Page 4 of A Monster's Light
Who was she? And why was she here?
Touch her. Free yourself and touch her.
I ignored the ridiculous demand. Now was not the time to test for compatibility. I didn’t even know who she was, only that she was supposed to interview me. Was that a euphemism for an interrogation?
Instead of answering, she looked me straight in the eye, then reached up to fidget with a button on her top. Then she turned to look behind her, and as she did, her posture changed.
“We have only a few minutes before the camera starts recording again,” she whispered.
I looked up at the camera in the corner of the room, and sure enough, the tiny blue light was off.
“Tell me how I can help you get out of here.” She put her hand up in a universal sign of surrender. “I know you don’t trust me, but I need your help to find my friend Julie. They told me she was sent to Utopia, but I believe she joined the last rut two years ago.”
Interesting. This wasn’t at all what I’d expected. I tried to recall if I remembered such a name, but all the female names blur together for me. They all sounded so strange.
“Please,” she said, barely audible.
She stood from the chair and stepped toward me, going right past the red line. If I wanted to, I could pull on my chains, reach for her, and use her as a hostage. But what if they considered her expendable and shoot right through her to get to me?
“Tell me how, and I’ll try my best to free you,” she continued, glancing back worriedly at the door. “We can help each other. Please. We don’t have much time. She disappeared two years ago, right before your rutting season. I know she didn’t go to Utopia.”
Something inside told me to trust her. Maybe it was because I could sense her panic growing by the second. It wasn’t at me but at the possibility of getting caught. Unless she was a consummate actor, she was putting her life on the line to findher friend. That was admirable. Perhaps we could help each other.
“Contact Penelope. She publishes her books through your online shopping service. Shop U? Shop E?” I regret not taking the time to memorize the false name Vostak’s mate published her work under.
“EshopU. Do you mean the books about your ruts that they can’t remove? I know about them. I co-wrote an article on them once.”
“Not about the ruts. The books are about our matings.”
She frowned, clearly not understanding the difference. She would if she’d read the stories.
“Her contact is in every book. Tell her that Gnnar is here and needs extraction.”
“Okay. Is that your name?”
“Affirmative. Gnnar.”
She nodded as she flipped to the back of her clipboard and jotted something down. “What if she doesn’t believe me? I could be anyone contacting her.”
“If they ask for proof, tell them east of the third peak, marked with my family’s crest.”
She wrote it down but did not ask for details, which was for the best. It was the location of the nest I was building here on Vokira. With it, they would be able to confirm that this female was telling the truth.
“And my friend?”
“I will help find her once I am free,” I promised quietly.
“Thank you.”
Then she flipped back to the first page of her notepad, and her hand went to her top button again. A little bit more loudly and in an extremely professional voice, she said, “Now that we’ve got the introduction out of the way, let’s get to the real reason behind the transport crash. We value the truth and report the news from all sides. I have a few questions, so let’s get started.”
Chapter 3: Dana
Re: Time Sensitive! Gnnar needs to have his story written. NOW!
Hi Penny
I was wondering when you are going to write Gnnar’s story. When you do, please message me; I’d like to be written into the story as well.
