Sekkol: (Scifi Alien Romance) (Galaxy Alien Warriors Book 2)

by Lara LaRue

  When we were all inside, the men directed their attention at us, and the seats floated down the passage.

  “Welcome,” one of them said coolly. “If you please, we ask that you enter the pods as they open. You will be provided with oxygen for the journey.”

  “Journey to where?” The words sprang out before I could control them.

  “To Jupiter,” he replied, and then the seats drifted upward. They remained there like gods as they watched us from their lofty perches.

  It was then I realized they were either from some remote part of Europe or they weren’t human at all. When they spoke, their lips moved differently than the words they were actually saying.

  “Ju—” And then it all made sense. What they were saying before, the sting on my neck, why their lips moved funny, and now… Jupiter? Earlier, I thought my worst fear was I’d be a prostitute in Bulgaria; now it was slowly becoming apparent we were being taken off Earth.

  I stepped forward and instantly felt a shockwave pass right through me. My eyes bulged, and I was held in place by some magnetic force.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” one of the men said.

  The pods opened then, and we were ushered inside, each in our own domain. It was cold, and I rubbed my arms in a bid to generate some amount of heat. There was a flashing light above that was red before, but when the door to the pod slid shut, it turned green. Metal bars shot out from hidden orifices and wrapped themselves around my ankles and waist. Then the pod tilted backward, and I was lying on my back. I started to feel woozy—trapped in a box with no air. Then slowly, the vapor lifted, and I could feel the oxygen returning. I gasped as I sucked in a lungful.

  Not long after, there was a loud hissing sound, and the vessel started shaking. My eyes started feeling heavy, and I realized it wasn’t just oxygen coming through the spores overhead. I tried to fight the urge, but it was useless, and before I could gather a logical thought, my world went black.

  Chapter 3 / Sekkol

  The planet Jupiter was what Earth would look like a millennium in the future. Though it had a medieval appearance, with stonewalls and wooden enclosures dominating the landscape, the metropolitan areas seemed to be made solely of steel and glass. Both the air and the land—which was flat and mostly compressed claylike matter except where the urban life met the rolling hills and valleys of green—were buzzing with hovercrafts, space scooters, and what looked like oversized bullets.

  There were five main cities: Anon, Castor, Xenon, Jordan, and Bulova, and several districts situated within each. There was just one prison, located on the outskirts of civilization, and that was kept grossly underpopulated because capital punishment was still practiced. Those who wound up there were clearly not the worst in society; the worst were already dead.

  The people on this planet resembled the humans, if only slightly. They were taller, on average, by at least two feet, and though they aged similarly, from infancy to adulthood, they lived up to a millennium. They were slender, with pale skin that looked like the sky on a clear summer’s day, and had piercing black eyes on flat faces. They all wore their hair long, both males and females, and at some point, it became difficult to tell who was who or how old they were.

  At present, a large throng of them was gathered in the town square, awaiting the execution of a man who had become something of a perpetual disturbance in society. Stealing, fighting, and committing other vagrancies, the Tribunal had decided the prison population no longer served as adequate punishment. The man was displayed before the swelling crowd, wearing white overalls and a look of fright. Next to him was a large cylindrical chamber that was at present empty but would be filled with his pulverized body parts in a few minutes.

  “That’s one of our guys,” Brom said to me with a grin.

  And by that, he meant someone we had captured a few weeks back, smack dab in the middle of his fifth assault. “I’d say it’s about time they fry his ass,” I replied. It was the one thing that made my job as an enforcer worthwhile, ridding the streets of unwanted criminal acts. Not even the slightest act against the law was tolerated, and my team was there to make sure no one escaped.

  There was a loud beeping sound as the alarm was triggered, signaling the last moments of the man who seemed ready to run. He looked about wildly as two other men in white jumpsuits joined him there. His legs had been chained to the flooring, and one of the men stooped to release them. He started pressing backward when the other opened the chamber, but his movement was slowed.

  “I would love for him to escape now,” Gideon, one of the other members of my four-man squad, interjected. “My fingers are itching to put him down.”

  “Easy, Gideon,” I told him. “He isn’t worth the hassle.”

  “I’ll tell you what’s not worth the hassle: going downtown to watch Jonas offload his can of human slaves again,” Thorax, the final man, added.

  “It is a must,” I declared and eyed the men authoritatively. “There is no point in questioning it.”

  There was silence after I spoke, as all eyes faced front, watching the man being pushed into the chamber. He resisted all the way, and when he was inside and the door closed, he started banging on the fiberglass enclosure. His voice was muffled, but it didn’t matter. One of the men went to the column to the far right, and they placed goggles over their eyes simultaneously. There was a reverent hush, as all stood in anticipation of the execution. The executioner pressed the button, there was a blinding light, and then it was over. When the light faded, the man was no more.

  I checked the device on my arm and saw it read fifteen minutes past three. “It should be there by now,” I told my men. “Let’s clear this crowd and move out.”

  Not a word was uttered as they instantly started clearing the street. Some of the people seemed solemn, perhaps feeling sorry for the man. Others walked away expressing their content at the justice that was meted out. In short order, life had been restored, as if someone had not just died.

  We headed to the hovercraft we used to get around, especially when it was just us. I hopped on, and Brom took his place next to me; Gideon and Thorax shared the other, and we sailed off through the now empty street. We arrived at the port just as the vessel was coming in, and Jonas instantly shuffled over when he saw me arrive. He was a snake and a crook, the way he handled his business, but he had broken no laws. He knew I was just waiting for him to slip once.

  He hurried over to the landing gate and stood by the chute for the pods to emerge. His eyes kept returning to mine, like he had something planned that I was interfering with. Then there was a whooshing sound as the first pod came down. He opened the port and received the first of this shipment. It was a dazed-looking human, hair of gold and eyes that seemed frightened, not unlike the others who had come before.

  I didn’t plan to stare at each individual entry but turned instead to the eager onlookers slowly forming a circle. “Get back!” I shouted and gripped my device strapped to my side. I bore down on them, but they made no attempt to get any closer, and I held them in place with my eyes.

  Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I whirled around, my weapon already discharged.

  “Whoa,” Brom said and held his hands in the air. “Just telling you they are done.”

  “Already?” I looked around him to discern the truth for myself. Then I reattached my weapon and gave the small crowd one final flash of my eyes before walking off again.

  “Not many today,” Brom informed me.

  He was right. Usually, there were more than the… nine, ten, eleven… I had begun to count through the lot when I spotted her. She had skin that looked like the earth, and her hair had these strange knots in it that bounced on her shoulders when she walked. Her eyes were searching the crowd, probably for some means of escape, when they found mine.

  Suddenly, my world grew still, and all the noise around me died. I felt like I was suddenly leaping from a cliff into a green and grassy meadow… with her. My heart fluttered w
ithin my chest, and I gripped it to stop it from leaping right out. I could see nothing else, hear nothing else, feel nothing else. There was only her, and instantly, I had an urge to protect her and make her mine.

  It was then I knew I was in trouble.

  Chapter 4 / Keira

  What is this place?

  My head turned this way and that as we were shoved between the growing throng of… aliens. That was the only word that came to mind when I saw the creatures staring back at me curiously. Almost as if they were inspecting us.

  They had eyes black as coal that were stuck on faces that seemed human, except their skin. It had a bluish hue to it and was sort of beautiful as it shimmered in the sun. I might’ve had a better appreciation for it were I not shackled to a group of people I didn’t know and being taken to a place unfamiliar to me and everyone else on Earth. For it had become clear I was no longer on my home planet.

  My eyes were roaming the sea of faces when it stopped on one of them. He was taller than the average human, and still he seemed a foot above the rest. He seemed to be calling to me, though he didn’t move. His long black hair, the parts I could see, hung from under a hat, and he resembled a mercenary of sorts. It felt like I knew him from somewhere, except there was nowhere I could have seen him before. It felt strange, and before I could make sense of it, the woman behind me shoved me along.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “Not Earth,” I replied as our feet dragged on the ground. It was then that I glanced down and saw it was red and looked like clay. Which was good. At least it wasn’t dusty. The sun bearing down on my already sensitive skin was making me itch, and there was no way for me to scratch it. I felt like a stranger in my own body.

  “This way,” the man who had freed us said. He must’ve been the Jonas person I kept hearing about. My head felt heavy on my shoulders, and I could only ascertain it was caused by whatever was pumped into my lungs that made me unconscious for the trip.

  Still, as groggy as I was, I couldn’t help but admire this new world. The buildings were made of some form of metal and glass and were shaped like pyramids, oblong, and some even seemed to be sloping at odd angles. It was like an abstract painting, and when I looked up, I ducked when I saw some flying objects whooshing past. By the time we exited the compound, I saw that was how the people got around. I was in a futuristic world, being sentenced to a backward way of living, my new life as a slave.

  Just then, there was some sort of commotion as a group of men, one of whom I had noticed before, stormed through the procession of our strange admirers.

  “Jonas, where are you taking them?” he asked gruffly.

  Jonas took his hat off and held it in front of him, which didn’t seem sensible, as the sun now hit him directly in his eyes. He blinked rapidly to counter the effect. “I-I’m taking them to the tank,” he told the man.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be taking them to the park to be sold?” he asked. His legs were apart, his hands behind him. He never once took his eyes off the man, and I could tell just by this encounter that he was a man who was generally feared.

  “Well, yes,” he replied nervously. “But, Sekkol, sir, it is rather late, and I am afraid there won’t be enough buyers at this late stage. Better to keep them until morning.” Jonas was slightly rotund, and he kept shifting on his legs as he spoke. He wiped his face now to rid it of the sweat beads that were racing downward.

  He stepped back then and nodded as if his approval were law. Jonas smiled slightly, bowed, and hurriedly covered his head once more. He took his place before us, and we started moving again.

  I still had my eyes on the strange man, and just then his eyes caught mine. I quickly averted my gaze in case he should make an example of me just for staring too hard.

  “Move along,” Sekkol urged us, and I held my head straight, though I had the odd sensation he was still watching me. I tried to ignore it, but something caused me to turn around again. This time, I caught him just standing there with a perplexed look on his face. He seemed to be reconciling something in his mind, but before he could make sense of it, his friend came up behind him. They seemed to be a squad in the police force, and he was obviously the leader.

  His crony pulled him away, and he reluctantly moved off. His eyes never once left mine until he was walking away. And then I collided with the woman before me; they had stopped, and I hadn’t noticed.

  “Hey, watch it,” she replied as she shrugged her shoulder to rid herself of me.

  “Sorry,” I replied and then straightened up. I recognized the voice as the woman who had spoken of sex slaves on the container, and I craned my neck to get a glimpse of her face. She was my height, with red hair that was a tangled mess, and she kept squinting. It may be wrong to harbor clichés, but she seemed like a drug addict. It was then her comment in the container made sense. She was hardened and always prepared for the worst because that was all she had ever gotten.

  “What’s the deal?” she asked, anger taking hold of her. She nudged me with her elbow when she caught me staring, or maybe because I was closest to her and served as the most available avenue of relieving stress.

  “Hey!” I fired back and did the same in retaliation. “Don’t take this out on me.” Tempers were flaring, and it was evident our situation wasn’t getting any better.

  “Take it easy,” Jonas said and hurried to where we were. “There will be time for that later.”

  “What are you going to do with us? I want to go back home!” I shouted. The next thing I felt was his hand on my cheek and then the intense pain as it pulsated. I rubbed it to get some measure of relief and then lunged at the man. Someone pulled me back, but I didn’t care anymore. At that point, I felt like death was a better escape from this nightmare.

  Jonas, who was a puny pug before, was now barking like a Rottweiler as he stood before me, surveying me and sneering. “I like you,” he said and gave me a toothy smile. He reached out and cupped my face with his hand. “I think I’ll get a pretty piece of jewel for you.” And then he walked off.

  The woman in front of me turned to me and shook her head. “Don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself,” she told me.

  “Kind of hard,” I replied and rubbed my cheek again. I could tell by the way my fingers found a lumpy surface that it was swollen. “We are the show.”

  She shrugged, acknowledging the truth of my statement, and we continued marching on. We were led past what I presumed was the square, receiving winks, nods, and the occasional tugs from the inhabitants we passed on the street. It kind of reminded me of an alternative Manhattan. We eventually got to a huge building made of stone; it seemed like it had been carved out of a giant rock, like the home of the King of Gondor situated in the universe of Middle Earth in The Lord of the Rings. A dark tunnel loomed ahead, and we tripped along until we got to what seemed like a cave within a bigger cave. Once inside, the chains that had held us together were now pulled off. Even without them, I felt more the prisoner.

  Jonas handed one of the natives a key, and after he had stuck it into the huge keyhole, he hauled the partition back, and we were ushered inside like cattle. I stumbled, and then almost instantly, I broke free of the pack and was back at the iron fencing.

  “Please. Let us out!” I screamed, already forgetting the punishment I had received a few minutes before.

  There was no response from Jonas as all the men walked out, leaving us in the dungeon. I moved away from the bars and to the wall, where I slid to the cold earth, realizing then it was all stone. I looked at the rest of the humans who had come over with me; their faces were bland, and they resembled brainwashed subjects in an experiment. I saw the woman who had been whimpering the entire time. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she seemed spent.

  Some time elapsed between when we were shoved inside and when I heard voices down the passageway.

  “Hey, we’re hungry!” I yelled, hoping to grab someone’s attention. “Hey.” Some of the others joined me until ther
e was a growing commotion surrounding me.

  An angry-faced native approached; I could tell his flesh had turned into a deeper shade of blue. “What?” he barked.

  “Food,” I told him. “We would like some food.”

  He snarled and then looked at the rest of us. “Jonas!” he bellowed.

  The man I had grown too acquainted with returned, and he muttered something to him. He looked back at me and then at the others. Then he waved us off and walked away again. The guard chased after him and grabbed him by the shoulder. He said something that stilled him, and then he nodded. I supposed he must have understood to have us die from hunger would not be a financially sound decision.

  He returned a few minutes later with a platter of what I could only assume were edible things. He slid it under the metal bar at the bottom, and even though we didn’t know what it was, we knew one thing for sure: it was food. We scampered to the tray, much to the amusement of the guard, and as the juice from the fruit trickled down my chin, I looked up and wiped it off.

  Yep. Life on Jupiter. Better get used to it. And then I lowered my head again and ate some more.

  Chapter 5 / Sekkol

  I couldn’t control how I felt, or who I felt it for, and I couldn’t understand how, when I had never harbored any affections for the humans, I would have imprinted on one. Especially when it was forbidden. Her eyes haunted my sleep that night, and in the morning, her ghost shadowed me. If it was something I could dispel, I would have readily done so, and I cursed my stupid nature for this obscenity. She consumed not just my mind, but she was manipulating the rise and fall of my manhood that pulsated each time her face flitted into view.