Taurus (Galactic Cage Fighters (Book Three)) (2 page)

“How long have you been here?” he asked.

“A year I think. The days seemed to run on and on.”

There was a long pause. He wanted to ask her if he was the only male she had been sent to, but the aged eyes told him more than words could. What could he say to her to ease what had been done to her?  It angered him and he wanted to kill every male that touched her. She was like his sister.

“They will give me to someone else if you do not take me,” she said looking at the bed before quickly looking away.

He nodded his head sadly. “They will send you to someone else regardless of whether we perform or not, just as they will send other females to my cell. Let’s use our time our way.”

“They’re probably watching,” she whispered, for fear they could hear too.

“I disassembled the cameras.”

“They will hurt you for that.”

“I don’t care. After…a while, I didn’t want people watching me. I told them I would perform without the cameras and only then if the females were willing.”

“The guards watch you.” She didn’t ask but stated it.

He nodded his head.

“They watch me, too.”

Anger filled him on her behalf. She was just a child. She should be playing with dolls and board games. Not performing breeding experiments with assholes watching and tormenting her.

He walked over to the bed and reached underneath the mattress. He took out a notebook and art pencils. One of the female scientists liked to visit him. She would bring him things if he gave her what she wanted.

He sat back down on the floor beside her and showed her the drawings that he had made.

“These are really good. Is that me?”

There was a drawing of a little girl in pigtails and wide eyes. The innocence on the child’s face was heartbreaking. She had not seen that face in a while.

“I never forgot you and I never will.”

They spent their time talking and making jokes. He drew more pictures of her. When the door locks were banged, they quickly split apart.  They got to spend time with each other a couple of times a week. Sometimes they simply slept. Her on his bed and he on the floor. It was peaceful to be around someone that cared for you. He had to work it out with the female scientist, but it was worth it.

*****

It had been a whole week since the last time June had been brought to him. Taurus worried that she was being given to other males. It still angered him the corporations would do these things to children. He no longer considered himself a child, his childhood died years ago. But June was and she deserved to have a childhood.

He felt as if something was wrong when he and the other breeding subjects were pushed, pulled, shoved, or dragged out into an open field. He looked around for June, but she wasn’t there. What the hell was going on?

The male in charge of the breeding facility was there. He walked out and started shouting at them.

“We have fed you, clothed you, and given you a comfortable living space. All we have asked in return is that you follow our rules.” He signaled for his security people to pass around a photo.

When a photo was thrown into Taurus hand, he refused to look down. He had a sinking feeling he knew what he would find. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

With a heavy heart, Taurus looked down. It was an image of a girl with wisps of brown hair twisted around her neck. Her eyes were open but dead, completely and hopelessly dead.

“This girl stole property from one of the guards. She took her own life to keep us from finding it. I want it returned.”

Taurus was devastated. He didn’t even hear what else was being said. He stared at the image of his dead sister—sister of his heart. She was all he cared about. Now, he had nothing and no one. To care for someone only meant heartbreak. He followed the guards back to his cell without hearing or seeing anything else around him.

He was in his cell for thirty minutes before a thought crossed his mind. He double-checked his camera, which was still unhooked. June would have known this was the only place in the facility that was not watched. He started searching the room and he pushed the bed away from the wall. There was a paper leaning against the wall. He kicked the paper away and it revealed a small hole in the wall.

He reached inside and felt something hard and about as big as a rock. He pulled it out and noted that it was a phone. He checked the last number dialed and it was one that went to the local authorities. The phone was slowly losing battery service. He didn’t have any time to waste. Though Taurus didn’t care anymore, this was something that his June gave her life for. He would see it through for her sake. He texted the IDJ number.

“Girl is dead. Need help now!”

*****

The Galactic Pub was filled with different species sitting around the bar watching the current news report. A group of four businessmen sat at a nearby table also watching with frowns on their faces.

“This just in, the Intergalactic Department of Justice, IDJ, has cracked an on-going investigation regarding the placement of halfsie children in orphanages. An anonymous caller reported that halfsie children are being fostered out of the orphanages back into the hands of the corporations that funded the DNA splicing. This situation has caused uproar among the constituents of the IDJ. It had taken nearly sixty years for the IDJ to shut down the DNA splicing being done by the corporations. So they are not taking this slap in the face sitting down. They promise to instill stricter requirements on all orphanages hosting the halfsie children. Only families will be allowed to foster or adopt. No more corporation heads.  More on this report in thirty minutes.”

The businessmen looked at each other. “What do we do now?” a skinny man with glasses asked his friends.

“There are always ways around the IDJ. We found them before, we’ll find them again,” the balding man said.

“I have buyers now who want to start the events immediately,” the third man said.

“They will have to wait. We can’t let ourselves be caught right now in all this mess,” the balding man commented, clearly taking the lead in the plans.

The fourth man had been silent through most of the discussion. Finally, he raised his hand up in the air to silence the others. “We will all have to wait. We need to let the IDJ do their clean house mission. Then, we will start small, and work our way up. I am invested in this financially, I won’t stand for failure again,” his authoritative voice rang out.

The others nodded their heads. They had no choice but to wait.

Chapter One

“Taurus the Ape Man is in rare form this evening.”

“When he took a punch in the mouth. I think I saw a tooth fly out.”

“He’s giving as good as he gets though, Johann. He’s determined to make his opponent work for every shot.”

“Oh! Did you see that, Poland? The full Arian he’s fighting went to kick Taurus’s head, but Taurus caught the male’s leg in mid-swing and twisted it until the bone cracked. I swear I could hear the snap from our commentator’s box.”

“It was an awesome sight to behold, Johann. However, it doesn’t look like the Ape Man is done just yet.”

“Oh no, he’s not done.  He has mounted the male and is pummeling him in the face. Right! Left! Right again!”

“The male is out! The ref is counting it down.”

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Taurus wins the match!”

“Look at that, Taurus steps on the downed Arian and walks right over him to leave the cage.”

“That’s why they say he’s the most anti-social member of the GCFA.”

*****

“Taurus, come on and try to have a little fun,” Zen whined to his friend at the after-party.  Taurus looked over at the two females that Zen wanted him to share in the fun with. They were attractive.  But he wasn’t that interested. He never was.

“Not tonight, Zen.”

“Then when?” Zen was frustrated with his friend, and worried. It wasn’t normal for a grown, vital male to not have sex. He had his own hang-ups, but this thing with Taurus was very concerning.

Taurus was desperate to get out of the situation. He looked across the room and caught the eye of one of the female Venetians. The Venetians were males and females that were hired by the GCFA for sexual relaxation for the GCFA fighters. This one he knew personally. He nodded his head and the female made her way to him.

“I already have plans, Zen.” He hugged the female when she reached his side.

“Hell, why didn’t you say that to begin with?” Zen looked relieved as he made his way over to the two females he had on standby. He wrapped an arm around each female’s shoulder and led them out of the banquet room.

“You wanted me, Taurus?” the tall, voluptuous Venetian asked.

“Sorry, Gypsy…it was a mistake.” Taurus looked at her with sincerity.

The Venetian reached out a hand to gently cup his cheek.  She had shared his bed many times in the past and knew the issues he dealt with. “I understand. Maybe we could dance. No one seems to offer us that anymore. It’s straight up to the suite to get down to business.”

“Of course.” Taurus wasn’t much of a dancer. But he would do this to appease Gypsy.

He danced a couple of dances with Gypsy. When she had another offer, he said goodnight. He preferred being alone. Even when he did share sex on those rare occasions, he never had the females stay overnight.

*****

He was back at the orphanage again. June was there and they were playing outside.

“Do you think we’ll ever be adopted?” June asked.

“I doubt it. We’re different and most humans fear what’s different.”

“But I’m nice. A whole lot nicer than Jenny.”

“Ten times nicer than Jenny. And a lot prettier. But we’re not full humans. I don’t see the big deal in getting adopted.  You go from one place where someone tells you what to do and punishes you if you don’t follow their rules, to another group of people doing the exact same thing. I think we’re better off here until we are old enough to leave.”

“I just want a family. Someone who will always be there for me even when I make mistakes and will never forget me.”

“I’ll be your family and I promise, I’ll never forget you.”

*****

Taurus woke up sweating. He hadn’t dreamed about June in years. He rubbed his chest right above his heart. It still hurt. After all this time, he still felt her loss. He got up and poured himself a drink, then another, and then another. He wanted oblivion, he wanted to pass out and not dream anymore. After his fifth drink he got his wish. He passed out on the bed.

The next day he was rudely awakened by the pounding at his door. He wrapped a sheet around his bottom half and held it together with one hand. He preferred to sleep in the nude, but there was no way he was exposing himself to whoever was waiting for him.

He found Zen standing there with a smile on his face. A smile from Zen meant trouble for him.

Chapter Two

Maya was nervous. She had left her home that she shared with her grandparents and traveled halfway across the galaxy to get here. She was not going to back down now. She was starting a new life for herself. Though her grandparents were supportive of her brave adventure, she knew they would worry for her. As she would for them.

After all the planning and saving of every dime she had earned over the years with the odd job here and there, she was finally here. She had one chance to leave a good impression.  She had to make it count.

Maya had read in a recent news release the Galactic Cage Fighters Association, GCFA, was having open calls for different positions available for the upcoming circuit tour. She was trying out for whatever position she could get. This was the moment she had waited for her whole life.

The GCFA was the largest body sport promotion company in the universe.  GCFA promoted full body contact sports involving mixed fighting disciplines such as boxing, wrestling, and martial arts. The fighters with the GCFA were full-blooded alien or half-alien and half-human called halfsies.

GCFA produced events in different regions across the many galaxies. There were eight divisions.  The GCFA circuit went to eight regions: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Omega, Delta, Kappa, Theta, Zeta. Each region separated in four quarters; Eastern Quarter, Western Quarter, Northern Quarter, Northern Quarter, and Southern Quarter. Each quarter had a million galaxies.

Maya hoped that not all the positions available were for fighters. She was only one-quarter Arian and mostly human. She did not have the strength or stamina as a halfsie or full species.

Her grandfather was a full Arian and married her very human grandmother. Her father, Trey, was half Arian and half human, a halfsie. He got her human mother pregnant but refused to take responsibility. He left for parts unknown before she was ever born. Her mother did not want her either and gave her to her grandparents to raise.

Her grandparents were wonderful. They cared for her, gave her love, and encouraged her to go after her dreams.  Even though her dream was to work for the GCFA and travel most of the year with the circuit tour.

She watched almost every televised match since she was little. Her real interest picked up after a new fighter was hired, Taurus the Ape Man. She was a huge fan of his. There was something about his dark brown eyes that looked so lonely. They called to her, making her want to seek him out. So, here she was, far from home and about to do anything she had to do to get this job.

*****

“Come on Taurus, pick one.” Zen nudged his friend who had remained silent through the whole audition.

How did he get roped into doing this? Oh yeah, Zen volunteered him. Damn it!
This was not what he wanted to be doing, auditioning new ring girls. He would rather be helping Zara train the replacement fighters. This was a joke.