Page 91 of Bred by the Alien Prince

On the tray was a blood-coated stomach still smoking from the heat reacting to the cold. The man sliced the stomach open and spilled the grass-coated blob. I retched. Please don't tell me they wanted me to eat this? I held my hand to my mouth to keep the food they forced me to eat down.

The man approached and leaned in.

"Hold it in."

Now, his voice was familiar; he spoke in the language I could understand.

"You lied to me!"

"I told you to await my signal. I have not given the signal yet."

He used his hand to scoop up the chewed, mucus-covered grass pie and held it out. I turned my head, fearing what he would force me to do. They all watched me, swaying and watching. My chances of escape seemed bleak, and Lorvian would not come. I had to do whatever it took to save myself. I would play the part if they wanted a Goddess or savior. They couldn't possibly want to cut my child out now. If they did, they would have a poor savior. Luckily for me, my pregnancy was early, which meant I had more than enough time to figure a way out of this.

But pretending also means putting on a damn good show about eating half-chewed and digested food. Here goes nothing.

I put the piece into my mouth and closed my eyes, focusing all my will on getting it down, ignoring the rancid, earthy flavor and pungent aroma.

The crowd cheered as I took another bite and another until all that was left was the flabby, sunken stomach pouch.

The man yelled something, and everyone cheered and danced, and the beat of the drums grew fiercer. He reached out to me and helped me out of the litter.

"Remain for at least an hour, then retire to your room. You will receive the signal soon."

"What is the signal?"

"The ringing of the dinner bell. You won't miss it."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"Be ready for me to come to you," he said, leaving my side.

The party continued, and I tried to keep my mind off the taste lingering on my tongue. I had no sense of time here, but I watched them dance and sing, and some of them came over to rub my stomach and say a few words. I eventually went back to the room. The only thing keeping me from running was the posted guards scattered about.

Something loud whirred above, like an airplane either taking off or landing nearby. It reminded me of when we moved near an airport in Detroit.

Wait. I didn't see a landing pad anywhere around here, and according to that guy, he needed a ship to get out of here. I looked out the window and saw our ship passing by, causing the crowd to look up and others to scatter for their homes.

Lorvian—so close yet so far away. My hope was that he would land here, but that seemed to not be happening as the ship circled about and got further and further away.

My door creaked open, and I thought it was the man I had spoken to before, but it wasn't. The spooked little girl sat down a tray of food. Her eyes kept darting up as she did until she left the room.

What if this was my chance?

I grabbed what looked similar to a fork and checked out the end, which was flat, flat like the wood screws holding the bars on, at least I hoped. The other tray had no utensils at all. Maybe she forgot when the ship flew over? I didn't know or care.

I slipped the utensil between the small slit and used every ounce of strength I could muster to turn each bolt until the frame loosened and I could pull it out.

The crowd dispersed, and I couldn't decide if I should sneak out now while everyone was distracted or wait for them to go back to partying... if they would do that.

Screw it. I slipped out the window and stayed along the tree. I didn't want to go down the stairs; that was a surefire way to get caught. But there was no other way down aside from a rope, and I was no good at rope climbing.

But then again, I didn't need to climb; I needed to descend.

I breathed deeply and took a chance, reaching for the rope. My hands burned as I dangled and slipped until I hit the ground with a thud. I looked around; the coast was clear, except for the guards who returned to their posts by what looked like could be my way out of here. Damn!

The ship had now long departed, and it seemed like the party was over. Behind me was a red stone cave with strange, colorful drawings around the opening. I took a chance and darted across and inside. I couldn't hear anything but the splashing of water the deeper I traveled in. The cave was dark, all but the flickering yellow light ahead. I followed it like a beacon.

It came from a humble-looking room with a small floor bed and dresser, a colorful rug covering the entire room, and clothing hanging on the walls. But the mural painted on the wall forced my feet forward to enter the room.

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