BEAST PLANET 1: CAPTIVE SURRENDER
EXCERPT
God, my head ached, my mouth and throat were dry. I
coughed and rolled over on the cold, metal floor. Just how much did I have to
drink last night?
It took a moment for the memories to re-surface. Shit, the
aliens, the metal octopus robots, the abductions and murders. I groaned,
wishing for nothing more than a heavy hangover, the reality slowly sank in. I
was being held captive by cruel aliens. I blinked a couple of times, but the
cages were still there when I opened my eyes. The same, damn cages they put us
in and Tammy lay curled by the bars near me. Slowly, I pushed myself up,
shifting closer to her, trying to share my body heat. I shivered, my teeth
chattering in the cold. The metal floor vibrated ever so slightly under my
frozen ass.
My heart and mind were numb. Losing Sandy left a bitter,
angry taste in my mouth. Sniffing, I struggled to hold back the tears, trying
to focus. A helpless captive, yes, but growing up with three, rough, older
brothers, I learned to be tough a long time ago. Still, nothing prepared me for
aliens and being held naked in a cage.
I don’t know how long I lay there, staring into nothing. I
glanced around, some of the other women stirred slightly.
Not that I was a seasoned space traveller, but no doubt we
were on some kind of space craft. An octopus drone passed slowly by, before a
chirpy kind of warbled chatter caught my attention. Behind the octopus drone, I
caught my first sight of our captors.
I stared in disbelief, as the three foot, rounded aliens
waddled down the aisle between the caged women. Beetle shaped bodies, short
legs, with three tripod-like hoofs. Their arms were as long as their bodies,
but had four thick fingers. A long mouth cut across the centre of their round,
scaly, green heads. Gecko-like eyes bulged on top. Over their bug eyes sat a
single, dark scaled, uni-eyebrow. Centred in the middle of their faces, were
small almond slits I could only guess were their noses. A shiny, black and
green, metallic armour covered the bulk of their bodies, with many different
flashing gadgets attached to it.
One of them held a shiny object, which appeared like a tablet type of computer from
earth. They stopped in front of my cage. I
swallowed convulsively, choking down my fear. These strange, small, alien
creatures held my life and those of all the women with me, in the palm, or
rather scales of their hands.
It hit me when they pointed and tapped at their gadget, it
wasn’t size that mattered, but the power of one's toys, spaceships and even
robots. I doubt they lifted a finger, but to make their advanced gadgets.
My heart pounded in an erratic tattoo. Brave, I had to be
brave. Ignoring my nakedness, I crawled forward towards the aliens. They
shuffled around to stare at me. Their strange faces lacked expression,
impossible to gauge their next movement. I could only hope and pray.
“Do you understand me?”
The first alien tapped its data pad. “We assimilated
earth language before collection of the female species.” The device spoke
in a droned voice.
“Who are you?”
He tapped the pad again. “We are the Galactic Supreme
Rulers of Druel.”
“Why have you taken us?”
“Species revival program.”
I frowned. What the hell did that mean? The Druel
started to move away. I had to think quickly. I doubted they would stand there
and answer all my questions, but I had to ensure our survival. Not just for
myself, but for the other women still asleep in their cages.
“Wait, please, if you want us to survive, you need to turn
up the heat, or give us something to cover our bodies. Otherwise we will freeze
to death. We also need water.”
I clutched at the bars. The Druel paused, tapped
its pad again, and then moved down the aisle and out of sight.
With a heavy sigh, I shuffled back into the corner of the
cage. A few moments later the feel of warm air blowing into the holding area
made me sit up. I gave a strangled laugh for the small mercy. An octopus robot
zoomed up to my cage. One of its tentacles extended exposing a shiny, silver,
oval shaped object. I scrambled forward and took it. Water sloshed over the
rim.
“Thank you,” I called out. The robot zipped away. I sat
back, taking a sip of water before cradling the rest. I didn't know if the Druel
would be so generous later.
My mind milled over what little I had learned from my
brief questions.
‘Species revival program’. I watched documentaries
on the Discovery channel. Scientists trying to revive endangered animal species
by breeding them in captivity, and then setting them free.
As far as I knew, humans were not an endangered species.
It could only mean one thing… My breathing suddenly accelerated, and my limbs
shook as the horrid thought hit me. “Holy shit.”
Worst case scenarios flashed through my mind. Oh God! My stomach struggled to suppress
the urge to vomit. I thought about them implanting hell-knows-what into our
wombs. My womb! They planned to breed
us with some other species… or maybe even themselves.
I thought of Sandy, and how I was almost dead instead of
her. I wrapped my arms around my legs, placing my head on my knees; tears
dripped down my face and onto my legs.
What was worse? Being dead or facing what the Druel
planned for us?
