Piper

The silver Zoran in front of me takes his robe off. My cheeks are flushed, and I don’t dare to look at him.

Okay, maybe I’ll just take a quick peek.

I hope Meredith doesn’t come to check on me right now…

I open my eyes, and I can barely believe how big this guy is. My eyes start at the very top, at his dominant eyes that seem to pierce my very soul, and I scan my way down, my temperature rising with every inch I travel.

I’m at his washboard abs now. My left eye twitches. His member — I can see it from the corner of my eye. My gaze drifts down, my stomach in knots, and then…

An alarm goes off.

Oh no!

I’m in deep trouble. I can picture Meredith’s angry face already. No doubt my scholarship will be revoked. My parents will be so mad with me. Why did I let Rose do this to me?

No. It was all me. I can’t blame her for my mistakes.

The image of the rustic cabin and the silver Zoran fades away, and the Federation ship returns.

Only…. Something is terribly wrong.

The lights in the ceiling are flashing bright red. In the distance I hear gunshots, voices yelling, the thudding sounds and boots, and something that sounds like… grunting?

My heart is racing like mad.

What in the devil is going on?

Shadowy figures move in the distance. My blood freezes when I recognize their kind. Ganon. Big, hulking figures, with chests as round as barrels, and big horns underneath their piglike snouts.

I’ve had nightmares of them. I didn’t think they were real…

The pigs smash the pod in front of me and drag Rose out by her hair.

I freeze instantly.

This can’t be happening.

We’re on board a Federation battleship — this is supposed to be the safest place in the damn galaxy.

Am I still dreaming? Did it malfunction, am I having a nightmare? Is this some twisted training exercise?

One of the piglike aliens turns to me. I look right into his beady red eyes, and I know he’s seen me.

So much for staying invisible.

He charges at me, his massive fists smashing right through the pod-door. Glass rains down on me and I hold up my hands to cover my face.

The hulking figure leans in and sniffs me. Spittle drips from his thick lips, and his foul stench surrounds me. He snorts, seemingly in joy, and flings me right over his shoulder.

I batter him with my fists, but it’s like punching a wall. A hairy, oily, greasy, dirty wall.

My abductor carries me out of the room, and my heart just about breaks. Frank’s lifeless body is perched against the door, his head lolled to the side, his guts on full display.

The sight puts me in shock straight away.

The ship is plunged into chaos. The halls are littered with bodies, the walls smeared with blood.

This is not a nightmare.

This is not a drill.

But it might just be the end.

* * *

The pig-monster chucks me in a dark, damp cell.

“Ow!”

“Sorry!”

I’ve landed right on one of the other girls. More girls are thrown in, until we’re complete.

I feel remarkably calm. I survey my surroundings and get a feel for the place. It’s cold here, and we’re all still wearing the stupid white onesies. I’m waiting for someone to tell me what to do, but everyone is in shock.

I guess if someone has to step up… it’s gotta be me.

“We need to huddle together,” I say. “To stay warm.”

The girls looks up at me.

“Who put you in charge?” a voice from the back bites.

Braid-girl. Who else?

“No one,” I say. “But we need to do it regardless.”

“She’s right.”

I took to my side. Rose! At least there’s one familiar face here.

The girls sit closely, while I move around the pen, feeling for a way out. The gate’s locked tightly. The floor seems to have hay on it.

Slowly my eyes adjust to the darkness. We seem to be in a big hall of sorts. There are faint sounds in the distance, but it’s hard to hear over the crying.

“Shhh,” I say. “Listen! There’s something there!”

They follow my command, and soon they’re all as quiet as a mouse.

I hear… distant, heavy breathing. Snorting. But not the same as our kidnappers. This sound is different. Deeper.

“Are they back?!” a girl cries in panic. “Are they going to kill us? Or, or…”

She doesn’t have to finish her sentence. All of us are thinking the same thing. The pigs just abducted over thirty young girls — not a single guy is in our cage. I know what that means..

“No,” I say, “it’s a different sound. Listen.”

Everyone listens.

“Sound the same to me,” someone whispers.

“No, it’s deeper, it’s… I think…”

I can barely get the words past my lips. But this cage reminds me of a pen, and this hall reminds me of a barn.

“I think they’re alien ranchers.”

Thirty pairs of scared eyes look up at me.

“And we’re the cattle.”

A hushed discussion breaks out. We compare stories, trying to get to the bottom of what happened, but no one really knows. We were all asleep when they attacked.

“What about Meredith?” I ask. She’s a young woman. “Is she here? Or anyone from the Federation, for that matter?”

Everyone checks to their left and right, but no. They only grabbed us. The greens.

“Do you think they attacked the ship… for us?” Rose asks me.

A shiver runs down my spine.

I hope not.

All that death, the destruction..

I close my eyes and I see Frank. His head to the side, in an unnatural position. Blood..

I open my eyes wide. I don’t want to think about that, I don’t want to remember. Ever.

“I don’t know,” I say truthfully. “Either way, it’s not our fault.”

Time passes slowly. No one talks. Everyone is thinking the same thing: What’ll happen to us?

“So,” Rose says, breaking the silence. “Can someone point me to the bathroom?”

Nervous laughter.

“Not joking, you guys, I really need to go.”

I’m happy I went before we went to sleep. “Unfortunately, the accommodations seem to be a bit… lacking” I say.”

“No kidding,” Rose answers. “What kind of two-bit joint are they running here? One star.”

I, along with several other girls, laugh.

Not everyone can appreciate humor in a time like this, though.

“What’s so damn funny?” Braidy snaps. “We’re freaking kidnapped and you’re cracking jokes?”

“Yeah, I kind of noticed the whole kidnapping thing,” Rose snaps. “Quite hard to forget actually. What do you suggest we do? Sit here and mope?”

“Not much else to do,” Braid mumbles.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Meghan,” she says.

“Well, Meghan, I’m Piper.”

I look at Rose, and she gets my hint.

“I’m Rose.”

We all go through the room, saying our names. Kimberly. Jenna. Abigail. Hannah.

“We’re all in this together now. There’s no point in arguing. Let’s just keep cool and think,” I say.

Clang!

The metallic sound in the distance has us all on edge. The ground itself seems to quake with every heavy step we hear. The labored, heavy breathing has the hair on my arms standing up straight.

They’re back.

One of the pigs appears. His clothing is disheveled, and he’s holding a cattle prod, making it rattle against the cage’s bars. In his other hand he’s gripping a metal bucket. He peers at us from the other side of the bars, his beady red eyes lit up with malice.

He pulls out a big chain of keys and unlocks the door.

This is it. I could charge him now…

And then what?

Maybe if we all worked together…

He throws the bucket into the room.

And, in a flash, he grabs the wrist of one of the girls — Jenna was her name. Before any one of us can react, he pulls her out and throws the door back on its lock.

She cries out in pain as she’s carried off, and we’re left in shock.

No one dares to talk.

I peer into the bucket, and see it’s filled with writhing alien fish.

“I think this is dinner.”

“I’m not hungry,” Rose says.

“Neither am I, but I don’t know when they’ll feed us again. Plus, if we empty it, we have our makeshift toilet.”

Rose’s face turns pale. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Not this time.”

“Oh god.”

I hand out the meal. No one looks pleased with it — and I sure am not, but we have little other choice. We eat in silence.

“Guess I’ll go first,” Rose says as she gets up and grabs the now empty bucket. “Fuck my life,” she whispers under her breath.

No one envies her.

An hour later, the pig alien returns. We’re all afraid that we’re next, and we all put our backs against the wall, as far from the door as possible.

Jenna is pushed in — and to my horror, she’s naked. Her white bodysuit is clutched in her hands. She collapses on the floor, and the pig shuts the door again and wanders off.

I rush to her side and wrap my arms around her body. With the help of some other girls we get her suit back on. I can’t help but notice bruising on her wrists and ankles.

“What happened?” Rose asks.

Jenna shakes her head and mumbles.

“She’s in shock,” I say. “We should give her time.”

“You’re right,” Rose says. “But time might just be in short supply…”

The night is uncomfortable and long. We’re forced to sleep on the ground, and every time I hear a sound in the distance I’m afraid the Ganon are back for more. The ship creaks and groans, and I worry that it might just collapse.

Maybe a quick death is better than what the pigs have planned for us…

A blaring siren wakes us all right up.

“What’s happening?!” Meghan says.

“An alarm,” I say.

Just like the one on the UFC Hammersmith. Are we… are we being saved?

“We’re being rescued!” Meghan yells.

An excited murmur passes through the group.

I, on the other hand, don’t share their excitement. Everything has gone from bad to worse — who says it’ll be any different this time?

Shots are fired in the distance.

Bang bang bang!

And then… silence.

The lights all turn on, and we all recoil from the brightness. I can see down the hall clearly for the first time, and it’s exactly as I feared. There’s rows upon rows of pens, filled with strange, alien beasts.

It makes me shudder to think that to those pigs, we’re just farm animals.

And what happens to farm animals?

They get used. Milked. Bred.

Or eaten.

A shiver runs down my spine. I’m not sure which option I’d prefer. I don’t want their grubby, hairy paws on me…

The distant door opens, and we all hold our breaths. This is it. Is it the Federation, or is it…

All the hope — the very little of that I had — fades away when I see an imposingly tall figure in the distance.

One way too tall to be human.

I recoil away from the gate, and push my back against the wall.

The man walks up to the gate. I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

The massive, hulking figure standing in front of us is a Zoran. And his skin… it’s silver.

Just like in my dream.

Except this man is even more beautiful than the man in my dream. His eyes are amethyst, pure and brilliant, and they scan the room. When his eyes land on me heat rises to my cheeks instantly.

He’s wearing a ruffled, worn coat. He looks more like a bounty hunter than a knight in shining armor to me. It’s like I feared — this isn’t a rescue. We’re going from the frying pan into the fire…

He pulls out the keys and opens the door to our cell. A murmur passes through the crowd as we all surge backwards. He enters the cell and stalks towards us, like he’s looking for something. I hide behind several other girls as I try to make myself as small as possible.

No one dares to breathe as he leans in and… sniffs us. One by one. I tremble with fear, my heart racing, my palms sweaty, my eyes shut tight.

I wish I never selected that stupid dream. I wish I never saw a silver Zoran. I just want to be a nobody. A nobody who is back on Earth with her family. Yet, the moment our eyes met, I knew that wouldn’t happen.

I felt it. Right in my core, my soul. There was an instant connection, a spark.

I feel a warm, heavy breath on my face. Slowly, trembling with fear, I open my eyes.

The Zoran warrior is standing right in front of me. Everyone is standing on the other end of the pen — it’s just me and him here. His purple eyes are locked onto mine, and they demand my attention.

He leans in and sniffs me. I try to escape, but his hands are on my side in an instant. I feel his strength instantly, a jolt passing through my frame. There’s no escaping him.

“You,” he whispers under his breath, so softly only I can hear. “You’re the one.”