Page 34 of Seven Oars
The designsweretattoos.
A screeching sound, underscored by a deep, throbbing bass, jerked her head around. She looked around wildly, certain the space station was breaking apart.
But nothing seemed amiss, just the same cold room, the smoke, the pirates.
The tall, gaunt one grabbed Anske and pushed her toward the center of the room.
“Show us your dance moves, human rejects. We will judge who’s the best,” he shouted over the ear-splitting, disjointed sounds that screeched like a broken alarm, refusing to shut up.
Anske clamped her hands over her ears.
“Get her, Massar!” someone yelled in encouragement.“You know how to get them moving.”
Massar demonstrated, slapping Anske across the face amid a howl of collective approval.
The drug smoke was getting so thick it was hard to see.
Anske moved, all right.Feet working, she stumbled around and fell on top of the stolen goods pile.
That was the entertainment the pirates could appreciate. They gave a savage roar and stomped in delight. Everybody was having so much fun.
“Dumb aliens have no sense of rhythm,” Nud said with disappointment.
He kicked the pile of stuff, sending things flying, catching Xorris in the shin and dislodging Anske from the top.
The room descended into a mayhem of roaring laughter, fighting, smoking, and throwing things at each other for sport.
As the uncoordinated cacophony throbbed on, Rosamma realized, gradually, they considered this noisemusic.
This is what hell must be like, she thought with detachment.Scary, painful, and dumb.
“Next!” Nud bellowed, turning to the women.
Fawn pitched forward, as if expelled by an invisible force. Behind her, Alyesha’s pale face flashed briefly amid the cluster of bodies.
Nud grabbed Fawn by her flaxen hair and dragged her out.“Stand up. Stand the fuck up!”
Fawn tried to rise on trembling legs, using Nud’s forearm for support.
He slugged her.
The room blurred in front of Rosamma’s eyes. Too much, too much…
Then the robot was there, rolling to the center. The clever-looking pirate who’d brought them in instructed it to help Fawn dance.
“Of course, Ucai,” the robot said.
Extracting a flex-arm, it zapped Fawn.
Fawn howled and hopped in place to the utter delight of their captors.
Amid this bedlam, Phex appeared in the open door like a god of vengeance. Blood masked his face, but his black eyes burned with purpose. A sun, shining upon the filth.
It was difficult to believe that Phex belonged to the same species as the rest of them.
The“music” kept raging. Nud was shaking Fawn, screaming,“Again! Do it again!”
Phex lunged at Nud and took him down, catching him by surprise. It helped that he came armed with a dented bucket from the Cargo Hold.He crammed that bucket on Nud’s head and punched, ringing it like a bell with Nud’s brain for a clapper.
