by Sara Fields
They were silent, and I was left with only my thoughts.
I’d expected cruelty, brutality, and pain. Morgn should have hit me for my rudeness; at least I had expected him to anyway. The rumors said Vakarrans were vicious and unforgiving, beating women at even the slightest inclination of insolence.
I’d been more than insolent. I’d been angry, defiant. I’d spat on him. As far from submissive as I could get, and I didn’t intent to stop any time soon. I should be bloodied and bruised, or even dead, but I wasn’t. I was safe, whole, if a little wet. No more worse for wear than I was this morning, or even yesterday. My body hummed, satisfied with the residual pleasure that still pulsed through me. My skin was smooth, unmarred, except for the odd sparkly patches.
Most important, I was still alive.
I was still wary. I didn’t know what else they could do to me. What they would do to me. I thought of my sister, Kira.
Since the five of us were alone in the woods, I decided to be bold.
“You four know of my sister then?” I asked. Ryder looked back at me and nodded curtly, his blue eyes captivating.
“She’s well-known through the Vakarran sector, being a most-wanted criminal and all. The first battalion caught up with her and captured her. Took her for their own,” he replied.
“To breed?”
“That is the ultimate goal, yes,” he said nonchalantly.
I scowled.
“I’ve heard they’re good to her. Her four men,” Aarom added. “She wants for nothing, especially now that she’s pregnant with their child.”
I blanched.
“She’s going to have a Vakarran baby?” I asked, afraid of the truth of the words even as they sprang from my lips.
“That’s what the rumors say, anyway,” Davon replied, and I shivered. I wondered if she was happy, if her band of Vakarrans were cruel, or seemingly, if twistedly so, kind and protective like the group that held me captive.
“Do they hurt her? Are they cruel to her?” I asked hesitantly.
Aarom met my eyes and shook his head. None of them said anything further, leaving me to ruminate in my head once again. I wish I could see her. Talk to her. Make sure she was alright. I bit my lip. Maybe one day, I’d be able to see her. If I obeyed this motley group of four Vakarrans. They’d said she was on the ISS Starrider. That’s where Davon had said Kira was.
Maybe I could use them. Get in contact with my sister somehow.
I’d have to remain vigilant. Observe everything around me. Listen. Learn. Begrudgingly obey their command, for now anyway. Possibly escape one day.
I knew Danika and Kaela could handle themselves. They’d be fine without me. I’d miss them, but I knew that they would remain safe.
The five of us walked through the forest together, Aarom gently tugging me forward by my leash. The four of them were still clothed and I, completely naked. I could feel the last tendrils of sunlight peeking through the leaves, its warmth like a quiet caress on my skin.
My heart pounded gently in my chest, my nerves at finally being captured by the Vakarrans twisting at my insides. They were in my head and in my heart, and I didn’t quite know how to handle that.
I wanted to hate them all. But I couldn’t. Not yet.
I’d hold judgement a little longer. For now, I’d stay compliant, in actions only. I would submit with my body, but not my mind until I knew more.
We walked silently for a while, the only sounds being the shake of the leaves from the wind or the echo of a breaking twig beneath our feet. Eventually, as the sun began to set behind us, I started to hear signs of voices and movement ahead of us.
I stiffened slightly. I knew the land. It was familiar. I knew we were nearing the Vakarran female training camp. At Kira’s insistence, I never came here. It was too dangerous and now I was being led straight into it. My eyes flicked back and forth between the four men as we drew closer. Oddly enough, it seemed that all of them tensed as we approached the camp. They were nervous.
Why?
What were they afraid of? This was their kind.
On the edge of the woods, Ryder stopped, and the rest followed suit. He turned back toward me and began whispering in a low, dangerous tone.
“Alaina. It’s very important you obey us here. If one of our brethren suspects you are not properly trained or obedient, he’ll demand public punishment or worse, direct transfer to Commander Nix’s observation. Trust me. You don’t want that,” Ryder began.
“It might be best for you just to stay silent,” Aarom insisted.
I gazed at them, meeting their eyes, each and every one. They seemed desperate for me to obey. Like they wanted to protect me.
I lifted my head.
Perhaps I could use that to my advantage.
Davon took my hand into his. His youth was refreshing, his inexperience captivating in an odd sort of way. It made me feel at ease. Like he understood me too.
“You’ll probably see much more harshness than we’ve shown you at the human female processing center,” he warned sincerely.
“Trust in us and you’ll never get to experience anything like it,” Aarom added.
I didn’t want to trust them, but I knew I had little choice. Between the four of them, their strength was no match for my small frame. Intellectually though, I’d find a way to best them, eventually. I’d escape. I’d kill them all, without hesitation next time. I’d make Kira proud.
I nodded silently.
The soft smiles of relief melted a little piece of my icy heart. It was almost like they actually cared for me.
The four of them turned back toward the camp, squaring their shoulders and almost instantly, their body language was more fierce, sadistic, and brutal. Even I felt nervous around them now. Afraid they’d punish me for the slightest wrongdoing.
I shivered. I wondered what that would mean.
We walked into the camp and my senses were on overload. Vakarrans marched all around us, observing, judging, working with other human females. Most of the women I saw were subservient, kneeling, their eyes on the ground, their demeanor obedient to their alien captors. It made my skin crawl after my years of freedom with my family.
I tried to swallow my pride though and followed the men’s lead. I was fine, at least until I heard a woman scream.
I jerked backwards, lifting my head and turning to where the sound came from. I saw a line of what looked like stockades and I was taken aback. I hadn’t seen those since… my history lesson data uploads from when I was super young. And they’d only been in drawing form or pictures of replicas of olden times. Renaissance, I think?
There was a woman placed in the center one, her head and hands facing in my direction. Her face looked white with terror and tears ran down her face. I stilled. A Vakarran stood behind her, a wicked sadistic grin gracing his lips. His skin pulsed a dark purple and the excitement was clear in his eyes.
It was then I saw the whip.
His arm drew back, fierce and cruel, before coming down on her back with a strength I would not have expected for him to take out on her. She screamed and struggled, and I flinched for her. She had little chance of escape if someone didn’t help her.
The poor woman. None of us deserved this. Human women weren’t a commodity. We weren’t playthings to be owned, bred, and mastered.
It made me angry. Everything inside me screamed to do something.
I moved toward them, but someone caught my wrist.
Ryder held me.
“I can’t let you intervene,” he said softly.
The whip cracked, and she screamed again. My insides twisted with fury and empathy for her. She sobbed and my heart broke. I pulled at his grip.
“Please. Do something,” I begged. “He’ll kill her.”
Ryder pulled me back, forcing me to turn away from the scene before me. He stared at me, his eyes boring into mine, evaluating me and my intent.
“If I do, will you promise me you’ll stand down? Trust me and my men to ha
ndle this?” he said so that only I could hear.
He seemed sincere. And that other Vakarran was so much bigger than me.
I made a decision then, an unlikely one, but I would have to stand by it. Thus far, my four captors had shown no cruelty. They hadn’t hurt me. Hadn’t abused me like that alien was doing to that poor woman.
“Yes,” I whispered, trying to hold back furious tears.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Ryder said, before pushing me back into Morgn’s arms.
Morgn held me tightly, his hand snaking around the front of my throat, only this time, it felt comforting. Holding me back. Forcing me to stand down. Making me feel like I had no choice in what was to happen next.
Protecting me from harm. And I knew it.
He turned his body, making me look away from it all and for that, I was grateful. I relaxed slightly into his body and just listened.
“Taazar. Good to see you, comrade,” Ryder called out and the alien man hesitated, before answering him.
“Ryder. You’re here from duty on the Starrider?”
“Indeed.” Ryder paused for a long moment. “As your superior, it is my responsibility to question what is happening here. What is this human’s crime?” Ryder questioned. The fury and power in his tone even made me nervous.
“She refused to lay with me. She needs to learn she doesn’t have the capability to say no anymore. We own her,” Taazar grumbled angrily. I flinched and struggled not to react.
Morgn’s grip on me tightened and I was grateful for it. His mouth brushed my ear.
“Do not say a word. Do not push me. You’ll regret it if I have to punish you, Alaina,” he said quietly, loud enough for only me to hear.
I obeyed.
“Taazar. You know I can’t allow this. You must remember the human species is much weaker than us. They are fragile. You’ve ruined this one. She’ll never fetch a high price at market,” he scoffed. “She was pretty too,” Ryder scolded the man.
“Fuck. Commander Nix will be displeased. What can I do?” Taazar replied, sounding confused at first and then more worried by the second.
“Unlock the stockade. We’ll get her to the medical tent. Hopefully, they’ll have access to technologies that might fix this, like they do ours,” Ryder replied.
“I can carry her. You can return to your rounds, Taazar?” Davon offered. I heard his footsteps climbing up the stairs.
“As always, I’m pleased when you offer to do my work, Davon,” Taazar replied as he opened the stocks, the wood creaking loudly. Morgn relaxed a bit then, allowing me to turn my head then.
Davon was exceedingly careful as he snaked his arms around her naked body, lifting her just as gently, but even so, she cried out in obvious pain. The woman, a redhead, stared forward with glassy eyes. The poor thing looked broken.
Davon was careful not to let me see the results of what Taazar had done.
Ryder looked back at Morgn, Aarom, and me and cocked his head.
“See to it that Alaina is taken to our tent and secured for the night. Davon and I will make sure that this human gets the medical attention she needs,” Ryder commanded. He held my gaze steady with his, demanding my surrender. My insides boiled with anger. Taazar deserved to pay for what he had done.
“Ryder will see to it that he never has possession of a human alone again,” Morgn whispered in my ear. “Trust him.”
His words dug into me. Sinking in. Consuming me completely.
Could I trust him? Should I? I would never know if I didn’t try.
“What’s her name?” I asked quietly. Ryder watched me. He’d heard every word.
Ryder moved toward her, taking her chin in his hand, stroking her cheek and wiping her tears away. I couldn’t help myself as I tensed, nervous for her.
“What do they call you, human?” he ventured gently but firmly. She looked up toward him, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She opened her lips and with as much effort as she could muster, whispered something I couldn’t quite make out.
Davon stepped back away from Taazar, who looked all too happy for my captors to take over his work for him.
Fucking bastard. I hope karma would catch up with him sooner rather than later.
I watched the woman as sweat beaded across her brow. Her eyes blinked heavily before they rolled back in her head as she passed out. I wanted to cry for her. I struggled in Morgn’s arms, but he didn’t let me go. Wouldn’t let me.
“Easy,” Morgn whispered. “Just a little longer. He has to leave.”
Taazar saluted Ryder, pounding a fist to his chest before he turned away and sauntered off in the direction of a line of white tents. With each step, he moved farther away and the tension within my limbs grew until finally, he dipped into one of the structures and disappeared from sight.
I couldn’t wait any longer.
I rushed forward and Morgn wasn’t quite prepared as I broke free from his grasp. I heard his steps follow me, and thankfully he didn’t jerk on the leash or force me to stop my forward momentum. Ryder and Davon climbed down from the stage and in scant seconds, I was able to touch her, make sure she was still alive.
My fingers snaked around her wrist. For a long moment, I waited with panic until I could feel her pulse, weak but steady. She was alive.
“Davon, go. Get her to medical. Now,” Ryder demanded, and Davon took off without a word at a steady sprint, moving as though the woman weighed nothing at all. I went to run after her, but Ryder gripped my wrist.
I stilled.
“What was her name?” I wondered aloud, struggling to hold back tears.
“She told me her name was Taera,” he replied.
“What will happen to her?” I pressed.
“I don’t know. I can check in on her later, but right now, my main concern is keeping you safely in our custody. You’ve seen what can happen. Know that there are plenty more terrible things that can happen if our superiors catch wind of who you are and especially if you prove to be disobedient like your sister was,” Ryder said quietly, the threat in his tone causing me to shiver with fear at the unknown.
“Please. Make sure she survives,” I whispered, my bottom lip trembling from the effort not to cry. It was so unfair.
Aarom snaked his arm around my waist, pulling me in close. His body warmth pressed against me and I felt strangely comforted by it. I closed my eyes and curled back into his chest. I shouldn’t be relying on them, but they’d protected Taera from what looked like sure death and never raised a hand toward me. I had to trust my gut, if a bit reluctantly.
“She’ll receive the best medical care we can give her. Once the doctors see what happened to her, she’ll be taken away from the general population and protected. Remember, even though humans are a commodity, a broken or dead one isn’t worth anything. She’ll survive,” he whispered, trying to calm me.
I gritted my teeth and turned away.
“Will you four monitor her? I want to make sure everything goes like you say,” I replied, unable to keep my angry feelings from the tone of my voice. Aarom didn’t let that bother him though.
“Of course. Come now. Let’s get you into our tent, away from prying eyes,” he continued, and I nodded in agreement.
They led me away and I went without a fight. I had gotten what I wanted, the human woman off the stockade and into reasonably safe hands. If there was anyone out of the four that wouldn’t want to see a human truly hurt, I think Davon would ensure her safety.
At least I hoped so.
Morgn, Ryder, and Aarom guided me into a sizable tent at the end of the camp. Feeling numb, I went without a fight. Inside was a massive bed toward one end, and individual beds on the other side. Almost like it was designed for just the four of them, or with the addition of me. On the table at the center was a large plate of food.
I was relieved to see several foods I recognized, including fruits, cheeses, and a vat of what looked like red wine.
Morgn approached the table and poured me a siz
able amount in a plastic cup. He handed it to me, despite the look of disapprovals from both Ryder and Aarom. He didn’t respond to them, but curled his palm around mine, raising the cup to my lips.
The decadent grape and berry flavors consumed me as he tilted it up, allowing me gulp after greedy gulp. Finally, he pulled it away, but only a little.
I caught my breath.
He picked up a piece of cheese and I ate voraciously.
Morgn sat down then and pulled me onto his lap. Ryder and Aarom eventually joined us, picking at the food before them, but leaving most of it to me. As I was fed, I realized exactly how hungry I was. I ate every morsel and then some, wanting more, needing more.
A while later, Davon joined us in the tent.
“How is Taera doing?” I ventured, feeling a bit more at ease now that it was all five of us.
“She’s stable. The doctor is confident the scarring won’t be too terrible. He’ll take great care in her recovery though, hopefully smoothing her skin as much as possible,” he replied.
“Good. I’m glad,” I whispered, my fear for the poor woman making my voice shake.
Aarom met my eyes and he smiled softly. He took my hand in the two of his and squeezed. For some reason, I felt like he understood me then.
“It’s late. You should get some rest. It’s been a long day,” he said quietly, and I nodded. I climbed off Morgn’s lap and Aarom led me over to the large bed. He laid me in the center and allowed me to climb under the covers, before he took the leash and wound it around my wrist, then took my hands and tied them above my head to the bedframe.
I wanted to fight at that moment, but I didn’t have it in me. Instead, I fell fast asleep, completely naked in the bed of four Vakarrans.
Chapter Six
Aarom
I sighed as I watched her eyes close. Sweet. Innocent. Genuine.
I’d never seen another human stand up to defend another. Ever. Especially for a perfect stranger. Alaina was brave, with an even bigger heart than I could have imagined. Sitting down on the bed beside her, I watched the rise and fall of her chest beneath the blankets.
