by Luna Hunter
I struggle to keep up with the soldier’s quick pace. He leads me down a dark hallway, with small lights hanging over thirty feet away from each other, so there’s a little pocket of darkness between each light.
“You guys like it dark in here, huh?” I ask.
“The warden does,” the guard answers. “Saves money.”
We pass through several checkpoints and gates until we finally arrive at the warden’s office. The walls here are incredibly thick — feet long walls of steel, strong enough to resist a whole army. When the door closes behind me, it feels I’m being sealed into a vault.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting of Blackgate, but certainly not this. I haven’t seen a single inmate yet, only empty, dimly lit hallways and metal doors. Endless rows of metal doors.
“Welcome, Nora Baker. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
A gangly-looking man with short, tussled black hair is sitting behind a desk that’s three sizes too big for him.
“Anik Onyx,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
“Please, sit,” he says, gesturing at a small chair. I sit down and place my suitcase at my side. I see the guard has left my box of folders by the door.
“I assume you know why I’m here, then,” I say.
“I do,” he says, rapping his fingers on the desk impatiently. “I do. And I cannot say it thrills me.”
“What do you mean?”
“This Zoran, this beast,”
“Torin,” I correct him. “My client’s name is Torin.”
“Whatever,” he says with a gesture. “This Zoran is one of our more… dangerous guests. You of all people should know what he’s capable of. I don’t believe any human contact is beneficial to him at this point. The jury has spoken. All that is left to do is carry out the sentence. You delay the inevitable, woman.”
“Our system has several safeguards, like the right to appeal,” I say. “Torin has that right and he is still free to use it.”
This answer far from satisfies the man. He mumbles something and pulls out a bottle of whiskey from underneath his desk.
“Want a glass?” he asks as he pours himself one.
I shake my head. No thank you.
“Look,” he sighs. “I know you are just here to do your job. And I have to do mine. The security of the facility is my top priority, do you understand? The people we’ve got here,” he says, gesturing all around him, “are here for a reason. They’re locked away. Forgotten. Don’t believe what they tell you. They will tell you anything for a chance to get out of here. And I mean anything, you understand? Don’t let yourself be manipulated.”
I fiddle in my seat. I don’t like it when men talk down to me like I’m a teenager. Yes, I’m not very tall. Sure, I may be young, compared to him. However, I’m here for a reason. I earned my place, damn it.
“With all due respect, I trust my own judgment,” I bite.
“All right,” he grins, though his eyes remain dead and empty. “All right. I hope your judgment is true. Not just for you, but for every human out there. Do you want to see the beast now? Am I keeping you? You seem eager to get out of here.”
“He has a name,” I say. “It’s Torin. I’d prefer it you use it.”
The black-haired man shrugs and takes another swig of whiskey.
“Yes, now would be a good a time as any to see my client, I suppose,” I say, rubbing my temples.
Anik taps a button on his desk and the massive vault-door opens once more. I breathe a little easier with that thing open — I’m not very claustrophobic, but I don’t want to be locked up anywhere with this creep. I excuse myself and follow the guard, who tells me to leave my suitcase and files behind. Reluctantly, I follow the command. He escorts me down a hall, and another, and then another. It’s impossible to keep track of my position — it’s like a damn maze in here.
“How do you know where we are?” I ask.
“I don’t,” he laughs. “All GPS. This facility covers half the damn planet.”
“What? How many people do you even have here?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“How do you get around?”
“You’re about to find out,” he gestures at a bullet-shaped pod that’s waiting for us behind the metal door. Its tracks lead straight into pitch black darkness. “After you.”
I get in slowly, my heels wobbling on the metal floor.
“Strap yourself in,” he says. “Trust me.”
The pod kicks off like a wild horse. It feels like an elephant is sitting down on my chest — I’m glad for the straps holding me in place! Every part of me hurts, and the sound is overwhelming.
“It gets easier!” the guard screams, and when he sees my scared face he laughs. His voice is barely audible over the screeching sound of the pod. “You don’t get used to it, but it gets easier!”
The bullet comes to a screeching halt and I nearly tumble out of my seat. If it weren’t for the seatbelts I would have smashed headfirst into the console. My hair is a mess, and I have to take a few deep breaths to steady myself. “How far have we traveled?” I ask once I find my bearings.
“A few hundred miles,” the guard shrugs. “Follow me.”
The size of this place is dazzling. It’s hard to imagine that behind every locked door there’s a soul, a person. So far this place reminds me more of a storage facility than a place fit for humans — or aliens.
The guard escorts me to a small visitation room. It’s cold, bleak, inhospitable, like everything else in here. I notice the chairs and table are welded to the floor.
“Be right back,” the man says. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Trust me, I wasn’t planning on it.”
And just like that I’m completely alone, light-years from home, in a strange facility.
About to meet Torin. The infamous Torin.
I click with my pen on the table just to break the silence. My heart is racing, and I keep fiddling with my hair. The minutes tick on by.
And then the door opens, and my heart skips a beat.
He’s there.
The turquoise giant. The seven-foot-tall alien warrior.
And to my surprise he’s…
He’s naked.
Totally, completely, naked.
Chapter Two
Torin
All I see are eyes. Hate filled eyes. All around me.
They’ve all come to see the show. The freak. The monster.
“I’m innocent,” I scream, furiously. The chains dig into my wrists as I try to free myself. “I’m innocent!”
“Save your groveling for the next life,” one of the human lawyers bites.
I struggle in my seat, but they’ve got me locked up tight. My ankles are chained to the chair, and my massive chest is exposed. The humans treat me like an animal. All of this is a sham, a show trial.
I know what really happened.
I know I didn’t do it.
At least, I think I didn’t do it.
More than anything, I wish I could talk to the other guys, even if just for a moment. Egon, Kane, Marcas. My crew. If we could stick our heads together for a moment, we could figure out what really happened. All I remember is gas, and… blood.
So much blood.
An excited murmur passes through the crowd as the jury returns. “Order,” the judge says, banging his gavel. “Order!”
My heart pumps like mad, my palms sweaty. In the pit of stomach, I already know the dark, horrible truth. Yet, despite everything, I still hold onto a small sliver of hope. The universe can’t be this cruel. There has to be some justice in the world.
“The jury finds the defendant… guilty.”
Rapturous applause.
The pit in my stomach grows to the size of my fist. This simply can’t be.
“The sentence is death.”
Time itself seems to slow down. Did I hear that right? The death penalty? Humans were supposed to the more civilized of our two species — or at least, that’s wh
at they told each other when they thought us Zorans were out of earshot. I turn around to face the crowd, but there’s no civility to be found there. Instead, I see people cheering. Clapping. Hollering.
My impending death is cause for celebration.
I wake up bathed in sweat and coated in total darkness.
It takes me a few seconds to get my bearings and realize the predicament I’m in. I’m in my cell. Of course. I’m always in my cell. It’s been weeks. Months. I can’t tell even tell time in here, in this darkness.
I’m isolated.
Alone.
The nighttime terrors are my only escape from the solitude and the blackness. At least my sentencing is a better dream than the attack itself. The smell of the blood, the sounds of human bone snapping…
I was so sure I was innocent. Yet, every night, my dreams become more and more vivid, like… like I’m starting to remember things. Am I simply making it all up? Am I losing my damn mind? I have no stimulation in here — it could very well all be hallucinations, figments of my imagination to fill the void.
It could also be my mind tapping into the truth.
And that thought scares the hell out of me. Even more so than my impending death. All my life I’ve striven to be virtuous, to be a model soldier. I would have gladly given my life for any one of those humans, even after what they’ve done to me. To be found guilty for their death… it is something I simply can’t accept.
I get up and stretch. My wrists and ankles are still bound in chains, even though I’m all alone. The guards still treat me like a beast, even in here. I do a thousand push-ups to kill the time, yet the exercise does nothing to slow down my racing mind. Is this the day they’ll kill me? What are they waiting for? I’m almost starting to look forward to it. Everything is better than this… waiting.
Footsteps in the distance. The ground vibrates ever so slightly. You have to concentrate hard to notice it, but it’s not like I have anything else to do. It must be feeding time. More human drek. I’ve contemplated going on a hunger strike, but the warden threatened to strap me to a bed and force-feed me if he had to. His eyes were cold and dead — he was dead serious.
Keys jangle in the guard’s hands. This is new. Unexpected.
Is today really the day? My heart starts racing instantly, my hands itching. My mind is split in two. On one hand I welcome it — the isolation is torture — but on the other hand I want to strangle the guards with my bare hands and fight my way out of here, clear my name, get to the bottom of this.
There’s still some fight left in me. It’s dwindling, but it’s there.
And it feels good.
Egon will be proud of me. Thinking about my comrades gives me strength. I can’t give up. Not now, not ever. They need me. I can’t let them down. I have to fight. I have to be strong. I have to endure. They are out there somewhere — I’m sure of that — and they’ll come for me.
Hurry up guys.
The door swings open. A bright flashlight is pointed right at my face, blinding me. I make out the silhouette of two human guards.
Today is not the day I die. The dark-haired warden would be here for that moment. And a camera crew too, probably. They’d make a spectacle out of it, I’m sure.
I raise my fists defensively. What are they planning? Do they want to rough me up a bit, take out their boredom on the chained Zoran?
“You’ve got a visitor,” one of the guards says.
What? A visitor?
“It reeks in here, though,” the other guard says. “Can’t have you stinking up the place. Not for a lady so fine.”
A lady?
“Hey, you’re right. Let’s get you washed up, big boy,” the first guard laughs.
They lead me down the hallway towards the showers. The halls are deserted — I haven’t even seen another inmate since I’ve arrived here.
“Undress,” the guard barks. According to his name-badge he is called Frank. He’s got beady little eyes, and a round, puffy face. Without that shock-stick in his hand, this man is nothing.
“I can’t,” I say, holding up my chained wrists. “Take these off.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” the other guard says. In the light I can see his name is Dick.
Fitting.
Dick pulls out a knife and takes a step towards me. He grabs my collar and cuts into my orange jumpsuit, tearing it down, stripping me completely naked.
I could wrap my hands around his neck right now and snap it. It would be laughably easy. Yet, this talk of a female visitor has gotten my attention. I’ll suffer their torments a moment longer…
“Good idea, Dick,” Frank says as he grabs a hose.
The moment the guard strips away my underwear, the two humans fall silent. Their smirks disappear. It seems my form has caused them some… jealousy.
Frank points the hose right at me and turns the handle, his face filled with anger and hatred as he douses me with freezing cold water. It’s like being enveloped by ice — and being kicked by a wild mob at the same time.
“Place your hands against the wall! That’s right, spread those legs, Zoran!”
They laugh amongst themselves as they hose me down like a dog. I don’t give them the pleasure of seeing me wince.
“All right, I think she’s waited long enough. Let’s go, big guy,” Frank says.
“A towel?” I ask.
“No, you’ll just make it dirty,” he laughs. He pokes me in the chest with his shock-stick, his finger hovering over the button. I know all too well what happens he presses that little red thing. An electric shock will pass through my frame, and it’ll feel like a thousand insects stinging me from the inside.
“Now get a move on.”
“As you wish,” I growl.
Human scum.
We go further down a hall and make several turns before they stop in front of a door. Frank unlocks it, and Dick shoves me inside. What I see in there makes my heart stop right in my chest.
A human female.
No, that description doesn’t even begin to do her justice. She is the most strikingly beautiful female I have ever laid my eyes upon — of every species imaginable. She rises up in surprise when I enter the room, giving me the opportunity to see her whole body.
And what a body it is.
Her black dress hugs her curves in all the right places. Her long legs are covered in stockings, drawing my attention to them. Already I can imagine those very same legs wrapped around my waist.
Her raven-black hair hangs loosely around her shoulders, and her dark brown eyes look at me with a mixture of fear, surprise and… kindness.
I’m used to fear. It’s all humans have ever shown me. I also get the surprise. Yet, I have never seen such… warmth in a human’s eyes before. This woman is special. I can feel that in every fiber of my being. It’s not something I can explain — it’s something I simply know.
Her brown eyes scan my tall, naked frame from top to bottom. Drops of water cling to my body as they glide their way down, and her gaze follows, from my broad shoulders, down to my washboard abs, down to my hardening erection. Yes, her eyes dart straight to my Zoran cock. I make no attempt to hide it. It would be impossible anyway. This is how the guards wanted to present me. So be it.
The female’s eyes widen and her pupils dilate when she sees my cock. Her cheeks grow redder and redder until they resemble ripe zalones. Her chest appears flushed as well, rising up and down with every heavy breath she takes. Just looking at it makes my cock grow harder, which in turns makes her eyes grow wider.
I can’t lie — it feels good to be looked at with something other than disgust for once. There’s a new sensation in her eyes now. Next to surprise I now see… lust.
I like it.
“W-what’s the meaning of this,” she stammers, finally tearing her eyes away from me.
Her voice is as beautiful as her curvy body.
“Your client,” Frank says, not even attempting to mask the disdain in his voice. “As
requested, miss.”
The two guards laugh as the young female grows redder and redder. Now it’s pure anger on her face, a scowl that could kill.
“Get this man dressed!”
“Hell no,” Dick says. “You wanted to see him. Here he is. That’s why you came here, right? To gawk at the beast? What do you think?”
“Just go, okay?” she says, rubbing her temples. “Just leave.”
“We have to chain him up first,” Frank says. He pushes his shock-stick into my ribs. Reluctantly I sit down on the cold, metal chair. I was enjoying the human’s gaze a bit too much. I could have basked in it all day if I could. The guard attaches my chains to the metal chair, preventing me from standing.
“Why are you doing this?!” the human female asks. “Release him!”
I feel bad for her. It’s clear the guards enjoy tormenting her as much as they enjoy tormenting me. It’s written all over their faces — and I want to wipe it off there with my fists.
One day.
“Forget them,” I growl.
The female jumps back from my low voice. Her eyes are filled with fear for a single moment, but it is enough to disappoint me. I thought… I hoped she was different. Then again, I can’t imagine what must be going through her head — unexpectedly faced with a massive, naked Zoran warrior such as myself.
“Unchain him,” she tells the guards. “Right now. Right this very instant!”
“No,” they answer. “This is protocol.”
“He’s in my care now,’ she says. “I can’t do my work like this!”
Frank laughs right in her face. “You’re in Blackgate now, honey. You better leave that Earth-attitude of yours back home. The only one who makes the rule in here is the warden, you got that? Don’t push your luck. You’re lucky he let you land.”
“What did you say to me?” she says, her brown eyes now filled with righteous fury. I can’t help but smirk. She’s got fire inside of her, this one. She jabs her finger into the guard’s chest. “You’re going to give me those keys right now or I’m going to report you,” she hisses.
“To whom? This ain’t Earth, honey. About time you realize that.”
She snags the keys from Frank’s belt. He immediately reaches for his shock-stick and raises it like he’s about to strike her, but I’m glad to see the other guard grab Frank’s wrist. If he laid a finger on her I would have had to kill him, and that would look bad on my record, I’m sure.
