Chapter 1
ONE
My head hurts worse than I ever remember experiencing. I don’t have any idea what happened to me, but when I open my eyes enough to see my surroundings, my blood runs cold.
The memory of being manhandled and drugged comes back to me. The syringe… The man in blue… The room spinning just before my vision went black.
Groaning, I try to push myself to sitting, letting the slits in my eyes widen. My heart starts racing as I realize I’m in some sort of cage. I’m in a metal box with slats like a jail cell all around me and above my head.
My stomach gives me no warning before I suddenly vomit. I don’t even have time to lean forward, so the nasty contents of my stomach projectile all around me, not only hitting the bars and through them, but also covering the front of my dress.
I’m shaking now. Violently. My headache subsides slightly from the vomiting, and my stomach feels less queasy, but I’m still miserable, and now I’m covered in my own throw up.
I lift the hem of my dress to wipe my mouth and then press against my temples with both hands as I look beyond my enclosure.
Nothing about what I’m seeing is comforting.
I’m in a room filled with cages like this one.
Mine is suspended from the ceiling. Some are higher, some are lower.
There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the pattern.
The lighting is dim, and it’s very cold.
On top of that, I feel heavy. I’m struggling to hold myself upright. Is it from the drugs?
Movement across the room draws my attention, and I gasp when I notice Zoey sitting in another cage. She looks like she’s in about as good a shape as I’m in—rubbing her temples and moaning. I don’t think she has vomited yet. Lucky her.
The sound of a whimper makes me jerk my gaze to another side of the room. I spot Leah and Nora in separate cages like mine, too. A few more cages are occupied, but I can’t see who’s in them.
I consider speaking, but I don’t want to draw attention to myself if there are guards nearby, nor do I have the energy to call out. In addition, something like that would make my head pound further.
Tears come to my eyes, but I will them not to escape. I won’t let these aliens see me weak. I’ll go down fighting, even if that means they have to inject me every hour to keep me from trying to escape.
I still have no idea what plans the aliens have for us. Why have they brought us here? Where are we? I have to assume we’re either on another space station, a ship, or perhaps even a planet.
I’ve been living in outer space for so long, I can’t remember what it feels like to step on solid ground.
Speaking of ground… I lift my hands in front of me.
They’re covered in dirt. I remember I’d been digging up potatoes when I was summoned.
My hands and forearms are filthy. So are my knees and the hem of my now vomit-covered dress.
The smell is so awful, I might throw up again.
My shoes are gone. The only things I’m wearing are my thin, sleeveless dress and panties.
How long has it been since I was injected with whatever knocked me out? Hours? Days? My bladder makes itself known next. My panties aren’t wet, so I’ve been in captivity long enough that I need to pee, but not so long that I’ve wet myself.
Crossing my arms, I rub my biceps with my hands. It’s freezing in this room. My teeth are chattering. I’ve never felt so alone or so angry. Or so scared.
After several minutes of nothing but the echo of the other women whimpering in their cages, a loud bang makes me jerk my head to the right.
A metal door opens, the hinges squeaking.
Two guards enter this odd room. At least, I assume they’re guards.
They aren’t the same ones I saw on the space station, but they look similar, with black clothing and weapons at their waists.
It takes me a moment to notice a third man behind them. He’s wearing all black, too, but his clothing is more like a suit. He doesn’t look like he’s about to go into combat. The three of them walk with purpose, coming directly toward me.
The suited man stands between the other two. He’s not armed. His brow furrows as he stares at me. His face scrunches up, which isn’t surprising since I’m sure I smell disgusting. I’m making myself nauseous.
Suddenly, he spins around and starts shouting at the guards, pointing at me several times. I can’t understand a word, of course, but he’s very angry.
I’m so stunned and scared that I pee myself. Apparently, my bladder couldn’t hold on for another moment, but I’m now ten times more gross and humiliated. I pull my knees up to my chest and tug my soiled dress over them.
Shivering, I clench my jaw, trying not to cry. I’m always so very strong. I don’t cry. I can’t. I’ve always had to be the solid one. But I’ve never been in a situation this terrifying in my life. Not even the day I was sent to live on a space station.
I’m mortified, sitting here in my own filth. The metal floor of my cage is wet from my urine and vomit. My stomach is threatening to hurl again, probably because the smell is noxious.
My hands are filthy. I bet my hair is a tangled mess. I doubt I even look human. I lower my gaze while the alien continues to shout. The guards do not respond, which makes me believe the third man must rank higher than them. He seems to be barking orders.
When I hear footsteps trailing away, I glance up to see the angry man leaving. He doesn’t glance back.
One of the guards unlocks my cage. They reach in, grab one of my biceps each, and yank me out of the enclosure before carrying me away in the same manner as the guards who hauled me from the potato farm.
I dangle between them. They’re both well over seven feet tall, so I’m held pretty far off the floor. I try to look over my shoulder at the other women, but I’m not able. I wonder if I’ll ever see them again.
A new level of panic consumes me. What if these men are going to dispose of me? Maybe because I’m so filthy. Perhaps I don’t meet their standards—whatever those might be. The man who was shouting could have been telling them I’m not worth keeping.
I’m a fighter. I start screaming and struggling even though it’s useless. I’m no match for these men. I jerk against their hold on my arms, not even caring if I fall to the floor. Maybe I won’t break a leg when I land.
They ignore me and seem unfazed by my attempts.
“Put me down!”
“Let me go!”
No reaction.
They leave the room with all the cages and move down a hall, eventually entering a smaller room.
This one is bright with white walls. Clean.
I think it’s a medical bay. There’s a strange giant basin at the end of the room.
The two men lift me higher so that my legs don’t hit the sides before lowering me into the sterile container.
As soon as they release me, I scramble to get to my feet.
The metal is slippery, mostly because my own urine has run down my legs to drip off my feet.
Every time I get my feet under me, they slip, and I fall on my knees.
All the while, I’m sobbing. Words are futile.
They either don’t understand me, or they don’t care.
Two other men enter the room. They rush toward me, wearing white. I think they might be nurses. They start talking to me. Their voices are calmer than the man who was shouting in the cage room, but I still don’t understand a word they’re saying.
One of the guards rounds to the other side of the basin. They each grab one of my wrists and pull my arms up and out, stretching me and forcing me to stand almost on my toes.
The darker-skinned man in white comes toward me with a giant pair of scissors, making me scream so loud my ears start ringing. Fear consumes me.
When I kick out to keep him from stabbing me, the two guards bend over to each grab one of my ankles with their free hands.
I nearly faint when the man with the scissors clasps the hem of my dress and starts cutting. I can’t breathe, and I stop struggling. When I realize his goal is to remove my stinky clothes, I don’t dare move, terror consuming me.
Holding my breath, I tip my head back and close my eyes as the cold metal slides up my body, between my breasts, slicing my disgusting dress right up the middle. He efficiently snips the sleeves next, causing the soiled garment to fall into the tub.
I’m mortified. Four giant alien men can see me almost naked. And that becomes totally naked as soon as the man cuts both sides of my panties so that the scrap of material flutters into the bottom of the basin.
Now I’m embarrassed. And freezing cold.
The man with the scissors grabs my ruined clothes and turns to drop them into a waste container. Meanwhile, the guards tug my arms downward, forcing me to sit on the cold metal.
My heart rate picks up when each of them wraps a cuff around my wrists and restrains me to eye hooks on the edges of the basin. My teeth chatter. My nipples are hard points. I’m beyond mortified.
The other man in white turns a knob on the side of the basin, and it begins to fill with water.
I cry out because it’s so cold. All I can do to avoid it is lift my knees, but that won’t last long.
The man frowns at me, his head cocked to one side. He reaches out to touch my cheek, says something to the other man, and adjusts the faucet.
Luckily, the water begins to warm up. I think he realizes I’m freezing. Why wouldn’t he know? The room is frigid, the water is, too, and I’m shivering.
The guards say something and then leave the room. I’m grateful. They’re more intimidating than the men in white.
I can’t stop the combination of sobbing and pleading. My words fall on deaf ears. My tears make me feel weak, which I hate.
I’m not used to being around males. I haven’t seen a human man since the day I left Earth twenty years ago. These aliens are so much bigger. I’m pretty certain their features are nearly the same as humans’, but they’re proportionately much larger.
The lighter-skinned man removes the nozzle from the edge of the tub and lifts it so that water pours over my head.
I scream again. It’s shocking and still too cold. I hate that my arms are stretched out away from me. I’m a prisoner in a world where I don’t speak the language. What is going to happen to me?