Page 7 of Soliv Four
Tomak sometimes wondered if it were worth staying alive with no hope for freedom and the constant threat of death. There were only two sentences on Soliv Four, life or death. Some got to choose, and some did not.
He and his men had made it up through the ranks. They won enough matches and games to each get another chance for a female. His hunt was tomorrow. Three of his six men were scheduled as well. None of them would know their competitors before they were announced at the match.
The only hope of respite, they get to hunt a female if they lived long enough to win enough games. The exact number was chosen at random.
FOUR
Coraz Da’koff, Tomak’s second in command, joined him in the observation alcove at the pit. “Resting up for the hunt, tomorrow?”
“I worked out all morning. Just waiting for the shuttle to arrive with the females.”
“Think you will get one this time?”
“If she is the one, I want, I will have her,” he said with certainty.
“But, what kind of life can any of us give a female in this place?” Coraz mused. “What happens to them if we get killed in one of these obscene games?”
“I don’t plan for that to happen. The female, who is a true mate is far more to fight for than we have now. And none of us have lost any games of import,” said Tomak. “We protect our own.”
Coraz nodded. “After almost three star-spans, I thought our own would have come looking for us long ago.”
Tomak shrugged. “We all knew the risks when we took the mission. They could have just executed us, but we were worth more to them alive because of the kickbacks they’d get for sending us here.”
“They thought execution was too quick, and they wanted us to suffer.”
“I think we suffered sufficiently in the mines,”
“And females that were there did, too. I suspect they refused to be in the barbaric female hunt,” said Coraz.
“The hunt is better than what they endure with the assassins and rapists in the mines.” Tomak shook his head. “Drig’s gang abused their females in ways I wish I could unsee.”
“As do I,” Coraz agreed.
“What about you? You have a hunt coming up in a couple of rotations. Aren’t you looking forward to it?”
“Yes and no.” He shrugged. “I doubt any of us will find a fated mate among these from the matching service.”
“It’s not a matter of fate, it’s strictly biology. You can tell when her scent makes your cock twitch. It’s pheromones.” Tomak thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose fate could be instrumental in getting a complimentary pair together, but the fated mates of tribal legends thought it was purely a spiritual attraction.”
“Modern science ruined that one. What if they are intertwined?”
Tomak shrugged. “I’m a soldier, not a cleric. I think it’s likely there is a spiritual element in bonding with a mate.” He paused and cocked his head, listening. The sound started as a soft whine that grew louder. “The shuttle is landing. Let’s go see who they brought us.
Tomak and Coraz ambled across the moss-covered ground to the observation fence where the inmates could view incoming shuttles. They arrived just as the ramp was lowered. The rest of Tomak’s team joined the momentarily. It was the perfect observation spot.
An attendant was first to come down the ramp leading the women by a chain attached to each female’s chain collar. Tomak growled at the indignity. The thuggish alien lined them up in front of the warden while the next group debarked. Twenty of them stood in line wearing the standard-issue prison garb while the attendants removed the chains from them.
Some of the other males hooted and shouted for the females to look their way. Tomak’s men viewed them silently. As the second group descended, there was one that caught his eyes, and she seemed to notice him too.
A gentle breeze wafted through her mid-length golden hair, carrying her essence to Tomak. He simply stared at her while she was led to the line where the warden would address them. Finally, she looked in his direction and their gazes locked. He couldn’t tear his eyes from her, and that gentle breeze carried her wonderful scent to his nostrils. His cock twitched, and he sucked in a breath, his lips curving into a slow half-smile.Mine.
At midday, the next rotation, Tomak, and his men arrived at the jungle maze. Tomak went to the competitor waiting area anxious to see who would be vying forhisfemale. He kept his facial expression one of mild interest as he joined his competitors. All three of them were members of a rival gang: Havel Rak, Stegnon Frid, Gren Frid.
Stegnon was an ugly humanoid with a short muzzle and floppy jowls that drooped from each side of his face. Porcine tusks protruded from his lower jaw at the corners of his mouth. His bulbous eyes were heavy-lidded with bags beneath. His neck was covered with a short mane and his body covered in short fur. While he looked dull and slow-moving, Tomak knew he was anything but.
Stegnon’s two sidekicks Havel and Crenkav were reptilian bipeds with blue scales and lizard-like faces and tails. They were brothers.
Tomak knew they would probably gang up on him if they got the chance, though it didn’t worry him. He would do whatever it took to get his female. Any male who deliberately injured a female during a hunt could be sent to the mines, but they could kill each other.
