Page 4 of His to Worship

Wherever the hell we are, I don’t know if this little ship could even make the trek back to Earth before we all aged to death.

“Fuck.” The whispered word comes from Sabrina and I know she’s seen outside.

The stale air is tinged with a metallic tang that lingers on my tongue with every breath. When we continue walking forward, I hear similar reactions from the other girls as they both pass the windows, too. The further we walk down the corridor, the sparser the windows become, telling me we must be nearing the center of the ship. I wonder briefly how big this new ship is. It’s more confined than the main ship, but how much smaller? How many guards and workers do they need to keep it going? Hopefully, fewer than the other ship.

We finally approach a large arched door. The bug guard moves forward and aligns its eye with a scanner next to the door. A single holographic light courses over its face and it does its vibrating clicking thing before I feel a vibrational pattern under my feet. I wonder if that’s the ship's way of speaking to these dudes.

The arched door slides to the left with a hiss and my captor pulls me forward. We’re all herded into an open space. At the center of the room stands a massive console, its surface covered in an array of buttons and switches, and adorned with blinking lights and intricate displays. If my sci-fi knowledge is anything to go on, this must be the control space of the ship.

The seats and large console in the middle of the room bring me back to my space romance obsession days. The room is spacious compared to the thin hallways. With sleek metallic panels lining the walls, it’s clear that whatever money these dudes make is more than enough. I guess human trafficking is lucrative even when the traffickers and buyers aren’t human themselves.

We’re all led to the wall furthest from the door. The insects escorting us drag each of us to a side of the ship where a long thin metal strip wraps across the wall. An alien grabs my wrists suddenly and I resist the urge to jerk away. I had learned earlier that they get mad if you resist, and it only earns you a harsh jab with the muzzle of their gun. Instead, I repress a shudder as its creepy finger-claw brushes my bare skin. It pulls my arms up by my wrists and makes the cuffs meet the magnetic metal strip.

Our guards and the loaders around us communicate with more clicking noises. Everything is a sudden bustle of movement, and watching them stiffly jerk around is disconcerting. I’ve never actually had to look at any of these dudes for this long. I look away, deciding to look at the others instead. The one good thing about this setup is that we are now lined along the wall and, with some stretching, we can all see each other. I peer at the control panel sharing a wall with our restraints just a few feet away. One of the other guards taps something in and I feel the hold on my wrists lock. I give a small test pull. Sure enough, I can’t move an inch. I look over and see the other girls being placed in the same compromising position I’m in.

This is going to be problematic. With all four of us locked in, the two aliens that brought us in, plus six more that are milling around the room checking things and tapping buttons, we are put at a major disadvantage. I exchange a look with Renata, both of us silently asking each other, ‘Well, what the fuck do we do now?’ It takes several moments, but eventually, every one of the mantises leaves the room.

“So, what now?” Amari’s the one to ask the big question out loud as soon as the room is cleared.

Sabrina takes us all by surprise by loudly declaring, “Let’s hijack the effing ship!”

“That’s your idea?” I inquire incredulously.

She jumps to add to her suggestion, “There’s only four of us, but it’s a smaller ship, and likely most of the dudes we saw are just there to prep stuff, so there’ll be a smaller number of insect dudes, too. It’s our best bet.”

“Our time does seem to be running out,” Renata acquiesces as she thinks.

“It could work, if there’s just a few of the insect dudes and us,” Amari adds in, her voice surprisingly steady.

“If we can get their guns, it’ll be even better…” I trail off pointedly.

Sabrina re-emphasizes, “So let’s hijack the mother-effing ship.”

“We have two problems we need to fix. One, we need to know how many aliens are going to be on this ship. Two, we need a way to get freed.” Renata looks at each of us, as we all think about how to approach this.

Amari agrees with a nod of her head before continuing, “When we were brought to this ship, almost all of the other aliens besides our guards stayed behind, so I don’t think many extra ones will be on board. We just need to be worried about the handful that remain.”

“I think three of them were tech dudes, not soldiers,” Sabrina adds helpfully. “They were dressed differently and only touched the wires and consoles while they were moving about.”

“Maybe they’re like Earth tech dudes and we don’t need to be concerned about them getting physical,” I joke, which garners a few half smiles.

“That would be nice. It would be fun for them to be scared of us for once,” Amari adds, and Renata makes a noise of agreement in the back of her throat.

“How are we going to figure out the solution to our second problem?”

“I got that one,” Amari volunteers. We all hesitate, so she speaks up in her own defense. “Trust me, you guys, I can get them to take my cuffs off. I know I’m not emotionally solid right now, but I can handle this.”

“Okay, Amari’s got it,” Sabrina speaks up in a tone that sounds like a mom daring someone to protest.

Nodding hesitantly, I try my best to put my faith in Amari. “Alright, if you’re sure. But, for now, nobody will do anything until they get the ship en route.”

“Yes,” Renata concurs, “the last thing we need is more bugs coming to save the ones on the ship.”

“Deal. When we take off and get a bit away, I’ll do it. I’ll make it happen, I promise.” The girl sounds far more confident than she has this entire time, and I hope that is a good sign.

We’re all counting on her. If she fails, most likely we’re all dead or as good as dead because who the hell knows where we’re being delivered to.

THREE

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