by KD Jones
He made his way down the tree and once he reached the ground he knew the males would come back to their meeting point, then they made to go on their next round and he moved to get a little closer. He ran quietly and swiftly through the jungle making sure to use the large trees to camouflage his body. Right before he reached the clearing he found another tree that he could climb.
Climbing up to a good enough height in the new tree, he kept his body on the backside of the tree and peered out. Males were jogging by in formation. There had to be at least twenty of thirty of them. To the right other males were training but for what? A male stood on a platform observing the warriors. That male drew his attention more than any other. He had a shaved head, wore a uniform unfamiliar to him from that distance. It was the male’s stance, commanding and exuding power that made CristOF come to the conclusion that this was the leader of this group. He wished he could see the male’s face clearly.
Examining the scene once more, he finally understood what he was looking at. This was a training camp for the rebels. The boldness of these males to train right there on Kiljor infuriated him. How could they betray their own people in such a way? They had no fear of being found guilty of treason or of banishment. He might not always agree with his commanders, but he respected their efforts and trusted that their decisions were in the best interest of the Kiljorn people.
He should make his way back to the shuttle and report what he’d found. There were too many warriors on that island for him or his team to take on alone. He would have to get back to his shuttle and call Commander TylOR to send more warriors. Just was he was about to climb down, shouting from the training camp caught his attention. He moved to get a better look and frowned at the sight of two men bringing a struggling person toward the leader.
The captive had a sack over their head, but he could tell the person was smaller than the males around them. The rebel leader jumped down from his platform and approached the captive. The leader’s back was facing CristOF, but he could see the prisoner and the warriors holding them. The leader reached a hand out and jerked the sack off of the captive with a flourish, tossing it to the ground.
Recognition made CristOF gasp and almost lose his balance. “Tera.”
Chapter 9
Tera had awoken on the floor of a shuttle. She tried to sit up, but found her hands had been tied to the bottom bars of a nearby seat. The assholes hadn’t even laid her in one of the seats, but kept her on the dirty floor. She was careful not to give away that she was awake, remaining still and quiet so that she could listen to her captors. She needed to know who they were and what they wanted from her.
“We should have tortured our answers from the girl and then killed her and left her behind in the prime city,” the man on the left, who was piloting the shuttle, said.
That sent shivers of fear down her body. How could they talk so casually of killing someone who’d never done them any harm?
The man on the right responded, grunting his words. “It would have been far easier, I agree. However, Leader LazarUS sent orders for us to bring him the girl. If we had left the body in the Kiljorn city it would have given away the rebel activity in the city, and we can’t let KadEN and his people know what we’re doing before we are ready.”
“I hate this. We should just attack the prime city now. KadEN is vulnerable with his mate breeding their second young.”
“Soon, but not until LazarUS gives us the go-ahead. There are others that also depend on us coordinating our attacks properly.”
Tera reeled with the news that these men were part of the rebels she had heard about; those who didn’t want humans and Katierans or Kiljorns to mix. She had thought that the rebel situation had been handled, squashed out. Was this the mission CristOF was on? Was he even now trying to find out if the rebels were working against his people? It was horrible to have their people divided against one another, but the humans weren’t to blame.
She tried to undo the ties on her wrists, but they were too tight. Maybe she could continue to fake unconsciousness, and at the right moment…
“The girl is awake. Make sure her bindings are secure as I land the shuttle.”
Damn it! How did they know she was awake? She opened her eyes just as the man to the right stood up. He reached for her bindings, and she kicked out at him, hitting him in the stomach and making him fall backwards with a grunt. It wasn’t the smartest thing she had ever done but she was scared and couldn’t think clearly. She struggled, trying desperately to get her wrists loose but only making them bleed instead.
Infuriated, the man moved to lie on top of her and pressed her arms back behind her head. He took her wrists, untied the bindings from the bar and held her with one hand. She struggled under his weight and tried to thrust him off of her. That only seemed to excite him in a way that filled her with dread. He lowered his other hand to her breast and gave it a squeeze.
“I like my females feisty,” he growled out.
She spit at him and he let go of her breast to slap her face hard. The pain and the action stunned Tera. For five years she had lived among a people who valued women and children above all else. They had laws about harming women and children. This was the first time she had met a man here who was brutal and so filled with hatred for her that he would forgo all his people’s values.
.“Get off the female. We don’t have time for play. The leader wants to question her personally. I’m sure if there’s anything left of her, he will share her with the rest of us.”
Tera felt sick with terror at the thought of how their leader would ‘share’ her with them. Exactly how many of them were there, anyway? She wished she could warn CristOF about the rebels somehow. Did they suspect that he was heading in their direction? Was he walking into a trap?
The man got off of her and yanked on her bindings to make her stand just as the shuttle settled on the ground. She lost her balance and fell into the man holding her, and he shoved an elbow into her stomach to make her move back. She glared at him, picturing them standing on the edge of a steep cliff and shoving his ass off of it. It shocked her that she could have such violent thoughts about another person, but this asshole and his partner deserved it. She would gladly shove both of them off that cliff.
The shuttle door opened and lowered to the ground, creating a ramp. The pilot exited first, and then the man holding her bindings shoved her to move forward ahead of him. She stumbled once before finding her balance. It was dark out. The moon, which the people around her referred to as the Luna, shone brightly before night clouds quickly covered it up. It gave the atmosphere a spooky feeling.
She heard water lapping the surface of a beach nearby and birds chirping as they flew overhead. Glancing around, she decided their location seemed to be an island, but she didn’t know how big it was or where it was. Was it on Kiljor, or had they managed to take her off the planet to another location?
Tera took in everything around her. The shuttle had landed on a beach where there were at least four or five more shuttles already parked. Big men stood guard watching the shoreline, and the look they gave her made her shiver. She could hear the birds, but couldn’t see them. It was too dark. As they walked on a sandy pathway toward the trees, she tripped over a large rock that she hadn’t been able to see. Of course, these guys had better eyesight than she did. All Katierans and Kiljorns had better senses than humans.
Soon the pathway opened up to a large clearing. There were wooden buildings scattered around, and more men marched past, wearing matching uniforms. It was like watching a small army training for battle. There was no way could CristOF take on so many on his own. She actually hoped he was nowhere nearby.
The further into the clearing she went, the more she realized that she would not walk out of this alive. No one knew she was missing, and they wouldn’t be looking for her at least another day or two. Prima Lindsey had told her to take a few days off while she and KadEN met with the construction crew to go over new security ideas. There was n
o way she would be able to escape on her own, even if she could get her hands on a shuttle. She didn’t know how to operate it, and she didn’t even know whether she was still on Kiljor.
Men walking past stopped to gawk at her. One of her captors gave a growl of frustration and put a sack over her head, keeping her from seeing anything at all. Her captors yanked her forward, pulling her between them. She hated that she couldn’t see where they were going. Maybe they were taking her to a cliff to push her off.
A few minutes later they stopped. She stood there impatiently, feeling scared and out of breath. Then the next moment the sack was ripped off her head and she blinked. There was better lighting from floating lanterns in the open area, and she found herself facing an angry-looking man.
The tall, bald-headed man stood in front of her, taking in her appearance with disgust. She pulled her shoulders back despite knowing she probably looked like hell. She was determined not to let him intimidate her.
“Who the hell are you, and why did you bring me here?” she demanded.
The man snorted. “You are in no position to demand answers. What do they call you?”
She held her head up and kept her mouth shut, staring him in the eyes. There was no way she would answer him willingly. She didn’t know anything, but maybe if they thought she did, they might keep her alive a little while longer. Then again, if they were going to kill her anyway, wouldn’t it be better to have it over with sooner than to be tortured a long time first?
“I can come up with a name for you, female. ‘Bitch’ is one of your words, isn’t it? You know the tracker CristOF. You were seen with him, kissing him. Did he tell you where he was going?”
She said nothing, just glared at him.
“Did he mention a mission for KadEN?”
Again, she said nothing.
“You’re a stubborn female. I know what to do to get a warrior to talk; a small female like you won’t be able to hold up. Of course, I can really enjoy myself with you in ways I wouldn’t with a male,” the leader said as he ran a finger down her cheek.
She would have spit on him like she had the other guy, but her captors expected that and jerked her back. Tera really hated these guys. She’d never felt such hate for anyone before.
“What do you want us to do with her?”
“Take her to our holding facility for now. When I’m ready I will send for her to be taken to my cabin. I need to speak with our new recruits first, to make sure they understand their position.” The leader gave her one more calculating look before he turned and walked away.
Tera was dragged away toward the opposite side of the compound. “Where are you taking me?”
One of the men stayed silent, but the other saw no reason not to answer her. He must not believe she would live through this experience.
“We have several cabins set up to hold prisoners or less cooperative recruits. A few hours in there and you’ll be ready to talk.”
What did he mean by ‘less cooperative recruits’? She wanted to ask him, but just then they came to a halt at one cabin. They opened the door and dragged her inside.
It was dark, and the smell of the place hit her hard and made her gag. It was filthy, with urine, feces, vomit, and something else she couldn’t quite identify and didn’t really want to. She was dragged to the back of the cabin, passing by other men who were tied up to posts. The posts ran from the floor to the roof of the cabin. Thick ropes were hooked into the top of each post. The ropes were only long enough to allow the prisoner to sit or stand. One man’s rope was pulled tight, keeping him in a standing position and almost suspended.
My God, that must be extremely painful.
She took in the state of the prisoners. There were about five of them: two on one side of the cabin, and three on the other. She was taken to the very back of the cabin, where there was an empty post on the left side. Her captors tied her to the post so that she could sit or stand, but that was as far as she could move. She watched her captors leave before she started to work at the ropes.
“Don’t bother,” a voice said from across from her.
It was so dark that she couldn’t make out the man’s face, but he sounded old and weary. “Am I supposed to just sit here and wait to be tortured?”
“Pretty much. The rope is reinforced, so only a sharp blade or a blaster can break through it.”
“Damn.” She had hoped maybe she could get loose and escape. She needed information, though. “I’m Tera. Who are you?”
“My name is RedENkalachu.” He spoke with a broken accent.
“Wow, that’s...a long name. Can I call you Red?”
“Sure. It’s not like I’ll be around much longer to care either way.”
He sounded resigned to his fate. She wasn’t, not yet. “How long have you been here?”
“The males from my village were brought here a few months ago from the mining colony we lived on. I’ve been in this cabin most of that time. I understand now that this is where I will die.”
He’s been a captive for two months? Why didn’t they just kill him? She couldn’t imagine how horrible being imprisoned here was. She had only been here a few minutes, and she was itching. “Why are they holding you like this?”
“I and some of my fellow village elders did not believe in what these traitors are doing. They took the males of my village to train them to fight against the Kiljorn ruling family. They want to attack human females and kill them to send a message to the Katieran Nation that the females are not wanted here. Attacking the Prime Leader and females goes against our beliefs. They brought us here to the cabin to torture and kill slowly, to teach the younger ones a lesson. Either they fall in line or they suffer the same fate. You are one of the females from Earth?”
“Yes.”
“How did they get their hands on you? You should have been protected by the Katieran and Kiljorn warriors.”
“They think I know something, but I don’t.”
“From what the rebel leader says, he doesn’t think females from your planet hold any value.”
That stung to hear, but she ignored it. “I don’t think much of him, either.”
“What do they think you know?”
She bit her lip, wondering if she should say more. Could this man be there just to get information from her?
As if he could read her mind, he answered, “I would never repeat what you say. My son was killed right in front of me to break me. I have no love for those males. The Goddess will make them all answer for what they have done. I hold no ill will toward you or others like you.”
She looked at the other males in the cabin. They seemed to be sleeping. She took a deep breath. “A couple of days ago I met this man, CristOF. He had been called to Kiljor for a mission. I spent a little time with him, and then he left. I don’t know where he went or what his mission was, but these guys seem to think I do.”
“Did you fall in love with the male?”
She didn’t know why that was important, but she answered him anyway. “I was beginning to...yes.”
“If they find out you have feelings for the male, they could use you to get him to betray his people. Tell them what you can, since you know nothing. They may take pity on you and end your life quickly.”
With that sad and wise advice, she knew she would die here having never had a chance to tell CristOF how much it meant to spend time with him. He would never know that she was starting to fall in love with him; she refused to allow the rebels to use her to manipulate CristOF. He was an honorable man and deserved better.
Chapter 10
CristOF followed the two males as they dragged a kicking, screaming Tera toward the other side of the camp. Every scream was like a knife in his gut, but he had to remain calm and steady so that he could get her free.
He could smell the cabin of death before he got there, and growled in fury realizing they were dragging his Tera inside—and they weren’t being gentle about it. Those males would die by his hands for da
ring to treat his female in such a manner. He didn’t question calling Tera his female; that would be something he would address at a later time. She was his priority right now.
He waited in the shadows at the base of the trees nearest to the buildings, watching until the males appeared again, without Tera. The males walked off toward the training area on the opposite side of the camp. He examined the outside of the building trying to detect any kind of security system. Nothing. Why would they have no way of detecting intruders except for a few warriors that patrolled the inner sanctum of the camp? He watched and waited, getting the routine of the patrolling warriors.
Feeling more secure, he approached the wired fencing, which was about five feet tall. He jumped it easily and landed silently. He was good at that: moving as silently as the night. Moving to the back of the nearest building, he used all his senses to move, wait, breathe, hold his breath and then move again. All the time, he paid close attention to the sounds of nature and the camp around him.
He was one building away from where Tera was being held. If he used the front entrance, he would be too easily spotted. The cabins he passed by were built with thick, sturdy wood for the walls. However, the roof looked weak, and there was no telling how substantial the wood was under the straw thatch. He needed to be careful with his weight or he could fall through.
Once he finally made it to the back of the cabin where Tera was being held, he looked for a tree with an overhanging limb that reached over the rooftop. He leaned the side of his head against the outside wall and was able to discern two voices inside, one female and one male. He couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying, but the note of fear in Tera’s voice pulled at his heart. Had they injured her as well as frightened her? A low growl passed his lips. His female was scared and possibly hurt. That was truly unacceptable.
Going to the nearby tree, he climbed up and straddled the limb that went over the rooftop. Only then did he question whether the limb would be able to hold his weight, but was too late to change his actions now. Reaching inside his coat he pulled out a rope—one of many supplies that he’d brought with him. He tied one end of the rope to the limb of the tree and lowered himself to the roof, careful to stand on the wooden support beams and not the thatch.
