C17 Isabelle - Kidnapped

Isabelle shuddered against the cold cell. Her world had turned upside down and morphed into a nightmare. Aliens existed! And the scowl on his boar-ish face let her know he wasn’t a misunderstood being who wanted love and peace.

“Now that we comprehend each other, you will obey me and give me what I want.”

She swallowed. What did a demon want with a human? She clutched her arms around her stomach. A breeding mare? Well, he’d already knocked her up, but she’d be damned if she was going to tell him that news anytime soon. Here she thought they could try and build a relationship together for the sake of the baby. Panic swelled in her chest. What would the baby be…a demonic alien? Would it kill her to give birth? Her stomach lurched and she swallowed down the bile that burned her throat.

Now she’d rather be anywhere else than on a spaceship with him. Was he taking her to his planet? Or selling her to some weird alien with a hunger for human flesh?

“We’ll arrive within the hour. Freshen up.” He tossed her a towel and small flask.

Without another word, he turned and left her alone. For the next hour, she scoured the area to find an exit. Somehow escape. Who cared if she was dirty?

The door slid open and Kohl stomped toward her. His hand slapped her so hard she flew across the chamber and landed in a heap on the floor. “I told you to get clean. Do it or I’ll do it for you.”

Tears glistened in her vision, but she blinked them back and nodded.

“You have thirty…what is you humans measure of time…minutes to do as I command or I will strip you and clean a layer of skin off you. Understood?”

She stood refusing to touch her cheek that stung.

Without waiting for her response, he turned and disappeared behind the sliding door.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the nearly empty chamber. Only the metal cells, walls, floor, and ceiling were here. How was she supposed to get clean with a rag and a bottle? Where was the shower or water? She shook out the towel in hopes that there was more than the two items he provided for her, but it was empty. Twisting the lid on the silver flask, it vibrated in her hand and she dropped it as it heated up. Had he given her a bomb? She backed up. Light pulsed from the bottle and she stretched a fingertip out to test it. A tickling sensation traced over her finger and she brought it back with a frown. What was this?

She moved closer and stuck her arm into the column of light. When she pulled them back, her fingers were wet and smelled of a fresh meadow. Why would a demon want her to be clean and smell fresh? Yup, he was going to sell her.

Taking a breath, she removed her clothing and darted into the light. It was like a warm shower. All of her felt clean. Then the pulsing light dimmed and stopped. She grabbed the towel and dried off. She wasn’t as wet as if she had been in an actual shower but she wasn’t completely dry either. Almost like she’d stepped through a cleansing mist. Environmentalist would love this handy device. She reached down to gather her clothes and redress, but they were missing. Spinning, she glanced on the floor where she’d laid them.

“Where are my clothes, pervert?” Had he dashed in when she was in the space shower and taken her things. Probably going to set her naked on a slave auction block. Shit! Her lower lip trembled and her insides clenched. She should’ve declined the shower. Told him to take her home.

The stench of burning pitch burned her nostrils when he appeared before her. “Here.” He tossed a stack of clothes at her. “Find something in there that fits. We land within the hour.”

“Land where?” she asked.

He vanished without answering.

At least he gave her clothing. She picked through the items and chose a yellow top and blue shorts. Her nerves danced along her skin. She tried not to think about where he got the clothes and if in the future some other woman would be here and her jeans and T-Shirt she’d changed out of among the items to wear. The bra was a size too big in the cups and she set it aside choosing a thick camisole undershirt to wear with a long sleeve shirt.

The ship lurched and she scrambled to hold onto the bars in her cell not to slide along the floor. It pitched again the other way and she dry heaved. She hadn’t eaten anything since the pizza last night, but she’d have thrown up if she had anything in her stomach now. For several minutes, Isabelle was tossed about her cage while the ship maneuvered.

Finally, the roar of the engines sounded and after a bump, all was quiet. Had they landed? What if she couldn’t breathe the air here?

A buzz sounded and the door to her chamber opened. “Showtime, little human.”

She squared her shoulders. “I need a spacesuit. And oxygen. I’m not going out there unprotected.” Not like when he tossed her out of the airlock.

“This world is nitrogen and other gases with enough trace oxygen that you’ll live.”

She hesitated despite him opening her cage door. “How can you be sure?”

“Only one way to be certain.” He reached in and hauled her out. “If you die, then I’ll know, right?”

She jerked to get away, but his claws dug into her skin. They exited the spaceship through a cylinder elevator contraption that went way too fast for her stomach. Outside, she tugged to remain in the ship, but he yanked her forward. She gasped. The air grew heavy and hard to breathe, but not impossible. Like when she went skiing in Colorado Mountains for the first time. The higher altitude had made her exhausted much quicker than normal.

Outside, the sky was a violet with two moons overhead. The grass was a turquoise color with bright orange flowers unlike any she’d seen on Earth sprinkled across it. Beneath them, a marble building. No, more like a monument that would fit all of the buildings in her city inside it. Did giants live here?

“Come on,” he growled.

Yanking her arm so hard that he nearly wretched it out of socket, he zapped them into a dark chamber. No, more like an antique dungeon. Except this one was made of marble that was streaked with grey and black and rust colored stains across most of the walls and floor. A small window about seven feet high was the only light. The chamber stank of urine, vomit, and blood. Her eyes adjusted to the lack of light slowly.

“Here’s your precious human, Renjerian! I’ll give you an hour to decide if it will be her life or your father’s. Then her torture will begin.” The demon teleported out.

“Isabelle?” Kohl asked.

She spun toward his voice. Against a wall was a figure chained up. He lifted his head and she gasped. “Stop tricking me. I want to go home.” She took a step back.

His dark eyes were haunted with black circles under them. “Thank the gods you’re safe.”

“No thanks to you.” She crossed her arms. If he thought she was going to fall for his tricks like with the airlock, he was mistaken.

“You need to get out of here now. Before they come back.” He winced, yanking on his chains. Bite marks covered his arms and legs. Only a patch of darkness inside the dungeon hid his nakedness.

Was he into kinky sex or something? He wasn’t getting any from her. Never again. Not after kidnapping her and nearly killing her. And why chain himself up here…to gain sympathy?

She crossed her arms. “Listen, I don’t know what cosplay thing you’ve got going on, but I’m not interested in playing along. Now tell me how to get back to my house and I won’t have you arrested for kidnapping and manhandling me.”

His face darkened and she took a step back. “It touched you?”

“Not it, you.” This was crazy. She was going to have to get a restraining order against him so he’d leave her alone.

“Isabelle, it was a Tryn…a demon that abducted you.” He licked his lips, his eyes pleading with her to believe him. “He took some of my blood in order to cross Earth’s protective atmosphere and pose as me. For twenty-four hours, he can shift his form to look like me. I’ve been here on Renjer since I left you that morning after we made love.”

Heat burned her cheeks, but she lifted her chin. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” After all, she was tossed out a damn airlock and no, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forgive that.

“Because it will come back and hurt you to get to me.”

“And why does a demon want you?” She crossed her arms.

“My father is the king of this land and they want him to surrender so they can take everyone and kill them. They’re vile locusts slaying everything and moving on. Magicians on Earth figured out a way to transport them off their planet and block them with the atmosphere. It was only my blood as a half-human half-Renjerian that they were able to breach the protective shielding now.” He gazed behind her to the closed door. “You’ve got to get out of here. Find my father and warn him. We need to get to Earth and stop them before they wipe out your planet too.”

Her mind zipped in circles with a million questions. What the heck was a Renjerian and how did it differ from a demon or Tryn? Was Kohl telling her the truth or was this some elaborate scheme? Did he have a twin brother and they planned this to freak her out enough that she wouldn’t ask him for child support or something? She frowned at that last thought. How would he know about that? It was only her and Julia who knew and her friend wouldn’t tell anyone. Even if Kohl had bumped into Julia on her way home and she found out he was the father, she’d wait for Isabelle to discuss it with him first.

Or did he somehow find out she was trying to find him and wanted to break-up with her, but couldn’t say to her face? Then why go to all this trouble? All she had was what he looked like and a first name, it wasn’t much to go on. If he skipped town, she’d doubted she’d be able to find him.

“I don’t believe you.” She waved a hand. “For all I know this could be something you’ve made up for a joke or something.”

His gaze darkened. “People are dying, Isabelle. Every day here on my planet. Do you not feel different here with the slightly heavy gravity? The atmosphere?”

“All part of the illusion, right?”

He chuckled and shook his head, then cringed as the chains cut into his neck. “I guess I should be grateful…most Earth women would probably faint or screaming their heads off…while you think this is all make-believe.”

This guy should work for the movies as real as he made this appear. Even his bright crimson blood gliding a path past the iron collar was life-like. But nagging doubt pressed on her sides. What if he was telling the truth? She had to know for certain. And at least this was safer than the damn airlock.

Carefully, she approached him as he hung from the grey marble wall. The iron chains that bound his neck, arms, and legs appeared heavy and worn with use. She touched the metal and found it colder than she imagined it would be. Tugging on the lock around his right wrist, she found no give.

“Maybe this will convince you that I’m telling the truth.” He shivered and along his arm scales erupted. Silverish-blue. Almost like a snake’s, but appeared more durable.

Holy Hell! She stumbled backward.

Still, the pattern mesmerized her.

“No more deceit, I don’t believe you.” Had to be another trick of lighting or makeup.

“Test me then and touch it.” He stared at her with a pleading expression that she found herself walking forward.

Fine. She’d prove to him that she couldn’t be conned. When she reached him, she ran her hand down his arm to wipe away the effect. But her fingers brushed across cool, smooth, scales. Shit! She backed up until she hit the wall opposite of him. Were there different types of demons? Was he the kind to mate and devour his consort once she gave birth? “W-what are you?”

“I told you…I’m a Renjerian.”

She swallowed, her body trembling against the marble wall. “Yeah, that doesn’t help me any. Y-you said you’re half-human. So is the other half a demon like the alien who brought me here?” God she hoped not. How could she have fallen in bed with an alien-demon even if he was only half? What about her child? Would he or she be able to have a normal life?

Her stomach churned and dizziness pressed into her skull. She blinked to focus and took deep breaths to calm herself. Maybe he was a subspecies of alien…kinda of like Vulcans on Star Trek. She did have a crush on Spock for the longest time growing up. So Kohl could look human except his weird skin. She could be okay with that. Wasn’t like he was a black, hairy demon-like creature.

“I can’t transform completely in these chains…they block my ability to turn completely.”

“W-What do you look like then? I mean when you’re in your other, form?” She couldn’t leave the safety of the wall as she stared at him. Not until she knew everything about what he was.

“In your world, the Tryns are called demons.”

She nodded, her mouth drying, and any words stuck in her throat.

“On Earth, we Renjerians are known as dragons.”

The cell spun and she sagged against the wall. Images of fire-breathing reptiles devouring virgins and maidens that were sacrificed beat at her. And she was carrying his child.