Chapter 1
Sarah knew death would come,
she only wished it would come sooner.
Her captors kept her alive
because it amused them to inflict pain and watch her suffer.
In the back of her mind,
distant memories of a home far away still lingered while hunger gnawed at her
empty stomach. Forgotten was the smell of fresh air. Once, so long ago, she
knew the sweet scent of cool mountain air and the feel of the wind wrapping
around her body. Now, she inhaled in shallow breaths the foul, musty stench of
her own feces, blood, and remnants of decaying creatures inside her small,
cramped cell.
At first, she silently begged
for forgiveness for any wrong she may have done to deserve this punishment. The
burning pits of hell held more appeal than the ongoing nightmare she was forced
to endure. How she longed to be free from the pain and injustice of her now
wretched existence.
Never again would she see her
family or her friends. Tears of self-pity and the hope of rescue dried up long
ago. No human had such advanced space technology, fast-moving spaceships and a
cruel beam of bright green light, which gripped her, held her immobile, until
it delivered her into the clutches of these cruel, heartless aliens. She was
forever lost and alone.
The swoosh of air indicated her cell door opening. Groggily and
weakly, she raised her head, careful not to lift her eyes too far, or it would
earn her another agonizing jolt from the thick, metal collar firmly bolted
around her throat.
She tried to ready herself,
needing to obey the commands of her masters. Her quick compliance helped avoid
the pain. Not that it mattered anymore; perhaps she would disobey enough for
them to finally kill her.
Inwardly, she rebelled;
outwardly, she was a coward. It hurt too much, and she didn’t want the pain
anymore. ‘ A weak, pathetic human,’ the Xersons repeatedly called her. She agreed.
Several Xersons entered her cell area. Xersons were as big as grizzly
bears. Their bristly fur covered more than half of their bodies and they had
pointed snouts and humanlike eyes, yet what she feared the most were not their clawlike hands. Their teeth often gnashed at her, displaying
crooked, sharp fangs smeared in greenish saliva.
Often they threatened to tear
her apart with those teeth, only to then laugh at her fear.
“We’ve cleared out the base.
The only thing left is this,” growled the low voice of the first Xerson .
“The human is useless. I
bought it for my amusement and it’s served its purpose. The valuable breeding
slaves are already secure. This one will only take up space. Leave it. It will
be dead before long.”
Sara recognized the voice of the
one who enjoyed inflicting pain and humiliation on her the most. It took her a
split second to understand that they were leaving her to die and abandoning the
station where she was kept.
Their amused laughter faded
away as the door slid closed again.
Fresh tears rolled down her
cheeks and she collapsed back onto the dirty, cold floor waiting for her life
to end.
* * * *
Solron sat in his quarters, anger simmering in his veins for
being ordered on this pointless mission. Of course he knew why. He appreciated
the concern of his mentor and superior, Krill. But damn it, he had work to do
back on Kelon !
A less-experienced healer
would have sufficed, but Krill insisted on his presence onboard the Kelon Star-Searcher.
Here, he would be forced to
endure endless cycles of nothing. All the warriors onboard were in excellent
health and top physical condition. No human females to treat, no younglings to
birth. He sighed. At least he brought plenty of reading data with him to stave
off the boredom.
Solron sat in his quarters, remembering the conversation
with Krill which landed him here in the first place. He was stressed and tired
from running back and forth, tending to the birthing human women on Kelon . Physically and mentally, he was run down.
“You appear pale, my
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