2

Lexi heard the sound of the door bursting open and loud voices shouting from the living room. She dropped her pencil on her desk, and jumped to her feet. The sound of her sister’s voice screaming, and low male voices shouting commands, filled her with dread.

Lexi burst into the living room to find her sister Melody being held by a couple of suit wearing thugs that Lexi recognized as men from the local mafia. This was bad. Her father slowly turned around and dropped the digital glasses from his face. The look of confusion in his eyes told Lexi that he was not quite with them still.

“Your past-due on your loan, Garcia,” the man holding Melody said.

“I’m almost done with this block of code. When I’m done with the data mining, I’ll be able to pay you back in full. I swear it,” her father begged.

“I’ve heard that way too many times from you, Garcia,” the man said, yanking Melody toward him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and sank his face into her neck, taking a long sniff. “Delicious,” he said. “I think I’ll take this one to repay your debts.”

“No!” Lexi screamed, reaching out for her sister.

“You have to give me an extension,” Lexi’s father said.

“I don’t have to give you anything,” the gangster replied, running his hand up Melody’s stomach, inching toward her breasts.

“I’ll pay you back! With all the interest, in one week,” Lexi barked, seeing her sister’s eyes wide with fear.

“But, this little girl is so much more valuable to me,” he said.

“She’s only seventeen.”

“My clients like underage girls,” he said. “But I’m willing to let you keep her, if you pay me back with all the interest in one week. If you’re late again, I take the girl.”

Lexi crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. He wanted her little sister, Melody, for his brothel. Melody was a beautiful girl, slender and pretty, with an innocent face. Melody looked more like their father, with light brown skin, straight brown hair, and a slight build.

Lexi looked more like their mother—short, curvy, dark skin, full lips, and thick hair. Lexi was also known for being a smart mouth on the street. She was not the type of girl Mario wanted for his brothel.

If Mario got ahold of Melody, he would destroy her sweet spirit. There was no way that a girl like Melody would ever survive. And, there was nothing they could do about it. If Lexi went to the cops about Mario, it would land her father in jail and they would all starve. The only solution was to find Mario his money, and never owe him another cent for the rest of their lives.

Mario threw Melody down on the couch. She landed with a thud and a shriek, and her father went right to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

“You have one week, Garcia. One week, and I’m coming back for the girl.”

Mario walked out of the house, his goons following him. Lexi closed the door behind them, and went to sit with her father and sister on the couch.

“Girls, I’m so sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “Your mother would be so disappointed.”

“Let’s not bring Mom into this,” Lexi said.

“What are we going to do?” Melody asked, her voice trembling. Lexi couldn’t stomach the idea of her sister being taken to a brothel. The whole thing was just sickening. The fact that her father had taken a loan from a man like Mario was the last straw. He hadn’t been taking very good care of them since their mother died. Everything was an excuse, and it was getting really old.

“Are you really going to get money from data mining?” Lexi asked her father.

“Yes, but it is going to be at least one week. Maybe two,” he admitted.

“Why the hell did you tell Mario that you would have the money in a week?” Lexi shouted. She was so tired of her father’s bullshit, that she couldn’t take it anymore. If not for Melody, she would’ve left this train wreck a long time ago.

About six months after the Draconians landed and the deal for technology was set, an influx of illegal technologies had flooded the black market. Men like Lexi’s father had gotten caught up in the rush to utilize the new technologies for a profit. A black Internet had risen in the aftermath of the Draconian invasion. Men like her father had invested massive amounts of money into the new technology, in in order to make a living through data mining in the black Internet.

He had believed that it would be a good source of income for his family, but the investment to get started meant going to a loan shark like Mario Rici. Not only did her father need money to invest in his computer systems, he also needed a new brand of illegal smart drug that allowed him to work the long hours required to make any amount of money in his chosen industry.

Her father had gotten hooked on the drug, and was borrowing vast quantities of it just to stay productive during the day. He was barely breaking even in his data mining. He made just to pay for the drugs, but not the rent, or food, or any of the other necessities in life. And, he still hadn’t paid off Mario for his computer systems.

Basically, it was a big mess that could’ve been avoided if her father had just gone out and gotten a real job. Not that there were a lot of those available right now. The Draconian technologies had not created very many jobs. But, they had destroyed entire industries in the blink of an eye.

In the few short years since the Draconians had arrived, the poor had seen a greater loss in income than they in the last forty years. And, the Draconians were supposed to be the saviors of humanity. What a joke!

“I had to tell him something, Lexi,” her father said, sitting back behind his computer terminal. He was about to slide the digital glasses back over his eyes, when Lexi sighed heavily and he stopped.

“Dad, you have to deal with this. You can’t just go back into your digital world, and pretend like none of it is happening. I swear to God, sometimes I think you’re addicted to those drugs and to the black Internet.”

“Lexi, I’ll deal with it. I swear.”

Lexi put her arm around her sister’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Melody, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Lexi was only three years older than her younger sister, but sometimes it felt like Lexi had to play the role of mother. Not that she minded—she loved her little sister more than anything. Seeing Melody happy and safe as an adult had become one of Lexi’s primary motivations and life. It was the biggest reason she worked so hard in school—so she could make a difference and help support her little sister through the trials of life.

“Do you promise?” Melody asked.

“I’ll do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that nothing bad ever happens to you again. Losing Mom was hard enough, for both of us. And, living alone with Dad these last years has been a challenge I wouldn’t wish on anybody.” She knew that she wouldn’t offend her father with her words, because he had already slipped back into his digital world.

Melody hugged Lexi tightly, and she began to cry on Lexi’s shoulder. Lexi patted her sensitive little sister’s hair and made cooing sounds, telling her that everything would be all right.

After Melody finally calmed down, Lexi got up and went into the kitchen, only to find the refrigerator and all of the cupboards completely bare. There was absolutely nothing to make for dinner, and both Lexi and Melody would end up going to school hungry in the morning.    “Dammit!” Lexi swore, swinging the cabinet closed with a loud bang.

“What is it?” Melody’s startled voice came from the living room.

“We don’t have any damn food in the house. When’s the last time you ate?” she asked, standing in the kitchen doorway.

Melody stared at the space where the television had once been. They’d had to sell it to support her father’s drug habit months ago.

“This morning,” Melody said, hugging her middle.

Lexi’s stomach grumbled and she sighed, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling. She had so much homework to do. If she wanted to stay at the top of her class, she had to stay focused on her studies. The other students who were at the same level as her were all wealthy. They didn’t have to worry about things like where to find food, or how to keep their little sister out of prostitution.

Lexi’s mind wandered to the Draconian mating lottery. They offered a five hundred thousand dollar dowry to the family of the girl who was chosen by a Draconian male to be his bride. She bit her lip, thinking of all that money. It would definitely pay off her father’s debts. It would leave plenty of money for her and her sister to get their own place, and go to school. But, it would mean that Lexi would have to spend the rest of her life aboard a spaceship, married to a dragon shifting alien.

No, she couldn’t even consider it. She could never support the Draconian invasion, even if it meant an easy way out of her family’s debt to Mario Rici. She would just have to figure out something else.