Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

Dani

She couldn’t see well enough to guess where it was taking her. She only saw the edges of buildings and ruins as it raced between them or the feeling of it holding her tight against it as it climbed from one tower to the next. She forced herself to cling to it when she made the mistake of looking down. She didn’t expect that it would take her to the very top in order to drop her. It could have seen her fall on the bridge, but it had caught her instead.

She refused to believe it saved her. Not when she didn’t know what it planned to do to her. Many possibilities ran through her head, all of them not good. Mostly she just assumed it was taking her back to its lair to eat her. What other reason could it have for nabbing her? She had tried to kill it. She’d thought she had succeeded. But here it was, and the only logical thing now was to expect it wanted revenge.

She considered trying to fight out of its grip. But even when she did struggle, it held her in a steel grip. Even if she could find a way to get loose, it would likely catch her again. And if fire couldn’t kill it then she was SOL. She didn’t have a weapon, and she couldn’t even bite it, tear its flesh. If she had a blade, she suspected it would do little. As would a gun.

Still, she couldn’t stop her mind racing with what more she could do. For now, there was nothing

It raced and leaped from one building to another, making her stomach drop. Eventually, it slowed its pace as they came to another bridge, this one enclosed by glass—or most of it was, except for a section in the middle that was broken. Her kidnapper carefully made its way across then dropped through the gap. It strode across the bridge, unhurried this time. She stared at the dark doorway growing bigger as they got closer, her tremor setting in again.

It slipped through a short tunnelway and out to the other side. By her suit lights, she could see a mural in front of them of the Marityne symbol. A four-armed man with a sun, a planet, a hammer, and a star in its hands. Above him were rays of light. She only had a second to study the picture until her kidnapper veered to the right and went up a short set of stairs.

Beyond was a lobby, spacious and large, with a welcome desk and elevators on one end and a spiral stair behind it. As the monster moved past the desk, she caught sight of a sign that said WELLNESS CENTER.

She tensed, gaping at the sign.

They were in the medical sector.

The creature bounded up the stairs, two at a time, before moving down a hallway. The doors at the end were half broken in, but the creature slid through them without issue. She saw a sign that said Marityne Hospital and another that said ICU medibay. The creature moved onward until they turned for a set of glass doors and into what she could only guess was a surgery room. A large pod sat in the center and on another side was a metal slab with an ominous looking surgery-bot hovering above it.

Her kidnapper set her down on the metal table. She cowered from it as soon as it released her, jolting back and almost falling. It glared down at her, but she refused to look back at it, afraid she might faint. It watched her for a moment, then it hissed something, making her flinch.

To her surprise, it stalked away. She blinked and it was gone.

She searched the dark and didn’t see it. Now was the time. She needed to go. Take this moment and run.

She slid off the table and moved for the exit then yelped, jumping back in surprise when it appeared again.

“ Hesha, sivari ,” it growled.

She whimpered, stumbling back into the table. It pointed its long talon and hissed at her again. It reached for her, and she blurted something between “no!” and “stop!” before it grabbed her waist and set her back on the table.

What the hell?

This time out of anger, she tried sliding off as it turned away again. But it whirled right back around and stopped her.

“ Sivari, nisha ves.”

She stilled. Was it just her or did it seem exasperated?

It watched her again, its red eyes narrowing suspiciously before it swiftly disappeared yet again.

Dani gripped the table, craning her neck to see where it went. She was about to hop off and make a break for it when she noticed a wet warmth sticking to her suit. She looked down and pulled up her arm to see blood soaking her sleeve.

Damn.

She pressed her hand against her arm. She felt the pain in her ankle and knees, too, and the sting of the cut on her lip from biting it. She was starting to feel the soreness all over her body now that the adrenaline was beginning to wane.

Shakily, she slipped from the table and started for the doors. Somewhere there had to be a supply unit. Limping her way out, she turned down a hallway, looking back behind her to see if her red-eyed monster was there following.

The hall opened into a waiting area with a wide window looking out toward the city. Dani slowed as she gazed across the city center. She couldn’t see her ship nor the bridge they had taken. Her mouth trembled thinking of her crew, remembering how she had seen several of them fall.

She should have had them turn back. It was all her fault.

Tears stung her eyes. But now wasn’t the time. She blinked them away and crept around a set of lounge chairs toward another hallway. She turned off the lights on her helmet, leaving only one light on her arm for navigating, and moved as quickly as she could.

She found a supply closet at the end of the hall. With shaky hands, she rifled around and found a medikit on the top shelf. As she slid it off, several other boxes of supplies fell.

No way that monster didn’t hear.

Cursing, she slipped out of the closet, looking back toward the lounge. As she turned to sneak the other direction, she almost collided with a massive body. She cried out, falling back and dropping her kit as the monster stood there as if waiting for her the whole time.

Instinctually, her hand went for her stunner, forgetting it hadn’t worked the first two times. Then she froze. In its hand it carried…another medikit.

She frowned, staring at it. The monster moved, transferring the medikit to one blue hand before coming toward her. She tried to scramble away and was embarrassed at how little it mattered. The creature picked her up with ease, even as she swung her arm at it, kicking her feet. The more she fought, the sharper the pain was that shot up her arm and legs.

“Let me go!” she snapped.

Stalking back down the way they had come, it returned her to the surgery room, plopping her right back on the table.

She swiped at it, practically growling with her teeth bared, and felt her face heat up when she caught the odd amusement in its gaze. Of course, it wasn’t afraid of her at all. Why should it be?

It set the medikit next to her. “ Serifna mish xe ra vish .”

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” she answered.

It tugged at her sleeve and she yanked her arm back. She hugged her arm, glaring at the demon. “I know I’m hurt.”

“ Xa ,” it clipped out. It opened the medikit with its blue hand and had it face her. She tensed as it knelt before her, another hand gripping the table leg.

She locked eyes with it for several seconds and realized it was waiting for her to fix her arm. But why the hell would it want that?

Maybe it was playing with her again. Screaming at it probably wouldn’t make it go away.

Swallowing, she released her arm. Feeling out of breath, she slipped off her helmet and inhaled deeply, grateful the air was stable here too. Setting it aside, she tried to roll up her sleeve, but the pain was too much, and her fingers couldn’t get a good grip with all the blood. Cursing, she took a pair of scissors in the medikit and started to slowly cut up the sleeve at the point of the tear, gritting her teeth.

The demon mumbled something, and she paused.

“What? This isn’t fast enough for you?” she snapped. “Sorry to disappoint, but you’ll have to wait a while before you get to eat me.”

It tilted its head at her and she halted to study it. The more she got a better look at it, the more she saw the vrisha that she had seen from pictures. Her memory was still fuzzy about them, but she remembered learning they were much like otherkin. They were said to be more intelligent. So, seeing it now as just a creature was wrong, especially when it could clearly talk and made human gestures like pointing.

It wore pants—or at least the rags of what once had been dark, somewhat baggy fabric, now mostly burnt—to cover itself, but nothing else. Judging by its build, it looked very male, but that could be wrong.

She returned to cutting her sleeve. Didn’t matter. They could be toying with her still. She had no choice but to be wary of them.

When she was finally able to cut the sleeve around her arm, she let the bloody mess drop and examined the cut. It looked deep, going up her arm, curving at her elbow and around the back of her bicep. She needed to clean it first then she would—

The demon took hold of her wrist and licked up the side of the cut, black tongues lapping up her blood.

A shriek tore up her throat. Out of instinct, she yanked back her hand while pushing its face away.

The demon bared its teeth at her. “ Lillak, isha reese nifa meshana martiss ,” they hissed. They grabbed her arm again and cleaned the blood, their slick tongues trailing across her skin, giving her goosebumps. Her face heated and she made a sound of disgust, trying to pull her hand away.

“What are you, a damn vampire? Stop! You’ll infect it!”

They clicked their tongues. “ Vish .”

“I don’t understand. I need to clean. Understand? Clean!” She shook her arm.

They pointed their talon at the cut. “Clean!”

A chill ran down her spine. “Don’t…don’t do that, it’s creepy.” They sounded like her again. How they could mimic her so well was way too freaky.

They seemed to be thinking. Then they repeated themselves. “Clean!”

The voice was lower this time. Sounding a lot like Garret. It still unnerved her.

She studied them. “Are you trying to say you’re cleaning it? Because I don’t believe you.”

They huffed. “Clean.” They tapped on the medikit, gesturing to the things inside. “ Villari .”

She glanced at the kit then back at them. “Heal.”

“ Xa , heal,” they said. They grazed their taloned thumb across her arm, making her shiver. “Heeeaalll,” they purred and stuck their tongues out, lapping up the fresh blood.

She tugged her hand away, pulse fluttering, her face warming again. “I got it. But I think I’ll do it my way, thank you very much.”

They exposed their fangs, creating a strange grin. “ Ista rish xir leeshna .”

“Great.” Still, no idea what they said but she assumed they understood, no more licking. She took an antiseptic rag from the medikit and wiped the rest of the blood from her arm. Then she found a meldpen and, pressing it firmly to her, slowly glued the skin back together. After, she wrapped the arm in gauze.

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.

“V isaa 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.

Dani realized she was gaping with her mouth open and promptly closed it. The vrisha reappeared beside her, making her jump.

“ Essa mi havari, lillak. ”

“Um…”

It gestured to the room. “ kasss .”

“I don’t know what you—AH!” She jumped again as the vrisha’s tail slithered across her back, poking her. They clearly wanted her to follow. She stood her ground, giving them a suspicious glare. “Why?”

The vrisha gestured toward the room again, hissing something else. She glanced around. Did they seriously want to show off their lair to her?

She could see the anticipation and excitement in their spooky red and blue eyes. They did. They seriously wanted to. Only a few hours ago, she had tried to burn them alive, and they were acting like they were having a friend over for dinner.

Or was she the dinner?

She crossed her arms, warmth spreading up her neck, remembering when they had licked her, then the time before that when they had pinned her. “I shouldn’t be here…how do I know you aren’t trying to lure me into a cage or something?”

They tilted their head, clearly not understanding her either.

She thought it over. “You.” She pointed at them. “Are going to eat”—she pretended to gnaw on her arm then pointed at herself—“me?”

They blinked at her with a second pair of eyelids, making her shudder.

She shook her head. This was crazy, but maybe they really had no plan to kill her after all. They just wanted to catch her and add her to their collection of things.

The vrisha offered the medikit to her, and she took it hesitantly. They then disappeared again before she could open her mouth. She needed to figure out how to convince them to let her go, but this was nothing like the hostage situations she’d seen in films or stories from the web with someone tied up in a bunker or locked in a closet. She didn’t even know how to communicate with them let alone persuade them to spare her.

She studied the room again. No cages to put her in from what she could see. Just a bunch of strange art. Making the vrisha feel even less like some odd creature.

Still, they had stalked her and scared her, so still a creep.

They also saved your life, Dani, said a little voice.

She looked down at the medikit she now held close to her like a shield. It was one thing to believe they had wanted to take her life for themselves but a whole other thing when they took her to a hospital and let her heal herself. And she had no answer as to why.

Peering around, she stopped her gaze along the wall just above the table. Her brows furrowed as she limped over to it and put the medikit down.

There were drawings on the wall. They looked like they were done by a child. Little stick figures with what looked like two parents, a child, and a cat. On a few others were drawings of trees and a mountain, a blue sky, and a sun.

She frowned, trying to make sense of them when she noticed a shadow moving beside her. The vrisha was standing there. In their hands was a canteen and a mealbar.

She stared at the food before flicking her gaze up to the vrisha.

“ Seesh ,” they said, offering the food to her.

She hesitated. “I, um…” she wasn’t sure how to respond. Several paranoid thoughts raced through her head, but she forced herself to ignore them. She felt drained, shaky. Cautiously, she took off her helmet and set it aside. She took both, and uncapping the canteen first, she took a sip.

It was water. And surprisingly filtered. She took several generous gulps before wiping her mouth and letting out a sigh of relief. She ripped the bar open next and took a large bite. The vrisha watched her as she chewed and swallowed.

“Seesh?” she said, pointing to the bar. “Food?”

“Seesh,” they repeated. “Food.”

She took another bite. It didn’t taste like much, but it was something.

“ Xa, lillak, sis ne essa.” They tugged on her suit, wanting her to follow them.

She glared at them. “Nothing funny, got it?”

They clicked their tongues. “ Vinash resa xi ish nikari ri— ”

“I’m asking for a truce. I’ll follow you and in return I go back to the ship.”

They hissed. “ Niset ship.”

She did a double-take. “Excuse me?”

“ Niset . Ship,” they clipped out.

Her eyes narrowed. So, they understood a few words. “Does that mean no?”

They grunted. Before she could argue, they moved around her, gesturing again for her to follow. This time she did, careful as she walked on her ankle. She followed them to another set of doors into the gaming center lobby. The vrisha threw open the door and pointed up toward the sky. Dani peered outside and saw the dust storm that was rolling in. A big rumbling cloud of debris that could hold anything from dirt to glass with high winds that could knock you right off your feet.

Damn.

The vrisha shut the door and locked it. “ Esh na shinia essa diras hassa .”

Something told her that translated to: you stay here till it passes.

“How long?” she asked, pointing to the door then making a wavy gesture. “When will it pass?”

“ Hassa .” They repeated her wave.

“Yes, but when?”

They led her back into the room of stuff and headed to the table. On the metal surface, she noticed several hundred small notches carved into it. The vrisha tapped on one, paused, then tapped on three.

“What? One to three hours?”

The vrisha appeared to be thinking over her words. She set the canteen down and point to a notch. “One,” she said. Then she tapped on three. “Three.”

“ Xa . One. Three.”

“Hours.”

They moved over to a map on the wall, hanging with several others. One was of the planet with the sun in the corner. They tapped on the sun then traced their talon around the planet. Doing so three times.

The blood drained from her face. “D-days!?”

“Daysss,” they hissed.

She almost sat on the ground. Instead, she leaned against the table. “No. That can’t be right.” She was told the storms only lasted a few hours. But then they had also been told the chances of dealing with a big storm would be slim.

As were the chances of many things, and yet everything was going wrong on this planet.

Dani covered her face with her hands. If they had just made it past that damn bridge, they would have gotten to the labs and back to the ship before it hit. Thinking of her crew made her throat tighten again, tears stinging her eyes. They didn’t deserve that. She should have protected them better; she could have turned them around at the first sign of a threat. But she had been so determined when they’d been so close to finishing, refusing to believe it could have gotten worse after the vrisha.

Now they were probably dead, and it felt like her fault. Her crew…her friends. What had she done?

A little sob caught in her throat, her body trembling. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t stop herself. She’d failed. She’d failed them and herself.

She felt movement beside her and something brushing against her head. She looked up and saw the vrisha petting her hair. She stared at them in confused wonder. What was up with them anyway?

“I don’t need your pity, you know.” She knew they didn’t get any of that. They grunted all the same and guided her hand that held the canteen, raising it to her mouth. For some reason that made her want to laugh. She uncapped it and took another drink, and it helped a little. As she rested the canteen at her side, the vrisha reached out to her again. Its talons brushed against her face, catching one of her tears.

“ Es mish ri nivara, lillak ,” they whispered. Then they licked the tear off their talon. They stalked away, leaving her leaning there in stunned silence. She heard them rummaging around across the other side of the room, then a moment later they stood before her with something in their hands.

Dani looked down at what they held and this time didn’t contain her laughter. It started quiet until her body was shaking from it. She took the stuffed animal—a shabby looking white cat with four arms and little antenna—and held it to her, trying to contain her laughter. What was even happening?

The vrisha disappeared again and brought back what looked like a lantern with funny patterns in its glass. They wound up the switch on one side then set it down on a crate nearby. The lantern came to life, turning in its metal casing, and the patterns made flowery shapes along the wall dance. A little chime began to play with it.

Dani watched it and let her laughter die away. Even in an ugly company city world, kids could be found, even if only a few hundred. And the vrisha had collected the toys now that they were gone.

She glanced up at the vrisha and felt…oddly guilty. “How long have you been here?”

They tugged at the ear of the cat. “ Kalis minari raas .”

If she was going to be stuck in here with them, it was going to be a long couple of days. She glanced back at the door. Maybe she could escape at some point, but traveling through the dust storm was incredibly risky especially now that her suit wasn’t intact and her helmet had a hairline crack in it. Her helmet did have a way to communicate back to the ship—or would have if the power wasn’t down. If Morse was working on it, she could try in an hour or two. For now…

She studied the vrisha, still not knowing what to make of them. Did they want revenge or not? She couldn’t blame them if they did, but it made her wary all the same.

She set the stuffed animal down and got off the table. Without taking her eyes off them, she circled around them, and as she did, the vrisha turned to face her.

Let’s try this again . She put out her hand. “Truce?”

The vrisha’s gaze flicked down to her hand.

“No hurting, okay?”

Their nostril’s flared.

“No biting. No eating.”

“No…eat,” they said.

“Or biting.” She raised her hand to her lips and pretended to bite down then shook her head. “No.”

They seemed to understand but were thinking on it. “ Minaris tisa? ”

“What?”

They slinked back to the table and tapped on one of the notches. “One?”

She grimaced at them. “No. Not once!”

They huffed as if that were vexing and inconvenient.

She shook her head at the audacity. “And no more scaring.”

“Sc—scarrring?”

“Like this.” She made her hands into claws and bared her teeth, lunging and growling at him.

The vrisha flinched back, appearing appalled. “Ess niset hissa vrisha arishari ,” they hissed.

Something “no vrisha.” She suspected they were saying that’s not how they act. “Well, that’s what it looked like”—she pointed to her eye— “to me.”

They snorted, mumbling something else.

“No pinning either. No being weird. Just be nice.”

“N-niiicee?”

“Yes. Like how you were before.” She took the mealbar from her pocket, showing it to them, then pointed to the stuffed cat. The vrisha followed her gaze. “Nice.”

“Nice,” they said in Garret’s voice, making her wince.

“Yes.”

They turned back to her and barred their long black fangs. “Yeesssss.”

She was never going to get used to the mimicking, but somehow it helped them understand, so she tried to let it go.

She held out her hand again. “And if you be nice, I won’t try to kill you again. Got it?”

They reached out and gripped her wrist, turning it one way then the other. “Like this,” she said, readjusting her hand so it settled firmly in theirs. Their hand was so big it encased hers like a warm mitt. The talons unnerved her a little, afraid they would slice her skin clean open, but she didn’t want to offend them, so she kept her face blank even as her heart skipped and a chill ran down her spine.

They circled their thumb over her skin, and that only made her shiver even more, goosebumps forming over the skin. She pulled away and they thankfully released her.

She cleared her throat, rubbing her arm to make the goosebumps go away. “Good,” she said. “Let’s start over.”