by Zara Zenia
"No. We do not."
The two guys looked at her with pity then began to stride away.
"Anyway, you're both needed upstairs."
The four of them leave, walking in the opposite direction of me. At last, the coast was clear. I waited until I heard their footsteps dissolve into the distance before I pushed open the steel door. Tiptoeing up to the girl's cell, I saw her sitting miserable and defeated on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands.
I knocked on the glass and she glanced up surprised.
"Hey," I whispered.
She squinted at me for a moment as though she wasn’t sure whether or not to trust me.
"Hey," I whispered again but this time a little louder.
Waving at her to come over to the window, I smiled what I hoped was my friendliest smile, one that showed I was not a threat. Eventually, she jumped off her bed, her weary body plodding over to me. She placed her hand up to the window, a sweet and innocent gesture.
"Hey," she said back. "Who are you?"
Chapter 9
Madison
"Who are you?"
"I'm a friend."
She didn't look convinced but something about the way she looked at me showed that she trusted me a little bit.
"But you're human," she cried. "You took my brother away."
"No! I didn't do that."
"But you work for this company? This place that I'm in."
I felt ashamed and hung my head, heaving out a tired breath.
"Yeah … I work here but … I don't want to, not any more."
She frowned at me, the innocence of her face more apparent close-up. I could tell she was teetering on her tippy toes, trying her hardest to look up over the window ledge. It was obvious how young she was.
"Have you come to get me out of here?" she asked, her eyes wide and watery.
"I am. Or at least I’m going to try."
In all honesty, I had no idea what to do or how to get her out. It was not like I had access to the keys or even a way to break open the lock. But then I heard something, a distant whistling. Shit, who was that? Then I heard something else, the jangling of keys.
"The security guard!" the girl wailed. "He always does his round of the cells at this time. On the hour every hour."
Oh God, he's going to catch me down here and … then what? My heart raced as I only had seconds to think of a plan. As the whistling grew closer and began to move around the corner I ran, heading back to the safety of the steel door.
"I'll be back, I promise. Try to get the guard's attention, make him open your door," I whispered as I left. "Hang in there."
She nodded.
I watch as the guard checked in all the windows with a contemptuous gaze, his hands in his pockets and his mind seemingly elsewhere. As he approached the girl's cell he did a double take as though he wasn’t sure what he was seeing.
"What the fuck?" he shouted and immediately began searching through his giant key ring.
Unlocking her door, he stepped inside. I took a chance. Running at full force toward the cell, I saw his back and the way he stared down at the girl who seemed to be lying awkward and twisted on the ground. I surged my body at him, leaping on his back and wrapping my arms around his neck. He fell forward, his hat falling to the ground and rolling away, his walkie talkie making a cracking sound against the concrete floor.
"Run!" I shouted at the girl.
She jumped up and headed for the door and I followed her. The guard was still stunned, mumbling obscenities to himself as he tried to get his bearings. I couldn’t help but giggle when I saw the bewildered look on his face as I slammed the door shut, the girl beside me locking the door after us.
"You stole the keys?" I laughed.
"It was too easy," she handed them over to me. "Thank you," she leaned over and gave me a quick hug. "Now will you help me find my brother?"
As we ran down the hall we could hear the guard banging on the door behind us, his voice shrinking into the distance the further we ran. As we moved, I could see the girl changing, shifting right before my eyes. Her eyes went from blue to brown, her hair morphed into long blonde strands and her clothing changed into something black and sleek.
"How do you do that?"
"We Orbans are experts at shifting. I can change my appearance to look like anything, especially when I know I'm in danger. This way no one will be able to detect me."
She's talking as though she's confident, in that typical teenage way that barely hides the insecurity beneath the veil of rolling eyes and arrogant gestures. She's scared and confused, I could hear it in her voice and tell by the way she was trying to hide the tears that were pooling at the corners of her eyes.
"It'll be ok," I placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find your brother."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Yes … I saw him earlier."
There was a terrible guilt in my gut. How was I supposed to reveal the violence he had endured? How could I be the one to show how badly he’d been injured?
"But … why are they more interested in him than you?" I asked.
The girl shook her head and frowned, staring at the floor as she slowed down to a brisk walk.
"I wish I knew."
For a moment we walked in silence, a million unanswered questions hanging in between us. She was crying, sniveling into her sleeve as she dabbed at her face.
"I'm sorry," I tried to wrap an arm around her but she pulled away.
"Sorry for what?"
"For being messed up in all of this. It was me who noticed your coordinates as you made your way out here. At this point, I wish I'd never said a thing and you and your brother would be free. I am really sorry. I hope you know that."
The girl says nothing. She looks up at me angrily.
"It was you who noticed us and brought us here?" she stopped walking and stood still, her hands by her side and her arms rigid.
"Not in quite the way you think," I try to explain. "I wanted to meet you so badly. I never thought it would come to this and I never expected anyone to get hurt!"
"Who's hurt?" her eyes widened. "Is Jarick hurt? My brother! We have to find him."
"This way," I beckoned her down the hall. "The most important thing we can do now is to make sure he’s ok and that you're together. We'll take things from there."
But she wasn’t listening, she hurtled herself down the corridors with her tears falling on the tiled floor as she ran.
Chapter 10
Jarick
The pain—it's blinding, searing, hot agony that pulses down the side of my face. I could taste the blood in my mouth, metallic and sour. My ears were ringing but they had been for hours. I'm dizzy, tired and weak but my captors haven't grown tired. If anything they are reaching a fugue state, growing more excited the weaker I got.
"Where are they?" the tall one whispered in my ear, a Taser gun in his hand.
He poked it into my broken ribs. I wanted to cry out but I was too exhausted. I let the pain wash over me in waves until my eyelids grew so heavy I couldn’t keep them open.
"I've asked you a hundred times," he sneered. "And I'll ask you a hundred more even if it kills you. Where are they?"
Still, I didn’t answer. I'll never tell them where my crew is. Never. I shook my head slightly. A sign that I won't speak.
"Very well," he smiled. "Maybe this will convince you."
He activated the Taser. Hundreds of volts of electricity shook through me. My feet lifted off the floor, my toes curling inside my shoes and my entire body seemed to be suspended in space for a few seconds as I'm electrocuted. Intense fiery pain shoots up my side as my teeth chattered together. My eyes rolled so far back in my head I didn’t think I'd ever see again. Then it stopped. I fell back against the chair, the smell of burning drifting up to my nostrils.
"That wasn't fun, was it?" the tall one asked as he took a step back.
Again, I didn’t say a word. Instead, I stared up at him, my eyes burning
into his. He licked his lips and grinned as though he was ready for round two, cocked his head to the side and took a purposeful step toward me.
Then, there was a knock on the door. He stopped in his tracks.
"Who the fuck is that?"
Behind him, another man stood. He glanced toward the door and shrugged. The tall one strode over to the door, annoyed that his fun had been interrupted. When he opened it, the girl from earlier ran in with her eyes wide in panic.
"The other alien! The girl!" she screamed.
"What about her?"
"She's gone! Vanished! Disappeared from her cell."
The men exchanged a worried look then sprinted for the door.
"You stay here!" the tall one shouted as he left.
Standing in front of me, the girl smiled. Through the torture of the last few hours, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
"I have a surprise for you," she beamed. "You can come out now," she shouted toward the door.
"Little Victo!"
She came running at me, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around me.
"I almost didn't recognize you in your disguise."
"I've been learning," she said as she struggled to untie my restraints.
"We need to hurry!" the girl said, panicking. "I want us out of here in less than two minutes."
"It's so good to see you," I looked up into Victorinth’s eyes.
"You too," she said, kissing me on the forehead. "But come on, you can tell me how much you love me when we're out of here."
Suddenly, I'm free. The restraints fell to the floor and I could feel my hands once again. They ached as I pulled them around and inspected the bruises on my wrists.
"Can you stand?" the girl asked.
I nod.
"I think so.… Maybe."
As the two girls pull me to my feet, I realize that it's been a long time since I've put any pressure on my feet. I felt wobbly at first and the pain was excruciating but I was propelled forward with the knowledge that I'd be out of here soon.
Together, with the three of us tangled together, we stumbled out of the room and down the corridor. There was a distant alarm signaling Victorinth's disappearance. Somewhere behind us, there's shouting, a security guard being scalded. There was a wry smile twitching on the girl's lips as we walked. I looked over at her and raised my eyebrows.
"Oh … the security guard," she laughed. "It was just kinda funny."
Victorinth giggled.
"The look on his face when—"
"Hey!"
A man in a black uniform stood behind us, a rifle in his arms.
"Freeze!" he yelled.
The three of us glanced at him for a second then looked to each other.
"Run," I said, the voice coming out no louder than a whisper. "Don't look back, let's just run."
We all nodded before taking off. My legs buckled under me as I moved but Victorinth picked me back up and dragged me down the hall. There was the sound of boots behind us, frantic and angry.
"Freeze or I'll shoot!"
But we didn’t listen. Running as fast as we could, we turned a corner. There was a loud bang, and then the sound of a bullet ricocheting off the wall only inches from us.
"They're trying to kill us!" the girl screamed. "Come on!"
The exit is in sight. We hurtle ourselves at it, our legs moving faster than they've ever moved before. There are sirens blazing, the flashing lights of alarms as they alerted everyone to our act of rebellion. The girl pulled out a key fob from her pocket as she ran, slamming it into the little black box by the door. There were three precise beeps before the door glided open.
The girls pulled me through as we staggered out into the afternoon sun. It had been so long since I'd seen daylight and I threw an arm up over my face. Behind us another gunshot sounded, the bullet hitting a nearby car. The car alarm went off as chaos reigned all around us. There were men in uniform spilling out of the building, desperate to find us.
"My car's right there!" the girl pulled Victorinth and me by our shirt sleeves.
She's fumbled for her keys, dropping them twice in her panicked state before she could get a grasp on them.
Another gunshot.
Victorinth screamed.
Then I was in the back of the car, Victorinth beside me as the girl shredded her car out of the tight space, reversing out into moving traffic. Car horns sounded all around us and then we were out and free, speeding down the road as we made our way out onto the highway.
The girl in the driver's seat was talking under her breath, beads of sweat forming on her red skin. She was flustered, desperate, terrified and kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror. It was now that I realized I didn’t know her name.
"Jarick…" I blurted out.
She stopped talking and stared at me as we came to a halt in traffic.
"Eh?"
"My name is Jarick."
Her face softened and she gave me a weak smile.
"I'm Madison," she reached out and squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry," she turned back around in her seat.
The traffic eases up and started to move and she pulled away, gathering speed as we turned left at a junction.
"Sorry for what?" I asked.
"For humans…" was all she said.
As she drove her eyes were all over the place. She looked in the mirrors over and over again, eager to see that we were not being tailed.
"Shit…" she smacked her forehead, tears spilling out the corners of her eyes, "This is a nightmare. We're gonna get killed."
"We'll be ok," Victorinth whispered in my ear.
Now it was her turn to be strong. I laid my head against her shoulder and looked out the window. The world was spinning past quickly and it gave me a few precious minutes to take stock of what had happened in my life since we crashed to Earth. So much had changed. Life, as I knew it to be, would not return. As that thought churned itself over in my mind, I wondered if it was such a bad thing. I mean, this situation was not what I wanted but when I looked at Victorinth, I saw a maturity in her eyes that wasn't there previously. She was growing up, becoming stronger, a silver lining to the dangerous predicament we were trying to make our way out of.
But the others … I longed to see the rest of our crew. Little Benzen, I wonder where he was now and whether he was safe. I thought about him and Alison together and hoped that they were still close. Then there was Draygus and Ethazol. They were dear friends to me once, but now it was as though they were just a faint shadow in my memory. They were such fast learners when we first crashed to Earth. No doubt, their thirst for knowledge would have gotten them far in their quest for survival.
Madison looked at me in the mirror again but this time, she held my gaze. She nodded, a symbol of our alliance. Then she looked at Victorinth.
"You were awesome back there," she said to her.
"Thanks … you too."
I notice that we're driving faster. Looking out the window I tried to figure out where we were heading. There were trees lining the streets as the city gave way to a more relaxed, suburban area. Birds were chirping in the sky and pecking at the grass on the nearby lawns. I laid against Victorinth and for the first time in days, I felt safe. My eyes grew heavy and with great relief, and sleep took a hold of me.
Chapter 11
Jarick
I felt myself jerk in my seat. I opened my eyes and saw a field out the window. I wondered what we could possibly be doing here until I turned my head and looked out the other window. There was a quaint house.
"Home, sweet home," Madison sighed and pulled the key out of the ignition. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to be here."
She stepped out of the car and moved around to my side. Opening my door, she smiled and reached down to scoop me up. Helping me to my feet, she let me lean against her as we walked up the stairs and into her house.
"Thank you," I said, emotion prickling at my voice. "I don't know what would have
happened to me if you hadn’t been there to save me."
"It's ok," she hugged me tight as she helped me inside. "I'm glad I could help."
As we entered her home, the first thing that hit me was how lovely it was. It was nothing like the little apartment we shared with the crew, everything seemed to be in order with every item positioned in its own special place. It smelled clean and fresh too, but each room had its own unique scent I couldn’t quite identify. Then I saw all of the scented candles on the window ledges. I remembered Alison telling me about them when she took us shopping once. She said that all girls love them and that they make any house a home. I picked one up and smelled it, it was sweet but exotic.
"You like it?" Madison smiled. "It's vanilla, cypress and a hint of clove. I have a real obsession with these."
She led us up the stairs.
"This place isn't huge or anything," she confessed as though she was embarrassed. "But it's my home and I love it. I take good care of it and you can stay here as long as you want. Whatever is mine is yours."
"It's beautiful," Victorinth gasped. "It's the nicest house I've ever seen on Earth.
Madison laughed.
"Well, here you are. You can both sleep in the spare bedroom. It's not big but it's ok I guess. I have my niece and nephew stay in here when they visit."
As we entered I saw there were two beds side by side, a little bedside table separating them with a lamp on top. There were stacks of colorful books on the floor as well as a couple toys.
"Sorry, they leave their crap in here all the time," she picked them up and threw them inside a cupboard. "You guys settle in and get used to the house. The bathroom is across the hall and my bedroom is the last one down there on the left," she pointed. "But right now I'm starving. I'll go make us some food. When was the last time either of you ate?"
Victorinth and I looked at one another and shook our heads.
"No idea," I said. "A long time ago."
"I'll see what I have," she said as she closed the door.
I waited until her footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs before I spoke.
