Page 2 of His Human to Adore

“Okay, if that’s one, what are some others?” I want to know what the other rumors are because I know I’m a part of those. Yeah, I shouldn’t care about what other people are saying about me, but it’s hard not to care when it’s literal gossip about me from women I’m sacrificing my body for so they can live comfortably on Earth once I’m gone.

“You mean besides A12-03 practically running through the stadium when it was her turn to go so she could get there faster?” Nia gives me a knowing look, and I nod in agreement with that. A12-03 was practically counting down the minutes until she went to the new world. “Or there’s the fact that A12-22 and A12-14 have been having those weird dreams that we can all hear.”

My face flushes at the reminder of the sounds we may have woken up to on a few occasions. Nia doesn’t say it, but those same sounds have been coming from my room, too. “The Hands have been messing with our pheromones,” I tell her. “Something about trying to determine mates and whatnot, so it’s easier to acclimate to our new home.”

“Yeah,” Nia waves away my explanation. “Simone told us both all of that, but it doesn’t explain why you three are the ones getting all weirdly sexual in your dreams and no one else is. It makes the other women think you’re aching for some alien tentacles.”

I frown at her words and feel the back of my head to see if I’ve missed any hair. “First, we both know they don’t have tentacles.”

Simone asked someone, the Hand she has been secretly seeing, to give us a descriptor of the aliens we’re being sent to. Each woman is supposed to be told about it before we leave Earth, but we may have wanted to know before then. I already know they’re reptilian-like, with red scales and horns. They’re supposed to be giant, but I don’t know if that means a really tall human or an actual fairytale twenty-foot behemoth. I’m really hoping for a normalish-sized man, considering all of him is probably scaled up.

“Second, will you get the rest of my head?” I hand her the hair clippers and wait for her to clean up the last little bits of hair I can’t seem to get.

“What did you do?” Simone enters my room as soon as we set the clippers down and are all done with my hair. She has a bag of hot chips and a bag of sour cream and onion chips. I reach out for the hot chips, but she keeps them away from me with a look of horror on her face. “Deja, no.”

“Simone, yes,” I laugh as she continues to stare at my head. “I have eighteen minutes left before they come to get me. Give me the damn hot chips.”

Simone narrows her eyes on me but reluctantly hands them over. I open them quickly and start funneling the tasty treat into my mouth for the last time. I know Simone must have done some weird stuff to get us our junk food since the Hands have told us they’re no longer available, but I’m so grateful for it. Plus, she doesn’t look like she’s just had to sleep with a weird, almost human, so maybe she doesn’t even have to do that for all of her information and snacks. Maybe she really is just playing with one of the Hand’s emotions, if they have any, to get what she needs.

“When I get there, I’m giving you dreads, and you’re going to deal with it.” Simone gives me a pointed look that tells me I should try to fight her on it. When I just nod along and chew on the hot chips, she keeps talking. “They have oils there we can use on our hair. I don’t know about soaps. I think the other humans have been just washing it with water, which means we’re about to all be greasy.”

“What else?” I ask.

I love hearing Simone talk about what life has been like on the other planet for the three women who have gone before me. Somehow, she always has new things to tell us, like how humans can scent their mates on these aliens, how there’s about to be terrible storms that hit that the Hands didn’t even know about, and she’s been keeping us up to date on if any of the women are pregnant yet. They aren’t, but it’s been interesting to know that they’re actively trying instead of completely opposed to the idea. It makes me feel better about not completely hating the idea of trying to find an alien for myself.

I thought I’d be repulsed, but knowing that there’s some lizard alien man on that planet who wants to mate me, cherish me, love me. It’s kind of exciting. None of the others have been hurt, and Simone makes it sound like they’re all enjoying themselves there. Maybe I can find happiness there too.

“A12-04,” A Hand calls my name as he opens the curtain to my room. “It’s time for us to get you prepared for your exit.”

My insides churn and my hands shake. I’m nervous about leaving Earth, about being implanted with a translation device, and about not being with any of my friends for a while. I’m even more worried that the Hand is here early. Not by much, but I still have at least ten minutes if I go by the same time as they took the last woman.

Simone will be with me in a month since she’s A12-05, but that still means twenty-eight days without a friend.

I should be terrified about what I’m being sent to do. It has to be the weird pheromone experiments the Hands have been doing on some of us that have me feeling calm and settled about meeting the new world’s inhabitants. I’m not about to jump anyone’s bones. I’m also not opposed to the idea. If someone told me this is how I’d feel about being sent to another planet not even four months ago, I’d have called them crazy.

“We must hurry,” the Hand tells me as he looks down at his bare wrist. Another one of the human mannerisms that they do that’s definitely wrong because they don’t seem to get that human people look at their watches, not just their bare wrists. “A storm is approaching the tribe we are sending you, too. Normally, we would prepare you a meal and brief you on the creatures, but time is of the essence. Even the doctor will not be performing the usual exams.”

“Why don’t we just wait until the storm is over?”

I regret asking as soon as the words leave my mouth. I don’t know why the thought of not being there breaks my heart slightly, but it does. Like I’m supposed to be there right now, and I need to get there as soon as possible.

The Hand, thankfully, doesn’t give my question a second thought as he guides me through the halls of the stadium. Nia and Simone keep up with us, but once we reach the doors to the doctor’s office, they’re told they need to let me go.

“I’ll see you soon,” Simone says as she wraps an arm around my back and pulls me into a tight hug. “And I’m doing your hair, so don’t keep shaving it all off when I’m not there.”

“I don’t know,” I chuckle as I go to hug Nia. “Maybe I’ll keep the bald look for a while. I haven’t seen myself in a mirror, but I’m pretty sure I’m rocking it.”

“Shut up!” Simone pushes my shoulder but then wraps me in another hug before the Hand taps his foot, ready for us to move on from this part so he can ship me off the planet.

“Okay, okay,” I push away from Simone. “Make sure Nia gets taken care of when I’m gone. Heaven knows she needs someone to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Nia shakes her head, giving me a crooked smile as she side-eyes Simone. “Yeah, I’m the one getting in way over my head.”

Simone slaps her arm, and then the two are waving and smiling goodbye to me. Maybe it should feel worse since I’m leaving my two best friends, but I know it won’t be forever. No, Simone will be with me in twenty-eight days, and Nia will be with us at some point. She’s A12-18, which means she’ll be sent during the eighteenth month if the Hands continue sending us in the same way.

I offer a small wave goodbye to them, and then the Hand pushes me into the doctor’s office so I can get my translator chip and move on to being sent off Earth.

“Sorry for the rush,” the doctor says as he wipes an antiseptic behind my ear and then plunges a needle deep into my head. I open my mouth to scream, but he covers my mouth with his hand. “Your friends will hear.”

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