Chapter 26 - Neela
I wake up slowly, tickled by Pallas’s whiskers and his soft purring. I cuddle him for a few seconds while waiting for my handsome Sadjim to come back. But after a few moments, I have to admit the truth: he’s not here.
I get dressed and step out of our shelter. He’s probably gone to hunt something for us to eat, or maybe pick some berries for me.
When I realize he’s nowhere near our camp, I start looking for him. I head toward the smugglers’ base, guessing that’s where he went. He must’ve taken advantage of me still sleeping to go scout it out.
We reach the edge of a wide clearing fairly quickly.
Five small spacecraft are parked to the right.
A large structure made of some strange material sits at the center.
And a bigger aircraft is stationed on the left.
I don’t see anyone. I don’t dare call out for Prax—it’s pretty clear that would be a terrible idea.
Instead, I watch carefully from the trees, staying hidden.
A low rumble suddenly breaks the silence, and I turn my head just in time to see my very first reptilian man. With a powerful kick, he silences Pallas. My little manul collapses without a sound.
Letting out a desperate cry, I rush to his body.
“What an interesting find,” hisses the Penubian in english. “A Human! And not just any Human. You carry the scent of my old enemy. What a delightful coincidence.”
Tears brimming in my eyes, I stare at this man who clearly hates my beautiful Sadjim with a burning fury.
“Bully, I assume?” I snap, my voice ice-cold.
“Ah, perfect. So he’s told you about me. That’ll save us some introductions. Leave the cat and come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I reply, sounding more confident than I actually feel.
“All right then, so you’d rather die here, in the woods, next to that cat’s corpse? Suit yourself. Or… you can come with me and help me find Prax, that bastard who just killed some of my men.”
What a strange feeling. Everything in my upbringing taught me to respect life, in all its forms. And yet, I can’t help but feel relieved that my love managed to thin out the numbers of these vile creatures that came to Mars only to spread corruption and misery.
I stand up slowly and face Bully—the Penubian who shot down Prax’s ship, sending him to what should’ve been a certain death. But thank Ares, that didn’t happen.
The man pats down my outfit, searching for weapons, but I don’t have any.
Just to be thorough, even though I know full well that Martian settlers are especially na?ve and peaceful… with a few exceptions,” he chuckles darkly.
Once he’s sure I pose no threat, he turns me around to face the clearing and presses up behind me, one arm wrapped across my chest to hold me in place, the other aiming his weapon at my head.
“Move,” he orders.
We head toward the main hangar. I rack my brain, but I can’t come up with any escape plan.
Another reptilian man rushes out from one of the ships on the right and jogs over to us.
“They’re all dead!” he growls furiously.
“Prax,” Bully replies flatly. “I told you that Sadjim needed to die as soon as possible. But I’ll personally take care of it now. Follow me.”
So here’s my second Penubian, and of course, my analytical brain can’t help but take note of the similarities and differences between the two.
They both have humanoid shapes, just like my Sadjim.
But like Humans, I notice some variations in the shape of their heads—rounder or more elongated—and in the color of their scales.
Their tongues are narrow and forked, reminding me of Earth iguanas.
I don’t have time to study them any further. We walk into the hangar.
And my blood runs cold when I see the scene in front of us.
Prax’s two pistoblasters lie on the floor, just a few feet away from us, and their owner is locked in a brutal hand-to-hand fight with three Penubians.
“Stop!” Bully shouts.
The order takes immediate effect. The fight halts. I lock eyes with my beautiful Sadjim, who looks horrified when he realizes I’m in Bully’s grasp. He raises his hands in a calming gesture. His three opponents glance toward their leader, awaiting direction.
“What a lovely visit, my dear Prax,” Bully hisses right by my ear. “Look what I found outside. I believe this belongs to you, doesn’t it? Smells like you, anyway,” he adds, dragging his tongue slowly along my neck.
“What do you want?” Prax asks. “Let her go. She’s just a Human. A passing distraction.”
“You’ve got a short memory. I remember your attachment to another Human… an infatuation that ended our partnership. You even offered up our ship in exchange for her life—without even telling me first. Not very nice of you.”
“You forget it was my ship to begin with,” Prax fires back.
“Details, details. We were partners, and it was working just fine—until you went soft for some Human female. And now you’ve done it again with this one. Looks like history repeats itself…”
They’re talking about Ileana—the woman who changed Prax so deeply that he left the Coalition and joined the Confederation. The one whose name he whispered when he was sick and half-conscious…
“Franly, go check on Mank and Gund,” Bully orders.
“They’re dead,” the other replies, shaking his head.
Bully’s arm tightens painfully across my chest, nearly knocking the wind out of me.
“You’re going to pay for that.” He nods at Franly. “Grab his weapon off the floor.”
I plead silently with Prax to run—but he doesn’t budge, his eyes locked on Bully, waiting. Hasn’t he realized Bully’s going to kill him right here, right now?
Franly obeys and waits for further orders.
“You see, Prax, I’m not that cruel. If I were, I’d shoot this Human you’re so attached to, right in front of your eyes. What do you think? Wouldn’t that be a fitting payback after you slaughtered most of my crew?”
“Hiding behind a woman. How brave of you,” Prax retorts. “Why don’t we settle this between the two of us—one-on-one?”
“You killed my men. They were distant cousins of mine,” Bully hisses.
“Hmm, you must have me confused with someone who gives a damn,” Prax replies with a defiant smirk.
He’s trying to provoke him, trying to make him angry enough to agree to a one-on-one fight. But the Penubian isn’t that easily manipulated… or maybe he is, just a little.
“We could go back and forth all day and get nowhere, you and I. So let’s cut to the chase.
Franly here is going to shoot you and fix the unfortunate mistake of you surviving the last few times.
I’ll give you that—you’re pretty good at not dying.
But this time, I can promise you: you’re not walking away.
And the best part? Your very last thought before you die will be knowing I’m going to have a little fun with your Human before she joins the rest of the slave shipment headed to market.
Franly, do me a favor and kill this piece of scum. ”
The Penubian fires at Prax, and he collapses instantly. He approaches the body cautiously, then fires again. And again. Once it’s clear there's no more danger, he tosses his weapon aside and starts kicking my Sadjim’s motionless body with brutal force.
Tears stream down my face. At some point, I realize Bully has removed the arm that was holding me against him. My knees give out, and I crumple where I stand. I’m on the floor now—numb, frozen in shock.
“What do we do with him?” Franly asks.
“Nothing! Finish loading the crates. I’m already behind schedule. Tommy, Hank, move it. Do we still have an empty cage for this one?”
“No, but one of the cells already on the ship only has a single Human female in it. We can stick them together if you want.”
“Perfect! Get her out of here and lock her up with her little friend so she’s out of my sight. You’ve got work to finish, and I need to meet up with our other men in Cydonia and rendezvous with our buyer!”
“What about Mank and Gund?” Franly asks.
“What about them? They’re dead. That’s not changing anytime soon.
They’re of no use to us now. We’ve wasted enough time already.
Load up everything of value and meet me in Cydonia.
I’m leaving now to smooth things over with the buyer.
But don’t drag your feet! I want two of you following with the lightcrafts! ”
“Got it!”
I’m disgusted—but not really surprised—by Bully’s total lack of respect or empathy, even toward his so-called cousins.
A Penubian grabs me, hauls me to my feet, and drags me out of the hangar. I barely manage one last shattered look at Prax’s body before I’m pulled outside.
They drag me up a ramp into the largest ship. A cage dematerializes, and I’m shoved inside.
I stumble and almost fall on the curled-up figure already inside.
Salome looks up at me with an expression full of pity.
I get it. I really do. Three days after escaping, here I am again—back where I started.
Locked up with her, ready to be shipped off to the slave market.
And just like three days ago, I’ve lost Prax.
But this time… this time is different.
I saw his body with my own eyes. There won’t be a happy ending for us. Not this time. He’s really gone.
A thought flickers in my mind: how many times can a heart be torn in half before it loses its grip on reality?
The slavers carry the cages one by one into the ship’s cargo bay. Most are transparent now, and I can see they’re filled with colonists—very few animals among them.
“The second convoy just got here!” Franly announces. “Let’s load up and catch up with Bully.”
Second convoy? I glance out and spot a few more cages being brought in. There’s still space in the cargo hold. The Penubians haul in several opaque cubes and line them up next to the others.
“All right, one more and we’re done!” says the one I assume is Hank.
A few minutes later, they roll in a transparent cube—and I recognize the man inside.