Beast Planet 1: Captive Surrender (2 page)

He tapped the pad again. “
We are the Galactic Supreme Rulers of Druel
.”

“Why have you taken us?”

“
Species revival program
.”

I frowned. What the hell did that mean? The
Druel
started to move away. I had to think quickly. I doubted they would stand
there and answer all my questions, but I had to ensure our survival. Not just for myself, but for the other women still asleep in their cages.

“Wait, please, if you want us to survive, you need to turn up the heat, or give us something to cover our bodies. Otherwise we will freeze to death. We also need water.”

I clutched at the bars. The
Druel
paused, tapped its pad again, and then moved down the aisle and out of sight.

With a heavy sigh, I shuffled back into the corner of the cage. A few moments later the feel of warm air blowing into the holding area made me sit up. I gave a strangled laugh for the small mercy. An octopus robot zoomed up to my cage. One of its tentacles extended exposing a shiny, silver, oval shaped object. I scrambled forward and took it. Water sloshed over the rim.

“Thank you,” I called out. The robot zipped away. I sat back, taking a sip of water before cradling the rest. I didn’t know if the
Druel
would be so generous later.

My mind milled over what little I had learned from my brief questions.

‘
Species revival program
’.
I watched documentaries on the Discovery channel.
Scientists trying to revive endangered animal species by breeding them in captivity,
and
then setting them free.

As far as I knew, humans were not an endangered species. It could only mean one thing… My breathing suddenly accelerated, and my limbs shook as the horrid thought hit me.
“Holy shit.”

Worst case scenarios flashed through my mind.
Oh God!
My stomach struggled to suppress the urge to vomit. I thought about them implanting hell-knows-what into our wombs.
My womb!
They planned to breed us with some other species… or maybe even themselves.

I thought of Sandy, and how I was almost dead instead of her. I wrapped my arms around my legs, placing my head on my knees
;
tears dripped down my face and onto my legs.

What was worse? Being dead or facing what the
Druel
planned for us?

Chapter Two

Screams jolted me awake. Startled, I spilled the water I’d been cradling, as I sprung forward, glancing wildly about.

The octo bots, as I named them, opened the cages and snapped flashing, electronic collars around the women’s necks and hauled them out of the cages.

One came for Tammy. She whimpered, inching as far back into the corner of the cage as she could, but it was all for nothing. The octo bot easily caught her arm, yanked her forward and snapped a black, metal collar around her throat.

Drawing in slow measured breaths, determined not to outwardly panic, I climbed back to my feet and lifted my hair above my head
when
the next octo bot opened my cage. I knew it was useless fighting these bots. It snapped the collar around my neck. The metal was cool on my skin. It was tight, but not tight enough to
cut off my air. I could still swallow with ease.

Attaching a short leash to my collar, it jerked me forward; I hurried to keep up so I wouldn’t trip, like the other women who fought their collars and octo bots. In the end, they dragged the fighting women along like disobedient puppies.

I wasn’t sure if it was the best time to share my knowledge of the
Druel
and their ‘species revival program.’

They marched us down a long corridor. As we turned to the right, natural light shone from one end. I blinked
when
we were taken down a large ramp off the ship. I drew in the air; it had a stale industrial smell, much like smoggy Melbourne during peak hour traffic. The colours were different. The sky was a light purple. The huge, city skyline was littered by round, huge cylinders—black and reflective
buildings reaching tall into the sky. They reminded me of the shell of a night beetle.

Everywhere I looked machines, robots of every strange shape and size, with legs, arms and tentacles, zoomed about. Some looked like cars on legs; others pushed or carried large crates. They clanked, hummed and beeped in every direction.

I glanced up to a long platform hovering above the ground. At least ten
Druel
peered down at us. It looked like they were holding a discussion, their four fingered hands waving in our direction
while
we marched past.

I noticed many of the women stopped sobbing
;
looking around
,
their eyes filled with renewed fear.

“What do you think they are going to do with us?”

I recognised Tammy’s trembling voice behind me.

I couldn’t hide the truth from them; they
needed
to know. “I think they want to breed us.”

“What? How do you know that? You’re just guessing, right?” The woman in front had an American accent. She turned her head, glancing back at me.

“I managed to communicate with the
Druel,
that’s what the aliens call themselves.”

“Since fucking when do you speak alien?” hissed the American woman.

“I don’t. They had some kind of translation device. Their exact words were ‘species revival program.’”

“Oh
,
god, they’re going to impregnate us with some alien creature. It’ll burst through our chest and we’ll die a horrible death,” wailed Tammy.

“This
isn't
a fucking movie!” snarled the American woman. “She’s talking shit.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Believe what you like, I know what I heard.”

“Oh
,
god, I don’t want to have an alien baby!” Tammy’s voice pitched high,
when
hysteria took over.

I scrubbed a hand over my face and drew in a deep breath. I shouldn’t have told them, but it was too late.

“Tammy, please,
calm
down or they’ll shock you.”

She ignored my warning and struggled against the octo bot, her fingers clawing at the collar around her throat.

The zap hit, and she screamed and flopped around. Her body went limp. The octo bot scooped her up and zoomed off in a different direction.

“Happy now, genius,” snarled the American. “Keep your fucking information to yourself from now on.”

Heat rose though my body, I was angry at the American woman, but also at myself for causing Tammy’s hysteria. I hated to
admit the American was right. I made a mistake and someone else paid for it.

My throat tightened, and it had nothing to do with the collar around my neck. What were the
Druel
going to do to Tammy? Would I be responsible for her death?

Keep your mouth shut, be obedient and they won’t harm you.
The voice of reason echoed in my mind
—
I nodded to myself. Survival was the name of the game.
The Druel are responsible for everything going on here, not you.
I held onto the thought, trying to find some kind of inner comfort from the fear and guilt.

I shut my mouth for the rest of the walk, lost in my thoughts and wallowing in misery, so I didn’t notice where we were being lead, until the feel of soft sand between my toes brought my attention back to my surroundings.

We
were
led into some large, caging area. Rough stone walls, different from the sleek metal around us, divided the cages. It looked out of place. We could no longer see each other.

My eyes were riveted on the large, single door at the end of the caging area,
watching
it slowly
rise
up.

I stood, transfixed, staring at the huge, seven foot, alien creatures approaching our cages. Although they had arms, legs, body, hair and
a
face like a human, a mass of long black hair fell down their backs, contrasting against their pale, chalk-white skin. Bright, electric blue, swirling patterns covered the majority of their bodies. I saw they pulsed and glowed
when
they drew closer.

Heavily muscled, large strong hands, clenched at their sides. Their legs were built like old earth, tree trunks. A larger swash of square cloth covered most of their groins, held in place by a linked, gold chain. But it did little to hide the large bulges hidden behind it. My mouth went dry and my heart pounded so hard, I felt faint.

I wanted to cower into a corner and pray for the ground to open up and swallow me. Instead, I stood there, my back leaning against the stone wall.

The first of them stood in front of my cage, his flat nose flaring as he started sniffing. I stared up into arctic blue eyes. He was shoved aside with a snarl as another of the white and blue patterned aliens
examined
me, his full, pink lips
curved up into a grin. He
,
too
,
drew in a deep breath. I think he liked my scent.

Shrieks filled the air
while
the white and blue aliens investigated the other caged women.

Oh
,
god, were these the aliens the
Druel
expected us to breed with? They were huge!

One big alien shoved the others out of his way. His crystal blue gaze ran down the length of my exposed body. I felt the flush seeping to the surface of my skin under his intense scrutiny.

My heart, already spiked with fear, pounded harder. What were the
Druel
planning to do?

I glanced up to his face. Arctic blue eyes met mine. I was surprised to find them strangely un-beast like. He had an angular, attractive face with high cheekbones and a low
,
square-cut jaw. His nose was wider, flatter than a human’s. His lips were fuller and wider, the pointed end of white teeth peeked over his bottom lip.

No doubt every male, cover model agency would pound on his doorstep wanting him to be their lead, if he were human.

Anna, you are an idiot!
How could I think such things?

He suddenly crouched down, making himself slightly lower than me. He stuck his hand through the bar. My breath seized. He held out his hand, his fingers beckoning me to come to him.

I shook my head.
“Hell, no.”
I sucked in a deep breath, suddenly remembering to breathe.

He cocked his head to the side, his expression curious. Slowly, he rose to his feet. Other males tried to push him aside, but he snarled and snapped at them, displaying his sharp set of teeth.

He squatted down again. I watched him place his wrist into his mouth and bite down, tearing open his own flesh. Bright blue blood flowed over his wrist. He held it out, again gesturing for me to come forward.

“Nor, tor nor ikk.” His voice was deep and gravelly.

Involuntarily, I shuddered, hearing him talk. I stared bewildered at his bloodied wrist.
He was offering me his blood? Why the hell would he do that? Was he some kind of alien, vampire race? I glared at him and shook my head again.

He
huffed
, obviously frustrated by my refusal. He removed his bloody wrist and licked at the wound with his blue tongue, his eyes never leaving mine. I noticed the wound started to close, and within seconds, it was healed completely. He must have some kind of healing properties in his saliva, but it still didn’t make sense. Why he would try to give me his blood.

I watched him glance around my cage before pulling himself up to his full height. His large hands gripped the bars and started to pull. The muscles in his arms bunched and strained. I gasped when the bars started to creak and the stone crack.
Shit
. I stared opened mouthed at his display of strength. Any minute he would tear the cage door off its hinges. Then there would be nothing stopping him from grabbing me and doing hell knows what.

A claxon alarm made me jump, and the big white and blue alien muttered under his breath. His blue gaze filled with anger, he puffed out his chest and gave me some kind of salute by placing his arm across his chest. Releasing the bars, he spun on his large, bare feet and strode away.

I stared at his retreat. What the hell was that all about?

All the big, muscled aliens were leaving. They shoved and snarled at each other, before vanishing back through the large door. Once the last one vanished, the door slid shut and the alarm ceased.