by Opal Carew
“Look, I can reach the lip just fine. So I’ll hang on and you’ll have to crawl up on my shoulders and get to the edge that way.”
It was extremely awkward and embarrassing—especially since I knew he could see in the dark and I was pretty sure I had lost all of my modesty patches in the icy water. But I was so ready to get out at that point, I didn’t even complain. I just climbed up, using his big body as a ladder and finally found the edge of that awful, dark pool.
I dragged myself out and then collapsed in a heap, all my energy spent. To my side, I heard a deep, effortful grunt. Though I couldn’t see it, I imagined Sarden pulling himself up with those impressive, muscular arms, his broad shoulders and tight abs working with the effort. Then he was beside me, breathing deeply in the darkness.
I lay on my side, shivering and gasping with the angry nib-nibs still chattering in my hair. I felt woozy and ill. Half-drowned and almost completely frozen. I couldn’t feel my arms or my legs anymore at all.
All I could think was that back home in Tampa, I had always wished I had enough money to go visit other countries. I wanted to backpack through Europe and hike the Himalayas and explore the Far East and have all kinds of exotic adventures—at least I thought I did. Now that I had been abducted by aliens and was actually living the dream I realized something.
Adventures suck. They really do.
“You okay?” I heard Sarden ask.
“Yes,” I wanted to say but somehow nothing came out. The cold started leaving my body and I felt toasty warm instead.
“Zoe?” he said again and I thought he sounded concerned. “Sweetheart? Talk to me!”
I wanted to but somehow I just couldn’t. My mouth didn’t want to work—nothing wanted to work. Not even my heart. I swear I felt it stop, although that ought to be impossible. But I did. The steady thud-thud that had been my own internal clock since birth went silent in my ears.
The room was dark all around me but I felt Sarden take me in his arms. He shook me and said something else, then pulled me to his chest. I couldn’t see him but I heard the panic in his voice. I felt bad about it but I couldn’t answer—couldn’t do anything now.
And then, I don’t want to say everything went dark because it was already dark. But I saw a pinpoint of white light in the blackness which slowly grew into a tunnel. A tunnel of light that seemed to be beckoning, just to me.
After that, I don’t remember any more.
Sarden
I held her in my arms—her frail, soft body, as cold as ice. I pressed my ear to her chest but I didn’t hear a heartbeat. Gods, what had I done? How had I let this happen?
Your fault, a little voice whispered in my head. Your fault, Sarden, you bastard! She’s beautiful and unique—a sheltered flower. And you took her. You plucked her from her home world and brought her out into the big, dirty universe to be hurt and abused and nearly drowned. And now she’s gone—gone beyond your reach forever.
“No!” I don’t think I realized I’d said the word out loud until I heard it echo back to me, bouncing off the metal walls of the reservoir. It sounded loud and anguished and hopeless. But I couldn’t lose hope—not now.
I held Zoe’s limp form close to me, trying to massage life back into her limbs. I needed to warm her up, but how? My own body was almost as chilled as hers. In fact, I was shivering as I held her to me. But before I thought about bringing up her body heat, I had to restore her heartbeat.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I told her, willing her to hear, willing her to come back to me. “Come on, my little Pure One, just breathe. Just live. Please.”
I squeezed her tight and placed the heel of one palm on her chest, pressing hard and rhythmically, trying to massage life back into her. Come on…come on…
I don’t know how long I did that—held her and massaged her. I think I prayed at one point—begged the Goddess of Mercy for help. I’m not a religious male but I knew that I couldn’t bear this—I couldn’t lose her.
“Please,” I prayed. “I’ll make things right—just don’t let her die. Don’t let her be gone forever. Please!”
But my prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears. Zoe stayed limp in my arms. Limp and cold and silent.
Gone. She was gone. I felt pain such as I hadn’t known existed and something seemed to tear inside me. How could she mean so much to me? I had known her such a short time and I never intended to keep her for myself. And yet somehow, knowing she was gone beyond my reach devastated me to the core.
I gripped her to me, too numb to cry out.
“Zoe,” I whispered, my voice a choked whisper. “I’m so damn sorry…”
And then I felt it—a single heartbeat. Just one faint flutter under my palm. And then another and another.
Warm her, a voice seemed to whisper in my ear. Warm her and she will be well.
Who was it? The Goddess in one of her many aspects? One of the Ancient Ones, looking down from on high? Or maybe just my own common sense telling me what had to be done?
Whatever or whoever it was, I knew I had to listen. I looked around again for a way to get my little Pure One warm and my eyes fell on the steaming hulk of the dead chudd’x.
I knew what I had to do.
Part III
Uninhibited (you figure it out)
Chapter 17
Zoe
“Are you all right, Lady Zoe?” a familiar voice asked. It sounded like a butler only I don’t have a butler. I have a run-down, one-bedroom apartment in Ybor city, the historic and somewhat seedy part of Tampa, and half the time I worry about being able to make rent on that. So there’s no way I can afford a butler. Yet, one was talking in my ear right now, as though he knew me.
I pried open my eyelids which seemed to be glued shut somehow, and saw a lantern with a light like an eye hovering over me. It was attached to a long, snaky silver neck which was, in turn, attached to the ceiling.
For a minute I completely freaked out…and then I remembered everything.
“Al,” I said weakly, trying to sit up and failing. My chest was really sore for some reason. “What’s going on? How did I get back on board the ship?”
“I carried you here. But not before you almost died on me.”
The new voice came from the doorway. I looked over and saw Sarden leaning against the doorframe, frowning at me. His arms and chest were smeared with some kind of black goo and streaks of the same stuff stained his shirt and trousers.
“Died on you? What are you talking about?” I demanded, my voice coming out weaker than I wanted it to. “Died from what?”
“Hypothermia. The water in the reservoir was extremely cold—I don’t think you would have survived in it for much longer.”
“Well, you’re the one who told me to jump in,” I pointed out, tartly.
“It was either that or wind up in the belly of the chudd’x, guarding the water supply. Which, as it turns out, you did anyway.”
“What?” I wanted to sit up but when I tried, my body disagreed. So I just laid there and glared at him. “What do you mean by that?”
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling with the motion.
“Your heart had already stopped once and it was the only way to warm you up. I had already sliced it open so I put you inside its body cavity to bring your body temperature back up to normal.”
“What?” This time I did manage to sit up even though my body protested. Looking down at myself, I realized I was covered in black goo. Not just my arms and hands, either—I was completely coated in the stuff. When I reached up to touch my cheek, I found it was even on my face—no wonder my eyelids had felt glued shut!
Also, I smelled horrendous.
“You heard me—I had to get you warmed up. This was the only way. You can say what you want about chudd’xs but at least they’re hot-blooded. That’s what’s all over you—its blood. All over me too.” He motioned at himself.
“Oh God, Sarden,” I moaned, looking down at the gooey black stuff that coated every inch o
f my skin. “Is there any scifi trope you’re not going to hit? First you pull out a lightsaber—”
“A what?” He frowned. “I used a blast laser to slice open the chudd’x. And a damn good thing I did too, or it would have eaten us both.”
“And then you put me in its awful guts to warm me up,” I continued, ignoring him. “I mean, what’s next? Are you going to tell me you’re my father and cut off my hand?”
“What?” He shook his head. “Zoe, are you sure you’re feeling all right? Maybe I should have left you inside the chudd’x a little longer to let your brain thaw—you’re not making any sense.”
“I’m making perfect sense,” I said grimly. “My point is, this sucks and I want a shower. A hot one. Now.”
He sighed. “You know the mister isn’t going to get this off. It’s the Cleansing Pool or nothing.”
I almost said, “nothing then” but I was coated—literally coated—from head to foot in alien monster guts. The blankets Al had laid over the silver beanbag bed would probably have to be burned, along with my clothes. “Fine,” I mumbled at last. “But…can you at least lower the uh, water level this time so it’s not over my head?”
“I am afraid the liquid level of the PPC is pre-set and we are quite unable to change it, even to suit your less than average stature, lady Zoe,” Al answered for him, sounding politely regretful.
“Great.” I looked down at my nasty, gooey hands. “But I still can’t swim.”
“I’ll go with you, of course.” Sarden’s voice got softer. “You know I won’t let you get hurt.”
I felt my stomach do a little flip but I wasn’t going to melt that easily.
“Yeah, right,” I muttered. “Where were you when Count Doloroso was trying to drag me away?”
“Count Doloroso?” He took a few steps towards me—he was limping a little for some reason. “Is he the one who lured you out of the shop with those damn nib-nibs?”
“How did you know that?” I asked. “And where are they, anyway?”
“They are quite well and safe, lady Zoe, I assure you,” Al said. “I bathed them in warming liquid and gave them a proper home.”
“A proper home? Where, in someone’s stomach?” I looked at Sarden. “I can’t believe that you guys eat them! Poor little monkeys!”
“I don’t eat them,” he protested. “And what are monkeys?”
“Cute little furry Earth animals,” I said. “And if you never ate one, why did you tell me they scratched the inside of your mouth?”
“I may have tried one once,” he muttered. “But I spit it out and let it run away—they’re disgusting.”
“Says the man who eats snake sandwiches,” I said, but I felt relieved. I didn’t want to think that Sarden was the kind of guy who would eat a living creature. Not a cute one, anyway.
“What did Doloroso say to you?” he asked.
“Mostly that I was special and a ‘unique specimen’. Of course, this was in between nearly pulling my hair out by the roots and calling me a ‘bitch.’” I shivered when I remembered what a close call I’d had.
“He tried to pull your hair out?” Sarden growled, looking angry.
I shrugged. “Basically he was just trying to grab hold of me anyway he could so he could drag me back to his ship. You know, you’d better be nice to my nib-nibs—they saved my life. If they hadn’t bitten his hand, he never would have let me go. I’d be…be on his ship right now.” My throat was suddenly tight with the thought.
“Did he say anything else?” Sarden asked in a low, dangerous voice.
“It’s all kind of a blur.” I shook my head. “He shouted something about The Last Day, whatever that means. And he said…said that…” I had to swallow hard before I could continue. “He said he wanted to put me back into the sensitivity tank and…and finish the test.”
I shuddered again—I couldn’t help it. The memory of being dragged into the yellow slime by the long, shiny black tentacles was still fresh in my mind. I would be there right now if I hadn’t somehow unlocked the locked door and gotten inside the water storage building. How had I done that?
Sarden’s face was dark. “I should have known he would want you—the way he was looking at you, it was pretty fucking obvious. Zoe…” He took my hand. “I’m so damn sorry—I should never have left you alone in the first place.”
“I…I called for you.” My throat was still tight and I couldn’t seem to summon up even an ounce of snark or sarcasm to lighten up the situation. “I called and called but you…you didn’t come.”
“I’m so sorry—I was wearing ear shields to protect my hearing while the mechanic and his fucking assistant showed me the properties of the new panels.” His golden eyes glowed with fury. “In fact, it turns out the assistant was in on your kidnapping—or almost kidnapping.”
“The little Oompa-Loompa looking guy?” I couldn’t believe it. “He seemed so nice and so concerned that I wasn’t being treated right.”
“Which was exactly how Doloroso convinced him that you rightfully belonged to him and that he needed to steal you away from me,” Sarden said grimly. “I’m sure the fight we were having as we walked in the shop just made up his mind for him. So he suggested a lot of very loud tests and gave me the ear shields to wear—by the time I heard you calling, it was almost too late.”
“So he confessed?” I asked. “The mechanic’s assistant, I mean?”
Sarden nodded. “The mechanic was mortified—he’s replacing all the panels for free.”
“Wow,” I said. “Well, I guess some good came of all this then.”
“You nearly died, Zoe. I…I almost lost you.” His voice went rough and he looked down at our joined hands—both still covered in the black chudd’x blood. “There’s nothing good about that. The Goddess of Mercy knows I deserve to be skinned alive for leaving you alone in danger like that.”
“You didn’t know that Count Creepy would come after me,” I said, for once not feeling the need to be snarky to defend myself.
“I should’ve,” he said fiercely. “And I swear to you, it won’t happen again. I’m going to protect you and stay by your side every minute from now until I can see you safely home.”
“You mean safely to Giedi Prime,” I said. “Right?”
“No.” He shook his head. “No, I’m not going to trade you. I can’t. I realized that when I thought I’d lost you for good.”
“But…but what about your sister? You have to get her back and trading me is the only way.”
This seemed wrong. Was I actually arguing that he should trade me? But it didn’t matter because Sarden was shaking his head.
“I’ll find another way,” he said grimly. “You’ll still have to come with me to Giedi Prime. I have to get there before the auction Tazaxx holds every cycle to get rid of the exhibits he doesn’t want so he can make room for new ones. But after that, I’ll take you…take you back to Earth.” He cleared his throat. “And then you’ll never have to see me again.”
“What?” I could hardly believe him. Was he actually being serious? Also, why did the idea of never seeing the big alien again make me feel so sad?
“You heard me.” Sarden did something to the bronze metal band he’d had the Commercians put on my wrist when he first got me. All this time it had remained in place, blinking quietly—my Alien Fitbit which he had called an “inhibitor.” Now it popped off and lay in my lap. Where it had been was the only clean place on my body—a thin white band in the middle of the black chudd’x blood.
I looked up at Sarden and shook my head.
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re free,” he said quietly. “You’re no longer my prisoner, Zoe. I hope you can forgive me for taking you in the first place.”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“Because I nearly lost you. You nearly died—Hell, you did die.” He turned to me, his eyes flashing. “I can’t have that on my soul—as stained as it is, I can’t add murder of an innocent
to the list.”
“I didn’t die,” I said, and then I remembered the sensation of my heart stilling in my chest and the pinpoint of light that had grown to a tunnel. Okay, so maybe I had died, a little. “I’m okay now,” I said lamely, trying to get out of the silver beanbag bed.
“Like hell you are,” he growled. “Here, don’t—you’ll fall.”
He reached me just as I toppled over and caught me in his arms.
I gasped as an electrical jolt went through me—a tingling sensation that seemed to start at the top of my head and travel all the way down to my toes.
“What in the—”
Sarden took a deep breath, as though he was trying to steady himself.
“The inhibitor’s gone,” he said in a low voice, cradling me in his arms. “Give it a moment. We should get used to each other soon.”
“Get used to each other? I don’t understand.” I felt like I was saying that a lot lately but really, I didn’t. “Does this have to do with me being a, uh, La-ti, um, La-ti-da?”
“A La-ti-zal.” He frowned. “At some point you really should learn the name for what you are.”
“But I still don’t know what a La-ti-zal is,” I protested, finally getting it right. “Or how it’s supposed to make me special.”
“I’d say you’re special in a lot of ways,” he remarked. “For instance, how did you open the lock on the Force-Locks which were cued only for those of Vorn descent? Or the door to the water reservoir on Gallana which shouldn’t have opened to anyone without Majoran DNA?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. They just…opened for me.”
He gave me a look. “And that was with the inhibitor on. Gods, I don’t know what you’ll be capable of now. When I touch your skin, I see such colors…” He shook his head. “Spectrums and rainbows like I’ve never seen.”
“Are you saying skin contact with me is like taking some kind of drug?” I demanded. “Some kind of magic mushrooms or LSD or something?”
