Page 12 of Slavic

Ilet myself slide down to the floor, the cold of the cage beneath me makes me shudder as pain from the wound on my leg almost overwhelms me. “Shush.Thereisn’t anything we can do about it right now.Ithink we may have just gotten the shit end of the stick,Sis.Thefact that we were left, and these things are what showed up to get us, it doesn’t say good things to me.”

Weboth watch as all the other women are also picked up and tossed into the cages without care.Iwince as the girl the snake bit and then tossed against the wall is scooped up and thrown in.Ifthat woman is alive, it will be a miracle.Amorbid part of me hopes that she isn’t, so at least one of us is spared whatever is to come.

Theplatform thingy we are on starts to move andIwatch as we are hauled out of the arena area into what looks like a, … well … if we were on earth,Iwould say a shipyard, but these aren’t ships that sail on water.

Thesearespaceships.

Inotice the otherthingsaroundrecoil from our little procession.Growls, shrieks, hisses, bared teeth, and more are directed our way.It’slike they’re scared or disgusted with the bugs.Rowanlooks at me before she asks.

“Doesit look like all the other creatures out there are warning these bug things away?”

“That’sexactly what it seems like to me.”Somethingthat appears eerily similar to a werewolf snarls at the bugs, baring freakishly large teeth, before grabbing a smaller, softer version of itself, pushing it behind the mass of its body.Softyellow eyes peek out from behind the massive snarling beast, locking its gazewith me.WhatIsee shining in its surprisingly pretty eyes is … pity.

Thesound of metal grinding on metal jerks my attention back to the bugs.We’vestopped in front of what looks like a docking station attached to the scariest fucking spaceship we’ve seen since leaving the arena.Myeyes dart around, other ships surrounding us in all shapes and sizes, and they look relatively well kept.

Thisship … does not.Itlooks like it’s held together with duct tape and bubble gum.Thereare even tinyholesin its side, and it’s covered in rust.Great, we’re about to be loaded onto this bucket of bolts.

Ihear several of the girls in the last cages yelling out for help.Nothingor no one even glances our way.Itseems this place is no different from any other, it’s easier to simply look the other way.

Oneof the bugs bangs on the side of the ship and a hatch on the bottom creaks open.Thenone at a time, we are transferred inside.Whenthe cage tilts sideways, the blood from my leg causes me to slip and without thinking,Igrab hold of the first barIcan.Unfortunately, with my now broken wrist, a jolt of intense pain in my arm causes me to lose my grip and slam the side of my face into the cage, splitting my cheek.

Blackspots form in front of my eyes asItry to fight to remain awake.Thelast thingIhear isRowancalling out my name.

Chapter Nine

RUBY

Iwakeup with my head laying on a soft surface, and someone gently combing through my hair.Rowan’sworried face hovers above mine.

“Howlong wasIout?”

“Longenough to scare the shit out of me.”Hervoice is raspy andIcan tell she is having a hard time breathing.

“DidImiss anything?”

“No, they dumped us in here and that’s the lastI’veseen of them.I’mpretty sure the ship launched a little bit ago.Theair got weird there for a second and thenIfelt weightless.Thankfully, not long after you passed out, your leg stopped bleeding, but your wrist is black, so it must be broken.”Herfingers skim over my cheek. “GodRuby, what do we do now?”

Ilose the fight against the tears demanding release as a heavy sob leaves me. “I’vefailed you.”

“Oh, pleaseRuby, if this is anyone’s fault it sure as hells not yours.I’mthe reason we were in that place to begin with.”Aheavy cough shakes her small form, and even through the tears,Iwatch her wipe blood from her mouth.

“Howlong has that been going on?”

“Toolong now,Ifear.Wehave enough to worry about right now.Youneed to rest while you can.Lordonly knows what horrors we’re going to be a part of next.”

Rowanlies down next to me and we curl into each other.Mymind drifts off, wondering how this all happened, as my body shivers uncontrollably.Whatis the old saying, ‘seeing is believing?’, but my mind and body are still in denial asIdon’t truly want to believe any of this is real.Thingslike this don’t happen to normal people.Imean you see it onTVand crap.Peoplecome up missing all the time, but that was never going to happen to us.Neversay never, huh?

RowanandIboth are nobodies, why would any species pick two girls like us?We’rebarely even cute, let alone abduction worthy.

Imust have dozed off because sudden screams wake me andIjerk up, pullingRowanwith me asIscoot away from the doorway.Thebugs are back and this time it seems the louder you scream the more excited they get.Thefirst one they grab is the girl who had been bitten.Shemoans out pitifully but never opens her eyes as one of them drags her behind it on the floor.Twomore are taken before they slam the door closed.

Thentime crawls to a stop as we sit here, anticipating their return.Eventhough there are several other human girls in here with us, we’ve kept to ourselves.Noone’s saying a word in case the bugs are listening.Everyone of us is locked in our own thoughts as we dread the hell coming our way.

Ihave no idea how long we’ve been on this ship, but one thing we’ve all suddenly come to realize is the bugs don’t care if we’re alive or dead.Notonly doIfeel likeI’mon the verge of hypothermia, but my mouth is so dryIcan no longer make spit.We’vebeen here for at least a few days now.Thelast thing either of us would have eaten was the sandwichesEdithmade for us on the trip toTexas, so that’s probably three, maybe four days now.Betweenmy injuries and the lack of food and water,I’mbarely holding my head up.Mythoughts are jumbled andIfeel likeI’min a fog.

Theroom smells so bad from all our body waste, thatIhave to make myself breathe through my mouth.Whenthe bugs came last time, several girls rose up, demanding food and water.Welearned quickly after that not to give them a reason to single you out.Becauseonce they drag you out of this cage, you don’t return.Nowthe only time we hear a peep out of anyone is when they come back to take another one of us.

Forthe most part they have left me andRowanalone, butIcan tell she’s getting weaker by the day without her meds.Herbreathing is labored, and the wheezing indicates that her lungs are closing up.Rowanis once again asleep, andIrun a hand over her long, now matted hair.Pickingup the ends,Iwork my fingers gently through the knots.Herbruises are not healing; if anything, certain ones look worse than they did before.Itry to push back the pain of my own battered body.Myleg is now almost unresponsive as red infection marks are moving up under my skin.Movingmy wrist hurts so bad it makes my eyes water.Atsome point,I’vestopped being hungry.Iknow that’s one of the first signs and now it won’t be long until my body fails all together.Mymind drifts to so many thingsIwould’ve loved to have done, but none of that matters now.

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