Rax

by Maia Starr

  “I am already working on it,” I said, moving over to the lock on my cell. I made quick work of it, and in no time it opened.

  “How did you do that? How did you unlock your cell? Do mine,” she said.

  “Can you stand up?”

  She tried to stand but could not. This was going to be a problem. I had to go into the space station and be stealthy. I had to find what I came to find and I could not do that if I had to carry a human female. I would not blend in at all .

  “I cannot stand. You will have to carry me,” she said.

  “Then you will have to stay here. I'm sorry,” I said.

  “What? What do you mean? Don't leave me here”, she said in anger.

  “I will be back for you. If someone comes, just say that a warrior came to fetch me. That will keep them busy for a while as they try to figure out who took me from the cell and why.”

  “No, don't leave me here. You won't come back. You will leave me here stranded. I don't know what they have done to me or what they are going to do to me. You cannot leave me here, Cerik.”

  “Listen to me, Maria. I am going to go and find an easy way to get us out of here. But it is going to take me blending in. I cannot do that if I am carrying you. It will give us away. I am sure that there are not very many human females on this ship, if any at all. But I promise you that I will come back for you. I just need an hour or two, and I will be back. In the meantime, try to get your strength back. Try to stand and move your legs around. I promise I will come for you,” I said as I began to move down the hallway.

  “Your promises mean nothing,” I heard her say as I walk down the long corridor of prison cells. Her words stung. She did not believe me; she had every right not to believe me. I had promised her that we would not be captured in the first place and having broken that promise now, I was making another promise to her and she saw it as an empty promise. She was on a strange ship with strange aliens, and it was a lot for one human to take in. I hated that I had to put her through this, but I had to. I had no choice.

  I moved into the main hallway of the ship. I now knew exactly where I needed to go. As soon as I exited the prison cells, I was surprised to see that there weren't any guards posted. I moved into an empty room. There was a mirror, and I looked myself over. I pulled my long hair back into a bun. I looked for a blaster gun and found an entire closet full of weapons. I grabbed one and put it on my boot. I looked just like any of the other hybrids on this ship. There was no reason to think that I was a prisoner. I cleaned up and then I was ready. I moved back into the hallway and knew exactly where I needed to go: the archives. I had studied the blueprints of the space station well. They had been smuggled out by one of our spies. I walked down the hallway and nodded to warriors that I passed in greeting. None of them paid any attention to me other than to nod back. I made my way to the archive and walked right in. Now I was on my own. I did not know what I was looking for other than the fact that Ephane would be the leader of this big project. I sat down at a monitor and began to search his name. There was a long list of files that came up. I scrolled quickly down, looking for anything that stood out. But after fifteen minutes I was growing anxious. There was nothing unusual. But then finally toward the end of the list, there was something that stood out. It was a file that was labeled “The Key.” That was unusual. What key needed an entire file? I opened the file, and several documents came up in our own language. I began to read. I was horrified. This was it. It was a recipe for a virus. It was a virus that would cause human females to become barren. This was his big plan. I continued to read but knew that I was running out of time. I dug into the compartment on my boot and pulled out a device that I had brought specifically for this mission. I pushed it into the monitor and copied over the file labeled. Finally, it was downloaded. I pulled my device from the monitor and pushed it back into my boot. I was glad that I had not been searched, but every warrior had a device like this on his boot as a standard, and they would think nothing of it, unless they opened it.

  I took the device and left the archive. Now I would need to get Maria out of the prison cell. But how would I do this? The only way that I could see fit would be to hide her. I would have to hide her and take her out to the landing port and load her onto a ship, whichever ship I was going to take. That was it. I was going to have to pretend that she was cargo. She was not going to like that. I moved to the landing port straight to the loading docks. There were plenty of wheeled carts with massive boxes on them. It was perfect. Everyone was working, and no one paid any attention to me. I was very glad for this heavily populated space station; it was almost like a small village. I wheeled the cart back into the hallway of the space station back toward the prison cells. I opened the door to the dark cavern and wheeled it in and closed the door behind me. I stopped and listened. It was dead quiet. This meant there were no warriors inside looking for me. So far, so good. I was getting very lucky on this mission.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  MARIA COVALLOS

  I could not believe that he left me. Would he really come back for me? Or would he just save his own skin? I had no way of knowing. I did not know this alien at all. Sure, he was defensive whenever I was taken from his ship, but that did not mean anything. Actions spoke louder than words, and he had left me in the damn prison cell alone. I hated him for it. I had hated him all along; it was just my desire for him that made me think I did not hate him. But desire and like we're two different things. You could desire someone and still hate them. That was how I felt then. I hated him to my very core.

  Still, I did as he asked. I worked on getting my strength back, not because I thought he was coming for me, but because I was going to have to get myself out of this mess. But how? I could not fly one of those ships. I had no idea how they worked. But one step at a time, and the step at this moment meant trying to walk again. I was terrified. What had they done to me? I was glad that the commander identified what had been given to me. But that did not give me much relief. Why did they need to put me to sleep to begin with? What did they do to me while I was asleep? Did I really want to know? It was possible that I would be so horrified by it that it was probably better that I did not know. I grabbed onto the bars and pulled myself up slowly onto my feet. As soon as I did, I felt the pins and needles as the blood rushed to my legs as though they had been asleep. Then I shook one leg out and then the other. Slowly, I was getting the feeling back, and my strength. I clung to the bars waiting and concentrating on waking up my body. Then I felt the feeling come back and I was less groggy. The drug was wearing off, and it must be the blood rushing through me. That was good to know; it meant that all I had to do was pump more blood into my body and it would help wake me up. I put my back to the bars and leaned against them. I moved my hands over my head, up and down as though I was doing jumping jacks, but only with my arms. It was helping. Soon I was able to stand without the help of the bars. I bent my knees and straightened and did it again and again like I was doing squats. It was getting the blood pumping through my body. I felt my heart beating faster and was less sluggish. And no time at all, I was walking back and forth in the cell. I was scared to sit down or lay down; I did not want the feeling to come back, so I began to walk circles around the cell. I wondered how Cerik had opened his cell. Did he have some sort of device on him to pick a lock? If so, why did he not give it to me so that I could try? He seemed to know exactly what to do in our situation. I wondered if he had been captured before and this was normal for him.

  After about two hours, I heard a sound. It sounded like wheels being rolled along the floor. I was walking back and forth in the cell looking down the long hall. I saw a cart being pushed with a heavy box on it. The warrior that pushed it was not too visible because it was so dark. It was like a dungeon down there. I noticed that he did not have long hair; it was not the commander. I began to panic wondering what this warrior wanted with me and this cart.

  “Good, I see you got your strength back,” the cvoice said
.

  “It's you! Thank God. I didn't recognize you with your hair up,” I said as I saw his face for the first time.

  “I told you that I would come for you. I promised.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  “Now let me get you out of there,” he said as he began to fiddle with the lock.

  “What is that cart for?” I asked him.

  “For you, I am afraid. It is the only way that I can get you out of here without anyone noticing.”

  “That? You want me to hide in that? I don't think I will fit,” I said, remembering just how claustrophobic I was.

  “You will be fine. Here is the plan. I am going to put you in this cart and take you out onto the landing port I am going to put you on a ship and then take off. I will come open the cart whenever I know that it is safe to do so. Do you understand this plan?” he asked.

  “Yes, I do. I wish it were a different plan, but anyway out of here is good enough for me.”

  “There, it's open,” he said opening the door.

  I quickly ran out of the cell and for some reason I jumped into his arms. I hugged him tightly. I was just so thankful that he had come back for me. I was so thankful that he knew what he was doing and had the skill to unlock the door and get us out of there. He put his large hands on the small of my back. I could feel the heat from his skin. Even in this moment of danger, I was completely aroused by him. I looked up at his towering form into his soft brown eyes. He gave me a little sideways grin. It was that arrogant grin once more.

  “I know you want me, Maria, but it's going to have to wait until we have more time. I want to make sure that I fuck you properly,” he smiled.

  “Ugh, I was just giving you a hug to thank you. Now how do I get into this thing?” I said pushing myself off of him.

  He opened a large silver box on the cart. It was very long, like a trunk; I climbed into it and laid down on my side in fetal position.

  “I am going to leave the lid open just a crack. To let some air in. I don't need you suffocating,” he said in a teasing way. I didn't know how he could be so playful at the moment like this.

  I could see out of it but just a sliver. Then the cart began to move, and it was very loud. I could only hear the sound of the wheels on the floor. It was very hard for me to not see what was going on. I did notice when it went from dark to light, and I knew that we had left the prison area. I could hear lots of voices going about their daily routine; that was good. It was better than hearing shouting. Shouting would mean we had been busted. Then I heard very loud talking and I wondered where we were. It looked very busy out of the small sliver on the box. I heard engines roaring, and I wondered if we had made it to the area that they kept the ships. Suddenly the box moved as though I were being pushed up a ramp. That was a good sign. Perhaps it meant I was being pushed into a ship cargo area. The cart was put into place, and I could see other boxes around me. Then the cart stopped. I heard a whisper; it was the commander. He was leaning down over the cart as though he was checking the cargo, but instead he was talking to me.

  “We made it onto a ship. Be very quiet. I will come for you. You will feel the movement of the ship and a fast escape. Don't get out.”

  Then he was gone. I lay there in the darkness. I did not know what was happening. It was very unnerving not to know. What if he was caught and I stayed in the trunk? What if the ship took off but he was not the pilot, and it was one of these other warriors, and then I would be separated from him? He would be kept a prisoner on the space station, and I would be taken to god-knows-where never to be seen or heard from again. I tried to keep my breathing quiet and regular. Then I felt the movement of the ship, just as he said, and I felt the vibration of an engine come on.

  Then the ship jolted, and the cart moved a few inches. All the boxes around me also moved. I felt the sensation of a slight incline and fast movement. I was happy. The ship had taken off, and I hoped that it was, in fact, the commander at the seat and no one else. I hoped that we had gotten away without anyone noticing, just a routine flight leaving the space station like normal. I waited for almost thirty minutes, and I was beginning to get very scared. How long would this take?

  “Maria?” I heard Cerik’s voice, and it was music to my ears.

  “Yes, I am here still,” I said lifting the lid.

  “We did it,” he said as he opened the lid all the way and pulled me out and picked me up until I was on my feet. I sighed in relief and hugged him again. Without warning, he grabbed me and planted a kiss on my mouth. I was not expecting it, but as soon as he kissed me, I could not stop. I was telling myself that it was a kiss of celebration and nothing more, but if that was the case, then why were my hands moving up and down his strong chest? Damn it.

  “Come on. I have to get back to the flight deck. We are not exactly safe yet; we are still in range of the space station radar.”

  “Okay,” I said, following him out of the cargo and into the main area of the ship. It was not the ship that we had come there on. It was a bigger ship. It was one of the opposition ships.

  “Strap in,” he said to me. I took the seat next to his and strapped in with the belt. I was glad to be able to do it myself and not be a burden. I knew he had to concentrate to get us out of there. He sat down and was very focused.

  “We have to make a different plan. I cannot take you to my home planet. As soon as they find out that we are missing, they will quickly follow us and catch up with us.”

  “So what do we do? Where do we go?” I asked feeling very confused. I did not know space. I didn't know anything about anything with the galaxies. Hell, until a few days before, I didn't even know that aliens existed. I could not be of any help.

  “We are going to go in the exact opposite direction. They will go toward my planet of Kelon and we are going to go in the opposite direction to a small moon known as Ikik. it is the perfect hiding place for now. Until I can figure it out. I have a few friends there that can help us,” he said.

  “Sounds good to me,” I said quietly.

  “All right. It is now time,” he said.

  “Time for what?”

  “I am going to disengage the radar. We are still on the space station radar, and I had to do that in order to look normal. But now that we are far enough away, I'm going to disengage so that I disappear from their radar. Then I'm going to change direction and jump into hyperspeed. Right now we are heading in the direction of my planet; that is the last that they will see of the ship when they finally realize we are gone.”

  “You are throwing them off. That is smart,” I said impressed with his clever plan. He had obviously thought this through.

  “Here goes,” he said as I watched him push a bunch of buttons and then out of nowhere the ship changed course with a sharp U-turn. Then it jumped into a very fast speed. Everything was a blur around us.

  “Oh my God! This is very fast!” was all I could say as I held onto the seat. I was not expecting it to be this fast. It was amazing, but also very scary at the same time.

  “Hold on,” he said.

  “Yes, that is exactly what I am doing,” I said.

  I watched as he expertly handled the ship. It was very different from before. It was as though he had taken more lessons in flying because he was doing a better job than he did when we were trying to not be captured. I thought it was very strange, but what did I know about flying a spaceship? Perhaps it was just because this ship was very different; it was bigger. Maybe it was more advanced than the ship that he had. I was not going to ask questions. I did not want to distract him. I sat in the chair quietly watching him. As I watched him, I found myself getting turned on. He had kept his promise to me. He had rescued me just like he said he was going to. He promised that we would get out of there and we did. We were now far away from them, and as I sat there, I remembered one thing. Experiments. I remembered it was what Ephane said to me before I passed out after he gave me that shot. I sucked in a sharp breath of air as I remembered this. I did
not want to ask the commander about it; I did not want to distract him. But a panic was welling inside of me. What the hell did they do to me? He said that I was being given the shot so that it would make it easier for them to experiment on me. That's what he had said. What the hell did he mean by that? I looked at my body up and down, looking for marks without being too obvious. I did not want the commander to notice. I had to remember that as soon as we were out of this ridiculous fast speed to go to the washroom and check my body.

  About an hour later, we pulled out of hyperspeed. The ship slowed down, and I could see the stars in space once more.

  “I am going to go find the washroom,” I said, unbuckling the seatbelt.

  “You will find it somewhere in the back. This ship is much larger, but you should find it.”

  I stood up from the seat and made my way to the back. I found the washroom and stepped in. I took off the sheer blue dress and my bikini and stood there naked. I looked over every inch of my body and could not find anything. There were no marks. But this was a very advanced alien race and maybe they did not need to even touch me. Perhaps the experiments were done with scanning and lasers. I got dressed and then went back to join the commander. I said nothing. I was too scared to. What if he knew what kind of experiment they did on me and I was contagious or something? He would probably throw me out into space. No, I could not take that chance, not until I knew what had been done to me.