Page 19 of Alien Rescue

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. “If I see any hair standing upright on my head, I will shave my head.”

He reared back. “I will do a braid close to your head.” He indicated the chair again.

Rose sat down gingerly, half convinced he was going to go crazy on her hair again. But when he stepped back and grunted, and the wall became a mirror, she saw he’d French-plaited her hair. It looked elegant next to the gaudy dress she wore. “I like it.”

“I am pleased, my breeder. We will go to my leader now.” He took her arm gently in his big claw and led her outside.

She blinked and looked up at the endless blue sky. It was like looking at a picture of green mountains and lovely sky with lazy clouds. “I didn’t think any places as beautiful as this still existed on Earth. Where exactly are we?”

“This is our stronghold, our capital city we call Natalie City.”

“Yes, but where exactly are we?”

“You do not need to know this.”

She glared up at him, but he didn’t even glance at her. She looked up at the sky again. Montana sky?

She tripped, and she decided to watch where she was going instead of trying to figure out which state she was in. A freshly painted truck, the old kind that couldn’t hover, sat in full splendor ahead of them.

“What is that?”

“It is our truck. We made it so that it can still be driven.”

She hurried forward and walked around it, and then peered inside. He let her look, suddenly not in a big hurry. “We leave the key in the ignition and the fuel cells charged so that we can drive it when we have free time,” he told her.

She didn’t have a lot of experience driving, but she’d be able to get away. If she could manage to get to it unseen and get a good headstart, she might just be able to escape. Her heart bounced around in her chest, so ebullient, she was afraid he’d notice.

“We have to go,” he said and took her arm again.

They circled a huge rock pointing at the sky, and then the mountain wall behind it slid open to reveal a large, cavernous room. Except it was nothing like a cave. Its walls were covered with the same metal as Zanr’s home. It was rigidly square, as if someone had measured the walls to within an inch of its life. In contrast, the coal stove and wooden kitchen table looked comfortable and homey.

“This way, we will go to Zacar’s office. You have to be very quiet so that we can get there safely.”

She glanced around, imagining dangerous alien creatures. “Are there dangerous animals around?”

“No, small humans.”

“Small humans?” she whispered.

“Yes, Zacar’s small human likes to serve odd fluids in odd little cups,” he whispered back.

Rose almost laughed out loud when he tiptoed past an opening in the wall on their left. Farther down, he stopped in front of a wall and grunted, and it slid open.

Inside, another alien waited. He was large, larger than Zanr, and she had the impression of immense strength. This was one alien she didn’t want to meet alone in a dark alley.

“Welcome, breeder of Zanr. May you serve our empire well by giving it many small humans. Fifty small warriors will be a great contribution to our empire.”

Zanr saluted and grunted at his leader, but Rose barely took notice of them.

Fifty babies? Oh no, she was escaping this place the first chance she got. And if she didn’t get a chance, she’d make one. Fifty children? The rest of the ceremony went by in a daze.

Zanr took her back to their dwelling. “I have to go on duty.”

She sat down on the couch on shaky legs. “All right.” She’d have to rest so that she could get strong. Because she will escape. Not only because she needed to warn the others that the aliens had nested in these mountains, but also because she now knew why Zanr called her breeder all the time. He meant it literally. The rat. They were on opposite sides, but still she felt betrayed.

Were Parnell and the others the aliens had captured still alive? Zanr had been very interested in the labs in the building. How much did he know? Did the aliens infiltrate the building? Was that how they captured her colleagues and the Director? All her muscles tensed until they ached. How would she find Parnell and the others? What if they endured torture while she sat on this couch in this well-stocked alien house?

She’d always thought she’d prove herself to Parnell and that he would give her a big case. Which would lead to a big promotion. Then her father would be proud of her and forgive her for her mother’s death. She’d be welcome in his home for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

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