“You’re kidding me, right? Trying to lure me out of the tree with cat food?” Despite her dire predicament, Elianna laughed. But her mind was racing. Could this huge predator be a higher level sentient? Kidnapped from its own planet perhaps and brought here for experimentation? Was it trying to make friends with her?
“I must be insane.” Decision made, Elianna descended and then dropped from the tree, freezing for a moment to see what the tiger’s reaction would be. The beast merely sat, golden eyes watchful. The tip of its tail flicked once or twice. She scooped up a handful of the kibble and took a sniff. Vaguely fishlike but not unpleasant. “Like dried nutrient rations.” She put one in her mouth, prepared to spit it out. The taste was salty but not off-putting. “Thank you,” she said to the watching cat. Elianna crunched her way through the handful of nuggets, wishing for some water to wash them down. She probably couldn’t live on these, but the dry fare did allay the hunger pangs.
The tiger rose and made his way inside again. Now what? Elianna waited by the tree, hand on the branch, ready to ascend if needed. When the cat re-emerged, he was dragging a haunch of raw meat, clearly from some kind of hoofed animal. Elianna took a deep breath of relief because for one horrified instant she’d feared the meal might have come from its Khagrish victim of earlier. As she watched, the cat tore strips of the meat from the offering with its claws and laid them on the grass to the side, making soft sounds as it did so.
“For me?” she asked. “Thanks, but I’ll stick to the kibble. I don’t eat raw meat.”
The tiger picked up the rest of the meal as if to say “suit yourself” and moved off to the side of the enclosure, where it laid down again and devoured the meal with ruthless efficiency.
Elianna shivered as the sun disappeared below the horizon. In her torn clothing, which was thin to begin with, she doubted she could survive the night outside.
The tiger padded to the flap door leading inside, pushing it open with one giant paw then turning to stare at her. The beast uttered a soft sound.
Not really having any other choices, she walked slowly to where the tiger waited. He retreated a step or two, allowing her to pass in front of him. She forced herself through the tight opening, tumbling into the cell. Rising quickly to her feet, she was glad to see the floor was bare and unstained, a bit damp. Evidently the Khagrish had come at some point to retrieve the remains of their dead companion and washed the floor.
As the animal bumped into her with his cold nose she shrieked and jumped. She faced him with her hands raised in self-defense.
He made the soft sound deep in his throat again and padded to the far corner of the cell, where a nest of blankets lay on a shelf raised off the floor. The tiger made a small leap onto the crude bed and lay in an elegantly casual curved position on his side. His eyes were warm jewels of color in the darkened cell.
Self-pity and resignation swamping her like a heavy blanket, Elianna sighed. Her only choice was terrifying, but she couldn’t see herself making it through the night shivering on the bare floor in a corner. She was already numb and lethargic from the chill. Slowly, she walked to where the beast waited and sat gingerly on the edge of the platform.
He jerked his head as if to tell her to come closer.
This is no animal. I’m definitely dealing with a sentient being. Maybe not at a human level of intelligence but at least cognizant enough not to want to kill her. She and Tiger weren’t enemies. Gradually, she allowed the relief to sink into her mind and eased further onto the makeshift bed until she was right next to him, close enough to revel in his body heat and realize how cold she’d become. Carefully, she reached out to stroke one hand along his flank, astonished how plush and soft the fur was.
The cat ducked his head and butted at her. Laughing, she scratched behind his elegant tufted ears, as if he was a much smaller feline indeed. With astonishment she listened as he began purring in a subdued, raspy way. “I guess we’re going to be friends. I’m Elianna, and I’ll call you Tiger, if I may. Thank you for not eating me. Yet.”
The cat watched her from his golden eyes as she leaned against his side, curling herself up as much as she could, wonderfully warm wherever her body touched his. She thought sleeping would be the last thing she’d ever do while sitting next to a gigantic alien predator, but her eyelids grew heavy and the purr was hypnotic. Closing her eyes for what she intended to be nothing but a brief moment, she slid into sleep.
CHAPTER TWO
In the morning, Tiger’s fearsome growls awakened her, heart pounding, and she sat up in a return of her terror from the night before. In disbelief, she took in the scene in front of her. The Khagrish scientist who’d originally sorted the humans upon their arrival stood in the corridor, the security officer next to him, a few lab techs in a cluster to the side, and several guards with weapons ready. Heart hammering, she grabbed one of the fur-covered blankets to wrap around herself as a totally inadequate coverage against their leers.
Tiger paced between her and the enemy, yowling. At one point he rose on his hind legs and displayed his impressive talons to the assembled Khagrish, before dropping to all fours and crouching as if to spring at them the instant the force barrier lowered.
“Tell me again why the human was put in here yesterday?” asked the scientist, his voice dangerously soft. The lights in the corridor gleamed off the many badges and pins on his coat and his tall crest of hair was bold red, shot through with a miniscule amount of pink.
Clearing his throat twice, the officer managed to produce a coherent sentence in the face of the scientist’s disdain. “Several of the men got drunk, sir, and thought it would be interesting—”
“You mean they wanted to make more of those illicit vids, of blood and gore.” The scientist cut the man off, having clearly already guessed the answer. He walked along the force barrier, hands behind his back. Tiger tracked his every move, growling. “Oh yes, the science council is well aware of the problem among the ranks. We’re prepared to look the other way on occasion, but not when an experiment such as this one is threatened. If my results are tainted in any way, people will be fed to the beast and to be clear, I don’t mean the humans.”
“The men responsible have been disciplined, sir.” The captain stood stalwart and solemn, despite the fact he was one of the conspirators who’d drunkenly tossed her into this cell.
Throwing his own men into the reactor fire. Not too surprised by his treachery, Elianna shook her head. Even the Khagrish can’t trust the Khagrish. Or maybe the captain was lying: no discipline had taken place, and he was protecting his guards from the scientist’s wrath. Either way, she and Tiger were probably in trouble. Her most of all because the giant cat was clearly a major object of interest to the scientist.
The Khagrishi in charge stopped pacing. “Has he been aggressive towards you?”
She registered the fact the alien was addressing her in Basic. Rising, wary, she said, “No.”
“The vids showed the animal bringing her food, and they slept next to each other,” the captain said with the earnest air of a man trying his hardest to be helpful. “He acts protective of the human.”
“I can see that for myself.” The scientist was dismissive as he flapped one hand in the officer’s direction as if to shut him up. “Anecdotal evidence has no bearing on a scientific pursuit.” With a sniff, he tossed his head, causing the ornamental riff of red hair crowning his head to wave, as if to remind everyone how he outranked them. Tapping one toe on the floor, he said, “She can’t be returned to the general human population. She’s ruined for the other experiments, out of baseline condition. But she may still be of some use.”
Elianna shivered, sure she wasn’t going to like any possibility the Khagrish identified for her future. Her hands instinctively tightened on the folds of her blanket. Little enough protection but some small comfort.
The man in charge walked close to the barrier and faced the growling cat, which locked his gaze onto the scientist’s face and kept up a
Tiger threw back his head and yowled, the sound echoing in the cell, and lashed his tail violently. Elianna recoiled and stepped a few steps further away.
“I can have her killed right now,” the scientist said, apparently not impressed by the display of feline anger. Elianna put her fist to her mouth to stifle a moan of protest. Death was never far away in this place. “I’m sure the captain would be happy to execute her for me, before I can ask her any awkward questions about how she got into your cell.” Rubbing his chin as if in thought, he paused for a breath. “Or I can just punish her for your behavior.” He gestured to the nearest lab tech, who raised his neurocontroller in response.
Elianna had no time to brace herself before she was hit with waves of pain from the black bracelet. Sheets of burning fire coated her body from the inside out. Screaming, she fell to the floor, rolling from side to side in paroxysms of agony.
When the pain finally cut off, she curled into a tight ball on the floor, weeping, shivering in aftershocks of pain. Tiger nudged her shoulder and the cat’s huge pink tongue rasped against her cheek. Blindly, she reached out to acknowledge his concern with one shaking hand, patting him. “I’m ok, I’ll survive.”
“Attend me, Twelve-Ten!” The scientist’s voice was sharp. “Do we have an understanding? Are you going to fall in line with the demands of the experiment to save her?”
“Don’t,” she whispered to the cat. “Don’t give in to them for me. We can’t trust them.”
Tiger moved away from her and sat in front of the force barrier, head lowered submissively, tail curled over his toes.
The scientist laughed, an unpleasant bark of amusement echoing off the cold prison walls. “Very good. Much better than last week. Perhaps we can make progress today, after all.”
Elianna forced herself upright, scooting until she hit the edge of the sleeping platform, and watched as the force barrier was lowered. Strategizing wildly, she decided if the cat tried any kind of offensive move, she’d throw herself into the fray and grab for a weapon. Tensing herself for whatever came next, she was disappointed no opportunity arose for rebellion. The guards immediately shot Tiger with stunners and the waiting techs loaded him into an extra-large antigrav stretcher, which labored under his immense weight but stayed air borne.
After the group exited the cell, the force barrier re-energized, and the guards and techs moved away without another word to her, taking the paralyzed feline with them.
As she crawled onto the sleeping platform she gave in to another bout of tears and waited for the after effects of the bracelet punishment to fade. The random shooting pains and burning in her nerve endings lasted for at least half an hour.
Eventually, unable to stand being inside any longer as the four walls seemed to be closing in on her and her mind was full of anxiety-ridden fears for the cat and what he might be suffering, as well as terror the Khagrish would come for her after all, she crawled outside through the door. Grabbing a hand full of the kibble, she munched with determination and climbed the tree, settling into her perch and savoring the warm sunshine. The day passed slowly but, as time crept on, she wondered with dread what was being done to Tiger. She also brooded about her fellow humans and the strong probability she’d never see them again. Only a few were from her ship, but in the cell they’d all gotten to know each other’s stories and bonded under adversity.
When the Khagrish are done experimenting on Tiger, they won’t need me any longer—then what?
She looked longingly at the forest outside the force barrier and wished there was a way for her and the cat to escape. But if there’d been any exploitable weaknesses in the enclosure, no doubt Tiger would have already found them and been long gone. He was unusually intelligent; to the point she considered again whether he might be a higher level sentient.
Somewhere around midday noises from the cell drew her attention. Cautiously, she descended and approached the cat door. She stuck her head through the flap, hoping maybe Tiger had been returned to the cell. Instead she found a lab tech, guarded by three other Khagrish, placing food in reheating containers, as well as emergency ration bars and nutrient drinks on a newly installed shelf above the sink. There was a bowl of the prison mush, one spoon and a mug for water sitting on the floor.
“Stay back,” one guard said, pivoting in her direction, raising his stunner to target her.
Freezing, she gestured at the stack of food. “What is all this?”
“Dr. Innimarrg ordered a few amenities for you because the animal’s going to be allowed to keep you as a pet for a while longer.” The tech placed the last stack of nutrient bars on the shelf before retreating toward the open cell door with his antigrav crate. “The subject is being much more co-operative today.”
“What about some new clothes?” She fingered the rips in her jumpsuit.
“No order for that.” The tech shook his head.
“Playing cards maybe?”
“I could probably provide a deck,” the tech said as he and his contingent of defenders headed for the corridor. “All the cells have them as a matter of course but, since this one was used for the animal form only, it was left incomplete in some respects. I’ll bring you a deck or two tomorrow.” He leaned close as the barrier snapped into place. “I’d make the food last if I were you. Your limited importance to Innimarrg now is in connection with the animal, and there’s no refill order on any of it.”
“Thanks for the warning.” As the squad marched away, she shuddered at how tenuous her life had become. Taking the bowl of lukewarm mush and the drink, she went outside where at least she could have cheerful sunshine and pretend she wasn’t a prisoner of crazy alien scientists.
Hours later, the sun was setting and the cool evening breeze started so she retreated to the cell and curled up on the wooden bed platform, worrying about Tiger and why he wasn’t back yet. A few minutes later the sound of boots echoed from the end of the hallway, and she rose to her feet to be ready for whatever happened next. Expect the unexpected and horrifying in this hellhole.
Once the small party of Khagrish arrived outside the cell, she obeyed the guards’ orders to remain where she was. The force barrier was lowered long enough to unload an unconscious Tiger from the antigrav litter and place him roughly on the floor. Restraints locking his paws together were removed. A robo drifted into the cell carrying a bowl of prison stew for her, with a hunk of moldy bread, and a huge cut of raw meat for Tiger.
“Empty the tray,” one guard said, gesturing with his stunner. “You can work for your dinner.”
She hastened to take the items and place them on the floor, wiping her hands on her jumpsuit as the meat juices ran all over. She sighed at the unpleasant stains on her one garment.
The robo retreated, the barrier snapped into place, and she rushed to Tiger, who hadn’t stirred.
“Might want to keep your distance when he first wakes,” the guard said. “He’s all animal then and thirsting for revenge after his day undergoing experiments. Dr. Innimarrg told me to warn you, since you’re part of the protocol. For now.”
She stared after the man as he hastened to catch up with his comrades, speculating what he meant. Tiger’s all animal all the time as far as I can see. Elianna knelt next to the unconscious cat and gasped. Square patches had been shaved in his plush fur all along his flanks and the exposed skin below was red. A few places looked burned, blistered and oozing. He had scratches on his face, a bleeding cut over one eye, and his paws were lacerated. “What the seven hells did those bastards do to you?”
And what can I do for you? She was no medic, certainly no veterinarian. Engines and high tech were her expertise, but the cat needed help and she was his only hope. She eyed her jumpsuit, wondering if she could tear a few strips to use as a washcloth and at least bathe the injuries, but her garment was hardly clean and barely hanging together as it was.
Remembering one of the blankets was frayed and threadbare, she ran to the bed platform and plucked it from the stack. She was able to rip the material into irregular pieces and took the smallest to the sink. There was only cold water and no soap, but she soaked the makeshift washcloth and hastened to Tiger’s side, gently pressing the fabric to the wounds like a compress, hoping it might give some comfort. After treating a few of the spots in this fashion, she had to go rinse the bloody cloth out and return to her task.
The cat’s breathing grew more regular, and he made a huffing noise, paws twitching. Mindful of the guard’s warning, she reluctantly took her rags and moved to the bed.
Tiger awoke and came to his feet in a remarkably fluid, graceful move for one so tortured. He threw his head from side to side, roaring defiance.
Elianna jammed one fist into her mouth to keep from screaming, not wanting to act like prey. She hoped he’d remember she was a victim like him, not the cause of his pain. Would he care in this moment of anger or lash out blindly at the nearest being on two feet?
The cat scanned the cell, and his gaze fastened on her. Ears pricked, he paced toward her, stepping gingerly as if his feet hurt, which she supposed they did in their lacerated condition. She sat absolutely still as he crouched low enough to rest his heavy head in her lap and made a small, sad sound.
“You poor thing.” She automatically reached to scratch behind the velvet ears. “I hate the way the scientist is using me as a lever to make you co-operate.” Although if these wounds were what happened when he didn’t resist them, she hated to think how the Khagrish must have treated him on uncooperative days. “Are you hungry? They brought you meat.”
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