Maybe it's that familiar hum. Maybe it's the frigid cold. Maybe it's the absence of furs. Maybe it's the absence of smells I've grown accustomed to on Strafor.
Regardless of what it is, my heart sinks and I want to cry. Opening my eyes doesn't provide me any relief; instead it forces me to face the truth. I'm in a sterile room on a hard and freezing metal “bed,” and I know if I try to move, I won't be able to, but I'm unable to stop myself from attempting it anyway.
My body doesn't move how I want it to I don't jump off this metal table and tumble to the floor. I'm pinned down like I was on the space station, and just thinking about it causes my breathing to quicken and panic to engulf me.
No, no, no! I'm right back where I was before, held down for examination, altered for my alien master, treated like a possession rather than a person.
Wen. That's right. Wen and Olo. I'm not there anymore. I'm with them, or at least I was. Where are they? Did they take them too? Where am I? What do they want? Did I cause this? Is this my fault?
Fuck, I can't breathe.
A swishing sound signals a door opening, but no matter how much I strain to see, my head won't budge. Whatever's holding it in place is firm and unyielding.
"I need to know if these… alterations are spread through bodily fluids, contact, or airborne." The voice that speaks is gravelly and deep, and though it also seems familiar, I can't quite place it. "I can't risk bringing them farther into my ship, let alone my home, until I know whether there is a market for these new breeds of humans."
An alien moves into my periphery, and what I see nearly makes me gasp. He's covered in what resembles a hazmat suit made out of baggy black foil. He crinkles when he moves, but it’s a muted sound, not nearly as obnoxious as the emergency blankets. It's completely covered, and the only part I can see any of its features are its eyes, which are covered with a translucent material.
How does he breathe? I don't see any openings or seams, or any way to even remove it.
"They will need an in-depth study to determine this information, and we will need one of your untainted humans as a baseline," the alien adds.
Fuck. I need to calm down, my heart is going to give out with how fast it's racing. My stomach is churning in a mess of panic too.
"Fine," the first one says after a brief pause. "Consider it done. Take M129 and keep him away from the rest of my stock, and rename him as you see fit. Just get this mess sorted." He sighs. "In the meantime, I'm contacting a few of my usual clients and discussing this new… development with them. It would be nice to gather their input regarding these modifications. If they enjoy them, then I will start a new breeding program, otherwise I'll find someone else to sell them to, or dispose of them."
I tremble as my heart sinks and fear consumes me.
"I want a report every cycle, and these tests don't stop until we have answers,” he finishes.
"Understood,Clija."
The last word doesn't translate. For now, it'll be the other one's name just so I have something to call him.
With that, the door opens, and the receding footsteps tell me Clija is gone, leaving me alone with Hazmat. I'm not sure whose presence I prefer. While the words coming out of Clija's mouth were terrifying, with him now gone, that means these tests are likely about to start.
I don't want to have to go through all this again. I thought I'd escaped that life, found freedom with Olo and Wen, but now they're gone. Where are they? What did these aliens do with them? I need them. I need them here—
I scream at the sharp pain in my thigh, only no sounds come out. Hazmat gurgles from where he's hovering over my legs, and I think it's supposed to be a laugh. Tears slip down my face, only to pool on the metal table as the tugging and tearing on my thigh worsens.
He holds something up to the ceiling and cries, "Brilliant! Your scale glistens quite beautifully in this light, and it's not as abrasive as it appears. It bends like a section of epidermis, but is harder, more durable."
My scale. He… He tore off one of my scales.
"I can't wait to run tests on you. It makes me very excited." Hazmat steps to the side, and with a wave of his hand, a holoscreen pops up. He steps closer to me until he's hovering over my face. With the way his eyes are pinched, it's not hard to guess he's smiling. "Perhaps if Clija decides to dispose of you, I could convince him to let me buy you for cheap. I'd love a pretty, shiny, mountable pet to experiment on."
I can feel the blood draining from my face, and Hazmat makes that same gurgling sound before he moves out of sight. "Your heart rate has increased. That means you desire me too. How wonderful! Don't worry, if you were mine, I'd treat you well enough. I'd make you leak from your eyes like your kind do for those they desire, and I'd make you leak red from your mating parts like all the females do. It will be wonderful!"
Oh, gods.
What sort of sick alternate reality have I landed in? When will I wake up? When will this horror finally end?
Chapter 11
Lyra
He'sbackwithaneedle he swiftly injects into my pinned arm. The throbbing in my thigh immediately abates until I'm numb. Hazmat starts to hum and turns back to the counters and out of sight as I fight my panic.
Numbing agents mean more mutilation, right? Someone tell me I'm wrong. Please. Gods, please, I can't. I can't. I just want to go home. I just want to go home to Wen and Olo.