5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Good T-Rex." Amelia was more of a cat person and prehistoric dinosaurs were out of the question. She slowly backed up, keeping eye contact, although she didn't know if it was the right thing to do. Would direct eye contact be a challenge? If she dropped her eyes, would she signal prey? It took a step toward her, and she ran. Maintaining eye contact was the last thought on her list. Various thoughts of wanting to live filled the rest of the list.

Amelia took off acknowledging that fleet of foot was something she flunked in gym class. She also wasn't silent as a big woman. She could hear every footstep as they pounded into the ground. To her ears, it sounded like ‘hurry up and eat me. I'm over here.' Her heart thundered as she thought of her cousins. They were the only two people in her family she was close to, and she blew that. There'd never be another chance to tell them how sorry she was. When she tried to think of Zylar she shied away from him. The male who wanted to use corporal punishment on her.

Is it punishment if he spanks you? Mind, have you gone over the edge? She hissed in her head and then reminded herself she wasn't thinking about him. The thing, whatever it was, sounded closer. It was stalking her. That sounded about right. Wild things like the thrill of the chase. Zylar said he was keeping her around until he got tired of her. She thought it would be longer than this.

She ran face-first into what she assumed was the talents tree in this garden of hell. With no other recourse, she started climbing. If that thing could climb, she might as well kiss her ass goodbye, but she couldn't keep running and it would tire of playing with her. Amelia started climbing. This was easier when she was a child, but there was no room to complain unless she wanted to be dinner. Speaking of dinner, her stomach rumbled, thanks stomach as if I'm not making enough noise as it is. The branches in this tree were lower than the other trees and the leaves were large and rainbow-colored. If she were a child, she'd pick this tree to hide in. That's how large the leaves were. Had she signed her death certificate? A growl seemed to shake the trees, and she knew her time was up. Amelia's knees shook as she tried to climb higher and faster.

Another growl came, and she was counting the rest of her life in minutes and not years or days. Maybe she could survive one, but no way was she surviving two. All she could pray was that she didn't pee on herself. Why did minor issues like that bother her when death was stalking her?

There was a yell and words she couldn't decipher, followed by her name. Thank God it was the same in every language. She knew that voice and part of her wanted to slump into the tree branch, but she wasn't out of the woods yet, both figuratively and literally. She

squirmed when he started yelling again.Was it possible to have a rush of lust in a life-or-death situation? Please don't let her be the only one this happened to. It's not like she knew him or liked him, but maybe it was his eyes or the muscles that were rippling under his clothes. When did doctors become ripped?

She moved closer to the trunk of the tree, wrapping her arms around it and pressing her trembling knees against it. Please don't let me fall or die, was the prayer she was sending heavenward. All she had to do was fall in line with the other grandchildren and she wouldn't have fallen from grace. Her estranged family would take her back when her parents died. All she had to do were two things, and she refused to do both. They disowned her, and that was that.

"Help!" she screamed when the dinosaur-like animal ran into the tree head-butting it to get to her. She clung tighter even as the tree swayed more. Her life flashed before her eyes. Holy hell, that happens. Would it have been so bad to fall in line with her family? Yes, it would have. If only for her peace of mind. Not that it mattered since she sold her cousin out.

Kind of sort of. She was looking for a way out and, in the end, she should have just spoken up. Coming from two families that used secrecy like it was currency made her keep her mouth shut and look for a way out on her own. Blood doesn't betray blood. It would become her new motto if she lived through this.

There was movement out of the corner of her eye. It was too fast for her to home in, but it was there. Friend or foe? She wasn't sure and there was no way she was calling out to bring more attention to herself.

Zylar stepped out of the trees behind her. He was wearing a pair of jeans and nothing else. Well, damn, he was a wet dream. She needed to be shot on sight because his ass in those jeans was doing it for her. Later she'd talk to a shrink about this. Right now, she was cheering him on silently. Beat the dinosaur up. Was she freaking ten? She couldn't bring herself to say kill it because she was in its territory, not the other way around. If he hadn't brought her onto this ship, none of this would have happened.

Zylar was speaking in a low voice. It was sort of singsong, like he was calming a child. There was no way that was a child, but she was falling under his spell, and she couldn't understand the words. It roared and tried to stand even taller. When Zylar got too close, it lashed out at him making Amelia scream. She didn't have to like him to want him to live. If he lived, she lived. She assured herself that was all she cared about.

There was a sack around his shoulder. One she hadn't seen because his ass was in the way. That was her story, and she was sticking to it. He drew out what could have been an extremely large bunny if it didn't have two heads and claws where its paws should have been.

He swung it back and forth, gaining the attention of the dino. When it started getting closer, he ran, holding onto it. She watched as the animal followed him. He was yelling at her and none of it made any sense, but when they were far enough away, she scampered down the tree and made a beeline for the lift. There was no way she was staying in this garden of Eden with the dino.

When the lift came into sight, she almost wanted to cry even as her feet faltered. What if he died saving her life? Is that what Jenna was supposed to do? Die so she could live? Had she thrown another person under the bus by not accepting her fate? Was her death always meant to be? There was another yell, and she still didn't understand, but it felt like a force along her back pushing her forward. She was in the lift before she knew it. Her finger was punching at every key, making her painfully aware that it wasn't moving.

It's okay, she assured herself. It would start moving soon and she'd be out in the open. She didn't tell everyone that she was claustrophobic. The few who knew were no longer alive to talk about it. Her eyes misted as she thought of her mother and father dead in a senseless tragedy. It felt like the story of her life, one senseless tragedy after another. Was it getting hot in here? No, that was just her imagination. She backed against the wall, facing the door. Soon it would open, and she would laugh, stepping off like a well-adjusted woman and not a demon child afraid of the dark.

The seconds passed until she started counting the minutes. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, dripping into her eyes. Her heart started pounding fast as she made up stories of never getting off the lift. She would live here for days slowly dying of starvation, stomach twisting at the memory of food. She'd be judged and hear voices telling her welcome to hell, where her kind belonged.

Amelia slid along the wall until she wedged herself in the corner. Two walls were always better than one. How long had she been here? Slowly, without thought, she slid down the wall until she was sitting on her heels, and then, after hours, she moved to her behind. This is what she deserved. It was a soft reminder that what comes around goes around. She lay on the floor after being there for a day, curling up in a ball. Fear was in control of her mind and tears came. It was only justice that in the end; she cried for her sins, those committed with her knowledge and without.

She would have been a better person if someone had thought of giving her a second chance. Her eyes closed and her heartbeat slowed, fear killing her.

***

Zylar stepped onto the lift to find Amelia tucked into a corner unconscious. He leaned over her, noting her heartbeat was too slow for a human. A touch to her arm confirmed she was unconscious and not sleeping. He picked her up, cradling her against his chest, and barked out orders. The lift started moving as he listened to junior crew members trip over themselves with why Amelia wasn't being monitored and he wasn't informed of the situation. They were about to understand what happened when he felt disappointed.

The door slid open as he made his way to the med bay. The healer who took care of the crew was waiting for him.

"What's wrong with her?" Healer Bly asked.

That was an excellent question. He spent the entire time on the lift thinking about it.

"Fear and preconceived notions." Healer Bly stared at him with his black eyes. "I know, but humans are different. I think she's scared of small places."

"The lifts aren't small."

"But it contained her, and she couldn't leave this one." I think her fear and the surety that she would die came together in her mind and body, lowering her heart rate and preparing her for death."

"Are you sure we shouldn't allow her to die?" A low growl came from Zylar. His long deadly nails grew, taking Healer Bly by the neck before the healer could back up.

"What did you just say?" His words were a rumble of gravel around his suddenly long and sharp teeth. One wrong word and the doctor would be dead.

Dr. Bly gulped, trying to breathe as Zylar's hand tightened around his neck.