The Abduction (10 page)

If I can get him to open up, then maybe I can figure out how to get out of here.

Her ears perked when he mentioned the foreign embassies visiting at the convention center a few miles from the apartment and attempted to explain some of their ongoing policy discussions. She blocked his monologue out as her mind whirled with possibilities.

I’m pretty positive none of the ambassadors are human, but I’m sure I could find one who would
be sympathetic to my escape. At least I have to try!

“Sorry,
” Rikist’s words broke through her thoughts. “I know you wanted to see more on your first outing.”

Samantha
moved to his left side and smiled sweetly at him, gently squeezing his arm. “Thanks for letting me come. It’s been a wonderful opportunity.”

Rikist’s brow furrowed, his eyes growing wary. “Sam—”

Samantha jerked down on his arm and kicked at the crutch simultaneously as she spun on her heel and sprinted off. She heard Rikist’s startled cry as he stumbled behind her, but didn’t dare look back.

Rikist’s roar pushed her legs faster.
“Samantha!”

Samantha ran. She skidded to a stop at a crossroads, trying to remember the vague maps she’d studied on Krissik’s phone. She hesitated, and then turned left. Half a block down she came up short against a fenced off area, and had to retrace her steps to the right.
Several times she turned, trying to orient herself.

Her breathing quickly became labored
as she entered a further dilapidated street filled with rusty dumpsters full of debris and rolls of wire and metal fencing. Never one for running, her lungs ached with the unfamiliar atmosphere, and she gasped desperately for air. She hesitated at the dumpster nearest her marked with white slashes of graffiti.

I swear I’ve seen that before…

She slowed and pressed her back against the cool side of a crumbling building, and closed her eyes to catch her breath.

A rock bounced
along the ground to her right, and she gasped and turned left, only to have strong arms wrap around her and shove her against the metal wall.

Rikist’s sweating face glared down at her, and he bared his fangs and growled. His nostrils flared as he struggled to breathe evenly.

“What…” he swallowed air. “The fuck?”

Samantha closed her eyes, blinking away angry tears. “How did you—”

“You ran in circles.”

Samantha tightened her jaw, and tried to jerk free. Rikist’s hand
shot up from her arm to wrap in her hair, and he pulled her head back just far enough that he didn’t hurt her, but forced her to freeze.

He grimaced. “Don’t. I’m about three seconds away from throwing you off the nearest roof, but my brother would be devastated.
” He took a deep breath. “So you are going to behave and come home without any trouble because I’m not in a position to deal with your shit right now.”

Samantha
dropped her gaze and noticed the way he leaned heavily on his good leg. His left hand shook on the grip on the crutch; his knuckles white with strain. She frowned and glanced up at his face.

Rikist
closed his eyes and breathed hard. Two lines of sweat dripped down his temples, and a speckled ‘V’ stained the front of this shirt. He swallowed and glanced over at her, his eyes mirrors of the agony he must have been feeling.

“You’re a bitch.”

She looked away from him, her eyes burning. Yeah, she deserved that. She felt horrible for the pain she’d put him through, but hell if she wasn’t going to try escaping this nightmare. She’d been so close!

She
mentally shook her head.
Close to what, escaping? What if the embassy had just sent me back? Or… what if they
didn’t?
What sort of trouble would I be?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Rikist’s eyes wavered, and he loosened his grip on her hair and settled on trapping her upper arm in a vice grip. He limped back a step, turning her as he moved.

“Let’s go.”

He started walking them back to the apartment. Halfway down the block, his grip transformed from pulling her along, to having to use her for intermediate support between steps with the crutch.

Samantha inwardly kicked herself. Rikist’s sweaty hand on her arms shook, and his face had paled around his dry lips. She hadn’t expected him to follow her—
one that he wouldn’t want to, and two he wasn’t able. She sighed and shook her head.

Guess he proved me wrong.
He is the most stubborn ass I’ve ever met in my life.
She fought a smile.
Even excruciating pain won’t keep him from getting what he wants.

She pursed her lips. “How far did I make it?”

Rikist looked down in surprise, and then gave her a wry grin. “Two blocks.”

Her eyes widened. “I ran forever!”

“Like I said, in circles.” He motioned with his chin ahead of them. “The apartment is down this block and to our right.” He gave her an almost appraising look and opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head and looked away.

Samantha
glanced away to glimpse a figure duck behind the side of a building across the street. Fear nipped at the back of her skull, and her senses went on high alert. Goose bumps spread across her skin and she scanned their surroundings as she pulled Rikist to a stop.

“Rikist?”

An alien in black uniform—much like the ones the men had worn on the night of Samantha’s abduction—stepped out from the building in front of them, a length of steel tubing in one hand. His gold eyes flashed, and fangs bared beneath tight lips.

“
A long way from your ship,” he growled out. “Are you not,
Captain
?”

Rikist roughly
pushed Samantha behind him, and pressed her up against his back. Tension rolled off him in waves, and he shifted his weight to both legs and hefted his crutch like a club.

“Sirtis,” Rikist said, almost as a curse.

Sirtis’s eyes narrowed, and two more men joined him from the shadows of nearby buildings, the long metal pipes in their hands glinting in the red light.

“I… did not expect to see you here,” Rikist said slowly.

Sirtis bared his fangs. “You mean you never expected to see
us
alive
.” He motioned to the other two, and the three aliens spread out in a half circle as they crossed the street.

“Where are you going with this one?” the second man said, his voice deep and gravelly, as he used his pipe to point at Samantha. “Are you so arrogant you think you can just walk out of here with
a female?”

“You won’t get away with this,” Rikist hissed.

“Oh, yes we will.” Sirtis wagged his pipe in the air. “Because the police will think that the well-paid captain was mugged by a few hungry beggars. And once the truth comes out, they’ll be scouring the planet for the heroes that took you down.”

Rikist
pulled out a key card from his pocket and pressed it into Samantha’s hand. “Samantha,” he said slowly. “When I say so, run to the apartment.”

“
Why are—”

“Shut up.” H
is breathing quickened. “Do as I say, do you understand? Lock the door behind you, and call Krissik.”

“Rikist, I—”

Sirtis growled as he and the men neared. “Those were your men, you bastard!”

Rikist widened his stance,
trying to place most of the weight on his good leg. “They died honorably—”

“It is not an honor to die at the hands of a traitor!”

Rikist roared, his lips pulling back to reveal rows of sharp teeth and long fangs. The other men roared in response and charged forward. Rikist swung his crutch upward, catching the nearest man in the jaw and sending him flying back against the building with a sickening crunch. Rikist spun around, his eyes wild.

“Samantha, run!”

Her legs moved on their own accord, and Samantha found herself running toward the apartment even though she hated the idea of leaving Rikist behind. She glanced over her shoulder as she rounded the corner, long enough to see him block two swinging pipes aimed at his head, only to take a hit across his back from another. Rikist swung at the nearest man, and Sirtis kicked the brace on Rikist’s thigh.

Rikist’s wounded leg gave out, and he fell to his knees.

Samantha skidded to a halt and turned, her heart pounding. Frightened tears streaked her face as she glanced between the gate to the apartment building and the fight.

Three against one
that’s already wounded is not a fight.

It’s murder
.

She clenched her hands into fists, and looked around. Nothing she saw resembled a weapon, but there were bits of debris on the ground below a charred building across the street, and she quickly darted across the pavement and snatched up a long, bent piece of rebar and sprinted b
ack toward the men.

Rikist snarled and
lunged at the Sirtis, his claws swiping air as the man rolled to the side and kicked out, catching Rikist in the shoulder. The second man snuck behind Rikist, lifted his pipe and swung.

Even from a distance Samantha heard the pipe connect
against Rikist’s skull, and saw his body stiffen as he fell forward.

“Rikist!” she screamed.

The men looked up, surprise on their faces. Sirtis pointed one clawed finger.

“Get her.”

The third man with dark hair hung past his shoulders in thick waves stepped toward her as Rikist twisted around to look.

Samantha gasped. Rikist’s face was red; his left cheek busted open and lower lip split, and blood dripped from between his teeth.
Red filled the white of his right eye, and his right temple was caked with blood. His eyes widened as he saw her, and his lips pulled back into a snarl.

Rikist reached out as the
long-haired man stepped past, his claws digging into the man’s thigh and side. The man screamed as Rikist swiped upward, tearing open flesh and ripping a hole in his stomach large enough for intestines and other organs to slip out and splatter to the concrete. The man screamed and crumbled to the ground, hands scrambling to push his insides back where they belonged. Sirtis dove at Rikist, and they collided and rolled across the pavement, snarling and snapping their fangs.

Samantha screamed and hefted
the rebar as the second man stalked toward her. She swung when he reached for her, but he moved fast and easily ducked and caught her wrist. He growled and squeezed until she cried out and let go, and the bar clattered to the ground. His other hand came up to grab her neck, and he turned to the side to press her against the side of the building.

She fought against him, clawing at his fingers and trying to kick, but his greater arm length kept him safe from her swinging feet and he ignored her useless nails. Samantha twisted in his
grip, fighting to breathe. He fingers tightened around her neck, and his fanged sneer leaned in to her ear.

“Once he’s dead,
and we’ve had our fun, you’re going to the pits with the rest of the human bitches.”

He shifted his grip and grabbed both of
Samantha‘s wrists with one hand, holding her arms above her head. His heavy hips ground against hers own, and he began lifting her dress as he leaned forward to lick a thick, wet line across her neck.

Samantha
tried to cry out, but a clawed hand covered her mouth, muffling her screams. She squeezed her eyes shut and writhed against the strength in his grip, desperately trying to break free. A finger found its way between her lips, and she bit down with everything she had. The alien screamed and slapped her across the face. The blow rocked her head back against the wall with a sharp crack, hard enough to blur her vision and make her head spin.

Rikist and Sirtis rolled around on the ground, their claws slashing and jaws snapping just inches from their opponent’s neck. Sirtis twisted enough to reach Rikist’s leg, and dug his claws into skin. Rikist howled and loosened his grip, long enough for Sirtis to shift position and shoot his hands toward Rikist’s throat.

Samantha struggled. “R-Rik… Rikist!”

Rikist jerked back at the last moment and rolled, twisting Sirtis’ arm and flipping the man onto his stomach and pinning his arm backwards. He twisted Sirtis’ arm violently until there was a sharp crack, and then grabbed the length of dark hair in one hand and used it to slam Sirtis’ face into the pavement again and again until the alien’s face turned to pulpy meat and his movements ceased. Rikist’s amber eyes spun around, and he roared and leapt toward the man that held Samantha.

The man let go
of Samantha to bring up his pipe, but Rikist was on him before he could fully turn. Rikist’s mouth opened, his jaw spreading and extending to give him another two inches of opening, and clamped down on the man’s screaming throat. Blood squirted from between Rikist’s lips as he bit down, and the man’s scream garbled before going silent. Rikist let go and stepped back, and then grabbed the man’s hair and twisted, snapping his head around completely.