by Hope Hart
Ivy jumps in front of Zoey, eyes wild, and I help Zoey to her feet. She flicks a glance at me and nods, and we watch as one of the Voildi reaches out to casually backhand Ivy.
She’s faster this time, smoothly ducking under his arm and punching him in the face. His friends burst out laughing, and he reddens as he cups his nose.
If my mouth wasn’t married to my gag, I’d smile.
He steps forward, and Ivy raises her fists. I wince. We’re hopelessly outnumbered and guaranteed to lose a brawl with these assholes.
“Jasit,” a voice says, warning clear in the tone, and all the Voildi turn. This is obviously their leader, and I glare at him as he examines us with dead eyes.
“Where are the rest?” he asks.
“The Braxians showed up,” the Voildi who carried Ivy says. “They killed the hunters from Atar’s pack.”
The Voildi nods, still examining us.
“Are you sure we can’t eat them?” Jasit asks, and Dead Eyes smiles.
“I have plans for them,” he says. “Meat can be found anywhere on this planet. But females are a precious commodity.”
I feel like I should be celebrating the fact that I’m not going to be eaten, but I’m too tired. And truthfully, anyone who would buy people from the Voildi is probably going to make us wish we were dead anyway.
Dead Eyes glances back at us and gestures to the cave entrance. “Walk.”
Ivy has obviously gotten ahold of herself because she leads the way, and we sandwich Zoey between us. No part of me wants to walk into this cave, but if we’re going to escape, we need to wait for the right moment.
We’re in a dimly lit passageway, although there are a few torches flickering in place against the rocky walls. I stumble over something—either a bone or a white rock—and barely prevent myself from slamming into Zoey’s back. The passageway smells like rot and decay, and I can also scent some sort of meat cooking.
While I’m ravenous, the smell turns my stomach after the recent discussions about our edibility.
After a couple of minutes, the passage opens up further, and we no longer need to walk single file. Then it opens into a large space, where more Voildi are huddled around a fire. My eyes widen as I take in a couple of obviously female Voildi, a few of them holding children to their breasts.
Somehow I imagined that these monsters sprang from the ground fully formed. I turn as Dead Eyes steps into the cave, and then I’m cursing as one of the Voildi unties my gag and rips it from my mouth.
Dead Eyes gestures to a Voildi who’s missing an ear, and he offers me a waterskin.
My throat and mouth are like the desert, but I hesitate, and Dead Eyes gives me another chilling smile.
“We want you alive,” he says, still smiling. “So drink, or we will pour it down your throat.”
I drink.
The water tastes nasty, but it’s all we’ve got. I turn to see if I need to save some for Ivy and Zoey, but they’re gulping down water as well. I guzzle until it’s all gone, then grimace as I realize I’ve probably drunk it too fast.
Dead Eyes points to a corner, far from the fire, and we move toward the thin furs. Obviously this is where we’re bedding down for the night. And now that we’re surrounded by so many Voildi, we won’t be escaping.
I meet Ivy’s eyes, and she nods, reading my mind. We sit down with our backs against the wall, and one of the women hands us each a plate. I poke at the food, still nauseated at the discovery that we’ve been taken by cannibals, but Ivy bravely tastes it first.
“It’s fish,” she murmurs, and I shove a bite in my mouth, desperate for food.
It’s surprisingly tender and tastes fresh, and I finish my plate within minutes. The Voildi mostly ignore us as they bed down, but my heart sinks as I realize they’re all sleeping in the same area.
Ivy leans her head back against the wall and gestures for us to do the same.
“We’re not getting out of here tonight,” she says. “But that’s okay. We’re not in good condition, and we need sleep anyway.”
I nod. “If they’ve got plans, they might move us.”
“Or they could bring those plans to us,” Zoey murmurs.
Ivy shakes her head. “This looks temporary. Look, those guys are arguing over blankets, and it’s clear that this camp has been hastily set up.”
“So what do we do?”
Ivy sighs, and I glance at her as her mouth twists.
“I was a dumbass and showed them I could fight. Now they’re going to watch me more closely. They know Zoey’s injured, and they’ve already discounted you as a thin weakling,” she says, rolling her eyes at me.
In spite of the situation, I almost grin. Ballet dancers? We’re tough. We put our bodies through hell. I’ve taped broken toes together and danced en pointe. I’ve rehearsed all day, six days a week, for years. I’ve torn ligaments and danced through a stress fracture.
Thin? Sure. A weakling? Nope.
Ivy clamps her mouth shut for a moment when one of the Voildi comes close. Then she lowers her voice even further, barely moving her lips.
“We need to be realistic. We’re outnumbered. By a lot. Chances are, we’re not all making it out of here together.”
Zoey lets out a choked sob, and I reach over and grab her hand.
“We can’t split up,” I say.
Ivy narrows her eyes at me. “We do whatever is best for all of us. If even one of us can get away, we can get help for the others.”
I glance away, unconvinced. I really need to put on my big girl panties, but I’m not sure which thought is worse—leaving the other two women behind or being left behind myself.
The rest of the night is quiet. Eventually most of the Voildi fall asleep, but there are guards left near the entrance, and I’m sure they’re also posted outside. We take turns staying awake to keep an eye out for threats and any chances to escape. When it’s my turn to rest, I sleep like the dead until Zoey shakes my shoulder, and I jolt awake.
It wasn’t a nightmare. We’re still here on a strange planet after we were abducted from our beds.
When the Arcav invaded, all the females on Earth had to give blood samples to see if we were compatible to be mates. We lost four women from our dance company, and I heaved a sigh of relief when I wasn’t a match.
All the work I put in—the thousands of hours of rehearsals, the injuries, the sacrifices—it was worth it. I kept dancing even when the world seemed to fall apart and people fled the cities in droves. When they gradually returned, I was ready.
I made it. After years of toil in the corps, I was a principal dancer. In fact, I was about to dance the role of Odette in Swan Lake for the fifth time. Those thirty-two fouetté turns were mine.
And it was all stolen from me.
“Beth, are you awake?” Zoey’s voice is a hoarse whisper.
“Yeah. How are you feeling?”
Zoey doesn’t look much better than she did earlier. Her face has a tiny bit more color, but she’s sitting hunched over as if she’s protecting her side. “I’m all right.”
We’re silent as we watch the Voildi. It seems as if Ivy was right and this cave is just a pit stop. I’m already jumping out of my skin, itching with the need to feel fresh air on my face.
A Voildi approaches and hands us a waterskin to share but no food. A few minutes later, another one walks past, and I can’t resist. I thrust out my leg, and he trips over my ankle, falling to his knees.
All three of us snigger as he face-plants, his forehead hitting the dirt floor of the cave with a dull thump.
“Whoops,” I say as he makes it to his feet, turning on me with bared teeth. “My bad.”
Dead Eyes appears, and everyone goes silent. While the smile is no longer lingering around his mouth, the look on his face is just as scary.
“We may want you alive, but that doesn’t mean you need to be healthy,” he says softly.
“It was an accident,” I say sweetly even as I shiver at his tone. “I needed t
o stretch.”
He stares at me for a moment longer and then gestures to another one of his men. The Voildi orders us to our feet, and we file out of the cave with the rest of the group.
It’s a clear day, and while it’s chilly, I take a moment to appreciate the sun on my skin.
“I need the bathroom,” Ivy announces loudly, and the Voildi closest to us look at each other in confusion.
She sighs. “I need to piss.” She crosses her legs and bounces in place for a moment, and they finally seem to get it, one of them snorting.
“Killis?” he asks, and Dead Eyes approaches. At least I know his name now. Why am I not surprised that it has the word kill in it?
The shorter Voildi turns to him, muttering a few words. Killis doesn’t look pleased, but he points to three Voildi, who lead Ivy into the forest.
Three Voildi for one human. Seems like overkill, but Ivy has already proven that she’s not to be messed with. They’re back a few moments later, and Ivy meets my eyes with a slight shake of her head.
Shit.
We’re surrounded by Voildi as we start walking. A few hours later, Ivy tilts her head at me.
“I can’t,” I mutter.
“You have to. You’re our only hope.”
If I’m our only hope, we’re all screwed.
I glance at Zoey. She’s not doing well at all. One of the Voildi is carrying her after she collapsed, unable to walk any further.
I wait until the Voildi close to us start talking about a tribe they’re planning to invade. I hope the tribe manages to kill them all.
“I’m not really the hero type,” I mutter. “I’m more decorative.”
Ivy grins at me, and then her face hardens. “Buck up, champ. You’re on.”
I sigh, sway dizzily, and drop to my knees.
“Get up,” one of the Voildi orders, swinging his leg back. I get to my feet, stumbling. The last thing I want is to be injured the way Zoey is.
I trip over a branch and hit the ground again, and one of the Voildi picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder with a curse.
Excellent.
We travel like this for what must be close to an hour while I summon my courage. And then I squirm.
“I need to pee,” I say, my voice weak.
The Voildi lets out a low growl but mutters to his friends, “We will catch up.”
Fear hits me like a truck, and as he turns, I raise my head, catching one last glimpse of Zoey’s pale face and Ivy’s bloodless lips as she gives me a nod.
I’ve only got one shot at this. Fail, and we’re all screwed. Oh, and they may just decide I’m more trouble than I’m worth and eat me after all.
Once again, I’m dumped on my ass as the Voildi steps behind a tree.
The others move away, and I take my time fumbling with the thin cord of my pajama shorts, pretending as if it’s difficult to untie.
“Hurry up,” the Voildi says.
“I can’t go with you watching.” My voice trembles, and my hands shake.
He narrows his eyes at me, glances around, and then looks me up and down. I hunch my shoulders, glancing away.
I’m just a weak, skinny female. I’m not a threat to you.
Finally, after a long, fraught moment, he turns his back.
My eyes dart, but I don’t have time to be picky as I reach for a large branch. This will have to do.
I take three big steps and swing the branch like my life depends on it.
Because it does.
Chapter Three
Beth
CRACK.
The first blow stuns the Voildi, who falls to his knees, disorientated. He opens his mouth to call out, and I slam the branch into his face again.
Blood flies, and I dart back as he attempts to get to his knees, reaching for me.
I hit him again and again until finally he’s either unconscious or dead, and I’m panting, bile rising.
I wipe my hand over my face, gagging when it comes away red from blood splatter.
We’ve been too long. The other Voildi are going to come looking for him at any moment.
I whirl. We came from that gap between the trees, which means I need to go in the opposite direction.
I drop the branch, tuck my chin close to my chest, and run like hell.
Branches and rocks cut my feet, but I block out the pain, focusing on putting as much distance as I can between myself and the Voildi. I scan my surroundings, mentally discarding hiding places. They’ll find me for sure. I’m making too much noise as I crash through the forest, the long, finger-like branches of the trees whipping me in the face as I run. But it can’t be helped.
Roars sound from behind me, and I pick up the pace, leaping over a fallen tree. The Voildi are fast, and they’ll be on me within minutes if I can’t find somewhere to hide.
Up a tree?
I glance up, panting, my breath almost a sob. These trees are like none I’ve ever seen before, their trunks smooth and white with barely any leaves. The Voildi will see me for sure.
I jump another log, crying out at the pain in my foot as I step on something sharp. And then I freeze.
What’s that noise?
I attempt to tune out the sound of the Voildi as they get closer and focus instead on the thundering sound to my right.
Please, God, tell me that’s a waterfall.
I sprint toward the sound, darting through trees until I see it.
It’s about thirty feet high, the water crashing into a pool that flows into a wide river. I glance over my shoulder as the voices get closer, and I tremble as I switch my attention back to the waterfall.
If I jump, I could hit a rock. The water might not be deep enough, and my body could go splat like a pancake. I could get trapped against a rock, and if the water is too cold, hypothermia is a real possibility.
But I’m our only chance.
“You!”
The Voildi make my choice for me, and I back up a couple of steps, take a deep breath, and leap from the cliff, aiming away from the rocks.
I almost scream as the water rushes toward me, but then I’m under, thankfully still alive. I gasp in reflex, inhaling cold water as it engulfs me. Terror shoots through my body as I fight my way to the surface, and then I break free, coughing and spluttering as I clear my lungs.
I don’t have time to celebrate. If the Voildi follow me, I’m dead. I don’t look up. I take another deep breath, ignoring the urge to cough, and dunk underwater, swimming toward the slight drop into the river below.
I wince as my knees scrape rocks, and then I’m over and in the river, coughing water from my lungs as I’m swept away.
In places, my feet brush the ground, and I could probably stand, but I let the water carry me far from the Voildi. Unless they jump in, they won’t be able to catch up now.
I try not to think about any alien animals that could be making this river their home. If I do, the urge to swim to the shore is almost overwhelming, and I need to get further away.
A bird calls above my head, and then there’s nothing but the roar of the water as I pull my knees to my chest and let the river take me far away.
It’s cold. Cold enough that I probably don’t have long before hypothermia sets in. I’ll need to get onto land soon and dry off. The sun is out, hidden behind clouds in the turquoise sky. If I can dry off before it gets dark, I’ll be okay.
When I was a kid, Dad took me camping. After I was born, Mom couldn’t have any more kids, so I was somewhat of a tomboy when I wasn’t dancing.
“Respect the wild,” he’d say, “or face the consequences.”
I’m shivering uncontrollably, so I begin looking for an exit point. I can stand, so I wade toward the bank. Pretty purple wildflowers are growing along the side of the river, next to bright-red mushrooms that I avoid as I haul myself out of the water. With my luck, they’re probably poisonous.
My shivering increases as the air hits my wet skin, and my stomach howls. I’m starving.
I look around, searching for some kind of path or even a sign to show me which way to go. But there’s nothing. For one long moment, loneliness crashes through me, hitting me like a truck. I can’t give in to it. If I let myself brood, I’ll curl up by the wildflowers and never get up.
The trees are different in this part of the forest. While the other trees were white with long, creepy branches that swept the forest floor, these are more similar to the trees found on Earth. The problem? The branches are so thick, with so many leaves, that they’re currently blocking out the sun.
My teeth are chattering as I trudge through the forest, moving away from the river. I have no real plan except to find someone, anyone, who can help me rescue Ivy and Zoey and locate the other human women.
The bugs find me delicious, and I’m constantly slapping them away as I pick up the pace. I have to get to some form of civilization before dark, or I’m in big trouble.
Time passes. I don’t know how much time, but my mouth is once again dry, and my hands are shaking. My steps are getting smaller and closer together, and my feet are bloody and bruised as I stumble over sticks and rocks.
Eventually I see signs of civilization. Not a town or anything. That would be too easy. But I find a trail and almost drop to my knees in relief. If I just follow the trail, maybe it’ll lead me to someone. Anyone.
I pick up my speed, hope driving me forward.
SLAM.
I scream. My body goes one way while my leg stays in place, and I fall to the ground as my calf is engulfed in agony. The pain is horrific, and I almost black out as I raise my head enough to look down.
My leg is caught in some kind of trap. Likely it’s for a wild animal. And I bet the locals know how to avoid this type of trap. It’s metal, with sharp spikes that remind me of a bear trap, only much nastier.
I take a deep breath and reach for the claws of the trap, attempting to open them.
I’d have more luck opening a portal back to Earth.
My blood is dripping onto the forest floor, and black dots dance in front of my eyes. My hands shake, and I gag as I realize the metal prongs have dug deep through the skin and muscle of my calf.
