by Calista Skye
“I just hope his various punishments had some effect,” she muses. “Small female slaves don’t last long if they’re anything but demure. But that’s not my problem. I’ll be long gone with my cash when your new owner discovers that you’re not as decent as he thought. Why don’t you sit down?”
I’m grabbed in invisible hands, and I have to drop the gun and my pack. I’m forced to sit down in a chair, and thick straps are fastened around me.
“Let me go! Brox will fucking kill you!”
“There is that risk,” she agrees. “He’s been acting very irrationally lately. So I think it’s better if we don’t bring him along.” She zooms off into the control room.
I struggle against the straps holding me in place. They’re more than tough enough to keep me still.
The saucer trembles, and I realize that we’re taking off.
I’m being abducted again.
31
- Brox -
I’m breathing easier, and the numbness in my shoulder is giving way to excruciating pain. That has to be a good sign.
The white splotches are gone, too. Indeed Althea’s alien substance is healing me. It’s a truly marvelous thing that nobody would suspect was invented by such a primitive species as these humans. But looks can deceive, I suppose. If sold as a commodity on the galactic market, it would make Althea one of the richest beings in the universe. I now understand her reluctance to let the Glup have it. My own species’ ability to heal superficial wounds by licking them pales in comparison to this.
My shoulder really hurts now. I prod the wound, and my fingers get hold of something hard. I pull it out, releasing a stream of blood and very unpleasant fluids.
It’s a strange mushroom-shaped metal thing that was lodged in there. It must have deformed when it entered my body. I have seen similar things before, used by primitive species. But none of them have been as evil as this. It contains two metals. One looks like a copper alloy. And the other is a dull, dark gray. That has to be lead. It explains why it almost killed me. That metal is extremely toxic to my kind.
Getting that evil thing out of me raises my spirits, and I slowly stand up. When the world stops spinning around me, I catch my bearings and walk towards the exit.
The tunnel is burned black everywhere, and the hatches are just twisted pieces of metal on the ground, mixed in with parts of Glup. I smile tightly. What started as hiding actually turned out to be a pretty decent victory by one warrior. With some assistance from a human female.
Okay, quite a lot of assistance.
I climb up the charred remains of the ladder. The Glup ship is there, ugly and spidery in its own right. There’s no activity, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s been abandoned.
In the distance, I can just about spot the handful of white lights of Althea’s colony. It’s not far.
Althea! The universe seems somehow brighter than ever before.
And there is my own ship, less than a thousand paces away. I suppose Bleep decided against coming here to pick me up. She’ll be conscious about conserving fuel, of course. I approve entirely—
No, here she comes. The saucer takes off from the surface, and I stop. I’ll let it come to me.
But it doesn’t. It hovers briefly, then shoots off, straight up. There’s a loud sonic boom. Then the ship quickly becomes a moving speck against the dark sky, then a small shooting star. And then it’s gone.
For a moment, I’m stunned. Then I grind my teeth in anger and frustration.
Bleep has taken off without me. She would never have burned that much fuel if she wasn’t intending to leave the planet for good.
I’m stranded.
32
- Althea -
“Let’s see if we can’t find you a buyer,” Bleep says brightly and uses some kind of invisible force field to force me to my feet.
The straps fall off me, and I rub my sore wrists. I don’t know how much time has passed, but it’s been less than a day. “You will never get away with this,” I seethe. “Brox will hunt you down and kill you stone fucking dead.”
Bleep zooms around the ship, pressing buttons and arranging things. “Really? I think he might beg me to rejoin the team when he sees that I’m about to win the Competition.”
“You left him on the planet. He’ll be mad as hell.”
“Oh, I’m sure he will weigh his anger against the possibility of winning the Competition and then make the right choice.”
That made no impression on her. But I think I know what will. “No chance. Did you know he thanked me for coming to get him?”
“Really?” The robot’s voice is incredulous. “He thanked you? Brox?”
“Really. And then he kissed me goodbye.”
I can see the little point of light freeze in mid-air. “Oh,” she finally says. “That’s unprecedented. Oh, you weird organics. Well, I’ll just kill him before he can kill me.”
“He’ll squash you like the sad excuse for a firefly that you are.”
The tiny robot hangs silent in the air for a moment. “Then I suppose I better put something on.”
She zips into the control room, and two seconds later I hear heavy footsteps.
Then I squeal as a black shape comes out. It’s the size of a large human and has two legs and four arms. And it’s clearly a robot, with metal that shimmers where it’s not a dull black.
The robot marches right up to me, and I squeal again and press myself into the wall of the ship.
“Pretty intimidating, huh?” Bleeps voice comes from where the robot’s mouth would be if it had one. The huge thing shoots a hip out, then twists and turns like a teenage girl in front of a mirror. “It’s an old model. Not very fashionable. But it’s better than going naked, if Brox is really coming after me. When I win the competition, I’ll get me a custom-made body. It’ll be sixty feet tall and the cutest pink you can imagine. Even Brox will hesitate to attack me then. I’ll be too stunning to wish any harm to.”
“You’re insane, you fucking bitch.”
“Robots don’t go insane. We just transcend our programming. And I transcended mine a good while back. Come along.”
She reaches one black arm out and snaps another collar on me. But where the other one was light and not too uncomfortable, this one is cold and tight and heavy. It has a leash attached to it, and the other end is firmly held in one of the robot’s three other hands.
Then Bleep in her robot body leads me out of the saucer and down the ramp.
I have no idea where this is. But I know where it’s not, and that’s anywhere close to Earth.
I think it’s a space station of some kind.
And it’s filled with aliens.
If I hadn’t watched so much sci-fi in my life, I probably would have fainted from the shock. There are aliens of all kinds I could ever imagine. There are insects and furry things and worm-like beings that leave trails of slime and flying creatures and beings that are just too terrifying for me to even look at. They’re milling around like Christmas shoppers in a mall, and Bleep and I don’t stand out. Even having someone on a leash seems pretty common here.
The sights and the smells and the sounds make my head spin. A tiny sliver of my mind notes that this is more what I expected from a space adventure. Apart from being in this situation.
“Bununun Orbital,” Bleep says as she leads me through the crows. “Daily slave auctions. I spent all my fuel to get here. You better get me a good price.”
I grab the leash and yank at it. “I won’t get you shit.”
Bleep doesn’t budge. “We’ll see. Now, the auction place should be this way...”
I have to try. This might be my last chance. I fill my lungs. “Help! I’m being kidnapped! Heeeelp! Someone save me!”
I pull at the leash and kick at Bleep’s robot body so everyone can see what I mean, even if they don’t speak English. But nobody comes to my aid. The aliens just pull away and send me some curious glances, but that’s it.
“Heelp!
” I continue. “Murder! Kidnapping! Police!”
Bleep yanks the leash so hard I fall to the floor. “You’re being ridiculous. They can all see I own you. And even if I didn’t, nobody would care.”
It does appear to be true. I sit and weep sorely, partly as a theatrical performance to possibly elicit some sympathy from passers-by, but to no avail.
Finally, Bleep yanks me to my feet. “See?”
The giant robot leads me through the alien throng into a wing which is less busy. Bleep stops, talks to some aliens that look like goats with turtles for heads, and then I find myself in a smaller room, surrounded by them.
“Evaluation time,” Bleep says. “So I’ll have to…”
She runs one hand up and down my suit, and then it falls off me, cut into several long pieces.
Then I’m scrutinized while the huge robot that is Bleep holds my arms so I can’t cover myself or even move much.
“You’re an interesting lot, they say. Unusual in most ways. They’re fascinated by the fur on your head and your pussy. They find it very, very kinky.”
I’m turned this way and that, and it makes me feel like a piece of meat. Tears of humiliation are burning in my eyes when they stop their scrutiny and attach an alien label to the collar and then move on to some other unfortunate alien.
“This could be good,” Bleep says as she leads me down dank alien corridors. “They really liked what they saw. Apparently, humanoids are the flavor of the month here. But the other lots don’t have the head fur. You’ll be the star attraction for tonight’s auction, they say. You should feel honored!”
“Fuck you to hell,” I mutter, naked again and feeling more and more hopeless.
She glances at me with dead robot eyes. “I will do you a favor and tell you that I agree with Brox. That kind of language isn’t going to endear you to your next owner. And a displeased owner can be lethal to a small female slave like you.”
“I’m not a slave!” I yell. “You have no right to do this.”
“How high should I set the reserve, do you think?” Bleep muses, ignoring me. “On the one hand, I really do need to get rid of you and get money for fuel. On the other hand, I want to get as much as possible for you. They will start the bids at a million, they say. Reserve at three? Yes, I think so. It gives me a fighting chance in the competition. Okay with three, happy with five, ecstatic with six million. Yes, that’s it.”
Bleep hands the leash to another alien, and it tries to forcibly push me into a cube made of thin metal bars. I know what that is. It’s a cage.
My mind rebels, and I kick and scream and claw and hit at the goat-like alien. It takes him by surprise, but only for a second. Then he touches a metal rod to my hip, and it gives me a shock so hard I scream and collapse to the floor.
Yeah, I’ve just been cattle prodded.
The alien shoves me into the cage and locks the door.
Bleep bends down and looks at me with her mechanical eyes. “You’ll stay here until it’s time. I suggest you don’t annoy them. They don’t hesitate using those sticks. I get the feeling you’re not the first misbehaving lot they’ve seen.” Then she leaves, her huge robot feet making metallic clicks on the floor with each step.
I look around. There are more cages here, but they’re mostly empty. Attached to the mesh of mine there is a bowl of water and one that contains a grayish substance that looks a lot like gruel.
My hip still stings after the cattle prod. But the hopelessness I feel is much worse.
Shit. This looks like it’s going to be bad.
- - -
The cages beside me are slowly filling up with aliens of various kinds. Some are brought on leashes, some in chains. And some have no visible restraints. They seem to be willing to be sold.
I vow to myself that whatever happens now, I’ll never go willingly to anything as a slave. Cattle prod or not, I’d rather die than become domesticated.
After several hours, there’s a flurry of activity, and I’m let out of the cage and led to a room that looks like it’s a backstage kind of place. From somewhere I can hear the weird sound of hundreds of different aliens chattering. That must be the audience of possible buyers.
Bleep comes walking with her metallic footsteps. “The auction is about to begin. Excited about how much you’ll bring me?”
I ignore her. If I survive this, it’ll be my life’s mission to track her down and kill her. Or turn her off or recycle her or return her to her manufacturer as defective or whatever you do with robots.
“Anyway,” she goes on when I don’t reply, “you’ll be the last lot to be auctioned. Such an honor! I’ll be in the audience. Be a good little slave organic now.”
She sashays off in her black robot body, looking too ridiculous for words.
The alien chatter goes quiet, and the auction starts. One alien after the other is led past me and onto what appears to be a podium. I don’t understand what’s being said, but I get the impression that the auction process is much the same here as on Earth. The auctioneer receives bids and repeats them until there’s a higher bid.
One after another, the other lots are sold, and they don’t return to this room. Soon, it will be my turn. For the hundredth, time I try to get the stupid collar off, but it’s hard metal and won’t budge.
Okay. There will be more chances to escape.
I hope.
I hear quick footsteps and demonstratively turn my back to Bleep when she approaches.
“Good news!” she exclaims. “They will sell you as a breeding slave! That means you won’t have to work yourself to death in a mine or on a plantation. Not right away, at least. Your new owner might use you to impregnate and give birth to many litters of pups. If he likes you! Which I’m sure he will if you just act nice. You might get a cage of your own, even! Just wanted you to know.”
She leaves again, and a new feeling of terror fills me. Breeding? No, that can’t be good.
A goat-like alien comes and pulls me with him by the collar.
Then I’m standing on the stage.
Strong lights from above almost blind me, but I can tell that the crowd is very large. There must be a thousand aliens of all kinds in the audience.
The auctioneers turn me around and probably comment on my features, and the way they display my hair I can only assume that they’re making a big deal out of that.
And the audience responds. First they go silent. Then the room breaks out in a kind of excited chatter I haven’t heard for any of the other slaves auctioned before me.
My ankles are shackled to the floor, and the auction starts. I have no idea how much is being bid.
But I’ll be damned if Bleep will get millions for me.
“Heeelp!” I scream and yank at the straps and shackles holding me in place. “I’m not a slave! I’ve been kidnapped!”
I know they can’t understand me, but making a scene like this will probably make them think there’s something wrong with me and they won’t want me.
I increase the volume so my wailing drowns out the auctioneer. I let loose as much as I can, trying to seem like I’m insane. I stop making actual words and just squeal and spit and hiss.
And as I continue screaming and struggling to get out of my restraints, the bidding does seem to slow down.
Encouraged, I intensify my efforts and try to make foam appear at my mouth. Nobody will buy me if they think I’m rabid.
A helper marches over and shocks me with the cattle prod. Again I collapse to the floor with a stinging hip, but I don’t stop making weird and loud noises. I have nothing to lose here. Not even my dignity.
I still do my best to drown out the auctioneer, but I don’t get the impression that the bidding stops. Instead, the noise around me increases, as if the audience is getting really excited.
Then there’s an alien ding, and the room erupts in alien cheers.
I have no idea what just happened, but I don’t think it was good.
I think I just got sold.
I’m dragged down from the stage and into another room where the other sold slaves are waiting, each tied to the wall.
I’m tied to a wall, too, and then I’m left standing there on my own. I don’t even try to communicate with the other slaves in here. They’re all too alien, and some of them are being examined by their new owners.
Bleep sashays into the room and has her battlebot body do a dainty pirouette on the floor. “Oh my mech. You are spectacular! I can’t believe you’d do that for me!”
I demonstratively look the other way. I don’t want her to see my desperation. “Do what?”
“That whole show! That wonderful display of energy. I have to say, at first I thought you were going crazy. With the screams and the movements? I think the others thought the same thing. But then you were zapped and you feel down and you didn’t stop! They loved that. You know, because most lots who have to be zapped just collapse and stay down. But not you! You really showed them how strong and energetic you are, and how vital your offspring will be! So important in a breeding slave. You have no idea how much the bidding picked up after that. It had kind of stalled at two and a half, but then you took off like that, and it just went wild! Do you know how much you finally went for? Eight million! More than double the reserve price!”
I stifle a groan as I die a little inside. My insanity play had the opposite effect of what I was going for.
Bleep does a little dance with her robot body. “I can’t thank you enough, Althea. Of all organics, you’re my favorite right now. Oh, and you’ll definitely be a breeding female for your new owner. Definitely! And here he is now!”
It’s a swarm of crickets, all five feet tall and as green as grass. At least that’s the closest thing I can think about. They’re giant insects, anyway.
It’s the first time I see insects wearing clothes. The lower halves of the nightmarish creatures are hidden by shrouds of dirty yellow fabric.
I didn’t think my skin could creep any more, but this does it. If I weren’t all cried out, I’d be weeping in terror.
