That seemed to be enough for the other guy. They brought out heavy-duty manacles and bound Ranek’s wrists and feet before shoving him into the back with her. Throughout all of this, Ranek was dead weight. He landed in an awkward position, his neck bent.
Maya reached for him, straightening him out before the transport lurched forward. The ride was bumpy and she held his head on her lap, trying to protect him from yet another impact. He was out cold, and Maya had never seen a Tallean passed out like this. Asleep, yes. But not knocked out.
That hit on his head had sounded so loud she’d been surprised his brain was still inside his skull. She ran her fingers carefully through his hair, trying to find the head injury. There was a lump forming on the side, but no blood. He was so still that if it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest, Maya would’ve worried he was dead. And even with his steady breathing, she worried he wouldn’t wake.
As the transport took them farther away from the station, the scenery outside changed, the jungle becoming rockier, with large boulders the size of houses, before returning to its dense foliage again. Maya tried to commit it to memory in the off chance that she managed to get away and had to find her way back. Luckily, there seemed to be only one road. But soon even that ended, and they drove into the jungle.
She lost her direction rather quickly then, but still she tried to memorize the plants they crossed, refusing to give up.
Ranek was still knocked out by the time they arrived at their destination. Maya gawked at the massive warship half-hidden in the foliage. The ship hadn’t moved in many seasons because the planet’s flora had grown around it. But it still had power, and the pirates were likely using it as their hideout.
The moment the door to the transport opened, Commander Chaos made his telltale huffing and leaped at the pirate, teeth bared. The pirate cursed as he tried to shake the creature off, but Chaos was latched onto his ankle like it was his favorite chew toy. After a whole lot of screaming and cursing, he eventually managed to shake the pup loose. The pirate raised his hand as if to strike, but the scarred one with the robot arm stopped him.
“They were very clear that the female and the pup are not to be harmed. I’m not going to give up part of my reward because you can’t handle a tiny creature.”
“Run,” Maya ordered. But that wasn’t an order she’d ever taught him.
They had a small cage ready, barely big enough for the dragus pup to turn around in. They shoved him inside, getting majorly scratched and bitten in the process, then pointed a blaster at her.
“Don’t try anything, and you won’t be harmed. Someone’s willing to pay a lot of credits for you and the pup. But don’t think you can get away with trying my patience. If you struggle, we can always blame the thief.”
Maya watched as the other pirate carried a caged Commander Chaos into the ship. She put her hands up in a universal sign of surrender and followed. She had to stay with Commander Chaos no matter what. Maybe together they could make an escape later.
But they forced her to turn into a room as they continued carrying the creature down the hallway. She was in the ship’s brig.
“Get in,” the pirate ordered. Unable to do anything else, she went into the cell, and the door slammed shut behind her. The pirate left the room, but she wasn’t alone for long because just minutes later, the door opened again and the two pirates shoved Ranek into the cell with her.
Clearly there was no directive not to harm the “thief” because he landed in yet another awkward pile. The two pirates then shoved several handfuls of water packets and stale food bars into the cell before disappearing into the hallway, talking about what they planned to do with the extra credits they were going to get.
“Ranek?” she whispered when they were alone. She doubted he could hear her, but she tried anyway. “Ranek, can you hear me?” There was no movement.
She carefully arranged him into a more comfortable position, hoping that the slight movement wouldn’t hurt his neck even more.
With nothing else to do, she scanned the small cell that was her home for the next little while. It was bare. There wasn’t even a mat on the floor to sit on. It was also barely big enough for the two of them together, and probably made for a single large Tallean male. There was a little pot in the corner; she didn’t need to ask what it was for.
This sucked, but at least she and Ranek were together. And Commander Chaos couldn’t be far because whoever was paying the bounty wanted them together. That thought was the only thing keeping her sane.
At least until the lights turned off, plunging her into complete darkness.
***
Maya woke with a start, and the first thing she noticed was the crick in her neck from her awkward sleeping position. The second thing was how ridiculously parched she was. As she stretched out her muscles, the morning’s events filtered back.
Ranek was still beside her in the same position she’d left him. It was still dark, but there were several small red lights on the wall. It wasn’t enough for her to see, but it might be enough for a Tallean with their night vision.
She felt around for the water packets, found one, and opened it, pouring the contents into her mouth. She was grateful that the water was clean and palatable, but she couldn’t say the same about the food bars. She had no idea those things ever expired, but these certainly were.
Maya’s worry for Ranek grew by the minute. He still hadn’t woken. She worried now that he never would. She felt for his face, then carefully found the bump on his head. It didn’t feel any worse than it looked before, but Maya didn’t know if that meant anything. A smashed brain was still smashed even if the outside looked fine.
She noticed the change in his breathing first, the slow rhythmic sound suddenly stilling. Maya froze, her hand still touching his shoulder. Suddenly, a strong hand trapped her wrists, and another wrestled her down, and she found herself on her back, his body trapping her underneath him.
She gasped, startled, but couldn’t stop the rush of lust that bulldozed over her.
“Who are you? And what have you done to me?” he growled into her ear.
The hand pressing her down to the hard floor tightened on her throat. She held her breath, her heart pounding in her chest, as she waited for recognition. The poor guy had taken quite a blow to the noggin when he fell, and he probably needed a second to reorient.
He growled low and pressed his face to her neck, inhaling. Then he pushed himself away enough to look her in the eyes. But instead of recognition, confusion settled on his face like a shadow. He did, however, loosen the grip around her neck.
