Page 29

The vrisha watched her, waiting patiently, their tail flicking every so often. She tried not to glance back at them but found it difficult. Her heart raced just seeing how massive they were—a huge predator in every sense. All her instincts were still on edge, telling her to run, and it took everything in her to remain outwardly calm.

She felt sweat drip down her back and between her breasts as she dared to lock eyes with the vrisha. She bent down and unlatched her boots then rolled up her pant-legs, checking her knees next to see if she’d scraped them.

In the light, they looked a little red and banged up, but no blood. They would definitely bruise later. Her ankle unfortunately looked a little swollen, which explained why it hurt when she walked.

She readjusted her pants and put her boots back on. As she went to straighten, the vrisha reached out. Dani froze as their hand drew up to her face. When their sharp fingers brushed against her lip, she flinched.

“What are you...?” She straightened away from their hand, touching her lip, feeling it was also a tad swollen. Her fingers pressed against the cut, making her wince. Ah, she’d bit it pretty bad.

She used some healing gel from the kit and applied it gently. Then she shut the box with a click before glancing nervously back at the vrisha.

The vrisha rose and took the medikit. She had to crane her neck as they towered over her. With trembling hands, she put her helmet back on then went to slide off the table.

She was surprised when the vrisha gave her space, allowing her to take a few careful steps. Still, she could feel its eyes burning into her, studying her every move.

No way she was going to be outrunning them.

“I need to get back to the ship…” she mumbled despite knowing they didn’t understand. She didn’t turn to them. “I should go…” No way it was just letting her leave. Maybe they wanted to see how badly injured she was first, to gauge how easily they could mess with her.

Before she could decide what she could possibly do to get away, a sharp pain shot up her leg, and she hissed, stumbling.

They were there in an instant, their hands on her ribs as if to steady her. She went rigid as she felt their heat at her back and in their hands, talons curling along her suit.

“Visaa mere ni mar xe das,” they hissed behind her. Dani gasped as they lifted her off her feet.

“W-wait!” she cried.

They growled something else before wrapping their arms around her. In an instant they were off.

Dani could hardly struggle or keep up with every turn they made down the passageways, forced again to cling to the vrisha.

Through more passages they flew, and she wondered where they were taking her because it was clear they had a destination in mind. They took a narrow stairway downward before kicking open a door to the outside.

Crossing the city, they weaved their way around buildings until they came to a ground-level bridge.

Dani craned her neck but couldn’t see the bottom as they crossed over what had to be a very deep but very narrow chasm, no doubt made when Marityne had started mining. She looked up in time to see a broken-down sign that said Marityne Boulevard.

This was the entertainment sector. Always the smallest sector of these company cities, but it was policy to have some sort of amusement for workers so they didn’t lose their minds. Most of the time it was nothing more than gaming centers and bars.

Why the hell would they bring her here?

The vrisha snuck around a building only a few stories high and into an alleyway around the back before stopping beside a thick metal door. They worked at a set of wires connected to the doorlock until the door slid opened, revealing nothing but a pitch-black darkness beyond.

The vrisha slipped inside without hesitation just as panic rose in her. She squirmed in the alien’s grip as she tried to see anything in the dark, only noticing a few metal crates. She could hardly hear their steps, just the slight scraping of their tail against the metal.

They reached another door, and as it slid open, she noticed a dim yellow light just down a passage beyond. The vrisha moved toward this light. The passage opened up and there she found—

Her eyes widened. Was she seeing this right?

The vrisha set her down in the middle of a room and disappeared. A moment later, all the lights around her came to life.

It was a large open room filled with…things. Lots and lots of things. From junk to scrap to signs along the walls and wires with little twinkly lights high above. There was a row of gaming machines and slots, some that were working, with their flashy lights and ringing bells. In front of her was a workstation made from a thick metal slate on top of a pool table. Tools were laid on the surface including one that looked to be a welder’s flare.

With the lights dangled everything from small ships and planet models to shoes and colorful scraps of clothing and…were those bones? Yes, she was certain they were. There was even a skull of some creature she couldn’t identify. And so much more. Weapons as small as her stunner and as big as a missile launcher lined one shelf, along with laptops, ISpads, clocks, even a little bobble-head doll.

There were also statues. Great hulking metal pieces made from anything from stolen limb parts to bones to other scrap, some half-made, laying on their sides, some upright and placed in various spots, but all strange and abstract save for one at the back that looked eerily similar to Marityne’s four-armed statues.

This was a gaming center turned into some weird collector’s museum. It was like a hoarder had taken over and turned it into their art studio.