Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 51862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 259(@200wpm)___ 207(@250wpm)___ 173(@300wpm)
The moment the aliens, and that is what they are now to me, leave the room, I dress myself and rush as fast as I can to the cargo bay where my village is. It is good to see familiar faces and smell familiar smells. It is just so good to be among them, and to remember who I am to them.
“Emily! We were wondering where you’d gotten to.” Mrs Trevers greets me with a warm smile. “What pretty clothes you have! I really like the way they look on you.”
“We have to get out of here. We have to escape. They’re going to split us up and sell us.”
“What?”
“That’s what we are to them. That’s why they care about us. It’s the only reason they care. We’re product. I’m going to get us out of here. Be ready to leave.”
There is no argument. We are in accord.
7
Zain
“That’s it,” Arkan says. “Right there.”
He’s pointing at a smudgy dot on a screen, but what it represents is the end of our journey in terms of recovering all the humans we need to save from the grips of our enemies.
We have finally hunted down the Wrathelder vessel. I cannot wait to enjoy the satisfaction of snatching their prey from them. I have spent so long being tormented by that family and now the tables have well and truly turned.
They are cosmically cornered with nowhere to run. They will have to surrender.
“You want the honor?” Arkan gestures toward the mic.
“Oh, now I’m not sure what to say,” I laugh. Should I go with a human phrase, perhaps? What’s up, motherfuckers? That would work on several levels.
Before I can say anything, the Wrathelder vessel hails us.
“Declare your intentions, enemy vessel.”
The voice that comes through the speakers does not come from a member of the Wrathelder clan. It is a gritty, gnarled human voice.
“We are not an enemy vessel,” I say. “We are attempting to free the humans.”
There’s a click and a brief laugh. “No need. We freed ourselves.”
“I see. And the… alien crew?”
“No survivors.”
“How is that possible?” Kahn is shocked, because Kahn has never seen humans fight for their lives before.
“Easily. They were armed and ready to invade down on Earth. Wrathelder sucked up its own invasion force. Idiots.”
I can easily believe that the ship is entirely under human control and not a single Wrathelder has survived the battle. So while my brothers process their shock, I continue the conversation.
“My name is Zain Voros,” I say. “Who am I speaking to?”
The video feed on the Wrathelder vessel flickers into life.
“I’m Commander Rex,” the grizzled human male declares. He is not a young man, but he has the musculature of someone who has spent a lifetime building it and is as strong as any young man.
“Congratulations on your conquest, Commander.”
“Thank you,” he says, graciously.
“An impressive result.”
“We believe so.”
“I confess, we were intending on killing the crew of that ship. So.”
“Apologies, but we thought we’d better kill them first.”
“Quite,” I say. “Of course. Well, good for you all. Perhaps we can send over a gift of thanks. One moment, I need to discuss the matter with my brothers.”
“Take your time,” he says.
We shut the comms channels down.
“What was that?”
“Humans are easily capable of killing us,” I say. “We may be larger and scaled, but that really only matters in melee, and humans have not gone hand to hand with beasts for millennia. We knew this.”
“True. Even Jen was able to punch Phenix in the face,” Arkan says.
“She was? Good for her.”
“In front of the entire council, no less.”
“I am really very much beginning to like humans a great deal,” I say with a broad grin. They are chaotic, and they certainly make our plans very difficult, but there can be no doubt how enjoyable they are.
“I think this calls for a celebration. Why don’t we get the humans of our ship to cook up something for the soldiers to eat, a shared party across vessels. We could build some trust. It might come in useful.”
Kahn is glowering with disapproval. “Encourage their insurrection, you mean.”
“They were born free, Kahn. They don’t know we own them yet. Let them enjoy this victory. It is easier to tame a pet with treats than with the lash.”
Kahn looks at Arkan. Arkan looks at me.
“This is beyond my experience of humans,” he admits. “We are not used to dealing with them en masse, and we are absolutely not used to dealing with them as pack hunters. We should take this opportunity to observe.”
“So we get to party with the hayseeds,” Jennifer says. “Awesome.”
“Where did you come from?” Arkan’s growl is affectionate, and it makes me miss Emily even though she is aboard the same ship. I love my pet, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with her, our bond deepening by the day.