Page 9 of My Big Scaly Alien Naga
"Did you 'ear one of 'em escaped?"Bawwa from two workstations further budged in."Some strange species I'd never 'eard about.Purritan or something like 'at."
They were talking about Penny.I hadn’t realised her escape was public knowledge, but I couldn’t worry about that now.I finished the code and deployed the hack.My coils were constricted so tight it was hard to breathe.This had to work.I didn't know what else to do.
Neither Jarra nor my mate had said anything in a while.I checked the link.It was still live.What was he doing to her?Was she even still alive?No, she had to be.She was a valuable commodity.Jarra knew that.He was driven by base instincts most of the time, but he wasn't stupid.
A horrified scream echoed through my implant.I repressed a grim smile and resisted the urge to turn down the volume.Jarra was clearly in a lot of pain.Good.He deserved every bit of it.
"What is happening?"my mate asked in the background, sounding more curious than afraid.I was so proud of the way she conducted herself.Not surprising with her background.
Jarra groaned and screamed.My plan was working even better than expected.The Prime Game Maker was disabled for now.I had to use this time to give my mate a way to escape.I changed systems and unlocked all the doors in his quarters.As soon as I did, the sensors showed one of them opening.It had to be my mate.Without cameras, this was the only way I could monitor her progress until she was in a public corridor.
I made sure all the doors and portals on the entire floor were unlocked.Now I could-
A heavy hand landed on my shoulder.
"What the klatting rut are you doing?"
4
Unknown
I was naked, shoeless, and couldn't have cared less.I ran to the door, slamming my hand against the screen on the side as I'd seen themonsterdo it.I didn't expect the door to slide open, yet it did.Thank fuck.I stumbled from the room, trying to get my bearings.I had tried to remember the way between the cargo room where I'd woken up and this place, but I'd been struggling against the two gooey monsters and had been somewhat distracted.Understatement of the century.I had been terrified.They had led me through endless corridors, pushing and shoving whenever I stumbled.There had been dozens of other monsters, leering at me, howling and growling and yipping – or maybe they weren't monsters.
Aliens.
My memory still hadn't returned but I was pretty sure that humanity hadn't encountered aliens yet.But even without my memory, I knew that I had watched science fiction films.Based on those, I couldn’t help but think that this was a space station full of aliens.I hadn't spotted any other humans, which was both scary and reassuring.I didn't want anyone else to be in my predicament.Unless the other metal coffins in the first room were full of humans.
All doors opened for me.Was this a trap?Was he – if that monster was indeed male – just toying with me?Not that it mattered.I had to try and get out of here.I wasn't sure where I was running.All I knew was that I had to get away.
It had been a miracle.One moment he'd had his hands on my body, touching places he shouldn't have, the next pink mist erupted from the ceiling.It had felt cool on my skin, not unpleasant, but the monster had started screaming as if in terrible pain.I hoped he was still suffering.
His rooms had looked alien yet strangely familiar – metal chairs, cabinets, tables, a circular bed close to the floor that reminded me of a giant dog bed – but out here in the corridors there was nothing I could use for guidance.Strange symbols danced across the walls as if they were massive screens.Maybe they were.More pink mist covered the ceiling, but it was no longer filling the rooms.
I just kept running, hoping against hope that I would find a way to escape.I didn't dare think of the alternative.
Another door.On the other side were three corridors, all looking exactly the same except for the symbols flickering all over the walls.I hesitated for just a second, then took the middle corridor.It didn't matter, really.
No.I wasn't going to give up this easily.There had to be a way to escape, even if this was a space station.Maybe I could find a nice alien to give me a lift on their spaceship.Or I'd look for a spot to hide until they forgot about me.
I was being overly optimistic.Maybe that was one of my personality traits.I was still trying to piece together what kind of person I was.
A survivor.
I ran and ran.More crossroads.I always took the middle path if there was one, otherwise I went right.Earlier, there had been many monsters – aliens – about, this time I encountered nobody.I didn't have time to find that strange.My feet were freezing from running on cold metal, but I wasn't out of breath.Apparently, I was a sporty sort of woman.
I slammed my hand at yet another sensor.Nothing happened.The door stayed shut.I pushed against the screen again and again.No luck.This clearly wasn't the way.
I turned around to look for any pursuers that might be about to corner me.Nobody was coming.Yet just because I couldn't see anyone didn't mean that they weren't on their way, a few doors behind.Or maybe they were watching me.If this was indeed a place built by aliens, their technology would be way beyond anything I could imagine.There might be cameras all over the place.Maybe that's why they weren't running after me.They didn't have to.They could let me use up all my strength and then capture me once I was unable to continue.
That thought made me want to punch the wall in frustration and fear.And I did.Not punch, exactly, more of an exhausted slap.
Green lines appeared around where my hand had hit the wall, spreading rapidly, forming circles upon circles, like bubbles.They floated around for a moment, sort of beautiful, then combined into one giant circle bigger than me.The green lines flashed brightly before the wall in their centre began to shimmer.Gingerly, I touched it.But I didn't.My hand went straight through as if the wall had suddenly turned into air.Or maybe it had never been there in the first place.
I looked around one more time.The door was still locked.There were still no pursuers.I could have gone back to the last intersection and chosen a different corridor.Instead, I took a deep breath and stepped through the shimmering wall.
Warm air hit me before my eyes could adjust to the darkness on the other side.Green lines, just like the ones that had formed this doorway – or portal?– flickered across the rounded walls as if they were running away from each other.I seemed to be in some sort of giant pipe, completely dark except for the occasional flash of green lights.A row of thick black cables covered both floor and ceiling, while the walls were bare metal.It was hot and humid in here, very different from the cold corridors I'd been running through.
I peered into the darkness, trying to see the ends of the pipe.It looked exactly the same in either direction.Deep black darkness with flashing green lines racing across the walls.It didn't seem to matter which way I turned.Going right seemed like in keeping with tradition.
