Fatal trips to space?

“We should have died too,” the girl mumbled.

“Hey, don’t say that.” Sara began to shake as a memory of her sister flitted through her mind.

I want to die, Sara.

No.

She sucked in a deep, steadying breath. She had to focus on the present. On getting out of here.

“I’m Sara.” She touched her chest. “What’s your name?”

“It doesn’t matter.” The girl wrapped her arms around her knees. “We’ll never see each other again anyway.” She scowled at the ground and Sara sensed that there was a forcefield around her that was even more impenetrable than the prison they were locked in.

Sara knelt beside the woman. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on or what’ll happen from here, but I do know one thing.” She offered her hand. “We can both use a friend right now.”

“You’re one of those sappy, optimistic types, aren’t you?”

“I consider myself more of a realist.”

“You’re not getting out of here,” she said.

“Have you tried?”

“Why do you think I look like this?”

Sara grimaced. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”

The woman studied her for a long moment and her eyes softened just a little. “Emma.”

Sara glanced up in surprise. “What changed your mind?”

“I want someone to remember me before I die.” Emma closed her eyes.

“No one’s going to die,” Sara said.

“Look around. What do you think they’re going to do with us?” Emma lifted her chin. “When they’re through, we’re going to wish we were dead.”

“We’re going to get out of this. We can make a plan.”

“It will fail.” Emma opened her eyes. “These aliens went to a lot of trouble to kidnap us. They’re not going to let us waltz out of this place just because we ask nicely.”

Loud noises broke out in the distance. Sara heard the patter of feet stomping against wood and loud, raucous cheers. The hoots grew louder as some kind of rhythmic drumming pounded from far away. Was that this planet’s version of music?

Sara shuddered as she imagined the horror that awaited them. “You think they’ll let us go if we ask nicely?”

Emma snorted. “We’re worth a ton to these bastards. Humans don’t survive up here and the fact thatwedid makes us that much more expensive.” She shook her head. “Right now, we’re about to be sold to some creepy alien monster. No one’s coming to save us.”

“Why do you think we survived?” Sara asked, her voice trembling. “I’m just a normal girl. I don’t—why did they take me?”

“I think there’s a method to their selection process. They were looking for something. I don’t know what exactly, but whatever it is…”

“You have it,” Sara whispered in a low, frightened voice.

Emma’s eyes locked on her. “And if you’re here, if you’re still breathing, that means you have ‘it’ too.”

Emma was wrong. She wasn’t special. She was just a lonely girl who lived with her aging aunt in the middle of nowhere. Her mother had died early and her sister—