4
The guard dragged Aiden through a series of corridors that all looked the same, smooth metal walls and harsh white lights and doors that slid open without a sound.
Aiden stopped fighting after the third shock from his collar, his body too weak to keep up the struggle, and he let himself be pulled along like a dead weight.
His knuckles were raw and bleeding, his lip was split and swollen, and every muscle in his body ached with a deep, bone-tired exhaustion.
The guard stopped in front of a heavy door and pressed his palm against a panel beside it.
The door slid open, revealing a space that was cold and austere, with bare metal walls and harsh lighting that cast everything in sharp shadows.
Weapons hung on every surface, blades and rods and things Aiden did not recognize, arranged with a precision that spoke of careful maintenance and frequent use.
A large bed dominated one corner of the room, its surface covered in dark fabrics that looked more functional than comfortable.
A small holding cell sat against the far wall, its bars made of the same cold metal as everything else.
The guard shoved Aiden into the room, and he stumbled and fell to his knees on the hard floor. The door slid shut behind him, sealing him in with a soft click that echoed off the bare walls. He stayed on his knees for a moment, his head bowed and his chest heaving, and he tried to catch his breath.
"Get up."
The voice came from somewhere in front of him, low and rough and cold.
Aiden lifted his head and saw Xokax standing at the center of the room, his massive arms crossed over his broad chest and his mismatched eyes fixed on Aiden's face.
The mechanical eye glowed with a soft red light, and the golden one was sharp and assessing.
"I said get up," Xokax repeated, and there was a warning in his voice now.
Aiden pushed himself to his feet, his legs shaking beneath him. He met Xokax's gaze and held it, refusing to look down. "Where's Melissa?"
Xokax's expression did not change. "Melissa?"
"My girlfriend. The woman I was with when you took me. Where is she?"
Xokax walked toward him, slow and deliberate, his claws clicking against the metal floor. He stopped a few feet away and looked down at Aiden with something that might have been amusement. "The female you were with is being processed for sale. She will be sold to a pleasure house on Kor-Valis."
Aiden felt the words hit him like a physical blow. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and his jaw tightened so hard that his teeth ached. "She's going to be sold to a pleasure house."
"That is correct."
Aiden lunged forward, his fist swinging toward Xokax's face.
He did not care about the collar. He did not care about the pain.
He only cared about making this monster pay for what he had done.
His fist connected with Xokax's jaw, and the impact jarred up his arm, but Xokax did not even flinch.
He stood there with Aiden's fist pressed against his scales, and he looked down at Aiden with a cold amusement that made Aiden's blood boil.
"Are you done?" Xokax asked.
Aiden swung again, and this time Xokax caught his fist in his massive hand and squeezed. Aiden felt the bones in his hand grind together, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. He would not cry out. He would not give Xokax the satisfaction.
"You have spirit," Xokax said, releasing Aiden's hand and stepping back. "I bought you because of that spirit. It will serve you well in the days to come, or it will break you. I have not decided which yet."
"You're a monster," Aiden said, his voice low and shaking. "You're a fucking monster."
Xokax tilted his head, his mechanical eye flickering. "I have been called worse. You will learn your place here, human. You will obey me. You will serve me. You will learn to accept your fate."
"I'm not going to accept anything," Aiden said. "I'm not going to be your slave. I'm not going to let you sell Melissa. I'm going to find a way out of here, and I'm going to kill you."
Xokax laughed, a low sound that echoed off the bare walls. "You are entertaining. I will give you that." He walked to the holding cell and opened the door, gesturing for Aiden to enter. "Get in. You will stay there until I decide what to do with you."
Aiden did not move. He stood at the center of the room with his fists clenched and his jaw tight, and he stared at Xokax with all the hatred he could muster.
"I said get in," Xokax repeated, and his voice dropped to something low and dangerous.
Aiden walked to the cell and stepped inside. The door slid shut behind him, and the lock engaged with a heavy click. He wrapped his hands around the bars and pressed his face against them, staring out at the room beyond.
Xokax walked to the large bed and sat down on the edge of it, his massive body settling into the dark fabrics. He watched Aiden through the bars, his mismatched eyes fixed on Aiden's face.
"The journey to Kor-Valis will take a couple of weeks," Xokax said. "That gives me plenty of time to break you."
"I'm not going to break," Aiden said. "You can try. You can do whatever you want to me. I'm not going to break."
Xokax smiled, a cold expression that did not reach his eyes. "We will see."
The next few days blurred together into a haze of exhaustion and hunger and cold.
Xokax kept the lights in the cell bright and harsh, and he played a constant stream of noise through hidden speakers, a low hum that vibrated through Aiden's skull and made his head ache.
He brought food and ate it in front of Aiden, elaborate dishes that smelled rich and savory, and he talked about the pleasures of Kor-Valis while Aiden's stomach cramped with hunger.
"You will learn to obey," Xokax said one evening, taking a bite of something that looked like roasted meat. "You will learn to serve. You will learn to accept your place."
Aiden sat in the corner of his cell with his knees pulled up to his chest, and he stared at Xokax with hollow eyes.
He had not slept in what felt like days.
The lights and the noise and the constant vigilance had worn him down, and his body was starting to betray him.
His hands shook. His vision blurred. He was losing himself, piece by piece.
"Go to hell," he said, and his voice came out weak and cracked.
Xokax laughed, that cold sound that made Aiden's skin crawl. "You are stubborn. I like that. It will make the breaking more satisfying."
Xokax brought other slaves to the room and sold them in front of Aiden.
He would call in a guard and have the slave brought in, and he would discuss their merits with the buyer while Aiden watched from his cell.
He would talk about their strengths and weaknesses, their collar data and their potential, and he would haggle over the price like they were nothing more than pieces of furniture.
"These ones are going to the mines," Xokax said one day, gesturing at a group of captives being led past the cell. "They will work until their bodies give out. Then they will be replaced."
Aiden watched them go, their faces hollow and their eyes empty.
He thought about Marcus, still on the collection vessel, still planning his escape.
He thought about Jason, crying for Mira, his hands reaching through the bars for something he could never hold.
He thought about Melissa, somewhere on this ship, being prepared for a fate he could not bear to imagine.
He was not going to break. He was not going to give Xokax the satisfaction.
The days passed, and the lights stayed bright, and the noise stayed loud, and the hunger stayed constant. Aiden lost track of time. He lost track of himself. He was a body in a cell, a voice that refused to scream, a mind that refused to give in.
And then one night, Xokax entered the cell.
The door slid open without a sound, and Xokax stepped inside, his massive body filling the small space. Aiden scrambled to his feet, his back pressing against the wall, his heart pounding in his chest. He knew what was coming. He had known it was coming since the moment Xokax had bought him.
"I have been patient," Xokax said, his voice low and rough. "I have given you time to adjust. I have let you see your place. But I am tired of waiting."
Aiden pressed himself harder against the wall, his hands fisted at his sides. "Don't touch me."
Xokax moved closer, slow and deliberate. "You are my property, human. You belong to me. I can touch you however I want."
"I'm not your property," Aiden said, and his voice shook. "I'm not anyone's property. Stay away from me."
Xokax reached out and grabbed Aiden's chin, tilting his face up. His claws pressed against the skin, hard enough to hurt, and his mismatched eyes studied Aiden's face with a cold intensity.
"You fight," Xokax said. "You scream. You cry. But you do not break. I have seen many slaves, human. None of them have fought me like you do."
"Maybe you should find better slaves," Aiden said, and he spat in Xokax's face.
Xokax did not react. He wiped the spit from his scales with a slow, deliberate motion, and his mechanical eye glowed brighter. "You will pay for that," he said. "But not tonight. Tonight, I will take what is mine."
Aiden swung his fist, but Xokax caught his wrist and twisted it behind his back. The pain was sharp and immediate, and Aiden cried out before he could stop himself. Xokax pressed him against the wall, his massive body pinning Aiden in place, and his breath was hot against Aiden's neck.
"I am going to enjoy this," Xokax said, his voice low and rough. "I am going to enjoy breaking you."
Aiden closed his eyes and thought about Melissa. He thought about the ring in his pocket, still waiting for the moment that would never come. He thought about the overlook and the sunrise and the words he had practiced. He thought about the life he had wanted, the life he had been so certain of.
He was not going to break. He was not going to give Xokax the satisfaction. He would endure this, whatever it took, and he would find a way out.
"Fuck you," he said, and his voice was steady. "Fuck you."
Xokax laughed, that cold sound that echoed off the walls, and his claws scraped against Aiden's skin.
"You are going to be fun," Xokax said. "I have not had fun in a very long time."
Aiden felt Xokax's hands on his body, and he forced himself to go still. He would not fight. He would not scream. He would not give Xokax the pleasure of seeing him break. He would endure this, and he would survive, and he would find a way out.
The ring in his pocket pressed against his hip, a small reminder of everything he had lost and everything he was fighting to get back.
He closed his eyes and let himself go somewhere else, somewhere far away from this ship and this monster and this nightmare.
He went to the overlook, to the sunrise, to the moment he had been planning for months.
He went to Melissa, to her smile and her laugh and the way she said I love you like it was the easiest thing in the world.
He held onto that image and refused to let go.