Kazumi shuffles closer to Dracoth, her eyes fixated on his strange wrist device. “We help him,” she murmurs, earning a groan of exasperation from Carmen, who throws her hands in the air, spitting a stream of Spanish curses toward the ceiling.
Undeterred, Kazumi examines Dracoth’s wrist device, although I have no idea what the strange, petite woman is doing.
Sandra glares daggers at Carmen. “How could you even think of leaving him?” Her voice tightens with righteous indignation.Fuck, is she for real?“After he saved me—saved us all—you’d just leave him here to die?”
If she actually likes him, that could be a problem.
I feel a pang of worry at the possibility. But I push it aside. Sure, Sandra has that fresh-faced charm going for her, but I know who I am—confident, sophisticated, the kind of woman who turns heads. I’ve got that main character energy down to a science.
Carmen shakes her head like Sandra has just uttered the dumbest words ever spoken. “Hola,chica. He abducted us! Remember? Did you get your brain twisted back there?” She waves dismissively toward the dark abyss of the corridor.
Sandra’s blue eyes go distant. “He saved me,” she whispers, shuddering, “From that fucking horrible monster. I’m not leaving him. I don’t care what you say. We need to get him proper help.”
I suppress a scoff. Funny, I had the same idea. Shame that Carmen only thought to escape!
Meanwhile, Kazumi is somehow working on Dracoth’s wrist device, which has morphed into a shimmering blue console.
“You know how to use one of those?” I ask, genuinely impressed.She might be more useful than I thought.
To my chagrin, Kazumi shakes her head with a slight frown. “No, but I try to send message.” Her hands dart on the holographic display in seemingly random patterns. The symbols are bizarre—alien shapes and squiggles, reminding me of hieroglyphics or ancient runes.
“A la mierda con esto,” Carmen mutters, her frustration reaching a boiling point as she snatches a gun off the bloodied floor. “I’m outta here. Youchicascan stay if you want.” She throws a wave over her shoulder. “Adiós!” With that, she turns to march down the opposite end of the corridor.
“Wait,” I sigh, stepping in front of her and raising a hand to block her path. “We’ve been over this. Like, multiple times!” I exclaim, glaring down at the grimacing Carmen. “You are... the most frustrating, stubborn woman I have ever met. Do you know that?”
Carmen stops, surprising me with a smile. “Sí, I hear that a lot,” she chuckles, resting the alien gun casually on her shoulder.
“Listen, Carmen,” I continue, forcing some calm into my voice. “When you were gone, I looked out that window.” I gesture behind me toward the viewport. “An alien ship tried to escape, and it got blown to pieces. You should have seen it; trust me, it was insane.”
“Sí, so what?” Carmen scrunches her face, clearly losing patience.
“So what?” I repeat in disbelief.Maybe she is dumb after all?“The ‘so what’is that if you somehow manage to pilot one of those alien ships, you’regoingto be turned into blue glowing space goo as soon as you try to leave.Comprende?”
“Joder!” Carmen spits, pacing back and forth, muttering curses under her breath. The blue glow from Dracoth’s wrist device blinks off, and I notice Kazumi poking around at the remains of the dead aliens, doing God knows what. “Then what’sthe plan,Princesa?” Carmen asks, once she’s finally stopped pacing, her voice calmer.
Well, I have my plan; not sure about you crazy bitches.
“We play for time,” I say confidently. “It’s obvious Dracoth doesn’t want to hurt us. Well, other than being a giant perv.”And ruining my Chanel suit, the asshole... Forgive and move on, Lexie, deep breaths, deep breaths.“Maybe when we land on a planet or wherever, we can make a run for it. Or who knows—maybe in time, we can even convince him to take us back to Earth.”
“Yeah,” Sandra chimes in, glancing between Carmen and me. “I saw something in him.” Her eyes drift to Dracoth, a disturbing look of adoration creeping across her face. “When he showed me his face, after he saved me, I just knew I could trust him... that he has a good heart.”
Good heart? The guy who maybe killed your boyfriend and parents? She’s so naïve.
Carmen must be thinking the same. We exchange a glance of shared skepticism.
“Loca,” she mutters under her breath. Then, with an exaggerated sigh, she lowers her weapon. “Fine!” she snaps, her voice sharp. “But if thispendejotries touching me in the meantime, I’ll rip hisvergaoff and toss it your way,” she threatens, jabbing a finger in Sandra’s direction.
I let out a sigh of relief, I didn’t even know I was holding. Odd that I care what happens to Carmen. She does kind of drive me nuts, but at the same time, having her around is reassuring.
My attention shifts to Kazumi, who is kneeling near a pool of blue blood. To my horror, she dips a finger into it and pops it into her mouth. A shudder runs through me. “What the hell are—”
“Hail, human females!”
My words freeze in my throat. I turn toward the voice, my stomach knotting with dread. I know that voice—Demon Egg-Head.
He approaches, almost invisible, with his black robes and heavily tattooed skin blending with the abyssal corridor—just glowing green eyes and sharp yellow fangs floating in the darkness. He’s not alone. Three mini-Dracoths trail behind him, their faces obscured by the same terrifying masks Dracoth wears. They could be identical twins for all I know, distinguishable only by the different colors of their hair.
“Infierno,” Carmen mutters, bristling beside me. I groan inwardly when she raises her gun at the advancing group.She’s going to get us all killed!I distance myself from the stubborn woman with a sly sidestep.
