~ Jax ~
Trying to open his eyes, Nick slammed them shut again when pain went lancing through his head. Sighing, he wondered what kind of wild one he tied on last night. His pounding headache was being aggravated by barking dogs; barking dogs that kicked like a marine. Rolling over, Nick instinctively grabbed one black boot and tossed the person across the room. Before the room could clearly focus, a searing pain radiated down from his neck to his toes. After a few heart pounding seconds, it abruptly stopped.
The barking dogs were back, but they clearly weren’t dogs. As he rolled to his feet, the whole horrible message from the future came crashing through his memory like a runaway truck. The huge bobbly head creature snorted deservedly at him before stalking off. Sliding down to sit with his back against the wall, Nick tried to pull his thoughts together. Blocking out everything else, he tried to recall the details of his conversation with the disembodied voice from earlier.
A pair of bright red sneakers skated by and a man’s heavily accented voice sang a song he vaguely recognized from before his time. “Macho, macho man. You’ve always got to be a macho man.”
Looking up at the man dancing around, Nick mumbled under his breath. “You’re pretty fly for a white guy.”
Stooping down, the brown eyed man with scraggly dark hair waved a hand in his face. “You awake, dude? You’ve been waking up, fighting the big blue fuckers, and getting your ass shocked for a day and a half now. You need to get with the program or your body is going to shut down on you.” Sniffing, Nick could still see white dust in the man’s nose. “Know what your problem is, macho man? You’re a straight arrow. If you did a little dust, the alien shit wouldn’t mess you up so much.”
Suddenly the nice blue lady kneeled at his side, forcing a drink to his lips. “Sweet Jesus, this tastes awful.”
Jax suggested helpfully. “Hold your nose when you drink it. I’ve tried everything, and that’s the only way to get it down without gagging it back up.”
Shaking his head, Nick shoved himself to his feet. “Any idea where we are?”
“You are a figment of my overactive imagination, dude. It’s a place where for some godforsaken reason the women are hot, and everyone is obsessed with you.”
“You’re not making any sense. You know that, right? I mean, why would your subconscious have picked someone like me to be in your dream?”
Tilting his head sideways to look out a portal at stars flying by, the man replied objectively. “See, I have been thinking about that. I believe this dream about alien abduction is a way for me to live out all my wildest fantasies. Unfortunately, my mama took me to church as a small boy and father Jonas stuffed my mind with a bunch religious stuff while trying to teach me to be a good boy. Therefore, I’ve created a world where beautiful mostly naked women don’t want to know me, and there’s another man who’s foolish enough to get himself beat up all the time instead of me.” Shrugging, the man added. “Besides the lack of good drugs, the dream’s been really fun.”
The tone of the arms dealer’s voice told him whatever had been going on for the last day and a half had been anything but fun. Cutting to the chase, he took two steps forward and punched the ridiculous man right in the face. Bending over his prone body, Nick stated earnestly. “This is not a dream, dimwit. I need you to listen carefully. If you were dreaming, don’t you think your subconscious mind would have protected you from getting hit by me? Of course, it would. Every man has a survival instinct.”
Reaching out a hand, he pulled the man to his feet. Jax didn’t react well to having his only coping mechanism ruthlessly snatched away. “Aliens aren’t real, man. Everybody knows that.”
Pulling the woman over, he turned her to face Jax. “Does this woman look human? If you’re not dreaming and she’s an alien, that means this is as real as it gets.”
Staring between Jax and the now squirming woman, Nick sighed. “Tell me what you know.”
Slowly bringing his hand to his left ear, he explained quietly. “When they first brought us here, I woke up first. They gave me a shot behind my ear, and after hearing them talk for a while, I could understand their words.”
“Mind telling me what they said?”
“They kept calling you a hunter, ‘cause I guess you stunned me the way they do. They keep coming to check on their hunter like you’re somebody important. They pretty much ignore me and seem to actually hate her. They debated about whether to kill her but decided to keep her because they think she’s your breeder.” When Nick shot him an angry look, Jax held up both hands. “Their words, not mine. Jesus, shake it off man. You are wound tight.”
“Are they monitoring us?”
“I don’t think so because sometimes you woke up and they didn’t come. It feels like they come at certain times.”
Lowering his voice, Nick quickly explained. “I have intel that they are going to attack Earth soon. They’re a race of conquerors, and no world has been victories against them.”
“Well, fuck that. You got a plan super cop?”
Edging the woman aside, Nick shoved his finger in the other man’s chest. “I’m no cop, you ass hat. I’m a goddam Navy Seal, earning his Trident.”
“Well, excuse the fuck out of me. What you going to be is dead if you keep rolling up on me that way, Hero. Now, do you have a plan, or don’t you?”
Smirking, Nick nodded. “We get ourselves out of here, mix and mingle with the other abductees, and learn everything we can about the Taron.” Lowering his voice even more he whispered. “When the time comes, we use it against them.”
“That’s not the best plan I’ve ever heard, but it will do until we can figure out something better.”
Both men turned to see the door being jerked open. Several bobble heads stepped through the doorway, eagerly looking where he had been lying. It took them a second to realize he was standing across the room.
Jax advised quietly. “Be a good boy, so you don’t get zapped again.”
Shooting him a dark look, Nick stepped forward to greet his abductors. His plan to keep his expression blank almost faltered when Jax spoke. “Be sure to bow. The big heads like humiliating display of submissiveness.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he responded. “You don’t sound much like a gun runner.”
“I’m an arms dealer, nimrod. There’s a difference.”
One of the aliens approached him with a syringe. Floating inside was a clear liquid with a little bead.
Jax muttered, “It’s the translator. Just let them shoot it in your neck.”
Standing before the tall sentients, Nick turned his head to give them the access they needed. The instrument jarred against his neck, and he felt a thick needle shoot out, puncturing his skin. The alien looked curiously down at him, blinking slowly.
Nick shoved down the need to gut the creature where he stood. Knowing what they had in store for Earth and that they’d wiped worlds clean of intelligent life galled him. A burning sensation drifted from the injection site to his head and rapidly spread to his chest. Gritting his teeth, he waited for the needle to come out.
Once the alien stepped back, still holding the poised injector, the others began to speak. At first, it was all just barking and screeching, and then the sounds morphed into words. Without willing it so, his mind clicked through their phrasing to select the right words.
“The fighter…hunter…warrior has woken.”
“I mental…think…wonder if we are a scared…terrifying sight to know…see…behold.”
Staring at the creatures intently, Nick zeroed in on understanding their words.
“I do not care for the way it sees…looks…stares. Does it not know we are Taron elite?”
“It is an animal. The Taron will be fortunate if it can know…Comprehend even part of what we say.”
Forcing his mouth to make the unfamiliar noises that his brain identified as correct, he spoke in a growly voice. “I know your words.”
The moment he spoke, all hell broke loose. The Taron began speaking so rapidly, it was impossible to follow, one drew a weapon, and before anyone could fire upon him, the door burst open.
The person who stalked through the door took him by surprise. If a Taron could be considered intimidating with their oversized head and long spindly arms, this one came close. He was taller than the others and wearing a stark black uniform. When he spoke, it was with the calm indifference of a military commander. “You will not harm the humond.” The man’s strange articulation of the word human led Nick to think maybe they didn’t know much about Earth or the human race.
“The animal speaks. It is not natural.”
“You will load him with a language program for the top five species aboard this vessel.”
“That will certainly kill the creature.”
Smiling malevolently, the military commander replied. “If it dies, then that is evidence of its weakness. If it survives, it will be our voice among the many.”
“I do not understand.”
“The Taron have long wished for a program that would afford full communication with our slaves.” Gesturing towards Nick, the commander’s face contorted into a mask of disgust. “Its brain must be different from the others. If it accepted one language program, perhaps it will accept many. The Taron only keep slaves that are useful. Properly conveying our wishes to the horde of slaves is of use, for it will relieve the Taron of the need to interact with them.”
Nick wondered why the aliens kept referring to themselves in the third person. It was kind of weird.
The aliens stood for a brief moment before their commander barked. “The Taron command has spoken. All Taron will obey.” His harsh words sent them all scurrying from the room.