Alien Pets

by Trisha McNary

  “I’m a very busy man, so you’ll have to wait till I have time for you,” he said. “I promise it will happen before the ship reaches the Verdante home planet, but it’s good for you to have time to think about me and long for me. And you’ll be in better shape in a few more weeks. So you’ll be more worthy of me than you are now. This will motivate you to exercise harder.”

  Is he trying to use that lame tactic of playing hard to get combined with a small put down to get me to appreciate his obvious superiority and desirability? Antaska wondered. Does he really think I’m that stupid?

  Antaska burned with irritation, but she still didn’t answer Eegor. She tried to look away from him. That was difficult because he was so close and so large. She completed eleven repetitions of her set. Then on the twelfth, Eegor let go of her hands and walked away just when the weight got too heavy to lift.

  With her chest muscles almost spent, Antaska strained to lift the heavy bar on her own. The weight wobbled. Fear that she would drop it on herself broke Antaska out in a sweat. But at last, she placed it back on the supports built into the platform.

  Antaska heaved a big sigh of relief that included relief that Eegor was gone. She knew a confrontation with Tilde was coming, and she found herself actually looking forward to trying out the defensive moves she learned in the virtual game. But as Hide approached, clearly angry and clearly the superior fighter, Antaska knew she didn’t have a chance. Then a new inspiration hit.

  Maybe if I explain to her that I’m not interested in Eegor, we can avoid all this unnecessary violence, Antaska thought.

  Tilde stopped in front of her. Before Tilde had time to lift an arm or leg in preparation to strike, Antaska spoke quickly.

  “I guess you’re upset about the attention your partner has been giving me. I want to reassure you that I’m not at all interested in him. You don’t have to worry about anything happening between us. The next time he asks me to meet him outside of class, I’ll tell him no. I promise,” Antaska told her.

  She up looked hopefully at Tilde. But she was baffled and also frightened to see that her words seemed to have had the opposite of her desired effect.

  “What insult is this?” Tilde shouted. “You are nothing! My partner would never stoop so low as to your height! And you dare to tell me he doesn’t interest your nothingness! These are the lies of a lying snake!”

  Well, that didn’t work, thought Antaska. Her relationship is really messed up, and I need to stay out of it. What was I thinking about even looking at Eegor? He’s nuts. I can’t believe I almost fell for a handsome face and a hunky body.

  Antaska didn’t have time to think much more because Tilde struck out with a punch toward her chest, To the great surprise of both them, Antaska blocked it with an out-thrust arm. Then she lunged to the side to avoid the kick that followed. Tilde landed a furious kick on the back of Antaska’s upper leg. Her legs were still sore from the previous day’s workout, so the kick was quite painful.

  Antaska sunk down to the floor. She grasped her leg and moaned in pain. She looked up at Tilde and saw her smug but fake-looking smile. Then Tilde turned and walked away.

  This time, it didn’t take long for the pain to fade from the kick to Antaska’s leg muscle. As she felt better, she also felt a sense of having won a small victory. She looked across the room and saw that M. Hoyvil was watching. Antaska gave him the thumbs up sign. He made the thumbs up sign back at her with one big green hand.

  Starting that night, as he had promised, M. Hoyvil gave Antaska holograph videos of fighting for her to practice along with.

  The next three weeks passed fast. Antaska settled into the routine of going to gym class, M. Hoyvil’s school classes, and nighttime fighting practice. They made trips with Potat to all six of the viewing lounges on the ship. On the two days of rest each week, they visited M. Hoyvil’s friends, and Antaska spent time with and got to know many of the other Earthling companions.

  As time when on, Antaska and M. Hoyvil began going to the game room, viewing lounges, and other places around the ship in groups with several Verdantes and humans. Antaska was so busy that she would have completely forgot about Eegor if he didn’t still pay her his now unwelcome visits each day in gym class.

  Daily hard workouts made a steady improvement in Antaska’s physical fitness. Fat melted from her body, and her muscles grew much stronger. Her speed and stamina increased, and she learned new fighting moves. Antaska didn’t just feel physically stronger. She noticed that her mind seemed clearer, and she was able to concentrate and focus better than ever before. Emotionally, she felt happier and more relaxed. The super healthy food and intense exercise were starting to make a big difference.

  After about two weeks of practicing in the virtual suits, Antaska was able to beat Chan in every game in the beginning level of the martial arts game. And after she progressed to the medium level, it became harder and harder for Tilde to land blows on her in gym class.

  The something else changed. It seemed like Tilde was getting frustrated and embarrassed because she couldn’t hurt Antaska anymore. Now when Eegor gave Antaska attention, Tilde didn’t come after her. Instead, she started hitting and kicking the other humans in the class. And they didn’t have the fighting skill to avoid her or to fight back.

  Antaska talked to M. Hoyvil about it one day when they were in their quarters after class.

  “I’m relieved that Tilde has stopped bullying me. But I feel upset and guilty because now the other humans in the class are getting hurt.”

  “You’ve become strong, and she’s the kind of person who picks on the weak, but that doesn’t mean you caused her bad behavior,” said M. Hoyvil. “You can’t change her, but maybe you can help the others to learn how to fight back too.”

  “You’re right. I’ll do that,” said Antaska.

  Antaska went into her room. She was only partly relieved by his assurances. Deep down, she believed that she wasn’t completely without guilt. She confessed her feelings to her most impartial and understanding confidante, Potat, as they sat together on the round bed.

  “M. Hoyvil thinks I’m completely innocent. I’m not going to argue with him about that, but I know that’s not true,” she began.

  Potat looked up with ears pointed toward her and opened to their fullest, as if to say, “I’m all ears.”

  “I’m sure that things wouldn’t have got this far if I hadn’t kept staring at Eegor in the dining hall. Once I saw him with Tilde, I should have ignored him, and I should have said something to him in gym class like ‘please stop bothering me.’ But I kept fantasizing about him, and I didn’t do anything to discourage him. Even though I knew he had a partner. I guess that was pretty crummy of me,” Antaska said.

  She looked down at Potat. The little cat expressed her judgment by purring and rubbing her head against Antaska’s hand. Antaska was comforted, but she didn’t really believe that Potat understood her.

  Maybe she understands on some level, she thought hopefully.

  “I knew that I shouldn’t be thinking about him. And I knew that I should discourage him, but it was hard for me to do that. He was the most attractive man I’ve ever seen—almost impossible to resist. I hope I’ve learned something from this. I’d like to say that I’ll never do anything like that again, but I’m afraid that I might. You understand that, don’t you?” Antaska asked as she lifted Potat up into a hug.

  Potat purred loudly. She understood more than Antaska realized. She knew that Antaska, like all humanoids, had flaws, made mistakes, and basically, wasn’t perfect. But luckily, a more intelligent and perfect being—Potat—was close by to look out for her.

  Once again, Potat tried to talk to Antaska telepathically, even though she knew that Antaska would tell herself something like, “Oh, I’m just imagining that a cat is talking to me.”

  “I know you’ll make more mistakes, but I’ll be here to tell you what to do. If only you would listen!” said Potat in an amused and exasperated mental voice.


  As Potat expected, Antaska said, “All this stress is making me imagine things again. Now I’m imagining that you’re saying exactly what I want to hear.”

  She put Potat back down and went to get ready for M. Hoyvil’s next class.

  “So stubborn!” Potat said telepathically.

  But Antaska was pretending not to hear her again.

  Chapter 16

  The next day in gym class, Antaska told the other human students about the training she’d been doing and asked if they wanted to train with her. M. Hoyvil showed Antaska how to set up holo-movies in the gym at night when no one was there so they could practice as a group. Some of the humans joined her in the gym and on trips to the game room, but some declined.

  “That’s too much exercise!” they told her. “The gym class is already bad enough.”

  The students who practiced with Antaska got better at fighting back against Tilde. And as time passed, Tilde’s behavior changed again. She spent more time fighting with the male humans who were best fighters, but her fighting was becoming more playful. Now she looked like she was having fun.

  “What’s up with that?” Antaska asked dark-haired Pablo one night when they were all practicing in the gym. “Tilde seems to be after you more than anyone else now. Is that bothering you?”

  “Nah, it’s OK. I don’t mind,” Pablo answered. “She’s kind of hot.”

  A few of the other humans hooted. Pablo’s face turned red, but Antaska was relieved to hear that.

  But one person was not happy with the changed situation—Eegor. Antaska was giving him the brush off, after she had teased him in the beginning. This had never happened in the hundred years that Eegor had been a fitness trainer. And now Tilde wasn’t just flirting with Verdante men, who Eegor knew weren’t serious about her. She was flirting with the Earthling men in class too. And they looked like they liked it!

  This is not the way things are supposed to work! Eegor thought.

  He stood watching Tilde. She was in close contact with the one of the males in the class. She seemed to be taking a lot more time than she needed to demonstrate the fighting move to that guy. And Eegor knew that move didn’t usually involve so much grabbing and grappling.

  His anger grew in a slow, steady burn. Eegor’s mind turned back to Antaska. He looked over at her. She jumped high in the air and performed an almost perfect kick. Her shiny pink hair flowed enticingly when she jumped up and down. There was something about Antaska that attracted him more than any of the other Earth women had. Especially now that she had become so fit.

  He wanted her, but Antaska was making it clear that she didn’t want him. And in two days, the space ship would land on the Verdante home planet. His chance of getting her would be gone. Eegor’s mood grew dark with a dangerous level of dissatisfaction. His thoughts grew dark too.

  What can I do about this? he asked himself.

  That day in the weightlifting and cardio part of the class, Eegor didn’t go near Antaska. He stayed at the front, while Tilde circulated among the students. Again, Eegor was annoyed by her attention to the males. It was shockingly similar to his own behavior toward Antaska and the other women he had singled out on previous voyages.

  Some of the male Earthling showed signs of obvious nervousness such as trembling, sweating, and stammering when Tilde got close enough to touch them. But Eegor noticed that the human Pablo, much shorter than Tilde but apparently fearless, flirted shamelessly with her. Eegor decided that he was going to do something about this.

  It was time for the second half of the day’s class. Eegor stood at the front and spoke.

  “Today, I’ll introduce you to the form of fighting called wrestling.”

  Tilde looked at him in surprise, but he continued.

  “Usually, we don’t teach this kind of fighting until we’re on the trip between the Verdante home planet and the space station. But I’ve decided that some of you need to learn your lesson sooner.”

  Eegor swept the class with an icy, malevolent glare of his pale gray-green eyes. He included Tilde in his glare, but she didn’t look frightened, only confused. Then Eegor went on.

  “Today, you’ll learn how to escape when you’re pinned down under your opponent. I’ll demonstrate this for you with Tilde.”

  Eegor dropped to the mat on his hands and knees. He lifted one hand to gesture for Tilde to approach. They had given this demonstration many times, and Tilde knew what was expected of her. She knelt down behind Eegor and grasped him around the waist, covering him with the weight of her body.

  “Now,” said Eegor, “I’ll show you how to free yourself from this hold.”

  He thrust a leg out diagonally behind him, bending his knee and planting his foot firmly on the ground. Tilde made her usual next move in the demonstration. She shifted her weight to bear down on the leg Eegor had just moved. But even though their heights were about equal, his heavier weight and superior strength made it easy for him to escape.

  When Eegor’s foot was locked into position, he curled his body down into a crouch, supporting his weight with the planted foot. Then he stood up fast. As he rose, he grabbed Tilde’s arm and flipped her over his back. He tossed her up high in the air and then down to the floor with much more roughness than usual. The human students gasped.

  The powerful throw would have badly hurt or possibly killed any of the Earthlings in the class, but Eegor wasn’t worried about Tilde. She was super strong, and she knew how to land in a way that would cause her the least physical harm. Plus the gym floor was deeply cushioned.

  Tilde’s body hit the floor, and she lay on her back, momentarily unmoving. She looked dazed. Eegor ignored her and addressed the students.

  “OK. You’ve seen how it’s done. First, you’ll practice the escape move without an opponent trapping you. Then you’ll practice escaping from an actual opponent. Now all of you get on your hands and knees and move one leg, then the other, as I’ve shown you.”

  Stunned by the display of extreme fighting, the students, including Antaska, were quick to obey him. They began practicing the move as instructed.

  Antaska practiced the move, but she felt a growing sense of dread. She noticed Eegor circulating ever closer to her—shark-like—through the class. Occasionally, he stopped to correct one of them, but he didn’t touch anyone. At last, her fears were confirmed. Eegor came to a stop next to her. He turned to address the class.

  “Now you’ll team up with another student and practice the move with one person trapping and the other attempting to escape. I’ll team up with this lucky student.”

  Eegor turned to Antaska. “Because you’ve become so advanced in this class, you have the great fortune of getting to practice with me.”

  Antaska had squatted back on bent knees while Eegor was talking. He crouched down behind her and easily shoved her forward into the hands and knees position. Then he lunged over and covered her completely with his much larger body. He supported himself on his own hands and knees.

  Eegor wrapped an arm under Antaska’s body and across her chest. He pulled her toward him while supporting part of his weight by leaning on her.

  “Now, we’ll see if you can escape from me,” he said in a low, menacing tone.

  Antaska stuck her right leg out diagonally behind her. She tried to push up on it since Eegor’s right side was less supported. But she couldn’t budge even a single muscle of his vice-like posture.

  Uselessly, Antaska tried the other leg, then the first one again. She rotated back and forth between legs and picked up speed, but she was imprisoned in the cage of his body.

  Eegor seemed pleased by her discomfort. He laughed softly and unpleasantly into Antaska’s ear, which was disturbing close to his mouth. Panicked thoughts began to race around in circles in her mind.

  I can’t get out of here. I’m trapped. I’ve never practiced anything like this. I don’t know how to get out of this. I’m trapped.

  The thoughts kept coming, Antaska’s heartbeat and breathin
g grew more rapid, and her panic increased. She twisted and squirmed with her whole body trying to escape in any way possible.

  While Antaska struggled, Eegor was thinking too. But his thoughts were quite different than hers.

  I like this. It’s kind of fun. I could do this more often, and similar thoughts circled through his mind.

  In the midst of his enjoyment of Antaska’s fear and useless squirming against him, Eegor looked over to the front of the class to see if Tilde was watching. But instead of looking his way, her attention was on one of the male humans. She still sat on the floor, and instead of exercising as instructed, Pablo was sitting next to her. He was talking to her while the rest of the class practiced the escape move.

  Cold rage flooded Eegor as he kept his firm grip on Antaska. His dominance of her suddenly lost its playfulness. Her continuous, futile movements directed his attention back to her, but now he considered her in a much darker light. For almost a month, he had given her the benefit of his attention, but she had never responded like the others.

  Antaska’s distant, uninterested attitude had seemed like an exciting challenge. By now, she should be warming up to him and showing her desire. Instead, she was showing an insulting lack of interest by fighting furiously to get away from him. It was like she was repelled by his very touch. All the resentment Eegor had just felt toward Tilde and Pablo shifted to Antaska.

  As if she sensed Eegor’s hostility, Antaska’s desperation to escape from him increased, but her efforts were useless. He tightened the arm that clasped her around the chest. He squeezed hard with powerful arm muscles, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  Antaska panicked and tried to scream, but her lack of air only let out a low, squeaky “help!” The sound was muffled by her position underneath Eegor’s large body.