Chapter Seventeen
A Glittery Death
Hours ticked by as Vivra sat on a small cot in a dirty room that smelled of Mish. He’d taken the Minky pad she had been holding but he didn’t think to pat her down. If he had, he would have known that she had a pixy pistol in her pocket. Small and compact, it fit perfectly in her palm.
Her leg shook like a leaf in the wind. It refused to settle even though she knew she couldn’t do anything for Yon while she was locked in a room. Death seemed to cling to her like static on a dress.
Two quick beeps, and the metal doors opened. Mish, the Red Demon, had a wicked smile on his face. “Now that I’ve taken care of the others, I’m free to indulge in my best negotiation yet.” He rubbed his hands and then grabbed the back of his shirt to pull it over his head. It dropped to the floor.
Vivra’s hand squeezed the pistol in her right hand. She tried to calm her heart because she was afraid that Mish would hear it and know she was planning something.
The Red Demon’s chest was smooth, his belly fat.
Mish grabbed his belt and unfastened it, slowly pulling it from around his waist. He was being deliberate, his smile turning from wicked to outright menacing.
He slowly undid his top button and unzipped his blue pants. His short, fat dick popped out, and Vivra had to fight her instincts not to outwardly react to the nasty, dark red blob.
Mish used one of his hands to stroke himself once and then twice. “Come here and taste me.”
She didn’t move.
Mish’s upper lip curled. “I’m not above tying you down and forcing you to choke on me until I come in your sweet mouth. It’s your choice, sugar.”
Vivra knew how fast Pax moved. She didn’t know if Mish moved as quickly, and she feared that her one defense would be knocked out of her hand, taking her escape with it.
Her chest hurt. She had forgotten to breathe.
Inhaling, she decided to let her knees fall to the ground. Please, let him not notice. Please, let me get out.
With great effort, she opened her mouth and waited to see what he would do. She couldn’t turn toward the demon, he might notice her hand in her pocket. She wanted to keep it out of his line of sight until it was too late.
“That’s more like it,” Mish said and moved quickly to stand in front of her. He lifted his crooked, maggot-looking cock, and she purposely leaned back on her calves, opening her mouth wider.
His eyes focused on her mouth, he bent his knees and went to slip his member between her lips.
She pulled out the pixy pistol, aimed it at his knee, and shot.
“What the tarq?” He backed up and saw the blob of silver-grey gel scattered with all colors of glitter. The glob was increasing in size rather quickly.
But to Vivra, not quickly enough. She rose from the floor. The sudden change drew his eyes to her and then to the gun. He snatched it out of her hand and flung it against the far wall. He grabbed her neck. “What the hell was that? You think you can shoot me with a gel gun?”
Yes?
She took both hands and held onto his arm, keeping herself up. With one foot, she tried to kick his junk, but he moved too fast. “Not today, Bolark,” Mish sneered. “I’ll be honest, I prefer an unwilling partner over a willing one anyway. You will be so much sweeter now.”
He pushed her down onto the bed, and she saw that the glitter had already encased his left leg and his sex. When he looked down, he noticed it, too. It was now creeping up his stomach.
“What the tarq is this?” He swiped his hand through it to brush it off, but it didn’t move. Instead, it coated his hand and started growing around his arm.
“Seth. No.” He stood back and vigorously tried to get the glitter gel off him.
Vivra jumped back, making sure not to get any on her, but she also knew that it would keep growing until it fully encased him. She stayed still as he fought. When he tried to move, he noticed at the same time Vivra did that his leg was stiff and hardened.
Vivra jumped off the bed, then moved to the door, quickly unlocking it.
Inside the room, she heard Mish scream. She locked the door from the outside and left him to die via glitter asphyxiation.
Ignoring his shouts, she ran out of the storage room and onto the dock. Her ship was no longer there.
A man was standing on the side of the storage hangar. When she noticed him, she turned and walked around the corner of the building. After that, she ran. Three minutes later, she heard footsteps behind her and was taken down by two strong arms wrapped around her chest.
“Quick little green gurk, aren’t you?” the male said.
He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up then slowly walked her back to the motor vehicle. “I didn’t think Mish would be done with you so quickly.”
She didn’t know if they were loyal to one another, so she decided not to tell the male that Mish was dead. It would be her secret.
“But then again, you have all your clothes on, so I assume you escaped.”
“Which is just fine for us. We were planning to double-cross Mish in a half hour anyways.”
As they drove, the male kept a tight hold of her hair. By the end of the five-minute drive, her scalp stung, and she had a headache. He dragged her out of the vehicle and into another large hangar. This one was the same size as Mish’s.
Inside this one, however, were not boxes of supplies but cages and a single transporter.
Taking a quick scan of the room, Vivra counted at least ten large enclosures. Each one was filled with grimy and filthy people of all different races. She wondered how long they had been kept captive to get that dirty.
“That was fast,” the other male said, walking up with a dark weapon that looked much like the old rifles the Terrans used to use.
“Yep,” the first Terran that had ahold of her head said while dragging her to one of the cages. Her face was shoved in between two bars, and it felt like the bones of her face might cave in. “Back up, or I’ll have Hank unload a round in the front,” the male said.
The people in the cage quickly complied.
The lock on the enclosure was opened with an actual key, not any biometrics. This was old technology.
The door swung open, and the male pulled back on Vivra’s head and then shoved her face-first inside. She landed hard on the concrete floor. She rolled to see the cage door slam shut and watched as the lock clicked into place.
Vivra scanned the people in the enclosure and saw Yon near the far back. Two females were hovering over him.
She rushed through the bodies and dropped to her knees. Looking for his wounds, she asked, “Are you medically inclined?”
Both females looked at each other. “We were looking to see if he had a Minky device,” one said.
They were trying to steal from an unconscious guy? Really? Vivra grabbed the closest female’s hair and pulled her to the floor. “Did you hurt him?”
The other female cried out, reaching for her friend. Vivra slapped her face and then moved her attention back to the one on the floor. “Did. You. Hurt. Him?” Her fierceness shocked her, but Yon was a crew member, and they always outranked non-crew members.
“No. No. He’s still alive. I swear,” the one whose face was near her boot said. Vivra let up and shoved the female away.
“Come near us again, and I’ll kick out your teeth,” Vivra hissed, and they both backed up and made their way to the other side of the container.
Vivra hovered over Yon and gently searched for where the blood was seeping from. His jacket was still sticky, so she unbuttoned it and pushed it open. The dark grey shirt underneath didn’t help at all in discovering his wounds. She lifted up the material, looking for the injuries, but she found nothing but blood.
Skimming her fingers over his chest, she worried that he might be dying because she couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Yon’s throat moved, then he coughed and rolled his head to the side. She saw the dark black, and grey swollen skin around his left eye. The bastards that had attacked him must have punched him in his face so many times, half of it was totally swollen and shiny. One eye slightly opened to look at her. “Your fingers feel like ice cubes.”
“Casualties of being a cold-blooded Bolark,” she said back, making a joke. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
“I’m hard to kill…apparently.” Then he looked around. “I thought the Red Demon took you?” He moved his one good eye back to her. “Where are we?”
“On a half-pint cargo ship. The Red Demon did take me, but I escaped for about three seconds. I’m new to this whole kidnapping business, but I think I figured it out. The trick is to not get recaptured.”
“If it makes you feel better, this is the second time I’ve been captured,” Yon said.
“Not sure if that makes me feel better.”
“My job’s done, then. I like to spread the hopelessness of reality.” Just when Vivra was wondering if he were serious, she saw the sides of his lips curl up.
A dark sense of humor. A rarity with Yunkins.
She readjusted herself from her knees to the floor. “I can’t find any wounds. But you’re covered in blood.”
“I’m a fast healer,” he said lightly. His one seeking eye scanned behind her. Then it narrowed. “Am I…hallucinating?”
She turned and saw… they glowed. Or, more accurately, the artistic lines all over their skin looked almost luminescent. So, technically, their markings emanated a soft, white light.
“Are they…glowing?” Yon’s tone was hushed.
A female nearest to Vivra chuckled. Vivra turned to look at a tall, sinewy female with a thin, threadbare shirt, her pants ripped in several places, and a heavy coat of black, sparkly dust covering her body.
The female had her knees pulled to her chest, and her head pointed away. “You’re not imagining it.”
“How are you glowing?” Yon asked.
The female turned her head and laid it back down on her knees. Her eyes were solid black, no other color, unnatural, and an easy distinction that she was an Allus. Vivra couldn’t tell if she was being looked at or not.
“We were turned into Flourgs, or at least that’s what the female called us.”
“What female?” Vivra asked.
“A Numan named Veeda.” The female closed her eyes as if resting.
Yon kept his good eye on her. “Interesting story.” His deep baritone mocked the words. “Would have been a better one if you knew why she created you. For fun, or for a particular purpose?” Yon said below her.
The female opened her eyes, and Vivra assumed she was looking at Yon. “Lobash is a phosephenite mine. We were designed like this so our core temperatures are lower, and the light we emit doesn’t give off any heat. Phosephenite is sensitive to heat and will explode if the temperature rises above ninety-one degrees.”
Vivra eyed the dark dust. Pointing, she asked, “Is that phosephenite?”
“No. Phosephenite appears as hard, white bits with green, blue, and purple lines running through it.”
Below her, Yon didn’t take his eyes off the Allus. “How old were you when you were brought to the mine?”
“Twenty-six.”
“You don’t look a day over it.”
The female didn’t register the compliment. “Alluses don’t age quickly.”
Yon said, “Neither do I.”
“Are you held in these cages until it’s time to work?” Vivra asked, wondering what all the people were doing in the long series of twenty-by-ten cages.
The dark-eyed female shrugged from her crouched position. “Our mine closed down. These guys say they have a buyer for us.”
Vivra looked back at Yon to see what he thought about that. Because there was no way he could have missed the hopelessness in the mine worker’s voice. But she didn’t get a chance to say anything because she noticed that both of his eyes were open. And the swelling had gone down considerably… fast healer, indeed. Unnaturally so.
Healing didn’t happen that quickly. Not for a Yunkin. Not for any race.
But Yon didn’t see her reaction. Instead, she saw him frown at the female. “How many Flourgs are in this hangar, girl?”
“Two thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-five. And my name is Yelena.” She turned her head to peer out through the bars, and it almost looked like she was watching the windows that were getting darker as dusk settled outside. The lines in her skin grew brighter and more pronounced. She closed her eyes and buried her face between her knees.
The small door, the one closest to Vivra’s cage, opened, and the Terran male who had found Vivra and pulled her by the hair smirked as he sauntered their way. He tapped the barrel of his rifle against the bars and pointed at Yon’s head. “I’m glad you are so valuable to your captain. He’s paying me seven hundred keleps for you.” Then he looked at Vivra. “None for you, baby. I guess you’re not worth getting back.”
“Lies,” Yon hissed.
“But, unfortunately,” the male continued, “you won’t be seeing your captain. You see, Madame Amri took over after Madame Allure died on Lotus Nexis. And she’s looking to start a brothel house of men. She says there are plenty of female customers who will pay for the use of high-valued men like yourself. She specifically requested a Yunkin.”
Yon used his usual dark and sarcastic voice. “Is that right? Well, I should warn you, I’m more of a Demon between the sheets.”
Yelena’s head pulled back, and her gaze shot to the Yunkin on the ground. He was looking back at her, as well. Vivra had a feeling that something passed between the two for a short moment before the female’s black eyes looked away.
“Are you? So, I get double your running value.” The male made an air-kiss towards Yelena. “But these mine workers will be our most profitable product. Thousands of buyers waiting, the rest to Madame Amri.” He pointed the phaser at Yelena, daring her to move as he reached in between the bars and rubbed the side of her ribcage, moving to her breast where he squeezed. He didn’t seem into the action, but he did enjoy watching Yelena’s reaction. “Don’t like that, do you? But you can’t do anything about it, can you?”
Vivra didn’t know what she was more upset about: Yelena for not fighting back, or the sick bastard that was groping her in front of the entire hangar, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear, and acting like no one would take action.
When seconds ticked by, Vivra realized that no one did anything.
Leaning forward, the male sniffed her and then immediately started coughing. “I will have to wash you dirty rats down before we make the trade. When was the last time you showered?”
The bastard started to twist Yelena’s nipple, and Vivra could see the female’s eyebrows pull together in a wince. Vivra had never trained for battle, but she wasn’t a stranger to self-defense. She grabbed the male’s hand and smashed it against the bars, breaking his wrist. The Terran screamed, pulling the trigger on the gun and hitting several of the occupants. He pulled his arm free and pointed the weapon at her. She fell forward as a fresh wave of fear washed over her—death by bullets.
The shots never came. She sat back, watching the male limp away holding his wrist delicately. “Trevor! Get down here, now.”
Another male rushed through the sliding door. “Hey! What the hell happened, Gason?”
Gason pointed at Vivra. “That green slut just broke my damn hand!”
Trevor didn’t look too concerned. “What have I told you about getting too close to the cage?”
“Screw you!”
“Sharp as a dull crayon, Gason, that’s what you are.”
Gason sneered. Vivra just watched casually, taking in the descriptive words and wondering how Terrans ever learned to get their alien butts in space. They really did sound like imbeciles.
“What were you doing near the cages, Gason?” Trevor asked pointedly.
“Telling the Yunkin about how he’s going to be tied down and used as a sexy toy in Madame Amir’s new palace.”
Trevor shook his head and then looked at Yon. Then he kept looking and moved forward, pulling out his phaser and pointing it at those lined up by the door. “Move, and I will kill you all. Tempt me once, and it’s over for you.”
He unlocked the cage and slowly made his way back, pulling the back of Yon’s jacket towards the opening of the enclosure when he stopped. He tilted his head and leaned down.
Then he began to curse, dropped the back of the Yunkin’s collar, and kicked Yon in the head. To Gason, he said, “Do you see the black lines on his collar? He’s not full Yunkin. Not going to get crap for a half-breed Red Demon. Better tell Rob before we take off.”
Yon was…half Demon?
Yon was not playful or stimulating like Pax, or into games and tricks like Clalls. He was strict, enjoyed following the rules, and had a dark, arrogant humor. Never would she have guessed that he was a half-Demon. Let alone the kind that were supposed to be charming.
Trevor reached down and pulled the shirt. “We might as well kill him now.”
“You said our captain was going to pay seven hundred keleps for him. Why not get the money?” Vivra said urgently.
Trevor pointed the phaser at her. “Gason is a liar. We never contacted your captain. You think we’re idiots? We even moved your transporter so he wouldn’t find us.” To Gason, he said, “Go tell Rob I’m going to take the half-breed outside.”
Vivra jumped at Yon, keeping him in place, not letting Trevor take him outside to finish him off. No way was she going to sit back and do nothing.
Hard, cold metal touched her temple. “Two seconds, Bolark, and you’ll die first, then him.”
“Do it,” she said confidently, believing Trevor to be a man of money, not one to lose his resources.
Yon, though, well, he surprised her by pushing her off him. “Don’t shoot the gurk, she doesn’t even like me. She just doesn’t like the idea of working on her back.”
Pulling his phaser back out, the male pointed the weapon at Yon. “Since you got the energy to talk and push the female off you, I suspect you can walk, too. Now, get up slowly, or I shoot you and then break all your ribs before letting you die.”
Yon didn’t move.
“He’s hurt. Or don’t you remember beating him unconscious?” Vivra said.
“He doesn’t look very unconscious to me.”
Yon was lying down one second and then the next, he wrapped his arms around Trevor, grabbed the male’s hand that held the phaser, and made him pull the trigger. On himself. It happened all too fast. She wasn’t even sure if she saw Yon move. He was a blur.
Trevor’s red blood splattered up to the top of the cage and then back down on the occupants in warm, thick, sticky drops. Yon used Trevor’s dead body as a shield for a half-second, then pushed Vivra and Yelena down, keeping them from getting shot by Gason with the rifle and his limp hand.
Pulling them behind him, Yon reached into the side of his boot and pushed an object into Vivra’s hand. The next moment, he was rushing out of the container, Gason shooting as he went. Yon threw Trevor’s dead body and hit Gason straight on. The other Terran fell back, the gun sliding across the floor.
Yon reached down and took the male’s head in one hand, with the other, he snapped Gason’s neck. The Terran’s whole body jerked, and Vivra watched stupefied. She had never seen such gruesome acts of violence.
Yon, the unexpected Demon, turned his dark eyes on her. “The bastard’s dead, move past it and call someone to come and get us.” Then he saw Yelena kneeling on the ground and added, “All of us.”
Vivra’s feet moved before she could even think of where she was going. But she was out of the cage and through the hangar door in a blink. She heard sounds behind her. She almost screamed, thinking she was being followed, but it was only Yelena.
“Where are we going?” Yelena asked, not overly winded Vivra noticed.
“I was able to call Mish on a Minky communicator, so I know he has one. I need it to call my captain.” She felt cool steel in her hand and lifted the object up to eye level as she ran. Yon had given her a boot knife?
Then she heard a succession of pops, and Yelena jumped onto her back, knocking her to her hands and face.
The ground was hard, and the dead grass prickled against her flesh.
The pops continued. Vivra turned to see if anyone was behind them. Yep. A male with another rifle. He was running after them.
“We need to stay down,” Yelena said.
“We need to keep moving,” Vivra argued.
Fortunately, the male stopped shooting, and both she and Yelena saw Yon at the door of the hangar. He killed their attacker.
“Okay. We should get moving again,” Yelena added. They both ran for the red storage hangar that looked small but got larger the closer they got.
The large door was open, and both females ran inside, stopping just at the doorway. Vivra’s mouth hung open so she could breathe better. “Okay…okay…the electronics should be up front, right?”
Yelena was breathing hard now too, but she didn’t look overly winded. Vivra wasn’t envious…much.
“I’m not sure, but we can split up if you want?”
“No,” Vivra said, grabbing the female’s arm. “Never split up. Self-defense 101.” Yelena didn’t pull her arm from Vivra’s hold as she maneuvered them into the first two rooms of storage. Vivra conspicuously ignored the door she knew Mish was behind.
“Aren’t we going to check in there?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to disturb the dead.”
Yelena’s eyes bulged for a second. But there was no other reaction. Or at least she didn’t speak until they were well past the door. “So, how long have you been on Brica?”
The female answered softly. “Fifty years.”
From the beginning. Wow. Yon was right, they might actually be able to find out where she was contracted from because she had the original files. That thought made Vivra feel empowered, knowing she could actually do something to get justice for the kidnapped victim-turned-slave.
Finally. A room with a Minky screen and a lot of paper files.
Archaic way to organize, but regardless, she had a way to contact her captain.
Quickly, she pulled Yelena after her into the room and dropped her grip when she was in front of the screen. She tapped the screen, and a prompt appeared. A prompt for a password.
Password!
She cursed.
Yelena, thankfully, remained quiet, seeming almost to try and make herself smaller by crossing her ankles and arms. Vivra appreciated the silence, but in the back of Vivra’s mind, she felt that the female needed a heavy dose of Bolark confidence.
“Okay, let’s see if Mish wrote the code down somewhere,” Vivra said, making herself think positively.
Yelena turned to the large, metal table-turned-desk and went through the papers one by one. Vivra looked around in boxes full of file papers and manila folders that should have been out-processed a hundred years ago…or more.
“Looking for me?” Mish said from the door, his face skinless. He must have pulled off all the hardened glitter gel. His body was still covered in places but cracked as if he were made of glitter stones.
His eyes, though. That’s what scared Vivra the most. His red, beady eyes. They were focused solely on her, and in them, she saw his need for retaliation.