I could not believe that I was locked up in another cell. I had made my way to the Corillion planet after all. This was my destination when I was held at the secret base, and I had got away, and yet I ended up here anyway. Jennifer was not so lucky, and she must have been recaptured that day. I felt guilty that I had been in Brooklyn all those months while she was still a captive of the Corillion. Now she was living among them, and I was a prisoner, and I was sentenced to die. Fear began to grip me as the hours passed. There was no way out of here.
Then a familiar sight walked into the prison tower. It was Viqer, and he had Jennifer at his side holding a bag. He announced her presence and that she was bringing me clothes. The finger to his lips told me to stay silent. I understood why. It would not look good if I shouted her name and was excited to see her. She was supposed to be a random human female stranger to me. The guards let her in, and Viqer left us.
I restrained a smile as I said, “Thank you for bringing me clothes. My name is Saramina,” I said loudly. Then I whispered to her, “Jennifer, it is so good to see you.”
She smiled and said loudly, “Yes let's get you into the new clothes.” Then she whispered back to me, “Saramina, it is good to see you too. What are you doing in the prison tower? I was shocked when I saw you get off that ship in chains. You cannot be the one they want to kill,” she said as she walked over to the bed and dumped the bag. There was fruit and bread. I hid the food underneath the blankets and then looked toward the door. The guard had his back to us and was minding his own business. I sat down on the bed and took off the damn nightgown that I had been wearing for so long. I pulled on the long dress that Jennifer gave me.
"It is a very long story. But when we were at the secret base, Cultan tried to capture me again, and I shot him. That is why I am here now. They went to find me, and I am sentenced to death for shooting Cultan," I said to her quietly.
She gasped. “The entire city has been talking of nothing else for the last couple of months. Never did I think it was you. I thought an Earth soldier killed Cultan. I can't believe that you are the one they seek to get revenge on. That is unfair. He is the one that stole us in the first place,” she whispered to me. She grabbed a boot and sat on the ground as though helping me to put on the boot in case the guard turned around. But she just held it in her lap as we spoke.
"Yes, it is all unfair, but this is my reality. But what about you, Jennifer? How did you get here? I feel guilty if you have been here since the secret base. I went home after that day and had lived my life until they came to find me days ago,” I whispered to her.
"Remember when we ran? We all ran different directions. I happened to pick a direction that led to a small ship that was in the midst of taking off. One of the warriors grabbed me and threw me in, and the ship took off, and the Earth military did not catch it or shoot it down. A week later, I was here,” she said.
I wanted to cry for her. I felt so sad. Running in different directions was my idea. If she had only run alongside me, she would not be here. I felt very guilty. “Oh, Jennifer, I am so sorry.”
"No, do not be sorry, Saramina. Actually,” she said with a big smile and leaned in. “I am in love. I cannot believe it. I never thought that I would fall in love with a Corillion warrior after everything that I had been through. But the warrior that I was given to is kind, he is so attractive, and I have never been happier. Being with him is unlike anything that I have ever experienced on Earth with a human man. The sex is wild and passionate. I love being here. This planet is absolutely beautiful and green. I am treated well. I am on an adventure that I could never have experienced if I would've stayed on Earth. So do not feel guilty for me. I am so happy here. If I were given the chance to go back to Earth, I would not go.”
My eyes grew wide in shock. But I understood. I understood the feeling of falling in love with a Corillion warrior because I was on my way there as well. Only my Corillion warrior was destined to kill me.
"Jennifer, I am so glad that you are happy. I am so glad that you have found joy, love, and peace here,” I said to her.
"It is more than that. I am with offspring. Soon I will have a family here. It is absolutely insane to think about it,” she said with a smile.
Somewhere deep inside of me, I envied her, but I was also glad that she was well. She put the boot on my foot and laced it up. Then she did the other and loudly said, “These boots fit you perfectly!” so that the guard could hear. Then she leaned in again and whispered, “And what about Viqer? He seems to care about you a great deal. I don't see that he will allow them to go through with your punishment.”
"Viqer? No. He hates me just as much as everyone else for killing his leader. I am afraid that my punishment will stand. But do not worry about me. I am grateful for these clothes that you have brought me, and this,” I said pointing to the food underneath the blanket.
"I was tired of wearing that nightgown. I have been naked for a long time. Thank you for everything, Jennifer. Now go and enjoy your family and your adventure,” I said, giving her a hug. We hugged for a long time, and I could not help myself. For the first time since I was taken, I cried. Tears fell down my cheeks; as I looked at her, she cried too. Suddenly my death was looming nearer.
"That is enough time,” I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up and saw Viqer standing at the bars. “Open the door and let the human female out.”
Jennifer gave me another squeeze and whispered, “Never stop hoping. Look at me; everything worked out.”
I smile at her, and she walked out the bars with Viqer, and they locked me back in. I locked eyes with him. I didn't know what he was thinking. He didn't show any emotion at all or give me any sign that he was going to try to stop what was happening. Then he walked out of sight with Jennifer, and I was left alone again. I moved to the bed and sat with my back to the guard. Then I ate the fruit and bread that she brought me. It was delicious and satisfying. I was not expecting good eating on this planet. As I sat there and ate, I thought about what Jennifer had told me. She was happy here on this planet. It was ironic. If I had not run away and killed their leader, perhaps I would've come here with Jennifer where I would have fallen in love with a warrior and been as happy as she was. But that was not my path. My path was violent and full of danger, and I did not know what tomorrow would bring.
I was glad to be out of the vulnerable dress that I wore for so long that showed every part of my body. Now I felt a little more secure, and I felt extremely exhausted. I laid down on the bed, and before long I was in a deep sleep. I slept through the night and did not wake up until the morning. I must have been very tired after everything that I went through to sleep so comfortably in a prison tower.
But the next day I would have another visitor, and it was not Jennifer or Viqer. It was someone much more menacing.
"I thought the punishment of no water and no food had gone on long enough. I want you to be able to stand on the day of your death not be weak,” Titeq said as he walked beside a guard. The guard held a tray with water and food and set it down on the table. Titeq looked at him and said “Leave us. Keep your guard at the bottom of the stairs. Let no one up.”
I looked with wide eyes. I hoped that he was not going to try to take advantage of me. That would not be good for him. I would fight back. He looked at my clothes and said, “Where did you get these clothes?”
I did not want to get Viqer in trouble since it was obvious he did not have the permission of Titeq.
"A human female brought them to me. I assumed you had ordered it,” I said as I picked up the water and poured me a glass. I was very thirsty, and I chugged it down.
"I think I preferred what you were wearing before,” he smiled, “but that is not why am here.”
"Why are you here? Have you come to your senses and have decided to let me go?” I said as I bit into some fruit.
Titeq laughed loudly at me. “You are a very interesting human female. I am sorry that your interesting personality will be wasted on this death. I find you very attractive and hate to see a good human female go to waste when there are few for us already. But I am here because I want you to tell me a story."
"I want you to tell me what happened the day that you killed Cultan. I want you to tell me what led up to his death. I want you to tell me how you killed him and what happened after."
He smiled and said, “I really do like your feisty nature. I can only imagine what you were like in bed. But if you tell me what I want to know, then I will make sure that you are fed a very hearty dinner. You will be supplied with water until you are no longer in this prison tower.”
"Fine, I agree to those terms. Dinner and water unlimited,” I said. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, ready to listen to the story of how his leader had died.
"I was taken from a campground where I was in the woods. I was taken to the secret base that you know of. I was set to leave the very next day when the Earth army showed up at the base."
"Your leader, Cultan, stole me; he abducted me. He took me from my life and was going to force me to marry a Corillion. He grabbed my leg when I was running away during the raid by the Earth army. I tripped and fell, and he was pulling on my leg. There was a blaster gun near me, so I grabbed it and shot him. He is the one at fault for his own death. If he would not have stolen me in the first place, maybe he would still be alive, if the Earth army would not have gotten to him anyway. He is the one that is at fault for his own death, not I. I was only acting in self-defense. I do not deserve your judgment or your vengeance,” I said to him.
Titeq began to laugh uncontrollably. I did not know why he was laughing. He was almost on the verge of tears, and his laughing was like a mad man who had lost control.
"I have to thank you for getting rid of Cultan. It seems to me that you are not the dangerous assassin I thought you were. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is too bad for you. But I must thank you for getting rid of Cultan for me. You made it easy for me to be the new leader. I was planning to assassinate him upon his return, but I would have to make it look like an accident. It was going to be very complex, but you did all the work for me. Thank you, Saramina,” he said.
My eyes grew wide in shock. I could not believe what I was hearing. This was all some game to him.
"You see, Saramina, I have to act like I am very angry about the death of Cultan. I have to act like I want revenge more than anything and you poor human are the sacrifice of that pretend revenge. Sorry," he said with a smile.
I narrowed my eyes at him. I wanted to kill him too. “I am your sacrifice so that you look innocent!”
Smack! I slapped him across the face. Just as he had done to me. He smiled and then looked at me up-and-down. “You are very feisty. It is a shame to waste you on this pretend revenge of mine. I would prefer to take you as a wife.”
"Tell me, Saramina, has Viqer had his way with you?” he asked me suddenly.
I tried to hide the look on my face, but I don't think that I was successful. He could read right through me.
"Your eyes tell me the answer is yes. I don't blame him. I can see why he would find you very tempting. He is a warrior and likes the warrior traits he sees inside of you. I might find that I like it too before we do away with you; besides, Viqer has a wife that is nothing like you, and I could see why he would be enticed to play,” he said.
I gasped. “He has a wife? He has a human female wife? He is married?”
He laughed again like a madman. “He did not tell you? Of course, he did not. Why would he? You are but a prisoner, and he was just having his fun with you. Why would you need to know his personal relations? But don't worry, after he kills you, his wife would have no need of knowing about you. Viqer is a fierce warrior, he is the best of the best, and that is all that he thinks about. I hope that you did not trust him with your heart. He is not of that sort of emotion; that is why he makes a great warrior. I have to keep an eye on him because he is so good. I do not want him getting any ideas about taking my place. So I will keep him busy with many missions to go on. He likes the hunt and the kill. It will get any ideas about taking my place out of his system."
He laughed again and said, “I would love to stay here and play with you like this. I could see how it could get passionate very quickly. But I am very busy today. I have your death plan. I have the exhibit of your dead body to display near the Earth Embassy, and a fierce warrior to control to do it all for me. It is exhausting pretending to want revenge when I am actually filled with joy at the death of Cultan. I must go now. But I might be back for you to sample what Viqer has sampled already."
"Return and try that on me and I will kill you just like I killed Cultan. Do not test me,” I said to him, but he did not turn around as he left the prison cell.
I sat down on the bed with a glass of water wishing that it was something stronger. I was filled with anger and hate toward Viqer. He never once mentioned that he was married. But I should have known the way he was already educated on a woman's body. He knew things that a Corillion that was not married would not know. But I was very angry that this let me know that he was not thinking of me, other than want Titeq said. I was nothing but a game to him, some playtime. This meant that Viqer would go through with it, he would be the one to take my life.