They pulled me after them, and as they started walking faster, I failed to keep up. The terrain was as bad as it had been since I’d left the beach with Thev, and the fact that my vision was more blurry than clear didn’t help. I fell in a heap, and when they pulled at the rope, I started crying and refused to get up.
“Come on, human! We don’t have time for this.”
“She looks hurt,” the other lizard man said.
“If she can walk, she’s not hurt. She’s just pretending.”
But I couldn’t walk! Didn’t they see that?!
I looked up at them with pleading eyes. I tried to speak around the rag they’d stuffed in my mouth, but it was impossible. All I managed was to grunt and croak. I felt so angry and frustrated.
One of them finally crouched down and removed the rag. I spat, took a few deep breaths, and licked my parched lips.
“Water, please.”
I thought he wasn’t going to care that I was dying of thirst, but then he motioned at his brother to pass him the water bottle. He held it to my lips, and I drank greedily.
“I’m not alone,” I said. “Soon, you’ll regret all of this, because he’ll come for me, and when he does, I don’t know what he’ll do to you. But you won’t like it.”
“You’re not alone, you say.” The one who’d given me water grinned.
“She was calling for someone when we found her,” the other lizard man said.
“Who were you calling to? What’s his name?”
I pursed my lips. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to actually tell them about Thev. Who he was... I couldn’t tell them he was an orc, because he wasn’t one. He was a Zokunian from planet Zorran. Would that information scare the lizard men, or give them an advantage? It was better to not find out. I had no way of knowing if they had ever seen a Zokunian before. But if they had, and they knew what to expect, that would definitely give them an advantage over Thev’rar. I couldn’t make myself guilty of helping my captors.
“He is bigger and stronger than you,” I said.
“Is he?” he laughed.
“I’m serious. He is fully armed, and he will squish you like bugs. Maybe you should consider releasing me now, and he might have mercy on you.”
I hoped that would instill some fear in them, but instead, they exchanged a glance, then threw their feathery heads back and laughed harder. It was either that they didn’t believe me, or they were making fun of me. That made me so angry that I hoped to God and the Three Heads Thev kept mentioning that he would show up soon and snap these lizards in two.
Just as I was getting ready to say more, the lizard man stuffed the rag back into my mouth and secured it.
“We don’t have time for your games, human. Come on. On your feet.”
He pulled at the rope, and it rubbed painfully on my wrists, giving me a burn from hell. I didn’t fight them this time. I stood up and tried to focus on walking. My head was pounding, and every step was torture. But I had to pay attention and not fall on my face again. My situation was dire already.
“Please, Thev,”I begged silently.“Please find me. Don’t leave me.”
As I walked, following the two lizard men and reaching a kind of flow, I thought back to my family and friends. What had I done so wrong to deserve this? Maybe I shouldn’t have fought with them. Instead of quitting my job so suddenly, maybe I should’ve taken a few days of medical leave and sort my head. But no! I had to be stubborn, like I always was. I had to throw everything out the window – my job, my life, my friends... And I had to go on an adventure that had turned out to be nothing like I’d expected.
Here I was now – kidnapped a second time. Abducted by aliens. And my only hope was another alien. A green-skinned, tattooed guy with tusks.
“Please, please... Thev...”