Page 22 of Victoria's Discovery

More than okay with their protective behavior but still wanting to see what was happening, Victoria ducked down so she could watch from between their hips and went back to gawking at the newcomers.

Where the giants and Vi’kail were attractivelyother, the aliens in the aisle were a lot closer to what she imagined extraterrestrial beings would look like, or at least what the internet said they looked like.

Their skin was a sickly whitish-grey color, their necks were way too long, their heads were oversized ovoids dominated by huge eyes surrounded by very pronounced sockets that made them look like they were starving, and they didn’t seem to have ears or a nose or lips. They were also tall, maybe seven feet, and had elongated flipper-like feet that slapped against the dull, grey floor with every step.

They stopped at the cell next door to hers and the closest fish person pointed a clear ball at the huddled mass of freaked out women shoving themselves against the opposite wall.

“Oh, shit what’s it doing? Is this the probing part of the abduction? Experimentation? I don’t wanna be probed, damnit!”

Victoria didn’t realize she was rambling out loud until Thegan reached back and slid a massive hand over her shoulders, pulling her closer against him. Appreciating his efforts to soothe her, she tried to return the favor and blindly began stroking him, her movements quick and jerky, babbling, “It’s okay, you’re okay, we’re gonna be okay.”

Wide-eyed and terrified, she looked back and forth between the fishes and the women, expecting something terrible to happen any second, but after pointing the ball at each woman in turn, they just turned around and went to the cell in which Spar, Madison, and Veronika were held.

“Wait, that’s it?”

Frowning, she braced herself with a hand on Thorn’s back and pushed her face between their bodies, squinting at the ball in confusion.

“So, what? Is it just some kind of scanner type of thing? Or maybe one of those clicker counting things train conductors use? You’d think they’d know how many people they stole.”

No, that didn’t make sense. These people were obviously capable of intergalactic travel. With that kind of technology, she couldn’t imagine they’d need something as basic as a manual people counter.

“Maybe it’s a medical scanner to make sure we aren’t suffering any ill-effects from the sedation.”

That made more sense.

Victoria released a breath of relief and almost laughed. “Woo, it’s okay, guys. You can calm down. I’m pretty sure it’s just a health scanner.”

As soon as she said that, something about the fish people’s body language had her stiffening. They both bent over the ball then pointed it at Madison again. Whatever they saw must’ve been surprising or maybe upsetting because they turned to each other. Victoria couldn’t hear them over the screams and roars, but she could see their lipless mouths moving. After a few minutes of talking back and forth, the one on the left tapped its chest and spoke again.

There was no fanfare, no warning, no bright light or ominous noise.

One minute Madison was standing in the cage, scowling and shielding the smaller Veronika behind her, and the next, she was gone.

Disappeared.

Victoria went perfectly still then blinked hard, sure her eyes were just messing with her.

As though nothing absolutely terrifying had just happened, the fishes pointed the ball at Veronika who was standing frozen with shock, gaping at the spot Madison had just been.

Like some kind of horrible instant replay, the left one tapped his chest again and she, too, disappeared.

Barely able to breathe, Victoria looked at Spar. Her arms were outstretched, as if she’d been in the middle of reaching for Madison and Veronika when they vanished. She straightened slowly then turned her head to pin the fishes with a look of such shock and fury it sent a shiver down Victoria’s spine, but the fish people didn’t seem to notice. They didn’t so much as spare her a glance as they turned and strode diagonally across the aisle to the next cell.

Victoria’s cell.

Everything seemed to slow down as the one holding the ball began to raise it, pointing it at Thorn. She couldn’t hear past the blood rushing in her ears. Her fingertips were tingling with adrenaline. She felt frozen with fear. Her mind was blank.

So, when she shoved between Thegan and Thorn and moved to stand in front of them, pointing a warning finger at the fishes and yelling, “NO!” she was just as shocked as they were.

Of course, her impulsive and pointless act of bravery didn’t do anything. The one with the ball didn’t magically stop what he was doing, and her blocking the giants at her back wasn’t any more effective than Madison blocking Veronika. But Victoria wasn’t thinking, she’d just reacted.

When the left one finished aiming the ball at her, she squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, bracing for… something.

Nothing happened.

Opening her eyes again a couple of seconds later, she found Thorn and Thegan standing in front of her and, leaning to the side to peer around them, saw the fish people standing in front of Vi’kail’s cell.

Heart thundering in her chest, she watched as they scanned him and moved on to the next cage, leaving the handsome, green alien where he was.

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