Page 6 of Beast Unburdened

“Exactly!” he nodded, then darted a glance down the corridor. “Listen,” he murmured, softer now and clearly a little more hurried. “Four days ago the ship we were transported on, the Caratoa, was attacked by pirates. The pirates lost but the Caratoa was too heavily damaged to keep flying. They transported us to the pirate ship. This ship.” He pointed a finger at the metal flooring.

“They rushed to install these cells, or at least shore them up so they could house us here. But the crew is decimated. They are with less than half their number I believe. If ever we have a chance of fighting and winning, it is now.”

I heard what he was saying. The fortuitous attack from the pirates had done half our work so to speak and then they’d locked them, us, in cells that were substandard. That did sound like far better odds than what he was probably used to.

What it came down to was probably whether the other gladiators were willing to fight with us. Though another problem occurred to me immediately. I fingered the slave collar that pressed tightly against my throat. “Yes,” Ziame hissed, “As long as I wear the collar they can defeat me. I must find a way to get it off.”

*

Ziame

They took us from our cells after sparing us ten minutes to gobble down our water and food rations. Abigail had chewed listlessly on her tough bar and then after barely downing half of it had pushed what remained my way. I’d eaten it without comment. Since our move to this ship they had been feeding us half rations and I could certainly do with the extra protein.

Leaving her in the cell, unprotected was hard but there was simply no choice. I had to tell myself they weren’t going to touch her as they had given her the fertility shot and couldn’t risk interfering and screwing up the intended product. Suppressing a growl at the thought of the filthy Krektar intending to sell my offspring I focused on the poorly outfitted gym.

Two Krektar stood near the door, overseeing us working out on the various gym instruments. Some of us were at the weightlifting stations while others were paired up on the mats going hand to hand. They wouldn’t break out the wooden practice weapons until later in the day.

When they’d moved us from the well outfitted Caratoa to this ship they hadn’t bothered to bring much of the protective practice gear. Such as the mats that prevented nasty falls. The pirate ship had decent enough workout gear but the mats they did have were old and well used. Already I’d seen the Sune male, Kitan, make a fall that rolled him right off. He’d cradled his wrist but then cast a look at the Krektar and quickly hid the injury. To show weakness was a death sentence.

I considered the males as I lifted weights, the task almost on autopilot as I’d done it daily for years. Kitan and the Tarkan male, Sunder had been in Drameil’s stable less long than I had but I’d shared cells and the gym with them long enough to have some measure of their character.

Tarkans were from a matriarchal society, Sunder would never harm my Abigail so I knew I could count on him when it came down to it. I’d heard his discontent, heard his growls when he thought I was harming the female. Kitan was of like mind, though he was a reckless wild card in a fight, always doing the least expected. The male was solid though and neither of them had been born slaves, they were something before being forced to be gladiators. They might have skills that were useful outside of the initial fight.

For one, after we killed all the Krektar, we’d need someone to pilot this ship. I had practice piloting Lacerten vessels but very little else. I didn’t doubt I could learn to fly this ship but that would take some time, time we might very well not have. Not if the Krektar got off a distress call for example.

I didn’t know the exact numbers of Krektar I was up against either. Still, as I contemplated my fellow gladiators and the problem a plan was forming. Everything would hinge on getting my hands on a remote in the next few days, otherwise, I was going to risk grabbing one of the Krektar in the gym. Hope I could get to his control before he could.

*

Abigail

I hated it when four Krektar showed up, waving around their pain controllers as they escorted the males from the cellblock. Ziame had warned me that he’d be gone during the day, they took all the males to the gym to practice for the upcoming fights. He didn’t fight this time, though they ordered all the other males to kneel at the front of their cell except for him. Seemed to me like he’d won that particular fight previously.

As they led the males away I saw the Krektar in the back leer at me and I hurried to flinch back into the dark and cover myself with the blanket. I needed it to stay warm anyway but it wouldn’t do for them to see I was still fully dressed and unharmed. They needed to think that Ziame had done a number on me.

I had noticed something odd though; only eight males leaving the cellblock. One cell near the middle hadn’t been opened at all. Had I miscounted previously? Was that cell empty?

Curiosity had me get up, blanket clutched tightly around me and scalpel in my pocket in hand underneath. I went to the front of the cell, stood in the light, and tried to look into the cell that hadn’t been opened. There was nothing to see though, if there was someone in there they were all the way in the back where the light didn’t reach.

“Hello? Someone still here?” I asked tentatively. Nothing stirred. Maybe that cell was empty after all, I couldn’t remember if I’d seen someone in there last night. That walk through the cellblock was a blur of monster-like creatures. Although as I’d seen them leave earlier I realized that some had looked quite humanoid after all. Maybe my fear last night had distorted things.

I shivered, trying to shake off my disquiet at being alone in the creepy cellblock. Without Ziame here I felt distinctly vulnerable. He didn’t think they’d come for me at all, or that they’d harm me but I still felt like a Krektar could show up at any point and drag me out of here.

Just as I was ready to turn back to the cot and curl up there I saw something move. That cell, there was something in there after all. I nearly shrieked with fright when a monstrous face moved into the light, only just managing to stifle the sound in my hand.

A beast, a real beast was in there. Not some creature like the gargoyle or the fox-like man, not anything like Ziame. This creature was on four legs, with sleek black fur and a face with a maw full of razor-sharp teeth. Eyes like red coals glowed at me for a moment and then the creature turned and padded back into the darkness.

Shit! Holy crap! That creature was freaky, it moved far too fluidly, it was just uncanny. It looked like it would eat me up in a single bite! No wonder they’d left that one in there. It wasn’t sentient, at least that seemed extremely unlikely. But the collar around its neck indicated that it too was probably here for the same reason those other males were.

Couldn’t let that one loose in a gym though, it was probably far less capable of understanding commands. They probably barely controlled it at all with that collar. That was just a wild animal, plain and simple.

I was still contemplating the freaky beast a long time later when a Krektar showed up, carrying a large haunch of thawing meat. It tossed it through the bars into the beast’s cell without comment and then wiped his bloody hands on his pants as he came my way.

From the cell, I could hear the sound of the creature eating, bone-crunching sickeningly. Though I was more concerned with the lewd look the Krektar gave me. He was getting closer and I had the feeling I wasn’t going to like what was about to happen next.

“You’re up sweetheart,” he said and he tapped at the small screen strapped to his wrist. The bars to Ziame’s cell slid down into the floor at the command and the Krektar gestured for me to get out. “What are you going to do with me?” I asked, I didn’t feel like getting out and into range of those sandpapery grabby hands.

He smiled evilly at me, displaying a row of greenish and black teeth that probably would benefit from a good mouth scrubbing. They stole me from Earth and thrust me into some sci-fi nightmare with spaceships and translator tech and yet the bad guys still didn’t understand dental hygiene…