Page 6 of Barbarian Brothers

“You will never go back home,” he replies.

“That’s far enough,” Jewel mumbles, staring at the planet growing larger and brighter in front of us. “They must have some kind of hyperdrive technology to travel this fast… I don’t even know which solar system this is.”

“How could you, Jewel? You’re an Air Force pilot, not an astrophysicist,” Cynthia quips.

“We studied the stars plenty,” Jewel insists. “I should be able to recognize a twin star system at least.”

“You are all in shock,” Umok says. “It’s natural for your minds to experience blockages. You may feel lightheaded and confused. Scared. You may not remember everything you wishto remember. Eventually, you will adapt. You will adjust, and you will make yourselves a new home on Sunna with us.”

“You’re crazy,” I reply, wishing I could just blink us off this ship and back to Earth. But that’s in the realm of fiction and fantasy. Ironically, I thought alien abductions were smack in the middle of the same category, except my friends and I are literally being carted off to another planet to become breeders for aliens. “You’ve lost your mind, and now we have to suffer for it.”

“Please, you have to let us go. Take us back,” Cynthia attempts to reason with him. “Our government will not fault you for this. They might even consider allowing other women to come to Sunna with you. Willingly. You don’t have to do this.”

“But I’m afraid I must. I specifically chose your side of the planet because of the geological and biological markers,” Umok says, arms crossed over his gargantuan chest. “My crew followed you from the minute you set foot on that beach. You see, we were searching for specific brain activity waves that best match our species. You and your friends are a splendid match. We don’t want just any women of Earth. We have chosen you, and you should be honored.”

“Honored,” I scoff, shaking my head in dismay.

Jewel leans in. “Don’t antagonize him. We could still figure out a way to get back,” she whispers. “We just need to—”

We’re interrupted by a flurry of alarm signals and agitated officers from the captain’s deck. “General, the ship’s shields were damaged upon leaving Earth’s atmosphere. Sunna’s atmosphere is too hot. The outer layers will not last until we breach.”

Umok rushes in there and retakes the empty captain’s seat at the far end, sitting smack in the middle of the giant view of Sunnagetting bigger and bigger. He fiddles with the controls and starts barking orders as the ship begins to shudder and cave under the enormous pressure.

We’re jostled to the core, whimpering as we’re thrown to the side. I hit the metal floor with my bare shoulder and hiss from the sudden flash of pain shooting down my arm, but it’s nothing compared to what Sunna’s atmosphere is doing to the ship.

“Oh, God!” Alicia cries out as we all hear the outer layers clanging and crumbling, pieces coming off and snapping.

Each scraping sound brings us closer to a catastrophe. I can see it on the Sunnaites’ faces as they rush across the deck to try and contain the situation. But the turbulence is becoming more violent, throwing us around the bay until Cynthia hits her head and passes out.

“Cynthia!” I try to get to her.

The ship whirls around, spinning as it crumbles through the fiery atmosphere. Some of the crew scream in agony as parts of the deck itself come apart and crush them against the floor, then the wall, then the ceiling as the ship continues its disastrous and uncontrollable spin.

It’s out of control. I can’t even scream. All I can do is hold on to a bar mounted on the wall in front of me as everything is about to get infinitely worse. We shoot through a scarlet sky with yellow wisps of clouds, but the ship is beyond salvation. Alarms ring so loud my ears hurt. I taste blood on my lips. I may have accidentally bit my lip in the uncontrollable tumbling of chaos.

“Hold on!” Jewel cries out. She’s holding on to a handle similar to mine.

Alicia has one arm hooked around Cynthia’s waist as she manages to huddle in the opposite corner, where a third handle keeps her in place as we’re about to do another devastating spin. I manage to look up as we experience something similar to zero gravity. The ship is about to plummet into the distant ground. I see Umok cursing as he struggles to reach us.

We’re going down too fast.

“We’re going to die,” I whisper, tears stinging my eyes. None of this makes sense. We were just having drinks at the bar. Just skinny-dipping in the ocean. It was supposed to be a fun night out, not this waking nightmare.

Umok manages to reach the open doors of our bay, but he doesn’t get in. He can barely hold on as he gives me a hard look and slaps a button to his left with all his strength. “You must survive,” he says. “You must carry our seed. The others in my tribe will find you.”

“What are you talking ab…” my voice trails as the doors slide shut.

The air is decompressed from around the frame as I realize what’s happening. He unlocked the entire box from the rest of the ship. We’re hurtling through the sky, but we’re noticeably lighter. I don’t know what this thing is made of, and I cannot see anything going on outside, but I can tell we’re no longer connected to the ship because I can’t hear the alarms anymore.

“Amber, we need to hold on tight and pray we survive this,” Jewel shouts.

We’re still falling at a great speed.

“How the fuck do we survive this?” I ask in genuine despair.

“I don’t know,” Jewel says. “But Umok wouldn’t have unhooked us from the ship if he didn’t know we had better odds on our own up here.”

I wish I could find this thought reassuring. Yet the impact that follows so swiftly yanks the four of us from our seemingly safe spots, and we crash into one another, then the walls and the floors as the box tumbles down something hard and rocky. I’m knocked out before another thought can form.

---