“Mmhm,” Kerena replied.
“I’m heading back to the med bay,” Aker said.
“Me too,” Alaina replied. “I’m kind of trying to help out. You know, keep busy like you are.” She winked and Kerena forced a smile.
“Yea, I’ll come by in a while,” Kerena said, her gaze focusing off at nothing. “I just…need a few minutes.”
The other two muttered something she didn’t hear, goodbye till later probably, as they walked off together.
Kerena started walking, not sure where she was going and not really caring.
She was walking in a straight line. She’d find her way back.
The last few moments just kept repeating over and over in her head.
He’d been so…cold.
It kept repeating in her head.
The way he’d looked at her…there’d been nothing there.
Nothing.
She didn’t know how long she was walking, but the surroundings soon changed.
There were more buildings on either side of the road here. More aliens too…and some of them turned to look at her as she walked past.
She got it.
She looked strange to them.
They looked strange to her too.
Whatever.
Crossing her arms across her chest, she kept on going, a frown on her face as she berated herself for her own stupidity. How could she fall for someone who could dismiss her so easily?
She kept reminding herself that it was just sex but…
Her heart wouldn’t listen.
Her heart was a stubborn fool.
Ahead there was a fork in the road and Kerena paused, looking left then right.
Maybe she should turn back now. She didn’t want to get lost.
She was about to do just that when something hit her over the head.
She was only able to register some shock before her body slumped and her world went dark.
29
“I told you to hit it lightly! If we kill it, we’ll be in deep, deep excrement.”
“This was your idea, fool.”
“Yes, but qrak…I didn’t think it would actually work.”
“I told you they had hard skulls.”
The voices were whispering but still, they sounded loud.
“It’s waking up.”
“Qrak…what do we do now?”
“Hit it again.”
“No! You fool. The Tasqals will want it alive. If you hit it again, it might die.”
Kerena blinked, the blurry forms of two beings coming into view.
“And how do you suppose we get the sample to them? You said you knew someone. Where is he? He was supposed to meet us hours ago.”
Hours?
Kerena grimaced as she tried to rise, but soon found out she was restrained.
Her wrists were tied to something behind her and her back was pressed into something hard.
Her feet were free though.
“I don’t qrakking know! But this is the one chance we have. If we give them this sample, maybe they will leave us alone.”
“And you’re sure nobody saw you do it? What if we get caught?”
“She was alone. No other humans saw and only those who are a part of the rebellion know.”
The rebellion? What rebellion?
He’d said it like they were talking about another rebellion, one different from the one the Restitution was fighting.
“Ok, at least you did that right.”
“Oh, shut up.”
There was a moment of silence.
“We can’t have a war on this base. Time is running out. I saw the opportunity and I took it.”
The other one grunted. “I know. Where would we go after this?”
“Right,” the other one agreed.
Kerena blinked some more and the forms of the aliens came into view.
Purple skin. Four arms.
They were of the same species and they were both staring at her.
Fear shot through her.
“Where am I?” she asked, her mind coming online quickly. “What do you want from me?”
The aliens looked at each other and fidgeted, giving her the impression they weren’t really confident in what they were doing.
But their words had communicated as much.
“Be quiet,” one snapped and the other turned away from her.
“He should be here by now,” said the one that had turned away. “Maybe he got caught.”
The other one laughed. “Caught how? The commanders and the other idiots who fight with them know nothing about the rebellion.”
“Yes, but…”
They both went silent, and Kerena took the opportunity to look around.
It seemed as if she was in someone’s home. One that was a stark contrast to Ajos’.
She frowned at the thought of him and forced herself to focus.
This house looked like the inside of an old pub.
There were wooden furnishings, and she was tied to a pole that supported the roof.
She’d never seen this place before and fear went up her spine at the thought.
No one knew where she was.
“What’s the meaning of this?” she asked.
She needed them to talk. She needed all the information she could use.
One of the aliens glanced her way but said nothing.
“I’ve done nothing to you. Why the hostility?”
This time, she got a response.
One of the aliens stalked toward her, his face twisting cruelly. “Nothing?” he asked.
She held his gaze even as she struggled with whatever they’d used to tie her hands together.
“It is because of you why our world is ending.”
Kerena frowned. “Based on what I’ve heard, it was ending before.”
“Well, you and your kind have made it worse!” the alien shouted. “If it weren’t for you, so many of us would not have died. The Tasqals would not have attacked the base. We would have been safe.”
The flawed logic was too much.
“They would have attacked you anyway, one day,” she said, trying to keep her voice level. “Surely, you know this.”
“Don’t speak to it. And be quiet,” the other alien cut in and the one in front of her eased back.
Kerena released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
If he had gotten violent…
Glancing around her, she did the best thing she could do. She tried to find something to help her escape.
No one knew where she was.
No one knew she was in trouble.
And no one was coming to save her.
She’d have to get out of whatever this was on her own.
Hours passed and Kerena’s body sagged against the pole. Her wrists burned after trying so hard to break free and she was sure she’d broken some skin.
In the time that passed though, there was one
