Broken & Hunted

by Charissa Dufour

  “Slave scum,” another traveler murmured as he pushed past her, shoving her out of the way, momentarily distracting her from her other problems.

  Bit flung her pillowcase over her shoulder, determined not to let her own appearance bother her, even if the other passengers were staring at her. The resolution lasted all of five minutes.

  She took up her position behind the captain and focused her gaze on his back, refusing to look at those who were staring at her. She knew what they saw and didn’t need to see it reflected in their disgusted expressions.

  Suddenly the captain turned, taking in Bit’s hunched position and the gazes of the strangers standing in line behind her. He slung his free arm over her shoulder, dragging her forward to stand beside him. Bit glanced over her shoulder, her head turning almost against her will. The other passengers were staring at Jack’s captain’s insignia stitched into the red fabric of his uniform, shocked that a man of rank would touch someone like her.

  Being an indentured meant Bit had never had a chance to rub shoulders with people of rank, and Jack was up there with some of the highest. Even if he only captained a small, out-of-date freighter, he was still a space captain and those were unique in the galaxy.

  “You ready for a vacation, Little Bit?” he asked before planting an affectionate kiss on the top of her head.

  To her astonishment, the touch didn’t send her heart battering through her chest in an attempt to escape. In fact, she felt none of her usual panic. It wasn’t the kiss of a lover but the endearment of an older brother or loving uncle. She glanced up at him from under his heavy arm and gave him a hesitant smile.

  Maybe, just maybe, this weekend would be enjoyable.

  Finally, she nodded.

  As a precaution, she glanced back over her shoulder, spotting a green shoulder poking out from behind a row of well-dressed women. Her stalker was still behind them, preparing to board the transport with them. Her heart rate picked up again.

  Maybe the vacation won’t be so enjoyable after all.

  Jack guided her to a seat away from the other crew members, wedged between him and Calen. The pilot gave her a happy smile as he stowed his bag in the overhead compartment before grabbing her pillowcase. Before she took her seat, she spotted the green windbreaker take a seat three rows behind them and two to the left. Bit swallowed the bile rising to her throat and took her seat.

  With a little help, Bit managed to get her own straps organized. In next to no time, the whole transport was filled with passengers.

  Bit tried to stay calm as they waited for the transport to finish its pre-flight checks. After spending over a month on a space ship, she knew her nervousness was ridiculous. Her realization did nothing to calm her racing heart or relieve the pressure in her chest.

  When she was about to tear off her restraints and go running from the transport, Jack reached over and took her hand, twinning her fingers with his. She turned to stare at him. He gave her a gentle smile.

  “Not long now,” he said.

  There was no guile in his tone, no second meaning suggested in his grip. Unlike Oden or Blaine, or maybe even Calen, the grip of his hand wasn’t romantic. She let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding and forced herself to breathe slowly, matching her breathing to his. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack’s lips turn up into a smile.

  “That’s it, Bit. Just stick with me,” he said calmly.

  Chapter Four

  Bit stumbled out of the transport after the others, her pillowcase once again slung over her shoulder. Jack noticed her falling behind and stopped, waiting for her in the mad rush of the people exiting the transport. As she reached his side he wrapped his arm around her shoulders again and kept her at his side. Blaine and Oden noticed the touch and he gave them a cold glare.

  Bit expected a confrontation and was about to slip out from under Jack’s arm when a sudden shout interrupted them. They turned to see the exit of the corridor blocked by a large mob with signs. The signs read things like “Animal Lives Matter” and “No Genetic Enhancements on Mars” and “Down with MGC!”

  “Is that about us?” Blaine asked as the crew huddled in close together.

  Bit glanced back, noticing the green windbreaker stopping a few feet away. The men were too busy looking at the protesters to notice a single man standing behind them.

  “Looks like it.” Jack squeezed her shoulders, drawing her attention back to their current dilemma.

  “They upset about the cargo?” Oden asked.

  Jack nodded. “It’s not our issue. Our job is to move the cargo. It is not our job to have a political opinion. Let them yell.”

  The captain moved forward, leading his crew through the masses of protestors. Bit snuggled into his side, for once happy to have his touch. Calen stepped up to her other side as the other crew members pushed their way through the angry crowd. Crude epithets were thrown at them, words that would have made a whore blush. Bit tried to close her ears against the descriptions. She glanced up at the men, noting the dark glares they were giving the protestors. For the first time, she felt as though she had a team of big-brothers, ready to beat up the first boy to give her a rough time. The comparison brought a small smile to her lips.

  They made it past the protestors and out onto the wide platform. Most of the crew sauntered away, happy to be free. Blaine and Oden stopped, turning back to look at Bit tucked under the captain’s arm.

  “Go on you two,” Jack said as the narrow tunnel ended at an open vault, the roof entirely made of glass triangles. “Your vacation has officially started.”

  Oden chewed on his lip for a second before waving at Bit. “See you next week, Bit. See ya, Cap!”

  Bit waved at him, but he was already turned, disappearing into the crowd with the other crew members. Blaine hesitated, eying Bit. She knew he wanted another moment alone with her, but she wasn’t about to give him the opportunity and, thankfully, neither was the captain.

  Finally he gave her a little nod. “See ya later.”

  She gave him a grim smile and a wave before he walked away. He pulled out his short range comm. device and made a call, almost as though to appear nonchalant about the whole thing.

  Jack, Calen, and Bit walked on, working their way through the crowd and into a packed elevator. Bit tried her best to hide her pain each time her cold toes got stepped on, and for the most part her companions seemed oblivious to her discomfort.

  They were equally oblivious to the man who had been following them since Jack had found her in the port—the same man who slipped into the elevator at the last moment garbed in a green windbreaker.

  The elevator took them downward until they were released into another long corridor. They walked through this for what seemed an eternity before it released them onto an enormous wind-swept platform. Bit shivered as the wind struck her in the face, feeling grateful for Jack’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. They hurried out of the elevator before the crowd could trample them, Bit’s stalker masterfully slipping back so that he could follow them.

  Like the enormous room at the top of the structure, the platform was flooded with a milling crowd. Bit glanced over her shoulder and looked up, shocked to find that the elevator had not taken them down a building but rather an enormous mountain.

  “You see Mom and Sis yet?” Calen asked as he came up to her side.

  “In this mob? No, wait, there they are,” said Jack, pointing with his duffel bag.

  “And De-ebby,” cooed Calen.

  Bit craned her neck, trying to see who they were talking about. Jack tried to smack Calen without removing his arm from around Bit’s shoulders. Calen ducked out of his brother’s range and laughed.

  “C’mon, Captain, your girlfriend’s waiting.”

  Bit nearly missed a step as she struggled to keep up with their long legs. Girlfriend?

  She didn’t know why the revelation bothered her, but the sudden knowledge that one of the crew members was spoken for came as a surprise
. What woman would put up with her man being gone for months on end?

  Finally, three women came into view who could be none other than the Macleef women and Jack’s girlfriend. They were pointing at the men and jumping up and down. As Bit came into view they suddenly stopped, one of them quickly collapsing her face into a dark glare.

  “Mom,” called Calen as he dropped his bag and gave the middle-aged woman a fierce hug.

  He moved on to the youngest of the trio, giving her a less enthusiastic hug.

  “Who is this?” asked the woman who was clearly their mother.

  “This is Bit,” Calen said, dragging Bit out from under Jack’s arm. “I, uh… well, I kinda won her…”

  “You what?”

  “Yeah, uh, in a hand of poker. She’s, uh… well, she’s an indentured servant.”

  Calen’s mother turned to look at Jack.

  “He’s your son,” Jack said as he leaned in and pecked his mother on the cheek before turning to the other grown woman. “Hey, beautiful.”

  Jack gave this woman a quick kiss on the lips and a hug before turning back to the confrontation taking place. Bit watched the exchange before quickly lowering her eyes. She felt as though she was back on the ship, the whole crew eyeing her for the first time all over again.

  “So you just kept her on board during the whole voyage?” demanded Jack’s girlfriend.

  “Well, I couldn’t exactly tell her to get out.” Jack glared at each woman in turn.

  Bit clamped her teeth down on her lower lip and tried to close her ears against their exchange.

  “You all a bunch of jackasses!” snapped the youngest of the women, drawing Bit out of her fears. “Hi, I’m Lexi,” she added, addressing Bit and coming right up to her.

  Bit looked up and came face to face with the most unusual-looking girl she had ever seen. She couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old, with half a container of eyeliner spread around her eyes. Her hair was bleached stark white and cut feathery short on top, tapering longer and longer until it hung past her shoulders. Mixed with the bleach white, streaks of black had been dyed into the hair in vertical lines, the black slowly fading to blue as it descended into the longer layers of hair.

  Bit shook her outstretched hand.

  “You’re frozen. Jack, Calen, where are your brains? She’s out here with no coat and no shoes!”

  “Shit! Bit, I’m an idiot!” Jack announced as he dropped his bag and quickly jerked the zipper open.

  Within seconds he had a jacket out and was forcing her thin arms into it. He spun her around and pulled the zipper up, careful to keep her dreadlocks from getting caught in the threads.

  “Can’t do much about the shoes right now, but first thing on the to-do list is taking you shopping. We’ll get you out of these ridiculous boys’ clothes. I promise,” he said, a tender smile on his face.

  Bit stared at him, much as she had stared at the strange-looking Lexi. Tears pressed against her eyes and she willed them away. She would not, could not, break down again because someone had been nice to her. All her resentment came back to her and guilt crashed down. How childish could she have been? She felt her brows pull down as a frown crossed her features.

  “You poor thing,” said their mother, breaking into the quiet moment. “Stuck on that ship with nothing but men to take care of you. Let’s get home.”

  “What are you going to do with her?” demanded Debby, Jack’s girlfriend.

  Bit tried not to glare up at the taller woman. Thus far, Bit wasn’t very impressed with her. She was tempted to point out that she was present and didn’t appreciate being talked about as though she wasn’t. She had to remind herself that she was still the property in this conversation, even if it did sting her pride.

  “Bit is a member of my crew now. How she came to be on my crew is not important,” Jack said in a tone of voice that brooked no further comment.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” replied Debby, ignoring Jack’s tone.

  “I don’t think it’s any of our concern, Debby,” said Jack’s mother, glancing over her shoulder as she guided Bit to the edge of the platform to where a light-rail train was loading passengers.

  They picked up their pace and hurried into the train, barely making it before the doors slid shut. Bit glanced out the window of the train car, a smile spreading across her face as she watched the man in the windbreaker slide to a stop, the train pulling away without him. At last she was free from his watchful gaze.

  The train car was crowded, and their little band was forced to stand. Bit felt small, reaching above her head to grip the railing, Calen’s chest pressed against her shoulder. She felt very young and out of place, despite the encouragement of Jack’s words.

  Lexi smiled at Bit with a wide grin, and, to Bit’s surprise, she found herself smiling back at the young, eccentric girl.

  “You can’t be okay with this, Tilly,” continued Debby as they settled in for the ride.

  “Leave it, Debby,” grumbled Jack.

  Calen adjusted his footing, conveniently blocking Bit from Debby’s line of sight. Bit glanced up at the pilot’s face and he threw her a wink. Bit frowned. She couldn’t help it. She had been nervous about meeting their family, but she hadn’t expected out-right hostility. Then again, she hadn’t expected a girlfriend either. Maybe Jack’s arm being wrapped around her had set Debby off.

  Bit resolutely decided to focus on Calen over the next few days. It would likely make the return to the ship all the more awkward but, if it set Debby’s mind at ease, it would be worth it. She didn’t want to create a wedge between the couple. Bit forced herself to look up at Calen again and gave him a smile.

  The train slid to a smooth stop, and their group tumbled out of the packed train car. Calen grabbed her hand and dragged her along. She gripped her pillowcase with all her might, fearful of losing what few belongings she had.

  It wasn’t long before Bit was ushered into the Macleef condo, forty-two stories above the street. Bit tried not to think about the height as she tucked herself into a corner and watched the others walk in confidently.

  “Bit, you can share my room,” Lexi announced, turning back to find Bit standing next to the door, her pillowcase tucked between her bare feet.

  The teenager ran back to Bit and took her hand, dragging her into the spacious living room. Beyond the living room was a small hallway off of which lay three bedrooms and a bathroom. Lexi led Bit into her room, which was not much bigger than the officer’s cabins on the freighter. A bunkbed lined one wall. A tall dresser was tucked into the far corner with a little mirror and jewelry box taking up the space on top. Behind the door hid a little closet.

  “You can have the top bunk,” Lexi said, taking Bit’s pillowcase and tossing it up onto the bed. “I know Jack said he’ll take you shopping, and he will, but you can borrow some clothing until he does. You just can’t go around in that.”

  “Oh… uh… thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Lexi scrambled through her drawers and pulled out a pair of army-green pants, followed by a few plain shirts. “I don’t wear any of this stuff anymore. You’re welcome to keep them if you’d like. But I’m sure you’d rather have some new stuff instead.”

  She stopped suddenly and looked at Bit, still standing by the closed door.

  “I don’t mean to be rude,” Lexi said, suddenly looking very contrite. “You deserve to have hundreds of nice, new dresses. I just thought…”

  “It’s very nice of you. And no, I don’t deserve hundreds of new dresses. Besides, when would I wear them?”

  Lexi let out a little laugh. “True enough. But you will wear a dress tonight! Ooo! I have a brilliant idea. I’m taking you clubbing tonight.”

  “Oh, no. I don’t think the captain will like that.”

  “Bit, for this weekend, and any other leave that you get to spend with us, he’s Jack, not the captain.”

  Bit shook her head, certain Jack would no
t agree.

  “I will prove my point, but not until we have you cleaned up. Now, do you want a shower?”

  “I showered this morning.” She had also worked like a mule and nearly gotten kidnapped, but she kept that to herself.

  “Okay, then let’s pick out a dress.”

  Before Bit knew what was happening, Lexi had dressed her in a short dress with only one sleeve, wound up her long dreadlocks in a large bun on the top of her head, and applied a surprisingly light dusting of make up across her eyes. The dress left bare some of her aged bruises. At first, she felt a little self-conscious about them, but Lexi seemed oblivious, and Bit quickly realized it would likely be dark in the club.

  When Bit was all made up, Lexi changed into a dress.

  “Oh here, borrow these shoes,” Lexi said before leading her out.

  Bit slipped her dirty feet into a pair of soft slippers, feeling a little bashful about the state of her feet. Lexi acted as though she hadn’t noticed the layers of dirt or her chipped toenails. Bit was quickly growing to like the circumspect yet energetic teenager.

  Lexi escorted her out. Jack and the others were sitting around the dining room table, drinking coffee and talking.

  “I’m taking Bit to the club,” Lexi announced as they entered the main room.

  “Excuse me,” Jack said as he climbed to his feet.

  Bit was sure her surprise and fear showed on her face.

  “I’m taking her to the club, and tomorrow I’m taking her shopping.”

  Jack stared down at Bit, taking in her transformation. “No. Bit’s been through a lot these last few weeks. She needs to rest.”

  Lexi glared up at her older brother. “She is standing right here, and she can speak for herself. Bit, if you’d rather rest that is totally fine, but if you’d like to come clubbing with me tonight, then tell him.”