it would ignore simply out of spite for whoever had left it.
Backing out of the closet, Kanthi closed the door behind him, taking back to the shadows to creep along the wall. He could swear he still smelled the Thagzar, the scent of poison and bile more overpowering than ever.
He kept his back to the wall, slowly returning from whence he came – back to the woman. She was quite unusual, and definitely not Eiztar. Even if she did smell of all the winds of a lilac wood.
Kanthi allowed himself to breathe deeper, to catch a whiff of the woman’s scent, but he simply got a mouthful of laser burn and venom. He gagged, doing his best to hold his coughing fit off. He took a moment, composing himself, before he warily continued. His heart was beating harshly for what might lay ahead.
“…lucky for any Eiztar…”
Kanthi paused at the sound of hissing. It was coming from up ahead, where the woman was still locked in her cage. He moved faster, rushing stealth for speed.
Another invader stood in her cell. It had a snout, its teeth sharp and unforgiving under the harsh light as its hooded eyes tracked her in her cell. So, that was where the smell had been coming from. Kanthi watched, and considered his options. On the one hand, he could leave the woman. Even use her as a good distraction, actually, as the Thagzars all seemed to favor her. But, then again—
She suddenly yelled, raising two small fists up to meet the approaching attacker. The alien only moved his right eye in an oddly familiar movement similar to raising an eyebrow, and took another step.
“I don’t think so,” he chuckled, his hisses like wheezing bullfrogs in his throat.
She yelled again, moving her legs beneath her to gain better footing. Kanthi knew it. She was a warrior.
The Thagzar, however, was not so easily impressed. “Come now, my dear Eiztar,” he hissed. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your place already?” At that, he reached for her, his talons sharp. “It’s here, beneath me.”
Kanthi sped up, just barely remembering to take care and keep to the shadows. Surprise would be his advantage, but not if he blew it before he could land a blow. He skirted around the light, dashing behind the alien bulk in the dark to grab him.
He half-expected the woman to scream when he launched himself at him, but she stood true to the warrior tendencies she’d displayed thus far and merely watched after she got over her initial surprise. Kanthi knew he had to be quick, so after a jab to the alien’s back, he jumped and wrapped an arm around his neck, jerking the massive head to the left until he heard a bone-crunching snap.
Kanthi leapt off the body as it fell to the floor. The woman was already moving to the opened cage door when he stepped around the corpse and met her halfway.
“Well, that was tedious,” he grumbled, offering her a hand to get over the dead body blocking her way. When she hesitated, Kanthi narrowed his eyes and grabbed her elbow, yanking her to him. She said something, balking at his grip, but he only growled back and urged her across the room and away from the cage. The corpse was too big to move – they needed to go, and put as much distance between them and the body as possible.
“This way,” he whispered, tugging her along behind him as he stayed close to the walls and sank low into the shadows. She followed, relaxing slightly as he clearly led her away from the cages and back down the labyrinth of hallways near the entrance.
Kanthi had originally planned to find his way back to the lab and grab the toxin once and for all in his escape, but the woman had irrevocably changed his plans. He couldn’t exactly go sneaking around with her in tow, especially not considering how valuable she seemed to be to the Thagzars.
He took her left, then right, then left again until they came to a silver door. It stood out against the rusted walls, and for that reason alone Kanthi knew it was the right place.
“Come on,” he ordered quietly, bringing her up in front of it. She frowned as he made her leave her semi-defensive crouched position near the wall to stand in the middle of the hallway, but said nothing. Kanthi respected her blind faith in him and kissed her knuckles in appreciation. Blood rushed to her face, and only when he realized what he’d done was he reminded of the bond.
On his planet, a bond was often initiated during times of extreme stress, an old mating tactic that’d somehow survived through years of evolution in the Eiztar line. It was something to ensure that a pregnancy – and, therefore, the future of his people – would be carried out. Sort of a last ditch effort to protect the species. After the rebellion it had happened far less often, though Kanthi knew it to be true that the male had to at least find the female attractive for the pheromones to ever be released.
Still, to initiate a bond with an alien? It was incredibly rare; practically unheard of, even between the four other planets that s
hared the same solar system with the Eiztar. Some scientists speculated that it was because they had all shared the same ancestor, but that certainly didn’t explain the woman. Kanthi wondered where exactly she must have come from – an alternate universe, perhaps? It wouldn’t have been hard to mistake her for an Eiztar, as the Thagzars had already done, even with her unusual height. Did the people even bond on her planet?
As they stood in front of the door, the weighted latch beneath their feet caught and the gears on the other side clanked and turned, forcing the metal doors open. They groaned as they moved, in perfect condition but weary from years of preservation rather than use. Kanthi grinned. None of the snakes ever willingly came here, which was why it was kept in such pristine condition – so that none would be forced to go inside and fix it.
It’d make the perfect escape route.
Once the doors were open just enough, Kanthi started inside, grasping the woman’s hand as he went. She followed at an easy pace, her hazel eyes taking in everything while her body remained tense and alert. He wondered what she made of this place, and if she had similar enemies back on her own planet. Or had her people never encountered Thagzars, and that was why she smelled so completely of freedom and Eiztar summers?
He glanced at her, hating the desperate clenching of his gut to know who she was.
Taryn
Taryn had no idea where she was.
One minute she was locked in a cage, at the mercy of a crocodile-faced alien, and the next she was holding hands with the brooding humanoid that’d been locked up across from her.
Part of her knew that it was probably a bad idea to follow him deeper into enemy territory. For all she knew, he could’ve been locked up for several counts of rape, and the language barrier wasn’t exactly putting her at ease. Still, he’d be easier to handle than one of those snake aliens.
She tried to say alert as he brought her inside some sort of ancient passageway, but there was a chill in the air that only heightened with every step she took. The large silver doors that had parted for them just seconds earlier were already closing behind them, the gears pulling them glinting with frost.
“Where are we going?” she asked before she could stop herself. The man looked at her, apparently surprised, and tried to say something himself. It came out harsh and guttural, and she shrugged to let him know that she didn’t understand. He shrugged back, and they looked away from each other again.
Charming.
Taryn sighed, her body reduced to small shudders as they walked. The doors were shut now, heavy and locked back into place behind them. She could only hope that the man knew where he was going.
Taryn wasn’t normally so sensitive, especially to the temperature. It had to have been that drink earlier, the one that the snake man had given her. She’d taken a sip before she had dropped it – in fact, the drug was probably why she’d dropped it – and she’d hoped that such a small dosage would leave her body quickly and quietly.
As a particularly violent shiver overtook her, the man glanced at her again. Taryn just glared back, daring him to say something, but he simply raised an eyebrow and looked away. That made her roll her eyes – honestly, she didn’t have time for this. Picking up the pace, she walked past him, tugging his hand along for a change. She was surprised when he let her do it, stepping lightly behind her at the brisk pace she set.
They walked along for a while in silence, just two aliens taking a small stroll in the oddly bright hallway. She hadn’t spotted any light bulbs or even flame-lit torches, yet the place was illuminated better than her ship parked next to a sun. Too bad the intense light wasn’t offering up heat as well.
There weren’t any turns to take, which surprised Taryn. It was just one long sloping hallway, leading them further and further down into the belly of the building. Nor was it rusted like everything else she’d seen of the snakes – rather, the place was smooth like snow and just as white.
The man said something, squeezing her hand as he came to a stop. She moved to stand beside him, too cold to care as he let her go and took a few careful steps forward. Her eyes widened when his left foot hit the floor and created a shallow splash, causing the cleanest water she’d ever seen to ripple outward.
She crept up behind him and studied it, finding that it was nearly invisible when still. She reached out a foot herself and tapped it on the floor.
“Gah!” she yelled, flinching backwards to fall against the wall. The man followed her, his eyebrows drawn in concern. She barely paid him any attention – she was scrambling to pull up her pant leg and see the burn she could already feel coursing through her leg. She yanked it up, and stared at the perfectly unharmed skin of her leg. Kicking off her shoe, she found that her foot was also fine, though the burning sensation was still stinging under her skin.
The man watched her quietly, and pulled her leg into his lap once she stopped moving. He glanced at her, as if asking for permission, and placed his hands on top of her calf. She couldn’t hold back the shiver it gave her, his palms like fire combating the cold burn inside of her. He rolled his fingers and pressed his palm to her calf, muttering something to himself as he massaged her leg until she could no longer feel the pain.
“T-thank you,” she breathed.
He garbled something back and let go, leaving her to pull her shoe back on while he got to his own feet. He stood, staring down at the water.
Taryn got up too, coughing at the abrupt embarrassment she felt at the situation. “Sorry about that,” she crossed her arms defensively. “It must be the water on this planet. On Mars, I never—”
She yelped as her feet suddenly left the floor and her world was flipped upside-down.
“What? Wait!” she yelled, speaking nonsense as she squawked at being manhandled. She flailed her arms, seeking purchase on anything as she was sickeningly reminded of the meteor storm. She closed her eyes, swallowing hard as she remembered falling over the railing and grabbing onto a chair to pick herself back up. Only the ship had been hit with impact after impact, sending her crew into a panic.
Her eyes shot open when she felt a warm hand on her lower back.
The man was talking. The hand was moving soothingly along with his words, and she realized that she was over his shoulder, her head against his back and her ass in the air.
“Hey!” she threatened, a snarl in her voice. “Put me down!” she punched his back with each word.
He merely trudged on, splashing water with his feet as he moved carelessly ahead. All the while he kept a hand on her back, a comforting pressure as the temperature continued to drop with every step. Taryn was reduced to shivers, and when she saw her own breath she closed her eyes.
“You k-know,” she said, teeth chattering together. “M-my crew and I, we don’t often make stops. We’re more of a search and observe, if you know what I mean. But one time we found this planet that the computer said was s-sixty percent water. And, I don’t know about your planet, but that was s-super similar to ours.”
Taryn fisted her hands in his shirt, burying her face against the warmth of his back. “S-so we went down. I don’t remember what we were hoping to find – alien life, maybe. Instead we got a whole lot of nothing, and I caught a cold. Place was a goddamn tundra. Talk about a disappointment.”
Taryn was rambling, she knew. But it was keeping her mind moving and her mouth working, so she kept talking, sharing anything and everything that she could think of in the freezing chamber. The man let her, silently marching on as she filled the silence with her voice.
It wasn’t until she realized that the water was up to his knees that she noticed the grates along the walls. The water wasn’t trapped here; it was being filtered in from other places. She frowned, and wondered aloud if the snake men had plumbing.
“I mean, they’re s-snakes,” she said thoughtfully. “Right? They don’t need much. Would their civilization take the time to build a toilet? To invent it?”
The man seemed to understand that she had a qu
estioning tone, and he began rubbing her back sympathetically with low mutters of something that she couldn’t understand. And, while she appreciated the heat his hand created for her there, she was also at a loss. What was the point of a comm tab if it couldn’t even understand the guy saving her life?
Kanthi
Kanthi had no idea what the woman was saying. It was too bad, as she was a talker, and barely gave herself time to breathe, let alone allow him a moment to think. Her voice was all around him, invading his senses as it bounced off the walls and puffed hot with every breath against his back.
“We’re almost there,” he said quietly, not wanting to cut across her when she was speaking but, really, when was she not? He knew by the desperation in her voice that it was probably just a way for her to stay conscious in the cold, but he wanted to give her proper reassurance that she didn’t have to force herself. He wanted to protect her.
A darkness ahead of them told him that they were close to the exit. He took longer steps, the cool water wading between his thighs as he moved slowly but purposefully. The cold made his muscles tingle, but after centuries of being enslaved by Thagzars and having to carry out their bidding, his people had developed an immunity to the painful algor water. There were stories, though, of early Eiztar who had died violently by the terrible cold. He should’ve known that the woman would be defenseless against it.
It was a freezing liquid the aliens had brought with them in their war, and they had continued to use it not only for an energy source but also to torture criminals. Reptilians had quite a problem with the cold, especially if water was involved.
Stepping out of the harsh lighting of the water and into the sudden shadows, Kanthi patted the woman on the back reassuringly when she cut herself off. “This is good,” he said, taking them further into the darkness. It wasn’t long before he found the metal ladder and stepped onto it, climbing up and taking them both out of the freezing chamber.
