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

by Patrick Stutzman

  * * * * *

  James spun toward the two nearby cargo walkers. “Michel, get over here.”

  Without delay, Michel climbed out of the walker and jogged up to James as the captain ascended the ramp.

  Reaching the cargo hold, James looked around and saw Paco maintaining one of the sky cycles. His blood boiled, suspecting that the Hispanic man was the one who’d released Anna.

  “Paco!”

  Paco bumped his head on the cycle, dropped the tool in his hand, and sprang to his feet.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Get that bitch back in her room and tie her up! If she gets out again, I’ll kill you after I kill her!”

  Chapter 28

  Paco had finished securing the last of the strips around Anna’s wrists when she groaned. He sighed in relief, and stepped back to give her some space.

  Anna moaned again and opened her eyes. She winced and shut them again. “I’m tied up.”

  He hung his head with regret. “Yes, you are. Sorry.”

  She opened her eyes again and looked around. “Well, at least I’m still dressed.”

  “May I ask you something?” Paco dropped to his knees at her bedside. “Why did you fight back? You can’t win against him. No one can.”

  Anna lolled her head to one side and looked at him for a second. “I probably have brain damage by now. By the way, thanks for bringing my clothes to me.”

  Paco recoiled and shifted his gaze around the room several times before turning back to her. “I didn’t bring you your clothes.”

  Anna’s eyes narrowed. “Then, who did?”

  He shrugged. “The only one I can think of is maybe Michel. He does the laundry whenever he gets the chance.”

  “Remind me to thank him later. Okay?”

  He replied with a simple nod.

  “Hey, Paco. Why doesn’t anyone stand up to the captain?”

  “Like I said, he can’t be beaten. I heard about the last mutiny attempt, before I joined the crew.”

  “Why did you join the crew anyway?”

  Paco flinched. He didn’t want to answer her question. “Later. What I heard about the last attempt is that the captain got wind of the coup, dragged the ring leader out of his quarters in the middle of the night, slit his throat, and threw him out the nearest airlock.”

  “Was everyone sided against him that time?”

  “I don’t think so. From what I heard, they were evenly split.”

  “What about the current crew?”

  Paco’s jaw dropped open. “What are you trying to do? Get us both killed? There is no way that we could pull off a mutiny.”

  Anna rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Answer the question.”

  “I…I don’t think…I…uh.” Paco rose and paced around the room while contemplating her query.

  “Answer the damn question.” Anna’s demand sounded a little louder than before.

  Paco stopped and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “Give me a second. Okay?”

  Anna nodded and gestured for him to sit on the edge of the bed.

  He breathed again after sitting down. “From what I can tell, we’re fairly evenly split. I know that I don’t like him too much, and neither does Michel or Hiraku. Robert will side with the captain. I’m not sure about Ahmad, though.”

  The sudden pounding on the wall outside the room interrupted the conversation, followed by Robert’s voice through the door. “’ey you two! ‘urry up in there! I wanna turn with ‘er!”

  “For the love of God.” Anna whispered. “I can’t. Do something, please.”

  “What? I’m the lowest guy on the totem pole around here.”

  “I don’t know. Think of something, please.” The look of desperation on her face tugged at his heart strings.

  After a few seconds of thought, he jumped up and left the room.

  Robert stood next to the door as it closed. “About time. Now, let me in there.”

  Hiraku, waiting outside with Robert and Michel, held up his hand. “Hold on a sec. Why are you next?”

  Robert glared at Hiraku. “’cause I’m the fuckin’ pilot. I fly your sorry asses all over the bloody galaxy.”

  Hiraku crossed his arms and stiffened his posture. “You haven’t been doing it for the last couple of days. In fact, you haven’t been doing much of anything for the last couple of days.”

  “Bollocks! I’m the one that brought ‘er pretty li’l ass ‘ere in the first place. In fact, if it ‘adn’t been for me, we wouldn’t ‘ave found ‘er in the first place.”

  Hiraku snorted. “One lone human on the entire moon. Doesn’t sound too hard to do. You were probably jacking off while you were watching her before you even called for anyone else.”

  “You git! The cap’n was in there, too.”

  A smirk crossed Hiraku’s face. “Oh, really? I knew you and the cap were close.”

  “Wha’? Oh, fuck you! I ain’t no bloody poofter.”

  “So, now you want to fuck me? I guess that means you gave up your spot in line for Angelina then. I’m next.”

  “Oh, no! You ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

  Robert reeled back and slugged Hiraku across the jaw, sending him stumbling back into Michel.

  “Serves you right.” Robert shook the pain from his knuckles. Before he could do anything else, Hiraku sprang to his feet and dived at him, tackling him against the metal wall.

  As the fist fight ensued, Paco grew tired of their fighting over her. “Nobody is having sex with Angelina tonight!”

  All eyes turned to him, giving Hiraku a chance for one last punch to Robert’s jaw before he diverted his attention to the junior crewman.

  “Why not?” Robert pushed Hiraku off him and launched to his feet.

  Paco paused for a second to find a reason, giving Robert the opportunity to close the gap between them. “Why ain’t we ‘aving our bit o’ fun with Angelina tonight?”

  “Because…she’s on her period.”

  “What?” Michel slapped a hand to his forehead.

  Hiraku moaned, “Oh, man.”

  Robert smiled. “Not my first set of red wings.”

  Michel turned to Robert, a scowl dominating his face. “You, sir, are perverted.”

  Robert smiled back at him. “Thank you!” He returned his attention to Paco. “So, what about you, Mexi-boy! Is your willy a nice, bright scarlet now?”

  Paco twisted his face to show his revulsion. “Oh, god! No! Eww!”

  “Or maybe,” nodded Robert. “Maybe you just want ‘er all to yourself tonight. Is that it, Paco?”

  As Robert jabbed a finger into his chest, Paco replied, “Uh, no.”

  “I think it is. We all know you’re googly-eyed over ‘er. You know wha’ I think? I think you want your night o’ romance with ‘er, while she’s still breathin’.”

  “No, that’s not it.”

  The pilot grabbed a handful of Paco’s hair and knocked his head back against the wall. “Don’t lie to me, boy!”

  “I’m not!”

  “I’m gonna…”

  “Robert!” James walked in from the cargo hold. “Let him go!”

  Robert slapped Paco’s head against the wall as he released his hold, pointed two fingers at his own eyes, then at the younger man. “I’m watchin’ you.”

  James stepped forward to join them. “What is all of this?”

  “Li’l Taco ‘ere says we can’t fuck Angelina tonight.”

  James snapped his gaze toward Paco. “Why not?”

  Paco looked at the floor. “She’s on her period, sir.”

  “Hmmm…” The captain stared off into space for a few seconds. “Well, that would explain her behavior earlier. Sorry, boys. No party tonight.”

  The sounds of complaining and bellyaching from the rest of the crew filled the corridor, until they vacated the area and left Paco alone with the captain standing next to him.

  “Is she really on her period?”

  Paco nodded. “Yes, sir.”

&
nbsp; “Okay, I’ll take your word for it. But, be warned. You’re on everyone’s shit list for now.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Carry on.” James marched into the cargo hold again.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Paco entered Anna’s room and smiled to her.

  She smiled back. “You were brilliant. Quick thinking. Hey, can you untie my hands? This is really uncomfortable.”

  He frowned. “I can’t. I want to. Believe me, I do. But, if the captain finds out, I’m dead.”

  “You’re really scared of him.”

  “Scared?” Paco replied defensively. “No! I’m not…”

  Anna’s skeptical expression gave him pause. “Okay, yeah. Maybe. But, what’s to keep him from turning around and killing me for doing something stupid, or just for breathing when he’s in one of his states?”

  “That’s why you need to band together with the others and stop him. Otherwise, you all could be dead someday.”

  He bowed his head, considering her words carefully, and nodded in agreement.

  * * * * *

  About an hour after Paco had left, Anna sat up and rubbed her jaw. It still felt tender from the captain’s blow earlier, but she knew she would recover. Her wrists didn’t feel as bad this time. Since Paco had not tied them as tight this time, she took the opportunity to squeeze out of her bonds.

  Anna stood and fished the engine part out of her pocket. Looking it over, she recognized it as a fuel igniter, cheap and easy to replace if any spares were around. Its removal would probably just slow the engine down a bit, not prevent the ship from taking off. But judging from the way Engineering looked, she doubted they had any spare parts readily available. If they did, they’d be lucky if they worked.

  Anna dropped the part into the bottom drawer of the dresser and carefully shut it. Taking a deep breath, she sneaked over to the door and looked out into the corridor. Nobody was in sight. The sounds of the men carrying on in the galley provided a little comfort. She ducked back in, hopped onto the bed, and pulled her wristcomp out of her pocket. Praying for a miracle, she activated the screen.

  Everything seemed to operate like before, but she couldn’t be sure exactly what the captain had done while digging around inside it. Can I afford to take a chance with it? I don’t have much choice right now. After a second’s pause, she called Kate.

  A couple of seconds later, a familiar British voice cut through the silence. “Anna?”

  “Kate, it’s me.” The stress weighing on Anna’s mind melted away.

  “Are you all right?”

  Anna answered in hushed, but anxious, tones. “No. I’m being held prisoner. I’ve been repeatedly beaten and raped. Kate, please help get me out of here.”

  “I cannot tell you how far away you are. The sensors are still offline.”

  “We can work around that. I know where you are, and I have an idea on how to get back. But, it may be a few hours before I try. If I can manage to get back, I’ll try to bring the sensors back online.”

  Kate said with enthusiasm, “I would appreciate that. I feel blind.”

  “What about the drones? You should be able to ‘see’ through them.”

  Kate did not respond.

  “Kate, what’s wrong?”

  “Oh, Anna. I am so sorry.”

  Anna’s brows knitted with concern. “What happened to the drones, Kate?”

  “When your captor arrived to rescue his friend, he either damaged or destroyed most of the drones in the process.”

  Anna’s face drained of color. “How many drones were damaged?”

  “I was trying to arrange for your release, and…”

  “How many, Kate?”

  “He managed to free his comrade, and…”

  “How many, Kate?”

  “Eleven. Eleven drones were damaged or destroyed.”

  Anna sat back on the bed in shock, envisioning the clearing around the ship littered with the smoldering wrecks that used to be her workforce, and how she was going to be able to maintain the fields they had worked for her.

  “Anna? Anna, are you there?”

  Kate’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. “Yes, I’m still here, Kate. Did Seventeen survive?”

  A couple of seconds passed before Kate answered. “No. Seventeen was severely damaged during the fight. I do not believe it can be salvaged.”

  Anna reflected on the turn of events for a few seconds more. “Who did it?”

  “The man Ahmad referred to as the captain.”

  James! Her anger swelled as she fit his image into her visualization of the event as it occurred in her head. She pictured him running, diving, and firing at her drones as they converged on his position, taking them down one by one.

  Anna clenched her hand into a fist of trembling rage. “I swear he will pay for this…for everything.”

  “Anna, what are you proposing?”

  Calming down after a few deep breaths, she relayed to Kate what the captain had done to her since her arrival at the pirates’ ship.

  “Oh, Anna! I am so sorry. Why would he do that to you?”

  “I don’t know, nor do I care. I can’t take much more of this. I have to get out of here.”

  “I could send one of the drones, but I do not think it wise to risk losing any more than we already have.”

  “No, I wouldn’t want you to do that anyway.” Anna paused for a second. “In fact, tell the drones to fly to the pyramid and scan it.”

  “Won’t that…”

  Anna interrupted her. “Yes, it will. That’s why I want them to do it.”

  “Anna, if you are thinking of doing what I think you are thinking, please do not.”

  “I’ll be careful. I have an idea. You’re going to have to trust me on this.”

  * * * * *

  A few hours later, Anna emerged from her room into a quiet hallway. The party in the galley had ended an hour before, when the captain had ordered everyone to quarters. To increase her chances of success at her plan, she had to wait for everyone to fall asleep. She counted four of the crewman retiring to their cabins, and Robert and James walked into the cargo hold, presumably to climb to the upper deck and retire in their respective rooms.

  Stepping out quietly in her bare feet, Anna tiptoed to the door leading to the cargo hold. The door whisked open, sounding louder than usual in her ears, and prompted her to cringe and listen for any movement. After none came, she dashed into the hold and wasted no time in rushing to the ladder with as much stealth as she could manage. Surveying the large chamber still open to the brightly-lit clearing outside, several containers remained in the hold to be offloaded, but the area was otherwise mostly clear. The walkway directly above her, as well as the one that stretched back to Engineering, was unoccupied and ready for her to move without obstruction. Anna climbed the ladder and slinked across the catwalks to the aft entryway into Engineering. With one last look around her to make sure the coast was clear, she entered the room.

  The sound of the power core’s constant hum accompanied Anna’s footfalls as she moved toward the engine. She reached the spot where her tour with Ahmad had ended, and threw open the cover to the cabinet where seven fuel igniters remained plugged in. Without a second thought, she pulled the first of the igniters from its socket and stuffed it into her pocket. Even though she knew the crew slept, her heart leaped into her throat and pounded in her ears. The palms of her hands became sweaty, making it more difficult to pull each successive igniter out. Afraid someone would step through the door and catch her, she worked faster and fumbled over her fingers even more, which only heightened her anxiety.

  Finally Anna pulled the last one loose and thrust it into her pocket. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and rushed to the door. Pushing her way through the opening door, she slinked across the catwalk. As she approached the end of the catwalk, her breath caught in her throat as the door leading to the forward part of the ship opened.

  Chapter 29

  R
obert walked through the door wearing a gray tank top and white boxers. Scratching his rear, he appeared groggy and sluggish, but his eyes grew wide when he spotted Anna standing in front of him in the cargo hold.

  As the door shut behind him, he pointed at her. “You can’t be out ‘ere. You’re tied up!”

  Anna’s mind raced for a second, then she said in a low voice, “That’s right, Robert. I am tied up downstairs.”

  He glanced around himself for a couple seconds. “Then,’ow did you get up ‘ere?”

  “I’m not. I’m still tied up downstairs.”

  Robert scratched his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “You’re dreaming, Robert. You’re actually still in bed.”

  “I am?”

  “Yes, Robert. You are.”

  Scratching his head again, Robert thought for a second until a smile formed on his face. “This can’t be a dream. If I was, you’d be naked and playin’ with your jubblies or somethin’.”

  Anna shook her head like a school teacher to her student. “No, Robert. Dreams don’t work that way. It’s your mind telling you something.”

  “What’s it tryin’ to tell me?”

  She smiled. “It’s telling you to go back to bed and sleep for the rest of the night.”

  Robert furrowed his brow. “Go back to bed?”

  Anna nodded.

  “Shouldn’t I shag you or somethin’?”

  Anna shook her head with the corners of her mouth stretching back.

  “Can’t I just…?”

  “To bed, Robert.”

  Slowly, he turned around while rubbing his eyes, and sleepily walked through the door toward his quarters, leaving Anna in disbelief. After the door had shut, she sped to the ladder, slid down its length. She shot for the door leading to her room as soon as she hit the floor, when the upper door opened again. Anna froze.