Alien Bride

The other aliens run toward him.

“How could she escape the isolation room? There is nowhere to go,” Lök argues.

“I checked it out. She found a way into the catwalk,” he says.

My biceps are burning. I can’t hold on for much longer.

Lök takes a moment to look around. “Here, pussy cat,” he calls out, sniffing.

I stay still as he clicks his tongue and growls, high-pitched and animalistic. Is he using sound to sense my location?

“She is close,” he says.

When his horrible noises cease, I look ahead. There’s another rung, three feet away from me. That’s not the only thing I see.

If I get to that rung, I can climb down another ladder. Near the edge of that catwalk is a small chute. I don’t know where it leads to, but it’s my only hope at escaping.

Making no noise, I swing my body. The pain in my arms is unbearable, but I’m holding on for dear life.

The motion carries me forward. I need to decide to let go, but I’m so worried I’ll fall. As I rock back, my fingers slip.

I howl with fear, giving away my location.

“There!” Vraik growls. “Stop her before she gets to the extractor.”

I buck and spring to the rung in front of me. When my hands wrap around it and actually hold me steady, I feel my heart flush with relief.

But it’s not over. I drop to the second catwalk and watch as the aliens pounce to my level, circling in front of me once again.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lök asks.

My emotions hit me hard.

I don’t know the answer. But I know that when things get hard, you just keep running.

That’s what my father always told me. Sometimes, you just have to face the wind and see where it takes you.

“Fuck you,” I growl.

Lök reaches for me, but I drop under the barrier. Arms spread wide, I fall into the darkness, a true leap of faith.

Luckily, my back hits the entrance to the chute. I slide down the curved wall. Lights flash around me. The sound of alarms rings, but there is no one else to alert.

I know too much about them now.

By the sound of that conversation, these brutes are miners, aliens that extract minerals from rogue planets. They don’t have rights. And a part of me wonders if they’re even allowed to invade a planet like Earth.

Whatever the case, Lök looked on the verge of breaking down. They are in trouble. That means, I might have a chance.

My ass hits the bottom floor. I’m inside a small room with one holographic image of a mineral or some kind of element. Alien language scrolls around it. A percentage meter rises with unknown numbers.

I am sure this is the Resnyx their emperor demanded. They have just begun the extraction.

I can hear the aliens running toward the chute. “She is in the extraction room,” Rekker shouts with unquestionable fury.

Near the exit is a red lever. I pull it, and the door shuts, locking me inside the room.

They hit the bottom, banging on the tough metal. “Open this door!” Vraik screams.