Page 46 of Prison Moon

Chapter Seventeen

It had been weeks since she’d had to piss in an overflowing bucket or slept with the stench of human waste burning her nose. Sara scowled as she paced the front of the cage, trying to work the stiffness out of her bones. She’d slept on the ground, with nothing for warmth but the clothes she wore, which wasn’t much. The wrap around, homemade skirt and bandeau top had been sufficient for the warmth inside Toren’s mountain lair. Here? Not so much.

The other humans were huddled together for warmth and beyond the cell bars, nothing much moved. It was quiet. Eerily so. She’d laid on the ground the night before listening to Toren roaring her name, his voice rumbling through the walls. The others had stared at her for hours and as much as she hated being the center of their attention, knowing Toren was trying to get to her had comforted her. She just wished they’d let her see him, to let her calm him down. Hours later, when Toren finally quieted, the tension inside the small cell seemed to leave as well. The other girls still seemed wary of her but she wasn’t sure why.

The other women were rousing, grumbling as they took turns pissing in the corner. The sun was nearly directly overhead and her stomach wasn’t the only one she’d heard making noise. She was damn near starved. If she had to guess, she’d say it had been twenty-four hours since she’d eaten last. One of the girls in the cage with her said they were fed once every day. It was never much and barely edible but most choked it down to keep from starving.

A girl with black hair cut into a short pixie style kept looking her way. She’d ignored her for the most part but eventually turned, gritted her teeth and said, “What?”

The girl looked away briefly before looking back. “The guards said yesterday they were bringing in a dragon. Since you and the man you were with last night are the only new people we’ve seen since then, I’m assuming he meant one of you.”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“Is it you?”

The girl’s voice had cracked a bit when she asked the question. Is that why they were all looking at her as if she were going to eat them? “No, it’s not me. I’m as human as you are.”

“I see.” She stared at her for a long moment. “So—that was him doing all the yelling last night?”

“Yes.”

The girl nodded and looked out across the empty arena. “Is your dragon cruel like the other ones?”

“You mean the wyvern?”

“Is that what they’re called?”

“Yes.” Several other girls were turned her way, listening. “Two legs, tall with grey-brown or black scales. Those are wyvern. They shape-shift. The dragons do too, but they’re different.”

“How so?” A brunette asked the question.

“Well, the dragons have four legs and wings. Toren is a beautiful shade of blue and his eyes are deep, dark violet. His scales look as if they’re iridescent and when the sun catches them just right, they shine in every color of the rainbow.”

Someone snorted a laugh. Sara looked at the girls assembled and narrowed her eyes. “And no, he’s not cruel. He’s saved my life too many times to count since I got dumped here.”

“What’s it like out there?”

A blonde with large brown eyes asked the question. “I was taken directly from the ship and put here. I’ve not seen anything other than this pit.”

“Me, too,” another girl said.

There were eight girls in the small cell she was in and all along the wall, more cages and more girls huddled together. If she had to guess, she’d say there were probably thirty girls locked up in all these cages, if not more. “I’m going to assume these fights offer you up as prizes?”

They all seemed to nod at once.

“It’s horrid,” the brunette said. “Those things that live here are just—” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Some look sort of human but others.” She shuddered. “They look like something out of a sci-fi or horror movie.”

Pixie-cut girl chimed in, “The one with all the legs.” Every girl there seemed to shudder. “He looks like some sort of spider-hybrid. His upper body looks human-ish but from the waist down, he’s—“

“—Hideous. So many legs! He stands a good eight foot high when his legs are fully extended.”

“The selection is random here,” another said. “The arena I was at last week, it was bigger than this one and the aliens bid on us with tokens. That’s how the fights were chosen. Here you at least have a chance to be passed over.”

“Or you’re lucky enough none of them want you.”

Sara looked at the girl who’d spoken. Her face was badly pock-marked with old acne scars. Another was nodding her head, a large birthmark covering half her face.

“Luckily, the aliens are picky about what their women look like and for the first time in my life, I’m glad no one wants me.”