by Luna Hunter
I grab a chair and fling it through Forlyn’s window, showering the station with broken glass. My own moral code forbids me from striking the elderly, but my boss is getting me damn close to breaking that rule. Mia is in real danger, and he’s the one lecturing me about duty?!
“You’re making a mistake,” he screams. “You’ll be on the run for the rest of your life! You can’t fight the Order!”
I grab him by his collar, lifting the old man from the floor.
“I’d rather die as a free man on the run than submit like a coward,” I growl.
I toss him into his office chair and storm out the station. A few of my co-workers stare at me with open mouths as they walk into the office.
A purple Zoran smashing up the place is not the first thing you expect to see when you clock in.
I feel guilty for not taking Mia’s concerns seriously from the start. I’d dismissed her claims, her gut feeling. I thought this Emily Forrester was just another rich socialite who overstayed her vacation. Figured she’d turn up in a few days with a fresh batch of regrets and she’d catch the next shuttle home.
But with the Order involved, I don’t know what’s left or right anymore.
Why would this girl be involved in matters of intergalactic security? Perhaps the Forresters are not who they claim…
Perhaps Mia is not who she claims.
No, impossible. I know Mia. She holds no secrets from me.
Right?
I sprint into the street and bump right into the shoulders of commuters who fall over like bowling pins the moment they come into contact with my seven feet frame.
I need to reach the Foundation, and fast. Every second counts.
What was the damn address again?!
I call Mia on my wrist-com as I sprint in what will hopefully prove to be the right direction.
Come on, pick up. Pick up!
She hangs up on me.
Damn it. What have I done to deserve that?
I quickly look up the address on my com. Yes, only a few more blocks. As I sprint, with my heart beating like a drum, a voice in the back of my head wonders what I really know about Mia.
I know she’s attractive, funny, intelligent and bold.
But do I really know her? Do I know what makes her tick?
I have my suspicions, but nothing more. We spent a few hours together. How can I throw my badge, my career away for a human female who I barely know?
Logically, it doesn’t make a lick of sense. However, my heart is telling a different story.
My heart is telling me that she’s my mate. That she’s my equal. That I can trust her with everything I have — and that I must risk everything I have for her.
I pray I’m not making a mistake.
I turn the corner, and the nondescript building where the Foundation is housed greets me at the end of the alley. I approach carefully, with one hand on my blaster, keeping my eyes and ears open.
The lights are on inside. Cautiously, I enter.
“May I help you?”
A young, fit Falurian female is standing behind the counter. She can’t be a day over twenty. She’s looking at me expectantly, with a bright smile that only those who are new to the service industry can muster.
My left hand is resting on the grip of my gun as I scan the room. It looks like every other boring office I’ve ever seen, with some motivational posters on the wall, and a few flowers on the counter.
I hold my breath for a moment to check for sounds. I don’t hear anything besides the Falurian woman shifting her weight from her left foot to her right. No boots that are about to kick down the door. No muffled cries for help.
“Sir?” she asks. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a red-haired woman,” I say. “Human. About your height.”
The young girl behind the counter shrugs her shoulders.
“You’re the first person to walk in today, sir,” she says. “It’s still early.”
I focus on the girl’s smile. It’s too big. Too forced. Too fake.
“What’s your name?”
“S-sir?” she stammers.
“Your name. What is it?”
She suddenly glances to her left. “I-it’s… Velmura, sir.”
“Tell me, Velmura,” I say as I lean over the counter.
Her eyes grow wide and I can smell her fear.
Something’s definitely rotten.
“Why is there a red hair on the floor?”
“S-s-sir?”
She glances to the left again. I follow her line of sight — a locked doorway.
The young woman is definitely scared of something.
“There is a red, human hair on the floor,” I whisper so softly only she can hear me. “Why are you lying to me? What are you afraid of?”
The girl trembles in front of me, shaking like a leaf in the wind. She grabs a pen and scribbles something down on a piece of paper.
THEY ARE LISTENING
“Who?” I mouth.
THE PURPLE ONEEEEE
Her scribbling becomes erratic, gibberish. I glance up and see a horrible sight. Her eyes are rolled to the back of her head, her mouth hanging open, her throat constricted by an invisible force.
She points at the door before fainting, crumpling up into a heap on the floor. I whirl around and draw my blaster at the same time.
With a swift kick I break down the door, and a Tyk’ix hisses at me from down the hall.
I should have known.
The Tyk’ix are purple octopus-like beings, with a mass of tentacles where their mouth ought to be. Highly intelligent and callous. A dangerous combination.
Besides their powerful intellect, some Tyk’ix are rumored to possess psionic abilities. They have always stringently denied this, but the rumors persist.
I suppose I’ve just seen the proof with my own two eyes. The Falurian girl was choked right in front of me.
“Halt!” I scream.
The Tyk’ix, dressed in ornate robe, raises his hand and screeches something unintelligible. For a moment I feel a sharp headache, but I shake it off.
“Stop or I’ll shoot!”
The alien turns and runs. I could take him out right now, but risk losing any lead on Mia. Damn it.
I chase him down the hall, heading down a few flights of stairs, into the catacombs of this building.
All the while, my mind is only concerned with one thing.
Mia.
11
Mia
The rope around my wrists burns as I try to wiggle my way free.
Two strange aliens who look like they walked straight from my nightmares are discussing something in their unintelligible language. It sounds like screeching to me.
I try to yell at them in anger but my voice is muffled by the gag in my mouth.
I recognize the aliens as Tyk’ix — founding members of the Intergalactic Alliance. Mysterious beings I know little about.
How did I end up like this? Detective Frost of the New Atlanta Police Department, taken down like a fresh-faced rookie.
The last thing I remember is knocking on the Foundation’s door. The very next moment everything went black and I woke up in this dark, damp room, with these two squid-people holding me hostage.
Is this the same fate Emily faced? Abducted, millions of miles from home…
One of the beasts walks up to me, pausing right below the lightbulb.
This has the unpleasant effect of lighting up his purple, slimy face extremely well. His tentacles move and writhe, and I feel despair settle in the pit of my stomach. He’s wearing a robe with many vibrant colors. I try to detect where they are from, who they are working for, for when I break out.
If I ever break out.
There is no cavalry that will save me. I’m here all alone.
The only who knows where I went is Zivan… but he doesn’t know I’m in danger.
The beast raises his two hands and instantly I feel a sharp, penetrating headache.
>
I’ve had headaches before, but nothing like this. It feels like my head is being split in two and all my thoughts are spilling out all over the floor.
Every inch of me screams out in pain, and I feel my consciousness slipping away, right into the cold darkness…
…
…Only there is no darkness…
…but there are my thoughts.
My dreams.
My memories.
I see my entire life flash by, as if I am watching a highlight reel.
Backpacking with my little sister.
My first hover-car ride.
Watching the Vonnegut, Earth’s space station, pass overhead with my feet buried in the sand.
Yet, I’m not alone. There is a… presence.
A vile one.
One I want to run from, to flee, but no matter how quickly I run I stay in the exact same spot, as if my feet were welded to the floor.
He’s coming closer, closer, ever closer, looking at me, observing, staring.
I can feel his hot breath on me, feel the saliva drip down from his jowls. He’s probing, feeling, touching, violating.
I want to scream, I want to run, I want to move, but I am stuck. I am frozen. I am defenseless.
“Nnnnothinggg,” a mysterious voice says. “Nnnothingg.”
It almost sounds like a snake. Slithering. Coiling.
My thoughts drift to Emily Forrester. Did she suffer the same fate? Where is she now?
Did I fail in my duty?
Did I spend too much time drooling over Zivan to save her from these monsters?
Where is my Zoran warrior now?
I hope he’s safe.
I hope he doesn’t foolishly try to find me and suffers the same fate as me.
“Wwwhat do you knowww?”
The alien that I saw before I passed out dooms up in front of me, only this time, he’s twenty feet tall. He’ floating in thick mist, towering over me, his long tentacles growing and growing until they coil around me like a snake.
“Wwwhat do you knowww?”
I feel a sharp pain in the back of my neck. Everything that happened in the last two days flashes through my mind, at breakneck speed.
I realize what’s happening. Somewhere in the back of my mind, in the most primitive part of me, I realize it.
He’s reading my mind.
I don’t know how, but this creature, this being has invaded my thoughts and is reading my mind, looking for… something.
“Nnnnothinggg,” he says again.
Or he thinks it.
I can understand his language now. Maybe, when our minds came together, I also caught a glimpse of his mind…
I concentrate on Emily Forrester with every fiber of my being.
I’ve never concentrated so hard on anything in my life.
I focus on her photo. On her red hair, on the freckles on the bridge of her nose, on that innocent, carefree smile of hers.
Tell me where she is, you monster.
I see a great, white flash.
And then…
I see her!
Emily!
She’s chained to the wall like an animal, a collar around her neck, her clothes dirty and stained… but she’s alive!
And she looks at me with a fierce, fiery hatred.
“Go to hell!” she says, spitting in my direction.
Another flash and the image is gone.
My captor’s memory! I don’t know how long ago this was, but it’s enough to give me hope. Purpose. A direction.
I feel the invading force slip away. The pain, the horror, the fear… it subsides.
The darkness turns to light, and then, I find myself in that dark, damp basement again, still bound, still gagged.
“Xtyhh a prty”, the robed alien says to his comrade. “Xtyhh!”
Strange enough, I can understand the words now.
She knows nothing. Nothing!
The other Tyk’ix looks at me. His skin is a darker shade of purple, like an eggplant that’s starting to spoil. He wears a jewel around his neck, of the number eight, but on its side. He stares at me, but there is nothing in his eyes. No pity, no emotion. They are dead, like two wet stones.
“Kill her,” he says in that alien tongue of his.
A shiver runs down my spine. I don’t dare to even breathe, because I can barely understand them as it is.
“Can I feast?”
The other Tyk’ix, the one who invaded my mind, rubs his slimy hands together gleefully. I don’t know what feasting is… but it can’t be good.
“No, we don’t have time. We must depart.”
“But our load is not yet full.”
“It’ll have to do.”
“The sovereign won’t be pleased.”
“Some cattle is better than none. Be quick. I’ll wait back at the ship.”
The deep purple one turns and leaves, not even bothering to look at the woman he just sentenced to death. The nightmare Tyk’ix turns to me, his long, split tongue wetting his tentacles.
“I think we do have time to feast, oh yes we do,” he mutters. “You will make a fine meal.”
I want to curse, I want to yell, I want to scream bloody murder, but the gag in my mouth muffles all of my foul language.
The alien hovers over me, his long fingers running down my cheeks, making my skin crawl. I pray to every god I can to please save me from this being, save me from this creepy, horrible, awful, monster…
“He’s here! He’s here!”
A Tyk’ix burst into the room, his face dripping with sweat.
My captor looks up with an angry glare, his fangs showing.
“Who?”
“A Zoran!”
My heart skips a beat.
A Zoran is here. That can only mean one thing.
Zivan is kicking ass and taking names.
My captor turns back to me, his eyes burning with hatred.
“He won’t save you,” he says. “I will feast on him first.”
I stare back defiantly, but on the inside, my stomach is in knots.
I hope Zivan knows what trouble he’s getting into.
12
Zivan
I kick down the metallic door. It flies off its hinges and falls down on the ground with a heavy thud. The sound echoes down the dark hallway.
I peer into the darkness, my blaster drawn, every one of my senses on full alert.
I hear skittering in the distance. Heavy, labored breathing. Mumbling in an alien tongue.
A human in these conditions would be as blind as a bat, but not a trained Zoran warrior like myself. I walk slowly, keeping my ears trained on any sound.
To my right.
Is it that Tyk’ix, or could it be Mia?
I want to shoot, but I can’t risk taking Mia out.
“Show yourself,” I growl, betraying my position. “You can’t run.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
The lights all turn on in a flash. I’m blinded for only a fraction of a second. In the middle of the room stands Mia — alive and well. My heart leaps into my throat the moment I see her.
Thank the stars.
Her hands are bound and her mouth is gagged, but her radiant green eyes look eternally grateful to see me.
Two Tyk’ix stand behind her. The one I chased and what looks like his boss.
“On your knees,” the leader says in Universal. “Or the human dies.”
“How about you get on your knees and I don’t splatter those big brains of yours all over the damn room?” I growl.
“Zorans,” the Tyk’ix spits. “Arrogant fools. You used to know your place. Cattle. All of you.”
My eyes turn to Mia. She nods briefly.
I pray to the stars we’re on the same page.
I nod and then raise my blaster and pull the trigger, all in one seamless, smooth motion. Mia ducks at the same time, throwing her weight at the floor with all the strength she can muster.
Bullseye
.
I hit the leader right in that big brain of his. He falls over backwards, a surprised look permanently etched into his flabby face.
He, in all his haughty arrogance, expected me to fall in line.
A fatal miscalculation.
The other Tyk’ix drops down to the floor, placing his palms flat on the ground.
“P-please,” he stammers in broken Universal. “Spare me! S-s-spare me!”
I run up to Mia, untie her, and remove the gag from her mouth.
“Are you okay?!” I ask, inspecting her body, all the while keeping my blaster pointed at the sniveling Tyk’ix.
“I’m fine,” she says. “I’m fine. Thank you. They were about to kill me. You got here just in time.”
My heart is beating in my throat, and from sheer anger I nearly squeeze my trigger finger.
“I got here as fast as I could.”
“How did you know I was in trouble?” Mia asks, rubbing her sore wrists.
“Long story, tell you later.” I turn to the begging alien at my feet. “First we have unfinished business.”
“They have Emily,” Mia says, grabbing my arm. “I saw her.”
I turn to my human mate. “You saw her? Where?”
“In a dream. A memory. I can’t explain. But she’s alive. At least she was.”
Mia sighs deeply and rubs her temples.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says, her voice raw and agitated. “But they messed with my head, my mind… I, I heard them talking. I could understand their language, somehow. There was another one of them here. The dead one took orders from him. They were talking about a ship and a load, about ‘cattle’. I think… I think they meant Emily. There could be others as well.”
Her entire body shivers.
“We’ve got to get these sons of bitches, Zivan,” she says, her green eyes filled with fury. “We need to make them pay.”
“We will,” I assure her. “We will.”
The Tyk’ix at my feet is still begging, pleading, groveling, as if that is going to do him any favors.
“You heard the lady. Talk.”
“W-what do you want to kn-know?”
“Everything,” I say. “Who do you work for?”
“If I tell you… they’ll kill me,” the Tyk’ix says, shivering.
