19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Astra

My heart stops, registering Tareq asking me to stay with him, then it begins racing double speed. Did he really just say that? Here I was, agonizing over the thought of him not wanting me anymore and he just plain out asks me to stay. Here. With him.

He's still kneeling in front of me, looking up into my face with such tender hope it makes my eyes water. We've known each other all of two days and he's looking at me as if he is…in love with me? And fuck me sideways, I think I'm in love with him too! That gnawing feeling inside of me that makes me want to wrap myself around him like a vine and never let go can't be anything else.

Love. Phew.

I never thought I'd find love. Definitely not the true "love at first sight" you read about in cheesy romances. But I'm absolutely, totally in love with this alien.

Alien. I wonder how it will work. We can have sex, obviously, but what about babies? Not that I want babies right away, but maybe one day? And where would we live? He talked about his family but mentioned that he doesn't have a place of his own, that he just bunks with his crewmates when they're not out on a mission.

Missions. He's some sort of secret agent, I think. Like an alien James Bond. I don't even know what he really does, just that he's one of the good guys. But it also means that he'll be gone a lot, doesn't it? His job is dangerous too. He might not come back home. If we had a home together. And babies. Will they grow up without a father?

God, I'm totally freaking out and overthinking this. And I've been quiet for too long, because his smile has disappeared, replaced by a strictly professional expression. He can't hide the anguish in his eyes, though.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles, getting to his feet. "I shouldn't have said that. You want to go home and I shouldn't have tried to interfere with that. I mean, of course you want to go home. You have a family there, a life. You know nothing about this world other than there are evil people in it. I can't ask you to uproot your life for a man you don't know. I don't even have much to offer, I'm just a—"

I yank on his tail, the only part of his body I can reach since he's turned away from me. "Yes," I say when he frowns at me. "I'll stay with you. Now shut the fuck up and kiss me."

"You…you will?" He gawks at me, making no attempt at stepping closer.

I roll my eyes, huffing out an irritated sigh. If the mountain won't come to me, I must go to the mountain. I step into him and place my hands on his chiseled chest. "Yes," I repeat. "I don't know what it means for me or if it's even allowed for a primitive lifeform to live with you super advanced dudes," I snicker, still irked by the whole being called a primitive creature business, "but I know one thing for sure. I never want to forget you. If that means I can't go back to Earth, then so be it. Fuck Earth, anyway."

"Fuck Earth," he repeats absentmindedly, hypnotizing my lips. "My Myále ."

Before I can ask him what Myále actually means or react in any way, his arms are around me and he's crushing me against his chest, his mouth finding mine. Our kiss is ferocious and passionate and it makes me forget about everything around us. Until someone grunts nearby.

The lizardman is standing close, watching us kiss with unnerving attention, his tongue darting out of his mouth as if he's mimicking our motions. He's a little creepy, but I decide to cut him some slack. Without him, we never would have made it this far.

A growl rumbles in Tareq's chest as he pulls me even closer. "Mine," he snarls at the lizardman, claiming me in a super hot caveman way.

The lizardman grunts, then points at the dead guards and the other captives watching us curiously through the bars.

"He has a point," I chuckle nervously. "We shouldn't be making out right now."

"Yeah," Tareq sighs. "But later…"

The most delectable shudder runs through me at his hungry look. "Yes," I agree, "later."

"Good." Tareq sucks in a deep breath, switching back into his super agent mode. This time, I don't mind because I know how he feels about me. There's about a million problems we need to solve when it comes to our relationship, but we can do that later.

He removes my collar first, then goes to inspect the dead bodies. "No weapons," he mutters, "probably the only thing the fuckers did right. Here, take this." He hands me a small device the guards were wearing on their wrists. It looks like a cell phone with blood smeared over the screen.

He attaches the same device to his wrist, fiddling with it for a few seconds. "I've set it to a private frequency."

"Oh, it's a walkie-talkie?" I should have guessed the aliens would have some kind of communication devices.

Tareq bursts out in laughter. "Walkie-talkie? Seriously? That is the stupidest word I've ever heard. And you wonder why we think humans are primitive," he teases. "Do you call spoons soupy-scoopies?"

I'd smack the top of his head, but I can't reach that high, so I just punch his shoulder. It's like punching a wall. He probably doesn't even feel it. "You're so not getting laid today, tiger," I threaten.

"Yes, I am," he grins, stealing a quick kiss before redirecting his attention back to the communicator, which I'll now be calling walkie-talkie any chance I get, just to make him laugh. I love his laugh.

Oh god, I've become the reluctant heroine in one of those cheesy Hallmark movies!

Tareq taps the device, showing me two buttons. "This one is to accept the call. Use the other one if you need to contact me. I can't promise I'll respond right away, though, I might need to—"

"Radio silence, I know," I interrupt him, trying not to think of how he's going to be sneaking around a spaceship full of dangerous aliens on his own. "I watch action movies. Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? Or take lizardman over here. I bet he'd be thrilled to kill some more slavers."

As if he understands we're talking about him, the lizardman steps closer, bouncing on the tips of his scaly toes. He points at the bodies, then at the door, and growls out a question.

Tareq shakes his head. "No. You stay here," he tells him, pointing at the lizardman, then on the floor. Then on me. "Keep her safe. Safe. Alright?"

The lizardman lets out an annoyed snort but nods. He grunts something and pats my shoulder, which makes Tareq snarl. God, males are the same everywhere. "Enough!" I shout before they can start a fight. "Let's focus, guys. You," I say, jabbing a finger into Tareq's oh-so-firm stomach, "kiss me and go. And stay alive, please."

"Yes, ma'am," he chuckles, giving me a long, passionate kiss before sprinting off. As he uses a keycard to open the cellblock door, he smiles at me and scowls at the lizardman. Then he's gone.

I suck in a deep breath. "Okay. What now?" I could just sit tight like a proper damsel in distress and wait to be rescued by hot aliens, but it's not really my style.

I look around to see the other captives are still watching us. They aren't screaming and yanking on the bars, demanding to be freed. They're quiet and most of them look confused. All of them are wearing those awful collars. Now, that is something I can take care of.

Ignoring my queasy stomach, I search the bodies for another keycard, prying it from a dead guy's fingers. "I should say I'm sorry," I mutter, wiping the blood off the card into his body suit, "but I'm not. You brought this on yourself, man. Don't you fucking know that slavery is wrong?" He doesn't reply, of course. They probably knew it was bad and did it anyway. They don't deserve my apologies.

I grab the now clean card and head for the cell with the mantises, with the lizardman hot on my heels. I hesitate before unlocking the door, worried that the second I do, they'll rush out and I'll die in a mantis stampede. But they wait patiently inside, not even moving when I enter.

Cricket approaches me first, rubbing himself against my knees like a cat. I pet him, checking the collar around his slender neck in the process. It's the same type as the rest of them, just smaller. Baby sized. The thought makes me want to spit on the guards' bodies on the floor, but I chase that urge away and focus on freeing Cricket instead.

Once his collar is gone, the others come to me, forming a perfect line and waiting patiently for their turn.

"Wow, you guys are more intelligent than you look, aren't you?" I wonder. None of them are friendly in Cricket's cat-like way, which only cements my belief that he's a youngling playing around while they are the serious adults. "Okay, you're all done, guys," I say as I remove the last collar from the last blue neck.

They all chirp in excitement, making a complicated motion which seems like a mantis version of a curtsey, then race out of the cell. Together, they enter Tareq's former cell and climb up the wall, gathering around the ventilation shaft. The grid is still covering it, but two of the larger mantises pull it aside.

"Um, guys?" I call after them as they crawl inside the vent. "We're supposed to wait here!"

Cricket chirps at me before disappearing into the vent, but other than that, they ignore me and soon, I can't even hear their happy insect noises. "Hmm. Alright. Whatever." I shrug to myself. They're free now, they can do whatever they want. "Who's next?"

Over the next hour, I go around the cells, releasing the captives and removing their collars. I start with Nikolai, who stares at me with wonder and follows me around as I release the others. He's a tall but somewhat gangly man, certainly not a fighter. He even admits to hating violence after he figures out that I can understand him.

He's Russian, just as I'd suspected, but he doesn't talk about his home much. He does, however, talk about secretly studying medicine despite his father's wishes and he curiously examines the dead bodies and all the other aliens in the cellblock.

Tareq lets me know he signaled his friends and is hiding until they arrive, which shouldn't take more than an hour or two. He also says that he sealed off the section of the ship containing our cellblock, meaning no guards should be able to get to us.

In one cell, there's a feral wolf-like creature with eight spindly legs. He snarls as I approach, clearly not understanding I mean no harm. My lizardman guard snarls back at him so ferociously, a startled squeak escapes me. What a scary guy. I wonder who'd buy a slave like him. He's certainly not cut out to be someone's obedient exotic pet.

The eight-legged wolf whimpers in fear and tucks his long tail between his hind legs, showing his throat in a sign of submission. The lizardman grunts his approval and gestures to me to enter the cell.

I'm still a little wary, especially as I lean in to remove the wolf's collar and see the long rows of his teeth from up close. He doesn't attack me though, just whines and whimpers even after I've removed his collar.

"It's alright, buddy," I try to calm him, cautiously patting his neck. "The scary lizard won't hurt you and neither will the slavers. You're safe." My hand is wet and I realize it's covered in the wolf's blood. "Oh, you're hurt?"

I part his thick fur to see where he's bleeding. It seems that his collar was either locked on too tight or he's hurt himself trying to get it off. Either way, there's a long wound around his throat and his fur is matted with blood.

"Did he hurt you?" Nikolai asks from the cell entrance, watching my bloodied hand.

I shake my head in response, pointing at the wolf's neck. I don't speak, because it's making Nikolai nervous when I talk to him and he can't understand me.

"Oh, he's hurt from the collar," he correctly concludes. "I'll take a look at it." He approaches, letting the wolf sniff his hand before patting his head. "Aren't you a good boy?" he coos, scratching behind the wolf's ears. "Oh, yes, you're a good boy. You're not going to eat me, are you? Of course, you aren't. Let me look, alright? I promise I won't hurt you."

I smile as Nikolai continues whispering to the wolf, calming the creature down so that he can inspect the wound. Seeing that he's got it covered, I move on to the next cell just as he rips his shirt to create improvised bandages.

By the time I've finished with the other captives, I'm sweating. It's odd. The room has always felt rather chilly to me, especially since I'm almost naked, but right now? It's like someone has cranked up the heat.

My headache has returned, too. It's probably an aftereffect of holes being drilled into my head, I decide. Or dehydration. I gobble down a water bottle just to stay on top of it, then decide to sit down.

I'm tired. Perhaps it's the adrenaline wearing off or something, but I feel like I could sleep for a week. My eyelids feel like they are made of lead. I'll just take a tiny nap before Tareq comes back. I need to be rested for later.

Later. I giggle. It's my new favorite word. Laaaater.

Damn, I'm tired. I'm not sure I'll be able to fall asleep with the pounding headache, though. I need aspirin. Alien aspirin. Aliespirin?

Someone's giggling. Oh, it's me. Something's not right.

"Astra!"

I groan. Why can't people just let me sleep? It's not Monday anymore, is it? I hate Mondays.

"Astra!" Someone shakes my shoulder. I pry my eyes open to see Nikolai's worried face. "Astra, wake up!" he repeats. "You need to stay awake. The vents, they…" He staggers and leans against the bars for support. "There's no air coming from them anymore. Everyone's getting dizzy and weak and vomiting and… I think we have CO2 poisoning. We need to get out of here."

"Ceeeee Oooooh Twooooo," I repeat, giggling. It sounds funny. Alarm bells ring in the back of my mind and I shake my head, trying to clear it.

No air. That's bad. That's very, very bad. Veeeery baaaad. Dammit, I need to snap out of it.

"Door?" I ask, weakly pointing toward the cellblock door.

Nikolai nods and takes the keycard from my hand. Huh. I didn't even know I was still holding it.

I watch him stumble through the corridor with uncertain steps. The lizardman follows, dropping on all four and panting heavily. All around, there are aliens staggering or outright lying on the floor. Some are clutching their heads, some are vomiting, some look unconscious. Fuck.

The situation is going downhill, fast. We need help. I should call Tareq, but my fingers feel too numb to press the buttons on the comm device.