Page 14 of Fractured Souls

Smoke, bitterness, blood. The memory made her want to retch.

Alexis touched her bare skin, searching for the scar…

But it was gone. Her skin was perfectly smooth, as if the wound had never existed.

She shuddered.

Am I going insane?

What had these Kordolians done to her? The last thing she remembered was the dreadful sound of the Malachi’’s hull tearing apart. Then she was thrown up into zero-gravity, sucked out into a cold vacuum as pieces of debris and droplets of liquid swirled all around her.

This is it. This is how I die.

Then everything went black…

And she had woken up inside a stasis tank, hooked up to tubes and wires and an oxygen mask, surrounded by freezing liquid.

Someone had rescued her and put her in that dreadful stasis tank.

Blue light filled her vision. She couldn’t see anything but blinding blue light.

An overwhelming sense of dread invaded her chest, and she flailed around wildly, desperately wanting to be free of this cold, dark chamber.

The glass shattered. An invisible force slammed into her, pushing her forward, throwing her onto the floor. Gasping, racked with pain, she flailed around amongst the cold viscous liquid and shards of glass. Taking deep breaths, she managed to roll onto her side.

Someone was on the floor beside her. A male. Big, muscular, silver-skinned.

Kordolian!

He turned his head and stared at her, and she caught a glimpse of madness in his wild golden eyes.

A terrible pressure built up inside her head, as if something—or someone—were trying to break free.

The male cried out, his voice cracking with fury and pain. That terrible sound ignited her fear, shattering the last fragments of her awareness.

She screamed, her voice combining with the alien’s cries in a demented chorus.

Suddenly, impossibly strong hands were all over her, grabbing her arms and legs, holding her down as something sharp pierced her arm.

They’re sedating me!

As her consciousness faded, a final terrifying thought entered her mind.

The Kordolians had her now, and they were going to make sure she suffered.

Not safe. Not on Earth. Not anywhere.

Alexis doubled over and clutched the sides of her head as the memories blended into one long, hideous nightmare. There was that pressure again, pushing against the walls of her skull. A cold sweat broke out over her face and neck as she pulled the sheets around her body, trying to ward off the chill. She rolled onto her side and curled into the fetal position, staring up at the dark walls that enclosed her bed—this claustrophobic alien pod.

The entire room was black, the walls made of a strange material that felt like a composite of metal and wood; it was neither hot nor cold. A small egg-shaped lamp sat in one corner, radiating golden light and a little bit of warmth, as if someone had stolen a fragment of Earth’s sun and placed it inside.

And of course, the seamless doors that led to the outside world were sealed shut.

She was trapped, a prisoner on an enemy ship.

Fear and anger and desperation welled up inside her. She just wanted out. This shit inside her head… she wanted it out.

The memories returned, flashing through her mind as vividly as a holo-film.

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