by Riley Carver
So, the Omega’s going to be a pain in the ass. “Sedate her,” I command the Beta attendant. The attendant scrambles over to the side of the transport craft. She rifles through her uniform pockets for an aggravatingly long time before producing a syringe.
The Omega tries to hit the syringe away with her free hand as total panic overtakes her. I grab her hand, and when I interlace my fingers with hers, I feel a jolt of attraction that almost makes me stumble. A second later, the Omega goes limp as the Beta attendant plunges the needle into the Omega’s arm and the sedative courses through her. Good. I dump the Omega onto the floor of the transport craft and step over her prone body on my way to the captain’s seat.
Kira
When I startle awake, I’m in a dark room. I feel relaxed, and I know instantly that I have no reason to be calm. I remember everything that’s happened tonight. I sit bolt upright and scoot back until I reach the wall farthest from the door. From here I can keep an eye on anyone coming in. Hugging my knees to my chest, I look around.
It dawns on me all at once where I am. The white-stone walls and vaulted ceilings are one of a kind. Display cases line the walls. I haven’t been here since my third-grade field trip. No one who lives in San Antonio goes to the Alamo, unless it’s with visitors from out of state. My entire extended family is from Texas, so I never had the occasion to come back here.
I search my memory, hoping to unearth any details about the layout and features, anything that could help me hide. By now, I already know better than to run or fight. My best bet is to hole up somewhere nearby until they decide I’m not important enough to keep pursuing.
Why do they want me, anyway? If they wanted a prettier girl, they would have taken my sister. I do all right for myself, but she’s always been the beauty of the family with her sleek blonde hair and her effortlessly slim body. My curves mean that I’m invisible to the opposite sex whenever my sister is around.
If they wanted a captive who was weak, there were plenty of old people at the party too. I scold myself for being so matter of fact about it. It’s too grim to think your grandma is a better candidate for kidnapping than you. But I can’t help myself. I’m trying to puzzle out everything that is going on. My survival literally depends on it.
It’s hard to hear anything over my heavy breathing. I hold my breath for a second in order to listen for any clues about how close my captors are. It’s dead silent. There’s no way they’ve left me here, is there?
For some reason, I have an overwhelming urge to check the time. I have no idea how long I was unconscious. It could be two days since I was taken for all I know. A smile pulls at the corners of my lips. I have my phone. Hell yes, I have my phone.
My mom has been yelling at me for years about how unladylike it is to jam my phone into my bra. And here it is to maybe save me. I reach down and pull it out, grateful for once that my often-inconvenient breasts have held my iPhone in place. I can call for help or look up the layout of the room I’m in online.
As my finger approaches the power button, I hear someone coming. Actually, from the footfalls, I can tell it’s a whole herd of them. I am overtaken by fear, and my iPhone slides out of my hand and smashes on the concrete floor.
The door is open now. The biggest alien, the one who I hate the most, surveys the cavernous space I’m in. He finds me cowering against the far wall, under the doors reclaimed from some palace that I remember my long-ago tour guide droning on and on about. His eyes sweep from my cracked and ruined phone up to my face. No phone, no useful memories of the stupid Alamo, no one coming to rescue me. I’m screwed.
Drax
The small Omega has followed her instincts and jammed herself into the farthest reaches of the room. I wonder if she’s going into heat or if this is her fear response.
She is glowering at me as though challenging me to a fight. I’m tempted to laugh, but I’d prefer her cooperation. And I’m guessing she feels more cooperative after a nice, sedative-induced rest.
“Omega,” I start. Her glare intensifies.
“Why do you keep calling me that?” she says in a quiet but firm voice.
“Because that is what you are. You are an Omega, which means you have a purpose for the first time in your Earthborn life. Your Beta attendant will explain it all when we board the ship. She is busy making preparations to ensure your comfort before we leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, you will wait here quietly.”
She cocks her head like she is listening carefully as I continue.
“There are guards posted outside this door. I came to impress upon you the importance of your submission to us. There is no use trying anything. You are important but not irreplaceable.”
I give her a hard look to show her how serious I am. It feels like we’re two magnets, and she’s pulling me toward her. I rest a hand on the doorframe, hoping to look casual. Really, I’m holding on for dear life. If I cross the room, nothing will be able to stop me. I want to spread her legs to see the center of her before I plunge in.
I shake my head, trying to cast out the detailed fantasies that have plagued me ever since I met this Omega.
She’s not special, I remind myself. Not really. There are thousands of Omegas on this planet alone. What’s happening to me isn’t real attraction. It’s biological. These are base urges, and I’m strong enough to fight them off.
I know I should leave the room. There wasn’t a real reason for me to come here in the first place. I have hundreds of soldiers at my command. Any of the Betas could have competently checked to make sure the Omega was still breathing.
But I linger. What is it the Earthborns talk about when they get together? My extensive studies revealed that they like best to talk about themselves. Personal conversations are rare on Fysi. Perhaps your mother and father get to know you a bit before you’re assigned to a children’s center, but that happens early enough that I barely remember my parents at all.
I scuff my shoe across the tile floor. This is a strange place, a monument of some sort to the Earthborns’ history. I can’t help but think the invasion is what they deserve since they can’t ever seem to look forward. They like too much to dwell on the past.
“Do you come here a lot?” I ask the Omega, and the contemptuous look on her face makes me scoff.
She snorts in my direction, pressing herself hard against the wall.
I feel the anger rising in my belly. “I thought you Earthborns got two leisure days each week, and you pack baskets of food and bring that food to places other than your homes to eat while you look around,” I say.
I know what I’m talking about here. Let’s see her be dismissive of me now.
She is silent a long while. After drawing in a long breath, she looks up at me and gestures me to come closer. This is more like it. She is learning to treat me with the respect I deserve. I close half of the distance between us.
Her eyes crinkle slightly at the corners as she parts her lips to speak.
“Fuck you,” she says.
But she’s just getting started.
“In a way, I’m glad you’ve brought me here,” she says. “This is place where my ancestors fought a battle they couldn’t win. They never gave up, even though they were outnumbered and the fight was futile. Then, in the end, the army of the men who fought here won the war. It reminds me I’m the same way. You can experiment on me, kill me, whatever you plan to do. I’ll lose the battle, but humans are going to win the war.”
She looks pleased with herself, like she’s delivered a speech that will go down in the annals of history. In reality, it was just ok. I’ve read all the great speeches Earthborns have recorded. This one was a little trite. The Omega probably watches a lot of TV. I think they all do.
“Okay,” I say, walking closer and closer to her. “You’re wrong, but I’m glad you took the chance to express yourself. That was … adequate. It aroused no emotion in me, but it was likely cathartic for you.
“Here’s what’s really going to happen.
You are going to be obedient. You are going to follow every direction you are given. You are going to stop being a headache for me because I have better things to do than chase after you when you try to escape. You’re not going to escape. You are an Omega. I can smell you from a great distance. That means I can track you. Hiding doesn’t work. Running on your sad little Earthborn legs won’t help. It’s over. Accept it.”
She is making an odd noise now and her face is turning splotchy. Panic rises in me.
“Omega! Are you all right?” I mean this as a courtesy, but it comes out as shouting.
Ah, I think, as I notice her shoulders heave. She isn’t dying. She’s only crying.
I reach out a hand, planning to give her a hearty clap on the back, like I do to encourage my soldiers. But it doesn’t go at all like I planned.
Kira
I’ve never hated anyone like I hate this alien. It’s a mix of bone-deep fear and hate, and I don’t know what to do with it. I’ve never been great at expressing my anger. I remember every fight I’ve ever had with my sister ending like this one is—with me in tears.
I try so hard to hold back. I don’t want to give this revolting creature the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I ball my hands into fists at my sides. My nails dig into my palms, and I try to focus on the pain instead of the terror and rage that’s brewing inside me.
It doesn’t work. It’s only a second before I feel a single, hot tear roll down my cheek. Soon, I’m weeping. Snot mixes with my tears, and the top of my dress is soaked. I’m hiding my face, so I don’t see the brute reach for me.
When his clawed hand makes contact with my bare shoulder, I shudder. It’s like all those medical shows I’ve watched—I feel as though I’m strapped down to a gurney, and he’s using chest paddles on me. I can’t move. Worse, I don’t want to move away. I want his hands on me forever. I silently will him to explore me with his fingers. Or his mouth. Or his …
I bite my lip and start to cry again, softly this time. I’m so confused. I feel a primal need every time he’s near me. He makes a noise that’s a mix of a purr and a growl, and I’m flooded with wetness for the second time today. I arch my back and look up at him through my tears.
The need in me is growing now. It’s almost painful, and I am desperate for relief. He leans in, and now he’s inches from my face. Our eyes are locked. I realize I’ll do anything he asks. I can’t control myself around him. I don’t even want to.
Just as I think he’ll kiss me, I feel a sharp pinch in my side. Everything fades to black.
Chapter 3
Drax
I shouldn’t have sedated her again. I tug at my hair and silently swear as I leave the room. That was too close. I cannot take the risk of being alone with her again. I’ve come too far to let some Omega derail me. The Avekis are basically at our doorstep, and the Upper Council has never before assigned someone as young as me to lead a battalion on a mission, let alone one this critical to our strategy.
The guards look surprised as I exit the building where I’m keeping the Omega. Questions are painted all over their faces, despite their efforts to mask their curiosity. The optics on this are bad. I’ve come out of a dark room—where the Omega is being held all by herself—and I’m rumpled and distracted.
Nothing happened, I remind myself. But even in my head, the sentiment has a note of falseness. “No one is to be admitted to this room other than the Beta attendant. I want you to repeat it back to me,” I say, emphasizing each word through gritted teeth.
I stand patiently as the crowd of six soldiers speak in unison, echoing my orders. I draw myself up, standing at my full height before leaning over the soldier who’s nearest.
The soldier shifts but composes herself quickly. “I’ll hold you personally responsible for any failures,” I say, giving her a searing look until she breaks eye contact and stares at the ground.
That’s more like it. I’m unaccustomed to garnering anything but fear and respect, and it feels like I’ve restored order. The Omega won’t be a problem now that I’ve hardened my resolve to stay away from her no matter what.
I walk away briskly and come to a stop in a courtyard. The sky is inky black. Soon, this planet’s sun will appear. I saw it yesterday morning for the first time. On Fysi, the sun rarely rises or sets. Instead, there are long periods of time that are light and long periods of time that are dark. Everything on this planet is too frantic, maybe it’s because just as you get used to a day, it’s already gone.
I follow the concrete that’s been poured over the ground to the building where I’ve established the command center. All around me, there are tall trees with different kinds of leaves. Some are long and come to sharp points. Others are wide and broad. Some of the trees are blooming. For a second, I allow myself to feel a pang of homesickness.
The riot of plants that cover Fysi are much more appealing than this place’s foliage. And how could these Earthborns not see that building underground is far superior in every way to what they’ve done to their home, which is blighted with tar and buildings and rudimentary methods of transport?
I’m looking up at the trees when my second in command approaches. I reach for the back of his head and pull him close, our short horns tapping twice before I release him. Amiran presses his thumb to mine to show his loyalty and respect. The gray skin on his forearm is crisscrossed by deep scars.
“Is the Omega ready for launch?” he asks.
“Yes, now we wait for dawn to break. How is everything at the command center?”
Amiran shrugs and opens his palms wide. “No problems … except, well …” he trails off before continuing. “I don’t understand why the doors here are so short. I hit my head three times on the same doorframe before I’d had enough.”
He walks me over to the building we’ve commandeered. There is rubble piled next to the entrance, and the building is sagging slightly.
“I used my laser gun to make a few improvements to the space,” he says, and the impish grin he gives me makes me smile for the first time since I came to this wretched planet.
Kira
I’m starting to get annoyed. The annoyance is overtaking the fear and the sadness of missing my family. I sink into my irritation, letting it distract me from everything else that’s going on. These aliens can’t even handle being around one human girl without resorting to drugging me.
I know they’re not hurting me when they put me under—my last memory is the hulking alien shutting the door behind him as he left me. He knocked a flagpole over on his way out, and it’s still propped across the doorway. Anyone could still get into the room, but they’d have to move it out of the way first.
This is shaping up to be a long night. I’ve never been a good sleeper, so I’m used to only getting a couple hours here and there. I know I’m not going to be able to fall back asleep, especially not on the cold tile floor.
I brace myself against the wall as I try to stand. My legs are a little wobbly, but I’m steady enough to take a few steps. I walk through the space—the famous Alamo shrine—looking for a better hiding place. Maybe my captor is right, and hiding is futile. But I’m not going to go easy anyway. I want to give him a taste of how I feel after the way he’s treated me.
I drag my hand across the cool stone walls as I walk around. It’s incredible to be here at night with no one around. I retrace my steps and grab my cracked phone. Even though it’s almost totally useless, I can use the brightness of the smashed screen to look around.
I try to read the placard on the display case nearest to me. I can almost make out the words as I squint down at it. When the door to the room is thrown open and the flagpole is kicked out of the way, I hit my head hard against the glass.
Damn it. I got distracted, like I was on a field trip and everything was fine. It’s not. There’s no chaperone or anyone waiting for me to get home. I’m lost to everyone I love.
I make a decision then and there. Whatever the weird sexual tension is that I feel wit
h that reprehensible alien doesn’t matter. I’m going to try to hurt him. I bet I can do a little damage before he puts me out of my misery.
But when I look toward the door, it’s not him.
A female alien bounds up to where I’m standing. She reaches out her left hand with her palm facing the ground. My confusion must be obvious because the first thing she says to me is, “I thought Earthborns did something with their hands when they met?”
She is smiling broadly and bouncing back on her heels. I’ve known her for about two seconds, and already, I think she’s going to drive me crazy.
“Err, you do it like this,” I say, reaching for her right hand and showing her how to shake. Her skin looks smooth, so I’m surprised to feel that it’s actually pretty scaly.
“I’m Peggy,” she says.
I look at her slack-jawed, and now she’s sheepish.
