He hissed and slammed the door.
Asshole.
What was the big friggin’ deal anyway? It was a tablet full of research notes and Doctor Gyan’s observations. Sure, the doctor may have put some not-so-nice stuff in there about her, but that hardly made it top secret.
She read over the file Doctor Gyan had left onscreen.
Female Subject 1: Continued cooperation. No physical or psychological changes after mating. Information on khartarn-human copulation still withheld.
Yup, this was definitely about her. But the number threw her and made her heart beat faster. She told herself she was being silly, but she still backed out of the file and pulled up another labeled Male Subject 1.
Male Subject 1: Remains non-responsive and catatonic. Failed.
Semeera backed out of that file and opened another.
Female Subject 2: Limited cooperation. Confrontational when prodded.
Female Subject 3: Remains skittish and becomes agitated when confronted. No cooperation. Failed.
Female Subject 4: Complete cooperation refusal. Resorted to starvation when prodded. Failed.
Male Subject 2: Limited cooperation. Prodding helps.
Male Subject 3: Continued aggression and violent outbursts. Regular sedation required to prevent self-injury. Uncooperative. Failed.
Semeera flipped between the files over and over, not believing what her brain was telling her was true. It was all right there, and she had the first file as proof of her theory. The khartarns had other humans. She wasn’t the only one.
And if they’d gotten them all during the lightning strike, that meant the humans in these files were her friends.
“Dear God! Mason!”
Male Subject 1 had to be Mason. He had a reptile phobia. This had to be a living nightmare for him.
Doctor Gyan and the others reentered the room. Smiling kindly, Doctor Gyan came her way. “We are ready to start.”
“You have other humans,” Semeera said in a deadpan voice that belied the turmoil raging inside her.
“Artist Sssemeera, I don’t—”
“Don’t even try lying to me. I read it.” She held the tablet up.
Quagid squawked, “I knew it!”
“Quiet, Quagid!” Doctor Gyan snapped. “Artist Sssemeera, we—”
“Don’t lie to me. Not now. Not when I have your tablet. Female Subject 1 is me. Male Subject 1 is my friend Mason, who is herpetophobic. Do you know what that means? It means he has a fear of reptiles. A paralyzing fear of reptiles. Your presence is torture to him!”
Doctor Gyan actually appeared stricken. “That wasn’t our intent.”
“Fuck your intent! If you had kept us together, if you had told me you had my friends, we could have shielded him. You… You…” Semeera had to stop so she could breathe.
Everything was too close. Too much. They had her friends. One of whom was probably suffering a mental break because he was being held by the one thing he hated and feared most in the universe. Being confronted by giant bipedal lizardmen must have sent him far over the deep end, and whichever doctors were nearby had just taken notes while it happened. Studying his descent into madness.
Studying him!
Semeera wanted to puke. Tears stung her eyes, and she hugged her stomach as it started to ache. “KADER!” She screamed his name.
Kader’s voice came over the infirmary speakers, “Ssseme—”
“Get here now!”
“Coming.”
She glared at Doctor Gyan, daring him to move or say a single word. If he tried to justify this, she would beat him to death with his own tablet.
Kader arrived moments later, breathing hard as if he’d run the whole way. And he may have. He looked at her and then his pupils narrowed to slits. “Gyan!”
Semeera snapped, “Fuck him. You’re dealing with me.”
He startled, some of his anger fading into confusion. “What?”
She showed him the tablet. “Female Subject 1, Female Subject 2, Female Subject 3, Female Subject 4, Male Subject 1, Male Subject 2, and Male Subject 3. My friends. Doctor Gyan and his merry band of assholes are studying my friends. Tell me you didn’t know.” She pleaded with him with her eyes, even knowing she was asking him to lie.
He’d told her in the beginning. The purple lightning had dropped her on his ship. Right in front of him. The lightning had dropped all of them on the bridge of his ship. Of course he’d known there were others.
“Sssemeera—”
“You lied to me!”
“I didn’t—”
“You said I was the only human you’d ever seen. You fucking lied to me. All of you. For weeks.”
Gyan held up his hands in a calming gesture. “Artist Sssemeera—”
She slammed his tablet against the counter next to her so hard the tablet shattered and the counter dented. Pointing the jagged edges of the chunk she held at Gyan, she said through her teeth, “I want my friends here now.”
He actually had nerve to smile at her. “Your threat is bravado. The weakest of us could survive any attack you attempt.”
“Good point.” She changed targets and brought the glass to her throat.
“Sssemeera!” Kader started toward her.
“Don’t!” She pushed and felt the sting of the glass cutting her skin and a trickle of blood winding its way over her collar and between her breasts.
Kader stopped with his fists clenched at his sides.
Doctor Gyan said, “You wouldn’t.”
“You’ve all been really careful with me, healing every little hurt and making sure I’m always healthy. I’m betting me suddenly turning up dead would look really bad for you.”
“High command would forgive a lapse such as that when told the wound was self-inflicted.”
“You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?”
He smirked.
“How about this then…? What happens when I die in front of my true mate who happens to be a warrior, especially when the person who caused that death is standing right next to him when it happens?” She looked around at everyone standing in the room. “And do you really think he would stop with just Gyan?”
Everyone turned fearful eyes to Kader, who said, “Ship’s computer, recognize Captain Kader.”
The computer replied, “Recognized.”
“Initiate ship-wide lockdown. No entry, no departure, and no external communication without my authorization.”
“Lockdown initiated.”
Several in the room made sounds of fear.
“If she dies, no one leaves this ship alive.” He leveled his murderous gaze on Gyan. “And gladly would I start with you.”
Gyan backed up several steps while looking around for help, but everyone had moved as far away from him as they could get. “Quagid, c-c-call the other vessels—”
“Not him,” Semeera said. “You. You’re the lead on this project. You call them. Right now. I want to hear you tell them to bring my friends.”
He nodded.
Quagid handed him another tablet.
Kader said, “Ship’s computer, recognize Captain Kader.”
The computer said, “Recognized.”
“Communication allowed for Doctor Gyan to all ships involved in his study.”
“Communication link established.”
Casting scared glances at Kader, Gyan tapped on the tablet and then said, “To all vessels on the human project—”
Semeera sneered, making him jump.
“—bring all humans to Captain Kader’s ship. Repeat, bring all humans to Captain Kader’s ship.” Gyan stared at the tablet a moment, then yelled, “Don’t argue! Just do it! No exceptions. All. Now.” He studied the tablet a little longer before nodding. “They’re coming.”
“And we’ll just wait right here until they arrive.” Semeera had no issue keeping the shard at her throat. She didn’t want anyone trying anything, like taking it from her.
Kader said, “Sssemeera—”
“Do not talk to me.”
He closed his mouth with a single nod and a sigh.
Long minutes passed. Semeera kept her hand up with the shard through sheer will when her muscles screamed for her to put her arm down.
A female over the comms said, “Captain Kader?”
“Speak,” he snapped.
“Six ships have converged on our location. Comms are inoperative due to the command lockout.”
“Acknowledged.” Kader gave the command for the computer to relay his message about docking procedures for the transports from each ship and then ordered their guests to be escorted to the infirmary. With a quick glance at her, he said, “Everyone out. We will observe from next door.”
When Doctor Gyan tried to slink out, Kader grabbed him by the neck, making the doctor screech and causing a few others to run. He propelled Doctor Gyan from the room in front of him.
The door closed behind them. And was probably locked, not that Semeera cared. Where would she run, even if she could get out?
Semeera was alone for only a few minutes before Royce—completely healed from his sunburn and now his normal pale shade—arrived, escorted by a single guard who saw him through the doorway before leaving.
“Semeera?” He stared at her in disbelief. “Holy shit. It’s really you.”
She lowered the shard and let it drop from her fingers before launching herself at her friend and hugging him tight, her fingers tangling in his long red hair, which was so much longer than the last time she’d seen him. “I thought I was the only one.”
“Me, too.” He returned her hug.
They pulled apart when another guard arrived, pushing a large covered box.
Semeera sneered. “They didn’t.”
Royce shook his head, appearing as disgusted as her.
The guard uncovered one side of the box and opened the cage door, but no one exited.
Keeping a wary eye on the guard, Semeera went to the cage and peered. “Oh, Mason.”
Mason was trembling, wide-eyed, and curled into the fetal position. His wild gaze darted to her, but she wasn’t sure if he was seeing her or not.
She held out her hand. “Come on. They won’t hurt you.”
Royce came up beside her with his hand out. “I’m here too, man. I’ve got you.”
Mason reached for them as if their hands were lifelines. He gripped them tight, and they pulled him out of the cage. The sight of his clothes hanging off his once-thick frame almost brought tears to her eyes. He had weeks of untamed new growth and his hair reeked of mildew, probably from letting it air dry. There were several patches, as though he’d snatched out handfuls of his locs.
The pain in her chest made it hard for her to breathe, but she pushed through to help her friend. She covered Mason’s eyes with one hand and glared at the guard who’d brought him.
The female appeared unconcerned and left with the box.
Leaving Mason with Royce, who put his hand over Mason’s eyes, Semeera went to one bed and yanked the mattress onto the floor. She tucked it back into a corner beside a cabinet that would block sight of the entrance so Mason wouldn’t see any of the khartarns when they arrived with the others.
Royce walked Mason to the bed and urged him to sit just as the infirmary door opened again.
Semeera peered over the cabinet to see Shanti arrive with Danielle hanging off her arm. Both of them saw her and rushed over for hugs.
Shanti shared a hug with Royce before looking at Mason. “What did they do to him?”
“Existed,” Semeera said with no small amount of venom in her voice. It wasn’t fair. They hadn’t known, but that didn’t matter.
Danielle asked, “Will he be okay?”
“I have no clue.” She petted Mason’s head while Shanti wrapped him in a blanket.
He was so much thinner. That he wasn’t filthy surprised her, but his medical team had probably cleaned him—traumatizing him further—as part of keeping him healthy. He still had on the same clothes he’d arrived in.
Shanti asked, “Is this all of us?”
Semeera shook her head. “Two more.”
“How do you know?”
“Yeah,” said Gavin as he entered the room, followed by Josie and a guard who looked them over before leaving and shutting the door. “How do you know, Semeera?”
She rose from the mattress and came out from around the cabinet. “Gavin, what happened to you?”
His clothes—the same he’d arrived in—were ripped. There were scratches on his face and arms and smudges of dirt. He also appeared thinner but his muscled physique hadn’t suffered much. The strange thing was the collar around his neck.
He smirked at her. “What happened? I fought back. No way was I letting those fucking lizards experiment on me. I kept breaking shit until they left me alone.” He ran a finger under his collar. “They gave me this to control me. A shock collar.”
“No.”
“Yeah. But answer the question. How did you know me and Josie were coming? I didn’t even know why I was being moved. And then I see her”—he jerked his thumb toward Josie—“getting off one of their ships. I didn’t even know she’d made the trip.”
Semeera nodded. “It seems none of us knew about the others. They kept us separated and isolated.”
Josie asked, “But how do you know that?”
It was the moment of truth. Semeera hadn’t really thought about what she would tell her friends. Not the whole truth, that was for damn sure. Besides her, only Shanti and Royce appeared to be in good shape—clean, clothed in something other than what they arrived in, and showing no abnormal weight loss. She doubted the doctors would have withheld food. She hoped they hadn’t, at least.
She said, “The doctor on this ship is the lead for the other teams that studied you all. He had notes about each of you. Not by name. I didn’t know who was here, besides Mason. When I saw the part about going catatonic and non-responsive, I knew it had to be him. I got them to bring you all here.” She touched her neck, rubbing lightly at the puncture wound there.
Gavin said, “You got them to bring us here.” He seemed to mull over those words. “You talked to them.”
“Yes.”
“You speak their language? How long did that take to learn?”
She shook her head. “No. They have a translation program that’s filtered through this earpiece.” She took it out and showed it to them and then put it back. “They speak their language, and I hear it as English.”
Danielle said, “That’s convenient that they had a device handy that translates English.”
Gavin snorted. “No, they didn’t. They wouldn’t have been yammering at me in whatever language they speak if they knew English when we first got here. I’m thinking they learned afterward, isn’t that right, Meer?”
Semeera stiffened at his tone but nodded. “Yes. I helped them find it so I could understand them. Once we could talk, they explained—”
“You fucking traitor.”
Semeera blinked at her friend in confusion. “What?”
Gavin sneered. “I wondered how they figured out our language when I’d stopped talking. Then suddenly they were talking to me and I could understand. It was you, you stupid bitch.”
“I needed to know what was going on.”
“And do you?”
“What do you mean? They’re curious about us.”
“For an invasion.”
“No. We’re nowhere near Earth.”
“Oh, yeah? Who told you that? Them? The same ones who told each of us we were the sole human to make the trip.” He looked around at the others, who all nodded, except Mason. “They told you that too, right? That you were all alone?”
Semeera pursed her lips together.
“Yeah, they did. Idiot. I can’t believe you bought that bullshit. For all you know, they’re hiding out behind the moon waiting to launch an all-out attack on Earth, and here you are fucking helping them.”
“I didn�
��t—”
“What else did you tell them?”
Too much, it would seem. But Semeera wouldn’t tell Gavin that. Her long-time friend had hatred in his eyes. Deep loathing the likes of which she’d never seen on another human being, and it was directed at her. And his wasn’t the only accusatory gaze leveled her way.
Gavin barked a humorless laugh while shaking his head. “It’s a good thing you don’t know shit about our military defenses. You probably would have told them that too.”
Semeera bristled at that. “I wouldn’t have. That’s not information they need.”
“They don’t need any information about us. Not a damn thing.” He stabbed his finger in her direction. “You should have kept your fucking trap shut.”
“Gavin—”
“He’s right, Semeera,” Josie said. “Why would you help them? Did they give you a lollipop?”
“That’s not fair. I didn’t know.” Semeera knew that excuse wasn’t even valid.
Danielle said, “It doesn’t matter if you didn’t. You don’t cooperate with aliens who kidnap you. That’s common sense 101.”
“So, you didn’t tell them anything?” Semeera couldn’t help the snap in her tone. She was on the defensive and her friends were right. What had she done? She’d gone along with every request because they’d been nice to her.
Gavin said, “Fuck no. I broke shit and tried to break them until they put this piece of junk around my neck”—he ran a finger under the collar—“and shoved me in a room. No more questions then. What about the rest of you? Any other traitors in the room?”
Danielle and Josie shook their heads while spearing Semeera with accusatory looks. Shanti stood with her arms crossed, a bored expression on her face. There may be hope there. Mason didn’t appear to be aware they were even there. And Royce stood with his teeth gritted and an annoyed expression on his face.
“Guess it’s just you, traitor.” Gavin took a step toward her and then bit out a curse before clutching the collar that suddenly had a red glowing light. “Fuck you, you fucking lizards. Eat shit and die.” He waved his middle finger around the room, probably aiming at the cameras.
Semeera screamed, “Stop it. Stop hurting him.”
The red light blinked off and Gavin released the collar, rolling his neck and glaring at her.
Alien Mate Experiment Page 18
