Published: 18 Apr 2019

Flashback (or Dreaming?)

I came to, lying face down against the cold floor. The drug had worn off and I could move again. When I did every inch of me was stiff and sore. I slowly raised myself and slid onto the bunk. Sitting there, I looked around my cell and started to think about my predicament. How could I have been so stupid. I had been warned that making deals with Thaybiens was risky at best and downright foolish in worst case scenarios. I thought I had covered all my bases. Apparently I was wrong. Somehow I had missed a vital piece of information.

I arrived at station 3-9-5 and found a message waiting. It said to go to a particular suite and I would be met by my contacts. After docking and doing all the proper paperwork I was cleared and released into the station. I made my way to the directory and looked up the location of the suite. It was located almost at the bottom of the station, down where the thieves, drug runners, smugglers and assorted other low lifes stayed.

I found my way there easy enough. When I rang at the door it was opened by one of the Thaybiens. He escorted me into the suite. There were at least twenty of the creepy little things seated all around the room. They were on the couches, chairs, pillows, shelves, tables and even on top of the chandelier.

Thaybiens are odd little creatures. They range between eight and twelve inches tall. They have hind legs like a raptor and arms and hands that are eerily humanoid but with only three fingers rather than four. They have bat like heads with tall pointed ears and wings that are three times as long as they are tall. The face is the worst part. It looks somewhat like an earth bulldog, all flattened as if they ran into a wall. They’re covered in a stiff, coarse hair from head to toe and go around nude. They don’t feel the need for clothes as humans do. The one positive out of this is that it’s very plain which are male and which are female.

As I sit down, I wonder again, as I often have, if these creatures could have been the basis on earth for all the myths of imps and gargoyles. If the rumors were true, Thaybiens visited earth many times in the distant past, so it would make perfect sense for the people to have seen them that way.

“Yousss issss Missstare Jared, yesss?”

“Yes. Jared McFarlane. Pilot, trader and freighter. At your disposal.”

“Gooood. We are pleasssed yousss isss achhhsssepting oursss offer.”

“Hold on there. I never said I accepted the job. I only said I would come and talk to you about it.”

“Yessss, yessss It’ssss being underssstooood. Wesss being making offer and yousss being decide if yousss wantsss it.”

“Agreed. What I want to know first is what the cargo is.”

“Itsss issss being a quantity of Crydex to go to oursss brothersss in the epsssalon sector.”

“Crydex! You’ve got to be crazy. That stuff takes so many permits I’d go broke just getting them!”

“No, no, no, no, no! No permitsss! No records! Yousss issss being told to ussss assss being quiet shipper of thingsss private. Yousss are yessss or yousss are no?”

“Ah… I see! You want this done in secret. That, my friends, will cost you a lot of credits. Are you prepared to pay?”

“Yessss, we’ssss paysss yousss ver big moneysss. Yousss being taking cargo to brothersss, no trouble with galaticsss, yessss! If yousss do sssucesssful, we’sss maysss yousss one millionsss of creditssss. Yousss achhhssseption now yessss?

“How much Crydex are you shipping and is it still separated or has it been combined already?”

“We’sss being sssending three hundredsss of cubic tonsss in cryssstal form itsss issss being.

“Holy shit! Three hundred tons of crystaline Crydex? How do you expect to get it to my ship without anyone seeing or finding out? Where in the hell did you get that much anyway?”

“Where we’sss isss being got cryssstal isss oursss busssinesss not yousss. Howsss to getsss it to yousss ssship isss yousss problem forsss to sssolve. Ssso doesss yousss achhhsssept or notsss?”

“Okay, yeah. I accept. But I want my money now before I leave.”

They agreed to that at least. I figured I could use my teleporter to bring the stuff on board. It would take longer because I would have to do it in small batches. Crydex is an explosive used mostly in the mining industry. It’s made in two liquid chemicals that, as long as they are not mixed, are totally stable and safe. Once combined, it forms into crystals about one inch in diameter. Each crystal has a yield equivalent to five hundred pounds of TNT.Three hundred cubic tons of crystalline Crydex would take out a small moon and it was rather touchy to handle. I just hoped it would be safe enough. I’d have to put an energy field around it just in case.

Everything was going fine. The Crydex was aboard, safe and sound. I put it in one of the holds with a space door, just in case I needed to get rid of it quickly. All my other supplies were aboard as well. Even the money was in my account as promised. The Thaybiens had come on board to do final inspection and give me destination and delivery instructions. I launched right on schedule and the trip went smooth. Even the delivery came through without a hitch.

The brothers I delivered the stuff to on Volitovia insisted on a celebratory drink and I had no choice but to accept. The whisky I was served was premium stuff. The only problem was they were using these tiny little cups made to suit their size. I had to down five of them just to get a normal size human drink. As I tossed back the fifth cup, I started to feel odd. I was having trouble focusing my vision and there seemed to be a funny echo to all the voices and music. I started to stand but only succeeded in launching myself face first into the floor. With an effort I turned my head and saw all the Thaybiens scurrying out the door laughing hysterically. At least it sounded that way to me. I couldn’t move at all and couldn’t think straight. Within moments, I passed out completely.

The next thing I knew I was waking up in this cell. Now here I was trying to figure out where I was, how I got here and why I’m a prisoner. Looking around the cell, I could tell this was not your usual prison. It was clean, dry and warm. Most likely just some kind of temporary holding place. I noticed a vid screen on the wall. Pushing myself to my feet, I stumbled over and activated the interface.

“Hello? Is someone there?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m here. What do you want?” Not exactly polite but not rude either. Just an efficient male voice.

“Where am I exactly and why am I here?”

“You were found face down in Duke Renbois’ bed. You were totally unresponsive and had no ident card. You are being held in the palace security section pending our investigation.”

“The Duke’s bed? How’d I get there? I don’t have a clue what’s going on! Is there someone I can see or speak with?”

“You will be seen in due time. Just sit back and we’ll get to you when we’re ready.”

And that was all. The vid screen was shut off from his end. Goddess I was in trouble now. It was almost three days later that they finally got around to seeing me. Grilling me is a better description. All I could do was tell my story and hope not to spend the rest of my life in prison, or worse. After they checked out my story, things got worse. The cargo of Crydex was gone, as were the Thaybiens. My account was empty and there was an outstanding bill for docking fees and maintenance on my ship.

No trace of the Thaybiens nor the Crydex could be found. Even the hotel where I had originally met them had no record of them ever being there. On the other hand they did find a report from the Galactic Mining Corp. of the theft of three hundred tons of liquid Crydex from their production plant.

It took over two weeks but I was finally released since they had no evidence of the Crydex on my ship, no proof the Thaybiens had ever been there, no payment in my account and the fact that I had proof of having been on the other side of the galaxy when the Crydex was stolen.

As I put myself into my hypersleep chamber I counted myself lucky to be getting out of the system with nothing more than a five year ban from Volitovan space. I went to sleep thinking about how no one ever figured out how the Thaybiens had gotten me into the Duke’s bed.

(Present Time)

I came to, lying face down against the cold floor. The drug had worn off and I could move again. When I did every inch of me was stiff and sore. I slowly raised myself and slid onto the bunk. Sitting there, I looked around at the cell I was in. It was lit only by one small light in the ceiling. The cell was cold, damp and stank like stale urine. It had old style iron bars and door at the front. The walls were carved out of natural stone. The bunk was a bare steel plank.

I was having trouble figuring out where I was or how I had gotten there. The dream I had been having of another time and place was still a bit confused with the reality I was looking at.It didn’t take long however for the fog to dissipate and memory to flood into its place. Within minutes I was bouncing on my toes and pacing the cell. I was angry, distraught and afraid, all at the same time.

“Oh goddess, what have I done to Sam?”

The next thing I thought was that I had to get out of here. I tried the door and bars and even though they were rusted, they were still solid. I tried the bunk but it was welded and then set into the stone floor with concrete and wouldn’t budge. It was no good trying to dig. The room was solid stone and probably thirty or more feet thick.

I collapsed back onto the bunk in despair. Images of what Sam could be going through right now chased each other through my brain. I felt like screaming and tears began to leak out the corners of my eyes unbidden. I have no idea how long I was there like that.

It must have been at least two or three days. I was starving by the time I heard a door clang open and light flooded into the cell block. I could see there were several other cells just like mine, arranged around a circular center room. I saw no movement in any of them.After a moment a servant boy came in with a bucket with a ladle in it. He pulled a bowl out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“Hold the bowl outside the bars.” he said.

I did so and he filled it with a gray goop that smelled a bit like oatmeal that had gone bad. I was hungry enough by now that I didn’t even care. After gagging it down I held out the bowl again.

“Can I get another please?”

“I’m only supposed to give you one.”

“Oh come on. I’ve been in here for at least two days with no food or water. Give me one more. I won’t tell anyone.”

He looked at me for a minute, then glanced at the open door. With a quick nod he filled my bowl and I gagged it down as quickly as I could, then handed him my bowl.

“Hey, you seem like a good kid. Can you tell me anything about the girl I came here with?”

“I’m not supposed to talk to the prisoners.” he whispered.

“Just tell me if she’s still alive!”

He nodded yes, then scurried out. I heard the door bang shut and the light was obliterated, leaving me with just the dim glow from the almost burnt out bulb in my cell.

I hadn’t really slept since I woke up here in this cell. However, even though I didn’t want to, I fell asleep on the bare metal bunk. The body can only be forced to go without sleep for so long before it takes over and you have no choice.

Some time later the outer door banged open and woke me. I was cold and stiff all over. There was a distinct fracas going on out in the hall where I couldn’t see. Going to my door, I watched as four human guards wrestled someone through the door and across the block. When they tried to put the person into the cell across from mine, it turned from a fracas into an all out fight.The guy was a small thing but managed to get his feet planted against the door and wall. He shoved backwards hard and did a complete flip. Two of the guards were caught off balance and toppled backwards. The guy landed smoothly on his feet behind them and used the manacles on his wrists to smash the nose of one of the other guards.

The fourth guard backhanded the guy and sent him spinning into the middle of the room. It was a big mistake as the little guy came right back to his feet, fast as lightning. He jumped and spun landing a clean roundhouse against the guard’s right temple. That guard crumpled to the ground like an empty sack and didn’t get up again.

The little guy spun for the door but never got there. There was a sudden bang and the air sizzled with electricity. The stun round caught the little guy in the back and hurled him right towards me. Once in the light from my cell, I saw something I couldn’t believe. There on the floor was Sam, twitching with the stun energy still doing it’s work to her nervous system.

The two guards who had been knocked over at the beginning of the fight came over and dragged Sam away. They tossed her into the open cell, slammed the door, picked up their still unconscious compatriot and trudged out the door. The fourth guard followed them out, still nursing his broken nose and leaving a trail of blood behind him.

As soon as they were gone and it was quiet I could hear Sam sobbing.

“Sam, Sam! Samira! Answer me!”

The sobbing stopped with a gasp. I saw her face appear at her door.

“Jared? Jared! It is you. I thought you were dead! That fucking little fairy told me it was poison he put in your drink.”

“Did he hurt you? What happened after I passed out?”

“Him! Ha! He couldn’t hurt a fly. At least not like you’re meaning. That god damn sicko hasn’t even got a prick. Didn’t you know he’s one of those guys who had his dick cut off when he was a kid? What do you call them… um…

“A eunuch? Really? I thought he was just gay.”

“Yeah, a eunuch. That’s the word. He claims he knows you but wouldn’t say how.”

“Knows me? I don’t see how. I think I’d remember if I had ever met that one before. Anyway, never mind that right now. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. At least as good as I can be.”

“Why are you here? I figured he would sell you.”

“Huh! No one wanted me. I made sure of that. You saw what I did here to the guards? Well, what do you think would happen if I did that at the auction?”

“You didn’t?”

“I sure as hell did! After I put down three guards, broke a guys arm and stuck a piece of wood in a buyer’s eye, the rest just seemed to lose interest for some odd reason.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. The image of this tiny little girl as a bad-ass warrior princess hit me as really funny. The sudden memory of the big guy at the market who had gotten the better of her sobered me though.

“Hey! I just watched you almost take out four guards all by yourself. How is it that big guy back at the market took you out on his own?”

“Well… oh, I don’t know… I had hoped you wouldn’t ever ask about that. It’s just that I was so busy trying to grab for Ryan and… well you know, that I failed to see him when he came up behind me. He must have hit me with something cause I folded like a rag doll. I’ve really felt bad about that. I should’ve been paying more attention.”

“Now stop that! You did more than anyone could ask. You didn’t even know us, yet you tried to protect them. I’m indebted to you for that.”

“You’re indebted to me? That’s a laugh. You’re the one who saved me! I’d be dead now if it weren’t for you.”

I had to chuckle. Here we were, both locked in cells and not likely to get out, ever, yet we had to do the mutual appreciation club thing. When I said this to Sam, she started to laugh as well.”So, what now?” she finally calmed down enough to ask.

“I don’t know for sure. I’ve tried everything in the cell but it’s no good. It may look old and rusted but it’s still solid. Without help, we’re done.”

“What help? No one even knows where we are!”

“I’ve been thinking about that. There’s this slave boy who brings the food, if you can call it that. He gave me more when I asked, even though he said he wasn’t supposed to. I think we may be able to use him.”

“Hold on. We’ll have to be certain he can be trusted first. Sometimes they’re told to do things like that just to make a prisoner open up to them.

“Yeah, you could be right. I hadn’t even thought of that. I must be slipping.”

We talked about it for a while and decided to do some probing and testing. Between the two of us, we felt we could get the truth out of him.

It was difficult keeping track of time in those cells without any idea if it was day or night. However, sometime later, maybe two or three hours, the main door banged open again. Two of the four human guards walked in, followed by one of the big Jorrashien guards.They walked over to Sam’s cell and the big guard opened the door.”You be much trouble little one but no more. We going to teach you to behave now.” he said in a deep heavy voice.

He seized Sam out of the back of her cell in one of his giant hands and dragged her kicking, biting and swearing out into the open center room. One of the human guards leered at me. “We’re going to have some fun with your little girl but don’t feel bad, you get to watch.” he said, laughing maliciously.

The big Jorrashien held Sam down to the floor while each of the two guards took turns raping her. It was more than I could take but even when I turned away to compose myself a bit, I could still hear her cries and the smacks of their hands when one of those bastards would start hitting her. It made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to break these bars down and rip those guys apart. I wanted to make them suffer. I wanted to hear their bones break as my fingers tightened around their necks. I wanted to cut off their pricks and shove them down their own throats.

Afterwards they tossed Sam back into her cell and left. When it was quiet I called Sam but she wouldn’t answer, or maybe couldn’t. That’s what scared me the most. The thought of her lying over there bleeding to death and nothing I could do about it.

Some time later the slave boy came in with “food”. When I handed back my bowl I held it so he had to get closer. As he did so, I grabbed him by the arm, turned him around and wrapped my arm around his throat.

“You’re going to get us out of here or I’ll break you in half! Understood?”

“I can’t!” he cried. “They don’t give me the cell codes. I’m a slave and a prisoner as much as you are.”

“Then get me a weapon!”

“What makes you think they trust me enough to even tell me where they keep them?”

“Steal one then!”

“Please let me go. I can’t help you. If I don’t come out soon the guard will come looking for me. Then I’ll be in one of these cells with you.”

“Damn you.” I said as I shoved him away. He picked up his bucket and gave Sam some food, then quickly scurried out again.

“Let me try the next time he comes in. Okay?”

“Alright. I guess threats won’t do any good though. He’s right you know. He’s just like us. Stuck here against his will. I don’t know what you have in mind but hurting him isn’t going to get us out.”

Oh, I’m not going to hurt him, don’t worry about that. Just leave it to me.”

It wasn’t ’til the next day that he returned. At least it felt like about a day, maybe a bit more. He came in and filled a bowl, then set it on the floor. He pulled out a stick and pushed the bowl until it was close enough for me to reach but he stayed back. I couldn’t blame him though after what I did the last time.

When he went to Sam’s door I watched to see what her plan was. After she ate, she handed him the bowl back. As she did she let her fingers caress his hand. Then she ran her fingers up his arm, across his shoulder, around his ear, across his lips, down his neck, chest, and stomach.

I couldn’t hear what she was saying, though I could see her mouth moving, forming words, but she was whispering. After a moment or two she lowered herself onto her knees. She reached up and untied the sack cloth pants the boy was wearing and let them slide down. I couldn’t believe that she was doing this. She drew him close to the cell door and performed oral sex on the boy. I could hear his moans and his fast breath. After she finished him he pulled up his pants and tied them, then hurried out with his bucket, not even looking my way.

“And just what do you think that will get us?” I asked, after he had gone.

“You’ll see. I think my approach is better than yours. You know the old saying, You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, don’t you?”

“Of course. But he’s out there and we’re in here. I doubt it will do us any good.”

Several hours went by and the boy did not return. I wasn’t surprised and was about to say so to Sam when suddenly the door creaked open a bit, then creaked closed again. With just the lights from our two cells it was dim enough so I couldn’t tell who had come in until he stepped out in front of Sam’s cell.

It was the boy. He went to a panel by her door and touched several buttons. Her cell door opened and she came out, closing it behind her. When they came to my cell the boy hesitated.”You ain’t going to hurt me again! If you do I’ll turn you in and say you forced me to help you. Clear?”

“You have my word. You help us escape and I’ll never say anything bad about you again.”

“Alright.” he said. Then opened my door. “Shh! Not one word! Follow me and make it quick.”

We followed the boy out of the main door and into a hallway. About twenty feet along we came to a four way junction. To our left and in front of us I could see, down another hall, another door just like the one we had just left.

“This used to be a military base until Phy-Tong-Ki bought it.” the boy whispered. “Come on. This way.”

We turned right and went down a hall for about another thirty feet. We came to a T hall with a door in the wall directly across from us. Looking left I could see a set of stairs going up. I started that way but the boy grabbed my shirt tail and pulled me the other way.

“NO! Not that way. Those come out right inside Phy-Tong-Ki’s place.” He whispered.

We went down the hall the other way, quickly passing a hall opening to our left and then another one to the right. As we came to a long left curve in the hall, we all pressed against the inside wall. The boy went first, having us wait. A few moments later he returned and led us on. We came to another hall to the left and quickly slunk past.

“Hey. If this was a military base, is there still a stocked armory down here?” I asked him, pulling him close so he could hear me.

“We ain’t got time for that! We gotta get outta here, NOW!”

“No, wait. If I can get ahold of a weapon or two, we may need them and be glad we have them. Is there anything here?”

“There are a few things but not like the military would-a had. They didn’t leave any of that shit behind.”

“Show me what there is.”

With a sigh and shake of his head, he did as I asked. I could tell he wasn’t happy about it though. We backed up and took the last hall. About fifty feet down this hall we came to a door on the right. He pressed his ear to the door and listened a moment, then carefully opened the door a bit and peeked in. Immediately, he quietly pulled the door closed again.

“There’s a guard in there.” he whispered.

“Just one?”

“Yeah but I think he’s asleep.”

“Let me look.”

I moved to the door and quietly turned the handle. When I peeked in I could see the guard sitting behind a desk. He was leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, mouth open and snoring.I motioned for Sam and the boy to be quiet, then slipped inside. Creeping past several cabinets I worked my way over behind the guy. As I passed one cabinet I saw a rifle belt hanging from a hook. I reached up and lifted it down. Wrapping each end tightly around one of my hands I slipped up behind him. It was then that I saw it was one of the guards who had raped Sam. My vision closed in on him and I felt blood rushing to my face. My heart was beating wildly.I brought the belt down over his head and with a quick jerk, tightened it around his throat. The guy awoke and started to fight back. Sam must have been watching from the door because she appeared at the guard’s feet like a ghost. She sat on his feet and reached up to his pants.I couldn’t believe it but she opened his trousers and got both hands around his balls. Then she started to squeeze. The guy tried to scream but no sound came out because of the belt around his throat. Sam continued to squeeze until I saw blood squirt from the end of the guys prick. I held the belt tight until he stopped twitching, then let him slump into his chair.

“Oh great! Just great!” the boy said, as he closed the door behind him. “When this guy doesn’t report in they’ll come looking for him. We’ve got to go, now! We had better be long gone when they find him”

“I’m not leaving without a weapon or two. Just check those cabinets and see what you can find.”

“Are you just stupid or what? The weapons will be in those cages in the back. You know, the LOCKED ones!” he said, pointing.

Without a word, Sam pressed a set of keys into my hand. She must have gotten them off the dead guy. It took a couple of tries to find the right one but I finally got the cage open.Inside were several rifles, a few handguns, some sonics and two rifles I had not seen since I was a young man. There on hooks were two Tergians of the same type I had carried when I was with the Alabaster over a hundred and twenty years ago.

I took one down and quickly checked it over. It was in good condition and fully charged. Slinging it over my shoulder, I yanked out the power unit on the other Tergian and saw it too was fully charged. I stuffed the power unit into its holder on the rifle’s strap and grabbed up as many sonic grenades as I could carry.

Sam selected two hand blasters and a belt with holsters. She too filled the belt with sonic grenades, as well as a couple of wicked looking knives. I tried to offer a small pistol to the boy but he was too afraid to even touch it.

Sam and I dragged the dead guard into the cage and stuffed him under a counter. With luck, that would buy us a few extra minutes while they searched for him.

The boy took us out another door at the back of the room. Turning left we made our way past the hall on the left and three doors on the right. Twenty or thirty feet later we turned right at another T junction and hurried down a hall for about eighty or ninety feet. At the end we turned left and found a stairwell going down. It was poorly lit so we kept a hand on the wall as we descended.

We went down far enough for us to feel the cold seeping through the stone walls. The boy lead us to a heavy, vault like door with a big wheel handle in the middle. Once open, we found ourselves in a maze of tunnels and sewers.

I was glad we had the boy leading us. He seemed to know where he was going. It had only taken ten minutes in the dark down here for me to become totally lost. There were so many twists, turns, shafts, ladders, doors and stairs that I lost count.

When the boy finally brought us out into the city, I was starved for fresh air and light. I gulped down lungs full of air like it was the best thing I had ever tasted. The other thing we found, once out, was that the city was buzzing with frantic activity. We could hear sirens blaring in the distance.

“They know you’re gone. They’ll have every hunter in the city looking for you.”

“Let’s get to my ship as fast as we can.”

“NO!” he cried. “You really are stupid aren’t you? That’s the first place they’ll look. The spaceport will be locked down tight.”

“Then I need a transmitter. I have to contact my main ship.”

“What good will that do?”

“Well I don’t go around telling just anyone but I have a teleporter on my ship. If I can use a transmitter, I can have the A.I. bring us up that way.”

“Don’t you have one of your own?”

“Now who’s being stupid? Those bastards took every last thing I had on me!”

“Alright boys! That’s enough testosterone for one night! Let’s just find a place to lay low for a bit. We can make plans better out of sight and off the street.” Sam broke in.

“Ja’qu’ill, do you know any place we can hide?”

“Yeah, come on.”

The boy, who I now knew was named Ja’qu’ill, led us through back alleys and empty lots. We had to climb a couple of walls and jump several fences. Finally, we climbed down into a small back courtyard of a crumbling old apartment.

“Shh. Stay here and keep quiet. I’ll go in and make sure it’s clear. Wait for me by that shed.”

Sam and I moved into the shadows next to the shed. She started to shiver so I put my arms around her bare shoulders and held her. All she had on was a ragged sackcloth skirt, tied at the waist with a piece of cord. We watched Ja’qu’ill go to the back door and tap lightly. The door opened a crack for a moment, was closed, then reopened enough for him to squeeze inside. As soon as he disappeared inside, the door closed.

We waited there in the darkened courtyard for what seemed like an hour. We could hear the commotion and sirens out in the city. It made me really nervous, just standing there. I felt very exposed, even though we were inside the closed courtyard. In actuality it was only about five minutes before Ja’qu’ill reappeared at the back door and waved us in. He took us to a small bedroom on the third floor.

“You can rest here for a while. My aunt is getting you something to eat. I’ll bring you some clean clothes in a while. Until then, just stay quiet and lay low.

I closed the door behind him as he left. When I turned around, Sam was leaning against the wall, a glazed look in her eyes. Now that we had light, I saw what I had not noticed in all the commotion and running.Sam was covered from head to toe in bruises. Most were still black to deep purple. Some had begun to turn a putrid yellow-green. She had dried blood in her hair. A long gouge ran down one leg and had begun to scab over but was still oozing puss and blood.She looked to be on the verge of collapse. I reached her in two strides and gently scooped her up in my arms. I hurried to the bed and laid her down.

“Sam? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just exhausted. All I need is some sleep.” she mumbled, only half coherent.

Just then there was a light tap at the door. I hurried over and opened it. An older woman of maybe 70 stood there with a tray of food in her hands and a basket of bread on her arm.

“I’ve brought you food.”

“Thank you so much.” I said, as she came in and set the tray on a small side table.

“I really appreciate your help but my friend Sam is badly hurt. Can you bring me some hot water and towels please?”

The old woman hurried over to the bed and looked Sam over. Then without a word hurried out the door. About five minutes later, she returned with a stack of towels in her arms. She was followed by two girls who looked to be about 14 and 16. They carried a basin, a jug of hot steaming water, soap, bandages and other things.

“You wait outside!” the old lady said as she ushered me unceremoniously from the room.

I wandered down to the main floor and found the kitchen. Ja’qu’ill sat alone at the table chewing on a hunk of bread and cheese. I slumped into the chair opposite him and sighed.

“Got any more of that?” I asked.

He pointed to a basket sitting on the counter. This room was so small I only had to lift myself partly out of my chair and stretch my arm out to reach it. As I fished out a lump of bread and a cheese wedge, he pushed a cup and pitcher across to me. I sniffed the contents and found a cider of some kind. It wasn’t fermented but not exactly fresh. Pouring a cup full I tasted it and found that the flavor didn’t match the odor at all. It was cold and clean, with cinnamon and cloves. It did have a slight tanginess to it that was not at all unpleasant. It went down very well with the bread and cheese.

The two of us sat there eating in silence for probably a half hour. Afterwards, Ja’qu’ill got me a set of clean clothes and showed me where I could bathe and change. The water was cold but I didn’t care. I was just glad to be clean again.

By the time I returned to our room, I found the door open and Sam in bed asleep. The old lady was sitting on a chair next to the bed.

“How is she?” I asked quietly, stepping over to her.

“She has two broken ribs. The gouge on her leg is now clean and bandaged. She has bruises inside as well as outside. The worst is that she has an infection in her… woman parts. She needs medicine I don’t have. I’ve done all I can for her.”

“I’ll find a way to get the medicine. Please take care of her until I return.”

“You cannot go! They will catch you sure!”

“I have to! I have no choice. I got her into this mess. It’s my responsibility to get her out of it.”

“Very well. Go. Do as you see fit. I will care for her as best I can.” I gathered my weapons, went downstairs and found Ja’qu’ill.

“Sam needs antibiotics. I need you to show me where to get them.”

“Yeah! Right! I ain’t goin back out there until they call off the search and the hunters leave.”

“Please Ja’qu’ill? She means a lot to me. I’m the one who put her in that place. I’ve got to make it right for her.”

“You’re nuts. I said I’m not going, period. Do you know what Phy-Tong-Ki will do to the two of you, not to mention me, if we get caught?”

“I don’t care. If Sam dies, he can do whatever he wants. Now, I’m going. With or without you. I’d really appreciate it if you would take me where I need to go. Please, I’ll do anything you ask in return.”

“Anything? You really mean that?”

“Yes! If I can do it, I will.”

“Okay! Tell you what. I’ll take you to get the things you need on one condition.”

“And what would that be?”

“I want you to get rid of Phy-Tong-Ki and his business. He’s the worst slaver on this planet. At least the others give us good food, clean clothes and treat us well. So, what do you say?”

“Well, I came here looking for my son Ryan and the prin… girl he was with. I still need to find them and get them back. If I can get rid of Phy-Tong-Ki at the same time, I will. Is that good enough?”

“Ryan is your son? Then you must be here for the princess. Now you have to go back and take care of Phy-Tong. He’s the one who has them.

“You mean they’re in that place we just left!?”

“Ryan is. At least he was before we ran away. The princess is someplace else though. I’m not sure where.”

“Do you think you can find Ryan if we go back?”

“Probably. But ‘we’ aren’t going back! You go back if you want. I’m staying here.”

“Not this again. Look, we’ll talk about that later. Right now, just take me where I can get the medication for Sam.”

Ja’qu’ill did as I asked, even though he grumbled about it the whole time. He took me to a small clinic in the slums. I had to break in and just take what I needed. I hated doing it though. I knew I was taking stuff meant for the poorest people in town. Before leaving, I scribbled a note and left it on the counter. “I’m very sorry about taking things from you. I had to have them and no time to wait. I’ll pay you back someday, I swear on the Goddess.”

I didn’t sign it but at least I had made a promise I couldn’t ignore later. On the way back to Sam a sign in a shop window drew my attention, “Reloading & Recharging Service”.

“What does that shop sell?” I asked Ja’qu’ill, pointing to it.

“I’m not certain of all they sell. Ammo, power packs, a few guns, knives, stuff like that.”

“Do they have any explosives?”

“Nah, Not really. You’d have to go across town for that. Come on, I hear footsteps. Quick, in here.”

We ducked into an alley and crouched behind a stack of old crates. The feet drew up at the end of our alley and a light shown out, waving slowly back and forth. We held our breath and didn’t move. I wanted to just fight our way out but I knew that would only bring more troops. This sounded like just a small patrol, maybe four guys.

“I could have sworn I saw something Sarge.”

“There’s nothing there. Move on.”

We waited till the footsteps faded away then made our way back. I gave the medication to the old lady and then sat down at the kitchen table with a tablet I had borrowed. I had Ja’qu’ill help me mark out the underground sewers and passages, so I could get back to Phy-Tong-Ki’s place, hopefully without being seen.

By the time we finished, neither of us could keep our eyes open more than a few minutes. We kept waking each other when one would fall asleep. Finally, I couldn’t do it any longer. “Go get some sleep. We’ll talk more later.”

I made my way upstairs to the room where Sam was. The old lady was gone now so I let myself slump down into the second bed. It only took a couple of minutes to crash out.

Are you enjoying this story? You might want to let Jared know by emailing him at: Jared at CastleRoland dot Net