Chapter 8
I dug my fingers into the unforgiving edge of the vent and almost took flight when Carn gave me a shove. Lurching forward, I dragged myself up into the ventilation shaft and heaved a shuddering breath once the threat of dropping ten feet to the floor was gone.
Carn had all but dragged me from my sleep a few minutes ago and bullied me into the ceiling. My lazy after-humping-morning was ruined by the grim look on his face and the abrupt way he handled me.
I’d been in survival mode long enough I didn’t hold it against him, but I’d never wanted to understand him more than in this moment. Something had spooked him and anything that made Carn nervous scared the shit out of me.
The shaft was too narrow to turn around in, so I carefully backpedaled over the opening until I could see into the cell again.
“Am I supposed to hide up here?” I asked, half afraid he was kicking me out so he could go back to eating his own food again.
He answered me with a determined jerk of his head and I tried not to focus too much on the slightly unhinged look in his eyes.
Something was wrong with him, and had been ever since he’d been stabbed by Periwinkle and Co.
I wouldn’t say he was high exactly, but his symptoms weren’t completely different than a junkie coming off a rough trip.
Carn was twitchy, jumpy, erratic, he wasn’t sleeping, he hadn’t touched his food in two days, and even now I could see his eyes darting around the empty cell like he expected a monster to leap out of the shadows and bite off his face.
Even our little grind session last night was out of character for him. He’d been extremely careful not to perv on me, and while I’d enjoyed last night, I was surprised he’d taken it that far. If anything, I was just relieved that he’d slept afterward.
He’d left me hanging, his snores muffled in my cleavage while I did my best not to squirm with unfulfilled arousal, but having such an intimidating male cuddling me had been its own reward.
Carn always held me like I was the best thing since fleece blankets and hot chocolate, I could see myself getting used to sleeping next to him.
He reached up and gently stroked my chin, his ears pinning back to his head as he let out a frustrated huff.
Completely lost, I snagged his rough fingers before he could pull back.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked, praying he wasn’t. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, but communication was patchy at the best of times between us. For all I knew, my unwashed body had been driving him insane for days and he was done being nice about it.
The errant thought had me ducking down to sniff my arm. I wasn’t horrendous. Unless I’d just learned to ignore my own stench.
What a happy thought.
Carn’s face twisted and he squeezed my hand before tucking it up out of the way and forcefully jamming the grate into place. Between us. From the pained squeal the metal gave, there was no way I was getting back in his cell unless he let me in.
He pointed a finger at me and muttered something meaningless, before stalking over to the door.
A second later it opened and Carn disappeared.
I stared at the place he’d been standing and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And then I realized how pathetic I was being and nearly banged my head into the grate.
I wasn’t a labradoodle left at home while her owner went to work.
I wasn’t even sure I’d call Carn my friend.
Whatever our relationship was, it was too much and too little all at the same time for any label I knew.
I had no idea if he was coming back. I had no idea if he would let me in if he did come back.
One thing I did know, was that I wasn’t going to sit here and wait an unknown amount of time to find out. There was plenty to explore and I could come back in a few hours and check in.
If he wanted to let me in great, if not, I had time to find other options. I just hoped there were other options.
***
THE OPTIONS SUCKED.
I found more cells. All of which held males that looked like smaller, more civilized versions of Carn.
Most of them wore loincloths and had their hair braided or tied away from their faces.
Unlike my feral roomie, who wandered around violently nude and looked like he’d been making out with a tornado most of the time.
I eyed one red alien who’d twisted the hair around his face into a sloppy coronet braid. Having hair in his face had to drive Carn nuts, maybe I should offer to tidy up his wild mane when I got back.
If I got back.
Holding my breath as I crept over the last of the cells, I found myself at an intersection in the shaft.
I could keep moving straight ahead but there weren’t any comforting lights that way.
The thought of crawling straight into pure darkness without being able to turn around and run from whatever I found made my mouth go dry.
But if I started making turns, I could easily get lost. I’d kill for some glow in the dark paint right about now.
Feeling like an idiot, I pulled the padding out the left cup of my bra and carefully balanced it on the corner turning to the left. When I backpedaled, there’d be a trail of underwear leading me back.
The next hour was a slow, uncomfortable crawl over endless rooms.
A rumble in the vent warned me of a coming gust of heat and I grimaced at the thought of being trapped in its path. I needed to turn back soon, I was running out of things to mark my trail and I was desperately hoping Carn was back in his cell.
All I’d found was more captives, a few empty cells and a room filled to the brim with the blue aliens who’d kidnapped me. I was ready to admit that Carn was my only safe haven. At least with him I had food and I wasn’t alone with my thoughts.
The heat switched off and I had a brief moment of relief before frigid air swept over me. Goosebumps sprouted over my body and I hissed in discomfort. It was time to head back to Carn’s cell, at least there the temperature was fairly constant.
But I couldn’t spend the rest of my life in his tiny cell. I needed to find a way to talk to him so we could escape. He may be an alien but after being his cuddle buddy for days, I was getting attached. If I ever found a way out of this mess, I couldn’t leave him behind.