My captor huffs loudly. "Grab the rest of the women. I want time with this one."
When he looks at me, it feels like he's looking right through me, to the center of my brain. My vision wavers, and it soon becomes difficult to focus.
"Am I dying?" I ask.
He smacks my face and grips my cheek. His hand is as big as two of my faces. "Your cunt needs to be numbered and processed," he says.
My breath is getting shallow. "No..."
He shakes me awake. His voice is a horrifying low growl. "Once entered into our system, you will be given a suitable owner."
"I can't... I need to... turn around... my team will... be waiting for me...Clara..."
"Curious little pussy cat… It's out of my control," he says.
He holds up a metal ear notcher, the same they use on newborn livestock. He slides the notch around the corner of my ear and, before I can react, he clamps down.
"Marking in place," he says.
He picks me up, but I have turned inert. I try to move my limbs, but my body won't register my brain's commands. Soon, the drug he administered will knock me out for good.
And then I'll be his.
"Hush," he mutters. "It'll all be over soon enough.”
The aliens laugh. He shackles my wrists and tosses me over his shoulders like a caveman.
He says, "Don't worry. We'll get you to where you need to be."
Anna
This place is worse than I imagined.
Inside the transport boat, the women shove together. The younger ones hold on to the bars around the windows, idly staring as we wind down the lazy jungle river.
The floor is dirty. The stench is horrendous. Many of the women can’t stop coughing, and there are some that refuse to quit crying. It’s enough to make someone crazy.
As a human, I never saw the outside world. I never thought it was this bad. I knew what was going on. We all did. But none of us had ever seen it firsthand. Sure, there were stories from top command. But that was it.
Now, I’m living the nightmare I thought we could end. God, I was so fucking naive.
My wrists burn as my skin frays against the rusted metal chains. I lift them and glance at the ring of dried blood. In reality, blood is all over my body.
I raise my hands higher and slowly feel the notched hole of my ear. That really happened. They marked me as one of their prisoners.
That wasn’t a nightmare…
An alien guard sits in the cabin, monitoring every woman in sight. He holds an electric shock prod firmly in his hands, twisting it on and off for fun. A wide grin reveals his sharp, black teeth. Saliva falls from his lips.
"A human," he chuckles. "Little military bitch. Not so tough without your friends."
I'm the only human in sight. Earth Federation is miles away.
I'm so fucked.
Outside, I can see the occasional alien settlement. They are refugee cities that the government gave up on long ago. I'm as far from my base as I have ever been.
For the most part, the injection has worn off. The shock, too. The fear is still present, but I am not yet desperate. I think I can still find a way out if I keep my cool.