“Okay.” She studied him.
Argernon hesitated. “I did not intend to bound with a human. When I left I didn’t make any arrangements to bring you home. I—”
A loud blasting sound pierced the room. Casey gasped, throwing her hands up over her ears, to mute some of the painfully loud noises. Argernon almost leapt from the bed, running for the door.
“Stay,” he roared at her.
He was gone that fast. The sounds blared through the room over and over again, hurting Casey’s ears even though they were muffled by her hands. Whatever that alarm was, she knew she hadn’t liked the look on Argernon’s face as he’d leapt from the bed to run from the room. He was shirtless. Her eyes went to his boots on the floor. He was barefoot too. She made a grab for a pillow, shoving her head under it to dull the loud blasts.
The sound suddenly went silent. Casey pushed the pillow off her head and sat up on the bed, biting her lip, wondering what in the hell was going on. Obviously it had to be something bad and urgent for Argernon to take off like that. He’d told her to stay, like she had the choice of leaving his room. She sat in the middle of the bed hugging the pillow to her chest, the not knowing and wondering was bad. She hated being left clueless.
Terror hit Casey as she heard a noise like a muffled explosion as the entire room shook like an earthquake hit. She sat there for seconds in shock before climbing off the bed to the floor under her that vibrated strongly. It hadn’t done that before. She walked for the door to stand there staring at it. What in the hell was going on? All she could do was gasp as she felt her feet leave the floor. The loud alarm screamed out rapid blares again. Her fingers clawed at the wall but she couldn’t find any purchase on the smooth texture. Her body felt weird as she frantically tried to find something to grab on to she realized things were floating in the room, including her.
Horror hit her as she realized what was going on. The gravity on the ship was gone. Her hands clawed at the wall again but she couldn’t find anything to grasp. She was disconcerted by the sensation. She pushed at the wall, but then screamed as she started to spin in the air as she moved away from it. She went upside down and the world went crazy as she flipped all the way over in the air. She groaned as she started to turn over again, rolling, grabbing for sheet, realizing she was over the bed. Her hand fisted in material so it slowed her momentum. The sheet started to move, pulling from the mattress slowly.
She grabbed another fistful to yank frantically. It made her drift slowly forward to the bed. She was almost sobbing now. Where was the damn gravity? Had that sound really been an explosion? Had the ship crashed? Had the engine blown up? They were in space. All those thoughts flew through her head in rapid succession.
She grabbed for the headboard when she almost flew slowly into the wall. As her fingers gripped it she sighed in relief. The bed had to be somehow bolted down because it was still attached firmly to the floor. The mattresses stayed put so they had to be anchored as well. She gripped the headboard with both hands and managed to angle her body so she had her ass on the mattress with her body curled against the headboard.
The alarm went silent. She didn’t dare release her hold on the headboard to wipe at the tears that had filled her eyes. The weird part was she saw a few of her tears in front of her. They hadn’t slipped down her cheeks. They’d floated away from her.
“Oh God,” she muttered, wondering if she was cursing what was happening or starting a prayer. All she knew was she was scared and Argernon was out there. Was he alive? Had that explosion sound been near him? She didn’t know. “Shit!”
Her next thoughts were horrible ones. What if she was the only survivor locked in Argernon’s room? Would the oxygen run out? Would she starve to death? Would she die drifting in space on a damaged ship? She just wanted Argernon to come for her to tell her what was going on. She wanted him to tell her that everything was all right. She wanted him to be all right. She gripped the headboard, clinging to it as time passed. It seemed like hours went by.
The lights flickered and she moaned. “Not a good sign.”
They flicked on and off, finally they went out and stayed out, leaving her in terrifying utter darkness. She clung to the bed, listening to the silence. Something bumped her that made her scream. She frantically touched what had brushed her back. A hysterical laugh escaped when she realized it was just one of Argernon’s boots. She pushed it away from her thinking about all the floating things in the room. More stuff would probably touch her and she tried to prepare for that so she didn’t scream again.
The ship felt dead now that the vibrations were gone and there was no sound whatsoever. She jerked awake when she started to float away from the headboard, the slight tug on her hand waking her, so she gripped it tighter, trying to stay alert. Taking deep breaths, she realized the air seemed fine to breathe, which was a good sign. She hoped anyway. Her thoughts centered on Argernon, wondering if he was alive still, because if so he still hadn’t come for her. The thought of something happening to him had grief slamming into her chest.
A slight noise finally drew her attention. She listened, heard it again, and strained to hear the faint thunk and then another. She realized the noise was getting closer. She swore it was outside the door. Her eyes went in that direction, feeling terror, unable to see anything in the darkness. A loud sound made her jump. It was metal hitting metal. She heard a pop similar to a water balloon bursting. Light blinded her for a second. It was a bright, long, thin crack of it. The door opened wider so more brightness spilled in.
“Thank God,” she almost moaned as she saw someone pushing the door open. It wasn’t Argernon but a stranger carrying a light with him.
The male had long red hair and he was shirtless, with blood smeared on his stomach. Fear inched inside her. His eyes were so dark they looked black but it could have been because she couldn’t see his face that well, giving him that scary appearance. He growled at her as he moved into the room.
Thunk.Thunk. Thunk.
Her eyes flew to his feet. He wore metal looking boots that made that loud sound as he walked across the floor. They were some kind of gravity boots. He reached the side of the bed and held out his hand. She saw blood on his hand but she reached for it anyway. Up close she could see some cuts on his stomach. His hands were also scraped like he’d hit something. His large hand wrapped around hers as he pulled her away from the bed. She let go of the headboard.
“What happened? Where is Argernon?” She tried to ignore the sick feeling of being weightless and floating. The only thing holding her was his hand as he maneuvered her on his back.
He growled. The power was out so the translator didn’t work. Frustration hit Casey. It was like being back in the cave with Argernon when they couldn’t communicate. The large man wrapped her hand under his arm while he curled it up toward his shoulder. He jerked his head to his other arm. She understood, so she wrapped her hand around his shoulders. He turned with Casey floated behind him, gripping him hard, as he started the jerky walk out of the room into the corridor.
“Where are you taking me?” Her voice shook. “Is Argernon all right?”
The man didn’t pause. He ignored her as he slowly walked down the corridor. She clung to him. It was obvious he struggled with the uncomfortable and loud boots he wore. He made it to a ladder that led up to a hatch. He looked up. Casey followed his eyes, seeing light coming from above. Another male peered down at them from the open hatch that was about four feet wide in a circular shape with a metal ladder leading up.
The redhead turned to stare at Casey, softly growling at her while pointing. His hand gripped hers on one of his shoulders to gently pry her hand loose. She understood, letting him go. He gave her a push toward the hatch a good ten feet above their heads.
A squeal escaped her as she flew in the air without anything anchoring her. Kicking her arms and legs didn’t do a damn thing. She was slowly heading to the hatch. Below her she swore she heard the redhead laugh. It was almost comforting
that he found it amusing that she was freaking out. If they were dying he wouldn’t be laughing at her, right? She could only hope.
The man above her leaned down to grab her hands as soon as she was within reach. Her body kept going though the hatch until she banged lightly into the ladder with her left side. She stared up into the face of a black-haired male with glowing green eyes who wasn’t Argernon either. He was another stranger. A horrible thought hit her. Were they with Argernon or had the ship been boarded by other Zorn? Maybe they were a rescue team.
She met the stranger’s eyes as he pulled her through the hatch opening, gripping her by one arm. He had her clothing fisted at her waist when she was clear. He wore boots like the redhead below. She met his eyes.
“Argernon? Is he all right?”
The man blinked in confusion, clearly showing that he didn’t understand her. She looked down, gripped her shirt, and loudly sniffed it, as she stared at the man.
“Argernon?”
She knew the material smelled like Argernon since it was his discarded one from the day before and she knew they had a good sense of smell. The man seemed to understand. She saw something in his eyes that made tears well in hers when he tensed up. Pity.
“Oh God. He’s dead, isn’t he?” She grabbed the man by the front of his shirt. “Is he dead?” Her voice rose, knowing she was about to start sobbing.
The man suddenly cupped her face, leaning in and looked like he was going to kiss her. In alarm Casey jerked her head back. He looked amused as he chuckled, walking again, keeping his hands on her as they went down a corridor. She turned her head to look at the hatch but the redhead hadn’t followed them up. As a matter of fact, she didn’t even see light from the lower floor anymore through the open hatch.
The man paused at a door to force it open by cranking a handle. She gripped his shoulder to not impede him by being in his way. She stared in shock at the large room he walked into, which looked like a cargo area. She saw the lights through high windows of a small ship but couldn’t see anything inside moving.
He walked for the ship, lurching up a wide ramp in his awkward boots. Once they were inside she saw it was a well-lit, small room with another door. The man grabbed her, pulling her tightly against his body, while reaching over to push a large button. The ramp started to lift up to loudly shut. He gripped her with both hands, met her eyes, and then she heard a beeping sound.
If the man hadn’t been gripping her in his arms she would have slammed hard into the floor as gravity returned fast. The body against hers tensed hard, taking her weight, and then eased her onto her feet. She stumbled away from him when he released her.
Her body felt heavy after being weightless for so long. She felt dizzy watching the man bend over to do something to the boots before stepping out of them. Barefooted he straightened up to his full height of about six foot three. He pointed to the door behind her. She turned around as he walked close, hitting another button, as those doors slid open.
The interior of the ship wasn’t that large. She was stunned to see they weren’t alone. A thin brunette human woman was sitting on a bench seat looking scared. Shock hit Casey as their gaze met. The woman stood up instantly.
“You’re human,” the woman gasped.
“Yes,” Casey said as she tore her attention away from the brunette. She glared up at the man who’d brought her to the shuttle. “What is going on? Where is Argernon?”
“Calm down. I’m Rachael Dean,” she spoke softly. “Don’t yell at him. They don’t understand us. I don’t think the computers in here have the program the Zorn run to talk to us and they obviously don’t have the implants in their ears.”
Casey’s gaze shot to the woman. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“No. I was locked in my room until one of them showed up.” Fear made the woman’s eyes widen. “I don’t think they are Zorn. Look at his face closely and you’ll see differences like these guys have pointed ears.”
Fear hit Casey as she studied the tall man standing close to her who had brought her to the shuttle. As she really looked at him she saw differences as well. The guy’s eyes were slanted slightly, he did have pointed ears, and she noticed he had marks like spots on the backs of his hands. Argernon didn’t have any of that. She was pretty sure that these men weren’t Zorn.
“Shit.” Casey took a step back away from the guy realizing she had nowhere to flee to except the back of the ship where two men were standing, blocking the door that she hadn’t noticed before. She stared up at the man staring down at her. “What do you want? Can you understand me?”
The tall man inched forward to invade Casey’s personal space. A growl rumbled from his throat as he gave her a cold look as she took a step back. She glared back up at him trying to not feel terror. He moved closer, almost touching Casey now, to snarl something at her. He was showing sharp teeth. His tone wasn’t friendly. Behind her Rachael softly cursed.
“Don’t look down, but that guy is turned-on big-time.”
Casey’s gaze jerked down to the front of the guy’s pants. Fear hit her hard at the sight of the guy’s obvious state of arousal. He was turned-on big-time all right. She backed up more, right into Rachael, who gently gripped her. Turning her head, Casey eyed the other two men in the shuttle, both of the large males were staring intently at Casey and Rachael.
“We are in deep shit,” Rachael whispered.
“Just stay calm.” It was good advice to give but Casey was having a hard time following it. Where was Argernon and who were these men? Had they attacked the ship? It seemed really damn likely. “I think they might be space pirates.”
“Great. Just fucking great,” Rachael almost sobbed. “First I got drunk in a bar, ended up in bed with this big son of a bitch who could fuck like a machine, and then I woke up on a spaceship with said machine telling me I was the equivalent of his wife. Now this shit. Do you think they are going to kill us?”
“I don’t know. I hope not.”
Rachael sniffed. “I just want to go home. The guy who grabbed me is really nice and he’s hell on wheels in bed, but I didn’t sign up for this shit. I just wanted to have a good time and he looked like a great lay when I left the bar. Were you picked up outside a bar too?”
“No.”
Casey tensed as she saw the two men in the back start to move forward. One of them reached for the front of his pants, always a bad sign, his full interest locked on Rachael.
“Listen to me, Rachael. Do you know how to fight?”
The woman gripped Casey tighter shook. “No. Why?”
Casey swallowed hard. “That one is undressing and so is his friend now. They are stripping, which is damn bad.”
Rachael’s head swung toward the back of the shuttle and she whimpered. “Oh, God. Don’t fight. Maybe they won’t hurt us too much. They always say to not fight your attackers.”
Rage hit Casey. She turned her head to glare at man who had brought her into the shuttle, dread hit her as he removed his shirt slowly, his eyes locked on her breasts. The three men were going to attack them.
“I’m not going to let this happen without a fight.”
“Are you nuts?” Rachael gasped. “They are like seven feet tall and built like linebackers. It would be like punching a brick wall if you hit one of them.”
“They aren’t seven feet tall, maybe just under six and a half feet, and they aren’t as muscular as Argernon is so maybe they aren’t as strong. I’m not going down without a fight. Are you with me?”
“You’re crazy.” Rachael released her to back away.
Casey glared at the man who’d brought her into the shuttle. He opened his pants and pointed at her. He snarled, motioning at her clothes. She knew he was demanding she take them off. She shook her head. No way was she going to strip and make things easier for him. He was going to attack her. Her mind frantically worked. Attackers never expected women on the defense.
The other two men lunged forward, both of them grabbing Rachael b
y her arms, lifting her. Casey was stunned for seconds as she jerked her head around to see the two large men carrying a kicking and screaming Rachael toward the back of the shuttle by her arms. Both large males were totally naked. Casey instantly moved to go to Rachael’s defense. She even took a step before a large hand gripped her arm, spinning her around violently. She yanked out of his hold, stumbling back, glaring at him.
The man growled at Casey, showing sharp yellow teeth. His eyes narrowed as his nose flared. Casey lunged at him, turning as she hit his body, making him stumble as her shoulder hit his ribs hard. He hadn’t expected her to do that so she caught him off guard. They both went crashing down to the shuttle floor.
Casey landed on top of the man. He gasped out as she slammed her knee into his groin as hard as she could. She knew he had nuts. Argernon had them and this guy was humanoid too. He hissed in pain a second after her knee slammed into the vee of his thighs, proving that he definitely had something there to hit. The alien threw her off him to curl into a protective ball, groaning as he cupped the front of his pants.
She rolled on the floor, slamming into benches, knowing that was going to leave some bruises on her body as she forced herself to stand up. Rachael’s scream rang through the shuttle. Casey saw the other two men pinning the woman to the floor with one hand each at the back of the shuttle. With their free hands they were tearing at Rachael’s shirt. Both men had their attention fixed on Rachael as they stripped the struggling woman. She was screaming and trying to fight them off but her blows didn’t deter them. With their backs to Casey they hadn’t seen what she’d done to her attacker and were unaware that she was behind them.
Casey didn’t think. She screamed as she reacted, running at the two men to try to stop them from raping Rachael. She saw one of them turn right as she launched her body at him. She hit the man’s back, her fingers clawing at him. He tensed, managing not to fall over as Casey’s body hit his. She grunted as she flattened against him. Her fingernails found flesh, clawing frantically as her nails dug into his skin, making him roar out in pain. He twisted hard, flinging Casey away when she was unable to hold on.