Page 84 of Galactic Sentinels: Vol 2
Vlad chuckles.
“Go get your girl. But if you die, I’m taking your jacket. That thing’s awesome.”
“Deal. But if I make it back with Sam, you’re buying drinks.”
“And if you bring her back and survive?”
“Then I’m never letting her go.”
21-Samantha
I’m furious. Again. For the second time, I’ve been captured by this damned smuggling organization. The first time, it was with Logan. I haven’t seen him since. And now here I am, locked up again—this time with my friend Nov.
We’re in separate cages, locked in the cargo hold of their ship. Nov is unconscious, and I haven’t been able to check if he’s badlyhurt. From here, he just looks like he was knocked out, but how can I be sure?
Nov starts to stir, signaling he’s about to wake up. When his eyes finally flutter open—those icy blue eyes—I feel an immense wave of relief. He’s alert. Present.
“Nov, are you okay?”
“What a foolish female you are,” he mutters. “How could I be okay after being captured by these idiotic Humans?”
“Oh good, you’re back to your charming, mildly toxic self.”
He slowly sits up, grimacing, and touches the side of his head where a small bump is starting to rise.
“They hit me. Cowards. Took all of them to bring me down.”
“Bad guys usually don’t play fair.”
“What do you even know about bad guys, living among those tiny cheerful lizards?”
“Enough. In case you forgot, I’ve been through all this before. And I haven’t seen my brother since.”
“Maybe it’s time you accepted the truth,” he mutters, avoiding my gaze.
Of course I’ve thought about it. As the days turned to weeks without a word from Logan, it became more and more obvious. He wasn’t just off on some faraway mission. He would have reached out.
“I’m not naive. Logan is either a prisoner… or dead. But I choose to believe he’s still alive. Because if he is, I know Ayden and Igor will come for him.”
“Igor? Ayden? Who are these now? More weak Humans?” he scoffs, testing the strength of his cage bars.
“Yes, they’re Humans. Loyal, strong ones. If Logan’s out there, they’ll find him. Believe me.”
He scans the dim cargo hold. The walls hum with the low vibration of the solar engines. Three other cages sit empty. It’s just us.
After a long silence, Nov turns to me with an intensity that steals my breath.
“Listen to me, Sam. Carefully. Your life depends on it. These people—they’re taking us to their base. From what I overheard, their main operation is Zebulon trafficking.”
“This is all my fault… I made that plant-based relaxant, just to ease pain. But it had side effects—euphoric ones. My dad found out and turned it into a business.”
“They expect you to improve the formula. And you will.”
“You’ve lost your mind. Zebulon is a drug! It was never meant to leave the medbay. I’m not going to help them perfect it!”
“Sam, I don’t know where they’re taking us, but if you don’t make yourself useful, they’ll find another way to use you. A… recreational one.”
A shiver runs down my spine. I’ve thought about it.
