Chapter 11 Holly
HOLLY
Imust have lost consciousness, at least briefly. My body was still twitching, as if I’d had convulsions. What happened? Had DSC struck us with some kind of weapon to incapacitate him?
Evidently, it’d worked. That’s why I couldn’t breathe. He crushed me against the wall, a massive dead weight that wasn’t moving.
Panic welled. I tried to say his name, something, but I could only mumble. I couldn’t hear Syko’s voice directly, but I imagined what he’d say. Keep our secrets.
:Syko?: I whispered in my head, but I couldn’t feel him anywhere.
It’s like he’s dead.
A sob tore out of my throat. Desperate, I felt everywhere on his body I could reach, trying to find a wound. Something I might be able to put pressure on. Fix. :Help him!: I screamed at the mrions. :Don’t let him die!:
The mountain of weight on top of me moved, but it wasn’t him stirring. A silver arm reached down toward me but there wasn’t a human hand on the end. A three-pronged pincher closed around my upper arm.
“Target acquired,” the agent said in a male voice. Not Snyder and not the computer voice from before. How many agents did he have on this ship? Another silver flexible implement reached over Syko’s shoulder and touched my head. “Running diagnostics.”
“Hold on, Holly.” Snyder’s voice echoed from somewhere above. “We’ll get you out before he wakes up.”
Another pincher arm locked on my opposite shoulder. I groaned as they tried to lift me. Something dragged inside me, like it was going to pull all my organs out. “Stop,” I gasped. “Stop! Hurts!”
“BGR++ remains locked inside the female,” the agent said. “Average lock time for dyni mating—”
“No time,” Snyder retorted. “Inject him with a release compound and get her out of there. How long will he remain unconscious?”
The female computer said, “Estimating three minutes, thirty-nine seconds based on the last trial.”
“Release compound deployed,” the male agent said. “Please allow thirty seconds for activation.”
“We don’t have thirty fucking seconds,” Snyder ground out, followed by a string of alien words I couldn’t understand. Though it sounded like cursing.
He never did something so coarse as use improper language. I would’ve laughed if I didn’t hurt all over. Everything ached. My head throbbed. I couldn’t take a deep breath without pain stabbing in my side.
“We could replace the transport bracelet on her wrist and exit while the BGR++ is incapacitated.”
“Negative,” Snyder retorted. “It’s too easily removed.”
Oops. My bad. I’m still glad I did it. Surely DSC would’ve yanked me out of the cell in those first few minutes when my panic went redline.
Something gave way inside me like a mudslide, an entire mountainside giving way in torrential floods. Copious amounts of fluid flowed out of me, along with a still very large cock. Though it was soft enough it didn’t hurt as the agent pulled me free.
Syko slumped to the floor with a heavy oomph that broke my heart. His back heaved, his arms jerking.
“Faster,” Snyder said in a surprisingly calm voice. “The sedative is wearing off.”
The agent dragged me toward the cell door. “Wait—”
At my voice, Syko flung himself in an awkward roll toward us. His eyes met mine, glittering midnight with sparks of indigo blue. Then his face stretched, distorting, his jaws gaping wide. Rows of glistening razor-sharp teeth. His claws screeched on the metal floor as he scrambled toward me.
:Syko!:
The agent flung us low, slipping under the already shutting door. With a vicious crash, the BGR++ slammed into the door, bowing the metal. Sirens blared again. The air filled with steam, glowing with a red haze from the alarms.
“Activating secondary doors,” the female computer said.
Another even thicker door slammed shut an inch or two from my toes as the agent dragged me down the hall.
:Look everywhere,: Syko rasped in my head between deep pants. :Take in all their security precautions so I can breach them.:
I rolled my head left and right, not sure what he needed to see. Most of it didn’t make sense to me. Panels. Another heavy door slammed as we passed. Swirling red lights made me dizzy. My stomach rolled with nausea. Tears dripped down my cheeks. :I thought you were dead.:
:They never could knock me out long enough to kill me.
That’s why I’m still alive. Now I have something to live for, and they’ll wish they’d fucking dumped me in the black hole per orders.
Your mrions know what needs to be done. Let them work for you, Holly.
Let them protect you until I can free myself.
They likely won’t let me see you again. But I will find you.
No matter what happens, no matter where they might try to hide you. :
He let out a roar that made the entire ship shimmer around us. :I. Will. Find. You. This grid will shut down now to ensure they can’t find evidence of it.:
:No! I need to be able to talk to you.:
:We can’t risk it. Too dangerous. They’re already suspicious. They’re taking you straight to the lab for testing. Play dumb. Stay alive.:
:Wait, please! What am I—:
The grid went dark like someone flicked a switch. I hadn’t realized how bright and real our connection was until it was gone.
Now it was just me inside my head.
Crying, I jerked at my arm, trying to slip free of the agent’s grasp. But he was impossibly strong. A second silvery agent picked up my feet, easing the drag on my upper body—while also trapping my legs better than any shackle.
When they placed me on the examination table in the laboratory, I started to scream. At least in my head. But no one could hear.
“Analysis?” Snyder asked.
“Three broken ribs, broken collarbone, dislocated shoulder.” The agent changed the three-prong pincher to another tool, and it dawned on me that he was a medic.
The tip of his silver coil touched me, and my entire body went numb.
“Some internal bruising but no tearing or permanent damage. Her reproductive organs are intact with minimal scarring.”
I could only lie there like a slab of meat while the agents moved around the table looking at my naked body. Tears still leaked from my eyes, but I was only aware of them because of blurry vision. I couldn’t feel anything. Maybe that was a blessing as they ran their tests.
“The BGR++ did surprisingly well,” Snyder said. “Probability of fertilization?”
I would have shuddered if I could move. I can’t be pregnant. Not yet. I’d rather die than let them have our baby.
A tiny pinprick flared in my mind. No words. Just the indigo I associated with Syko. It soothed me. The mrions wouldn’t allow me to get pregnant when it was dangerous. They were protecting me. He was protecting me. He was already planning a way to break us free.
Play dumb. Stay alive. That’s all I have to do.
“Less than one percent likelihood of fertilization,” the agent responded. “Ovulation hasn’t occurred yet, though I detect a follicle at twelve millimeters. It should mature in the next few days.”
Snyder paused beside me, smiling down at me. “Very good, Holly. You did very well, though I must admit I was gravely concerned for your safety when you removed the teleportation device. We’ll modify the bracelet in the future to make sure we can safely extract you. We can’t risk you, my dear.”
Bastard, I tried to say. Put me back with Syko!
“Now, now, don’t work yourself up.” Snyder patted the back of my hand, not that I could feel it. “We’ll get you patched and cleaned up, then tuck you into your room for a nice long sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up. Good night, Holly. Rest with the knowledge of a job well done.”
His lips quirked with a snide, smug grin that made me want to punch him. He turned to the agent working on the other side of the bed. “Download what you can and wipe everything possible from her memory.”
Terror clawed through my veins. Could they make me forget Syko entirely?
The indigo flared briefly again. No. We were mated. Nothing could take me away from him now.
Everything went dark, my mind slipping into a swirling black hole. Though it was threaded with indigo silk and smelled like him. Predator. Killer. Too dangerous for even DSC to use.
“I have something to live for now,” he’d said.
Yeah. Me too.