“What are you doing?” Exo asked when she got up.
“I’m going to look at the poor thing.” Riley pointed to the furry softball.
“It might bite,” Exo cried.
Riley grabbed a nasty scrap of flesh that remained on the mattress, and attempted not to think of the creature it had once been. She slowly crawled forward, gingerly holding out her offering. The trembling furball shook harder, making little snuffling noises, the closer she got. As Riley neared, she got a better look at the cor. It reminded her of a giant tangle. She couldn’t see eyes or legs. It was just a wad of fur.
Riley’s eyes widened when the thing opened its jaws to accept the offering. Its mouth occupied half its body, making it look like a fuzzy version of Pac-Man. The gaping mouth was filled with pin teeth and a wet tongue. Riley swiftly pulled her hand back when the thing grabbed the morsel and gobbled it up.
“Shit!”
Riley scrambled back when it came for her, rolling its furry body along the floor. She didn’t expect it to recover so fast after its meager meal. She wasn’t fast enough, and the furball latched onto her hand with its mouth.
Riley flinched and was ready to fling the beastie off. But instead of sharp teeth, she felt a lapping tongue. The ball of fluff quickly cleaned her skin, then rolled onto the mattress, where it licked the bloody spot till nothing remained but a bad memory.
Riley couldn’t help the nervous laugh that burst out, as she examined her clean fingers. Exo just stared at her, looking traumatized.
“It’s fine. I’ve got all my fingers.” She wiggled her fingers at Exo as she sat back down beside him again.
“It’s coming back.” Exo pointed.
The animated ball rolled toward Riley. She stayed very still as the creature squirmed its way onto her lap. She still wasn’t certain it wouldn’t bite. A smile tipped her mouth when the hairy beastie snuggled in, like it belonged there. Riley hesitantly reached down and stroked the furry blob. The way it started vibrating, reminded her of purring cat.
“Well I guess I’ve made a new friend,” she said as she stared at the creature.
“What if it’s diseased?” Exo asked worriedly.
“I think we’re screwed either way,” Riley replied. “How about I call you Speck, since you’re too small to be Spot?” she suggested as she scratched Speck gently.
The strange little incident had been a distraction from their nightmare, but nothing about their situation had changed. Riley glanced at Exo. He was reduced to a shaking mess. He wasn’t going to be any help. It looked like any escape attempt was up to her. Riley hadn’t forgotten about her pendant either.
You’re not a moron. Keep your eyes open for a way to get out of here.
Riley held Exo’s hand and stroked Speck with the other as she stared at the far stone wall, the severity of their predicament rolling through her mind.
Cyprian de Praefectus
“Alright Mave, we’ve entered the outer galaxy of Gamma 6 quadrant. Where to?” Vintor asked from the pilot seat.
They’d spent three days crossing the cosmos, and Mave still refused to give them the exact coordinates of the auction. It had surpassed annoying at this point. Cyprian was tempted to pull out his blade and demand answers in a very slow, and painful way. His fingers flexed as he considered all the ways he could get the smuggler to talk. Mave had no clue how close he was to experiencing his worst nightmare. Instead Cyprian repressed the urge and smiled pleasantly, waiting for yet another non-descript location.
Cyprian knew he was an easy target for the smugglers’ distrust. He’d been able to convince them, that he was a disgruntled former general from Daimio Kagan’s guard. But he was still Vidya Cadi, where everyone else aboard, including Vintor, was Scelus Cadi.
It was their hope Vintor would earn the smugglers’ trust, and learn how they got involved with enemies of the state, the abhorrent Jurou Biljana. The reptiles were the very same species that originally enslaved the Toufik, and brought them to Cadi, from a dying world. The vile merchants were also responsible for cheating the Cadi, and introducing a weapon that slaughtered a city filled with thousands. The band of traitors needed to be taken down, before they brought ruin to Cadi. Unfortunately, he’d learned little to nothing, though Cyprian suspected the bastards had support from someone with deep pockets.
“We’re looking for a large asteroid circling this system,” Mave replied.
“I’m picking-up a massive rock, and more than a few unidentified vessels, converging on its location,” Vintor replied as he set the coordinates.
“An asteroid. That’s interesting,” Cyprian replied as he relaxed in his seat.