Alien Salvation (17 page)

Chapter Ten

Searing pain. All over.

Lindsey had never known she could hurt
so much. Every muscle in her body clamored in anguish. It was as if
she’d been stretched until ligaments and tendons had
torn.

Lying still was torment, and she tried
to move. Big mistake. White-hot agony engulfed her entire body,
stealing her very breath. She tried to scream but couldn’t find the
air to do so.

Her eyes popped open to find the
Kalquorians bent over her, watching her. She was in the shuttle,
lying naked on the bed. Lindsey writhed, but that only hurt more.
Her body was a torture chamber, and she couldn’t escape. She made
herself lie still.

“It hurts,” she whispered to the
men.

Bacoj nodded, his expression soft and
sympathetic. “We know. Much pain.”

“What happened?” She couldn’t remember,
not with every part throbbing. Tears crept from her eyes. Where was
Mom?

Japohn scowled at her. He looked more
savage than ever, and she cringed instinctively from the anger in
his expression. Fresh pain ripped through her at the slight
movement, and she couldn’t fight off a sob.

Some of the Nobek’s fury ebbed at the
sound. He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I say run, you
stay. Bacoj stun to save from Tragooms.”

“Stun aftereffects painful,” Bacoj
added. “But no life threat.”

The rescue mission. It came back to her
in a rush, and Lindsey understood Japohn’s anger. Worse, she
remembered his promise to punish her for disobedience. If he
decided to discipline her now with all the pain she was in, it
would kill her. She hoped. She didn’t want to live with such
agony.

“It didn’t harm you.” Was the brief
moment of hating him for not suffering like she did wrong?
Probably.

“I hurt.”

Lindsey studied him. The skin around
Japohn’s eyes was tight. His mouth compressed in a thin line. There
was the slightest tremor running the length of his body. “I guess
you do,” she said, regretting her momentary loathing.

But damn, she was in misery.

Vax held a hand out to her. His face
looked as gentle as ever, but there was firmness in his eyes.
“Stand, Lindsey.”

Was he nuts? She could hardly bear to
breathe, let alone get on her feet. “It hurts too much.”

His hand remained before her,
unwavering. “You sleep for worst pain. Now you stand.
Walk.”

When Lindsey didn’t move, Bacoj grabbed
her by the shoulders and pulled her to a sitting position. Lindsey
shrieked as agony barreled through her body. Nausea roiled through
her in reaction. “Stop. Bacoj, don’t!”

His expression was kind, but he ignored
her pleas. He pulled her to her feet. “Stand.” The order was
implacable.

“It hurts. It hurts,” she sobbed,
shuddering all over. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“You might,” Vax agreed. “Walk
now.”

“I can’t. Please—”

Her words were cut off as Vax and Bacoj
each took an arm and forced her to stumble across the floor. She
screamed with the agony. It felt like jagged claws were rending the
flesh from her bones. Her knees buckled, but they kept her on her
feet, kept her walking. When they reached the far wall, they turned
her around and made her walk back. Her desperate entreaties to stop
fell on deaf ears.

Lindsey cried for her mother, but Tara
didn’t come. She vomited, her heaving stomach adding to the hellish
pain. Bacoj held her up while she was sick, and Vax kept her hair
out of the way. Afterward, Japohn cleaned the mess as the other two
forced her to walk some more.

Lindsey cursed the two aliens who
bullied her back and forth across the room with language she’d
never spoken before. They didn’t respond to the ugly words pouring
from her lips. She raged and wailed, begged and swore. And hurt.
Oh, how she hurt.

How long this went on, she couldn’t
guess. But after awhile, her screams gave way to agonized weeping.
She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, making
Vax and Bacoj support her less and less.

Either the pain is getting better or
I’m getting used to it. But do people get used to such terrible
pain?

Her thoughts were tattered with
weariness, but they came with more clarity. She noticed Japohn also
walked back and forth on the other side of the room. His head hung
down, his shoulders slouched, and he occasionally staggered a
little bit. Again she felt a wave of guilt for her earlier anger he
didn’t suffer like her.

I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.
No wonder he wanted me out of range of the stun so
badly.

“Are you okay, Japohn?” she
asked.

His head came up and he smiled wearily
at her. Her heart warmed to see the kind expression replace his
earlier anger. “I be well. You better, Lindsey?”

“I’ll survive, I think. I might even
want to live again in a day or two.”

“Today, you feel better. Pain leave
soon.”

“Faster, Lindsey,” Bacoj prodded. His
grip tightened on her arm.

She groaned. “I’m starting to think the
translation for Dramok is bully.”

He snickered. “Better bully instead
other names you say.”

Lindsey flushed. “I’m sorry I was so
ugly. There’s no excuse for that.”

“You hurt. Stun effects bad. No insult
felt for what say in pain.”

She looked up at him. “I still owe you
all an apology, especially Japohn. For my language and for not
doing what I was supposed to during the rescue. Please forgive
me.”

Japohn sighed on his end of the room.
“I forgive. For apology, no punish. Stun effects punish my Matara
enough.” He raised an eyebrow at Bacoj.

The Dramok nodded, his smile growing.
“Agree. Our Lindsey learn lesson.”

Lindsey couldn’t figure out why Bacoj
suddenly looked as pleased as a cat that’d caught a bird. Vax was
grinning too. Something had just passed between the three men, and
she had no idea what it was.

Who cares? The pain is getting better,
and that’s all that matters right now. Well, maybe one other thing.
Surely the others heard me screaming and carrying on. Why aren’t my
parents beating down the door?

“Where’s my mother?” Lindsey
asked.

Bacoj answered. “She sleep no long
time. Stay awake, help others. She sleep now.”

Vax added, “No wake Matara Tara. She
tired. We care for you. Walk Lindsey. Pain leave more fast when
move.”

Lindsey was able to move better, but
she was so tired now that she kept slowing. “Even my skin
hurts.”

Bacoj nodded. “Why we take clothes.
Walk.”

Lindsey concentrated on walking for a
little while. After a few minutes she asked, “Did everyone get
away?”

“All safe. Tragooms dead.”

Exhaustion was making her feel a little
mean again. She wished she could stop and sleep for a little while.
“What about the two men you stunned with me and Japohn? Why aren’t
you making them walk?”

Vax answered, pulling her along. “They
walk before. No sleep for worst pain. Scream louder than
Lindsey.”

Lindsey looked at him in horror.
“You’re telling me there’s worse pain than what I woke up
to?”

Vax nodded and Bacoj said, “We bite you
long. You sleep through most bad pain.”

Lindsey thought back to when she’d been
a young girl. She and her sister had barely survived when a tornado
had touched down, tearing their home to pieces around them. Their
babysitter had been killed, and both girls badly injured. Weeks of
painful recovery had followed, and she’d thought she knew a thing
or two about suffering.

“Even the tornado wasn’t this bad,” she
whispered. When Bacoj opened his mouth, she grumbled, “I know, I
know, walk Lindsey.”

One step after another, on and on she
walked. At some point she realized Bacoj and Vax had released her
arms, and she was completely under her own power. They stayed next
to her, catching hold for brief instances when she
stumbled.

The pain grew more distant. The soft
brown floor passed beneath her bare feet. She looked at the two
pairs of heavy boots on either side keeping pace with her. Taking
the Earther for a walk. Walk, Lindsey, walk. She drifted, the floor
blurring.

“She walk asleep.” Bacoj’s amused voice
roused her.

Vax stooped, his hand closing over her
thigh, then her calf as she continued to step, her legs on
automatic pilot now. “Muscle good response. Stop Lindsey. You sleep
now.”

Bacoj lifted her in his arms and
carried her to the bed. “Japohn sleep now too.”

He laid her down, and Japohn crawled up
beside her. The Nobek pulled Lindsey close to him, spooning against
her back. He was warm and solid. Lindsey snuggled against him,
enjoying how his bulk made her feel small and safe.

Already on the brink of going under,
she mumbled, “Sorry again for all the whining.”

Japohn’s deep rumble soothed her. “You
do well. You strong like Nobek.”

Lindsey let slumber drift over her,
pleasantly aware that Japohn’s leg slung over hers and the arm
clutching her close didn’t hurt.

* * * *

“Wake, Lindsey. Eat.”

Lindsey opened her eyes in response to
Vax’s gentle voice. He and the other two men sat on the bed next to
her. Japohn was wolfing down a large chunk of meat as if he hadn’t
eaten in weeks. Vax held a tray on his lap, more steaming chunks of
meat and a pile of leafy greens topping its surface.

Her stomach growled. “That smells
wonderful. I’m starved.” Lindsey sat up and realized she was still
naked. Now that pain and exhaustion had abandoned her, modesty
returned, especially since her three companions were clothed in
their formsuits. She curled in a ball, her arms clutching around
her knees as she looked around for her clothes.

Vax plucked a small chunk of meat from
the tray and waved it in front of her face. Lindsey tried to take
it from him. “I can feed myself. I am a grown woman.”

Bacoj grabbed her hand and forced it
down. He kept her thin wrist in his grip. She stared at him in
surprise.

“Kalquorian tradition. Clan feed
Matara,” he said.

“Well, it’s weird for an Earther.” She
tried to pull free, but his hand was like a vise on her arm. He
held it easily, not straining against her struggle at all. The show
of strength made her insides go wobbly, and she had to fight for a
firm voice. “Bacoj, let go.”

He didn’t and Vax pressed the meat to
her lips. “Eat,” the Imdiko insisted.

Lindsey pulled her head back. Suddenly
a pair of very large, brown hands shoved between her thighs and
chest to grab her breasts.

Lindsey squeaked in surprise at
Japohn’s unexpected touch. “Hey!”

As soon as her mouth opened, Vax
dropped the chunk of meat in. As she squirmed, Bacoj grabbed her
other hand, holding both prisoner. Japohn pressed up against her
back, his hands still manhandling her breasts. Lindsey chewed and
swallowed quickly so she could speak. “Would you three
stop?”

Japohn kissed the top of her head,
laughter rumbling his chest. “You learn for accept care. We know
you strong. You prove that. Now you let us serve.”

Vax had another morsel ready to feed
her. There was no compromise in his expression, none in Bacoj’s
either. Lindsey gave in with little grace, huffing and pouting.
“Are all Kalquorian men like this?”

Bacoj grinned. “We serve Matara. We
serve all needs.” He shifted position so that he kneeled in front
of her, letting go of her wrists to grasp her knees. Lindsey gasped
as he forced her legs apart, lying down on his stomach to kiss her
mound. She was instantly wet.

He traced her slit with one finger as
Vax fed her a leafy green. Japohn rolled the points of her nipples
between his fingers and thumbs, sending sharp spikes of need
flashing through her body.

“Well, maybe this once,” she sighed
after she swallowed the mouthful of food.

Japohn cradled her in his arms, his
hand on her chin tilting her head back for his kiss. His mouth
moved slowly, gently over hers, a delicate touch for such a strong
man. Lindsey parted her lips, slipping the tip of her tongue out to
taste him. Salty, with the tang of the meat he’d devoured, the same
meat Vax fed her.

As if he heard her thought, Vax
interrupted the kiss with a reminder, “Lindsey eat now,
Japohn.”

“Yes, Imdiko.” Japohn released her
chin, allowing Lindsey to accept another bite. Meanwhile Bacoj
continued to gently run his finger over her soft folds, spreading
her wetness over the nether lips. Lindsey shuddered in reaction,
and he smiled up at her. His stare was intense, and she had to look
away. It was as if in that instant he’d looked into her very soul,
and she felt too exposed to hold his gaze.

To cover the sudden stab of
vulnerability, she asked Vax, “What am I eating?”