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Mack's eyes reflected cold steel as he looked into the blackness of her gaze.

  “Harm him and I will not breed with you, ever!”

  She laughed.

  “You soon see, Mack...He is unharmed. Now, night is soon falling. We lay together until the sunrise.”

  She looked to Cora and gestured to some padded cushions on the floor.

  “You rest there,” she ordered, and Cora obeyed silently, curling into a frightened ball on padded silken cushions that swamped her, as from the next room, Jinx gave another startled cry, and she buried her face in the padded silk and wept quietly.

  Mack joined Lazzarra as she drew back the curtain, looking out to the settlement as the sun began to set. As the bubbling pots containing the flesh and skulls of the aliens continued to simmer, he felt even more sick as he saw the heads of Jules and Tina being dropped into a separate pot, where water bubbled and herbs simmered. Flesh was added to the mix, and the pot was stirred.

  “By sunrise, we have a great feast!” Lazzarra said, looking to Mack.

  He looked back at her saying nothing, as he recalled the war he had fought in his youth and all his combat skill came to mind at once as he wished he could slit her throat.

  She touched his tattoo, looking with interest.

  “Warrior,” he stated, “Warrior marking.”

  Then her hand slid down to the watch he wore on his wrist, the watch that contained the link to the Pharaoh and its comm system, still open to the earth channel.

  “Warrior,” he said again, and she nodded, accepting his explanation.

  Then she pushed the curtain shut, and he was thankful he no longer saw the sickening sight of two of his former crew being cooked – but the smell of the alien flesh mixed with human as the pots simmered, leaked into the escape pod through the sheer fabric of the curtain, and as he got on to the bed and lay beside Lazzarra, Mack murmured that warriors needed much rest, and buried his face in the fabric, as his mind played over every horror he had witnessed since this living hell had started...

  A serving girl carrying a bowl slipped in through a gap in the curtain, paused to nod respectfully to the sleeping queen and the exhausted human who lay beside her, and then she went over to the second doorway, it slid back, she entered, and it closed again behind her again.

  Jinx was on his back on a wooden table that clearly had not been part of the ship but belonged in the settlement. He was tied down, his wrists secured and his legs open and secured at the ankles. He was still shaking, even though the worst of the fright had been over.

  After they had tied him down and Vishcarra had opened up the razor, he had felt the kind of terror that had made him freeze, his protests numbing into fearful silence as he wondered if he was about to be killed - or worse, as the razor had trailed gently down his body and rested for a moment on his groin. But then as she had handed over to the servant girl, and she had started to shave off his pubic hair, he had managed to calm himself at least enough not to scream.

  His biggest fear had been that he could not control his trembling as that blade had scraped his balls - then it had gone lower still, she had shaved him all the way to the crack of his arse and then bathed him and dried him and it was only now, as a clear bottle of oil was tipped over his bare groin and Vishcarra had rubbed it in, murmuring soothingly to him, that his fears began to slide away and slip into some kind of level of acceptance.

  “Thanks for not killing me...” he whispered as he nervously met her gaze. Her hand was still working over his shaved groin in soothing, circular motion as she looked into his eyes.

  “I help you,” she said, looking to his groin and then meeting his gaze again.

  He caught his breath as she slid oiled fingers the length of his soft cock and then rubbed at his groin again.

  “I'm sorry...” he said cautiously, “I'm trying... I can't get hard...I'm scared... my friends are in danger, the rest of them are dead and I'm scared...not exactly easy for me to get hard right now...I'm sorry!”

  She leaned over him, sweeping a hand that carried the scent of exotic oil over his hair.

  “I help you,” she said again.

  Then she took a bowl of cooled fat from the serving girl who had just entered the room. She showed it to Jinx and explained.

  “Tomorrow, you eat them. You eat your kind, as we do. When we cook, we take the fat...” she dipped her fingers into the fat creamed from the pot where the human remains simmered, rubbed it into her fingertips and then touched her index finger to his lips.

  Jinx gave a gasp, fighting the urge to vomit.

  “Shit no! No, that's part of my friends you sick fuck!”

  “You taste,” she told him, and placed a strong hand on his jaw, clamping it open as she pushed her fingers inside, filling his mouth with fat that tasted like lard.

  As she let go of him, Jinx closed his eyes, telling himself it was lard. It was just lard, like the kind his grandparents used to fry bacon with...

  Then he licked his lips, and the nausea subsided.

  “Lovely...” he said, sounding shaken up.

  She dipped her fingers in the bowl again, watching him closely as this time her greased fingers slid to the crack of his backside, he gasped as she entered him, filling him with the human fat as to his alarm, the feeling of stimulation sent a shock wave down his cock, and he started to harden.

  “Leave my fucking arse alone! No...I can't enjoy this...!”

  Her fingers moved in and out of him, and then she withdrew them and he lay there, tied down, unable to fight the fact that his erection was rapidly rising.

  “Looks like you've got yourself some cock tonight!” he joked nervously as he wondered if this was what insanity felt like as he made up his mind to let this happen, to not fight it, because he couldn't fight any more, he was tied down, his cock was hard and his backside felt like it was screaming for more.

  There was no more room for reason in thoughts that scattered, only a sense of mild shock, and then a wave of weakness and need to let this happen as she dipped her fingers deeply into the bowl of human fat, scooping it out and then smearing it thickly over a smooth wooden dildo.

  He knew his breathing was growing heavier as he trembled, looking up at the ceiling of the escape pod, and then he laughed as the irony of its title was not lost on him:

  Escape?

  There was no escape, this was his life now, the only life he could hang on to...

  Whatever it takes...Adapt and survive...

  Then as the tip of the wooden object pushed against him, he offered no resistance as she slid it deep inside, working it in and out in a firm, careful thrusting motion as her free hand gripped the base of his cock, moving in short, jerking movements as he grew solid in her grip.

  “Oh fuck...” he gasped, “Fuck, yes....Oh god help me.....yes, yes...fuck!”

  Then words failed him as he gave short, sharp gasps, his gaze fixing on the alien queen's sister as she filled him with the solid wooden object that slid in and out of him, lubricated by the fat of his cooked friends. Her fingertips gave another, merciless jerk on his aching hardness, and he cried out sharply, spilling warm and wet as he pumped over her hand, letting the orgasm flood his mind and wash through his body.

  Whatever it takes had just become something that had left him weak and warm and satisfied and as she slid the wood out of him and then began to clean him up with a silken cloth, something in his mind slid into a different track, one he did not know was possible until now, yet somehow, it seemed it make sense in a new kind of way, a new acceptance had covered his sense of reasoning, and he calmly welcomed it because fighting it would have been pointless.

  “You should untie me,” he murmured as he met her pitch dark gaze and smiled, “I can spread my legs much wider if I'm not tied down...I want to do that, I need to do that...”

  And she said nothing, continuing to clean away the human fat and the cum that covered his thighs as Jinx silently wondered if he was somewhere between a deep urge to survive or h
ad crossed over into madness, but strangely, although he wondered, it was a thought that no longer worried him at all...

  As night had fallen, the last gasps of failing light that escaped into the caves had gone, leaving Jody and Zeke in pitch back. Jody shivered as she stayed close to him, the temperature had dropped but she could feel the heat of his body and his closeness was the only comfort she could draw on as they struggled on, through a frighteningly narrowing gap, down towards the sound of running water.

  “Take my hand,” Zeke said, and she gratefully grasped it as he cautiously moved again, catching his breath as the walls narrowed further.

  “Oh shit...shit!” he whispered, his voice echoing in the darkness, “If we get stuck...”

  “We won't. If you get stuck, I'll pull you back.”

  He moved again, shifting deeper and so did she, feeling the walls pressing to her back and she turned her head towards him, fighting the urge to panic as the solid gap began to feel like a trap and she pictured them both stuck there, alone, in the dark, unable to escape...

  “I've just thought,” Zeke joked, “You have boobs...they could be our downfall if you get stuck!”

  She laughed, and as she relaxed, took another step.

  “Almost there,” he told her, and then squeezed free of the suffocating tightness, grabbed her hand and tugged sharply, and she felt the walls graze her arm, but as she stumbled free into an open cavern, she breathed a relieved sigh. Here she heard the trickle of water, and as he led her forward, and their boots hit a small stream, they both laughed as they held hands in the dark.

  “We follow it,” Zeke told her, “If water can get through, so can we... I'll bet this leads to the beach!”

  “In the dark?” she exclaimed.

  “We can't waste time,” he told her, “And we can hear the water. Just keep hold of my hand and walk with me.”

  “Okay,” she replied, and she grasped his hand tightly as they stayed close to the wall, making their slow, careful way down the cave, taking a downward slope that quickly evened out, hearing the sound of water growing louder with every passing moment, knowing they were closer to the surface with every step.

  Finally, as something shimmered as they stepped through into another cave, they saw the moon reflected in a rippling pool, and as more water ran in much faster, they laughed.

  “Now,“ Zeke said, “We need to climb up,” and he indicated to the gap above, where the moonlight shone through, hitting the water.

  “How are we going to get there?”

  “We can take the route around the rock pool,” he said, We need to hurry, too – the water is rising.”

  She looked at him in confusion.

  “But the surface is up there,” she said, pointing to the gap where moonlight shone through.

  “And we're below sea level and the tides coming in!” he exclaimed, and as the trickle of water became a gathering rush, he jumped up to the rocky ledge that ran around the rock pool and as she joined him Jody was glad of his firm grip on her hand as she slipped, then regained her balance, looking down in horror as she realised the rocks where they stood were covered with the markings of a tide line – that dark dampness had left sea weed behind in places, and going by the look of the damp cave wall, it spread almost up to the place where the light shone in...

  “We have to hurry!”she said urgently, looking down as water rushed, swirling and foaming as it began to rise.

  “No, we go slowly!” he reminded her, “If you slip, we're both in the water and we will both drown, these rocks will be much more slippery when the sea water rises, we'll have no chance of holding on!”

  As the water continued to rise, Jody nodded, clinging to his hand as he made his way over rocks, leading her carefully upwards, closer to the opening where high above, a silver moon shone down full and glowing.

  Zeke reached the opening first and climbed out, then he reached inside, and Jody grabbed his hands and he helped her out, and the breeze dosed with salt was fresh and reviving on her face as the tide rolled in close by as below, the rush of water could be heard rising in the pool. She stepped away from the sand, thankful to be on solid ground once more, as Zeke got up, brushed sand from his clothing and pointed towards the place where the shore line curved.

  “You see that distant shape, the structure that stands out?” he asked her.

  “What is it?” she replied,

  “Mining equipment,“ he told her, “We're almost there,” he looked to the moonlit skies above a sea that looked inky by night, the darkness was starting to fade and the stars growing dim, “It's almost daybreak – once we get to the mines we can find the droid storage location and then rest for an hour. Then we have get back to the ship, it's a straight route and well away from the settlement – once the droids are programmed on target, Mack and the others have a chance.”

  “But we need to go back and help them -”

  Zeke stopped walking, turning to face her as the moon shone a silver path through the flowing waves that ran to shore.

  “We can't go back, Jody! We can only warn earth and have them signal the satellite! Mack will soon know what to do when the droids come up through the earth and start tearing the tribe apart!”

  As she thought of Mack, no doubt traumatised by the ordeal he and Cora and Jinx were being subjected to, she recalled the secret he had told her on seeing his regimental tattoo.

  “Oh god no...droids tearing the tribe apart...Mack's going to think he's back in the war!”

  “So he saw some action, he's an older man, most guys over fifty fought in the global conflict.”

  As she spoke again, it felt like a betrayal.

  “I promised him I wouldn't say anything. He was in the global conflict..Unit 17. He was the only survivor.”

  As Zeke recalled the account from the history books, he looked at her in surprise.

  “He was the sole survivor who got word back to HQ about the droid invasion?”

  She nodded.

  “And seeing droids in attack mode again might send him over the edge. I could see it in his eyes when he told me about it – the war traumatised him.”

  “And he was a soldier, Jody. He can survive this, he has to, the others will be counting on him.”

  “I still don't want to leave him to it,” she replied, “He might need our help.”

  Zeke gave a heavy sigh. He cast a glance once more to the horizon, where the sky was streaking with slashes of approaching dawn. They were close to the mines now, maybe an hour away...

  “Let's just locate the droids first, then get word back to Earth.”

  They walked on, following the shoreline, as Jody thought some more.

  “What if the droids are gone?”

  “Why would the droids be gone?” he exclaimed, “After the cost of the mining project, the satellite and the droids and all the tech that went into it, as soon as that contract was lost the Shine Corporation would have dumped the whole thing and moved on to the next project! They wouldn't have wasted time and money on retrieving the droids, they roll them off the production line every day. Shine are investors in android development, too. In science projects, in future technology. They reach far and wide. A few digger droids wouldn't have been worth shipping out elsewhere.”

  “But what if they did retrieve them? What then?”

  “Then we go back to the ship and contact earth and tell them about the alien tribe.”

  “What if they don't believe us? Think about it, Zeke – we're stuck on this planet, victims of a crash – don't you know under circumstance like these some people have been known to go mad?”

  “I've heard of such cases, yes,” he replied, “Crash survivors marooned on remote planets have been known to go insane, to kill each other, to run out of food and resort to cannibalism and all manner of horrors. But it's not one of us telling the tale – we can both speak to earth, make them realise this is true. I know these are probably the first aliens ever encountered since the move towards colonisati
on, but it had to happen sooner or later – and unfortunately they're hostile, and they now have human prisoners. Earth defence forces will step in, a rescue ship is already on the way! We just have to keep going, Jody. Please stop thinking about what could go wrong.”

  “I'm trying,” she replied, “But something doesn't fit about all this and I can't work out what it is!”

  “We crashed, we encountered hostility and we've seen some terrible sights – of course it feels like something isn't right! Let's just get to that mine, let's do this one step at a time,” Zeke replied.

  Jody said no more, just walked beside him as they continued to make their way along the shore line and head towards the mines, as she continued to silently wonder why it felt like there was something right in front of her that she should have figured out, but had missed...

  As daybreak brightened slashes of pale glow across a grey landscape gasping for colour and sunlight, the only sound that could be heard was the bubbling of thick broth in the crude pots that bubbled above the heat of kindling as flames licked at the base and the pots were stirred as more herbs were added and the smell rose high in the air, covering the settlement.

  Mack woke up naked and shivering as the dawn chill hit his flesh, he turned over and saw the black eyes of Lazzarra looking back at him.

  “You're up early,” he murmured, and then he sat up.

  Lazzarra remained where she lay, and he leant over her, then waved a cautious hand in front of her face, but got no reaction as she breathed slowly and evenly.

  “Your kind sleep with their eyes open?” he murmured, and then he grabbed his shorts, put them on and pushed the curtain aside. The camp was under the pale light of the coming dawn and stunk of the cooking flesh of simmered alien and humans alike. He fought down the urge to vomit, remembering he had not eaten - yet - and had nothing to throw up. Then he went down the steps of the escape pod, around the side of it, freed his cock from his shorts and took a piss into the dirt.

  Just as the flow was slowing to a stop, he heard heavy footsteps, and looked up to see an alien guard glaring at him. Its teeth were bared and black eyes glittered as the guard clutched at a heavy blade.