Paris put her finger to her lips, "Shh, if he can hear, you don't want to say anything negative right now. Just nod and go along with him. We will get things changed, but it's easier to do so from within than it is as a slave."
"You are right," I whispered.
“How do you all sleep if you can’t sit down?” Paris tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
“A few can sit at a time. They sleep sitting, and we take turns. It sucks, but it is the only way. I am really tired. Do you think I could sleep on your couch tonight?”
“Sure, I don’t see why not. You are going to need a good night’s sleep if you go with us tomorrow to the settlement. I think Venay wants to leave mid-morning. But I should warn you, he gets up early and will come through here to get his breakfast before heading out. You will most likely get woken up. Once he is gone, you can go back to sleep.”
“Thanks, Paris. You are a lifesaver! I truly don’t know what any of us would do if you hadn’t accepted his offer.” I pointed to the closed door the Commander had gone through just a few minutes earlier.
"I do love him. At first, it wasn't about love. In the beginning, I accepted his offer as a ruse. I thought I could find a way off his ship or get it turned around and head back to Earth. Once I finally realized that wasn’t going to happen…my feelings started to change. There is something to that mating bond everyone has been talking about. Do you feel it for Zelan?”
“I…well, I don’t think so. He is good looking and very nice. Zelan has proved to be a gentleman, well, aside from abducting innocent women. The past few days have been nice, or as nice as they can be when you are attacked by mutant cockroaches.”
“He does seem nice. I think you could do much worse than him. What about your fiancé back home? Are you over losing him yet?”
I chuckled. “I haven’t missed Ben for several days now. In fact, I don’t know that I ever loved him. He hit me once when he was drunk. Of course, he apologized the next day when he was sober and noticed the red welt on my cheek, but after that, my feelings for him changed. Even though this is not the best place to be, it might actually be a good thing I was abducted. I would never have left him. My family wouldn't have allowed it. Father introduced us when we were teenagers. It was expected that I would eventually marry Ben.” I shook my head.
“This experience has taught me that I do love my family and miss them very much. Ben…not really. I recently realized we had an unhealthy relationship, and I am actually glad to be out of it. One day I do hope to marry and have kids, but it needs to be in a healthy, loving relationship. Not because I think my life will be easier. That was what it would have been with Ben, the easy way out. My father drilled into me from high school that I was to marry Ben after college. I love my dad, but he never saw the evil in Ben. Even I didn’t realize how bad our relationship was until now. Ben was charismatic and everyone seemed to love him. He was good at putting on an angelic face.”
“I can understand that. It is good you realized that your relationship was toxic. Shoot, even I knew that after the first time we met. You told us several things about Ben that made me happy he was no longer in your life. What kind of man tells his fiancé she looks fat, when in fact she is very skinny? Or doesn’t give her praise of any kind? Had you stayed with him, you would have ended up with an eating disorder.” She handed me another cookie, which I gladly accepted and thought ‘screw you Ben!’ It actually felt good to not worry about what I ate for a change. During the past year, Ben had been trying to control my diet. He would have thrown a fit if he knew I was eating a cookie.
Paris continued, “Zelan is a good guy maybe you just need time to get to know him better. And as for the slavery issue, being on the inside has already helped out a lot! They have never given their slaves anything more than that chalky stuff they fed us. So, while it isn’t freedom, at least you all are getting better food and treated more humanely too. I think in the past, it was the doctor who insisted on regular showers, not the Commander.” She quirked one eyebrow.
I thought about that. Maybe she was creating change. Even if it is slow, things are changing. I got the impression that none of the warriors called us anything other than slaves or mates before this trip. Now they are calling us humans, women, men, and sometimes guests. Hopefully, they will start seeing us in a better light and our treatment will be commensurate with their view of us.
"Thank you, for all of the help you gave us. After the crash, it did seem as if we were on a more equal level. At least until we arrived here. Now we are back to being slaves and prisoners."
“Let’s get some sleep and see what happens tomorrow. Maybe Venay will see the cells and order that you guys get better accommodations. Positive thinking usually helps me get some sleep too.” She got up, brought me a pillow and blanket, and then gave me a hug goodnight. I was starting to think I might have a real friend in her.
Chapter 7
The next morning brought with it a new sense of dread. Zelan came to Paris's door before I was up. He was to escort me the entire time we were away. Basically, I was his prisoner until we returned. Oh, joy. Not!
He walked in and moved my legs off the couch to sit next to me. “Good morning, Natalie. I understand that you wanted to go see the outpost today. Can I ask why?” He finally looked at me when he asked his question.
When he first sat down he had looked straight ahead. His veins were pulsing between orange, blue, and yellow. Where was the purple? His eyes were always purple, and they are beautiful. But it is his veins that I enjoyed watching. I must be going crazy.
“I needed to get out of those cells. We are too cramped in there. Plus, this is supposed to be a safe trip. The Commander wouldn’t take Paris if there was going to be any danger, right?”
He pulsed black for a quick second, then a deep blue. “So, it had nothing to do with me? You didn’t want to spend some time getting to know me better?"
His eyes held no trace of their normal spark, and he pulsed a sky blue then navy blue. The black was gone, or maybe it was my imagination. He sighed and started to stand up.
“Wait. Yes, I did want to see you, too. Paris told me I should spend some time getting to know you better. She said that just because you take part in the abductions of hundreds of humans, it doesn’t make you a bad guy. However, I do think that it makes you a bad guy.” I looked over at him, and he had sadness written all over his face.
His eyes were closed. He hung his head and was very quiet. "I can understand why you would think that. Kidnapping women and even men isn't something I enjoy. You do know that my people are dying out don't you?" He looked up at me with quivering lips and sad eyes.
"If we didn't find your people, mine would have died out by now. You probably don't understand, but most of us have trouble with this. We do it to save our race. My kind over the years have learned that this is how it is. We have to take humans to keep our species alive and kicking. Your planet is overrun with too many people who don’t even appreciate what they have. One day, maybe you will understand and not judge me too harshly.” He stood up, and I let him walk outside. It was time to get up and get ready.
As I prepared for the day, my heart was aching. I did understand to a certain degree where he was coming from, but I couldn’t accept a husband who enslaved others. Maybe we could be friends. That was really all I could offer him at this point.
The Commander called us when the transport ship from the settlement arrived. I was actually excited to go with them on this trip. Sadly, I was the only “slave” allowed to go. Which meant that I would be spending a lot of time with Zelan. It might be ok, as long as he didn’t push things. I needed to find an opportunity to tell him that we could be friends. Would that sound as bad to an alien as it would to a human?
Telan, Marcon, and Lorlo were also going with us. At least, I knew most of the aliens on this trip. The settlement sent two pilots with the ship, which made nine of us on this merry trip. I really was merry, too. It was my first chance to me
et aliens who lived with humans on a daily basis. Paris said this would give us an idea of what it might be like for us on V’Zenia.
The pilot introduced himself to me as Haver, and his co-pilot was Aysiaer. Both were hybrids and happy to see us. "Commander, it is so good to see more of my people here. I am truly sorry for the reason behind it. However, we are all very excited to have company. The outpost is very small, and we have very few opportunities to meet new people." He smiled at Paris and me.
Aysiaer walked up to me and reached out to shake my hand as he introduced himself, but at the last minute, he kissed the top of my hand instead. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Natalie." He gave me a very rakish smile. This alien was going to be trouble. His veins pulsed red, I had seen that color, but very rarely, and I didn't know yet what it meant. Paris giggled, and Zelan put his arm around my shoulder like he was claiming me.
“Come on Natalie. Let’s go and get buckled in before take-off.” Zelan was pulsing orange as we walked into the shuttle.
“What’s wrong,” I whispered to him.
He looked around and whispered back, “Stay away from Aysiaer. He looks like he will be trouble.” Yup, he was jealous. It was kinda cute but also a little annoying. I didn’t need guys fighting over me or even wanting me. For now, I was very content with being single for a change.
“Look, I am not interested in anyone right now. You and I need to have a talk, and soon. I am single for the first time in years, and I am not going to jump right into another relationship. Not now.” I sat down next to him only because he was my chaperone for the trip. Well, and I didn’t know how to fasten those belts. He fastened me in before the rest even made it on the ship.
The pilot and co-pilot went straight to their spots without even looking at me. Which was a relief.
It felt really strange as we took off. I didn't remember what it was like in the Commander's ship. I woke up in the prison cells after we had already taken off. Or did they use transporters? Strange, I never thought to ask. That will be a question for another time.
The ship was loud, and it vibrated and shook as we moved up. From my vantage point, it appeared we went straight up in a line. When we hit our cruising altitude, we flew forward. Once we were moving forward, the ride was pretty smooth and not nearly as loud either.
I could see the tops of trees as we headed to the outpost. This was going to be very exciting, as long as Zelan realized we could only be friends.
“Zelan, how long is the flight?” I was enjoying this, and the view outside was incredible, but I had no idea how long we were going to be inside the craft.
“It shouldn’t take more than two hours to get there. If we walked, it could take several days depending on how slowly we had to go”
“Do you think the insectoids have made it this far?” I had been looking forward, at the viewscreen, so I could see everything we were flying over.
He hesitated, and I looked at him. “They sent some of their troops over to the outpost. I heard the warriors did have to defend against a small attack. It seems they knew the exact location of the settlement, which tells me that they have been watching Zelaron 10 for quite some time.”
“Zelaron 10? Is that the name of the settlement?”
“No, that is the planet. I think they call their settlement, New Hope.”
“New Hope? That is an interesting name for an outpost that is five months from your home planet.”
“I think it has to do with being so close to Earth. The leader of the outpost mated with a human. She may have named the place.” He shrugged his shoulders, and I looked back to the viewscreen.
“Was it just the one attack?” I almost whispered, as I thought about what it might be like to be in their settlement and be attacked by those mutant creatures.
“As far as I know, yes. We can ask them when we land. Are you nervous?” he put his hand on my leg and squeezed. It felt comforting so I let him keep his hand there.
"A little bit. I don't want to be attacked again by those bugs. They really freak me out. But I don't want to hide inside of the spaceship either."
“That’s good. It isn’t healthy to hide from your fears. You need to tackle them head on.”
I smiled and thanked him for the pep talk. We kept quiet for the rest of the trip. It was a very companionable silence.
Once the outpost came into view, I got excited. The walls were made of some sort of metallic material that seemed to shine in the sunlight. There were parapets on all corners, and inside of them there were manned artillery guns. This settlement was more the size of a small city. They must have worked for years to create such a beautiful and safe place to live.
The walls had to be at least 25 feet high, and there were large gates on each side as well. They were all closed. We flew above the walls and into one side of the city that housed their maintenance bays. There were large metallic warehouses all along the side where we were headed. Two had artillery posts on top of them as well, but no one manned those at that moment. They must have been used in case of an aerial attack.
On the other side, I could see what looked like office buildings. They were four stories high and made of glass. It was the same material as the rest of the buildings and fences. I didn't notice any houses, though. So those offices might actually be apartments or condos. There were trees interspersed amongst the buildings, but other than those trees, there wasn't much color here. The buildings were all silver and glass. There wasn’t any color on them.
Once we stopped moving forward, we went down. It felt almost like an elevator going very fast. Like the elevator in the Empire State Building. I went there once with my family when I was in high school. The elevators moved so quickly my ears popped. It was a smooth ride, and almost as exciting as a roller coaster.
My dad didn’t want to go during the day because of the long lines, so we waited until about an hour before they closed and went up. There was almost no line. The view was spectacular. Even though it was at night, we could see for miles thanks to all of the big city lights.
One year later, I was told that I was expected to marry Ben after college. From then on, we always vacationed together. His family never went anywhere without ours and vice versa. It was odd that we all spent so much time together, but my father was in business with Ben’s father. They must have wanted to keep the business in the families, and that was why we were expected to marry. I guess my dad will just have to wait for my sister to finish college.
Now that I think about it, she may have had a crush on Ben this whole time. I never really cared that she did. I guess distance really does help put things into perspective.
I was too excited to get the straps off myself, so Zelan laughed as he took them off. “You sound like a kid who is going to her first gtocheen.”
“Um, I don’t have a universal translator yet. What was that you said?”
“We need to get you one. Maybe as soon as we get back you can get one? All of the women should start working on getting them. It will be much simpler if you do. A gtocheen is a park we take our kids to. They can play around with other kids and also go on rides. They have many different rides for different ages of kids. Even adults enjoy them.”
"That sounds like an amusement park. Back on Earth, we have lots of amusement parks all over the world. I can't wait to see what yours look like!" I beamed from ear to ear thinking about riding alien roller coasters and 4D motion rides.
Zelan smiled and gave me a hug. “When we get home, I will take you to our biggest park. You will love it!”
I was so excited I didn’t even realize I had just let him hold me and make future plans for us until we were walking down the ramp holding hands. In order to keep from upsetting him again, I gently pulled my hand away so that I could point to something and ask what it was.
“Is that a warehouse or a business of some sort? Do they even have businesses here?” I pointed to a large building made from that shiny silver material.
“Yes, they have a few
businesses here, but it is very different from Earth. They don’t make goods to sell. They make what they need to survive as well as what we might need when we stop to pick up goods or make deliveries.” We turned a corner and went deeper into the industrialized section.
“Usually, we stop here on our way to Earth and drop off a cargo hold worth of supplies for them. On our way back we will stop for fresh food and water. They have their own fields here where they grow a lot of various fruits and vegetables in addition to the animals they raise.”
“Wow, this sounds like a really cool place. Will we get a tour?” I walked around with my attention on what was in front of me, head raised, and mouth open in awe.
I walked right into Aysiaer. “Oh, sorry about that. I was too busy looking up.” I quickly walked past him so as not to invite any conversation.
Chapter 8
A very tall man and woman walked out of what looked to be an office on the side of the landing pad we were on. “Commander Venay, it is good to see you again. I was very sorry to hear your ship was broken up in the crash. We have plenty of space here if your crew would like to stay with us. We even have fairly comfortable accommodations for your slaves. Much better than the prisons you keep them in on your ships.” He smiled as he looked at Paris and me.
“Thank you, Commander Croso. It is good to see you again. I am relieved that you were able to quickly deal with the Insectoids when they attacked you. I hope that our warriors can eradicate this planet of the bugs within a few days. Captain Mypo, may I introduce my mate, Paris.” He motioned for Paris, and she walked up to his side and smiled at the two officers.
“Commander, Captain, it is nice to meet you both. I love your outpost so far, would it be possible to get a tour of the city? This is much bigger than what I was expecting. When Venay said it was a settlement, I was thinking of something from Earth. Maybe even wooden fences.” They all laughed.
Worlds Collide: Sci-fi Adventure/Romance (Alpha Alien Abduction Tale Book 2) Page 5
