Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
RUBY
I wake up with my head laying on a soft surface, and someone gently combing through my hair. Rowan’s worried face hovers above mine.
“ How long was I out?”
“ Long enough to scare the shit out of me.” Her voice is raspy and I can tell she is having a hard time breathing.
“ Did I miss anything?”
“ No , they dumped us in here and that’s the last I’ve seen of them. I’m pretty sure the ship launched a little bit ago. The air got weird there for a second and then I felt weightless. Thankfully , not long after you passed out, your leg stopped bleeding, but your wrist is black, so it must be broken.” Her fingers skim over my cheek. “ God Ruby , what do we do now?”
I lose the fight against the tears demanding release as a heavy sob leaves me. “ I’ve failed you.”
“ Oh , please Ruby , if this is anyone’s fault it sure as hells not yours. I’m the reason we were in that place to begin with.” A heavy cough shakes her small form, and even through the tears, I watch her wipe blood from her mouth.
“ How long has that been going on?”
“ Too long now, I fear. We have enough to worry about right now. You need to rest while you can. Lord only knows what horrors we’re going to be a part of next.”
Rowan lies down next to me and we curl into each other. My mind drifts off, wondering how this all happened, as my body shivers uncontrollably. What is the old saying, ‘ seeing is believing?’ , but my mind and body are still in denial as I don’t truly want to believe any of this is real. Things like this don’t happen to normal people. I mean you see it on TV and crap. People come up missing all the time, but that was never going to happen to us. Never say never, huh?
Rowan and I both are nobodies, why would any species pick two girls like us? We’re barely even cute, let alone abduction worthy.
I must have dozed off because sudden screams wake me and I jerk up, pulling Rowan with me as I scoot away from the doorway. The bugs are back and this time it seems the louder you scream the more excited they get. The first one they grab is the girl who had been bitten. She moans out pitifully but never opens her eyes as one of them drags her behind it on the floor. Two more are taken before they slam the door closed.
Then time crawls to a stop as we sit here, anticipating their return. Even though there are several other human girls in here with us, we’ve kept to ourselves. No one’s saying a word in case the bugs are listening. Every one of us is locked in our own thoughts as we dread the hell coming our way.
I have no idea how long we’ve been on this ship, but one thing we’ve all suddenly come to realize is the bugs don’t care if we’re alive or dead. Not only do I feel like I’m on the verge of hypothermia, but my mouth is so dry I can no longer make spit. We’ve been here for at least a few days now. The last thing either of us would have eaten was the sandwiches Edith made for us on the trip to Texas , so that’s probably three, maybe four days now. Between my injuries and the lack of food and water, I’m barely holding my head up. My thoughts are jumbled and I feel like I’m in a fog.
The room smells so bad from all our body waste, that I have to make myself breathe through my mouth. When the bugs came last time, several girls rose up, demanding food and water. We learned quickly after that not to give them a reason to single you out. Because once they drag you out of this cage, you don’t return. Now the only time we hear a peep out of anyone is when they come back to take another one of us.
For the most part they have left me and Rowan alone, but I can tell she’s getting weaker by the day without her meds. Her breathing is labored, and the wheezing indicates that her lungs are closing up. Rowan is once again asleep, and I run a hand over her long, now matted hair. Picking up the ends, I work my fingers gently through the knots. Her bruises are not healing; if anything, certain ones look worse than they did before. I try to push back the pain of my own battered body. My leg is now almost unresponsive as red infection marks are moving up under my skin. Moving my wrist hurts so bad it makes my eyes water. At some point, I’ve stopped being hungry. I know that’s one of the first signs and now it won’t be long until my body fails all together. My mind drifts to so many things I would’ve loved to have done, but none of that matters now.
The longer we’re here, the more confusing it gets. I don’t think they took us to be slaves. They seem self-sufficient and almost bored when they come in to get us. Our shrieks seem to entertain them and not in the way you’d think. Screams of fear have them backing away, but screams of anger seem to excite them. Or my body is so damaged I’m simply making up things in my head.
There’re only a few of us left now, and we no longer even hear any cries coming from the other parts of the ship. Lost in my thoughts, I don’t realize the door has slid open until movement catches my eye. Grabbing Rowan , I pull her close when the one I haven’t seen since we were taken comes in.
It opens the cage door, but instead of grabbing the first one there, it walks in. Its long tail twitches back and forth as it looks at each of us. I swear its mandibles click together in glee when it spots me in the back. Fearing a repeat of the last time we met, I grab Rowan with the last of my strength, trying to push her behind me.
I shouldn’t have wasted what energy I had left because before I can blink, it’s speared me through the shoulder, raising me straight up in the air. Anguish like I’ve never felt before spreads out through my body as it turns effortlessly, holding me out away from it like I weigh nothing. Just as it clears the doorway, the bug suddenly stops.
“ Let her go you prick!”, I hear Rowan’s garbled voice yell out before she attacks it from behind. I don’t have the strength left to tell her to save herself, as warm blood drips down my body.
Before I close my eyes, for what I pray is the last time, I feel the bug holding me jerk, and then the thud of something hitting the ground.