Page 43 of Prison Moon
Chapter Sixteen
The twin moons were lit brightly when the alien holding her dragged her over the crumbling wall of the ruins and into the darkened jungle. She could see three others waiting under a cluster of trees.
The largest of the three stepped forward when he spotted them. “Did you get him?”
“Yes. He went down screaming.”
The other two laughed. Sara watched them, confused. Were these guys prisoners? What did they want? A commotion behind her had them all turning. The others that had been down in the chamber with them were dragging Toren from the doorway. His arms were clamped behind his back by wide silver cuffs. They matched the one around his neck except that collar was thicker and small red lights blinked in three different places around the circumference of it.
His head was tipped forward, his feet dragging the ground. Whatever they’d hit him with knocked him out cold, which meant she was on her own. Her big blue dragon wouldn’t be swooping in to save her this time.
The alien who’d asked about Toren said something and the words, “does not translate,” rang inside her head. He moved away from the others, out from under the trees. The buttery yellow glow of the largest moon lit the area enough to see him. He was anything but human. Scales covered a portion of his face. Elongated teeth that extended past his bottom lip and fingers tipped with claws said he was alien. He wore nothing but pants—which he was currently removing. Her heart slammed against her ribcage. With a quick glance around, she counted at least seven hulking aliens. Were they going to—
Fear made her suddenly nauseous, her knees weak enough, had the brute behind her not been holding her so tight, she would have hit the ground.
The alien removing his pants made a noise and drew her attention. She regretted looking. He was as naked as Toren and her throat went dry as he looked at her and grinned. Then—his body began to shake.
Utan had told her the enforcers were wyvern, which were similar to the dragons except they stood upright, only had two legs and wings. He failed to mention they were also shape-shifters. As if by magic, the alien grew, his legs growing thicker, longer. His arms lengthened, widened until wings were stirring the air as he moved them, his torso enlarging as his mass increased and strained against the nearby trees. When he opened his mouth and roared, she waited for the blast of fire, but it never came.
It lowered its head, red eyes locked on her. She had no idea what they wanted or why and started struggling to free herself from the hold of the one at her back. Those holding Toren dragged him past her and tossed him at the wyvern’s massive feet. The beast’s wings lifted and lowered, the creatures massive body rising from the ground. Her breath caught when his sharp claws spread wide, his foot hovering over Toren seconds before clamping around him and picking him up.
The alien behind her jerked her forward. Air disturbed by the wyvern’s wings carried the scent of rotting flesh and a cloying musk that reminded her of snakes. She tried to hold her breath but gasped when she was tossed to the ground. The wyvern wrapped a clawed foot around her and as he’d done to Toren, lifted her off the ground. She barely grabbed hold of its foot before it shot into the air, her scream drowned by the sound of beating wings, the moon-washed planet falling away below her.
She looked at Toren. His body lay limp in the wyvern’s grasp. Those blissful days of laying around with him were over. She knew what was to become of her. She’d been put here to be an alien’s plaything while the entire galaxy watched. Although she’d been caught, Toren had treated her as if she were precious. Loved. It didn’t take a genius to realize that’s not the sort of entertainment these beings desired. They wanted blood, sex, and fear. They’d get it, too. Already her heart was pounding, her stomach rolling as anxiety locked every muscle down tight. But what of Toren? What did they want with him?
She was afraid the answer would be too much to bear.
* * *
As long as she’d been on Prison Moon One she’d seen nothing but jungles, forests, mountains and very few people—aliens. What she was seeing now took her breath.
A small shantytown sat sprawled amongst the trees below. Ramshackle buildings of crude wood lined a dirt street that led to a massive ringed structure. Small clusters of buildings butted up next to it and as the wyvern slowly started to descend and head for it, she could see some sort of low-lying wooden seats or bleachers lining the inside circumference. The wyvern set her and Toren down in the center of the ring then settled at one end next to a raised wooden platform with three steps leading up to the top. It reminded her a bit of a stage. With the seats lining the wall, it might have been.
Sara sat up and crawled to where Toren lay, lifting his head to her lap. He was still unconscious. The collar around his neck was cold and she was barely able to get a finger underneath it. She wasn’t sure of its purpose but those blinking red lights made her think there was some sort of current running through it. Was it a shock collar of some kind? Or was it nothing more than a way to prevent him from shifting?
The moons bathed the world here in light bright enough to see cells on one side of the ring. There was movement inside them and hushed whispers. A half dozen scenarios played inside her mind’s eye and none of them ended well for them. Not being able to see what was staring back at them caused the nausea she’d finally been able to get rid of to hit again tenfold. Her hold on Toren tightened.
Whatever this place was, it was well used. The ground was hard, packed dirt. The smell of rot, piss, and feces was strong. That fear she was sure they wanted her to feel seemed to rush through her body and left her shivering. She grabbed Toren under his shoulders and pulled him closer. “Toren, wake up.” She gave him a slight shake, then a harder one when he never moved.
She had no idea how much time passed as she sat there trying to wake Toren but the wyvern who’d brought them here never moved from his perch at the far end of the ring. He did nothing but sit there, those bright red eyes watching every move she made. The ever-present orbs that tracked the movement of everything here were hovering nearby, watching as always. When one swooped down to eye level, she threw up a hand and raised her middle finger for whoever was watching, a silent, fuck you, to the universe.
She was beginning to think they would sit there all night when a bright light flashed in the sky above them. She’d seen enough movies to know that glowing circle was a spaceship. It hovered over them for long minutes before a brighter light flared and what looked like a smaller light began to descend.
The small craft that landed at the opposite end of the ring from the wyvern was about the size of a car. Bright lights ringed it on all sides and lit the entire area. Now, able to see all those darkened cells, she stared wide-eyed at the women staring back at her. Mostly human, from what she could tell but a few were definitely alien.
What was this place? The moment the question whispered through her mind, she knew. The Arena. The Big Heads had told them when they dropped them off that part of the game was staged in the arena. Fights between aliens in order to win a female. As she looked at the faces of those staring back at her, women who were waiting to be fought over and awarded as a prize to some foul creature willing to kill for her, that sick feeling in her stomach grew until she thought she’d puke.
The front of the small craft opened and two beings stepped out and crossed to where she sat. They were female and both dressed in skin-tight, one-piece jumpers. They had no hair and their heads were a bit oddly shaped. Not exactly pointed but not round either.
The one on the right glanced at Toren before turning her attention back to her. “You’re a very difficult human to get ahold of. Our previous attempts were all unsuccessful.”
Previous attempts? The moment the words whispered inside her head, she knew what she meant. They’d sent the tree monster and the thing that had come into the cave and grabbed her. When those failed, they’d sent a wyvern and once again, Toren had rescued her. The only reason they had her now was the fact they’d ambushed them. There had been no less than eight wyverns at the ruins and with those odds, no one would have been able to get away.
“My name is Kalethra,” the female who seemed to be in charge said. “I am emissary for those living on Prison Moon One. This,” she motioned to the other female with a small tilt of her head, “is Talryn. She is our human liaison in charge of the care and well-being of the women here.”
Sara snorted a laugh. At Talryn’s raised eyebrow, she said, “You’re failing miserably. Humans are treated like animals. We’re hunted for sport and ratings.”
Talryn rolled her eyes toward Kalethra before returning her attention to her. “And some are well cared for.”