Chapter 9: Training

Dina sat in her cell with her head against the wall. Her eyes and lungs ached from her sorrow. Even her mind was quiet, the images of Melodi’s death no longer playing endlessly in her head. Instead, she felt stretched out and broken, no images or thoughts swirled in her head. Only a bone-deep despair that left her limp and drained.

Harmmon and Naam were still cleaning up the mess. The female alien was picking up the blood-soaked papers and waving her hands around as she hummed angrily. Her quills, a sign of her emotions, were sticking out in all directions as she angrily tore the ruined sections and tossed them into a garbage.

Naam was sponging up the blood that had pooled on the ground. His own brown quills were down. He didn’t respond to Harmmon’s gestured, only kept his head down and cleaned.

Thankfully, taking away Melodi’s body was the first thing Naam had done. Dina had watched him easily pick up her form and sling it over her shoulder. Blood poured out of her mouth and between her legs. There was also bruising along the line from her crotch to her throat.

Her skin wasn’t ruined though. Dina remembered how the bodies near the stasis pods had their eyes melted and skin sloughed off. The acidic air had ruined them, though Dina didn’t know how long they were exposed before they melted. Melodi’s skin didn’t show any sign of it, there wasn’t even red around her unseeing eyes.

For a moment, Dina thought a sob was about rise up again but nothing. She had been broken, her mind briefly stripped away by the all-consuming horror of seeing her own fate being raped and murdered on the table in front of her.

She rubbed the dried tears from her face. The gritty feeling didn’t go away but it didn’t bother her as much. She looked at her fingers for a moment and then let her arm drop. It bounced off her knee and slid between her legs to rest against her sex.

The idea of fucking disgusted her but she didn’t have the energy to pull her arm away. She left it there and watched without focusing as the two aliens finished cleaning up the blood and mess.

Naam stood up with his cleaning supplies. He looked at Harmmon. If he hummed, it was too quiet to get through the glass. Harmmon just waved him away and then went back to sorting through her torn notes. She had a tablet out now, a large sheet of plastic about half a meter across. It was opaque but images swirled around it; it also looked like the images had some depth but Dina didn’t care enough to inspect it.

The male alien left.

Dina waited for him to return. She didn’t have anything else to do.

An hour passed, stretching out infinitely long because Dina wasn’t thinking about anything. The only measure was her heartbeat. She could feel it pulsating along her arm and legs, the tiny tremors that bumped against her exposed sex and the pulse in her neck.

Occasionally, Harmmon would glance at Dina and her quills would shake slightly but then she went back to her notes. It looked like she was transcribing them into the tablet, using her fingers to draw on the board as she worked through the ruined pages. When she finished each one, she crumbled it up and tossed it into a garbage can.

Naam returned with a bag hanging from his claws. It was from the ship’s supplies with Standard words written on the side but too far away. The fabric was bright orange and she thought she saw the emergency supply indicator on the side. It was also heavy, judging from the way it bulged near the bottom and how it bounced off the alien’s leg quills but pulled free.

Dina perked up. Seeing something from ship drew her attention. She leaned forward to try reading the side.

Naam set the bag down on the corner of the table and opened it up. Reaching in, he started to grab narrow boxes and stack them up. Each one was clearly marked as emergency food rations, the contents were written on the side and front. From her lessons on the stasis ship, each one had enough food and water to last a day. They were also tasteless and bland, just enough to encourage eating but not enough to tempt gluttony.

Her stomach rumbled. It had been over a day since they pulled her from the stasis pod and she was suddenly hungry. She protectively curled her hand over her sex and brought her other up near her face for when they opened the glass wall and let in the poisonous air.

To her surprise, Naam didn’t bring the food to the cells. Instead, he opened up a large cabinet near the door and began to set the boxes inside.

She worked her dry lips for a moment. “Fucking bastards,” she whispered.

Harmmon’s quills jumped for a moment.

Dina froze, wondering if the alien was listening. After a long moment, she cleared her throat. “Bitch,” she said. Her voice was broken and hoarse, it scraped against her dry throat as she spoke.

The female alien didn’t respond.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Dina returned to watching Naam load the rations into the cabinet and closed them. He returned to the bag and fished out more supplies. These were bars, labeled much like the rations but more colorful. It took her a moment to realize they were all treats: confectioneries, chocolate, nuts, and fruits.

Her stomach rumbled louder as she tried to remember how they tasted. Her thoughts broke through the despair that had consumed her thoughts and she found herself watching the treat bars intently as Naam set down five boxes on the table next to Harmmon.

She sat forward, her hands still near her openings.

Harmmon stood up and took the boxes. Her eyes looked around at the other cells, they were all opaque, before she looked at Dina. For a moment, the brilliant orange eyes focused directly on Dina.

Dina shuddered in fear and tried to lie back down.

Harmmon’s quills quivered for a moment, then she carried the boxes to a cabinet on the far side of the room. She was out of sight for Dina for a long moment.

Naam left with the empty bag.

The female alien came back with something in her hand. She glanced around the room again and then turned to Dina’s cell. Reaching over, she tapped something on the control and a faint hissing noise filled the air.

Dina trembled.

Harmmon pressed the chocolate bar against the glass. “Melomi mitch? Mant miss?”

Her voice was a high-pitched human but it was almost words. Understandable words.

Dina frowned, her heart racing.

Harmmon tapped the bar against the glass and then brought it to her mouth. She mimed eating, her teeth flashing. Then she brought it down and pressed it against the glass. "Mant miss?”

Trembling, Dina frowned. The tears were threatening to come again.

Harmmon pressed the chocolate to her chest. “Harmmon.”

It was her name.

The female alien did it again and repeated herself. Then she pointed two fingers at Dina with one hand. "Mama?”

When Dina didn’t respond, Harmmon tapped her chest against. "Mama Harmmon. Harmmon.”

Dina didn’t know what to do. With tears in her eyes, she shook her head.

Harmmon shook her head and then took the chocolate bar away. She set it carefully on the table in front of Dina, right where Melodi had been murdered. Then she sat down and returned to her work.

Dina’s stomach rumbled louder. The chocolate would help sate her hunger. She knew what Harmmon wanted, or at least guessed it. But would she help the alien who altered Melodi, who would alter all of them, so they could be raped and killed?

She tried to look away but her hunger drove her to look again. The bar was just sitting there, a treat for a dog who knew how to obey commands. She read the book, she had a good idea of what Harmmon wanted.

But Melodi knew all of their names. Melodi had done the same thing, no doubt talked to Harmmon and learned things.

Only a few tears burned in her eyes, the rest were already dried up.

After a long moment, Dina pushed herself up. She worked her lips for a moment and then spoke in a broken whisper. "Mama Dina?”

Harmmon’s quills jumped. The female alien looked over her shoulder, a smile slowly stretching to reveal her pointed teeth.

Encouraged, Dina pressed her hand between her breasts. “Dina.”

Harmmon turned on her stool. She tapped her chest. "Mama Harmmon.” She pointed to Dina. "Mama Mina?”

Dina nodded. "Mina. Mama Mina.”

Harmmon stood up, scooping the chocolate bar from the table as she did. She walked over to the glass. Her towering form blocked most of the view. She pressed the chocolate against the glass and her quills flattened against her back. "Marmif mu mafma, nifo loa kuul. Melomi fu mirmuni. Mu… Harmmon marif.”

Dina didn’t understand any of the words but Harmmon looked sorry for a moment.

The alien set the chocolate bar into something to the left of the cell door. On Dina’s side, it looked like a cylinder. There was a hiss and the cylinder rotated, revealing the chocolate bar.

"Harmmon marif.”

Harmmon turned and walked away, her quills still pressed tight against her body. As she headed toward the archway leading into the hall, she tapped on a control above the cabinet where Naam had loaded the rations.

With a cheerful ding, a shelf slid out of the wall near the chocolate bar revealing a box of rations already steaming slightly.

Dina watched the orange alien walk down the hall and out of sight. As soon as Harmmon was gone, Dina stumbled off the bench and rushed over to the food. She was starving.