Alone in Paradise (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 2)

by Patrick Stutzman

  Grabbing the arm shaft tight, James blasted the arm between the grasper and his hand, letting the fragment fall away and leaving him dangling from the drone. Then he holstered his gun and grasped the robot firmly with his free hand. The drone spun wildly, trying to buck him off, but James managed to keep hold. As he lifted himself onto its back, he spied the remaining four drones flying within range.

  Now several dozen meters above the ground, James took hold of one of the handholds and planted his feet in the metal tabs he assumed were footholds. Pulling out his pistol again, he fired at the incoming drone. Due to the bucking drone, his aim was off, and his shot passed harmlessly by.

  Growing impatient with the drone he rode, James pointed his firearm at it and fired point-blank, creating a smoking hole in the middle of its back. Holstering and securing the pistol, he reached in, grabbed several cords, and yanked hard, ripping them out of place. The drone shuddered in mid-air and dropped like a rock.

  “Oh, shit!” James realized his error too late.

  The drone slammed into the ground near the tree line, throwing him into the forest. He hit the ground and rolled several more meters before coming to a stop at the base of a thin tree. He came to a few seconds later, just as two of the remaining drones flew nearer.

  James groaned as he checked himself for injuries. His left arm felt like it might be broken, and he was having difficulty breathing.

  He spotted the advancing drones as his head cleared, and he drew his pistol again. Despite his shaky hand, he hit one after a couple of shots and brought it down into the dirt. The other one loomed over him and reached its arm down. He shifted his aim and fired into it. The impact of the blast triggered something inside it and as it suddenly zipped away and rammed into a nearby tree, exploding on impact.

  Climbing to his feet, James looked around for the last two drones. They were in flight, but he couldn’t spot them. He kept his weapon ready as he walked back to the ship, taking care not to aggravate his wounds.

  Kneeling next to the hole where the keypad used to be, he grabbed a couple of wires and placed the exposed ends together. Nothing. He dropped one of the wires and grabbed another, repeating the action. This time the hatch slid open, and Ahmad scrambled out of the airlock.

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  James glared at him. “Shut up. Get to your skycycle.”

  The two men moved as fast as they could off the ship and to their vehicles. As the captain mounted his and started the engine, he spotted the two remaining drones floating above the trees, watching him.

  Without another word, James and Ahmad lifted off and sped back to their ship.

  Chapter 24

  Anna awoke in a lot of pain. Her face felt as if something heavy had been dropped on it. Her mouth stung every time she moved it. Her back and arms felt bruised and battered. Death would be a welcome change.

  Hoping it was all a bad dream, she opened her eyes. Reality sank in as she confirmed she was still in the same tiny room with the Frenchman standing next to her.

  He smiled. “How are you?”

  Anna groaned. “Go away.”

  “Almost back to normal, it would seem.”

  She stared at him, wishing he would spontaneously combust.

  “You are lucky, Angelina. Nothing is broken. You have several bruises that will take some time to fade, and your lip is split. I’m sorry the captain did this to you.”

  Narrowing her eyes at him, she touched her shoulder and found she was no longer wearing her shirt. She stopped and feebly lifted her head to find she was completely naked. She grimaced dropped her head back down. “What is wrong with you? Why can’t you leave me alone?”

  He expelled a lungful of air. “Cherie, I had to remove the remainder of your clothes to give you a thorough medical examination.”

  Anna slowly covered herself with the one bed sheet within easy reach. “Right. Sure you did.”

  Several seconds passed in silence. “Can I have my shirt and panties back?”

  He nodded. “As soon as they are properly laundered. They were very soiled. Don’t you have cleaning facilities aboard your ship?”

  Memories of the past several months flashed in her mind’s eye. Of all the things she missed from her time aboard the mining station, having clean clothes was a minor but valued luxury. What I wouldn’t give for a simple washer and dryer. She laughed in spite of herself, but stopped when the pain in her lips flared.

  He leaned down to check her face. As he reached up to brush a lock of her hair away from her face, she tried to push his hand away. “Don’t.”

  Ignoring her gesture, he brushed the hair aside and stared at her face.

  Memories of the captain’s assault flooded through her. Anna squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed. She did not hear him leave.

  * * * * *

  Ahmad and James landed their skycycles outside the ship. During the flight back, James concluded his arm was not broken but would be sore for a while. His breathing cleared up quickly after discovering one of his muscles had been pinched under a rib, and stretching pulled it back into place.

  After exercising his arm to keep it from getting stiff, James looked over the progress the others had made. The sheet metal outer walls of the square structure had been erected and secured in place on the ground several meters from the edge of the boarding ramp. But it was far from complete. Paco, manning one of the walkers, carried the doors off the ship. Robert and Hiraku, seen sitting in the grass nearby engaged in some form of conversation upon approach, had sprung to their feet and waited.

  James activated his communicator headset. “Paco!”

  The walker came to a halt at the bottom of the ramp. “Get out of the walker. Robert, take over. Hiraku, help get that building finished.”

  Paco clamored out of the cockpit, but Robert slumped his shoulders. “I’m no good at drivin’ one o’ those.”

  “You’d better get that way. Because if that shelter isn’t done within half an hour, I’m flogging both of you.”

  Robert bolted for the walker and shoved Paco out of the way just as he set foot on the ground. Within seconds, the walker stepped toward the half-constructed building.

  James turned toward Ahmad with a scowl. “Make sure they get it done.”

  “Aye, sir!”

  James revved the cycle’s engine. “Paco, follow me.”

  * * * * *

  Inside the cargo hold, Paco jogged to where James had parked the skycycle.

  “Yes, sir?”

  James looked at him for a brief second before placing his helmet on the dashboard. “Paco, you work way too hard around here. It’s time you take a break. Go spend half an hour with our Morale Officer.”

  Paco flashed a hesitant smile. “Um, thank you, sir.”

  He turned to leave, when James continued to speak. “In fact, I’m going to come with you.”

  “Sir?”

  James dismounted the cycle and stepped toward him. “I’ve had a stressful morning myself. So, I think my morale could be raised, too, if you catch my meaning.”

  Paco’s hands fidgeted. “Well…”.

  James raised an eyebrow toward him. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “It’s just that I’m not used to having an audience. You know?”

  James waved the comment away. “Don’t mind me. You won’t even know I’m there.”

  At that point, James looked past him for a second and waved a hand toward them. “Michel, come over here.”

  Paco turned and watched Michel hustle across the cargo bay to where they stood. “Yes, Captain?”

  James clapped Paco’s shoulder. “Paco here needs to spend some quality time with our female guest. Is she all gussied up and ready to go?”

  Michel looked at the floor between them. “Actually, Captain….”

  James’s happy demeanor melted away. “You did clean her up. Didn’t you?”

  Michel nodded. “Oh, yes. Yes, I did, Captain. Of course.”

  James
’s hand fell away from Paco’s shoulder. “Is there a problem?”

  “Honestly, sir, she’s in bad shape. Her face, arms, and back are all bruised up. She has a split lip. We’ve been a bit too rough with her. I would suggest that we let her recuperate a bit.”

  Paco mentally thanked the powers-that-be for the French man’s intervention.

  James frowned. “I don’t think so.” He marched toward the exit from the cargo hold. Paco glanced at Michel, whose facial expression mirrored his concern, and they chased after their captain together.

  The three men burst into Angelina’s room, where they found her trying to rest on the bed. James reached the edge of the bed and snatched the covers away from her, exposing her nude body and waking her.

  “Oh, god!” Angelina scrambled toward the far side of the bed.

  James grabbed her legs and lifted her hips off the mattress. Angelina flailed her arms, attempting to grab hold of something.

  “Captain, what are you doing?” Michel stepped toward James.

  Paco maintained his distance, afraid of what James would do if he intervened. “Captain, don’t! Please!”

  Angelina, weak and exhausted, struggled against James’s grip, but her slaps and kicks did nothing to slow him down.

  James dropped her onto the bed and shoved his legs between hers. He seized her knees and spread her legs apart. Pinning her legs back with his, he slid a finger inside her and probed around for a second. Angelina screamed in horror, and fought in vain to escape. After a few seconds, he pulled his finger back out and tossed her roughly toward the wall next to the bed. “She’s a little dry, but she should be fine. Just spit on your cock.”

  Paco could not stand to watch how James treated her any longer. “Captain! With all due respect…”

  James thrust a finger toward Angelina’s face. “You’d better get over here and fuck her.”

  “Captain, please!” Michel stepped between them. “It will do us no good to kill her. If you want her to be around for a while, we need her to regain her strength.”

  “She doesn’t need her strength. All she needs to do is lie on her back and let us fuck her.”

  Paco stood tall. “Sir! With all due respect, I am not going to fuck her. Not like this!”

  James stepped toward Paco and punched him in the jaw, sending the younger man sprawling backward into the dresser.

  Grabbing his captain by the shoulder, Michel said, “Captain, listen to reason. We can’t continue to treat her this way.”

  James shoved the Frenchman away. “I will have you two executed for insubordination.”

  “Captain.” Michel’s voice remained firm. “We’ve all grown attached to her.”

  “She’s only been with us for a day.” James glared with eyes wide open at Michel. His nostrils flared.

  “So?”

  “What makes this bitch different from the other countless whores I’ve brought on board for us?”

  “I don’t know!” Michel flexed his fists for a few seconds before relaxing and sitting on top of the desk. “I don’t know. But, I do know that none of us wants to see her die. Yet, you seem to be going out of your way to try and kill her.”

  “What did you say?” James moved toward Michel and grabbed his shirt. In an instant, he cocked his fist back.

  Michel did not flinch. “Sir, a good leader knows when to express mercy. Please show her some mercy. Extend some simple kindness, and she will grace us with her presence longer, which will keep us all in better spirits and operate as a better and more efficient crew.”

  Paco leaned against the dresser and massaged his jaw while watching the exchange. James stopped, weighing the Frenchman’s words. He looked over his shoulder at Angelina, who had curled into a shaky fetal position on the bed. Paco could tell this last act of abuse had been too much for her.

  The captain relaxed his stance. He let go of Michel’s shirt and left the room without saying another word.

  As soon as he was gone, Paco leaped forward, scooped up the sheet from the floor, and covered Angelina with it. He wanted to offer her some comfort, but was afraid to touch her.

  As soon as the sheet touched her flesh, she screamed through her tears. “Get away! Don’t! Just leave me alone! Please! No more!”

  Paco and Michel looked at each other, and their looks on their faces fell. Paco was ashamed of their captain. He wished he could have done more for her. Michel turned and shuffled for the door. Paco paused and watched Angelina wail. “I’m sorry.”

  Without another word, Paco departed, her sobs echoing in the hall as the door closed.

  * * * * *

  Through the two remaining drones, Kate examined the wreckages of the eleven that had been shot down, hoping they could possibly be repaired or salvaged. From what she saw so far, most of the parts could be used to get at least half of the drones working again. But she feared that about five or six would be of no use except as parts to keep the others going. Number 14, whose navigational system had been damaged, had met its end in a fireball against a tree trunk.

  Kate replayed the incident over and over, sifting it through the tactical software Ryan had installed when the ship was first granted to him by the company. After several attempts at trying to find where she’d gone wrong, she could not pinpoint where the flaw existed. Was it that the drones were too slow? Could it have been something to do with the amount of time it took the drones to respond to her commands? Should she have found another way of subduing him?

  An incoming signal told her the four drones sent to mine more hydrogen from the gas giant were returning with full tanks ready to deposit. Kate transmitted instructions to divert them from mining duty to farming, seeing as how most of her work force was currently out of commission, and the crops needed to be maintained.

  Through it all, Kate continued to devise a plan to rescue Anna from her captors and return her home. With only six drones operational and sensors offline since Anna had been abducted, her options were severely limited. But she would not abandon her. She had to come up with something, and fast.

  One of the drones approached Seventeen and began its examination. The gaping hole in its back, with its power conduits dangling out, told Kate the internal damage it had endured would not be easy to fix, especially if severing its power feed caused additional damage to its power supply or motherboard. But she knew Anna would be extremely upset if she came back and found her favorite drone inoperative.

  After the first two of the four drones had deposited their harvest into the fuel tank, she ordered them to join the others in gathering the damaged drones and placing them in a central area in the middle of the clearing.

  Kate replayed the footage of the incident again and continued her analysis.

  * * * * *

  “Gawd!” Robert exclaimed over his bowl of chili. “I can’t believe ‘ow ‘oppin mad the Cap’n got over that! ‘e was so red in th’ face, that ‘e looked just like that bloody tomato over there!”

  Ahmad giggled. “And, you can believe that it will happen again. His temper is so short…”

  “How short is it?” Hikaru leaned in with a grin on his face.

  Ahmad glanced over his shoulder at the Asian man before continuing, “It’s so short, that Dylan McDonald, you know…the comedian, looks like a giant compared to it.”

  “That’s short.” Hikaru laughed and swallowed a spoonful of chili. “How tall is he anyway? What, forty centimeters?”

  Robert chuckled. “Nobody is tha’ fuckin’ short.”

  Michel stepped into the galley and, without greeting his fellow crewmates, picked up an empty bowl and scooped some chili into it.

  Robert looked at the two others sitting at the table with him, then back at Michel. “’ey, Frog! ‘ow’s it goin’?”

  “Fine. You?” Michel’s response lacked its usual cheerful emotion.

  Robert glanced at Ahmad and Hikaru again for a brief second. “What’s eatin’ you?”

  Michel ate a spoonful of chili. “Gent
lemen, we need to let Angelina be for a while.”

  All three men at the table snapped their gazes at him. “What?”

  “Yes. She’s not doing so well and needs time to recover.”

  Robert stammered for a second before gathering his words. “Aw, c’mon now! She’s a tough bird. She can ‘andle it.”

  Michel shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, not with what the captain has just put her through.”

  Ahmad and Hikaru looked at each other across the table with grim expressions before returning to their lunch.

  Robert looked back and forth between the two of them. “You goddamn tossers, going soft on ‘er. Fuck the lot of you! I’ll shag her if I want to.”

  “Not anytime soon, you’re not.” Paco walked in, his jaw tense.

  Robert stared at the young crewman in disbelief. “Bloody ‘ell! You can’t be serious. She was gonna suck my cock tonight.”

  Michel shook his head. “Looks like it will be Rosie for you tonight, my friend.”

  Ahmad and Hikaru chuckled at the comment, prompting a pair of raised eyebrows from Robert.

  “Does the cap’n know ‘bout this?”

  Both Paco and Michel nodded.

  Slapping his hands on the table, Robert pushed himself away from the table. “We’ll see ‘bout this!”

  As he rose from his chair, he turned to the doorway and stopped short when he found Anna standing there wrapped in a bed sheet. Trails of tears stained her bruised cheeks.

  Chapter 25

  “Bloody ‘ell!” Robert flinched and jumped back, almost tripping over his chair.

  The rest of the men turned and, finding Anna standing in the doorway, exhibited similar reactions.

  Hikaru blinked. “How did she get out?”

  Oblivious to their stares, she stepped into the galley and stole the bowl of chili Paco had just dished up for himself. Dropping a spoon into the bowl, she gathered the sheet closer around her body, lifted the bowl with her free hand, turned, and exited the room.

  Sounds of scuffling erupted behind her for several seconds, followed by a cacophony of footsteps several meters behind her. Anna walked through the door at the far end of the corridor that led into her room, the bottom of her makeshift dress trailing on the floor behind her.