8. Lily

Glasses took me to another cell and treated my wounds with some kind of salve that stung and made me hiss through my teeth.

"I apologize for the pain," Cayggod said. (He revealed his name to me along with a friendly shake of my hand, then told me how much he enjoyed reading a human writer named Shakespeare. He shocked me every time he opened his mouth.) "It's necessary, I'm afraid."

"It's all right," I said, and found that once the initial burning sensation had worn off, it melted into a feeling of coolness like the spray of rain on a hot day.

"Such things… shouldn't be allowed," Cayggod said, shaking his head at the welts across my body. "Prizes should be admired and treated with respect. Not beaten and disfigured this way."

I smiled up at Cayggod. He was the very last kind of inmate I expected at Ikmal prison. He spoke kindly, softly, and his movements were slow and deliberate. Hard to imagine he was capable of crimes that only the worst of the worst were guilty of at Ikmal.

"Is there anything else you require?" he said, backing away from me and bowing politely.

"Uh… no," I said. "Thanks."

He turned and left the room, leaving me alone.

There was no clock to count down the seconds. The cell was so quiet, so serene and still compared to the frantic activity that'd taken place earlier in Druin's cell.

The room was bare but not empty. The bed was freshly made and, judging by the smell of the sheets, clean too. I glanced toward the door but there was no hint of anyone coming in.

Dare I poke around? I thought. Surely I deserved to know where I was and what I was doing there?

I initially thought it might be an infirmary room but with the lack of medicines and orderlies wandering around, I quickly tossed that thought aside.

No, I thought. This was someone else's cell. But whose? And why wasn't he here?

I glanced toward the door once more before plucking up the courage to sneak over to the desk where a small collection of books were piled. They were written in some alien language I couldn't read and the device embedded in my arm didn't translate.

I opened them and saw they were full of writings and images of alien brains. Whoever occupied this cell was nothing like Druin, that was for sure. I doubt he even knew how to use a book — except as toilet paper.

I shivered at the thought of him and thanked God he hadn't entered me with his artificially enlarged cock. If it wasn't for that alien who'd brought the delivery with him… and if he hadn't taken action — and I imagined the majority of the inmates here wouldn't have taken action…

I shivered again, the goosebumps lining up like little soldiers along my skin.

Then the sores on my body would still be untreated. When I checked them, I could see they were already healing very well, hardly visible through the cool liquid spread over them.

I moved toward the cabinet and eased it open. I smiled at what I found.

A series of plain black t-shirts and alien pants crafted from the hide of some unknown beast. It felt a lot like leather.

"Find anything of interest?"

I flew back and slammed the cabinet door in a single movement that sent me sprawling backward. The wall was not far behind me and I clenched my body tight, preparing for the impact…

But it never came.

Instead, I had collided with something softer, warmer… and when I looked up, I could see it was the delivery guy from earlier.

The one who had stepped in and saved me.

The one who had opened a fresh can of whoop-ass on the jjizzik. I hoped it would teach him not to treat his future Prizes — if he was ever fortunate enough to have any — better than he had me. I doubted that would happen, but a girl could hope.

The scales of the alien delivery guy were smooth beneath my skin and his eyes were fiery bright gold that shone in the harsh overhead lamplight. His touch was surprisingly gentle for such a large beast — although he was small compared to the jjizzik from earlier.

And yet, he'd managed to get the better of the monster.

He was still much larger than me, a full head taller — and I was pretty tall for a woman at five feet eleven.

"You need to be more careful," the alien delivery guy said, easing me up onto my feet.

"I will," I said, unsure how to speak with him.

I didn't want to offend him and send him off down the same path Druin had gone. Maybe they all got angry and beat their Prizes — I had no idea.

The alien took my hand and straightened my arm. He ran his scaly fingers over my skin, sending a fresh round of gooseflesh writhing across my body.

"Your wounds appear to be healing well," he said, before checking my other arm.

"Yes, thanks," I said. "Uh. The other alien — the one with the glasses? He put some ointment on them and they're healing pretty well now."

The alien bent down and checked my legs. I just stood there, feeling like a total fool, as he poked and prodded at my thighs, my calves, and then reached for the shirt Cayggod had stolen from Druin's cabinet. The alien was about to raise it over my head before he noticed me tensing.

He paused and looked into my eyes. "May I check the rest of your body for injuries?"

I was a Prize. No one ever asked me for permission. It was a shock. He reminded me I wasn't just a slab of meat the aliens could use at their whim.

I wasn't owned by anyone.

I was an individual.

I was me.

I nodded and let him take the shirt off over my head. He recoiled from the smell of it. I sniffed my pits to check I didn't smell. I didn't. Then I realized it was Druin's stink that disgusted him.

He tossed it in the corner, leaving me virtually naked save for the sheer fabric of the slutty negligee they'd forced me to wear. It'd been torn by the bite of Druin's belt, leaving my skin open to the cool air.

And the alien's hands.

His scales… they were unlike anything I had ever seen before, and having him so close, his attention focused so intensely on my skin, I could see them for the little circles of armor plating they were. They reminded me of something a lizard might have, or maybe a crocodile… or a snake… except…

No, that wasn't quite right.

Their scales weren't as hard as these outer shells, nor as shiny and bright and polished when the light bounced off them.

He caught me admiring them and I quickly looked away, my cheeks flushing red.

I shouldn't be finding one of these alien inmate dudes attractive!

I was a prisoner here, a slave, to be farmed out for them to pleasure themselves with. I was nothing more than a possession.

This alien was no different from the jjizzik from earlier…

But that wasn't true. He was an entirely different species, for one, and he didn't exactly treat me the same way. He was kind and gentle… at least for now.

He backed away from me and nodded. "Cayggod did a good job. Maybe you would like to take a shower? Afterward, I can return you to the Pool."

"The Pool?" I said, surprised by his suggestion. "I thought… Oh. Never mind."

He cocked his head to one side and ran his eyes over me.

I self-consciously covered my breasts with a hand before recalling that I wasn't supposed to conceal myself before these aliens. But the alien didn't seem to take offense.

"I beat Druin," he said. "So, technically, you do belong to me now. But I was never comfortable with the thought of Prizes or forcing females against their will. Please take a shower and I will return you."

Return me.

Like I was an unwanted gift someone had forced upon him.

I didn't want to accept his offer but the lure of a private shower and not having to share it with anyone else was too much of a pull.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks. Do you have any towels?"

"They're in the cabinet under the sink," he said, turning to sit at his desk. "Take your time. There's no rush."

I entered the bathroom and peered back at the alien, now taking the top book from his pile and flicking through it. I felt safe with him, warm, comforted… and yet couldn't help but feel a little put out that he didn't find me attractive.

I shook my head at myself. What was wrong with me?

I turned the shower on and melted beneath the hot spray.