Page 12 of His to Protect
Chapter 8
Jessica
The alien pushes me and we walk along the corridor until we reach Veekhal. He frowns and groans in this throat language of theirs. “Move female!”
“Kneel,” the other alien orders me and rests his hand on my shoulder, pushing my body to the floor. I fall to my knees and hands, my head touching Veekhal’s legs. “Get up now and move! The Queen is expecting you,” he says, clenching his fists. He reaches for my arm and grabs it, forcing my body up. His squeeze hurts my arm and I bite my lip not to cry. My heart pounds in my chest so hard, my muscles shaking. I start to shiver and drag my legs, trying to keep the pace. I never imagined this would ever happen. Why is this happening to me? I don’t want to end up dead on this planet. Ka’el, where are you?
“I’m moving. Stop dragging me like this. You’re hurting me,” I tell Veekhal.
“Shut up, female,” he orders me. If gazes could kill, I would be dead by now. I don’t speak another word. We reach the Council building. My eyes hurt from the light reflecting in its metal walls. It’s beautiful. It stands tall, towering over the other buildings of the city. The Queen must be here… and she’s expecting me. My breath quickens and my stomach clenches. I gag and feel like throwing up. I stop for a second to get to my senses, but Veekhal pulls my arm harder. “No time to rest.”
“Fuck you,” I shout to him. I hate him; I hate this fucking planet and I hate myself for dragging Emma into this. I imagine the worse. She’s probably dead and death is what awaits for me too.
“Maybe I’ll fuck YOU… and breed you,” he groans. We arrive at the entrance and as soon as we approach the doors, they slide open. Inside, four males bow their heads to Veekhal. “The Queen is expecting me,” Veekhal says to the males.
“All clear,” one of them says. “You may go in commander Veekhal.”
“Thank you,” Veekhal says to the guard. We walk through this bright hallway full of blinking lights on the wall. We reach a small square-shaped enclosure with transparent walls. “Get inside. You need to clean and sanitize yourself with gamma rays before you can see the Queen.” Veekhal opens one side of the enclosure and prompts me to enter.
"I don't want to go in there," I tell him and take a step back. My facial muscles make my face grimace in uncontrollable ways. I stare at the beams of light going up and down. "You can't make me. I’m not getting in there.”
“I order you to get inside,” he says in a commanding voice. He grabs the back of my neck and pushes me inside the gamma rays chamber. I try to fight, pulling myself from his grip. He frowns and grabs me again, this time by my arms. “I told you to get inside.” I can’t fight back and let myself dragged into the chamber. I close my eyes and cover my face with my hands. I don’t want to look. I can’t. I drop to my knees and wait for my end. This is it. The rays will beam over me and I’ll drop dead. Gamma means radiations. In a blink of an eye, I hear a loud beep, and my body feels bathed in a sea of warmth. It only lasts for five seconds, then everything goes quiet. I don’t dare to open my eyes. Am I already dead? I stop breathing for a second and wait. No, I’m not dead. I open my eyes and see Veekhal through the glass walls. He’s waiting outside.
“You’re ready. Come out. Move,” he says as the door opens. I stand and go out as he leads the way. I’m walking right behind him. I’d like to run and hide somewhere. Maybe this is my last chance. But where? There are so many twisting corridors that I’m confused. “Hurry!” Veekhal says and turns his head to face me. He stops for an instant and then continues to walk. I stop. I must run. I turn the opposite direction and start running as fast as I can. My race is ended by an electric shock wave that makes my body shake uncontrollably. I fall to the ground and cannot move a muscle. I’m paralyzed.
“You pathetic human! You can’t run. There’s no escape,” he shouts. I’m on the floor, still unable to control my body. I’m trying to move, but I just can’t. My eyes look in all directions, my breaths short and fast-paced. What did I do to deserve this? I wish it all ended, right here, right now. “Just fucking kill me, you monster,” I yell as loud as I can.
“If it were my decision, you’d already be dead. But you’re precious and they need you alive.” He groans back and crouches to grab me. “You should be able to walk now. The paralysis should be gone by now.” He’s right. I’m getting control of my body and I can move my muscles and stretch my legs. I stand and almost fall down again as he pulls me after him.
“Slow down! I can’t walk this fast,” I tell Veekhal. “I’m not the one who ran away. Now, move,” he says.
We keep going and turn left and right through all these corridors. This place is like a maze. I couldn’t find my way back even if I wanted to. Two more corridors and we stop in front of a huge door, inscribed with hundreds of symbols. The shiny metal reflects my appearance. I gaze for an instant at myself. I’m a mess. My hair is tangled, my so-called robe ripped and dirty. “We’re here,” Veekhal says and releases my arm. “You must bow to the Queen. You hear me?”
“She’s your queen. She’s not my fucking queen,” I answer back. He gets near a small circle on the right side of the door and approaches his right eye. A beam of light emerges and scans his eye. “Commander Veekhal identity recognized. Permission to enter granted,” a robotic voice says and the door slides open. We enter a vast hall with a high ceiling and walls plastered with metal pieces of unfamiliar shapes and patterns. Right in front of us, a few feet in the air, seven aliens sit on what I’d describe chairs suspended in the air. Unreal. Six of them appear to be males. They’re much slender than Ka’el and Veekhal and all the aliens I’ve seen so far. Their face is also much more ridged than theirs. They’re wearing golden robes and their hair is white. In the middle of them, there’s a female. She must be their queen, the one Veekhal spoke about. She is wearing a long purple, flowing dress, embroidered with gold patterns. Her icy blue eyes fix their gaze on me, scanning me from head to toe. Her face does not have many ridges like the males beside her. She’s more muscular than a human female, but she looks beautiful.
Before I take another step, the seven chairs float to the ground. “Come closer,” the queen says, her voice echoing in the huge room.
“You heard the Queen,” Veekhal whispers in my ear. “Move closer.” I take one more step and then another, my eyes to the floor. I get closer to her, my gaze to the floor. I don’t dare to look at her. My heart beats so hard in my chest, drops of perspiration covering my face.
“Kneel for the Queen,” Veekhal groans and puts his hand on my shoulder, pushing my body down. I drop to my knees, my head bowed.
“She’s so thin, just like the other female,” the queen says. The other female… is she speaking of Emma? Oh, God! What have they done to her?
“Where is Emma? What did you do to her?” I look up and gaze at the queen. I don’t blink and fix her, my eyes frowning. I don’t care she’s the fucking queen. I stand and clench my hands, muscles tensing. “Where is she?” I shout and free myself from Veekhal’s grip.
“You silly creature! How dare you defy the Queen?” Veekhal grabs the back of my neck and forces me down on my knees again. “Let her be,” the queen orders him. Veekhal releases his grip and I stand again. The queen stands from her chair and approaches me. Her gaze is frosty and her face reveals no kindness or other emotion. “Your friend, and for that matter YOU, will carry the honor of saving our race… and you shall speak with respect,” she says. “The female you speak of has been examined by our doctors and they found your kind’s compatible for breeding with Valkryan males. You will both be subjects in the Breeding Program along with others. You will mate with Valkryan males every moon cycle until you are with offspring.”
“What? That will never happen. I’m not your fucking savior,” I say and step backward away from her.
“I said… speak with respect,” she groans and hits me with the back of her hand. The hit throws me to the scant breaths, my cheek burning. I take my hand to my cheek and curl up, tears running down my face. “Take her to the breeding facility. You WILL mate with our males. If you refuse, they’ll force you. For your own sake, I suggest submitting,” the queen says and returns to her chair. The tears continue to find their way down my cheeks, my stomach clenched. I only take scant breaths between sobs. The thought of being fucked by random aliens is sickening.
“Stand female,” Veekhal orders. “Let’s go!” I gather all my strength and stand on my feet. He comes closer, his hand extended for the usual grab of my arm. This time I duck away, kicking him hard between his legs. I run and all I can see is the exit. “You bitch,” he groans in a weird tonality. The next thing I know, the same shock wave hits me from behind, the tingles spreading throughout me. I drop restlessly on the floor, once again unable to move. My breath slows down and the voices behind me become weaker and weaker until I no longer hear them. My eyelids close and then everything is silent.
