Read Captive Online

Authors: Trista Ann Michaels

Tags: #Romance

Captive (3 page)

BOOK: Captive
2.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

* * * * *

Mikayla finished her shower, dried her hair, and put on a little makeup. She crammed the last-minute stuff in her suitcase and zipped it closed. With a puff of surprise at the weight, she hefted it off the bed and set it by the front door. Frowning at the bag, she wondered how she
'
d managed to cram so much into it. Oh well, she thought with a shrug. She needed it all, so she would just have to deal with it. Walking into the kitchen, she found Krista still at the table watching the news. “Anything new?”

“Not so far. They're just talking about how the stores are selling out of ammunition and food. They're also asking people to make their phone calls as short as possible, because they're tying up the phone lines.” Mikayla just rolled her eyes and scrunched her nose, which made Krista laugh.

Suddenly, snow covered the television screen and the noise of static filled the room.

“Did you forget to pay your cable bill?” Krista smiled.

“Nah.” She shrugged as she frowned at the screen. “Someone just probably hit a pole.”

Just as quickly, the television cleared up again, but it wasn
'
t the news media on the screen.

“Did you change the channel?” Mikayla looked at the strangely dressed man staring back at them with a triumphant glare in his eyes.

“No.”

The man appeared to be in his sixties, with short gray hair and a thin build.

Standing stiff as royalty, he wore a black uniform with a gold-trimmed black velvet robe draped over his shoulders. A huge gold clasp held the cloak together at the neck, and the lines in the beautiful etched clasp swirled together like initials.

He began to speak in an accent neither of them recognized, his words flowing smoothly like French. “People of Earth. I am Prime Minister Rigora of the planet Kilahnus. After intensive study of your planet, I feel that it and your people would be a great asset to my empire. Your leaders have twelve hours to comply with my demands to turn over the control of your world to me. If they do so, no harm will come to anyone. Life as you know it can continue with only a few minor changes. If, however, your leaders refuse, you will suffer immediate and deadly consequences. I await your unconditional surrender.”

The TV immediately switched back to the news reporters, who appeared to be just as shocked and speechless as Mikayla and Krista.

“Come on,” Mikayla said. “We better get going. It'll take us longer than twelve hours to get to Ocala.”

“Please drive fast.” Krista grabbed the boxes and began to load the car.

Chapter Two

Sidious stood off to the side and watched Rigora give his speech. He would have preferred to be almost anywhere else. The more he was with this man, the harder it was for him to hide his true feelings. He sometimes had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn't.

It’s almost over.

“How was that, Captain?” Rigora asked, pulling Sidious away from his thoughts.

He unfolded his arms from across his chest and pushed away from the wall.

“Perfect as always, your grace.”

Rigora's eyes bored into his and narrowed. He hated it when he studied him like that. It gave him the creeps.

“Walk with me to the flyer deck. I wish to see how things are progressing.” Rigora turned and left the bridge, expecting Sidious to follow.

Once they were away from the Bridge, Rigora turned to Sidious. “I
'
ve noticed you've been extremely distant and short lately.”

Sidious kept his eyes straight ahead. “No more than usual.”

“I disagree. I feel something has been bothering you. Am I correct in that assessment?”

That caught him off guard. Rigora never expressed any concern about his personal life. For him to do so now made Sidious a little nervous.

He met Rigora's questioning gaze head-on. “I have had a lot of things on my mind lately.”

“Family matters?”

“Partially.”

“You know if there is anything that you need, Captain, you have only to ask.”

“Yes, I know.”

Rigora nodded and moved his cruel, ice blue eyes back to the long expanse of hallway in front of them. Inwardly, Sidious breathed a sigh of relief. If he were ever caught -- if Rigora ever suspected what he had been up to for the last ten years -- his life would be over.

* * * * *

Mikayla and Krista had been on the road for nine hours, and they had just now passed through Atlanta. The traffic had not been bad until the president gave his speech saying that Earth would surrender to no one. Within hours, alien ships of all sizes began to arrive on Earth. Small craft flew by so fast, they appeared no more than a blur. Then there were the larger ones that looked like giant rectangles, which Mikayla guessed carried supplies or possibly troops of some sort.

Wrecks were everywhere. Mikayla had to swerve quickly more than once to avoid hitting someone or being hit. Once they reached the city limits, the traffic began to thin out.

An ominous feeling had plagued Mikayla since they started seeing the ships. She couldn't shake it. While sitting in one of the many traffic jams earlier, she wrote her mother's address, phone number, and directions to her house on a piece of paper and gave it to Krista.

“What's this for?” Krista asked.

“I want you to hold on to that, and if anything happens to me, go straight to my mother's; she'll take care of you. There is also some money in the bottom of my suitcase, if you need it.”

“What do you think will happen to you?”

“Hopefully nothing, but I can't shake this feeling something will.”

“Well, let's hope that you're wrong,” Krista had stated.

Mikayla hoped she was wrong as well. But the farther along she went, the stronger the feeling became. She tried not to think about it. Never one to have premonitions, she believed it was only her imagination.

She let out a tired sigh as she tried to find a more comfortable position. She'd always hated the stretch of interstate between Atlanta and Macon. It seemed so long and dark. Especially now, with hardly any traffic.

God, I need a break. But where?
She saw the sign for the rest stop and smiled in relief.
Bingo.

Turning on her blinker, she merged into the exit lane and pulled into the rest stop parking lot. She put the car into park and glanced over at Krista. Seeing that she was still sleeping, she was hesitant to wake her up.

Krista had been a basket case most of the afternoon. She couldn't really blame her; she was just as scared, but she handled it differently. Mikayla was always very quiet when she was nervous or upset; Krista on the other hand talked -- constantly.

Trying to be patient, Mikayla had let her talk, but finally the chatter got the best of her, and she suggested Krista try to get some sleep so she could take over the driving in a few hours.

While still sitting in the car, she took a minute to look around. The place looked deserted, so maybe it would be okay for her to step outside for a minute and stretch her legs. Quietly, she opened the car door, so as not to wake up Krista, and began to make her way toward the restroom.

* * * * *

Mikayla stood at the bathroom sink and splashed cold water on her face. She was exhausted, and they still had several hours left to go. Maybe a Coke would help to wake me up, she thought, as she dug through the pocket of her jeans for some change.

She stepped through the door to the bathroom and almost ran smack into two men. She opened her mouth to say she was sorry but closed it again when she got a good look at them.

They didn
'
t look any different from any other men in looks, until she saw their eyes. Yellow-green, with long black slits down the center, like a lizard's. Her heart raced faster as she realized these were aliens.

Her eyes raked over the uniforms they wore. She had never seen anything like them. They were all black, long-sleeved, buttoned up tight to their throats, with gold epaulets across their shoulders with unusual markings that she assumed told their rank.

The pants, which were also black, looked like some kind of spandex material that clung tightly to their legs and were tucked into boots that came up to their knees. Both men were holding guns that looked very similar to rifles, only they were silver instead of black. The looks they had on their faces concerned her the most. They were smiling at her as if they had just struck gold.

Her hands fisted at her sides. She had no weapon, no mace. Nothing. She wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't go back into the bathroom; there wasn't another way out.

She decided to take a chance. With a deep breath for courage, she ran straight into them.

Catching the pair off guard, she shoved them as hard as she could. She knocked one off balance, causing him to fall to the ground.

Not taking the time to look for the other one, she ran as fast as she could to the car, screaming for Krista as she went.

Someone grabbed her around the waist from behind and lifted her off her feet. She pushed at his arm but, with a groan, realized she only succeeded in having him tighten his grip around her waist.

“Let me go.” She kicked at his legs, desperate to get away.

She tried to turn in his arms, tried to scratch at his face. With a growl of aggravation, he grabbed her hand and squeezed.

A sharp pain knifed through her hand, and she sucked in a breath. “Let go of me, damn it,” she snarled through clenched teeth.

He squeezed harder, and she winced at the pain. She was sure if he applied any more pressure, he would break it.

“Are you going to behave?” he sneered in her ear.

English?

She nodded her head, and he released her hand, which she immediately used the back of to hit his nose. Pain sliced through the back of her hand, and she gasped.


Shetah
.” The alien grabbed his nose.

He looked at the blood on his hand, and another string of what sounded like curses spewed forth. Turning to face the other man, he spoke to him in a language she didn
'
t understand. His grip never loosened, and a feeling of dread came over her. She struggled harder, kicked his shins, but with the boots, her shoes had no effect. She couldn't let this happen. She had to get away.

“Damn you, let me go.”

She gasped as sharp tingles ran along her body and bright lights consumed her.

* * * * *

As soon as she heard the scream, Krista sat straight up in the seat and looked out the front window. Not thirty feet in front of her, she saw Mikayla struggling to get away from two men. Reaching in the backseat for the bat they brought along, she started to jump out of the car to help, but before she got one foot out the door, they were gone. Vanished into thin air. She watched the one man who still remained. Either unaware of her presence or uninterested, he never looked in her direction. He picked up the gun he had dropped and began to walk back toward the field behind the rest stop.

She lowered the bat and sat stunned.
What do I do now?

Mikayla had told her to go on to her mother
'
s if anything happened to her. But what in God's name was she going to tell her? She didn't even know what had happened herself. One minute she was there, and then suddenly she was gone. But what she didn't understand is what they wanted with her to begin with?

Chapter Three

Strong lights were Mikayla's first indication they were no longer at the rest stop.

The brightness was overwhelming, and she immediately squinted until she became accustomed to it. Slowly, she opened her eyes and glanced at her surroundings. The sudden change in location shocked her. So much so, she stopped struggling.

“Where are we?” she asked.
And how the hell did we get here?

“Your new home.”

Her captor loosened his hold around her waist and dropped her on the floor. She winced as her butt hit with a loud thump. His laughter boomed through the room, and she glared back up at him. Other than his heavy Romanian-sounding accent, he spoke English well. How was that possible? But then she remembered the speech given by that man on television. He had also spoken English.

As she scrambled back to her feet, she studied the room. Brushed steel walls, with gray carpeting, and those damn bright lights -- but absolutely no windows. It was fairly good size, only completely empty.

Was it possible she
'
d been drugged and just now woke up? She didn't think so, for she didn't feel like she had been asleep, but how did they get here so fast? And how was she going to get back to her car? Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, and she struggled to stay calm. She had to think and find a way out of this.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“This is what we call an arrival room. They didn't want us just popping up wherever, so there are several of these rooms throughout the ship for people to transport into.”

Mikayla stared at him, convinced he'd lost his mind. Surely he didn't just say

BOOK: Captive
2.18Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
Yendi by Steven Brust
Kia and Gio by Daniel José Older
Last Words by Jackson Lear
From Paris With Love by Samantha Tonge
Lonely On the Mountain (1980) by L'amour, Louis - Sackett's 19
Master Me by Brynn Paulin
A Bright Particular Star by Elizabeth Hanbury