by Gabby Dark
“What did you do to me?” I asked Pio'ata.
“You were cleansed,” she said, shoving the garment at me again. “Rufu.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Tʼǔn rufu.”
I shook my head.
“Put on the silk,” she said, this time in English.
The calmness of her voice alarmed me.
“Where am I?” I remembered the aliens who captured me. The violence. The gore. I had killed one of them. “Another planet?”
“Zuna. You’re in the colony of Zunator.”
Zuna? What the hell? In all my time in science and geology classes we had never been told about any planet named Zuna. Mars. Venus. Pluto. But never Zuna. But why was I even surprised? Three fourths of the world’s population had been obliterated in the disaster. And still, Earth’s people were in danger of being wiped out. But here I was, on another planet. Why?
“How long have I been here?”
“Eight days in a cleansing chamber. No disease. No illnesses. Safe for acclimation and modification.”
“How was I brought here?”
“Zuna Fleet Magna Xium.”
“Why don’t I remember anything after they took me?”
“Humans are transported in cryo-chamber to reduce the risk of expiration,” she stated.
I swallowed dry air. “Andara?” I looked around the room, which looked like a lab or medical room of some sort.
“Tʼǔn k’u. It is time.” Pio'ata turned around.
“Wait! Time for what? Where’s Andara? My friend—Andara.”
“Andara? Woman companion? Friend?” Pio'ata asked.
“Yes, my friend. She was taken with me. Where is she? Is she alive?”
She nodded. “Alive. Mak. Alive.”
I studied her. Examined her dark flesh. Just like the men, her veins sparked with white electric jolts.
“What is that…in your body?” I asked.
“Ǔre”
“What is that?”
“Aura. The ǔre beneath our axǔ foretells fate, skill, and purpose. Pǔta. Purpose. White is for healer. But sometimes for death bringer.”
Some doors slid open. Pio'ata humbly stepped aside to let two big strapping gray aliens by. I gasped and clutched the silk garment to my chest.
“Human, tʼǔn,” one of them hissed at me.
I immediately put on the barely-there piece of fabric and then I was pulled to my feet and forced to walk where the aliens dragged me.
Chapter Four
Ryleigh
For a brief moment, I saw the outside of this strange planet and then a dark sack was wrapped over my head. My feet were bare. I felt nothing but dry sand and rocks scrapping at the bottom of my feet as I was tugged and dragged along.
Wherever I was taken, it was much colder. I could tell there were people. I could hear the voices. The whispers. The undecipherable language.
The sack was snatched off my head. They tied my wrists in front of me with a rope and left the long end of it on the floor in front of me. I felt like a criminal on death row about to be executed for my crime.
Sure enough, I had been placed front and center in a room filled with dark gray aliens. Well, the majority of them were. I was utterly surprised to see what appeared to be humans mingling with the crowd. Some of them even wore the same garments and loin cloths as the aliens. One of them had half of his face shaded in the same dark gray color as the other aliens.
The room was cold. The stare of everyone glancing at me like I was live cattle for sale was even colder. My body began to shiver, and I hoped to God that the outline of my cold nipples wasn’t on full display for these aliens to ogle over. But ogle they did.
A hush fell over the room.
“Ryleigh!”
I turned to see Andara standing not even five feet away from me. She, too, was dressed in a silk-like garment. We grabbed for each other’s hand at the same time. Our fingertips touched momentarily before one of the big scary looking aliens boomed loudly at us. I couldn’t understand what the hell he was saying but he didn’t seem happy about us consoling each other.
Andara jumped and dropped my hand. I frowned.
There were other human women lined up with us. A total of eight, including Andara and I. I didn’t remember the others being captured along with us. Maybe we weren’t the only humans the aliens abducted from Earth that night.
Behind us, someone with a loud authoritative voice began speaking in that unknown language again. He must’ve been a very important alien leader because all eyes turned from us human women to whomever had taken the spotlight.
I dared not to turn around for fear that there would be consequences. I was already getting dirty looks from the brute who hollered at Andara and I earlier.
“What say you, Athel? You’re are most trusted advisor concerning the Earth people,” the leader spoke. All heads turned to an old human man sitting on the far-right side of the room. When addressed, the old man got up using his cane for support.
“I agree, King Crencik. A lottery is in good taste. As we know, Earth’s resources are limited. That includes the females of breeding age. By my calculations, I estimate that the ratio of men to women is ten to one. If your warriors are planning to go back, I doubt they will be so lucky next time. I am surprised the warriors were able to capture six and that all six of them survived the transport to Zunator.”
“Thank you, Athel.”
Traitor. The ill sentiment suddenly popped into my head. It was the only word I could use to describe Athel, the human man who appeared to be helping the Zunator aliens abduct humans from Earth.
From what he said, I gathered that we were brought here for breeding purposes. The practice wasn’t unheard of.
Athel was right about one thing. On Earth, there were ten men to every woman. It was one reason why girls of breeding age were tagged as soon as they reached maturity. People were no more than the property of the nation, and if some rich politician or leader wanted a woman to produce an heir, all they had to do was buy one if they chose to.
Things were that bad on Earth. The population was closely monitored. Because of the limited resources, families were only able to have one child, if that. More, if you were rich and contributed to specific political agendas. And if restricted persons happened to have more babies than they were allotted, it was considered a crime punishable by servitude until death.
The man named King Crencik spoke to the room again in their native tongue and then a group of men appeared to drop marked stones into something that resembled a ballot box.
“King Crencik, if I may…” One of the big Zunators took the floor. He looked familiar for some reason. “The warriors who risked their lives on this raid should be given first pick. We lost two men to this cause. The remaining three of us are without mates or heirs. One of them includes your son. There are over fifty of us in this room. There is no way we will all receive a human. We should get first dibs.”
His speech was followed by grumbles, objections, and a few rounds of applauses.
“You are right. The lottery may not be the best way, considering there are so few,” King Crencik said.
More grumbles rang out.
“But! We have another ship leaving in a week’s time. Unfortunately, there’s only so much space on each ship. Our doctors our close to a treatment for our women. There’s only a matter of time before we can start testing. In the meantime, we won’t make the mistake of overcrowding our sector. My quota this time is twenty human women. Considering how easy these ones were to capture, I don’t think that should be too much to ask of the next group of raiders,” he continued.
“Since there are so few, I give up my rights to claim. I will lead the next raid,” another Zunator spoke. I’d heard the voice before. It sounded so familiar that a chill ran up my spine.
“No, my son. You will remain here to get the warriors ready in case of an attack from the Barbs,” King Crencik commanded.
“Fath
er!”
“No more, son. We’ll get on with this. The warriors who came back will choose first from among the women if they desire. What remains will be offered to high ranking warriors. Anyone still standing after that will be presented to the male citizens. And after that…all humans will become servants of Zuna. Yǔvim!” He raised his hand to quiet the noise. “There should be no objections.”
No one said a thing. They were really going to pass us out like livestock, weren’t they?
“Good. Now, my son will—”
“Father—”
“I won’t hear it, Anik. Your king has spoken. All Zunatorian males must breed. You are no exception to the rule.” His command echoed through the room. No one else made a peep.
I couldn’t help it. I turned slightly and peeked over my shoulder. In the largest chair in the middle sat who I thought to be King Crencik. He was large just like the others, but he was well-aged. He had electric blue eyes just like his son. The son…was the same alien who’d captured me from Earth. The one who’d drove his hand through a man’s chest and ripped out his heart.
Just as the Zunator whose name was Anik turned his sights on me, I snapped my attention back to the front.
“On the other hand…son, tell me, which one of the human breeders killed one of our warriors during the raid? Point her out.”
“Father, I have an army to prepare. I don’t have time for these things. Later, I will.”
“Point her out, son. Which one of these humans murdered one of our strongest in cold blood?”
I stiffened and suddenly I felt naked and exposed. I bit into my bottom lip. Hard. I prayed to whatever gods existed here that King Crencik wasn’t talking about me.
Suddenly, the alien brute who’d hollered at Andara and I rushed forward and grabbed me by the forearm. He jerked me and rushed me to the front, placing me in front of King Crencik and, presumably, his murderous rebellious son, Anik.
King Crencik leaned forward in his chair. “Is this so? Is she the one?” King Crencik’s eyes widened a bit and then he blinked a few times as if he were shocked—almost as if he didn’t believe I had committed murder.
The brute behind me must have asserted that I was guilty because he and King Crencik began exchanging words and Anik grew angry. His blue circuits sparked erratically.
He continued speaking in his foreign language to Anik. Anik, in the same language must have said something to anger his father. His father was not pleased, and the crowd grew restless and was probably bickering among themselves over who would be entitled to the haul from the raid.
“I will not breed any woman unwillingly,” Anik stated loudly, and a hush fell over the crowd.
“That doesn’t surprise me, my son. It’s not the first tradition you have shunned. Very well. You won’t have to breed unwillingly.”
“Then, as I stated, I have relinquished my rights. Are we done here?” Anik asked.
“No. We are not.” King Crencik looked smugly at Anik. “You will not take a mate or agree to breed, son. No matter. But here is what you will do—under the laws of Zuna, you will punish this one for the murder of Fulcid, one of our greatest warriors. I expect proof of her fate or I will send her to the marti lurtuǔng to be punished. Furthermore, if you don’t obey me, son, I will forbid you from further leading our great army. What say you now?”
Anik’s facial expression hardened, but he said nothing as the brute picked up my rope and handed it to Anik. When the rope wasn’t taken, the brute dropped it and stepped aside.
“What are you waiting for, son? Ku mit!” King Crencik ordered. Turing away from his son, he moved onto the next phase of this inhumane lottery, so evidently, he was the head honcho and his word was definitely final. Anik wasn’t pleased. Not in the slightest.
He looked up at me slowly. Although he was seven feet tall if not more, I met his gaze. It was the first time I could really see him for he was standing only inches in front of me. I confirmed one thing, the Zunators may have been gray but they did not all look the same. This one was easy on the eyes, although his gaze was just as savage as his demeanor. On Earth, he would’ve been considered a handsome rogue.
His electric blue stare never stopped sparkling as his eyes swept from side to side scrutinizing me. I couldn’t take the thick tension between us anymore and I lowered my gaze. It only reached the middle half of his chest.
My curiosity got the better of me and my attention landed on the loin cloth covering his manhood and the thick cords of muscles wrapped around his thighs. A large bulge started to form beneath the cloth producing a rather noticeable imprint of his cock. This time when my nipples hardened, it wasn’t from the cold.
I squeezed my eyes shut and silently forbade myself from peeking any further.
“K’a, bak’ku!” the other brute hollered at me.
My eyes sprung open and I jumped. “I don’t understand.”
“Bend. To. The. Prince. Bitch.” He pronounced each word in English slowly.
My blood boiled beneath my flesh. My hands balled into fists at my side.
Anik held up his hand. “Bap’ǔn. No.”
That rude alien son-of-a-bitch brute stepped back yet again. Maybe he was okay with being treated like a mutt, but I would not be reduced to being treated like a dog.
Anik produced a blade similar to the one I used to slit the throat of his colleague. My breath hitched in my chest and I held it, thinking he would deliver me the same fate. As he closed the slim distance between us, the glint of the knife gleamed.
My swift death was probably ideal. For both of us. But what was worse? Being a slave? A breeder? Or dead?
To my surprise, Anik cut the rope from my wrists. My hands fell limply to my sides.
“Come,” he demanded, and then brushed past me.
I took one last look back at a frightened Andara before following the one they called Anik through the crowd. As he passed through the room, the other Zunators parted for him.
At the exit, a lanky Zunator jumped in front of Anik. He held a collar and a chain in his hands. The stuff looked pretty high tech. Almost like there were sensors or something programmed into the collar itself. This all reminded me of some of things that were done to my fellow friends on Earth when they were marked for imprisonment.
“All slaves must wear the collar. A collar for your slave, crown prince?” The lanky Zunator asked, his finger shaking as he thrust the items at Anik.
“Move!”
The terse command Anik gave sent the lanky Zunator stumbling out of the way. The others near him put some distance between themselves and Anik. They were frightened.
Without turning around to see if I even followed, Anik exited the building. Of course I followed. Where else would I go?
As soon as I stepped foot on the outside, my breath rushed out of me. I took one look at the sky and the beauty amazed me. It was neither night nor day. Not too hot, nor cold. There weren’t any clouds. The sky wasn’t even blue, but deep shades of yellow, red, and brown. It was beautiful here. There was no comparison to the thick foggy pollution that now devastated the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Come!” Anik commanded when I fell too far behind.
I quickened my pace, following him through what looked like a crowded village with huge cave-like pods for houses. I even spotted some smaller huts and even a number of buildings that reminded me of the facility I woke up in.
The Zunators looked at me strangely as I passed them by. After all, I was literally naked. But so were they. Well, kind of. Most of the men wore loin cloths or long medieval-like tunics with trousers. I spotted very few women, but they were dressed in silk and fine clothes—pretty-colored tunics and midriff tops or pieces of fabric tied together to resemble dresses, skirts, and tunics.
All were varying shades of gray. All the men were darker. Some wore collars that looked similar to what the lanky one offered Anik. As far as I could see, almost everyone there had an aura. It had already been established that humans were h
ere. Whether willingly or unwillingly, I really couldn’t tell. What I did know was that somehow, the humans seamlessly blended in with the Zunators.
Suddenly, I felt big, smooth hands at the small of my back pushing me forward. “T’ux! Come!” This time he sounded both angry and aggravated. Maybe he was even thinking that he should’ve kept me on the rope or collared me.
I wondered if that was the only thing Anik would say to me. Come.
He was leading me to my death, that’s what he was doing. He didn’t want this. It was evident in the way he defied his father, the King.
He didn’t owe me anything. Not a thing. Not a word. After all, I had murdered his colleague in cold blood. I didn’t regret it. And if he thought he was going to treat me like hot shit on a platter, he had another thing coming. I would murder him too. What he probably didn’t know was that I already had a death sentence. I wasn’t afraid to die. I wasn’t afraid to go out like a warrior.
Anik finally came to a stop in front of a cave-shaped hut almost four times as big as some of the tents I slept in whenever the rebels made camp. He pulled a door aside. He was so tall that he had to bend a bit to slip under the threshold. I stood on the doormat, unsure if I wanted to rebel or obey. My will and my body seemed to be at odds.
He stepped aside and made a motion for me to come in, so I did. He slid the door closed behind us and a series of dimmed lights came on in the shelter.
He took off his shoes and put them by the door, then walked over to a bowl of water seated on a pedestal and began to dip his hand inside, rubbing them clean. He then dried his hands with a cloth.
He pointed to my shoes and directed me to the bowl. I followed his lead. Taking off my shoes, washing my hands clean in the water, and rubbing them dry. When I was done, I stood there and dropped my gaze to the intricate patterns on the rug beneath my feet.
