Alien Slave

by Tracy St. John

  The Tragoom grabbed to secure her, possibly thinking she was trying to escape. At any rate, it didn’t attempt to block her from grabbing its sidearm. The weapon was huge, built for hands much larger than Dani’s, but she wrapped both hands around it. As the Tragoom yanked her upwards, trying to get her back into position over its shoulder, she used the additional momentum to rear up vertical into the air.

  Running on pure instinct, she shoved the blaster into the Tragoom’s face and fired. With an ear-ringing shoo-wup the beast’s head disintegrated. As it collapsed, leaving her to fall too, she twisted and shot the bandoleered Tragoom as well, cutting it down in a pounding crescendo. Then she hit the ground.

  Lips skinned back from her teeth in an unknowing snarl, Dani balled herself into a crouch and fired at the other Tragooms, who shrieked as they dove for cover. After a space of five seconds, they recovered their senses enough to fire back, and she was forced to hug the ground, using the now headless Tragoom as a shield. The air shuddered, and the blasts deafened her. Her arms howled agony at the kick of the blaster that she continued to fire.

  Dani had no illusions about her living through this. All she could do was take as many of the bastards that had killed her clan with her, a hollow victory at best. It sucked that her greatest option lay in dying by blaster fire than being raped to death.

  But I’ll make my boys proud. This is for you, Gelan, Wynhod, and Krijero.

  She grinned through her tears and kept firing.

  * * * *

  Wynhod worried as they dashed through the already trampled foliage that they may fall into an ambush, but he wasn’t about to slow. Dani was alive. Still alive. He had to make sure she remained that way, or if there was no way to get her away from the Tragooms, he must at least deliver her a merciful end.

  The air-trembling report of a percussion blaster being fired made his heart pound fit to burst through his chest. Wynhod exchanged a wide-eyed look with Gelan. They were close, and the Tragooms were fighting amongst themselves again. Now was their best chance of saving Dani.

  They made no attempt to sneak up on the enemy. The Kalquorians traveled at breakneck speed, crashing through underbrush as fast as possible towards the sounds of pitched battle.

  Wynhod’s fangs had fully descended, and his hands were full of blasters. His being screamed for blood, oceans of hot, spurting blood. The killing frenzy was upon him.

  * * * *

  One thing about being under fire; Dani barely noticed the stench of the dead Tragooms she hid behind.

  Percussion blaster shots rained down all around her. A love for vid games back on Earth had served her well. Once she had figured out how to compensate for her blaster’s recoil, she was taking out Tragooms with deadly accuracy. Any conscience she might have possessed about killing other sentient beings before had been swallowed in the desperate fight for survival.

  And I doubt I’ll live to feel guilt later. Or grief.

  A lull in the firing allowed Dani to pop up, squeeze off a few shots, and duck back down before a shrieking squeal let her know she’d at least injured one of the nasty aliens. She thought maybe ten were left. Too many, and they’d eventually overrun her. Dani’s hope wasn’t for survival so much as to take out as many of her clan’s killers as possible. She thought she was doing pretty well on that front.

  Remember the Alamo, she thought crazily.

  She popped up again and had a Tragoom’s big pig head in her sights. She shot and snarled delight when the bastard’s face disappeared. The next instant, pain exploded in her shoulder.

  Dani was too surprised to scream. Warmth cascaded down her arm as blood began to flow. She ducked back down as fire shivered the air overhead.

  The pain from the percussion blaster’s hit was phenomenal, and she blinked back tears and swallowed nausea. God it hurt! But she made herself go over the injury, noting that she’d been more grazed than anything. She made her fingers move. But raising her arm was nearly impossible, and she was bleeding like a bitch.

  She wouldn’t be able to fire the blaster effectively with just one hand. It was too big and heavy for Earther hands.

  “Time to exit the party, Dani.” That made her remember a conversation with her mother. It had been during one of the lucid periods when Dani was young, back when her mother’s good periods still numbered in months rather than hours.

  “You don’t want to be among the last to leave,” Emily had coached her daughter as she readied for a party that Dani’s parents were attending in an official capacity. “Especially if you have social standing. It makes you look unimportant. Always leave while the party is in full swing, as if you have far too many engagements to waste an entire evening on one.”

  “Definitely not going to be the last to leave this one,” Dani confirmed. She wedged the blaster against the dead Tragoom she hid behind, pointing the barrel skyward. She thought she’d be able to fire it fine with one hand from that position.

  She’d gone several seconds since her last barrage on her enemies, cluing the Tragooms in on her injury. They exploded out of surrounding trees, racing towards her but not firing. Dani thought perhaps they were still hoping to take her alive, take the worst revenge on her possible.

  “No lovin’ for you, you fucking pigfaces,” she muttered, resting her chin against the opening of the blaster’s firing tube. “Not with a head attached, anyway. See how hot you find me now.” Her fingers caressed the firing mechanism.

  The Tragooms were closing the distance, almost on top of her when blaster fire erupted from the trees, cutting three down. The Tragooms turned with furious squalling cries and returned fire as Dani jerked her hand away from the blaster.

  Howling like rabid wolves, Gelan and Wynhod burst into the clearing, firing at the Tragooms scattering for cover once more. Dani shrieked disbelieving laughter as the age-old enemies exchanged heavy fire.

  They were alive, and they’d come for her. Damn it, she loved those guys.

  The blurred speed of the howling Kalquorians seemed to be their best defense. The Tragooms simply couldn’t get a bead on Gelan and Wynhod as they dashed here and there, weaving in and out of the surrounding trees. One by one, the Tragooms fell as percussion blasts found their mark.

  One finally realized the weak link of the group, and he charged out of cover at Dani, still crouched between the two Tragooms she’d killed. He didn’t shoot, and she guessed he was looking for a hostage. She struggled to raise her blaster with one hand, but it wobbled wildly in her grip and her two shots went wild.

  The alien was only half a dozen steps away when Krijero staggered out of the woods. He brought the Tragoom down, adding to the pile of bodies around Dani.

  The Imdiko called, “Stay there, Dani. I’m coming.”

  Crouched to avoid the blaster shots ripping through the air around him, Krijero limped towards her. She propped her blaster on the Tragoom carcass in front of her and provided cover fire for him. Halfway across the clearing, his leg went out from under him. He went down hard, face first.

  Dani’s eyes widened with horror as another Tragoom, this one improbably unarmed with a blaster but brandishing a knife, braved the battle to come after Krijero. She screamed.

  “Krijero! Look out!”

  Krijero twisted onto his back in time to hold off the blade flashing down at him. His blaster went flying through the air, and the Tragoom landed on his stomach, trying to stab the Kalquorian. Krijero was holding him off barely, his fangs extended in a fierce grimace of effort.

  Dani frantically aimed her blaster, but the desperate struggle the two combatants were engaged in made it impossible to get a clear shot at the Tragoom. She scrabbled over the corpse in front of her and found the headless Tragoom’s blade. In an instant, she was running towards the fighting pair in a crouch. As she neared them, she unleashed a banshee scream.

  The Tragoom trying to stab Krijero looked up at her approach. Krijero took immediate advantage of its distraction and grabbed the blade from the Tragoom. He
stabbed it, but the knife didn’t penetrate far into the tough hide.

  The Tragoom shrieked in fury and fought Krijero for the blade, getting it back. Krijero held the thing by its wrists as it tried to bring the knife down on him. As he battled for his life, the Imdiko cried, “Its eye, Dani. Stab it in the eye if you can!”

  Dani reached the pair and slashed at the Tragoom’s face. It flung itself back out of reach, and she stood over Krijero to protect him, holding the knife in attack position. With a shrieking squeal, the Tragoom came at her, his blade aiming for her heart.

  The air shivered and a blaster shot rang out, nearly cutting the Tragoom in half. Gelan was suddenly there, his dark face fierce with excitement. “Stay down, both of you!”

  Dani obeyed without hesitation, crouching next to Krijero who dragged her beneath his body, shielding her from the fire as he had before. Wynhod also joined them, facing the opposite direction from Gelan as they continued to fight the much reduced Tragoom force.

  After a few moments, the blasts ended. Dani shuddered against Krijero.

  “We got them!”

  “Now that was a fight. This is the best damned vacation of my life.”

  Krijero barked laughter at his exultant clanmates before pressing his lips to Dani’s hair. “Are you all right, my Dani?”

  “I thought you were dead. I thought they killed you all.” She burst into tears as the terror and grief she’d warded off for so long took hold. Using her one good arm, she clung to the Imdiko with a grip fit to hold him close forever.

  Chapter 19

  They made it to the clan’s shuttle less than an hour from full dark. Dani jumped with surprise when Wynhod deactivated the camouflage field, revealing the clean lines and luster of the oblong-shaped ship. She had to shake her head at her own stupidity. She’d have never found the shuttle on her own.

  Gelan carried her and Wynhod carried Krijero on board. Incredibly grubby and bloody from her adventures, Dani didn’t want to touch the clean interior, all done up in shades of green and tan. There was even a small kitchen with cooking elements and cold storage. At their entrance, a soft glow emanated from the walls to light the interior, and Wynhod’s guttural command made it even brighter.

  “Nice ride,” she said as Gelan settled her on a seat in the main cabin. The area was spacious enough for the entire clan to lounge around, watch a vid, and eat a meal. The surfaces of the seats, tables, and floor were all materials that were easy to clean, she noted. Good thing. Everyone was a bloody, filthy mess from their battle with the Tragooms. Gelan and Wynhod had received their share of scrapes and cuts too.

  “We bought it not too long ago. As much as we like to travel when we get the opportunity, it seemed a reasonable purchase. We might have spent a little too much, but—” Gelan shrugged then straightened and went to a wall where he pushed a button. A panel slid out, revealing a cupboard.

  Was I a reasonable purchase, Dani wondered? Probably not.

  Wynhod lowered Krijero onto a seat next to Dani’s. “Who first?”

  “Dani,” the Imdiko announced firmly. “Open wound trumps busted ankle.”

  “You work on him and I’ll take care of her,” Gelan counter ordered, bringing a first aid kit to the round table anchored to the floor before Dani and Krijero. “She’s only winged, so I think I can handle this.”

  First they dosed both injured parties with pain inhibitors. Then while Wynhod used a hand scanner to determine if Krijero had broken a bone or simply sprained it, Gelan unwound yet another strip of formsuit material from Dani’s shoulder.

  “We sure made a mess of your wardrobes,” she noted, wincing as her wound came into view. The skin looked crispy-fried around the open gash. At least it didn’t hurt anymore.

  Wynhod snorted. “Gelan never picks anything easy to hunt. We go through formsuits faster on vacation than we do at work.”

  “This looks worse than it is,” Gelan noted as he applied a coagulant cream to the gouge on Dani’s shoulder. “No muscles were damaged from what I can tell.”

  “Will it scar?”

  “It might, because I’ll have to cut away the burned dead skin. All we have is flesh sealant to close the wound. Cellular regeneration is definitely beyond first aid. But we can have a doctor on Kalquor remove any scarring.” Gelan glanced over at Wynhod and Krijero. “How is my Imdiko?”

  Wynhod had propped the injured foot on another seat and from Dani’s point of view, seemed to be sliding a sock over it. “No break. A very bad sprain, so I’m putting a cold sleeve over it for the swelling. You’ll have to stay off it for the duration of our return home, Krijero.”

  The Imdiko grumbled under his breath in response.

  Dani averted her eyes while Gelan took off the worst of the damaged skin. Then he sealed the wound and wrapped a proper bandage over it while it set. “That should hold you both until we get to Kalquor. Krijero, you will stay off that leg and not argue about it. Dani, don’t use your arm if you can help it.”

  “What a couple of mother hens,” Dani teased. She nudged Krijero. “I thought you were the Imdiko of this clan.”

  He smirked as the other two men mock-glared at her. “Indeed. They do seem awfully good at nurturing, don’t they?”

  “Keep it up, you two,” Wynhod growled. “I’ll remind you both of my disciplinarian side.”

  Dani sighed. She was safe. She wasn’t hurting. Her men – well, the men she wished were hers – were alive and mostly well. The next thing on her agenda to recovery clamored to be dealt with. “You said you have bathing facilities on this thing.”

  Finished with Krijero, Wynhod stood. “I’ll show you.”

  Gelan was repacking the first aid kit, putting everything neatly away. “Get it set up for her and rejoin us, please.”

  Wynhod glanced at him, his body clearly stating it wanted to help Dani with her shower. But at the look Gelan gave him, he nodded. He helped Dani to her feet and led her to another cabin.

  The grass green of the main cabin deepened to emerald in this room, with accents of maroon. A huge sleeping mat, tall enough to reach above Dani’s knees and wide enough to accommodate the entire clan plus her, took up most of the space. After days of sleeping on the hard ground, cushioned only by fronds, grasses and leaves, it looked like a cloud. Dani wanted to sink into it and sleep for weeks.

  Wynhod ushered her to the large shower. It had more than enough space to hold both of them, and Dani was disappointed Gelan had insisted Wynhod return to the main cabin. She could think of many enticing possibilities the shower presented.

  Wynhod showed her the temperature controls, the cleansing agent dispenser, and how to adjust the spray intensity. Then he left her alone to clean up.

  Dani had a little bit of a hard time washing with her non-dominant left hand, but the warmth of the gently falling water more than made up for that difficulty. She washed her hair, grimacing to find twigs and leaves tangled in it. She lathered the long red

  tresses twice, and then washed herself over and over until the water sluicing off her finally ran clean. Then she simply stood under the spray for awhile, letting it sluice away the tension and fear and pain of the last few days.

  It’s over and we’re safe. And I have this clan for at least the next three years. Yep, life just got a lot better for Ms. Danielle Watson. I’m not going to take it for granted either.

  Dani finally switched the water off and engaged the drying jets. She finger-combed her hair, knowing it was going to turn into a frizzy cloud. Oh well. At least she was clean. A definite improvement.

  She stepped out of the shower stall and looked at that sumptuous bed again. Boy, the fun she hoped to have on that with the three men! Grinning wickedly, she returned to the main cabin.

  The Kalquorians were clustered together, their dark heads bent near one another as they muttered in their staccato language. Dani stared in surprise.

  “We haven’t taken off? I have to tell you guys, I can’t wait to be a million miles away from this plan
et.”

  All three men looked at her. Gelan and Wynhod stood, their faces pleasant but sharp. Krijero looked worried.

  Now what?

  Gelan said, “We’re leaving soon, Dani. We have some business to attend to first.”

  He held out his hand to her. After a worried moment, Dani stepped forward to take it. He drew her close to the clan and nodded to Wynhod. The Nobek held up his handheld, letting her see what was on the screen. She stared at the document displayed. She recognized the language written as Dantovonian, but she’d never learned to read the language.

  Dani looked from the handheld to the men, ending with Gelan. “What’s that?”

  Gelan took a moment before he answered. “Your contract making you our slave.” He pressed a button on the handheld, and the document disappeared.

  Dani stared in confusion. “Okay. Now it’s gone. So what?”

  “We’ve decided to void it. I just destroyed the contract.”

  Wynhod added, “You fought bravely and even put your life at risk to defend Krijero. You’ve earned your freedom, Danielle. You are not our slave any longer.”

  Gelan’s fingers played over the collar they’d put around her neck for an instant, and it dropped away, thunking with a metallic clang to the floor. Dani stared at the open ring, feeling the absence of the weight.

  They’re done with me. I won’t even get to spend the three years with them. Rejected. Thrown aside again. Oh God no. I love them. I want to stay!

  Hurt stabbed into her heart, her gut, her head. Dani fought the tears that sprang to her eyes and the anguished scream building in her throat. She’d let herself hope when she knew better. She’d allowed herself to care. She should have known better. Nobody loved her. She would be forever on her own, with only herself to rely on.

  No. A thousand times no, a small childish voice inside her cried.