Page 11 of Fated to the Orc

Humans are small, weak, brittle-boned beings… but their weapons are dangerous.

Humans fight without honor. They do not meet their enemies in battle, eye-to-eye, blade-to-blade.

They hide. They spit tiny shards of metal from a distance.Bullets, they call them.

At first, we orcs laughed at their pathetic attempts to wound us. Their small-caliber rounds were like the bites of gnats. Annoying, but harmless.

But humans are cunning little creatures. They adept. Theylearn.

They changed their weapons. Changed their bullets. And now, those bullets pierce even the thickest orc flesh. They wound. Theykill.

In order to survive, we orcs will need to be like the humans. We must adapt.

The stand-off continues for a few tense minutes, the air filled with the threat of violence.

And then the outer door of the facility hisses open. A thin man steps out, dressed in white, his slicked-back hair gleaming in the sun. He spreads his arms in an exaggerated gesture of welcome, his teeth flashing in a too-wide grin as he speaks to me in the orc tongue.

“Varkul! You made it! So good to see you!”

He turns to his men, speaking in his quick tongue. The guards hesitate, then lower their weapons. Reluctantly. Their fingers still hover near their triggers.

“Apologies for this welcome party,” Dr. Kelly says, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses. “Everyone’s a bit… on edge. Had a little incident the other day. Pack of velociraptors tore through camp. Made off with one of the privates. Radcliffe? No. Rawlson. Ah, doesn’t matter. You’re here now! Welcome!”

I narrow my eyes. “You sound surprised. Did you not expect me to come?”

“Not at all!” He waves a hand dismissively. “I know how important offspring is to your people. And who can resist the potential for a goodmating, hmm? Now please, follow me!”

I step forward, following him inside. The soldiers trail behind me, their weapons lowered but their bodies tense.

The moment I cross the threshold into the facility the door slams shut behind me. Another set of metal door seals the way ahead.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I growl.

Kelly’s voice drifts in through a hidden speaker, muffled by the thick iron doors. “Oh, just a simple precaution, nothing to worry about. This is called an airlock. We use it to purify the air, keep any nasty jungle diseases from getting into our lab. I’m sure you understand!”

A sharp hiss fills the chamber.

The air shifts. Thickens.

Poison.

I hold my breath, but it’s already too late. My limbs grow heavy, my thoughts sluggish. The edges of my vision blur.

Damn them. I expected treachery — but so soon?

I slam my fist into the metal door. The entire chamber trembles. A deep dent blooms where my knuckles connected. Satisfying… but not enough.

Darkness swallows me.

As I slip into the void,I see the vague outline of a door opening. A thin man steps inside.

“Well, that worked like a charm.”

A chuckle.

“Put him in cell 6-A. God, look at the size of him. What a beast. What aspecimen!”

The voice lowers.

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