The Clone’s Mate by Susan Trombley

Nine

An enraged and inhuman shriek woke me from a lovely dream of lying on a beach. If only the sand wasn’t chafing my tender bits, it would be perfect. I didn’t even smell the fishy brine of the sea. Just a delicious, indefinable scent that made me breathe deep with a longing for more.

That shriek was not the sound of the seagulls. Rather it made me think of horror movie monsters in dark, shadowy places.

The very pissed off kind of monsters.

I jerked awake to find that I still lay in complete darkness. My inner muscles ached but in a good way. Other than that, I felt surprisingly comfortable, given that I was naked and dusted with sand.

Sand sucks. You really understand that when you start moving after lying in it.

Given the horrible sound coming from just outside the crevice, I ended up moving fast as I jerked up into a sitting position, a startled cry on my lips.

Another enraged shriek came from just beyond the crevice entrance, and I saw a flurry of sand moving to block the bright light pouring through that crack.

Then something else fully blocked the light. Some humanoid figure silhouetted for a just a moment before everything went dark.

Something grasped my ankle, which was closest to the opening, and with a hard tug, jerked me closer to the entrance.

I screamed as sand drove up my ass crack, but it wasn’t the grainy enema I almost suffered that caused that panicked sound. It was terror, naturally, over whatever the hell was dragging me to my doom. I had no doubt that “hell” waited outside where Subject 34 was making infuriated sounds.

The thing that had my ankle in its grasp wasn’t letting up, and I had two choices. Dig in deep and force it to drag me kicking and screaming or lift my ass off the sand and not end up with the mother of all butt rashes.

Did I mention that sand sucks? Naturally, I chose the second option. To my death I go, my friend. I’d already be weighing down my coffin with the extra sand weight I’d picked up so far.

I discovered that the “thing” that had me was some kind of robot made of pure white, shiny plastic with black, rubbery joints and neck. It had no face, just an oval head, like a stylized mannequin. Those were the kind that I hated. I’d rather have painted faces judging my fashion choices as they stared down at me than those blank heads.

The robot, being a robot, was a hell of a lot stronger than little ol’ me. I couldn’t break its grip on my ankle as it jerked me out of the crevice without ceremony—or consideration for the fact that I was made of squishy bits and connective tissue that didn’t like being suddenly yanked in one direction.

I figured I’d pay for that later, but my attention ended up focusing on my surroundings rather than myself as soon as the robot dragged me from Subject 34’s crevice.

The creature in question knelt nearby, his lower claws digging into the sand, pincers extended and outspread on his upper arms. His wings flared behind him, and his armored face tilted upwards to stare at the alien standing surprisingly close to him.

“Subject 34 does not appreciate your removal from his crevice, but we still have no idea if he imprinted, so we will have to attempt another test.”

Surprisingly, I recognized the voice behind that biohazard suit. It was Nirgal, who—despite having several robots at his disposal—had opted to personally oversee extracting me from the crevice.

What a dick!

I was under no illusions that he was there to rescue me even before he opened up his fat mouth to tell me exactly what his plans were, but his little monologue erased all doubts.

“He looks pretty ticked off,” I said idly as the robot finally released me.

I rose painfully to my feet, sand pouring off my skin.

Nirgal shrugged one shoulder, barely glancing at the kneeling creature. “The control chip won’t allow him to disobey my orders, but I have to admit, I’m surprised by how vocal he grew when he realized why we were here.”

I glanced at 34, feeling bad for him, though I really should have been thinking of my own predicament. There was no doubt in my mind that these bastards were what made him such a killer monster. Then they treated him like a puppet to make the insult even worse.

“You’d better hope that chip never malfunctions,” I noted as 34 turned his head so those goggle eyes fixed on me.

I yelped as the robot who’d so unceremoniously dragged me out of the crevice grabbed my shoulder with a punishingly hard grip.

“Our technology is foolproof,” Nirgal said huffily.

I raised my eyebrows at the alien. “If that’s true, why do you care if he’s imprinted? Can’t you just make him do what you want anyway?”

Oh yeah, that pissed him off. I wouldn’t have expected a scientist to growl like a bear, but he did as he gestured to the robot and it surged into motion, jerking me along in its wake as it headed towards the exit of the enclosure.

I was on to something there. I’d struck a nerve and Nirgal didn’t appreciate it. I also wondered if I’d worried him, because he was hot on my heels as we left the enclosure. Apparently, he wasn’t that confident about 34’s control chip being foolproof.

Nothing is ever “fool proof.” People don’t realize how talented fools are at getting around proofs.

“So, this imprinting thing—”

An impatient cutting motion from Nirgal’s hand silenced me as we waited in the anteroom for the inner door to close, then the outer door to open.

“The control chip will work, regardless,” he said in a deceptively patient tone, like he was talking to an idiot, and he’d grown tired of it. “But if he’s imprinted, it’s still a waste. We’d have to keep his female around him, and we couldn’t make him hurt her.”

“What is your obsession with hurting people?” I shook my head as I stared at him.

“I have no obsession,” Nirgal snapped. “This is for science!”

“Uh-huh,” I said in a disbelieving tone. I left it at that though, because this guy was a sadist, and I wasn’t trying to make my fate worse than it already would be.

“Did he ejaculate inside you?” Nirgal suddenly asked, his helmet tilting downwards as he looked towards my naked crotch.

I quickly crossed my hands over it, realizing only now that I was still standing around naked. I guess you kind of get used to being so after a while. Only to be painfully reminded of it when evil aliens start eyeing your private bits.

“Hey!” I squealed. “Stop staring, pervert!” Weirdo!

“Just answer the question, human,” his tone sounded not so much impatient as exasperated, and I wonder if I’d broken him.

I queried my body, as you do, and discovered that there wasn’t any gush of fluid between my legs. Nothing to clean up, at least. I couldn’t say if that meant 34 hadn’t spilled a little semen inside me, but it certainly didn’t feel like he’d pumped me full of it.

I slowly shook my head. “I doubt it, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Nirgal’s helmet fortunately shifted back upwards. “Very well. We will have to take samples.”

“What?” I held up both hands, then realized I’d exposed myself again, then covered my crotch a second time. “What kind of samples? Wait! Don’t strap me to the table again!”

“We would not have to bind you if you would lie still,” he said in a snarky tone I didn’t appreciate.

“Well, I wouldn’t be moving around if you weren’t freakin’ poking and prodding me, now would I?”

“How should I know, human?” he snapped, then held up a hand, slowly shaking his head. “Why do I bother speaking to this creature?” he muttered.

Then he literally turned his back on me as the door to the outer corridor finally opened.

“Come along quietly and quickly.” He stepped through that thick vault door and stalked out into the hall with two of the mechs behind him. “The mechs will make you suffer if you don’t obey.”

As if he’d given the command, the mech holding onto me squeezed my shoulder until I swore it fractured my bones as I yelped in pain. When it started towards the door, I made sure I hurried along with it.

Nirgal took me right back to the room where I’d been strapped to the table. It wasn’t a long walk, but when a robot has a hold of you, every minute feels like an hour. Once inside the room, I obediently climbed onto the table, even though my guts felt like water and my entire body trembled.

“Now, if you attempt to move, I will seal you to the table to hold you in place,” Nirgal said in a smug tone.

I laid as still as possible, only hesitating for a moment when he ordered me to put my ankles in the stirrups that extended from the end of the table.

I pretended I was at the gynecologist as the machine’s probe entered me and collected whatever damned samples it needed. I also tried to ignore the feeling of needles piercing my arm, and something probing at the puncture marks where 34 had stung me.

“Why did you touch his exposed face?” Nirgal asked as if the sight of the needles prodding at those puncture marks made him recall that moment.

Which, of course the voyeuristic bastard had witnessed. He had probably hoped that paralyzing venom would mean my death. It almost had, but then 34 had taken me into the crevice.

It occurred to me belatedly that maybe 34 was well aware we were being observed and wanted to make the watchers think he was killing me. Then I dismissed that idea, finding it difficult to believe he was that prescient. I’m not even sure I would have been that calculating were I in his situation.

I was certain he was sentient, but given that he acted so inhumanly, it was difficult not to consider his intelligence more primitive and animalistic.

If he was making plans like that, looking to outsmart his captors to keep a prize to himself, then Nirgal and his fellow scientists were pretty much fucked. They just didn’t realize it yet.

“You didn’t answer my question, human,” Nirgal snapped, approaching the table with his damned tablet that I wanted so badly to smash over his head.

“I don’t know, okay!” I winced as the needles finished digging into my skin and withdrew, feeling oddly as painful coming out as going in, along with the sample probe inside my sheath. “It was just… I always used to smooth out the frown lines between my husband’s brows. It was a habit!”

Nirgal glanced towards the machine as it made several beeping sounds. “What strange behavior,” he muttered, though his suit amplified his words so I heard them.

“Look, I’m not surprised you’ve never experienced affection before, but humans have this thing called ‘concern for each other’ that makes us want to comfort others and put them in a better mood. You all should try it sometime.”

Nirgal snorted. “You humans act like you invented sapience. You are barely above animals, and you believe you should rule the galaxy.” He glared at me, his eyes narrowing behind the shield of his biohazard helmet. “Your people know nothing about true mating and commitment.”

“Okay.” I nodded my head, lifting it off the table as I peered down at my naked, supine body, so vulnerable to this psycho. “You’re right. Humans bad. We’re all just a bunch of dumby dumb heads and your species is so super superior to ours.”

“Exactly,” he snarled, his tone indicating he was well aware of my sarcasm. He turned his attention to the machine. “Yet again, he fails to seed you! What is the point of mating with you then?”

“Maybe he—”

“Shut up, human! I wasn’t speaking to you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t speak aloud then,” I muttered, lowering my head back to the table to stare up at the ceiling.

Hopelessness filled me as I pondered what my fate would be. This guy couldn’t be reasoned with, and even if Subject 34 were strangely attached to me, he probably couldn’t break free of his control chip to come to my rescue—assuming he would even choose to do so.

That was a big assumption when I recalled those cold, emotionless black eyes staring down at me with the same clinical detachment as Nirgal did.

“Will you be silent?” Nirgal said. “What is it with you, human? Why can you not keep your silence, no matter how much danger you’re in?” He stepped closer to the machine, staring at something on it. “Is it a genetic defect?” he said more to himself than me as he studied whatever was printed on a screen I could barely see.

“I think I might need to shock you more,” he ruminated, turning his cold gaze back towards me.

“No!” I held up both hands, shaking my head desperately. “I’ll be silent. Promise! Pinky swear!” I held up a pinky.

He wasn’t amused. He glared at that extended digit like he debated chopping it off. Then he tapped his tablet and spoke into some kind of communicator in his helmet. “Take the human to a holding cell. We’ll begin separation protocol to see how 34 acts. We can evaluate his condition afterwards to see if he’s suffered any deprivation effects.”

Then he turned away, fortunately without touching the damned table to shock me. I laid perfectly still, barely daring to breathe for fear he’d change his mind and come back to torture me.

Man, I really needed to learn how to keep my mouth shut. Getting shocked would be so much worse than the detention I always got for talking back in school.

A robot entered the room as Nirgal left it. I slowly sat up as it approached me, glancing around for a handy surgical knife, or scissors, or something like what the protagonist always finds in the movies to strike out at their captors.

Yeah, that doesn’t happen in real life, I guess. The room was empty of handy weapons. Just big machines and a couple more tables like the one I was now sitting on. I eyed one of the needles on the machine’s finger-like extensions. It wasn’t large enough to use as a weapon against the creepy robot. I was also certain that if I damaged the expensive machine, the least Nirgal would do to me was shock the crap out of me.

That realization left me with only one option. I climbed off the table as the robot came close enough to grab me. I sighed as it caught my shoulder and pushed me towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going already. No need to get pushy.”