Page 2

Garnet

G arnet was having a really weird dream. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was about, and the harder she tried to focus on the details, the further they slipped from her grasp. Her sister was there. Goldie was often in her dreams. Her identical twin sister, with her happy smile that hid a steely determination under a layer of cutesy sweetness, was such a big part of her, it was a given that she would be there. But aside from that, she couldn’t recall anything else. The dream was fading more and more as she slowly came around.

It was taking a long time to wake up though. Her mind was foggy; her limbs were heavy. Like she’d just gotten over a really bad flu. Had they been drinking last night or something? That would be weird since neither of them really drank. Had they been celebrating something? Oh, right, they’d been drinking to toast Garnet getting rid of her ex! No, wait, that had been like two months ago. Three months ago?

Why was everything so hazy? So hard to remember? She wanted to fall back asleep, but there was something nagging at her deep in the back of her mind. She had forgotten something important. She needed to wake up and remember.

Oh, but it was so comfy…

Distantly, Garnet was aware that she was moving. Why was she moving? What… Who was…

That nagging feeling was getting louder. Turning into an alarm in her head. Something shrieking at her to wake up. To remember! To fight back!

Fight-!

That night. The park. Those freaky fucks with five eyes and black skin. Not brown, actually black! Like monsters coming out of the darkness. Goldie had been screaming. She was-

Goldie!

Fear for her sister made Garnet’s eyes snap open. For all the good it did. The bright light immediately seared her corneas. She couldn’t focus. It hurt. Her eyes. Her head. But she ignored the pain, squinting through it, as her brow furrowed as she tried desperately to look. To see. What was-

Red. Demonic red.

There was a monster. He had gray skin, not black, and only two eyes. But they were such a bright, fiery, wicked crimson, staring at her from up close. Entirely too close. She was moving. This monster had her in his arms and was blinking down at her with an aloof expression on his rather harshly carved face.

He opened his mouth, but what came out was pure mush. Or, probably more accurately, her slow brain wasn’t capable of putting together whatever he was saying.

But it didn’t matter, because this monster was here, and Goldie wasn’t.

“Whereth my thither?!” Garnet yelled, her own words mush as well, her tongue too fat and uncoordinated to form words properly.

The monster said something else. But that was unintelligible too.

“Le’ me go!” Garnet tried to turn over. To get away.

He said something else. That wasn’t English. She didn’t know that language. But she did know that monsters might not be real, but aliens were. And it was well known that aliens loved human females. That was why Earth was a protected planet.

Well, not on Garnet’s fucking watch!

The alien guy opened his mouth again to say something-

-only for Garnet’s fist to hit him square in the nose.

He fell back, probably more from surprise than anything. Even she could tell there wasn’t that much strength in that hit. But his grip loosened allowing her to come tumbling out onto the floor with a grunt of pain as her knees struck hard metal.

She scrambled back to her feet-

-then immediately fell against the wall as her head spun. Her legs were like jelly, and the only reason she stayed upright was the shot of hot adrenaline coursing rapidly through her veins.

Garnet was not going down without a fight, and she’d be damned if she let any alien fucks touch her sister!

“Come get some!” She snarled weakly, raising her fists even as she used her shoulder to balance herself against the wall. “I’ll rip your dick off and play kickball with it. I’m not afraid of you!”

The gray-skinned guy blinked, obviously surprised but unimpressed. He looked at her like she was a yappy little chihuahua threatening to chew through his Achilles tendon.

“Where’s my sister, you bitch?” Garnet continued, yapping right away. She didn’t care. She’d go for the Achilles tendon – or whatever else she could reach – if she had to!

He just kept looking at her, cocking his head to the side.

Then someone yellow just popped into existence.

Garnet cried out, falling onto her butt, shocked at the sudden appearance of this… guy? He was yellow, transparent, and… nothing. He had no face, no hair, no clothes. He was male shaped but thankfully had all the anatomical accuracy of a manikin.

He said something too. Or, at least, she thought he did. There was no mouth to move, but the gray guy looked at him before responding.

Damn it! She didn’t speak alien. And they clearly didn’t speak English. What was going on?! What were they after?! Well, she knew what they were after, but they weren’t getting it without breaking a couple bones! Preferably theirs.

And where was Goldie!?

The yellow guy was walking her way. Garnet cried out and kicked, aiming for his knee. Her foot went right through him. Which wasn’t shocking, considering how ghost-like he appeared, but it still knocked her off her already shaky balance.

She fell to her side with an oomph, and in so doing, she caught sight of the giant, metal casket in the middle of the room. Its lid was open, though from down here she couldn’t see inside. But she figured that’s where she had to have come from because right in front of it, laid out on the ground, head turned to the side, was Goldie.

Her sister had her eyes open, and though they looked as groggy as Garnet felt, she was looking directly at her. Silently speaking to her. Trying to figure out what was going on. Trying to tell her that she was alright. That she was behind her.

Goldie was a sweetheart. From the top of her head to the tip of her pink toenails. She was still wearing the pink and white checkered dress with the poofy white sleeves that Garnet once teased her about for being overly girlie. But Goldie was always ready to fight with Garnet, no matter when or against whom. And that included here and now.

She was safe for now – or, at least, they weren’t hurt.

But there was a collar around her neck.

Garnet’s breath stilled when she caught sight of it. That wasn’t a necklace or anything. It was a ring, dark gray and metallic, locked securely around her throat. And seeing it, Garnet became suddenly aware of a tightness around her own throat.

They were both collared. Like fucking pets. Like animals!

Her eyes snapped back up, catching on Goldie’s. She saw the fear in her sister’s gaze that only hardened her own determination.

Gray guy was coming back. He bent over, reaching for her. Garnet kicked again, going for his knee this time. Though she was actually successful in hitting him she did no damage. He just kind of stared at her, unmoved by the show of violence.

Until Goldie threw herself on him from behind. He whipped around, sending her sister flying. Garnet used that chance to scramble back to her feet. She screamed, rushing for him, both fists flying. Hitting whatever she could.

He turned again, easily catching her by both wrists. He pushed her back up against the wall and spoke again. His voice was as sharp as his features, leaving no doubt in her mind that he’d just commanded her to stop.

Until he let out a roar of pain. He fell back, releasing Garnet as Goldie pulled on the long, thin, whip-like tail coming out from under his belt. He whirled around, reaching for her, but he was too late. Goldie had already let go and was running past him.

Garnet grabbed her by the arm and pushed her behind her back, shoving themselves into a corner as the guy frowned, rubbing his lower back.

Yellow ghost guy was still there, but he was laughing. Head thrown back, his image flickering, as he hollered his amusement. The gray guy gave him a look and a short order. Yellow responded with sass that needed no translation.

He was making fun of the guy for being overpowered by a couple girls. Garnet could practically hear him saying it.

“Garnet,” Goldie whispered, putting a hand on her back. “What’s going on? What happened?”

“I don’t remember,” Garnet hissed through her teeth, brow furrowing. “The last thing I remember was us walking home, I think?”

“I don’t even remember that much…”

“We definitely got abducted,” Garnet tightened her hands into fists. She was more awake now, so it wasn’t as difficult as before, but she didn’t think she’d actually be able to overpower the guy. At least, not just by hitting him.

“What do we do?”

Garnet clenched her teeth so hard, she was afraid she was going to break them. She hated hearing that tone of fear in her sister’s voice. She was her sister’s keeper, damn it. She was supposed to make sure things like this didn’t happen to her!

“First thing’s first: We got to get out of here,” Garnet whispered over her shoulder, tracking the gray guy who was giving her an unreadable look.

“I think that’s a door. Over there.”

Garnet looked past the guy and, sure enough, one of the walls was different than the others. If it was a door, it was a door that took up the entire space. This room wasn’t huge. Probably about the size of their apartment living room. With the giant metal casket in the middle, it was even smaller.

“Okay. Got an idea. I’ll run for him. You go around the casket. See if you can get the door open. We bail the second it does.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Garnet didn’t really have an answer for her. “Ready?”

Goldie made a soft sound.

“Go!”

They tore off in different directions. Goldie ran from behind her, towards the casket, going to the other side. Meanwhile, Garnet charged at the gray guy.

He followed Goldie with his eyes only until he saw Garnet rushing towards him. She pulled back her fist with a cry and threw it forward-

-only to find it caught in his gasp. His palm was rough, sturdy. A working man’s hands.

And he had claws on his knuckles.

Garnet hesitated, surprised. His hand covered hers, engulfing her fist completely, highlighting the darker gray of the large claws right there across his third knuckles. They weren’t like a set of knuckles he’d slipped on either. They were growing out of his skin.

And they were sharp.

Garnet pulled back, fully expecting a fight, but he let her go. She stumbled a step before rushing in again, going for a punch with the other hand.

This time, he caught her wrist and pulled up, forcing her onto her toes as he loomed over her. Red eyes glinting in the light.

Bastard wasn’t concerned at all. He wasn’t even out of breath. He was looking at her with the detached kind of disinterest of a long-suffering parent trying to keep their kid from hitting.

Garnet jerked up her knee, going for the nads.

He grabbed her around the thigh with his other hand. Pulling her leg to the side. Avoiding the hit.

And instead opening her legs to him as he turned, pressing her butt against the side of the casket. Still holding her wrist as she flailed her other arm, searching for balance.

“Get off me!” Garnet demanded, punching his chest. Aiming for the face.

He caught her with the same hand that held the other wrist. He held them both in one hand as he put them down, between their chests. But her legs were still apart, her leg held up. She wasn’t wearing a skirt like Goldie, but she still felt ridiculously vulnerable being spread open for him. The only saving grace was that she didn’t feel an erection poking her.

He leaned in close. Red eyes glimmering. He spoke in a calm, slow voice, and while she didn’t understand his words, she felt exactly like a wild animal trying to be soothed.

“I’m not falling for this!” She hissed, struggling against his grasp. “You kidnapped us! You’re going to get in so much trouble!”

He let her writhe without comment. Just looking at her face.

The guy didn’t look like a kidnapper. Which seemed wrong. Shouldn’t he be, like, ugly with some disfiguring scars and a nasty, greasy gut and a weapon in one hand?

This guy looked… normal.

He was wearing a jumpsuit. It was darker gray than his skin, covering him from neck to toe, the sleeves all the way down to his wrists. She caught sight of a black shirt at the ‘v’ of his neck, but otherwise, there was nothing on it that might be some sort of identifying marker.

His features were harsh. Those bright red eyes were set in angled, pointed eyes that were above a long, sharp nose, practically raptorial. His lips were thin as well, a slash across his face set into a stoic frown that betrayed nothing of his thoughts.

He didn’t have hair either. This close, Garnet could see that what she initially mistook as silvery hair jutting out in spikes from his head were actually spikes. Sharp, stabby quills that were smoothed away from his face, pointing back in hard, unmoving lines. She didn’t know if they’d pop up if he were angry, but if they did, he was perfectly calm because they were neatly laid down together. The gray of the quills was lighter than his skin, but it was shinier. Like they were metallic.

Maybe they were. She didn’t know!

Garnet didn’t follow alien news! She knew that Earth was protected by two different species, but she didn’t think he was either of them. One was scaley and the other had three eyes. This guy’s skin was gray, but it was definitely skin, and those eyes…

Those gleaming, jewel-bright eyes were focused so intently on her face…

Garnet wasn’t sure when she had stopped struggling, but she stared right back. Almost entranced. She wouldn’t call this guy handsome. His features were too severe for that. But there was something attractive about how they all came together. Laser focused on her, without a care for how she struck him earlier.

Calm power that controlled her so easily, it was hypnotizing…