Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
RUBY
Unfortunately , I open my eyes again, but this time I find myself in a completely different location. The air in the room is stifling hot and smells like decay. The heat is so intense the walls seem to be dripping in condensed moisture, a huge change from the extreme cold we’ve been in for days.
When I try to raise up, a rough hand pats my arm. “ Remain still.” The words are broken, but I instantly stop trying to move.
“ Rowan ?”
“ If you are asking about another female, there were two others brought in when you were.”
“ Hair like mine?” I’m having to force my dry mouth to make the words.
“ There is another whose mane is the color of the sun across the room. She has not moved since being thrown into the nest. Not that she could go far, the chains prevent you from leaving the breeding shell.”
Turning my head, I try to see who is talking to me, only to jerk away when I realize there is a pale green hand lying on my arm. Forcing myself up on my elbows, I glance over at my shoulder, something black now covering the wound I have there and another also wrapped around my wrist.
“ Did you do this?” I whisper out to the unknown person.
“ Yes , I wish I could have done more. Letting you perish would have been a kindness, but it goes against everything I am. Your leg is festering, but I could not reach it as I too am secured to a nest.”
“ How long have you been here? What do they want with us?”
“ My time will come any moment now, as all the others that were brought in before me are deceased. Thankfully , they seem to only want a few birthing at a time, so there is still hope for you and this Rowan you speak of.”
“ Were you taken also?”
“ I was. I did not know until later that the Velgriddix had found a way to disguise their ships. A distress beacon was sent out, requesting permission to land. They were on the ground before our forces could muster a counterattack. The guards were easily overtaken, and the warnings came too late for the rest of us.
I was in the fields helping with the harvest when they were first spotted. Even though there were safe places where we could hide, our group was too far away. I fought, but their numbers quickly overwhelmed the few females that were there. The only thing that lightens my heart now is knowing that my sacrifice gave others time to run for safety.”
“ How can I understand you?”
“ I have a translator that not only translates your words but helps me reply in your speech.”
“ I could’ve used that when those snakes took us. What are these damn bugs?”
“ Not many have a translator like mine, so most will not understand you, or it would only be one sided. You must be from an outer world to have been obtained by the Jaga ; they are a slither race known for abductions in your area. The Velgriddix , or bugs, as you call them, are the plague of our universe. They like the leftovers that other races deem unworthy.
Even though I was shocked when they brought you in, I’ve never heard of a human being not being wanted; your kind is coveted by most. All I can think is the scars, drawings, and abnormal markings upon your skin were considered unflattering to the other species at the market, and so you were not sold. That’s how you ended up with them, the Velgriddix . They get inexpensive bodies because they only need us to remain alive until their eggs can be laid. So damaged goods are fine with them.”
“ Did you just say … eggs?”
“ You need not know of the specifics.”
“ Well , we’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one, because knowledge is power where I come from.”
“ In this case, it will simply drive you mad. However , I understand and I suppose you have a right to know what is coming. The Velgriddix that brought you in here is the leader of this ship and the main breeder. That’s why only a few are taken at once. He can only produce so many eggs within a certain span of time.”
“ Are you saying that fucking thing is going to have sex with me/us?”
“ Not in the sense you are thinking, you are nothing to them but a live incubator. A piece of meat that his young can thrive within until they hatch, then eat their way out. The only positive thing about the situation is that you won’t be conscious after the first egg is ingested. They use the venom in their tails to paralyze our bodies so that when ingested, you cannot damage the eggs. Moments after he is done, your body will die.”
“ Hell’s fucking fire. Do I even wanna know how it gets the eggs inside our bodies?”
“ Their mandibles open, the sex organ elongates and then forces its way down the throats of its victim, uncurling it into their stomach cavity. There it impregnates you with as many eggs as your body can sustain.”
“ I did ask, didn’t I ?”
“ I warned you.”
“ Lord , God ,” I whisper out, falling back against the back of this round, nest-like thing I’m lying in. My first thoughts are how am I going to get us out of here? Then I look down at my body. My wrist is broken on one arm, the other shoulder won’t move, and my leg is numb. I couldn’t fight my way out of a wet paper sack right now. In all the nightmares you could come up with, I never dreamed up this one, and the fact that Rowan is going to experience the same thing makes my heart hurt.
“ How’ve you found a way to accept this?” I ask the voice I can’t see on the other side.
“ I cried, I fought, then I decided to pray. Not for this life, but for my next one. I would advise you to find some sort of peace with what’s to come because miracles are far and few between.”
“ What’s your name? I’m Ruby .”
“ Kallen , princess of Rukuhks .”
Before I can say another word, the door slides open and in walks the bug. Because of the way this thing is shaped, I can barely see it walk past me, since it’s like I’m lying inside of a bowl. Clicking noises and a whimper reach my ears as I struggle to pick myself up off the floor.
Pushing as hard as I can, I finally dig my way up this smelly, leaf-covered nest. Peeking over the side, I watch as the bug walks from girl to girl, or should I say bowl to bowl, stopping at each for a second. Glancing over to where Kallan would be, she motions for me to be quiet.
I know my eyes are huge when they land on her. Long black hair lays messily all around her very large, green shoulders. Bright amber eyes stare back at me, imploring me not to make a noise as my eyes devour her otherworldly appearance. She is nothing like any of the rest of us. She’s big, not like fat, but big all around with a muscle mass that would only be seen on a guy back home. The most frightening of all her features are the tusks.
When a loud click comes from across the room, I turn my head slowly, trying not to gain the bug’s attention. But I have to put my hand over my mouth when it grabs the girl within its multiple arms that the snake guy had bitten. She moans and whimpers some, but other than that simply lays limp as it maneuvers her in front of him.
I push my fist against my mouth to keep from screaming out, and I still must have made some sort of noise when it forces the girl’s mouth open, because Kallen puts her hand on my arm, shaking me slightly.
Seeing it pry the girl’s mouth open; I close my eyes and sink back down into the nest. The noise it’s making has me gagging as I put my hands over my ears, singing a song in my head and trying to tune everything else out.
Rocking back and forth, I’m completely consumed in this living hell, when suddenly I feel the entire ship shudder all around us and the lights flicker off. The door slides open, and the room fills with the sound of those things chittering and then silence as they leave the room.
Before I can ask Kallen if she knows what’s going on, we’re all thrown forward. The chain attached to my leg is the only thing that keeps me from flying across the room. Sirens go off all around us, and red lights start flashing.
“ Kallen , what’s happening?”, I scream out over all the noise.
“ Hope .”