Roar (Phoenix in Flames Book 1)

by Catty Diva

  Some of the trash was food. Treva took some boxes and piled them in a corner and laid down to rest. When she woke, the lights had been dimmed to make it look like it was nighttime. They had done that on the station she was raised on, too. She peeked around the corner and saw there were few people wandering around. Those that did, looked scarier than the people she’d seen during the day.

  It wasn’t just that they wore dark clothes, it was also the menacing way they acted. Going anywhere during the night hours, wouldn’t be wise. Treva crawled back into her corner and fell asleep again. This time when she woke up, the lights were bright again. People moved around and it looked safer to move around. She was still reluctant, because she didn’t want to run into Forman.

  Since she was just one level up from the docking stall the ship was in, she walked around the corner and looked down. The ship was still there and she had no way of telling if Forman was on it, or hanging around looking for her.

  People walked by and she could understand most of them. English was spoken here, but she looked at the signs posted in some of the stores and Treva had no idea what any of them said. She couldn’t read since she’d never been taught. Only a few of the people in the lab could read and they were usually the ones left with their parents long enough to learn.

  The place next door was a restaurant and even though she’d eaten yesterday, she was hungry. She looked through the stuff she had in the bag but didn’t know what anything was worth. Treva decided to take the bag with her and see if she could trade for a meal.

  Entering the place, she was glad to see it wasn’t crowded. She sat down and a motherly looking lady came over to the table.

  “Can I get your order, Sweetie?”

  “I got dropped off here and I don’t have much. I’m not sure what I should do.”

  “Can you wash dishes?”

  “Sure. Do you need some washed?”

  “Why don’t I bring you a meal from the back and you can wash some dishes when you’re done. If Homer likes the job you do, maybe he’ll hire you. My name’s Tawny.”

  “I’m Treva. Thank you for helping me.”

  “No problem. I hate washing dishes.”

  How bad could it be? An hour later, Treva was washing a kettle as big as she was. Okay, almost as big as she was. Homer was an okay cook, except when he got drunk and forgot he was cooking. The kettle had been sitting here for days waiting for a new dishwasher to clean it. It was too big to go through the commercial dishwasher and it wouldn’t fit in the sink.

  By the end of the day, Treva understood why Tawny hated to wash dishes. Homer was a nice guy deep down. He let her sleep on a cot in the stockroom. The work was boring and at times physically demanding, but she was paid daily, got two free meals a day, and a place to stay. Things were beginning to look up. Two days later, she looked down where the ship had been docked and it was gone.

  Treva felt like singing and dancing. She could make plans and eventually get off this station and find wherever her people had been taken if they’d been freed. Deep inside, she just knew they were all free too.

  The third day at work, Homer began to teach her how to cook. She still had to do the dishes and all the cleanup, but she liked learning to cook. Tawny came to the kitchen. “Hey, Treva. There’s a guy out there looking for someone that sounds a lot like you. You aren’t in any trouble, are you?”

  Treva went and looked out into the dining area. “I don’t know him. Why did he say he was looking for this woman?”

  “Said her family wanted her back.”

  “I don’t have a family.”

  “Too bad. The guy is pretty hot.”

  Treva giggled with Tawny. “He is, isn’t he?”

  She went back to her dishes while Tawny went back to the dining room to tell him no one had seen the girl he was looking for. Treva peeked out later and he was gone. Easy come, easy go. Her mind didn’t dwell on the guy who wasn’t looking for her anyway. Her mind was on coming up with a plan to find out where her people were and reunite with them.

  A few days later, she found out the first thing she needed to know when Homer brought a view screen into the kitchen. “It was broke and it took the lousy rat two weeks to fix it and cost almost as much as a new one,” Homer explained.

  “Why didn’t you buy a new one instead?”

  “He said it would only cost a fraction of the price it ended up costing and it would be fixed in two days.” Later, Tawny explained it was Homer’s cousin who repaired stuff for the business. It was his way to help out his family.

  “Look at this!” Homer yelled and Treva saw the news was on.

  “Let’s cut to our field reporter Eliza Newton who is speaking to Razar, the Oison prince.” The commentator said.

  “Razar, we have reports that you’ve been taking in refugees from the latest lab raids. People want to know what’s going on. Can you tell us who these people are and why they were being held on that station?”

  “Well, Eliza, as far as we’ve been told it was just an evacuation and we’ve offered to house the people from the station until they can find a better place to go. Did you have some information I wasn’t aware of?”

  “There are rumors that the people being evacuated to Oison were the victims of testing. What do you say about that?”

  “I don’t know where you’re getting that information, but I’d like to see proof of that. These are just regular people that have been removed from all they know and are trying to reestablish a normal life for their families.”

  “Is that what you’re sticking with? Really?” Eliza rolled her eyes. “You’ve heard the company line. This is Eliza Newton and we’ll be keeping an eye on the situation.”

  “Well there you have it. Prince Razar denies any knowledge of the station being a lab, but anonymous sources have admitted it was. This is Hugh Pricely with today’s news. Goodnight everyone.”

  Could it be that simple? Her people were being taken care of by a prince on a planet called Oison? “Hey, Homer?”

  “Yeah, Treva?”

  “How far is Oison?”

  “Why, you wanting to find yourself a prince charming? That one’s married.”

  “No, I just never heard of it before and wondered.”

  “It’s very far, maybe even two months by an Earth ship although I’ve heard Oison ships are faster.”

  “What do you know about Oison?”

  “They were a prison colony to start with for mostly political prisoners.”

  “Doesn’t that mean they are dangerous?”

  “Sometimes, but their Emperor was crazy. Anyone that disagreed with him ended up there.”

  “That doesn’t sound right.”

  “No, it wasn’t right that he did that, but the man had absolute power over his subjects.”

  “How did they get free?”

  “Their home planet was hit by a meteor and everyone died.”

  “Didn’t they see that coming?”

  “Yes, but I told you he was crazy. He didn’t believe it and refused to evacuate the planet. A few managed to slip away unnoticed, the rest stayed and died.”

  “So, how is this Razar a prince? Wouldn’t he have to be related to the emperor?”

  “Razar’s father and the emperor were cousins.”

  “He threw his own family into a prison colony?”

  “Yes. If you read Earth history that happens a lot with royalty.”

  “So if they were a prison colony, how do they have the money for the best spaceships?”

  “That’s a funny story.”

  “Well, tell me.”

  “Keep washing dishes and I will.”

  “Okay.” Treva said as she got to work on a pot.

  “After the home world went bang, the warden freed the Mazlans that were left. They began to explore the world they were on and found some surprising resources. Mountains full of gold, a weed that is more popular than tobacco or marijuana, and a mineral used in many medicines. Once they began to mine
the gold and the mineral and farm the weed, they became filthy rich.”

  “So they had a happily ever after?”

  “Sort of. They do have a female shortage, but they buy mates from Earth. Money may not buy happiness, but it looks like it can buy the things that make you happy.” Homer chuckled.

  “You know anything else?”

  “Yeah, all the princes are taken so no prince for you.”

  “That’s the story of my life, Homer.”

  “It’s good for me and Tawny because we don’t like to wash dishes.”

  “Yeah, yeah, and I’m the best dishwasher you ever had.”

  “By the way, there’s going to be some adult education classes for reading and math. I thought you might want to know. You could go tomorrow morning and sign up.”

  “Thanks, Homer. I’ll check it out.”

  Treva hadn’t wanted anyone to know she couldn’t read, but Homer had sent her after a box of meatballs and she’d brought back chicken legs. Both boxes were sealed so she couldn’t tell what they were without reading the label. He’d figured it out, but he’d been cool about it. Next time he wrote down what he wanted and she compared the letters and got the right box.

  Now she knew where her people were and soon she would plan how to get there. She felt a little guilty about leaving because Tawny and Homer hated to wash dishes, but she couldn’t stay. Treva wasn’t sure that either of them expected her to stay long anyway. Tawny had admitted they couldn’t keep a dishwasher more than a couple of weeks and she’d already been there that long. It was time to find a way to get away.

  Chapter 3

  Her

  Roar sat up in a cold sweat. He felt horrible and the dream haunted him. His dreams had always had a message, sometimes important, other times just an encouragement to keep on the right path. All he saw in these dreams was her.

  He’d been in touch with Jazzy and her mate Jetson, who had come from the lab, had figured out who she was. It had been redundant because Forman had admitted to taking the female and explained it was because he wanted her. The lab had plans for her and no one, not even the guards, had been allowed to touch her.

  “That was damn frustrating.” Forman had confided. “It wasn’t fair either. The other guards were allowed to fuck their crushes.”

  “Don’t worry, Forman. You’ll get more sex than you can handle where you’re going,” Roar assured.

  “I thought it was an all-male facility.”

  “It is.” Roar said with a satisfaction he shouldn’t feel. Roar’s father and their council had built a maximum security prison that housed some of the nastiest criminals known in the universe. They were paid for each criminal and that was their way of making money for the tribe. If they were going to be known to the universe in general, money was needed for defense.

  “I don’t have sex with men.”

  “Forcible sex is pretty common. You did it with women that didn’t want you. Now you get to see how it feels.”

  “That’s not right.”

  “A lot of things aren’t right, but they happen anyway. Now you’ll see how the other half lives. I suggest you find a protector with a small cock.”

  Forman was removed from the room screaming and struggling. Roar wasn’t sure what happened in the prison since he had never worked there. Forman would find out soon. He was leaving and would be headed there immediately. He must be the worst guard ever since he had lost an abused female without money or access to basic needs. The problem was Roar couldn’t find her either and he was feeling pretty inept.

  Once people told him the female wasn’t on the station, he had traveled to all the stations and planets nearby. There was no female there either so he had taken Forman back to the lab because Roar’s supervisor was there. If he could get access to the cam feeds, it might tell him something, but every place refused. While he had basic computer skills, he couldn’t hack his way out of a wet paper bag. Did that even make sense? He palmed his face and rubbed his eyes.

  Shit didn’t look too good right now. He would return to the station he had captured Forman on and stay awhile. Roar knew what she looked like and if she was there, he would find her. Decision made, he went back to sleep, a dreamless sleep. When he woke, he felt rested and that, more than anything, assured him his decision was the right one.

  In his room aboard the ship, he repacked his bag with clean clothes. He would make it back in two days since he hadn’t gone far. The trip was easy and he slept more than usual. Maybe because the restlessness his dreams had visited on him had left him feeling tired.

  Roar knew seeing Treva in his dreams had caused a reaction from his body. His heart had sped up and so had his breathing. He’d even felt dizzy, but he didn’t want to analyze that. All he wanted to do was find her and take her to the Mazlans where she would be protected and cherished. The thought of dropping her off didn’t feel good, but she was a little thing, barely five foot tall so he was sure he only felt protective. Many of the lab born hadn’t reached their potential growth, because they hadn’t been fed and cared for properly.

  They would have all their needs seen to now because the Mazlans were good people. His people were good too, but they didn’t have the facilities available for refugees. Treva would have to go. There were no other options. He didn’t even know why he was thinking about it. Rechecking all his equipment and his schedule, he settled down to sleep some more with one day to go.

  He woke up on the final leg of his journey. Never had he slept so long and so soundly and he gave thanks to the ancestors who came before him for easy his path. Now he searched for anything suspicious in the space around him as he drew near the station.

  His plan this time was to call as little attention to himself as he searched for her. She was here, he just knew it. The fact that some of the residents here had seen him could be gotten around. Roar had a special skill that made others look away from him. Many Phoenix had special skills, but his was a rare one.

  The ship docked with the station and he met the dock workers giving them a tip so they would watch his ship. It was better than coming back to find it gone. Dock workers relied on tips since they were paid poorly, so Roar always remembered to give them their due. In his dreams, she was always washing dishes. There were a lot of restaurants on the station. At least twenty if there was one so he started at the highest level and worked his way down.

  Clearing the top two levels, he then got a room for the night so he could start again fresh in the morning. Stopping on the second level to eat before going to his room, he felt something tug at his memory when he looked into the kitchen when the waitress came out of it. Once he ordered, he walked by and stared inside the kitchen, but she wasn’t there.

  Eating his food slowly, he paid and tipped, before he headed to his room. Was he wrong about the restaurant? Probably not, but maybe she had left the station or was working somewhere else.

  Chapter 4

  Found

  Normally, Treva worked from breakfast through supper. Homer was nice about letting her take breaks, but he knew she was saving money for something. She got up this morning and after doing the first round of dishes, she went to her adult classes so she could learn to read. Her reading was at a second grade level already. That was because she read after work and tried hard to improve.

  Treva was proud of her progress in both reading and math. Her education had been completely neglected. Her parents weren’t even a memory because they’d been taken from her at a young age. Since the young children were often separated from the older people, her parents might even be people she knew. There was no way to tell if she was related to the people around her or not.

  Pushing those sad thoughts out of her mind, she focused on learning three days a week in the mornings from nine to twelve and any other time she could. Some people might think it wasn’t worth the effort to learn when she needed to work to earn money. She knew learning was a privilege that she would never turn down. Treva was like a sponge, open and willin
g to learn everything she could. Maybe it was because she’d been denied for so long.

  “You’re doing so well, Treva.” Isa said. Isa was a volunteer who taught classes whenever she found the time.

  Treva glowed with delight at the compliment. “I do well, because you are such a good teacher.”

  “Listen to you. You’ll give me the big head to go with my big belly.”

  “Your baby will be so lucky.”

  “I hope so. I love the child so much already.”

  “You’ll be a perfect mother.”

  “Take this book with you so you can study some more and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Bye, Isa. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Treva always felt reluctant to leave. She had a real connection to Isa. Homer would be waiting for her and she had a responsibility to her job. He had helped her a lot, too. It was true she had found good people here that had looked after her.

  “You’re back.” Homer said handing her his big kettle.

  “Looks like someone forgot to check their cooking again.” The bottom had some burned on guck.

  “Not you too. Tawny already teased me halfway to tears.”

  “You? Cry? Never. You are much too tough.”

  “Well, she may have found my bottle of Rodus and hid it.”

  “That’s something to cry about. That stuff will make you go blind.”

  “You’ve been listening to Tawny again. It just makes me feel good and I can forget.”

  “What do you need to forget?”

  “If I tell you, I’ll have to think about it again.”

  “I’m sorry, Homer.” She gave him a quick hug. Treva liked the old guy. He’d had a rough time and Tawny said it had to do with his family. There weren’t any details and she didn’t want to pry. If she did, they might ask her for details too.