Caged With The Alien Warrior

12.

Ronan

Just as I knocked out the third Szenist, more came running down the corridor. More than I knew that I could fight. I dropped my shock stick, surrendering.

I gave Aanya a rueful glance, her eyes sorrowful. Anguish curled in my chest. We couldn't escape now, and it was foolish of me to antagonize the Szenist, but I couldn't sit there and let them torture Aanya. Some primal part of me rose up and let me tear out of those restraints to try and protect her.

I still couldn't believe she jumped in front of the shock stick for me. How could she do that? Something so selfless, so reckless... so brave?

Despite my surrender, when the first four Szenists reached me, they all shocked me. Four shock sticks hit me– two on my chest and two on my back. I fell to my knees and let out a groan.

The pain intensified as they ratcheted up the power. I cried out from behind gritted teeth.

"I'll do it!" Aanya cried out. I already said that I would, so they just needed her to agree. And it wasn't herself being tortured that got her to agree– it was seeing me in pain.

The Szenists stopped, but I fell to the ground, convulsing from the aftershocks. I'd never faced so many shock sticks at once.

"I'm sorry– I'm so sorry–" she said, but she wasn't making coherent sense. She dropped to her knees next to me. Liquid dripped from her eyes and dampened her face. Tiny transparent drops of fluid trailed down her splotchy cheeks.

My heartbeat raced, and it wasn't from the shock sticks. What was this fluid? Was this some early indication of sickness? Before Rhodinian females had passed from the sickness, they developed boils. Had Aanya been infected by something?

I reached out to her cheek, my calloused hand on her soft skin.

"Are you alright? What do you need? What is this?" I pulled my hand away and rubbed the liquid between my fingertips. My voice deepened. "Are you dying?"

Aanya froze. "Dying?" she choked out, eyes wide. "No– no, I'm not dying." Aanya shook her head.

My brow furrowed.

"I was crying," she explained as she wiped away the liquid with the back of her hand. Her lips quirked up at the edges as she found amusement in my confusion. "Humans, we cry. Tears come from our eyes. It's an emotional response. Really, we cry when we're sad, angry– even happy tears sometimes."

"So you're alright?" The tension seeped from my shoulders. This crying– losing all this liquid– was normal somehow? It seemed like a waste to me, but I was relieved she wasn't on the brink of death.

"As alright as I can be after being electrocuted. I was just overwhelmed." She bit down on her lip, white teeth stark against the dark pink. "Sorry that I gave into them– I couldn't bear to see you get shocked by them."

"It's alright. It'll be alright." I don't know if I was telling her or convincing myself. "My team will be here soon, and we'll leave here."

"And until then, we're gonna havta have sex." She said matter-of-factly.

I nodded.

Aanya avoided my gaze. "We're so different. Would we even be... compatible?"

"You're not so unlike a Rhodinian female." I tilted my head to the side, considering her words. "The only major difference would be the wings." She didn't have fangs either, but I didn't bring those up. For such a defenceless species, she might find them off-putting, and they only descended in battle.

Aanya shrugged. "I guess you're like a human guy, for the most part. Take away the wings and the purple-ish skin, and you'd be pretty similar."

Yes, her skin did have a red undertone compared to my purple.

She waved a hand. "And then there's Lani, so she proves we're compatible in the reproductive sense."

Her gaze flitted down, then back up to my face. I didn't have to guess what she was looking at. We did have a significant difference in size, but I wasn't overly concerned. Aanya gulped but shook her head and continued on.

"At least we don't have to worry about me getting pregnant. I have an implant that should stop that. I've been here for a year, and I got it two years ago, so it should still work for seven more years."

I raised my brows. "You have an implant that stops pregnancy?"

"Yeah, overpopulation is a huge issue for Earth." Aanya pursed her lips. "I guess the opposite of the problem you guys are having, right?"

"Yes. Each birth is a blessing on Rhodin. But ever since the sickness, our women have died, and so few have been born."

Aanya nodded and winced at the movement, reminding me we'd both been hurt and needed rest.

"They can't expect anything of us now, not after their shock sticks. Rest, and we'll do as they ask tomorrow," I said as I helped Aanya to her feet. It was more like we helped each other, to be honest. We both went to our respective cots.

My mind mulled over what I'd learned. If Lani was half-Rhodinian and half-human, perhaps humans could solve our population issues. But why would the Szenists be doing these experiments? If they knew humans could save the Rhodinian race, why wouldn't they tell us? Why did they abduct humans against their will?

With all these questions swirling around my skull, I dropped into a fitful sleep.

Hours later, a cry awoke me.

Immediately alert, I looked to Aanya.

She thrashed in her sleep, mumbling to herself. A whimper escaped her lips. "Please, I just want to go home."

My heart ached. She must've been lost in a nightmare. After particularly awful missions, other fellow warriors in my unit had nightmares as well. I'd had nightmares for years in my childhood after my parents' passing.

Quickly, I went to her cot and knelt at her side. I gently reached out to her with a soft touch and soothing words. Aanya's eyes opened, clear and nightmare free.

"Thank you for waking me." Aanya breathed out. "Sorry if I disturbed you."

"No, it wasn't a disturbance at all. I'm sorry that you have these nightmares plaguing you."

"I haven't had one in so long– I used to get them whenever they cut me open and–"

"They cut you open?" I interrupted, incensed. How could they do that to another being?

"Yeah. Before Lani, that's all they used to do. They used lasers to cut me open and... explore. Then they'd fuse the skin back together."

"That's barbaric." We had such advanced technology– why couldn't they just use a scanner?

"You're telling me. I think their cattle prod sticks aggravated some of my old wounds. But I'm rambling." She took a deep breath. "We should, well, we should now, shouldn't we?"

That was a lot of shoulds.

Aanya licked her lips and looked at me expectantly, gaze flicking to my lips. 

✶ ☾ ✶

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Mini little cliffhanger... whaddya think is coming next?👀 

I'll give you a hint– the upcoming *several* chapters are the spiciest I've ever written!

Comments and votes are much appreciated.

Virtually yours,

Ro