Chapter 177: In Revenge and In Love
"Not so much fun when the shoe is on the other foot, is it?" I asked, my complete attention on the scientist in front of me. "I would have you naked so that you could experience the full effect of what it is like to be naked and afraid, but I am not going to punish myself at the same time."
I laughed lightly at my own joke before I walked over to the wall holding most of the internal organs of the woman in Midnight’s arms. I was in no way an expert in the matter, but to me, her organs looked pink and healthy. If she had not been taken away from her home, she would have probably lived a long, happy life.
Instead, like the rest of us taken, she only knew pain and misery in her final hours.
Well, maybe not. I turned to see her cuddled in Midnight’s arms, her eyes glued to me. Slowly, so I could follow her movements, she turned her gaze to the scientist and the appendage between his legs. Yes, that would make sense. He was so interested in removing her eggs and sexual organs that it was unfair that he could keep his.
"Do you have a knife I could borrow?" I asked, looking at the wolf. "Preferably a dull one?"
The smile on the other woman’s face was enough to let me know that I was right in my thinking.
Midnight looked between me and her, confused, but nodded his head. "It’s not dull, but it is not as sharp as my others. Would that do?" he asked, gently shifting the weight of the woman in his arms to reach down to one of the knives at his side.
Pulling it out of its sheath, he flipped it so that the blade was in his hand as he held out the hilt to me.
"That’s fine," I nodded my head, pleased to see that there was a serrated edge to the blade. That would ensure that the ’surgery’ was as painful as possible. "Were you allowed to pass out during any of it?" I asked, wanting to make sure that her experience was replicated exactly.
She slowly shook her head from where it rested against Midnight’s chest. I thought I would be a lot more jealous over the fact that my mate was cuddling with another human, but then I realized that I didn’t see her really as an adult female, more like a child.
Startled by my thoughts, I walked over to her and took her hand in mine. "Squeeze when the answer is a yes. Understand?" I said, staring into her eyes. I had thought that she was like me, an adult, but something was telling me that that was not the case.
"Are you in your thirties?" I asked, but there was no response from her. Her eyes bore into me, trying to get their point across. "Twenties?" I continued, but once again, there was no response. I swallowed hard, and my eyes closed for a brief second before opening them again.
"Are you in your teens?" I asked softly. This time, I got a squeeze. Fucking rat bastards. How the fucking hell did they think that this was okay? "13," I said, more than a little relieved that there was no squeeze to confirm that age. But still, that meant next to nothing. "14?" I could see my men stiffen beside me, coming over to surround us while I continued my line of questions.
The woman... girl really... turned to study them all before returning her attention to me.
"I don’t understand," said Da’kea slowly as he crouched down so that he was on the same level as me and the girl in Midnight’s arms. "What do you mean by those numbers? They don’t make sense."
"Mei Xing is trying to determine how old the woman is," said Midnight, his voice catching.
"Are we talking decades?" pushed Da’kea, his mind not processing just what he was hearing. Or maybe he just didn’t want to process it.
"No," I said, my eyes staring at the girl in front of me. How strong was she to be able to deal with crap at her age. "15," I continued, my thumb brushing over her knuckles. I might be cold-hearted most of the time, but even I had my standards. "16?"
There it was, a tiny squeeze as tears started to drip from her eyes.
"Sixteen what?" asked Da’kea, his body tense.
"She is 16 years old," I said slowly and watched as her head nodded in acknowledgment of my words. "The Earth had rotated around the sun 16 times since she was born. Maybe more, depending on how long she has been here."
Not that it really mattered. At 16 years old, she should have been in high school, flirting with boys and thinking that the worst thing to ever happen to her was a bad hair day. Not strapped to a table, naked, while aliens removed her internal organs one after another.
"No! That makes her nothing more than a cub," said Da’kea, looking around at all of us before returning his attention back to the girl, whose name I don’t know. "How could they do this to a cub?"
"For that," I answered him, pointing toward the jar that held her ovaries and every egg that she would ever produce. "Our females can bear offspring as soon as they get their first period, which could be anywhere between eleven and sixteen years of age."
Da’kea let out a roar of rage as he stood up and spun on his feet. Storming over to the male strapped to the table, he reached out for his head.
"No!" I shouted, stopping him before he could rip it off. "He does not die that easily."
Da’kea grunted but stormed over to the computer center and started to type frantically.
"Is there anything that you want as a gift?" I asked, also coming to my feet. I was not in a rush, but at the same time, I was not interested in staying here any longer than I had to.
The girl nodded but couldn’t do more than that. I shrugged my shoulders, not at all concerned about her lack of communication. They probably gave her only enough nutrients to stay alive but not enough to actually regain her strength.
Staring at the top of his body, I pointed to his head. She shook her head. Moving on to his eyes, she shook her head again. It was the same response for his tongue, ears, and throat. However, as soon as I pointed to his heart, her eyes lit up in delight.
Yes, this girl was a lot like me.
However, I wanted to be sure that she didn’t want anything else from the fucking bastard. I pointed to his stomach, his dick, his legs, and his feet. However, she didn’t want anything else but his heart.
Who was I to deny her?
His death would be a lot faster than what I wanted it to be, but if she wanted his heart, then she would get it.
"Let me," said GA softly as he came to my side. I nodded my permission, my eyes never leaving her smile. He plunged his hand in, breaking the ribs guarding his heart. Pulling out his arm, I watched the green organ spitting out the blood inside of it before it stopped beating.
Taking it from GA, I brought it over to the girl and placed it in her hands. She smiled at me before turning her attention back to the heart. I left her alone, going over to the wall of organs. All of these would need to be burned. The idea that they did all the crap and was rewarded with 400 eggs didn’t sit well with me.
I went over to the table where the lizard lay, a giant hole in his chest, and crouched down. Seeing the laser blaster that he had dropped, I grabbed it. I would not let the Alliance win. Not this time and not ever again.
Raising my arm, I destroyed the jars, one at a time, making sure that their contents were destroyed with them.
Hearing a strangled sound from Midnight, I let rare tears fall down my face as I continued my mission.
Once everything that once lined the back wall was wrecked, I closed my eyes, wiping the tears away. Never, ever did I think that I would be one to cry, let alone over something like this. But not even I could wrap my head around the senseless depravity of it all.
All this pain, this madness, for what? To bring back a species that has been gone so long that no one even remembers them? Fucking assholes.
Bringing my emotions under control, I wiped my cheeks before turning around. Midnight’s head was bowed, his muzzle gently nudging the child in his arms. I walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm.
"It’s okay," I said, taking in a deep breath. "Look, she is happy."
And it was true. There was a smile on the unknown girl’s face as she stared at the heart in her hands. Even in death, she didn’t give in easily.
"In revenge and in love, woman is more barbarous than man," I said, quoting an Earth philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. He had a horrible opinion of women, but in this case, his words were true.
I would watch the Alliance crumble at my feet for everything that they have done. And laugh all the while.
