Survivor Planet Series 2-Book Box Set (5 page)

My guard led me over to the far right of the room where a group was forming. Several young women each stood with a guard beside them. The women displayed a mix of emotions. Some appeared defiant, a few were crying—one being almost hysterical—while others looked so frightened they were about to faint. I was brought into line beside them. They stared at me curiously. I suppose because I wore no emotion except interest. A few minutes later, Lissa was brought up to stand beside me. We nodded at each other and smiled conspiratorially.

The alien warriors filed into the hangar next, each of them giant and rough looking. They walked over to stand in front of their females and once they were all in place, the guards relinquished their duties and moved away from us. I noticed they didn't leave the room, rather they stood at intervals around the floor, I assumed in case there was any trouble. I looked up at Ayres and noticed he was dressed all in black. All of the warriors wore tight fitting black pants, high leather boots, and V-neck tunics in an array of colours and fabrics that were belted at their waist. Their tunics were short-sleeved, showing off thick arms rippling with large muscles and various tattoos.

Definitely hot.

We continued to stand there, the men on one side, facing the women on the other. I couldn't help but smirk a little.

“Something amuses you?” Ayres asked.

“Looks like we're about to line dance,” I replied. When he scowled at me I shrugged. “I thought you said there was only gonna be five couples competing?”

Ayres gave me a pointed look. “There will be.”

“Are we gonna draw straws or do rock, paper, scissors?” I asked.

“No. You will fight,” he informed me.

“Say, what?” Surely, I had misheard him.

“You will fight,” he repeated, gesturing to an area off to the left that I'd failed to notice earlier. It appeared to resemble a boxing ring.

I gulped. “To...the death?”

“No. First blood. The last five will be allowed to compete.” He grilled me with a creepy stare. “Do not fail.”

Well, this wasn't any fun at all! I'd had an idea where this Episode was going and it was not into a ring sweating it out with a bunch of scrapping females. It was supposed to be about Ayres and me enjoying crazy, wild sex on the surface of Taleon.

A loud bong sounded, which I presumed was the signal for the fight to begin since all the warriors grabbed hold of their women and began pulling them toward the ring. Ayres reached for me and began yanking me over as well.

I pulled my hand free of his. “I'm capable of walking,” I informed him.

He arched an eyebrow. “I hope you're capable of fighting.”

Since this was my dream I was sure it would work out all right. Perhaps I'd be able to display some great technique in the ring, like leaping ten feet into the air, dazzling my opponents and having them shrinking in fear.

Ayres grabbed hold of the ropes and separated them so I could step into the ring. The other women—I now counted ten of us—eyed each other warily. They all appeared to be from Earth, and we all compared in shape and size, making it a fair fight. I'd never gone toe to toe with anyone before and I wondered what it would be like. The warriors all backed away so they couldn't interfere with the battle about to ensue. Then the man with the red shoulders, Baynar, the leader, which I recognized from yesterday's meeting, came forward and stepped into the middle of the ring.

“This will be a battle to first blood, to determine the five competitors in this season's tournament,” he announced. The warrior men looked tense and I sensed they were concerned that their fate now rested with the women they had snatched. I rolled my shoulders, laced my fingers and pushed them out to crack my knuckles like a butch. I wasn't too concerned about being one of the remaining five standing. After all, I was in excellent shape. There was a workout room at Lindove that I regularly made use of. I also jogged around the grounds—with an attendant—and Uncle Mick had taught me a few moves in the event I ever needed to defend myself.

Baynar stepped from the ring and dropped his arm. “Begin!”

All the women looked around at each other not sure how to start. Since this was my Episode I figured I might as well take the lead. After all, the sooner I got this part out of the way, the sooner I could spend time wrapped in Ayres' arms.

I moved to the center of the ring and swung my gaze around. “Come on,” I said, posing jauntily. “Who's first?” I looked over at Ayres and winked.

Lissa came up to me and we smiled at each other. “A dream, remember?” she said.

“Let's make it a good one,” I told her. We stood back to back, facing the women who had half-heartedly begun to push and shove at each other. There was some hair pulling and name-calling before things began to get serious. A short blonde kicked a brunette in the leg, who in turn called her a ‘stupid bitch'. That got things rolling.

Soon we had a full-blown catfight going on. There was screaming and crying, swearing, and a lot of slapping. Anyone who got close enough to Lissa or I got booted or punched. I surprised myself by giving a wild-eyed redhead a wallop in the nose, causing her to squirt blood.

“Oh! Sorry about that,” I said while she was pulled from the ring. A couple of guards had climbed over the ropes to referee and escort the losers off. It was several long minutes before there were only five of us standing. Lissa and I turned to each other and smiled. She reached her hand out to my face.

“Oh, you're bleeding!” she said. I guess in the excitement I hadn't noticed one of the women had scratched me. At least it must have been after I'd gotten her, so I had been allowed to remain.

I touched the scratch gently with my fingers while the alien warriors shouted and argued, some yelling victoriously. My fingers came away bloodied.

I stared at the blood, not even noticing Ayres until he came up beside me and took my hand, raising my arm up high in the air. The look on his face was triumphant. A drop of blood dripped from my finger and landed at my feet.

What the hell?

With all the excitement over I began to feel pain. Where I'd been punched in the arm my skin was becoming purple. My ribs hurt from a lucky shot someone had delivered.

I'd felt pain in an Episode before—especially when I was actually acting it out, yet there had never been any blood. When Ayres and I had had sex for the first time, I knew it was supposed to hurt, and so it had, slightly, but even then there'd been no blood.

I looked over at the smiling face of Lissa who had battled alongside me quite brilliantly. The dreamy look she wore made me realize she was still caught up in the notion of this being a vision.

It was then, as I looked around and began to focus on my surroundings, that fear began to envelope me. This wasn't an Episode. Not when I had shed blood.

This was for real.

The man beside me suddenly seemed much more powerful and a heck of a lot larger than he had a few minutes ago. I looked at him with new eyes. Had I actually entertained the idea of having wild sex with that animal? He would break me in half if his heavy body didn't crush me beneath him first. The room began to sway. Voices faded in and out. Faces stretched and then shrank before my eyes while panic took a hold of me. I wiggled my toes and clenched and unclenched my fists trying to get the blood pumping back into my brain. Ayres must have noticed my distress because I soon felt an iron grip on my arm holding me steady.

“What's wrong?” he growled, his voice seeming far away.

Wake up now! Wake up!

“I am not asleep,” he said.

Did I say that out loud?
Holy shit! I didn't know what was happening anymore. I'd been so in control. So sure I was having an Episode. Jack and Danny at the cabin, those terrible things Ayres had said about Earth, and this bloody catfight came crashing down around me.

It had all been real!

The room began to spin round and round. All my efforts concentrated on holding tight to the giant beside me. The astounding irony of it was the man I clung to was the person responsible for this situation. Had he existed all along?

“I feel sick,” I told him, shutting my eyes tight.

Vaguely, I became aware of someone calling my name. Lissa.

“Is she all right?”

Ayres swung me up into his arms making my head swim even more. “She'll be fine,” I heard him reply.

Jostled, I knew he was probably maneuvering us around the ropes of the ring. Then he was walking briskly. Laughter rang in my ears.

“Not so tough, is she?” someone jibbed. Ayres didn't reply but I could feel his arms tighten around me.

We soon came to a halt and Ayres bent and set me down onto something soft. I chanced a peek—and seeing the room no longer spun—kept my eyes open. Ayres knelt down and stared at me angrily.

“What is wrong with you?”

What could I say? All this time I thought I was crazy but—
lucky me
—I'm not? His deep blue eyes were as cold as ice. His body seemed clenched in anticipation. He had a lot at stake in this tournament, he'd said. And apparently, if I couldn't participate he couldn't either. I didn't fool myself into thinking he actually cared for me. I was merely a pawn in his game, a means to an end.

When I remained silent he scowled more. “Can you continue?”

What would he do if I said no? Looking around the hangar, I noticed the losers had made themselves scarce. What would happen to those poor unfortunate women who must contend with their pissed off alien partners who'd hoped to compete?

I nodded my head bringing a grunt of relief from the man before me. “What happens now?” I managed to ask.

“We will go below to Taleon.” He didn't seem concerned that we'd soon be on a strange planet battling for our lives. The only thing I had going for me was that in order to win, he'd have to keep me alive. My gaze shot to Lissa who was standing proudly beside Oro. She was smiling, the poor misbegotten fool. She still thought this was fake, thanks to yours truly. Perhaps it'd be better that way. If she knew the truth she'd be as batty as I was. I wondered what would happen if she and Oro lost. She'd be left behind on Taleon forever. How precious would she be to Oro then? Would he become her worst nightmare? That was, if she even survived. This could be my fate as well. Despite the confidence my companion displayed, there were no guarantees we'd be successful either. I couldn't image being doomed to spend my life with Ayres. If I thought he was scary in my Episodes, I could well image his ire in reality.

“You need to rise.” Ayres was looking around and I too became aware of the stares and comments being directed our way. Appearances were paramount. If I looked weak or ill the other competitors may come for me first. With his help I was able to get to my feet. I took a couple of assisted steps before I felt steady enough to not require his aid.

Ayres led me over to a raised circular platform where the other pairs were now gathering. The teams took up position around the outer edges, forming a circle with us facing each other. The competition appeared tough—not the females, who were all about my size, but their alien warriors. I stole a glance at Ayres who stood straight and proud at my side. He was as formidable as any of the other men, perhaps more so.

“Aren't we getting into a ship?” I whispered.

“No.” He frowned and replied without looking at me.

“Then how are we supposed to get to the surface...” My voice trailed off when I saw a beam of white light come from above. It grew in size, creeping steadily across the surface of the platform. One by one the contestants began to evaporate before my eyes as the light washed over them. “Shit!” Ayres seized my arm when he saw me begin to back away. And then the light was upon us. The very light I recognized from the times I'd seen it at the cottage. There was no time to think or react. One moment I was on the ship, and then—poof—I was no more.

Next thing I knew I was whirling through space, my body becoming a zillion particles. I had no eyeballs, yet I could see myself—or at least I was
aware
of myself—scattered about. A cluster of little throbbing lights comprised my whole being. Other clusters floated around me in the darkness along with great swirls of colours. We were moving without thought or effort, guided by some unseen force. As quickly as I'd vanished, I unscrambled and become whole again, arrived now in another place.

Looking about in stunned silence I noticed Ayres on my left. Strange that although we'd just been particles of light, I had felt his presence, known him even, distinguishing him from the others. He turned his gaze on me and I suddenly became grateful for his company. He was my constant in this topsy-turvy chain of events.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

I looked down at my body and everything appeared to be in the proper place. “I believe so.” Discussing what had just happened seemed futile. While it was strange to have experienced beaming around first hand, I'd seen it happen many times on
Star Trek.

“What the fuck was that!” I heard a woman exclaim. Across from us I saw her, on her knees, sucking in deep breaths of air. Her alien stood over her, frowning and glancing around at the other participants. Lissa and I exchanged a look and with relief I could see she remained unconcerned.

“Rise,” the woman's partner told her impatiently.

“Fuck you!” she screamed, becoming completely out of control. “What is going on? I didn't agree to this. None of us have.” She looked around at the other females, hands outstretched. “Did we?” she demanded when a few of them ignored her and turned away.

“Be silent!” her alien ordered.

Not to be denied her moment, the woman leaped to her feet and faced off against the giant snarling beast before her. She actually poked her finger into his chest. “Don't you order me. I've had enough of this bullshit. You took me from my home, then had me locked in a cell for days, then told—not asked—but
told
me about some stupid tournament I had to participate in.”