Page 42 of Ragnar

“Yes, we may go.” Laura makes a few more taps on the tablet, distracting me. It gives the damn giant space bug from before enough time to sneak up and snatch me again. Betrayal hits me hard and I glare at Laura. “Calm down. You are a vital test subject. They aren’t going to let you go without collecting all the data first.” Unbothered by the giant trailing after her, she leads the way down the long hallway and back out into the night.

The warehouse is further away than I first thought, and we pass the time in relative silence. When we pass through the doorway, the tension feels like a fist in my gut. Ragnar’s cries are gone, replaced by the mechanical sounds and the odd language of the Gilgamites.

Hatred for them burns like an inferno in my heart. Ragnar floats in the air using technology I couldn’t even begin to hope to understand. Gilgamites rush around him, taking blood, zapping him and poking and prodding his beautiful scales. His wounds are mostly healed but I want to beat them all to a pulp for daring to touch him.

“Get the fuck away from him!” I scream, letting my anger out. As one, the bugs turn to stare at us as we approach.

“Dr. Shields, what is the meaning of this?” The fancy dressed general with the difficult name asks, stepping forward with a grimace. Am I being slightly hypocritical by judging them on their bug-like appearance? Yes. Do I care? No. They hurt Ragnar and I want blood.

“The tests on the female have proved inconclusive. I need to see if there are any biochemical reactions caused by proximity to one another.” She motions to the alien carrying me and to my relief he puts me down. I immediately lunge for the nearest alien, a big fucker who is holding what looks like a cattle prod to Ragnar’s side. The zap of electricity makes the muscles in Ragnar’s legs contract painfully.

I catch the bitch by surprise, kicking him in the back of his leg. My momentum sends us both flying, the prod landing closer to me. Without hesitation I grab it, standing to confront the other aliens when they try to intervene.

“This human has had enough of the experiments. Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. Him.” I grit out, hitting the odd trigger on the prod I am holding. A squeak escapes when a bolt of electricity shoots out of the end. One of the unfortunate bugs hits the ground with a horrid scream, writhing as the electricity moves through their much smaller body.

“Enough!” The General shouts, motioning for everyone to freeze. I fight a shiver of fear when he turns his gaze fully to me. “You do not want to do this.” He hisses in warning. Oh, but I do. With a shit eating grin, I turn the prod around, shoving the prongs underneath my own chin. Horror flashes in his alien gaze and I can’t help but fill with triumph.

“You have no idea what I am willing to do. You are monsters who want to hurt Ragnar simply because he is mated to me. A human. Your experiments are useless if I’m dead. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this thing is set to a voltage for my mate’s much larger body. Most likely a fatal amount for someone as small as me. Would be a shame if you lost your only test subject.” I wink, my mind finally fracturing from the stress of it all.

We stand in a silent battle of wills for a moment before he concedes. With a few short commands, all the aliens surrounding Ragnar back away and his body is lowered to the floor. Making sure to keep them all in my sights, I back up until I am pressed against his shoulder. The prongs never leave my throat, not wanting my bargaining chip to fail. I make damn sure to keep my fingers off the trigger though.

“Reggie, stop this! We are almost done with this and then you are free to go.” Laura pleads, stepping towards me. The general shoots her a nasty glare.

“You do not get to negotiate! Your only purpose here is to perform your duties. Nothing more, nothing less.” The General says harshly, cutting her off.

“That isn’t the best approach here. I told you that humans wouldn’t react well to all of this.” She motions wildly around at all the aliens present.

“They do not have a choice.” The general responds, his stare unwavering.

“Oh, but we do. You may not be familiar with humans, but I am. If you treat us all like bugs under a microscope, then we will fight you at every turn.You destroyed our world for your fucked up zoo. No one is going to willingly let you experiment on them. I’d rather die than let you use me to hurt him.” To let him know I mean business, one hand slides to the trigger.

It might seem crazy to anyone else, but I love Ragnar with every ounce of my being. We met under the worst conditions and yet he has been a saint from the very beginning. He is patient, he is kind, he is understanding. He makes me feel seen and valued. He loves me like I have never been loved before. Instead of telling me no and doing things for me, he helps me accomplish my goals on my own. He is everything good that I wish I could be and everything that I need. He shook hands with my demons before destroying each one of them.

His looks don’t even play a factor in my emotions, but you would have to be blind to not see how beautiful he truly is. Even beat up and bleeding, there is a brutal beauty to his form that threatens something primal inside of me. He has suffered enough at the hands of these bastards.

“Stop!” He shouts at me, taking a step back with his hands up. Pausing with my fingers halfway to the trigger, I wait for his next words. “You are right. I do not need a dead human for this experiment. Put the blaster down and we will discuss our options.” The last words rise with his panic.

“Not good enough. I want a promise that you will not hurt him anymore.” Our eyes meet, mine determined and his angry. In the end, another of the bug aliens saves us both.

“We were not hurting him. Those blasters are used to test muscle reactivity. We were making sure that nothing was torn when he was drug here. His injuries were extensive. Lying is not in our nature. I cannot tell you that we haven’t experimented on his kind in the past but that is not what we were doing this time.” One of the scientists chimes in, stepping forward to turn his tablet so that I can see the screen.

Another 3-D image of Ragnar is visible, this one showing hot spots where his muscles would be. Relief courses through me and I marginally lower the blaster. No one jumps forward to take it from me, but the tension in the room lessens. Laura takes her cue, moving towards me with her own tablet extended. She pauses for a moment, silently asking my permission. Nodding, I let her finish her work.

She quickly moves it over my body, letting the scanner do its work. When a beep sounds, she backs up once more. Something quirks over her face, causing a smile to ghost across her lips. Another scientist joins her, examining her data. As foreign as his face is, I can tell when he smiles, pleased.

“It is a success.” The alien says in awe, looking at me in a way that makes me uncomfortable.

“Their bonding is complete. The data shows that her endorphins are ten times higher now that she is near him than they were in the lab.” Laura says with awe tingeing her voice.

“May I scan him?” The scientist asks me gently. Curious now, I nod. With little fanfare, he checks Ragnar as well and when he is done, his smile is radiant. A cheer goes up among the aliens and even the General smiles.

A swarm of activity starts up, all the technology quickly packed and put away. Still, I do not move from my position next to my mate, not even when only the General, Laura and the one scientist remain. Hope bubbles up in my chest, hope that we will make it out of this alive. That my future with my mate is almost within my grasp. Close, but not yet.

“This isn’t over.” The General says, as if sensing my thoughts.

“I didn’t expect it to be.” I snark, fight the urge to attack him with the blaster, though I still like to think of it as a prod. That would get me killed for sure. My death wish has lessened now that the aliens seem to be retreating.

“Your data belongs to us. Do not forget that. Consider it a debt that must be paid. When I call upon you to fulfill that debt, I expect you to heed my call.” My heart swells with worry and I feel the need to vomit but I simply nod. What else is there to do? If he wished to eradicate me, he could. This world is a product of their creation, and I am just living in it.

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