Page 37 of Angel Condemned

Jody

Axton! I screamed in my mind because I couldn’t move my mouth or my arms or legs. The Roulex guard stood so close to me his foul breath gagged me.

As Axton left the cell, not even saying goodbye or taking one last look at me, my heart shattered.

Why had he given up? He nearly had all the Roulex out of the way and could’ve escaped. Yet, even as I thought the question, I knew the answer. He’d done it to save me.

Me.

The human who'd lied to him. Who took payment from his enemy, no matter the reason, to take whatever I could from him.

It made my stomach roll.

I never wanted to feel this ache, this pain. It reminded me too much of when I lost my mom and Vivian. My throat clamped down so hard it hurt to breathe. The memory of the cries of the prisoner came flooding back. Axton had tried to distract me from the noise. But now he’d be making those awful sounds.

The guard unlocked the tractor beam holding me and I fell to my knees, retching from knowing Axton was taking the punishment for me. My body ached all over from trying to move this entire time.

“Do better, human.” The Roulex’s lizard-like tongue flicked out. “Or we’ll allow our other prisoners to mate with you.”

No way in hell. I pushed aside his taunt because thinking about being with anyone other than Axton made a nauseous shiver skate through my stomach.

“What are you going to do to Axton?” I asked, my voice shaky. If they shot him up with the medicine like they did me, it wouldn’t be so bad. We could get through it together. Right?

“We’ve been too light on him,” the Roulex snarled, strolled to the door. “The only good thing for trash like him is death.”

“No,” I yelled, scrambling to my feet.

But the Roulex laughed, slamming the cell door in my face.

For hoursI waited for the Roulex to bring Axton back. Or anyone. They didn’t bring a meal or water. I banged against the bars of the cell, pleading, screaming, but nothing worked.

I pressed my face up to the bars, trying to see down the hallway or hear what was happening. Only the cries and moans of the other prisoners filled the air.

What were they doing to Axton? This had to be some mental torture technique to get me to freak out. I chewed on my lip, pacing back and forth, imagining the most horrible things until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I banged on the bars and screamed, but no one came.

Thunder cracked overhead and I remembered Axton telling me this planet had tons of thunderstorms. But being alone in a prison cell made the thunder booming outside seem a hundred times worse.

What if they didn’t bring Axton back, but some other alien?

Oh God, what if they had killed him and hadn’t been making a cruel joke? My knees gave way and I slid down the stone wall.

Thunder cracked again, vibrating the walls of the cell, and I flinched. I drew my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees. The walls closed in around me and my breaths turned shallow. When Axton was here, I didn’t feel this way. So alone and haunted.

I covered my face, crying. I hated this. Not knowing if Axton was okay or alive. Being stuck in here and being so naïve and desperate that I had believed the Roulex’s lies about helping my father.

I should’ve learned my lesson about time being precious. How I never got to say goodbye to my mom or Vivian. Or tell them I loved them.

Now I’d lost the chance with Axton as well.

And my dad. I hiccupped a breath. Without the Roulex’s money from our agreement, he was going to die. I rolled to my side as sobs shook my body and the feeling like I was going to vomit plunged into my gut.

I cried until my tears dried.

I scrubbed my face, taking a deep, shaky breath. I wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity any longer. I stood and practiced the skills Axton taught me.

If I was going to lose everyone I cared about, like before, I was going to do everything I could to survive, to fight. I’d hold on to every thread of hope I could find.

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