Chapter 13 Jessa
My eyes watered under the first sunlight I’d seen in four days.
Being the Kwin’s pet had sucked balls so far.
I’d been given a sequined pink dress that was caught somewhere between slutty cocktail hour and trailer trash prom, it barely covered my butt and had a super unhelpful slit that came up past the top of my hip.
It was impossible to move around without flashing everything, and of course, no underwear.
No bra, either, and the spaghetti straps, and low, drapey neckline just added to the total humiliation package.
I’d also been heavily sprayed with a sickly sweet, cotton candy perfume, and the Kwin amused herself by randomly spraying more of the cloying stuff in my face at random moments.
My eyes were constantly watering and stinging, and I was pretty sure I’d go blind soon if she didn’t cut it out.
The only positive of my situation was that Tovis had been right about the whole rape thing. I wasn’t wearing a bra, the low neckline barely covered my nipples and my naked ass was flashing with every step, but none of the syto males even looked at me.
I was pretty sure Tovis would have looked if he wasn’t being starved, sleep deprived and shocked. At this point I’d be thrilled if he checked me out, because it would mean we weren’t in danger of being killed or tortured.
The Kwin yanked on the pink, rhinestone studded dog leash she was holding, and the matching collar dug into my neck.
“Hurry up pet,” she cooed. I hurried after her, doing my best to not get strangled and stay out of the way of the six sytos struggling to carry her huge chair like a litter.
Her entourage moved slowly across the parking lot and my heart sank as I spotted the two stakes planted in the dirt at the edge of the asphalt.
Tovis and Jiith were staked out like dogs in the sun, their cuffed hands keeping them attached to their respective stakes.
Jiith was barely standing, his shoulders slumped, and his eyes half slitted in misery.
He’d been stripped of his gray uniform, leaving him in nothing but a strange, white romper that left his arms and legs exposed to the hot sun.
Tovis stood tall, finally freed of his cramped cage.
Despite the terrible beating I’d been forced to watch while he’d been shocked unconscious, he looked almost fully recovered.
There were patches of dried blood on his red skin, and a few raw looking scrapes, but all in all, he looked way better than he had any right to.
He watched as the Kwin’s chair was lowered to the ground, his slightly pinned ears the only sign of his thoughts.
One of the sytos hurried forward with an umbrella and parked himself beside the Kwin to shield her from the sun. My bare toes curled against the burning hot asphalt and I wrapped my arms around myself as I waited for whatever ‘amusement’ the Kwin had devised.
Two more sytos appeared, carrying huge recycling bins and plonked them down between the Kwin and the staked out prisoners.
“We’re going to have a little tournament,” she announced cheerily.
“First round is target practice. Whoever gets the most points earns double rations for the night.” She clasped her hands in front of her chest and shot me a beaming smile.
“It’s not as entertaining as a good arena duel, but I have been so deprived of fun since these slaves destroyed my beautiful cruiser. ”
I stared at her in horrified disbelief. Sometimes she truly acted like I was supposed to be in on her version of fun. When I didn’t do a little dance for joy, she pouted and flicked her ring covered fingers at me.
“Truly, you’re a waste of space. Any one of these males would fight to the death to be considered my companion, and yet here you are, acting as if I am not doing you a great honor.”
I hate you, I wanted to say. Nothing about this is an honor, you narcissistic psycho. I kept the words behind my teeth though, because she’d just use them as an opportunity to torture Tovis again.
“Begin!” She clapped her hands and everyone rushed the recycling bins.
Within seconds, dozens of empty beer bottles were sailing through the air toward Tovis and Jiith.
Tovis managed to dodge the first volley, but the second came too fast and two bottles shattered against his head. Glass went everywhere and I covered my face as bottle after bottle landed.
Most missed, some he batted away, but too many made contact. By the time the bins were empty, he’d been hit dozens of times and broken glass covered the ground under his hooves.
Jiith didn’t even bother to defend himself, he turned his back to the bombardment, hunching his shoulders and simply letting the bottles hit him until he was on his knees in the glass, bleeding everywhere and shivering with pain.
The sytos turned to face the Kwin, making their dumb little salute and bowing their heads as they waited for her to pick a winner.
“Oh dear,” she said. “I believe that was a tie. You four.” She pointed at random, and the four sytos stepped forward. “If you want to earn your prize, you’ll have to compete amongst yourselves. Battle the turoch, whoever gets him to his knees first will earn their rations.”
My heart sank. This was a game no one was meant to win and the sytos knew it. Their tentacles coiled up tight at her orders, but they all obediently strode toward Tovis.
Four against one, the one already injured and restrained was clearly rigged odds, but I could already see that the sytos didn’t stand a chance.
They didn’t have their shock sticks for one thing, but Tovis was already bristling with rage, and I could tell that even getting bludgeoned with glass hadn’t done anything but piss him off.
I felt a little sick as I watched the unlucky sytos hurl themselves at Tovis. I didn’t want them to win, I didn’t want Tovis to get hurt anymore, but I was starting to see that the blue aliens weren’t really the enemy here.
The Kwin was the evil little mastermind behind all this suffering. The males were nothing but brainwashed, desperate pawns. Tovis landed a vicious kick to one of the sytos legs and I heard the bone crack. The male collapsed with an agonized scream and Tovis stomped on his head.
The scream cut off and I closed my eyes, unable to watch the violence. For five gut churning minutes, the fight continued. I flinched at every sound, every blow, every crack, every scream.
When it was over, I looked just long enough to see that Tovis was still standing and then stared at my feet.
None of the sytos had survived. The only comfort was that Tovis had ended them quickly enough they hadn’t suffered too much, and the Kwin couldn’t torment them any further.
“What a disappointing show,” the Kwin muttered. “It’s nearly impossible to have a decent fight with only one turoch.”
There was a beat of silence as the remaining sytos waited for her to speak again.
“Glorious Kwin?” One of them took a hesitant step toward her. “May I offer a suggestion?”
She turned her attention to the male and he physically cringed back.
“You may, but if your words are a waste of my time, be prepared to join Jiith at his stake.”
His tentacles flared out in alarm, and I was betting he regretted speaking up.
“We came across a percer boar when we were returning to you. Perhaps if we captured the beast you could watch a proper fight?”
I could feel the furious attention the other sytos were radiating at the speaker. In his quest to get on the Kwin’s good side, he’d just signed up his buddies to fight a huge monster and drag it back to camp.
The Kwin cocked her head to the side and beamed at him.
“What a wonderful suggestion! You have earned yourself the prize for today’s games. Two days worth of rations for you!”
He ducked into a hasty bow. “Th-thank you, most glorious Kwin.”
“Prepare a party,” she snapped at the others. “Return in two days with a percer for my turoch or die in the attempt.”
Sytos rushed to follow her orders and I watched as nearly half of them gathered supplies. It looked like at least fifteen sytos staying at the strip club, but that was better odds than thirty to one.
If Tovis and I had a hope of escaping, we had two days to pull it off.
“Glorious Kwin?” I squeaked out, the formal greeting tasting like bile in my mouth.
She looked over at me curiously. It was the first time I’d spoken to her willingly and I was already cursing my boldness.
“Yes, pet?” she purred.
I darted a panicked look over at Tovis, who was standing stiff and nearly vibrating with tension, like he was prepared to launch himself across the parking lot if I needed him.
“The turoch hasn’t eaten in over four days,” I murmured. “Surely he’ll give you a better show if he isn’t weak from hunger?”
She laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair. My face burned with angry embarrassment the longer she cackled and by the time she calmed down, I was biting my tongue to hold back a rant that would get me killed.
“Oh, pet,” she sighed. “You’re so stupidly transparent and clearly you know nothing of turochs. I could starve that creature for another four days and he’d barely be affected.”
She gave my leash a sharp tug and my knees banged into the side of her chair, as I fought the urge to give the stupid pink leather a yank of my own.
“You want me to feed your mate because you hate to see him hungry. I admit I never paid humans much attention, but you must be nearly as primitive as his kind to have such a strong affection for him.”
She said ‘strong’ so mockingly it was clear she thought caring about anyone was the most absurd concept.