I found a container of cheese puffs, and a single tiny can of ginger beer, and perched on my stool like a vulture; chomping down salty snacks and glaring at every syto that looked my way.
It made sense that they didn’t revolt.If they could be certain everyone was willing to ignore the Kwin, I’d bet they would.But no one wanted to be the lone traitor facing down the pack, and so everyone just kept going along with her orders and suffering for it.
Even bringing up the idea of betraying her would be too dangerous for them, one rat could bring the whole house of cards down.
But dammit, I needed someone to blame.
I debated befriending them, trying to radicalize the masses from the inside, but tossed the thought.That would take time I didn’t have.I’d only spoken to Jiith, who was currently useless, and Rijish who’d essentially told me to shut up when I introduced myself.These guys were too wary of being punished to risk catching the Kwin’s murderous attention.
By the time I’d finished my ginger beer, my eyes were burning with exhaustion, my feet were throbbing and my head was a whirring mess of hopelessness and determination.
I didn’t see a way out.Ihadto find a way out.
Both statements were equally true and I didn’t know how to reconcile them.Everything felt too big for me to handle and so simple I could scream.I slipped off the stool, ready to retreat to the sad little blanket in the corner I called my bed, when I heard a faint bird call from outside.
Whip-poor-will.It came again.My senses pricked as I held my breath, listening intently.
Whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will.
There was no mistaking it.The aptly named Whip-poor-will bird had a call that I remembered from a childhood of camping trips.But nostalgia wasn’t what I was feeling in that moment.Texas did have Whip-poor-wills, but only in the eastern half of the state, and we were not in the eastern half of the state.
That wasn’t a bird I was hearing.
Unless sytos or percers had recently taken up birdwatching, that was a human.I froze, heart pounding, my first thought was the human women Tovis knew, that his friends had come for him and we were saved.
Then reality set in.Tovis was the only turoch I knew, but he wouldn’t bring me on a dangerous rescue mission against dozens of opponents.He just wouldn’t.From the moment I’d met, him he’d been trying to keep me happy and safe.
What were the odds the other turochs were any different?
If it wasn’t Tovis’s friends...the only other humans he’d mention were the gang that had been driven away from their camp.The dangerous gang, all men.
I lurched forward a step, knowing to my bones that something big was about to happen, but not knowing what direction it would go.Humans felt safer, more familiar, but humans weren’t a monolith of kindness and integrity.There was a very good chance that encountering a gang of men would go even worse for me than getting captured by sytos.
I didn’t get the time to agonize over it any longer.A shot rang out, the sharp crack shattering the quiet stillness of the night.Every syto in the building jumped, streaming toward the door before the Kwin even made the order.
More shots erupted, it sounded like an army had descended, the sound doubling as the door opened.There were shouts, and gunshots and the distinctive revving of a diesel engine joined the chaos.
The noises, while terrifying, were so distinctly human, I almost doubted my instinct to run.They had a truck, guns, human voices, I craved the humanity of the sounds even as they warned me not to get any closer.
The Kwin was yelling at the guards, her voice drowned out by the war happening outside and I darted toward the shadows at the edges of the room.My sparkly dress made for awful camouflage, but this moment of distraction was the best chance I was getting.
I had to get out of the strip club and get to Tovis.Staked out and cuffed, he was completely vulnerable to any human who just saw all aliens as the enemy.Even potential good guys were a threat right now.
And the deranged laughter between shots didn’t sound very ‘good guy’.
I reached the door that led to backstage and flipped the deadbolt, flinging it open and dashing outside before thinking that was maybe a bad idea.Too late now.I sprinted on sore feet around the edge of the building and peered around the corner.The arena stood between me and Tovis, the metal poles glowing against the darkness as I tried to make sense of the fight happening in the parking lot.
A lifted truck was covered in armed men, flashes of light bursting from their guns as they fired at the panicking sytos.A few of the aliens had guns of their own, and I watched as a syto aimed it at a man on the ground and his whole body crumbled like he’d been smashed by an invisible fist.
Luckily the fight was focused near the front of the building, it didn’t look like they’d spotted the two helpless prisoners staked out under the moonlight.
Taking a breath, I sprinted toward Tovis.He was watching the battle but looked up at the sound of my pounding steps.
“Jessa,” he breathed, worry creasing his forehead.“You shouldn’t be out here.”
A breathless laugh escaped me.He was the perfect target, and he was worried about me?
“Are you joking?’I demanded.“This is the perfect distraction.”I waved a hand at the fight, cringing as another human got blasted by an alien gun.
