Page 3 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Three

KIRA

Screaming Rick’s name, my eyes pop open to an unfamiliar place.

I’m shivering so hard my body jerks all over, and my joints feel like I have been laying on this cold surface for years, they’re that stiff.

Gritting my teeth, I try to push myself up, but the floor is covered in what feels like jelly and my hands slide out from under me.

My head hits the floor hard enough to cause black spots to appear in front of my eyes.

I try to blink away my fuzzy vision, but everything is a blur.

Shadows move around me, but nothing seems familiar.

I try to call out for help, but no noise seems to get past my lips.

Suddenly , my stomach knots up and I barely get my head turned before I vomit inches away from myself. Dry heaves wrack my body as it tries to purge what tastes like poison from my stomach .

Warm tears flow down my face as I collapse completely back onto the gross floor beneath me. I’m exhausted and weak, my joints are sore and my skin is tender to the touch. I try to move away from the vomit, but I’m so lightheaded my poor body isn’t responding.

My mind is foggy, but not to the point that I don’t realize there is something seriously wrong with me.

I flow in and out of consciousness until the sound of loud chattering jolts me awake.

The odd sound seems to be getting closer and before I realize what’s happening, hard and uncaring hands flip me roughly over onto my back.

A sharp pain tears a scream from my raw throat as something pierces me in the neck.

I try to fight the hands holding me down, but the nothingness swallows me again.

When I finally awaken again, fear or maybe it’s self-preservation, tells me to hold perfectly still.

It’s almost like a weird sense of déjà vu.

I know something is seriously wrong around me.

I have no idea how long I’ve been asleep or where I am, but something has awakened me.

It’s like I had a hit of caffeine shot straight into my veins.

I try to focus on the sounds surrounding me.

Whimpering , moaning, and crying appear to be coming from every direction as I crack my eyes open.

I’m trying to figure out where I am when the horror of my surroundings hits me.

There are girls laying everywhere, most of them naked, lying in their own blood and vomit.

The one thing we all have in common is being tossed into this room like garbage.

“ Where the hell am I ?” Then it all comes rushing back: the plane, the monsters, and then Rick . A sob leaves my throat before I can stop it. Oh my God ! Rick is dead! And for the love of God , I’m not.

I hear a door open to my right and then the sound of shuffling feet move toward me. The clicking and growling noises enter the room once again. I try to stop the tears flowing down my cheeks and I take deep breaths, trying to calm my breathing down. But it is too late, they know I’m awake.

A cry escapes my throat when something grabs me by my ankle.

I struggle weakly against the monster holding me, trying to jerk my leg free from its grasp.

I almost thought for a moment that it stopped to check on me, but it only paused to grab the girl lying closest to me.

It pulls both of us behind it through the door and down the hallway with little effort.

It ignores the pained cries leaving our mouths as our backs are torn and ripped apart from the grates bolted to the floor.

I struggle to pull myself up, but I’m too weak.

Just as I think I won’t have a piece of skin left on my back, it stops inside a totally white room.

I feel weightless for a moment before my body impacts a hard surface. Straps immediately attach to my arms and legs, holding me down securely to the surface. I pull at the restraints only to feel the skin on my wrist split underneath the pressure; it’s like my skin is made out of tissue paper.

I lie back, taking deep breaths, trying to ignore the burn and sting of the cuts on my back and arms. There are girls laying everywhere around me in what looks like a medical bay of some sort.

Some are fighting against their bonds, while others are screaming in fear.

The girl that was dragged next to me looks my way.

She is so young, and I can see the terror in her eyes as she looks past me.

Her eyes drift back to me and I try to smile at her.

We seem to be the only two who have stopped fighting the restraints.

She stares back at me. My heart hurts for her; I’m old and she’s young and quite beautiful.

I have had a beautiful life and hers has just started.

The only comfort I have is that I’ve lived the dream. I was blessed with a man who loved me, and we had a full life filled with loving memories. I at least have those times to reflect upon. This young girl’s life was just beginning and now all her dreams and hopes will never come true.

I see her eyes get huge and I slowly turn my head. The four-armed bastards are back and this time they have company. I see them stop a few tables down and one of them grabs the girl by the throat while another holds her ankles as the newcomer fondles her.

I see her struggle against their hold, screaming and cussing.

Then she spits on the one in front of her.

To my absolute horror, I watch as it forces her mouth open.

It sticks its whole hand inside her mouth, tearing her cheeks apart as it rips her tongue out.

It straightens up, holding her tongue in its hand and lets out a sound that I swear seems like laughter, then it starts to eat it.

I gag as it gulps down her flesh. She starts choking from the blood, spitting it all over herself and the ones holding her down.

The thing, whatever it is, reaches above her head and releases her restraints.

She falls to the ground, gagging. It says something else to her, but of course, none of us can understand what it’s saying.

When she doesn’t reply, it screams at her again.

It kicks her in the side, and she flies into the wall.

By the angle of her neck, I know it just killed her.

It turns to the next girl and the process starts all over.

Each girl is torn apart in different ways, but no matter how calm or how much they fight back, they all end up half mutilated, lying on the floor in their own blood, either dead or wishing they were.

I’m next. I close my eyes and pray it just kills me.

I feel the table underneath me start to move and I look up into the eyes of a true, unfeeling monster.

Its skin is pale yellow, hollowed-out groves and scratches mar its face.

Three solid black eyes stare down at me and before I can stop myself the first thing that comes out of my mouth is, “ Damn , you’re ugly! ”

I feel my head slam back before I actually register the strike. Stars explode behind my eyes as the pain radiates through me. I believe it broke my cheekbone. I can see the evil radiating off its form; it enjoys the pain of others. No matter what, none of us are going to leave this room whole.

I don’t say another word as it squeezes my breasts and twists my sensitive nipples to the point I feel one tear from my body.

It shreds my side open with its many claws, but I refuse to scream and I almost bite my tongue off when it starts stabbing me in random places.

It grabs my inner thigh, pulling and tugging at it like it’s looking for tender meat.

I feel the stab before the beast’s nails push from one side to another.

Just as I think it’s going to rip half of my leg off, my table starts to lie back down.

It seems to have lost interest in me. I try to turn my head toward the young girl next to me, praying he won’t disfigure her as he did me. But , to my amazement, he walks right past her to the next girl. Even though my own body is bruised and torn all over, I’m happy for her.

Her eyes are wide as she looks my way. She starts to speak and I shake my head no. She doesn’t need to draw attention to herself. I see her look me over and the tears start to flow freely from her eyes.

Then the room starts to shake. I watch the yellow monster turn from the girl it is currently examining—or torturing I should say. It yells to one of the four armed bastards and runs out of the room .

I let out a shuddery breath when they leave the room. I try my best to ignore the pain radiating throughout my body, but I can’t stop the tears. I don’t think I have a piece of skin that it didn’t mangle or tear. My blood runs down my stomach and sides, its warmth dripping onto the floor.

The entire room starts to spin around me and I try to calm my breathing down. Maybe I’ll get lucky enough to bleed out and this nightmare will end.

My restraints are released and I fall onto the floor hard. I don’t even have time to scream from the pain before I feel the horror of all those hands on me again.

One of them picks me up off the ground and then swings me over its shoulder. My head is hanging halfway down its back. Up close, I can see its back is covered in small blue scales, almost fish-like, but it smells like rotten potatoes.

I feel like it has only taken a few steps when the temperature starts to change and the air smells different.

I can see what I believe is a walkway under us before I feel the heat of the sun above me.

They must be taking me somewhere outside.

My first thought is … escape, until I’m slung to the ground.

The intense pain blazing through my body won’t let me move, let alone run.

Lying in what I think looks like mud, I stare up at one of the monsters that has destroyed my whole world.

It looks away from me and I swear I think, ‘it’s disgusted by me’.

Go figure, right? It starts communicating with something or someone I can’t see.

I use the distraction to try and scoot away, but it takes its foot and slams it down onto my stomach, pushing me deeper into the dirt.

I push and claw at its foot, trying to relieve some of the pressure off my stomach, knowing any moment it is going to crush me if I don’t get out from under it.

The clicking noise stops and the four-armed monster takes its foot off me only to kick me in the side.

I roll into a ball trying to protect myself when it picks me up again and throws me into what looks like a cattle pen.

I must have blacked out for a second, because when I feel hands on me again, I start to scream.

Gentle hands push my hair off my face. “ It’s ok, it’s ok. You need to get up off the ground or they will trample you to death!”

I open my pain-filled eyes to see the young girl who had been in the bed next to me. She stands over me protectively, pushing others away who get too close. “ Come on, I know you’re hurt, but you have to get up!

“ Wrap your arms around yourself and hold onto your ribs as tight as you can. I’m going to try and lift you up, but you need to help me.”

She gets behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. It takes me a minute to get my legs under me, but I finally make it to my feet .

Once I’m standing, she releases me and tries to wipe some of the dirt and blood off my back. I lean toward her warmth automatically, craving the comfort she gives me even though we’re both naked. “ Thank you for helping me. Where are we now?” I hear myself whisper.

“ I believe we’re at some kind of auction!” she whispers back.

“ An auction, for what?” I look at her, confused.

“ I think for us! Well , not just us, as you can see, there are a lot of things around us. Aliens , if you want to call them that. I believe the human race has had its collective head in the sand when it comes to being the only sentient race in the universe. I’m not sure who the aliens are now, them or us, but we sure as hell ain’t in Kansas anymore. ”

Finally taking the time to look around, I’m confused and terrified by what I see.

This is a damn Men in Black episode from the movies.

If you can imagine it, it’s here. From nine feet tall and hairy, to what appears to be slime with eyes, there are hundreds of beings all around us, and it looks like we are the only two humans.

“ What’s your name, ma’am?”

“ It’s Kira , and you?”

“ Brittany .”

I no more than learn her name when the wall behind me starts to push forward.

It looks like we’re all being herded toward a scanner of some sort.

I watch as different things, aliens enter what looks like an airport security scanner.

Then they are separated into different lines.

The line stops and starts, each step taking us closer and I cling to Brittany that much harder.

I know this will be the last time I ever see this young girl’s face.

There is no way they would send someone as young and healthy as she is with me, especially not in the shape I’m in right now. I don’t have much longer and I know it.

I see tears running down her face when she realizes she’s next. “ I’m so terrified,” she whispers to me.

“ Honey , I hate to say this, but use your beauty as your strength and a weapon if need be. They left you in one piece for a reason; try to find some kind of happiness in all this horror. If I make it out of here alive, I hope to see you again one day!”

She screams when the machine grabs her by the arms and sits her inside the scanner. I see the beams go up and down her body and then a mark is burned onto the inner part of her arm. It releases her and pushes her into the line on the right.

I don’t resist as it pulls me forward. I’m barely standing on my own two feet anyway.

As the beams surround me, I sway back and forth.

They stop a few times and run over my stomach area again.

When a cool mist is sprayed all over me, I jerk in response.

I thank the gods when the pain of my torn skin lessens.

I look down when I feel small patches being placed upon my breast and inner thighs where I bled freely.

Taking a deep breath, I savor the lessening of the pain, when I start to smell my flesh burning.

A mark appears upon my right wrist and there is a sharp pain behind my ear before it shoves me forward and out of the machine.

Of course, I’m shoved to the left. I pray when the machine moves me in the opposite direction from where it sent Brittany that she survives this version of our living hell, because that is exactly where we are. Hell !