Page 8 of Saving the Sautiitions

“I'd be surprised if she wasn't already pinned down and taking it from behind.”

They burst into laughter, and I can't take anymore. I step over to the bars, gripping them as I scream at them, “Shut up! How dare you talk about her like that! How dare you talk about anyone like that, you sick fucks! If I wasn't locked behind these bars-!”

Silence follows for a moment before they start back up. I groan and lean my forehead against the bars. There's a light tap on my shoulder, and I turn to look at Tonya. She raises a tentacle to her head, then shakes it.

I mimic her action, touching my ear. The translator! They can't understand me! I’m wasting my breath yelling at them. They won’t stop. Even if they somehow understand me, they clearly don’t care.

“Guys, they can't understand English. No translators. We can figure out a way out of here.”

They all stare at me as I sit with Vahru, taking his hand for comfort. “None of us are small enough to fit through the bars. We don't have any bobby pins or lock picking kits. No other weapons. Maybe Tonya could try and sway them to our side?”

I think out loud as I stare at the wall, trying to think of something, anything, to get us out of here. As I glance around at my crew, I realize all their eyes are on Tonya. I turn to her, maybe our last hope, and see the tears falling down her body. She trembles as she sinks to the floor.

That's when I begin to filter in the chatter from the guards as they laugh about Melodia's fate.

“Remember the last time she tried to defy him? He beat her and threatened her in front of the entire colony. She didn't make that mistake again!”

They laugh and I cringe, tears sliding down my cheeks at the thought of what my dear, sweet friend may be enduring. Vahru holds me tight as I try not to listen, but unable to tune them out, I weep for my friend.

“Think he'll ever breed her?”

“Are you kidding me? He doesn't take care of her now. If she were to breed, she'd die in the process, and we'd be back to where we were last week! He won't kill her. Just threaten her with death to keep her compliant. She's all that makes him happy.”

I cling to Vahru as I genuinely weep for Melodia. I was hoping we could sway these guards to let us out, but with the way they're talking, there's no way in hell. We don't have any way to break out, and even if we did, we're surrounded and incredibly outnumbered.

Hopelessness pours in, and all I want to do is punch something. I hear a gasp and sit up to see that Jeff has explained why we're crying to Willa. She doesn't have a translator either. She's lucky. As she stares at Tonya, her eyes fill with tears before she reaches over and takes my free hand in hers, squeezing it gently.

“Makes him happy? I don’t think Kurgash even knows the meaning of the word.”

“When he has her, he’s the closest to happy anyone has ever seen him. That’s all I’m saying. He’s not going to let her go if he can help it.”

They finally quiet, no longer discussing the horrors of our friend. We all manage to dry our tears but sit in quiet hopelessness. I refuse to give up, despite the gravity of the situation, so I ask Tonya questions, hoping to come up with other solutions.

Could we pick the lock?

She shakes her body, no.

Is it possible there is a hidden passage?

No.

Could we break something to get through?

No.

She provides that same one-word answer for a dozen more questions, unwilling to speak more because the guards will understand her. I get frustrated, no longer able to sit as I pace the small space we’re locked in. There has to be some way to get out of here. We have to save these creatures and poor Melodia. I can’t sit here and believe that there’s nothing I can do for them all.

My stomach grumbles, Jeff’s following suit as we grin at each other. All those years working together, and our bodies are still in sync, used to eating on the same schedule. I sit down, trying not to burn more energy than I have to in case they decide not to feed us.

I lay against Vahru’s shoulder, letting him hold me as we wait for something to happen. A shadow moves along the stairway, and I sit up, watching intently as someone descends.

Melodia rounds the corner, a full tray balanced on her tentacle as she tells the guard she was sent to feed us. They nod at her, letting her pass. As she gets closer, Tonya and I rush the bars, needing to see that she’s safe and unharmed.

Sadly, she isn’t. One eye is swollen shut, she’s hugging one tentacle to her body, and she has bruises all over. She’s already been beaten, probably threatened, or worse.

“Melodia, oh my god, are you okay? The guards...they mentioned some of the things that might happen to you. I’m so sorry. If I had known about this, I wouldn’t have put you in harm's way.”

She uses a fancy-looking set of keys to unlock the door, shoving the tray into my hands, her tentacle gently shifting my fingers to bump something on the bottom of the tray before swiftly closing the door in my face. She looks up at me and tries to give me a reassuring grin. It looks a little odd on her alien face, but I understand the sentiment nonetheless.

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