Page 9 of Alien Rescue

“First, never touch my hair. Ever. You better not even look at it.” Her hair had always been her best feature, thick and glossy with curls that bounced around her head.

“I will look at it and I will touch it many times.” He said it evenly, as if discussing the weather. But there was also a taunt in there, as if he dared her to dispute his right to touch her hair whenever he wanted. “Your hair is one of the many pleasing things about you.”

She breathed so hard, her chest rose and fell. His gaze flicked down, lingered. How many times did she have to say this before he listened? She swallowed. “You took everything from me, and now you’ve messed with my hair.” She screamed the last three words at him. Maybe in the grand scheme of things, him playing with her hair wasn’t a big deal. But it was the last straw.

He reached out and she flinched, but he only put his large, claw-like hand on her head and patted. “Stay calm, my breeder, the doctor said your hysteria might return.” He turned her to face the wall. “I made a window.”

Rose stared. That window hadn’t been there a moment before. She could see silver-domed structures. But beyond that were very human-looking snow-capped mountains. But which mountains?

Parnell had told them that if they were ever captured, they had to drink and eat whatever they were given—to get strong and wait for the chance to escape. Captors always made mistakes. She only had to stay calm, wait it out. This crazy alien would make a mistake and she’d be gone. “Where exactly is this place?” At least she was still on Earth. She’d been half-afraid she was on a spaceship. “Natalie City,” he said flatly.

“Tell me where you’re keeping Mr. Parnell and the others?” Maybe if she kept asking, he’d tell her.

He didn’t change expression, and still, she read him like an open book. Get real, it said.

“I feel tired. I need to rest.” Unfortunately, that was the truth. The faster she got strong, the sooner she could rescue Parnell and the others. But she hated being this tired all the time. How was she supposed to rescue everyone? Where did she even start to look for them?

He grunted and stroked her hair. “Sleep, my breeder.”

Rose held up a hand. “Don’t mess with my hair while I sleep. I mean it.” She couldn’t believe she was feeling sleepy again. When would she get strong?

“Your hair is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laid her down gently and covered her. Like her mother used to do.

She fell asleep, smiling.

Zanr watched his breeder’s eyes close and her breath slowing. She was magnificent, brave, and clever. Even her speech impediment was attractive. She reminded him of the doll Zacar’s adopted small human liked to play with. But she was much prettier. She smelled much better than the doll. He’d washed her and dressed her for the two Earth weeks she’d been unconscious. Soon he’d be able to dress her in the superior dresses he’d obtained for her. He liked touching her beautiful soft skin. But most of all, he enjoyed arranging her hair. He’d do a lot of it in future. Even if she screamed like that again. He measured the small lump under the pelt. It was amazing how big a sound she could get out of that small body. Sometimes he forgot that she was small and delicate. The moment she spoke, she seemed bigger. Maybe she didn’t realize that she was smaller than the rest of the people around her.

“Report to my office,” Zacar said over the communication system.

“Yes, my leader.”

He knelt next to Rose and stroked her cheek. Rose was on the way to recovery. The food and water he’d managed to get into her every day while she was still unconscious, coupled with Viglar’s assistance, had strengthened her. But he still didn’t like leaving her alone. His claws lengthened. He wanted to torture Parnell. Torturing that woumber was his right. He set the sensors to let him know when she woke or if she needed assistance. He was at the front door when he remembered how thirsty she always was when she woke, and he went back and left a glass of water next to the bed.

He left the dwelling his fellow warriors had helped him build for Rose while she’d been unconscious. It hadn’t surprised him when Larz had turned up to help him. But when several of the others had come, as well, he hadn’t known what to think.

Outside, the mountain sounds greeted him: birds screeching, shuttles taking off and landing. When she was strong, he’d show his breeder all their treasures he’d won. He could tell she’d been impressed with the ball of string.

At the cave, he went around the large, flat stone obscuring the entrance and through the steel doors they’d installed after Zacar had decided to make the cave their headquarters. He carefully passed the dwelling Zacar had made for Natalie. Their new city was also named after Zacar’s breeder. Something that had never been done before.

Whenever warriors were called to Zacar’s office, they camouflaged or ran past Zacar’s dwelling at top speed. The small human he’d adopted, to please his breeder, was very observant and insisted the warriors had tea with her.

Zurian had also adopted a small human to please his breeder. Zanr didn’t see the appeal. The mess they made of their nappies was enough to bring any warrior to his knees. He’d even been instructed to stock the supply room with everything the small humans needed.

He camouflaged and sped past Zacar’s dwelling inside the cave. Normally Zanr enjoyed the odd ritual of drinking tea from a cup so small, he had trouble holding it between his fingers. But today he wanted to get to Zacar and then back to his breeder.

He found Zurian and Zacar in conversation over a holo image. Zanr saluted Zacar and waited. He’d never been called in by Zacar before, wasn’t high enough in rank to have personal contact with him. Mostly he took his instructions from Zurian. Zanr could think of only one reason he’d been called in. He was without a bloodline and maybe Zacar had decided that a warrior like him did not have the right to claim a breeder as fine as Rose. No matter what, he would not give her up. He’d lived his whole life with the threat of losing everything, hanging over him, because of his lack of blood. This was the first time he couldn’t bury the fear beneath a careless laugh.

Zacar nodded at him. “Are you aware of the human resistance, warrior?”

“Yes, my leader.” Zanr relaxed. Maybe this wasn’t about his breeder. The humans had formed a resistance but so far hadn’t managed to do any damage. Their numbers were small.

Zacar motioned to the human TC broadcasts that played several images on the walls. They routinely intercepted TC broadcasts to monitor the humans. The TC was the primitive device the human’s used to communicate and watch their entertainment and news.

Zacar called up another image. Rioting humans, carrying plastic boards with strange writing on them, marched down a city street. A round human female carried one that said, Aliens go home. Zanr was outraged. “They dare dictate to Zyrgin warriors? And to use their females to do it?” Woumbers.

Another brown board with primitive writing said, Earth for humans. Zacar said, “I told them Earth now belonged to the empire.”

“Maybe all humans have inferior hearing and understanding,” Zurian said.

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