Surprisingly, the flake was heavy.It had the heft of metal, but was soft and pliable like raw beef.Not exactly appetizing, but she asked, “You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”
The alien made a harsh huff through his nostrils that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.But Cara knew better.Looking at the almost grave lines of his face, she wondered if he’d ever laughed in his life.
“Nix, female.This will not poison you.Even young offspring can stomach this.”
Drawing in a deep breath, and with an encouraging rumble of her belly, Cara placed the rectangular flake on her tongue and chewed slowly.
Beyond a slight peppery taste, the ‘travel ration’ didn’t taste like anything.It was chewy like beef jerky, however, and saliva filled her mouth.It seemed like it had been ages since she’d chewed anything and her body responded accordingly.
Once she swallowed, she actually felt the food settle in her belly.And then…she felt it expand.
Cara’s lips parted and she found that she looked up at the horned alien, whose name she still did not know.“It’s working,” she murmured in amazement.
The sensation of fullness hit her all at once.But it wasn’t an empty fullness, like if she’d downed a few glasses of water.She felt the nutrients of the food already begin to energize her, replacing calories lost.She felt the protein strengthen her limbs and she almost smiled at how good it made her feel.Almost.
When the food stopped expanding, she felt slightly uncomfortable, like she’d just consumed a holiday dinner, but nothing that she couldn’t handle.It feltgood, after so much time feeling a burning hunger.
“Do you need another?” the alien questioned, tilting his head slightly to the side.The one hanging light in their room glimmered off his obsidian black horns.Cara’s eyes gently ran from their base at his skull to the sharp tips that curved around his crown.
“No,” she murmured.“It was a little too much actually.But thank you.”She glanced at the tin, still clenched in his bleeding palm.Her curiosity got the best of her and she questioned, “What are they made out of?”
“The rations?” he asked.“I do not know the translations in your language.The Baquarians developed them.”
“Baquarians?” she questioned.
His lips turned down again and Cara found herself looking at them a little too long.How did someone who looked as rough and harsh as him have such soft, full lips?
“The fighter who took you from the Pit,” the alien started.“He is a Baquarian.Their planet is in the Second Quadrant.”
Immediately, Cara remembered her captor’s snake-like face and a small shudder of revulsion raced through her.
His voice deepened when he asked, “Did he harm you?Touch you?”
“He always stopped before…” she whispered, trailing off.
She remembered the horned alien slashing his claws at the Baquarian.She wondered if that was why the snake always stopped.Because he knew heshouldn’tbe touching her, especially if she was being sold to another.But to whom?To the alien standing in front of her?
For some reason, she knew that he hadn’t been the one to buy her.
She didn’t know why.It was just a feeling.
It was a guess when she asked, “You’re delivering me to whoever bought me, aren’t you?To whoever’s money that was that you threw at the Baquarian?”
His silence was answer enough.
The rage that filled Cara’s body surprised her.Perhaps it was her renewed energy, perhaps it was because she wasn’t filled with fatigue, but she found herself shooting off the bed and approaching her newest captor.She wondered how many more she would have.
“Tell me,” she demanded.“I want to hear you say it.”
The metal tin dropped to the cracked floor as he snagged her wrists when hot fury made her swing them at his chest.The alien hissed at the contact of their skin, at the sight of her exposed hands from underneath the cloak.
Caged.Again.
Something in her broke, rearing its ugly head, and she fought against him, struggling against his iron-clad hold.But nothing that she did worked.When she tried to kick at him, he simply caught her closer, trapping her legs between his own.Every muscle in her body strained against him.Every ounce of her strength worked in breaking free.She’d bit the first alien that had tried to take her from the Pit after his successful fight.He’d wisely chosen another.Somewhere between then and now, she’d lost that woman, she’d lost that fight.And she was finally finding it again.
So she fought against him until exhaustion made her limbs heavy.She fought against him until tears burned the back of her throat, until tears dripped down her cheeks.It was the first time she’d cried since her father died.Even during her captivity, she’d never shed a tear once.It infuriated her thatthismoment was when her body finally let them fall.
And all the while, during this entire episode, her alien captor never once fought back.He restrained her so she wouldn’t hurt him.Then she realized that he was restraining her in a way that she wouldn’t hurtherself.
