by Eden Ember
“You promised me long ago that I’d be your second,” he said weakly.
The pang hit me hard as I remembered. “But you’re my best engineer,” I countered.
He smiled weakly and nodded. I had to get him to Zeker, or he’d die. Dublar and Conx met us at the hangar and quickly brought a gurney to carry Razko. We swiftly loaded him onto it and brought him to the medical bay on board the Torq Runner. Zeker tore off Razko’s uniform and began working on him.
Zeker bent over Razko for nearly two hours, sweat beading on his blue brow while three of my crew stepped in to help. I’m not a doctor, so I merely stood back and paced the floor, brooding over the fact that the Kwobus was out to kill us however they could. Razko couldn’t die. He was one of my closest friends, and my crew are like my brothers. I couldn’t do anything except pace and hope that Zeker could do his magic.
Elgan and Xyru came back, breathless and wearied.
“How’s Razko?” Xyru asked.
“He’s in there with Zeker. He lost a lot of blood on the way back to the ship. I’m waiting and hoping that he’ll be okay. What did you find out?” I asked.
“Captain, we searched all around the building. It seems that the only ways in are through the enormous doors in the front and a small door in the rear. Both are crawling with the Kwobus. Short of being shot like Razko, we had no choice but to come back here to regroup and find another way to rescue the Terrans,” Elgan said.
I shook my head and closed my eyes. If it hadn’t been for Razko being shot, I would have stayed there and figured it out. Maybe they didn’t have as much of a stake in the Terrans as I did. It didn’t matter because Elgan was right and it wouldn’t serve any purpose if they shot or killed more of us.
“Okay, what about windows? Like the one where we found the Terrans? Are there any others?”
“They all have thick glass with bars, very much like prison cells,” Xyru replied.
I rolled my eyes. It’s an auction house with captured slaves. That was why lawlessness abounded in the area because the big currency pull came from the sale of those captured against their will.
Zeker appeared. Purple blood stained the front of his apron, his hands, and his forearm. “Captain, Razko will bleed out if I can’t administer plasma,” he advised.
I peered at my forearm and yanked off the vest. “I’ll donate.” I turned to Xyru and Elgan. “Try to come up with a way to rescue our new friends. We’ve gone to this much trouble, we might as well see it through. I want to make sure that we stabilize Razko before I go back,” I told them.
Zeker set me up on the bed alongside the table where Razko lay. His shallow breathing alarmed me as I made a fist so Zeker could find a good vein. He pricked through my thick blue skin; the needle hitting right where it needed, and immediately thick purple blood filled the small chamber. The machine hummed to life as it pulled the plasma from me and by the time Zeker had Razko hooked up the plasma ran down the tubing as a semi-clear yellowish substance that would hopefully save his life. The darker purple blood returned to me, in a process that took longer than I’d like.
“Captain, Xyru and I are going back to the auction house in disguise. We’ll try to get inside and buy a seat for the auction and check out the facility. If all goes well, we can grab our Terran friends and come back here before you’re bandaged,” Elgan said.
I peered at Razko, who’s blue color had come back significantly since receiving the infusion of my plasma. “Very well. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
“Not before the Captain hydrates and shows me that he’s not too weak,” Zeker chimed in.
“I’ll be fine. Go and keep me abreast of the situation,” I commanded.
Razko suddenly seized and Zeker turned to work on him. I jumped in to help in whatever way I could. “Come on, Raz, you can make it,” I pleaded.
“He’s listening, keep talking. When you speak, his heart rate levels out,” Zeker said.
“Look, to make good on my promise, I will make you a pilot with me and we’ll train Harxel to take your place in the engine room. Once you learn the pilot duties, then I’ll train you as my second. We’ll work on this once you get well. I need you, so don’t think about leaving,” I begged him.
I ignored my comm as Razko’s life hung in the balance. His body grew weak, and I feared we’d lose him before we could bring the Terran’s back onboard. He had a special liking to them and agreed with me wholeheartedly to rescue them. I needed him to make it.
Zeker turned to me. “Perhaps I should ask you to give him more blood, not just plasma. He lost a lot.”
The comm beeped, Elgan and Xyru sending an SOS. I couldn’t deal with it and take care of Razko at the same time. It pained my heart to choose like this, but until Razko became stable, I remained in place. After settling on the chair beside the surgical table, Zeker once again pierced into my veins, the thick purple blood streamed through the tubing and into Razko’s body. It was just what he needed. Razko’s heart stabilized as he received a good portion of my blood, but not enough to make me too weak. I had plenty. He stirred and glanced in my direction.
“I’m holding you to it. As soon as I can get up from here, I’m learning how to pilot the Torq Runner,” he declared.
I smiled. “You heard me talking while you were knocking on the great beyond’s door,” I said as I bent toward him.
Zeker lifted his thick brow. “Brother, your captain gave you not only his plasma, but his purple blood,” he said. The greatest gift an Aaran could give to another Aaran was his blood, dark purple, full of life force. I chuckled, trying to make light of it.
“You truly did that for me?” Razko’s chest lifted and fell with his labored breathing, but only because he needed rest.
“Indeed.”
“I would think a captain would push this duty onto one of the crew while you were off saving our women,” he replied.
I loved hearing him refer to the Terrans as our women. “I sent Elgan and Xyru in my stead.” Suddenly, the red beacon lit on my comm.
“Looks like someone is hailing for help,” Razko said.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, the edge of the bandage under my thumb. “I wasn’t about to leave one of my best without knowing that you were okay.”
“Well,” Razko said and grimaced as he tried to lift himself, but soon returned to his prone position. “I am alive. I will make it and will hold you to becoming your second.”
I would need to deal with Xorg, perhaps giving him the opportunity to be the captain and giving me a break, while Razko worked as the co-captain of the ship. Xorg stepped in as my second in command when his brother, Tauwal, left us in pursuit of a pretty Candornese and headed into the Ezblo System to pursue his fated mate.
My cuff signaled the SOS again. I peered at it and back at Razko. “Okay, I should see to this,” I said as I tapped the cuff.
“Yes, go!” Razko would survive, so I took my leave.
Chapter 7
ALLEGRA
“He’s coming for us. I knew it!” I smiled as I paced the floor, trying to figure out a way to cause a distraction. Elgan and Xyru had come up and nodded at us earlier, letting us know they were here.
“You’d think that you had a thing for him,” Elsbeth said as she smiled.
“I do not!” I answered quickly and maybe a little too harshly. “I’m just glad we have some familiar faces who will get us off this god-forsaken rock.”
“Like we had it any better on the Torq Runner,” Syria said crossly.
“Better than this,” I replied as I splayed my hands to my side.
“How? They locked us up like prisoners in the cargo bay,” Syria complained.
“They gave us better food, and I believe Gandrox is pretty fair,” I answered.
She shook her head and paced away from me.
“Okay, what’s the plan?” Addison asked, her face alight with enthusiasm. That’s my girl. Even Jules bore a smile for me while the others kept their cynical expres
sions.
“We need to create a diversion. Maybe one of us should feign being sick. When they come in to check on us, we take them by surprise and escape,” I offered.
“Yeah, like we’re as strong as the smelly brutes out there,” argued Syria.
I placed my hand on my hip. “Then come up with a better plan. My plan is better than nothing. Elgan and Xyru are here, waiting.”
“They aren’t in here with us. We don’t know where they are exactly,” Syria replied.
“No, but if we get out of here, we can head back to the hangar. I’m sure their ship is there,” I said and turned away from her. It didn’t matter for now, as the stinky guards came in and grunted for us to follow them.
They marched us along the dimly lit hallway toward a crowded and noisy arena. Other beings, females, stood in lengthy lines, ready to march onto the arena floor. The crowd clattered and yelled in their native tongues, apparently bidding on the females who had been brought forward. These beings were lovely to behold, not with stench and tentacles like the brutes who had captured us. We waited in a side area, peering out into the crowd. Horrifyingly they auctioned the females one by one and they were taken by the boorish beings that bought them. Many cried out, looking helplessly for someone to help them, save them. I cringed as I realized they were beings very much like us, being captured and taken against their will.
Addison and I strained to see through the crowds, searching for the Aarans. Gandrox and company were nowhere to be seen amongst the sea of faces. They should have been there, within the confines of the arena. I wasn’t sure how this would go down, but the brutes shoved us even closer and I realized once we hit the arena floor that they would separate us. We would be bought one by one by some crude alien who would do god knows what to us. My body shuddered violently as I peered around, trying to come up with a plan of escape.
One thing that caught my attention was when the auction began, the guards pulled their attention to the center of the arena to control the large crowd. Glancing behind me, I suddenly realized that they had crammed us into a tight area, but no one was watching at the rear. I didn’t want to cause anyone to look our way as I turned to my crew and speaking with my eyes, glanced behind us at the darkened hallway. It was our best chance of escape.
As if fate were on our side, a scuffle broke out at another spot near the floor, diverting the guards' attention elsewhere. I quickly pulled my crew to me. “Let’s go,” I whispered.
Elsbeth shouldered out of my grip. “What? Are you crazy?”
My eyes widened. “Maybe I am, but this is our opportunity, come on, let’s go,” I said.
“Where?” Syria asked.
I spun around on my crew. “Look, if you want to stay here to be auctioned to the tentacled beasts out there, be my guest. I’m leaving, I’m running,” I said.
“To where?” Elsbeth asked.
“I have no clue. Gandrox is here somewhere, I aim to find him. Stay, but whoever wants to come with me come on now,” I said.
There was no time to waste as I quickly made my way through the crowd, acting as if they pushed me for good measure. Glancing behind me, I saw my crew following my lead, even Syria. We effortlessly came to the end of the line. The helpless females stared at us with large eyes. I smiled and shook my head as I turned away from the arena, knowing there was a door somewhere that led to the outside. A few of the female aliens followed, in hopes of escaping certain fate with us.
The damn halls were long and winding. Finally, we found the same door that led to the dungeon below with the cells. I paused for a second, wondering if I should go down there and open the doors for any others who might be there. Quick, heavy footsteps around the corner resounded as we moved on toward what I hoped was the door to the outside. After some time, the footsteps and grunts drew far enough away and we found the door. Please, no guards. We dashed to the giant door.
Addison shrieked as we leapt from the giant building and into an alley, crude with enormous tumble stones. The other females dashed out the door with us, heading off in different directions. Using my instincts, I ran for the busy street, filled with hustle of aliens probably wanting to purchase captured females. Maybe it wasn’t my brightest idea, but I felt like we could easily get lost in the crowd rather than trying to outrun the stench-drenched assholes in the backs of the buildings.
We dashed through the onslaught of the crowd, not so quickly so as to avoid bringing attention to ourselves. Winded and in desperate need of a quick rest, we headed to an overhang in the shadows where we pulled our scarlet cloaks around us to shield our true identities.
“Not too smart this color. It just calls attention to us,” Syria said.
I realized she was right and wanted to kick myself for the choice. However, the other beings around dressed in multi-colors and I figured it would help us blend in better. Not to our captors, who knew the color by now. Gazing around, I searched for something else to use for cloaking. Beneath my feet, the dusty Arenthian dirt sent off plumes of dust.
“I know,” I said as I ripped the scarlet cloth from my body and shoved it onto the ground, thoroughly powdering it in the dirt. It came back a drab and dirty reddish brown, but at least it would better blend in with the environment. The others, even Syria, did the same. Syria did one better as she spat into her hands and made mud, which she rubbed on her face, thus further disguising her. Our soft skin paled compared to the surrounding aliens, except for these tall beings, who almost walked as if they floated. They had large temples and very narrow chins, making them look like the image of a human peering into a carnival mirror.
With our newly dirty disguises, we hit the streets again. There were fewer and fewer buildings along the road and more open spaces. We ran and ran until our breath nearly gave out.
“Why run so hard?” Elsbeth asked.
“Because, we’re out in the open. They knew five of us escaped,” I said as we continued.
“Wait, I can’t,” Elsbeth said and suddenly, her sentence cut off.
I ran ahead of them and when I didn’t hear their footsteps behind me; I turned and nearly lost my footing as I met with a wall of large stench. How in the world did they find us? The same horrid beings caught us again. This time, they shoved us together and the tallest of the group lifted a tremendous weapon, looking like a machine gun on steroids. I blinked and gasped as I threw up my hands and shook my head.
“No, please,” I begged.
“As if they can understand you,” Syria barked at me.
“Please!” I fell to my knees begging the captors to rethink. “We’ll go willingly.”
The four brutes looked at each other as if discussing what I said. The grunts and gurgles passed between them in what sounded like an argument. I side-eyed Addison and Jules, as they barely shrugged at me.
“Pardon? We’ll go back with you, look we’re exotics,” I said.
“Again, they have no clue what you’re saying,” Syria said.
I smiled as the bewildered four turned their attention back to us and one stepped forth and yanked me up by my right shoulder. He grunted at me, and I did not understand what he said.
“You know that you want to auction us. We’re exotics. Terrans,” I said seductively. The ladies watched me as I turned on my charm and stepped to him. Though I wanted to wretch from the stench, I acted as if I were interested in him.
He grunted and shoved me back. I didn’t let that stop me. I was doing this for my crew, even if it meant this horrid brute took me as his personal slave. “Come on, you know we are interesting to you, otherwise you wouldn’t have pursued us so heavily.”
“They can’t understand you,” Syria spat.
I kept smiling and looking into those ebony eyes, large and menacing. “I know, but my body language and the tone of my voice speaks volumes,” I said sweetly, as if I was talking to him. His face tilted. Maybe he’s interested. I put my hand on his that held the weapon. “Please lower your weapons. We won’t hurt you, obviously.”<
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He growled and narrowed his large eyes into slits, looking like a cat suddenly. These creatures could transform their appearance from ugly to downright massively disgusting. I swallowed hard and maintained my sweet composure, though inwardly I wanted to hurl onto his blocks for feet. I rubbed my hand up his scaly arm and to the leather-like strap closed around his bicep. He shuddered and shoved me back.
The creeps lifted their weapons, clicking it into place, and I screamed. “No!” I shoved my crew behind me and stepped between them and the weapons, holding out my arms. “I will not let you harm my crew,” I said, my face skewing into anger. “Just try me, assholes. I may be smaller and weaker, but you must kill me to get to them.”
Chapter 8
GANDROX
I hopped onto a scuttle transport and zoomed off in the direction of the auction house. A hail kept coming on my comm. When I was in better range, I slowed and stopped.
“Elgan, speak,” I said.
“Several females have escaped. A big brawl broke out and they’ve pulled us back and locked down the place. We cannot find the Terrans,” he reported.
Ice ran through my veins. “Okay, did they escape?”
“We’re hoping so, but they’ve locked us inside the arena, and they escorted some females out. The Terrans didn’t make it to the center yet, so maybe they escaped,” Elgan continued.
“I’m out looking,” I said and hopped back onto the scuttle and zoomed off. It took such a long time to arrive at the first set of buildings. I slowed the scuttle and turned to ride just to the side of the main road just in case I might be spotted otherwise. I wanted to listen to the chatter. My gut told me to go slow, to be on the lookout. They had to have escaped, and I hoped to find them. The deep Kwobus gurgles reached my ears as I pulled the scuttle to the back of a building and left it to go on foot. I had my weapon ready to blast someone as the voices became louder. High-pitched tones mixed with low grumbles. Some of the high-pitched speech sounded very much like Allegra. I quickened my steps, moving along the back of the building. There it was, Allegra’s voice, sweet and sultry, emitted among them. Yes! I’ve found the Terrans. I squeezed myself into the narrow alley between the buildings to get to them before it was too late.
