CHAPTER 8
THE BEAST
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Melinda whimpered as she crawled up against the wall. The alien strode closer; his growls couldn’t be heard over the sounding alarm, but they could be felt on the floor. Lila grabbed onto one of the table legs and held it tightly.
Scarlet blood dripped from Atlas as he stopped just before the panel.
He waited there, swayed slightly back and forth, and suddenly, the alarm quieted.
It still rang in Lila’s ears, from the siren, the guns, and the screams, but now, she could also hear his growls—and at once, she felt her pulse quicken with lust.
The beast crouched and peeked under the table, and Dr. Bryce screamed and cried but Lila only gasped.
He looked at her with his burning eyes, his rumble turning to a purr, and he reached his hand out for her.
Yet, he didn’t grab her but reached past her.
With a quick movement, he grabbed hold of Melinda’s leg and dragged her out from under the control panel.
Lila quickly crawled out of hiding to see what he would do to the woman. The alien grabbed Dr. Bryce’s throat and lifted her into the air. Melinda croaked and gasped for breath, clawing at Atlas’s hefty arm, but he stood stoically, like a statue, and growled at her.
“P-please,” Melinda wheezed. “Atlas, don’t—hurt me…
please! I… love y—” Her neck snapped with a dull pop, and the life left her eyes in an instant.
When he released her, she fell like a heap of sand to the bloodstained floor, and it chilled Lila to the bone to see it.
Just moments ago, that woman had shouted at her, slapped her. Now, she was dead.
It was at that moment, when everything was still again, she felt the tremble in her. If Atlas wanted to kill her, there would be no escape. He turned his gilded gaze at her; his strong jaw was clenched, his muscles were taut and pumped, and Lila could do nothing but stare at him from the floor.
He chuffed at her, tightening his massive fists. “Ell-ah.”
She felt tears sting behind her eyes as she nodded. “Y-yes, Atlas. It’s me.”
He grunted and tore his eyes away from her. Bending down, he snatched Melinda’s pass card from her dead body and turned it a few times in his hands. It looked like a miniature in his grip. Then he grunted again and signaled her to stand.
On trembling legs, she did as told. Gazing around the gruesome scene, she felt her stomach turn.
Flannagan’s head was still attached to his spine—but the rest of his body was lying several feet away.
Many other guards had met the same fate, and as she got a better look at them, she recognized most of them.
She had had her dinner with them, spent nights talking to them; and still, they betrayed her like that.
Feeling the rage sear within her, she straightened and spat on the floor. “Good riddance, fuckers.”
“Ell-ah.” His growl was a command, and she immediately tensed and gawked at him. He had turned toward the exit, waiting impatiently for her to follow.
Not daring to oppose him, she obediently followed.
They walked through the many disinfection stations before they reached the elevator.
Thinking he wouldn’t know how to operate it, Lila reached for the button to the top floor, but Atlas anticipated her and pressed seventh below, two floors up.
She stared at him, amazed he was so certain of his choice.
When the door closed, however, she began feeling faint.
Standing in such a small space with such a large figure made her realize how massive he truly was—being fucked by him had definitely proved his intimidating stature, but inside that elevator, he was a titan.
When they reached seventh below, Atlas gestured for her to remain inside while he peeked out.
When there was no danger, he grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
She had never been on that floor—except for Atlas’s enclosure, the farthest down she’d been was fifth below.
Here, every door seemed super secure, and the alien didn’t seem to know which one to open.
He tried a few, but as they slid open with Dr. Bryce’s card, he quickly moved on.
Lila was too scared to ask him what he was looking for, and he wouldn’t understand her either way.
Instead, she followed obediently until he finally found what he was seeking.
A heavy door slid open and revealed some sort of storage room.
On a table straight across from the door, a metal object lay next to a computer.
Atlas strode in and grabbed the object and fastened it around his arm.
With a few swift finger movements, the object seemed to awaken, and blue light started blinking.
Lila gawked at the tech—she didn’t know they had kept any of the technology from the crash site.
Atlas fiddled with the object around his arm for a few moments, and then, he pulled out a small metal disc from it. No bigger than half a nickel, he balanced it on one of his fingertips.
Curious, Lila leaned closer. She just wanted to get a peek at what he was doing; before she even knew what was happening, Atlas wrapped his hand around her throat and pulled her to him.
She tried to fight him, but it was no use.
With his strong hand, he could easily move her head to the side, and he pressed the nickel-sized metal plate against the skin just behind her ear.
It burned, as if she was being branded, and she screamed.
Her whole head hurt, as if someone was banging it against a wall.
As if someone was tuning a radio inside her head, she heard screeching and white noise echo inside; it was so loud, she had to cover her ears with her hands, but that did little for the cacophony within her mind.
When Atlas let her go, she fell to the ground, still squirming in discomfort and pain from the chaos in her head—and then, all of a sudden, everything stopped.
She had crawled into the fetal position, her head tucked against her chest, but when the noise silenced, she slowly gazed up.
She was dizzy and a bit disoriented, but she gazed at Atlas.
“W-what was that?” she croaked. “What did you do to me?”
The alien blinked slowly. “Now, we can speak.”
Her eyes widened, her stomach tightened, and she pulled her knees closer to her chest. “W-what?”
“It is a translator,” said he. His voice was still dark, rumbling, but his growls had somehow turned into words she could understand. “It allows your feeble human brain to comprehend a much more sophisticated language than what you are used to.”
She swallowed and felt the blood drain from her body. He was terrifying when she couldn’t understand him, but he was even more so when he could speak.
“Stand, pet,” muttered he. “We must reach the surface. My kind will fetch us from this wretched planet.”
She couldn’t believe what she was saying, but she didn’t dare defy him. Standing on trembling legs, she gawked at him. “I… I don’t understand.”
“No,” he grunted. “You are not apt to understand. But you understand enough for your station.”
“My station?”
His eyes, liquid gold inside a black void, glared at her. He took a step toward her and gazed down his nose at her. “Do not presume you are equal to me and my kind, Lila. You are human, a sub-par species in a forgotten part of our universe, and I am of a superior race. You shall bow to me.”
Lila blinked at him, really not understanding. “Bow?”
He let out a deep, warning growl. “Bow.”
The word vibrated through her, into her core, and down between her legs. She gasped, her mouth fell open, and she carefully bent forward in a deep bow. It felt wrong, but at the same time, it felt right.
He grunted again. This time, it sounded more like satisfaction.
“I enjoyed your heat,” he grunted, “your tightness, and how it yielded to me. You humans are so easily persuaded, but it is of no consequence to me. You taste of sweetness and lust, and it satisfies and amuses me how little your body can take until it erupts in pleasures.”
Lila felt her cheeks heat as she slowly rose from her bow, but she let her head hang until his hand pried it upwards.
“You will do well in my bed, little human,” he said. “You will learn how to obey and serve, just like any other of your kind.”
Lila opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by another siren that sounded through the entire building.
Atlas’s eyes hardened, and he clenched his jaw. “Keep near but keep out of the line of fire. Do you understand?”
Lila swallowed and nodded.
The alien grunted and led the way out from the storage.
Several sets of boots rushed closer, but Atlas didn’t seem worried.
Lila waited inside the room and watched as the alien rounded a corner.
Almost immediately, a hail of bullets was fired straight at him, but the large male took them as though he didn’t feel a thing.
The bullets bounced off him, leaving his thick hide unscathed while the walls around him exploded in bits.
When the rounds were empty, Lila heard the gasps and cries of the men behind the corner, just before Atlas roared and threw himself at them.
She didn’t see what happened, but she could hear it—and that was enough. The white walls were sprayed with blood, the sounds of tearing flesh and dying men almost made her vomit, and when Atlas appeared behind the corner, covered with blood, she felt tears brim her eyes.
“Come, pet,” he muttered, urging her to follow.
She didn’t like the inclination of the word, but she obeyed and carefully made her way to his side.
They returned to the elevator, the sounds of the dying men filling the halls. Atlas pressed the top floor and urged Lila behind him.
The elevator stopped after just a couple of floors, and as the doors opened, they were faced with more gunfire.