Grace was uncertain of where she was but it was definitely a place she had never been to before. When she looked around the room it resembled a hospital with the antiseptic smells, the beds, and what looked like monitoring equipment next to the beds. The first thing she recalled seeing were the beautifully colored aqua eyes that gazed upon her. God, this guy was huge. She was not a midget by any standards where she was from. She actually considered herself on the tall spectrum of height, but this guy had to be close to 7 feet tall. If she wouldn’t have been in such shock, she would have considered him to be very handsome.
He pointed to his chest and said Zane. That must be his name she thought. She imagined the scene unfold from the movie Tarzan, ‘Me Tarzan, You Jane’. She told him that he had to be kidding her. What kind of joke was this and then reluctantly gave him her name. Where the hell was she? She was not used to not getting answers to her questions. It was starting to piss her off. She had the distinct feeling that he was chosing not to answer her questions on purpose.
He took a hand held device and started to wave it around her body in various places. She figured that since she wasn’t going get any answers to her questions, she should pay close attention to all that was happening around her. An extremely tall woman pulled him aside and started to speak in a language she never heard before. Grace was really gifted with learning languages and she knew many languages including: Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and German. Being multilingual was an asset to someone in her trade. She had never heard a language like this. It didn’t even sound human. It started to dawn on her as she spoke aloud, “Could it be possible that I have been abducted by aliens?”
He heard her as she talked to herself and nodded at her. She quickly asked him, “Am I on an alien ship?”
He nodded again. This is when she realized that this had the potential to be the story of a lifetime. She was going to make sure that she paid attention to everything. This was possibly going to be the biggest adventure of her life and she was not going to fight it. Hell, this could possibly be a coma induced dream she was having when the car crashed on its way to the airport. Somehow it did not matter. This had blockbuster written all over it, fact or fiction, and she would capitalize on this adventure.
When he was finished with his exam, he motioned for her to follow him. She grabbed her luggage, pulling it behind her as she walked beside him out of the white clinic area into the hallway. They walked down a corridor and at the end was a view she never thought she would see. It was so close, so beautiful. The craters looked deeper and more rugged than she had ever seen through a telescope. It was the moon that orbited her planet, and it was so close. Right behind it was a sliver of the Earth. Her alien companion stopped when he noticed she fell behind. He looked at her and finally got the courage to speak, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Grace was totally caught off guard. “You can speak English? Why are you talking to me now? Why didn’t you talk to me before in that room?”
Zane carefully considered what he would say. “When you started to talk you did not let me respond. I would have answered your questions but I figured that it would be easier for you, if you got used to the idea that you were no longer on the surface of your planet but instead on the mother ship of the Theron Warriors.”
“Theron Warriors? What is Theron?” Grace was now curious.
“I am Zane from the planet Theron, which is located in the galaxy X-tran. I am a Theron Warrior. I am going to take you to the other Earth women now. I have to get back to the clinic for any new arrivals. You will be briefed about why you are here and what will happen to you very soon,” he said as he motioned for her to enter an elevator.
They exited the elevator and not far down the hall she saw two Theron Warriors who appeared to be guarding a door. Zane walked up to them and one of the guards pressed the palm of his hand to the panel adjacent to the door. The door slid open with a hiss and Zane looked at her and said, “I will see you very soon Grace. Until then, please make yourself comfortable here.”
His smile was oddly soothing to her. She wasn’t really scared. His presence alone kind of put her at ease. She entered the room that was filled with overstuffed long sofas along the walls and in the center of the room there was a table with what looked like food items and drinks. The door slid shut behind her and she started to survey the room. Several other women were here as well, 14 to be exact. As she made her way deeper into the room, no one got up to greet her. They all looked like they were very scared and uncertain. What the hell was going on?
She wheeled her luggage next to the nearest available sofa and sat down. The closest woman to her was sitting on the sofa looking out the window. She had dark black hair and it was tied up into a ponytail and she appeared to be wearing pajamas and thick socks on her feet. She had her feet up on the sofa and her arms tightly wrapped around her legs. She had what appeared to be ear buds to a MP3 player stuck in her ears and she was rocking back and forth to in a rhythm set by the music she was listening to. Grace was about to make an attempt to get up and talk to the woman when she heard a soft voice, coming from the opposite direction, “You might not want to do that.”
Grace looked at the woman that stopped her, “Why not?”
“That is Emma. She was the first one brought into this room. She was really upset until I got here. I managed to calm her down by giving her my MP3 player. Turns out we like the same music. It’s the only thing that is keeping her from acting out right now.” She looked at Emma with concern, “My name is Laura Mason. I was brought here about an hour ago.”
Grace looked at Laura. She was dressed in running clothes and her long blonde hair was put up into a ponytail with a headband to keep the stray hairs from falling into her face and away from her crystal blue eyes. “I’m Grace Abernathy. Where were you when you were abducted? Have you talked to any of the other women in the room?”
“You are full of questions. To answer your first question, I just moved to San Francisco's mission districtk six months ago to start my residency in emergency medicine. I went for a run before my shift began and on the running path about 20 minutes into my run I ended up on a space ship. To answer your second question, I have spoken to most of the other women in this room to make sure everyone was alright and unharmed. Almost all of my efforts were to calm Emma though because until now she was making the other women very uncomfortable so I figured someone needed to try to help her. Boy, all those questions. What do you do for a living Grace?”
Grace smiled, a bit embarrassed. She tended to talk too much and ask a lot of questions especially when she was nervous. “I am a journalist and write mostly for a news paper in New York. I also own several businesses that I have to make appearances at several times a year.”
“How did they take you? I see you have your suitcase. I sure hope you weren’t planning to be abducted.” Laura asked in a joking manner.
“I was on my way to Florence, Italy. I entered the terminal to check in for my flight but after the long drive to the airport I had to go relieve myself. As I came out of the bathroom, someone grabbed my arm and I felt a strange sensation come over my body. Then I found myself in a clinic and eventually I was brought here.” Grace looked at Laura, questions piling up in her head with one screaming to be asked, “Do you have any idea why we were brought here?”
“I only heard small tidbits of reasons. Apparently these guys don’t speak English well. The women were all abducted within an hour of one another and from distant areas from one another. In the infirmary, Elizabeth, the woman with the light brown curly hair, said something about us being mates. Sarah, the Asian woman, said something about an auction. Gabrielle, with the dark black hair and black eyes that looks like she is of Spanish decent, said someone would be in shortly to explain what is going to happen. I don’t think Emma allowed herself to hear a word. She seems to have closed herself off to everyone she encountered since being here. She has been here the longest, over 10 hours. Did you hear a
nything about why they brought us here?”
Grace recounted her conversation with Zane to Laura, “Zane, the guy who brought me here, said that this ship is from the planet Theron. They classify themselves as Theron Warriors. Theron is in the galaxy called X-tran. He said someone would be in shortly to brief us on why we are here. I guess we will have to wait.”
“I hate to leave you but I think I will go and check on Emma. There’s food and drinks on the table over there if you are hungry. One of those men just brought it in about an hour ago. Some of the things on the table look odd but the green juice in the pitcher kind of tastes like apple juice.”
“I will be just fine. I am just going to gather my thoughts, maybe try some of that food and wait for the briefing that I was assured would come soon. Go see Emma, she is looking this way.” Grace said as Emma looked around for Laura. “I think she wants to talk to you now.”
“It was nice meeting you Grace.” Laura said in a self-assured manner that was a trait that Grace admired.
“It was very nice to meet you Laura.” Grace said with a smile as Laura made her way to Emma. Emma looked glad to see Laura and they began to talk in hushed tones. It didn’t matter. Grace wasn’t trying to overhear them. She was lost in her own thoughts. She went ahead and collected some food and a drink from the table returning to the sofa and sitting down. She got lost in the questions and thoughts exploding in her head.
A couple hours later a very handsome warrior with purple eyes that had beautiful gold flecks in them walked in carrying a woman and placing her on the couch. It looked as if maybe she had injured her ankle. She was sure that if Laura knew, she would want to see her right away. However, Laura was busy tending to Emma and it looked like she was finally getting through to her because Emma started to smile and actually laughed at something Laura said. She waited until the Warrior left the room and made her way to the injured woman. She carefully sat down next to the woman and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Gracie” extending her hand to the woman to shake.
“I’m Avery.” She replied with a slight smile, reaching out her hand. She was obviously in pain. Grace could see it in the expression on her face as she adjusted her position on the sofa. She was short, about 5’3’ maybe, with curly brown hair that had natural red highlights. She had beautiful and honest, hazel eyes that almost sparkled when she tried to smile.
“Well Avery, I hate to say it’s nice to meet you considering the circumstances, but we are from the same planet. Do you have any idea what we are here for?”
“The little bit I was told in the infirmary was that we are going to be put up for some kind of auction. However, I feel as if I was not told everything. They said someone was going to come and explain everything to us. How long have you been here?”
“I was brought in here several hours ago. No one else has been brought in until you. There are sixteen of us now counting you. I asked one of the other girls when they arrived. It seems that all have been arriving within a few hours of each other. Emma, over there in the corner with her black hair in a ponytail has been here the longest. That is Laura, who is sitting next to Emma. She was brought in right before me. Emma isn’t very talkative. She just wants to be left alone but Laura seems to have gotten through to her. Every now and then, I can see them talking to each other.” Gracie took a slow breath. She knew she was talking nervously. “Don’t mind me though. I start to talk and ramble on when I get nervous.”
Grace could not believe that she was acting this way. She had to get a handle on her nervousness. It would not do her any good to lose her wits. She had to remain strong and confident. She started to repeat “Just breathe, be calm” in her mind like a mantra. She did not want to make this girl anymore uncomfortable or nervous than she already was. She decided to try to change the subject. Bring up some kind of small talk to get her mind off her current situation, so she asked Avery, “Where are you from?”
“I am from the New Orleans area and grew up on the Westbank side of the river with my two aunts. Where are you from?” Avery asked Grace.
“My family was from New York City. I was sent to boarding school away from home as a child but I have since returned to the city.” Grace replied. She didn’t like talking about her family much. She hated the way people would react to her story. It would feel like they pitied her loss in a way. It was easier to avoid the conversation all together and most time she would, however, she did not think that Avery was going to let it go.
“I don’t want to seem intrusive, but what do you mean your family ‘was’ from New York City?”
“It’s ok Avery. It just still hurts a lot to think about them. My father, mother, older sister and brother were all killed in the 9/11 attacks. My father owned a law firm that had offices in one of the Twin Towers. They were all there when the first plane hit. Fortunately for me, I was away at school when it happened.” She replied trying to keep her face as neutral as possible but she knew she was failing fast. Avery looked at her with deep concern confirming her suspicions. She had to hold it together.
“I am so sorry. I should have never asked a question like that.” Avery said sincerely.
Gracie smiled at her new friend, “It’s really okay Avery. It took me a long time to overcome the pain and grief of the attack. As each day and year goes by it does get a little easier. I still have my cousin Michael. His parents, my Aunt Marion and Uncle Harold, assumed responsibility for me after my parents died. Michael runs the firm now. He is like brother to me and his wife Emily is great. They have three kids that I just adore and believe it or not, one more on the way.” She smiled, remembering the wonderful trip to the beach. No one could take those memories away from her. She would hold them in her heart for as long as she lived.
Silence overtook both women after Gracie’s revelation. Breaking the silence again, Gracie offered, “Are you hungry or thirsty? One of those guys brought in some food and drinks a bit ago. I am not sure what any of it is, but some of it actually tastes pretty good.”
Grace watched as Avery looked over to the table with the food then looked back at her and then down at the glass in her hand. She asked, “What are you drinking?”
“Honestly, I don’t have a clue, but it tastes like Kool-Aid. Want some? I’ll get it for you since I see that you have injured your ankle.”
“Thanks that would be great.” Avery replied with a smile.
Gracie made her way over to the table and poured a glass of the lime green liquid. She also put a variety of the food onto a small plate and carried it back to Avery.
“I figured you might want something to nibble on. There is no telling how long we may be in here. This little round cookie thing is actually pretty tasty. Here try one.” Gracie held out the plate to Avery waiting for her to take it from her.
Avery took a bite and her eyebrows raised a bit as she said, “Tastes like chocolate flavored vanilla wafers.”
“That’s what I thought too. If given a choice, I am not one to go without eating for very long. I love food and will try just about anything you put in front of me. I have eaten…” Gracie stopped talking in mid-sentence when the door of the room slid open and a man walked in.
Gracie determined that since this man did not have another woman with him, he must be here for the briefing.
“Females of the planet Earth, I am Aten, Theron warrior. I have been sent to inform you of what is about to unfold. All of you have been selected to become mates for the Theron warriors aboard this ship. We made an agreement with your country and arranged it so that we may select and obtain females from your planet to accompany us to our home planet.”
Sarah said quite loudly, “You have got to be kidding. This has got to be some sort of joke.”
“I assure you that this is not a joke. Each of you will be put up for auction and will be sold to the warrior that shows the most interest in you and bids the highest. Once you are in the company of your mate, he will then take you to your new home here on the mother ship and later back to
our home planet Theron. Each of you will be escorted to the area where the auction will take place. You will be guarded at all times by the two warriors that will escort you. They will remain with you until your mate takes you into his possession. Now, the warriors have gathered and we are ready to begin.”
The women in the room were taking the news with a degree of disbelief. Grace saw some of them start to cry, others were trying to console the nearest person to them, and some of their faces just went blank and showed no emotion at all. She knew that initially she signed on for an adventure but this was bizarre. She was really starting to believe the scenario that William wrecked the car and she was in a coma in hospital in the city. No way could any of this be actually happening.
Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) Page 5
