Forced Handfasting (3 page)

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              Samantha had no clue to how much time had elapsed since her captivity. Twice a day one of the horned creatures would enter her cell, and leave a cup of water, and a couple slices of what she assumed was bread. It wasn’t enough to fill her up but at least they were giving her something to put in her belly. The thing she wanted the most at the current time was a shower. She felt dirty and knew she smelled. The smell in the cell didn’t help any, but there was nothing she could do about it. The four metal walls were barely far enough apart for her to take a few steps much less contain any washing facilities. Shit, there wasn’t even a toilet! She had to make do with a bucket provided in one of the corners of the cell.

              The sack she was wearing was just as filthy as she was, and had enough holes in it to claim she had her very own personal air conditioning system! The days dragged by, and the boredom was all consuming. The best she could do was try to sleep through her ordeal, and pray that someone found her soon!

              She was sound asleep when suddenly the door swung open, and group of the horned creatures marched into the cell. Two grabbed her roughly under the arms and lifted her off her sleeping platform. Another stood in front of her and waited for the two to set her on her feet. The men on each side of her forced her to extend her arms while the one in front quickly tied her wrists together.

              “Hey! What are you doing?” She tried to jerk her arms back but was held firmly in place. “Where are you taking me?” she shouted to the one in front of her.

              Pale eyes looked her directly in the face. He said something to her then laughed. Not knowing what he was saying to her, she began to panic. Were they about to kill her? No, they wouldn’t have kept her this long only to kill her.

              The two on the side of her grabbed her again and led her out of the cell. They turned as one and allowed a quick glance down a long corridor before something thick slipped over her head.

              “Hey!” she shrieked.

              Ignored, she was lifted off her feet and carried down the corridor. She kicked her legs furiously hoping to make some contact with her captor. She was lucky enough to land one well-aimed kick on one of them, and was rewarded with a grunt then a hard smack to the head.

              An all-consuming fear overcame her when she felt heat instantly warm her. For a split second, it was a relief after being so cold but sooner regretted it when the heat became too much to stand underneath the sack covering her.

              The trio had walked for some time before they set her bare feet onto what she assumed was sand, hot sand at that! She did a little dance as she bounced from foot to foot in order to relieve the burn beneath her feet. It was then she realized she could hear voices. Plenty of voices! Maybe she this would be her chance to ask someone for help!

              Her hopes were dashed when she was lifted off her feet once again, carried to an unknown spot, and placed on something that felt like wood. The voices she had heard quieted down as another spoke into a microphone in a language she still couldn’t understand.

              Without warning, the sack whipped off her over-heated body. She blinked several times to get her eyes to adjust to the bright lights shining on her. When her vision cleared enough, she froze.

              She was standing on top of a wooden block in front of a very large crowd of…of…of what? Creatures? Men? Holy Crap! Where the hell was she? Her eyes roamed over the quiet crowd as she tried to take in the sight before her.

              This wasn’t happening to her! It had to be a joke! Aliens? Was it possible aliens had taken her? No way! She had to be dreaming! With her hands still tied together in front she pinched the skin on her stomach as hard as she could. She did it again, and again until the fact registered that she was awake, and was standing in front of a crowd of aliens, who were all staring at her.

              She couldn’t believe what her eyes saw. A couple of the same horned men stood off to the side of the crowd while a group of tall blue men with four arms stood directly in front of her. Next to the blue men stood another man but this one only had one eye, and was about half as tall as she was, considering she was only five feet two inches. Another alien about the size of a normal Earth man, but way chubbier, was licking his lips as he stared at her.

             
Dear God! They are going to sell me!
Fear struck her when she figured out what was about to happen to her. She was going to be sold to the highest bidder to do God knows what on the planet God knows where!

              Her eyes moved over the crowd as the bidding started. The auctioneer stood close by her, and periodically lifted a strand of her hair or gave her bottom a hard pinch. She wanted to vomit when the fat man she saw earlier licking his lips raised his hand, and shouted out a bid. A deep voice off to the side called out over the entire crowd causing it to turn to see who had placed a bid. Just like a light switch being turned off, the crowd went silent. She searched for the one who had called out, and when she finally found him, she gasped.

              The man standing above the crowd looked completely human to her. From where she stood she could tell he was extremely tall and extremely well-built. She didn’t have a clue to whether he was a bad guy or a good guy, but at least he was an improvement over the fat alien dude.

              The auctioneer said something to the man then looked to the fat man, who shook his head. A smile crossed the man’s face when the gavel hit the auctioneer’s podium. She watched as the man who had just bought her, jumped off the porch, and push his way through the crowd.

              Just as she was about to get a close up look at him, she was jerked off the block, and the sack was slipped back over her head.

Chapter 3

              Jahan pushed his way through the thick crowd while Niko followed close behind asking him if he was crazy.

              “What the hell, Jahan?” Niko asked as they neared the stage.

              “She’s human,” he said.

              He walked up to the man who was taking the money for the bids placed. He pulled out his credits card and swiped it in the slot provided on a small tablet the man held up to him. As quick as he could, he read over the bill of sale to make sure he wasn’t getting ripped off then signed the digital receipt. A copy of the transaction was immediately printed off, and given to him. Now he just needed to collect his purchase.

              “Where is she?” he asked.

              “You can pick up your slave on the other side of the stage.” The auctioneer motioned to a path that ran behind the stage’s curtain, and to the other side that was closed off.

              “Let’s go,” Jahan said to Niko.

              Once on the opposite side of the stage he had to look around for the female. He finally spotted her standing between the two goons who had brought her onto the stage. He shoved his bill of sale under the nose of the first guard who quickly released the female into his custody.

              “It is advised that you do not remove the sack off the female until she is on board your ship. There has been much interest in her.” The guard chuckled and walked off.

              Jahan didn’t waste any time in taking the guard’s advice. He reached for the female’s arm to pull her behind him but instead he got a well-aimed kick in the shin. He suck in his breath, not in pain but rather in exasperation. How could she possibly think her bare feet would do any damage to him? He wasn’t up to playing any games, so he bent at the waist, and swept her up in his arms.

              She was a little thing and awful light. The bastards must not have been feeding her much by the feel of her bony limbs.

              “Can you please take this sack off? It’s hot in here!”

              “I will as soon as we reach my ship,” he said knowing that she probably wouldn’t be able to understand him until he implanted a universal translator into her ears.

              “Sorry, didn’t catch that! Doesn’t anyone speak English?” she asked sarcastically.

              All he could do was laugh. He felt bad for the poor female. It had to be horrible not being able to understand the people speaking around you. A few more minutes and he would solve that problem for her. Then he would get her a bath, something she desperately needed!

              “Boss, we are being followed,” Niko said.

              “I figured as much. Keep your eyes peeled. As soon as we reach the ship get us the hell out of here as fast as you can.” He had been worried about someone following them back to his ship. A human was a very valuable piece of property for some, and a female human with him made him a prime target. Whoever or whatever was following them had to assume that he was wealthy just by the amount of money he dropped by buying the human female alone.

              “Boss, got movement to the right of us. A group of Kraets seem to be eyeing your prize a little too hard.” Niko slipped his hand into the thin jacket he wore to release the lock on his Taser. He always wore a jacket, even in the heat, in order to hide his weapon. Especially on Iatune one didn’t want to move about without having some form of protection.

              “Yea, I see them.” He was getting nervous. The last thing they needed was to get cornered by a group of no good Kraets. Damn Kraets were a greedy bunch of thugs; never satisfied. “I suggest we step it up.”

              His ship wasn’t much farther. All he had to do was get into the terminal, swipe his ID then head out to the ship. No one without an ID or a ship was allowed through the doors leading out to the landing pads. But then again, the Kraets probably had a ship waiting for them.

              “Hey, there Jahan!”

              A male worker waved at him. It took a second for him to recognize his old friend, but when he did he breathed a little easier.

              “Quon, my old friend!” He made his way over to the security desk where Quon stood. “How the hell are you?” This distraction would give him the advantage he needed to get the female on board his ship safely.

              “Good, good! Buy yourself a slave?” Quon asked.

              “Gods, yes! Been needing one. My last one died of a fever,” he lied to his friend. “But, I am afraid some don’t like the idea of me buying her.” He nodded his head in the direction of the Kraets, who was closing in on them.

              “You would know it! Bastards always want what someone else has. I see it all the time. I busted a group last week for jumping a Flox after he purchased some supplies for his ship.”

              “You think you can help me out?”

              A big smile spread across Quon’s face. “Definitely my old friend! Go on through. Watch this!” Quon stepped in front of the group approaching the station he guarded. “Stop!”

              Jahan didn’t waste any time. The trio exited through the door that would lead them to his landing pad. Just as he went to turn the corner, he glanced back and saw that Quon still had their pursuers stopped at the station. He would have to thank Quon next time he was on Iatune.

              From that point on, they didn’t have any more trouble. Niko had prepared the ship for takeoff with the remote he carried with him at all times. As they approached his ship, the door was open and waited for them to enter. Before he was even off the slanted frame, it started to rise in order to close, and seal shut again.

              “Alright, get us the fuck out of here!” he shouted to Niko. He sat down with the female in one of the passenger chairs and tightened his grip on her.

              Within moments, the ship lifted off the pad and was soaring up into the atmosphere. Within five minutes, they were speeding away from Iatune.

              “Ok, Boss. We’re good!” Niko said.

              He loosened his hold on the female. He had to stand back up in order to get the sack off of her and untied her bindings. He steadied her on her feet then released her when he was positive she wasn’t about to fall over. As carefully as he could, he raised the sack up until it was completely over her head then tossed the filthy thing to the side. He froze for a moment when he got his first close-up look at his purchase.

              She was little compared to him. The top of her head only came to the middle of his chest. Her hair, which he knew was long, was a golden color he had never seen before, and had small streaks of white scattered through the long mass. Green eyes filled with fear looked up at him as he towered over her. Her oval face was dirty, and streaked with dry tears that revealed pale skin below all the grime. Her pink lips were full but dry, and cracked. He could see a small drop of blood in the corner of her mouth where a fresh crack must have broken open.

              Before he did anything else with her, she needed to take a shower. There was no telling the last time she had been able to bathe but by the looks of her it had been quite a while.

              “Are…are you…are you going to kill me,” she asked without warning.

              He shook his head and said, “No.”

              A small amount of relief crossed her face, and her body looked to have let loose some of the tension he had felt in her while carrying her. He grasped her gently by the elbow and steered her in the direction of the small cleansing room. He opened the door ahead of her and stepped in with her in tow.

              There wasn’t any point in trying to explain to her in words how things worked, so he just showed her. First, he pulled a fresh, clean towel out of the only cabinet in the small area, and handed it to her. Next he pulled back the shower curtain, and turned the silver knob that controlled the water. The water came out lukewarm at first but slowly heated up as he continued to turn the knob. He reached for her hand and put it under the water for her to feel. She must have understood what he was doing since she nodded her head.

              He left her then to take her shower. He shut the door as he exited the cleansing room, and headed for the co-pilot’s chair.

              “She okay, Boss,” Niko asked.

              He sat down heavily in the chair then rubbed his eyes. “As far as I can tell. I am going to do a full body scan on her as soon as she comes out. Do we have any translators?” He took it for granted that the supplies he asked about were there.

              “Look up in the medical cabinet. There should be a bunch of them.” Niko adjusted the ship’s course as he spoke. “You think she is a human?”

              “There’s no doubt in my mind she is.” How he had instantly known she was human was beyond him. Humans were far, and few between way out here in the universe. The ones he knew about were either a slave or escaped slaves. Someone went to a lot of trouble to bring a human female all the way to Iatune.

              The difference between him, a Phinoeis, and a human was the fact that Phinoeis’ had two hearts, a keen sense of smell, and ears the tapered, and curved into points. That was how he had been able to tell, for the most part that the female was human; her ears were rounded. No other species he had ever come across had the rounded ears except humans.

              The sound of the cleansing room door closing drew him out of his daze. He turned his head to find the female standing in front of the door with a towel wrapped tightly around her small body. He left his seat and went to dig in the medical cabinet for the translator. Upon finding the device needed to insert the microchips into her ears, he motioned for her to sit down.

              He kneeled down in front of her, and showed her the device that resembled a small Taser gun. Her eyes widened in fear, and she tried to lean away from him.

              “No, no. Don’t be scared,” he said to her. The only way to get her to understand what he was about to do was to show her. He touched the tip of the device then touched each of his ears. He waited patiently until she gave a slight nod of her head in acknowledgement to what he meant.

              She leaned forward again and turned her head. He brushed back her hair then place the tip of the device inside her ear and depressed the button on the end. She jumped when the device clicked but didn’t say a word. He couldn’t resist turning her head with his hand in order to get to her other ear. The first touch of her skin against his felt like pure ecstasy to him. He hadn’t been prepared for the sudden rush of feelings that came over him with that one simple touch. He quickly repeated his actions in her opposite ear, then waited for her to face him.

              “Can you understand me now?”

              He couldn’t help but smile when he watched the shock on her face takeover. Her lips parted in astonishment, and her green eyes grew round. She simply nodded her head.

              “What is your name?”

              “Samantha. Samantha Gradin,” she replied. “How…how can I understand you now?”

              “I inserted tiny microchips into your ears that automatically convert any language you hear into your own. Where are you from?” He had to hear it from her to be positive.

              “The United States,” she said then changed her answer. “I guess I should say Earth.” Her fingers clung tightly to the front of the towel that covered her now clean body.

              “That’s what I thought.” He stood up to put the translator device back then reached for the medical scanner. “I want to do a scan of you just to make sure that you are okay.” He showed her another device that was much bigger this time. “You won’t feel anything. It will tell me if your body is in need of any nutrients or how much damage your body may have sustained while in the hands of the slave traders.”

              “Okay,” she said softly.

              The medical device beeped twice as it started its scan of her body. He slowly ran it over her entire body from head to toe. When he finished, he waited for it to beep once before it showed him the results.

              “That’s what I was afraid of. You are severely dehydrated and undernourished. How often were you fed?” His anger was beginning to rise. He knew when he did the medical scan on her he would find some issues he would have to contend with but not this bad.

              “I’m not sure. One of those horned guys would bring in a cup of water sometimes twice a day, sometimes only once, and the only thing they gave me to eat was some bread.”

              He rummaged through the food storage bin until he came up with a nutrient bar. “Here, eat this.” He opened the silver packet and handed it Samantha.

              “Thank you,” she murmured, then took a bite.

              He had to turn away from her, and reign in his growing anger. The last thing he needed to do was explode on her when her situation was not her fault. Bad thing though, he still had to tell her why he purchased her. But not now. He’d let her get some much-needed rest then tell her.

              “Here’s a blanket. You should get some rest,” he said.

              “What’s going to happen to me?” she asked around a mouth full of nutrition bar.