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Even though she’s unconscious, I call out to Emily and tell her that I’ll be back before I stumble down the line of cells and check on each one’s occupants. It’s slow going, and I realize my body took more of a beating in the crash than I realized. My muscles are sore as if I’ve been run over by a car and my right ankle aches with every step I take. My teeth are clenched tightly to keep from groaning out loud with the pain and a light sweat blankets me.
Everyone is in varying states of injury from minor to more serious, but even worse, none of the other doors open.
Mara and Jayden are dazed with eyes as wide as saucers, but they seem to be fine other than bruises and sore muscles. Maddie has a gash on her head that pours blood and her sister is trying to staunch the bleeding with a piece of torn material, all while murmuring calming words to Maddie who is pale and on the verge of hyperventilating. Blood stains Maddie’s bright hair and covers her shirt.
Aria’s arm hangs at an unnatural angle, and large tears roll down her cheeks from the pain of a dislocated shoulder. Other than some bruises, Crystal seems to be fine, and I’m shocked to see her at the bars that divide their cells calling out soft words of comfort to Aria.
Isabella’s cell is a tumultuous mess, and she’s stuck inside the damaged bathroom. It looks like part of the back wall of her cell was torn away during the crash, and the metal cot became detached, and it now blocks the entrance to the bathroom where Isabella took refuge. I call out to her and she answers back in a weak voice that she’s okay other than what she thinks is a sprained ankle. I reach the end and see that both Rose and Zoe seem to be relatively unscathed other than minor cuts and bruises.
Since I can’t get inside the cells – yet – I need to help in whatever way I can right now.
The doorway to the cargo bay is wide open and through the sunlight spilling inside and the glow of the red emergency lights, I can see that when we were detached from the spaceship, the medic bay came with us.
I rush as quickly as I can next door and search through the cabinets and drawers for anything useful. Expecting them to be stocked full of medical supplies, I’m shocked to find out that there’s not much in them. I grab a stack of white cloths that feel almost like spandex – maybe they’re bandages – and return to the cells and pass a few through the bars to Mara. She quickly presses them against the bleeding wound on Maddie’s head.
“You’re okay. You’re okay. The ship crashed, but you’re safe. We’re all safe.” Mara voice is a soothing whisper as she reassures her sister.
After a few moments, Maddie’s breathing slows down and her eyes lose the confused, fearful look from before. Mara removes the cloth, which has swiftly become saturated with blood, and checks her sister’s head. Amazingly, the bleeding has completely stopped.
I pass the rest of the cloths out to the others and then look around for anything else that might help.
Bits and pieces of debris are scattered all about the floor. Tubes, wires, and pieces of metal that have been torn off from the walls of the vessel. Among the debris is a thin, metal stick. It’s one of the cattle prod things.
I grab it and rush over to Emily’s cell. She still hasn’t stirred, and I’m really worried about her.
Maybe I can use the cattle prod to pry open her cell door. I grunt and wedge the narrow tip of the metal stick into the edge of the cell door. My muscles begin to tremble in exhaustion as I put all my strength against the door. Nothing happens. I try again, and again. And still nothing. A ball of frustration wells up in my throat, and I want to scream in anger.
This is all so unfair. First, we were stolen from our planet, then threatened with being sold into slavery. We crash landed on wherever-the-hell-this-is, and now, I can’t get the damn fucking doors open.
I gaze around the room, looking for anything that might work. If only a crowbar or a set of keys would magically appear. Then, my eyes land on him.
In the far corner, is a gray heap of flesh beneath one of the crumpled metal walls. It’s one of the Zyfeliks, the sub-captain, Zariz.
As I cautiously approach the still form of the alien, an idea begins to form in my mind. Old me would have been horrified by what I’m considering, but new, post-abduction me is only slightly squeamish. I remember how the aliens used biometric data to unlock the cell doors when they took us for the medical scans a couple of days before. It seems as if the power is, at least partially, still working if the emergency lights are any indication. What if the biometric locks still work and I can unlock the doors using the sub-captain?
It’s worth a shot, but first I have to figure out a way to remove the crumpled metal from atop the gray alien.
I study the tangle of metal with the gray alien’s lower body sticking out from it, and try to think of the best way to shift it. Over in the corner laying at the base of one of the crumpled walls is a pipe about the length of my leg. Maybe I can use it as a lever.
It’s not a great plan, but it’s the only thing I can come up with for now. In the background, I can hear the other girls getting antsy and calling out to me, but the pounding pain in my head will only allow me to concentrate on one thing at a time. I don’t have the stamina to tackle this and reassure them, and time is of the essence, ticking away silently along with each beat of my heart.
Easing over to the pipe, I pick it up and drag it over to the dead gray alien. Hefting the pipe up, I place it under the edge of the crumpled metal and push down as hard as I can. But nothing happens.
I try again, grunting with the effort and the metal obscuring the alien begins to rise by mere inches. Sweat beads up on my forehead. So close, just a little more. Gathering every ounce of strength and determination inside me, I cry out as I push down on the pipe. This has to work.
My eyes sting as sweat trickles into them and my muscles shake with the strain, but inch by precious inch, I manage to slowly lift the metal heaped on top of the still form until it’s high enough that I can quickly shove it aside to uncover him. My knees threaten to buckle under the strain I’ve just put my body through, but there’s more work still to do.
The Zyfelik lies deathly still. His large, bulbous head is at an unnatural angle, the cold black eyes that have haunted my nightmares are closed, and the slit of his mouth is slack revealing a trickling stream of green fluid that I suspect is blood. Small sharp teeth glint between his lips, sending a shiver down my spine. I know he’s dead, but after my time on board the ship, being this close to one of the aliens who abducted us is not easy.
Dead or alive, I don’t want to be anywhere near any of them, but I muster up my courage and take a deep breath to steady myself. I lean over the dead alien and swiftly undo the restraints that hold his body in place, and then reach down to grab his spindly arms. My plan is to drag him over to the cells and somehow let the biometric lock scan his eye.
The alien who I thought was dead suddenly blinks open his large eyes and I jump back with a yelp. He bares his teeth with a snarl and leans towards me as if he’s going to bite me. For a split second, I’m frozen stiff with fear, then I act quickly and reach for the pipe I only moments ago discarded.
Raising it as high as I can, I bring it down with a resounding crack on top of the alien. I hit him again and again until my arms begin to tire. Until I’m shaking all over and my lungs burn from the exertion. Finally, I stop and look down at the bloody gray alien in front of me – his torso looks like hamburger meat. If that didn’t kill him, nothing will. Over the pounding of my heart, I make out the sound of cheers behind me.
“Woohoo!”
“Holy shit! You’re a total fucking badass!”
