Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 17: MAUREEN

Maureen was having second thoughts about the situation she’d gotten herself into. Major second thoughts. One big purple alien she could handle, but now there were three of them. And of course the fact that she was completely naked and slung over a broad shoulder caveman-style didn’t help matters any.

The one carrying her was named Tristn, a fact which Maureen had picked up thanks to the translator device in her ear. Tristn was the same one who had bought her at the auction, the one she had kneed in the family jewels. Maureen really hoped he wasn’t too pissed about that.

After several minutes of racing through the city streets, Tristn had joined up with a couple of his friends, who were equally terrifying.

And equally handsome.

Maureen was ashamed to admit it, but these purple guys were hot. They were put together like Greek gods, and their alien faces were brutally handsome and almost disturbingly beautiful in their too-perfect symmetry.

It was totally inappropriate to harbor such thoughts at a time like this, but the aliens’ good looks were too intense to be ignored. And their overwhelmingly masculine scents did things to Maureen’s body that she couldn’t control.

The alien now striding at the head of the pack was a far cry from the more clean-cut Tristn. He had a scruffy, unkempt look about him. His medium length hair was rocking some serious bedhead, and his square jaw was lined with a short dark stubble that served to further accentuate his already hypermasculine features. Numerous rings hung from his long, pointed ears, giving him the appearance of an alien rock star.

Based on what she had overheard of the aliens’ conversation, Maureen knew his name was Jrayk, and apparently he was a spaceship captain. She also gathered that there was no love lost between him and Tristn.

Then there was the third one, Vaul. He didn’t say much, and he didn’t have to. His enormous stature and bearish appearance made it clear that he was not someone to be trifled with. All three of the purple aliens were big, but Vaul was simply gigantic, half a head taller than his companions, and his dense beard gave him the look of an alien barbarian.

Maureen didn’t know what to feel. Should she be scared shitless by these guys, or relieved?

On the one hand, the three purple aliens were terrifying indeed. But thanks to the amazing translator device, Maureen had been able to listen in on their conversation, and she had gathered that their mission was to protect her. That was more than she could say for the other aliens she’d encountered so far. The shadowmen and the spider-creeps had treated her like little more than a piece of meat to be bought and sold on a whim.

Maureen also took some comfort in the fact that Rawn was coming along too. She knew she could trust Rawn, and she was glad she had gone back to rescue him, even though she had angered Tristn in the process.

When they’d fled the chaos of the auction house, Maureen had been carrying Rawn in her arms. However, the mysterious creature had already grown even bigger, to the point where it was difficult to carry him, so Maureen had let him jump down and run along beside them.

Now the five of them were running across a wide tarmac filled with spaceships. It was similar to the place where she had been unloaded from the shadowmen’s vessel, and her eyes darted around fearfully. But she saw no signs of the shadowmen or their massive flying saucer.

Suddenly, the aliens halted, and Maureen realized they must have arrived at their ship. She twisted on Tristn’s shoulder to get a look at the craft they would be riding in.

When she saw it, a sharp gasp escaped her lips.

The ship was a far cry from the other streamlined vessels crowding the docks. Small and blocky, it reminded Maureen of an oversized weather-beaten Winnebago perched atop a trio of landing legs. The hull was an ugly conglomeration of mismatched, energy-scarred panels, and the viewports at the front of the ship were smudged with streaks of carbon. An entry ramp slowly lowered from the side of the vessel, and as it did so, something rattled and fell to the tarmac below. Something that looked important.

Well…this was going to be fun.

Jrayk stooped to pick up the fallen piece, then gestured toward Tristn.

“After you, doc.”

Tristn carried Maureen up the ramp and into the ship. Rawn trotted dutifully behind, and Maureen caught Jrayk flashing an unpleasant glance at the shaggy creature.

The air inside the ship was hot and smelled of burnt wiring. Tristn carried Maureen through a messy gauntlet of looping cables and various unidentifiable apparatuses until they reached the front of the shuttle. With a grunt, he shoved open a door to reveal an equally untidy cockpit. The front and sides were filled with a mishmash of stuff that looked like controls and navigational equipment.

Tristn deposited Maureen into a seat at the back wall of the cabin and started buckling her in. She flinched at the prospect of being restrained.

“Don’t move,” Tristn said brusquely. “It’s for your safety, human. You need to be strapped in during takeoff.”

His voice still held an edge of anger. Maureen assumed that was from earlier when she kneed him. But when he saw her anxiety, Tristn’s stern face softened.

“Don’t be frightened,” he reassured her. “You are safe now.”

Jrayk and Vaul had entered the cockpit and filled the pair of seats located at the front. With their extended claws, they tapped at the array of recessed buttons on the control panels, and one by one, the ship’s systems hummed to life. The throb of the engines vibrated through Maureen’s seat and into her naked body, making her gasp aloud.

“Vaul, chart a course for Rak.” Jrayk said. “The quickest route possible.”

“Aye, boss.”

It was the first time Maureen had heard Vaul speak so far. His voice was so gravelly and rumbling it sounded like tectonic plates grinding together.

And where was it Jrayk had said they were going? Rak? Where the hell was that? Maureen wanted to go back to Earth. But she had no means of voicing that opinion, and even if she had, she doubted it would make a difference.

While Vaul operated what must have been the navigational computer, Jrayk manned the controls.

The ship lifted off.

Maureen’s stomach lurched. It was that uncomfortable, ticklish feeling you get when you drive over a hill too fast on a country road.

The ship ascended. Through the dirty viewport, the scene outside gradually slipped away, docked ships and neon lights giving way to dark spires lined with blinking lights and finally an open sky filled with hazy orange smog and other ships taking off and landing like bees buzzing around a hive.

Maureen sank back into her seat.

This was it. They were leaving the planet behind. Maureen didn’t even know what that planet was called, and she didn’t care. She was just glad to get away. She only hoped their destination was a little more hospitable.

Tristn moved to the front of the cabin and leaned over Jrayk’s seat.

“Captain, keep an eye out for any other ships that may be following us.”

Jrayk gave him an incredulous look. “You’ve got to be kidding. This is a spaceport, doc. There are ships zipping all over the place.” He shrugged. “What are you so nervous about, anyway? We’ll be safely within the interstices in a couple blips. Now get yourself strapped in.”

Tristn nodded and headed for the remaining seat at the back of the cabin. He glanced down and spotted Rawn, who was curled at Maureen’s feet. When he stooped to pick him up, Rawn bared his teeth in an aggressive snarl.

“Rrr—Rawn!”

“Goddess,” Tristn hissed. “Human, please hold on to your companion. We are about to make the jump to interstitial travel, and the creature is liable to get hurt.”

“Mwuh,” she answered with a nod.

Maureen didn’t know what the hell “interstitial travel” meant, but she figured she would find out soon enough. She patted her thighs, signalling for Rawn to hop up into her lap, which he immediately did.

God, but he was getting heavy too.

If he didn’t stop growing soon, they were going to need a bigger shuttle.

Maureen turned her attention back to the view port at the front of the cockpit. Beyond the dirty glass, the clouds of smog gradually faded away into a field of stars.

“Vaul, you got a course for me, big guy?”

“Aye boss. Sending it to your monitor now…”

“Looks good. A nice easy double jump, first to Betnt Koarth, then on home to Rak.”

The ship tilted, and a thrill rippled through Maureen’s body. In the corner of the view port, she could see the curvature of the planet below. Those stars outside were not simply the night sky. They were in outer-freaking-space.

But what were these “jumps” Jrayk had just mentioned?

“Everyone strapped in back there?” he called from the pilot’s chair.

Tristn finished buckling his own harness, then glanced over at Maureen and Rawn. “Affirmative, captain.”

“All right, here we go,” Jrayk called. “Hold on to your tails.”

He pushed a lever forward, and the hum of the engines increased in frequency until it was a piercing squeal. Maureen gritted her teeth against the painful sound.

A thunderclap, a jolt, and an invisible force plastered Maureen’s body back into her seat while her innards turned themselves inside out. Beyond the glass of the view port, the stars swirled and danced like fireflies, glowing filaments of light tracing impossible geometries. It hurt Maureen’s brain to look at it, and yet she couldn’t look away. In her lap, Rawn howled, and his voice seemed to weave in and out of the unraveling fabric of space and time. Maureen held on to him for dear life and squeezed her eyes shut…