“I knew that this would look good on you, golden one,” King Wayne said with a sneer.
Amy looked down at the tattered gown she was wearing. It was stained with blood, and she felt a surge of nausea consume her. Somebody had worn this before her and the results had definitely not been good.
“It’s a little tight,” Amy complained, shifting restlessly in the gown. “Don’t you have anything else I could wear?”
King Wayne laughed and shook his creaking head. “No. I’m afraid not. The ceremonial garb has to be the same at all times. It is a special fabric that we brought back from a very long way.”
“How long?” Amy asked, her stomach dropping. She was beginning to sense that there was something far more sinister going on here than simply being abducted by a bunch of freaks who had escaped from a high-security mental institution.
“Oh, you know. Somewhere out in the galaxy. I don’t know the location from this point. But we will get there again, soon enough. Especially with your help.”
“I’m not going to help you. Not willingly,” Amy said, jutting her chin out. Anything that she could do to distract this creature from whatever was about to happen, she would do. She would give him as much shit as she possibly could. He seemed to be enjoying the attention, and it was delaying the inevitable. Even if it wasn’t going to prevent it entirely. She was buying herself some time.
“Oh yes, I don’t expect you to do any of this willingly. That’s half the fun,” King Wayne said with a deep chuckle. “Do you think that I would do this for my own health if I didn’t have a choice? It’s quite a waste of time, if you ask me. The ceremonies are very long-winded and drawn out. But once you have gone through it, then we will be able to harness the power within you and take you back to the ship. You’ll never have to deal with these petty humans again. You’ll be too busy functioning as a battery for a machine. That will help us to destroy those dragons come once and for all.”
“I really don’t like the way this fucking gown smells,” Amy said, shrugging it off her shoulder and tearing it away from her body. She was still wearing her jeans and shirt underneath it, and she knew that without the gown, the ceremony would be useless. At least, this way, she would be able to spare herself a few more minutes of whatever torture they were planning for her.
“You need to stop what you are doing, right this moment,” King Wayne demanded, his voice suddenly loud and sinister.
Amy’s eyes narrowed, and she let out a small whimper. “It smells bad and I don’t like it and it doesn’t fit. I don’t understand the point. I can’t wear something like this. It’s not going to do anybody any good.”
“All of this is being done for my good,” King Wayne said. “And if you don’t begin to cooperate, you’re going to find out just how little regard I have for your kind. Ugh, the Golden ones. You’re just as useless as the shifters from which you sprang. Now put that gown back on at once before I get really angry.”
Amy had no choice but to oblige, and quickly slipped her arms back through the arms of the gown. She glanced around, desperately searching for a way out. They had taken her to another room. This area was markedly different than the one where King Wayne sat in his throne. There was a large basin in the center and candles lined the walls. Several guards were standing along the walls beside the candles, keeping their eyes steadily on Amy and their boss. None of them made a move. They were all waiting for King Wayne to tell them what they were supposed to do.
Amy took note of this. Perhaps she would be able to use that knowledge to her advantage. If they were too slow to react, there was still some chance that she would be able to escape, wasn’t there? If she wasn’t going to be able to rely on anybody else to help her, then her only option would be to help herself. Where was the doorway? It was hidden behind tapestries. Once she knew where that was, maybe she would be able to get out of here and avoid whatever terrible fate the woman who had worn this gown before her had succumbed to.
“Okay, I’ll put on the stupid gown. But you should probably get this dry cleaned at some point,” Amy muttered, doing her best to remain as stone faced as possible. “I don’t think it’s very hygienic to have anybody wearing something like this. Especially if this is some kind of special ceremony. It’s pretty disrespectful to whatever powers you are trying to invoke to just recycle it like this.”
King Wayne didn’t reply, but he let out a sound that seemed a lot like an exasperated sigh. Amy slowly, slowly as possible, began to dress herself in the gown. She didn’t know what she was waiting for or expecting, but for some reason, she was still waiting for it and expecting it.
“All right, bring in the clamps.”
Amy’s blood turned ice when she heard the words. Clamps? What the hell were they going to do to her? This was insane. She watched in terror as two of the guards pushed back when the tapestries and a few more creepy looking men began rolling forward a strange contraption that was on wooden wheels. It looked like an archaic torture device, and Amy took a fearful step backward, hoping against hope that maybe she would be able to save herself from whatever torture they were about to inflict upon her.
But there was nowhere for her to go. Her back stopped suddenly against the large, chilling hand of King Wayne.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, and Amy went still. She couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the smile in his voice. And it was sickening. “We haven’t even got you hooked up yet.”
“No,” Amy gasped, her voice barely above a whisper. She struggled against the strength of the monster behind her as he pushed her forward toward the terrifying device. He wasn’t going to let her go. He was going to make her deal with this horrible situation whether she liked it or not. Whether it killed her or not. The vast injustice of it all struck her suddenly and hot tears began to spring out from Amy’s eyes.
“Oh yes, I’m afraid so. This is the only way that we can begin to prepare you for powering our world. You are going to return in your human form. No. Not really. But you will still be yourself. You will still have consciousness. After all, isn’t that what sets the golden ones apart from the rest of the world?”
King Wayne sneered and shoved Amy violently forward. She stumbled and fell against the machine, and suddenly, several pairs of hands were towing her forward to the contraption. She fought her hardest against it, shouting out loudly in protest. But there was no use. Nobody who heard her screams would register them and care about protecting her. She was alone here. And she was going to die. She was going to die in this horrible room in this disgusting gown surrounded by these monsters.
For some reason, Amy let out a loud shout that brought everybody’s eyes onto her. “Carter!”