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“One million credits,” I pushed out, hoping Daryus would come through for me.
He didn’t even blink.
“Not even for ten.” He shook his head. “Quit wasting my time.”
There was a finality to his words that leeched the last of my hope from my bones. He hadn’t looked tempted at all, more put out. He looked like someone—just as he said—whose time was being wasted.
What worried me more though was him saying that I must have pissed off the wrong people. I didn’t know who that might be, but him being more scared of them than even considering how many credits I would offer, was more than telling.
Who could have that much clout, to have me taken like this and to scare this alien so much that he wouldn’t even listen to what I had to offer? Not Lady Natoi whom I had first suspected to be behind this.
Without another word, Gitgo made his way up the rickety stairs.
I couldn’t believe he would just leave me here like this. I waited a few minutes, heard the distant creak of stairs, footsteps above me, and then the protesting sound of what I assumed was his bed when he lay down.
On tiptoes, I made my way into the other room. It was dark, but some light came in from outside through slits in metallic sheets nailed to the windows. Enough to make out a sort of living room overflowing with trash. I squealed when the alien equivalent of a cockroach scurried out from underneath a dirty plate.
Fuck, I cursed. I hated roaches. Leave it to me to find one on an alien planet. And one that was triple the size of the largest roach I had seen on Earth. With antennas as long as my forearm. Just imagining those things touching me made me shudder some more.
I moved to the front door and found it barricaded with an assortment of locks and safety bars. But even if they hadn’t been there or if I had had the key, I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk through it. Or at least I wouldn’t get very far before I would get zapped. I had no intention of finding out if the green Pandraxian had lied to me. Having been zapped once was more than enough for me.
No, if I wanted to get out of here, I needed to come up with another plan and that plan would include getting my hands on the little oval device. That would have to be step one. Hopefully it had a setting to deactivate the claustrophobic collar around my neck.
It was already chafing my skin and I looked around to find a rag or something to put in between the rough metal and my throat. I couldn’t see anything other than the material of my nightgown. Ripping a piece of it off would have to do.
Despondent, I sat back down on the kitchen chair and stared at the mess in front of me without really seeing it. Tears burned my eyes when I thought about how my life had gone to shit in the span of an hour.
An hour ago I had been happy. Happier than I had ever been before in my life. Daryus had been such an attentive lover, patient and giving, but there had been more than just sex between us. I had felt it in his touch, seen it in his eyes, and felt it myself. For some reason, there was a magnetism between us that defied logic. Even though we had only met a few days ago, I felt as if I knew him. As if we had already spent years together.
I put my elbows on the table and my face into my palms as I let my tears fall. My body still hurt from the electroshocks earlier. My muscles cramped as if sore after strenuous exercise, but that was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. The thought of maybe never seeing Daryus again was just as debilitating as the fear for my life.
For just a moment I had allowed myself to think I could escape Lady Natoi’s clutches, just to find myself in an even more intolerable situation.
I just wanted to break down and have the cry I deserved, but I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t get back up from this stupid table.
Besides that, the memory of the electroshocks was still fresh enough that I never wanted to experience that again, and I wasn’t sure what that despicable creature would do to me if I didn’t do as he bade me.
Resolutely, I wiped my eyes. I would not give up, but I would give in for now and clean this mess of a kitchen, if for no other reason than not wanting to spend any more time in this filth. I vowed that I wouldn’t do anything that would cause him to push the button on the stupid remote, but I would keep my eyes open on how to get my hands on it.
With a sigh, I got up and walked to the sink where I stared miserably at the filth inside. Whatever it was, it gave the name dirty dishes a whole new meaning. Some looked as if mud had been served on them and allowed it to cake.
I lowered myself to the ground to open the door to the cabinet underneath where the alien told me I would find cleaning supplies.
He hadn’t lied. I found an old, rusted bucket filled with what appeared to be sponges and different kinds of bottles which I guessed to be alien cleaning solutions. I hoped they wouldn’t burn the skin off my hands and tried the first bottle. A small red button on the outside encouraged me to press it, while I held it as far from me as possible, aiming the spout at the sink.
A yellow foam sprayed out onto the dishes and began to bubble on contact with the dirt, turning the foam brown and the dishes, if not sparkling, at least whitish. Encouraged, I sprayed everything inside the sink, including the basin itself. A pungent odor rose, but it wasn’t too vile. With a sigh, I surrendered to my fate for now and began attacking the filth surrounding me.
I woke in a strangely good mood to the servants opening curtains and bringing my breakfast. For a moment I stretched in my bed, lost in the memories of the acts that had taken place in here the night before. Heather, my mind whispered seductively. Heather.
A grin spread across my lips. I rolled out of bed and moved into the bathroom as the servants retreated, having learned long ago that I neither desired nor needed their help in daily chores such as bathing, dressing, or eating. I was fully capable of handling all those things on my own.
I stared at the image in the mirror baffled. I almost didn’t recognize myself. Who was that grinning idiot staring back at me? I grinned broader, even hummed a tune when I stepped into the shower. I never hummed. I barely ever grinned.
A mekarry changes a male. She brings out his best qualities, Garth’s voice popped into my head and I stilled.
Was that what was happening? Was Heather my mekarry?
I nearly laughed, but choked the sound down because I wasn’t sure if it came from happiness or the irony of it. I had cursed my two best friends for finding mekarries within the human race. It had complicated my life to no end.
