HIDDEN: A Dystopian Science Fiction Adventure Read online

  I didn’t like it. It felt wrong, but I remained still, even as my stomach churned.

  If I struggle, will he lock me in the cellar again?

  My chest clenched at that thought.

  “Merrick!” a low voice rasped. The door flew open, and a pair of large clawed feet covered in green scales stomped forward.

  “You worthless Hu-man,” the voice hissed. “Get up.”

  It was a Targuruk. We called them Targs, and lived in fear of them. They were seven foot tall reptilians, heavily muscled with light green and gray scales. Indigo told me they were not from this world, even though they claimed it as their own.

  “Come back later,” Merrick said. “I’m busy.”

  He ran his fingertips down my arm, and I cringed.

  Why is he doing this? He’s never done it before.

  “You can play with your concubine later. We must discuss the hunt.”

  “That’s not for another week,” Merrick said.

  “But I grow restless, and my belly aches for ‘The Choosing’.”

  “Oh very well.” Merrick stood up in front of me while I assumed a position on my knees with my head bowed.

  Don’t look in his eyes.

  The bottom half of Draks lacquered wooden staff glistened as he walked over to me. It was gnarled and as thick as one of my legs. I had witnessed Targs use their staffs to crush a slave’s skull for daring to look at them.

  “I’ve never seen her before. She’s rather young even for you.”

  “That’s what makes her special.”

  “Indeed. How old is she?”

  “Fourteen years.”

  Draks lifted my limp arms with his staff, and I trembled. “Good musculature on this one. How fast can she run?”

  “I wouldn’t know. I prefer my concubines to lie still.”

  A series of guttural sounds came from the Targ. “She’ll do.”

  Merrick slipped in behind me and gripped my shoulders. “You don’t want her. She’s rather dim-witted and wouldn’t give you a spirited fight. It’s why I like her.”

  What he said made no sense. I knew more than any other house slave.

  Draks grunted again. “Trying to keep her all to yourself are you?” He slapped him on the back, nearly knocking him over me. “Because ‘The Choosing’ was your idea, I’ll give you another month to sperm her. After that, make her ready.”

  “I… live to serve,” he said, and he bowed low.

  “Come, there’s a new digging project I want to discuss with you.”

  Before they left, Merrick grabbed my arm. “Go straight to your room and wait for me there.”

  ~~~

  I sat on my bed for hours clutching my pillow.

  Concubine? Sperm me?

  Merrick had many women, that was no secret. “Wives” he called them, but I never saw any in his bedroom. Just a beautifully drawn pencil sketch of the woman Merrick called Lumenara, who was very kind to me. Before she died four years ago, we ate together, and she brushed my hair before I went to sleep in the cellar.

  The door swung open, and Merrick blew past me without a glance. He paced around my room with a more pronounced limp.

  “One month. One bloody month.”

  “Master, what’s a concubine?”

  He turned and gave me a quizzical look. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

  “Then, what’s ‘The Choosing’?”

  His face became solemn. “Something I’ll take care of. Now,” he tossed me my sandals, “let’s go for a walk. I need to clear my head.”

  CHAPTER 3

  The next day came, but Merrick said I didn’t have to study. Instead, we used the time for endless sparring with our staffs, except this time, he no longer held anything back. He attacked with a vicious ferocity I had never seen before, and yet his eyes were fearful.

  Afterward, I wiped the blood off my face, then rubbed the bruises on my arms and legs. Although I ached everywhere, the pain session was far worse.

  Instead of a slow buildup, the pain from my skull star spiked to such an intensity, I collapsed to the mat and vomited. Merrick urged me to get up, to fight through the pain, but my muscles were paralyzed.

  “Stop!” I choked out between sobs. “Stop, please make it stop.”

  He resorted to lifting me up and moving my hands and feet like a crazed puppet-master.

  When he finished with me, he plopped my bloodied body in front of Indigo.

  She gasped and reached down to me before turning back to him. Her face had a gnarled look of disgust. “This has to stop.”

  He shot an icy scowl back. Her face softened, and she sighed. “I know she reminds you of Lumenara, but you can’t keep doing this to her.”

  His eyes flared open at the mention of her name. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She put a soft hand on his shoulder. “What Draks did by making a duplicate to torment you was cruel, but that’s no excuse—”

  “Enough!” He threw her hand away, and she took a step back, but stayed in front of me.

  They both glared at each other, like two lions fighting over a scrap of meat.

  “Get her cleaned up and ice down her muscles so she can fight again tomorrow.”

  She opened her mouth, but then closed it. Her lips curled down. “I live to serve.”

  ~~~

  Day after endless day Merrick and I fought, his eyes ever fearful, followed by sessions of tormenting pain. After each one, Indigo bathed me and massaged my aching muscles. Sometimes she added lilac leaves to the bath water or made a ginger tea to help me relax and get ready for the day’s chores. Despite my training, a garden still had to tended and food prepared for the afternoon meals.

  “Easy,” Indigo said after she put me in the tub. The lukewarm water did little to dull my burning muscles. “You’ve dislocated a couple of fingers.”

  She snapped the bones into place and I cried out. My vision blurred. Everything seemed like I was in fog, my only wish to escape from it.

  I felt her cold hand press on my forehead and she yanked it back. “Your skull star is burning hot. My God, what is he doing to you in there?”

  My lips quivered. “I try.” A tear broke free, followed by the rest in an unbroken stream. “I try so hard, but it’s never enough.”

  She embraced me and rubbed my back.

  “I’m sending you straight to bed. Merrick can pick his own vegetables tonight.”

  “Why is he doing this?” I cried. “Why doesn’t he just kill me and get it over with?”

  Indigo stroked my hair. “I don’t know, child.”

  ~~~

  Three weeks passed, and I was so exhausted, I barely moved. At night, I cried myself to sleep, wishing the next day would never come. Sometimes, late at night, I’d awaken to find Merrick at my doorway, watching me. The moonlight reflected off his face which had a wild, desperate look like an animal whose cub had been taken from it.

  On the first day of the fourth week, I didn’t get up at sunrise to watch the other slaves leave. I just laid in my bed and no longer felt any pity for them. I was convinced my life was far worse than theirs.

  An hour later, Merrick opened my door, and I retreated under my blanket. I couldn’t do it anymore and didn’t care what happened to me.

  “We’re not going to train today.”

  I pulled the blanket from over my head. His face was different, softer, and more confident.

  “No pain session either.”

  I searched his face, seeing only sincerity in his soft blue eyes, and burst into tears. He rushed forward and held me close, rubbing my back until I stopped crying.

  I was so relieved, I didn’t even bother to ask why. Grateful, that even for just one day, my living nightmare was over.

  “So, what would you like to do today, Fives?”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything,” he said, wiping my tears away.

  “I want to take a walk in the flower garden and visit Lumena
ra’s grave.”

  He smiled and took my hand.

  ~~~

  The next few days were among the happiest of my life. Merrick gave me complete freedom within the compound to do as I wished. I could sleep in or stay up late into the night. He gave me an intricately carved wood flute made by Lumenara, and to his delight, I discovered I had a knack for playing it like she did.

  He listened for hours as I mimicked bird calls or came up with short melodies. We also took long walks where he talked about how our world was different before the Targs came. He told me about the resistance of our people and subsequent extermination at the hands of the Targs. On our walks, he pointed out various plants and small colored stones, some of which I collected and stored in an ornate wooden box he gave me.

  By the end of the fourth week, my body tingled with anticipation as I waited for him to come. I made my bed earlier and had my sandals latched. I wondered what new treasures we would discover that day.

  When he opened the door, his frown told me something was wrong.

  “Fives, today you need to escape.”

  “Escape? I don’t want to escape. I’m happy here.”

  He smiled, but then his lips returned to the frown, and his eyes hollowed. “You don’t know how pleased that makes me, but I’ve been hiding something from you.” He sat down next to me. “I hid it, because I wanted your last week with me to be filled with joy and not fear.” He took a long deep breath. “’The Choosing’ for the hunt is in an hour… and you’re the prey.”

  The memory of that day, four weeks ago with Draks came roaring back.

  “No,” I said.

  He reached out, and I clung to him. “I don’t want to die. Please.”

  “I’ve done everything I can, but Draks will accept no other.”

  “Please, if I did something wrong—”

  “No.” He held me tight. “Never. This is my fault. I was a fool to think I could keep you hidden from them.”

  He held my head up in his hands and looked into my eyes. “Do you trust me?”

  I nodded my head.

  “Then listen carefully.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “There’s a chance you can live, but only if you do exactly as I say.”

  “Ok.” I trembled and focused my hearing on him.

  “There’s a small river that runs on the other side the garden. You need to wade through it—”

  “But didn’t you forbid me to go in that river?”

  “I know what I said!” His jaw tightened, but softened. “Listen, to what I’m saying now. Wade through the river and head downstream till you get to a culvert in the wall.” He put a key on a chain over my head. “This will open the grate in the culvert. Follow the river south to a city called Devron. If you make it there, you will be safe. Do you understand?”

  I nodded my head, and he held me tight.

  “Merrick!” Draks bellowed from outside the house. “I’m waiting.”

  “Go now, my child.” He set me on my feet. “I’ll delay Draks as long as I can. Take the south door, stay in the river, and don’t look back.”

  I raced down the stairs as fast as I could. Indigo spotted me as I ran through the kitchen. She rushed forward, and we embraced.

  “I just found out, child. I’m so sorry.”

  “Has anyone ever escaped?”

  Her gaze fell. “There’s always a first time.” Her soft brown eyes looked long and hard into mine. “Here.” She shoved a burlap bag into my arms. “These are some rolls I just made and a satchel of water.”

  We hugged one more time before I ran out the backdoor toward the river.

  “Wait, Fives not that way—”

  My heart pounded.

  Take the river. Take the river.

  Yet it made no sense. Indigo told me stories about that river. How Merrick used it to keep the other slaves in the compound from his house and how many died trying to cross it. Once I asked Merrick about it, and he forbade me from ever going near it. Now it was my one hope for survival.

  The river’s edge was calm, and I didn’t see any danger, so I stepped in. The water felt cold, but not unbearable. I continued until I was knee deep and turned southeast. I let the running river help me to take large steps over the slippery rocks. Several times, I fell, but continued on.

  Horns blared behind me, and I tried to quicken my pace, remembering Merrick’s warning to stay in the river. Despite my best efforts, it felt like I was moving in slow motion. My legs ached from fighting against the cold water and the mud under my feet.

  When I was within sight of the huge stone compound wall, something bit into my ankle and jerked me to a stop. I fell forward and my ankle popped, searing pain rushed up my leg. I reached down to free myself, but a chain attached to something hard gripped my foot.

  Horns sounded again, this time much closer. I panicked and pulled with all my might.

  Horns again.

  Three Targs led by Draks appeared, running towards me from the north. Hulking reptiles dressed in gray armor, red eyes, staffs raised. I twisted and yanked, but the trap refused to give. The water around my leg turned red.

  Draks rushed into the water, his sickening yellow teeth dripping with drool. With each step, the river crashed and sprayed droplets about his muscular legs.

  I was helpless, unable to move, and I had no weapon to fight back. Terror paralyzed me.

  I’m going to die. I’m going to die.

  He raised his staff.

  “Please!” I cried. Then everything went black.

  CHAPTER 4

  My head throbbed with a dull pain.

  Wait… I’m alive?

  I cracked open one eye.

  White spackled ceiling, oak desk, a pencil sketch of an extinct volcano,…

  I was in Merrick’s office.

  “Look at that leg!” a voice hissed, and I froze. Draks stood next to Merrick. “What kind of moron walks into a river full of traps. You’re certain my guards were not at the gate?”

  Merrick stared at me and slowly closed his eyes. I shut mine.

  “I dismissed the guards myself and opened it. The way out was clear.”

  “Bah, my hunt is ruined! I’d kill her right now, but it would hardly slake my lust for blood.”

  “I told you she was dim-witted, but you insisted. Yet… I could find you another slave. One who might… satisfy you?”

  “Wait, you knew she would do this?”

  “I had my suspicions.”

  A long pause chilled the air, and my heart pounded. I began to fear for my life again.

  “Think of it this way,” Merrick said. “You get a good hunt, and I get to keep my favorite.”

  The Targ bellowed a chain of throaty grunts. “You my Hu-man friend are a rare breed among your kind. Very well, find me someone suitable and punish her.”

  “I live to serve.”

  ~~~

  A short time later, Merrick came into the office. I remained curled up on his desk, the trap’s dull teeth still biting on my bloodied ankle. Amazed I had survived, and yet too terrified to move. In his arms he carried a tray of cooked potatoes, slices of seasoned meat, and a tall glass of water. The smell of the warm food made my stomach rumble, and I licked my dry lips.

  Merrick handed me the tray, and I sat and ate with savage abandon. He removed the trap and massaged an antibiotic oil into my aching foot.

  “There,” he said. “Your ankle is severely sprained, but will heal in a week or two. You did well, Fives.”

  He tried to touch me on my cheek, and I jerked away. His hand retreated, and his face dissolved from surprise to sadness.

  “I thought I was going to die.” Tears formed in my eyes.

  “But you didn’t.” He got on one knee, struggling to get down with his left leg. “You did what I asked, and you’re alive. And you have no idea how happy that makes me.”

  “Why?” A tear fell. “What am I to you?”

  His face turned desperate, like a man dying of thirst. “You�
��re…” his bottom lip quivered, “my favorite.”

  ~~~

  At sunrise the next day, he came into my room. He looked sad, his movements slow and deliberate.

  What now?

  “I—I have to whip you today. I have to give you ten lashes, but with our pain sessions you probably won’t feel it.”

  He stared at me. “Draks can’t see this. He has to see you in pain. If he doesn’t, we might both die. So, I want you to keep your head down and cry out with each lash. On the third, I want you to beg for your life and on the seventh, I want you to beg for death. Can you do this?”

  Can I do this?

  What was I supposed to say? What more could he do to me?

  “I live to serve.”

  He put my hands in chains and led me out the backdoor. We marched across the garden to a wrought iron gate that guarded the bridge of the forbidden river. We continued past acres of crumbling mud brick homes and descended into a vast lower bowl-like savanna ringed with Acadia trees. At its center, a single eroded wood post stood with two rusted metal loops.

  Draks and all the Targ guards were there. Dozens of yards behind them, in a huge semicircle, were row upon row of slaves. I had no idea there were that many. There had to be thousands of them. All of them, on their knees with their heads bowed and skull stars glowing.

  We stepped forward. The rusted maroon splotches on the post brought a finality to what was about to happen. An icy grip of terror filled my body. I trembled and shrank back.

  “It’ll be OK,” Merrick whispered. “Just do as I told you and you’ll be fine.”

  His voice was calm, but his face was hard, and emotionless.

  My legs felt heavy, like walking in ankle deep mud. He dragged me by my arms forward and I began to whimper. I clenched my jaw. I wanted to be brave, but with each forced step, the post grew taller. All I could think about was the pain he was going to inflict on me.

  Why? I did what you asked!

  The Targs whooped and howled as I passed. Merrick chained each hand to the rusted loops of the post and ripped open the back of my blouse.