Page 1 of Rok's Captive
Chapter1
TOO LONG; DIDN’T READ THE FUCKING FINE PRINT
JUSTINE
Hurrying down the street, my eyes flick up briefly to a holo-billboard overhead. The Xyma’s iridescent eyes blink slowly above their stiff smile, their cream skin glowing like pearls in an oyster.
Nothing unusual—just another alien selling perfume with flowing silver-blue hair and that signature three-fingered gesture that went viral after first contact.
The Xyma looks so…perfect. Like something sculpted and not real. Not a hair out of place. Not a single blemish on their skin. While I…
I huff as I catch my and my sister’s reflection in the window of a closed-down shop. If this job pays as well as it says it will, we might be able to get our hair done at an actual salon this week—maybe even get one of those Xyma serum treatments so each strand feels like silk. Just that alone, a bit of extra money for self-care, and this job will be worth it. Our hair hasn’t seen professional attention since before Xyma ships became a common sight in our skies.
I check the address on my phone again. Three interviews this week, all rejections. This jobhasto pan out. The rent’s due. We have nowhere else to go. And beggars can’t be choosers.
I press another breath through my nose as we hurry down the sidewalk. Some douche bumps into me, causing my handbag to swing and almost fall off. I turn my head, scowling at him as my sister grips me and tugs me onward.
“Are you sure they said we canbothcome?” Jacqui is frowning underneath her shades, and I suddenly wish I’d worn mine, too. I’m in an airy blouse, loose brown pants, and heeled sandals. They’re perfect for this ungodly heat, but I’m sweating, anyway. I’d rolled my blonde hair into a bun and put on my favorite butterfly earrings. I look presentable, I think. Hopefully, it’s enough to land this job. God knows I’m putting my every hope on this.
“Yeah.” I grip Jacqui’s hand as we hurry on. “Lady on the phone said I could bring anyone interested.”
Jacqui frowns and even with the dark shades, I can tell her blue eyes that look so much like mine are glaring at me. “Justine, are you sure? I didn’t have to send a resume? Foralienresearch?”
I shrug. “I didn’t either. It was a post I saw on LinkedOut. I just filled out the questionnaire and they took my details. No experience necessary. The listing said they need healthy women for ‘environmental adaptation research.’ Something about testing how humans react in different conditions.”
“And they’re really payingtengrand for that?” Jacqui’s frown deepens and I shrug again.
To be honest, I’m not completely sure why the pay is so high, but I don’t care. “The Xyma could give two shits about money. That’s the whole point of this integration between our species. They get to study us, we get their tech and funding. Win-win.” I try to sound more confident than I feel. “Besides, government-funded research always pays well if you can get it. Remember when Anna from our old apartment did that drug trial? Paid her rent for like six months.”
The explanation feels reasonable enough in my head. After all, the Xyma came and suddenly Earth evolved more than it ever could have in just two years. Makes sense them doing this research if we’re to expand humanity across the stars.
Still, I can feel Jacqui’s glare. For my younger sister, she’s always acted like the mother we both lost.
“Alright, listen.” I stop at the pedestrian crossing, taking a breath that feels just as hot as the air already in my lungs. As we wait for the light to turn green, people crowd at our backs and the humidity goes up by ten fucking degrees. “Look, we don’t have a choice, do we? Unless you can fork up a month’s rent in less than a day, we’re both fucked hard in the ass with a big fat dick, Jaqs. Zero lube, baby.”
An elderly woman scowls at me, probably because of my language, and I cringe, lowering my voice.
“We can turn back now if you’re not sure about it.” The anxiety that’s been chasing me for weeks threatens to raise its head again. We’ll be homeless, but I’ll turn back if Jacqui really wants us to. I just hope she doesn’t. “We can look for something else.”
Jacqui stares at me for a moment before her shoulders sag. “No, you did good finding this. Better than good.” She sighs. “We have to do it. You’re right, we don’t have a choice.”
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I nod. As the pedestrian light goes green, we turn and race across the road just before the little man turns red.
Jacqui grips my hand tighter as we hurry down the next street. “I just…look, I wore askirt. Should I have worn pants like you? Jeans? Are we going to be doing physical tests or anything? If that’s the case we’re overdressed, Jus. What if they turn us away and?—”
“You look great.” I give her brown blouse a once over. Her low-heeled brown boots give it some flair. “Hey! Isn’t that one of my blouses?”
She grins at me and I roll my eyes as we turn the corner.
“Better to be overdressed than underdressed,” I whisper, echoing words our mother used to say. Back then, our hair was always done. Our clothes always barely worn. We were little girls who didn’t know how cruel the world could be. Little girls who didn’t expect to grow up in a world where aliens came to Earth and—poof—society just didn’t function anymore.
I guess it could be worse. The aliens didn’t enslave us. They just showed up and gave us tech that made our jobs obsolete.
Just a side effect of peaceful first contact.
Jacqui smiles, squeezing my hand. “You sound like mom.” I don’t miss the note of sadness in her voice. “All seriousness though, Jus, you did the checks, right? I mean, it’s only been like, what, two years since the Xyma showed up? And now we’re signing up to doresearchwith them?”
Two years. It feels like two decades.
