Page 14 of My Big Scaly Alien Naga
I was becoming myself again.It was an inconsequential memory, nothing of importance, but it was only the first.Proof that my memory wasn't gone for good.Hopefully, the rest would come back soon.
As much as my returning memory elated me, I was also trapped in an alien goldfish bowl.It felt nicer in here than in the dark, grimy pipes, but this place didn't even have a door.I was just as trapped as I had been before.
I took a deep breath.I couldn't give in to despair.
"Hello?"I said quietly, just in case the walls weren't as soundproof as they looked.Of course, nobody answered.I hadn't really expected anyone to reply.I was alone.And in a horrible place like this, filled with monsters, that was actually a good thing.
"Engage portal?"a disembodied voice suddenly asked, vaguely female and just a little mechanical.
"What?"
"Portal engaged."
I sucked in a sharp breath.That couldn't be good."No!Don't!Undo command, cancel, sto-"
I was pulled apart.My muscles stretched, strained, screamed.I was broken into pieces, screaming and crying, pain like nothing I'd ever felt, and it hurt, and I needed it to stop, and it I was going to do anything, just stop, please stop, and-
White mist clouded my vision.It was cool, moist air that surrounded me like a cloud.It erased the pain, slowly, until it was all but a memory.Of all the memories I craved, this was not one I was keen to keep.
I tried to move, my muscles aching for gentle movement after all that torture, but I was held in place by something.Maybe it was that mist, maybe it was some other force, but either way, all I could move were my eyes.The mist was too thick to see through, yet I instantly knew that I was no longer in my goldfish bowl.Birds sang far away, leaves fluttered in a breeze, branches creaked, insects buzzed.I was somewhere in nature, outside, no longer trapped in endless dark corridors.
It's strange how you don't notice the absence of something until much later.In that bowl, there had been no smells, none at all.Here I was surrounded by them.Sweetness mixed with something like citrus.Faint notes of cinnamon and clove contrasted with heady spice.And underneath it all, earth, rain, wood.The scents were more intense than they should have been.Maybe I was more sensitive after being first in a smelly pipe and then in a place with no scents whatsoever.
A warm breeze caressed my face.I smiled without realising.
This was a good place.I was in nature, where I belonged.I spent a lot of time outdoors.I filed that as another new fact about my personality.
An earth-shattering roar broke through the bird song.Other animals screeched in panic.In the distance, a deep crack, like a tree falling.
The sounds were drowned out by my heartbeat as blood rushed to my ears.I had to run and hide.I didn't have to recognise the roar's origin to know that it was something big and dangerous.
I had to run.But I was trapped in place, unable to move, a tasty morsel waiting be devoured by an apex predator.
7
Venom
I glared at my captors.They grinned and leered back at me.According to Briarra, I should be grateful to her that I was still alive.But I knew it wasn't out of the goodness of her heart.She was waiting for orders from her uncle, the Prime Game Maker.He may have been a relative, but she didn't dare do anything without his permission.From what I'd gathered by listening to the guards' gossip, he was still being treated by medics.My plan had been more effective that I could have hoped for.His injuries were much worse than expected.But even though I was still alive, I was also surrounded by armed goons who would like nothing more than to kill me on the spot.Finding a spy among their own hadn't gone down well.I bet some of them saw it as a personal failure to not have suspected me all along.
It wasn't their fault.For one, most hadn't been chosen for their intelligence.They were tools, hired muscle, chosen for their lack of empathy and the size of their guns.Only a few had actual skills, like my colleagues in the control room.Bawwa had come by a while ago, stared at me without a word, then left.
A small part of me would miss them.I'd spent such a long time on this station that I'd got used to the people here.None were my friends, obviously, but I'd had a few interesting conversations with some.And I had learned much by watching, observing, listening.I had built my disguise to match the station's inhabitants: a fucked-up past, a lack of perspective, no hope whatsoever, a hate of anyone remotely successful, and – most importantly – an intrinsic joy of seeing others suffer.It was sad, really, how similar everyone here was.It's how Kalumbu kept operating, rotation after rotation, built on the suffering of its contestants and the hate of its staff.
I ignored the guards and focused inwards, on that implanted communications system.My distress signal was still transmitting.There had been no reply.Not even an acknowledgement that someone, anyone, had heard me.I was on my own.And worst of all, I had no idea where my mate was.Had she followed the guiding lights to the portal?Or had they caught her before she got there?
I was pretty sure that Briarra and her followers would let me know the moment they laid hands on my mate.They wouldn't ignore an opportunity to gloat.But...wait.Did they know that she was connected to me?When they'd caught me unawares, I'd had Jarra's apartment on my screen along with a floor plan to unlock all doors and portals in the vicinity.But unless they'd managed to hack into my personal files yet – very unlikely – they didn't know that I'd been watching my female.If I played my cards right, they might think that all I did was attack Jarra, and even that was hard to prove.It would take them days to unlock the necessary data.There was a reason why I was called anytime there was an issue with the security systems.They didn't have the brains.
Silence was my best friend.As long as I didn't admit to anything, didn't offer any information whatsoever, I might stay alive for a little while longer.And that would give me a chance to escape.There had to be a way out.This couldn't be the end.
"Jarra's dead," Briarra snapped."And you will be, soon.Very soon.We're sending you to the Trials."
I wasn't surprised.A quick, easy execution on the space station was a waste for the game makers.Better to make me part of their show and let me die publicly.
"When?"I asked, keeping my expression neutral.I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
"You're being announced to the viewers as we speak.There's never been a naga in the Trials.Want to give our audience some time to start betting.Think you'll last past sunset?"
I simply stared into her dark, cold eyes.If she was sad over her uncle's passing, she didn't show it.I wasn't sure if this made her the next Prime Game Maker, or if they would be selected from the other game makers.I didn't care.Kalumbu was a horrible place, a death trap that ate contestants alive, but I had some advantages over the poor sods thrust into the Trials.I'd been behind the scenes.I knew how it all worked.They'd make it especially hard for me, of course, but my knowledge gave me hope.I knew the geography of the planet.I knew the comparatively safe zones.And I knew the audience.If I managed to get them on my side, make them passionate about my survival, they'd bet on me.Money was power.The game makers wouldn't kill me off right away if I made them money.
