That was it. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I sprung up and slugged him in the face. At least, I aimed for his face. I couldn’t see him clearly in the semi-darkness and smacked him in the shoulder.
When he seemed unaffected by the blow, I drew back and smacked him again. And again. And again.
I beat at him harder and faster than I thought I was capable of, releasing my anger and frustration at him one punch at a time.
He didn’t raise his arms, didn’t try to protect himself. I caught his lip and it cut on his teeth. My fists hurt but I didn’t care. I just kept flying at him and he just sat there, taking it.
Finally, my anger spent and unable to keep up the attack, I fell back and wept.
Some of the girls on the other cots heard the commotion, glanced over, and lay back. I doubted they went back to sleep. It was too much juicy drama for them to pass up.
“How could you do it?” I said, the tears streaming down my face. “How could you take our one and only child and… What did you even do with him?”
He couldn’t look me in the eye.
“Krial is a species called the hayim. They have the ability to live forever. To do that, they suck the life from other living creatures. The younger they are, the more powerful the effect.”
“You… let him feed on our baby?” I said incredulously.
When you lived surrounded by aliens each day, you got used to seeing and expecting strange things. But this…
This was on a whole other level.
I flew into another rage, hurling my fists at him as fast and as hard as I could. I screeched, my voice loud. Anyone who missed the first round would almost certainly hear this one. It would feed their fascination for weeks to come.
For once, I didn’t care what they said.
“How could you?” I wailed, even more tears streaming down my face.
I wondered where they kept coming from.
“Stop,” Trayem said. “Harper. Enough.”
He caught my forearms and I raised my legs to kick at him instead. He leaned into me, wrapping his arms around me tightly and preventing me from escaping.
I shoved him off me but he was too strong. I fought to escape but at the same time, I wanted him to keep hold of me and never let go.
I hated him. And I loved him.
His mouth was beside my ear and he whispered to me.
“He’s alive,” he said. “The baby. He’s still alive.”
I froze immediately, trying to gauge if what he said was true or if it was another emotional attack.
I pulled back and looked him in the eye. He maintained his powerful grip on my arms.
He nodded and even, vaguely, smiled.
But how could I trust him?
I looked inside myself. Wasn’t a mother supposed to have some kind of mystical connection with their children? I searched myself but among all the grief I felt no kernel of hope that he might still be alive somewhere.
“I need you to come with me,” he said. “Come with me now and I’ll get you somewhere safe. You and the baby.”
Could it be true? Dare I even believe it?
More than that, what other choice did I have?
These monsters controlled me and I had no way to fight them.
I had no choice but to go with him.
I got to my feet and, having been lying in bed for most of the day, felt a little woozy and lightheaded.
Trayem braced me and held me upright.
“Take me to him,” I said.
The other Prizes must have heard me creeping across the room but they didn’t stir from their uncomfortable cots.
They were good girls, I reflected. They could get into a lot of trouble if they stood idly by as we made our hasty escape.
I didn’t speak until we were out of that backroom. We snuck across the dais where we usually presented ourselves to the victorious fighters.
It was the last time I would likely see this place—whether we succeeded in escaping or failed. Success meant I would never think about this place again save for my nightmares, and awake each day thanking God I was no longer in this hell hole.
And if we failed… Krial might give me mercy and end my miserable existence.
“I’m going to put you on the shuttlecraft and give you coordinates to a planet far from here,” Trayem said.
“You’re not coming with us?” I said, suddenly struck with desperation.
Fear stoked that emotion. I wished it wouldn’t be the last time I laid eyes on him. More than that, I didn’t want my child to grow up without knowing his father.
“I’ll stay behind and delay the others from following you,” Trayem said. “I don’t know how long it’ll take for them to notice you’re missing and that the child is still alive. You need to get far from here or they’ll come after you.”
“Why would they do that?” I said as Trayem led us up the stairs to the science lab.
“Because Krial’s process of regeneration isn’t complete if the original host is still alive. There’s a link between Krial and the host. The only way to break it is to sever it for good. To kill the original host. It’s the only way to sever the link.”
I’d been in this place for five years and I was still overwhelmed by the underlying rules of the abilities and powers each species possessed. It was like an entire world existed beneath the one I’d grown up understanding.
We reached the top of the stairs and came to a stop. He put his hand to the door handle of the science lab. The lights were still on. I supposed the scientists worked day and night.
On what? I wasn’t sure. To collect the information they could from the prisoners, I guessed.
“Trayem,” I said. “Wait.”
He looked back at me with sharp eyes.
