36. CHAPTER 36

Icouldn"t allow myself to rely solely on some stranger to help me. I needed to have my own plans, a way to escape without him or in case he failed. My pacing stopped, and I looked out between the wooden bars on the window. Wooden screws held together the frame. If only I was strong enough to tear this off, I could escape from here, but it was pointless.

The woman in white entered again, carrying a lengthy white tunic and a tray of dark-hued bottles. The bottles wafted with various scents, including flowers and some kind of incense.

"What do you want?" I asked instinctively, but this time, there was no gesturing of any kind. Some of the women held me down on the bed while the others stripped me naked and rubbed my body with the oils.

Oh God, are they going to cut my baby out now? There was nothing to cut out!

They then slipped the tunic on. It looked like a plain white outfit, but unlike the sheer dresses that adorned the women, it hid my body well. It resembled an outfit you"d find in some Middle Eastern desert.

Without a word, they helped me up and escorted me from the room, and for the first time, I saw their home in all its splendor. Stairs circled the massive trees leading to the various wooden homes above. One tree was like a small neighborhood, and I loved the beauty and simplicity of it all. If only I had come here under different circumstances, or if only they weren"t insane zealots itching to cut my baby out of my body.

They guided me down the long staircase, where a wooden litter awaited, draped with a sheer cloth. They parted the fabric and sat me inside, and a group of men lifted me up and carried me away.

I couldn"t stop trembling, especially when they carried me through a large canopy of flower arches where a large crowd had gathered.

"Oh, God," I swallowed, and now I searched for a way out, but it all seemed so fruitless.

The men set the litter on a stand on what looked like a decorative stage. The ominous drums boomed while the women opened the canopy, allowing me to see everyone, though I"m sure it was meant for everyone to see me.

Someone stood on the stage, naked except for a cloth to cover the genitals, and his skin was painted black from head to toe. He gestured to the right, and I heard the cries of a six-legged animal with cream-colored matted fur dangling like dreadlocks.

He uttered a string of words I couldn"t understand before running the blade along its throat.

The animal uttered another strong cry before the handlers guided it to rest. The crowd swayed in unison to the beat of the drums as the man cut something from the poor animal and placed it on a tray, the centerpiece surrounded by fruit.

Women approached me, blood coating the bottom of their dresses as they walked through the path of blood.

On the tray was a blood-coated stomach still smoking from the heat reacting to the cold. The man sliced the stomach open and spilled the grass-coated blob. I retched. Please don"t tell me they wanted me to eat this? I held my hand to my mouth to keep the food they forced me to eat down.

The man approached and leaned in.

"Hold it in."

Now, his voice was familiar; he spoke in the language I could understand.

"You lied to me!"

"I told you to await my signal. I have not given the signal yet."

He used his hand to scoop up the chewed, mucus-covered grass pie and held it out. I turned my head, fearing what he would force me to do. They all watched me, swaying and watching. My chances of escape seemed bleak, and Lorvian would not come. I had to do whatever it took to save myself. I would play the part if they wanted a Goddess or savior. They couldn"t possibly want to cut my child out now. If they did, they would have a poor savior. Luckily for me, my pregnancy was early, which meant I had more than enough time to figure a way out of this.

But pretending also means putting on a damn good show about eating half-chewed and digested food. Here goes nothing.

I put the piece into my mouth and closed my eyes, focusing all my will on getting it down, ignoring the rancid, earthy flavor and pungent aroma.

The crowd cheered as I took another bite and another until all that was left was the flabby, sunken stomach pouch.

The man yelled something, and everyone cheered and danced, and the beat of the drums grew fiercer. He reached out to me and helped me out of the litter.

"Remain for at least an hour, then retire to your room. You will receive the signal soon."

"What is the signal?"

"The ringing of the dinner bell. You won"t miss it."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"Be ready for me to come to you," he said, leaving my side.

The party continued, and I tried to keep my mind off the taste lingering on my tongue. I had no sense of time here, but I watched them dance and sing, and some of them came over to rub my stomach and say a few words. I eventually went back to the room. The only thing keeping me from running was the posted guards scattered about.

Something loud whirred above, like an airplane either taking off or landing nearby. It reminded me of when we moved near an airport in Detroit.

Wait. I didn"t see a landing pad anywhere around here, and according to that guy, he needed a ship to get out of here. I looked out the window and saw our ship passing by, causing the crowd to look up and others to scatter for their homes.

Lorvian—so close yet so far away. My hope was that he would land here, but that seemed to not be happening as the ship circled about and got further and further away.

My door creaked open, and I thought it was the man I had spoken to before, but it wasn"t. The spooked little girl sat down a tray of food. Her eyes kept darting up as she did until she left the room.

What if this was my chance?

I grabbed what looked similar to a fork and checked out the end, which was flat, flat like the wood screws holding the bars on, at least I hoped. The other tray had no utensils at all. Maybe she forgot when the ship flew over? I didn"t know or care.

I slipped the utensil between the small slit and used every ounce of strength I could muster to turn each bolt until the frame loosened and I could pull it out.

The crowd dispersed, and I couldn"t decide if I should sneak out now while everyone was distracted or wait for them to go back to partying... if they would do that.

Screw it. I slipped out the window and stayed along the tree. I didn"t want to go down the stairs; that was a surefire way to get caught. But there was no other way down aside from a rope, and I was no good at rope climbing.

But then again, I didn"t need to climb; I needed to descend.

I breathed deeply and took a chance, reaching for the rope. My hands burned as I dangled and slipped until I hit the ground with a thud. I looked around; the coast was clear, except for the guards who returned to their posts by what looked like could be my way out of here. Damn!

The ship had now long departed, and it seemed like the party was over. Behind me was a red stone cave with strange, colorful drawings around the opening. I took a chance and darted across and inside. I couldn"t hear anything but the splashing of water the deeper I traveled in. The cave was dark, all but the flickering yellow light ahead. I followed it like a beacon.

It came from a humble-looking room with a small floor bed and dresser, a colorful rug covering the entire room, and clothing hanging on the walls. But the mural painted on the wall forced my feet forward to enter the room.

A androgynous person holding their belly, dressed in white. On the next wall, the child was cut from their bleeding belly. On the next was the most disturbing sight. Hands reaching out for the child. I removed the clothing from the wall to inspect the last drawing.

I gasped and stepped back, running into him... I gasped and scrambled away, but he gripped my arm, keeping me in place. He was wet and naked, causing me to turn away.

"Horrible, isn"t it?" He said, letting me go. His gray eyes looked up at the depiction of the final moment when the child was torn apart and devoured by hungry mouths, the fangs dripping with blood and ripped flesh.

"What the hell is this?!" I asked, horrified.

"The day of their savior"s rebirth. The one who would bestow them with enough power to protect themselves against the Rackni. "

"I have no desire to hurt you or your child," he said. He must have known what I was thinking. "I wish to leave this place too."

"You seem to be the head of this whole sick shit!"

"Not the head, merely the one who inherited this." He sighed, holding his hands up to let me know he was of no harm. "I told you to await my signal. Now everyone is looking for you."

"How the hell do you know?"

"I can hear their frantic call to action," he tapped his ears.

"What is this place?"

"This is a sanctuary for the monks here, and this just so happens to be my room." He reached for the clothing I had thrown on the floor and slipped on his black pants and a long black leather vest that displayed his tattoos. "I didn"t paint that, by the way. It was here long before I came here." He slipped on his sandals and ran his long fingers along the chipped paint. "By those who have long since gone into their deep slumber."

"I just want to get out of this place," I said shaking from what I saw.

"Understandable. There is a passage that will take us to the wheat fields. From there, I have a boat waiting." He grabbed a sack and his red book, which he hooked to his waist via a strap. "We could have had a much easier time getting there had you not run away on your own. Now, the entire village is looking for you."

"What the hell did you expect me to do?!"

"I expect you to keep your voice down now."

"Fine," I lowered my voice. "Let"s get to this boat. Hopefully, we can find my pod or even my ship and get off this planet."

"With pleasure."