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I’m exhausted and thirsty. I haven’t eaten in a while but my hunger disappeared somewhere between my ass being probed and my body being zapped by the fucking shock collar. But water? I’d kill for a few drops.
I can only hope the aliens realize that humans need water. They look humanoid enough, they must eat and drink like humans would. And surely, they’re intelligent enough to feed their prisoners. Right?
A soft clank makes me look up. Screams threaten to escape me at the sight of the tigerman crouching by the bars only a few feet away from me.
He looks terrifying, yet strangely humanoid. The red and orange stripes give him a dangerous, predatory appearance, but his eyes, though orange with vertical irises, convey intelligence. His nose is flatter than a human’s and his features are sharper, chiseled. His catlike ears twitch under his black hair.
I suck in a deep breath to calm myself. The alien looks scary, but he isn’t doing anything inappropriate. In fact, the noise I heard earlier was him pushing a bottle through the bars.
Water.
My throat works at the thought of water, but I don’t move. It could be a trick. He could just want to lure me closer so he could grab me and eat me. His teeth certainly look sharp enough to chew raw meat and crush bones. Sure, he wouldn’t be able to drag me all the way through the bars, but he could tear my arm off for a snack.
As if sensing my hesitation, the alien retreats to the other side of his cell, as far away from me as the cramped space allows. He sits on the floor, gesturing at the bottle. Chittering noises are coming from the cell behind him, but it’s dark again, so I can only guess what horrors are hiding there.
The tigerman seems strong and agile. He could probably leap over the width of the cell in a millisecond if he chose to do so, but I’m too thirsty to care. I snatch the bottle before backpedaling to the sleeping panda, out of the tigerman’s reach.
He inclines his head, giving me a toothy grin.
Yep, a lot of sharp teeth. Still, with the day I’m having, it’s difficult to be afraid of the only person who’s been nice to me. “Thank you,” I say after downing a good half of the bottle. “I know you don’t understand me, but thank you.”
Even though every instinct screams at me to keep the rest of the water, I decide to do the honorable thing and place the bottle by the bars again.
The tigerman tilts his head to the side, watching me curiously before picking himself off the floor. In small, slow steps, he crosses his cell, avoiding any sudden motions as if he doesn't want to scare me. His tail flicks from side to side, wrapping itself around the bars.
I can’t help but chuckle at that. It reminds me of the grumpy old tomcat that often visited the trailer park I lived in when I was in elementary school. The cat would pretend to be aloof, yet his tail always betrayed his affection for humans.
The alien smiles, rumbling something in a language I don’t understand. His voice is low and growly, but not unpleasant. He looks like he’s going to say something else, but then his ears flick toward the cellblock door, seconds before the lights go on and the guards enter.
I send a silent prayer to whoever is listening, hoping that the guards aren’t here for me. I don’t think I could go through another round of poking and prodding without having a mental breakdown. Not to mention the ass probing. My butt still hurts.
I can’t tell whether it’s the same two guards as before because they all look the same, but they’re escorting one of the lab coat scientists. And, of course, they stop right in front of my cell.
The scientist speaks, pointing at his datapad, then at me. The rising inflection of his voice indicates a question, but how am I supposed to answer? I don’t understand a single word!
The guard repeats the same thing, slowly, word by word, as if that will somehow magically make me understand him. When I still don’t reply, he raises the collar remote in a threat. His questions turn into commands.
Whimpering in fear, I retreat further into the corner of my cell, wishing I could disappear completely. “I don’t understand,” I whisper, desperate. “I don’t understand!”
The pain hits me again, burning through my muscles. Over my own cries, I can barely hear the tigerman’s growls.
Chapter 5
Tareq
I clench my fists, beside myself with fury. I told myself I’d lie low and wait for an opportunity to escape, but how can I cower in a corner when the Genixarians torment the female? And for no reason at all!
They ask her questions she can’t possibly understand, then get mad when she doesn’t reply. They give her commands, then punish her when she doesn’t follow them.
“Stop it, you idiots!” I yell when Gamma uses his remote on the female again. “She doesn’t understand you! Why didn’t you give her translator nodes if you wanted to talk to her?”
The Genixarian in white lab coat sneers. “I’m not wasting valuable technology on a primitive slave. However, you do have a point. This creature’s brain is clearly too primitive to understand simple commands.” He taps on his datapad before turning to me again. “Our examination reveals that she’s a fertile female. Is that correct?”
I suppress an eye roll. The Genixarians don’t reproduce through traditional means. They mix some DNA in a tube, then put it into an artificial womb to grow. They even went as far as to genetically remove all their primary and most of their secondary gender characteristics, just so that they wouldn’t have to be bothered with hormones and the feelings that came with them.
They rarely care about people’s gender. Their interest in this human is annoying at best, alarming at worst. “Yes, she seems to be a human female,” I confirm, passing over their mention of her fertility. How the fuck would I know if she’s fertile or not? “Why do you care?”
“Watch your mouth, Syndoran,” the scientist warns. “I have no need for you. Your kind makes terrible slaves. If you don’t treat us with proper respect, I’ll just get rid of you. Although…you are a male, correct?”
