Page 12 of Her Alien Hero
The hall began widening outward, the walls curving left and right, opening to new hallways, with the main corridor continuing straight on.
Behind, someone shouted, the voice distinctly male. I had no desire to find out who or how close they were.
Following a gut instinct, I took the next left and pushed myself to run faster. My lungs heaved and my heart thumped. This hall, three times as wide as the earlier, smelled of tar, oil, and burned electrical wire. No doors graced the sides, but clear glass showed a bay or hangar with several vehicles, likeCybertrucks, with wings. They were hideously ugly and possibly my salvation.
The glass wall gave way to a large arch, and I sprinted inside, putting one of the vehicles between me and the glass.
I leaned against the door with my attention on the solid wall at the back of the room. Panting, I focused on regaining my breath.
Please, let me hide and escape. I don't want to be a prisoner... I just want to go home to my cute little cabin in the mountains. Amen.
Shouting and running footsteps filled the hallway, their echoes bouncing into the enormous bay.
Sweat dripped into my eye. I wiped it away and crouched, focusing on the vehicle that hid me.There has to be a way inside.My fingers clawed at the metal as my eyes roved for seams on the surface, looking for doors or handles or anything to get me under cover.
"Nemethe pasen, vlaren!"
I didn't dare glance toward the glass wall to see which alien—Voren or Brax—was gaining on me.
As I ran the pads of my fingers over the metallic vehicle, close to where it rested on the floor, there was a tiny indention. A trickle of excitement overrode the sour taste of fear.If I can get this to open, I might—
"You idiot," roared Voren.
I jumped, my chest pounding and my nerves on high alert.
He stood two feet away with a terrifying scowl on his purple face.
"I-I-I…" Desperate, I looked around for a weapon or anything to defend myself. Nothing. Not a goddamn thing to help me escape.The fork!Shoving my hand at the small of my back, I grabbed the tines of the eating utensil.Should I stay and fightor run away?Somehow, I didn’t think silverware would do any real damage to this hulking alien.
He stalked forward, thunder in his gaze. I yanked the fork and threw it at the alien, not seeing where it landed because I turned to run. Something slammed into me, knocking me onto my stomach.
"If you make one more move, I will cuff your wrists, throw you over my shoulder, and lock you in my living quarters. Do you understand?" His voice boomed, and in its depths I sensed fury and frustration.
My cheek pressed against the floor with the weight of the tall man spread over my body.
"Fuck. You." I kicked my legs and arched my spine, praying I’d dislodge him enough to scramble out from under him.
"You think you can escape and find rescue by your government? You're wrong. Even if you somehow managed, they would see you as an opportunity to exploit and use you until you are dead or close enough."
"Like I'd believe that, you asshole.You'rethe ones who abducted me and plan on doing screwed up experiments."God, I hope that doesn't mean an anal probe.
He dug around, near my lower back, his fingers pushing against my clothing while I fought with my lower limbs, still bucking and wiggling to free myself.
"It’s the truth. Iknowhow humans treat those they believe are a threat or opportunity. They're savages, and if there weren't other lives to consider, I wouldn't have a problem turning you over to them. Humans deserve each other." Something cold encircled my wrist, paralyzing my entire arm. "You are insolent, crude, andweak.Unfortunately, that puts you under my protection."
With my free hand, I reached backward, my fingers clawed and ready to scratch the first bit of skin they encountered. "Andyou'rea brute who wouldn't know fun if it reached out and slapped him in the face." Why did I need to hurl insults at him while fighting for my life? I had no idea, but something in his tone got under my skin.
Another cold snap on my free wrist, and both arms became numb.
True panic set in and I kicked harder, throwing my feet backwards, hoping to damage or shock him enough to let me go.
Unlike my arms, my back hadn't been numbed and something rumbled against it. A deep chuckle, so low it vibrated my bones, reverberated through the air.
Is he…laughing?
The weight against me disappeared, and suddenly I found myself flying through the air to be tossed over his shoulder like a ragdoll.
"Vor, they're about to launch," said a voice I recognized as Baraxen.
