Page 10 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Ten

KIRA

I reach down, looking for the blanket I must have kicked off after one of my many hot flashes. Just as I move my hand, I hit it on something hard. The second I open my eyes, the nightmare returns. Panicking , I start hitting and kicking at the clear container I’m enclosed in.

It feels like hours, but I know it’s probably only seconds, when I hear what sounds like air brakes on a truck and the container’s top starts to move downward.

I scramble up and out of it, falling to the floor on my knees.

My mind is all over the place as my memories bombard me—of aliens, or should I say inhumane monsters.

The torture, the pain, the humiliation, and the hunger…

RICK ! I hold my hand over my mouth, trying to muffle the scream that wants to come out .

The sound of the container’s top sliding back in place startles me and a sob leaves my throat as I scurry away from a tube hitting a wall behind me.

The room is completely white; the walls and ceiling seeming to blend together.

The only other thing in this space besides the container I was in, is a single chair pulled up to its side.

Shivering , I wrap my arms around myself because, of course, I’m naked once again.

I used to joke that naked was my favorite outfit because everything matched.

But what I wouldn’t do for some clothes right now!

I’m tired of being scared and totally over waking up in strange places.

My grief tries to swallow me, but I push it to the back of my mind.

Rick would tell me to pay attention, don’t panic, assess the situation, and find a way out.

But what if there’s no escape? I can’t dwell on that right now.

I need out of this room, I need clothes, and I need to find someplace safe until I can figure out how to get back home.

I try to think back to how I got here, but all I can remember is the flash of yellow eyes and the feeling of strong arms cradling me close. Before I have time to think harder about it, a voice suddenly surrounds me.

“ Hello … greetings or should I say, salutations, strange female Terran ?”

I hunker down, my heart beating out of my chest. The voice is so loud, I put my hands up over my ears, because it feels like it’s actually coming out of the walls .

“ Please do not be alarmed, I will lower the volume. I am sorry if I startled you. I wanted you to know you are in a safe environment. Are you feeling any aftereffects from the healing chamber?”

I look around, trying to see where the voice is coming from, but the walls look solid, and there isn’t even a door. The voice has a strange mechanical sound to it. Lord , what kind of nightmare am I in now? I think to myself.

A drawer slides out of the wall next to me and I screech and run to the other side of the glass container crawling underneath it.

“ I told Master DaR you would be scared upon waking alone. And I am sorry for adding to the previous horrors you have already been subjected to, but I give you my word, you will not be harmed in this dwelling. If you would come out from under the healing chamber, I have provided you with some apparel. I have been told this is a comfort to those with flesh.”

“ Who are you?” I whisper. “ Why am I in this white box?”

“ I will continue asking for your forgiveness.

My systems are limited to new languages, and I am not used to new additions in my dwelling.

I hope with time we will come to depend on each other.

My goal is to be able to acquire and anticipate the things you will need in advance.

But until then, we will have to learn together, so I ask for your patience until my system is fully aware .

My full name is quite long, so my Master has shortened it and calls me SAGE . I am the intelligent AI for Master DaR’s dwelling.

I noticed the little bumps rising on your skin earlier and the research I have been able to gather so far informed me that this means you are chilled or cold.

So , I have increased the temperature in the healing room to make it more comfortable for you.

It must be an inconvenience to not be able to regulate your own body temperature and have to rely on garments to protect your tender skin.

Once again, I hope you will allow me to help you adjust to your new home, as this will be beneficial for both of us, as we will be together from now on. I understand you have been treated poorly, and you have every right to be scared, so I will be patient with you.”

No matter how hard I look, I absolutely can’t find where this voice is coming from. “ So this room is a healing chamber? Why am I in it? How long have I been here?”

“ May I have your name so I can address you properly?”

“ Kira , my name is Kira .”

“ Oh , it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mistress Kira . Thank you for acknowledging me and giving me your proper name. Now , as for your questions, you were extensively damaged when Master DaR brought you here .

He demanded the very best of care for you and even sat by your side the first two lunar rotations.

To be perfectly frank about it, I was curious as to his attentiveness.

I have never seen him take that kind of interest for anyone else, not even the young ones.

As to how long you have been here, it has been seven lunar rotations. ”

It’s so dark underneath this tube that I stick my arm out into the light looking at my wrist. I remember my skin being so torn up you could almost see the bones underneath, then they burnt something on the inside of my arm, but there isn’t a single mark on me anywhere that I can see in this light.

I don’t feel any intense pain anywhere, and I remember barely being able to take another step.

I knew I was a walking dead woman when he pulled me off that stage.

To be honest, I feel better physically than I have in years.

But I have to play my cards right. I can’t let on that I’m fine.

I need to act weak and tired, so maybe they’ll let their guard down if they think I’m not healthy enough to escape.

“ He’s the one who took me off the stage, isn’t he? The one with the yellow eyes?”

“ Yes , Master DaR saved you from the other slavers that were trying to buy you. Even though he has bought you as a slave, you will never be treated as one here. Master DaR does not believe in slavery of any kind. I am sorry that I cannot answer you properly about his eye color. I’m currently running diagnostics on your kind and where you come from.

So I do not have a color scheme for your planet yet.

I have been searching for rotations now on any information I can find about your Terran race, but there is not a lot of information out there about you.

Apparently , there is also not a lot of information about your Earth on hand, either, but I did finally locate the galaxy in which it is located.

Unfortunately for your kind, I have been informed by Falcor’s intelligence AI that female Terrans are in high demand, due to your rarity.

Locating your planet is something few species can do, apparently.

Please , come out from under the tube. I know you would feel more comfortable and at ease if you had some clothing. No one is allowed in the healing room besides the doctors or Master DaR himself, and at this time, no one besides me is on the premises.”

I stand up, trying to cover myself with my hands the best I can as I slowly walk over to the drawer that’s standing open in the middle of the wall. “ If he doesn’t believe in slavery, is he going to send me back home?” I ask hopefully.

“ I am not sure if he is even able to at this time, Mistress Kira . That is something you and Master DaR will have to discuss.”

I reach in and pull out what almost looks like a dress that a woman would have worn in Greece hundreds of years ago.

Two gold hoops link the top’s front and back together and adjustable ties go all the way down the sides, with a slight split in the front.

I pull it over my head, and it flows down past my knees, hanging on me like a sack even with the ties pulled all the way in.

Well , I always wanted to lose weight; too bad I had to get kidnapped and my whole world ruined for it to happen.

I feel my eyes tear up, so I take a deep breath, forcing my emotions back down.

My long hair gets caught on one of the loops and I jerk it out, swinging it over my shoulder; something I would’ve never done before.

My hair has always been something I was overly vain about.

It always hung in long, natural waves clear to my butt and now it seems even longer.

Rick … always said he slept with it more than I did and he would laugh when a stray piece would end up in one of his shirts or underwear, teasing me that I sent it along to spy on him while we were apart.

A sob leaves my throat. How am I gonna do this without him?

Another drawer emerges from the wall with what appears to be bikini bottoms in different colors. I pick up a white pair and slip them on underneath the dress. They practically fall right back off me, until I realize they too, have ties on each side. I almost feel human again now that I’m dressed.

“ I am pleased the garments will do for the time being. I have never had to prepare apparel for a guest, and I was unsure exactly what to manufacture. I know they do not fit properly, but I will get an experienced tailor here once Master DaR approves the cost. Then we can download a basic sewing program into my operating system, and I should be able to create anything you will need from that point on.”

“ What will be expected of me?” I’m terrified of what’s to come now .

“ You will be a housemate, of course!”

“ I see!” I have no idea what that is, but I must escape. I have to find a way home.

“ Please step into the living quarters and have a seat so that we can discuss the extent of your new duties.”

The side of the room to my right just opens up.

And I don’t mean the door opens; the whole wall just disappears without a trace.

I walk forward, trance-like, in wonder at what I see.

The whole back of the house is wide open to the outside, ceiling to floor.

This is a view most would gape at, but all it does is reinforce the fact that I’m not in Kansas anymore.

I have truly stepped into wonderland. I feel like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz : as soon as she stepped out of her house, she was surrounded by Technicolor .

Maybe I should pretend I stepped over the rainbow too. That would almost be easier to believe because the colors of the plants outside are so vibrant they look fake. But it’s really the large planet in the sky that looks like Saturn that freaks me out.

That voice is prattling on about something, but my mind tunes it out.

I walk around the structure in a daze. The home is sterile, if you can call it a home.

It looks more like a prison, cold and unfriendly.

For the outside to be so colorful, you sure can’t tell it in here.

There isn’t a single personal item anywhere and it’s spotless to the point I’m not sure if anyone has ever even walked on most of the floors or sat on the large couches.

I have no idea what I’m searching for until I spot it. Finally , something familiar; it’s a door. Before I think about whether I should or not, I dart toward it, praying it’s not locked. The knob turns in my hand and I throw the door open and run as fast as my legs will carry me.