Chapter 6
Chapter Six
RUBY.
Instantly terrified, my heart is beating out of my chest. I have no idea why, but all my senses are telling me to run. The first thing that crosses my mind is, ‘ How did her husband find us so quickly?’ That’s until I hear a hissing sound. Pulling my legs up, I lean over the side of the bed, but without the light on, I can’t see anything. ‘ Maybe Rowan turned it off ?’
Suddenly , an odd smell has me gagging, and a silent scream catches in my throat when a set of blood-red eyes flash right before mine. Jerking back, I’m grabbed from behind, a large hand grasping my face before covering my nose with some sort of cloth. Smothering , I kick out, fighting against the substantial body struggling to hold on to me from behind, only to feel my body start to go slack. I’m so focused on trying to escape and making my sluggish body move that I’m not necessarily paying attention to who or what has ahold of me.
Rowan’s frightened eyes find mine just as a bright light flashes. I can’t comprehend what I’m seeing at first. Something out of a horror story is holding her in its massively large, scaly arms. The last thing I see before everything fades away is her reaching for me.
I don’t know what wakes me up again, maybe the groaning all around me, or the screams. Alarmed , I sit straight up. “ Rowan !”
A small hand covers my mouth from behind. I reach up, ready to fight when someone whispers, “ Be quiet you idiot! The last thing you want is to get their attention. Nod your head if you understand me.”
The moment I move my head, she lets go. When I feel her move away from me, I’m on my feet, swaying unsteadily. “ Take it easy, you’re going to have rubber legs for a few hours.”
“ My sister?” I whisper.
“ With all those bruises, I wasn’t sure if you two were related or not when they brought you in together. She hasn’t woken up yet, but it shouldn’t be much longer.”
My eyes search the crowd for Rowan . Thankfully , I find her laying only a few feet away from me. Moving toward her, I almost step on another girl that is laying at my feet, curled up in a ball, whimpering.
“ Where the hell are we?”
“ Not sure you’re ready for that answer, as I’m still in denial myself.”
“ Who are you? How long have you been here?”
“ Keep -your-voice-down! Their hearing is extremely sensitive. If you want to keep your head, whatever you do, don’t scream … EVER ! My name is Sherry , and I was one of the first brought into these luxury accommodations.” She motions around at the metal walls surrounding us. “ I’m also the last of that group still in here. They’ve taken all the others and so far, none have come back. What’s your name?”
“ Ruby .”
“ Where are you from?”
“ Ohio , but we were in Texas last.”
“ I was taken from Arizona . Seems like they’re hopping from state to state, grabbing a few of us in each one.”
“ Do you have any idea where we’re at? The air feels heavy, and it’s hot as hell in here.”
“ Once your mind wakes up some, you’ll notice the vibration under your feet. I think we’re on some sort of ship. They brought you in a little while ago, and that seems to be the trend every twelve hours or so.”
“ How would you know that?”
“ I had my watch on when they took me. I think I’ve been here three days, but I’m not sure how long I was asleep. Seems like each group is different. Some wake up quickly, and others lay there so long you’re not sure if they’ll get up or not.”
Rubbing my eyes, I take a second to look around now that things are getting clearer. I can see we’re in a cage of some sort, and there are girls laying everywhere, wherever “here” is.
Several of them seem to be waking up, and I can tell I’m not the only one who’s confused. Stepping over the girl next to me, I bend down, shaking Rowan’s shoulder gently. I can tell her breathing is labored when she turns my way.
“ What ?” she whispers sleepily.
I motion for her to be quiet and that wakes her up immediately. Pulling her close, I ask, “ Do you remember anything?” She looks dazed and confused for a moment.
“ What ? … No , the last thing I recall was you walking into the bathroom to take a shower. Wait a minute, … there was something holding you and then a really bright flash.” Her breath catches and I can tell she’s about to panic.
“ Look at me Rowan , I need you to breathe, Sis . That’s right. … No , don’t look around, just keep your eyes on me. We don’t have your meds, so I need you to concentrate on making your lungs expand. Take a few deep breaths in and then out. Now do it with me. Watch my chest and mimic it just like we did when we were kids.”
Before I can say anything else, everyone near us starts waking up. Tears and whimpers can be heard all around, and even though I know this is bad, I’m glad I have Rowan with me. Having her here is keeping me from losing my shit. That is, until the first piercing scream echoes throughout the room.
Instantly , girls are running everywhere in front of me. I’m not sure who helps who up, me or Rowan , but to keep from getting trampled we both move with the group. The whole time we make sure to keep a tight grip on each other in the midst of all this screaming. One of the girls falls, and it takes me a second to realize she’s actually passed out.
Confused by what’s causing them all to panic, I try to see around them, only to disbelieve my own eyes. Standing at what appears to be the door to this cage is … NO , there’s no such thing! My mind must be messing with me because these things are make-believe … snake-men aren’t real!
A slender hand on my arm pulls me and Rowan toward the back of the room. “ Come with me, they always grab the ones closest to the door.”
I feel Rowan tensing up and I put my hand over her mouth before she can scream. “ Don’t make a sound,” I whisper as we move slowly away from all the others.
“ Ruby ?”
“ Yeah , Sis .?”
“ Are you seeing what I am?”
“ I think so.”
“ There’s no such thing!”, Rowan practically whimpers out.
The screaming gets so intense, I have to hold my hands over my ears, especially when it opens the door and … slides in. Massive fangs flash and a noise that I swear sounds like laughter comes out of that gigantic mouth. It’s a fucking snake, a Naga . A character you would read about in a damn Sci -fi book. One thing is very apparent; it’s part something, but it’s nothing like the stories say. Its upper part doesn’t resemble a handsome human male at all, it’s a damn snake with arms and a smooshed-up face.
It has to duck down to clear the door, and watching its massive tail push it through the entrance has stolen my voice. It’s easily eight feet tall, as it towers over all of us. The multiple scales on its body are reflecting the colors around it, making for the perfect camouflage.
One of the girls tries to run out of the cell, and it grabs her around the waist, throwing her back into the crowd. I actually yelp when its mouth opens, snarling down at her, its fangs dripping onto the floor below, sizzling it on contact. It grabs a stick off the harness around its torso and it doesn’t take long to figure out you do not want it to touch you with that thing. The smell of burning flesh and the agonizing cries of the girls in front of me has me placing Rowan behind me as it motions for all of us to walk forward.
I can tell it’s talking, but all I’m hearing is a series of long hisses. When the girls in the front don’t start moving quickly, he … it grabs them, pushing them out the door to what appears to be others of his kind.
The screaming abruptly stops to nothing but sniffling after a few girls get burned with the fire stick. Sherry does her best to stay in the shadows and I figure that’s how she’s managed to remain in here for this long. But when she steps back into the corner, it slides past us, grabbing her roughly before pushing her out the doorway.
Rowan has her head buried in my hair, where she is standing behind me. I can feel her tears dripping onto my skin as I pull her flush up against me. As much as I hate to, I follow along, not giving those things a reason to notice us. The moment I walk past it I pull Rowan over to the other side, away from him.
At this point, Rowan hasn’t said a word, simply cries quietly every time I move her one way or another. ‘ God , how did this happen?’ This is a damn nightmare I can’t seem to wake from. We were in a sealed cave, for heaven’s sake. How did something like this get in and were we the only ones taken?
As much as I want to, I can’t fall apart. Rowan was already in a fragile state, so if she flips out on me now, I’m not sure what the consequences will be. Being forced forward, we’re all lined up against the wall of a long, dark hallway. Several of those snake creatures grab a few girls at a time, taking them through an opening that automatically shuts back the moment they’re through.
One of the girls near the front must have noticed she was next because she turns, trying to make her way back through the line. Out of nowhere, one of them grabs her, and I will say it has its hands full. She fights and screams like a madwoman, but the moment she scratches it across the face, its mouth opens and long, sharp fangs glisten in the pale light for a split second before he bites her on the shoulder. The agonizing scream the girl lets out will haunt my dreams forever. I have to turn away as tears flow down my face while she weakly continues to fight against the monster holding her, until collapsing completely in its arms.
We all stand here stunned as it turns away from us, taking her limp form through the opening. I don’t know if it killed her or what, but the room gets eerily quiet after that, only a few sniffles to be heard now. Rowan is shaking so hard I’m practically holding her up. The monster in the front grabs my arm, yanking me toward him, snarling something in my face and it takes everything I have not to puke since he smells like rotted meat and blood.
He tries to separate me from Rowan , but I refuse to let go of her no matter how hard he pulls against us. Quickly it gives up, shoving both of us out together at the same time.
My eyes see them, but my mind can’t comprehend any of it. Nothing I’ve ever experienced before could have prepared me for this. Without conscious thought, my legs move, propelling us backward. Which is apparently the wrong thing to do because a sharp stab in my side stops me abruptly, a scream of pain escaping my lips as I lunge forward again, ensuring I do not let go of Rowan .
Gazing around, I simply can’t believe that any of this is real. What appear to be females, or that’s what I think they are anyway, line a look-a-like Miss America runway stage. And those damn snakes are pulling them along like they’re escorting them to the Prom or something.
I stand here swaying back and forth, spots forming before my eyes as I feel my mind crumbling under the reality of what is in front of us. Aliens , … we are surrounded by ALIENS !