Alien (11 page)

Sitting at a round table, Andi drummed her fingers on its
surface, staring at the men in front of her. When she had entered the room with
Kaine, she had expected it to be empty. Instead, another council member was seated
at a table, tapping on a tablet in front of him.

“This is Councilor Hudson.”

The warrior nodded once to her before Kaine continued
speaking. “He will be witness to your account. We have ascertained that your
abduction was planned and carried out by the Verge,” he explained. “The Verge
used to be a part of Phaeton society, and our split was amicable for the most
part. No attacks had been made prior to this and we are unsure if they have
planned any further attacks. We are hoping that you can answer some of the
council’s questions.”

“I don’t get it. These guys aren’t part of Phaeton, but they
used to be your friends, so they were hanging out on the ship?” Her confusion
was obvious.

“They were more than our friends. They were our brothers and
fellow council members. When they defected, we believed for all intents and
purposes that it would be a peaceful split and we would deal with them as we do
any other alien race with whom we trade. Today’s plot was carried out by men
whom we believed to be still loyal to Phaeton. What happened has opened many of
our eyes to the lengths that this group would go to to destroy us. We also have
to accept that more traitors could be amongst the crew. I can speak no further
on this subject… Please start at the beginning.” His voice sounded weary.

“Well…I guess I should start with this morning.” Andi
cleared her throat. “This morning, I received a message that I would be
escorted to fill out the final paperwork to dissolve the contract between Zane
and me.” She paused for a moment, shrugging. “I thought that we had already
finished the forms but the man on the message said it was a council requirement
so I didn’t question it. I called Zane and told him that I had more papers to
fill out and just waited for them to show up.” She cleared her throat again and
searched the room. “Do you mind if I have some water? My throat is hurting a
little.”

Hudson nodded, walking across the room to fulfill her
request. “Do you need medical attention?”

“No, I just haven’t had anything to drink for a while. I may
need an exam, but I wasn’t pregnant, so let the doctors take care of them
first,” she said, nodding toward the exam rooms.

Both men nodded to her, indicating they would like her to
continue.

“So, where was I? Oh yeah, I prepared for my escort to
arrive. Two warriors showed up. I had never met either one of them and they
didn’t really talk much. I can’t even say that I would be able to describe them
for you. I was just trying to keep up. They were in such a hurry. I don’t
remember them even saying their names.”

She paused to take a sip of the water Hudson had fetched
her. “We got to a room on a part of the ship I had never been to. There were
four men in the room. Again, none of them were familiar. Before I could ask
questions, they handed me paperwork. I read it and saw that it was the same
forms I had filled out previously.”

“When you saw this, did it raise any concerns for you?”
Kaine questioned.

“Not really, paperwork gets lost all the time on Earth. I
just figured that my forms had been misplaced and you guys needed me to do them
again,” she gave as an explanation.

“Continue,” he said with a nod.

“While I filled out the forms, the main guy said he had a
vaccine I needed to take. I asked him why I needed it. He said that it was
protocol for the human brides to be vaccinated. He pointed out that he had
vaccines for all of us for our own safety.” She rolled her eyes. “Since I was
still messing with the paperwork, I didn’t immediately take it. No offense, but
I wasn’t about to take a medication without a list of the side effects. I
palmed the pill and distracted him with questions about the paperwork instead.
Then a couple of the warriors worked on removing my bridal band. I remember one
of them saying that he should have gotten the proper tool to cut it off, but
hadn’t had the time. I thought that was strange, but didn’t want to be
accidently nicked while they cut it off so I kept my mouth shut and stayed
still. Once it was loose he tossed it into the trash and said I was no longer a
Phaeton bride. It felt strange to have it off my wrist…I’d worn it since I
arrived and guess I’d gotten used to the feel of it.”

“What happened then?” Hudson questioned.

“I handed the papers to him and was told that I would be
shuttled to Earth today. I started to feel uncomfortable at that point. I
remember Zane had said we were too far from Earth for a shuttle make the
distance. When I asked the warriors about it, they explained I would be taken
to a passing ship. It seemed plausible so I followed them to the docking bay,”
she explained.

“They took you to the main docking bay?” There was surprise
in Kaine’s voice when he interrupted.

“There’s another one?”

“As a matter of fact, there is. We have a smaller bay for
overflow shuttles to land,” he replied.

“Oh, well. As far as I can tell it was the main bay. I
remember it was the same bay where Zane worked since he had shown me around
there when I arrived.” Andi sipped her water again, wetting her lips. She tried
to remember every step she had taken in case even a small part was important.

“When we walked through the bay, the men who were escorting
me seemed to block my view. I remember that specifically because I was watching
for Zane.”

Hudson raised his eyebrow at her, causing Andi to continue.

“He was, actually is, one of my best friends. I didn’t want
to leave without saying goodbye.” Andi made a sad face. “Part of me thinks if I
had seen him and gotten his attention, he might have realized something was
fishy and stopped me from getting on that shuttle.”

“Do not doubt your actions. It will accomplish nothing. You
were following what you assumed were council orders. The actions that you later
took to help the brides should erase any doubt that you have for being there.
Imagine what would have happened if you did question the warriors? What if you
hadn’t been on that ship? Those women would have been alone without anyone who
had medical training,” Hudson argued, smiling at her sadly.

“That makes me feel a little better, I guess,” she admitted.
“Well, after I got on the shuttle, I noticed there was another woman there. She
was already strapped in a seat and was sleeping. I didn’t pay much attention
because I was starting to feel nervous about everything. A few minutes passed
before I noticed another group of warriors walking up the ramp of the shuttle,
but this time they were dragging someone.”

“Dragging?” Kaine’s voice was incredulous. “And not one
warrior stopped the group?”

“Yeah, it was Isabel. She was kind of propped up between
them with the other warriors in front and back. I wouldn’t have even noticed
her except I saw one of her shoes fall off. The men carrying her just kept
moving like they didn’t notice it. When I pointed it out, they told me to shut
up.” She huffed angrily. “First, don’t ever tell me to shut up. I don’t care
who the fuck you are. Second, it was obvious something was wrong with her. She
kept mumbling about her husband and asking for him. I remember her saying
something about it all being a mistake.

“By the time she was buckled, there was another group of
warriors bringing up more women.” Andi shook her head at the memory. “Both of
them were being carried as well. I knew without a doubt at that point there was
something definitely wrong with what was happening. I was about to start
screaming when the guy in charge walked up the ramp.” She swallowed hard.

“Then what happened?” Kaine prodded when she didn’t speak
for a moment.

“By that point, I was in full-blown panic mode. The only
other woman on the ship who was conscious was scared out of her mind. She said
her name was Brandy and they were taking her from her husband. I started to
unbuckle my belt and before I knew it, the little guy was in my face.” Andi
frowned. “I kept trying to undo the buckle, but my hands were so sweaty I
couldn’t get a grip.”

Andi felt a tear slide down her cheek. “I could hear the
women behind me moaning and then I heard Brandy get sick.” Pausing to wipe her
running nose, Andi took a deep breath.

“We need to know everything you remember.” Hudson’s soothing
voice helped calm her slightly.

“I said something to the man in front of me. I remember his
face clearly. He seemed so…satisfied. It made me mad. I remember spitting in
his face and then he hit me.” Andi stopped and pointed to the bruise on her
cheek. “I was stunned. I haven’t been hit since I was working in the ER and we
had a drunk come in one night. It helped clear my head a little bit and I
focused on the pain in my face instead of my stomach.” Stopping for another sip
of water, Andi pushed her bangs from her face. “After that, everyone strapped
in and the shuttle left.

“I tried to pay attention to where we were going, but
nothing was familiar. It was just a blur of stars until I saw a ship that was
just like this one. Now that I know there is more than one docking bay, it makes
sense,” she said directly to Kaine. “Where we landed, it was quiet and much
smaller than the main bay area here. All the shuttles were tied with tarps like
they weren’t in commission. Anyway, from there they took us to a room with a
cell in it. One of the warriors stayed there to guard me and Brandy since we
were the only ones awake. The rest were carried in by the warriors one at a
time.”

“And then what happened?” Hudson prodded, his fingers typing
quickly on the tablet.

“Well, they put all of us together, locked the cell and
left. Nobody said anything or explained what was happening. They just left us.”

“How many warriors total took part in the entire
kidnapping?” Kaine’s voice was strong with anger.

“I remember seeing ten total, including the men who escorted
me to the meeting this morning. But after we left this ship, I saw only six of
them. It was the leader and then five of the goons who came to the cell for the
next few hours.”

“Please go on.”

“Well, it wasn’t long after we got there that three of the
women started bleeding.” Both of the men grimaced at her words. Paying them no
mind, she continued, “Both Brandy and I had gotten sick in the toilet, our
nerves were shot. I quickly realized that they were miscarrying their babies.”

Andi’s voice started to take on her nurse’s tone. “I
monitored the women, making sure if they got sick that they didn’t choke. We
stripped the cots and tried to stop the bleeding as much as we could. I
remember wishing we were all still wearing our bridal bands…Zane mentioned to
me once that they monitored our health as well as being communication devices
on the ship. It seems that that those assholes were smart to remember to cut
them all off before we were taken from the ship. Those would have been our
quick way out if they’d forgotten.” Andi rubbed her wrist for a moment, lost in
the memory.

Kaine cleared his throat. “Andi, all of the humans will be
refitted with bands. You are right, it would have been to our advantage if they
had forgotten to remove them. Our engineers are working on a way to reconfigure
them to signal when one is removed without permission of the council. Please
continue with what you remember happening next.” He motioned for her to go on,
waiting while she took a sip of water.

“It was then that Val and Poppy woke up. Both of them were nauseous
but they weren’t exhibiting any other symptoms. Val explained that she had not
taken the ‘vaccine’, but when she’d struggled, the men had given her a shot of
some sort. We figured that was why both she and Poppy were sick. It was most
likely a reaction to whatever they’d been dosed with. After that, it became a
matter of waiting for help.”

“Did the original warriors make any further contact with you
during your abduction?” Kaine inquired.

“Oh yeah, make sure you ask Poppy what happened.” Andi’s
answer was accompanied by an evil grin.

“Why is that?” Hudson asked, confused.

“Because the leader got a little too close to her,
considering how angry she was. I was surprised at how quickly she moved. If I’d
known what she was planning, I would have jumped in on the action.”

“Explain how you ended up getting out of the cell,” Kaine
requested, smiling at her bloodthirsty attitude.

“Well, a warrior who Poppy and Val knew came by the room
where we were being held. I was too busy taking care of the three on the cots
to pay much attention, but from what I could hear he went and found someone who
could access the lock for the door. After he got back, we skedaddled,” she
finished, then thinking of last part she tacked on, “Oh, before we made it to a
shuttle, the dudes saving us made us hide in a closet.”

“A closet?” one of the men repeated.

Unsure which one had spoken, Andi didn’t answer. Her
attention had been distracted by voices in the exam room.

She listened in on the conversation behind her, her head
cocked to the side so her ear was tilted in the direction of the doctors’
voices. Part of her felt bad for spying on the doctors, but when she heard one
of the women cry out in pain, her first instinct had been to stop what she was
doing and pay attention.

“Andrea?” The voice came from a concerned-sounding Hudson.

“Just a second.” Andi brushed him off, her ear still trained
behind her.

Focused on the voices that were coming from the exam room,
she leaped up.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” she said quickly, walking into the
other room.

Without knocking, she walked right into the exam room, her
eyes trained on the men beside the bed of Staci, one of the women who had
suffered at the hands of their kidnappers. Before Andi was able to announce her
presence, the man spoke, without glancing up from his tablet.