Page 2 of Prison Moon
Chortling laughter filled the room. Four Big Heads leaned against the wall looking at them. One said, “Welcome to your new home,” before they all started to laugh harder.
“Get up,” another said. They stood, and for the first time since waking, Sara realized she was clothed—sort of. The thin smock-like dress she wore was loose fitting and sleeveless. The cut was low in the front with a deep “v” which bared more breast than it should. Not that it mattered. It was barely long enough to cover her ass and nearly see-through but she wasn’t about to complain. It was better than being naked. Plus, everyone else was just as scantily dressed as she was. Soft sandal-like shoes were on her feet and held on with a series of straps that crisscrossed over the top of her foot and tied in the back. They weren’t much, the soles not very sturdy, but it was better than being barefoot.
She glanced at Marcy who still stood by her side. She’d said they were to be entertainment. In this getup, it wasn’t hard to figure out what kind.
They were ushered out of the room and back into the corridor, the same green lights as before glowed dimly along the edge of the floor. They were led into a massive room with a door on one end that was nearly as tall as the entire ship. The floor beneath her feet vibrated and shimmied, the hissing sound from before rumbling past her ears. A solid thunk and bounce later and she assumed they were on the ground.
The other girls murmured and huddled together. She tried to count heads but everyone was standing so close together she gave up. There were at least twenty. Maybe more.
She gave a quick look at Marcy and noticed the worried expression on her face. Her own probably held the same. She had no idea what lay beyond those doors and she didn’t want to find out. Marcy stared at that massive door, probably wondering the same thing she was—what would they find on the other side?
“We’re going to die.”
The whispered words were spoken to her left. Sara turned her head to see who’d said it. The girl was tall, her skin tanned a warm tawny brown, her hair so inky black it looked blue under the harsh lights. When she looked over at them, Sara could read every thought going through her mind with one look into her eyes. She really did think they were going to die.
As the door jolted and hissed, then started to lower, Sara’s first look outside at this alien planet came into view and she was inclined to believe the girl. They probably were going to die.
* * *
The barren landscape on the other side of the door didn’t look inviting—if anything, it was terrifying.
The Big Heads ushered everyone out and Sara lingered in the back as long as she could. Marcy looking her way was the only thing that got her moving. She knew next to nothing about Marcy but she was the only person who’d spoken to her, and like it or not, she was the closest thing to a friend she had at the moment.
Sara’s first look at the strange planet was deceiving. The dry, cracked ground they walked out on was a wide sea of nothing. It stretched all the way to the horizon. A shrill scream filled the air and she turned her head to the right, then sucked in a harsh breath.
On the other side of the ship was a jungle of trees, vines, and thickets of bushes so dense the entire area looked as dark as night. The scream she heard was followed by another, then a snort of breath, moments before the ground shook. “What the hell was that?”
Marcy took a step closer to her side. “I don’t know and I don’t want to find out.”
The tall black-haired girl from the ship still lingered close by. She turned to look at them and shook her head. “I told you, we’re going to die.”
Marcy scoffed. “Well, aren’t you just a bucket of sunshine.”
“I’m not being a smartass, I’m just not foolish enough to think everything is going to turn out all right.” She pointed to the barren landscape we stood on, then to the jungle. “We either die out here in the nothing or die in there where I’m pretty sure there are things willing to eat us. We are on an alien planet, you know. I’d hate to even think what waits for us in there.”
Well, when she put it that way. Sara shook her head. “Safety in numbers, then?”
The girl looked at her, then to Marcy. “Safety in numbers.” She reluctantly nodded. “I guess it’s better than dying alone.”
Marcy crossed her arms over her chest and whispered under her breath, “Bucket. Of. Sunshine.”
Despite their predicament, Sara smiled. It was the first time since waking up on the ship that she’d felt the desire to do so. Looking at the black-haired girl she said, “I’m Sara,” then jerked her thumb to the right. “And this is Marcy.”
“I’m Emma.” She looked to the jungle. “Not that exchanging names will help us much.”
“Well, if things go as bad as you say they will,” Marcy mumbled, “Then it’ll give you someone to scream for when you’re dying.”
Sara bit her lip and turned her head so Emma didn’t see her trying not to laugh. She understood Emma’s fear. Her own was climbing pretty high but fear kills and she wasn’t about to die. Not yet, anyway. She’d fight until she wasn’t able to fight anymore.
The sky here was a mix of blue and pink with fluffy gray clouds. The large planet she’d seen from the window of the space ship looked enormous now as she looked up at it. Where Earth was seen as a big blue planet, this one was nothing but rings in varying shades of red and yellow. Two smaller planets, or moons, sat between it and the planet they were currently on and looking up and seeing them would take getting used to.
One of the Big Heads banged something on the metal floor of the ship and they turned in unison to look at him. He stood at the top of the landing staring down at them.
“Humans,” he said, the words slightly accented. “Welcome to Prison Moon One.”
Prison Moon?That didn’t sound inviting.
Marcy leaned her way. “I hope his use of the word prison doesn’t mean the same thing it means back home.”