Page 39 of Stranded

“What?” I exploded, standing up and slamming my hands down on the console. I knew he couldn’t see me, but I was sure he could hear the violence in my voice.

“For diplomacy, Tayla!” The man on the other end stammered against my fury. He sounded frantic. “If you play nice with them, then they will help you and your friends off the planet. We have already arranged the deal. I’m sorry, Tayla.”

The radio fell silent, and I stared at it in disbelief. Sorry? That was the best he could do? Not only was I trapped here on this planet, forced to share my research freely with the aliens who were effectively holding me hostage, but I was also supposed to feel warm and fuzzy about it in the name of diplomacy?

Hot tears sprang to my eyes, and I thought I was going to throw up. I tore the headset off of my head and tossed it aside, making a run for the airlock. I needed fresh air.

I hit the button to open the inner lock, but it hissed open a second before I got there, and my second-worst nightmare came true: Adreax stood in the doorway, obviously startled to see me fuming on the other side of the door. I had disrupted his nightly routine, and now we were face to face, but I was too angry and upset to speak. All I could do was cover my face with my hands as a sob hiccuped out of me, and I shouldered past him outside.

I didn’t look back. I ran away from the shuttle and away from my camp. I ran until my lungs burned and my thighs ached, and then I slowed to a walk, kicking at loose gravel and sending it flying as I raged.

Why did my people trade me so willingly? Why did Adreax have to be so damn tempting and so infuriating all at the same time? And what the hell was I supposed to do now?

Looking up into the universe, I threw my arms wide, tossed my head back, and let forth a rage-filled scream that reverberated through my entire body.

“Come and get me, you bastards!”

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