Page 26 of Chosen By the Alien King
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me, and followed along the wall.My breath came in shallow gasps, adrenaline pumping through my veins and coating my tongue with a bitter taste.
“Remember to breathe, Nera,” Rain reminded me gently.“I haven’t heard you breathe in a while.”
“Hush,” I managed, forcing air into my lungs.“Just help me find them.”
“We’ll make sure that happens,” she reassured me.
“Tell Maxx and the others I’m okay,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“Will do.”A pause.“They seem a little busy at the moment.”
“With what?”
“Well, they’re not exactly in a position to answer my questions… Yes, understood… Darc just told me to fuck myself right off a cliff.”
“So it’s going well, then?”
“It would seem that way, yes,” Rain said.“They’re resourceful.They’ll find their way back to you.”
What was happening to them?The question haunted me, even as I pushed it aside to focus on the task at hand.
“Turn left here,” Rain instructed.“Pete’s just ahead through the door with the square window in it.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, for now.No heat sources detected,” Rain whispered, her tone laced with anticipation.“But be prepared for anything.”
I reached the door that separated me from Pete and forced a breath before I pushed my way in.
Sweat pooled in my palms, making it difficult to maintain a firm grip on my flashlight.Tension built in my chest, the nagging sense of vulnerability that came from being separated from Maxx.I hated being away from him almost as much as I loved him.
I closed the door gently behind me and fiddled with my flashlight to turn it on.“Pete?”
My voice came out as a choppy whisper.
No answer.
“Nera,” Rain suddenly warned, urgency sharpening her tone.“There’s an officer coming your way fast.Hide behind those crates to your left.”
My pulse spiked as I quickly ducked behind the stack of metal containers, pressing my back against their cold surface.I held my breath, praying that the guard wouldn’t come in here.
But the door I’d just come through squeaked open because of course it fucking did.The officer had followed me inside.A flashlight swept over the crates I crouched behind and then swiveled in the other direction as his clipped footsteps traversed the room.
“Stay still,” Rain whispered.“He’s almost past you.Wait, he’s slowing.Nera, don’t.Move.”
Wasn’t planning on it.Dread clawed at my insides, threatening to consume me.Who was in here with me?Was it Mike?Could he sense me somehow, smell the ink from our divorce papers that I’d printed out ten years ago for the sole purpose of rolling around on them?Or had he put trackers on his daggers I’d stolen yet again from him when he attacked me before my wedding?What would he do if he saw me here after he’d just about killed me?
My lungs burned with the need to take a breath, but I didn’t dare make even the slightest sound.My ears roared with the sound of approaching footsteps and my own stuttering heartbeat.
Something scraped off the crate I hid behind, like some kind of item the officer had grabbed.Then the footsteps retreated.The door squeaked open and closed, and I was alone in here with Pete once again.
“Okay,” Rain breathed.“The coast is clear.You can move now.”
I exhaled slowly, forcing my stiff limbs into motion as I stood.The taste of panic lingered on my tongue, but I swallowed it down, forcing myself to focus on getting us all out of this shithole.
My hands trembling slightly, I turned my flashlight on and aimed it around the brig.The shadows seemed to dance and flicker, playing nasty tricks on my fear of the dark.
Then, I spotted him—Pete, bound to a chair and gagged in the center of a glass cage.Rivulets of matted blood stained his bleached hair, and his once-vibrant blue eyes were now dull and unfocused.
