Thane and Corran walked me out of the lab and down another long hallway. I looked around with interest. Like the space cruiser, the Vepar seemed to like simplicity. The walls were a stark gray gunmetal color. There were no pictures or ornamentation decorating any of them. I guess when you lived on a planet as beautiful as Veon, you didn't need elaborate decorations.
We turned right, arriving at what I assumed was my new home for the time being. We were in a large, long room, with doorways on either side.
As we began to walk, I realized that Thane hadn’t been lying when he said that the prisoners who were about to be my neighbors were dangerous. The prisoners were all beautiful, yes, but they were all distorted in a way that sent fear spiraling down my spine. Some of the prisoners we walked by had fangs that they flashed at me when I looked at them. There was another prisoner that had shiny black scales that flickered across his skin before disappearing. Another cell held a dark figure in the center of the room with black mist swirling all around it.
I gasped. It was all I could do to suppress the urge to try and run away.
"You didn't tell me that there were Khonsu imprisoned here," I said coldly to Thane and Corran, my voice quivering with fear.
"We told you that our most dangerous prisoners were kept here. Khonsu would be included in that of course,” Corran said mildly.
I trembled, thinking about having to be near them. What if that thing escaped and came after me? I didn’t think I could take that kind of torture again.
I felt the tip of Thane’s finger brush against my arm soothingly. When I looked up at him, his face looked as blank as ever, and he continued to stare straight ahead as we walked. My heart couldn't help but warm at the thought that he was attempting to offer comfort despite the fact that he needed to keep up appearances that I was his prisoner.
Just as soon as I had that thought, I shut it down. They were the reason I was here to begin with. They were the reason the Khonsu came after me. They were the reason for everything bad that had happened in my life.
We stopped in front of an empty cell that was right across from a Vepar that looked to be missing half of his appendages. There was another unidentifiable creature in the cell next to the empty one that looked to be gnawing on some kind of bird carcass. He leered at me manically, and I jumped back as his smile revealed rows and rows of sharp teeth that resembled the mouth of a shark.
Corran waved a small device over the glass of the empty cell and it disappeared. They then led me inside. The room was practically bare. There was a small cot against the back wall that held a threadbare blanket, no pillow. Corran showed me how to press a button on the wall to get the toilet and a small sink to appear. Other than that there was nothing in the room. Nothing to pass the time with either.
Suddenly, I couldn't stand the thought of being trapped in this room.
"Please don't leave me here," I begged. Coren looked at Thane anxiously. Thane reached out and brushed my hair softly.
“It should only be for a few hours," he said. "We’ll be back for you soon."
Looking around to see if anyone was watching us, which all of the prisoners on the opposite wall were, Corran stood closely next to me and pulled out what looked like a small tablet.
"This will have things on it to keep you busy. I downloaded some Earth movies and books for you to use on the ship. But obviously you never used it. I'll turn off the cameras on half of your room. As long as you’re laying on your cot when you look at it, the cameras won’t pick up that you have the device.
I nodded gratefully, even as tears continued to humiliatingly stream down my face at the thought of being left alone surrounded by all of these dangerous creatures.
Thane’s communication device must have popped on because he started to talk to someone. "We’re just loading her into the cell right now," he instructed. “We'll be there in a minute to talk to the Council.” He rolled his eyes before tapping his ear again, assumedly to shut off the device. "We have to go," Thane said.
I couldn’t seem to control my body as it continued to shake. Corran unhooked the handcuffs, and I gratefully shook my wrists out. At least I hadn’t managed to engage the spikes. That would have been the cherry on top of a craptastic day.
Thane and Corran stared at me. “I really want to kiss you,” Thane murmured in a growly, worried voice.
I wanted that too. But I wasn’t going to tell them that. “I’ll be fine,” I said, wiping away my tears.
Corran took my hand. “It won’t be long. I promise.” I nodded, not really believing that would be the case. Something told me the Council wasn’t going to love the idea of me wandering around Veon.
They finally turned to go. Stepping out of the cell, Corran once again waved a device in front of where the glass was supposed to be and it instantly reappeared.
I wanted to run and beat on the glass wall, but I knew that it wouldn’t make a difference. I collapsed face down on the cot, listening to the screams and moans of the prisoners around me.
How did I get here?