“Wren,” Wren said, sprawling onto her back.
“Sandy.”The brunette sniffed.
“Brenda,” the petite girl whispered.“I was leaving my gym.”
“We were all isolated,” an older woman said, sweeping her gray-streaked hair back.“I’m Violet.Any chance of escape?”She whispered the last part.
Wren shook her head.“Unless you have a boat or a spaceship hidden nearby, we won’t be going anywhere.”
“You seem to know more than any of us.”Terry strode closer, her gaze distrusting.
“I had a…kind jailor,” Wren said, flicking a dismissive hand.“We’re test subjects in the hopes of making us compatible for…sex.”
Terry jerked back, her face twisting in disgust.“Why?”
Wren cast a glance at her.“I don’t know.”
“My children.”A woman sobbed, rocking with her arms wrapped around her bent legs.“They’ll think I abandoned them,” she wailed, pressing her cheek to her knees.
Wren froze, ice colder than the dousing sliding down her spine.She swung her legs over the edge of the bench.Darkness engulfed her chest.If she could, she’d whisk everyone home.But all she had was the dagger in her boot.Even if they managed to overpower every man in this forsaken place, they were still trapped.Unless… One Eye had spoken to his wrist… He had an O.D.I., which meant they had to have some way of communicating with the outside world.Then again, sending out a mayday would probably bring down upon them the might of Yithia.
“Do any of you have weapons?”Wren rested her elbows on her knees and clasped her hands, praying she wasn’t the only one armed.
Silence reigned with no one coming forward.
“Shit,” she muttered, slumping.“Whoever they take first, your main focus is to stay alive.”
Whimpers and mutterings fell across their little group.Their situation was dire.
“I could eat.”An ash blonde offered a weak smile.“Call me Nora.”
“Same.The bitter paste I last had coats my mouth.”Terry shuddered.
The women mumbled among themselves, falling into natural conversation as if they’d known each other for years.
But they settled when a man strolled in, his gaze fixed on Wren.Criass had said she’d be first.She straightened and pushed off the bench, determined to face this madness with some dignity.
“Where are you taking her?”a woman with black curls demanded.
“Your turn will come,” the man said.
The woman formed fists at her side, but Wren strode past her.“Don’t worry about me.I’m glad I’m going first… I’ll warn you—”
“You, with me.”Another man pointed at the black-haired woman.
“I’m not ayou.My name’s Ronda.”
“You females are always the same.”The ass smirked, dragging Ronda across the forcefield after it shut off.“Your attitude will change once we are through with you.”
Clammy fingers wrapped around Wren’s upper arm.She glanced at them, sickly yellow against her skin.With a tug, he forced her to stumble forward.
“Come,” he said.
He dragged her along the passage and through an open door, three rooms down.The steel table made her stop.It had a draining hole at one end, which didn’t bode well.The sight of the four straps twitched her fingers.She wanted to grab her dagger and attack.Two men in purple faced her.A metal tray on a counter held many vials of colored liquid.She swallowed hard and pressed her nails into her thighs, forcing the panic to settle in her stomach.
“On the plate,” Criass snapped, gesturing to a disc sunk into the floor.Circular lights around its circumference pulsed in white, looking pretty and innocent.
“Why?”she asked, hesitating.If it was a metal detector, it would find the dagger.
