Three

Chapter

Tremors wracked Hayley’s body. She doubted it was from whatever treatments Norem had subjected her to most recently. She couldn’t even remember what he’d done. Except, she did remember everything else. The trips to the tank. The needles and injections. The surgeries doing who knew what to her body. She shuddered as Norem approached. Rom held her tighter.

Some of her tremors subsided. He was warm and strong and had shown her more kindness than she’d experienced from anyone in however long she’d been there. At least, in person. She didn’t understand why Rom was being so nice to her—or worse, why she felt drawn to him. That was yet another mystery in her life. She had enough questions. What she needed were answers. She doubted this blue giant would have any for her, given that he had to learn his own name from her enemy. How could she trust Rom when he seemed to be working with Norem?

Her biggest questions pushed up in her thoughts again. How do I get out of here? How do I rescue my friends?

Norem glanced at the handheld scanner, a gleam in his eye that made her stomach churn. Whatever results he was seeing had him excited. That didn’t usually end well for his test subjects. Was Rom really one of them? He didn’t seem too bothered about it if he was. She doubted his nonchalance would last long, especially when Norem set down his scanner and started tapping on the bracer on his left forearm. He moved toward her, a small yellow beam of light extending from the end of it.

She flinched back. Not on purpose, but by reflex. She knew Norem hated it when she flinched. She knew it was useless to try to resist. The problem was she also knew what that little beam of light was. How much it hurt when he passed it over her skin, leaving small, cauterized spots of burned flesh in his wake.

Rom lashed out and grabbed Norem’s wrist. Hayley wished she could say that she didn’t smile internally at the pained look on Norem’s face or take a ghoulish delight in the cracking sounds his wrist made. Then she realized that the laser had to be hitting Rom’s hand. He had covered it with his palm, also blocking much of Norem’s bracer in the process.

“Look out,” she yelled, reaching for Rom’s arm to pull him from the danger.

He didn’t budge. It was like trying to move a stone statue. The blue man also didn’t make any sound of pain. The laser should have burned a hole through his hand. She looked up to find him staring down at her with those beautiful violet eyes. They were glowing. His spine plates were vibrating again, their humming sound somehow soothing to her as well as… stimulating.

What kind of alien was he?

He slid Hayley from his lap so that she was sitting on the table, then stood, effortlessly taking Norem with him. The Tau Ceti’s feet dangled above the floor, his lips were pulled away from his teeth as he gasped, sharp canines extending that made her shiver and recoil.

Was he a vampire? She didn’t remember Norem being a vampire. At least he’d never bitten her. She’d never seen those fangs, either.

“I just need to take some samples,” Norem said, his voice tight with pain.

Rom turned back to Norem and flexed his hand. Norem grunted, the sound joining with the crunch of metal being crushed. The Tau Ceti gasped, the color leeching from his face and leaving it a pale green.

Rom leaned in close and hissed, “Not that way.”

He released Norem, who stumbled backward, barely keeping his balance. The moment he was free, Norem pried the misshapen bracer from his forearm, letting it clatter to the floor. He pushed on his hand, hard, wincing at another loud cracking sound. He gasped in a breath, the lines of pain around his eyes subsiding much too quickly for Hayley’s taste. He wiggled the fingers of his right hand, cradling his arm against his chest. Gingerly, he let it drop back to his side.

“Very well.” Norem lifted a shaky hand—his left hand—to smooth down his hair. He finished composing himself, but Hayley didn’t miss the pointed look he cast at her. “We’ll forgo tissue samples for the moment.” He bit out the last three words, making sure she knew that he would make getting what he wanted from her as painful as possible after this.

Let him try. Rom hadn’t just protected Hayley, he had given her a view of something she’d never thought could be done. He had shown that Norem, too, could feel pain. Hayley wanted a chance to inflict some of her own. She’d never been a bloodthirsty type, but after the torture she’d endured from Norem, she wanted payback.

“ Hayley? ” Mindy’s voice was suddenly in her mind, nearly panicked. “ Hayley, are you okay? ”

“ I’m fine ,” Hayley thought back, trying to calm herself—and failing.

“ There are no stars where you are. ” A whine accompanied the thought. “ No light .”

“ I’m sorry .” Hayley closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

Normally, she had to project her thoughts for Mindy to pick up on them. Hayley had used that to protect the innocent dog from much of the suffering Hayley had endured. She was too upset, too angry to hold them back. She was too tired of fighting to hold on.

“ Please don’t leave me again ,” Mindy thought, the whine increasing. “ Please, you were so far away for so long and you only just came back. ”

I was far away?

Hayley managed to keep that thought to herself. She didn’t remember going anywhere. Had Norem taken her off the station while she’d been unconscious recently? She suppressed a shudder, wondering what other things he’d done to her when she was unconscious. One of the few mercies in all of this was that he’d never expressed any interest in her other than as a science project. Still, sometimes she woke up feeling… different. This time was no exception. It might even be the worst.

Mindy had told Hayley that she would sometimes disappear from their link when Norem took her away. The times usually coincided with bigger experiments. Experiments that involved the tank.

The tank…

At times, Hayley almost regretted telling Norem that she could hear Mindy, that she was the ‘natural telepathic talent’ that he’d been searching for. But then, Hayley thought of all the people she loved that she had helped to keep safe by sacrificing herself. She thought of Mindy and how alone the poor pup had been before they’d found each other. It gave Hayley the strength she needed to endure.

“ I’m okay ,” Hayley thought.

A long whine came back through their connection. One of the doors to a side laboratory opened and a man in a pale green lab coat emerged. He glanced around the room, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Norem.

“Sir, there’s a problem with M-37,” the man said.

“I’ll be with you in a moment.” Norem was still rubbing his right wrist.

“But, sir—” Before the man could finish his sentence, there was a scream from the open doorway, followed by a loud bark.

Hayley’s heart seemed to stop, then started pounding furiously. Her head felt as if it was splitting with every beat. More screams, barks, and growls joined in with the chorus of drums her circulation system was playing in her ears.

“ Mindy ,” Hayley thought.

“ I’m coming! ” Mindy thought. “ I’m coming for you .”

“ No, you can’t .”

Her warning was futile. A fluffy white Maremma sheepdog bounded through the open door. The man who had just entered reached for the large dog, but she ducked between his legs. The canine was so huge, she knocked the lab tech over. Her paws scrabbled on the floor as she skidded, trying to find traction. More of the scientists lunged for her. Her teeth clacked together loudly as she tried to bite them, scaring some of them off. One of them lifted a stool over his head, running toward Mindy.

Panic seared Hayley’s chest. She slid to her feet, desperate to get to Mindy, to protect her, but Hayley knew she wouldn’t be fast enough. Of all the people in the universe to step in, Norem grabbed a vial of something from one of the tables and hurled it at the man holding the stool. The vial exploded against his chest, its viscous contents eating through his clothes in seconds. Screaming, he dropped the stool and instead started stripping, dropping his sizzling shirt on the floor. He stared at Norem with wide, terror-filled eyes.

“Don’t lay a finger on her,” Norem yelled. “Her life is worth more than all of yours combined.”

Finally, Hayley could breathe again. She knew that Norem had commanded that everyone treat Mindy well, but hadn’t realized the extent of his concern for the dog. Hayley was sure he saw her as an experiment—his most successful one, the way he treated her. And Hayley was extremely grateful for that. How much of what Mindy could do had Norem figured out, though?

Still growling, Mindy glanced around at the men backing away from her. Hayley had never seen her before—only felt their connection. She knew that Mindy was a Maremma because of their telepathic conversations. Mindy had excitedly told Hayley that everyone always mistook her for a Great Pyrenees, although she was more lithe and a little bit less fluffy than that breed. Now, Hayley stared across the room, thinking that Mindy was the most beautiful dog she’d ever seen in her life.

She covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to cry. If Norem saw how affected Hayley was by seeing Mindy, he might grow suspicious about the pair. Who knew what that would mean for either of them, what sort of experiments he might dream up to learn more. Hayley would never forgive herself if Norem started to experiment on Mindy the way he’d experimented on herself and Katie.

Mindy’s ears perked up when she saw Hayley. She started barking furiously, her mouth opening in a wide doggie smile while her tail was wagging like crazy. Then she did the worst possible thing she could do. She ran toward Hayley.

The panic Hayley had felt before was nothing compared to this. Her chest seized up, her vision growing dark around the edges. She couldn’t breathe. This was her worst nightmare realized. How could she possibly keep Mindy safe?

Before Mindy reached her, Rom stepped between them. Hayley lurched forward, trying to stop whatever was about to happen. Her legs were slow to respond and she nearly tripped over her own feet. By the time she’d regained her balance, Rom had dropped to his knees, facing the dog. His arms were outstretched as if he sought an embrace.

Mindy’s smile grew broader. She bounded into his chest hard enough to flatten most people. Rom barely leaned back. Hayley had the impression it was more to protect the dog than himself. She had felt his strength, seen it on display with the laser. The way he held Mindy so gently made Hayley’s poor punished heart ache.

“Hello there, sweetheart,” he said, laughing as the dog licked his face, hands, and shoulders. “I’m happy to meet you, too. What’s your name?”

For a second, Hayley wondered if Rom could hear Mindy’s thoughts as well. Then she realized he was just being friendly with her.

“Is it Nancy?” he asked. “You look like a Nancy to me.”

She huffed and let out a playful growl.

“Not Nancy?” he teased. “What about Crystal?”

Mindy barked at him and shook her head.

“That is M-37,” Norem said. “And she is a very valuable research animal.”

Rom petted Mindy’s head, then rubbed her ears like a pro. Whoever he was, he’d definitely been around dogs before. The thought was as reassuring as how loving he was being. Hayley’s heart finally began to slow, her tunnel-vision expanding back to normal. Her head was still pounding, but at least she didn’t feel like she was about to keel over anymore.

“M-37.” Rom scoffed, still talking to Mindy instead of Norem. “That’s a stupid thing to call a… whatever you are.”

“She’s a Maremma,” Hayley said. When Rom glanced up at her, she added, “It’s a type of dog from Earth.”

“Maremma dogs are an uncommon breed.” Norem angled his head as he regarded Hayley. “I had no idea you knew so much about dogs.”

“I grew up around them,” Hayley quickly covered.

“Indeed.” Norem narrowed his eyes, before he turned his attention back to Rom. “She seems quite taken with you, which is excellent. None of us can get near her without getting bitten. I’ve had to regenerate digits several times from our interactions.”

Mindy let out a chuffing laugh. Norem frowned at her.

Regenerate… Generate…

The word kept repeating in Hayley’s mind, her vision flashing between the room she was in and another. She was back in the tank, looking out through the yellow-tinged fluid surrounding her. Norem was there, staring at her with that creepy smile. He turned as a man walked up to him and handed him a large cylinder filled with the same yellow liquid. Something was floating in it. Something that made Hayley quickly look away, screaming around the tubes in her throat. Bubbles blurred her vision as she looked at the other man. The other… Norem.

Two of them?

Hayley pushed away from the… whatever it was. It couldn’t be a memory. It had to be a nightmare. It was bad enough that one Norem existed. She didn’t know if her sanity could take there being more of him.

“Are you okay?” Rom reached up to clasp her hand, his other still resting on Mindy’s thick coat.

Mindy inched forward, whining and licking her lips as she stretched her neck in an effort to get closer to Hayley. Norem knew Hayley liked dogs now. He knew that Mindy liked Rom. She prayed that was enough to divert his suspicions, because she wasn’t strong enough to resist Mindy right in front of her.

Hayley dropped down and did what she had longed to do ever since this nightmare began, when the first voice of kindness had reached out to her back in her cell on Norem’s base on Ceres. She pulled her hand from Rom’s grip, even though she wanted to hold on to him as well, and buried it in Mindy’s fur.

Hayley tried not to show how much it meant to her to hold the dog as she wrapped her arms around Mindy. She held back her tears, her lungs burning with the suppressed urge to let out a sob as she nuzzled her face against Mindy’s neck. Her heart soothed its aching beat, her muscles relaxed. Hayley had to admit that part of that was feeling the kind giant placing his hand on her back, staying close, just as he’d promised. She sensed that he would never let anything bad happen to her, even though she knew she didn’t dare trust that fantasy. Instead, she focused on the warm feeling of her friend in her arms.

Mindy didn’t move, didn’t wiggle excitedly or jump up and down. She didn’t even try to lick Hayley. Maybe she was trying to hide her reaction as well, sensing the potential danger should Norem’s suspicions be raised. The dog just rested her head against Hayley’s and let out a sigh, as if she needed this moment of connection as much as Hayley did.

“ It’s nice that you’re not far away anymore ,” Mindy thought. “ You feel like you again. Like Hayley before, but new .”

Hayley before? Before what? Maybe she meant before the experiments that Norem had been doing. Hayley certainly didn’t feel like the same person who had been whisked away from Earth by a shapeshifting mercenary. Although, why did Mindy keep thinking Hayley was new? It must be a miscommunication. Mindy was incredibly intelligent, but she still perceived the universe through a dog’s eyes. The way she processed her experiences was different. There were some experiences that they shared, though.

“What…” Hayley’s voice tightened as she thought of what she wanted to ask, uncertain if she really wanted the answer. “What have you done to her?”

“Nothing,” Norem said. “M-37 is treated like the prize she is.”

“Prize?” Hayley asked.

“The pinnacle of one of my very first projects.” Norem beamed, unable to keep from bragging. It was a trick Hayley had used on him before to get him to give away information—not that it was really hard to do. He was so confident she would never escape that he would often explain things to her when she asked. It had especially been true early on in her captivity. Any gaps in the information she gleaned were usually provided by Katie’s digging into the computer system or Mindy listening to nearby conversations. No one watched what they said in front of the dog.

“M-37 is a terrible name for a dog,” Rom said. He looked up at the door Mindy had emerged from. MIN-D was stenciled above it. “Mindy.”

Mindy’s ears perked up. She turned to him and barked, wagging her tail.

“You like that name better, girl?” Rom asked, scratching behind her ear. Mindy barked again and he laughed. “Then that’s what we’ll call you.” He turned his attention to the Tau Ceti scientists working—or lurking—in the room. “Got that?”

No one dared to speak, but several who were looking their way nodded. Those who did quickly glanced at Norem, eyes wide with fear, then turned back to their workstations. Norem stood above them, his thin lips pulled in a deep smirk as he stared at the trio as though assessing their very souls. Hayley’s stomach felt as though it was filled with lead. She had seen that speculative focus too many times.

Pain always followed.