Hunting Cari (First Wave)

by Mikayla Lane

  “Yes, stay calm. Don’t be angry. If anything you need to show fear. That would work the best for you.” The girl whispered, stopping just inches in front of Cari. Her whispered words did nothing more than heighten Cari’s anger and make her struggle harder against the ropes.

  “Let me go!” She ordered angrily at the girl.

  “Stop! Please! They’ll kill you before I can get you free if you don’t!” The girl cried frantically, tears streaming down her pretty face. At hearing that the girl would set her free, Cari calmed slightly and waited impatiently for her to cut the ropes.

  “My name is Jess. I’m one of yours. They killed my father, kidnapped my mother and me… so many years ago. I don’t even remember how long it’s been. I will try to steal a knife or something, so I can cut the ropes. They don’t let me around anything that could be used as a weapon, and have left nothing in here that I can use. Until I find something, you have to stay calm or afraid. If you show anger or rage like you just did and project it, they’ll come in and hurt you. Do you understand?” The girl said in a rush of words, Cari tried hard to follow.

  “What do you mean you are one of mine?” Cari asked warily.

  “I’m not human either. My father wasn’t anyway. They don’t kidnap normal humans. They found out a long time ago that they can’t breed with them. They only kidnap our kind, thinking that they will be able to breed with one of us since the Valendrans can. You’re a projectionist. I’ve only met one other like you. Those were years ago. I’m sorry if I seem to talk so fast. I don’t have anyone to talk to except another one of us, and that’s only until I can get them free.” Jess said on a sigh.

  “If you are one of us, then what is your gift?” Cari challenged, not trusting that this wasn’t a trick of some kind. Her uncle told her about the gifts given to those like herself.

  “You’re smart, like the others. Watch this!” Jess said with a mischievous grin. Jess bent down awkwardly until her fingers on her right hand touched the ground, and the fingers of her left wrapped around Cari’s ankle in a hard grip.

  Cari was ready to jerk her leg out of her grip, when she saw tiny sparkles forming around Jess’s fingers on the ground. She watched in fascination as the sparkles traveled through Jess’s hand, across her body and to the hand holding her ankle. She felt a comforting warmth radiating through her body from the ankle Jess was holding. She began to notice that the ache in her wrists and arms had lessened to the point where it was no longer painful to her. Completely amazed, she stared down at the girl's bent head as the sparkles increased in intensity before winking out.

  Jess collapsed heavily to the ground, letting go of Cari’s ankle at the same time. Cari looked down at her ankle and noticed that in place of Jess’s hand lay a delicate chain of white metal, interlaced with red and white gems, giving it the appearance of a tennis bracelet on her ankle.

  “What did you do?” Cari asked in amazement.

  “That’s my gift. I’m a crafter. At least, that is what my parents and others like us called it. I can draw metals and gems from the earth to create something unique for someone that they need. I don’t know what they need, but apparently the earth does, and it helps me draw the right metals and gems for that person.” Jess answered with a shy smile.

  “That’s incredible. I’ve never met anyone who could do that. Can’t you make a knife to cut me loose?” Cari asked amazed and hopeful.

  “No, I can’t make any weapons. Believe me, I’ve tried. I can’t even make something for myself. For some reason, I can’t determine what I make, or what metals or gems are drawn to me. I’m sorry. But I promise I will get you out of here.” Jess said with a confident smile, seeming to get her energy back.

  “If you can help me escape, then why have you and your mom not been able to escape yet?” Cari asked, still a little suspicious of the girl.

  Jess looked up at Cari, with big blue eyes full of sadness and tears. “They killed my mother when she tried to protect me. She had overheard them saying that since I had matured, it was time for them to start seeing if I could bear their children. She said she couldn’t stand the thought of me going through what they had been doing to her for years. One night we escaped. We didn’t get far when my mother collapsed and couldn’t go on. Her body unable to make it further after the years of abuse they put her through. She begged me to leave her there, but I couldn’t. She was all I had left. I had carried her for only a few miles when they caught up to us.”

  “They figured that since they hadn’t been able to get her pregnant, she was of no use to them anyway. So they killed her right there in the woods. They didn’t even bury her body. That was when they decided to make sure I couldn’t escape again. They began breaking my legs, and not setting them correctly. You know how fast we can normally heal. The bones were mending within a week, but when they weren’t set properly they began to heal malformed. After a few months of different breaks in different places on my legs, it worked. I can never run from them again.” Jess said sadly, gesturing to the twisted legs laid out in front of her.

  “Oh my God!” Cari gasped in horror as she realized the pain the poor girl had to have endured for months at a time in order to make her legs look like that.

  “I can feel your compassion and horror radiating from you in waves. You’re very strong. But don’t feel sorry for me. Obviously, the All Father has meant for me to be here. If I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have been able to help so many others escape, just as I will help you. Right now, you need to make sure you don’t radiate any emotions that will cause them to come in here and hurt you before I can get you out of here. Ok?” Jess asked hopefully.

  Cari struggled to control her emotions as Jess had asked. “I’ll try. Can’t you create something that can help you heal your legs so you can try to escape again?” Cari asked curious.

  “I tried. But my gift doesn’t seem to work on me, only on others. They will come for me soon. When they do, you will have to pretend like you are still passed out. You can’t let them know you are awake. If they think you are still unconscious they will leave you alone, and that will give me time to get a knife or something sharp from them, so I can cut you free.” Jess told her.

  “When I leave, I will take you with me. I won’t leave you here with them.” Cari vowed stubbornly.

  “You can’t. I would only slow you down, and we’d both be captured again and punished. If you get back to your protector, maybe one day you and others can come back and kill them all. For now, I do better for our people staying here, than I would if I were on the outside.” Jess said sadly.

  “They killed my protector, my Uncle. But I know how to contact others like us and their protectors. I swear Jess, when I get out of here, I will come back for you. I will find you. I promise I will.” Cari replied with conviction. She would not allow this poor girl to spend another day with these people than she had to. One way or another, she would come back, she would find Jess and bring her back to her people.

  “Just promise to kill them. That’s all I really want. I hear them coming now. Pretend to be unconscious. No matter what, don’t let them know you are awake!” Jess whispered, standing awkwardly she began to hobble back towards the two stalls in the corner of the barn.

  Cari could hear raised male voices coming closer to the door of the barn. Quickly, she dropped her head to her chest, closed her eyes and made it look like she was hanging by her wrists again. Whatever Jess had crafted for her seemed to make the pain of her weight on her wrists, not nearly as bad as it had been before.

  The door opened, and a group of men entered the barn. Judging by the sound of it there had to be at least four or five of them. And they all seemed to be arguing over Jess.

  “Vikan said we can’t touch the new one; she is only for him. He said she’s special. She’ll be special until he tires of her and finds another one who is 'special'. Until then, I have a taste for mouse!” One of the voices said laughing.

  “I don’t want that one yet anyway. I
haven’t gotten tired of our little mouse yet. I love the way she cries and screams when I take her.” Another, deeper voice replied.

  “She cries and screams because it takes her a few days to heal after you’re done with her! The rest of us get her first because she’ll be useless to us after you’re done with her!” Yet another new voice added.

  Cari heard what sounded like something being dragged across the floor and a slight whimper. She opened her eyes a bare fraction, in order to see what was going on around her. Vince Baker stood in the doorway, watching with a smile on his face while three human looking men dragged Jess across the floor to the door, by her hair. Cari could see the terror in Jess’s eyes as she clung to the hand holding her hair trying to prevent them from ripping it out by the roots.

  “Looks like the mouse isn’t quite as afraid this time since she isn’t squealing like normal. Try to keep her busy for a long while this time. I won’t have our new guest go missing before I get to have fun with her and ensure she stays.” Vincent said to the men as Jess whimpered in fear at the order.

  Fury rolled through Cari in waves as she realized that Vincent had just ordered his men to take their time raping and hurting Jess. The breeding…. She felt so stupid not realizing it before. They were raping Jess to get her pregnant. And they intended to do that to her as well. Like hell!

  Her anger began radiating from her uncontrolled. No longer pretending to be unconscious Cari began bucking and swinging wildly trying to tear the ropes from the rafters. Hearing Jess scream outside the barn, only made her try harder to break the ropes and help the girl.

  “I see you’ve awakened. We could have begun sooner, had I known.” Vincent Baker said quietly as he reached out to touch her cheek.

  “You fucking piece of shit! Don’t you fucking touch me; you disgusting parasite!” Cari screamed into his face. Bucking and twisting her body in the ropes to get away from his touch and break the ropes, her anger growing stronger.

  “You might want to learn to be nicer to me. Because I can either be nice to you, or I can give you to the rest of the men, as entertainment, like that little mouse.” Vincent fairly growled at her, his temper clearly rising.

  “You better damn well kill me, you bastard, because I will NEVER be nice to you! EVER! Do you understand me; you piece of filth! Just you wait you bastard! I will kill you myself!” Cari screamed at him furiously, completely forgetting what Jess had warned her about staying calm.

  “I just may end up killing you bitch, but only when I’m done with you. I’ve spent years hunting you. And I will get a child off you if I have to keep you tied up until you drop it!” Vincent said coldly, trying hard to control the anger her words had caused. The little bitch dares to call him names! She should be honored, he bothered to choose her! Maybe a lesson in who was her master was in order.

  “You’re such a fucking idiot! YOU can’t get our kind pregnant you moron! You know why? Because the All Father determined a LONG time ago that, your kind needed to become extinct! Your kind has no useful place anywhere! You’re parasites, nothing more than ignorant mongrels that should be destroyed like a bad virus!” Cari screamed back at him, jerking at the ropes.

  Vincent could no longer control his anger, and backhanded Cari across the face hard enough to knock her off her feet, leaving her swinging by her wrists. Now maybe she would be more amendable to his touch. He did not spend years following her to tolerate this kind of behavior from her. She would bow to his superiority and eventually be grateful for his attentions. He would make sure of it.

  Cari’s head rocked from the blow, and she could feel the blood trickling down her chin from what she presumed was a split lip. Although she knew she should be in a lot of pain from a blow like that, surprisingly she didn’t hurt that bad. Catching herself, she regained her feet and stopped herself from swinging. Letting her anger get hold of her, she licked up as much blood from her mouth as she could, looked up at Vincent, and spit it directly into his face. She watched in satisfaction as the blood and spit slid slowly down his face.

  “Apparently you need some lessons in who now owns you little bitch. I’ll teach you respect one way or another.” Vincent vowed furiously while he wiped her blood from his face.

  “Go rot in the deepest fires of hell you fucking bastard! You will never own me! You’ll never have me! And you’re the one who needs to learn respect, since parasites are the lowest form of life in ANY universe, everyone and everything is above you! You should be outside bowing down and serving anything that crosses your path!” Cari replied with venomous hatred, not caring how mad she made him. This bastard killed her uncle. His kind and maybe even he killed her parents. She shook with rage.

  The fist to her stomach, literally lifted her several feet off the ground and took her breathe from her lungs. The force of her body coming back down jerked her wrists and arms painfully. Her breathe came back with a whoosh, sparking her anger even more. Although the blow was painful, it was nothing she couldn’t handle. She wasn’t sure if her anger and adrenaline were helping or not. However, she knew she’d be sore later, if she lived.

  Thing is, if a life like Jess’s was in her future, she’d rather be dead anyway. And from the conversation the men had earlier, it’d be days before Jess would be able to try to help her. She would rather die than let Vincent touch her that way. “Fuck you, you pathetic piece of trash! You even hit like a girl!” Cari taunted.

  Cari heard, more than felt, several ribs breaking from the next blow to her side. After that, she lost count of the blows and where they landed. She wasn’t even sure how many blows it had taken before the blissful darkness took her again.

  *****

  “Cari…” Randor Macner moaned for what seemed like the tenth time in the past half hour. However, he still wouldn’t fully awaken, and it was driving Scaden crazy. Running his hand through his hair, he got up from the chair he’d been sitting in at MedLab for the last moon cycle, and began pacing the room.

  The only information that he’d been able to piece together so far is that the female’s name must be Cari. Although an unusual name, he liked it. He liked the sound of it on his lips. And he wanted to know more about her and where she was. However, Randor still hadn’t awakened, and Amun was at a loss on how to force him.

  “Cari!!!" It was said with such force, that Scaden turned around. Randor had sat up in bed and began to pull the medibands off his body. “Cari” He repeated with such sadness, even Scaden felt sick with sadness.

  “Wait. Randor wait.” Scaden said gently drawing the man’s attention to him.

  “Where is she? What have you done with her?! I swear by the All Father, I will kill every one of you if you hurt her!” Randor cried out, reaching his arms to Scaden as if to strangle him.

  Scaden watched as Randor's arms fell uselessly at his sides; the healing not yet completed taking the last of his energy to move.

  “Randor, calm yourself or we will not be able to help your Cari. I am Commander Scaden Torenson, of the ship Adaria, commissioned by the planet Valendra.” Scaden stated simply, waiting for his words to sink into Randor's mind. When Randor didn’t move, but looked at him blankly, he continued.

  “We were in the area doing standard scans when we saw your distress beacon. We came as soon as we could. But your Cari was already gone, and you gravely wounded when we arrived. I need you to tell us what happened. How did you get a female? Where is she?” Scaden asked.

  “How do I know you’re Valendran, and not another damn Relian? Give me some proof!” Randor demanded, not willing to give up any information regarding Cari, in case she’d been able to escape.

  Scaden admired the man’s protective instincts and therefore, called Amun into the room when he would have rather throttled the information out of the man! Where was the female?! Luckily, Amun came into the MedLab area and immediately began assessing Randor's injuries.

  “Commander, he’s only at fifty eight percent on his body functions. You have to allow him to rest
. He can’t tell you anything if he is dead.” Amun said putting the medibands back on Randor.

  Scaden ran his hand through his hair in frustration and annoyance.

  Turning back to Randor, he said, “We were in the quadrant doing a random check on the area when we received a distress signal that was over two thousand years old. After the attack on the outpost, this area was deemed too far away for support to arrive, and it was agreed that basic overview was only required. Until we got the beacon. We arrived on the planet to find you almost dead; a Relian presence had been in your housing quarters, and a Valendran female was missing. How did you get a Valendran female on an outpost?” Scaden asked trying to hold in his frustration, and coax the information out of him about the female.

  “Who is my father?” Randor challenged Scaden.

  “Your Father is Duncar Macner. He is on the Council of Elders and has long mourned your death on the Outpost, as well as many others. You were lead scientist to the Outpost on the planet now called Mars. There was communication, and a beacon sent out warning of a Relian attack on the outpost, then nothing. It was assumed since all of our ships were destroyed on the planet that all survivors had perished.”

  “Because it took so long for help to arrive, it was decided this planet was in its infancy and didn’t need the regular watching of an outpost until they had progressed further. We mourned your deaths and moved on. I am sorry for that decision. We received your distress beacon during a routine patrol. We need to know about the female. She wasn’t there when we retrieved you, and the records show no females assigned to your Outpost.” Scaden told Randor as honestly as he could.