“Wilcome to sa Five Systems.” The words rang through his ears like cannon-fire, abrupt and piercing. The words were spoken in his language by a woman who was human, though the accent seemed less than remotely his species. As the words rolled off the woman’s tongue, every word seemed accentuated with a hiss. “What be your name? Do you member?”
He raised his head to look out at the magnitude of stars twinkling in the ebon field of space, puffs of deep purple floating like clouds throughout the sparkling vista. Thinking backwards, trying to determine the answer to a question that he knew would have been easy during another time in his life, he realized that his past was now nothing more than choppy images. His memories were dark shadows with no details, visions that were there and present of a life gone by, yet the simplest of specifics were absent. What he could remember was the moment that the life he once had ended and a different life began. It was a moment on a street corner with a friend that was now nothing more than one of the shadows. The friend walked away as a storm rolled in over his head, a storm unlike any other he had seen before. He had stayed behind outside to watch the flickering clouds that were beginning to twirl with a captivating fury.
The streetlamp seemed like a spotlight over an anguished soul. It flickered now and again, echoing sounds reminiscent of static from an old radio while creating shadows upon the ground that seemed to shift with each pulse. He looked up at the light for a moment and then back to where a good friend had walked away to get directions. They were lost, two friends on an overdue vacation. As his friend crossed the street and disappeared into the bar, the name of the bar gleaming in brilliant orange above the door, he glanced at the single shining word. The word was an interesting coincidence, though the coincidence was of least importance. Not only were two friends lost, but he himself was a lost soul at the moment. Deep in depression, he stared at the blazing orange letters for another moment and then turned away to look up.
The clouds in the sky above swirled in a way he had never seen before, churning with flickering sparks of brilliant purple and blue. There’s a storm brewing, he thought. The look of storms had always been enthusing to him. In fact, he was one who never turned away from the rain or shuddered at the sound of thunder. Instead it was commonplace for him to seek out a covered spot outside while enjoying the look of the angry clouds rolling with the wind and the forceful pummel of precipitation. He had always liked a good storm. He pondered the thought as he realized a similarity though. His life had become a tempest and perhaps it was time to simply end the storms. There was no cure for what he was feeling, and nothing could be done to change the things that had happened in a life gone wrong. He was a lost soul in a bitter downpour of despair.
As he drifted on the dark waves of sorrow-filled contemplation, the shifting glow in the clouds above intensified, shimmering with brighter shades of purple and violet. It was a unique lightning show that pulled him immediately back to full consciousness, yet the rumbling sound of thunder was absent. He stepped forward a bit staring upwards at a center spot in the clouds where rotation was forming. Was he standing beneath a budding twister, he thought. In London?
The flickering of the lights in the clouds continued in their glowing dance of luminescence, as did
His heart-rate increased as the light surrounded him. Stepping back quickly he felt the streetlamp at his backside for a moment, the sputtering instrument popping with an intense rhythm that seemed to be challenging his suddenly racing heartbeat. In the moment it took to notice his own building fear, the feel of the cold steel of the streetlamp’s base upon his fingertips erupted with blazing heat as if the pole the streetlight was perched upon had become molten. In the grips of an out of control wail, he dropped to his knees, the light from the clouds now swirling in silver and blue around him, shining as though metallic specks floated within the swirling glow. As he attempted to raise himself, the pavement beneath his knees and the palms of his hand changed.
The ground beneath suddenly felt like liquid, though he was not sinking into it. He felt a sense of nausea forming deep within his gut. With the attempt of a second scream, he suddenly realized he was beyond breathless. The air around him was gone and his chest was tight. Is this death, he wondered for a moment.
Looking outwards he could see a nearby building just beyond the wall of swirling light. The building’s exterior was altering however, like various colors of play clay that mix together as the clay is stretched in the hand. The structure was stretching as well, and the windows on its second floor seemed distorted. With widening eyes, unable to move, he watched the building twist until it vanished. In its place the luminescence around him distorted the horizon as if no buildings were blocking the view. The sun began to rise.
It’s nighttime, he thought, his legs extended out beneath him though they were unable to grip pavement to run upon. Glancing down with the realization that he had not stood, the ground was no longer there. He was surrounded by the swirling flickering luminescence even beneath his feet, but through the glowing sphere he could clearly see the lights of the cities now under him growing distant. He was rising above the planet which nearly instantly became evident as the lights began to merge together with his increasing distance. His nausea intensified with his entire being suddenly gripped in a state of terror beyond any level of fright previously felt. Unable to scream, unable to pant and gasp as he normally may have, he glanced in the only remaining direction he could. Looking upwards towards what at one point seemed above him and that now seemed to be the direction he was heading in, he could see that the glowing light which had trapped him seemed to in fact be a stream of light. Amidst his state of awe, he could glimpse the great length of the stream as it buckled here and there before him. He was travelling inside it like a small morsel inside a large vacuum hose. Again his lips parted for the reactionary scream, and again he was reminded that there was no air, though it strangely seemed he didn’t need to breathe.
He closed his eyes as a lifetime of memories flashed through his mind. Suddenly the reason for despair was thrust to the back of his thoughts while he witnessed the rebirthing of all that he was and
He opened his eyes again; why it was that he could see through what appeared to be happening, he was completely unsure of. The speed that he was travelling at appeared intense with nothing more than an occasional flash passing by the glowing orb. Above and ahead he could still see the twists in the track of the stream. As soon as he saw a curve approaching, however, he was within it looking further ahead at other turns. As he chose to look on and face whatever it was that was occurring, he saw the end of the stream. There was a structure there floating in a black field. It was enormous and metallic, dark with an orange glow centered within a circle of panels that seemed like mammoth spheres. The stream ended in a bud that stretched out from the orange glow, though as soon as he caught sight of the structure, his journey ended in pain.
With a forceful thud, his body was thrown against a wall. Instinctively, he at last took in a hefty gasp of air, though in the shock of the sudden stop, he fell to the floor as if his muscles had turned to liquid. Rolling over while accepting the pain of his impact, he was instantly pleased that his fingertips were touching something solid. With the first exhale, he began to lift his head. Wherever he was, there was pure darkness around him enwrapped in a foul stench. The second breath was taken in with the trembling reminder of his fear. Continuing to raise his head to peer into the darkness, he suddenly heard the rhythmic pounding of footsteps approaching from behind.
Before he could turn to face whatever it was that was oncoming, he felt a hand grip his shoulder; a powerful grip that lifted his torso from the floor yet didn’t allow a moment for his feet to take hold before he was moving. He was being dragged, once more without control of his own. As his fright that had already seemed at its height burst forth with a newfound level of terror, he realized that the fingers on the hand upon him were so large that they extended beyond his chest. He at last released the wail he had been attempting to vocalize since the storms reached down and gripped him.
Glancing around him as his feet flailed unable to get footing, he could see shadows that he was passing, movement lit by dim light upon dark walls. He could see the back of what was dragging him, a mammoth creature that was also dark with long bushy hair and what seemed a black vest. He screamed again, though the vocalization was less than fruitful in helping ease his fear or in eliciting salvation. The creature continued to drag him down what appeared to be a ramp into a room symphonic with voices. Before he could attempt a glance around at the occupants of the space, he felt himself being lifted by the large hand upon him. He was then again with no control of his destination tossed into an apparatus that held him high above the floor on a protrusion that gripped between his legs while two metallic claws closed over his shoulders pulling him tight against its back.
"No!" He exclaimed; a syllable quivering upon a trembling tongue. Looking forward, he at last caught sight of the face of the creature that had dragged him and locked him within a device. His eyes widening with disbelief and fright, he screamed once more with a terror-filled wail.
The creature growled in reaction, its large head spitting warm saliva upon his cheeks. Its skin was dark brown and leather-like framing eyes where black pupils floated upon piss yellow. Its hair was equally black and long hanging down past its wide chest, its teeth equally as yellow as its eyes with fangs that hung past its dark lips on either side of its face. Not only was the creature tall, but its body was bulky and wide.
He gasped at the deafening roar of the creature, aghast at what it was that he was faced with. As his breath grew rapid and irregular, he looked past the creature to where he could see two other apparatuses like the one he was stuck within, each holding beings that had human qualities yet were easily discernible as not human. Trembling, he glanced back at the creature while it took his right forearm in a strong grip and pushed it against the apparatus where another claw restrained it. "Where am I?" He released upon his rapid breaths. "What are you going to do to me?"
The creature pushed his left forearm into the vice leaving him completely restrained, and then raised a long and thick blade before him. "Please no!" he shouted, his voice still quivering with fear. The creature grasped the front of the sweatshirt he wore and with a quick thrust, sliced its front exposing his thin pale chest.
Glancing past the creature once more, he could see a similar creature smearing some sort of clear gel upon the bare chest of its victim also restrained in a similar apparatus. The victim shrieked with a vocal burst that intensified his terror just as the similar creature thrust a blade identical to the one that had just cut his shirt open into the gut of the victim.
He looked back to where the creature before him raised a large jar up to inspect it in the dim light. It was full of the gel that he had just seen used. "Please don’t do this." He begged, his voice growing raspy from the screams.
"Jonyoc!"
It was the deep and powerful voice of another of the dark brown creatures approaching.
"Helmvas. Vir tu sveen poljan," the creature before him answered in a foreign tongue that was also deep and commanding while looking over its shoulder.
The approaching creature released a chuckle that could be felt in the solid metal upon his back. The new creature raised a hand that brushed his newly exposed chest while he spoke once more. "Tulna svet longsta res blornin, Jonyoc"
"Gornin Helmvas." The creature before him spoke and then waived the jar dismissing what appeared to be its friend.
"Jonyoc, vilst rondin por," the second creature said before laughing once more. It then began to walk away as the creature before him dipped its fingers into the jar full of gel.
His brain racing through possibilities, accepting his situation while desperately searching for an
The creature growled once more bringing its lips close to his face, its warm breath heating his cheeks. "Zu not spake ma name!"
"You speak my language," he said, still trembling yet startled at the words he had just heard formed by the grotesque lips of this creature.
"I spake Ert, skinny hooman."
His breaths grew even shallower as he contemplated next options. "What did he say to you? Are you going to kill me?"
"He zay no meat on vody" With a quick slap, the creature began to smear the gel upon his thin stomach. It was cold startling him yet again. "I no kill you, hooman. Ve zell you."
Glancing once again past Jonyoc at the closest of the other apparatuses, the pale creature strapped within it appeared to be either unconscious or dead, the skin of its stomach area now pried open with clamps that protruded from the side of the instrument. "Jonyoc, you don’t have to do this," he said pleading once more yet trying hard to put confidence in his voice. The creatures were strong and burly. They would likely respect strength, he thought, more so than pity. "You don’t have to do this." He looked back into Jonyoc’s eyes.
Jonyoc finished covering his stomach with an even coat of the gel and then paused with their eyes connected. It turned its head towards where he had been watching the operation on the other apparatus. After a moment of staring, it turned back locking eyes once again.
There was a change in Jonyoc’s eyes. In what had moments before seemed an unsympathetic creature, he could glimpse an air of compassion sprouting from the deep black pupils. Perhaps it was the simple human reaction of assuming something not understood must be innately bad that caused him to miss that this creature had wants, drives and emotions the same as he did. Perhaps there was more to Jonyoc. "You don’t want to do this, do you?" He asked softly.
"Jonyoc!" The creature that had commented on his skinniness shouted from behind. "Selda tu kuv!"
Jonyoc turned at the words and then turned back, leaning in close. "Zorry hooman," it said, speaking as near to a whisper as a loud voice could be. "I no choice. Must be done." Jonyoc turned once more to glance towards the other apparatus quickly and then turned back again. "Would help if could."
"Jonyoc!" As the blade sliced through the skin of his stomach, piercing pain shot through his body. His hands writhing, his head thrust back while he released a blood-curdling scream. His breaths burst into rapid pulses once more before he howled a second time driven by the excruciating agony of the
Voices…
He was floating in blackness, drifting on the carpet of awakening. As his eyelids began to separate and the blackness dissipated into the cold steel feeling of the strange floor he laid upon, he heard voices nearby. At first they were as dim and unformed as background chatter while memories flowed forward returning him to consciousness and then to reality. He remembered the word above the door where a friend had entered, blazing orange yet the word meant nothing to him. What is it? He thought. It used to mean something.
The meaning was gone, wiped away in the cold darkness of his budding consciousness like a dream fading quickly upon awakening. The friends name was gone as well. He knew they were friends, knew he had known him for some time. But the name would not come forth. All he could see was the word. And then there was the storm.
With a long exhale of his breath upon the floor, he remembered the light and being thrown against the wall… And then he remembered the creature and the blade. He opened his eyes completely. Lifting his head up, he felt the dry stickiness of his mouth while he peered around him. There was light again, but this light was different.
"He won’t bring in much, do better next time. He’ll do for now."
The surrounding voices grew clearer as he peered past the light where there was darkness; where the voices were coming from. The light was upon him preventing him from seeing what was beyond. He was in a spotlight of sorts, brilliant white and shining through the surrounding blackness. "Do for what?" He shouted, his grogginess perhaps delivering courage to him.
Pushing his torso up to attempt a stance, the overwhelming sensation of dizziness dropped him backwards to a seated position. He felt the floor with his hands and looked down to see that it was blanketed with thick metal rings. It was then that he noticed his stomach was bare and open, and that all he was wearing was gray shorts that hung loose upon his waste. Gazing down at this stomach, he could see a clear ruby slice in his skin shining through the gel that was still upon him. The strange gel seemed to be holding the wound closed.
Ahead of him there was movement; the loud rattle of metal upon metal. Was he in a cage? He thought. As the clanking sound reverberated through the light, echoing in a rotation around him, he heard the heavy thudding of footsteps upon the floor. A being appeared in the light before him, seeming like a looming shadow at first until details became clearer as it grew closer. It was tall, much taller than he was, but it was very different than the creatures he had seen before. It wasn’t Jonyoc.
The being stood before him, its features strikingly human though its size made it quite evident that it
The question seemed so easy to retort. He knew he had answered it many times in his life without so much as a momentary pause, yet the answer was not there. His name was absent in his thoughts. He glanced down away from Vaul for a moment, struggling to remember the name. It was a useless attempt however. The name was gone. "I don’t remember," he said softly, confusion uttered in the syllables spoken. Glancing back into Vaul’s piercing cobalt eyes that were also a beacon of the creature being alien, he uttered words reaching for compassion; hopeful for the same look he had seen in Jonyoc’s eyes. He remembered Jonyoc, and he remembered the look. "What’s happening to me?"
Vaul smiled, though its eyes did not offer the compassion he had hoped to see. Instead it was easy to recognize contempt in the glare. "You have no name," Vaul answered without hesitation. "You are scub. Lower than the brown waste I shit. You are property; mine for the moment."
He shook his head, straining against the grip of the large hand upon his face. "I don’t belong to you."
Vaul’s fingers tightened. "Know your place, scub!" It exclaimed with a near hiss. "Look around you. Everything that you see, everything that you touch, it all belongs to me for so long as I choose to keep it. Including you." Moving closer in, Vaul lowered its shoulders down to be near face to face. As its soft and long flowing black mane fell forward, the hair brushed against the cheeks of the confused young man who suddenly had no name. "So, your question was; do for what?" Vaul continued, its breath now easily felt in the closeness. It was much hotter than a human’s would be. "You’re frail, a puny scub with little meat on your bones. Your legs are like little sticks."
He glanced down at his one leg that was extended forward from where he had pulled his torso up. It was the first moment that he realized he was sliced upon his thigh as well which also had a generous smear of the clear gel. He gasped before glancing back up at Vaul’s immense face.
"I will sell you, though. Humans are valuable here. You will be bought for service or for food. Or perhaps even for games." Vaul’s smile stretched larger, its red lips rising up into its chiseled cheek bones. "Though you have little meat on your bones, if I were to guess, I would say someone will likely buy you for food."
As Vaul’s long tongue licked upon its upper lip, his eyes widened with the shock of the words.
"Humans are quite tasty."
With a flick of the large hand, Vaul released its grip and then laughed verbosely. Rising to its feet and spinning to make its exit, the hefty purple fabric of its cape whipped across his face and chest. With
Rising up on his elbows, he glanced forward to see the mammoth feet of the dark skinned creatures being swallowed into the light. With the sound of the rattling metal once more, he was certain he was locked within a cage, escape not possible. It was the rings that formed walls around him like rounded bars. With another loud thud, the light was extinguished leaving him in pitch darkness. He reached down to his stomach to feel where he had been sliced open. The gel was tacky, but seemed firm. He then reached down to his left thigh to feel the same tackiness and then to his right which also appeared to have been cut. There was little pain there surprisingly, however there was enough sensation for him to know he needed to avoid touching the wounds.
Pushing himself up to be seated once more, the sudden silence drew him into a second attempt to remember his past. Again, the memories would not reach further back than the word above the establishment that his friend had walked into. There was a cloud there; a thick barrier that was blocking his entrance into the world of his experiences. He remembered the light though, knowing well now that whatever it was, it had grabbed him from the street corner that he had stood upon and pulled him into space; to somewhere that had to be far from his home planet. He remembered his fear of the unknown of what was happening to him then. As he thought back to those moments, he realized that the fear he felt inside the cage was less than it was then though his future was equally as unknown. Perhaps it was the loss of memory that left him suddenly unaware of what it was that he should be afraid of. Peering through the darkness though, he felt as if he was once again within that glowing orb that had captured him. He had no control of what was happening, yet he was not gripped by fear. He felt logical and accepted that all he could do was wait within the surreal darkness and contemplate options.
The cage shook with the erupting sound of intense movement. It was still dark, pitch blackness around him, but as he slipped his hand through one of the rings on the floor of his cage, he felt the vibration in the floor beneath. Whatever housing he was in along with what he assumed was likely other cages full of victims like he was, was moving. Or landing, he thought, continuing to push aside sensibility in the reality that he was in an alien world.
As another loud thud shook the housing around him enough for his cage to slide slightly to the left, the shrieks and moans of the surrounding others filled the stale putrid air around him. He stood, the dizziness that had inflicted him earlier at last lessened, and stepped upon the metal rings beneath his bare feet to the front of the cage. Another thud rang out sparking more shrieks and strange voices while
"Hello!" He shouted, again not expecting an answer yet unwilling to simply stand and wait for an answer to what was happening around him. At last light burst upon the housing causing him at first to squint and block his eyes. After a moment of adjusting, he glanced towards the light, still forced to squint but able to see enough to make out the opening of large doors at the back of the housing. As his eyes cleared further, he could at last see that the housing was filled with several cages as well as large crates that were black with strange red markings on their side. "It’s a cargo ship," he whispered to himself.
The cages within the bay were each filled, though he quickly confirmed his assumptions that no other humans appeared to be present. Each captive were creatures that were humanoid; fare skinned of a pale blue tint with slender bodies and long hair that was streaked with various shades of gray. Their foreheads were also much higher than his with the hairline at the top of the head. While the large doors that were slowly opening continued, his view was pulled from the creatures to the movement that was happening beyond the doors. There was a brightly lit room there like a warehouse, and he could see an armature reaching up from the colossal space to what he then assumed was a cargo bay on a vessel. Below the crane-like equipment, he could see much movement of other creatures that were similar to Jonyoc, yet dressed very differently. As the armature reached towards his housing, another thud signified the completion of the doors opening sequence.
Almost immediately, a cage near to the doors began to slide, the creature within it screeching with a pitch that was nearly ear shattering. It was attached to the armature, yet the crate immediately at its side began to follow it. He glanced up towards the ceiling above his cage to see what appeared to be a suspended conveyor belt with each cage and crate attached to it by a dark and thick cable. Another cage was moving, the sliding of three pieces of cargo now causing a rumbling in the floor beneath his cage. Another cage began to slide followed by a crate that was directly opposite him. "Shit," he said gripping down on the rings tighter with his fingers. His cage was next.
The cage rocked with movement. Gripping tight to the rings, he lowered himself to a squat for better leverage as the cage shook and squealed across the floor of the apparent cargo bay. He felt an uncontrollable tremble traverse his body; fear of the unknown. Though it was just another time having him not in control of his destiny, captured within an object that was carrying him somewhere unfamiliar, this time seemed much more final. This was his destiny, and it scared him. He accepted the tremble for a moment as the cage raced towards the open doors, feeling the cool temperature of what was beyond the doors blowing against his bare skin adding to the quake in his body. As the cage approached the edge of the housing, it lifted up and out. He looked back quickly for a glimpse of what it was that had brought him here. Sadly, all he could see was the cargo bay backed up tightly to the doors of this new building he was in.
He then looked down. His cage was travelling high above the building’s floor. All around him was darkened gray; floor, walls, even the ceiling above that was spotted with machinery. Though there were
The new cavernous space was darker than the previous room had been, but it was full of chatter. There were many creatures below him, some watching the arrival of the cages and the crates, some standing close to what appeared to be a brightly lit stage that had spotlights upon it. There was another creature similar to Jonyoc upon the stage speaking into what was clearly a microphone, though the black instrument with a glowing orange tip looked more like a weapon of sorts. The entire hall echoed with chatter from creatures that numbered in the hundreds. As his cage began to lower towards an area at the back that looked to have been cleared and available for the arrival of new items, he pulled himself to a stance while still gripping tightly to the rings that made up his cage. Though he was gripped with a strange fear-filled sensation, he was determined to face the fear with an air of strength.
The cage dropped to a spot on the floor as others along with the crates that had travelled there with him did as well around him. It seemed as the products were placed, that his cage had the premium spot at the front of all the merchandise. Humans are valuable here, he remembered Vaul remarking.
At once, creatures began approaching the cage to inspect the merchandise. He glanced around him at two of the other cages that were in sight of where he had been dropped. The beings within them were cowering upon the cage floors. The sight saddened him, but also fired him with his own determination to not be pitied. "Come look at the new human you pathetic assholes!" He shouted. No longer needing to steady himself, he released the rings and stretched his arms to the side spreading his legs apart.
The creatures came. Many were like Jonyoc though some looked to be the same race as the creatures within the other cages. There was another that had deep crimson skin with eyes that were brilliant yellow, and no hair with deep ridges across the top of its head. "Take a good look, Red. Don’t mind the scars. They weren’t my choice."
As some creatures moved on to view the other cages while others moved in for a closer look at him, he turned his head right to spy a familiar dark face at the corner of his cage. It was Jonyoc. "Come for a look also, Jonyoc?"
It was only a few steps to the corner where the tall frame of Jonyoc stood, its long bushy hair cascading over its wide shoulders. It was the first moment that he realized just how tall Jonyoc was as he approached to realize that his face was about even with the creature’s chest. Vaul was taller, but Jonyoc was tall enough. Looking up into the creatures eyes, he remembered the dark putrid room where he had first encountered it. He was braced upon the apparatus then, his feet not touching the floor.
Jonyoc glanced to its side where two of the crimson skinned creatures were speaking in a foreign language, but interested in the new human specimen. "Morgla," Jonyoc said to the creatures. "Vash onjanu sel banlo." Jonyoc’s voice was commanding and the two creatures stopped their chatter for a moment before moving on to inspect another cage. Jonyoc then turned back to look down into his eyes. "Da cuts are healer. Keep da banlo unsturbed."
He glanced down quickly at his gel-covered wounds for a moment. "Banlo. So that’s what this goo is called." He then looked back up into Jonyoc’s face. "Thanks for that. It feels like shit and it smells worst." While he expected rage in the reaction to his words; a scathing growl like the first time he had spoken Jonyoc’s name, Jonyoc looked down in a way that seemed saddened. The compassion he thought he had seen just before the creature had cut into him was present once more. Prejudice, the word popped in a flurry of thoughts. He stepped back looking around the room he was in and then back at Jonyoc. "You know, I don’t remember details of my life. I assume you took that from me, but I do remember that I had always considered myself someone with no prejudices. Yet I come here and immediately assume that all the creatures are bad." He stepped forward again to reach out and lean upon the rings. Jonyoc took a step back is if being threatened. He was surprised by the step, that even something so large is protective of itself. They’re not much different than humans, he thought. Beneath the fangs, the height and the large beastly hands, somehow he was beginning to wonder if the truth was that this may be a gentle creature. "You’re not bad, are you Jonyoc? I think you only did this to me because it’s your job."
Jonyoc looked away again. While another creature had approached the cage for a look and Jonyoc may have felt that he should not be seen speaking to a scub, it seemed also that Jonyoc was contemplating the words. Turning back, it placed its large leathered hands upon the rings of the cage displaying a level of unexpected comfort. Perhaps I’m getting through to him, he thought.
"Vaul is bad, hooman. Member dat."
Vaul. Even the spoken name ignited rage within him as the memory of that moment of his awakening, his encounter with Vaul, flashed at high speed across his inner thought. But then another realization melted into the flame of his anger. "Are you forced to work for him? Are you a slave?"
"No slave!" Jonyoc reacted badly to the words pulling one hand from the cage to slam it back in a tense display of his strength. The cage shook abruptly with the force of Jonyoc’s fury.
"I’m sorry," he said softly. He jolted with the thud, but held strong to the cage so as not to break the comfort. "Just asking."
Jonyoc’s eyes showed frustration, yet accepting of the apology. "I do what need to take care family."
Again the surprise of his own prejudices having prevented him from thinking about that these creatures have lives and loves no different than what humans have made him shake his head with the disbelief of his own lack of understanding. Even though he couldn’t remember what he had lost when he was taken, his own compassion was well intact and not reliant on the memories. He nodded. "I understand."
Jonyoc turned away once more to scan their surroundings. The crowds of alien creatures weren’t far, but were dissipating from the vicinity of the cages and crates clearly more interested in what was occurring on the stage. He glanced up past the crate that was opposite his to just be able to see the spotlight on another of the pale blue creatures as he had seen in the other cages in the cargo bay. Though it was far way, he recognized the look as it was being held by two creatures similar to Jonyoc. The creature that was announcing was speaking in a foreign tongue, but was clearly auctioning the blue creature to the highest bidder. It didn’t take English to understand that. "Is that what’s going to happen to me? I’m put up there to be bid on?"
Jonyoc turned back. "Des."
The thought was disturbing to him as he imagined the feel of being held nearly naked upon a stage while a bidding war determined his fate. "Well, as you already told me; I’m skinny. Nothing will want me for food, right?"
The dark brown skin of Jonyoc’s face wrinkled, seeming much more serious than he had yet seen. "To da Tsaultraub, da hooman blood es da good milk."
The words sparked a chill that rapidly traversed his body.
Jonyoc continued. "You may live troo dis, you may no. Det you should be hope for. Would be better."
The words repeated in his head over and over unsettling. Though Jonyoc’s accent was thick and his understanding of English was low, he understood what it was that the creature was telling him. Nodding a silent response with mounting despair, he looked up into the sympathetic black pupils once more. "Why are you so nice to me?"
Jonyoc huffed, glanced away for a moment, and then looked back into his eyes. "You are da only dat speak to me, hooman."
He smiled, placing his forehead against a ring. In the darkness of the despair within his heart, he realized that he simply liked this creature and understood that it was only doing what it had to do. The sensation inspired him to have Jonyoc call him by his name and not just hooman since Jonyoc was the closest thing he had to a friend in this strange friendless universe he had been taken to. "Call me..." He said and then paused. "Hmm, I was going to tell you to call me by my name, but I don’t remember it." With a smile through clenched lips, he continued. "I guess you can just call me nameless." He looked up again as his and Jonyoc’s eyes locked for a moment before Jonyoc looked away once more. His paranoia was becoming evident. He knew that it would probably be hard on this creature if it was recognized being nice to a scub. "Can’t you just kill me, Jonyoc? Spare me the auction and end it here. Nobody has to know it was you. They’re all focused away from us now."
Jonyoc looked back. While he could see the compassion deepening in the creature’s eyes, he knew that he had asked it to put itself in danger. Stupid move, nameless, he thought.
"Sorry," he began again. "You’d better go before they notice you chatting with the merchandise." He smiled. Nothing that was happening was Jonyoc’s fault, even though it was the creature that sliced him open. The truth is, he thought, human nature drives a belief that there is good in all things, and to be good to all beings. Even those that may threaten you. And through all that had happened, he was still human. "Don’t suppose you’d want to bid on me?"
Jonyoc smiled with the release of a light chuckle.
"Too expensive, I get it." Reaching his hand through a ring, he surprised Jonyoc who stepped back once more. "Good luck to you Jonyoc," he said while offering his hand in friendship.
Jonyoc glared at the hand for a moment and then looked back into his eyes. "Sorry for what done to you. Choice not mine."
"You don’t have to apologize, Jonyoc. I understand."
Jonyoc stepped forward, reaching into the fabric that was draped around his waist. "I can help longer no. You on own."
As Jonyoc’s hefty hand came out of the fabric, he felt the creatures fingers touch his own along with the cool feel of metal upon his palm. Glancing down, he saw that Jonyoc had slipped a blade into his hand. He looked quickly back up into Jonyoc’s deep yellow eyes.
"Luck to you, nameless."
His mouth fell agape as Jonyoc stepped away with a final look before walking towards the cage’s door. It seemed it leaned against it for a moment before breaking into hefty strides walking towards the crowd of aliens. Though the hefty body of the creature blocked the view of what it was doing, it didn’t take much for him to realize that the cage door was now unlocked. Stepping towards the door, he paused for a moment to watch a friend walking away. It reminded him of another memory he had, the only memory from his previous life when a friend crossed a street to enter a door beneath a shimmering word. It strangely seemed that Jonyoc may be a friend as well. He wasn’t sure, but as he gazed towards the beastly being walking into the thick crowd, he saw it turn for one final eye to eye glance. Their gaze locked upon each other for a short instant and then Jonyoc vanished into the crowd.
Without further pause, he approached the door, placing a hand upon a ring at its center. A simple push confirmed that the cage was unlocked. Looking up again to where Jonyoc had walked, he realized what Jonyoc had really done. In a strange galaxy, a beastly alien being had given him three options; to take his life with the blade, to attempt escape or to die trying. With little contemplation, he accepted that all three choices were preferable to being dragged up on the stage. Quickly making his decision, he selected the third option with a further push upon the door.
Slipping out of the cage, his heart racing with a furious rhythm, he noticed one of the other caged creatures was watching him. It reached its hands through the circles of its own cage towards him, though he quickly stepped away from it towards the side where a large black crate blocked the view of
Stepping quickly to the back of the cavernous room behind the cargo and cages, he glanced to his left. It was a lengthy walk to the far wall where he knew there was a door beneath the opening his cage had come through, but there was no sign of the slaver beings between him and the wall, and the walk was mostly hidden behind crates and cages. He knew it would be obvious to any eyes what he was; dressed in only the loose gray shorts that he awoke in with skin that was paler than any other creature he had seen yet. He stood out, but had no other choice but to stand out. Jonyoc had given him a chance and he was determined to make the most of it, though as he found himself breathing in nervously short huffs, he also prepared himself for the likelihood of death. It’s better, he thought; once again convincing himself that life as a slave or death as dinner or a glass of blood made being killed while trying to escape an attractive option.
Slipping the blade just inside the waistband of the shorts, he held its top grip between the fingers of his right hand to keep it from falling through while keeping it still somewhat hidden. He was prepared to use it if necessary, he thought with a deep inhale of air while he inched forward in the first step around the corner of a crate. Immediately, a loud thud followed by an intense rattling startled him, however, causing him to crouch behind the crate. With a cautious glance after a moment up over the top of the crate to the source of the sounds, he saw that a doorway high against the dark ceiling had opened. He thought at once that it was the same doorway his cage had come through and was proven correct as a crate sailed through hanging from the same conveyor that his cage had been suspended from.
There’s another vessel there, he thought, stepping forward once more towards the wall. Quickening his pace, he paused only at breaks between the objects that were masking his movement to ensure no beings were close by. Though he knew the vessel was likely full of creatures that would jump at an opportunity to take him down and put him back on the auction block, it was also a distraction. With few options available to him, a distraction was a welcomed gift.
His heart continued to race as he slipped quietly passed the back wall. Now and again he glanced up to see more crates travelling in through the high door piercingly rumbling upon the conveyor. The rattling sound mixed with the noise of the auction and the surrounding crowd that occasionally burst into what he assumed must be cheers or jeers caused his heart to race faster with each decibel change. Though the terror within him quaked with each sound, he forced himself to keep in motion. Nearing the end where he knew he had seen a doorway beneath the conveyor, he stopped to lean against the back wall. With a huff, he brought his left hand to his forehead, while his thoughts cycled through the clattering banter of a desperate man. How did this happen to me? I don’t even remember my life, but what could I have done that was so wrong that I deserve this? I don’t even know where I’m going; outside? Is there even air outside? His despondency was elevated, yet his determination was in control.
In the moment of desperate reflection that he was lost within; a soul without a home to run back to with a heart pounding furiously within a tense chest, he froze. But a moment was all he could afford. He knew this, and so he took in one more deep breath before accepting that death was likely around the corner and through the door if he even reached it. Completing the breath with a quivering and lengthy
He turned the corner to see another Jonyoc-like being entering through the door. It didn’t see him, and there appeared to be no others entering behind it. The door was still open, the only opportunity he had, and so he held tight to the dagger with his fingers and sprinted for the door. Nothing blocked his way as he exited from the safety of being hidden behind large and dark crates. Without hesitation, without looking behind, he turned through the door where he found a corridor that led to each side with another door directly across. Stepping to the side in that corridor, he backed against the wall aside the doorway he had just passed through. He could see the delivery bay beyond through the opposite door, alien creatures bustling about in white and gray uniforms. It was a bright room, and directly across he could see the vessel that had delivered the latest set of goods pulling away from the mammoth bay doors. They would be closing soon, he knew this. Maybe it’ll be a surprise to the goons when a half-naked human runs through their garage, he thought.
Another decision made, he stepped away from the wall to begin a race through the bay to the mammoth doors. But just as he reached the doorway, he felt a hand upon his backside with a large and powerful grip. As if he were a weightless doll, he was turned with his shoulders thrust against the wall aside the doorway that may have been his salvation. The large hand pressed into his armpit pushing him upward so that his feet dangled without footing.
"You!" It was Vaul, the creature’s angry face was before his own with steamy hot breath fanning his cheeks. "How dare you think that you can just run away! From me!" Pushing with both of his meaty hands, Vaul forced him even higher upon the wall. "Did you really believe you could escape from me, scub! You have no life other than the one you are sold into by me! I own you, and you are nothing but shit!"
His back ached with the force of being thrust against the wall by such an enormously strong being, though the pain along with his racing heartbeat served to intensify his hatred for the creature. It was the reason he was in a dank section of the universe, the reason his memory was taken from him; his life. Vaul was the reason he was cut open with god knows what done to him, and the reason he had nothing to live for and was ready to die. It was the reason he was caged, and as his temper bubbled to the surface as if his innards had become molten, he was determined to not let himself be returned to the cage no matter how strong the creature was. "You don’t own me," he uttered with a deep voice, his eyebrows dipping in the midst of a deep dark detest. "You’re a despicable creature that owns nothing but what the fear of you gets you." Vaul pushed harder against him with greater strength that shook the bones within his back. His words had angered the creature, which strangely heightened his rage. "But I’m not afraid of you."
Pulling the blade out from where he still held it tight against his waist, he shoved the instrument deep within the chest of the hefty Vaul. The piercing growl that followed shook him at the core, yet he held strong to the handle of Jonyoc’s knife, holding tight to his continued hatred for the vile creature. Vaul’s mighty hand released its grip, but as he fell downwards against the wall, he continued to hold tight to the blade forcing it to slice downwards until Vaul fell backwards and it exited from its skin. Falling to his feet, he held tight to the handle of the blade ignoring the deep crimson blood that spilled
Though the victory was savory to him, as Vaul glanced up from the where it had landed upon the floor, he knew he could not pause to enjoy the injury he had inflicted. Vaul was still alive. Whether the wound he had given him was deadly or not, he did not know, but with a turn to look behind and through the doorway, he knew that further hesitation was not an option for him. Behind him, he could hear the deafening roar of the doors closing, and so he simply turned and began a sprint across the delivery bay towards the doors that were rapidly sliding inwards.
"I WILL ROAST YOUR DEAD CARCAS!"
He heard the fierce outcry of Vaul behind him. Running with the bloody knife still clutched tight in his right hand, he ignored the words and did not stop to see whether the creatures around him were looking in his direction. There was movement; he knew that he was being chased, but his focus remained unwavering on the closing behemoths before him. He knew he could make it if he did not slow, though he had no idea what he would find beyond the doors. As he arrived, there was but a slim space between the giants just enough for him to slip quickly through. He reached the outside just as the deafening rumble of the doors completing their closing sequence rocked the cold metal plates beneath his bare feet.
The atmosphere around him was equally as brisk but breathable, though strongly stinking of burned fuel. The achievement of his escape to the outside, however, was overtaken with the disbelief at the sites out and above from where he stood. Frozen in a stance just beyond where the mammoth doors were now high giants blocking entrance to the bay, he stared up at the dark vista that was engulfed with a planet taking up the majority of the view before him. The planet was dark, black and brown in color with a set of rings that were slightly lighter circling at an angle. The planet floated above commanding his view where purple and blue cloudlike haze painted the surrounding sky that peaked to the side of the planet with great streaks of brilliant violet. Completing the picture, crafts that numbered easily in the hundreds lit the horizon, some travelling between where he stood and the large planet, some appearing to be soaring into the atmosphere of the great ball. As majestic as the view was, terror reached a new height within him. Where the hell am I?
The metal doors behind him clanked with a resounding roar of metal upon metal. Startled, he turned quickly with a jerk of the head to look upon the wall at his backside. It was dark gray in color with scuffs of black dotting its surface that was highly textured with rivets and pipes. With another turn outwards he could see that it seemed he was standing on a platform high above the surface of whatever rock he was on. There were numerous crafts parked just ahead of him on the platform, some large and some dwarfed in the shadows of the large ones. It appeared he was standing on a loading dock. Though instinct had driven him to run and fight to escape the torment of being sold into slavery or served up as some creature’s dinner, he was left now with no answers as to what his next step was to be. He was alone, nearly naked and had no idea where home was.
Another thud sounded from his backside, and so he chose his only option which was to continue in
As the strut grew nearer, a woman stepped out from behind it with a gun in her hand pointed in his direction. She then raised her other hand up which was also holding tight to a gun. He stopped short, surprised to see that she was human, her skin black as coal and shiny like an oil slick. Though she wasn’t wearing much, the dark brown and leathery garments she did wear covered what was important. He stood still barely noticing anything more than that she was human as both weapons in her hand fired bright and flaming blasts from their tips. He again prepared himself for death, though once more it never came. The streams of orange flew just past his shoulders. She was aiming at his pursuers.
"You’re a fighter," she said. "sat’s good. Vollow me."
The woman spun and began sprinting, her long black hair that was accented with beads of tan flowing over her shoulders to her back. He followed, breaking into a run himself. Though he was unsure of who she was or why he was following her, his options as they had been since he awoke in a cage were limited. She turned weaving diagonally between two struts that brought them beneath the belly of another mammoth craft, and then she stopped. He stopped as well, frozen with terror once more as he could see that she was faced by two creatures that were the same race as Jonyoc. Though he feared recapture, he also had another concern. The gel was quickly giving way and his blood was now trickling from three breaks in his sliced skin. The pain was growing sharp.
"Filty Tsri-Volpa!" The woman shouted towards the creatures.
One of the creatures looked towards him. They were both growling like beasts as it seemed they prepared to attack. The woman’s hand was on her gun, and the two creatures that towered above both him and the woman held their large hands upon weapons that were holstered at their sides. In the flash of a moment, the woman pulled her own weapons up to aim towards the creatures as each creature dove towards her. She fell backwards in their grip, her guns dropping to the metal platform in a chorus of clanks while they slid away from her.
He dove as well towards the weapon that was closest to him, shrieking from pain that shot from the opening slices in his stomach through his entire body. Landing upon the platform, he gripped his fingers around the weapon’s handle and rolled onto his back to see one of the creatures racing towards him. The weapon had no trigger for him to depress. Pulling it before his face to inspect it, he was unsure of how to use the technology. He knew it fired for he had seen her ignite its tip when he first encountered
The creature reached towards him to lift him and so he aimed the weapon to do the only thing he could think of doing. Squeezing in on both sides of the handle, the tip ignited in brilliant blazing orange firing a shot towards the face of the creature. As the creature released a short wail before falling backwards, its face flashed in his memory, the first thing he had killed burning an image into his brain. In the flashing of visions within his head, he remembered once again the moment he had arrived to the strange world when Jonyoc restrained him and prepared to cut into him. Another creature had spoken to Jonyoc then appearing to be a friend. He remembered that creature, its face scarred across a deeply textured forehead. Thinking again of the unusual friendship he had unexpectedly struck with Jonyoc, he realized he had just seen that scar again. He had just killed Jonyoc’s friend.
He had no choice, he told himself quickly. It’s just been that way since the storm spit light upon him in what only seemed a day ago. He’d been left with no choices but to find a way to survive. And so he continued, reaching down again to his stomach to feel that the bleeding was beginning to become profuse. But the woman was still fighting and he still had a weapon. She needed help, and he needed to ignore the pain and the blood. He needed to get up.
Pushing himself at least as far as sitting up, his body shook with weakness. Lifting the gun up, he aimed towards the creature that was attacking the woman. They were close together in hand to hand combat, its large bulging arms wrapped around the muscular body of the dark-skinned woman. As they writhed in battle back and forth, he couldn’t get a good shot without endangering her as well. He knew nothing about her, but she was the first human he had seen, and he needed her. As he struggled to get himself to his feet once more, he glanced again at the two in battle to see the woman reach at her backside to where she pulled a blade from a sheath that matched the skins she wore keeping it somewhat hidden. Thrusting the knife into the creatures stomach, it backed away just enough for her to give a swift kick to its abdomen. It started to stumble further backwards as she reached down to pull another blade from her left black boot. Without pause, she began a sprint towards the creature, leapt into the air and with her body spinning, sliced the neck of the creature with one blade and then at the completion of her rotation, sliced the chest of the creature with the other. She then landed firmly on her feet with a thud as the creature fell backwards incapacitated.
The woman turned quickly and began a quick walk towards him while returning her blades to their masked sheaths. While she reached down to grasp the weapon that was on the ground, he reached forward to hand her the gun he had acquired. His body was trembling from the damage inflicted to his wounds in the battles he had waged. Both inner thighs were also beginning to spew blood where he was sliced open.
"Not bad," she said with a quick wave towards the creature he had shot. After taking the gun from him and holstering it at her side, she continued. "You’re bleeding bad. I need to get you out of here."
With another glance down at the creature he had killed, he could see that what was once its scarred face was now bubbling with escaping fluids. He had another thought of Jonyoc while pondering once again thoughts that the creatures are actually more human than would appear at initial glance. Though
The woman clearly read the sympathy in his face. She reached out to his shoulder to continue to help him stand. "Tsri-Volpa are disgusting creatures. Monsters sat do not deserve sa blood in seir veins."
He glanced up to look in her face; thin with deep set eyes that were blood shot with dark brown pupils. She had a very serious demeanor that was broken by a distant sound from the building he had come from. As they each turned to glance at more creatures racing in their direction, it was easy to see that there were too many for the two of them to defend themselves against, and he was weakening fast from rapid blood loss.
With a quick whack of her left wrist on the support beside where they stood, she activated a device on her wrist without dropping the gun still in her right hand. She pulled the device up to before her thick lips. "Gainog. Verstat pol nesh. Where sa hell are you? And get David. I have anoser human and he’s bleeding out." Dropping her wrist back to her side, she reached back out to his shoulder. "Come," she said with urgency. "You can make it. We’re almost sere."
He turned to follow. He had picked the blade that Jonyoc had given him back up and pressed the hand that held it hard against his cut stomach. "I’m slowing you down," he said, his pace shaky and uneven; no longer fast. "I’m OK dying here." As he completed his words, he realized they had reached the edge of the platform, the belly of the last parked ship now behind and above them. The large planet loomed over the horizon and the dark brown surface of the planet or perhaps moon they were on was far below beyond the platform. The construct they were on was high.
"You vill not be dying today," she replied without hesitation. Lifting the wrist device up again, she screeched loudly into it. "Gainog! We need you now!"
The device popped and then was followed by the highly trebled response. "Here. Get ready to jump."
Almost immediately at her command, the sound of engines roared around them bringing with it a hefty wind that blew his short ash hair. A vessel appeared rising above from the edge of the platform. The vessel rose high above them, long wing-like structures stretching out at each side of the ship. He saw an open ramp at the base of the main body when the ship stopped rising, though it bounced and wavered while holding its position. A man, another human with long blond hair that stopped just past his shoulders raced out upon the ramp to near its edge.
"Jump," the woman screamed, their time growing short. Reaching her arms around his shoulders, she was prepared to help jump with him.
It was his only chance. He knew he was putting his life in the hands of two people now, but at least they were human. All he could do was hope it was the right choice. As had been since the start of the journey, it was again his only choice. Feeling the push of her arms upon his shoulders, he leapt forward pushing with as much strength as he could muster on his aching legs off the edge of the platform.
Sliding off the ramp, the man leaned over him. "I’m gonna help you," the man said, his long blonde hair falling forward over his olive skin. "I’m sort of a doctor."
As the woman stepped into the ship, the ramp began to close and the vessel began rising again. He could see the building he had escaped from though it was swiftly growing distant and the ramp was rapidly rising to a close. The man’s hands pressed into his wound causing him to gasp as visions of his escape raced across his inner-eye. He remembered Jonyoc giving him a chance, and he remembered Vaul. The pain was growing severe where the man was touching him, and darkness began to wash over his eyes once more. I made it Jonyoc, he thought in the dimming of his consciousness. Holy shit, I got away.
"My name be Tyrsa," the woman said. "Don’t sink too hard bout yours. Sey wipe sa memory. Is one of sa sings sey do. I had to ask to see how deep sey had wiped."
He was still looking out the portal, still deep in memory, but as she stepped closer he could see her reflection in the window. "All I have is images from before the storm. I remember looking up at the sky and then across to the building where my friend went. I don’t remember his name either."
"Is OK. Sey did sa same to David, sa doctor. He members his first name and some of his past. Sometimes sey fail." With a pat to the shoulder, Tyrsa offered compassion that seemed out of place for the rough character that she was. He knew there were weapons hanging at her side, two on each hip, a third hidden on her backside and a fourth in her boot. There were probably more, who knew. "Maybe we’ll just call you New Human." She released a huff that was hearty but short. "I don’t know if is good to have anuzzer around or not. I’ve never felt very human here."
"Nameless," he whispered softly, remembering his final words with Jonyoc. Luck to you, Nameless, the creature had said to him just before it had walked away. With another thought into his retrospective about the storms and the light though, he remembered turning and looking towards another friend walking away. There was one word in his memory shining in orange, a glimmering sign above the doorway that friend had walked into. He didn’t know what it meant, whether it was the name of an establishment or not. He only knew that his friend walked through that door before the light reached down and took him from the Earth. The word seemed to fit. "Call me Edge," he said.