his cold hand closing around her arm before she could even move out of his reach.
She only had enough time to grab a few of her now-exposed stash of meal bars and stuff them into her pocket as she was pulled out of the room.
The stench of the market was unbearable. It smelled exactly like she remembered it, and this time she knew what the smell was.
It was the smell of unwashed bodies and waste.
With a jolt, the zookeeper set down the box he’d forced her into and hovered close by.
He seemed nervous.
His eyes kept darting around as if he was afraid of getting caught doing something wrong and that made her wonder what exactly was going on.
The box was closed.
All she could see of the outside was through the little slits cut into the sides of the box and thank God she wasn’t claustrophobic because she’d be suffocating right about now.
The box was big enough that she could sit upright, cross-legged in it, but with the lid closed it was dark inside.
Taking a deep breath, Lauren tried to calm her beating heart.
Turning around in the box, she tried to catch a view of the other aliens in the area to get an idea of what sort of buyers were scouting for goods today.
The last time she’d been at the market, she’d been in a cage, not a box. It’d been wide open and she’d been able to see them clearly and them her. She didn’t miss their leers or their creepy smiles.
This time, visibility was massively reduced. She couldn’t see the face of anyone close to the box only those who were a way off.
What she could see clearly were cages with other creatures, some of them looking physically abused, some looking near dead. It didn’t help the uneasy feeling growing in her stomach.
There was movement above her head and the top of the box was suddenly opened.
The stench seemed even stronger now and it had her covering her nose with one hand and shading her eyes with the other from the bright light.
As her gaze adjusted and she took in more of the surroundings, her anxiety increased.
Something in a cage close to her that looked like a massive snake with three round heads hissed at her as she began to stand.
“Sit.”
A firm hand pressed against her shoulder and she looked up to see the zookeeper’s eyes still darting around.
He wasn’t even looking at her.
What was his problem?
He was up to something, or something wasn’t right.
It was still early it seemed, because there weren’t many buyers.
This was a guy who cut corners and tried to save a buck at every turn.
Why would he bring her out now when there wasn’t a good chance of him selling her for much?
The sphynx cats beside him also had their eyes darting around, as if they were keeping watch.
Curious.
As Lauren frowned, a few beings caught sight of her and walked over.
The zookeeper leaned in, his breath brushing against her skin.
He pressed his torture remote into her side.
Great. She hadn’t realized he had the thing.
“Don’t even think about running.”
She knew what that meant.
Running would mean collapsing on her face as each and every cell in her body caught on fire.
The first time it happened, she’d thought she was going to die.
The second time wasn’t better either. Neither were the third, fourth, or fifth times.
“You have no alien status here. You run. You get caught. You go to the mines.” The zookeeper’s mouth twisted in a smile. “You choose.”
Settling back in her box, she said nothing.
It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned the mines and, frankly, it didn’t sound like a place she wanted to be.
Instead, she focused on the beings beginning to surround the box.
It was a group of the same species of alien. They were all black with sharp edges, as if their bodies were made of blades compacted together. Standing at over seven feet, she supposed, they were taller than even the zookeeper.
Their dark eyes were focused on her and Lauren swallowed hard.
She couldn’t see any emotion in those eyes.
And they were male. She could see very clearly they were male.
“What sort of creature is this? ” One stretched forward to touch her and the zookeeper grabbed the alien’s arm.
Lauren’s wide eyes flew to the zookeeper.
Wasn’t he brave.
Or maybe his torture remote didn’t only work on her? Because seven feet of blades wasn’t the sort of alien she’d want to be in an altercation with.
“No touching. Touch it after you buy it