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Chapter Thirty

MAYA

I hiss through my teeth as I squint at my tablet screen. Lines of code scroll before my eyes… and it’s frustratingly slow. My nerves are shot, every little noise making me feel like I’m on borrowed time. And those noises? Over the last few minutes, they’ve gotten increasingly louder. The King said that we were going to be thrown into the arena, and I am starting to fear the games are just beginning.

“When you dramatically declared we were escaping this place, I kind of figured you’d have a key or something,” Melvall complains from beside me. His face is pressed to the metal bars, nose squishing through, as he attempts to look down both sides of the corridor for the wayward patrolling guards.

“I do. Kind of,” I tell him. “Hacking isn’t like it is in the vids, okay? They make it look so easy. Just start an app or press a button, or maybe even two people can type on a keyboard at once and it somehow just magically works,” I scoff.

“This is hacking?” Zoran asks. “Using this device with the glowing screen? I’ve heard about them, but never seen one in person before.”

I slap his wrist as he reaches for my tablet, curious fingers questing.

“No. Hacking is much more complicated than just ‘using the device’. You have to understand encryption protocols, authentication layers, and system vulnerabilities. I’m trying to find a security backdoor that will let me override the lock mechanisms,” I explain, my fingers flying across the screen. “I was right! They’re using an outdated access control system down here. If I can bypass their authentication sequence, then I should be able to trigger the unlock protocols and...”

My fingers type across the screen, my brain screaming at me why I didn’t bring a keyboard as well. As soon as I get the opportunity, I’m going to get one of those fold-up ones… or maybe one of those projection models, though they’re more prone to typos than anything.

“What do you think is going on out there?” Melvall asks, craning his head. “It’s getting awfully loud.”

“Maybe a famous fighter?” Zoran replies. After a moment, he snorts. “Nah. They would have cheered that loud for me if it was.”

I ignore them, my mind focused on the data appearing before me. A jumble of command lines and access codes appearing, yet in my mind, I can visualize it all; pathways going to gates, splitting off from one another and even circling back, all interconnecting with other devices on the network. Each junction point, each security node is a vulnerable spot that I might be able to exploit.

If there is one thing I am certain of in this life, it is my ability to code. Computers don’t have messy emotions and evil motivations; they are simply logical operators of if, then, and that’s it. Clean. Trustworthy. They do not betray you.

Coding is nothing like the complexities of my heart and mind. My head tells me that I can’t trust him ever again… my soul begs for me to find him and patch things up because no one’s ever made me feel the way he does.

My breath catches in my throat as I visualize the path forward, a way to bypass the electronic locks of the cell doors. No one’s bothered to update the security here in quite some time, perhaps ever. I didn’t even need to create new exploit code; I found a vulnerability that’s probably been around since this system was first installed. Had I needed to write custom code... it might have taken too long. Our freedom is as simple as someone forgetting to patch their security by pressing the update button…

My fingers shake as they hover over my tablet. So simple… It’ll be a matter of just executing this command sequence, and then walking out of here. Without Volan by my side, protecting me. Without him guiding me through the dangers. I’ll just have to casually avoid the hordes of warrior males, rogues, barbarians, and whatever other sword-wielding aliens there are between me and the colony. Easy.

Just weeks ago, I would have frozen with fear at the thought of being in this predicament. Now? I find myself calculating escape routes and planning countermoves like I’m the protagonist in one of those fantasy adventures I love so much. The same woman who once couldn’t even confront Walter during a conversation is now planning a prison break. The irony isn’t lost on me.

“You just have to press that button, right?” Zoran asks, face hovering over my shoulder, hot breath fanning my neck. “The one that says ‘unlock doors’, right?”

“Yes.”

“So it is as easy as just using the device, then.”

“I…” I look at him, to tell him that someone in the past wrote hundreds, thousands of lines of code, to combat hundreds of thousands of lines, and… He wouldn’t understand all the time and effort that resulted in a frustrating, glaringly simple button. “Yeah, I guess I just gotta use the device after all.”

“In three, two, one…” With a deep breath, I press my finger firmly to the screen.

We all wait with bated breath, but nothing happens.

“No… alarms?” Melvall asks, looking over his shoulder at me. “Did you do anything at all?”

“Well, I pressed the button!” I reply.

I glare at the cells of our prison.

“Did you try pulling?” I ask the blue-colored alien. “Not all doors are push, you know?”

Melvall scowls at me as if I suggested something so blatantly obvious that even a child would know… but sure enough, as he pulls back on the metal, the cage door swings open. I do my best to repress the smirk that threatens to pull across my lips, especially at Melvall’s shocked, delighted, and frustrated expression. It’s always amazed me that aliens and humans share so many facial mannerisms, even when sometimes our cultural behaviors differ.

Oh, how I have grown over the last few days.

I stand up and place my tablet in my pocket, making sure to zip it up to keep it safe. It’s my safety blanket, and I can’t possibly bear to be parted from it.

With my chin raised high, I step through the door… okay, maybe I step cautiously through the door and glance around for signs of anyone who might stop us. My anxiety is still buzzing beneath my skin, prickling like goosebumps, ready to make me jump at the first sign of danger… and that’s okay. I think I’m always going to be an anxious person. It’s kind of what makes me, well, me.

The hallway is clear.

“Come on, guys, let’s get out of here.” I don’t bother looking over my shoulder at my fellow escape prisoners; there’s a certainty in my bones that they are following closely behind.

The distant sound of cheering makes me pause, my heartbeat hammering in my throat. “Sounds like they’re having fun without us.”

“Not the kind of fun I want,” Melvall mutters.

“Speak for yourself,” Zoran grins, cracking his knuckles. “Nothing like a good fight to get the blood pumping. Just has to be a fair one—warrior against warrior, skill against skill.”

“It does make me wonder though,” I say, turning to Zoran. “You seemed so proud of your fighting skills back there. If you’re such a champion in the pits, why were you two breaking into the medicine lab? Couldn’t you just win it the usual way?”

Zoran’s usual bravado seems to diminish slightly. “Well...”

“Let’s just say that lately the King has been changing the rules,” Melvall cuts in, voice low. “Last tournament, instead of warrior against warrior, they brought in something else.”

“This huge beast with these long, tentacles,” Zoran explains, gesturing widely with his hands. “Dozens of them, whipping around so fast you can barely see them. And they’re strong—strong enough to crush armor. It pulls warriors underground and just...” He makes a graphic squishing gesture with his hands.

“A tangler,” Melvall identifies, his voice clinical despite the grim subject. “An extremely rare subterranean predator. Virtually impossible to defeat in confined spaces.”

“We watched as three warriors went in,” Zoran states solemnly, uncharacteristically subdued. “None survived.”

“I may be strong,” Zoran admits with a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, “but I’m not stupid.”

“Are you sure?” Melvall asks, not missing a beat.

Zoran glares at him. “One beast with many arms against one warrior with two? Not favorable odds.”

Melvall sighs, nodding in acquiescence. “So we thought... alternative acquisition methods might be prudent.”

I nod, understanding dawning. “You were stealing medicine for your people because the King made winning it nearly impossible.”

“Exactly,” Zoran says, his usual cheerfulness returning. “Much more dignified to get caught stealing than to get eaten, right? This way I get to live to fight another day.”

Before long we are walking past several cages filled with all manner of beasts. A large blue and purple pile of fur catches my eye, and as I walk past I withhold my gasp when a bear-like face lifts and watches me silently. A smaller cage hangs against a wall, inside filled with a dozen bats… no, their skin isn’t soft and tender but cracked and creviced like rocks.

“They are meant for the arena,” Melvall informs us, pausing to also inspect the rock-bats.

“The Sulthari capture them,” Zoran tells me from my other side. He leans forward to prod at the birdcage, sticking a finger inside. He snatches his hand, dragging it away from the bars, moments before the creatures inside throw themselves at the offending appendage. “My mother told me stories when I was a youngling, but I guess I never really believed them.”

“About the birds?” I ask, entranced. I tilt my head, studying the creviced body. Eerily, several of the birds copy my movement. “What did she tell you?”

“No, about the Sulthari,” Zoran corrects. “She told us that the Sulthari sneak from their caves under the light of the moon, and any that crosses their path will be captured. They drag their victims back into the caves, sometimes screaming, and they are never seen again.”

“That’s…!” I turn and gape at him. The thought of being dragged into the darkness, never to see the light again, is horrifying.

“I thought it was a youngling tale, one that she told us simply to stop my brother and me from wandering far from the village at night. We did that. A lot. Always exploring.”

Melvall shakes his head. “My sire taught me something similar.”

“Wow,” I mutter. “My people tell the same sorts of stories. Not about Sulthari, but just the general warnings to not wander far from home.”

I squeeze my arms around my waist. Volan is a Sulthari. Did he do this; sneak out and attack people at night, dragging them to their doom? Again I question him and his motives, wondering what is real.

Volan tricked me. He didn’t even need to drag me here, I just simply followed him like the fool that I am. I knew all along that aliens were quick to whisk away females, and for some stupid reason, I just didn’t think it would apply to me. After all, who would actually want me? I’m falling apart at the seams, scared to do anything unless desperation forces me.

But that’s not entirely true anymore, is it? The woman who cowered in fear from the scampers is now actively hunting for an escape route. Maybe I’m still afraid, but I’m not letting that fear control me anymore.

“These creatures…” I swallow the lump in my throat, trying desperately to redirect my thoughts from painful topics. “We can’t just leave them here.”

“What do you propose we do then? Release them and follow them down the hallway to freedom as if they are an army we command?” Melvall snorts.

“Would it work?”

“No!”

“I mean…” Zoran’s eyebrows are lowered, and his brow is pinched. We turn and stare at him as an expression of almost-pain crosses his face.

“You make thinking look painful,” Melvall comments. I can only nod. Indeed, his eyes are squished closed and his lips are pressed thin.

“That, or constipated,” I remark. “Are you alright, Zoran?”

“What? Yes, of course. I was just thinking…”

“So that’s what you call it,” Melvall mutters, shaking his head.

“I was just thinking…” Zoran says, glaring at his friend, “that perhaps we could indeed follow the beasts out. If at the very least, we can use them as a distraction.”

“No,” Melvall growls, stomping his foot.

“We can’t fight all those warriors,” Zoran admits. “I mean, I’d try…but a good warrior knows when to retreat for help. And we have the duty to protect the human female,” he finishes, attention fully on Melvall.

“Hey! I can look after myself!” I glare, hands on hips. “I mean, I took down at least half a dozen scampers back in the tunnels, didn’t I?”

Both males look down their noses at me. Not in a bad way, as if they are purposely looking down on me as a person, but simply because they are so much taller than I. And larger. Even Melvall, sleek compared to Zoran’s bulk, has muscles on muscles compared to my slight chub.

“I have claws,” Zoran admits. “And am a trained fighter. I can best many of my clansmen in unarmed combat. Can you say the same?”

Melvall nods. He holds out an arm, revealing the row of small but noticeable spikes across his forearm. “I have my spikes. They are quite sharp, and I can excrete poison if it comes to it. Enough to even take down a male like Zoran with ease.”

“And I have strength,” Zoran says with a grin, sharp teeth on display. He flexes his arm before me, muscles rippling. “I am strong enough to pummel a male like Melvall to the ground.”

“Well, my tail is much bigger than yours. I can sweep you off your feet and hit you several times with it.”

“Ha! You want to know what I’ve got that’s bigger?”

“Enough!” I shout, covering my face. “I swear to God, you are all as bad as teenagers. This isn’t a contest. Stop beating your chests!”

Melvall and Zoran quirk their heads towards me, expressions confused. “We are not hitting each other’s chests…”

I squeeze the bridge of my nose, frustration mounting. Why are aliens always so literal, and always at the worst possible timing? “Let’s just focus, okay? Right now we are going to vote on whether we save these beasts. You two can release your own beasts to compare later if you want, but right now, our priority is getting out of here.”

“We should not feel sorry for these creatures,” Melvall tells me, changing the subject. “Each of these beasts will eat you if given the chance.”

“I am not leaving them behind,” I hiss. “It could have been us left in these cages, with no one to help!”

I blink, shocked by my own sudden anger. Melvall’s recoiled from me, eyes wide as he looks down at me like I am some creature ready to spit acid or fire at him.

“No one’s ever helped me before…” I tell them, throat tight. It’s not entirely the truth, though, is it? Volan helped me. At least, he pretended to help me when he said he’d guide me to that room. And he did… right before he betrayed me.

“Just because no one else does the right thing, doesn’t mean I have to act like them. I want to help these creatures, because it’s the right thing to do. Help others, that is.”

“It is the honor of a warrior to help others weaker than themselves,” Zoran admits.

Melvall sighs but nods. “I’m not a warrior,” he tells us. “But you are right, we should help those in need. After all, who knows when one day I might need the help in return?”

He turns and paces to the purple bear’s cage. “So we just use your device and open the doors, right? Let’s hope that the creatures choose to follow the hallways and not… you know, eat us.”

I slip my tablet out of my pocket, walking up beside Melvall.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him, already pulling up my apps to initiate the same unlock procedure I used before. Melvall simply grunts in return, his body stiff. I can feel the anxiousness rolling off of him… because it’s literally bubbling under my own skin. No one ever said that doing the right thing wasn’t foolhardy and safe. Opening these cage doors could very well mean that we are about to be mauled and ripped apart… but sometimes you need to look fear in the eye and choose to keep moving despite it.

“Right… On my mark, get ready to pull the doors open, okay?” I call out, making sure that I’m loud enough for Zoran to hear me. He’s still hanging about with the birds, probably poking his finger into the cage. Given how loud the birds are squawking, I really don’t doubt it for a moment.

“Umm, guys…” Zoran replies over the increasing shrieks and calls. “It’s not pull. It’s push.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, turning to look at the green alien. The one with more brute strength than sense, but a heart of gold nonetheless.

My eyes widen as the meanings of his words sink in. Standing before me is a green alien. At least, what used to be a green alien. Latched onto his body, hanging off his arms, and perched on his head… are a dozen flapping, rock birds. They cover so much of his body that I can barely see any skin anymore. And of course, what I can see of him is his wide smile and obvious delight, despite the small claw marks all over his cheeks.

“Turns out the cage doors are unlocked already,” he says, the birds flapping their wings furiously as he shrugs. They practically threaten to lift him up and carry him off in flight.

“He’s right,” Melvall says from behind me, voice quiet. A chill goes down my spine as his hand grips my elbow, very slowly inching me to the side. “Turns out the cages are already unlocked. All of them.”

Oh shit.