Alien Skin Market by Lizzy Bequin

CHAPTER 6: MAUREEN

She was given water, as much as she could drink. That was the only good part of the whole deal. The rest was a waking nightmare.

While locked in that dark cargo hold, Maureen had held out a tiny, frail hope that she might still be somewhere on Earth. But as soon as she was led off the shadowmen’s ship, the last remnants of that hope fled. Wherever this place was, it was definitely an alien world. That much was clear from the double suns in blazing in the orange sky and the bizarre architecture that didn’t match any style Maureen had ever seen.

They were in some kind of city, and the structures that towered around them were an eclectic mix of primitive and advanced.

Ancient-looking buildings of adobe and rough-hewn stone bristled with antennae and blinking metal boxes. Tangles of humming power cables drooped between the buildings, crisscrossing the orange sky overhead like dark jungle vines. Flickering holographic signs projected colorful alien messages Maureen couldn’t even begin to comprehend. She gasped at the incredible sights and immediately choked on the warm air, which was tainted with exhaust fumes and the stench of animal droppings.

But the real proof that this was an alien world came from the creatures. Thousands of them, in all shapes and sizes. Some of them were covered in fur, others in scales, and yet others had hard insectoid exoskeletons. Some of these aliens were clearly intelligent—they were dressed in bizarre clothing and operating devices and vehicles—while others appeared to be pets or simple beasts of burden.

God, if Maureen ever made it back to Earth, the Bureau would spend decades grilling her about everything she had seen in this place. But the odds of her actually making it back were not looking good.

She was chained like an animal.

Well, not chained exactly, though the end result was the same. Before leaving the ship, the shadowmen had fastened mechanical collars around the necks of all the cows, as well as Maureen. These collars projected strands of glowing pink light that acted as a rope, connecting the cattle into a long caravan. Maureen was placed at the end of this line.

The shadowmen drove this line of cattle down the dirty, crowded avenues, moving ever deeper into the heart of the alien city. With the laser-rope and collar tugging at her throat, Maureen had no choice but to follow.

Where the hell were these creeps taking her? Maureen was pretty sure she didn’t want to know. She needed to find a way to get free.

Asking bystanders for help was the obvious course of action, but it was impossible. The drug the shadowmen had injected into Maureen’s neck had numbed her tongue and jaw, robbing her of the ability to speak. Whenever she tried to talk, all that came out was a slurred, meaningless sound.

“Mwuuuh!”

The passing aliens didn’t even so much as glance in her direction. Had Maureen been able to speak, the aliens still would not have understood her, but they probably would have recognized her words as language, indicating she was an intelligent being. As it was, however, they merely regarded her as an unintelligent animal, on the same level as the cows to which she was attached.

And so Maureen trudged onward, naked, helpless, and afraid.

Her one comfort in all of this was Rawn.

Following an intense discussion among the shadowmen, of which Maureen had understood nothing, the shadowy captors had decided to bring Rawn along as well. A collar wouldn’t fit around the little furball’s neck, but as Maureen soon learned, the shadowmen’s collars had multiple functions. One of the larger rings was used to project a hovering spherical energy field around Rawn, and this transparent pink fishbowl was attached to Maureen’s own collar by another length of glow-rope, which allowed the floating sphere to be tugged along at the very rear of the line.

The little furball was growling up a storm back there.

On the one hand, Maureen was grateful for Rawn’s companionship. But on the other hand, she was worried about the fate that awaited both of them.

Maybe it was because he was the only friendly presence she had encountered in this whole affair, but Maureen was already as protective of Rawn as he was of her. She didn’t want any harm to come to him, but there was nothing she could do to help.

She glanced back at the angry little furball in the hovering orb of energy. She tried to say “I’m sorry,” but all that came out was “Mwuuuhh…”

Damn those shadowmen and their drugs.

Rawn stopped snarling at the passing aliens and whimpered, smushing his face against the barrier of his orb carrier in an attempt to get closer to Maureen.

It’ll be okay, little guy,she thought. We’ll get out of this somehow.

The laser-leash tugged at Maureen’s collar, and she was forced to stumble onward.

After a while, they reached their destination—some kind of theater operated by big-headed, saucer-eyed aliens that could have stepped right out of a 1950s B movie. Maureen, Rawn, and the cows were led backstage where these new aliens began conversing with the shadowmen captors.

There were other alien creatures back here too. A variety of large, docile animals feeding from troughs. The air was rank with the odor of dung, and Maureen wrinkled her nose in disgust.

What the hell was this place?

It seemed like the shadowmen were trying to sell the stolen cows to the big-headed aliens, and the two parties were haggling over the price. Meanwhile, one of the big-heads moved down the row of cattle, inspecting each animal and muttering to himself in his alien language.

When the inspector reached the end of the line and saw Maureen, his already sizeable eyes grew even wider. He began shouting angrily at the shadowmen, and though Maureen could not understand his words, the way he was gesturing at her sent a clear message.

We’ll buy the cows, but we’re not taking this thing.

For a moment, renewed hope blossomed in Maureen’s chest. This big-head recognized her for what she was, an intelligent and civilized creature.

But her hope soon wilted. The aliens refused to purchase Maureen, but they had no intention of helping her.

After some lengthy discussion, the big-heads took the cattle off the shadowmen’s hands in exchange for a hovering cart full of pink crystals—money?—and then the shadowmen set out again with Maureen and Rawn in tow.

Crap.

Maureen had always had a pretty good sense of direction, and she could tell the shadowmen were not leading her back to the ship. Instead, they ventured deeper into the city, into ever more dangerous and lawless precincts where the densely packed towers all but blotted out the sky. The streets were heaped with reeking garbage, and random interspecies violence seemed to break out on every corner.

Maureen’s stomach felt heavy, and her throat tightened with anxiety.

Even Rawn grew quiet.

At last, they arrived at another market of some sort. It was similar to the previous location, but dirtier and more run down. And there were other differences too. The animals displayed a greater variety, and they seemed less docile and more wild. Many of them were in cages. There were huge birds with multicolored plumage, serpents with chrome scales, six-legged catlike creatures with exquisite blue and black striped fur.

As the shadowmen strode toward the establishment, a seven-foot spider came scuttling forward. Maureen recoiled in fear, thinking this was one of the wild animals that had somehow gotten loose. But a moment later, when the shadowmen began conversing with the giant arachnid, Maureen realized it must be the proprietor of this market.

Dozens of reflective bug eyes looked Maureen’s naked body up and down.

Fuzzy, segmented legs prodded and caressed her flesh.

She tried to pull away in disgust, but the glowing leash held her in place, leaving her no choice but to endure the examination of her skin while the spider chittered and hummed appraisingly.

What did this spider want from her? To eat her? To keep her as a pet? Or perhaps something even worse…

One thing was clear: the spider had no qualms about purchasing an enslaved human. After some brief haggling, another exchange was made. More pink crystals. Maureen noted the amount was almost the same as what the shadowmen had received for all the cows. They even threw Rawn into the deal, though the spider seemed less interested in the little furball.

And just like that, the shadowmen departed, and Maureen was left in the possession of a giant alien spider.

How could things possibly get worse?

Maureen’s new owner wasted no time attaching her laser-leash to a node on the wall facing the street. Rawn’s little hovering orb cage was placed beside her. Other exotic creatures were similarly positioned along the wall at evenly spaced intervals, forming a kind of display.

Soon, passersby were lingering to look at the array of creatures. Some of the more courageous aliens even dared to reach out and caress the animals, apparently savoring the textures of their skins.

God, what was this? Some kind of freaking petting zoo?

Maureen received an extra amount of attention from the curious aliens. A small crowd of grotesque beings gathered around her, and she backed away until her bare butt bumped the hard stone wall, leaving her with nowhere to run.

She tried to tell them to stay back, but all that came out was that ugly, animal sound again.

“Mwuh! Mwuuhh!”

Her voice only served to stoke the crowd’s curiosity, and the aliens pressed closer around her. At first, they were satisfied simply to look, but soon they started to touch her. A scaly, reptilian hand reached out and petted her hair. A callused ape’s paw stroked her arm. A wet tentacle unfurled and inspected her naked breast.

She tried to shout “No!” She tried to shout “Stop!” But again, all that came out was that mushy, wordless sound.

“Mwuuuh!”

Maureen tried to fight back, but the aliens were packed too tightly around her. She had no room to swing her fists or kick. Bitter tears of rage filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Over the din, she could hear Rawn snarling viciously, but her caged friend was unable to help her.

Suddenly, a different growl joined Rawn’s, even louder and more vicious. It boomed down the street like thunder.

At that sound, the crowd of aliens who had been pressing around Maureen’s body pulled back and dispersed, making way for this new arrival.

Maureen’s eyes were still filled with tears, and her vision was too blurry to see clearly. All she could make out was a tall, dark figure towering over her, staring down at her with a pair of glowing eyes.

At first she thought one of the shadowmen had returned to reclaim their pet. But she quickly realized this was not one of the shadowmen. The alien’s body was not black, but a deep shade of purple. Its eyes were not pink, but bright orange. And when it touched her face, its fingers had a strength and solidity that had been missing from the shadowmen’s wispy appendages.

Except for her nervous shivering, Maureen stood stock still in the alien’s dominating presence.

She tried to thank this alien for saving her from the crowd that had been touching her, but all that came out of her mouth was that stupid slurred sound.

“Mwuh…”

The alien’s breath rumbled from deep within its chest. The sound was at once pleasing and terrifying, like the purring of a full grown Bengal tiger. Strong hands tilted Maureen’s face upward, and she made no effort to resist. Her tears spilled down her cheekbones and temples. Instinctively, she closed her eyelids as the thick, firm pad of a thumb touched one eye, then the other, brushing away the moisture with a gentleness that belied the lethal strength those large hands surely possessed.

Maureen blinked away the last of her tears and looked the alien full in the face.

Her heart jolted. Her skin fired with heat.

The thing towering over her was unmistakably masculine. His face bore scars, but somehow those scars only enhanced his appearance. High, perfectly carved cheekbones and a muscular, angular jaw. Penetrating eyes, ember orange, set beneath the brutal shelf of a heavy brow. And all of it framed by a wild mane of lustrous, dark hair.

If he had been a man, he would be handsome.

No, not handsome.

Gorgeous.

But he was not a man. He was a monster. His skin was violet and softly furred like velvet or suede. Long, pointed ears protruded from his hair, shifting and flexing like the ears of a beast. His exquisitely shaped lips curled back to reveal predatory fangs, dazzlingly white. Behind him, a long tail moved like a purple serpent dancing to a snake charmer’s flute.

Maureen shuddered.

She had thought this alien was her savior. But now, looking up into that cruel smile, she realized she was wrong. Of all the beings she had met during her short captivity, this one was the most terrifying by far, and she was totally at his mercy—naked, bound, vulnerable, helpless.

Maureen whimpered as the alien drew her close, and began his careful, methodical inspection of her body.