Page 18 of Einar

Shemanipulates my body, pushing and pulling me around as she maneuvers us to wherever theNagaswant us to go.Afterwe leave the cage, all of us are forced to line up against the wall in a long, dark hallway.Peekingout from where my face is still pressed againstRuby’sneck,Iwatch as our captors start taking women, several at a time, through a doorway that opens and closes behind their massive bodies without any visible or audible command.

Thelady next in line attempts to move to the back, but before she can make it, one of the snakes snatches her up in his arms.Shesure does put up one hell of a fight, though.Screaming, yelling, struggling, she fights him with every ounce of effort she can.Isee the second one of her nails catches the male across the face.Roaringin anger, its mouth opens wider than should be possible, fangs flashing in the light, and bites her on the shoulder.Thesound she emits … it will haunt me untilIdie.

It’sso bad, evenRubylooks away, andIwatch as tears stream down her face.Glancingback at the woman,Isee her collapse in the monster’s arms as it turns away from us, taking her lifeless body with it.Afterthat, the silence is deafening.Noneof us are willing to make any noise, less we call attention to ourselves.I’mtrembling so hard,Ican barely stand and if it wasn’t forRuby,I’msureIwouldn’t be able to walk.She’sthe only thing holding me up right now.Soonerrather than later, we reach the front of the line, andIknow we are about to be separated from one another.

Oneof the monsters approaches us, grabsRubywhile snarling in her face andIcan feel her breathing hitch as she tries not to vomit as its putrid breath hits her in the face.Thebastard does his best to pullRubyoff of me, but no matter how hard he tries, she clings to me like a spider monkey.Itgives up sooner thanIexpected it to before shoving both of us out of the room through the automatic door.

Pushingmy face back intoRuby’sneck,Ipray to whateverGodis listening to help us.I’vebeen doing it for years with no answer, butI’mdesperate.

Abruptly,Rubystarts moving back the way we came, her grip on me is so tightIknowI’llhave more bruises to add to my collection.Hermovement is instantly halted, and a scream of pain escapes her throat before she jolts forward, dragging me with her.Awarm, wet sensation catches my attention.Lookingdown, dread fills me asIseeRubybleeding from a deep wound in her side.

Raisingmy head, horror fills me whenIrealize that we’ve been herded into an area that looks like aMissAmericanPageantgone wrong.Thereis a t-shaped stage with human women … andthingsthat appear to be female with those damnNagasescorting them down to the end and back.

It’sthe audience however, that makes what little bit of sanityIhave left flee.

ChapterThirteen

ROWAN

Mybrain has cometo a conclusion that my conscious mind doesn’t want to believe.

We’ve… been …we’ve been … abducted by aliens.

Thereare creatures of every shape and size, creating a cacophony of sound as the females are led up and down the stage.Asudden coughing fit catches me by surprise as the scents in the room finally register.I’mnot onEarthanymore and there’s no telling who, or whatI’mallergic to in this room.

Ican see theNagasin front grabbing two females at a time, no matter what species they are, ripping their clothing off them and forcing them to walk down the aisle in the middle of the platform.The“T” shaped stage is the centerpiece of the giant room we’ve been forced into.Eachtime a new pair of females is prodded down the length of the platform, the volume of the crowd swells with all sorts of sounds floating across the vast space toward the stage.

TheNagasare showing the females off, twisting their bodies this way and that, ensuring the crowd sees everything each one has to offer.Afterthis goes on for several moments, sometimes a chime will sound and the females that receive the chime are led down a different hallway away from the rest of us.Thescreams that sound after that door closes are heart wrenching.Femalesthat don’t get the chime are escorted to the back of the stage and left against the back wall, with what appears to be one guard loitering nearby.

Asfar as the eye can see, there arethingsstaring at the hysterically crying females being paraded up and down the stage … and they all lookhungry.Infact, more than one of the beings in front of us has the same look in their eyes thatRobertdid when he was getting ready to ‘discipline’me.Narrowingmy eyes,Ilook closer and when it hits me, the knowledge slams into my brain like a freight train.

Themonsters all appear to beMALE.

OHNO,OHNO,OHNO!

Suckingin a labored breath,Iemit a high-pitched whine asIstart pulling away fromRuby, trying to force myself away from the hell in front of us.Mysister doesn’t know.Rubydoesn’tunderstand, butIdo.Weare the goods in this market of hideousness.TheNagasare the salesmen, and we are the wares they’re showing off to customers.That’swhat the stage is for!

Rubygrabs at me before quietly barking out a question. “Whatare you doing?Don’tdo anything to make those scaly bastards notice you.”

“Ruby,Ican’t.”

Itshould shame me to be so weak in front of my beloved sister, but it doesNOTwhenIknowwhat’s most likely to become of us.Iwould rather die than be somesavage’stoy.

“Idon’t think we’re being given a choice in the matter.I’mnot super happy about this either sis, but fuck!Doyou see a magical door that we can slip through somewhere?Isure as shit don’t and have you looked around at all?BecauseIbelieve wholeheartedly that we’re on the other side of the damn rainbow and it isn’t the pretty one, either.Thisone has led us straight to hell.”

“Ruby,I’mnot like you.Mystrength and will to live is long gone.”

“Thehell it is!You’remy sister and you are stronger than you’re giving yourself credit for.Ican’t do this alone, sis.You’rethe only reasonI’mnot falling apart right now.Ineed youRowan, so please, in the middle of everything else, my mind can’t deal with the thought of losing you, too.So, here’s the plan.Nomatter what they do to us, we do everything we can to stay together.Everytime they try to yank us apart, you reach for me, you hear me?Wecan’t let them separate us, or we’ll be lost to each other forever.Ican face this if you’re beside me, but not alone.”

“Iwon’t let go.”

Ruby’swords are exactly whatIneeded to hear.Ihave to be strong, if not for myself, then for her.I’mthe reason she’s in this mess andIowe it to her to do everythingIcan for her.Guiltthreatens to overwhelm me, butIcan’t fall apart.Nomatter how muchIwant to sink into the blank space inside my mind.

Mysister needs me.

Ino more than make that vow to her when massive, brutal hands grab at both of us.Wewere so focused on our quiet conversation that we missed the fact that we were next in line at the base of the stage.Oneof theNagasshovesRubyso hard thatIhave to catch her before she falls.Idon’t know how much blood she’s lost, but the wound in her side has a steady stream flowing from it.Definitelysomething she needs medical attention for, not that we’ll get any in this hellish place.

TheNagaholding us tries to force us apart, to no avail.Ithisses out something and a second set of hands grabs us in the effort to separate us.Weare putting up more of a fight than any of the other females up to this point.Ican feelRuby’snails cutting into my arms andIcan see the bloody furrows in her skin where my nails have cut her in return, latching onto one another every time our captors tear us apart.I’mfighting with every bit of strengthIhave left in me, because this is for my sister.

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