21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Astra

My head is pounding and I feel all kinds of dizzy but I'm trying to stay awake. Nikolai said I need to stay awake and it kind of makes sense. Like when people who have banged their heads shouldn't sleep. Bang, bang. Something is banging inside my head. Does that count?

Ugh. It's nearly impossible to focus, but I have to. I don't want to die. I just met Tareq and I want to have sex with him. He promised to lick my pussy, and we didn't even get to it! I refuse to die without having my alien boyfriend lick my pussy.

As if he knows I'm thinking about him, Tareq's voice sounds from the communicator again. From the walkie-talkie. I'm giggling again. Stupid CO2 poisoning.

"Astra? Are you still there? Please, talk to me, my Myále ."

My poor tiger sounds desperate, so I do my best to reply. "Mhm." Alright, that wasn't great. "I'm here," I say, trying again.

"Good, that's good. Listen, you have to stay awake."

"D'uh." I giggle. It's not funny, but I can't help myself. "I'm awake."

"Okay. You need to leave the cellblock. Get a keycard from one of the dead guards and—"

"Did," I interrupt him. "Nikolai went. No air in the hallway either." He said the air out there was a little better than here, but that's probably just because we haven't used it all up yet. He kept the door open so that hopefully, we'd last longer.

Tareq sighs. "I know, I know. Listen carefully, Astra. You need to get to the orange door. It's only two corridors away from the cellblock. Please, do that for me."

"Orange door. Huh." I fight to haul myself up to my feet. Searching for mysterious orange door surely beats sitting around waiting for death. "EVERYONE!" I yell, feeling like my head is about to explode. "Get up! We're searching for an orange door!"

They all look at me with tired eyes. The ones that are conscious, anyway. They don't understand me. I need to pull myself together.

"Everyone to the orange door?" I ask Tareq, hoping he's not just trying to save me. I don't want to die, but I'd feel terrible about leaving the others behind.

"Yes, there's enough space for everyone, but you have to hurry, Astra. The CO2 levels are getting dangerously high."

Don't I know it. My vision is spinning as I straighten up and my stomach lurches. I vomit, desperately gasping for air that doesn't seem to exist anymore. "Fuck," I growl when my empty stomach settles. "We need to get out of here. Come on," I say, tugging on Nicolai' hand.

"There's nowhere to go," he says, looking despondent. "The CO2—"

"Ceeee Ooooh Twooo," I singsong, fighting the urge to giggle. "Orange door. Now. Orange, you know? Like the fruit? Come on, even Russians must know what oranges are. Doooooor. Go." I weakly push at his shoulder, directing him toward the cellblock door.

The lizardman is wheezing but looks up at me when I stagger closer. I point to the door, indicate walking, then turn to the other captives. To my relief, some follow Nikolai out into the hallway on their own. Some need a firm argument in the form of a kick into various parts of their bodies before they get up.

The panda bear whimpers when I get closer. It looks a little dazed but not near fainting like the rest. I grab a handful of bamboo sticks before backpedaling out of the cell. "Come here, sweetie. Come. Pss pss pss. Huh, no, that's a cat. How do you call on a panda, anyway?"

The big bear wobbles out of the cell, following the stick I'm waving in front of it. Alright, so far so good. Now, for the unconscious ones.

The two yellow monkey-like creatures are only half conscious, but I manage to rouse them by stepping on one of their tails. Well, that part was an accident since I tripped over my own feet, but it worked. They give me a faint screech and lots of glares, but follow the rest of the creatures outside.

"Astra? I can hear you cursing. Are you near the door already?"

Tareq is a sweetheart, I decide. Looks like a badass, but is pure cotton candy on the inside. Mmm, cotton candy. Do aliens have cotton candy?

"No, still in the cells," I reply, not wanting him to worry. "Stepping on monkey tails. Not on purpose. I like monkeys. Even when they're all alien and yellow."

"Astra, focus, please. You need to get to the escape pod before it's too late. I'm really proud of you for wanting to save everyone, but please, hurry."

He's proud of me. I like that. No one has ever been proud of me, I think. "Almost done here. Just two more." One of the unconscious aliens is freakishly tall with limbs so thin they look like they'd break if he put any weight on them. With an oddly round head, he looks like a stickman come alive. Despite his slender frame, he's heavy as hell. I try hauling him out of the cell but barely manage to drag him a foot or two.

I don't even realize the lizardman has been following me around the whole time until he pushes me aside and hauls the stickman over his shoulder. "Oh," I manage to say, rubbing my throbbing forehead, "okay. Can you take that one too?" I ask, pointing at the other unconscious alien, a round female no more than four feet tall.

The lizardman grunts, then places the smaller female on his other shoulder.

We head toward the door, both staggering from the lack of air. There's a weird coiled lump in one of the cells and when I stumble closer to investigate, I realize it's a snake. A big snake.

Before I can even ask, my good buddy Lizardman, as he shall forevermore be known as, grabs the snake's tail, dragging it behind him as he continues walking. I'm a bit envious because despite carrying three aliens, Lizardman's steps are still much steadier than mine.

The air in the hallway isn't much better. It stinks a little less, but it's still hot and unsatisfying. Even when I take a deep breath, it still feels like I haven't breathed in anything. Darkness dances in the corners of my vision and doesn't disappear, no matter how hard I blink. That can't be good.

"Which way is the orange door?" I rasp into the communicator, hoping Tareq hasn't given up on me yet.

"Right, then left. It's just behind a corner. You can do this, Astra. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. Please, don't give up."

I want nothing more than to lie down and sleep. Nothing except to be with Tareq. So, I'm not giving up.

We travel as a group. A very ragtag group of two dozen different aliens, all barely conscious. Nikolai is leaning against the eight-legged wolf. One of the monkeys is carrying the other. Lizardman brings up the rear, nudging anyone who stops moving with a not-so-gentle kick of his clawed foot.

Tareq is right. The orange door is just behind the corner, not more than a hundred feet away. In our state, it feels like a million light years.

We make it, somehow. The orange door opens to a room with lots of seats lining the walls. But even as I herd everyone inside, I'm fighting off my disappointment. The air here is just as bad as anywhere else.

"Make sure the door is shut, Astra," Tareq instructs.

I'm too weak to do so, but at my gesture, Nikolai and Lizardman close the door. "Done."

"Great, now find a big orange button. You're doing great, Astra. This is the last step, I promise. Just press the button."

With a groan, I stumble over to the shining wall panel. "There's like a bazillion bazillions of buttons," I whimper. It doesn't help that I'm seeing the panel twice, which makes it two bazillion bazillions of buttons.

"It's an emergency button. It will be huge and easily visible. Somewhere near the door. Focus, Astra, you're almost there. You'll be fine, my fierce mate, I promise. A big orange button. You can do this and then I'll lick your pussy all night long."

I blush, glad that no one else can understand him. It appears my hot alien boyfriend likes to talk dirty, it seems. I love it. I'd also like to have my pussy licked all night long, so I fight against the darkness threatening to take over my vision. Each time I blink, darkness steeps into me a little more until I can barely see anything. I do see the button, though. By the door, miles away.

I head over and trip over something. Perhaps it was someone's leg, perhaps it was nothing. Solid CO2, maybe. My head smashes into a wall and an alarm sounds.

There's some blood on the orange button now. And the button is blinking. Did I really just hit it with my head?

There's a hiss, the door clicks and then…air. Fresh, cool air flows into the room, and we all gulp it down greedily. Someone's crying, someone's laughing, someone's barking, but it sounds like laughter too. We're going to live.

"Tareq!" I shout into the comm, so happy I could cry. I probably am crying.

"Astra? Astra! Are you inside the escape pod? The controls indicate the self-sustaining life-support system is engaged. Please, tell me you're inside. Please, Astra, tell me you're alright," he begs and I think I'm not the only one crying.

I blow my nose into the corner of my filthy blanket before answering him. "I'm alright. I think. We all are." The darkness is gone from my vision. My headache is not going away, but at least it's not getting worse. I no longer feel like giggling over the word CO2.

"Oh, thank the Ancestors. I don't know what I would have done if…" He trails off, unable to finish the sentence. "I should have never left your side."

"Nonsense. You needed to do your thing. How is it going, by the way? Have you gone all Rambo on the slavers?"

"I do not know what ‘Rambo' means, my dear Myále, but we've eliminated or subdued most of the crew. We're just about to make our way to the bridge and finish this. Then we can have our ‘later'."

My pussy clenches at his sultry whisper. Oh, yes, I'm very much on board with this plan. "Alright, let me know when it's safe to leave here. And please, Tareq. Be careful."

"I will. Tareq out."

His military lingo puts a smile on my face. I wonder if I could get him to command me in bed. Just imagining saying "yes, sir" to him makes me horny. Damn, I'm recovering from this near death experience remarkably fast, it seems.

I take stock of the others in the escape pod. There are over two dozen of us, but judging by the number of seats around the walls, the pod is built to hold several dozen more. The life-support system should hold for the foreseeable future.

Most of the other aliens are resting on seats or on the floor, groggy but relieved. Some of the more primitive ones don't even realize what's happening, like my good friend, panda bear, who's munching on the last bamboo stick I brought along.

Nikolai is already on his feet and making rounds, checking on everyone to see how they are doing and if they need any help. The fact that none of the aliens can understand him and he can't understand any of them doesn't bother him in the slightest.

I wonder why his family was so opposed to him becoming a doctor. He'd make an excellent one. But that's not really any of my business. I just thank him when he fusses over the minor cut on my head. It's already stopped bleeding and since my head was already pounding from the translator saga earlier, there's no difference on that front. I dare say, I'll be fine.

Then the alarm blares again. I groan, covering my ears. Why does everything have to be so damned loud?!

"Emergency procedure initiated. Ejecting in 3…2…" a computerized voice announces.

"Wait, what?!" Ejecting? Does it mean—

"1. Launch."

There's a muted puff, nothing more. I don't sense any difference, don't feel like we're moving. But the image of the silvery spaceship visible through the tiny window is quickly growing smaller.