Page 20 of No Strings Attached

“Guh…giveyou?” He squeaked out, “You’re not in any kind of bargaining position, human. I’ll give you your continued life!”

“I doubt you’re going to kill me for not reading that book for you. I’m sure I’m worth more than that at your upcoming auction.”

“How do you know about that?”

She raised an eyebrow, “I know a lot of things about a lot of things. So, what will you give me?”

He put his hands on his body, elbows bent, in the region of his general roundness that Vi thought might be his hips, “What do you want?”

She thought about it, considering what she might realistically get from him, then listed off on her fingers, “A blanket for everyone, turn up the temperature in here, double the food rations for every captive, and increase the temperature of that snake’s heat pad.” She pointed at snake guy.

Qlu shook his head, wildly, “Absolutely not.”

She shrugged and regarded her fingernails, totally indifferent. “Then you’re a pretty shitty businessman, because some of us won’t live to see the auction in the temperatures you’re keeping us or on the amount of food you’re giving us. You’re going to lose your investment.”

He dropped his arms, “Which ones won’t make it?”

She shrugged again, as if disinterested, “I will die from the cold, and so will the snake, unless the auction’s today. TheEstranian and the Garoxian will both die from starvation unless the auction’s this week, but I don’t think anyone is going to be in great shape by the end of this week. You’re really fucking this up for yourself with these conditions.”

Qlu thought for a moment, tapping his chin, then muttered, “Those four are my highest value items.”

She laughed, and said, “Sure we are, unless we’re dead.”

Qlu narrowed his eyes at her and thrust his yellow hand with the book between the bars, snapping, “Read me the first page so that I can be sure you evencanread.”

Still laughing, she took the book, opened it up, and read, “Esmerelda awoke on the floor of a strange room, not her bedroom, when a giant, green, and very naked man burst through the hatch door and shouted, ‘Come with me, they’re almost here!’” She closed the book and looked at Qlu.

Qlu glared at her for another moment, then shouted, “Fine!” and waved his arms at his lackeys, “Do it!”

Vi stood there holding the book until the blankets had all been distributed, the snake guy had hissed in pleasure, the temperature had risen dramatically, and double breakfast had been served. She ate a single handful of the double ration of kibble while looking Qlu in the eye, then sat down on her folded blanket and began to read. Someone brought him a stool.

About four hours later, Vi was chugging down water from hollow cage bar, her throat raw, when she heard the sound of the last of Qlu’s lackeys shuffling out of the door and the latch clicking. He had jumped up and practically run out of the room during a particularly contrived, but no less explicit, sex scene.

She was embarrassed to have provided her fellow captives with their only taste of Earth art and literature throughExtragalactic Love. But when she walked back to stand on her folded blanket, looked up, and met the others’ gazes, she saw appreciation.

Acken was the first to speak, peering at her through the cage bars, “I perpetually underestimate you, to my ongoing shame.”

Vi shrugged, a little taken aback, “It just seemed like a good chance to get our conditions improved so that we aren’t too weak for whatever fight is coming when we get out of here.”

Caussus raised his voice to be heard from the end of the line, “No, madam, it was your generosity and compassion that made you do what you did, even if you try to rationalize it as a practical measure.”

Acken was nodding. She just shrugged, then grabbed the bars and looked at Caussus. “Did you give Friend our buddy Malachite’s ration again? Hisdoubleration?”

Caussus looked down.

“OK, listen, that trawg looks exactly like an Earth dog. And an Earth dog will keep eating anything you give it, acting like it’s starving to death, until it gets so fat that you have to push it with a stick to roll it out the door. I’m getting more than enough to eatandgive the extra to Mister Beastly. Snake guy says he’s fine, and Kompi looks like he’s pretty famine resistant. So, I want you to push Malachite’s ration to Acken, OK? We’re going to be relying heavily on him later.”

Friend whined.

“Don’t give me that shit, Friend,” Vi laughed, pointing. “You’re getting double rations now and it’s still probably too much for a trawg your size. Youwillhelp Caussus push it over to Acken.”

“Yes, Vi.”

“You’re a good boy, Friend. Now, I’m going to sing some songs to Kompi, then I’m going to sing those same songswithKompifor Malachite, then I’m going to try to get some sleep before our friends return tonight.”

She took a handful of kibble from her bag, then passed the remainder of the bag through the cage to Mister Beastly. He took it, then handed her his blanket. She promptly wrapped it around herself and tucked in the top, like a towel, then said, “Thank you, Mister Beastly.”

“Aye.”

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