Chapter 10
Awoman’s scream pierced the air, barely heard over the sound of multiple pods wailing to life.
The red haired woman, the first to emerge from her transportation pod.
She dropped to her knees on the floor as if her legs were too tired or too weak to hold herself upright.
Her hair fell about her face, hiding the horror that showed there.
She heaved, and clear liquid spewed out, landing with a splatter on the floor before her.
Finally, drew in a deep, gasping breath and screamed.
Darcy finished pressing the final button and then ran towards the woman, dropping to her knees beside her.
“Shhh,” she said, soothing the woman’s hair back from her face. “I know you’ve been through a lot right now, but shh… You’ll scare the others.” Darcy was SO not cut out for this.
The woman turned her face to Darcy. She was one of those new age beauties. Her lips were plump and full, perhaps even filled out cosmetically, and her eyes were a shocking green to contrast with her auburn hair. “Others?” She asked, her voice hoarse from lack of use.
Another scream filled the air, and Darcy pushed herself off the ground to stand.
“I’ll be right back,” she said as she rushed to talk to the other screaming woman.
This one was petite, even for a human, with long dark hair that reached her waist. She was soft looking and nothing like the red haired woman. It would seem I-ya didn’t have a type when it came to choosing the women he abducted from their bedrooms.
“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Darcy cried, trying to soothe the crying woman. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but I’ll explain later.”
A sob sounded from across the room.
Darcy met the eyes of the frightened woman at her side. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this all out. I promise… in the meantime, just…just hang tight.” What else could she say?
Darcy’s heart hammered as she took in the scene before her. The girls were awake, and they were confused, terrified. She couldn’t reach out to all of them individually… There wasn’t any time. So she’d have to speak to them as a whole.
“HEY!” She cried above the wails, trying to get their attention. When that failed, she gave a loud whistle. “Hey, look over here!” They turned to face her. “You’re not dreaming. Unfortunately, this is very real and terrifying, but you ARE safe.”
One of the women in the back of the group took a step forward. Unlike the others, she didn’t look frightened. She looked fucking pissed. Darcy knew immediately that the two of them would get along. “Where the hell are we?” She demanded.
“You’ve been taken.” There was no sugar coating it. “We’re not on planet Earth anymore. This is… a spaceship. An alien spaceship.”
“Bullshit,” the bold one responded, tossing her long dark hair behind her shoulder. “Don’t play games with us. What are you- some sort of sex trafficker?”
“It’s true,” Darcy insisted. “I was abducted just like you… But I woke up earlier. It’s hard to explain.” She struggled to find the words. “But look around and you’ll see. Does this room look human to you?”
Wrong move. Some of the girls started screaming again. A few had huddled in pairs, clinging to each other for support as they took in their surroundings.
Darcy raised her voice above the commotion.
“I know! I know! It’s hard to process, but whether we like it or not, it IS what’s happening right now.
” She glanced around the room at the girls, trying to meet each of their eyes.
“I’ve been where you’ve been. My name is Darcy, and I’m human too.
And I woke you up tonight because I believe you deserve to KNOW what’s happened to you.
I believe you deserve to decide what happens to you next. ”
A hush fell around the room, broken only by the occasional sob.
“Darcy.”
Her name was spoken like a whisper across the impossibly loud room.
Stephenie and E-rah were standing in the doorway, followed by A-rec and others she couldn’t name.
“Darcy,” Stephenie repeated. “What have you DONE?”
E-rah was next to speak. “You disobeyed orders. Do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve endangered us ALL. We’ve talked about this! Our resources are dwindling. How could you do this?” He took a step toward her, but Stephenie grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.
Darcy stood her ground. She raised her chin in the air as she spoke to E-rah.
“They deserved to KNOW where they were and what was to become of them! They’ve been living in a lie!
Can you imagine? Living unconscious and without a say in what happens to you?
I would rather them wake up now and face the consequences of I-ya (that’s your old caption, by the way) actions than let them wake up years from now on some alien planet with their lives stolen from them. ”
The women were now staring at the aliens in the doorway, some of them with looks of fear…others with looks of strange curiosity and wonder. A few were still on their hands and knees, settling into their surroundings, while others had risen and were standing side by side.
It was the bold one who questioned Darcy, who spoke first. “I want to know. I want a choice.” She spoke with her head held high, as sure in what she had to say as Darcy was.
Another one nodded shakily. “Me too. I want to choose what happens to me.”
“Let me through!” A-rec pushed past E-rah and entered the room.
He looked disheveled and beyond pissed off.
He glared down at Darcy, and one of the girls screamed.
“What the hell were you thinking, my Mate? You abandoned me and did this on your own!” Steam bellowed from his nostrils as he huffed a her.
Darcy had never seen that before… Perhaps because she had never seen him so angry before.
“You wouldn’t listen to me,” Darcy replied quietly.
She couldn’t care less about the others, but knowing she had hurt A-rec was painful.
He deserved better. “No one would listen to me.” She barely spoke above a whisper, but she knew he could hear her.
Tears started to fill her eyes, and fuck!
She blinked them away. She would not cry.
Not right now, not in front of everyone.
He reached forward to brush some of her hair out of her face. “I underestimated you. We all did.”
“Damn right,” Darcy replied, unable to keep the smirk off her lips. “Did you think I’d shut up and deal with whatever was handed to me?” Surely, they knew better than that.
“That doesn’t sound like you, does it?” A-rec replied, sighing when she turned to press her lips to his palm.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But I’m not backing down on this. It’s important.”
“There is nothing to forgive,” He replied. He reached down to grasp her hand in his. Together they faced the captain and the rest of the ship. “They deserve to choose their own fate.”
Did he really…just agree with Darcy? She squeezed his hand. It felt like…for the first time, the two of them were really an item, together.
Stephenie surprised Darcy by stepping forward.
“Darcy’s right. I’ve had conflicting feelings about this for a while…
I remember how I felt when I thought I didn’t have a choice.
It was terrifying. No one deserves to go through that.
” She glanced up at her Mate and walked to stand beside Darcy and A-rec.
E-rah sighed and looked around the room. His eyes settled on Stephenie, who gave him a nod. Finally, after a moment’s pause, he said, “What’s done is done. We will deal with the aftermath when it comes. Let them choose.”
He said nothing more. Instead, he turned and left. The ghost of a smile formed on Stephenie’s lips. She shot Darcy a wink before taking off to join her Mate.
Darcy sighed in relief. She glanced up and met A-rec’s gaze. They seemed to speak silently to one another, both noting that the hard part was far from over. In fact, it was just getting started.
Darcy turned to face the women once more. “This isn’t going to be easy. Some of you are probably going to want to go home. Maybe a few of you will want to stay. Whatever it is you decide, it’s your choice and yours alone. And I will fight to keep it that way.”