The Dawning of Fate

“What now?” The big broody alien guarding my cell grumbles. He’s tall and green. Actually green! With scales covering his body and spikes lining his spine. His tail lashes behind him agitatedly. It’s the only way I can gauge his emotions from his usual bored expression.

“I’m hungry,” I say walking close to the bars.

I don’t get too close though. I learned my lesson the first time when the stupid thing shocked me and I lay shaking on the floor. To be fair, the guard did tell me not to touch it. I’ve been in this cheap cell for 3 weeks. 3 weeks! I don’t even get out to use the bathroom. There’s this aluminum bowl-looking thing attached to the corner of my cell that I have to do everything in. It took me at least a week to convince them that I needed toilet paper or at least the alien version that feels like sandpaper that they gave me.

“I have already given you the nourishment cubes.”

I groan and glance over at the green cubes sitting on the tray in my cell. Those things taste like stale cornflakes and they are as hard as brittle.

“Look, big guy, I already told you, those things are not food.”

“They have all the nutrients that are needed for your pesky species to survive. Now stop talking and eat.” He hisses and lashes his tail at the bars. I shriek and jump back.

“Fucking lizard,” I grumbled while sinking to the cold floor of my metal box of a cell.

Hours later, the spacecraft rattles before settling; we’ve landed somewhere, finally. My resident warden opens the electric cell doors.

“Get up.”

I quickly scramble to my feet. His clawed hand wraps around my arm. I instinctively try to pull away but with a rough shake and a growl from the green guy, I stop. As I’m dragged out, I let my eyes adjust to my new surroundings. The walls of the ship are pristine white and smooth as far as I can tell. I’m tugged down endless hallways with inset doors of some kind. Of course, I can’t see what’s behind them because I’m ushered along so fast I can only catch a glimpse. We enter a large expansive area full of crates, some bigger or longer than the other. My alien captor throws a cloth material at me. He hits a button on the wall causing a loud craning sound to encompass the area. I hold the material out in front of me and realize it is a cloak of sorts and don it on. The doors of the ship whoosh open to a crowd of bustling aliens.

Suddenly my wrists are seized and bound by a metal that’s coiling itself around them. I shriek and try to pull my hands out which only results in the material tightening painfully. What the-

“Fighting your bindings will be useless. The nanu will only get tighter until your little human hands pop off.” He snickers as he grabs my arm and drags me out of the ship.

“Where are we going?” I ask him.

“To your buyer so I can finally get my credits for putting up with you.”

Buyer? I’m being sold? I’m shocked by the revelation. I finally get off the wretched ship only to be sold like cattle. My eyes grow wide with surprise as I finally take notice of all the different species walking down what appears to be some sort of alien market. Merchant stands are set up everywhere. We pass by a tall lanky alien with pastel blue skin. He had four arms and two legs. I assumed it was a he, but I don’t know.

In my awestruck state, I accidentally bump into a large red creature with-one, two, three, four-four eyes, two on each side. The thing growls at me and opens his mouth flashing sharp teeth. Oh my gosh, it’s going to eat me. I haven’t even been in space a month and I’m already about to get eaten. I whimper and back up, bumping into whoever is behind me. I can’t be bothered to turn around because I’m too focused on this big hungry alien in front of me. Suddenly, I’m being yanked and I get a face full of green scales. The two alien beasts have an all-out growling match right in the middle of the marketplace. A few passersby stop to watch what they think will be a fight while others continue like this is an everyday thing.

Using the momentary distraction to my advantage, I take off running through the marketplace. I hear a loud roar behind me causing me to pick up my pace. I have no idea where I’m going. I’m in unfamiliar territory here with no plan and no way to get back home. I spot a building off in the distance and pump my legs towards it. In the haze of trying to avoid bumping into the very large, very scary-looking aliens around me, I run right into someone and fall flat on my ass. I groan and get to my feet. I have to strain my neck to see the colossal creature I ran into.

“I’m sorry?” I squeak. A smaller, fish looking man-thing steps around from behind him. He studies me before his yellow eyes light up in delight.

“You must be the human my master ordered.” He looks behind me into the crowded street with a confused expression. “I assumed the Aligolian would be escorting you.” He shrugs. “Yanek, be a dear and collect her for me. We must not keep the master waiting.”

The fish guy walks away leaving me shellshocked. Imagine my luck. What are the off chances that I run into the exact people that I ran away to escape? Yanek extends his long arms and scoops me up from where I am. I scream and try to get away which only makes him tighten his arms around me. Everyone in the market just continues to go about their shopping, not bothering to help. A sharp prick pinches my thigh and suddenly black dots start to interfere with my vision before I fully succumb to the darkness.

I’m jostled awake by a tremor that racks through the ship. Red lights are flashing and alarms are blaring. I can’t raise my hands to cover my ears because the stupid metal coils are still around my wrists. I look around and see that I’m strapped to a chair in what appears to be a cabin.

A huge blast erupts and shakes the ship uncontrollably. Someone or something is firing at us. Oh for fucks sake could this day get any worse?

Engine failure. Losing altitude.

Of course. My breathing starts to get heavier. I can feel the drop in my stomach as we begin to descend. Tears begin to fall from my eyes. I’m going to die. I’m really going to die. Right here, strapped to an uncomfortable spaceship seat with alien snake cuffs on my wrists. I start to laugh hysterically while the tears continue to soak my face. I suck in a gasp as breathing becomes harder. Another blast knocks the hinges loose from the seat jolting me forward. My forehead connects with the hard seat in front of me, effectively knocking me out.

Engine failure.

Low oxygen.

Engine failure.

Low oxygen.

I groan as I stir awake. The first thing I notice is the blaring pain that wracks my body. I bring my hands up to my forehead, feeling the wetness coated there. Everything starts to come back to me. Kidnapped, ran away, kidnapped again, blasted at. If I ever get back to Earth, I’ll have the story of the century. No one would believe me though. I’d likely end up in a nuthouse.

The chair I was strapped to is broken in half. I slide out of the loosened straps and get to my feet. Ignoring the aches in my body, I trudge towards and out of the mangled door. Electricity sparks and wires are hanging out everywhere. Not knowing where to go, I round the corner and suck in a breath when I realize half of the ship is gone. Standing on the jagged edge, I peer down at the ground. About three feet, I can do that. Reaching out I tug on the long, thick wire that’s hanging from somewhere above me.

Sturdy enough.

Taking a deep breath, I grip the cable and shimmy down as best I can. Once my feet touch the ground, a spark of electricity hits my hands from the ripped end of the wire and the metal coil falls and slithers away. I shudder. Fucking aliens. Rubbing the ache out of my wrists, I look around the unfamiliar planet. There is a dense forest across the clearing and large mountains in the distance. Besides the cackling of wires coming from the broken ship, everything is quiet. I glance at the ship then back at the forest. There’s literally no telling what kind of alien wildlife resides in there. Am I really about to wait for someone to come back and try to sell me again?

With as much fake confidence as I can muster, I make my way across the clearing and into the forest.

The sky-scraping trees have enormous trunks and wide leaves that come together to block out the majority of the sun. A few streaks peak through illuminating the ground. I wonder how long the days are on this planet. I continue my walk through the forest, trying to be as quiet as possible. The last thing I want to do is draw attention to myself. I can’t help but notice how the colors here are much more vibrant than any forest I’ve seen back on Earth and as an environmental scientist, I’ve seen plenty of forests. Oh, I wish I had time to explore all of the rich greens and deep browns. I wonder if the soil contains similar properties as Earth soil. I could spend years in this place researching and understanding how it works.

The further I move into the expanse, the less the sunlight peaks through. My eyes begin to adjust to the change in light. A tingling sensation travels up my spine, telling me that I’m being watched. I pull my cloak tighter around me and pick up my pace. Distantly, I hear the trickle of water and change direction towards it. A snap sounds behind me. I whip around but I see nothing but trees and shrubs. Turning back around, I walk briskly towards the sound of water. Next, I hear a hissing sound behind me.

Oh, shit. Don’t run. Do not run. Animals love to chase. I’m doing more of a walk-gallop right now and I probably look ridiculous. The hissing sound grows louder and it sounds like it’s getting closer. My heart is pounding so fast.

Fuck it. I take off running and instantly hear pounding on the ground behind me. I run blindly through the forest. I glance back once and see a monstrous bear barreling after me. I scream and pump my legs faster. The beastly thing has red eyes, a large snapping mouth, and its body is twice the size of a regular bear. If this forest is supporting the life of that monster, I’m not so sure I want to explore it anymore.

I spot the sun shining brightly in a clearing up ahead and run for it. My tiny two legs compared to the beast’s powerful four legs aren’t eating up the distance as fast as I want them to. I glance back once more and no longer see the animal. I don’t stop running though. Almost there.

Something darts past in my peripheral vision. Running as fast as I can, I break through the forest and into the clearing. A loud snapping sound happens near me and the end of my cloak is torn. I scream as I tumble forward. Not wasting time on the ground, I’m quickly up on my feet, running towards what looks like a fence. I come up close to it and begin to climb as best I can. I look back at the beastly thing coming up on me. I wince as I cut my fingers climbing to the top. As I am about to climb down the other side, the demon bear rams into the gate and knocks me off on the other side. Squawking and falling to the ground, I howl in pain when my arm connects to the hard surface.

The feral beast continues roaring and pawing at the fence. I slowly slide along the ground away from it. Using my good arm, I haul myself up onto my feet. Now that that thing is safely on the other side of the fence, I turn around planning to get as far away as possible only to come face to face with a broad chest.